South Africa and the Transvaal War, Vol. 8 (of 8): South Africa and Its Future — John Shaqi
South Africa and the Transvaal War, Vol. 8 (of 8): South Africa and Its Future
History
South Africa and the Transvaal War, Vol. 8 (of 8): South Africa and Its Future
South African War, 1899-1902; Transvaal (South Africa) -- History
How can we better help these forces than by well-devised emigration? Our
Dutch friends have given us a good example. They imported in the
eighteenth century 5000 children from Amsterdam. They knew what they
were about. That was at a time when horses were sent round in a ring to
tread corn, that the labour of threshing it might be saved. It was a
time when, near the outlying settlements to which the children were
sent, there were lions and elephants to be met with--real live
animals--recognisable by the Noah's ark toys of the children, whose
delight at the sight of the creatures was not always shared by their
parents! How different is all now! For thousands of miles, up and down
the country, life is as safe as in most parishes in England. The only
thing to fear is probably an enraged ostrich, and these can easily, even
on an ostrich farm where the huge birds are reared for their feathers,
be kept out of the children's way. The little ones had a long time of it
on board ship, three months in some cases; and glad they must have been
to see the coast-line rising as they neared the Bay, and the long flat
top of the precipitous Table Mountain, with a white wreath of mist
looking like snow against the delicate blue of the sky, on its rocky
summit level. They were not all kept in the white town at the base of
the beautiful mountain whose ever-changing hues were a delight to them.
The children were wisely distributed, that they might take a liking to
the place where they were trained, and should have a feeling of home
love for the part of the country they would know while yet young. And so
it should be done by us in these later times when we have more need of
the spread of our own tongue and traditions in this great land. Careful
location is indeed necessary, but there are so many good locations,
especially along the south coast, that we need not be too timid or too
dilatory. Port Elizabeth, Cape Town, two good bays to the northward to
which railways must ultimately come--more settlements again along the
coast in temperate regions to the east, are wanted, where latitude 34
shows that no great heat can be feared--these are the "plums" for
position. And when you turn the corner of that long stretch of coast
lying along latitude 34, you must look out for higher sites than those
on the sea-beach for the young people. And of these higher sites there
are plenty. If Durban be too relaxing there is Pietermaritzburg inland,
and so of most of the ports and bays. Leaving the coast and going inland
by the railways into the "Orange" and Transvaal, we at once meet the
main difficulty of "location" in the want of water. The Transvaal seems
like a gigantic turtle-back, and whereas in Australia you may meet with
water if you dig 1500 feet or more, where there is no appearance of it
on the surface, we must wait for such revelations in the Transvaal. The
territories are fed by few good rivers, and these are apt to be either
raging torrents or dry gravel beds.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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