Chapter V: Part 5

Great Britain's holding, however, in the partitioned continent comprises its best portions. Much of Africa is uninhabitable by white men. Wherever, however, white men can live--except in northern Africa--there Great Britain has managed to get control. Excluding the shore of the Mediterranean, the best part of Africa, considered from the view points of colonisation and commerce, is what is now known as "British South Africa." This is an immense area--an area of almost 1,000,000 square miles. It comprises (1) that whole southern portion of the continent known as Cape Colony, and (2) that portion of the great central plateau of the continent which extends from Cape Colony northward to Lakes Nyassa and Tanganyika--all except the two Boer republics, the Orange Free State and the South African Republic. British East Africa (800,000 square miles) includes the territory of Uganda, north of Lake Victoria, a territory which from the character of its native population and its possibilities of trade has been called the "pearl of Africa." British West Africa (500,000 square miles) includes the basin of the lower Niger, the most densely peopled area in all Africa, the seat of the great Fula-Hausa empire of Sokoto-Gandu, the wealthiest and greatest trading nation in the continent. Furthermore, in the northeast, Great Britain exercises "protectorate control" over Egypt--a control that is likely to be instrumental in reclaiming for Egypt, and thus for civilisation and commerce under British authority, the whole of Egypt's ancient possessions along the Nile as far at least as Uganda. The total area of the British possessions in Africa, exclusive of the two Boer republics and Egypt, is over 2,300,000 square miles.

THE "DOMINION OF SOUTH AFRICA"

"South Africa" is practically "British South Africa." The German portion is either largely barren or else inaccessible. The Portuguese portion is only a narrow strip along the east coast, much of which is too unhealthy for habitation other than by natives. The two Boer republics are rapidly filling up with British people, are being developed by British capital, and must in time become confederated with the states that environ them. One of them, too, is already under British suzerainty. British South Africa, however, is as yet only a name. It has no real existence except in hope. The aspiration of statesmen in southern Africa is that all the territories of southern Africa under British control shall form one confederation, and that in this confederation the Orange Free State and the South African Republic shall join. The territories entering into this confederation would therefore be as follows: The self-governing colonies of Cape Colony and Natal, the crown colony of Basutoland, the protectorates of Bechuanaland and Zululand, the territory now administered by the British South Africa Company, popularly known as "Rhodesia," and the British Central Africa protectorate, with in addition the two Boer republics previously mentioned. The length of this proposed South African dominion would be 1800 miles. Its width would be from 600 to 800 miles. And, as said above, its area would be about 1,000,000 square miles. Mr. Stanley predicts that in a hundred years the "Dominion of South Africa" will have a white population of 8,000,000, and a coloured population of 16,000,000.

SOUTH AFRICA'S AGRICULTURAL POSSIBILITIES

Of South Africa as above defined Cape Colony and Natal are at present the most important portions. Their climate is in some respects the finest in the world. Their soil is of remarkable richness. The number of distinct species of indigenous plants found upon it is greater than for any other equal area on the globe. The same remark was once true of the animals found in South Africa, which again is testimony to the great fertility of the soil. But a serious drawback is the insufficiency and uncertainty of the rain supply. Irrigation, however, is practised, and wherever irrigation is possible the land may be made to blossom like the rose. Agriculture, however, is only indifferently pursued. The VINE in Cape Colony produces more abundantly, very much more abundantly than anywhere else in the world, and yet neither grape-raising nor wine-making can be said to be successful. PASTURING is the principal occupation of the people in rural districts. There are 17,000,000 sheep in Cape Colony, and 6,000,000 goats. Natal, which is warmer, has 500,000 sheep. Another principal occupation is OSTRICH-FARMING. The ostrich, once wild in South Africa, is now bred domestically. Cape Colony has 230,000 ostriches. Ostrich feathers fetch from $150 to $300 a pound. The RAISING OF CATTLE is another principal occupation, and draught cattle are much used for transport purposes. Cape Colony has 2,000,000 cattle; Natal, 1,000,000. The principal food crops are wheat and maize, but little is raised for export. In Natal, sugar is an important product, and also tea. Many magnificent timber woods are found, but the trees are stunted and little timber is exported. Much has been wasted by fires. The great agricultural possibilities of South Africa are WOOL, MOHAIR (the hair of the Angora goat), fruit, wine, and skins. The breadstuffs of South Africa will probably all be needed for home consumption.

SOUTH AFRICA'S GREAT MINERAL WEALTH

All the world over South Africa is famous for its DIAMOND-MINES and its GOLD-MINES. The diamonds are found principally in Griqualand, north of the Orange River, now a part of Cape Colony, but they are also found in the Orange Free State. The diamond areas are very circumscribed, the diamond-bearing "pipes" being supposed to be craters of extinct volcanoes. The principal "pipes" are at KIMBERLEY (28,718), in Griqualand. These constitute the richest diamond-fields in the world. It is estimated that over $350,000,000 worth of diamonds have been taken out of Kimberley since their first discovery there in 1867. The largest South African diamond yet found was worth $300,000, but many other large ones have been found. The annual diamond export now is about $20,000,000. For 1896 the export was $23,200,000; for 1897 a little less. The production and export are strictly limited, so that prices may not depreciate. Next in interest to the diamond-fields are the gold-mines. These so far have been found principally in the South African Republic, or "Transvaal" as it is popularly called, in the "rand," or "reef," near the far-famed town of JOHANNESBURG (102,078). Since gold was first discovered in the rand (1871) $250,000,000 worth has been taken out. The annual output now is nearly $50,000,000, but it is estimated that before the rand can be exhausted $2,250,000,000 worth of gold must be taken out--an amount much greater than the total public debt of the United States, national, state, and municipal. But north of the Transvaal, in Rhodesia, especially in Mashonaland, is a territory popularly called the "Land of Ophir," where mining operations are only just begun, but where gold is supposed to be even more richly stored than in the Transvaal. Of this district the newly built town of SALISBURY is the centre. Other mineral products of South Africa are coal in Natal, mined at NEWCASTLE, and copper in the northwest of Cape Colony, shipped at PORT NOLLOTH.

