South Africa.

Manawatu Herald, 17 October 1899, Page 2

South Africa.

I It will be a3 \Vell to bear in mind ! hat the climate of Oipe Colony and I of the interior is one of the finest in he world, :md eminently suited fm Europran?. The ciimute on the fjoaat is superior to that of England. After the coaafc line is passed aad she drier and higher country i? reached the atmosphere 13 rare, yet balmy. Near Capatown the mean temperature in winter is 55 degrees and in summer 63 degrees, the summer maximum b?ing 96 degrees. On the elevated plateau the winter nean is 48 degrees, the summer 67 legrees, and the summer maximum 102 degrees?. The main geographical eature is the great mountain range which begins near the Orange river on the west and stretch ca ft. r more than 1000 miles, right through the Cape Colony and NataU towards the northeast. Its direction coincides with he sea coast, from which it ia never •nore than 100 to iso miles distant. Viewed from the seaward side it i ippeara a veritable mountain rangp, ! rising in places to tho height of 10,000 feet ; but when surmounted it ia seen to be properly but th? broken edge of the great table land, between 8000 and 4000 feet high, which occupies thfi whole of the interior of South Africa There are ilso two other" mountain ranges in he Southern portion of the colony. From tha mountain*? to the sea the ground descends, not regularly, but by a series of terraces or step 3. At? * general tftlle the Country is dry, and is deficient in navigable river.?. The eastern portion i» on the whole batter watered than the interior portion which i 3 largely covered with the Karroo or steppe, dreary looking but of great Value to the ehaep farmer. The eastern portion of the colony i?, roughly speaking, an English country, and the western part is mainly occupied by Dutah peaking descendants of the early settlers. There are 8000 miles of i-oads and over 5000 mHe3 of tele /raph linp, About 150 miles west if Port Elizabeth, lying between the sea and the Outeniqua mountains :bere is a forest and elephant preserve, in which a few elephants and buffaloes are still to be found. Th»> arger animals, as a rule, have dis ippeared, but small antelope?, wild ont3, baboons, monkeys, porcupines, jerboas, conic?, ant-aatew, tiger-cats, leopards, jackals, and wild dogs are still to be found. Reptiles still abound, s-Ush as th« iguana, cobra di <ap 'Ho, end puff-adder. In the northern parts of the colony horses ire subject during the summer uvnitln to a climatic disease known as " the horse sickness. " Tha ooast region of Natal extends 30 miles inland and is highly fertile, the climate being subtropical and healthy. The midland terrace is more fit for cereals and European cop*, while on the higher plateaus along th? foot of th-3 mountains ar£ immense tracts of the finest pastur age for sheep or cattle. T11.3 climate U very healthy, the 1 thtftinometpr ranges bftwaen 90 degrees and 88 degree?, but tha heat in summer is seldom oppressive. The mean innual temperature at Pieterrnaritz burg, the capital, is 64.71 degrees. Th^, winter begins in April and endin September. The summer thunder storms are very frequent and severe in the uplands. The annual rainfill iveroges nearly 40 inches, thtsjreatest fall being in summer. Great forests of fine timber abound in the mountain passes, and many tracts ilong the coast are also well wooded. The eland and hartebeast are the only big game left, but the hippotamin and alligator are found in some of the rivers. Snakes are plentiful. The scenery is in parts picturesque' in the extreme. The country ia well watered, no less than 23 distinct rivers running through it to the Indian ocean, hut not one of them is navigable. The province of Zululand was annexed to Natal on Slat December, 1897, and comprises about two ' 'birds of the country formerly under Zulu kings. The trouble between the Zulus and Great Britain arose in the following manner : — ln 1828, Chaka, the then king, was killed by his brother Digaan, who succeeded him, and having been defeated by ihe Dutch and English settlers in 1840 in Natal, was deposed in favour of his brother Panda. In 1873 Panda died and was succeeded by his son Cdtywayo. There had bsen a long dispute between Cetywayo and the Darch of the Transvaal as to their boundaries, and when the Transvaal wa3 annexed in 1877 Oetywayo was disappointed to find the British government took the same view of his claims as the Dutch. An ultimatum was sent to Cetywayo and no reply being received a British army marched into Zululand in 1879. Oetywayo was ultimately defeated and bis country divided among 13 chiefs. In 1883 Oetywayo waa reinstated by the British with the exception of a portion assigned to Usibebu. .This la9t named chief attacked and defeated Cetywayo, and the British government finding that the Zifltig were unable to form an^orderly^ administration for themselves, aTaa** that their lands were gradually being taken by the Transvaal Boers, de cided at last to make what remained of Zululand a British Colony, which was done in 1887.

