[399]‘Moshesh, the great Basuto leader, to whose courage and statesmanship the Basutos owed their very existence as a people, was still alive at the time, but constant war with the Boers of the Orange Free State had brought him and his followers to the last stage of distress. Two thousand Basuto warriors had been killed, cattle had been carried off, native homes had been broken up and crops destroyed. The tribe was reduced to the position of starving refugees, and nothing could save them but the protection of the British government which they had repeatedly implored’ (C. P. Lucas, A Historical Geography of the British Colonies, part ii, vol. iv (Geography of South and East Africa), Oxford, 1904, p. 39).

[400]‘The Eastern section of the territory is Mashonaland where, with the permission of King Lobengula, who claimed it, the British South Africa Company first established themselves’ (ibid., p. 72).

[401]The Permanent Way (in kilometres).

Year Europe America Asia Africa Australia
1840 2,925 4,754 — — —
1850 23,405 16,064 — — —
1860 51,862 53,955 1,393 455 376
1870 104,914 93,193 8,185 1,786 1,765
1880 168,983 174,666 16,287 4,646 7,847
1890 223,869 331,417 33,724 9,386 18,889
1900 283,878 402,171 60,301 20,114 24,014
1910 333,848 526,382 101,916 36,854 31,014

Accordingly, the increase was as follows:

% % % % %
1840/50 710 215 — — —
1860/70 102 73 486 350 350
1870/80 61 88 99 156 333
1880/90 32 89 107 104 142
1890/1900 27 21 79 114 27

[402]Tugan Baranovski, Studies on the Theory and History of Commercial Crises in England, p. 74.

[403]Sismondi, Nouveaux Principes ..., vol. i, book iv, chap. iv: ‘Commercial Wealth Follows the Growth of Income’, pp. 368-70.

[404]Engineer Eyth, a representative of Fowler’s, tells us: ‘Now there was a feverish exchange of telegrams between Cairo, London and Leeds.—“When can Fowler’s deliver 150 steam ploughs?”—Answer: “Working to capacity, within one year.”—“Not good enough. Expect unloading Alexandria by spring 150 steam ploughs.”—A.: “Impossible.”—The works at that time were barely big enough to turn out 3 steam ploughs per week. N.B. a machine of this type costs £2,500 so that the order involved £m. 3·75. Ismail Pasha’s next wire: “Quote cost immediate factory expansion. Viceroy willing foot bill."”—You can imagine that Leeds made hay while the sun shone. And in addition, other factories in England and France as well were made to supply steam ploughs. The Alexandria warehouses, where goods destined for the vice-regal estates were unloaded, were crammed to the roof with boilers, wheels, drums, wire-rope and all sorts of chests and boxes. The second-rate hostelries of Cairo swarmed with newly qualified steam ploughmen, promoted in a hurry from anvil or share-plough, young hopefuls, fit for anything and nothing, since every steam plough must be manned by at least one expert pioneer of civilisation. Wagonloads of this assorted cargo were sent into the interior, just so that the next ship could unload. You cannot imagine in what condition they arrived at their destination, or rather anywhere but their destination. Ten boilers were lying on the banks of the Nile, and the machine to which they belonged was ten miles further. Here was a little heap of wire-rope, but you had to travel another 20 hours to find the appropriate pulleys. In one place an Englishman who was to set up the machines squatted desolate and hungry on a pile of French crates, and in another place his mate had taken to native liquor in his despair. Effendis and Katibs, invoking the help of Allah, rushed to and fro between Siut and Alexandria and compiled endless lists of items the names of which they did not even know. And yet, in the end, some of this apparatus was set in motion. In Upper Egypt, the ploughs belched steam—civilisation and progress had made another step forward’ (Lebendige Kräfte, 7 Vorträge aus dem Gebiete der Technik, Berlin, 1908, p. 21).

[405]Cf. Evelyn Baring, Earl of Cromer, Egypt Today (London, 1908), vol. i, p. 11.