SOUTH AFRICA'S FOREIGN TRADE

The import trade of South Africa so far consists of almost everything needed by the inhabitants except meat, flour, vegetables, and fruit, for there are as yet almost no manufactures. The principal exports are: (1) gold, $60,000,000 per annum, including that from the Transvaal; (2) diamonds, $22,500,000; (3) wool, $12,500,000; (4) mohair, the hair of the Angora goat, $3,000,000; (5) ostrich feathers, over $2,500,000; (6) hides and skins, $2,200,000; and (7) copper ore, $1,250,000. The export of wine and fruit, for the production of which the country is so well suited, and also of grain, is inconsiderable.

SHIPPING PORTS AND RAILWAYS OF SOUTH AFRICA

British South Africa, like all of Africa, is wanting in seaports. In fact, it has but few. However, it has one, WALFISH BAY, which territorially does not belong to it, inasmuch as it is in the middle of the coast of German Southwest Africa--the only port in that coast. The principal port in British South Africa is CAPE TOWN (83,718), which is also the capital and principal place. The next principal ports are, for Cape Colony, PORT ELIZABETH (23,266) and EAST LONDON, and for Natal, DURBAN. LORENZO MARQUEZ, on Delagoa Bay, and BEIRA, at the mouth of the Pungwe, both in Portuguese East Africa, are natural ports for northern British South Africa, and are used as such, railways being constructed from them into the interior. Railroad-making, indeed, is now the all-important matter in South Africa. Lines are already built from Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, East London, Durban, and Lorenzo Marquez to the diamond-fields of Kimberley and the gold-mines of Johannesburg. These also give to the pastoral and agricultural parts of the interior facilities of access to the sea. But the line from Cape Town to Kimberley is being rapidly extended northward to Salisbury, the central point of the gold-fields of Rhodesia, and already has reached BULAWAYO, 1600 miles from Cape Town. The line from Beira is also to end at Salisbury. Already a telegraph line extending from Salisbury northward has reached the west shore of Lake Nyassa, and by the close of this year (1898) it will reach the south end of Lake Tanganyika. It is proposed that the railroad from Bulawayo shall follow this same route, and it is the dream (or shall we say the hope?) of the empire-builders of South Africa that this railway shall before many years be so far advanced northward that it will meet the railway that is now being built from Cairo southward through the continent along the Nile. Mr. Stanley predicts that the "Cape to Cairo" railway will be an accomplished fact before 1925. The white population of South Africa, even including the Boer republics, is still less than 750,000.

X. THE TRADE FEATURES OF AUSTRALIA

AUSTRALIA AND AUSTRALASIA

The term AUSTRALASIA, as now generally used, comprises Australia (including Tasmania) and New Zealand, and a number of small neighbouring islands. So used it practically denotes a British possession; for such islands as are comprised by the term and yet do not belong to Great Britain are comparatively unimportant. But when we speak of Australasia, we are generally thinking of AUSTRALIA, for Australia is so large and important that it seems to overshadow the other parts of Australasia. But in respect to politics or commerce Australia is not one country; it is divided into several self-governing colonies. These are, in order of importance, Victoria, New South Wales, South Australia, Queensland, and West Australia. But a movement is now being made to unite all these colonies, and Tasmania as well, into one "Australian Confederation," just as the several provinces of Canada, which were once independent colonies, have been united into one "Dominion of Canada." This confederation scheme, however, has not yet been accomplished.[3] New Zealand, because of its distance (1200 miles) from Australia, has so far shown no desire to enter into this confederation.

FOOTNOTE:

[3] Since the above was written the scheme has been developed a very considerable way toward completion. The name of the confederation is to be "The Commonwealth of Australia."

THE AREA AND CLIMATE OF AUSTRALIA

Australia is a continent not only in name but in fact. Its area, including Tasmania, is almost 3,000,000 square miles, which is about the area of the United States exclusive of Alaska, and only about one fourth less than the area of the continent of Europe. Fully two fifths of this area lie within the torrid zone, and of the rest, even in Victoria, the part farthest from the equator, the climate is so warm that it corresponds with that of Spain, southern France, and Italy. But over so vast a territory great differences of climate must occur, and consequently of products also. A general description of the climate and products of Australia is therefore impossible. Yet there are several characteristics which appertain to the whole continent. The chief of these are (1) the great DRYNESS of the ATMOSPHERE--not merely its lack of rain, but its absolute freedom from moisture; (2) the remarkable INEQUALITY, or want of regularity, in the RAINFALL. Occasionally the rainfall is excessive, but a more frequent and serious cause of trouble is excessive drought. The continent on every side has a low coast region, where the rainfall is heavier and the temperature generally hotter than in the corresponding table-land interior to it. But the vast table-land of the interior has comparatively little rain, and indeed in some parts of it, especially in the centre and west, the rainfall is so slight that the country is practically a desert.

But even when all the desert areas of Australia are excluded from calculation there still remains in the interior plateau, toward the east and south, an immense area of country of great fertility and productiveness. The Murray River alone drains an area of 500,000 square miles, one sixth of the whole continent, a great part of which is of exceeding richness. In these fertile parts irrigation by artesian wells has been tried, and always with great success. And it is thought that almost the whole continent can be regained for agriculture, or at least for sheep-pasturing, by similar means; for even in the arid and so-called desert parts of the interior, there is very little soil that is not really fertile, for all of it is covered with thick brushwood. Moisture alone is needed to make it bear crops abundantly. And this dryness of the atmosphere which prevails throughout the whole continent is not without its compensations. It renders the climate exceedingly healthful.

