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/^BERKELEY

; LIBRARY

^ '

UNIVERSITY OF
CALIFORNIA

THE STORY OF AN AFRICAN CITY.

•^

DEDICATION.

This work, on the rise and progress of Maritzburg, is

dedicated by the Worshipful the Mayor and Town

Council of the City to

HIS HONOUR SIR MICHAEL HENRY GALLWEY,
Q.C., K.C.M.G.,

h Administrator of the Government and Chief Justice 9|

i of the Colony of Natal,

As a slight mark of the esteem and respect which his long

and useful career as a Legislator, a Judge, and a

Citizen has impressed on the hearts of

his fellow-colonists. ,

Town Office,
May, 1898.

•£&%-

His Honour Sir Michael Henry Ga.ll.wey, Q.C., K.C.M.G.
(Chief Justice of Natal).

THE STOKY

AN AFKICAN CITY,

Multa quoque et bella pass us, dum conderet urbem.

J. FORSYTH INGRAM,

Author of " The Colony of Natal;' " Natalia," " The Land
of Gold, Diamonds, and Ivory" etc., etc., etc.

Published by C. COESTEK, Marttzburg.

Printed by Wm. Watson, " Times of Natal" Maritzburg, Natal.

1898,

The Story of an African City.

Cr. J. J. Chapman,
J.P.

Dr. J. F. Allen
Boro. Health Officer)

G. J. Macfarlane,
J.P.l (Mayor).

♦
■* ■* *

Cr. C. G. Levy,
J.P.

E. M. Greene,
M.L.A.

(City Solicitor ).

S. Stranack, J.P.

{Town Clerk).

T. W. Woodhouse. J.P. D. F. Forsyth, B.A-
(Deputy Mayor). (Borough Accountant).

Cr. R. Mason, J.P. Cr. P. F. Payn, J.P. Cr. W. E. Bale. J.P-

T/te Story of an African Gity. 9

Cr. B, S. Kelly. Cr. B. Ireland. Cr. \V. H. Buchanan.

Cr. T. Raymond. Cr. W. J. O'Brien. Cr. R. F. Morcom.

Cr. W. S. Crart. Cr. C. W. B. Scott. Cr. S. J. Mason.

LOAN STACK

P5154
MAIN

CONTENTS.

PART I.

Chapter I. — Difference between British and African History

— Duty of the rising generation ... ... ... ... 3

Chapter II. — The dramatis personm. — The Stage— A Word Pic-
ture of the Wilderness — Chaka's Hosts — Lieutenants Fare-
well and King — The Zulu Power — Cession of the Territory
to the Kritish — Death of Chaka— Dingaan... ... ... 7

Chapter III. — The Boers.— Their reason for leaving the Cape
Colony — A Pioneer Expedition into Natal — The Great Trek
— Arrival on the Berg-— Entering Natal— Negotiations with
Dingaan— The FatalJFreaty 13

Chapter IV.— The Great Place of Dingaan— A Word Picture—
Retief and his Party— Dingaan's Treachery— The Massacre
of Retief and Party— Attacking the Emigrants— The Slaugh-
ter at Weenen— Relief Columns— The Covenant— Defeat of
Dingaan — Bojesman's Randt — The Founding of the City —
Its Price in Human Lives— Election of a Volksraad— Naming
the City — The Fulfilment of the Covenant ... ... 18

Chapter V — Arrival of British Troops— Rising Clouds— With-
drawal of Troops — Hoisting^ of Dutch Flag — The Republic
of Natalia — A Peep at the Voortrekkers — The laying out of
the City — Troubles at Dingaan's Kraal — Umpanda and fol-
lowers join the Boers — Defeat, exile, and death of Dingaan
— Umpanda declared King of the Zulus ... ... ... 24

Chapter VI. — More trouble with the British — Re-occupation of
Natal — War —Boer Victories — Steady advance of the British
— Submission of the Boers — The Union Jack hoisted and
Fort Napier established — Natal a Province of the Cape —
British Apathy — An Impossible Position — A new Exodus-
Causes which led to the foundation of the Transvaal Re-
public 29

Chapter VII — Advent of the Emigrants— First Municipal Board

City divided into Wards— A Retrospect ... ... ... 35

Chapter VIII. — Sir George Grey— The Royal Charter— Open-
ing of the First Parliament — Maritzburg declared the Capital
of the Colony ... ... ... ... ... ... 39

412

PART II.

Chapter IX.— A Bird's-eye View of the City— Altitudes-
Scenery — Contrasts— Fort Napier — Latitude — Longtitude —
The Railway Station ... ... ... ... 41

Chapter X— Municipal History— The first Journals— The first
Town Board — The Borough Endowment — The Borough Seal
— Parks — Schools — Rash Speculation — Trade Depression —
Effect of the Discovery of Diamonds ... ... ... 48

Chapter XI. — Preparations for the Zulu War — Maritzburg For-
tified—The Boer War— Trade Depression— Effect of Gold
Discoveries— Excitement — Wild Speculation — Financial
Disasters— Recovery— Steady Progress ... ... ... 59

Chapter XII. — Borough Finances ... ... ... ... 67

Chapter XIII.— Public Buildings ... ... ... ... 73

Chapter XIV. — Institutions and Industries ... ... ... 82

Chapter XV.— Maritzburg as a Health Resort— Vital Sta-
tistics— Effect of Climate on Diseases. — Pleasure Resorts ... 97

Chapter XVI.— Education Statistics— Mr. Robert Russell.
— Maritzburg College— Blenheim School — Girls' Collegiate
School — Thanet House School — Murchiston School ... 113

Chapter XVII. — Sport in the City— Racing — Athletics-
Field Sports ... ... ... ... ... ... 156

Chapter XVIIL— Conclusion — A Word Picture — The
Opening of the First Parliamsnt under the new Con-
stitution— The Past and Present — Her Majesty's Jubilee
—Poem— The Last Scene... ... ... ... ... 160

Personal Notes ... ... ... ... ... ... 165

Members for the City (Illustrated) ... ... ... ... 167

Business Review — Early Trade— Mr. Barter's Book — The
Ubiquitous Auctioneer-Boer Vernuckers-Trade Established
— Messrs. Mowat & Still— Messrs. Brady & Wyles — Messrs.
Collins and Munro — Mr. J. Hughes — Mr. Henry Collins —
Messrs. Jesse Smith & Son — Messrs. David Whitelaw
and Son — Messrs. Merryweather & Sons — Messrs. R.
McAlister & Sons — Mr. John Hardy — Mr. D. Nicolson
— Messrs. Turner & Company — Mr. Thomas Hannah —
Mr. Robert Fuller — Messrs. P. Henwood, Son, Soutter
and Company — Messrs. Clifford and Smith — Messrs.
Mason & Broadbent — Messrs Taylor & Fowler — Mr.
J. C. Baumann — Imperial Hotel — Messrs. W. H. Walker
and Co. — Messrs. Schwake, Watt & Co. — List of Mayors of
Pietermaritzburg — Cab Stands and Cab Fares — Jinricksha
Stands and Fares.

INDEX TO ADVERTISEMENTS.

EDUCATIONAL ESTABLISHMENTS.

PAGE.

Michaelhouse ... ... ... ... ... ... iii.

St. Anne's Diocesan College ... ... ... ... ... iii.

Pietermaritzburg High School for Girls ... ... ... xiii.

St. Charles's Grammar School ... ... ... ... xv.

Convent of the Holy Family . . . ... ... xv.

Hilton College ... ... ... ... ... ... xiii.

HOTELS AND CLUBS.

Imperial Hotel ... ... ... ... ... ... xliii.

C. Woodhouse ... ... ... ... ... •■• xli.

Victoria Hotel ... ... ... ... - ••• xiii.

The Grosvenor ... ... ... ... ... ... xxxii.

Castle Hotel (Howick) ... ... ... ... ... xix

Howick Falls Hotel ... ... ... ... x.

MERCHANTS, BOOT AND SHOE WAREHOUSES, OUT-
FITTERS, DRAPERS, &c, GENERAL DEALERS.

Ireland & Co. ... ... ... ... ... ... i.

W. Rogerson ... ... ... ... ... ... ii.

J. Raw & Co. ... ... ... ... ■•• .. viii.

Robert Guy ... ... ... ... ... ... xxjx.

Harvey, Greenacre & Co. ... ... ... ... •• xxiii.

Simmer, Jenkins & Co. .. ... . ••• • •• xviii.

Mallett&Co. ... v.

R. Elliot ... ... ... ... ... ... ...xxxix.

A. Ogilvie ... ... ... ... ••• ••• ••• v.

E. G. Mendenhall ... ... ... ... ... ... v.

Taylor & Fowler ... ... ... ... ... ... iv.

Williams & Lambert ... .. ... ... ... xii.

City Public Supply Stores (Alf. Grix) ... ... ... ix.

James & Son ... ... ... ... ••• ... xxxv.

Robert Jones (Howick ... ... ... ... ... xxix.

MILLINERS.

Mme. Hamer-Calvert ... .. ... ... ... ix.

CHEMISTS AND DRUGGISTS.

Robt. Fuller ... ... ... ... ... ... xliy.

Hessey Allanson ... ... ... ... ... ••• xxvi.

Stantial & Allerston ... ... ... ... ... ••• xxvii.

XVI.

NURSERYMEN, FLORISTS, AND SEEDSMEN.

G. H. Wilkinson ... ... ... ... ... .. xxxix.

Fisher, Prior & Weddell ... ... ... ... xl.

W.J.Bell xxv.

FURNITURE DEALERS AND MANUFACTURERS.

Clifford & Smith vii.

Simmer, Jenkins & Co. ... ... ... ... ... xviii.

John Hughes ... ... ... ... ... ... xliv.

BUTCHERS.

Thompson & Sons ... ... ... ... ... ...xxviii.

SWORN TRANSLATOR.

Mr. John M. Hershensohnn ... ... ... ... ... xl

fPREFACE

•:0:-

Thejpresent volume constitutes perhaps the first attempt
that has yet been made to publish, as an illustrated work,
the history of the rise and progress of one of the pioneer
cities of the British Empire in South Africa.

Next to Cape Town, Maritzburg can justly claim to
rank high amongst the historically interesting centres ot
civilisation on the southern portion of this continent, and
though lacking the glamour begotten of gold and diamond
mines, the City, as the scene of many political and warlike
events, has a history which is well worthy of preservation
and remembrance.

As the mother City of South-eastern Africa, she has
borne her full share in the development of British enter-
prise in ^the country, notwithstanding the many grievous
drawbacks which have hampered her advancement.

2 The Story of an African City.

Her citizen soldiers were among the very first in the
history of the British Empire to take the field as an
organised force against the barbarians, in defence of hearth
and home, and her tribute in blood on the field of battle is
neavier than that of almost any other town in South Africa,

During two important wars she has been the base of
military operations, while as the centre of an agricultural
and pastoral district, her citizens have done good service in
fostering those important pursuits.

The chapter dealing with educational matters will fully
demonstrate the fact that the Government, the Municipality,
and the citizens have spared neither effort nor expense in
their successful endeavours to supply scholastic advantages
of the highest and most approved standard, and to make
Maritzburg desirable in every particular from an academic
point of view.

It will also be shown that as a health and pleasure
resort Maritzburg occupies no second-rate position, and the
chapter on the subject will have a wide and special interest
to medical and general readers throughout the world.

The illustrations constitute in themselves a fairly com-
plete pictorial history of the progress of the City and of some
of those who have laboured for its benefit.

In conclusion, the writer has to gratefully acknowledge
the assistance rendered him in the compilation of historical
facts by the officials of the Colonial Secretary's office, and
many other friends, and particularly by Mr. D. F. Forsyth,
B.A., the Borough Accountant, in connection with the
financial affairs of the City.

J. F. I.

Maritzburg, 14th April, 1898.

PART I.

CHAPTER 1.

Difference between British and African History. — Duty of the
rising generation.

0 write the Story ot an

African City is a vastly

3 different matter to pen-

ning in orthodox guide book fashion the records

XGjft/X of one of the stone villages in the country of
the Great White Qneen across the ocean.

In dealing with almost any of the populous
centres of Great Britain, the writer must look to antiquity
to furnish him with that picquant dash which lends flavour
and interest to his narrative.

The facts he has to chronicle, while perhaps stirring
enough in themselves, are oftentimes so remote as almost to
have lost immediate human interest.

Very different, however, is it when the historian is
called to deal with the events which cluster around the
foundation of a city in the wilds of Africa.

The Story oj an African City.

The Story of an African City. 5

The courage, endurance, and determination which have
to be exercised day and night, year in year out. by the
daring pioneers of African civilization are subjects well
worthy, not only of the pen of the author and the poet, but
of the admiratio*h of those whose high privilege it is to be
the immediate successors of champions and heroes.

This work is to be no mere recapitulation of dry facts
or wearisome statistics. It is the story of men's lives spent
bravely and generously in the cause of advancement and
civilisation.

To quote the words of a poet : —

" He must be brave who dares the wilderness,
Who breaks the spell of loneliness, and cleaves
A pathway through the wilds, and founds a hoir-p
In unknown places."

Such were the men whose lives and works have gone
before us, and whose brave example should be emulated.
The rising generation of Maritzburg has every reason to be
honestly proud of the city of its birth or adoption, and he is
indeed unworthy of his heritage who does not resolve to
strain every nerve to push forward to completion the great
work which, but sixty years ago, was so nobly commenced.

Year by year new and stately buildings are being
erected, the town is rapidly taking its place as one of the
commercial and educational centres of Greater Britain, its
natural features eminently lend themselves to expansion,
and given the enthusiasm on the part of its present citizens
that marked the career of those of the past, it is difficult
indeed to set a limit to the bounds of that progress, the be-
ginning of which is to be recorded within the covers of this
volume.

It is safe to say that but few persons in Maritzburg
have ever accorded to the history of the City more than a
passing thought, and yet the subject teems with interest.

6 The Story of an African City.

Those who join us will find the reality of history as
exciting and adventurous as the most exacting appetite can
desire. Before we get down to ithe period of paved streets
and settled homes we must pass, in imagination, through
the pathless wilds with the trek Boers, and hear again, in
fancy, the rattling volleys from the laager walls and the war
yells of desperate barbarians. We must pass reverently by

JBUB* -

. • ! -pax

•3HKCV^H

KsS

"%F\

A FOREST SCENE.

the graves of those whose lives constitute the foundations of
the Colony, which now looks to the present and rising
generations for its honour and its life ; and as the mile-
stones of the years are viewed there cannot fail to rise in each
true heart an earnest resolve to be worthy of the traditions
and the glory of the past.

The Story of an African City.

CHAPTER II.

The dramatis personce.— The Stage. — A Word Picture of the Wilder-
ness.— Chaka's Hosts. — Lieutenants Farewell and King. — The Zulu
Power. — Cession of the Territory to the British. — Death of
Chaka. — Dingaan.

)HE dramatis personce who are about to play their parts
in this story consist of three classes, namely, the
Natives, a few adventurous Britishers, and, later on, a con-
siderable company of Dutch voortrekkers.

The time is about 1820.

The stage upon which they are to appear is no mere
painted one. It is backed by a grand panorama of rocky
mountains, snow-clad and cloud-capped, which trend in a
long irregular line from the south to the north-eastward.

The middle distance is made up of open, grassy moun-
tains, black forests, and foaming rivers ; while the tore-
ground consists of palms, yellow strand, and ocean. Of
footlights there are none, for the play goes on for ever —
lighted by da) with a sun like a blazing shield, and by night
with a glorious moon. By way ot music, this magnificent
theatre is filled with the sound oi the sighing wind or roaring
tempest. The songs of birds are hushed now and again by
the deep voice of the lion or the hoof-batter of a passing
herd of deer. Fair flowers stud the hills with bright points
of colour, and the whole scene breathes of primaeval peace —
a peace which, alas, is destined to be speedily disturbed ; for,
ere its beauty has been fully realised, the deep-toned chant
of a savage war party, swelling in measured cadence as it
approaches, proclaims that, even here, the evil passions of
human nature are in full play.

The war hosts of Chaka, the Zulu King, are on the
march, slaughtering and ravening like hungry wolves ;

The Story of an African City.

while their helpless victims, the peaceable tribes of the
country, in vain fly for shelter to the cliffs and the forests.

Well may those cliffs and forests reek with blood, and
the voices of nature be silenced, for as the hosts sweep on
beyond our ken, upon the stage, so lately calm and pure, are
seen the ghastly forms of slaughtered men and maids.

Watch that place where the lifeless ones are lying, for
on that very spot is destined, when the scene is changed, to
rise that African City whose story we are telling.

ZULUS 1'IGHTING.

While the foregoing scene was being enacted, a very
different one was taking place a few hundred miles to the
southward on the eastern frontier of the Cape Colony.

Two British officers, Lieutenants Farewell and King,
were listening with deepest attention to the stories told them
by certain traders and hunters. These latter, who had just
returned from a journey through the territory, now known
as Natal, were recounting their adventures and travels.

The Story of an African City. 9

The land was' described, and truthfully by them, as a verit-
able hunter's Eden, and the listeners were sportsmen. The
result was that these gallant officers, accompanied by certain
friends, set sail for Natal on board the schooner Salisbury
in 1824, and so enter upon the scene the second set of
characters.

At this time, Chaka, the King of the Zulus, was in the
zenith of his power and glory, and the nation over which he
ruled had become a dominant onei.throughout South-eastern

DEATH BY THE SPEAR.

Africa, holding sovereign rights over the territory extending
from Delagoa Bay, in the north-east, to St. John's River,
and even beyond it, in the south.

The newcomers settled at the Bay of Natal, and at
once commenced their negotiations with Chaka for terri-
torial rights, which they obtained in 1828.

It may be contended by some that the foregoing has
no connection with the history of Maritzburg ; but as a

10 The Story of an African City.

matter of fact it has, for in the first place, had the British
settlers not been in firm and legal possession of the Bay and
Harbour, it is more than probable that many of the Dutch
emigrants, who entered the country shortly afterwards,
would have, by preference, established themselves there.
In the second place, the treaty with (Jhaka, signed on
the 17th September, 1828, irrevocably ceded to the British
a territory extending one hundred miles inland from the sea,

A VICTIM,

so that the site of Maritzburg, though afterwards illegally
annexed by the Boers, was fully thirty miles inside the then
recognised British frontier.

The British settlers apportioned the Coast-laDds out
among themselves, and set quietly to work to make the
wilderness blossom and bring forth.

Gradually they gathered about them a few scattered
remnants of the defeated tribes, and as time went on they

The Story of an African City.

became a distinct power in the land. There is ample
evidence that they made themselves intimately acquainted
with the hinterland of their new territory, but they have,
unfortunately, left us scant record of their adventures and
sport.

It is now time to introduce the third group of characters,
but before doing so, it may be necessary to mention that in
the year 1828, and within a very short period of the ceding

HERD OF CATTLE.

of Natal to the British, the Zulu King, Chaka, perished by
assassination at the hands of his brothers Dingaan and
Mahlangana.

Dingaan having put some of his brothers and other
accomplices to death, assumed sovereignity over the Zulu
nation, and then set out on a course of extermination against
the settlers. His efforts, as far as the British at the Bay
were concerned, proved abortive, but alas, he succeeded, as
will be shown further on, in effecting terrific disasters on
the newcomers.

The Story of an African City.

The Story of an African City. 13

CHAPTER III.

The Boers. — Their reason for leaving the Cape Colony. — A Pioneer
Expedition into Natal. — The Great Trek. — Arrival on the Berg. —
Entering Natal. — Negotiations with Dingaan. — The Fatal Treaty.

tT would be unfair to bring the third group of our
dramatis persona upon the stage where they have to
play so important a part, without a few words of explanation.
For some years previous to the Kafir war of 1834 in the
Cape Colony, the Dutch settlers in that country had been

DEAD BUFFALO.

excessively discontented with the attitude assumed by the
British Government in connection with the control of the
native population.

The events which immediately followed the war brought
matters to a crisis.

The authorities regarded the prevalence of a system of
forced native labour as slavery, which indeed it was, and
terminated it by proclamation at a time when, it is asserted,
the farmers stood most in need of harvesting assistance.

The Story or an African City.

It was consequently resolved by the Dutch colonists
that an expedition should be sent to explore the countries to
the north-eastward of the Cape Colony, with a view to the
establishment of an independent state there. Accordingly,
fourteen wagons were prepared at Uitenhage, and a party
led by Pieter and Jacobus Uys, Hans de Lange, Stephanus
Maritz, and Gert Rudolph made their way along the eastern
slopes of the Drakensberg, until they finally arrived, to the
great surprise of the British settlers, at Port Natal.

DEAD GIRAFFE.

After spending a pleasant time, and learning all they
could about the country, they returned whence they came
and made a favourable report to their compatriots.

In the following year another detachment of Boers,
under Pieter Retief and Hendrick Potgieter, succeeded in
finding a practicable pass through the Drakensberg Moun-
tains, entering Natal from the westward.

The Story of an African City.

We have now the third party that is to take a part in
ihe founding of the African City fairly in view, and stirring
indeed are the scenes which are about to be enacted.

As the sun arose to lighten the vast theatre which we
have already described, and as its rays caught the crests of
the rocky mountains which form the background of the
stage, a strange and wonderful spectacle is presented.

Away up against the misty sky line, clouds of dust can
be faintly seen, and then growing slowly into sight, hundreds

RHINOCEROS.

of lumbering wagons advance over the roadless heights.
There, full in sight amongst the cliffs and peaks of the Berg,
stand the famous Voortrekkers.

Gallantly have they fought their way over the wilder-
ness, where the hosts of foemen held sway. Time and
again have they met them in battle and hurled them from
their path, and now, like the Israelites of old, they stand in
view of their promised land.

1 he Story of an African City.

Here, indeed, are the veritable founders of the African
City which will shortly rise solid and secure, cemented with
the blood which has been shed already, and that which, alas,
has yet to be poured out from many a hopeful heart.

Stern Calvanists and fatalists as they were, tinged with
the enthusiasm of their Huguenot, and the phlegm of their
Dutch ancestors, they regarded themselves as God's chosen

KAFIK KKAAL.

people, who were destined to possess the land, and tc smite
the Natives hip and thigh.

Wonderfully indeed had they been preserved thus far
on their way ; yet might the moralist draw from their sub-
sequent career a telling lesson on the vanity of human hopes
Though they stood upon the threshold of their heritage,

The Story of an African City. 17

and looked down into a land which veritably flowed with
milk and honey, and which they fondly imagined they had
bnt to go in and possess without further toil, there was yet an
invisible barrier of anguish and death which must be passed
before they could enter into the enjoyment of rest.

Stretching far along the crests of the mountains, their
flocks and herds were allowed to graze while the caravan
halted, and a party of trusty pioneers rode down the moun-
tain side to spy out the land. Shortly after, the Berg was
swarming with moving caravans as the whole expedition
trekked down the slopes intent on taking possession of their
new estate.

Well would it have been for them had they patiently
waited the development of events, for, shortly afterwards,
the most of them were massacred, and the page of Africa's
history so deeply stained with blood as to remain for all
time a memory of sorrow and disaster.

Scattering themselves along the banks of the Tngela
and Bushman's Rivers, they each selected their farms and
set about the establishment of new homes.

Meanwhile, Retief commenced negotiations with King
Dingaan for territorial rights. Ignoring the British Charter
previously granted by Chaka, that wily potentate cheerfully
issued another ; but, as events proved, without the slightest
intention of making it good.

18 The Story of an African City.

CHAPTER IV.

The Great Place of Dingaan. — A Word Picture. — Retief and his
Party. — Dingaar's Treachery. — The Massacre of Retief and
Party. — Attacking the Emigrants. — The Slaugther at Weenen. —
Relief Columns. — The Covenant. — Defeat of Dingaan. — Bosjes-
man's Randt. — The Founding of the City. — Its Price in Human
Lives. — Election of a Volksraad. — Naming the City. — The Fulfil-
ment of the Covenant.

HE tragic events which are now
about to be chronicled have such
an important bearing on South African history generally,
and Natalian history particularly, that they cannot be
lightly passed over.

Far up to the eastward of where the Voortrekkers have
made their homes, on the banks of the River Umfolosi, in
the territory of King Dingaan, there appears through the
early morning light a vast assemblage of Native huts,
clustered round an enclosure, wherein stand placidly dosing
the household cattle of the Zulu King ; for this is the great
place of Dingaan.

There appears to be a suppressed air of excitement
abroad. Groups of warriors with trailing plumes pass to and
fro, while others in dense masses still slumber on the open
spaces between the huts. Close by, encamped in a thicket
lies the gallant Retief and his comrades.

The Story of an African City.

For weeks the King has kept them in suspense ; burn-
ing to return to their people, they were resolved not to do so
until they could take with them the cession of the territory
of Natal, duly attested by the King.

Task after task had been set them to perform ; they
had cheerfully complied with every requirement of the
savages, and now waited but to officially bid the King
farewell.

AFRICANDERS AT HOME.

As the morning advanced the kraal gates were opened,
and the cattle driven forth, to be replaced ere long by masses
of armed warriors.

In due course the King appeared, and summoning the
pioneers to his presence, he begged them as a proof of their
confidence in his good faith to lay aside their weapons.

This they did, and there, in the centre of a vast horde
of armed barbarians, stood the advance guard of Natal's
civilization.

The Story of an African City.

With a friendly smile the King stoops forward and lays
his hand on the pen which traces his mark or signature ;
then, calling to the attendants, he bids them bring beer, so
that his guests might partake of a stirrup cup previous to
their departure. Still with a friendly aspect he raises the
vessel to his lips and then passes it to Retief.

VOORTREKKERS HUT.

Savages as are the spectators, there is a hush amongst
them, and the human strain that lies deep in every breast,
however criminal, must have thrilled as they waited for
the cruel order which was to be the signal for a massacre.
The last Voortrekker has partaken and the vessels are carried
away. There is a moment's silence, then the King rises
calmly from his seat, his eye glances iat the sea of waiting

The Story of an African City. 21

faces, his lips pronounce the words of doom : " Slay the evil
ones — the wizards ! " and the awful work is done.

The slaughter having once commenced, no time is
lost in following it up.

That night a great war party set out on its mission of
death.

Meanwhile the settlers, unconscious of impending harm,
were quietly leading their pastoral lives. Most of the men
were away buffalo hunting, while those who remained were
so scattered as to be practically defenceless against the
terrific rush that was made on them.

After devastating the outlying homesteads the army of
Dingaan, flashed with victory and the lust of blood, swept
on to the main laager of the Voortrekkers at Bushman's
River.

These latter having been forewarned were prepared for
the onslaught ; and again the curtain rises on a terrible
scene of carnage.

War without mercy, war to extermination was the
order of the day.

Hedged in by spears and yelling hosts the tiny laager
stood the shock. A ceaseless roar of musketry rent the air;
frail women and young girls joined the fray ; the guns were
discharged until they were too hot to load, when they were
clubbed and crashed into the skulls of the invading foe.

Four times they charged and four times were they re-
pulsed, until baffled and defeated the savages took to flight.

Within one short week over 600 men, women, and
children perished by the spear.

Many of the Voortrekkers were still to the westward of
the Berg, but when they heard of the disasters which had
befallen their countrymen, a column, 350 strong, was formed,
and, under the leadership of Piet Uys and Henry Potgieter,
set out to the rescue (in the month of April, 1838) while

The Story of an African City.

Maritz remained behind with the balance of the emigrants.
The result, after many vicissitudes, was defeat and disaster
to the Boers.

Another column, this time under the leadership ot
Andries Pretorius, set forth. Prior to starting a solemn
service was held by the Voortrekkers, and a covenant made

A NATAL ZULU CHIEF.

with the Lord to the effect that if He would vouchsafe them
the victory over the Zulus, a house would be raised to the
glory of His Great Name, and the day of the victory be
observed by them and their descendants as a holy day for
all time. That victory was accorded them on Sunday, the
16th December, 1838.

The Story of an African City.

Having crushed the power of Dingaan, they marched
back to their laager in triumph.

Selecting a long, low ridge, named Bosjesman's Randt,
under the Zwaartkop Mountain (and, as already stated, well
within the bounds of the territory ceded to the British by
Chaka), they founded and established the African City whose
story this is.

Before the first stone was laid, however, the fights
which have already been chronicled had cost over 800
European and between 8,000 and 10,000 African lives.

DUTCH REFORMED CHURCH.

In the latter part of 1838 the Settlement of Maritzburg
consisted of six small hovels and many wagons and tents.

In the beginning of 1839 a Volksraad, or Council of the
People, was elected, and on the 15th February of the same
year, the town that was to be, was officially named Pieter
Maritzburg, in honour of Pieter Retief and Gert Maritz.

24 The Story of an African City.

Fresh caravans came pouring into the country from
the Cape Colony, and the actors upon our stage might be
numbered by the thousand.

The menace of war had now apparently passed away,
and the hill which a few years before had been studded with
the ghastly forms of slaughtered savages, now echoed with
the laughter of children and the clangour of church bells.

The Voortrekkers had kept their covenant, and built a
house of worship to the honour and glory of God.

Such is the story of the founding of an African City.

CHAPTER V.

Arrival of British Troops. — Rising Clouds. — Withdrawal of Troops. —
Hoisting of Dutch Flag. — The Republic of Natalia. — A Peep at the
Voortrekkers. — The laying-out of the City. — Troubles at Dingaan's
Kraal. — Umpanda and followers join the Boers. — Defeat, exile,
and death of Dingaan. Umpanda declared King of the Zulus.

LTHOUGH the actual founding of the City had
become an accomplished fact, its troubles and those
of its founders were by no means ended.

On the victorious return of the commando, an unpleasant
surprise awaited the champions, who had, as they imagined,
won, by right of conquest, all the territory which lay between
the Drakensberg and the sea.

Whilst the Boers had been engaged in daily conflict
with the natives, word had been conveyed to the Cape
Colony of the dire straits in which they were placed. As the
Cape authorities still regarded them, notwithstanding their
protests, as British subjects, Sir George Napier, the then
Governor, sent troops forward to put a stop to the war. The
detachment, which consisted of 100 men of the 72nd High-
landers and the Royal Artillery, was under the command of

The Story of an African City.

26 The Story of an African City.

•

Major Charteris, who was accompanied, as diplomatic agent,

by Mr. (afterwards Sir) Theophilus Shepstone, a gentleman

who was destined from this date forward to play an important

part in subsequent events.

Great was the indignation of the emigrants when they
learned of the action of Great Britain.

Finding that hostilities were practically at an end,
Major Charteris, accompanied by Mr, Shepstone, after de-
claring his instructions to the Volksraad, left overland for
the Cape.

Captain Jervis, who was left in charge of the British
Garrison at the Bay, found the Voortrekkers, both in his
own vicinity and in Maritzburg, in no mood to submit to his
authority.

On the Christmas Day of 1839 the British Government,
having resolved not to colonise Natal, withdrew their troops.

Again the curtain rises on an important period. This
time confined to the Market Square of Maritzburg.

As the light streams over the scene, it reveals a few
scattered hovels. Wagons are outspanned here and there,
while tents of every description form canvas streets to right
and left.

In the centre of the scene a tall flagstaff" had been
erected. Here, there, and everywhere amongst the dwellings
and the tents, mounted on their rough but hardy horses,
ride the valiant Voortrekkers. Unkempt as their steeds,
with flowing hair and straggling beards, clad in fustian
garments, slouch hats, and veldtschoons, they presented more
the appearance of brigands and freebooters then decent
farmers and fathers of families.

The whole scene bristles with rifles. Stalking amongst
their masters are hundreds of skin-clad and feather-bedecked
Natives and Hottentots.

The Story of an African City.

These are the serfs, bondsmen, and slaves of the emi-
grants. The morning meal over, the whole population
pours out to the Market Square.

First a gallant cavalcade of mounted men, hardy desert
rangers, who need no martial music or tinsel pomp to brace
them for the fray or the senate.

Close behind them come the mass of non-combatants.
Clustering around the flagstaff, where stands their leader,

GRANITE BLOCKS, MIDDLE UMGENI.

Andries Pretorius, they watch him, while he binds on the
new-born flag to the halyards. A flash of colour, a roaring
cheer, and the tricolour soars aloft. The Republic is born,
the new Republic of Natalia.

Considering that the withdrawal of the British
troops meant the abandonment by Great Britain of all pre-

The Story of an African City.

tentions to sovereign rights over the territory, they felt that
at last they had obtained complete independence.

The gathering breaks up, and the scene gradually
blends into one of placid agricultural progress.

New houses spring up in every direction.

