There are naturally many quibblers belonging to the “Foreigners’ friend and Britons’ foe” party who look askance at these proposals, and, indeed, at any proposals which might endow colonisation with what they call a political, but which should properly be termed an Imperial, trend. The idea of outnumbering the Dutch inhabitants seems to them preposterous—even vindictive. They would prefer the British Government and the British taxpayers, in matters connected with their own policy and their own expenditure, to be out-voiced by the inhabitants of the territory they have spent blood and treasure to conquer. But to discuss the arguments of these quibblers would be sheer waste of time and of space. Obstructions ever have their value. As the impediment in the shell of the oyster brings about the growth of the pearl, so the obstruction in the bivalve of politics has brought forth the jewel of Imperial solidarity.
But it may as well be mentioned that the expropriation suggestion which also excites the ire of Radicals, is by no means an invention solely directed against the Boers in the conquered States. The precedent is to be found in the legislation of New Zealand. The Land for Settlements Act, 1894, enables the Government of that Colony, if no private agreement can be arrived at, to take land compulsorily for settlement, subject to a price fixed by valuation and a certain compensation.
As regards settlers—the third great essential of Lord Milner’s scheme—the future looks rosy enough. There are many who served in the war and have a right to preference, who are eager to live on the land and farm it, and who do not seek to acquire it merely as a speculation or a makeshift. Hundreds of hale and hearty fellows, men of experience and resource, men who have the pluck to succeed, and men who have the courage to challenge failure, have already offered themselves and wait patiently till their turn may arrive. Were the land forthcoming, it would not be exaggeration to say that some 10,000 and more of our fellow-countrymen would be cultivating it within the twelvemonth.
NATAL
The progressive mood of Natal should afford sufficient encouragement to even the most wary speculators. Here, for the purpose of attracting tenant farmers, the plan is to form agricultural settlements resembling the close colonies of New Zealand, the settlements to be planted on areas irrigated by Government works. According to Sir Albert Hime, irrigation here intensifies cultivation tenfold, and so enables a farmer to get his living off one-tenth of the amount of land that would otherwise be required, and furthermore assures his crop. Owing to the broken nature of the country, the irrigable areas are small in size and suited mainly for supporting settlements of small cultivators. Such settlements, wherever started, however, have proved unmistakably prosperous, and it only remains for the Natal Government to introduce its scheme of close settlements to the notice of the right form of emigrant in order to render the “Garden Colony” eternally rich in green things upon the earth. At present sugar-planting, thanks to the system of central mills, is in a flourishing state. The same may be said of tea-planting, which owes much to the continuous efforts of Sir J. L. Hulett, whose “gardens” are the most important in Natal.
The demand for the wattle bark is on the increase. This tree (Acacia Mollissima), originally brought from Australia, soon became acclimatised in Natal, where there are now 50,000 acres of wattle plantation. The wattle bark is exported to England, while the tree—stripped of its bark—serves for poles which are much in demand in the Rand mines. It is said that land for wattle-growing may be purchased at from eighteen to twenty-five shillings an acre, the cost of ploughing and planting may be estimated at from thirty-two to fifteen shillings an acre. It takes some six years before cutting down can be begun, but then, the probable net profits would be nearly half the gross returns.
A KAFFIR VILLAGE.
With the development of the Rand the demand for timber will increase by leaps and bounds, and the market for wattle bark as a tanning material will advance proportionately. As an instance of the increase in the demand for bark, it may be stated that the exports were valued at £69,850 in 1901 as against £30,929 in 1898.