AUSTRALIA A CONTINENT OF PECULIARITIES

Australia has MANY PECULIARITIES. It has only one large river, and even that in summer becomes a series of isolated pools. It has no high mountain range, its principal mountains being only a series of ramparts marking off the lower coast lands from the interior plateau. Again, its native quadrupeds are entirely different from those of other continents, being almost all, whether little or big, "marsupials," or "pouch-bearers," like the kangaroo. Its birds are mostly songless. Its flowers, for the most part, have no scent. Its trees are leaved vertically and cast no shade. Its indigenous inhabitants have made no progress toward civilisation. When Europeans first came to the country they found no native animal that could be put to any use, nor any native fruit, vegetable, or grain that could be utilised for food. Still, all European domestic animals thrive abundantly in the country, and so do all European fruits, grasses, grains, and vegetables. The English rabbits, indeed, have become a terrible pest. As many as 25,000,000 of them have been killed in a year without any apparent diminution in their numbers. Over $1,000,000 a year has at times been spent to exterminate them, all to no effect.

VICTORIA

Victoria, the smallest of the Australian colonies, had until recently the largest population (June, 1897, 1,177,304) and also the largest trade. In both respects, however, it is at present surpassed by New South Wales. Victoria has owed its past pre-eminence to its GOLD PRODUCTION. Gold was discovered in the colony in 1851, and for years the output of the precious mineral was not less than $50,000,000 per annum. The present output of gold in Victoria, however, is only $10,000,000 per annum. Richer, however, than the gold-mines of Victoria is the fertility of its soil. A large part of the soil is exceedingly fertile--with irrigation one of the finest fruit-bearing soils in the world. The arboreal vegetation of the country is magnificent. Trees thirty feet in diameter rise to the height of 200 feet without a single lateral branch, and then 100 feet to 200 feet higher still. Pear-trees grow to the height of eighty feet, with trunks three feet in diameter. But as yet wool-growing, wheat-raising, and vine-growing are the principal agricultural occupations of the people. The principal agricultural export is WOOL--$25,000,000 worth per annum. But a considerable portion of this comes from New South Wales. The SHEEP kept number 15,000,000, the cattle 2,000,000. But the colony still remains principally a mining community. Five ninths of the population live in towns. Yet there are few towns, and two fifths of the whole population live in Melbourne--a city almost exactly as large as Boston.

MELBOURNE

MELBOURNE (451,110; with suburbs, 500,000), the capital city of Victoria and the chief city in Australia, is also one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Its parliament buildings, town hall, post-office, treasury, mint, law courts, public libraries, picture galleries, theatres, churches, and clubs are all edifices of architectural magnificence and beauty, while its boulevards, parks and gardens are equally splendid. At one time money flowed freely and great commercial recklessness prevailed. But though Melbourne has sustained several severe depressions its present condition is prosperous and its future is assured. It is, however, a pleasure-loving city, and it is as much on this account as on account of its great beauty that it is called "the Paris of the southern hemisphere." Nowhere else in the world, perhaps, are indoor amusements--the theatre, concerts, etc.--or outdoor amusements--cricket, football, horse-racing, etc.--more devotedly patronised than in Melbourne. Other important places in Victoria are BALLARAT (40,000) and SANDHURST (37,000), both mining towns, and GEELONG (25,000) locally noted for its manufacture of "tweeds."

NEW SOUTH WALES

New South Wales (population 1,311,440) is the oldest colony of Australia and the parent of both Victoria and Queensland. Of all the colonies, it has, perhaps, the greatest range of productions. On the low coast lands its soil is of extraordinary fertility, and even in the dry interior, when irrigation is employed, the fertility is still extraordinary. As yet, however, but one acre out of every two hundred is under cultivation, the chief agricultural occupation being pasturing. Over 50,000,000 SHEEP are kept, principally the MERINO. Grass grows everywhere, and even the summits of the mountains are covered. Drought, however, is a terrible drawback, and sometimes tremendous losses occur. In 1877 over 8,000,000 sheep perished, and in 1884 over 12,000,000. The total WOOL PRODUCTION is very large, averaging $50,000,000 a year. The export of hides, skins, leather, and chilled meat, principally mutton, amounts to $10,000,000 annually. Chilled mutton and beef are sent direct to London, though the passage takes five or six weeks by steamer and twelve to sixteen weeks by sailing-vessel. Scarcely less important than its agricultural products are the mineral products of New South Wales. Its COAL-MINES are the finest on the continent, and $4,500,000 worth of coal is exported annually, besides what is consumed locally. Its gold production, though not very large, is general throughout the whole colony. Its SILVER-MINES in SILVERTON and BROKEN HILL are among the most famous in the world, and its tin-bearing lands comprise over 5,500,000 acres. The foregoing comprise the staple products--the production of industries already well established. But fruit-growing, including all fruits, from apples, pears, and peaches, to olives and oranges, is a rapidly developing industry, no country in the world being better suited to it. Wine-making, too, is quickly coming forward, the New South Wales wines equalling in flavour those of France and Spain. Wheat-growing, cotton-growing, and even rice-growing are also in their several districts rapidly extending and prosperous pursuits. The development of New South Wales has only just begun. SYDNEY (including suburbs 410,000) is the capital and by far the largest city. Sydney, like Melbourne, is a beautiful city, but its beauty is natural rather than artificial, and it is well entitled to its name, "Queen of the South." It is situated on Port Jackson, one of the finest and most beautiful harbours on the globe. Sydney is the headquarters of all the various lines of steamships--British, American, French, Italian, etc.--that trade with Australia, and is indeed one of the great seaports of the world.

