Bridge over the Tugela, Zululand Extension (1330 Feet Long) Connecting Natal and Zululand
The next stretch of fifty miles has become one of the historic districts of the empire. In a winding of the Tugela lies Colenso. Then Pieters Hill is climbed, and the traveller can realise the desperate nature of the task set to General Buller’s army. Then come Wagon Hill and Cæsar’s Camp, with Bulwan on the right andLadysmith lying in a hollow in the centre. Beyond Ladysmith the train climbs again to Elandslaagte, and begins in a succession of gradual ascents to climb to the crest of the Drakensberg, the final climb being made under the shadow of Majuba, and through the tunnel of Laing’s Nek. Once at Charlestown the high veldt is gained for good. The ascent from Delagoa Bay is easier, in that there is not the same repetition of ups and downs as on the Natal railway. The line runs through the Komati Poort, and then up the Elands River Valley, a beautiful valley indeed, but a veritable valley of death to the builders of the railway. At Waterval Onder the final steep ascent is begun, part of the way being so steep that the cog-wheel system is required. At Waterval Boven the high veldt is gained, and the main difficulties left behind.
The Beira railway to Salisbury has a similar ascent to make. Having described the approaches, some idea may now be given of the railway routes on the interior plateau itself. The Cape Town line to De Aar and Kimberley after gaining the plateau traverses the Great Karroo, a monotonous stretch of several hundred miles of parched brown, barren-looking plain with isolated, flat-topped mountains, and ranges which serve to give variety, and make a scene of widespread solitude, having a melancholy charm wholly its own. This barren-looking veldt, with its sparse vegetation of stunted shrubs, supports millions of sheep and goats, and however unpromising its aspect, it plays an important part in the railway and general economy of the country. The Midlands railway from Port Elizabeth to De Aar and Norval’s Pont traverses similar country, but not so arid. The Eastern railway, from East London through King William’s Town and Queenstown to Bethulie, traverses more undulating country covered with grass intermixed with karroo shrub. In some districts, notably round King William’s Town and Queenstown, agriculture has made considerable headway. The western line continues from Kimberley through Vryburg (British Bechuanaland) to Mafeking, and on to Bulawayo through grass-covered country, with clumps of Kameeldoorn trees, presenting in many places the appearance of an English park. This is a great cattle country, and provides considerable traffic for the railway over and above the mining traffic of Kimberley and Rhodesia. All the Cape lines connect with one another with two necks which converge at Springfontein for the Orange River Colony and Transvaal traffic. From the Orange River northwards the railways are known as the Central South African Railways. The line through the Orange River Colony runs through flat grassy plains for a distance of 300 miles: plains which, after a devastating war, still hold over a million sheep and 160,000 head of cattle. In time of peace the whole country is onemonotonous scene of pastoral prosperity. On entering the Transvaal at Vereeniging—the place of the declaration of peace—the railway enters at once into the rich gold-bearing region of the Transvaal. There is a gradual rise over open country to the Rand. On every side there is evidence of great industrial activity, and at many places along the line beginnings may be seen of Transvaal agriculture, beginnings which promise a great future.
The south-eastern branch of the Central South African Railways connects with the Natal line at Volksrust, and proceeds along the high veldt viâ Standerton and Heidelberg to the Rand. The high veldt of the Transvaal has an average height of 5000 feet above sea-level. It is a vast open grass country with rocky ridges rising a few hundred feet above the ordinary level. A magnificent stock country, and rich in coal, iron, and gold. On the eastern line, the Central South African line connects with the Portuguese line at Komati Poort, and passes up the Elands River Valley already described. From Waterval Boven the railway continues to ascend to the summit of the high veldt at Bergendal, near Belfast. It was here where the last big pitched battle was fought before the break-up of the Boer army into guerilla forces. The line passes along the northern limits of the high veldtviâMiddelburg to Pretoria. The country it passes through is equal in stock-raising capabilities and mineral riches to the south-eastern line. There are enormous areas of coal of good quality and abundance of iron ore, and limestone sufficient for the establishment of a great industry which itself will doubtless bring about and maintain great railway expansion in the future.
