Section C— BACTERIOLOGY, BOTANY, ZOOLOGY 

 AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY, PHYSIOLOGY, HY- 

 GIENE AND SANITARY SCIENCE. 



President of the Section ; A. L. M. Bonn, C.E. 



SATURDAY, JULY 12. 



The President delivered the following address : — 

 THE DE\'ELOPMENT OF DELAGOA BAY. 



Lourenqo Marques, the capital and chief seaport of the 

 Province of Mozambique, the most important of Portuguese 

 oversea possessions, is now a town containing 5,324 European 

 and 8,029 Native and Asiatic inhabitants. It is situated on the 

 western shore of Delagoa Bay and, combined with its command- 

 ing position and magnificent Bay frontage, has by nature a situa- 

 tion unequalled by other towns in the whole of South Africa. 

 Strange to say, Lourengo Marques and its neighbourhood were 

 not colonized until long after the occupation of the more 

 northerly parts of Mozambique and the colonization of Natal, 

 although the Bay was discovered as far back as 1502 by Antonio 

 de Campo, and explored in 1506 by a trader, from whom the 

 tow^n derives its name. 



In 1824 a AMialing Station was established, and in 1846 

 the Bay was surveyed by Captain Owen, of the British Navy, 

 with the intention of annexation. Up to this time the locality 

 appears to have been seldom visited, and one might say, almost 

 unclaimed. There appears to have been little, if anything, in 

 the nature of any development till about 1870, when, owing to 

 the opening up of trade with the Transvaal, and the establish- 

 ment of regular steamship communication wath Europe, the 

 importance of Delagoa Bay became recognized. 



It is only from this time forward that its existence as a 

 town can be dated (although its rapid development has been 

 greatly eclipsed by that of other towns in South Africa), and 

 when this is taken into consideration, with the transformation 

 that has taken place during the past forty years, in the filling 

 ill of vast swamps, the practical eradication of malaria, the 

 construction of extensive wharf accommodation, and the 

 general laying out of a township, it must be admitted that good 

 work has been accomplished, ?nd this in the face of serious 

 opposition, of which the combating of fever and Natives forms 

 no small portion. In reviewing its growth one cannot say that 

 its development has been aught but spasmodic. Improvements 

 have been effected at long intervals and this, coupled with the 

 sparing increase of population, has undoubtedly handicapped 