SOUTH AUSTRALIA

South Australia (358,224 in 1897) occupies the whole central part of the continent from north to south. But as only a very small portion of this vast area is settled--the southeast corner--it may be described as in characteristics resembling Victoria. Its principal industry is WHEAT-GROWING. South Australia is indeed the great granary of the continent, and is destined to be one of the great granaries of the world. Like the other divisions of Australia, South Australia, when once drought has been overcome by irrigation, is destined to become a great fruit country, its warm, moistureless climate being peculiarly well suited to the ripening of fruits of exquisite flavours. Already its olives are pronounced the finest in the world. The principal city and chief port is ADELAIDE (with suburbs 144,352). Like other Australian ports, Adelaide possesses excellent steamboat shipping facilities. In the north, on the Timor Sea, is PORT DARWIN, likely to be an important trade centre.

QUEENSLAND

The most interesting of all the Australian colonies is Queensland (population 472,179), for it is a tropical country with a climate so salubrious that white people can live in it and be comfortable and healthy. The heat, instead of being enervating, is stimulating and bracing. A great portion of its soil is of unsurpassed fertility. The only drawback is the unequal distribution throughout the year of the rainfall. But wherever irrigation wells are sunk the climate becomes highly suitable for SHEEP-RAISING, and also for the growing of many kinds of FRUIT. There are already 15,000,000 sheep and 5,000,000 cattle in the colony, and wool is exported to the amount of $15,000,000 annually. Other agricultural exports are frozen beef and mutton, and hides and skins. WOOL is the chief export. The second export in importance is GOLD, which reaches $10,000,000 per annum. Tin is also exported, and coal, though little worked, is abundant. Developing exports are sugar ($2,500,000 per annum), arrowroot, cotton, tobacco, rice, and coffee. A difficulty, however, in the development of these products is the labour question. White men cannot work in the plantations. Chinese prefer to work in the mines. The natives won't work anywhere. No negroes are obtainable. As a consequence Polynesians have to be imported. BRISBANE (100,913) is the capital and chief city and port.

WEST AUSTRALIA

West Australia (population 162,394), the largest of all the Australian colonies, has only been recently settled, and its constitution as a self-governing colony dates only from 1890. A large part of its area has never been explored, and a large part is known to be scrub desert. But there is scarcely any part of it, even of its "scrub" areas, but that will support sheep when once artesian wells have been sunk, and large portions of the colony, especially along the coasts, are as fertile as need be. And the climate, though very dry, is exceedingly healthful. PERTH (43,000) is the capital. ALBANY is the principal port.

THE IMMENSE RESOURCES OF AUSTRALIA. ITS PROBABLE FUTURE

Australia is undoubtedly on the eve of a period of great development. Its resources are known to be immense. Its climate has been found most favourable to human health, and the objectionable feature of the climate, the smallness and irregularity of the rainfall, has been studied and become understood and found remediable. Once the confederation that is now in process of formation takes place, there is no doubt that Australia will enter upon a new and prosperous commercial era. Owing to the fact that its chief opportunities for wealth lie in the development of its natural resources, it is probable that for some time to come almost all the manufactured goods Australia needs will have to be imported. Already its importation amounts to $275,000,000, of which, of course, Great Britain supplies the principal share. This importation is principally clothing and materials for clothing, but it also comprises hardware and machinery, and in fact everything required by a highly civilised and money-spending people, except breadstuffs and provisions. The magnitude of this importation may be comprehended from the fact that it is more than one third of the total exportation of the United States for any year save one up to 1896, including our immense export of breadstuffs, provisions, and cotton. And besides the articles of export already mentioned--WOOL, MEATS, HIDES, SKINS, MINERALS, FRUITS, etc.--there is one other Australian resource that is capable of almost indefinite development. This is its TIMBER. The eucalyptus or gum-tree prevails almost universally in Australia, and some of its commonest varieties, being both strong and indestructible by insects, are of almost unequalled value for ship-building, railway ties, and dock and harbour construction. That the Australians are fully alive to the importance of developing their foreign trade is seen in the efforts they have made to provide facilities for bringing their products to ocean ports. There are 11,980 miles of railway, almost every mile of which has been built by the governments. This is one mile of railway for every 300 inhabitants, as against one mile for every 400 inhabitants in the United States. These railways run wholly to and from the seaboard. There are no manufacturing towns to be catered to. Australian trade consists wholly in exchanging home-raised natural products for imported manufactures. Equally remarkable with the railroad enterprise of the Australians is their enterprise in telegraphic construction and the establishment of cable communications. For example, a telegraph line 2000 miles long, running across the continent from Adelaide to Port Darwin, has been built by the province of South Australia so as to connect with a cable from Port Darwin to Java, Singapore, etc., and thus with Europe and America. For at least 1500 miles this telegraph line runs through one of the most desolate and inaccessible regions in the world.