From Pretoria, the Pretoria-Pietersburg line, formerly a private company, now taken over by the Central South African Railways, strikes north to Pietersburg into the heart of the tropical part of the Transvaal. The country it traverses is partly flat and partly hilly, at some places thick bush and at others wide grassy plains. In the northern district there is a large population of Kaffirs who cultivate the extremely fertile soil, and produce great quantities of mealies (maize) and Kaffir corn, which products, together with timber for the mines, form the principal items of traffic carried by the railway. The Beira railway to Salisbury, originally a narrow gauge, has now been widened to the standard 3 feet 6 inches gauge of South Africa, and carries all the traffic for the Mashonaland mines.
JOHANNESBURG MAIL TRAIN AT THE FOOT OF MAJUBA
In all, South Africa possesses approximately 5000 miles of railway, having a capitalised value, including rolling stock, of about £50,000,000, or £10,000 per mile. The three important systems are the Cape Government Railways, the Natal Government Railways, and the Central South African Railways (Transvaal andOrange River Colony). The Cape system has a mileage of 2135 miles, and in addition it works 587 miles of the Rhodesian Railways, or a total of 2722 miles. The Natal system covers 612½ miles, and the Central South African system 1312 miles. In addition to these there is the Beira Railway, already briefly described, and there are also several small privately-owned railways. The three chief systems own altogether 1239 engines and 27,806 waggons, and a large but still insufficient equipment of coaches for passenger traffic. Great attention has been given and much money expended in the past two years in bringing the rolling stock up to a state of efficiency for dealing with the greatly-increased traffic anticipated on the establishment of peace in South Africa. The Central South African Railways—the State Railways now owning and working the old Free State and Netherlands systems—have almost doubled the carrying capacity of these railways. Natal had 129 engines before the war; she has now 209. She had 3101 waggons before the war; she has now 6154. The Cape railways have also largely increased their stock. The enormous traffic now being handled, more or less successfully, will justify this provident policy.
All these systems make large annual profits. In its best year, 1896, the Cape Government system showed—
Or £10, 7s. 6d. per cent. on the then capital of £20,799,288. This included the Free State share of profit under the then working arrangement. Deducting the Free State share, the profit was at the rate of £8, 19s. 7d. per cent. In the same year the Natal Railway showed—
Or £11, 9s. 0½d. per cent. on the then capital of £6,236,555.
In the same profitable year the Netherlands Railway returns showed—
The profits of this railway in this year equalled 59 per cent. of the total earnings.
In 1901, notwithstanding the state of war, the Cape Government Railways showed—
Equal to £4, 8s. 4d. per cent. on the then capital of £22,125,085.
In the same year the Natal Railways showed—
Equal to £5, 15s. 2½d. per cent. on the capital of £8,528,989.
Included in the Natal Railway expenses is the sum of £159,328 expended on permanent work that should have been charged to capital, which, if added to the profits as it should be, would make an actual profit for the year of £650,656, 17s. 7d. There are no returns available to show the result of working the Central South African Railways, formerly the Imperial Military Railways, during the period of the war. Nor are there any available now, but considering the past results and the great volume of present traffic, and the maintenance of the old high rates for freight and passenger fares, it may be estimated that the earnings of the Central South African Railways in the Transvaal and the Orange River Colony will probably be between £5,500,000 and £6,000,000, and the profits between £2,500,000 and £3,000,000, a very important item in the revenues of the two new colonies.
Station Yard, Durban(The Tower of the Town Hall is seen in the background)
In comparison with other railways in the British Empire the South African railways hold an important position as regards mileage, and the average earnings per mile are more than doublethe average earnings of several important colonial and Indian railways. The combined earnings of all South African railways working 5000 miles may be taken at £11,000,000 for the year. The Canadian Pacific Railway, working 7000 miles, earned £6,002,061. The Grand Trunk of Canada, working 4179 miles, earned £4,407,016. The Victorian Railways, Victoria, Australia, working 3238 miles, earned £3,337,797. The Queensland Railway, working 2801 miles, earned £1,316,936. The Bombay, Baroda, and Central Indian Railways, with 2764 miles, earned £3,253,866. The Great Indian Peninsular and Indian Midland Railways, with 2800 miles, earned £3,063,066. Comparing with important home railways:—
These figures show that South African railways make high earnings as compared even with a great railway like the Canadian Pacific, a railway serving one of the most important trade routes in the world, and traversing a rich agricultural country, with a population of 5,000,000, as compared with South Africa’s 700,000 whites and 2,000,000 blacks. The Queensland railways, with more than half the mileage, earn less than one-eighth the total earned by South African railways, while the enormous traffic of the famous London North-Western, with its large capitalised value, only brings in a matter of £3,000,000 a year more than the railways of South Africa, with their moderate capitalisation of £50,000,000.