The grassy slopes of Bosjesman's Kandt are laid out in
streets, and the town divided into building lots, 46*0 of which
were sold at prices ranging from £4 to £7 10s. each. By

NATIVE CHIEFTAIN HOLDING HIS COURT.

virtue of a certain regulation, each emigrant was entitled to
two farms in the country, as well as a tree erf in the town
ship.

Although Dingaan had in the previous campaign been
defeated, he had by no means been crushed, and shortly
after the hoisting of the Republican flag he began in-
triguing again.

The Story of an African City. 29

He had, however, trouble enough at his own court to
deterhim from active hostilities. His brother, Umpanda,
had f»r some time shown signs of revolt, and at length,
followed by fully half of the Zulu nation, came over in a
mass t> the Boers.

Tiree hundred and fifty of these latter, at the head of
Umpanda's army, set out on a final expedition against the
hated King, who was now thoroughly defeated and driven
into e;ile.

Jailing back on Swaziland, he was captured by the
King )f that country, who tortured him to death.

tmpanda was now declared King of the Zulus, and in
his giatitnde to his Dutch friends he presented them with
40,00* head of cattle, which doubtless he had taken from
Dingian's herds.

As the close of the last chapter saw the City of Maritz-
burg founded, so the close of this one brings it to that stage
when it becomes the capital of a Dutch Republic, whose
legislators are not only simple farmers, but valiant pioneers,
dictators to vast Native population, king makers and
breakers, and sad, alas, to relate, oppressors and enslavers
of th3 subject races of the country.

CHAPTER VI.

More trouble with the British. — Re-occupation of Natal. — War. —
B<>er Victories. — Steady advance of the British. — Submission of
the Boers. — The Union Jack hoisted and Fort Napier established. —
N*tal a Province of the Cape. — British apathy. — An impossible
position. — A new exodus. — Causes which led to the foundation of
the Transvaal Republic.

|HE Dutch being now monarchs of all they surveyed,
the hated British far over the seas, and the equally
detested Dingaau mouldering in his grave, there lurked but

1 he Story of an African City.

was
ireat

one poison drop in their cnp of happiness, and that
their non-recognition as an independent state by
Britain.

In response to a communication from them, the (Gover-
nor of the Cape, acting under instructions from Elome,
repeated his claim to authority over them as British suiojects,
which indeed they were.

KARKLOOF FALLS.

For about two years the matter was confined tc occa-
sional exchanges of despatches, and no active steps were
taken by the Home Government to enforce its claim.

Encouraged by this apathy, it is alleged the) Boers
commenced a system of oppression towards the Nativ

On an appeal from these people for protection, \a de-
tachment of troops under Captain Smith was despatched
overland from the Cape.

The Story of an African City.

On the 2nd December, 1841, a proclamation was issued
by SiriGeorge Napier, announcing the re-occupation of Natal
by the British.

It does not fall within the scope of this work to
chronicle in detail the events of the British-Boer war which
followed ; suffice to say, that several battles were fought, in
which the Boers had their share of success.

RIVER SCENE.

On one occasion, ten Britishers were captured by them
at the Bay, and brought to Maritzburg in chains, where
they were exhibited in public places like wild beasts.

The result of the war was that the Boer flag was hauled
down, the newly-established Republic became a memory of
the past, the Union Jack of Great Britain was planted on a

The Story of an African City.

hill commanding the town, where a fort was built and named
after Sir George Napier, the then Governor of the Cape.

Natal was now British territory, and by proclamation
declared a province of the Cape. Strange to say, no steps
were taken to give effect to this proclamation for some con-
siderable time. Captain (now Major) Smith was nominally
head of the province, but the Boer Volksraad lingered on,

THE DRAKKNSBERG.

and the Boers themselves at Maritzburg and elsewhere
throughout the country, although they had made official
submission to the British, were living practically in open
revolt.

At this distance of time it is possible to fully gauge
the importance to the whole of South Africa of the events
which were then about to take place,

The Story of an African City. 33

The smouldering discontent against the British, of which
Maritzburg was the centre, was about to cause the birth of
a new Republic, further to the north, of such dazzling
brilliance as to attract the attention of the whole civilised
world, and to materially add to the wealth of the human
race, while at the same time it was destined to be for many
years a bar to the progress of the country as a whole.

Dissatisfied at British delay and indifference to their
urgent requirements, a number of the founders of Maritz-
burg once again turned their eyes longingly to the far off
wilds beyond the Vaal River.

Failing to obtain the redress they required, wlrch lay
in the direction of a recognition of preposterous land claims
and rights over the Natives, the settlers again resolved
to take their destinies in their own hands, and carve out for
themselves an ideal state, where the devil, in the shape of a
Briton, might never enter.

Once more the curtain rises on our stage. The time but
five years later than the occasion of the hoisting of the
Republican flag.

The foreground of the scene remains as it was before,
an azure Bay, a yellow strand, a few scattered houses
constituting a British settlement.

Further back on the scene is the City, but no longer
mistress of a Republic.

The Union Jack floats bravely from the staff whereon
had hung the Republican tricolour.

From Fort Napier the frowning guns look down on the
sullen town, while under their bent brows dark glances
of hate are hurled back by the burghers. No rosy light
beats on the silent City, dark clouds overhang it, and mut-
tered threats are heard,

The Story of an African Oity.

The Market Square is no longer filled with the laughing
voices of children. The great lumbering wagons are once
more in sight, heavily laden for the road.

Another exodus is taking place, and once again the
founders of the City are about to move out in quest of
pastures new.

GORDON FALLS.

Now and then, when the faces of the burghers relaxed
at softer memories, the glimpse of a red tunic over the
ramparts of Fort Napier would set the tide of feeling going,
and turning to the caravan, which was to gather strength
as it passed through the uplands, they moved slowly away,

The Story of an African City. 35

bearing with them as they went the darksome clouds of
discontent and danger.

Though many have gone, many remain, and. lo ! the
scene is brightening with the removal of the elements of
discord.

As the founders of the City pass out of sight and enter
on their new arena of endeavour, we would be less than
human did we not, while fully recognising their short-
comings, bestow upon them the laurels which they have go
nobly won. Had they but had patience and knowledge
enough to wait the due course of events, many unpleasant
pages of African history need never have been written.
But this was not to be.

In the all-wise ruling of Providence, and in the Mighty
System, which ever works out for human good, the mystery
of which no man may solve, it would indeed appear that
these simple clans were led by an invisible pillar of cloud
and fire through the wilderness, nay, through the valley of
the shadow to the green pastures, where they now repose.

Bon voyage, brave hearts, we may meet again ; but
not on this stage, where Britain reigns supreme.

CHAPTER VII.

Advent of the Emigrants.— First Municipal Board.— City divided
into "Wards. — A Eetrospect.

JHE closing scene of the last chapter witnessed the
departure from the stage of a large number of its
most prominent actors, while the present one is destined to
treat of the advent of a company about 5,000 strong to take
their places.

Hitherto the bright blue ocean, which bounds the sea
front of our Natalian stage, had been but rarely ploughed
by labouring keels, . ■ .

The Story of an African City.

Now ship after ship with spreading sails cleaves her
way from the far-off Homeland, each one bearing expectant
throngs of emigrants, each emigrant brimfnl of hope.

In those old days no stately floating palaces with pnl-
sating engines scoured the seas. Bluff in the bows and broad

RIVER PCENE.

in the beam, with stunsail and topsail and royal set, the
wooden walls of Britain bore her sons through every clime,
and built up many a Power. So was it with Natal.

See there, the Betta, the Sovereign, the Conquering
Hero, and a host of others draw near the shore and dis-
charge their living freights.

The Story of an African City.

Hark to the ringing cheers, as the mariners bid God-
speed to the gallant emigrants as they leave the vessels'
sides.

Watch the silver spray splash up as the rowers bend
to their work, and the boats fly over the hissing bar, and
win the sought-for strand.

New blood and new life are in the land, and the wheels
of progress move swiftly on.

MARKET SQUARE.

The Market Place of the African City now resounds
with the familiar tongues of Lancashire and Yorkshire,
Norfolk and Wales, Aberdeen and Glasgow.

The German accent and Irish brogue can now be heard
chaffering in the market and the store, while the gnttural
taalofthe Boer still holds its own, for the representatives
of the original founders have by no means vanished.

'the Story of an African City.

The new epoch gleams bright with promise.

Four years later, when the curtain rises again on the
scene, a marked change is perceptible.

The germ planted by the Voortrekkers, and sanctified
by the sacrifice of thousands of lives, has now put forth its
leaves.

A Municipal Board has been elected.

The City has been divided into wards,, and the period
of romance and danger has been replaced by one of estab-
lished law and order.

MAKKET SQUARE.

Following out oar allegory of a drama, we will now ask
our readers to take one parting glance at the stage before
a complete transformation takes place. In the opening
scene, the curtain rose on a trackless wilderness, where
savage hosts contended and grizzly death held sway.

In the closing scene we find the elements of discord
removed, an established community enjoying the blessings
of peace and commerce, while the Atri^an City itself has
taken shape and form, and stands a solid centrepiece, engirt
by smiling homes.

The Story of an African City. 39

Hark ! What sound is that, which falls upon the ear ?
Is it the menacing war chant of a Zulu host, or the deep
roar of a prowling lion ? Is it the dreadful crash of
musketry, or the wail of sorrowing women ? Thank God, no :
those terrors have passed, and the music that closes
the scene is the beating of the hammer on the anvil, aud
the lowing of the cattle in the fields.

So drops the curtain on the pregnant past ; so fades
away the scene, but not its memories.

CHAPTER VIII.

Sir George Grey.— The Koyal Charter.— Opening of the First Parlia-
ment.— Maritzburg declared the Capital of the Colony.

fT is with very different feelings that we watch the vising
of the curtain on the next act of our historical drama.

The same blazing sun that looked upon the stage as a
wilderness illuminates it now, and reveals in the centre the
figure of a British statesman.

Sir George Grey, then Governor of the Cape, had come
to Maritzburg, by order of the Home Government, to
enquire into the desirability of granting local repiesentative
government to the Colony, the European inhabitants of
which now numbered eight thousand.

The prospects are hopeful, for on the distant moun-
tains, with which we are so familiar, can be seen the
thriving homesteads of the farmers. The cattle on a thou
sand hills are grazing peacefully, and men ride from point
to point unarmed, while away off to the eastward, under the
placid rule of Umpanda, the Zulus till the soil and, for the
time being, neglect the spear.

Further still to the northward, over the Vaal, the mal-
content Boers are enjoying their Elysian fields with never a

The Story of an African City.

Briton near them, to their intense content and happiness,
and the searching eyes of the statesman recognises in the
present the promise of a happy future.

In the year 1856 a Royal Charter was granted, and on
the 24th March, 1857, the curtain rises on another epoch
scene.

A low, unpretentious building at the corner of Long-
market and Chapel Streets forms the centre of an eager
throng.

The citizens are en fete, for at noon His Excellency the
Lieutenant-Governor is about, in the name of Her Most
Gracious Majesty Queen Victoria, to open the first
Legislative Council in Natal. Maritzburg is aflame
with bunting. As the hour approaches, guards ot honour
appear, His Excellency performs his function, and ^Natal
becomes a State, while Maritzburg assumes new dignity,
and for the first time can claim by right the title of a
capital City.

SEA COAST OF NATAL.

PART II.

THE RISE AND PROGRESS OF THE CITY.
CHAPTER IX.

A Bird's-eye View of the City. — Altitudes. — Scenery. — Contrasts.-
Fort Napier. — Latitude. — Longtitude. — The Railway Station.

\N the first part of this volume we have endeavoured
to record, as vividly as possible, such of the
events of the past as were intimately associated
with the founding of Maritzburg.

In this present part it will be our task to deal
with the City as it is in its various aspects — as a
place of residence, a commercial and educational
centre, and, above all, as the capital of a Colony which
has been truly described as one of Great Britain's
strongholds in South Africa. In order to do this
effectively, it is necessary first to present a general
bird's-eye view of the City, and after dealing with its
municipal history, then proceed to the description in detail
of its various institutions.

The journey by rail from Durban to Maritzburg, which
generally occupies a period of about four hours, lies through
a panorama of scenery which is as varied as it is beautiful.

The Story of an African City.

After leaving the sea level with its sub-tropical foliage,
the line of railway traverses, on a gradually ascending scale,
an open, agricultural district, rising in altitude above the ]
sea to 3,000 feet, and falling as Maritzburg is approached,
in latitude 29° 35" and longitude 30° 23", to 2,218 feet.

After leaving Fox Hill Station, which is about 2,810
feet above the sea, the road passes through cultivated lands.

H.R.H. PRINCE ALFRED LAYING FOUNDATION STONE MAEITZLTRG

TOWN HALL.

Far away to the right, Table Mountain towers like a
giant over its rugged and beautiful realm of forest and
krantz. Slightly to the eastward, the district of Thorn vi lie
can be seen. The line then sensibly falls, and a distinct
difference is perceptible in the temperature as the train
skirts the broad valley of Slang Spruit. Dotted here and
there over a wide expanse of country small farms are to be

The Story of an African Gity.

seen, and the traveller who passes over the route for the
first time will have considerable difficulty, in view 6f the
evidences oi permanent progress about him, in realising
that the events dealt with in the earlier chapters of this
work were really enacted so few years ago.

r As the train sweeps on and the Uity itself comes in
view, this feeling will be accentuated.

THE TOWN HALL.

Nestling under the noble Zwaartkop range of mountains
lies Maritzburg, with its long stretches of tree -bordered
streets, the ruddy tower of the Town Hall* looming out
clear against the background of forest, while here, there,
and everywhere the red-tiled roofs or the white walls of
buildings gleam through the trees, and serve to beautify a
picture well worthy of the brush of the artist.

*Since the above was penned a disastrous Are, resulting in the entire destruction of
the stately edifice above depicted, occurred on the 12th July, 1898. The work of
restoration is, however, now in progress.

1 he Story of an African City.

Old colonists who reside in this neighbourhood are
fond of telling how, but 30 years ago, this district was
the haunt of the prowling leopard or the treacherous serpent.

Not one single trace of cultivation was visible, and the
bright sunlight fell on nought but the productions of Nature
in her wildest moods. Now we have the stately villa
bowered in trees of a hundred varieties.

INTERIOR OF LATE TOWN HALL.

Owing to the enterprise ot such men as Mr. Robert
Topham, the wilderness in this locality has been transformed
beyond belief, and the fact that the climate of Maritzburg
is suitable for the production of timber trees is proved
beyond all doubt.

In conversation with him and others, we learned that
as far as possible, Australian trees should have the pre-

The Story of an African City.

lerenee, as the risk of fire to pines and conifers generally is
great.

Most Australian trees have the double advantage ot
standing against fire and retuning freely from the stamps.

After the train has passed the Umsindusi bridge, the
proximity of the City is evidenced on every hand. To the
left, the slopes on which Fort Napier is built cut off the
view ; to the right, the Maritzburg College, in its wide and

RAILWAY STATION.

well-kept Park, is passed ; while ahead to the westward
and overshadowing the City, the Zwaartkop, or Black
Mountain, bounds the view.

It is black only in name, however, for its slopes, during
the summer months, at any rate, are bright with the varied
tints of the rainbow, toned and softened by a delicate
emerald mantle.

46 The Story of an African City.

At intervals, deep kloofs and valleys are visible. Some
of these constitute fashionable holiday resorts, and are also
nsed as nurseries by the florists and gardeners of the City.

Further up, under the slopes of the mountains, and
deep buried in the verdure of the forests, are romantic
cascades and glades, whose existence would never be sus-
pected by a casual observer.

INTERIOR OP RAILWAY STATION.

Returning to the line, as it approaches the City we find
signs of advancement still increasing ; to the • left Fort
Napier comes full in view, with , the Union Jack crowning
its summit. After one. or two glimpses down the long,
placid streets, the train steams under the groined roof of the
finest completed railway station in Natal. The Station is

The Story of an African City.

situated at the top of Church Street, and is constructed of
brick, with stone lacings. The booking hall is 50 feet by
34, and has conveniently-placed booking and telegraph
offices, constructed in highly finished woodwork.

Standing at the main exit ot the Station overlooking
the town, a view down the length of Church Street is

CHURCH STREET.

obtained. As many of the buildings in the immediate
vicinity of the Station, date from the earliest days of Maritz-
bnrg, they do not strike the eye pleasingly, but further down
the street, in the business portion of the City, there are
numerous fine and lofty structures.

To the right of the street, and close to the Station,
Government House is located. .. ... i> *

The Story of an African City.
CHAPTER X.

Municipal History. — The first Journals. — The first Town Board. — The
Borough Endowment.— The Borough Seal. — Parks. — Schools. —
Rash Speculation. — Trade Depression. — Effect of the Discovery
of Diamonds.

JHE original designers of the City were not hampered
for want of space, and the result is that Maritzburg
might be described as a town of magnificent distances.

In the earlier stages of its history this was undoubtedly
a serious drawback, for, with the limited funds at the dis-

CHTTRCH STKKET.

posal of the Corporation, it was impossible to apply any-
thing like an adequate scheme for either hardening or light-
ing the streets.

The result of this was that for many years the place
laboured under an evil reputation, not for crime, for that
was almost unknown, but for inconvenience, and it became
almost a fashionable thing, both for the local Press and the

The Story of an African City.

people, to level complaints of a more or less unjustifiable
character at those who were public spirited enough to under-
take the oftentimes thankless office of Town Councillor.

By degrees the straggling Dorp began to assume shape,
and the long open spaces of veldt, in which the streets
became lost, were built up or fenced off yard by yard, pave-
ments were made, and the magnificent' distances alluded to

—

LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY BUILDINGS.

were found to be none too wide for the requirements ot the
rising town.

At first, trade appeared to centre around the upper part
of Longmarket and Chapel Streets, where the old Legisla-
tive Buildings were located, but by some mysterious process
the route was altered, and Church Street became the
principal thoroughfare.

The Story of an African City.

In previous chapters we have already shown how the
City was founded, and how, on the 15th of February, 1839,
the first document dealing with regulations and instructions
for fixing the situation and promoting the regularity of the
town was promulgated, and further, how in 1843 the district
of Natal was proclaimed a British Colony, in 1845 a
province of the Cape Colony, and in 1856 a distinct Colony
with an elective Legislature.

INTERIOR OF LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY.

In 1844 a weekly Dutch paper, called the Natalier,
was started on anti-British lines. It was succeeded after a
brief existence by the Patriot, which in turn gave place, in
1846, to the present Natal Witness. The first publisher and
editor was Mr. David Dale Buchanan, an energetic and able
journalist, and subsequently the first Mayor of Maritzburg.
It was also to this gentleman's enterprise that the City was
indebted for its first regular postal service to the seaport.

The Story of an African City.

In 1847 a law was passed by the Cape Legislature for
the creation of Municipal Boards in the towns and villages
of Natal, and in 1848 a meeting of resident householders
was held for the purpose of taking advantage of the pro-
visions of this law, and of passing the necessary municipal
regulations. The municipality was divided into wards The
governing municipal body consisted of a Board of Commis-

CUUBCH STKEMT.

sioners, composed of five members, and invested with similar
powers to the present Town Council.

The first Board elected consisted of Mr. A. T. Caldecott,
(Chairman), and Messrs. William Van Aardt, Philip
Ferreira, Dr. B. Poortman, and P. J. Jung.

The first meeting held by the Commissioners was on
the 27th March, 1848, when sundry officers were appointed,
among others, iMr. John Polydore Steele as Town Clerk,

The Story of an African City.

Market Master, Town Collector, and Overseer of Water-
works, at a salary of £100 per annum.

One of the members of the Board, Mr. P. Ferreira,
afterwards Mayor ot Maritzburg, was appointed Treasurer,
and held the office for a number of years, the remunera-
tion attached to it being a " vote of thanks."

Public meetings were called for the purpose of levying
rates when occasion required.

The newly-formed Borough was endowed with 26,000
acres of town lands, and all unalienated erven within the
City.

MOUNTED POLICE BARRACKS.

To support its dignity a Borough seal was necessary,
and one, designed by a Mr. Saunderson, was adopted.

It consists of five stars surmounted by an elephant,
with the word " Umgungunhlovo," the Kafir name for the
City, underneath.

The literal signification of the word is " The conqueror
of the Elephant," and was originally applied to Dingaan
and his kraal.

By a natural transition it came to signify the seat oi
Government and Capital of the Colony. The centre star
refers to the star of Bethlehem, in allusion to the discovery

TJie Story of an African Gity.

of Natal on Christmas Day, while the other four represent
the southern cross, an emblem of Christianity, and indicative
of the Colony's geographical position.

The gradual increase in the mnnicipal revenue con-
sequent on the steady growth of the town soon enabled the
Corporation to undertake comparatively large public works.
Bridges were built across the Umsindnsi River, improve-
ments were effected in the main thoroughfares, and tre-v

PARK FOOT BRIDGE.

planting, to which the City owes so much of its beauty,
began to engage considerable attention.

Numerous blocks of town lands lots were acquired by
settlers at prices ranging from £2 10s. to £5 per acre, while
other lots were let out for agricultural and brickmaking
purposes. With a foresight which cannot be too highly
commended, the Corporation determined that before the
Borough lands were extensively taken up by purchase or

The Story of an African City.

lease they would benefit by the bitter experience of large
British cities, and, ere it was too late, preserve open spaces
or recreation grounds for the public.

Those three veteran colonists and citizens whose names
are household words, to wit, Sir John Akerman, K C.M.G.,
Mr. W. E. Bale, J. P., and the late Mr. Wm. Leathern,
were the first to move in this direction, and one of the

COMMERCIAL ROAD.

results of their action is the Alexandra Park. The nuances
of the Council were not equal at that time to any heavy
expenditure in connection with the beautifying of that now
popular place of resort, but the site was reserved (in extent
162 acres), and in 1863 secured by deed of trust as a public
park. Subsequent CouncOs vied with each other in
increasing its attractions, and have followed the good

The Story of an African City. 55

example of their far-seeing predecessors by reserving sites
for parks in other parts of the Borough, where they may be
of inestimable value to future generations.

Considerably over £3,000 - has recently been spent,
still further improving the Alexandra Park, which is now
well worthy to rank with any in South Africa. Northern
Park, on the road to Town Bush Valley, has an area of
20 acres, and Albany Park, so named in honour of His Grace
the late Duke of Albany, has an area of 57 acres, and is
situated near the Zwaartkop Railway Station.

In J 861 the Town Council liberally responded to a pro-
position made by Governor Scott for the establishment of a
College or High School, and its endowment jointly by the
Government and Corporation. The Government provided
£6,000, and the Corporation, £5,000, together with a site
for the College. The old High School Building, now con-
verted into a Boys' Model School, was erected with the funds
thus provided. In a subsequent chapter, the College and
other Educational Institutions will be fully dealt with.

During the years 1864 and 1867 the City passed
through a period of great commercial depression. The
The rivalry of banks and other fiinancial institutions offered
unusual facilities for borrowing money. This had the
effect of stimulating enterprise to an unwholesome degree,
and much capital was sunk in unproductive ventures. The
high rents levied for the use of dwellings induced many to
borrow money for the purpose of erecting their own houses
in order to escape the exactions of landlords ; dwellings
being thus increased beyond the requirements of the town.
The income derivable from rents was considerably curtailed,
and the inevitable result of over speculation in other direc-
tions began to be apparent.

The complaisancy of the banks and their readiness to
make advances came to a speedy conclusion, and then it

The Story of an African City.

The Story '.'of an African Gity.

would appear that they erred as grievously iu the opposite
direction, for in order to secure themselves against loss, they
exercised the utmost severity towards their debtors. Several
firms had made extensive use of accommodation bills, while
the customary mode of paying for goods was by means of

EDEN DALE FALLS.

promissory notes which were renewed from time to time, and
passed from hand to hand, until they came to be regarded
almost as a paper currency.

The reckless manner in which persons endorsed bills,
and the utter absence of care in financial transactions, could

The Story of an African City.

only produce one result. A large firm transacting business
in every part of the Colony failed with £100,000 liabilities,
and inflicted many losses, principally on the farming com-
munity. This was followed by another failure with £50,000
liabilities, and as everyone had been so ready to oblige his
neighbour by endorsing bills for him, few people knew to
what extent they were involved. When the banks began to
exercise pressure many sought refuge in the Insolvency
Court, and the inability of those to meet their liabilities
involved others in their fall. In the
City the depression was perhaps more
felt than in other parts of the Colony,
for the absence of trade compelled
many mercantile houses to discharge
numbers of their employe's.

The Corporation found it impos-
sible to collect more than a third of
its revenue, and was compelled to have
an over-draft at the bank of £10,000
— more than two years' revenue at that
time. The discovery of the Diamond
Fields in 1870 came as a god-send
to the City, for the new industries
attracted large numbers of Colonists
and citizens to Kimberley, where many
of them were successful in acquiring wealth. On their
return to Natal they bought back the properties, in many
instances, which they had been forced to abandon during the
financial crisis, while others again invested their money
in houses and farms. The impetus thus given to trade
enabled the City to recover from the commercial depression
and the increased wealth of individuals reacted beneficially
on the whole community.

NATIVE CONSTABLE.

The Story of an African Gity.

CHAPTER XI.

Preparations for the Zulu War. — Maritzburg Fortified. — The Boer
-• War. — Trade Depression. — Effect of Gold Discoveries. — Excite-
ment— Wild Speculation. — Financial Disasters — Recovery. — Steady
Progress.

tHE preparations for the Zulu
War in 1878, the calling out
of the mounted volunteers, the
organising and equipment of corps
of irregular cavalry and Native
contingents, the constant arrival
of troops from Home and their
departure to the Zulu country,
occasioned great stir in Maritz-
burg, which was the base ot
supplies during the campaign.

The dreadful news of the
battle of Isandhlwana not only
brought grief and desolation to
many Colonist's homes, but led
the citizens to realise how im-
minent was the danger of a Zulu
invasion. The City Guard which
had been formed received large
accessions to its numbers, the
burgesses showing a ready and
willing spirit to take their full part in the defence of
the City. Sentries were posted nightly throughout the
streets, and the challenge was constantly heard. One
large laager was constructed at the Post Office, em-
bracing that part of the City lying between Commercial
Road, Timber Street, Pietermaritz Street and Longmarket
Street. Two others were also erected at the Gaol
and the Camp respectively. The streets and shops were

t ■

H 19

ZULU WAR MONUMENT.

The Story of an African City.

barricaded and loop-holed, and every preparation made
to give the Zulus a warm reception should they come. The
defences were provisioned, and three guns fired from Fort
Napier was to be the signal for the inhabitants to get into
laager. Vague rumours got about that the Zulus were

THE SHEPSTONE MEMORIAL.

close to the City, and the people were in a state of suspense,
not knowing what an hour might bring forth. The news
of the gallant defence of Rorke's Drift, by which the Colony
was doubtless saved from invasion, relieved the spell of
intense excitement, and the citizens began to breathe more

The Story of an African City.

freely. The subsequent events of the war lie beyond the
scope of these pages, but reference must be made to the
death of the Prince Imperial of France, the reception of
whose body was perhaps one of the most mournful and
impressive pageants that the City has ever witnessed.
Many in Maritzburg had experienced the same loss that his
mother, the widowed Empress, was deploring, and memories

POST OFFICE.

of Isandhlwana gave point to the griet and heartfelt
sympathy everywhere expressed.

Close following on hostilities in Zululand came the
trouble in the Transvaal, and the City once more was astir
with the movements of troops.

Although the British-Boer War was in no sense a
Colonists' quarrel, the proximity of the scene of hostilities
caused great interest to be taken in the struggle, and the

The Story of an African City.

news of the battles of Laing's Nek and Amajuba stirred the
City to its depths.

Scarcely was this war over than another period of com-
mercial depression set in, and for some years local trade was
in a very bad way indeed.

Again the unexpected happened, as in the case of the
Diamond Fields, for in 1886 the discovery of gold deposits
at Moodie's and Barberton revived languishing enterprise.

ST. PETER'S BEL

The formation of syndicates appeared to become the
aim of everyone's existence and numerous representatives
were sent to " peg out " claims on the new " El Dorado."

Companies were floated in the City for the working of
these properties, and considerable sums of money were fruit-
lessly spent through the inexperience alike of promoters and
prospectors.

The Story of an African City.

The gold fever appeared to have smitten everyone, and
the talk of the town for some months was of nothing save
reefs, leaders, lodes, assays, and shares.

Again trouble dawned, for over-speculation bore its
inevitable fruits, and many of those who had invested their
little all were unable to hold on, and so perforce had to
guccumb to the pressure of circumstances.

» ***»

RT.

REVD. J. W. COLENSO, D.D.,
LATE BISHOP OF NATAL.

As a sort ot miracle the discovery of the Witwatersrand
Goldfields took place at this time, and like the passing of a
meteor re-illuminated the darkening prospects of the City.
Practically speaking the new rush to the high veld of the
Transvaal was led by Maritzburgers.

A camp was established near where Jeppestown is now
located, and called " NataPSpruit Camp."

64 The Story of an African City.

Many City representatives or syndicates secured valu-
able properties, which have since, as all the world knows,
maintained their high standard.

The attention of the London Stock Exchange was
directed to the South African Goldfields, shares in the lead-
ing companies rose to enormous prices, and many tottering
firms in the City not only recovered their balance, but became
transformed into wealthy and influential institutions.

It was not all coleur de rose, however. Again over-specu-
lation brought forth its fruits of depression, but this time in

BAND 8TAND.

a less marked degree. A steady recovery soon took place,
and the industry settled itself on regularly established and
remunerative lines.

The effect on the City was important, as several of the
leading companies have their head offices in it, and are
investing their profits in the erection ot well-appointed
offices and buildings.

Sixteen years ago Maritzburg was the terminus of the
Natal Government Railways, and it was confidently predicted

The Story of an African City.

by many that when the line was extended further north, the
Capital City of Natal would sink into an insignificant village,
inhabited by a few officials, and would become inert and
defunct as far as commerce and social progress were
concerned.

True it is that the forwarding agent and the transport-
rider have gone elsewhere to ply their callings, still iMaritz-

•_ dbui&&^

RIVEK SCENE.

burg has steadily progressed in every desirable direction. Its
population has increased within ten years by 75 per cent.
The agricultural districts, of which it is the centre, have
greatly improved, and its farmers are daily awakening to the
necessity of a closer and more scientific system of agriculture.
Despite the ravages of locusts, drought, and rinderpest,
which have unusually affected the Colony, they are, as a

6Q The Story of an African City.

class, fairly prosperous, and as a natural result the merchants
and traders of the city share their prosperity.

As will be shown in the chapter on Municipal finances,
large sums of money have been spent on surface drainage
and the construction of roads and bridges. The effective
maintenance of about 45 miles of streets, of a width ranging
from 60 to 80 feet, besides suburban roads in a country
where heavy rain-storms are frequent, necessarily involves
constant expenditure, which could not have been provided had
the revenues of the City been as unsatisfactory as certain ill-
informed persons at one time attempted to maintain through
the public Press. A well-managed Police Force, composed
of 25 Europeans and 40 Native constables, is maintained,
and law and order are upheld as rigidly as in any old-
established British Borough.

The system of water supply established by the original
Dutch settlers was that of open watercourses called "sluits,"
by means of which the supply was led through the streets.

The water was thus either available for motive power,
irrigation, or domestic use, and the oxygenating properties
of running water kept the supply pure and wholesome. As
the town became more thickly populated, there arose a
greater need for the thorough supervision of these water-
courses, and for definition of the rights of householders to
the use of the water.

At first the Municipal authorities shrark from under-
taking an extensive scheme of water supply by pipes, and
in 1875 the Municipality expressed a hope that some com-
pany might be induced to take the matter up. Fortunately
for the Borough no company came forward, and the Cor-
poration had at last to deal with the question, which was
becoming more urgent every day. Finally plans and speci-
fications were called for in 1878, and a premium was offered
for the best. Messrs. Beardmore, Barnes and Twigg, an

The Story of an African City. 67

English firm of Engineers, were the successful competitors,
they undertaking to have the work carried out according to
specifications at a cost of about £30,000. In 1881 the
Waterworks were formally opened. Extensions of the original
plan have since brought up the cost to nearly £60,000, but
the excellent quality of the water is a priceless advantage.

A considerable revenue is now being derived by the
City from its use for other than domestic purposes. The
utmost care is taken to ensure purity by a systematic
supervision of the sources of supply and periodical cleansing
of the reservoirs and filteration beds.

It is to this care that the people of the City are
indebted for the marvellous immunity from serious sickness
which is enjoyed.

CHAPTER XLL

Borough Finances.

jT has been said that the key-note of modern social
legislation is its trust in local authorities, and the
burden of duties imposed by statute on those authorities has
so steadily grown that at the present day their control is felt
in almost every department of life. In Natal, the public
policy inits relation to Municipal Corporations and other urban
local bodies has been a liberal one. The fullest authority is
conferred upon them to maintain good rule and government
within their respective boundaries, and when new circum-
stances arise which require special provision to meet them,
fresh powers are given in no grudging spirit.