XI. THE TRADE FEATURES OF SOUTH AMERICA

SOUTH AMERICA, A FERTILE CONTINENT WITH DRAWBACKS

South America is an immense but very fertile continent, whose natural resources are as yet scarcely begun to be utilised. Though not so large as North America, it has a far greater area of productive soil--and, indeed, much of its soil is quite unsurpassed in fertility. It suffers, however, from two great drawbacks. 1. A great portion of its area (four fifths) lies within the torrid zone. In the low coast regions of this torrid area, and also in the low forest regions watered by the great flat rivers of the interior, the climate is for the most part unendurable to white men. 2. South America has been unfortunate in its settlement and colonisation. Until in recent years colonisation as understood in Anglo-Saxon communities has scarcely been attempted in South America at all. All the earlier immigrations from the Old World were prompted by the thought of getting gold and silver and precious stones--if need were by the spoliation and enslavery of the natives. Only a small proportion of the population--not more than a quarter of the whole--consists of whites, and these are principally from Spain and Portugal. These conquerors of the continent have not in the main succeeded in establishing either stable forms of government or high types of civilisation. Furthermore, the mixed races--the MESTIZOS or METIS, as they are called, the descendants of the earlier Europeans and the natives--instead of advancing in civilisation have for some time past been retrograding. Then, again, there is a large negro element, the descendants of Africans once imported as slaves, to still further complicate the race question; and there is a considerable element partly negro and partly Indian. In only one state, Argentina, can affairs be said to be really prosperous, and even in Argentina the civilisation developed by its prosperity is gross and material rather than refined and intellectual. The next most prosperous and important states are Brazil and Chile. Perhaps Uruguay, though the smallest of all the states, should be placed after Argentina. The remaining independent states of the continent--Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and Paraguay--are all states of the prevailing South American type. Their governments are more or less unstable. They are terribly burdened with debt, and their credit is such that they must pay high rates of interest. The civilisation once introduced among their native races by the zeal of Spanish missionaries is deteriorating if not vanishing. And even among their leading classes there is much to be desired in the observance of the ordinary principles of right and wrong.

EUROPEAN IMMIGRATION IN SOUTH AMERICA

All the South American states enumerated above, with the exception of Brazil, were first taken possession of and "settled" by the Spanish, and the Spanish language still remains in them the language of government, education, and society. Brazil was first taken possession of and "settled" by the Portuguese, and in Brazil the Portuguese language prevails, just as elsewhere in the continent the Spanish language prevails. Among the natives many different languages are found, but in Brazil a "common language" is used, one introduced by the original Portuguese missionaries, and understood by nearly all the tribes. Between Brazil and Venezuela is a triangular piece of country called Guiana, which, unlike the rest of South America, is still under the control of European powers. It consists of three parts--French Guiana, Dutch Guiana, and British Guiana--colonies of France, Holland, and Great Britain, respectively. Leaving out Guiana, South America has received its entire civilisation from Spain and Portugal, and, with the exception of Argentina, Uruguay, and Brazil, there has been little or no emigration to any South American country except from these two European countries. To Argentina, however, there has been a large emigration from Italy especially, but also from France, Great Britain (mainly from Ireland and Wales), Germany, and Sweden. A similar emigration has taken place to Uruguay, though the foreigners in Uruguay are principally Basques, a people that live on the border-land between Spain and France, but are neither Spanish nor French. In Brazil the immigration, where it has not been Portuguese, has been chiefly Italian and German, and in the temperate region of the extreme south of Brazil a large German population exists. Everywhere in South America the parts most prosperous are the parts that have come most directly under the influence of recent European emigration.

THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC

The Argentine Republic, or "Argentina," as it is popularly called, is the most prosperous and most important of all the South American states. Its area (1,319,247 square miles) is equal to the total area of the States of the United States east of the Mississippi and Missouri, including the Dakotas, Missouri, Arkansas, and Louisiana. Although a portion of this vast area is not of much value for agricultural purposes, especially in Patagonia, a very large portion of it does consist of soil of great fertility, while the climate, which for the most part is a temperate one, is such as is well suited to Europeans and white people generally. The population May 10, 1895, was 4,094,911. Of this population it is estimated that over 850,000 are Italians, 183,000 French, 161,000 recently emigrated Spaniards, 60,000 English, and 54,000 Germans and Swedes. The language of the government and of the schools is Spanish. At one time in Argentina there was a disposition to take the United States as a model in everything, but of late years there has been a tendency toward taking France as a model in manners and customs. This disposition to imitate European peoples is particularly true of the wealthy classes.

ARGENTINA'S RAPID PROGRESS

The pride and boast of Argentina has been its rapid progress. In the thirty years ending 1886 the immigration was over a million. From 1886 to 1889 it was from 100,000 a year to 200,000 a year. In 1890, owing to the financial crisis of that year, it fell away almost to nothing. Since 1890 it has gradually increased until now it is about 100,000 a year again. In 1869 the population was only 1,837,000. Now it is over 4,000,000. Similarly the capital city, Buenos Ayres, has made an increase not easily paralleled. In 1869 its population was only 187,126. In 1887 it was 423,996. By the census of 1895 it was 663,854. To-day it is said to be 750,000. Of this number about one half are foreigners. The high protective tariff established by Argentina in 1878 had the effect of instituting many small industries in Buenos Ayres, and to this cause the exceedingly rapid growth of its population is partly attributable.

