412 



KLOOF AND KARROO. 



The principal towns of the Cape Colony and 

 their populations are now about as follows : — 



Of these, Kimberley has sprung into existence 

 since 1870 ; Port Elizabeth, Graham's Town, King 

 William's Town, and East London practically since 

 1820 ; Graaff Reinet, Paarl, and Stellenbosch have 

 •chiefly increased since that time ; while Cape Town 

 owes its considerable population to British influence 

 and British trade. These .figures are fairly en- 

 couraging, but, compared with the populations of 

 Australian and New Zealand cities, they are as naught. 

 The European population of the country districts 

 shows to even less advantage than in the urban. 



Under British control the Colony advanced 

 steadily, if slowly, until 1855. From that time until 

 1876 progress was more rapid ; the labours of the 

 Albany settlement of 1820 have borne fruit, after 

 years of hard and uphill struggling. F'rom 1870 

 dates the diamond industry, while the ostrich mania 

 was at its highest from 1875 to 1880. From 1879 

 to 1886 a period of profound stagnation intervened. 

 Every one had gone mad over ostriches. Farmers 

 and traders cast aside their ordinary occupations 

 and embarked in " birds." Feathers rose to /50 

 ■and ^70 per pound, and breeding birds to ^^200 

 .and;^3oo per pair. At length, in 1 881, the crash 



