CHAPTER IV.Table Bay—Breakwater to be Built—Harbour of Refuge—Policy of Sir George Grey—Proposal for Carrying the Mail to the Cape by way of Aden—Discovery of Coal on the Zambesi—Its Effects on the Future of South and East Africa—Absence of Trees at Cape Town—Climate of the Cape.
Table Bay—Breakwater to be Built—Harbour of Refuge—Policy of Sir George Grey—Proposal for Carrying the Mail to the Cape by way of Aden—Discovery of Coal on the Zambesi—Its Effects on the Future of South and East Africa—Absence of Trees at Cape Town—Climate of the Cape.
Since the Portuguese voyagers, Bartholomew Diaz and Vasco de Gama, rounded the Cape of Good Hope, and opened to the commerce of Europe, by way of the Southern Ocean, the rich and still undeveloped countries of the East, what magnificent ships of war, and fleets of merchantmen—chartered with the good, the fair, and the brave—have sailed past that Cape of Tempests, finding, in the midst of that stormy sea, no haven of rest from the gale, no harbour of refuge from the hurricane!
During the four hundred years which have passed since the gorgeous panorama of the East was made known to Europe by the immortal actors in the Portuguese Era of Conquest, what numbers of human beings have perished, what untold riches have been engulphed around that stormy headland!
On the great ocean route from Europe to India, if we except Port Louis, in the Island of Mauritius, there is not one harbour containing dry docks, and the necessary accommodation for repairing in security the hulls of the immense merchant fleets, of sailing and steam-ships, which are for ever ploughing the watery waste which lies between the East and the West. That such a great necessity should so long have existed, at such an important turning point of navigation as that of the Cape of Good Hope, can only be accounted for by the great natural difficulties to be overcome in the formation of a harbour of refuge having the necessary capabilities to supply the wants of the large amount of shipping passing the Cape.
Lying in a great line of commerce and navigation,and, from the recent rapid development of internal communication by the construction of roads, which will be immediately followed by railroads, already commenced, it requires only a judicious expenditure of money, rendering Table Bay a safe, accessible, and quiet harbour, to make Cape Town a port of great wealth, an emporium for the East and the West, and the outlet for the rich and varied productions of Southern Africa. From time to time projects have been set on foot for this purpose, but it has been reserved for the era of Colonial Self-Government to introduce a plan, magnificent in conception, practicable in details, and incalculable in results, for the purpose of rendering Table Bay a safe harbour at all times and seasons.
The principal wants which will be supplied by this great undertaking are:—
1st. A harbour easy of access, and safe at all times and seasons for the commerce between the East and the West.
2nd. A refuge for vessels repairing and refitting; and—
3rd. A naval station for the purpose of protectingthe navigation to India, China, and Australia in time of war.
Table Bay, with its roadstead, is a bight facing the north, and protected on the west by the promontory of the Lion’s Rump, running due north about one mile and a half. On the south-east it is a flat shore. Cape Town lies in the south-west or most sheltered part of the bay; and if an imaginary line be drawn from Mouille Point due east, until it cuts the opposite shore, it will give to this anchorage an extent of three miles. Nature has already provided for it an admirable shelter, by the promontory on the west, from which point of the compass to north it is exposed to the most violent local winds, which prevail chiefly in the months of June, July, and August, occasionally occurring with fatal violence in other months of the year. These winds are accompanied by a very heavy swell, which, driven into a narrow bay, with no outlet, forms a sea dangerous to shipping, during the continuance of which vessels are unable to discharge or receive cargoes. Owing to there being no sheltered quays, the loading and discharging of ships is performed by means oflighters. The aggregate expense arising from loss of vessels, detention of shipping, conveyance of goods and passengers by lighters and boats, may be fairly stated at 30,000l.sterling per annum, nearly equivalent to 900,000l.of capital; which, with the value of the land which will be reclaimed by the proposed works, and the rental of the sea frontage of quays and wharves, will more than cover the expense of outlay.
The funds for the necessary outlay have already been provided by the Colonial Parliament, by “An Act for Constructing a Breakwater, to form a Harbour of Refuge in Table Bay, and otherwise improving the said harbour.”