ARGENTINA'S AGRICULTURE AND MANUFACTURES

The great prosperity of Argentina has been due to the extent and immediate availability of its agricultural resources, for its forest wealth remains undeveloped, and its mineral resources are comparatively scanty. Its vast treeless and stoneless plains have needed no "improvements" to make them fit for settlement, and the soil which covers them being of virgin richness bears crop after crop without fertilising and with very little cultivation. Immigrants arrive in the country without a dollar and in twenty years are owners of estates of 5000 acres each. In no country in the world has agricultural extension been more rapid. In twenty years the acreage under cultivation increased 1400 per cent. The amount under cultivation in wheat alone increased 2600 per cent. The WHEAT PRODUCTION averages 40,000,000 bushels, which is not far short of one fourth of the total wheat export of the United States. The production for 1897 was 60,000,000 bushels, although the amount exported was much less than that. The wheat product is indeed very variable, owing to droughts and locusts, for, like Australia, Argentina is uncertain in its rainfall. The CORN CROP is steadier, and in 1896 amounted (for export alone) to 60,000,000 bushels. More important in the aggregate than the direct products of the soil are the indirect products. There are 22,000,000 CATTLE kept in Argentina, 75,000,000 SHEEP, and 4,500,000 HORSES. The total exportation of animals and animal products amounts to $70,-000,000. Of this exportation the principal item is WOOL, the wool-clip of Argentina being, in weight, one seventh of the total wool-clip of the world. Unfortunately, however, Argentina wool is very dirty, and when washed reduces to one third, while Australian wool reduces only to two thirds or three fifths and is free from seeds. The profit accruing to the Argentina wool-grower is thereby lessened. But, nevertheless, wool-growing in Argentina is a very profitable industry, and many farmers (principally Irish settlers) have from 50,000 to 100,000 sheep each. Cattle-farming is carried on mostly by native Argentines, and many cattle farms are stocked with as many as 10,000 cattle and 2000 horses each. The great exports of Argentina, therefore, after wheat and corn and wool, are HIDES and SKINS, TALLOW, CHILLED BEEF, and MUTTON and bones. There are five factories in Buenos Ayres engaged wholly in chilling mutton, and the export of chilled mutton to Great Britain alone is $5,000,000 a year. Another growing agricultural product is WINE, the yearly production being 1,500,000 gallons. Notwithstanding Argentina's magnificent forest areas, but little timber is exported or even manufactured for home consumption. The other principal manufacturing industries are carriage-, cart-, and harness-making, cigarette- and match-making, preserving and tinning meat, brewing, flour- and corn-milling, and the making of macaroni.

BUENOS AYRES

BUENOS AYRES, the capital of Argentina, is the largest city not only in South America but in the whole southern hemisphere. The La Plata, at whose mouth it stands, affords navigation into all the northern parts of the republic, as well as into the neighbouring states of Uruguay, Paraguay, Brazil, and Bolivia. The riverside at Buenos Ayres is at all times of the year a perfect forest of masts and smoke-stacks belonging to the shipping that supplies this navigation. Recently, at a cost of $25,000,000, the river, which here is shallow, has been deepened and new wharves and docks have been built, and ocean-going vessels of the deepest draught (which formerly used to be lightened fourteen miles away) can now unload or be loaded right in the very heart of the city. The total commerce of the republic amounts to $200,000,000 or $225,000,000 a year, and of this trade Buenos Ayres transacts seven eighths in imports and three fifths in exports. The amount of this trade secured by the United States is about a tenth, running from $12,000,000 to $24,000,000. In 1896 it was only $12,500,000. The principal export trade is with France ($24,000,000), Great Britain ($14,000,000), Germany ($13,000,000), and Belgium. Great Britain does not buy Argentina wool. The principal import trade is with Great Britain ($45,000,000), Germany ($14,000,000), France ($12,000,000), and Italy. The Buenos Ayreans are fond of display and of dress and of ornamentation, and the importations from France and Italy are principally of goods to gratify this fondness. There is a considerable exportation of wheat, flour, tobacco, and maté (Paraguay tea) to Brazil and other South American states. Buenos Ayres is the centre of the Argentina railway system, which consists of about 9000 miles of road. There are 25,500 miles of telegraph routes. The national debt amounts to $430,000,000. The provincial debts amount to about $140,000,000. The taxation amounts to nearly ten per cent. of the earnings of the people, as against four and one half per cent. in Canada and five per cent. in Australia.

BRAZIL

Brazil is a much larger and more populous country than Argentina. Its area (3,209,878 square miles) is as large as that of all the United States, less half of Alaska. A great portion of this area is of superlatively tropical richness of production. But, unfortunately, the most fertile parts of Brazil are the parts least fit for settlement by white men. The population by the last census is approximately 14,500,000, but less than 4,000,000 of this population are pure whites. The negroes that were lately slaves number over 2,000,000, and there are supposed to be about 1,000,000 Indians. Intermediate between the Indians and negroes and the white population are the numerous mixed races or half-breeds. Agriculture is the chief industry, but is of two kinds: the tropical agriculture of the central and south central seaboard, which is carried on principally by negro and mulatto labour, and the agriculture of the temperate region of the extreme south, which is carried on mainly by colonists from Europe, the recent European emigration being almost wholly directed toward that region. Almost the whole of the interior of Brazil still remains unsettled and untilled. The COFFEE yield of Brazil is enormous and is its principal product. The production amounts to 8,000,000 bags or over 1,000,000,000 pounds annually, which is more than two thirds of the total amount of coffee used in the world. Labour for coffee cultivation is scarce and dear, and in the earlier stages of the production of the berry the Brazilian coffee gets badly treated. But machinery is used wherever possible, and in the later stages of the production the Brazilian coffee gets the best attention that skill can devise. As a consequence the coffee product of Brazil is rising in the estimation of coffee-users. The shrubs are cultivated under palm-trees so as to keep them from the intense heat of the sun. Three or four harvests of berries are obtained in a year. Rio Janeiro and SANTOS are the two chief centres of the coffee industry. Next to coffee the chief tropical product is SUGAR, the export of which is about 250,000 tons annually, principally from Pernambuco. Other products of the tropical area of Brazil are COCOA and COTTON, from the cultivated coast regions, and RUBBER and Brazil-nuts, from the dense forests of the lower Amazon; also DYEWOODS and CABINET WOODS, drugs, and diamonds. For many years Brazil was celebrated for its diamonds--obtained chiefly from a town in the interior named Diamantina. The present diamond production is not large. From the temperate agricultural region of the south, dried beef, hides, and tallow are the chief exports. The greatest customer of Brazilian produce is the United States, which takes $70,000,000 worth. Great Britain is next, with $35,000,000 worth (in rubber alone in 1896 $15,000,000). Brazil gets her goods principally from Great Britain, the United States, France, and Germany--from Great Britain $20,000,000, from the United States $13,000,000. The imports include almost all articles needed for domestic and manufacturing purposes--particularly cottons and woollens, ironware, machinery, lumber, flour, rice, dried meats, kerosene, butter, and fish. There are, however, 155 cotton factories established in Brazil, with capital to the value of $50,000,000, and cotton manufacturing is protected by very heavy duties. But agricultural machinery and such like manufactures are very lightly taxed. The principal food of the people is manioc flour (tapioca).

