CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 



135 



colony obtained a loan of imperial funds for 

 the construction of this last link in its pro- 

 jected railway system. When this is completed 

 the total length of railroads, including branches 

 and one private line, will be 1,642 miles, rep- 

 resenting a capital expenditure of 14,788,600. 

 During six months in 1885 the government 

 railroads earned a net profit of 3 per cent. 

 The British Parliament in the session of 1885 

 authorized the loan of 400,000 to Cape Colo- 

 ny for the extension of the Cape Town line, 

 already completed as far as Hope Town, to 

 Kimberley, a distance of 74 miles. The Cape 

 Government undertake to complete the line in 

 eight months, and on that understanding get 

 the money at 3 per cent. ; but, if they fail to 

 build the road within that time, the rate will 

 be raised to 5 per cent. It is expected that a 

 tramway, to be replaced in time by a railway, 

 will be built along the trade-route through the 

 new protectorate of Bechuanaland (see BECHU- 

 ANALAND). The completion of railroad con- 

 nections with Cape Town and Port Elizabeth 

 will render secure the position of the distinctly 

 English city of Kimberley. This thriving town, 

 which had 13,590 inhabitants, has labored un- 

 der the dread of the extinction of the diamond 

 industry. Diamonds are found in four or five 

 of the 50 or more dead mud volcanoes scattered 

 about the district. The discovery of similar 

 deposits elsewhere would render the Kimber- 

 ley mines, now buried under the fallen earth, 

 unprofitable. The decline in the price of dia- 

 monds, concurrently with increased difficulty 

 in working, has already impaired the prosper- 

 ity of the place. Healthfully situated on the 

 central table-land, 4,000 feet above the sea, it 

 is insured, as the distributing point for the in- 

 land trade with the two Boer republics and the 

 interior to the north, a vigorous development 

 independent of the diamond industry. 



Forests. The colonial forests were formerly 

 much neglected. A license system for cutting 

 was introduced in 1875, but the regulations 

 did not provide for cultivating a succeeding 

 growth, or protecting young trees. An earlier 

 law provides against incendiary fires. For 

 several years the office of Superintendent of 

 the Crown Forests has been held by the Count 

 de Vasselot. In 1883 new regulations were 

 framed, which provide for cutting the forests 

 in successive sections as the trees mature, and 

 for replacing them by planting and by clearing 

 away fallen trees, and guarding the young 

 growth from the depredations of the natives. 

 Trees are to be felled only in the season when 

 the sap has ceased to rise, in which condition 

 they make durable timber. The most valuable 

 species are the stinkwood, found in the west- 

 ern, and sneezewood, growing in the eastern 

 districts. The latter is an imperishable timber, 

 having a bitter, pungent taste, like greenheart, 

 and resembling it in being proof against marine 

 borers. These species have to a great extent 

 disappeared under the axe of the wood-cutter, 

 and to restore them it is proposed to establish 



nurseries. Another valuable species, the ever* 

 green Cape boxwood, was used for fuel until 

 it was discovered, in 1884, to be worth two 

 cents a cubic inch for engraving. The preserva- 

 tion of the Transkei forests, and the reclama- 

 tion of the arid Karoo region, are among the 

 tasks set before the superintendent and the 

 staff of conservators and other officials with 

 which he is to be provided. 



Finances* The revenue is mainly derived 

 from customs. The estimated revenue for the 

 year -ending June 30, 1883, was 3,572,110, 

 the actual revenue 3,306,538 ; the estimated 

 revenue for 1883-'84 was 3,496,790, the 

 actual receipts 2,896,273. The expenditures 

 have exceeded the receipts every year since 

 1879. The revenue for 1882-'83, including 

 loans, was 5,443,486, and the expenditures 

 6,341,717. The estimated ordinary revenue 

 for 1884-'85 was 3,552,160, estimated ex- 

 penditure 3,590,262. The public debt 

 amounted on Jan. 1, 1884, to 19,671,859. 

 The assessed value of property in the colony 

 in 1882 was 34,106,918. 



Internal Polities. The agricultural population 

 of the central districts, mostly belonging to 

 the African-Dutch race, formed the political 

 association called the Afrikander-Bond, for 

 the purpose of defending and promoting the 

 agricultural interests of the colony that were 

 neglected by the English-speaking Parliament, 

 and sacrificed to the interests of commerce 

 and the cities to such an extent that the food 

 of the people was imported from Australia, 

 America, and Europe. Imported flour, canned 

 fruit and vegetables, salt and tinned meat, and 

 condensed milk, were cheaper than domestic 

 produce. Three years after the organization 

 of the Afrikander party, in March, 1884, the 

 Scanlen ministry gave way to one of their own 

 choice. The first duty of the Upington minis- 

 try was to ward off the impending state bank- 

 ruptcy. The expenses of the Basuto war, and 

 a decline in the receipts, caused by a general 

 agricultural and commercial depression, left a 

 deficit of 260,000, in addition to those re- 

 maining over from preceding years. Retrench- 

 ment was applied with an unsparing hand. 

 Officers of the army were reduced to sub- 

 alterns, salaries were cut down 15 or 20 per 

 cent., and work on railroads and harbors was 

 stopped. In order to raise a larger revenue, 

 and at the same time benefit colonial pro- 

 ducers, the low customs duties on all classes of 

 goods were raised to high figures. 



The troubles in Cape Colony were augment- 

 ed by famine in some parts of the country, 

 particularly the central and eastern districts. 

 There was a deficient harvest in 1884, and in 

 1885 came a great drought, worms ate the 

 seed in the ground, and hail destroyed the 

 standing crops. The native population suffered 

 starvation in some districts. In Basutoland 

 cases of cannibalism were reported. 



Pondoland. The country of the Amapondo, 

 lying between Natal and Caffraria, with an 



