116 



THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



publish for their authenticity and value, for general in- 

 formation, totally irrespective of any bias in the dispute 

 between the two divisions of the colony. The area of the 

 western province appears to be G8,G61 square miles, 

 and its population at the present time, including 

 Kafirs, 133,000. The area of the eastern province is 

 58,052 square miles, and its population 1G9,000 souls. 

 These areas do not include the vast additions made by 

 his excellency Sir H. Smith, in 1848, when he gave the 

 Colony its natural northern boundary, namely, the 

 southern bank of the Orange River. While the wes- 

 tern province is confined on two sides by the ocean, 

 and on the north by an impenetrable desert, and con- 

 sequently inexpansible, the eastern province has an 

 illimitable extent of fertile lands on its north and north- 

 eastern portions, all tlie exportable pi'oduce (f which 

 must flow through the sea-ports of that section ; in 

 fact, tliere seems scarcely any assignable limit to the 

 growth of its commerce and influence. 



From the return of the valuators of the respective 

 amounts of the fixed property in the two divisions, ap- 

 praised by order of the Government in 1844, it ap- 

 pears that the value of that of the western province 

 was £'3,554,008, and of the eastern province 

 £2,112,472. A fresh valuation was, however, made 

 this year, which there is every reason to believe will 

 show a large pre]ionderanco in favour of the eastern 

 province, owing to the increased value of property, the 

 establishment of numerous new towns, villages, and 

 hamlets ; the large number of new and substantial 

 buildings erected in the last fifteen years ; the increased 

 security, by the pi'csent policy, of life and property 

 from Kafir spoliation ; and the general prosperity of 

 the province. 



Let us pass on nov/ to the relative number of stock 

 in 1857 ; and we throw thisiuto a tabular form : 



DESCRirXION OF WESTERN 

 STOCK. PROVINCE. 



Horses 64,186 



Asses 6,868 



Mules 7,462 



EASTERN 

 PROVINCE. 

 74,761 



299 

 1,188 



Cattle 141,245 307,141 



Sheep, woolled 763,493 4,064,546 



Ditto, African 487,979 1,143,534 



Goats 375,478 881,115 



Agv'rcgate value £"2,851,358 £6,405,521 



Tbe average value at whicii the different head of 

 stock are computed is given as follows, forming an 

 index of the prices of domestic cattle, &c., in tbe colony : 

 —Horses, £16 4s. 3d.; Asses, £26 14s. 2d.; Mules, 

 £18 Os. 3d.; Cattle, £5 lis. 4d. ; Sheep, 12s. 6d.; 

 ditto, African, 9s. 6d. ; Goats, 8s, 6d. 



The quantity and value of the wool exported from 

 the two divisions of the Cape Colony respectively, in 

 periods of five years, have been as follows : — 



WESTERN EASTERN 



PROVINCE. PROVINCE. 



lbs. lbs. 



1830 38,907 4,600 



1835 136,020 78,848 



18 10 509,097 401 ,521 



1845 ...... 1,109,554 2,085,064 



1850 1,589,277 4,323,650 



1855 2,-326,167 9,690,250 



1857 3,702,961 14,064,261 



The enormous expansion in the wool production 

 and export from Algoa Bay is remarkable, and an 

 earnest of what may yet be looked for as population 

 increases and settlement extends northward. An ag- 

 gregate present export of close upon 18 millioa pounds 

 of wool I'rom our Southern African colony, showing a 

 throe-fold increase in seven or eight yeai's, sj)caks well 

 for the progress and energy of the sheep farmers of 



the Cape. We need not go over, in detail, tlie whole 

 of the industrial products of the colony, but may se- 

 lect some of the most important. Thus, the western 

 province raises 622,135 bushels of wheat (nearly 

 double the quantity grown in the eastern province), 

 317,205 bushels of barley (four times the amount of 

 the eastern), three times the quantity of dried fruits, 

 and 32,677 pipes of wine, while there are only 1,500 

 made in the eastern provinces. But there are some 

 other staples and food products, in which the eastern 

 province far exceeds its neighbour, thus : — 



WESTERN. EASTERN. 



Oats, bushels . . . 520,776 ...... 1,788,000 



Maize " ... 11,440 181,103 



Potatoes " ... 72,096 . . 164,411 



Oat-hay, lbs. ... 18,720,896 ,,.... 23,654,745 



Aloes " ... 73,264 1,613,380 



Butter " ... 153,152 246 837 



Tallow " ... 267,924 396.329 



Soap " • .. 71,426 219,612 



Hidcs& skins .. 281,655 384,123 



We have not space to follow, in detail, the figures 

 illusl Tilting the commercial progress and progres- 

 sive growth of the two provinces of the colony, 

 as shown by their respective imports, exports, 

 customs, revenue, &c. ; suffice it to state that the 

 first direct commerce from the eastern province only 

 commenced in 1826. In 1830 the imports of the 

 western province were of the value of £402,319, the 

 exports £210,764, and the customs' revenue £22,031. 

 The imports of the eastern province were £18,455, the 

 exports £24,439, and the customs' revenue £688. 

 The returns for the jear 1857 show a remarkable 

 change. The imports of the western province in that 

 year were £1,354,636, the exports £746,900, and the 

 customs' revenue £131,073. For the eastern jtru- 

 vinces the imports were £1,282,556, the exports 

 £1,084,640, and the customs' revenue £122,035. 

 The younger province of thirty years of age, therefore, 

 now nearly equals, in all these branches, the elder di- 

 vision of two centuries' settlement, with the ad vantages 

 of Table Bay and the port of call. 



From these general details and instructive figures 

 we find, then, that the eastern province of the 

 Cape colony only came into existence as a place 

 of British settlement in 1826, yet it now exceeds 

 in population the elder or western province, founded 

 in 1652. Notwithstanding three devastating Kafir 

 wars in 1834, 1846, and 1850 (confined to the 

 eastern province), in the value of its fixed pro- 

 perty it is equal, if not superior, to the western — out- 

 strips it by more than double the value of stock, is 

 richer in its industrial products, is almost equal in the 

 sterlingaiHoutit of its imports, largely superior in the 

 value of its exports, and its one staple wool outwdghs 

 in value those of the western province, wine and wool, 

 by £361,000. 



As a case in point to that under notice, it may be added 

 that when Port Phillip (the present important and flou- 

 rishing cidony of Victoria) sought separation from New 

 South Wales, and gained its object, it had only a popu- 

 lation of 25,000 souls. Its live stock consisted of 

 7,076 horses, 187,973 cattle, and 1,860,612 sheep; 

 her wool slnpmonts were only 4,823, 7851bs., her im- 

 ports but £205,389, and her exports £342,623. 



We place these statistical facts prominently before 

 our readers at their winter firesides, because they are 

 useful for general reference, and valuable indications 

 of the advance making by English and Dutch farmers 

 and settlers in this important southern British colony, 

 to which, under tlie ausj)iccs of the Colonial Govern-« 

 ment, many emigrants are now proceeding. 