This comparison should bring home to investors the excellent opening which South Africa affords for safe and profitable participation in the reasonable railway expansion the country still requires, especially is this the case with the two new colonies. Another fifteen hundred miles could well be added. These new railways would have earning capacity little inferior to the existing lines, and the present margin of profits is so wide that a substantial reduction in rates would not materially affect the prospects, because such a reduction would inevitably result in a great increase in the volume of traffic.
The comparison also leads to the conclusion that the present rates are excessive. They have been maintained at their high level through the system of the Colonial Governments looking to the railways for a large proportion of the revenue. The great pivot ofSouth African industry is the Rand, with its goldfields, and both Natal and Cape Colony have for years past taken toll on the Rand traffic, and thereby swelled their own revenues.
The old Free State and Transvaal Governments in a like manner determined to fleece the industrial workers, and so save their own burghers from bearing their due share of the cost of Government. While they were the greatest sinners themselves, they could not with reason ask the southern Governments to take the first step towards moderation. As a consequence, the Rand, dependent for the most part of its food and for the whole of its industrial equipment on over-sea supplies, became one of the most expensive places to live and work in that the wide world knows. Under the newregimethere is as yet no improvement; the Imperial Government is looking for revenue. To the despair of British loyalists the old high rates are maintained, with the effect of delaying and perhaps prohibiting the enormous industrial progress which the wealth of the country would under other conditions make possible. All classes feel the burden, and at the forthcoming Congress of the Associated Chamber of Commerce, which will meet at Kimberley, resolutions bearing on the question are to be submitted. The first affirms: “That the railways, being the highways of the country, should be worked solely with a view to furnishing the transit and traffic requirements of the country, and entirely dissociated from the revenual, political, or protective considerations;” and “That the policy of raising revenue through excessive railway rates is an objectionable method of taxation. It is unfair in its incidence, and bears with especial hardship on the inland wage-earner.”
These resolutions reflect the feelings of the whole inland community of South Africa.
COMMISSIONER STREET, JOHANNESBURGPhoto by Barnett & Co., Johannesburg
The Canadian Pacific Railway, with 7588 miles open, makes a net profit of £2,620,000 on a capital of £53,000,000 as against South Africa, with 5000 miles open, and net profits of over £5,000,000 on a similar capital. The Canadian Pacific Railway makes a net profit of £371 per mile against a net profit of Natal railways of £803 per mile, and an approximate net profit of £1800 per mile of the Central South African railways (Transvaal and Orange River Colony railways). New Zealand railway returns for 1902 show net earning of £280 per mile. The through rate for ordinary goods from Durban to Johannesburg is just over 3¾d. per ton per mile. The rate for ordinary goods on the Central South African railways (Transvaal railways) for fifteen miles is 9d. per ton per mile; for fifty miles, 6⅔d. per ton per mile; for longer distances, approximately 6d. per ton per mile. The average rate for goodson the Canadian Pacific Railway is only one-third of a penny per ton per mile. Were this rate charged on a ton of goods brought from Durban—the nearest colonial port—to Johannesburg, the cost would be only 13s. 6d. as against £7, 13s. 4d., the present cost; that is, the South African through rate is ten times as much as the average rate in Canada; and the Transvaal rate for ordinary local traffic of 6d. to 9d. per ton per mile is twenty times higher than the average Canadian rate. The Canadian Pacific Railway is selected for comparison, because it is a railway built to develop new and sparsely-populated territory, its special work being essentially the same as that required of the railways of South Africa. The Canadian Pacific Railway has doubled its earnings since 1895. If its policy were copied in South Africa, where the whole industrial life of the country depends on railways, enormous developments could be looked for. In South Africa it is fully realised that, until the burden of excessive railway rates is got rid of, the costs of living must prohibit any great growth of population, and without growth of population the development of the natural resources of the country can only make the slowest of progress. The people are quite willing to provide the Government with revenue, but they wish to provide it by different methods than those which obtained in the past.
