isolated politically from the rest of South Africa, will have access to the sea by way of Swazieland and Delagoa Bay, and thus secure to them their own customs, revenue, and port dues. It is clear, however, that such a state as the Transvaal would be unable to depend upon its own means of coast and naval defence, and could, only at the best, ally itself for this purpose with some European power. Such an alliance, England, as the supreme and paramount power in South Africa, could not countenance. The Transvaal, therefore, by her very geographical position, should throw her lot in ultimately with the neighbouring South African states. As an inland state, she must give as well as take. If the maritime states grant a rebate in her favour on imported goods, the Transvaal should lend herself to every railway project and commercial undertaking that will benefit these states. Thus, a kind of commercial reciprocity, founded in every particular upon fair consideration of mutual interests, should be the policy of the future. In fact, the broad features of this policy of give and take already appear in South Africa, and railway extensions are sanctioned by the Transvaal Government (1891). The arguments that apply to the Transvaal Republic, apply equally, although the interests are not at present so great, to the neighbouring republic of the Orange Free State.

(11) Delagoa Bay. In connection with the Transvaal, some mention must be made of the important harbour and position of Delagoa Bay, in its political and commercial aspect. It is the natural seaport of the Transvaal, and is in Portuguese hands, forming part of the Province of Mozambique. England laid claim to this harbour in 1875, but, on going to arbitration, the case was given against her, by what was known as the Macmahon verdict, the French marshal of that name being the arbitrator. Upon the discovery of the Transvaal gold

fields, its value was seen at once, and the project of a railway connecting the port with the Transvaal, which was undertaken on behalf of the first South African Republic by President Burgers, in 1875, was again mooted. In 1883 the Portuguese granted a concession for ninety years to a company got up by Colonel Macmurdo, an American, having a capital of £500,000. The money was advanced chiefly by British and American capitalists. The line was commenced in 1887, and was pushed forward so rapidly by Sir Thomas Tancred and his staff, that it was open for traffic in November, 1888, along the whole length of fifty-two miles, connecting the Portuguese town of Lorenzo Marques with the Lebombo Mountains. A dispute arose between the Company and the Portuguese Government on some technical points in the contract, which ended in the seizure of the line by the Portuguese Government. The seizure was made under protest from the English officials, and the whole case has been referred to arbitration 1.

Sooner or later a line will be completed between Pretoria and Delagoa Bay. The distance is 346 miles, and the main difficulties of the route are passed when the Komatie Poort or defile is passed and the heights of the Lebombo Mountains are scaled.

The Orange Free State.

(12) The Orange Free State, like the Transvaal, is an inland state, bounded on the south by the Orange River, which separates it from the Cape Colony, on the west by the Province of Griqualand West and the Vaal River, on the north by the Transvaal, and on the east by the high mountain ranges of the Drakenberg, which

Appendix XXVII. Delagoa Bay.

separate it from Natal; and on the extreme south-east by Basutoland, a native territory under the Crown of England. The area of the Free State has been computed at 72,000 square miles, and is therefore about half the size of the sister republic of the Transvaal. According to a census, taken recently, there were 69,217 Europeans and 66,731 natives. The revenue of the Free State is much smaller than that of the Transvaal, the amount of receipts in 1889 being only £272,314.

(13) The following dates are useful to remember in connection with the history of this Republic:-In 1838, the emigrant Boers left the old Colony for the north-east and Natal. In 1843, Natal was proclaimed a British Colony, and the Boers 'trekked' back towards the Orange River and founded the Orange Free State. In 1848, the battle of Boomplaats was fought, in which the British, under Sir Harry Smith, defeated the Boers and proclaimed the British Sovereignty. In 1854, the British abandoned the Free State, or 'The Sovereignty,' as it was called, and handed it back to the Boers. The proclamation of April 8, 1854, is the charter of the Boers' independence. By the second Article of the Convention, then signed, England actually endeavoured to cut herself off from native responsibilities. It runs thus :

Article 2. 'The British Government has no alliance whatever with any native chiefs or tribes to the northward of the Orange River, with the exception of the Griqua chief, Adam Kok; and Her Majesty's Government has no wish or intention to enter hereafter into any treaties which may be injurious or prejudicial to the interest of the Orange River Government.'

(14) The tenor and spirit of this stipulation agrees with Article 3 of the Sand River Convention (1852), entered into between the British Government and the Transvaal emigrant Boers, and it runs thus :

'Her Majesty's Assistant Commissioners hereby disclaim all alliances whatever, and with whomsoever, of the coloured tribes, to the north of the Vaal River.'

These two Articles-one with the Free State and the other with the Transvaal Government-agreed upon in 1854 and 1852, respectively, prove that the policy of England was at that time to check expansion to the north.

For little over thirty years the Orange Free State has had an independent existence, and has prospered fairly well, gaining most of its prosperity from the diamond fields. It is hemmed in on every side, except on the north, by British territory.

(15) The Free State is divided into the following seventeen districts: Bloemfontein, Caledon River, Fauresmith, Harrismith, Winburg, Kroonstad, Boshof, Philippolis, Bethulie, Jacobstadt, Rouxville, Bethlehem, Ladybrand, Heilbron, Hoopstad, Wepener, Moroka.

The principal towns in these districts are:

1. Bloemfontein, the capital and seat of government. The town stands upon a large plain, at a high elevation, and contains about 3,400 inhabitants. It is ninety miles from Kimberley, 738 from Capetown, and 400 from Durban. It is much resorted to by English invalids, on account of its high and healthy position, and has numerous colleges and schools, and is especially noted for the English Bloemfontein Mission.

2. Harrismith, a town called after Sir Harry Smith, a former English Governor at the Cape, is situated on the top of the Drakenberg, at an altitude of 5,000 feet above the level of the sea, and close to the Natal border. The climate here is extremely healthy, it being on the main lines of communication between the gold fields, Pretoria, Pietermaritzburg, and Durban; the place is very prosperous, the number of waggons that passed

from van Reenen's Pass in 1888 being 13,287, and the loads they carried being equal to 33,000 tons, showing how important a part the slow ox-waggon plays in the development of South Africa.

3. Winburg, the oldest town in the Free State, and seventy miles to the north-east of Bloemfontein, is the centre of a great sheep and cattle district.

4. Jagers-Fontein, a town in the district of Fauresmith, and seventy-five miles to the south-west of Bloemfontein, is famed for its diamonds, about £20,000 worth being produced every month.

5. Ladybrand, so called after the wife of the late President Brand, lies about seventy miles to the east of Bloemfontein, and close to the Basutoland border and the Maluti mountains.

6. Bethlehem lies 138 miles to the north-east of Bloemfontein, and is called the Granary of the Free State.

7. Bethulie is close to the Orange River, on the south, and not far from Colesberg in the Cape Colony. This town will be brought immediately into connection with the railway system of the Cape Colony, and will be linked on the north with Bloemfontein, the line passing close to the famous battle-field of Boomplaats, and pointing towards the Transvaal.

(16) The Orange Free State is, upon the whole, a very prosperous and contented little state. Its proximity to the Kimberley diamond mines has brought it great wealth, the farmers, gardeners, and agriculturists finding there a most profitable market for their produce. The Free State, moreover, has had the singular good fortune to have been administered by President Brand in past years, a most excellent and able administrator, who guided the country through many trying crises. Unlike the Transvaal, the Free State has enjoyed a quiet and pastoral existence, such as the Dutch Boers of South