While on the one hand large powers are conferred, and
duties thereby imposed, the means needful for the effectual
exercise ol these powers, and the discharge of the relative
duties, are not withheld. To every Municipal Corporation

68 The Story of an African City.

and Local Board in the Colony, soon after their creation, the
Government has transferred in freehold all lands which had
not previously been alienated within the limits of their
various jurisdictions. In each case these lands comprise
several thousands of acres, and constitute a splendid endow-
ment for the newly-created Borough or Township. In
addition to this, rating powers are given over the freehold
value of all immovable property within their limits, and
certain licenses, which in older countries pertain to the
revenues of the Crown, here help to swell the local ex-
chequer.

To the youthful town, hardly yet emerged from its rural
state, the lands with which it has been endowed form a
valuable commonage and grazing ground for the cattle and
horses of its citizens The township grows in importance,
its population increases, merchant princes arise who require
country residences, then we hear of suburban villa sites, and
the town awakes to find that its Town Lands can be put to
a better use than grazing ground for its citizens' cattle.

On the establishment of the Municipality of Pieter-
maritzburg in 1854, the City was endowed with 26,00 ) acres
ol Town Lands and all the unalienated erven within the
existing City. The revenues of the City for the first three or
four years scarcely averaged £1,000 per annum. There was
much to be done, and little to do it with. Promissory notes,
guaranteed by individual members of ( 'ouncil, were no un-
common feature of the financial history. Bridges were
wanted for the rivers, otherwise impassable in the wet season,
roads had to be constructed, and the other demands of the
small body of taxpayers satisfied in some way or other.
For relief the worried Councillors turned to the Town Lands,
and a number of lots were sold, and the proceeds applied to
the construction of public works. The steady growth of
the town, and the consequent increase of the Municipal

The Story of an African City. 69

revenues, soon brought about a sounder policy. Application
was made to the Legislature for borrowing powers, and in
1864 and 1866 Bills were passed enabling the Council to
raise funds by the issue of debentures, secured by the revenue
of the Borough and the unsold Town Lands. The credit of
the City was, however, so little esteemed in those days that
nine per cent, was the rate of interest the Council had to
pay. Some of the debentures were issued for a period of
fifty years, and are not a pleasant subject of reflection to
those who have now to deal with the finances of the Borough,
whatever they may be to the fortunate holders of the stock.
The borrowing powers thus obtained were not exhausted until
1880, by which time the rate of interest which had to be
paid was six per cent To provide for the redemption of
this loan on maturity, a sinking fund was established, into
which the proceeds of sales of Town Lands between the years
1964 and 1880 were paid The portion of the loan still to
be redeemed amounts to £24,800, and the sinking fund by
means of which it is to be redeemed to £24,750, a sum nearly
equal in amount to the loan itself.

In 1882 further borrowing powers to the extent of
£100,000 were obtained, and the money raised by deben-
tures, bearing interest at six per cent. This loan was
principally spent in the construction of waterworks, the
erection of a new Market Hall and Police Station, and
the macadamising of the principal streets of the City. The
redemption of the previous loan having been provided for by
means of its relative sinking fund, the proceeds of town
lands sales were made available for the establishment of a
second sinking fund to meet the debentures of Loan No. 2
on their falling due. The outstanding debt in respect of
this second loan at present amounts to £1)4,500, while the
sinking fund, which is yearly increasing, amounts to
£8,400.

70 The Story of an African City.

In 188b a law was passed to enable the Municipality
to consolidate the existing loans, and to borrow up to the
limit previously authorised, namely, £150,000. Power was
given to issue inscribed stock, and to convert the two loans
before referred to into this class of security. Unfortunately
for the Town Council, the debenture-holders are too well
aware of the value of their holdings, and are quite pleased
to keep what they have, failing to see any advantage to
them in conversion. The Council has thus, for the most
part, been compelled to wait until the debentures have be-
come due before they could take advantage of the provisions
of the law of 1888 with respect to consolidation. The
amount of stock issued under the operation of this law at
present amounts to £49,200. This bears interest at five per
cent., and was readily taken up in the Colony at an average
premium of seven per cent. The Consolidated Stock Law
further enabled the Council to release portions of the sink-
ing funds, in proportion to the amount of the debentures
which were retired and converted into Consolidated Stock,
and with the moneys thus released the larger portion of the
cost of the erection of the former Town Hall was defrayed.
It was, however, found necessary to raise a short-dated loan
of fifteen years, in amount £15,000, to pay the balance of the
cost, and to carry out certain urgent works in connection
with road macadamising. This loan bears interest at five
per cent., and was raised with the consent of His Excellency
the Governor under the provisions of the Municipal Cor-
porations Law of the Colony.

The growing importance of the City, and the pressing
demands for a better water supply, a complete system of
surface drainage, the claims of suburban residents for better
roads, and the necessity for establishing a better system of
electric lighting, led the Council in 1896 to determine that
for the future the cost of all permanent works should be paid

The Story of an African City. 71

for out of loan funds. With this object in view, an Act was
passed in 1896 empowering the Corporation to raise a
sura of £100,000 for the carrying out of permanent public
works. The stock to be issued was to be Consolidated
Stock, as defined in the Consolidated Loan Law of 1888,
and the rate of interest was not to exceed four per cent.
Tenders were invited for £50,000 of stock (being for.
£40,000 of this loan, and £10,000 for debentures retired
under the operations of the law of 1888), and it was issued
at three per cent., realising an average of 98 per £100 worth
of stock.

The importance of the City could not be better shown
than by contrasting the rate of interest payable in 1866,
viz., nine per cent., with the loan rate of three per cent,
which is now paid. The borrowing powers obtained in 1 896
have been found insufficient to do all that the Council
wishes in the way of the betterment of the City, and sub
sequent legislation has given farther powers to the extent
of £150,000. A large portion of this will be spent on
electric lighting plant, and the revenue from this industrial
undertaking is estimated not only to provide for the work-
ing expenses, but also to meet charges for interest on the
capital expenditure and depreciation of the plant.

The following table shovs the existing loans of the
City of Pietermaritzburg, rate of interest payable thereon,
and due date of each : —

Return showing Loans raised by Corporation of Maritzburg,
due date, and rate of interest thereon.

Year Due. Loan No. 1. Loan No. 2. Loan No. 3 Loan No. 4. Rate of

(Consol. Stock). Interest .

6 per cent.

H »

6 ,

1899

...

2?000

1900-

100

2,400

1902

...

11,800

1903

...

5,800

The Story of an African City.

Year Due. Loan No. 1. Loan No. 2. Loan No. 3. Loan No. 4. Kate of

(Consol Stock.)

1904

6,500

•••

1,000

■M

...

1905

200

...

1906

13,500

...

1907

4,900
300

12,400

...

1908

2,400

...

4,500

...

1909

...

8,900

...

1912

...

500

...

1913

...

800

1914

...

200

...

1931

...

2,800

...

1932

...

7,300

...

1933

...

49,200

...

50,000

Total

24,800

63,500

99,200

Original

Issue

50,(XX)

100,000

15,000

Interest.
6 per cent.
9
9
9
6
9
9
6
5
6
6
6
6
6
6
5
3

15,000

The principal sources of the Municipal revenue are
rates, licenses market dues, water charges, and rents.

The following is an approximate summary of the revenue
at the present time : —

Kates ... ... ... ... £22,500

Licenses ...
Market Dues
Water Charges
Rents
Other Sources

4,750
2,700
3,000
2,500
2,050

£37.500

In addition to the foregoing there is also the revenue
derived from electric light supplied, interest on sinking fund
securities, and proceeds of land sales, which bring up the
gross revenue to nearly £45,000.

The Story of an African City. 73

The following table, showing the Municipal revenue
since the year of incorporation, will be instructive as illus-
trating the gradual and steady growth of the Borough : —

1891-2 ... ... ... £30,907

1892-3 ... ... ... 35,587

18934 ... ... ... 34,577

1894-5 ... ... ... 37,156

1895-6 ... ... ... 39,760

1896-7 ... ... ... 44,583

In 1871 1 the value of rateable property within the
Borough was £270,261. In 1881 this had increased to
£1,052,013. In 1891 it was £1,327,000, and this year it is
£2,252,570.

Government property, churches, schools, and charitable
institution? are exempt from rates, and the value of these
premises within the Borough is estimated at £870,000.

The chief assets of the Municipality include freehold
land and buildings to the value of nearly £300,000, and
waterworks, which have cost £70,000. Among the buildings
may be mentioned the Town Hall, Telegraph Offices, Market
Hall, and three Police Stations, most of which will be
been described in other portions of this work.

CHAPTER XIII.
Public Buildings.

fF the number and size of public buildings be regarded
as a test of a town's relative importance, the claims of
Maritzburg to be counted among the most prominent
cities in South Africa rest upon very substantial grounds.

The past decade has witnessed the demolition of many
primitive structures, originally used for public purposes, and
the erection of stately and commodious edifices, calculated to
meet the increasing demands of a progressive community.

74 The Story of an African City.

Whatever may be the failings of the colonists of Natal,
or the citizens of Maritzburg, they cannot by any means be
accused of want of confidence in the future of their country.

The public buildings in the City are of two classes, one
belonging to the Government of the Colony, the other being
the property of the Municipality. Of the former, Govern-
ment House, the residence of the Governor of the Colony, is
a solidly-bnilt mansion, which has recently been enlarged.
The Supreme Court and the premises of the General Post
are, with other Government Departments, accommodated in
a large building facing the Town Hall. The Legislative
Assembly building is probably one of the finest structures
in the City, being well finished and elaborately furnished
with Colonial made furniture. The Colonial Offices, now in
course of erection in Church Street, when completed will
constitute an imposing and beautiful addition to the street
frontage. In extent and convenience the building will be
in every respect worthy of the progressive nature of the
Colony.

In the suburbs, extensive barracks for the Natal Police
have been erected.

The Natal Government Lunatic Asylum, besides having
one of the best Town Lands sites, is a very fine cluster of
buildings, standing in their own grounds.

In addition to minor Government institutions there are
three large schools, one for boys and two for girls, all of
which are good modern structures, specially designed for the
purpose for which they are used.

Grey's Hospital, which receives a Government grant of
£2,200 per annum, is also a commodious structure, occupy-
ing a site of eight acres, and is endowed with a grant of
1,000 acres from the Corporation.

The Municipal buildings comprise a well-designed
Market Hall, erected at a cost of £8,000.

The Story of an African City. 75

The new Borough Police Station, costing £7,000, has
taken the place of the old historic structure which served
the double purpose of station and gaol In close proximity
to this, the new Town Hall stands, occupying a corner of
Church Street and Commercial Road From the very
earliest days of the Corporation a building of this class had
been talked about, but the idea was opposed by many leading
Colonists, who forwarded a petition to the Corporation in
which they stated that such a building was unnecessary.
The event has proved how utterly mistaken these persons
were In I860, when H.R.H. the Duke of Edinburgh
visited Maritzburg, he performed the fimction of laying the
foundation stone. Great lejoicings and festivities celebrated
the event, but the stone lay for thirty years a silent witness
of the small income of the City.

In 1888, Mr. J. J, Chapman, then Mayor, laid before
the Town Council a scheme for the consolidation of the
existing debt of the Municipality, its conversion into
inscribed stock, issued at a low rate of interest, the gradual
release of the sinking funds, and their expenditure on per-
manent public works.

By this scheme the Council was in a position to
undertake the erection of a Town Hall, and in order to
make the building as large as possible, and suited for the
future needs of the Borough, application was made to the
Government for its co-operation. This being accorded, the
Council adopted the proposal.

Under the arrangements made, the Government be-
came tenants of a portion of the building for a number of
years.

The following is a description of the Hall : - The style
is free Renaissance, and as this has had as it were a new
birth in Britain, grown up from modern needs, it can only

76 The Story of an African City.

be described as " Victorian," with piazza and balconies,
designed to especially suit the scorching suns of Natal.

As to the internal arrangements, the rooms are all large,
airy, and well lighted.

The Main Hall is a noble room, and well proportioned,
being 114 feet long, including the proscenium, by 53 feet
wide.

The Council Chamber, 45£ feet by 27£ feet, is also a
fine room, and has an open balcony running along the
entire front. This is approached by broad French casements.

The Main Entrance Hall in Church Street is 18 feet by
16 feet, with an antecedent vestibule.

The Entrance Hall in Commercial Road, 28 feet by 24
feet, is larger, and contains a grand staircase

There is also an annexe to this Hall, 12 feet by 8 feet,
and an antecedent vestibule. Cloak-rooms are attached to
both entrances.

The Municipal Government Rooms to the north side of
Commercial Road, having a frontage to Church Street, are
ample in space and convenience. There is also a subsidiary
staircase and entrance at the north-east corner.

The Town Clerk and Staff and Borough Engineer are
amply provided for ; the Council Chamber, already men-
tioned, retiring rooms for members of the Council, Mayor's
Parlour and appurtenances, all being richly furnished. The
Legislative Council, or Upper House, occupies some
chambers overlooking the Church Street entrance.

The south-west side of Commercial Road, and south
semi-front, are all occupied by Government officials. The
Resident Magistrate's Court, 40 feet by 22 feet, is situated
here. There are three rooms for the Magistrate and staff,
tor two Indian and Native interpreters, another for constables
and witnesses, and two for prisoners of both sexes.

The Story of an African City. 77

On the fiist floor of this portion, the Audit Department
has five large rooms, and extensive basement accommodation
below the Magistrate's Court.

The Mining and Agricultural Department occupy the
rest of the corridor.

In the rear of the basement are Kitchen, Store, and
Retiring Rooms, while underneath the Main Hall vast
Cellerage has been constructed. The entire building is
lighted by electricity.

A magnificent organ, erected mainly by subscription of
burgesses and others, at the cost of about £4,000, has been
placed in the main hall.

The tower, which is about 120 feet in height, contains
a large clock and chimes of bells.

The building was opened on the 15th June, 1893, and
the total cost was £42,317.

Of churches and chapels there are many in the City,
the most notable perhaps being the Cathedrals of St. Saviour's
and St. Peter's. Every other denomination is strongly
represented, and the style of building, together with their
interior fittings, are sufficient evidence of the religious
vitality of the City. It may be interesting to mention here
that the remains of that world-famed prelate, the Right
Reverend J. W. Colenso, D.D., formerly Lord Bishop of
Natal, repose beside the altar of St. Peter's Cathedral.

Of monuments, Maritzburg possesses four, artistically
and elaborately-finished specimens.

Opposite the Town Hall, at the corner of Church Street
and Commercial Road, a magnificent cluster of white marble
figures has been placed to commemorate the names of those
who fell in the Zulu War.

In the front of the General Post Office a column has
been erected in honour of those Volunteers who died in the
suppression of the Langalibalele rebellion.

The Story of an African City.

In front ot the Legislative Buildings there is a white
marble statue of Her Majesty the Queen.

In the Court Gardens, a monument surmounted by a
life-sized figure of Sir Theophilus Shepstone is placed.

In the vestibule of the Town Hall, a marble bust of
Sir Bartle Frere fittingly recalls the name and lite of one
of the best and noblest Governors South Africa has ever seen.

ST. SAVIOUR 3 CHURCH.

In the vestibule ot the Maritzburg College and in
various Churches, numerous tablets in marble and brass
testify to the valour and worth of past leaders, warriors, and
pioneers, whose names and lives were associated with the
City and its history.

The very handsome Maritzburg College, which will be
dealt with later on, occupies a commanding site on the south-
western slope of the beautiful Alexandra Park.

The Story of an African City.

One of the most important advances recently made by
the City is the extensive provision made for the supply of
electric light. The Electric Power Station building has
been designed on the lines of the electric lighting stations
in the large towns at Home, and seems well calculated to
ensure efficiency of working. The station contains a spacious
boiler house, engine-room, pump-room, workshop, and an
office and testing-room combined. In the boiler-room pro-

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THE UNVEILING OF THE QUEEN S STATUE.

vision is made for eight boilers, laid in pairs, of 85 nominal
horse power each, easy steaming. In the engine-room
will be six engines and dynamos direct coupled, each capable
of supplying the power for 1,00 » lamps of 16-candle power
each. In connection with each dynamo a concrete pit has
been built so that the heavy field magnets will swing partly
under ground, which obviates the necessity of the dynamos
being erected at an inconvenient height above ground The
cost of the station and plant when complete will be about

80 The Story of an African City.

£17,000, and the total cost of the whole installation, which
includes the work throughout the town, about £32,650. The
underground cables throughout the City are now being laid.

The Diamond Jubilee Pavilion, the foundation stone of
which was laid on the 22nd of June last, has been erected to
commemorate the sixtieth year of the reign of Her Majesty
the Queen.

It faces the Oval in the Alexandra Park, and is an
imposing edifice, furnishing spacious accommodation
both for the public and sportsmen. On the ground floor
the central feature is a large Dining Hall, from either side
of which corridors extend, giving access to suites of rooms
for Committees, Clubs, Press, Scorers, Caterer, &c. Towards
the front, opening on the proposed lawn, is an Entrance
Hall and Dressing Rooms fitted up with lavatory facilities
for the use of competing teams. Flanking the main
structure are a Bar and Tea-room, while situated outside
the reserved area are Refreshment Rooms accessible to the
general public frequenting the Park. Extending over the
main structure is a Grand Stand, containing accommodation
for over 500 persons, and at either end covered pavilions,
giving additional provision for spectators. Surmounting
these pavilions are raised turrets of picturesque design. An
excellent view is also obtained from the look-out on the top
oi the main root. The contractor for the whole of the works,
which cost over £4,000, has been Mr. E. Wheller, and the
work has been carried out under the superintendence of Mr,
William Lucas, architect, of this City, who is responsible
for the design of the handsome structure.

We are indebted to Dr. Campbell Watt for the following
notes on the Sanatorium, which is situated in the upper end
of Loop Street on a site unrivalled in the City for healthiness
and beauty of prospect. It is one of the latest additions to
the public institutions, the foundation stone having been

TJie Story of an African City. 81

laid by Bishop Jolivet, O.M.I., on September 18th, 1897,
and will prove a boon to the sick of the City and neigh-
bourhood. The cost of the erection was £6,000, and the site
£2,000. The management is in the hands of the Augustiniau
Sisterhood of the Mercy of Jesus. The Reverend Mother
Superior and Sisters form the nursing staff, and are all
nurses of high training and long experience.

The building faces the south, and embraces a magnificent
view of the surrounding country. To the left lies the range
of hills crowned by " Cope's Folly." All in front sweeps
the gentle slope of the town lands, with Table Mountain
rising grandly in the distance beyond, and the College, the
Park, and the Umsinduzi River filling in the foreground.
The occasional strains of martial music stealing up from the
Park add an additional spell to the prospect ; and prove
grateful to the ears of the sufferers within. The building
consists of three flats and attics, and has accommodation for
over 30 patients. The wards are 20 in number, the majority
being intended for the use of one patient only. In the
ground floor there are the dining rooms, sitting room, two
wards, bath room (with hot and cold water and shower),
kitchen, and offices. There are seven wards on the first
floor and two nurses' rooms. The second floor is all devoted
to wards ; while the attios form the bedrooms for the nurses.
In the corridor ;of each flat is a washstand with hot and
cold water. An elevator runs from basement to attic. The
whole building is fitted with electric light, and electric
bells are everywhere. Two wide balconies overlook the
Park, and, with the corridors, form splendid promenades.
All the furniture is of a high class, combining usefulness
with elegance. The wards, particularly, are beautifully
furnished with complete bedroom suites and appliances.
Each ward possesses a fireplace, and fanlights are fitted
above all doors and windows to assist the ventilators when
necessary.

82 The Story of an African City.

On an average the small wards measnre 15 feet by 12 ;
and the ceilings are lofty. All the walls in the building
are painted, in order to secure perfect cleanliness. The ven-
tilation and drainage are excellent.

The operating room stands apart from the main
building, and is well lighted from the roof and sides.

The grounds attached to the Sanatorium will be laid
out in a tasteful style with walks and garden houses.

One commendable feature of this well-equipped institu-
tion is that each patient selects his own medical attendant,
there being no regular medical staff attached ; and clergy-
men of all denominations are at liberty to visit their sick.
Convalescents may be admitted in the event of there being
room to spare, the sick having the preference.

The charges have a wide range — from 5s. to 12s. 6d.
per day ; while the poor are admitted at reduced rates, or
free.

.ooisnxtf CHAPTER XIV.

Institutions and Industries. r • •

)HE Natal Society was established in 1851, and had for
its objects the development of the physical, commer-
cial, agricultural, and other resources of Natal and Eastern
Africa. - ■

The Library and Museum were established, lectures were
delivered on various, subjects connected with the objects of
the Society, and a prize of £25 was given for an essay on
the " Moral and physical condition of Natal, with practical
suggestions as to its capabilities and means of supplying an
industrial population."

1 Considerable interest was manifested in the work of the
Society, numerous donations oi books and money were made

77# Story 0/ an African City. 83

by its friends, and the Government assisted it with a small
grant from the public funds. The limited resources of the
Society, however, rendered it impracticable to do more than
direct attention to the various important subjects it sought
to deal with, and the Library Department was the only
branch which seemed likely to prove ultimately useful.
Recent events, however, have belied this supposition.

In 1872 the Sociecy took advantage of the provisions of
an Ordinance then passed to become a body corporate. The
present Library was erected in 1878.

During recent years the Museum Department so largely
increased as to render additional accommodation absolutely
necessary.

The fine large hall, now again too small for its purpose,
adjoining the Library, was constructed, and space secured tor
the valuable collection of curious and interesting specimens
which continue to be sent to it from various parts of Africa
and elsewhere.

The success of this department of the Natal Society's
labours is largely due to the untiring efforts of Mr. Morton
Green, J P., who has in many other important ways rendered
distinguished service to the Colony.

At present the Library contains about 13,000 volumes,
and the circulation of books and magazines is about 38,000
per annum.

The Government makes a grant of £350 per annum to
the Society, and the subscriptions amount to a little over
£400.

The usefulness of the institution is fully shown by the
attendance of readers, which is, on an average, 400 per diem.

Several building societies were established very early in
the City's history, and met with considerable success. At the
present time there are no fewer than four terminable and two
permanent societies of this kind, with a capital of about

84 Hie Story of an African City.

£100,000. In the progress of the town these institutions
have played no mean part, and few cities of equal size can
show so large a portion of dwellings whose occupiers are
also their proprietors.

The encouragement of thrift and self-help amongst the
working classes, who are the backbone ot the community,
are the primary objects of building societies, and the large
measure of success they have achieved speaks well for the
provident habits for this section of the population.

No less important feature in the welfare of the community
is the large membership of friendly and benefit societies.
The earliest established was a branch of the Oddfellows
and the Lodge here is one of most prosperous in the whole
Order, possessing funds to the extent of £6,000, and a mem-
bership of over 200. Courts of Foresters and Shepherds
also flourish, and the most recent addition to the number of
these institutions is a benefit society established among the
coloured population, which has already made such progress
as to possess a well-built hall for holding meetings.

The mystic letters emblazoned on the front of the City
Young Men's Christian Association indicate that within is
housed one of the 6,000 centres of work scattered throughout
the globe, with a membership of half-a-million, drawn
from 26 distinct nations, and speaking some 17 different
languages.

Thirty- one years after the founding of the movement,
and ten years after the establishment of the South African
Association at Capetown, on the 26th March, 1875, a meet-
ing was called to consider the formation of an Association
in this City.

The enterprise that has recently so markedly charac-
terised the movement has been its leading feature throughout
its history. Among the earlier names on the roll of mem-

The Story of an African Oity.

bership there are not a few who have proved themselves
valued members of the civic and political life of South
Africa.

Within five years of its inception a building site was
secured, and shortly afterwards, on the 23rd of May, 1881, a
Hall, accommodating 250 persons, and costing £1,600, was
opened.

In 1882 a Boys' Institute was started, and in 1887, on
the retirement of the first President, the Rev. John Smith,

Y.M.C.A. HALL.

M,A., the present Attorney-General, Hon. Henry Bale, Q.C.,
M.L.A., became President.

In 1893 a spacious Gymnasium was erected. By 1894
the work of the Association had grown so much, almost
exclusively under the valued services of the honorary officers,
that it was found necessary to engage a Secretary who would
be prepared to devote his whole time to the consolidating of

86 The Story of an African City.

the existing efforts, and laying the foundations of new forms
of usefulness. Mr. William Lucas, who had just arrived in
the Colony, having had extensive experience in Y.M.C.A.
matters, accepted the appointment of General Secretary for
two years.

Through the support given to a most successful bazaar
in 1895, the sum of nearly £800 was paid towards the
liquidation of the debt on the Gymnasium, and shortly after-
wards, through the liberality of a tew friends, the balance ot
£400 was extinguished.

The City Association was well represented at the first
South African Conference, held in Johannesburg at the close
of 1895, when Mr. Bale, the President, was elected President
of the Conference, and who, by-the-way, was re-elected at
the second Conference held recently in Capetown.

A few years ago the President was also appointed a
corresponding member of the English National Council of
Y.M.C.A.'s, on the motion of Sir George Williams, the
founder of the movement.

In March, 1896, the constitution was revised so as to
admit any )onng man of moral character as an associate,
associates having all the privileges of membership, save the
right to residence on the premises and taking part in busi-
ness meetings

Among the advantages thus secured are home from-
home influences, the formation of valued friendships, a
healthful rallying ground, an impulse to generous endeavour,
" a stimulus to follow life's upper, rather than its lower,
pathways."

Through correspondence and exchange of literature
with kindred associations throughout the world, the Asso-
cation is moreover a veritable bureau of cosmopolitan
information. The facilities for correspondence and introduc-
tions are therefore indispensible to progressive young men.

The Story of an African City. 87

. t. On Jubilee Day, 1897, the foundation-stone of extensive
additions was laid by Mr. W. E. Bale, J.P., Hon. President,
in the presence of a large and influential gathering ; and on
the 2nd March, this year, the new premises were opened by
His Excellency the Hon. Sir W. F. Hely-Hutchinson,
G.C.M.G.

The President occupied the chair, and was supported
by Colonel Hay, R.A., and a number of leading citizens.

The additions and alterations consist of a storey above
the main hall, two new stories extending the frontage to
the street line, and a number of rooms at the rear. On the
ground floor are two shops and an office. Opening into the
spacious corridor, which leads to the main hall, are the
General Secretary's office, class and cloak rooms, and a
lavatory.

A well-appointed staircase leads to the upper floor.
Here are the parlour, library, reading-room, smoking-room,
and refreshment bar. A handsome covered balcony
gives a view of a large portion of the City and sur-
rounding country. The boarding department consists of
twelve large bed-sitting rooms, lavatories, three bath-rooms,
dining-room, kitchen, stores, and matron's quarters.

At the rear, behind the Gymnasium, a stable, coach-
house, and bicycle shed have been provided.

Increased seating accommodation has also been obtained
for the main hall.

The premises throughout are lighted by electricity.

The whole of the additions have bsen designed and
carried out in a most complete manner under the supervision
of Mr. William Lucas, Architect, at a cost of £3,000.

The operations of the Association are divided into
evangelistic, temperance, literary, recreative, and social.

The evangelistic agencies comprise on Sundays three
meetings on the premises, with an aggregate attendance

88 Tlie Story of an African City.

chiefly young men, of about 350, and two services, through
the courtesy of Major-General Cox, at the Military Camp.
A fortnightly service ot sung is held at Grey's Hospital, and
a monthly service at the Gaol.

A mission band conducts occasional services in outlying
districts, and an annual service is conducted in the Town
Hall.

Temperance work comprises a meeting every Saturday
evening, after which pledges are taken. Allied to this
section is an excellent choir. Efforts are also made to keep
in personal touch with those who suffer from the drink curse.

Literary efforts are put forth in several directions, the
chiet being educational classes, lectures, and a debating
society.

The reading room is kept well supplied wiJh Home and
Colonial papers and periodical literature. The circulating
library consists of about 700 volumes The recreative and
social committee is continually occupied in social gatherings
for the members, regiments stationed in the City, or the
public. Chess, draughs, bagatelle, and smoking-rooms have
their patrons. An occasional medical talk is given. The
Gymnasium is used, though not so extensively as it might be,
by young men generally and social pupils.

The Association club room is granted gratuitously to
the various athletic clubs in the City, and extensively used
for periodical business meetings.

Another feature of the Y.M.C.A. movement, and in
some respects the greater, consists in its freedom to take the
initiative in general movements of social well-being.

Practical assistance is rendered in the direction of
employment for young men, guidance as to suitable boarding
houses, the visitation of the civilian and military hospitals,
the granting of night shelter to the stranger in straitened
circumstances.

tlie Story of an African City. 89

The several rooms of the Association are freely placed
at the disposal of various religions and philantropic societies
that meet in congress in the City from time to time.

The United Evangelistic Committee and the Pieter-
maritzbnrg Temperance Union are in close co-operation with
the Association.

Corresponding members exist throughout the Colony,
in the Orange Free State and Rhodesia, and a proposal has
been set on foot to establish district associations.

A branch of the Young Women's Christian Association
was established in April, 1896, on the initiative of the
Y.M.C.A., and has since then met on the Association
premises. As tangible evidence of cordial relationship, the
members' parlour in the new additions has heen handsomely
furnished as a gift from the Young Women.

A third feature of this movement is that it forms a
platform of church representatives, lay and clerical ; in
fact, a council of the churches of the City, uttering the
voice of common Christianity in a manner impossible to any
single sect, and, when necessary, taking such aggressive
action as shall conserve the forces of the respective
Churches.

In an association so multiform finance necessarily de-
mands close attention, and this it certainly secures at the
hands of Mr. J. Deverneuil, the Hon. Treasurer. The revenue
is derived from members' fees, donations, subscriptions, the
letting of rooms, and a private guarantee fund. It has long
been felt, however, that by and under co-operation on the
part of the City merchants, the civil servants, and citizens
generally, far more could be accomplished in the develop-
ment of the young manhood of Natal. Avoiding extremes,
"' on the one hand, the depraved desecrator who urges that
* Christian ' should be eradicated from the name, the Bible
thrown out of the window, and the pool ball and poker chip

90 The Story of an African City.

introduced ; and on the other hand, the misguided devotion-
alist who demands the purging of the temple, the closing of
the Gymnasium, shutting up the reading room, banishing
sociality, and permitting nothing but plain chairs, bare
walls, and a perpetual high-pressure prayer meeting," the
Pietermaritzburg Young Men's Christian Association seeks
to benefit the whole man, physically, socially, educationally,
and spiritually.

Mr. A. W. Frodsham, late of Lovedale, Cape Colony,
is General Secretary, and the membership roll numbers
about 220, including associates.

The annual subscription is £1 ; apprentices and young
men under 18, 10s.

The people of Maritzburg owe a deep debt of gratitude
to Mr. D. B. Scott, jun., for the magnificient Theatre which,
at a considerable cost, he has caused to be erected in
the City.

It required no small amount of courage to carry out
an undertaking which, in the opinion of many people, was
far in advance of the City's requirements.

The confidence in Maritzburg's progress displayed by
Mr. Scott has already been justified, and it is now no idle
boast to say that the Thespian goddess is provided in Maritz-
burg with a temple which will compare favourably with
any in South Africa.

The structure, which is built in a modern style of
architecture, was erected under Mr. Scott's personal super-
vision by Mr. H. K. McDowell, on modified plans originally
prepared by Messrs. Street- Wilson and Fyfe, of Durban.

The builder, and the several artists employed on the
premises, are to be congratulated on the perfect taste of the
decoration, and the general success which has attended their
labours.

The Story of an African City.

The structure occupies an area of about 130 by 130 feet,
and consists of a tessalated hall, the Theatre itself, thirteen
dressing rooms, two elaborate staircases with special carvings,
and numerous corridors. Every provision has been made
for the safety of the public, all ceilings and staircases being
protected by asbestos.

On the ground floor there are seventeen exits, while the
stage is fronted by a fireproof asbestos screen.

SCOTTS THEATRE.

The Theatre is capable of accommodating about 1,500
persons at a stretch, but 1,000 can be comfortably seated.

There are nine boxes, luxuriantly fitted up, one of
which, surmounted by the Royal Arms, is reserved for the
Governor, and has attached to it a private sitting-room.

The height of the body of the Theatre is 60 feet, sur-
mounted by a glass sliding dome roof.

92 The Story of an African City.

The seats are made on the tilt-up principle, being ot
perforated wood to snit the hot climate.

