124 
SOUTHERN AFRICA. 
vessels. A thriving independent trade, direct 
from this to America and England, is main- 
tained, and there is every appearance of pros- 
perity there at the present. We are not san- 
guine, however, of the stability of this. As a 
port, it is by no means so superior as to com- 
mand a monopoly; and, if the Eastern Province 
continues to increase in the present ratio, in 
its upper districts, the advantages of the Kowie, 
"Waterloo-Bay, and East-London, as outlets for 
the commerce of the interior, must become more 
apparent, and will, eventually, be certainly 
adopted. 
There is also a want of public spirit, unanim- 
ity, and right feeling, about this place, which 
by no means augurs well for its importance or 
stability; while the bleak, uninteresting aspect 
of the surrounding country, it being totally 
devoid of trees, together with the present limited 
supply of bad fresh water, and the little pros- 
pect there is of finding it purer, further tends to 
strengthen our belief that Port Elizabeth will 
decrease, as the Eastern Province and Albany 
steadily rise to prosperity as now they must do. 
We next pass through the old Dutch divi- 
sion of the Colony, called Graaff-Reinet. This 
is now subdivided, in addition, into those of 
Colesberg, Somerset, and Cradock. We shall 
give a condensed notice of each of these. 