Owing to exorbitant fares the people of Johannesburg are practically confined within the limits of the town and its immediate suburbs. They are compelled to pay high rents. £250 to £300 a year represents the present rent for an ordinary cottage. The passenger fares on the London and North-Western are from a 1½d. to 1¾d. per mile first, 1¼d. second, and fractionally under a 1d. third. A great reduction is made on season tickets. Transvaal railway fares average 3d. per mile first, 2½d. second, and 1½d. third, and only a small reduction is made for season tickets. With high rents and high prices for food, rendered dear by cost of carriage, the workers, in order to live, must obtain high wages. High wages mean high-working costs for all industrial enterprises. Consequently only a few industries, and only the richer mines, can be worked at a profit. Ordinary industries which can carry only moderate working costs cannot be undertaken.
Judging from the results of the past six years sweeping reductions are quite possible while still allowing for a paying railway revenue. Mr. Cooper-Key has shown, that the excess profits made by the Transvaal railways alone, after providing for reasonable interest on capital at the rate of 4¾ per cent., were:—
For the present year the excess profits on Transvaal railways, over a 4 per cent. interest on capital, will probably amount to not far short of £1,500,000.
As might be expected after a consideration of the profits and earning capacity of South African railways, important extensions of the previous system are projected and in progress.
In the Cape Colony there is a project to connect Saldanha Bay, the proposed new port, with the main lineviâHopefield. A southern lineviâOudtshoorn and Willowmore will bring Cape Town in closer contact with Mossel Bay and Port Elizabeth, and open up the southern districts of Cape Colony. Another line will join the Port Elizabeth midland line with the eastern system at King Williamstown.
In the Orange River Colony the projected lines are from Springfontein to Koffyfontein; from Bloemfontein to Ladybrand and Ficksburg; from Harrismith to Heilbron or Vereeniging. The line from Bloemfontein to Ladybrand is already partly built. It will open up the wheat-growing section of the Orange River Colony.
In the Transvaal the most important projected lines are: A line from Fourteen Streams to Klerksdorp, providing an alternative route from the Cape Ports to the Rand. A line from Krugersdorp to Rustenburg and thence probably to Zeerust and Mafeking, opening up a valuable agricultural country. A line from Springs to Machadodorp or Ermelo, through the best coal and iron districts of the Transvaal, and providing an alternative route from Delagoa Bay to the Rand. This line would greatly relieve the congestion which exists after the high veldt is gained on the present eastern line, owing to the coal traffic and the over-sea imports having to be carried over a single line of railway. A line from Pietersburg to Leydsdorp and thence probably connecting with the Selati railway at its present terminus. There is a private company formed to build a line from Machadodorp to Ermelo, and the Government is constructing a coal line for the mines along the south of the Rand, and another alternative line from Johannesburg to Vereeniging.
In Natal it is a question of doubling the present main line or of constructing another single line of railway from Greytown to the Transvaal. The first plan would be cheaper, and would give more immediate help to Natal in the competition for Transvaal traffic, while the alternative Greytown route would open up new country to railway influence, and materially add to the prosperity of the agricultural population of that section of the colony. Natal is also about to construct a line from Maritzburg to Riverside on the Cape-Natal frontier. The Cape being under promise to connect thispoint with their eastern system, and thus provide direct railway communication with Durban and Cape Town.
In Rhodesia the line connecting Bulawayo and Salisbury is approaching completion.[13]It is possible that Gwelo, a town on the railway, will be the junction or next starting-point of the “Cape to Cairo” railway, or it may be that the route by another new line from Bulawayo to the Wankie coalfields near the Zambesi may be chosen instead. A line is in course of construction from Bulawayo to the Gwanda goldfields, and a line is proposed from Salisbury north to Lo Maghonda. Altogether over 2000 miles of new railway are projected in South Africa. In the Transvaal the new lines proposed will have a length of over 800 miles, and at least 500 miles may be considered as lines whose construction is a matter of urgent necessity.
