328 Men, Mines, and Animals in South Africa. 



Soil and climate equal to that of Australia, vastly 

 superior to that of Canada, should have attracted a 

 constant stream of emigrants, either to the Cape, 

 Bechuanaland, to the Transvaal or to Xatal. 

 Such for some reason or other has not been the 

 case. Possibly the Dutch element so predominant 

 throua'hout South Africa is unfavourable to rai^id 

 enterprise, possibly the large amount of cliea]) 

 native labour conflicts witli the attainment of a 

 very liigh standard of colonial prosperity and 

 strength. Whether it be so or not, the question 

 presents itself for study. In Australia and Canada 

 many millions of populatiou, mainly drawn from 

 British sources ; in South Africa from the Cape 

 to the Zambesi, a territory of vast expanse, "witli 

 miles of fertile pastures most suitable to cattle and 

 sheep, with acres of land capable of pi'oducing 

 abundant crops of grain, with forests giving most 

 valuable and excellent timber, Avith mines of every 

 metal, and with large deposits of coal, is inhabited 

 at present l)y about half a million of white people, 

 not more than two-thirds oi" which are of Britisli 

 origin. 



The most sanguine di'camer can hardly over- 

 estimate the agricultural and mineral resources of 

 the Transvaal. Before the end of the year the 

 railway will have sui^erseded the ox waggon, 

 Johannesburg and Pretoria will be connected 

 with the railway systems of Cape Colony and of 

 Xatal. This should produce a rapid and large 

 increase of population and of mining industry. 

 Probably in the history of mining, no gold-field more 