A comprehensive plan for the construction of the harbour was some time since prepared by Captain James Vetch, R.E., F.R.S., Engineer to the Admiralty in England.
Mr. Coode, Engineer to the Portland breakwater, has been appointed Engineer-in-chief, resident in England.
Mr. Arthur Thomas Andrews, Civil Engineer, of considerable practice, and possessing the confidence of Mr. Coode, has been appointed ResidentEngineer, and left England, accompanied by an agent of the contractor for the works, for Cape Town, in March of this year (1859).
The facilities for the construction of the Breakwaters are great; stone of admirable quality may be conveyed from the quarries on a tramway to the works, and there are about 600 local convicts who may be profitably employed on this great undertaking.
From the Engineer-in-chief being engaged in the construction of Portland breakwater, it may be fairly anticipated that the practical experience obtained there will be beneficially applied to an undertaking redounding to the energy of the Cape Colony, beneficial to the commerce of all nations, and a lasting monument of the protective power of Imperial Britain.
Similar works are contemplated at Port Elizabeth, in Algoa Bay; and a railway has been commenced in Cape Town, which will eventually form a grand trunk line in South Eastern Africa. Numerous minor works, such as bridges, convict-stations, and other public buildings, are in the course of execution, while mountain passes arebeing explored for the purpose of carrying roads through them, which will give access to districts which, for the want of means of transit, have hitherto been shut up. These undertakings will not only provide employment for great numbers of the working-classes for many years to come, but will effectually develop the agricultural and commercial resources of the colony.
The dangers which formerly existed to the colonists, from the frequent Kaffir eruptions, may be fairly stated as now ended; for the enlightened policy adopted by the Imperial Government, suggested and firmly carried out by the present governor, Sir George Grey, has entirely broken up the former formidable power of the Kaffir chiefs, and has made them, in the hands of the governor, willing instruments for the gradual civilization of their people. The independence of the tribes no longer exists; one-third of them, forced by famine, brought on by their own imprudence, have migrated to the Cape Colony, where they seek for work, and imperfectly supply the wants of the colonists.
The present time, in view of the great andvaried public works undertaken in the colony, appears a most favourable period for emigration to the Cape of Good Hope; and as the Cape Colony has appropriated 50,000l.a year for the introduction of well-selected emigrants into the colony, and the governor has sent to England a gentleman of high official standing, and well acquainted with the requirements of the colony, as Emigration Commissioner, measures will be adopted for carrying out this object with a view to the true interests of the colony, by supplying it with an amount of labour commensurate with its wants.
Sir George Grey, in inviting the co-operation of the landed proprietors of the colony for the introduction of emigrants, writes on the 7th January, 1858:—“The present time is very favourable for making an effort in this direction. The rapid progress which the colony has recently made—the prospect of future immunity from the constantly recurring alarm of Kaffir outbreaks—the extraordinary development of the productive powers of the colony, notwithstanding the paucity of its population—the demonstration of its fitnessfor yielding the principal sources of agricultural wealth, grain, wine, and wool—and of its capabilities of consuming the productions of other countries in large and increasing quantities, as indicated by the returns of importations, and by the rank which it now holds in this respect among the colonies of Great Britain—all hold out great inducements to persons contemplating emigration from Great Britain to turn their attention to this country, and the strongest incentives to the government and people of the colony to avail themselves of such an opportunity of offering every encouragement to the best classes of emigrants to select it for their future home.”
During my stay at Cape Town, I proposed that the mail should be carried from England to this colony by way of Aden, ensuring, in the first place, a greater certainty in the arrival of the mail, and the return of post in a shorter period; besides affording to the colony direct communication with the Portuguese Colonial Possessions and the Dominions of the Imâm of Muskat in Eastern Africa, by which an inter-colonial trade, highly renumerative to all parties, and trulybeneficial to the Cape Colony, would be established.
