25 
siderable benefit to their Asiatic commerce, 
as a place of refreshment and supply, still 
this advantage bears no proportion to those 
which may be derived from the cultivation 
of the interior. If on the map a direct line 
be drawn from Cape Agulhas, which is the 
southern extreme of Africa, about north 
north-east as far as twenty-five degrees 
south, which takes in Delagoa bay on the 
east coast, and that part of the west which 
is but little frequented, it will be perceived 
that a surface of territory may be acquired 
of a prodigious extent, and comprehending 
countries on which nature has bestowed 
her choicest favours. This portion of 
Africa is fairly open to the government of 
the Cape, provided the natives can be in- 
duced to consent to the establishment of 
European colonists, and their acquiescence 
could be soon obtained by gifts of little 
value to the donor, and their allegiance 
secured by a kind and liberal treatment 
in the course of their negotiations. The 
country once established on these prin- 
ciples would soon become productive, and 
ultimately prove of more value to the 