This forecast of railway development in the immediate future in South Africa means the raising and spending of another £16,000,000, £8000 per mile being about the lowest figure that can be reckoned on to build the lines and provide rolling stock. Transvaal expenditure for new railways may be estimated for the period of the next three years at not less than £6,000,000. When built, however, these railways will be sound properties, thoroughly sure as to their dividend or interest-earning capacity. Lord Milner referred in a recent speech to what he called the governmental plant which he said was required before private enterprise could get to work on making the country productive. Chief among the governmental plant so referred to are railways, but alongside of the recognition of the necessity of railways it is to be hoped that governmental recognition will also be given to the fact that to be of real use the railways must be run at cheap rates, otherwise the looked-for benefit will never come.
As regards over-sea traffic, it is hoped that rates may be brought down by encouraging competition between the various railways from the coast, and the Transvaal Government has a powerful lever in its eastern line. The distance from Delagoa Bay to the Rand is only 395 miles, of which only 56 belong to the Portuguese.[14]FromDurban the distance is 483 miles; from Port Elizabeth, 785 miles, and from Cape Town, 1000 miles. The Transvaal Government has the whip in hand, and it is hoped that it will use it so that all South Africa will be brought into line on the question of moderate freight and passenger rates. At present goods are pouring into the Transvaal at the rate of 21,000 tons per week, and in addition there are 8000 tons being brought up weekly for the military, but if rates are not lowered, this great railway activity will prove only transient, because it is certain that at present the internal industries are making no progress, and consequently trade must fall off.
Map of the Cape Government Railways, Based on the Map Accompanying the General Manager’s Report(Scale = 120 English miles to an inch)
In conclusion, a word may be said of the important part played by South African railways in the late war. A German strategist predicted that with the existing railway systems of South Africa it would be impossible to feed an army of 250,000 men in the interior of the country. Yet it was actually done, and not for a brief period only, but for nearly three years. Besides bringing the food-stuff for this host, and for the civil population besides, the railways transported guns, ammunition, horses and men up and down, back and forward as the commander-in-chief required. The magnitude of this work can be imagined when it is stated that no less than 126 trains were required for the final concentration against Delarey at Klerksdorp. The working of the railways during the war reflects the greatest credit on the managers and employées of all South African railways. It was impossible to tell when a train would run through a band of snipers, one or more of its occupants paying the penalty of death, or when the engine might be hoisted by a hidden charge of dynamite, and the machine and its drivers turned to wreckage. During the war the railway service required qualities of endurance and courage equal to those possessed by the bravest soldier in the field.
MORNING MARKET AT JOHANNESBURGPhoto by Barnett & Co., Johannesburg
At present South African industries (outside of agriculture and pastoral pursuits) may be said to consist of mining and railways. The railways, in spite of heavy rates, have made a great mining industry possible. What could they do in respect of other and ordinary industries? It is a question of rates. Given recognition of the principle that railways should be the most essential part of the governmental plant spoken of by Lord Milner—plainly to be used for developing the country, and not for the use of extracting revenue to which it is at present put, not gold-mining alone, but a hundred industries would presently flourish. On the Rand there are already great engineering works contending against many difficulties, andespecially the cost of labour. These works execute repairs for the mines, make castings, and even manufacture new machinery. A great future industry, which for the present is impossible on account of want of railway facilities, is the exploitation of the rich iron ores of the Transvaal. It is stated that a syndicate with large capital has been formed to undertake this work on a large scale when the conditions are favourable, and within the next few years it is probable that the Middelburg district will have smelting furnaces, foundries, rolling mills, and all the varied works of a young iron and steel industry which may eventually take a leading place in the world. Mr. Carnegie recently stated that the iron ores of Britain will be exhausted in twenty-five years, and those of the United States in sixty years. The extensive deposits of the Transvaal should last for centuries.
