The universal geography : earth and its inhabitants

131 SOUTH AND EAST AFEICA.quarter, iuliabitod cliiefly hy Kalirs, toiiiporary iinniigrants who seek cini)loymcntamongst the shipping and on the harhoxir works. Till recently suffering from adearth of water, Port Elizabeth was unable to maintain any garden plots aboutits villas. But an aqueduct about 30 miles long now brings a constant supply,thanks to which a rich carpet of verdure already clothes the plateau. Thebotanic garden has assumed a magnificent aspect, and imibrageous parklandscontrast by their bright foliage with the patches of parched herbago visiblewherever the irrigating waters are unavailable.The trade of Port Elizabeth, which in recent years has suffered much fromreckless speculation, consists for the most part in wool and ostrich plumes,forwarded in exchange for English manufactm-ed goods of all kinds. The roadsteadof Algoa Bay is sheltered in the neighbourhood of the town by the extremityof the headland which still bears the Portuguese name of Cape Recife. Butduring the summer months, fi'om October to April, when the southern and southeasternwinds normally prevail, the surf beats furiously on the beach, endangeringthe vessels riding at anchor in the roadstead. The brealovater, little over 300yards long, affords shelter only to the smaller craft of Hght draught. A few isletsand reefs are scattered over the bay ; Santa-Cruz, one of these islands, over whichhover clouds of aquatic birds, was visited by Bartholomew- Diaz during hismemorable voyage of discovery round the southern extremity of the continent.On this spot, the first ever touched by a European foot on the shores of theSouthern Ocean, he erected the pillar of Sam Gregorio, to indicate that he hadoccupied it on behalf of the King of Portugal. Santa-Cruz is also known by thename of Fountain Rocli, from two springs welling up on the surface.Port Elizabeth communicates with the interior by means of two railways, onerunning to Graaf-Pciuet, the other a far more imiiortant line, which branches offin one direction towards the regions beyond the Orange River, in another towardsGraham'^ Town and Kafirland.Although smaller and of less commercial importancethan Port Elizabeth, Gz'aham's Town takes precedence as the chief i^oliticalcentre east of Cape Town. It is the capital and residence of the principaladministrative, judicial, and religious aiithorities of the eastern districts, andGraham's Town was abeady indicated as the futiiro metropolis of the confederatestates in the year 1878, when the question was first seriously mooted of consolidatingthe power of the mother couutrj' by imiting the British colonies andDutch republics in a single dominion.But this ambitious town has the disadvantageof lying at some distance from the coast, and even from any large river. Itstands 1740 feet above the sea in a cirque surrounded by bare escarpments; butthe general lack of large vegetation has been relieved by planting trees along allthe avenues of the city.It is a clean, well-built, cheerful place, and thanks to themoderate summer heats and generally equable climate of the district, is distinguishedfor its salubrity even amongst the colonial towns, most of which are sohighly favoured in this respect. Hence many invalids settle here in the hopeof recovering their health, or at least prolonging their dajs.Founded in 1812, Graham's Town continued to be an obscure provincial town