"BOTHA-LAND"

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2612, 6 November 1915, Page 13

"BOTHA-LAND"

BRITAIN'S NEW POSSESSION

(% V.F3", in the "Morning Post.") " hen General Louis Botha took possession of tho territory then known as German South-West Africa he added to the J!;mpiro of Great Britain an area of greater dimension than Germany itself. , '® ss than 322/150 square miles wcro splashed wj-j.li red —the colour of Britain s possessions as shown <3H all atlases. And it is safe to add that this in Is or nle British, the country itself was but. sparsely populated. Uio latest authorities give it but SO,OOO souls of the native races such as Bushmen, Bantu, Hottentot, and Damara. Of tho jEuropean population of 15,000 over 12,000 wore German. . 15 divided into three districts runm|ig parallel from the seaboard. The northern district is Amboland, tho contie district is Damara Land, while the southern district is Namaqua Land. .4. j? ' au^s ' n tlio interior are separated from the sea by the Nai'nil De-

• i .?• headquarters of German administration was at Windhoek, while other sub-seats were at Swakopniund, Keetmanshoep, Gibeon, and Gobabis. The chief uidustry is pastoral, and several millions of acres ot farm land have been disposed of to the fanners. Tliero is uttle rea.l agriculture, but a great trade is done in market-gardening. Cotton, vine, tobacco, and silk culture was also carried on, while of late the German Government established many experimental stations for agriculture and rorestry. Two years ago an agricultural oanjj was opened, with an initial capital of £000,000. The revenue of last year w« 6 set down at £1,177,000, while tne expenditure was £2;000,000. The country is rich in minerals, and copper and diamond mining has been carried on f OT some time. Gold, marble, asbesi ' and other minerals have also been found, but in small quantities. lhe natural harbours are Sandwich Harbour and Angra Pequena. A new naibour is also being constructed at bwakopmund. The railways have a total °pl3lß. There are 2457 miles or telegraph and 415 of telephone, while before the war access to the outside world was by means of cable. A Creat Stock Country. The conquered territory is a great stock country, and consists of endless undulating grassy plains, but for the stock-raiser to do well the laws mil have to be radically altered. This, no doubt, will be attended to by the South Alrican Government. The German law was full of military admixture, withal too stringent. The native bad many restrictions placed on him, and tho fact that in this 'country the native is needed seems to have been overlooked. Irrigation, too, is needed in k>me parts of the territory to regulate the full use of the existing waters. Much has also to be done in the way of dam-making and' \vell-smking. Above all, it seems that those in power lacked colonial experience, which is sadly needed in such a place as South-West Africa.

"Botha : land" is a land of big game. Although the large animals are to be found in' the central part of the country, they are also plentiful in tho flat, sandy country .to the west, near the coast, and to the east, in the region of the Kalahari. Here are to be found plenty of gemsbok, wildebeest, wartebeest, ostrich, and an occasional lion, while, tho smaller game aro found in large quantities.

The Kalahan is usually supposed to be an impossible sandy wast-3 ; but this is not true. The summer rams fall from December to March, and turn the vast, brown, dried veldt into a. wide stretcli of green pasture. The grass grows quickly to a height of 3ft., like a huge cornfield, stretching in every direction. A thick bedding of undergrowth almost hides tlio sand. Edible roots—on which the natives feed—are to be found in large quantities, and varieties of the gourd are also found. Other products of'the Kalahari are the cliama, the wild cucumber, on which the ostrich feed. With ivater this huge tract of land would yield marvellous crops. It is possible that one day deep bores may be put down which will make the Kalahari desert one of the richest fanning lands in the world.

The natives of German South-West Africa are of 1i higher type and of a purer raco than the natives of Cape Colony. To a large extent these natives retired to the north in order to avoid the approach of the white man from tho south. They never fully learned sub-' jection to the influence of the -white man, never realised tho necessity of subjection to law and order; or the necessity of accepting conditions forced 011 them by the inevitable march of civilisation. They are still wild and warlike,' regarding the country as their own, jealous of what thoy consider outside interference, and ready 011 the slightest pretext to take the field in arms.