Presidential Address. 43 



One of the most important factors affecting the design and 

 development of the modern harbour is naturally suggested by the 

 subject of the deepening of entrance channels and bars by dredging, 

 and that is the extraordinary increase which, during the last century, 

 has taken place in the size of steamships. It was thought not long 

 ago, that the growth of steamships would of necessity be limited by 

 the varying depths of the harbours of the world. But here again 

 the modern sand-pump dredger has changed all that by rendering it 

 possible to obtain much greater depths than could ever be naturally 

 maintained, or which, indeed, in the beginnmg of the 19th century, 

 ever entered into the wildest dreams of the engineer as being even 

 remotely possible. 



I will close with a reference to a point I touched upon a 

 year or two ago in an address I delivered to the Natal Institute 

 of Architects, when I had the honour of filling the Presidential chair, 

 and that is as regards the building up of our towns on well-considered 

 lines, while the opportunity is still with us, instead of, as 

 is too often the case, in a haphazard fashion and without regard to 

 the ultimate result from an architectural point of view. It is impos- 

 sible for anyone who has lived in some of these towns during the last 

 ten years, not to note the remarkable development which has taken 

 place in public works in orfler to meet the necessities of the more 

 rapidly growing communities. In respect of water supply, sewerage 

 works, and sanitary works generally, the extension of macadamized 

 roads and attendant surface drainage w^orks, electric lighting, electric 

 tramways, improved telephone arrangements, etc., no one can, I think, 

 fail to admire the admirable work which has been carried out by some 

 of the municipal bodies who have charge of the public affairs of our 

 larger South African towns. And in this connection I think, I may 

 fairly and without prejudice particularise the town of Durban. 



The result of these admirably-executed public works, together 

 with the great advance which in late years has taken place, not only 

 in the rapid growth in the number of public and private buildings, 

 but in the higher class of construction and arrangement, and the 

 artistic treatment which is visible in many of them, has been to 

 advance some of these towns to a ])osition which will compare favour- 

 ably with many much larger pro\incial towns in the old country, 

 both in respect of cleanliness and general health conditions, and the 

 attractiveness of their commercial centres and residential suburbs. 



Criticism, however, which never gets beyond unrestricted praise, 

 is verv apt to degenerate into gross flattery, and become no criticism 

 at alf. Some of the Municipalities, especially in the younger 

 towns fortunate enough to have been endowed by nature 

 with exceptional natural beauties and a topography which lends 

 itself to artistic treatment, have a great opportunity in front of them, 

 if they can onlv be brought to see it. If such inestimable natural 

 beauties are to be made the most of, than the municipalities have a 

 wi(:!e field before them, which will demand greater effort, and an 