But I regret to say that my plan was objected to, on the very narrow-minded ground that the neighbouring enterprising British Colony of Natal would be more directly benefited than the Cape people; and, more especially, that the Natal merchants would by that route receive their advices from England before the Cape merchants, and would also have the great advantages of the last quotations, both from the Cape and Natal markets, in addressing their correspondents, in England, which objections appeared to outweigh the advantages to be derived from a terminus to the route, and the opening out of the rich produce of Eastern Africa.
The experience of the last two years has proved what I then predicted, viz., that the steam communication between the Cape Colony and Natal would pay; for now, instead of there being only one steamer, there are no less than three on that line. The communication by steamer being thus successfully establishedbetween the Cape of Good Hope and Port Natal, it remains only to complete it by establishing a line from Natal to Aden. The Natal people have the matter now entirely in their own hands; and I have so great confidence in their energy, that I feel assured that steamers will be running, before two years are over, between Natal and Aden, calling at Iniack Island (in Delagoa Bay), the mouths of the Zambesi, Mozambique, Zanzibar, and one of the outlets for the commerce of North Eastern Africa; throwing a brilliant ray of light to illumine the darkness of East Ethiopia; an advancement in civilization which the world will owe to the energy of the young and enterprising British Colony of Natal.
The recent discoveries of coal on the Zambesi have given an immediate practicability to the early development of the resources of South and Eastern Africa, which could scarcely have been anticipated a few years since.
It may not be generally known that Great Britain exports 700,000 tons of coal annually to the East of the Cape of Good Hope; and nowthat railroads are being introduced into the colonies of the Cape and Natal, and new steam lines of ships are coming into existence for the requirements of those young and thriving colonies, eager to place themselves in communication with neighbouring settlements, it is not too much to say that double the amount of fuel already named will be required to carry out these necessary projects, cramping them in their infancy by the enormous expense entailed in carrying fuel from England to those colonies.
In the colony of Natal it is true that a seam of coal has been discovered, which may be found, on more careful examination, to be of a quality and in quantity suitable for the already great demands for fuel of that colony, from its sugar, indigo, and other mills; and that in the same locality further discoveries of coal may be made; but until these points are satisfactorily cleared up, it is to us a subject of great interest, as well as thankfulness, that rich supplies of coal have been discovered by Dr. Livingstone on the Zambesi, with which that practical discoverer is now working the engine of his small steam launch, the “Ma Robert.”
When it is stated that one British steam company, namely, the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company, expend the enormous sum of 600,000l.per annum on coal alone, for the supply principally of their depôts at Aden, and other places to the east of the Cape of Good Hope, it ought to stimulate our colonists in South Africa to make diligent search for this valuable commodity.
Those now residing at Cape Town are aware of the serious item which fuel makes in the expenditure of a family; and, as the colonists increase, of course this must be looked forward to with serious consideration.
The first distinguishing feature in the country on landing at Cape Town, and even subsequently, after becoming more familiar with the locality, is the almost entire absence of trees. It is true that this want is in a fair way of being supplied by the active measures which have been adopted by all parties in surrounding their residences with the beautiful blue gum tree, which in ten years attains the height of from sixty to seventy feet, with a diameter of twelve inches. Thistree affords an agreeable shade, and may be usefully employed, as the wood is hard, close grained, and resinous. But many years must elapse ere this laudable object, of giving a wooded appearance to Cape Town, is carried out.
The history of the Cape of Good Hope is already too well known to be even briefly alluded to here, and may be derived at any time from means which are open to all; but, without wishing to weary the reader, it will be necessary to give some account of the climate, and the present state of the revenue, imports, and exports of the colony.
In a letter addressed to the Honourable William Field, now Emigration Commissioner for the Cape Colony in England, Mr. Maclear, the Astronomer Royal at the Cape, writes, under date of September 9th, 1857:—
“In respect to the important subject of health, the leading feature of the Cape climate is remarkable. Perhaps there is no country on the face of the globe so free from those diseases which spring from putrid exhalations. Cholera, typhus, bilious, remitting, and yellow fevers are unknown. Theexplanation is found in the frequent refreshing winds which carry off deleterious matter, and diminish the depressing effects of summer heat. For this indulgence the Cape is indebted to its geographical position. Freely exposed to the breeze from the Southern and Atlantic oceans, it reaps the advantages which are sought in England by a residence on the coast.
