A JOURNEY TO DURBAN. 131 



these the rivers to be driven through by the ox- 

 wagons which bring up the supplies of the country. 

 Along this route travels the coach with the mails, and 

 all the other main arteries of the Transvaal are of a 

 similar nature and in a like condition. How can 

 commercial prosperity be established under such con- 

 ditions 1 But, on the other hand, did the farmers who 

 trekked from the south and acquired this country desire 

 the establishment of a commercial community and a 

 network of railway communication 1 The answer is 

 clearly in the negative; it is the "Uitlander" who has 

 been the pioneer and is still the support of commerce 

 in the Transvaal ; and though the intelligence of the 

 Boer community sees clearly that it is in its exports 

 and imports that the prosperity of the country will 

 largely depend, one can still sympathize with the 

 majority of the farmers, who love the silence of their 

 farms with the quiet existence and few wants, and 

 enjoy that independence of life and character which 

 is not usually attendant on trade, with all its other 

 advantages. 