The stage measurements are as follows : — Fifty feet by
35 feet ground measurement, and 66 feet from ground line
to roof.

The building is lighted by 600 incandescent lights, the
electrical installation having been carried out by Messrs.
Siemens Brothers, of London.

THE STAGE. SCOTT S THEATRE.

The scenery and all artistic necessaries for the stage are
from the gifted brush of Mr. W. H. Thorne, while the figure
studies over the proscenium are by Mr. Paton, of Durban.

Taken on the whole, the structure would do no discredit
to any European City, and companies on tour will find all
the latest and most modern improvements ready to hand,
and those who have had experience of the stage accom-

The Story of an African City. 93

modation in the old Theatre Royal will, we feel certain, fully
endorse our opening remarks with reference to the public-
spiritedness of Mr. D. B. Scott.

Local industries of some magnitude are now beginning
to make their appearance in the City.

The Natal Tanning Company, Limited, deserves special
mention, as it is the pioneer of an important class of industry
which we hope to see flourish in Natal.

The company was incorporated in the year 1891. Its
leather is produced from Natal hides, and is manufactured
from Colonial grown wattle bark.

The capital of the company is £8,000 ; it has earned
the Government reward which was offered for the manufac-
ture of Colonial leather.

It employs in all about 25 hands ; skilled Europeans
operatives, Coolies, and Kafirs.

The premises, extending over five acres, are on the banks
of the Umsindusi, where the company has ample water
power for working all its machinery, grinding its bark, and
pumping its liquors.

The machinery was all manufactured by Messrs. Huxham
and Brown, of Exeter, and includes disintegrating, scouring,
rolling, and belt-making machines.

The output of the Tannery is about 80 hides per week.
These are converted into sole leather, harness leather, and
machine belting.

The tan pits are 40 in number, and are, together with
the adjoining lime pits, built of brick, lined with cement,
and roofed over to protect them from storms.

The warehouses, drying and currying sheds are exten-
sive. The quality of the company's leather has been steadily
improving, and its sale gradually progressing.

The tan yard has been so planned that the number of
pits can be doubled when occasion requires.

9i The Story of an African City.

The cultivation of wattle (Acacia Mollisima) has now
become one of the permanent industries of the Colony, and
the supply of ox-hides is abundant.

In addition to wattle bark, the company uses other
tanning ingredients, such as sumach, salonia, and myrabolane,
which it has to import at present, but which could all be
grown in this Colony.

No expense is being spared to produce a leather that
will compare favourably with that imported from Britain.

The Natal Brewery must be regarded as one of the most
successful enterprises of the City.

Originally a syndicate, founded by Mr. Frederick Mead,
with a registered capital of £30,000, it steadily justified the
hopes centred on it by its promoters, and the operations
commenced in 1890 were of so satisfactory a character as to.
necessitate very considerable enlargements, both as regards
capital and premises.

In 1893 the syndicate was re-constructed, the new com-
pany having a capital of £130,000. In addition to carrying
out extensive improvements at the Maritzbnrg Brewery,
the Castle Brewery at Johannesburg was purchased. As the
latter had to be practically re-built, increased capital was
necessary, and the company was again floated under the
name of the " South African Breweries, Limited," with a
paid-up capital of £455,000. Of this sum £100,000 have
been sunk in the Natal Brewery, and about £60,000 is at
the present time invested in other ways in the Colony of
Natal.

The present plant of the Natal Brewery is capable of ,
turning out from 600 to 700 barrels of beer, each of 36
gallons, per week. The total storage capacity of the pre-
mises is about 1,500 barrels, besides beer contained in vats
and tuns.

The Story of an African 0%ty. 95

.About 50 white men and 60 natives are employed by the
company.

• The success of the Brewery has been almost phenomenal,
which is shown by the fact that for the year ending March
31st, 1895, the company was able to declare a dividend of
15 per cent, while for the last financial year a dividend
of 12£ per cent, was paid on a capital of very nearly half-a-
million.

The South African Breweries, Limited, is controlled by
a board of directors in London, of which Mr. Hackblock, a
well-known Norwich brewer, is Chairman, and Mr. Frederick
Mead, Deputy Chairman.

There is also a Johannesburg board of directors, who
have to deal with the branch brewery there, but who exercise
uo control over the Maritzburg concern.

The manager of the Natal Brewery is Mr. C. A. Chidell,
a gentleman who has been connected with the concern since
its commencement, and who four years ago was transferred
to Natal. Mr. A. J. Day, whose skill and experience are
well-known in the trade, is the head brewer.

The brewery and plant are of the most modern and
complete design, and it is generally conceded that the beers
brewed in Maritzburg are the best manufactured in South
Africa. The credit is due to this company of introducing to
South Africa the screw-stoppered bottle, which of late years
has become so popular in Great Britain.

The Agricultural Show which is held in Pietermaritz-
burg annually during the month of May is an important
feature in the industry and progress of the Colony. Exhibits
of every description of produce, manutactures, implements,
cattle, dogs, poultry, etc., are received from all parts of Natal,
and valuable prizes, presented by individuals, as well as by
the Society, are awarded to the successful competitors. It

96 The Story of an African City.

has increased year by year, and is now the most flourishing
of its kind in South Africa.

The Hon. T. K. Murray, Esq., M.L.A., who for a con-
siderable time was President of the Society, has by his inde-
fatigable energy, contributed most materially to its success.

The able and energetic Secretary, Mr. A. Whittle
Herbert, has placed the agricultural community of Maritz-
burg deeply in his debt, for its progress and present
important standing is mainly due to his methodical manage-
ment and organisation.

The extensive property, to which additions have recently
been made, and a large hall in the grounds are sufficient
testimony to the growing importance of this institution.

The Horticultural Society is also worthy of mention. It
was established in the year 1864, and had for its object the
encouragement of the growth of indigenous and exotic flora,
fruits, and vegetables.

The Society holds five or six exhibitions throughout the
Colony every year. It is self-supporting, and has done
eminent service in the direction aimed at by its founders.

In concluding these remarks on the public institutions,
buildings, and industries of the City, it is necessary to men-
tion the Natal Bank, Limited, as one of Natal's most
successful financial enterprises.

It was established in 1854, incorporated in 1859, and
is now incorporated under the Natal Bank, Limited, Law of
1888. Its head offices are in the City, and it has branches
throughout Natal, Transvaal. Zululand, and London, the
latter branch being located at 156 and 157, Leadenhall
Street, E.C. The authorised capital is £2,000,000, sub-
scribed capital £878,110, puid-up capital £284,237 10s.,
and its reserve fund £45,000. It is the official bank of the
Government. -}:iJ

The Story of an African City.

The Standard Bank of South Africa, Limited, and the
Bank of Africa, Limited, have also important branches in
the City.

Maritzbnrg possesses at the present time five journals
and several magazines. The Natal Witness, published
every morning ; the Times of Natal, every evening ; the
Natal Afrikaner, published twice a week in the Dutch
language; the Government Gazette weekly ; and the Govern-
ment Agricultural Journal, which is published fortnightly.

Elsewhere in this volume the date of the establishment
of the first-named journal is mentioned. The Times of
Natal dates from 1851, and was first published in Durban.

CHAPTER XV.

Maritzburg as a Health Resort. — Vital Statistics. — Effect of Climate
on Diseases. — Pleasure Resorts.

,N order to arrive at the actual
truth with regard to Maritz-
burg's status as a health resort, we
resolved, instead of depending merely on
common report or personal impressions, to endeavour to
obtain from the Health Officer of the Borough as complete
a statement as possible on a subject of such vital importance.
Accordingly we called on that popular official, and in
the course of an hour's conversation, elicited the following
information.

Tlie Story of an African City.

Before proceeding to deal with it, it may be of interest
to distant readers to know that Dr James F. Allen, M.D ,
M.Ch.M.L., R.U.I., came to Natal in 1874, and settled in
Maritzburg.

Since his arrival, he has grown steadily in popularity,
and can now, with all jnstice, be described as one of the first
medical practitioners in South Africa. He was President
of the third South African Medical Congress, and has con-
tributed in various ways to the scientific and general litera-
ture of the day.

TUG E LA FALLS, COLENSO.

Having resided for so long in Maritzburg in the active
practice of his profession, there are few, if any, who are
better qualified to deal with the vital statistics of the place.

Not only is he Visiting Surgeon to Grey's Hospital,
and to many educational institutions, in this City, but he is
Medical 0 nicer to the Corporation.

In response to our request for information, he readily
afforded us the full benefit of his wide and varied experience

The Story of an African City.

In reply to a question as to whether Maritzburg is a
desirable place to seek by those in quest of health, he said : —
It cannot be said of any place that it is a perfect health
resort all the year round ; still there are certain facts which
are indisputable, and which may be used as gauges for com-
parison, as for example, the local death rate. This record
does not tell everything, but it is nevertheless a good general
guide to the healthiness of a place.

GIANT ALOES.

Taking the past five years together, the average death
rate of this town has been 13.5 per thousand per annum ;
but the death rate is not an altogether reliable guide ; it is
more desirable, if possible, to arrive at the sick rate, i.e , the
prevalence of diseases of a non-fatal character which might
give a place a bad health record without affecting its death
rate.

100 The Story of an African City.

One way in which this can be done, approximately, is
by comparing it with other places in respect of the number
of medical men it employs. Doctors are not likely to stay
in a place too healthy to support them. These matters tend
to balance themselves, and in doing so produce a register
from which fairly correct deductions can be made.

In London, which is considered one of the healthiest
cities in the world, there is one medical practitioner to every
750 inhabitants, whereas in Maritzburg it takes at least
3,000 persons to support one doctor. It must be borne in
mind that the death returns, as shown in the City rate, are
much higher than should actually apply to residents, there
being a tendency for sick and failing people to come to the
City for medical advice, and, of coarse, among such persons
the death rate is high, and their record is placed to the
town's account, thereby considerably raising it by the
register of the deaths of persons who do not actually reside
here, and 'who have succumbed to diseases contracted else-
where, and which, of course, have no local bearing.

There is also a general hospital and a large lunatic
asylum which, in each case, receives patients from all parts
of Natal, the Orange Free State, the Transvaal Republic,
and Portuguese East Africa. Thus it is evident that
there are many extraneous sources which tend to swell the
death rate above what is normal to Maritzburg.

The climate of the City and its suburbs is so healthy
that, even with these additions to the death rate, it can still
show a record which will compare favourably with any town
or community of the same size in the United Kingdom, and
most favourably with any similar town in South Africa.

This is specially instructive in our case, because as far
as I know Maritzburg is the only City in South Africa that
has the courage to publish complete returns ; that is, to take

The Story of an African City. 101

the population as a whole, white and colonred, without re-
gard to the actual place of domicile.

In other lands possessing more complete and extensive
statistical machinery, vital statistics are kept more correctly
than in South Africa, Errors which occur here are guarded
against, as, for instance, if a London resident goes to Brigh-
ton and dies there, his death is registered, not where he

CA8CADE, TOWN BUSH VALLEY

died, but where he lived ; here it is invariably where he dies.
In time this will be changed, but at present such a course
is not possible. Many things are favourable to life in this
City, and therefore contribute to lower the death rate. The
most important being that we have no epidemic diseases,
and malaria, the endemic disease of other parts of Africa, is
unknown.

102 T/ie Story of an African Gity.

The situation of the town is about faultless, it being
thoroughly sheltered on the north and west, from the former
of which directions come the most trying winds of South
Africa, and from the latter the rains and storms.

The town is built on a ridge tailing gently on all sides,
and draining into streams which carry off the surface
water, so that in a few hours after rain has ceased the
ground is dry and clean. At present our Corporation is
carrying out a plan to systematically improve the natural
drainage.

The citizens live much of their lives in the open air ;
there is a beautiful, well-planted Park, in which driving,
riding, and games, such as cricket and football, can be, and
are, extensively enjoyed.

We are fortunate enough to have an ample supply ol
excellent drinking water and to possess a handsome public
bath, the latter the gift of one of our leading townsmen,
which is agreat benefit to the place.

There is a considerable difference between life in the
English towns and life in the City of Maritzburg, for here
there are far greater opportunities of enjoying the open air,
which is always conducive to the maintenance of good health
and long life.

No doubt we have storms and heat, and both at times
keep us indoors, but neither last long, and great heat is
invariably followed by rain, and a consequent fall in the
temperature. The rain seldom lasts for more than a day,
and for the most part only for a few hours. The weather in
the City does not continually occupy people's minds and
thoughts If one is going out it is not the all-absorbing
topic, nor is it the marsport that it is in England.

We know that, however inopportune it may be, it will
not last long, and we can depend upon having more good
than bad. »

The Story of an African City.

103

There are many other attractions which invite people
to reside here, a fine Theatre, a well-filled Library and
Museum, and last, though not least, a Garrison of about
2,000 British troops.

All these tend to make life happy and secure. Maritz-
burg is also the capital of the Colony, and the seat of
Government ; its schools are of a very high standard, and

ALBERT FALLS, RIVER UMGENI.

the town is steadily obtaining a first-class reputation as one
of the most important educational centres in South Africa.

Touching the health of the public and boarding schools,
the record is phenomenal, and perhaps more than anything
else shows what a really healthy place the City is. During
last year, which was by no means an exceptionally good
one from a health point of view, there was not a single case

104 The Story of an African City.

of really serious illness in any of the schools which 1 have
the privilege to attend, and when I tell yon that the resident
pupils of both sexes under my care total about 400, some
idea of the value of this statement as a health record may
be grasped.

This state of affairs is no exception, it is the normal
standard. Boys and girls in this climate can enjoy the same
sports and pastimes as occnpy them in England ; the boys
have cricket and football, and the girls tennis, while both
fly about on bicycles. Every disease here takes a milder
form than in England ; indeed it would be hard to find any
complaint which is more virulent here than there. This
especially applies to the diseases of children, such as scarla-
tina, measles, whooping cough, and chicken-pox.

In Europe some of these are most dangerous and fatal
complaints, but here the naturally increased action of the
skin, the result of a comparatively warm climate, seems to
mitigate their severity. This has an important bearing on
the general health of the country. In Europe very frequently
it is the occurrence of one or other of these diseases during
childhood that prepares the way for graver complaints in
after life, and especially makes people susceptible to con-
sumption. I can safely say that in this City, with whose
mortuary statistics I am familiar, the death rate from these
diseases is practically nil, and that recovery takes place
without any constitutional impairment.

Regarding Maritzburg as a suitable place for invalids,
I do not think that it is to the advantage of any place
to become a regular resort for invalids. Not that I would
deny the sick and weak any of the benefits of our climate, or
rather our climates. "What is more to be desired is that
healthy families should be domiciled here, and should enjoy
the advantages of our town as a place of residence.

The Story of an African City.

105

Invalids do come, as it is, in limited numbers ; but,
unfortunately, so far, most of them are either too advanced
in disease, especially consumption, to recover, or else they
are too poor to get the full benefit of our climate. By the
well-to-do, Booth Africa as a health resort is neglected, or

LIONS RIVER FALLS.

rather has scarcely been discovered, and medical practitioners
who advise people to come here for health reasons are,
generally speaking, not sufficiently acquainted with the
variations of our climate or the configuration of the country.
They are guided mainly by the altitudes of the places to

106 The Story of an African City.

which they send patients ; although no doubt this is in
many forms of disease a good guide to a suitable place of
residence in South Africa, it is often misleading. In the
higher parts of the southern continent of Africa there is little
or no shelter, and consequently in the winter, places at high
elevations are generally exposed to cold winds and dust-
storms, both having a most injurious effect on those suffering
from lung complaints.

The fact is that our climate has never yet been taken
advantage of, on any extensive scale, by persons suffering
from lung affections, for the reason that but few come here
who have the means to live in such a manner as to derive
the greatest good from the climate. As I have said, most
of the people who seek health here are those who must also
make their living, the result is that they are compelled to
reside all the year around in one locality. The consequences
being that in a number of cases the sufferers lose in the
summer in places of low altitude what they have gained in the
winter, and in the higher places the benefit they get in the
summer is lost if they stay the winter. Nothing, of course,
can alter this ; as far as the poor are concerned they must
live where they can earn their bread. For those who can
afford it, the best way in which to get the fullest benefits
from our climate is to move up to the highlands in summer,
and return to the more sheltered places in winter, at which
season of the year no place in South Africa affords greater
attractions as a health resort than Maritzburg, that is to
say, from the 1st of April to the 30th September.

The town being so much better sheltered from dust-
storms and high winds than the more bleak plains, makes
it in a marked degree a desirable residential place.

In addition to congenial society, it is within easy rail-
way reach of the sea and the high level plateaux, so that
when it becomes generally known there is no doubt but

The Story of an African City. 107

that many families, not only invalids, but others, will seek
health and prolonged life in the City. Another important
fact which should not be overlooked is that every successive
generation of delicate people appears to improve in health and
physique.

Maritzburg offers especial attractions to those delicate
persons who are not actually suffering from consumption or
other chest disease, but who are predisposed in that direction.
Persons of this class can live in our City all the year round
with benefit. The altitude above the sea of the City itself
is 2,218 feet, and as I have already said, just outside the
town there is a range oi hills facing the south-east and
attaining an altitude of from 2,900 to 3,000 feet. This
range faces the south-east, from which direction the cool
winds come. Dotted about in sheltered nooks in these
altitudes many comfortable homes have been made. It has
been found that nearly every variety of pine, fir, oak, and
wattle flourish luxuriantly. It is no uncommon sight to see
houses originally placed on a bare slope, in the course of a
few years surrounded with ornamental and fruit trees.

This raises another important thought which may be
mentioned, although it has actually nothing to do with
Maritzburg from the health aspect, and that is the cultiva-
tion of orange and lemon trees.

I firmly believe that this industry would prove to be
not only healthy, but most remunerative, as the demands for
both the fruit and its extracts is steadily increasing through-
out the country.

All that is required is industry and intelligent cultiva-
tion to make, not only the City, but the Colony of Natal the
" Riviera of South Africa."

The foregoing remarks will be read with special interest
as coming from one who is thoroughly acquainted, not only
with the City itself, but with the rest of South Africa.

108

The Story of an African City.

With the Railway sweeping throughout the length of
the land, hundreds of attractive resorts, both for health and
pleasure are easily attainable in a few hours' journey. For
instance, the wild and broken scenery of Inchanga, Botha's
Hill, and Krantz Kloof, lying between Maritzburg and Durban
can be reached within two hours by rail, while in the opposite
direction many charming health resorts are to be found at
Mooi River, Nottingham Road, and elsewhere.

Should the sojourner in Maritzburg so desire it, he may
in about half a day, visit the stately pinnacles of theDrakens-

HEAD OF HO WICK FALLS.

berg, saunter beside the tawny waves of the Tugela at
Colenso, or visit the tragic scenes of the Weenen massacre.

Turning our attention more particularly to the health
and pleasure resorts of Maritzburg proper, we have first
on our list, the beautiful village of Howick.

The falls of the Umgeni River at this place are generally
admitted to be one of the most interesting sights of its kind
in Africa. The stream, which is a considerable one, speeds
down from the uplands in a series of beautiful cascades,

The Story of an African City.

109

until it reaches the chasm, over which it is hurled in a sheer
fall of 365 feet. The roar of the cataract, the deep pool
below it, the whirling rapids beyond, combined with the j
grand scenery, tend to make up a panorama which is diffi-
cult to adequately describe. Capital hotel accommodation

HOWICK FALLS.

is provided in the village, and everything is done to secure
the comfort and pleasure of visitors.

In the immediate vicinity of the City, there are the
Park, the Town Bush, and Chase Valleys, while Sweet-
waters and Winterskloof are favourite picnic resorts. The

110

The Story of an African City.

palm for grandeur of scenery must be given to the Table
Mountain district, situated fourteen miles by road from the
City. Here the tourist may, by a limited expenditure of
money and energy, fully enjoy a peep at as dense barbarism
as ever prevailed in the interior of the Continent. The wild
mountains, with their deep torests of palms and ferns, still

SMEfi^S^

*»

■

(N?Jf

r3fc»

;p!

vjkR»"

Hfi*

%i&

^fP'Kfc-.j'H

■ ■

;

4i ■»,

A SPUR OF TABLE MOUNIAIN.

echo the booming bark of the baboon or the plaintive howl
of the hyaena. Native chieftains hold their courts there, and
the Zulu chant, now shorn of its terrors, may yet be heard.
Not only is this district eminently beautiful, but it teems
with interest to the scientific student, nearly every descrip-
tion of rock, from recent shale to the most ancient formation,
can be discovered in the scarred mountain slopes, towering

The Story of an African Gity.

Ill

here and there. The fantastic hills appear at times to be
almost enchanted, and when in the early dawn, through the
rolling clouds of mist, their giant forms emerge, one can
fully realise how it came about that travellers' tales are some-

A ZULU.

times doubted, for to attempt anything like an accurate
word picture of the majesty and beauty of the scene would
be almost to court the disbelief of those who have not visited
the locality.

112 The Story of an African City.

The Albert Falls, on the Umgeni, which are to be seen j
on the Greytown road, are about fourteen miles out of .
Maritzburg, and constitute the most attractive feature in the
neighbourhood. They are thought, by most people, to give
more satisfaction than those at Howick, which they surpass
in volume, the river here being, of course, somewhat larger.
Though the water has to descend a much shorter distance
than at Howick, the falls more than make up what grandeur
they lose in the matter of height by their great width.
Gazing at the water as it comes tumbling over, to go
swirling past in a miniature Niagara rapids, one easily gains
the impression of there being a dozen waterfalls side by
side, divided by towering masses of rugged lichen-covered
rocks, crowned with clumps of trees, which, with the other
surrounding foliage, the brown and grey stone, the foam-
flecked, hurrying stream, the falling water, and the bright
sunshine, form a picture not easily forgotten. Above the
falls is a stretch of river, eight miles in length, suitable for
rowing and sailing, on which are several boats for the conveni-
ence of visitors. This and other easily-accessible portions
of the river give excellent fishing and shooting. The place
is already receiving an increasing number of visitors from
town, and only needs the completion of the railway to attain
a much larger degree of popularity. The " Waterfall "
Hotel, situated some 12 miles from Maritzburg beyond, is
composed of a substantial building, which has been reno-
vated, and of a number of rooms which are being added.
Stables are in the course of erection, and a good roadway is
about to be made to the falls, and to the fishing and boating
waters above, of which there are about fourteen miles.

The Story of an African City. 113

CHAPTER XYI.

Education Statistics. — Mr. Robert Russell. — Maritzburg College. —
Blenheim School. — Girls' Collegiate School. — Thanet House
School.

fN approaching the important subject of education, we
think it is advisable, as this book will probably find its
way into the hands of many readers who can have had no
opportunity of making themselves acquainted with official
Blue Book returns, to deal with the question from a
State point of view first, and then proceed to the
consideration of Maritzburg itself as an educational
centre. The advantage of such a course is that it affords a
standard of comparison, not only for the Colony of Natal,
but for the rest of South Africa as well.

It will be seen by those who take the trouble to analyse
and compare the Natal returns with those of the other States
of South Africa that, in proportion to its population, it in
many respects takes a leading place. In connection both
with the system adopted and the selection of those who
administer it, the Government and the Municipalities have
spared neither expense nor effort in this all-important
department.

Although the Colony is a British one, it possesses a
heavy percentage of Dutch settlers in the uplands, and the
Government, in order to meet the requirements of all classes,
has provided full facilities for imparting instruction in the
Dutch language, an Inspector being specially retained for
this purpose.

Up to the year 1865, Government supported one High
School for boys and two Primary Schools for boys and girls,
besides giving aid to about 60 schools scattered throughout
the Colony. From that date onwards it was the aim of the
Government to establish more Government Schools, and to
extend aid to all schools complying with certain conditions.

114 The Story of an Ajrican City.

By the end of 1877, four schools, two High and two Primary,
one of each in Pietermaritzburg and Durban, had been
established and were maintained and managed entirely by
the Government, the Governor through the Superintendent
of Education having the immediate control. In both town
and countiy, other schools established by committees or
private individuals, and varying annually in number from
5 to 91, were aided by Government with grants from £16
to £136 a year each.

To put educational matters under the guidance of a
special Council, and to systematise into law the general
principles and conditions which should regulate educational
action, two Bills were framed by the Governor and passed by
the Legislative Council in 1877, the one to make better pro-
vision for primary or elementary education, and the other to
promote secondary education.

On January 1st, 1878, the Council of Education
assumed its duties, and after 16^ years' good work, it was
abolished by the Education Act of 1894, which virtually
vested the powers of the Council in the Minister of Educa-
tion, with the Superintendent of Education as Chief Executive
Officer.

Various improvements are being gradually effected in
the work and regulations of the Department. It is the
endeavour of the Government to bring education within easy
reach of every European child in the Colony, and to provide
facilities, as far as practicable, for giving a suitable training
to the children of Natives and Indians.

Although education is for the most part controlled by
the Government, there are a good many schools, both primary
and secondary, which are not under inspection. These
private schools are mostly doing excellent work.

The European population is about 50,000, and the
number of children at school is about 9,600. This is very

The Story of an African Ctty. 115

nearly one-fifth, the usual estimated proportion being one-
sixth, and there seems to be no need for a compulsory Act.
Government provides free education to all who are not able to
pay the school fees. There are probably not more than 200
children ot school age who are not receiving schooling of
some kind. These figures refer only to the white population.

The Native population numbers about 500,000, and the
Indian population about 50,000. The latter were imported
as labourers on plantations and farms, and those of them
whose term of indenture has expired are occupied as small
storekeepers, market-gardeners, fishermen, hawkers, and
domestic servants.

The Executive Branch of the Educational Department
consists of the Minister of Education (Hon. Henry Bale,
Q.C., M.L.A.), Superintendent of Education (Mr. Robert
Russell), two Assistant Inspectors (Messrs. C. J. Mudie and
J. H Kleinschmidt), an Inspector ot Native Education (Mr.
R. Plant), an Inspector of Indian Schools (Mr. F. Colepeper),
the Clerk and Accountant (Mr. W. H. Bennett), and a
Statistical Clerk (Mr. J. Austin;.

The Science, Art, and Technical Department is under
the charge of ■ ajor S. Herbert, who is assisted by two Art
Masters, one at Maritzburg (Mr. C. E. Chidley), and the
other at Durban (Mr. W. H. T. Venner).

An annual viva voce examination of each school is held,
the date being fixed by the Inspectors, sufficient notification
being given to the head teacher. All schools receiving
Government aid are open at any time to the Officers of the
Education Department, and visits without notice are made
by all Inspectors. As far as possible the Inspectorial and
clerical staffs are appointed from the ranks of the teachers.

In 1897 there were 508 schools under Government
inspection— 319 European schools, 159 Native schools, and
30 Indian schools — with an aggregate attendance of 19,222

116 The Story of an African Gity.

(10,075 boys and 9,147 girls), consisting of 7,685 Europeans
(4,099 boys and 3,586 girls) ; 8,542 Natives (3,580 boys
and 4,962 girls) ; and 2,995 Indians (2,396 boys and 599
girls).

The average regular daily attendance is in European
schools 87 per cent, ot the number enrolled ; in Native
schools 75 per cent. ; and in Indian schools 80 per cent.

The number present at the annual inspections was
7,129 Europeans, 5,209 Natives, and 1,562 Indians. It is
estimated that about 1 ,600 children of European parentage
are being taught privately or at schools not in receipt of
Government aid.

Of the 508 schools, 23 have been established and are
maintained exclusively by Government. All the other
schools are either private schools, denominational schools,
or board schools, receiving grants in aid varying from £10
to £250 a year each.

Nearly all the Native and Indians schools are directly
connected with the various religious bodies in the Colony.

The Government Schools consist of two High Schools,
four Model Schools, 13 Primary Schools, two Art Schools,
and two Indian Schools.

Maritzburg and Durban have each one High School and
two Model Schools. One of the Primary Schools is in
Maritzburg, one at Addington (a suburb of Durban), and
the other eleven are country schools established in the chief
centres of population.

The work of the two High Schools is based on the
Matriculation and the B A. Intermediate examinations of the
Cape University. The Headmasters nominate their own
assistants, and they are left almost entirely free in everything
relating to the work and management of their schools. The

The Story of an African City. 117

aggregate attendance is about 225, and accommodation is
provided for 100 boarders.

An Exhibition to a Home University of £150 a year,
tenable for four years, is given annually. One of the exhi-
bitioners, Mr. T. J. Bromwich, was Senior Wrangler in 1895,
and his distinguished success was a source of much grati-
fication to the Colony.

There is also a Mining Scholarship of £80 a year for
four years, given on certain conditions to the boy who passes
highest in the Cape University Intermediate Examination,
provided he obtains satisfactory marks in Mathematics.

There are also four Bursaries of £40 a year and six
Bursaries of £20 a year for three years, given on certain
conditions to the ten pupils who stand highest in the
Bursary Examination. The higher Bursaries are limited to
pupils outside Maritzbnrg and Durban, and the successful
candidates will attend a boarding school approved by the
Minister of Education.

The collective attendance at the four Model Schools is
about 2,200. The majority of the head teachers and the
chief assistants of these schools and of the country schools
are British trained, and their work is modelled on that of the
best British schools.

From time to time, teachers holding the British Privy
Council certificate have been selected by accredited persons
in Britain and sent out to senior posts, but promotion to
juniors who have served well and faithfully is the guiding
principle in the majority of appointments Teaching as a
profession is not popular with the colonial lad, but girls can
be had without difficulty.

There is a pupil teacher system similar to that of Britain.
The pupil teacher is nominated from the best senior pupils,
and the nomination is approved or disapproved of by the
Superintendent of Education.

118 , The Story of an African Oity.

The apprenticeship extends over four years, and the
apprentices are examined annually by the Department. The
proportion of male to female teachers is 7 — 12.

The Education Department has been made an integral
part of the Civil Service of the Colony since August, 1898.

The books, turniture, and apparatus are all modern.
Cookery schools are attached to the two girls' Model Schools,
and workshops and science classes to the two boys' Model
Schools and to most of the country schools.

The two Art Schools are in charge of teachers certificated
from South Kensington, and the students take part in the
various British drawing, science, and technical examinations.
The Director of the Art School exercises a control over the
science and technical work of all the Government Schools.
The European schools are divided into fixed and farm schools.

There are 67 of the former and 252 of the latter. The
farm-school system was established in 1887 for the benefit
of the children of farmers and others in sparsely-peopled
districts.

They may come up for examination to the nearest
Government School, or an Inspector will visit any house
where not fewer than ten pupils can be gathered together,
provided that such examination centre is not less than five
miles from a Government or Aided School.

The grant of £3 a year is made for every pupil who is
able to show satisfactory progress The syllabus of instruc-
tion is almost indentical with that of the Government
Schools.

The total ordinary expenditure for 1897 amounted to
£45,457, divided thus :— Europeans, £38,007; Natives,
£5,528 ; Indians, £1,922.

The average cost to the Government for educating each
child is about £2 6s. 2d.— each European child costiDg

Ttie Story of an African City. 119

£3 13s. 6d., each Native child 17s. 10s., and each Indian
child 18s 9d. This charge includes all expenses of ad-
ministration. The Government cost per head at the High
Schools is about £9 17s., at the Model Schools £3 17s., at
the Country Schools £7 14s., at the Aided Schools £2, and at
the Farm Schools £3 8s. Special provision is made in all
the Government Schools for instruction in Dutch.

The salaries of the head teachers range from £300 to
£550 per annum, and of assistants from £80 to £300 per
annum.

The revenue derived from Government School fees in 1897
amounted to £7,532 16s. from Europeans, and £42 17s. 3d.
from Indians. The rate of fees varies from Is. to 5s. a
month at the Model and Primary Schools, and from 10s. to
£1 a month at the High Schools. Boarders pay from £30
to £60 a year each.

Education in the Government Schools is to all intents
and purposes secular and unsectarian. The following re
religious instruction appears in the rules to be followed in
Government Schools : — " School shall be opened with prayer.
Regular religious instruction of a simple and unsectarian
kind shall be given throughout the school, but any scholar
may be withdrawn by his or her parent or guardian from
such instruction without forfeiting any of the other benefits
of the school."

All Government School buildings are erected and main-
tained by the Public Works Department.

There is a library attached to every Government School .
Calisthenics, drill, and singing form an important part of
every curriculum Two thousand boys have been formed
into a regiment of Cadets, and twelve hundred of these are
armed and able to shoot. A collective encampment is held
annually for four or five days.

120 The Story of an African City.

The general principle adopted is to secure the best
teachers, and to give them a free hand. They are allowed
to follow their own methods.

The children of the colonists are all well fed and well
clothed. There is no necessity for providing free dinners,
nor for Reformatory or Industrial Schools.