“Contagious complaints, you are well aware, are far between; and when they do appear, they have been imported, and soon wear out from the same cause which checks malaria.
“Upon the whole, the Cape climate approaches closely to the climate of Madeira; indeed, the only difference seems to consist in the winds being stronger and more regular at the Cape.”
The following table, compiled from observations made for 14 years under the immediate superintendence of Mr. Maclear, the Astronomer Royal, at the Royal Observatory, three miles from Cape Town, will give an accurate idea as regards the general character of the climate:—
Royal Observatory, Cape of Good Hope.MEAN OF METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS, FROM 1842 TO 1856.
The mean temperature of England is 62°; and while the average temperature of the Cape of Good Hope is shown to be even below that of our own country, these colonists have not the extremes of temperature which we suffer in England, as the average temperature of their winter is but 14°.42 below that of summer.
From the foregoing observations it will be seen that not only as regards temperature itself, but also as to its diurnal and yearly range, and the amount of rain and wind, there is nothing in the climate unfavourable to the European constitution,but on the contrary. These observations, most carefully conducted, prove it to be a climate free from violent changes of heat and cold; and experience has proved that in many cases the change to the Cape climate has checked, if not entirely eradicated the early symptoms ofphthisisin European, and more especially English subjects.
The climate is also peculiarly favourable for Emigrants; for, from its equable temperature, during ten months of the year, fire is only required for cooking purposes; and it will be at once apparent that this alone removes many of the hardships and expences attending emigration, to less genial climates.
While on the subject of emigration, it may be remarked that too much care cannot be used in the selection of emigrants for this colony. Provisions continue to be enormously high, showing that a more extensive cultivation of the soil is required, and at once pointing out the description of labour which ought to be introduced. House-rent is extravagantly high; and all classes have to struggle against the general dearness of the necessaries of life.
If the large supplies of native labour, introduced by Sir George Grey, can be turned to the cultivation of the soil, one of the great ends of all good government, the supply of cheap food for the people, will be the result.
Since 1852, the principle of self-government has been wisely accorded by the imperial government to the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope; and it appears really wonderful what an improvement has taken place in the development of the resources of the colony since that date, and the consequent increase of its revenue.
By a reference to the statistics of the colony, it will be seen that for six years previous to that important change in its government, the revenue was gradually decreasing. As soon as the affairs of the colony were left in the hands of the colonists, an impetus was given to the opening of new, and repairing of old, passes and roads, by which large tracts of country, scarcely accessible before, were brought into commercial relationship with the coast and shipping ports. The colonists knew the requirements of the colony; and the natural result was that a revenue which, in 1852,was 289,482l.sterling, became in the short space of five years, viz., 1857, 406,702l.—a striking proof of the benefit of colonial self-government.
To its temperate and genial climate the Cape Colony is indebted, in a great measure, for its prosperity; for it is this which enables it to produce such large quantities of wool and wine, and to breed sheep, cattle, and horses with such success.
The production of wool in this colony, in the year 1833, was 113,000 lbs.; in twenty years it had increased to 7,700,000 lbs. per annum; and since that date, in the short space of five years, it has more than doubled, being in 1858, 18,000,000 lbs.; these are figures which require no comment.
The number of hides exported in 1853 was 5,278, and in 1856, 96,218; of sheep and goat skins, 168,708 were exported in 1854; and 766,000 of the same in 1856; showing at once the increase in cattle and sheep.
For many years American flour has been introduced, to supply the wants of the colonists; but lately this importation has almost entirely ceased,owing to greater attention having been paid to the cultivation of the soil, so that the colony has already commenced exporting to the neighbouring wealthy colony of Mauritius; having supplied that island in 1857, with 1,000,000 lbs. of flour, 800,000 lbs. of bran, 1,500 quarters of barley and beans, and 3,116 quarters of oats.
Without fatiguing the general reader with statistics, it may be briefly stated that, while the colony contains 126,930 square miles, or nearly 80,000,000 acres, there are at present only 186,292 acres under cultivation, showing at once its great power of increase.