Another possible future industry is the distillation of oil from the shales of the Eastern Transvaal and the Orange River Colony. These deposits are at present being tested, and give promise of payability. Throughout South Africa there are many flour mills. The chief works being at Port Elizabeth and Cape Town and in the wheat district of the Orange River Colony. Other industries which have found a footing, and are now making steady progress, are leather-making, boot and harness making, wool-washing, jam-making, candle-making, waggon and cart building from colonial woods. All these industries are carried on chiefly in the Cape Colony and Natal. In the Transvaal there are pottery works, a cement factory, many breweries, and one distillery. In the Cape and Natal there are also several large breweries. One great industry which has arisen, owing to the mining wealth of the country, is the manufacture of explosives. There is a large dynamite factory at Cape Town owned by the De Beers Company, and another—the largest explosive factory in the world—at Modderfontein near Johannesburg. The Modderfontein factory cost upwards of three-quarters of a million to build. The works are spread over a large area, the property comprising 5280 acres. This factory was owned by a company with German, English, and French interests, formed to work the dynamite monopoly for the Transvaal Government. The high prices it charged, and the huge profits it made, being additional direct burdens on the already overloaded mining industry, were the causes of great discontent. Since the war the monopoly has been abolished. The company is now practically a British company, and its policy appears to be to meet its customers, and gain their goodwill. Prices have been reduced by 30s. a case The prices now being: blasting gelatine, 67s. 6d.; gelignite, 50s.; and dynamite, 50s. a case, as against 97s. 6d., 87s. 6d., and 77s. 6d.respectively before the war. These prices are fair, and it is stated are just sufficient to give a margin of profit. At present in the Transvaal it is a question of allowing free competition in explosives, or of just granting sufficient protection to the existing factory to enable it to live. As the factory finds employment for nearly 3000 hands, white and black, it would certainly be a national loss if it had to shut down.
In the nature of things in South Africa all classes of industrial undertakings are difficult to establish, and probably a moderate protective tariff would be beneficial to the country in the long run, as in the initial stages it would serve to turn the balance between profit and loss. Every industry successfully established adds to the white population, and is therefore to be welcomed. A policy of moderate protection then for industries, which could be fed by the natural resources of the country itself, should be carefully considered by the Government. Such a policy, together with a thorough cutting down of the present industry-killing railway rates, would go a long way to make a speedy beginning in South Africa of the great industrial activity which is sure to come eventually.
FOOTNOTES:[13]The British South African Company has decided to expend £2,000,000 on railways in Rhodesia—£1,000,000 to be expended immediately for work to be completed by the end of next year, and a like sum, towards the end of 1903, will probably be sanctioned for the purpose of carrying the Cape to Cairo line north of the Zambesi to the bend of the Kafue, a distance of 300 miles. When the proposed work is carried out Rhodesia will have over 2500 miles of railway.—Ed.[14]It is interesting to note that Portugal has strengthened her position in Africa by granting to Mr. Robert Williams a concession for a railway from Lobito Bay, near Benguella (in Portuguese West Africa), to the eastern frontier of the Colony. Lobito Bay is four days’ journey nearer to England than the Cape, and it is described as having one of the finest harbours in the world, and accommodation for larger vessels than Delagoa Bay.—Ed.
[13]The British South African Company has decided to expend £2,000,000 on railways in Rhodesia—£1,000,000 to be expended immediately for work to be completed by the end of next year, and a like sum, towards the end of 1903, will probably be sanctioned for the purpose of carrying the Cape to Cairo line north of the Zambesi to the bend of the Kafue, a distance of 300 miles. When the proposed work is carried out Rhodesia will have over 2500 miles of railway.—Ed.
[13]The British South African Company has decided to expend £2,000,000 on railways in Rhodesia—£1,000,000 to be expended immediately for work to be completed by the end of next year, and a like sum, towards the end of 1903, will probably be sanctioned for the purpose of carrying the Cape to Cairo line north of the Zambesi to the bend of the Kafue, a distance of 300 miles. When the proposed work is carried out Rhodesia will have over 2500 miles of railway.—Ed.
[14]It is interesting to note that Portugal has strengthened her position in Africa by granting to Mr. Robert Williams a concession for a railway from Lobito Bay, near Benguella (in Portuguese West Africa), to the eastern frontier of the Colony. Lobito Bay is four days’ journey nearer to England than the Cape, and it is described as having one of the finest harbours in the world, and accommodation for larger vessels than Delagoa Bay.—Ed.