Blind people and persons of defective intelligence are
rarely met with, and the school in Durban for deaf and
dumb, which costs Government £400 per annum, has only
eight pupils.

Evening classes in science, shorthand, etc., have been
established in connection with the Government Schools, and
have met with considerable success.

Mr. Robt. Russell, who is now the permanent and
responsible head of the educational system of Natal, came
to the Colony in 1865, he having been appointed by the
Secretary of State for the Colonies to take charge of the
Government High School then about to be established in
Durban .

A similar institution had already been successfully
inaugurated in Maritzburg. Not only was the necessity of
such an establishment urgently felt at the Port, but it was
also considered advisable that the official selected to take
charge of it should be highly qualified and experienced.

At the time of Mr. Russell's selection for the post he
was a student at Edinburgh University, and Master of
Method in the Church of Scotland Training College in the
same ancient City.

When the appointment was offered to him he had the
alternative of continuing at the University, where a brilliant
career was opening before him, or of casting in his lot
amongst strangers in a strange land. Fortunately for Natal
he selected the latter alternative, and has ever since not only

Tlie Story of an African City.

121

steadily grown in popularity, but has also exercised a potent
influence on the intellectual and literary life of the Colony.
The Durban High School was opened on the 1st of June,
1866, and at once became under his control a popular and
useful institution.

Its attendance, at first naturally meagre, steadily
increased to 100, which, considering the numerical weakness
of the town and district, and the utilitarian lives which the
settlers had to lead, was justly considered a high percentage.

In January, 1875, Mr
Russell was appointed
Associate Inspector of
Schools, and on the death
of the Superintendent of
Education, during the
following year, he was
appointed to succeed him.

In January, 1878, the
Council of Education was
created, and Mr. Russell's
designation altered to that
of Superintendent In-
spector of Schools, while
at the same time he was
appointed Secretary of

MR.

R. RUSSELL, SUPERINTENDENT
OF EDUCATION.

the newly - established
Council.

In the former capacity he was held responsible to the
Government for the proper administration of the funds set
apart for educational purposes, and also for the conduct of
the operations of the department.

When the Council of Education was abolished, four
years ago (1894), Mr. Russell again became the permanent

122 The Story of an African City.

head of the Education Department under a Minister of
Education.

In March. 1897, Natal became affiliated with the Cape
University, and Mr. Russell was appointed one of the three
members to represent the Colony on the University Council.

Throughout his career, both official and private, Mr.
Russell has ever shown that breadth of view and adaptability
to circumstance which are such essential qualifications in
the chief of a department, whose duty it is to build up and
strengthen the minds and characters of those who are destined
to be the strength and support of a struggling and progressive
country. In addition to the conscientious discharge of his
onerous official duties, he has found time to produce that
widely-known work, now in its sixth edition, " Natal : the
Land and its Story." The careful research into the history
of the country, as well as his lucid and able descriptions of
its physical geography, stamp him as no mean figure in the
literary history of Natal.

During a ten months' leave of absence in 1897, Mr.
Russell visited schools of all descriptions in England
and on the Continent. From what we could gather it
would appear that the leave of absence was by no
means a holiday trip, for the data collected by him is
calculated to tell most beneficially on the work of his
department.

When questioned as to his general impressions, it
appeared that he had been pleasingly struck with the pro-
gress made on all sides in technical education ; for
instance, he found a well-equipped Technical School in close
proximity to the time-honoured University of Upsala in
Sweden. At the same time he found that the Natal
Government Primary and Secondary Schools compared not
unfavourably with similar institutions in England and the
Continent.

The Story of an African City. 123

At a very large educational gathering held at Earl's
Court under the auspices of the Society of Arts and the
Countess of Warwick, Mr. Russell was deputed to speak
on education in South Africa. No better choice of an
exponent qualified to do justice to the theme could have
been made.

It is to be hoped that Mr. Russell will long be spared
in health and vigour to administer the affairs of his im-
portant department.

The Maritzburg College is entitled to take first rank as
an educational institution, not only in the City but in the
Colony.

It is scarcely necessary in these pages to trace the origin
of the institution, or its connection with the Collegiate
Trust, established under Law 18, 1861. Suffice it to say,
that after six years of trial of the Government provisions
for secondary or higher education, under Law 16 of 1877, it
was felt that higher education was somehow not flourishing,
and that a change must be effected.

Accordingly the matter was vigorously taken up by the
Council of Education, which resulted in a Bill being pre-
sented to Parliament and ultimately passed as Law 45 of
1884.

This Law was entituled " To repeal in certain respects
Law 1 8 of 1 86 1 , and to make provision for certain funds and
lands under the said Law being made available for the
educational needs of the Colony." In signing this Law, Sir
Henry 1'ulwer, whose name will ever be prominently con-
nected with the history of education in Natal, realised in a
sense his cherished project of the establishment of an endowed
Collegiate Institution or College.

The establishment is Collegiate in respect of its having
young men in residence, who study for the Degree Examina-
tions ot the Cape of Good Hope University, with which it is
thus affiliated*

124 The Story of an African City.

The Story of an African City.

125

It also represents the High School in that, in the lower
or preparatory school, elementary instruction is imparted.

The building is a stately one, which a reference to our
illustration will show, and was constructed on plans furnished
by the late Mr. Dudgeon, the Architect of the Durban
Town Hall.

By the prolongation of the two projecting wings, a
finely proportioned quadrangle is formed.

STAFF, MAHITZBURG COLLEGE.

These flanking blocks contain on the ground floor the
two largest class-rooms, the dining-room, and lavatories,
and in the upper story the largest dormitories, the hospital,
the laundry, and the servants' rooms.

Magnificient town and country views are obtainable
everywhere from the College, but more especially from the
upper windows.

126

The Story of an African Gity.

The Masters' residences occupy either end of the main
building.

The first object to catch the eye of the visitor is the
entrance hall, with its massively-designed collonade and
staircase leading to the library immediately above. On the
right hand side of the entrance hall is a marble tablet,
erected in memory of former pupils of the school who fell
in battle in the defence of their country.

The College Lib-
rary, in which there
is a portrait of the
late Dr. Mann, at one
time Superintendent
of Education in the
Colony, is en-
riched by a

generous donation

from Mrs. Mann of

a valuable collection

of books, including

the new edition of the

Encyclopaedia Bri-

tannica,' ' in

handsome

binding.

THE LIBRARY. MARITZBURG COLLEGE.

To the left of the staircase is the Masters' retiring room,
and a reference library.

A lofty and airy corridor traverses the whole length of
the upper story.

Since the opening of the College in August, 1888, con-
siderable additions have been made to the staff, on which
there are now highly qualified and eminent teachers in the
department of classics, English literature, science, mathe-

The Story of an African City,

127

matics, and modern languages, holding high degrees from
British and Continental Universities.

The Headmaster, Mr. R. D. Clark, M.A„ of New
College, and former Fellow and Tutor of Edinburgh Uni-
versity, also of the Inner Temple, Barrister-at-Law, is a
gentleman who has, both as a distinguished scholar and a
public-spirited Colonist, impressed his personality deeply,
indelibly, and beneficially alike on the educational and social
lite of the City and of the Colony.

THE HEADMASTER IN HIS STUDY.

It is due to the efforts of Mr. Clark and his assistant
Masters that a gratifying esprit de corps has been evoked
in the College, by means of societies, cadet corps, and
athletics, in which the College boys have won a reputation.

The following is a list of the staff of the College, who
assist Mr. Clark in the arduous duties of the institution : —
English Master, Rev. J. Stalker, M.A., Edinburgh Uni-
versity ; Mathematical and Science Master, Mr. H. W.
Graham, M.A., Cambridge ; Professor of Modern Languages,
Mr. H. Von Gerard, University of Wurzburg ; House

128

The Story of an African City.

Masters, Messrs. A. S. Langley and C. T. Loram, ('ape
University ; Art Instructor, Mr. 0. E. Ghidley, Natal
Government Art School ; Music Instrnctor, Mr. A. Campbell-
Rowland ; Military Drill and Gymnastics, Sergeant-Major
Bowen, Natal Carbineers ; Matron, Mrs. Richards.

in order that readers at a distance may grasp the full
value of the College as a training centre, we incorporate
here the rules and regulations which must be conformed to
by students, and in doing so may state that they apply more

THE VESTIBULE, MARITZBURG COLLEGE.

or less to the various other educational establishments
mentioned in this chapter.

Rules and Regulations.

1. Punctual attendance on the ringing of a bell for
meals or study will be strictly enforced.

No hat is to be worn within the College, and there is to
be no rushing, pushing, or shouting within the building or
on the verandahs.

3. The inmate of one dormitory is on no account to enter
any other.

The Story of an African City.

129

4. Boys are specially reminded that the dormitories are
solely for sleeping purposes ; until bedtime they are to be
entered only for good and sufficient reasons, and if a sick
boy wishes to lie down on his bed he must first take off his
boots. Lights are to be put out at 10.30 by the Prefects of
the several dormitories.

5. The rule as to pushing, shouting, and horseplay will
be stringently enforced in the dormitories, and for the strict
observance of this rule, and of Rules Nos. 3 and 4, the Per-
fects, who have full powers in this matter, will be held
responsible.

DINING ROOM, MARITZBURG COLLEGE.

6. Each boy is to make out accurately, in duplicate, on
a sheet of notepaper, a weekly list of his washing, so as to
check it when returned.

7. All dirty boots or shoes are to be placed in the boot-
room before tea, at and after which meal slippers only may
be worn, and no one thereafter may leave the main building
except for necessary purposes.

3. Anyone entering the dining-room after grace has
been said will be liable to an imposition.

9. Careless spilling of ink will in every case be severely
punished.

130 The Story of an African City.

10. All books, etc., used in the studies must be replaced
in the owner's desk belore he retires to rest.

11. Lamps must be brought down to the lamp-room
before 9 a.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays and
replaced and lighted before sunset

12. No boy may leave the College grounds without
permission, save on Saturdays, and then only after dinner,
from which time until tea the Oval will be held to be within

HEADMASTER S ROOM. MARITZBURG COLLEGE.

bounds. Any boy requiring to visit the City on special
grounds must apply at the times specified to the Head-
master, from whom alone leave may be obtained.

13. No game may be played except on the ground
bounded by the main approach and the path leading from
the Park to the College. Due care must be taken not to
damage trees nor obstruct pathways.

The Story of an African City.

131

14. On Sundays every boy mast attend the place of
worship specified by his parents or guardian, and College
hats only may be worn. Leave may be obtained to spend
the interval between the morning and evening services with
any duly accredited friend.

15. Weekly boarders must prepare Monday's lessons
on Friday evening, and return to the College before 9 a.m .
on Mondav.

COLLEGE ATHLETES.

16. Failure on the part of pianotorte pupils to practice
at the times appointed will entail severe punishment.

17. All purchases, not being cash tracsactions, must
first be sanctioned by the College authorities.

18. All cases of sickness must be at once reported to
the Matron or Headmaster, either by the patient in person
or by the Prefect ot his Dormitory, if the patient is unable
to do so.

132 The Story of an African City.

Scale of lees : — Upper School, £1 a month ; Lower
School, 10s. a month ; Boarding Fee, £4 4s. a month ;
Medical Dues, Is. a month

No " extras " except for necessary text-books.

Total cost for boarding pupil for ten school months of
year :- -Upper School, £52 10s. ; Lower School, £47 10s.

These fees are payable quarterly in advance : — On 1st
February, 15th April, 1st August, and 15th October.

A scheme is at present on foot to utilise the extension of
the College lands for Masters' residences, while a new wing
is now being added to the main building. This latter addi-
tion will provide a hall 75 feet long and 40 feet wide, with
an oak-groined roof and cathedral windows, which will be
fitted up as a gymnasium and general meeting hall.

From the preceding details, together with the illustra-
tions accompanying them, a fair idea of the status and scope
of the Maritzburg College may be gleaned.

An important point which should not be overlooked in
dealing with any institution whose misson it is to mould
and bui'.d up the unformed minds of the rising generation,
is that of association and environment. The stately building,
the well-regulated and cleanly lives which the boys are re-
quired to lead, the association with cultured and gifted mentors,
must have the effect of thoroughly impregnating the boys'
beings with all that is pure and noble, and of fitting them
to discharge in their future lives the duties which may fall
to their lot with dignity and ability.

The Mariizburg College, although, like the rest of the
Colony, of distinctly modern origin, has already made a
record in the lives and deaths of many of its pupils which
constitutes a noble history, of which the present collegians
have every reason to be proud. The tablet already men-
tioned as being placed in the entrance hall of the College,
was unveiled on the 28th April, 1882, in the old High

The Story of an African City. 133

School by His Excellency Sir Henry Bulwer, K.C.M.G,,
etc., the then Governor of the Colony, Sir John Akerman,
K.C.M.G., the Mayor of Maritzburg, and many other
officials being present.

As the event was one of considerable importance to the
school and interest to the City, we cannot do better than
place the address to the Governor and subsequent speeches
on permanent record, in order that they may serve as an
incentive to future generations, not only of College pupils'
but of rising colonists generally.

The following is the Address : —

To His Excellency Sir Henry Ernest Bulwer, K.C.M.G.,
&c, &c.
May it Please Your Excellency —

We, the undersigned, on behalf of former pupils and
Masters past and present of the Pietermaritzburg High
School, with great pleasure meet Your Excellency on this
occasion, knowing as we do your deep sympathy with those
who suffered by the sad event we this day piously com-
memorate, and the great interest which Yonr Excellency
has ever manifested in that which is educative in tendency,
as we trust the simple memorial which we have erected
and these proceedings will be.

The desire to perpetuate the memory of their fallen
fellow-scholars originated among some old High School boys
about two years ago, and with snch cordiality was the idea
responded to, that, besides realising the original intention
of erecting a monument, they are instituting an annual
memorial prize in connection therewith

It is the hope of the Memorial Committee that the
constant contemplation of this tablet will engender in the
minds of the boys who may be here in the future a desire
to follow the example of the honoured dead in their un-
ostentatious performance of duty, and that the competition

134 The Story of an African City.

for the Memorial Prize, as one of more than merely intrinsic
value, may foster a healthy spirit of emulation and tend to
promote the cause of education in the school.

The founders desire that the ceremony of to-day may
teach the lesson of simple and unquestioning obedience to
duty, and of sacrifice of self, for country and the commou
weal, and that the acts of the brave departed may bring
torth in other boys the fruits of heroic lives and evoke a
filial interest in the school whose career is now indelibly
identified with the history of the Colony. They would fain
hope that this memorial tablet will tend to create among
the pupils a desire to do credit to their Alma Mater, and
that they may feel that their characters are closely bound
up with that of the school, so that it may ever be an honour
to have been connected with the High School of Pieter-
maritzburg.

With these aspirations we now, on behalf of the sub-
scribers, request that Your Excellency will be pleased to
unveil the Memorial Tablet which we have been privileged
to erect within these walls.

And we have the honour to be,

Your Excellency's obedient servants,

Robert D. Clark, Chairman.

C. H. Pearse, Honorary Secretary.

High School Memorial Committee.

Mr. Clark, Headmaster of the High School, and Chair-
man of the Memorial Committee, in presenting His Excel-
lency with the Address, said : —

" In handing this Address to Your Excellency, and
previous to requesting you to be pleased to unveil this
tablet, I may be permitted to say that I count it a most
felicitous concurrence that this, the last act of the pro-
gramme entrusted to us as a Committee, should fall to be

The Story of an African City. 135

performed by one who can say, as you can, in reference to
the historical events which have led to the proceedings of
to-day —

' Quseque ipse miserrima vidi
Et quorum pars magna fui.'

It is not for me, in Your Excellency's presence, to dwell
on the part you played in these events with such
honour to yourself and such benefit to the Colony ; but I
cannot help remarking that fortune has, with eminent
fitness, arranged that this monument should be unveiled by
one who is the toster-father of this institution as at present
constituted, and who steered the Colony wisely and well
through a period of her history when its need was the sorest.
Since Your Excellency last stood within these walls we
have as a community lost another very palpable instalment
of the proverbial happiness of the people that has no
history. Political and social elements have been moving on
remorselessly to their natural issues, and this institution
being, as 1 trust it is, in vital connection with the com-
munity, has been moving and growing likewise While
deeply deploring, in common with all here, the sad events
which have led to our meeting now, I cannot but regard
this ceremony as a conspicuous landmark in the history of
the school. The past boys of to-day are, as it were,
joining hands with the present pupils over the graves
of the heroic youths whose names, recorded on this
tablet, will live in the history of the institution ; and
the bright torch lit by these brave lads no High
School boy will ever willingly let go out. This monu-
ment, and all that it implies, I regard as one of the most
potent factors now available for moulding the character
of the school, although its action may, and indeed must, be
subtle and impalpable We have no lack of youthful talent
in our community, and we have a fair share of material

136 The Story of an African Gity.

prosperity, but these cannot compare in ethical value with
the spirit of the storied marble on this wall which will
perennially bring to a focus for us the lesson of the dis-
cipline of pain, and the bracing influence of difficulties,
unflinchingly faced, and overcome even in death. The
martyr's blood has been called the seed of the Church, and
the patriot's is the best seed of a Constitution. From this
day we take a new departure as a school, because we can
point with pride to an instalment of our history recorded in
the language of the conquerors of the ancient world, the
study of which in the school makes us at one with the old
academies of the Mother Country. In all 1 have said I
fear I have been speaking more from the point of view of a
present Master than from that of the Chairman of the Com-
mittee of former pupils. They will, I am sure, forgive
me for it. I would only say, in conclusion, that if
present and future pupils, when they join the ranks of the
old boys, show the same filial spirit towards their Alma
Mater, and the same loyal attachment to their fellows as
the old boys, to whom the erection of this monument has
been a labour of love, I shall count it a privilege to grow
grey at my post within these walls. 1 now request Your
Excellency to be pleased to unveil the Memorial Tablet."
(Applause).

Sir Henry Bulwer in reply, said : —
Mr. Clark and Mr. Pearse, — I have to thank you, and
the former pupils of this school, and Masters past and pre-
sent, for the address which you have jnst presented to me,
and for what you have also said. I have complied with
your invitation to be present on this occasion, and your
request that 1 should unveil this memorial, with cordial
satisfaction, not only because of the desire that I naturally
have to pay respect to the memory of those who are de-
parted, and my regard for the feelings of their relatives

The Story of an African City. 137

and friends, but also because of my sincere sympathy with
the objects which you have in erecting this tablet, and in
instituting this annual prize to which you have referred.
Your object in erecting this tablet is to commemorate the
former alumni of this school who fell fighting in the service
of their country in the Zulu War, or elsewhere in Sooth
Africa, so that it may serve as a memorial of simple
obedience, of sacrifice of self, and of heroic deaths, and may
be held out as a bright example, both now and in the future,
to the boys who shall be educated in this school, and that
by means of this honourable association an additional link
may be given to bind the boys to their school in filial
attachment and in filial pride. There can be no question
of the influence that an association of this kind is capable
of exercising in early life upon an unformed character by
the appeal that it makes to the heart and the imagination
of yonth ; and the influence is not the less powerful, be-
cause it is often altogether unconscious. Who can say,
for instance, how much our British life and our British
character owe to what we may call these unconscious
influences. In Britain, with its old-world history, with
the historic past, speaking as it were from the very
walls of abbey, of castle, or of cloister, or from the stone
figures or dim religious light of some storied window,
associations of this kind abound. They are associations
which, whether at school or in one of our ancient universities,
or under the shadow of some grand old cathedral, or by the
side of some market cross — are ever speaking to the youth
of Britain — are ever speaking, century after century, with
occult but eloquent force to the hearts of men as the
generations come and go. In a new country associations of
this kind are necessarily wanting, and it is therefore the
more incumbent upon us that we should secure the remem-
brance of any event, of any deed, of any life that commends

138 The Story of an African City.

itself to the hearts of men, and can lay just claim to be
handed down to the attention of posterity. The association
which this tablet is designed to hand down is, it appears to me,
of a peculiarly healthy and beneficial character, and not the
less beneficial because of the simple virtues it recalls. In
the address which you have just presented to me, you refer
to the unquestioning obedience, to the unostentatious per-
formance of duty, and to the self-sacrifice which distinguished
the deaths of those whom we are commemorating this day.
And what better lesson can be taught than that of simple
obedience and unostentatious performance of duty. To do
our duty, to do one's duty faithfully and without fear, with
singleness of heart, and with no thought of self, is a motive
which has produced some of the noblest lives. It is this
principle which we are proud to say has governed, and it is
to this day, under God's blessing, governing the lives ot
thousands and thousands of English people ; and I trust
that this principle may never be allowed to die out from
amongst us as a people. Those in whose honour we are
assembled to-day did their duty in simple obedience, and
without fear. It was in the performance of their duty, for
they went forth when the war broke out, and it was in the
performance of their duty that they fell, meeting their
deaths — as became Britons- -bravely. This tablet, then,
which records their fate, is a record also of their virtue.
Those whose names are inscribed on it were once, and not
many years ago, pupils at this school. They were then
strong in youth, strong in hope, and as full of the promise ot
life as any of those whom I see before me. The thread of
life with them was cut long before its natural time, and they
are gone. But this tablet, which is erected to their memory ,
being a record of lives given up in the service of their
country with unquestioning obedience, being a record of
men who, in the performance of their duty, were faithful

The Story of an African City, 139'

unto death, is placed here in the trust that it will not speak
in vain to the generations of schoolboys who may sit in their
places, but that it may be the means of helping to noble
thoughts, and to the formation of manly, brave, and duty-
loving lives.

His Excellency at this stage unveiled the tablet, which
bears the following inscription : —

"Dulce et Decorum est Pro Patria Mori."

In Piam Memoriam

Hujus Schoi^e Alumnorom

Qui ut Olim Pueri Inter Studia Ludosque

m muli fuerant

Sic Juvenes Contra Barbaros Pro Aris et Focis

Alius Alio Fortius

pugnantes

Mortem Oppetiverunt

hoc monumentum

Icti Desiderio Condiscipuli Magistrique

Hie Erigendum Curaverunt.

K. H. Erskine, N.C., apud "Bushman's Pass,"

Prid : Non : Nov., mdccclxxiii.

J. P. Archbell. N.N.C.
J. A. Blaikie, N.C.
H. W. Davis, N.C.

Apud " Isandhlwana,"

F. G. Doyle, L H. XL Kal. Feb.,

F. J. D. Scott, N.C. mdccclxxix.
O. T. Macleroy, N.C.

G. J. P. Shepstone, N.N.C.

C. A. Potter, W.N.C., apud "Hlobane," V. Kal.

April, mdccclxxix.

J. Ferreira, CD., apud "Kambula," IV. Kal.

April, mdccclxxix.

C. Mears, apud "Secocoeni," Fines IV. Kal.

Dec, mdccclxxix.

PlETERMARITZBURGII, MENSE JaNUARIO,
MDCCCLXXXII.

We may add that the inscription was written by Mr.
Clark, Headmaster of the School, and the tablet has been
erected bv Messrs. Jesse Smith & Son.

140 The Story of an African Oity.

The following brief sketch ot the lives of those referred
to in the foregoing function will be of interest : —

ROBERT HENRY ERSK1NE,
son of the Honourable Major Erskine, for many years
Colonial Secretary of the Colony of Natal, was born in India
on the <56th July, 1846. He was one of the foundation toys

MEMORIAM TABLET, MARITZBURG COLLEGE.

of the High School, Pietermaritzburg, where he won for
himself the esteem of his fellow-scholars. After leaving
school, he became Private Secretary to His Excellency R.
W. Keate, Esq., Lieutenant-Governor of the Colony, and
was subsequently admitted as an Advocate of the Supreme

The Story of an African City. 141

Court. He joined the Natal Carbineers, in which corps he
served as a trooper, meeting his death on the 4th November,
1873, at the age of 27, at Bushman's Pass, when one wing
of that corp was exposed to the fire of the escaping Ama-
hlubi, in what is known as the Langalibalele expedition.

JAMES PHILIP ARCHBELL

was born on the 13th October, 1853, at Pietermaritzburg.
He studied at the High School during the years 1863 and
1864, and twice obtained the Good-Fellowship Prize by the
vote of his school-fellows. After leaving school, he first
became a clerk in Pietermaritzburg, and subsequently
engaged in agricultural pursuits. He volunteered as a non-
commissioned officer in the Natal Native Contingent, raised
for the defence of the Colony during the Zulu war. As
Colour-Sergeant of the 1st Native Contingent, he fell at
Isandhlwana, 22nd January, 1879.

JAMES ADRIAN BLAIKIE

was born at Aberdeen, Scotland, on 2nd March, 1859. He
entered the High School, June, 1869, remaining until
December, 1872, when he had risen to a high position in the
school. He then went to Fettes' College, Edinburgh.
Returning again to the Colony, he first entered the Civil
Service, and then a solicitor's office, where he was long
remembered for his remarkable intelligence. During this
time he joined the Natal Carbineers as a trooper, and lost
his life on 22nd January, 1879, on the field of Isandhlwana.
His remains were identified as amongst those who fell
surrounding their leader.

HARRY WILLIAM DAVIS,
son of Mr. Peter Davis, one of the oldest colonists of Natal,
was born at Pietermaritzburg on the 26th November, 1859.
He was at the High School for five years, from 1873 to
Christmas, 1877. When he left he had attained the position

142 I he Story of an African Gity.

of third in the First Class. He entered a merchant's office in
this City, and became a trooper in the Natal Carbineers,
falling at Isandhlwana on 22nd January, 1879. With
Blaikie, his body was found close to that of the noble
Durnford.

THOMAS GERALD DOYLE,
son of Mr. P. Doyle, was born on the 22nd March, 1859, and
studied at the High School during 1871 and 1872, when he
was in the Second Division. After leaving school he entered
a solicitor's office in Pietermaritzburg, and subsequently
went to Kokstadt, where he gained a very good name. At
a later date he entered the service of the Railway contractors.
He became a Conductor in Lonsdale's Horse, and was killed
at Isandhlwana on 22nd January, 1879. His body was
found by his father near those of Captain Bradstreet,
(B.B.G.), Lieutenant Hitchcock, and S. Grant. They had
evidently made a stand together, and fallen fighting. Four
months later his remains were interred by his father.

GEORGE THOMSON MACLEROY,
son of the late Mr George Macleroy, for many years General
Manager of the Natal Bank, was born at Pietermaritzburg
on the 7th November, 1856, and entered the High School
about the year 1867. He remained at the school for six
years, occupying, when he left, a prominent position in the
Upper Room. During this period he won for himself many
friends, and on more than one occasion was awarded the
Good-Fellowship Prize by them. He was greatly esteemed
for his kind and genial disposition, and will long be re-
membered for his wit and humour ; as a caricaturist, also,
he was much appreciated. On leaving school he entered
into commercial life, and by close attention to duty gave
promise of a successful future. Shortly before the Zulu
War he joined the Natal Carbineers, and, like so many of

T)ie Story of an African City. 143

his comrades, did not survive the action at Isandhlwana,
22nd January, 1879. At a subsequent date his remains
were removed to the City cemetery by his sorrowing parents.

FREDERICK JOHN DURRANT SCOTT,
son of Mr. D. B. Scott, one of the early settlers in the
Colony, was born at Pietermaritzburg on the 19th April,
1851. He was a foundation boy of the High School, and
continued there until 1866, when he occupied the second
place in the school, and then left to finish his education at
Godolphin School, Hammersmith. There he not only
passed through his curriculum with much credit, but dis-
guished himself in athletic exercises — in 1868 winning a
medal as the best athlete in the school, and in the same
year the average bat. In after years he maintained this
character, and was ever distinguished for his prowess in
sports. Returning to the Colony, he first filled the position
of a clerk in a merchant's office, and subsequently became
a partner in the firm of Messrs. Mason & Scott. He joined
the Natal Carbineers in 1874, and rose to the rank of second
Lieutenant. He marched to the front in December, 1878,
and was in commaud on the 22nd January, 1879, when
he fell at Isandhlwana by the side of Colonel Dnrnford.
He left behind him the name of a brave Volunteer, esteemed
and beloved by his men.

GEORGE JOHN PALMER SHEPSTONE,
son of Sir Theophilus Shepstone, K.C.M.G., was born at
Pietermaritzburg on the 11th June, 1849. After studying
at the High School, he went to Capetown to finish hiB
education. On his return he successively held the appoint-
ments of Secretary to the Chief Justice and Registrar of
the Supreme Court, and thereafter was admitted as an
Advocate. Subsequently he entered into commercial life,
and became a partner of the firm of Messrs. Henderson & Co,

144 The Story of an African City.

He joined the Natal Native Horse raised at the commence-
ment of the Zulu War, and became Staff Officer of the late
Colonel Durnford, with the rank of Captain On the 22nd
January, 1879, the Natal Native Horse were hurried up to
support the camp at Isandhlwana. No record remains of
the circumstances under which he met his death. Of a
friendly disposition, and universally popular, he was deeply
lamented by a large number of friends and companions.

CHARLES ALFRED POTTER
was born on the Berea, Durban, on the 29th July, 1853,
and entered the High School in August, 1864, remaining
until June, 1868. He passed through most of the classes
of the school, and each year carried off prizes, the last being
December, 1867, when he was head boy of the Second Class.
The reports of his attendance showed that he valued his
privileges, as the records remaining show that he was never
late nor absent for the period to which they refer. Genial,
kind, and benevolent, he was beloved by all his companions.
On leaving school he went into the Transvaal trading with
his father, and was also occupied part of his time as a book-
keeper. When the Zulu War commenced he joined Major-
General Wood's First Native Contingent, under Major Leet,
which followed the General to Kambula. He was Interpreter
and Guide to Colonel Rowland's Column, on the Amaswazi
border, and was selected on several occasions as special
messenger to the Swazi King. He had before been re-
peatedly employed by the Transvaal Government as con-
fidential messenger to Cetywayo. On the 28th March,
1879, he left Kambula Camp with Major-General Wood,
and was amongst the ill-fated on the Hlobane Hill who could
not make good their escape. He was on several occasions
mentioned in despatches, and was referred to by name by
Sir E. Wood in his public speeches on his return to England.
Wherever he moved he sustained the character of an upright

The Story of an African City. 145

gentleman, kind and courageous, beloved by his comrades
in arms.

IGNATIUS FERREIRA
(familiarly known as Jonkey), son of Mr. Philip Ferreira, a
pioneer in the Colony of Natal, was born at Pietermaritz-
burg on the 8th February, 1850. He was several years at
the High School, where he became known as one always to
the front in athletic sports and manly exercises. After
leaving school he entered the Master of the Supreme
Court's Office, remaining there for two years ; afterwards
he assisted his father in the business of auctioneer. Whilst
living in Maritzbnrg he joined the Natal Carbineers, of
which Corps he continued to be a member till he left the
City for the Diamond Fields, where he lived several years.
On the commencement of the Zulu War he went to the front
as a civilian, in the capacity of Contractor's Agent, and there
accepted a special temporary appointment, and attached
himself to the Commissariat Department. He took part in
the gallant defence of Kambula on the 2Uth March, 1879,
when the camp was attacked by the full strength of the
Zulu army, and at the close of the day was found amongst
the dead.

CHARLES MEARS
was one of the first boys who attended the High School.
On leaving he went to live in the Transvaal, and fell in the
service of the Republic at the storming of Mathebi's Kop
(Secocoeni Campaign) in the year 1878.

The Council of Education, immediately after its forma-
tion in 1878, took steps for complying with the law regard-
ing the establishment of two Model Schools in Pietermaritz-
burg, one for boys and one for girls. These were termed
model schools, because it was intended that they should
train pupil teachers, and employ only the most modern
methods of instruction.

146 The Story of an African City.

The Pietermaritzburg Boys' Model School is under the
charge of Mr. F. G . Bichmond, an English certificated master,
who was brought out to the Colony by the Education
Department 26 years ago.

When the Maritzburg College was built the old High
School Building became the Boys' Model School, which has
since been considerably enlarged, and has now ample accom-
modation for the 500 pupils in attendance.

The institution has been a complete success from every
point of view.

A new building was erected for the Girls' Model School,
and Miss Broome (sister of the late Sir Napier Broome)
was brought from England as its first Headmistress. This
school also accommodates its full complement of 500 pupils,
and has supplied many teachers now at work in all parts of
the Colony.

When the Boys' Model School was moved into the old
High School Building the rooms vacated were used as a
school for girls living in the eastern parts of the town. Miss
Jarvis, then first assistant to Miss Broome, was appointed
Mistress. When Miss Broome afterwards resigned, Miss
Jarvis was promoted to the Headmistress-ship of the Model
School, and Miss Beeston, L.L.A., first assistant in the
Girls' Model School, Durban, succeeded Miss Jarvis. This
institution has also exceeded the utmost expectations of
those who were instrumental in getting it established, chief
amongst whom was that public-spirited citizen, Mr. J. J.
Chapman, of the Town Council.

