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The Pamphlet Collection of Sir Robert Stout: Volume 41

The Cape of Good Hope

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The Cape of Good Hope.

The Cape Colony, which comprises a considerable portion of South Africa, was founded by the Dutch in 1652. The first settlement was established between the River Liesbeek and Table Mountain, but it had embraced the country eastward to the Great Fish River, and along the Rojjeveld Range to the Sneeuwberg and Baraboosberg northerly, when the British took it in 1796. At the peace of Amiens, in 1803, it was restored to Holland, but was reoccupied by Great Britain in 1806, and since then has been one of the colonies of the British empire.

After various changes in the form of government, that constitution which is now in force was conferred by an Act of the Imperial Parliament in 1865, and subsequently changed and amended by the Colonial Legislature in 1872. The Executive is now vested in the Governor and a Council composed of office-holders appointed by the Crown. Legislative power rests with a Parliament, consisting of a Legislative Council of twenty-one members, elected for a term of years, and presided over by the Chief Justice ex-officio, and a House of Assembly of 68 members, elected for five years. Members of the Council must have £2000 worth of real or £4000 worth of personal estate. Members of both Houses are elected by the same voters, who must be qualified by holding property, or receiving salary or wages of from £25 to £50 per annum. There were in 1878 45,825 registered voters.

The revenue of the Cape Colony is obtained, in a great measure, from import duties, which produce nearly £1,000,000 per annum. There are enormous quantities of Crown lands for sale or rental, but very little revenue is derived from that source. For the ten years from 1869 to 1878, inclusive, the revenue and expenditure were as follows:—
Year. Revenue. Expenditure.
1869 £593,245 £648,732
1870 831,211 795,695
1871 836,174 764,414
1872 1,161,548 922,567
1873 2,078,220 2,159,658
1874 1,907,951 1,357,455
1875 2,246,179 2,272,275
1876 1,864,928 1,300,576
1877 2,631,602 3,428,392
1878 2,667,889 2,053,182

In the estimates for 1869 the revenue was set down at £2,309,000, and the expenditure at £2,226,164.

The public debt was initiated in 1859, at the end of which year it was £80,000. It has since been continually increasing, and on 31st July, 1879, it amounted to £10,500,000, the annual interest on which was £483,365. The principal is payable at various dates, the latest being in the year 1900. It will be seen that the interest on the debt absorbs a large portion of the revenue.

Since the colony was annexed by Great Britain in 1806 the boundary has been enlarged by the absorption of British Kaiffraria in 1866, Basutoland in 1868, Griqualand East in 1875, Griqualand West in 1876, and the Transvaal in 1877, with some other minor areas.

The total area of the Cape of Good Hope and its dependencies at the end of 1877 was 347,855 English square miles, of which Cape Colony proper contained 199,950 square miles.

The population of the whole at the same date was 1,420,162, that of Cape Colony being 720,984, of whom 236,783 were Europeans, and 484,201 natives. The majority of the European inhabitants are of Dutch, German, and French origin, who out-number the English authorities and settlers. The Coloured population are chiefly Hottentots, Kaffirs, Malays, and Africanders.

In 1877 the total imports of Cape Colony and its dependencies were valued at £5,158,348, and the exports £3,634,073. In 1878 the exports from the colony to Great Britain amounted to £3,699,012, and the imports of British home produce reached £3,821,279. The most important article of export to England was wool, which constituted nearly nine-tenths of the page 188 whole of the total exports. The exports of wool from the colony to England for five years were as follows:—
Year. Quantities. Value.
lb. £
1874 34,833,422 2,559,761
1875 35,783,689 2,492,736
1876 35,424,089 2,376,322
1877 32,912,225 2,224,272
1878 30,670,716 2,060,345

Besides wool there were the following articles of colonial produce forwarded to Great Britain in 1878:—Copper ore, £241,373; feathers (chiefly ostrich), £585,800; sheepskins, £213,803.

The British imports into the Cape Colony in 1878 comprised Apparel and haberdashery, £788,347; cotton manufactures, £468,392; iron (wrought and unwrought), £328,270; with minor articles.

At the census taken in 1875 there were in the colony 692,514 cattle and 9,836,065 sheep. The sheep farms occupy great areas of land, comprising from 15,000 acres and upwards, and the grazing farms are, in most instances, the property of those who occupy them. The area under tillage is limited, and the farms are comparatively small.

At the end of June, 1879, the total length of the lines of railway opened for traffic was 580 miles. These were classed under three systems—the Western, from Cape Town to Worcester; the Midland, starting from Port Elizabeth; the North-western, also starting from Port Elizabeth. At the same date there were also 420 miles of extension in various stages of construction.

The telegraph system had 3380 miles of wire in operation, with 92 offices, at the end of 1878. The number of messages forwarded during the preceding year was 183,120.

The Post-office Department, at the end of the year 1877, bad 248 post-offices under its control. The revenue for that year was £57,870, and the expenditure £151,220.