[14]It is interesting to note that Portugal has strengthened her position in Africa by granting to Mr. Robert Williams a concession for a railway from Lobito Bay, near Benguella (in Portuguese West Africa), to the eastern frontier of the Colony. Lobito Bay is four days’ journey nearer to England than the Cape, and it is described as having one of the finest harbours in the world, and accommodation for larger vessels than Delagoa Bay.—Ed.
By ERNEST GRAHAM LITTLE
B.A., formerly Porter Scholar, of the Cape University; M.D. University of London; Member of the Royal College of Physicians; Physician, with charge of the Skin Department, at St. Mary’s Hospital; Senior Assistant Physician to the East London Hospital for Children and Dispensary for Women, Shadwell; late House Physician at St. George’s Hospital and at the City of London Hospital for Diseases of the Chest
In these days, when the physical methods of treating disease are so largely supplementing, and even supplanting, the methods of what may be termed chemical therapeutics, the question of suitable health resorts is one which must engage the attention of every medical man who is anxious to do his best for his patient. The opening up of South Africa by the success of British arms will be followed shortly, it is to be hoped, by a vigorous development of the country through colonisation and the investment of capital. Thus will be afforded a new and more extended field for the employment of the natural therapeutics of climate, soil, and environment, by which to combat the advance of many insidious diseases. We English people are too prone to bend the knee to foreign Baals, who but mock us as we worship. It should be an additional pleasure to every enlightened Imperialist to think that within the borders of our own empire, in lands peopled by those who speak our own kindly mother-tongue, we may find physical conditions in every way superior to those of foreign health-resorts, which have hitherto waxed fat and become insolent in their fancied monopoly. I write with the hope that many who are ignorant of these superior advantages possessed by South Africa may be guided by these pages to make their choice of a recreation-ground more intelligently, and consequently with better results, than is at present usually the case. It is true that at the moment invalids should be dissuaded from going to South Africa while the difficulties exist of transport and maintenance of so large and so sudden an increase of population. Supposing that our railway companies had not been able to run any extra trains for the last Coronation procession in London, we should have had a picture of congestion and discomfort not unlike what is happening in South Africa at the present time. But these difficulties are but of the moment and are passing hourly. When once things have settled down a little, normal methods will prevail; and it may confidently be predicted that travelling in SouthAfrica will become increasingly comfortable and easy as the flow of population and wealth create a demand for increased facilities. Already far nearer approximation to our standards of comfort has been made than is dreamt of by stay-at-home Englishmen. The ox-waggon is not now the usual means of covering the distance between Wynberg and Kimberley, as was apparently thought by a medical lecturer not many years ago, since he gravely advised his audience to adopt that method of transit. We have only within the last few months seen in London electric trams as good as those that have been running for some years from Cape Town to Sea Point.
The voyage to South Africa is one of the pleasantest and most healthful in the world. It is in itself a powerful factor in the restoration of mind and body. There are two routes by which one can travel, the East and the West Coast routes. The East Coast route, by which Mr. Chamberlain travelled, is of recent development, and the principal steamers running on it are German (the German East Africa Company). Passengers may join the boat at Hamburg, Antwerp, Marseilles, or Naples, and the voyage is broken at Port Said, Suez, Aden, Zanzibar, Delagoa, and is terminated at Durban. It is thus an interesting itinerary, and for those who fear sea-sickness may be recommended, as the vessel is never longer than five days continuously at sea. The pleasantest months in which to travel by this route are February, March, and April. At other times it is apt to be oppressively hot. The personnel of the fleet is very obliging and anxious to promote the comfort of passengers, but the German cooking is not to the taste of all English palates. The steamers carry a German medical officer. The time occupied is about six weeks, and the fares are from £48 for first-class, from £33 for second, and from £21 for third. The West Coast service is at present practically a monopoly of the Union-Castle Company, formed by the amalgamation of the Union and Castle lines, which formerly competed for the passenger traffic. The time occupied by this service, which carries the royal mails, is much shorter, being usually about sixteen days. The fares range from 35 guineas for first, from 23 guineas for second, and from 10 guineas for third class. The voyage is exceedingly pleasant at any time of the year, and but little rough weather is met with, the worst part of the buffeting being often in the English Channel and Bay of Biscay. After leaving Madeira, which is about four days out from England, the sea is usually smooth and the weather gloriously fine. The feeding and accommodation on these steamers are comparable with those of a European first-class hotel, and all of them carry a well-qualified medical man. Latterly, some competition with these lines has been introduced, and is to be welcomed. Messrs. BucknallBrothers, Messrs. Rennie, the White Star Company, the German East Africa line, the Shaw-Savill Company, and others are now running frequent steamers to the Cape and Natal, and their fares are lower than those of the Union-Castle line, and the comfort and speed are not much less than obtain with this service. Where, however, time and not money is the important consideration, the Union-Castle steamers must be preferred. These steamers start from London and Southampton, and call at Madeira, Teneriffe, Grand Canary, and St. Helena (not more than two of these places on each voyage). The steamers remain three or four days at Cape Town, and proceed up the east coast, calling at Port Elizabeth, East London, and finally Durban, which is the end of the voyage.