This gentleman, aided by Mr. Stephen Stranack, the
Town Clerk, left no stone unturned to keep the institution
not only going, but to retain it in its present position.

The attendance of this school has reached its utmost
limit of 450, and steps are now being taken by the Govern-
ment to have the building enlarged.

The Story of an African Gity.

147

All the appliances, furniture, and methods of instruc-
tion in the foregoing schools are of the most modern and
approved description.

Passing now from Government institutions to others of
a private or a semi-private description, we have many other
establishments well worthy of mention.

BLENHEIM SCHOOL.
A capital example of a first-class private school is
afforded in the establishment known as " Blenheim School,"

BLENHEIM SCHOOL.

conducted by Mr. R. H.Oldfield. This school was opened five
years ago, and has had a career of conspicuous success. Mr.
Oldfield is a trained certificated teacher, and has had many
years' experience in school management. Unlike the Head-
masters of the public schools, his hands are unfettered, and
he can arrange his curriculum in a manner which his
experience has taught him to be more suitable to the
capabilities of his pupils. The time of the lower forms is

148 The Story of an African City.

devoted \ wholly to a thorough grounding in those subjects
which are essential to good work in the future — reading,
writing, arithmetic, &c, together with elementary Latin,
Euclid, and Algebra. The lower forms enter for the Oxford
Local Examinations, and the upper tor the Cape Matricula-
tion. Great attention is devoted to delicate and backward
pupils, and those boys who are destined for a commercial
career receive instruction in shorthand, bookkeeping, and
type-writing.

The health, comfort, physical training and general
requirements of the pupils are carefully provided for, as well
as their scholastic training. The school buildings comprise
a handsome residence standing in its own spacious grounds,
in one of the healthiest suburbs of Maritzburg. The school
and class-rooms are detached from the house, and are lofty
and well ventilated. The recreation grounds are very exten-
sive, and include cricket and football fields, and a good
tennis court. The boys are formed into a cadet corps, and
are taught military drill under Government supervision.

The domestic department is under the management of
a competent lady matron, who is an experienced nurse, and
a thoroughly comfortable home is provided. There are three
resident masters, besides visiting masters for various sub-
jects, and each pupil receives individual attention in the
course of his studies. Mr. Oldfield gives a long list of
references to parents and guardians of past pupils, who can
all testify to the excellent results of his educational and
moral training.

THE GIRLS' COLLEGIATE SCHOOL.

This important educational establishment is situated
near the centre of Burger Street, and was founded in 1878.
At present the pupils number 106.

The Story of an African City.

149

The school is conducted by Miss R. Bl. Mason, who
holds the Certificate in Arts for Women of the Edinburgh
University.

There is a highly qualified staff of teachers, including
specially trained art and kindergarten mistresses, a mistress
of method, and resident music mistresses.

Pupils are prepared for the examinations of the Cape
University, lor various music and art examinations, and for
the Natal Teachers' Certificate.

girls' collegiate school.

The school course includes English, French, Latin,
music, mathematics, science, needlework, class-singing,
drawing, and physical exercises.

Other subjects, such as German, Dutch, &c, can be
taken on special terms.

The school is non-sectarian, and arrangements are made
for boarders to attend the church to which their parents
belong.

150 The Story of an African Oity.

The establishment may be described as a seminary,
worked as nearly as possible on the lines of a British high
school for girls.

The training and preparation of teachers is an important
item in the school course, and ample scope is afforded in this
direction by the method of placing the kindergarten and
juvenile classes under an experienced mistress, who is
assisted in her work by the student teachers.

The school buildings consist of a central hall, fitted up
as a gymnasium, with class-rooms adjoining. A commodious
and well-lighted art studio, well furnished with casts and
models, is provided, while the care which is lavished on
every hand proclaims to even the casual observer the fact
that it is no longer necessary for girls to leave the City in
order to acquire the training, both educational and methodi-
cal, which is essential to the future happiness of a British
gentlewoman.

The residential department of the school is separated
from the class and work-rooms by a long corridor, and there
again, health, sanitation, and the utmost care combiDe to
ensure the maximum of comfort and health.

Touching the latter important subject, we learned that
no cases of sickness of a serious or contagious description
have occurred ; in fact, the health record of the school is
phenomenal.

Sports are amply provided for in lawn tennis courts
and the gymnasium already referred to, while the extensive
grounds and gardens (about four acres) afford ample oppor-
tunity to the students to enjoy that open air life which is so
essential to health. Indeed, no such suitable premises for
educational purposes are to be found elsewhere in South
Africa.

The Story of an African City.

151

THANET HOUSE SCHOOL
is conveniently situated at the corner of Longmarket and
Chapel Streets, in the premises formerly occupied by the
Engineer-in-Chief of the Natal Government Railways and
his staff.

The building, which has been enlarged by the addition
of two large wings and an upper storey, is lofty, well ven-
tilated, and, from a sanitary point of view, practically
perfect.

THANET HOUSE SCHOOL.

There is dormitory accommodation for about 40 residen-
tial pupils, whose health and comfort have been studied in
every detail.

The school, which was established in 1882, provides a
sound and high class education for girls.

The general course of instruction comprises : — Holy
Scripture, history, English language and literature, geo-
graphy, arithmetic, mathematics, natural science, Latin,
French, perspective and model freehand drawing, needle-
work, and drilling.

152 T)ie Story of an African City.

There is a gymnasium for the younger pupils. Class
singing is taught throughout the school. Great care is
taken to ensura a good foundation being laid in the elemen-
tary forms.

The work of the pupils is tested annually by the dele-
gacy of Oxford Schools Examinations, and girls are also
prepared for the Oxford Local Examination. Preliminary,
Junior, and Senior ; and for examinations in theory and
practice of music, in connection with Trinity College,
London, and Cape University.

There is a kindergarten under an experienced mistress,
in which boys as well as girls are received.

The hours of attendance for daily pupils are from 8.30
a.m. to 1.30 p.m.

The Lady Principals, Mrs. Edmonds and Miss Maas,
are assisted by a large staff of certificated and well qualified
teachers, among whom are the following : Piano and sing-
ing, Mr and Mrs. Day, Miss Ethel Gordon, Miss Varley,
Mr. Campbell-Rowland, Miss Maude Day, etc. ; violin,
Miss Deane ; freehand, perspective, model drawing, Miss
Butler, etc.

The building is electric lighted throughout, and the
class-rooms, dining-room, etc., are models of spaciousness
and comfort.

The following are particulars as to fees : -
PER QUARTER.

Boarders over 12 years of age .
Boarders under 12 years of age.
Weekly boarders ...

Laundress

Board during vacation ...

10 guineas.

1 guinea.
25s. per week.

The Story of an African City. 153

DAY PUPILS.

Forms VI. and Y 2£ guineas.

Form IV 2 „

Forms III. and II £1 15s.

Form I £1 10s.

Kindergarten from 9 to 1 o'clock 1 guinea.

„ „ 8.30 to 1.30 £1 5s.

EXTRA SUBJECTS.

Pianoforte from £1 10s. to 2£ guineas.

„ Kindergarten 1 guinea.

Violin 2 guineas.

Theory of music and harmony 7s. 6d.

Singing 2 guineas.

German 2 „

Drawing and painting ... 2 „•

Dancing 15s.

Dancing and calisthenics 1 guinea.

Special terms for two or more sisters.

The school year is divided into four quarters, of ten
weeks each, commencing respectively about February 3rd,
April 13th, August 3rd, and October 12th.

The fees for each quarter are payable in advance, and
a quarter's notice is required previous to the removal of a
pupil.

Boarders are allowed to visit friends (with their parents'
approval), from Saturday to Monday at the end of each
month.

MERUHISTON SCHOOL,
a preparatory day and boarding school for boys, is
situated near tho head of Prince Alfred Street, overlooking
the Park, and presents an imposing frontage to the eastward,
embracing a magnificient view of mountain and forest
scenery.

The school was established in 1892 by Miss Allan and
Miss Agnes Rowe.

It is the endeavour of the Lady Principals and their
staff to arouse in their pupils an intelligent interest in, and
enthusiasm for, their studies ; and to train them in gentle-
manly and honourable habits of thought, speech and action.

154

The Story of an African Gity.

The class-rooms have ample accommodation for one
hundred pupils, whilst forty is the limit fixed for the number
of those in residence.

In addition to the two Principals, a staff of five resident
mistresses is attached to the establishment, while visiting
mistresses attend for instruction in piano and violin.

The school might well take rank as a Collegiate
Institute, for the curriculum includes many branches of
education not generally taught in a juvenile boys' school.

MERCHISTON SCHOOL.

The ages of the pupils range from five to fourteen ;
boarders are received from the age ol seven.

The youngest boys are educated on a modified kinder-
garten system by specially trained mistresses ; the elder
boys receive instruction in Latin and mathematics, in
addition to the ordinary English subjects The highest class
prepares every year for the Preliminary Oxford Examination.

We have learned that the boys prepared in this institu-
tion take good positions upon entering the more advanced
schools of the Colony or Britain,

The Story of an African City. 155

A spacious cricket field and recreation ground is attached
to the premises. Masters attend the school to give instruc-
tion in drill, cricket, and swimming, and some of the elder
boys belong to the Cadet Corps of the Colony.

Manly sports are encouraged in every way, and it is
only justice to Miss Allan and Miss Howe to say that the
spirit which pervades the place is one calculated to foster
and develop a spirit of manliness in the boys who are
entrusted to their care.

The buildings present the acme of comfort. Every
care has been lavished on the ventilation and sanitation of
the class-rooms, dormitories, and offices, and above all,
system and method are inculcated in every department of life.

The Lady Principals are assisted in the case of the
residential pupils by an experienced and competent matron.

It is sale to say that the parent must indeed be hard to
please who would hesitate, to entrust his son to the care of
the two courteous ladies who preside over the establishment.

FUTURE STUDENTS.

1 56 The Story of an African City.

CHAPTER XVII.

Sport in the City. — Eacing. — Athletics. — Field Sports.
5QBKTE are indebted to Mr. George Bull, of the Witness

staff, for much of the following information.

In Maritzburg, as in most South African towns, sport
plays an important part in the life of the community. Most
of the manly games and pastimes which find so much favour
in the old country, and are now regarded as "national," are
keenly followed. Cricket, football, tennis, golf, and polo,
each have their exponents, and when the size and popu-
lation of the town are taken into consideration, it is little
short of marvellous that such proficiency should be attained
as is actually achieved. To cite an example. During the
winter of 1897 a team representing the Corinthians— the
most powerful amateur Association football combination in
England — visited Maritzburg, and met a team drawn from
the local clubs. The visitors had been told on their arrival
at the Cape that they would find Natal the South African
stronghold of Association football, and this being their first
match in the Colony, they naturally made every effort to
preserve their unbroken record. The result of the encounter
was a victory tor the Corinthians by a solitary goal to
nothing ; and this in face of the fact that the Englishmen
were opposing the representatives of a team with a white
population equal to that of a moderate-sized English village.

Before the discovery of the Witwatersrand Gold Fields,
Maritzburg enjoyed the distinction of being one of the most
important racing centres in the country. Of late years,
however, matters in connection with the Turf have not been
in such a healthy condition as they were in former days.
Powerful efforts have been made to revive the " Sport of
Kings," and to attract public support, but up to the present
it cannot be said that these efforts have met with any great

The Story of an African Gity. 157

measure of success. Maritzburg is in possession of an
admirable racecourse, delightfully situated and capitally
equipped, but of late years it has been used solely for Sport-
ing Club, Garrison, and indifferently-supported Turf Club
meetings, the racing being almost entirely confined to local
candidates, several of whom, however, have at more important
gatherings acquitted themselves in a manner which has
reflected the greatest credit on their breeders and trainers.
The most successful meetings held are those promoted by
the City Sporting Club— a flourishing organization, the
praiseworthy efforts of which have gone a long way to pre-
vent racing from becoming entirely extinct. The racecourse
has passed into the hands of a company, known as the New
Grand Stand Company, whose meetings are held under the
rules of the Jockey Club of South Africa, affiliation to that
body having been decided upon in the hope that Rand owners
and others would be induced to support local racing. So
far the stakes offered have not proved sufficiently tempting,
and pa3t experience has proved that, in face of the public
support accorded to the various meetings, it would be idle
for the promoters to launch out further.

As regards athletics and field sports, considerable pro-
gress has been made in Maritzburg of late years. Cricket
and football are both extremely popular, each claiming a
large number of devotees. The cricket season extends over
a period of eight months— from September to April— and
throughout that period, it may truthfully be written, the
Park Oval (on which the principal matches are played) is
occupied four days in the week. Maritzburg has given to
the world more than one cricketer who has proved his right
to be included in the front rank. Take, for instance, that
brilliant young willow-wielder, Mr. C. 0. H. Sewell, who, on
being included in the South African team which visited
England in 1894, though barely out of his teens, was the

158 The Story of an African City.

only member of the combination to score over 1,000 runs,
and had moreover the distinction of heading the batting
averages. Since that time he has been a regular member of
the Gloucestershire County eleven. In the annual inter-
colonial contests, Maritzburg has always been able to
contribute its quota of representatives to the teams chosen
to uphold the Colony's interests, and in the intertown games,
played every year, the Capital has held its own with the
Port. The introduction of the League system in connection
with purely local cricket has had the effect of giving a fillip
to the summer pastime, and of popularising the game with
the public. Another indication of progress is the effort now
being made by the local cricket authorities to secure the
services of a professional coach.

A remarkable feature in connection with the history of
football in Maritzburg is that whereas in the early days
the llugby game was the most popular, now the " handling '
code is practically a dead letter, and interest is confined to
the Association game. Efforts have been made to revive the
Rugby game, but without success. In Durban the game is
quite neglected ; in Maritzburg its followers are few. The
votaries of the Association game are exceedingly numerous,
and the progress of the various cup competitions (both senior
and junior) is watched with keen interest. The cup finals,
as well as the annual intertown contests, are played alter-
nately in Durban and Maritzburg, the principal struggle
being that between the premier clubs of Durban and
Maritzburg for possession of the " Greaves " trophy. A
fact worthy of notice is that while the majority of intertown
matches between the two towns have been drawn, the
" Greaves " cup finals have invariably resulted in favour of
Durban's representatives. Maritzburg players took a pro-
minent part in securing for Natal in 1896 the gold cup
presented to the South African Football Association by Sir

The Story of an African Gity. 159

Donald Currie for competition between the various Colonies
and States, and also in obtaining for Natal the distinction
of having given the Corinthians the hardest game of their
tour.

Athletic sports and cycling are so closely connected
nowadays that they may be treated as one subject. The pro-
gress of athletics in the City has been particularly marked.
A few years since, race meetings were conduted on the most
primitive lines. Prizes were solicited from local tradesmen,
and the public were admitted free. The spectators, no doubt,
enjoyed the sport, but the poor competitors very often had
to wait a long while for their prizes, which were generally
orders on storekeepers for clothing, liquor, photographs,
and so forth. All this has been altered. The Maritzbnrg
Athletic Club is now a properly constituted body, affiliated
to the South African Amateur Athletic Association, under
whose laws all meetings are held. Gate money enables the
club to offer valuable prizes for competition, and the con-
tests are of a much higher standard than formerly, and
individual performances of a more meritorious character.
Maritzburg has for some time now been the stronghold of
athleticism in the Colony, and not long ago, at an important
meeting held in Durban, the City representatives swept the
board, J. L. Ballenden winning the 220 yards champion-
ship, and J. H. Moodie obtaining the 100 yards champion-
ship. It is questionable whether the Colony has produced
two such capable performers on the path since the days of
Ted Smith, Brunton, and McCrystal. As regards cycling,
Maritzburg has not yet given to the world a Mentjes, a
Grriebenow, or a Van Heerden, but the fascinating pastime
has of late undergone remarkable development, and bids
fair to become even more popular. It is only within the
past two years that Maritzburg has become possessed of
anything that could be likened to a cycling track, and there

160 The Story of an African Gity.

can be little doubt that it is to this fact that Maritzburg's
backwardness, as compared with other centres, is attribut-
able. The City boasts of two cycling clubs — the Speedwell,
which has a membership of close on 100, and the Rovers,
an ofF-shoot of the old organisation. Maritzburg, moreover,
is the headquarters of the Natal Cyclists Union — a governing
body of recent origin, the formation of which has supplied a
long-felt want. Race meetings are frequently held, but the
present track in the Park will have to be considerably im-
proved, or a new track constructed, before it will be possible
to chronicle performances on the '* wheel " of more than
ordinary merit. Road races are popular, and an annual
fixture is an intertown race betwen Durban and Maritzburg
club representatives.

Golf, lawn tennis, and polo also have their devotees,
but naturally do not enjoy the same measure of popularity
as the pastimes which have been dealt with.

CHAPTER XVIIL

Conclusion.— A Word Picture.— The Opening of the First Parliament
under the new Constitution. — The Past and Present. — Her Majesty's
Jubilee. — Poem. — The Last Scene.
«^.

tN the preceding pages, we venture to think, the reader
will find a fairly complete description of the African
City as it stands to-day. It but remains to resume the
allegory of a drama, and raise the curtain for the last time
on a stage which has been the scene of so many heroic
events and so much manful endeavour.

Last time the actors appeared was on the occasion of
the opening of the first Parliament in Natal.

The time of this one is the 20th June, 1893, and the
scene no longer circles around the humble structure pre-
viously mentioned.

The Story of an African City. 161

The full blaze of the noonday sun is flooding the City.
The streets are thronged with well-dressed multitudes, and but
few evidences remain of the primitive town which has been
so often pictured.

No lumbering caravan finds room in the busy thorough-
fares. Open carriages, bearing fair dames, who would faint
in horror to hear the stories the very stones of the street
might tell, roll luxuriously past, while horsemen and horses
well clad and groomed are to be seen on every hand. Here
and there amongst the equestrians and on the pavements
are many of the sons and daughters of the rugged pioneers
who first set their mark on the virgin soil where the City
now stands. There amongst the Councillors, with figure
still erect, is one of the veritable voortrekkers himself, sturdy
and strong, with his granchildren clustered around him.
Notwithstanding his impassive expression, it is safe to say,
as his eye ranges over the brilliant scene, that his mind
casts back to those other days when, instead of the tender
hand of a prattling child, he grasped his ready rifle, and in
the name of God and progress held his life as naught in the
face of threatening hosts, and so he rests in the eventide of
his life, and the world rolls on.

The clock in the stately tower high over head chimes
the quarter before noon. But fifteen minutes of the old
order remain ; but fifteen minutes, and a new epoch dawns,
when Natal the wilderness, the theatre of war, the African
Republic, the province of the Cape and the Crown Colony,
will pass out from the sheltering wings of the Motherland,
and consummate the dreams of her pioneers by becoming an
independent, self-governing State.

A new Parliament is about to be opened, and a new
life begun.

Hark, there is a stir in the streets ! A regiment of
British cavalry wheels into view, a guard of honour of

162

The Story of an African Oity.

British infantry forms up, the clock chimes the honr of
noon, and the answering gnns from Fort Napier boom ont a
farewell to the passing, and a welcome to the coming, order.

One more epoch scene remains to be depicted before the
finale.

In common with the whole of the British Empire, the
citizens of Maritzburg sought to commemorate in fitting
fashion the celebration of the Sixtieth Year of Her Most
Gracious Majesty's reign.

JUBILEE PROCESSION IN MARITZBURG.

Once more the town is decked with bunting. The streets
are bowered with palm leaves, and the crash of martial music
fills the air.

No mere lip homage stirs the multitudes that throng
the sidewalks ; processions, miles long, fill the streets. The
whole stage is covered with the banners of peace. There
march the trades' processions, each with its symbol held
aloft. There follow the friendly societies, with the emblems
of their craft, then a host of others, with fluttering banners
and sashes. The very streets are paved with silk. Gold

The Story of an African City. 163

emblazonments shimmer in the sun, a British General leads
the procession of joy, while children by the thousand, ten
times told, lend hope and promise of the future in a ceremony
that consecrates the past. " God Save the Queen " is
echoed along the streets, '• God save and spare her long."
Hark to the swelling chant, 'tis Afric's greeting to
"Victoria" :

;< Wake ! land whose fetters fell at England's bidding,
Wake ! hearts that bled beneath grim slavery's yoke.
Join hands ye tribes and greet the mighty ruler,
Who willed your freedom, and your thraldom broke.

From darksome forest glades, from sun-swept rivers,
From town and village, from hill and vale,
Comes forth the gladsome cheer, ' Victoria-Empress
Our Queen, our Mother, God be with thee.
Hail ! hail ! Empress-Queen.'

Lift up your hands, ye tribes and far-off nations,
Lift up your hands to highest Heaven and pray,
That God may save and bless our well-beloved,
And guard her from all peril day by day.

A world-wide Empire, yea, a band of Empires
In chorus blends its many millioned voice,
And clasping hands o'er Continents and Oceans,
Rings out the royal cheer, Rejoice, Rejoice.

A million sabres gird thy throne and person,
A million champions guard thee day and night,
Yet over all thy nation's deep-set homage,
Is thy best buckler, and thy truest might.

Thy voice, thy name, thy flag, these are our glories,
Our lives, our all, are consecrate to thee,
For thou hast taught us by thy life's example
How to be faithful, noble, fearless, free.

and so the procession blends into the past, bearing with it
far and wide throughout the State that keynote of loyalty
which will yet, in the unwritten future, constitute the

164 The Story of an African City.

African City still more and more one of the impregnable
bulwarks of Britain.

Again the scene is changed. This time the peaceful
light of stars illuminates it, sweet strains ot music fill the
air ; of a truth, the seed sown in the early days has brought
forth abundantly. For from the very wilderness has risen
a centre of modern culture, wherein the ancient lore of
Greece and Rome is taught, where the gospel of peace is
preached, where prosperity, begotten of industry prevails,
and where above all, deep-rooted as the love of life, is the
loyalty of the citizens to the Imperial flag of Britain.

So we close the page, for the story of an African City
is told.

The Story of an African Gity. 165

jjTLN a work dealing with the affairs of a City, its imme-
t^s diate rulers naturally claim some attention at the
hands of the historian. The Chiet Magistrate of the
City, Mr. G. J. Macfarlane, was born in Maritzbnrg in 1855,
and was educated at the High School in the City. He is
the son of the late Mr. John Macfarlane, who, for over 20
years, was Resident Magistrate in Weenen County, and
nephew of the late Mr. Walter Macfarlane, who held the
high office of Speaker of the Legislative Council tor over 20
years. The present Mayor, who holds the rank of Major in
the Natal Carbineers, served with distinction in the Zulu
War. He first entered the Town Council in 1896.

William Ebrington Bale, J.P., member for Ward 1,
who was elected Mayor of Maritzbnrg in 1890, and again in
1893, first joined the Council in 1857.

Thomas Wilson Woodhouse, J. P., Deputy Mayor, mem-
ber for Ward 6, was elected Mayor of Maritzbnrg in 1897,
and first joined the Council in 1892.

Philip Francis Payn, J. P., member lor Ward 5, was
elected Mayor of Maritzbnrg in 1890, and first joined the
Council in 1889. He is the Chairman of the Police, <£C,
Committee.

Charles Goodman Levy, J.P., member for Ward 4, was
elected Mayor of Maritzburg in 1895. He has represented
this Ward since 1890

John Jex Chapman, J.P., member for Ward 7, was
elected Mayor of Maritzburg in 1886, and again for the
two following years. He has represented this Ward since
1883.

166 The Story of an African City.

Richard Mason, J.P., member for Ward 8, was elected
Mayor of Maritzburg in 1891, and again for the following
year. He first joined the Council 1881.

Thomas Raymond, member for Ward 2, first joined the
Council in 1892.

William Samuel Crart, member for Ward 4, first joined
the Council in 1895.

William Herbert Buchanan, member for Ward 6, first
joined the Council in 1895.

Benjamin Swete Kelly, member for Ward 8, first joined
the Council in 1889.

William John O'Brien, member for Ward 5, is the
Chairman of the Finance, &c, Committee, and first joined
the Council in 1897.

Benjamin Ireland, member for Ward 2, first joined the
Council in 1894.

Sowersby Joseph Mason, member for Ward 7, first
joined the Council in 1895.

Richard Francis Morcom, member for Ward 3, first
joined the Council in 1 896, and is Chairman of the Works
and Town Hall Restoration Committees.

Clifford Walmslee Barlee Scott, member for Ward 3,
first joined the Council in 1895, and is the Chairman of the
Fire Brigade Formation Committee.

D. F. Forsyth, B.A., A.S.A.A., joined Corporation
Service in June, 1882, and has held appointment of Borough
Accountant since 1893.

S. Stranack, J.P., is the present Town Clerk of Maritz-
burg, and has held that appointment since 1883.

The Story of an African City. 167

MEMBERS FOR THE CITY.

Hon. Col. Hime, C.M.G., M.L.A.
(Minister of Lands & Works).

Hon. H Bale, Q.O., M.L.A.

(Attorney-General).

Mr. W. B. Morcom Q.C., M.L.A.

Mr. F. S. Tatham, M.L.A.

168 The Story of an African City.

The late J. D. Holliday. The late Jas. Raw.

Late Mr. E. Buchanan. J.P. J . Welch (Post Contractor).

The Story of an African City.

169

Mr. D. Hunter, C.M.G.
(General Manager of Railways).

Mr. R. H. Mason.

Mr. R. Topham,

170 7 he Story of an African City.

PART III.

BUSINESS REVIEW.

Early Trade — Mr. Barter's Book — The Ubiquitous Auctioneer — Boer
Vernuckers— Trade Established— Messrs. Mowat & Still— Messrs
Brady & Wyles— Messrs. Collins & Munro— Mr. J. Hughes— Mr
Henry Collins— Messrs. Jesse Smith & Son— Messrs. David
Whitelaw &] Son — Messrs. Merryweather & Sons — Messrs. R.
McAlister & Sons— Mr. John Hardy— Mr. D. Nicolson— Messrs.
Turner & Company— Mr. Thomas Hannah— Mr. Robert Fuller-
Messrs. P. Henwood, Son, Soutter & Company — Messrs. Clifford
and Smith— Messrs. Mason & Broadbent— Messrs. Taylor & Fowler
— Mr. J. C. Baumann— Imperial Hotel— List of Mayors of Pieter-
maritzburg — Cab Stands and Cab Fares— Jinricksha Stands and
Fares.

3TLN the preceding chapters it has been the earnest endea-
rs vour of the author, to set forth with pen and camera
the undoubted claims to consideration which the City
possesses to be regarded as an important edncational centre.

Its progress has been pourtrayed in nearly every
aspect from the earliest times, when it was still a portion of
the wilderness, to its present condition as a Corporate City,
the capital of an important Colony, replete with those insti-
tutions which are rendered necessary by the present high
state of civilisation, and rapidly becoming widely popular as
a health and pleasure resort.

There is one aspect, however, which must yet be dealt
with, if this work is to fulfil its important mission of
acquainting the outside world with the City and its life, as
they stand at the present moment.

It would be unnecessarily wearisome to burden these
pages with masses of trade statistics which would merely
tend to adduce proof of a progress which already has been
shown. At the same time, it would be manifestly wrong to
bring the book to a conclusion without making a more than

The Story of an African City. 171

passing mention of that backbone of prosperity — trade.
The wonderful change which has taken place in the com-
mercial life of Maritzburg, and those who are engaged in it,
would perhaps be the first matter to attract the attention of
a stranger.

Forty years ago the stores of Maritzburg were for the
most part sort of curiosity shops, where the purchaser might
obtain anything from a needle to an anchor. Nothing was
" too hot or too heavy," so to speak, for the enterprising
dealer.

In his charming, but, alas, too rare volume, "The
Dorp and the Veld," Charles Barter, Esq., B.C.L., Natal's
veteran Magistrate, and deeply revered friend, has given a
series of vivid word pictures, pourtraying in his own happy
vein the trading life ot Maritzburg, at which the established
and prosperous merchant of the present day would probably
smile

It appears that the auctioneer was the universal friend
of buyer and seller alike, while the storekeeper contented
himself with the accumulations of rattle traps and odds and
ends, which he picked up during his Saturday lounge on the
auction marts. The aforesaid storekeeper oftentimes com-
bined in himself the various functions ot merchant, local
preacher, horse breaker, pawnbroker, and lawyer. All were
fish that came to his net. and be it spoken to his credit, he, as
a rule, used his unlimited power with marked consideration.

The trade in those days was spasmodic, depending for
the most part on the wool, ivory, and hides which the Boers
and others periodically brought to market. Amusing
episodes were not wanting in the traffic which ensued ; for
those who brought their wares for sale in exchange for such
commodities as calico, coffee, fustian, and lead were by no
means paragons of honesty and truth, The result was, the
storekeeper was put on his metal, in order to protect him-

172 The Story of an African Gity.

self. A class of middleman sprung up, who speadily earned
for himself the title of " Boer-vernucker," whose exalted
mission it was to save each contracting party from the other,
and, oftentimes by sharp practice, feather his own nest, to
the serious disadvantage of both sellers and buyers.

This state of affairs continued for some time, until by a
natural process, it remedied itself. There are, however, still
in Maritzburg some lingering representatives of the class,
who look back on the good old days with vain regret.

The new era requires no special description further than
to say that the various branches of trade have settled them-
selves into their own grooves, and the town, from a business
point ot view, has assumed the characteristics of any other
trading centre, where competition exists. Nowadays the
ivory and gold trader has passed away to make room for
those who cater for modern necessities. Amongst these, and
as a fair indication of the progress which the African City
has achieved, is the firm of Messrs. Mowat & Still, whose
business was first founded in Natal by Mr. William Mowat,
as a contractor on the N.G.R. in 1882, where he carried out
contracts on the extension of the main line between Maritz-
burg and Ladysmith.

In 1884 Mr. Mowat settled in Estcourt as a builder and
contractor, where he erected all the handsome stone edifices
which now lend dignity to that town. Continuing his work
on the railway, he carried out a part of the Ladysmith to
Elands Laagte Section, which was granted by the Govern-
ment for the purpose of bringing down coal from the mines.
This section was hardly finished beiore we find him on the
Biggarsberg section, and after having finished this contract
he constructed the station at the Biggarsberg, and then
carried out the works on Section 1 of the Harrismith exten-
sion. Later on he carried out to general satisfaction the
famous No. 9 Section, which brought the railway line

The Story of an African City. 173

beyond Van Reenen's Pass into the Orange Free State,
where he constructed the Harrismith terminus.

At this period the partnership between Mr. Mowat and
Mr. Still commenced. The first work of the new firm was
the erection of that beautiful structure, the Dutch Reformed
Church, at Harrismith, which is an ornament and credit to
church architecture in South Africa.

In 1893 and 1894 they built the Apies River Bridge
(costing £15,000), now known as the Lion Bridge, in the
Transvaal. In \ 895, the firm constructed two bridges over
the " De Kaap River " for the Netherlands Railway, one of
which is known as Avoca Bridge, and the other as '• Joe's
Luck Bridge."

In 1896 the firm became associated with Maritzburg,
where they established an important business as general
contractors, undertaking and carrying out contracts with the
City Corporation, the Natal Agricultural Department, etc.
These works include the first section of the underground
drains, and the construction of the present fine Electric
Power Station. Amongst the number of houses in the City
they have built must be mentioned the palatial residence of
F. S. Tatham, Esq., M.L.A. They also designed and built
the two double-storey villas known as " Jubilee Villas,"
which are an ornament to the upper part of Longmarket
Street, as well as many other small residences.

In order to move with the times, Messrs. Mowat &
Still have now added to their business an extensive
Electrical Engineering Department, and are prepared to
tender for and immediately carry out electrical works of any
magnitude, either for lighting towns, mines, mills, collieries,
country residences as well as power transmission. The firm
is also prepared to undertake the connection of dwelling
houses and shops with the Town Electrical Supply Mains in
accordance with the latest English and American practice,

174 The Story of an African Gity.

and in order to keep fully abreast with the times they have
attached to the firm, as Electrical Manager and Engineer,
Mr. Oswald R. Swete, A.M.I.E.E. (London), M.S.E.E. (South
Africa), whose office is at 108, Church Street, where an
elaborate stock oi fittings may be inspected.

Messrs. Brady & Wyles and Messrs. Collins & Munro
are two other firms who are fully entitled to special men-
tion in connection with the modern progress of the town.

The former firm, Messrs. Brady & Wyles, have an estab-
lishment in Church Street, where they commenced business
in 1896.