RIO JANEIRO

RIO JANEIRO (674,972), the capital and principal city, though a poor-looking place, is situated on a magnificent harbour--one of the very finest in the world. About 1500 vessels, with tonnage amounting to 2,500,000 tons, enter Rio Janeiro with foreign trade annually. Nine thousand miles of railway have been built in Brazil and 3500 more are in course of construction, and 12,000 miles of telegraph routes have been built. Rio Janeiro is the chief railway centre, but other centres are RIO GRANDE DO SUL, in the temperate regions of the south, and BAHIA and PERNAMBUCO, in the tropical regions. The public (national) debt of Brazil is not far short of $1,000,000,000, bearing interest (a great part of it) at from four to six per cent. per annum.

XII. THE TRADE FEATURES OF CANADA

CANADA, PRACTICALLY AN INDEPENDENT FEDERAL REPUBLIC

The dominion of Canada comprises all that portion of the continent of North America north of the United States--except Alaska and Newfoundland and the coast of Labrador. (Newfoundland and the Labrador coast is a colony in direct relationship to Great Britain.) Canada is entirely self-governing and self-maintaining, and its connection with Great Britain is almost wholly a matter of loyalty and affection. It consists (1) of seven Provinces: Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Manitoba, and British Columbia, which, in their self-governing powers and their relation to the general government, correspond very closely to our States; (2) of four Territories--Assiniboia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Athabasca, which correspond somewhat to our Territories; (3) of four other Territories--Ungava, Franklin, Mackenzie, and Yukon, which are administered by the general government; and (4) the District of Keewatin, which is under the jurisdiction of the lieutenant-governor of Manitoba. The capital of the whole dominion is Ottawa. Each province has its own capital.

SIZE, SOIL, CLIMATE, AND POPULATION OF CANADA

The area of Canada is immense. It figures up to 3,456,383 square miles, which is almost 500,000 square miles more than the total area of the United States exclusive of Alaska, and not far short of being equal to the area of all Europe. But almost 150,000 square miles of this area are taken up by lakes and rivers; and a much greater portion than this, under present conditions of civilisation, is wholly uninhabitable, being either too cold or too barren. Yet when all the necessary allowances have been made there still remains in Canada an immense area with soil fertile enough and climate favourable enough for all the purposes of a highly civilised population. Over 900,000 square miles are already occupied, and of the occupied area fully one half has been "improved." The older provinces are, acre for acre, as suitable for agricultural pursuits as the adjoining States of the Union. Manitoba, the "Prairie Province," is almost one vast wheat field, with a productivity for wheat unequalled anywhere except in the Red River valley of Minnesota and Dakota. The Manitoba grain harvest foots up to 50,000,000 bushels. British Columbia is a land of almost infinite possibilities, not only because of its mineral and timber resources, but also because of its capabilities for agriculture and fruit-growing. The Territories are so vast an area that no general description of them is possible, but it may be said that the great wheat valley of the Saskatchewan, the sheltered grazing country of Alberta, and the great wheat plains of the Peace River valley in Athabasca, are regions adapted in soil and climate to sustain a hardy and vigorous people. The population of Canada is comparatively small. It is estimated at 5,250,000. Over 1,000,000 people of Canadian birth reside in the United States, and the number of Americans residing in Canada is only 80,000. Out of the 2,425,000 persons who came to Canada as immigrants in a period of forty years, no fewer than 1,310,000, or fifty four per cent., came over into the United States. It is stated that this exodus has ceased, and that if any great movement of population now exists it is toward Canada.

CANADA'S FOREST WEALTH

Canada, like all new countries, depends for her prosperity upon the development and exportation of her natural products. These are of four great classes: (1), the products of her forests; (2), the products of her mines; (3), the products of her fisheries; (4), her agricultural products. Canada's forest resources, when both extent and quality are considered, are the finest in the world. The forest area uncut was in 1891 nearly 1,250,000 square miles, or more than one third of the area of the whole country. The annual value of the timber and lumber produced is about $82,500,000. The annual value of the timber and lumber exported is about $32,000,000. Two thirds of this goes to Great Britain, and over $9,000,000 in lumber and logs goes to the United States. Quebec and Ontario have unlimited supplies of spruce for wood-pulp manufacture, the annual output of which reaches 200,000 tons. The uncut lumber of British Columbia, which includes Douglas pine, Menzies fir, spruce, red and yellow cedar, and hemlock, is estimated to be 100,000,000,000 cubic feet.

CANADA'S MINERAL RESOURCES

Canada is just beginning to realise the largeness of her mineral resources. The most talked of gold-mines are those of the Klondike district, the extent of which is still uncertain. Much more definitely known and almost as productive are the gold-mines of British Columbia and the newly discovered gold-fields of the Rainy River district in northern Ontario. More important than the gold-mines of Canada are its coal-fields. These are principally in Nova Scotia and British Columbia. The latter province is destined to be the coal-supplying region for the whole Pacific coast of North America. The yearly output at present is about 1,000,000 tons; the yearly output of Nova Scotia is about 2,000,000 tons, principally produced by American capital. In Alberta there are said to be coal-fields having an area of 65,000 square miles. Iron is found in abundance in both British Columbia and Ontario. Ontario has in its nickel-mines of Sudbury a mineral treasure not found elsewhere in equal abundance in the world. Experts have estimated that 650,000,000 tons of this ore are actually in sight. Ontario produces petroleum and salt. Silver, copper, lead, asbestos, plumbago, mica, etc., are found in varying quantities. Canada imports annually from the United States nearly $10,000,000 worth of coal and coke.