For many cases of nervous break-down, so common a feature of our over-strained civilisation, I regard the Cape trip as an invaluable restorative. Persons who have had a severe attack of influenza would regain their strength more surely in a holiday spent in going and returning from the Cape than in any other way. I particularise influenza for its frequency, but the benefit is equally great in many other affections in which the nervous system especially suffers. Thus I have seen extraordinarily good results follow in a case of persistent insomnia of many months’ duration. The patient completely conquered his sleeplessness during the voyage out, and was perfectly free from it on his return, and has remained exempt for years. In another instance a gentleman whose symptoms pointed to the early nervous break-down of general paralysis, recovered his faculties of mental concentration and memory as a result of a visit of a few weeks’ duration. In the case of phthisical patients, whose special desiderata I shall discuss throughout this paper, it would be well for the companies to arrange, where possible, for facilities for their sleeping under cover on deck, in order to avoid the unavoidable closeness of cabins during the night. This would be a matter of no difficulty or discomfort for three-quarters of the voyage. The wants of delicate infants are met by the carriage in most of the mail steamers of a cow, so that fresh milk can be obtained throughout the voyage; but a store of milk, adequately sterilised before leaving England, may with advantage be taken with them by anxious mothers to ensure proper supplies for their infants. The milk keeps perfectly, and a couple of dozen pint-bottles will last out the voyage, and be a security against lacking this essential nourishment.
The ports of arrival in South Africa are usually Durban for the East Coast routes and Cape Town for the West Coast. The health-characteristics of these ports will be discussed after a general survey of the climatic conditions of the country has been made.
It is a common mistake to send patients to South Africa with nodetailed instructions as to the localities best suited for individual cases, and regardless of the fact that the physiography of the country is so varied that no general statement as to the climate is possible. Two broad features, however, may be immediately distinguished, if we regard South Africa as consisting of interior highlands surrounded by a narrow, low-lying coast belt, the width of the latter varying much, but seldom exceeding fifty miles. The largest towns, with the exception of Johannesburg, are comprised in the coast-belt, the uplands being for the most part sparsely inhabited. The climate of the seaboard is further conditioned by the prevalence of currents and winds, so that towns on the east coast have a materially different atmosphere from those of the west. It will, of course, be remembered that the seasons in the southern hemisphere are exactly reversed with respect to those of the northern. For the Cape the division of the year may be made as follows:—
In South Africa, however, the matter is complicated by the fact that the rains occur, in some parts, mostly in the winter, as in England and northern countries generally, and in other parts are strictly confined to the summer. The humidity of the air is probably the most important factor in the healthiness or otherwise of a climate for many diseases, and this point must therefore be most carefully considered. For phthisis in particular moist warmth has long been condemned as only less harmful than moist cold. Madeira and the Riviera have consequently lost much of their former vogue as suitable resorts for phthisis, on account of their high degree of humidity. It is to be earnestly desired that the claims of the highlands of South Africa to be considered the most advantageous country in the world for all but the latest stages of this disease, should become more widely known, alike to patients and physicians. A further consideration, of the highest importance to non-wealthy consumptives, is that South Africa is a new and progressive country, in which there are good prospects that the change of environment will lead, not only to restored health, but to the means of earning a livelihood as well.