With commendable enterprise they have launched out
in a manner which proves that they possess a fully justified
faith in the future growth of the " African City " and Colony
where they have established themselves. The firm is in a
position at the present moment to supply and instal electric
power and light plants anywhere throughout Natal, while
constant consignments of the latest inventions and artistic
adaptations ot electric appliances to almost every imaginable
use are regularly added to their stock. The firm is capable
of carrying out to a satisfactory issue any work connected
with the department of industry with which it is connected.

Mr. William B, Brady was previously asociated with an
eminent firm in Newcastle-on-Tyne, where he gained a wide
and varied experience which enabled him and his partner,
Mr. F. Camp Wyles, who was at one time on the Corporation
Electrical Staff, to effect works which tend to bring the City
of Maritzburg well into line with many much older cities.

To anyone contemplating the installation of electric
light or power plants, a visit to the office and showroom of
the firm, which is situated in the very heart of the City, at
192, Church Street, will be time well spent, for the stock of
fittings and appliances constitute in themselves an exhibition
which is full of interest ; for it not only indicates the

The Story of an African Gity. 175

scientific advancement of the period, bnt the fact that though
one may reside in this far oat African City, it does not follow
that the height of modern comfort and luxury may not be
fully enjoyed, in as far, at any rate, as the practical appli-
cation of this century's most wonderful invention extends.

The principal business places in this City have been
installed by this firm, two of which include the erection of
complete private plant with accumulators. They are also
contractors to Natal Government.

Messrs. Collins & Munro, whose establishment is situated
in Pietermaritz Street, are a firm which in every way serve
as an indication of the wonderful progress which within
recent years has been made by Maritzburg. Not only does
the establishment of enterprises such as theirs serve to place
Maritzburg high on the list of African centres, but it tends
further to demonstrate that the people of the City are fully
alive to the scientific advantages which this firm can place
at their disposal.

Messrs. Collins & Munro are now fully recognised as
one of the rising business institutions of the place. As
general engineers and machinists, they undoubtedly rank
high, but it is more with their electrical department that
this chapter is concerned. A walk through their showrooms
is quite equal to a visit to an electric exhibition. Novelties,
artistic and useful, of every description are to be seen, from
the delicately-tinted magic bell of frosted glass, which
seems to float in the air like a tiny star, through every
grade of shape, form and colour, to huge globes and
shades of crystal. Appliances for the utilisation of electric
energy, based on latest advances, are to be seen on every
hand, and the firm can undertake works in connection with
the installation of electric plant for power or lighting pur-
poses on any scale.

176 The Story of an African City.

Their stock, to which constant additions are being made,
has necessitated the securing of a show window in Church
Street, in addition to their Pietermaritz Street premises,
where a magnificent display, well worthy of a much older-
established firm and city, may be inspected.

The prosperity which a firm such as that of Messrs.
Collins & Munro has secured may well serve, to the mind of
a close observer, as a marked indication of the stage of pro-
gress to which the City has now attained.

We have omitted to mention in the previous paragraphs
a leading speciality of the firm, which it is safe to say will
come as a pleasant revelation to those inclined to avail
themselves of electricity for decorative purposes.

Messrs. Collins & Munro have made a special feature of
the illumination of ball, concert, and supper rooms, with art
silk shade effects. Piano lamp shades, with the same
material and bouquets gemmed with electrical lights, are
also among the specialties of the firm.

Having glanced briefly at those advanced business in-
stitutions which may be regarded in a certain degree as
associated with the scientific development of the City, we
come now in the course of our business review to those firms
that devote their energies more directly to the manufactur-
ing and furnishing departments of trade.

The first amongst these to attract one's attention is Mr.
J. Hughes, who is entitled to mention here, in view of the
fact that he has more particularly devoted himself to the
manufacture of high class and artistic furniture from
Colonial timber.

Mr. Henry Collins, as a builder and art decorator, takes
high rank, and does an extensive business.

Many others might be mentioned did space permit.
We cannot, however, close these remarks without making
reference to that veteran firm, Messrs. Jesse Smith & Son,

The Story of an African City. 177

whose magnificient Colonial Office Buildings will stand as
a permanent monument to their honour.

Passing from this phase of Maritzburg's progress, atten-
tion is next claimed by the industrial firms that work in
wood and iron. Of these there are several, principal amongst
them being the establishments of Messrs. David Whitelaw &
Son and Merry weather & Sons.

The former firm, Messrs. David Whitelaw & Son, is one
which may truly be regarded as a landmark in the City.
Its place of business, which occupies the greater part of an
erf in Commercial Road, for very many years has formed a
centre of attraction and trade, when the surrounding parts
of the City were yet in primitive garb.

What a ship-building firm is to a seaport, Messrs David
Whitelaw & Son are to Markzburg. From the huge trek-
wagon, fitted to battle with the roadless wilds, to the fragile
phaeton, which whirls along the modern street, this firm
produces from rough-hewn logs, finished and complete,
the structures which are necessary to every phase of active
life.

A walk through their premises where are stored, ready
for emergency, vast quantities of all the necessary ironwork
used in the construction of the innumerable varieties of
vehicle which the firm manufactures, on through the
machine department, where mighty engines of applied human
ingenuity rough hew, carve and fashion the wood and iron
which are destined in the next workshop to take symme-
trical shape and form, is an object lesson in manufacturing
industry.

Veritable forests of timber are here stored ready for use,
while busy hands are plying their skill in cleaving and
turning, planing and modelling the raw material into the
finished article.

178 The Story of an African City.

The skeleton forms of trolleys and carts, wagons and
carriagss steadily take shape here, and then pass on to the
painting department whence they emerge complete and
ready, as many of them do, to be entrained for Johannes-
burg, where the firm for some considerable time now has an
important branch of business.

To detail the various departments, which are presided
over by Mr. James Whitelaw, who has succeeded his late
father in the business, is unnecessary, but it would be
unjust to pass on to others without paying a hearty tribute
to the enterprise of a firm which has borne its full share in
the establishment and advancement of the City of Pieter-
maritzburg.

Messrs. J. Merry weather & Son, coachbuilders, wagon-
makers, and general workers in wood and iron, are as a firm
justly entitled to special mention as one of the pioneer
institutions of the City.

Arriving here in 1850, the senior partner, subsequently
aided by his sons, and joined in 1876 by Mr. J. S. Mason,
has steadily prospered with the town, and can now claim to
conduct one of the most extensive and successful establish-
ments of its kind in South Africa.

The office of the firm is a commodious structure facing
Church Street, while the workshops, which lie behind it,
are thoroughly supplied with the latest inventions in labour-
saving machinery.

Entering the works from Boshoff Street side, one is
confronted with piles of balks of seasoned and valuable
timbers, cut, for the most part, from the forests of Natal.

Passing into the workshop, the ear is greeted with the
hoarse roaring of steam saws of every variety. In whirling
clouds the sawdust flies from the wood, leaving it a spoke,
a felloe, or what not.

The Story of an African Gity. 179

Boring machines, steam planes, mighty lathes, and
tennoning machines buzz and hiss until the mind moves
in sympathy with the electric hurry of the century of steam
power and science.

Here a powerful engine, with one crush of its mammoth
jaws, severs bands of steel and perforates them wherever
desired ; there silently working, apparently with human
intelligence, are patent saw sharpening machines, plane iron
setters, and drills.

Next door, in a spacious shop, nine forge fires light up
the smoke laden air, while the brawny knights of the hammer
" fashion the glowing iron and mould it to their will."

Leaving this room, a wonderiul machine is encountered,
which at first sight suggests thoughts of the Spanish Inquisi-
tion ; but there is no fear, it is merely a patent cold-iron-
trye-shrinking machine of the very latest pattern, snch as
are in use at Woolwich and elsewhere throughout Cireat
Britain. Crossing the street to another department, and
passing en route the dismembered limbs of countless
vehicles, the finishing and painting department is en-
countered, where, ready for their journeys, stand the great
trek-wagons, waiting but the order to start like " ships of
the desert " to the far-off lands of the Matabele and
Mashona. Although the train and cab have supplanted
them in the streets of the " African City," those who dwell
in the wilds still fall back for them upon the mother town
in their necessity.

" Industry and enterprise " is the motto of Messrs,
Merryweather & Sons, and well indeed have they upheld it,
by the creation and maintenance of an establishment which
does honour alike to the firm and the City.

Messrs. R McAlister & Sons, builders and contractors,
of Club Street, Maritzburg, is one of the oldest-established

180 The Story of an African City.

firms in their line in Maritzburg, having commenced busi-
ness in 1873.

It is from about this date that an improved style of
architecture was required in the City, and with characteristic
thoroughness Mr. McAlister, afterwards assisted by his sons,
supplied the want.

It would take more space than we have at our disposal
to enumerate the many fine buildings with which the firm
has beautified Maritzburg.

While not professing to be " cheap " builders, the work
produced by the firm speaks for itself, and those who place
orders with it can confidently rely on stability, combined
with elegance ; as witness the Nigel Offices and most of
the prominent private residences of the City, such as those
of Mr. R. F. Morcom, Mr. Geo. Barter, Mr. Mead, Mr. W.
J. O'Brien, Mrs. Thresh, Mr. James Woodhonse, Mr. A. M.
Anderson.

The Natal Brewery Buildings were also erected by the
firm, which has also carried out all the War Department
works at Fort Napier since 1890.

The firm is also prepared to import goods, &c, for the
building trade, having by reason of its own extensive opera-
tions acquired considerable experience in the selection and
purchase of building requisites.

It has been said that Great Britain's colonising success
is due, in a great measure, to the efforts and enterprise of
her pioneering sons. The proof that this is true in the
abstract is to be found in the life-work of such men as
Messrs. R. McAlister & Sons.

The business of timber, hardware, and general builders'
merchant, and contractor which is conducted by Mr. John
Bardy has been established in the City for about fifteen
years.

The Story of an African City. 181

During the past two or three years it has, with the
City, made rapid strides, which have necessitated the erection,
in Printing Office Street, of large and commodious premises,
and the establishment in Church Street of a unique show-
room.

The Printing Office Street premises, which are sur-
mounted by the famous sky sign, consist of warehouses,
workshops, and offices of the business, while adjoining them,
a convenient suite of offices, known as Hardy's Chambers,
have been erected, which are at present occupied by people in
various professions. The warehouses are stocked to over-
flowing with every conceivable kind of goods necessary to
the building and house-decorating trade.

The new range of workshops now in course of con-
struction are intended to cope with the ever-increasing
demand, and by the time these pages see the light, will be
replete with the latest inventions in labour-saving machinery.

As business premises, the whole block of buildings in
Printing Office Street ranks with the finest in Maritzburg,
and is an evidence of the success which has attended the
business.

The progressive spirit evinced by Mr. Hardy has done
much to improve the architectural style of Maritzburg, both
in connection with the conduct of his business and in his
career as a Municipal Councillor.

The chemists and druggists of the City take a deservedly
high rank in their profession, and would compare favourably
as a class with their co-workers anywhere in the world.

In dealing with them in this section of the work, we
naturally turn first to the long-established business of
Messrs. Turner & Co., which was established in the very
beginning of Maritzburg's history. The present firm has
fully maintained the traditions of the past, and has done

1 82 The Story of an African Gity.

much to raise the dignity of the profession to the high
standard it occupies at present.

Messrs. Stantial & Allerston also occupy a prominent
position ; and it is to the enterprise of the firm that the
medical profession of Maritzburg is indebted for the intro-
duction of that wonderful development of modern photo-
graphy, the M Rontgen Rays."

It will be remembered by those who have read the
previous chapters of this history that in the old days,
when the Boers were struggling with the warriors of
Dingaan, they made a vow and a covenant with the Lord
to the effect that if He would vouchsafe them the victory
over their savage adversaries, they would erect a House
to the honour and glory of His name. That vow was
fulfilled, and a building was erected at the corner of Church
Street and the Market Square.

Not only was this the first place of worship in Natal,
but it became the mother church of South-eastern Africa.

For many years it was the religious centre of the
country. . On the completion of the present church, which
stands beside it, the original building became the manse, but
later on was leased under special restrictions as a place of
business.

In the rapid advance of the rest of the City it was over-
looked and fell into disrepair, until Mr. Thomas Hannah
took it over for the purpose of establishing himself in it as
a chemist and druggist. With indomitable energy he
speedily transformed the historic, but nevertheless dilapidated,
structure into a first-class pharmaceutical establishment.
Doctors' consulting rooms and work-rooms for the pre-
paration of several valued proprietary medicines, such as
Hannah's sarsaparilla, headache powders, antibilious pills,
croup syrup, etc., are added.

The Story of an African City.

183

Notwithstanding his apparent youth, Mr, Hannah has
been connected with the dispensing and family chemist
business for over twelve years. In every respect he is a
worthy occupant of the celebrated structure he now holds.

Possessed of untiring energy and pluck, two qualities
which are essential in a new country, he has succeeded in
creating not only a successful business in the City, but in
establishing himself as the principal chemist in the town of
Ladysmith, and when his aerated water machinery is set up,
will no doubt secure the bulk of the mineral water trade in
Klip River County. Here, also, he has fitted up a first-class
consulting room, where the three principal doctors of the
county may be consulted.

INTERIOR OF MESSRS. TURNER AND CO. S ESTABLISHMENT

Turner & Company, chemists and wholesale druggists.
The above illustration represents the interior of the retail
department of Messrs. Turner & Company's drug store, a

184 The Story of an African City.

spacious and lofty apartment, measuring 33ft. x 30ft., hand-
somely furnished and fitted.

The premises are situated in the centre of the City of
Pietermaritzburg, immediately opposite the new Colonial
Offices, and are replete with every modern convenience for
the dispensing of physicians' prescriptions, whilst the stocks
of invalids' requisites, surgical appliances, photographic
goods, perfumery, &c, &c, are large and varied. The upper
storey is devoted to the wholesale department, and here
orders are constantly being made up and despatched to all
parts of South Africa.

The firm was first established in the year 1873, by Mr.
J. C. Bullock who was Quartermaster-Sergeant of the
Natal Carbineers, and was killed in the fatal attack on the
camp at lsandhlwana during the Zulu War, on the 22nd
January, 1879.

Mr. W. 0. Turner entered into partnership with Mr.
Bullock in the year 1875, and has ever since the death of
the latter continued to carry on and develop the business
under the title of Turner k Company.

The firm has acquired an enviable reputation, and its
business is ever increasing in both the wholesale and retail
departments ; in fact, it has grown with the town, and has
kept thoroughly abreast with the times.

Mr. Robert Fuller, who conducts an important estab-
ment in the centre of the City, is also widely and popularly
known as one who spares no effort to carry out in a perfect
and satisfactory manner that portion of the sacred art of
healing which falls within the sphere of a chemist and
druggist.

No work in the City of Maritzburg, or, in fact, in the
Colony of Natal, would be complete without a reference to
the person and the firm of Mr. Paul Henwood, who must be

Hie Story of an African City. 185

regarded as one of those who have fought in the forefront of
the battle of progress which has raged since the beginning
of the Colony to the present day. It would be hard to say
where the firm has not either directly or indirectly established
a business or influenced trade. It would take pages to
enumerate the scope of the firm, or deal with the extent of
its operations. But it is the City branch with which we have
to deal in this work. Established in 1862, it has steadily
increased in infl.ience, until to-day it may be described
as one of the most important institutions of its kind in the
City. The large and varied stock of ironmongery, agricul-
tural implements, and general goods of that description
defies any attempt at a detailed description, while the stock
of silver and electro-plate ware is equal to any held in South
Africa.

Farmers, householders, retail dealers, and so on will
find they will supply their wants, be they ever so large or
small, at prices which will compare with any prevailing in
the Colony.

One of the attractions of Church Street is undoubtedly
the fine show room of Messrs. Clifford & Smith, importers,
furniture dealers, and upholsterers. The intending . pur-
chaser will find, however extensive his wants may be, that
the firm can cope with them on a satisfactory basis as
regards style, quality, and price.

As a Home buyer of furniture, household accessories,
and such-like commodities, Mr. Clifford has had a large
experience ; while Mr. Smith's practical knowledge of
cabinet and mattress making is almost unrivalled in the
City.

In addition to the care and skill which are lavished on
the departments before mentioned, the firm makes a speciality
of picture-frame making, and is prepared at the shortest

186 The Story of an African Gity.

possible notice to produce artistic and well-finished frames
in every style of art.

Owing to the extensive nature of the firm's operations
throughout the Colony, it is in a position to furnish on
satisfactory terms any habitation from a castle to a cottage,
and, better still, to pack, deliver, and set up the purchased
articles with the utmost promptitude.

The shifting population, which is incidental to a garrison
town, should not lose sight of the fact that the firm has
created a department for the supply on hire or purchase
of furniture suitable to their requirements.

Those furnishing homes, either temporary or permanent,
should make a point of consulting the firm before incurring
heavy expenditure elsewhere.

If the prosperity of a town or a city may be gauged by
the enterprise and industry of its merchants, we would not
hesitate to cite Messrs. Mason & Broadbent as a fair type of
the description of firm which does as much to maintain the
position of an important British Colony as the politician
and the soldier.

Without the enterprise of our merchants, the two latter
mentioned would have but scant opportunity for the exercise
and display of their abilities .

Messrs. Mason & Broadbent are no recent arrivals on
the scene of activity, the events of which are woven through
the pages of this history.

Nearly fifty years ago, before Maritzburg had a recog-
nised existence, the senior member of the firm first appeared
upon the scene It was not until 1891, however, that the
firm took its present form and occupied the leading position
which it now holds.

Situated at 287, Church Street, the front stores, which
are piled with merchandise, convey even then but an in-
adequate idea of the vast stock which is stored away in four

The Story of an African City. 187

or five adjacent warehouses. Notwithstanding this accom-
modation, the extensive operations of the firm have neces-
sitated the construction of new and handsome frontal
premises.

To attempt an enumeration of the scope and extent of
the stock in all its varieties which may here be found
would require another volume. Suffice it to say, that every
requisite in the building, ironmongery, and brushware trade
is available. No Alladin's lamp is required to satisfy every
wish of the intending purchaser if that ubiquitous and ever-
obliging member of the firm (Mr. Broadbent) is at hand,
and he is rarely absent.

Whether it is a wholesale order for the stocking of an
up-country emporium, or a modest order for a hank of sail
twine, presto— it is done.

Keenly alive to the requirements of the Colonial trade,
the firm has made a special study of the art of buying, and
the result is that nowhere in South Africa can the customer
find a better depot than in the establishment of Messrs,
Mason & Broadbent.

In previous chapters of this work much has been said
on the founding and building of this City, but as yet we have
not touched on the clothing of its inhabitants.

On this subject there are few better authorities to be
found than Messrs. Taylor & Fowler, clothiers, hatters,
hosiers, and general outfitters, Church Street, two doors
above Chapel Street, with branch establishments at Lady-
smith and Dundee. This old-established business has steadily
kept pace with the progress of the City.

It has been said by some writer that no conscientious
effort to do well can ever fail to meet its due reward, which
is a wide-spread appreciation and cordial support, both of
which are fully enjoyed by the firm. Messrs. Taylor &

188 The Story of an African Gity.

Fowler in their extensive premises have a grand display and
stock of clothing made up in high-class style, almost equal
to their tailor-made.

The firm has an immense stock of fancy tweeds, navy
and black serge and worsted suitings, and fancy trouserings
and dress suitings. Patterns are sent to any part of
the country. Having a staff of practical tailors and
reliable cutters on the premises, they can guarantee work-
manship, style, and fit. Those desiring it, may, through
them, avail themselves of London tailor-made suits. They
have a big range of patterns in all the latest cloths, and
measures are taken here and sent direct to their London
tailors, and delivered with dispatch. They have a large and
well- assorted stock of gentlemen's walking, cycling, riding,
shooting, football, and working boots, in all shades of tan
and black, and all qualities ; also boys' and youths' in light
and heavy makes for walking and school wear. Also, ladies'
boots and shoes in great variety, quality, and price, in tan
and black, and a good stock of girls' boots and shces in
all styles. In children's strapped tan, patent, and Hack
shoes they cannot be beaten. Exceptional value in
juvenile clothing and outfitting. They have weekly ship-
ments of the latest ties and collars andi hats for travellers ;
all requisites for comfort at reasonable prices ; shawl rugs,
seal rugs, ulsters, mackintoshes, ladies' and gentlemen's
portmanteaux, Gladstone brief bags, holdalls, etc., in large
varieties. For cyclists : cycling suits, caps, and shoes ;
waterproof capes ; ladies', gentlemen's, girls', and youths'
bicycles, and all kinds of latest accessories kept in stock.
For pedestrians : suits, stockings, boots, caps, &c. For
the rainy season they keep a grand stock of waterproofs,
sewn throughout and every one guaranteed ; umbrellas in
ladies' and gentlemen's, walking sticks and overalls in great
varieties.

The Story of an African City. 189

By careful buying and judicial management, they are
enabled, both as regards price and quality, to defy com-
petition.

Long established as the firm is, it appears but seemly
that they should occupy an honoured place within the covers
of a work which is devoted to the treatment or such institu-
tions as go to maintain and support the City.

Mr. J. C. Baumann, baker and confectioner, conducts
his business in Boshoff Street.

Commencing in a very modest style, he has steadily and
gradually developed with the City, until at the present
moment he conducts a large and prosperous business, having
the liberal support of the general public.

He has carried the art of his trade to a high state of
perfection, and has established a wide popularity in the
fancy department of his business, such as bridescakes and
general confectionery.

One of the reasons of Mr. Baumann's success is that he
uses especial yeast of his own preparation, and the other
is his close attention to the details of his business, coupled
with a kindliness of disposition, which render him as popular
as he is successful.

The Imperial Hotel : On the 24th of May, 1898, this
popular hotel celebrated the twentieth anniversary of its
establishment in the City. In common with several other
institutions which we have dealt with in this volume, it has
shared, for weal and woe, the vicissitudes of the City life.
In the beginning of its career, the whole establishment con-
sisted of about twelve rooms, lighted in primitive fashion by
paraffin lamps. Now it would be difficult indeed to
recognise in the present beautifully-appointed hostelry the
slightest trace of the old order, saving and excepting the
kindly hostess, Mrs. Thresh, who has contrived to remain,

190 2he Story of an African Gity.

as she ever has been, the most popular and widely-known
hotel proprietress in the City.

At the time of writing, March, 1898, the hotel consists
of sixty-five apartments, with three sitting-rooms, three
dim'ng-rooms, and smoking room. In additions to these
there are twelve bathrooms, two kitchens, two storerooms,
two baggage rooms, and the usual offices.

Large and commodious stables and carriage-houses
occupy the back premises, while the lavatories and sanitary
arrangements are perfect.

At the present time, new wings and blocks of buildings
are in course of construction, which, when completed, will
make the hotel one of the most perfect in South Africa. The
new wing, which is almost finished, is devoted principally to
bedrooms and bathrooms, and the traveller must be indeed
unreasonable who could find any fault with the spacious,
well-ventilated and luxurious apartments. Every necessity
seems to have been catered for, and whether the guest is
travelling alone, with his family, or his valet, he will find
every convenience provided. The hotel has been fitted with
electric light throughout, and waits the completion of the
installation promised by the Corporation.

In order to meet the convenience ot guests, a commodious
drag meets every registered passenger train, and, when de-
sired, vehicles are procurable wherein to visit the various
points of interest in the vicinity of the City.

The reputation which the hotel has deservedly earned
during its twenty years of existence, may well be envied far
and wide, and its praises have been recorded in more than
one important book of travel from the pens of political,
journalistic, and social magnates.

A list of the notabilities who have been guests of the
hotel would form interesting reading did space permit of its

The Story of an African City. 191

insertion here. The following names, however, will serve to
indicate a few of them : —

LIST OF VISITORS.

Mark Twain.

Max O'Rell.

H. M. Stanley, Esq., M.P.

Signor Foli.

Madame Albani.

Madame Trebelli.

Lady and Sir Charles Halle".

The Marquis of Devonshire.

Dr. Kingsley.

Mr. Balfour.

Sir Evelyn Wood.

Sir Garnet Wolseley.
Lord Cantelope.
General Tucker, C.B.
General Cox, C.B.
Mr. Justice Williams.
Capt. Walter.
Mr. Sims Reeves.
Bishop Colenso, D.D.
Sir B. Stone, M.P.
Col. Dalgety.

Amongst the curiosities of interest which Mrs. Thresh
has contrived to collect are a magnificent display of African
antelope and big game horns, while in the passage, and now
constituting a seat, are the veritable stocks which were
used by the Boers to confine and exhibit the British prisoners
who fell into their hands at the taking of the Point during
the Anglo-Boer War in Natal, 1842.

In conclusion, it is perfectly safe to say that the tourist,
let him come from where he may, will find in the Imperial
Hotel a home-like resting place, which will compare favour-
ably with anything of the kind in the world.

Amongst the millers and corn dealers of the City, the
firm of Messrs. W. H. Walker & Co. has, though but recently
commenced business, acquired a well-deserved reputation for
fair dealing with those who entrust their affairs to them.
Their two places of business, one in Commercial Road, near
St. Saviour's Cathedral, and the other in Longmarket Street,
near the Plough Hotel, are centres of activity and bustle.

Here one may see on the one hand loads of grain arriving
from the country, and on the other milled product leaving
for the various depots for sale.

192 2 he Story of an African Gity.

Mr. Walker, the senior partner of the firm, was for many
years associated with the firm of Messrs. R. Mason & Son,
and both during that period and subsequently has acquired
a thorough knowledge of a business which is as vital to the
welfare of the Colony as the prosperity of the farmer, who
depends on him for his returns.

Notwithstanding the dull times, the firm is adding
still further to its already extensive premises and plant'
and it may confidently be stated that a long and prosperous
career is opening out before the firm.

Mr. D. Nicolson, who is well known for his enterprise
and attention to business, commenced in the City, at No. 8,
Temple Street, about June, 1897. Finding the rapid in-
crease of his engagements necessitated more accommodation,
he has lately acquired the extensive premises, formerly
occupied by Messrs. W. Muir & Sons, 319, Church Street,
where, assisted by a large staff of competent workmen, he
carries on the trade of a builder, contractor, and timber
merchant.

On inspection of the works we found that in addition
to the wood-working plant already on the premises, there is
now erected a very complete machine for striking mouldings
ot difierant descriptions, tonguing, grooving, &c.

Mr. Nicolson's South African experience is long and
varied. In addition to large contracts with the Military
authorities at Fort Napier, he has been associated with the
building of the Memorial Church, Y.M.C. A. Hall, Catholic
Sanatorium, &c, &c. And is at present engaged on the
additions to St. Saviour's Cathedral, new frontage to Messrs.
W. H. Griffin & Co.'s premises, and the erection of several
large dwelling houses for private customers.

We noticed a large and varied stock of timber and
building materials of all descriptions.

The Story of an African Ci1$i 193

Amongst the watchmakers, jewellers, and opticians of
the City, Messrs. Sckwake, Watt & Co. take a deservedly-
high place. Their establishment at 286, Longmarket
Street, lacing the Market Square, is not only beautifully
furnished, but contains one of the finest-selected stocks to
be found in the Colony. The business is an old-established
one, it having been commenced in 1880 by Mr. Bernard
Schwake in premises adjoining the Plough Hotel. For 18
years business was conducted in this place, but within the
past few months it was found imperatively necessary, by
reason of the increased patronage of the public, to remove to
the present handsome premises which it occupies. Six years
ago Mr. Schwake, the senior partner, removed to London
to act as buyer for the firm, and is, by his South African
experience, enabled to obtain direct from the manufacturers
goods which not only suit the trade, but, through personal
selection, are of the best quality, and can be offered at prices
lower than could otherwise be done. In the optical depart-
ment, the firm lays itself out to supply any description of
spectacles, pince-nez, etc., to suit all sights, and carry out
doctors' and oculists' prescriptions with the greatest care.
The horological and jewellery departments, as well as the
general business of the firm, are conducted by Mr. Henry
Niesewand, the sole South African partner, who has achieved
a wide popularity by reason of his unremitting attention to
the requirements of his customers.

194

Ttie Story of an African City.

List of Mayors of Pictcrmaritzhurg.

SINCE THE INCORPORATION OF THE BOROUGH IN 1854.

lo54 — D. D. Buchanan.

1876— John Fleming

1855— D. B. Scott.

1877— W. Francis.

1856— P. Ferreira.

1878— W. Francis.

1857— W. Leathern and G.

1879— P. Davis, sen.

Thompson.

1880— A. W. Kershaw.

1858— J. Archbell.

1881 — John Roseveare.

1859— J. W. Akerman.

1882— S. Williams.

1860— J. Archbell.

1883— H. Griffin.

1861— J. Archbell.

1884— E. Owen.

1862— J. Archbell.

1885— E. Owen.

1863— J. Archbell,

1886 — J. J. Chapman.

1864— E. Tomlinson.

1887— J. J. Chapman.

1865— E. Tomlinson.

1887— J. J. Chapman.

1866— E. Tomlinson.

1889— E. S. T. Stantial.

1867— S. Williams.

1890— W. E. Bale.

1868— S. Williams.

1891 — Richard Mason.

1869 — S. Williams and J. Russom.

1892— Richard Mason.

1870— E. Tomlinson and W.

1893— W. E. Bale.

George.

1894— P. Carbis.

1871— W. George.

1895— C. G. Levy.

1872— P. Davis, sen.

1896— P. F. Payn.
1897— T. W. Woodhouse

1873— P. Davis, sen.

1874 — Henry Pepworth.

1898— G. J. Macfarlane.

1875 — John Fleming.

TOWN (

3LERKS.

1854 to 1861 — James Raw.

1879 to 1883— E. Wiltshire.

1861 to 1879— E. Buchanan.

1883 to Date— S. Stranack.

Gab Stands and Gab Fares.

STANDS.

Notice is hereby given, that the Town Council has appointed the
undermentioned places as Cab Stands, during pleasure, under the pro-
visions of By-Law No. 335. Not more than six cabs will be allowed at
any stand : —

1. Commercial Road, in front of Crown Hotel.

2. Commercial Road, between Fountain and Police Station.

3. Church Street, in front of Standard Bank.

4. Church Street, in front of St. Peter's Cathedral.

5. Chapel Street, in front of Theatre Royal.

6. Church Street, above Gate of Court Gardens.

N.B. — Cabs are not confined to the authorised stands between
9 p.m. and 6 a.m.

Tariff of Fares.

Fares by Distance. — For any Licensed Vehicle, when employed
between the Bridges and the Camp Gardens. For a single Adult
Passenger, per mile or fraction thereof, Is. ; for each additional
Passenger, per mile or fraction thereof, 6d.

TJie Story of an African Gity. 195

Fares by Time. — For one and not more than two Adults, 4s. per hour ;
for every additional Adult, Is. per hour.

N.B. — In every case, each Person over the age of 12 years shall be
reckoned as an Adult. Half -fares only shall be charged for Persons
under the age of 12 year.-*.

Double Fares. — Double Fares may be charged between 10 p.m. and
6 a.m.

charge for Luggage. — For each Adult Passenger 301bs. of luggage
is allowed free of charge.

Number of Passengers. — The number of passengers allowed to each
four-wheeled cab is four inside and one outside ; to each two-wheeled
cab, two inside.

The following By-laws are published for general information : —

By-law 329. — " When hired by time, the driver in charge of the
vehicle shall be bound to drive at a proper rate of speed,
say not less than five miles an hour, unless requested to
drive at a slower rate."

By-law 330. — " Every vehicle registered for public hire, stand-
ing in the public street, shall be deemed to be plying for
hire, and the person in charge of such vehicle shall not
refuse to accept engagement unless actually engaged or
hired at the time. Written or other evidence of being
hired must be produced at the time by the person in charge
of the vehicle if required."

By-law 337. — "Any driver of an omnibus, cab, or hackney-
carriage, or any jinriksha-puller, who shall demand from
any passenger more than the fare legally chargeable under
these By-laws, shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding
Two Pounds Sterling, and in default of payment to im-
prisonment for a period not exceeding one month, with or
without hard labour."

By-law 338. — " Any person who shall wilfully avoid or attempt
to avoid payment of the fare legally chargeable under
these By-laws shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding
Two Pounds Sterling, and in default of payment to im-
prisonment for a period not exceeding one month, with or
without hard labour."

By-law 340. — " The animals employed in the working of all
hired vehicles shall be at all times kept in good condition."

By Order of the Mayor and Council,

STEPHEN STRANACK,

Town Clerk.
Town Office, Pietermaritzburg,
August, 1895.

Jinriksha Faros and Stands*

FARES.

Jinriksha Fares shall not exceed the following Tariff : — For every
person 3d. per half-mile or portion thereof.

Fares by Time shall be. — Is. 6d. per hour for one person, or 2s. 3d.
per hour for two persons. One or two Children under 12 years of
age to count as One Person.