CANADA'S FISHERIES

The fisheries of the Gulf of St. Lawrence and of the shallow waters bordering on Nova Scotia and Newfoundland have for centuries been the most productive in the world. The Canadian fishing interest in these waters is very great. Cod, mackerel, haddock, halibut, herring, smelts, and salmon, are the principal fish, and the annual "take" is about $15,000,000. About $2,500,000 worth of whitefish, salmon-trout, herring, pickerel, and sturgeon are produced annually from the Canadian lakes. The salmon-fishing of the rivers and great sea-inlets of British Columbia brings about $4,500,000 annually. About one half of the total product is exported to Great Britain and the United States.

CANADA'S AGRICULTURAL PRODUCE

Agriculture, including stock-raising, dairying and fruit-growing, is Canada's greatest industry. Over 23,000,000 acres are under crop and about 20,000,000 under pasture. Over 3,000,000 acres are under wheat cultivation. Ontario exports more than twice as much cheese as the whole of the United States, and her cheese product is recognised as the finest in the world. Canada exports to Great Britain alone $15,000,000 worth of cheese annually. In 1896, in Ontario alone, 170 creameries turned out over 6,000,000 pounds of butter at an average net receipt of 18-1/4 cents a pound. By the cold-storage facilities provided by the government Canadian butter can be sent even from far inland points to Liverpool or London without the slightest deterioration. England buys $6,000,000 worth of Canadian bacon and hams annually, and Canadian beef is already famous on the London market. American corn for stock-feeding is admitted to Canada free of duty and about $10,000,000 worth is imported annually. A great deal of eastern and southern Canada is well adapted to fruit-raising. The Niagara-St. Clair peninsula of Ontario is especially famous for its peaches and grapes.

CANADA'S TRADE WITH THE UNITED STATES

Canada has made a great effort in the direction of encouraging home manufactures, but her most progressive and most staple industries are those concerned in the conversion of the raw products of the country into articles of common merchandise. Her steam horse-power in proportion to population is the largest in the world. The capital invested in factories as a whole amounts to over $400,000,000, with an annual output of over $500,000,000. Her total annual importation is now over $130,000,000. More than half of this is from the United States. Canada's total annual exportation is about $160,000,000. Of this over one third goes to the United States. Canada's total trade with the United States is about forty one per cent. of her total trade with all countries, and almost equal to her total trade with Great Britain. Canada's total trade with the United States is exceeded only by that of Great Britain, Germany, and France, and her import trade with the United States is exceeded only by that of Great Britain and Germany.

CANADIAN CITIES

MONTREAL (250,000) is the commercial metropolis of Canada. It is situated on an island in the St. Lawrence River, and, though 1000 miles from the open ocean, the largest sea-going vessels reach its wharves with ease. It is the headquarters of Canada's two great railways--the Canadian Pacific system, with its 8000 miles of road, and the Grand Trunk system, with its 5000 miles of road. Through passenger-trains run from Montreal to Vancouver on the Pacific coast, a distance of nearly 3000 miles. Montreal is the centre also of the great inland navigation system of Canada.

TORONTO (200,000), the capital of the province of Ontario, is the second city of Canada. While Toronto has a great local trade and many important manufactures, it is specially noted as an educational centre. QUEBEC (80,000) is the oldest city of Canada and one of the oldest upon the continent. HALIFAX (50,000), the eastern terminus of the Canadian railway system, has one of the finest harbours in the world. WINNIPEG (35,000) is destined to be the centre of the great inland trade of Canada.

XIII. THE TRADE FEATURES OF THE UNITED STATES

THE CHARACTER OF OUR EXPORT TRADE

Having reviewed the industrial and trading conditions of the other great commercial nations of the world, it should now remain for us to review these conditions in the United States. But the United States is so large a country, and its trading and industrial interests are so diversified and extensive, that it would be impossible for us in the limits of our space even barely to touch upon all these interests. So that with respect to the "Trade Features of the United States" we shall simply confine ourselves to one part of the subject--namely, the character, extent, and importance of our foreign trade. And we shall, further, have to restrict ourselves in the main to our exports. These will be found to be principally not manufactures, but the products of our great agricultural, mining, and forest industries. The total value of the manufactures of the United States amounts in round numbers to the immense sum of $10,000,000,000 annually, a sum considerably more than a third (it is thirty five per cent.) of the total value of the annual manufactures of the world. But only a very small portion of this vast output is exported. The greater portion of it is used to sustain the still vaster internal trade of our country, a trade which amounts to more than $15,500,000,000 annually, an amount not far short of being one third of the total internal trade of the world, and not far short of being twice the internal trade of Great Britain and Ireland, the country whose internal trade comes next to ours. Our exports, therefore, are not in the main manufactured goods, but breadstuffs, provisions, and raw materials, the production of our farms, our plantations, our forests, and our mines. But principally they are the products of our farms and our plantations, for with the exception of cotton we do not export much raw material. Nearly all the raw material we produce (other than cotton) we use in our own manufactures. And even this is not enough, for in addition we have to import considerable quantities of raw material for our manufactures from other countries, the principal items being raw sugar, raw silk, raw wool, chemicals of various kinds including dye-stuffs, hides and skins, lumber, tin, nickel, and paper stock.

OUR EXPORT TRADE IN DETAIL