Constable Forster has resumed his duties at this station. Mr John Walsh advertises a good quiet cow in full profit for sale. The usual sitiing of the Magistrates Court will be held on Thursday. The N.Z. Contingent will leave by the s.s. Waiwcra for the Cape* The Mayor of Wellington ia arranging a public demonstration. Mr T. Nelson of Ashurst has a team of horses, dray and harness for sale. A cricket match will be pi aye J tomorrow between the Fdxton Cricket Club and Levin i 'file local team will coach it from here early, the following being the team :— Messrs Stiles, Nye, Betty, Martin, Eccles, Bowden, Gray, Morgan (2), Worth, and Barry. Mr ; Fred Price, Sergeant of the .Wairba Mounted Rifles, and brother of Mr C. Price, of the Palmerston Post office, was a passenger on Friday evening to ., Wellington * Where he will join the Transvaal Contingent now encamped at Karorii Serious trouble is expected at Tonga, owing to the unpopularity of the marriage of the l£ing, which took place a few months ago. The friends of the rejected Princess have burned down eight houses belonging to the Queen's party. Fistic encounters between the rival factions are of common occurrence. On. Monday niornitlg two first offenders were, brought before the Justices charged With being drunk on Saturday night to which they all pleaded guilty and were fined five shillings each. M. Johansen tor a second oftence was fined ten shillings and for resisting the police twenty shillings) and John Twdhy for an act of indecency in a railway carriage was sentenced to seven days imprisonment. On Saturday we Jearnt; thaf the Boers had occupied Newcastle, so that what the Morning Post correspondent wrote on the 4th < September is interesting :— 'The town of Newcastle is utterly unprotected. To seize it would assure the Boers possession of Laing's Nek and compel the British to do twenty miles of fighting over rough country, peculiarly suited to .Boer tactices, before they could begin the first real action. There are at Johannesburg 75 gold producing companies, .working about 6,000 head of stamps, and with a paidup capital value of £32,060,000. The market value of these properties recently was £100,000,000. The yearly products of the mines in gold has been about £20,000,000. Touching war correspondents, Sir C, Holled-Smitb, Commandant of the Victorian Military Forces, says that in the event of an Australian contingent going there was no objection to the principal papers' being represented by correspondents, but, he added, it was perfectly certain that the latest regulations drafted on that subject, just prior to the last Soudan campaign, would he rigidly adhered to. On no account whatever would any member of the contingent, officer, non-commissioned officer, or man, be permitted to act as a correspondent for any paper. One representative would be probably allowed for each of the larger papers, but it must be clearly understood that they would be under the Discipline Act, and that their cables would be sent through the military officer acting as a Press censor. It was found that to allow military men with troops to act as correspondents was not only productive of mischief but of breaches of discipline. We have had the pleasure of seeing for ourselves a large number of testimonials from different parts of the colony describing the extraordinary cures affected through the use of Tohunga Ointment. One in particular took our attention, having been used in a bad case of eczema of four years standing. The patient referred to the money spent with doctors and the agonies suffered, and stating that he was using the third jar of Tohunga, which he considered would be enough to effect a permanent cure, there only being a few spots remaining and all itching having gone. The word " Tohunga", which the proprietor has registered, represents a priest, powerful agent, or some spirit that has power over humanity, and" judging by the testimonials Tohunga Ointment is maintaining its name in cases of eczema, boils, burns, scalds, bruises, poisoned hands, piles, &c, &c. Referring to Qureca, we have no hesitation, judging from the testimonials, in joining with .our contemporaries in Saying that for indigestion, liver disorder, kidney disease, &c, Qureca is one of the most reliable remedies of the times. • ' A reward is offered for information of a bay mare that has either strayed away or been stolen from Norbiton' Road last Friday with saddle and bridle on. Mr E. Ball, hairdresser, has an altered advertisement in this issue.