Section A.— ASTRONOMY, MATHEMATICS, PHYSICS, 

 METEOROLOGY, GEODESY, SURVEYING, ENGIN- 

 EERING. ARCHITECTURE AND IRRIGATION. 



President of the Section. — I. H. von Hafe. 



TUESDAY. JULY 8. 



The President delivered the following address : — 



THE HARBOUR AND RAILWAYS OF LOURENCO 



MARQUES AND THEIR RELATION WITH THE 



UNION OF SOUTH AFRICA. 



I wish I could deliver a contribution according to the high 

 scientific rank of the distinguished Assembly I have the honour 

 to address, but lack of competence on one side, and lack of 

 leisure on the other, preventing my making even a modest 

 attempt in that direction, I shall confine myself to a short review 

 of the harbour of Lourenqo ^larques. 



This harbour, the beauty and magnificence of which you have 

 now the opportunity of admiring, is one of the finest and safest 

 in the world, and is the natural outlet to the sea from a vast 

 country embracing the most valuable and best developed territory 

 of the Union, Swaziland, the Southern part of Rhodesia, and of 

 the Province of Mozambique. 



Its entrance is sheltered from rough seas, thus allowing free 

 and permanent access, even under stormy weather. The anchor- 

 age extends from Inyack Island to Port Matolla, a stretch of 

 water 25 miles in length, 20 miles along the outer bay and four 

 on the Espirito Santo River, where the commercial harbour is 

 located, a wide waterway of considerable depth which receives 

 the waters from the rivers Tembe, Umbeluzi, and Matolla. 



Large vessels have access to the inner harbour through the 

 Polana Channel, three and a half miles long, with an average 

 "depth of 22 feet below springtide low water ; dredging being, 

 however, carried on, so as to allow the largest steamers free 

 access at any height of tide. 



A series of luminous buoys and beacons permit navigation 

 into the harbour at any time, day and night. 



Loading and unloading operations are usually done alongside 

 the wharf, the extension of which is being continually carried on, 

 in view of the ever increasing trafiic of the port. The total wharf 

 length will be. at the end of this year, a little under one mile. 