Between the hours of 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. Fares shall not be charge-
able at more than Double Rate.

196

The Story of an African City,

The following By-Laws are published for information : —

Ey-law 330. — " Every vehicle registered for public hire, stand-
in the public street, shall be deemed to be plying for
hire, and the person in charge of such vehicle shall not
refuse to accept engagement unless actually engaged or
hired at the time. Written or other evidence of being
hired must be produced at the time by the person in charge
of the vehicle if required."

By-law 337. — " Any driver of an omnibus, cab, or hackney-
carriage, or any jinriksha-puller, who shall demand from
any passenger more than the fare legally chargeable under
these By-laws, shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding
Two Pounds sterling, and in default of payment to im-
prisonment for a period not exceeding one month, with
or without hard labour."

By-law 338. — " Any person who shall wilfully avoid or attempt
to avoid payment of the fare legally chargeable under
these By-Laws shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding
Two Pounds sterling, and in default of payment to im-
prisonment for a period not exceeding one month, with or
without hard labour."

STANDS.

The Council have defined Riksha Stands for the convenience of
the public, and these are now placed on record for general information,
as follows : —

No. of
Rikshas,

... 5

... 10

... 5

No. of
Rlkshas
Church Street —
Railway Station (outside juris-
diction)

Soldiers' Institute 5

Medical Hall 5

St. Peter's Cathedral ... 7

Frank Stevens' 3

Telegraph Office 7

Colonial Offices (suspended

temporarily) 7

Town Hall . ... 10

Market Square (opposite
Francis & Sons 10

Longmarket Street —

Government House 5

Natal Brewery 10

Longmarket Street —

Burchell's
Cathedral Grounds
Police Station...
Girls' School ...

Chapel Street —

Griffin's
Theatre

Commercial Road —

Market Gardens
Whitelaw's

Boshoff Street —
Wesleyan Church

... 10
... 10

... 10
... 5

And at places of Public Entertainment within the above-mentioned
limits when Entertainments are going on, at the discretion of the
authorities.

The boundaries of Riksha Stands will be marked on the kerbstone
in each case in due course.

IRELAND & CO.,

jiatt&ZA, and wqaaoxa,

ESTABLISHED 1862,

AND STILL MAINTAINING

PREMIER POSITION.

First Quality Goods in all Departments

FOR

G£WT/8,

WEAR.

227, CHURCH STREET

PIETERMARITZBURG.

11.

GRAND SHOW OF

3SriT!"W GOODS

FOR ALL SEASONS AT

French ^Millinery

Latest cJParis Shapes in Unbrimmed Sfiats.

Choicest of ^Dress ^Materials.

dressmaking in all its ^B ranches7.

Lovely Silks^.

Svcieest ^L dimming ^ .

NOVELTIES in ladies Capes, Mantles, Tea downs,

'Blouses, Costumes, Skirts, Children's oHats, ^Dresses, ladies'

'Umbrellas, Sunshades, 1/aces, Gibbons, hosiery, and a

MAGNIFICENT STOCK OF

HIGH-CLASS DRAPERY.

All of the Best, and Lowest Prices,

WM. ROGERSON'S,

*€/iiire/i sftreet, 9/laritj6ury.

111.

MICHAELHOUSE,

J3oarding and $bay tfc/iool for 7So0,

PIETERMARITZBUEG.

RECTOR : THE REY. CANON TODD, M.A., B.Sc.

MASTERS s— Mr. 1 RON, London University,

Mr. DOBREE, B.A., Jesus College,
Cambridge*

Mr. Hannah, Sim Mary's Hall, Oxford.

ST. ANNE'S DIOCESAN COLLEGE,

MARITZBURG.

Visitor : RIGHT REV. THE LORD BISHOP OF NATAL.

Lady Warden : : : Miss BROWNE.

Head Mistress : : : Miss HEATON.

Pupils are prepared for the Oxford Local, the Cape University
Elementary and Matriculation, the S. Andrew's L.L.A.,
and the Cape University and Trinity College Music
Examinations.

A Branch School in connection with the above will be
opened in Dundee, Natal, in August, 1898.

MISS MOORE, Head Mistress.

IV.

YISITORS— DON'T FAIL TO CALL ON

TAYLOR & FOWLER,

THE CITY

CLOTHIERS AND OUTFITTERS,

T#110?*S, ttATTEftS, MJ8 ttOSIEflg,
^1*8 BOOT Ml 8 BHQt f ACTORS.

1 Speciality— Juvenile Clothing.

Weekly Shipments of the Latest Ties, Collars, &c,
&e., Up-to-Date.

Ladies', Gent's, Girls', and Youths' BICYCLES and
Accessories kept in Stock.

TAYLOR & FOWLER,

PIETERMARITZBURG, LADYSMITH,
AND DUNDEE, NATAL.

MALLET & CO.,

(Botnet ot Zonatnatket Sheet and (&o\nn\etc\at cRoad,

f)ife£t Import ef£ of
GENERAL DRAPERY, AND BOYS' AND YOUTHS' CLOTHING.

Best Quality \ combined with Lowest Prices.

(Late HUNT BROTHERS.)

WEST END SUPPLY STORES,

64, CHURCH STREET, MARITZBURC
FISH, FRUIT, & VEGETABLE DEPOT.

TO OOUWTPY STOfltKE&f EftS,

cBefots aoina efotwnczi cait foi Quotations jzon\

E. G. MENDENHALL, geKTep,

14 2, CHURCH STREET,
PIETERMATUTZBLTRG.

« ALEX. * OGILVIE, *

DIRECT IMPORTER OF BOOTS AND SHOES.

Watier/ey ffioof Stored,

243, LONGMARKET STKELT, PIBTBRIARITZBUB6.

VI.

Telegrams Telephone :

" MOWAT. " No. 111.

MOWAT & STILL,

97 $ 103, tt^UWl STREET,

PIETERMARITZBURG, NATAL,
QE^Ep^i CONTItyCTOIlS,.

minor nvrfopTEiis,

>IWD BUItDfcflS,

RAILWAY CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTORS.

CONTRACTORS TO NATAL GOVERNMENT RAILWAY DEPART-
MENT-
CONTRACTORS TO NATAL HARBOUR DEPARTMENT-
CONTRACTORS TO NATAL AGRICULTURAL DEPARTMENT-
CONTRACTORS TO NATAL CITY CORPORATION, ETC.

$(£tintate£ fof all dla^e^ of Building.

I<and Sou^t aqd Buildir\g0 ijfedted to £uit Client^,
tfof #kle — $11 dej&fiptioq of Building JVlktefikl,
Gjalvani^ed Iron, Builder^' Ifonmongefy, $)ekl£,
^dkijtlin^, fW& Window**, Moulding, gkift-
iil^, ^loorli^, Ceiling, fii[Q ©okfd^, Pitdl* ai\d
Ofe^on Pine, ^ekk, etd., etd.
tffee #toqe $ill£, Vefkndkl^ <8k£e£, ki\d evefy descrip-
tion of $toi\ewofk Supplied ; White's ki\d ot^ef
hfkufy of demeqt kt lowest Jtfkfket fjkte^.

Vll,

CLIFFORD & SMITH,

CABINETMAKERS AND UPHOLSTERERS.

ruiwruiiE Ktrmt®

MID PICTURES fjtfiytti.
Xew iWnitufe cirtiviiig by evei'y JVLkiL

ALWAYS ON HAND

fit $f&w 'fines in Second -hand ofmnikmc ;
atso Qtochetw, QtaMwatc, Qatvcfo, etc.

eiiFFow * swim

252, ($3UI$3 STREET,
PIETERMARITZBURG,

Vlll.

J. RAW & GO.

295, CHUKCH STREET, PIETERMARITZBURG,
AND COMMERCIAL ROAD, DURBAN.

THE CITY AND COUNTRY AUCTIONEERS,

APPRAISERS, LAND AND ESTATE

AGENTS,

GENERAL MERCHANTS AND IMPORTERS.

Auctioneers to the Imperial Government, the Howick, Nottingham Road,
Mooi Hirer, and Richmond Farmers' Associations.

Sales held every Saturday of Horses, Cattle, Sheep, Wagons,
Carriages, etc., etc., at their Stands, Market Square, commencing at
10 o'clock a.m.

Land Sales held regularly.

Furniture Sales held in the City and Country.

Country Sales of Cattle, Horses, &c, arranged for on the shortest
notice.

Cattle sent for Sale can be herded and kraaled free of charge.

Cash Settlements immediately after Sales.

J. RAW & CO., Wholesale Wine and Spirit Merchants. Large
Stocks of Brandies. Whiskies, English and Colonial Ales and Stout,
always on hand.

Kop's Non-Alcholic Ale and Stout.

Groceries and Oilman's Stores of all descriptions kept in Stock.

Tartarian and other Seed Oats always in Stock.

Cocksfoot Grass Seed.

Agents for Fison's Chemical Fertilizers for Potatoes, Forage,
Mealies, Fruit, and all Vegetable and Root Crops.

Fison's Extra Quality Dissolved Bones.

Saint Raphael Wine for Invalids.

J. RAW & CO. are the Sole Agents in Natal for the Champion
Mower and Reaper* The Best Machine yet made. Call and
Inspect them before purchasing elsewhere. Prices Moderate.

Testimonial from Mr. J. Arnold, of Springfield, New England,
near Maritzburg : —

*' I purchased of you a ' Champion Mower,' which I have had in
use ever since. It does most excellent work. I have put it into
several different classes of Grass, and it works most satisfactorily.

" I have used a quantity of different Mowers, but never yet had
one to equal the ' Champion.'

"Anyone wishing to see the Machine at work may come any day
to my farm."

IX.

CITY PUBLIC SUPPLY STORES.
126-130, CHURCH STREET, MARITZBURG.

ALFRED GRIX,

pirecf groporfer of

Established 1874.

/$& <S&

oetoeJ ^loiEiora ola ora Ola o^ioiHioraoigio/EJ oiEiorsiolEio a

GROCERIES, OILMAN'S STORES, |

BRUSKWARE, AND GENERAL

MERCHANDISE.

OEIOEiOElOEjQE^OrHiOElOIZJOETOEiOrSTOEiOlSTOlSiTaOlHIOi

ALFRED GRtX is noted for keeping High-Class Goods,
selling at Lowest Prices, Importing only Fresh Goods
and having the Largest and most Varied Selection to be
found in the City.

ADDRESS:

ALFRED GRIX, City Public Supply Stores,
Pieterm&ritzburg.

MODES BE PARIS.

ARTISTIC MILLINERY.

£adic$ vv^ititva 210, Qnwvcn Sta&et, S'xoXcv-
'\nasi'ikz>$>uzci, wvlt iind a 4o^ 0$ coccxusivc
dcsians, and aiwaus tfvc moot Zrccncicnc
QflLitlinC'iu. $e-z$oncUiu> conducted %>w

MMi HAMER-CALYERT.

HOWICK FALLS HOTEL

(NEAREST MOTEL TO THE FALLS.)

Pleasantly situated in the Village of Howick, within one
minute's walk of the Falls, Court House, Post and Telegraph
Office.

There are 40 Bedrooms (27 of which are on the Upper
Floor), Balcony all round. Private Suites of Rooms ;
Smoking, Music, and Ladies' Rooms ; Billiard Room and
Bar separate from Hotel ; Dark Room and Bath Rooms, with
water laid on; Perfect Sanitary Arrangements; and all the
other Accessories of a well-appointed Establishment. Traps
and Saddle Horses on Hire. Picnic Parties driven to the
Karkloof Falls, &c. An excellent Cuisine. The Best Brands
of Wines, Spirits, and Cigars kept. A Covered Conveyance
meets all Day Trains, and by arrangement the Night Mails.

M. SIMONS.

Telegraphic Address : "FALLS, HCWICK."

The Howick Falls (one minute from the Hotel), with a
sheer drop of 308 feet, are said to be the second highest
unbroken Falls in the World.

VISITORS THAT HAVE BEEN AT THE HOTEL.

Lady Florence Dixie, Cecil Rhodes. Marquis of Devonshire

1881. Lionel Phillips. Dr. Kingsley.

Sir Beaumont Dixie. Herman Eckstein. Mr. Balfour.

Sir Charles Halle. Frederick Eckstein. H. W. L. or W. L. H

Lady Halle. Bishop Colenso. Lawson, connected

Signor Foli. Miss Margeurite with the Daily News.

Madame Trebelli. Macintyre. Sims Reeves.

Charles Santley. Mark Twain. His Hon. Paul Kruger,

H. M. Stanley. Lord Cantelupe. Transvaal President.

XI.

P. HENWOOD, SON,
SOUTTER & CO.,

AGEICULTUEAL IMPLEMENTS

AND

FAEM REQUISITES.

CHURCH STREET
PIETERMARITZBURG, NATAL,

DURBAN, PRETORIA, BARBERTON, ♦ *
JOHANNESBURG, KROJflDRAAI, AND KIMBERLEY.

Xll.

WILLIAMS & LAMBEET,

WHITE HOUSE,

MARITZBUBG,

ARE NOTED FOR

High-Class Men.'s Youths' and Boys' Outfitting.

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦I

SPECIALITIES :

The At Clothing to Measure.— Surpassing all

other makes. Fit, Style, and Workmanship.
Boys9 Clothing » — A large stock always on hand and

the latest Styles received by every Mail.
Boys' Blouses. — A Choice Selection always in Stock,

and our Buyers ship us the NEWEST PRODUCTIONS

as they appear in the Markets.
Boys' Hats anil Cans* — The best Assortment in

the Colony, and always up-to-date.

Boys' Shirts, Boys' Hosiery, Boys'
Knickersm
Cellular Clothing, — Far and away the Best Clothing
for the South African Climate. The sale is an ever-
increasing one, and we hold one of the Largest Stocks
in South Africa.

Gentm 's Ties* — Our Stocks of Ties will always be found
replete with the very Latest Novelties.

Gentm 's Hats and Caps* — In this Department we
lead ; others follow ; and our Prices are lower than the
lowest.

Gentm 's Hosiery, — The Best Makes only Stocked.

All our Goods Marked in PLAIN FIGURES, and PERSONAL
ATTENTION at all times.

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦»♦♦»♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦»♦♦♦♦

WILLIAMS & LAMBERT, wh£ouse,

Cppoiite t/ie Hfatfiedraf, fftaritjburg.

anu.

HILTON COLLEGE.

The object of this School Is to provide for Colonial ^Boys
the kind ot training which Is given at a/iome by the " Public
Schools."

The ^Masters are 'University and SPublic School men.

The Site Is particularly ^Healthy, being on an estate of
nearly 2,000 acres, J ,500 feet above ZMarltzburg , and among the
finest Scenery of the ^Midlands of fNatal.

The School has an excellent record of 26 years In cWork
and Games, and keeps touch with Its old members by means of
a strong cfllltonlan Society.

HENRY VAUGHAN ELLIS,

Headmaster.

PIETERMARITZBURG HIGH SCHOOL FOB GIRLS.

Principal s Miss Am Em ROWE, Late Newnham College,
Cambridge, and for eight years Lady Principal of the Girls'
Collegiate School, Maritzburg; First-class Honours Certificate,
"Woman's Cambridge, &c.

A large staff of Resident and Visiting Teachers of the highest
qualifications.

Miss Rowe has had long experience of management in English,
French, and German Public and Private Schools.

Pupils are prepared for the Junior and Senior Oxford Local,
Natal Teachers' Certificate, and various Music and Art Examinations.

It is intended during the year 1898 to move the School into com-
modious buildings, specially erected for the purpose, on a 30 to 40 acre
plot of land, some three miles from the City, adjoining the Zwaartkop
Road Station.

Trains are both frequent and convenient, enabling Yisiting
Teachers and Day Scholars to attend regularly.

The site is pleasant and healthy, situated several hundred feet
above the town, commanding a magnificient view of the City, and
excellent provision is made for a large number of Boarders.

XIV.

J. IEBRYWEATHEK & SONS,

^agonmafters,

■■^

£ow $zic&> ; fyVoz&vnansftvp and 0\Catiziai Quazanteed. eTip

Qazts, Sicpfwt Qtlivczy Qazts ; at»o Zxakt §>j>zina Qazts, suita&tc

■foz S)sa-pct> and %zoct/v>.

TROLLEYS (both Heavy and Light), WHEELBARROWS.

All Sizes of Wheels in Stock or Made to Order.

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦»♦♦♦«

Sneesewood, Stinkwood, Stinkvoood Shafts Sawn or *3Bent to
Shape, 'Forgings, either for Ploughs, 'Wagons, or
^Mowing ZMaehines.

SCREW GUTTING. WOOD AND IRON TURNIN6.

PLANING AND SAWING OF EVERY DESCRIPTION.
LOGS SAWN TO ORDER.

352, CHURCH STREET,
PIETERMARITZBURG,

XV.

ST. CHARLES' GRAMMAR SCHOOL.

Situated in a very healthy place, between T/oop
Street and 'Long market Street, gives accommoda-
tion to a certain number of 'Boarders, and to T>ay
'Pupils.

&t is placed under the patronage and direction
of the 'Right "Reverend T>r. ^olivet.

'Boys are prepared for the ^ape "University ■
ZNatal 'Bivil Service, and other* 'Examinations.
Besides, every attention is paid to the mortal tone
and general conduct of the boys, with a view to
theii^ becoming honourable and gentlemanly.
For particulars apply to —

The Revd. FATHER DELALLE, D.D., Principal.

J.M.J.

CONVENT OF THE HOLY FAMILY.

PIETERMARITZBURG.
YOUNG LADIES' BOARDING AND DAY SCHOOLS.

KINDERGARTEN-OH SELECT INFANT SCHOOL

FOR BOTH SEXES.

Established 187S.

The course of Instruction comprises a Solid English
Education ; the French Language ; English and French
Literature j Vocal and Instrumental Music ; and every
species of Plain and Fancy Needlework

Pupils are prepared for the various Local Examinations
in English and Music, according to the wishes of their Parents.

The School possesses extensive grounds, and is situated
in one of the healthiest parts of the City.

For terms and particulars apply to —

THE MOTHER SUPERIOR.

XVI.

^j^nnRiiuujuiHiiuHHM

*. •. •.

masnm

^» » »

WILLIAM MELDRUM

(ESTABLISHED 18S9)

•

Seated Wk,tei< >IkT\ufk6tufef,
25—29, IPWEOTJI STREET,

PIETERMARITZBURG.

&vcin description ot 3Xi&h-ct&*$ €iciatcd

Bes-, Quality Ingredients only used.

yy *w>s*s''+s*s''*r'>s**'r*s**r*s+^

N.B. — Special Attention to Country Orders.

<t «v *

UUEiiujC

\» ^* ^*

^nffiinajmtnmmiinmililXilin

XV11.

THE NATAL TANNING COMPANY, LTD.,

PIETERMARITZBURG

Telegraphic Address :

" TANNING"

Works : On Banks of Umsindusi. Offices : 27, TIMBEE STEEET.

CiU JU«&> of Zca&ci &L*nufacfat§3 \xo\n ®l*tat

§>o(c SLcatUct ; IfaineA* Sleatfiei; ^Machine oBcftina
o| aW wi£tfi> ; ^cf&cnocn* in aff Sfotfd, afu>ati>
on nan3.

GEAR FOUNDRY.

213, <&iekez,vnazitx> Stzcet.

->«rt«»K<,»ii'Hi<»»i(<»»ii<ni»<'Ui««»M<'i.

Brickmaking Plant made to order, with all the
Latest Improvements.

Castings made in Brass or Iron to patterns supplied.

Engineering and Blacksmithing in all its

branches.

Forage or Hay Presses, Mealie Shelters, Single, Double,
and Three-Furrow Ploughs, Harrows.

Land Rollers on hand or made at the Shortest Notice.

Ornamental Cast or "Wrought Iron Work a Speciality.

SIMMER, JENKINS & CO.,

Drapers, Outfitters and General House Furnishers,

168 TO 174, LONGMARKET STREET, MARITZBURG.

XIX.

GOOD ! !

T'S

Mineral Waters,
Lemon Squash,

<• $ >

and

Cordials.

Pietermaritxburg , P.O. BOX BB. Telegrams, " DERRETT."

CASTLE HOTEL, HOWICK.

For terms, apply to —

JAMES COLE, Proprietor

XX.

DAVID WHITELAW & SON,

pieTeE(nwrzBTO

kwiAi&to, and ci> xwx^xii, S\Lczcria'nfo,

Are the largestManufactures in South Africa, and have always on
hand a very large Stock of the following. Every Vehicle Guaranteed
made of thoroughly seasoned Timber and best workmanship. Our
Manufactures are of great repute throughout the whole of South
Africa.

WAGONS— All sizes, for Oxen, Horses, Mules, and Donkeys-

SPRING TROLLEYS-In Twenty different Sizes and Kinds for one

or more Horses-
BLOCK TROLLEY S-All Sizes-
SPRING DELIVERY VANS, SPRING CARTS, AND BUTCHERS'

CARTS.
SCOTCH: CARTS— lor Horses, Mules, or Oxen.
HAND CARTS— Various Sizes-

a" a o a o a a a, a »To a o a o o"o 3 »nT7a a o n» o o a o o a a a a a o a"e~

aTi/m-Gat c6 zmxa\ de-icvif>iiofv ; GLxi&i awd S-pfcitKp, Staves,
S-po-Heo, S"e.Woe^, a<w3 'Szlioe- eR-lmo, cocm3> ; (Sape- £a/&^, ©pt4.n<(.
(Ea-t-t, a-n-3 Scotc-fv (Sa-tt c?of<^> ; Sco-tc-ft So-t^t atv3 S-pti-n^j. (Sa-t-t
S-fVa-pts, ail size* ; Sioivuxtz&ato iov 5)oa-£a-&&>, 9lLn.-f^, &c. ;
STec-Ma^a, Sa-6-f.j- £ecp, Sofa etee-t, efl+viafs, &c. ; we.vu. Sasc-ti-p"
-tiatv of (Ba-GvM-e-t SW+vi-ruxo ; SLwie^ica-tv Stic&ovu. atv3 tla-A.
§?£atv6o, 2V-H-., 3i«-. a*v3 ^.i-n-. -t-JVic^ ; clmetica/n. <£i*v& S-n«^vv»va
an-3 ^o-p-fa^ cBoa-t3».

rooooooooooooo"o"ooQoooQOOoooooooooooooooeoe

Photos and Price Lists on application to either of the under-
mentioned addresses.

Maritzburg Address : Box 106.
Telegrams: "WHITELAW,"

Johannesburg Address : Box 1628.
Telegrams: "WHITELAW."

XXI,

SOUTH AFRICAN BREWERIES, LIMITED.

NATAL BREWERY'S

(PIETERMARITZ BURG)

Celebrated Sparkling Ales and Invalid Stout.

These Beers

are
Brewed from

the very

Best Materials

only.

Supplied in

Patent Screw

Stoppered

Quarts and Pints,

or in

Ordinary

Corked Bottles.

LIGHT AND WHOLESOME. SPECIALLY SUITED FOR THE CLIMATE.

Delivered to
all Parts of
Natal ; also

Cape Colony,

Orange Free

State,

Transvaal,

Zululand,

and

Delagoa Bay.

Supplied in

Casks
of all Sizes

Write for

Quotations

and

Prices.

TRADE MARK.

Telegrams " Brewery, Maritzburg." Pietermaritzburg, Longmarket

Street, Telephone No. TO. Durban Agency, 432, West Street, Telephone

No. 131. Lady smith Depot, Lady smith. Agencies at Eshowo

and Harrismith.

XXII.

AND

76farefiou6e6,
300, LONGMARKET

* * STREET,
OPPOSITE
MAEKET SQUARE. \

xxm.

HARVEY. GREENACRE & Co.,

MARITZBURG,

Boots and Shoes.

xxiv.

(ESTABLISHED 1873.)

cu?6 ^8aif <ptaE>£e$.

Sire, kl£o Wedding Ci&rtikgeg kqd

HORSE DEALER IN ALL ITS BRANCHES.
ADDRESS ■

TEMPLE STREET, HQ^^ITZBU^G.

'«l«"«at|,«l<'M|l*'«|l..|||>'«.,|i«|l«l(llM«|<l>«.<M«Mll«|fl<«)(ll«|lM«l,|l«l,M|li«l|l,l<«l|l>^,l^,(Ml

kfo'ooQoaooooooaooooaaoooQooQooooooooooo. oa "o| /,

(Formerly with W. E. Bale, Esq.),

Conveyancer, House, Estate and Financial
Agent.

Equitable Fire and Accident Office, Ltd., of Manchester,

England.
Secretary to the Union, Responsible, Electric, and

Diamond Jubilee Building Societies.
Rents and Accounts Collected ; Loans Negotiated ;

Deeds, Bonds, Wills, Agreements, &c, drawn at the

Shortest Notice.

OFFICES : FORESTERS' HALL,

PIETERMARITZ STREET,

MARITZBURG, NATAL.

n°,°.°

° ° g

XXV.

W. J. BELL,

9lur6eryman, ^(orkt, and ofeedsman.

FLOWER SEEDS, VEGETABLE SEEDS,

FARM SEEDS, TREE SEEDS.

BULBS, ROSES, FLOWERING SHRUBS,

ORNAMENTAL SHRUBS AND TREES, ETC.

SOUTH AFRICAN BULBS AND SEEDS.

COLLECTIONS SUPPLIED FROM 10/-, 15/-, 20/-, AND UPWARDS.

SEED STORE : 198, CHURCH STREET.

NURSERIES :

THE VINERY, LOOP STREET,

AND

TOWN BUSH VALLEY,

PIETEHJflARITZBUFG, NATAL.

XXVI.

HESSEY ALLANSOK,

CHEMIST AND DRUGGIST,
THE CITY DRUG STORE
*€fiurc/i street, * ~>

OPPOSITE TOWN HALL,

PIETE&MABITZBURG,

Dealer in Drugs, Patent Medicines, Toilet Requisites,

Photographic Goods, Homoeopathic Medicines, frc.

PRESCRIPTIONS CAREFULLY DISPENSED.
LICENSED TO RETAIL JflETHYLATED SPIRIT. ATTENDANCE
AT NIGHT.

'% N^\^\^f\/\i

THOMAS CHAPLIN,

BHILDeif 7II?D COTOJICTOI},
327 CHURCH STREET, MARKET SQUARE 327.

PIETERMAR1TZBURG .

Building Materials of every Description kept in stock,

At Lowest Rates.

CARPENTRY AND JOINERY WORKS.

Scuvitta and e?taiviita fy §>te<*tn at Sftojfeaf Notice.
WINDOWS AND DOORS, ETC., ETC.

Estimates given for all kinds of Building.

327 (BAwicfo Sheet, §flCaz,4&t Sauaze, 327.

XXVII.

Stantial & Allerston,

WHOLESALE
AND RETAIL

^HiiiHiHUHmnmimHimmmnuimiin^

*€fiemkfy and

^Tt'fflTtmtTniiTirmmnfffflniiTmTrTntiT

P1ETERMARITZBURG, NATAL.

■i.l"«I<!'»|("iHI;!U«,t>|l"»l«,i''

MANUFACTURERS OF THE

Scwuinc &Catat Semon So/uaofi

DEALERS IN

PHOTOGRAPHIC
GOODS.

APPARATUS, AJSD
SUNDRIES.

¥lte Oldest

^tabli^ed

Hou$e for
DUTCH

MEDICINES.

l^rice ^isfs on Application.

xxvm.

ADAMS & CO.,

BOOKSELLERS, STJITIOIJERS,

TIIJD IJEKIS JIGEI^S,

« 241, * CHURCH * STREET, * JVIARITZBURG,

AND ♦ WEST ♦ STREET, * DURBAN. *■

School Books and Requisites as used in the Schools.
Artists' Goods in great variety.

. New Books by each Mail Steamer.

A Tl A MQ QT Pf\ 241> CHURCH STREET.
AJJAMk) Q6 \J\J; PIETERMARITZBURG

THE OLDEST-ESTABLISHED HOUSE IN NATAL.

r '

Thompson & Sons,

Itotyaaty and jjjteil lutylteija,

COMMERCIAL ROAD & CHURCH STREET,

PIETERMARITZBURG,

WEST STREET AND GREY STREET,

DURBAN.

BUYEKS OF FAT STOCK FOR CASH.

Arrangements have been made for a constant supply of
Imported Meats.

Contractors to Imperial Government, Colonial Govern-
ment, Colonial Forces, Indian Immigration Board, Harbour
Board, etc., etc.

XXIX.

ROBT. GUY,

281, CHURCH STREET, MARITZBURG,

Contractor to the imperial and Colonial
Crooer^nments.

WINES AND SPIRITS of all descriptions. Bass Ale.
Guinness' Stout. The celebrated Bailie Nicol Jarvic
Whisky and BB Ale* Cigars, all descriptions.

OILMAN'S STORES of every description at Current Prices.

HARDWARE.— Nails, Screws, Locks, Sash Fasteners, Bolts,
Hinges, White Lead, Paints, Oils, Bar Iron, Bolts and Nuts'
Coach Screws, Righy's Axles— all Sixes, Buckets, Shovels,
Picks. Mattocks, Steel— all sizes, Trek Chains, Reim Chains, Tumblers —
all sizes, Wine Glasses, Claret Glasses, &c, &c.

Indents for any class of Goods executed on best terms.

ROBT. GUY.
ROBERT JONES,

•*• DIRECT ♦ IMPORTER. *

« GENERAL ♦ MERCHANT. *

charge seCecttorts of ^vapevx?, poster?, Qut-
fiffmcj, J?oofs, g>boe&, <xt?b gfcma? Qoobs.

GROCER AND TEA DEALER.

All kinds nf Colonial Produce Bought and Sold.
STEAM SAW MILLS AND MEALIE MILLS.

( Quibell's Famous Sheep Dips.
AGENT FOR \ P. B. Findlay's Imported Carriages.

/ Soutn African Mutual Life Assurance Society.

PftRFPT inNFQ UNIVERSAL

nUDC.nl JUriLo, provider,

THE STORE, HO WICK.

XXX.

*9M&4*

287, CHURCH STREET

(OPPOSITE TOWN HALL).

PIETERMARITZBURG

OBlOl^OElOIHiOE^OI^O^OEiOt^OEiOElOE/OElOE/OElOES/oElOl^OEioEi e|

XXXI.

Wire, " STACEY." Telephone 114.

A. J. STACEY & CO.,

fl£T£BM/kWT2BU?l<S, NAT/U.,

holeaalc and Ictail Sfoba^mtiBts

* + AND CICAR MERCHANTS.

THE BEST-ASSORTED STOCK OF CIGARS AND
TOBACCOS IN THE COLONY.

W. WATSON ROBERTSON,

§-f\otoawp-ficz,f Sftapel Stz&cfc,

By Special Appointment to His

Excellency the Governor of Natal,

XXX11.

THE OROSVENOR,

_ ^

254, LOOP STREET,

PIETERMARITZBURC.

PRIVATE BOARDING HOUSE,

GOOD T£St£,

StfOWEP S*Ttt8.

Proprietress: Mrs. H. WATKINS.

C. E. TAUNTON,

^uBCtc Jlccourtfcmf,

Agent for Union Steamship Company.

„ African United Insurance Corporation.
„ Economic Life Insurance Company.
Secretary to The Jubilee Gold Company, Limited.
Auditor to The Natal Bank, Limited.

„ The City and Suburban Gold Company,

Limited.
„ The Stanhope Gold Mining Company.

Limited.
„ Moodie's G.M. and Exploration Com-

pany, Limited.
„ Salisbury G.M. Company, Limited.

„ Pietermaritzburg Botanic Society.

Telegraphic Address: "TAUNTON." Postal Address: BOX 125.

TIMBER STREET, PIETERMARITZBURG.

XXXU1.

J. CALVERT & SONS,

6 vintezo, 3boon\>ind&zb,

— «.

and

13 7IIJD 15, PltljpiBG OEEIGE STREET,

PIETERMARITZBURG.

HIGH-CLASS WORK AT REASONABLE PRICES.

R. IcALISTER & SONS,

BUILDERS AND CONTRACTORS,

'Estimates given for all kinds of building °Work.
General importers of Guilders 'Requisites.
Goods imported on Commission.

Messrs. R. McALISTER & SONS having an extensive
connection and many years' experience in every department
of their business, can guarantee the fullest satisfaction to all
entrusting business to them.

1i. Ihctfmter & ifcnt, ,0' CLUB STREET

OR P.O. BOX 47

TANKS I

XXXIV.

TANKS I

TANKS t

W/faoxb tfrntrafian (Fop Mealies and Water)

TWO FIRST-CLASS CERTIFICATES

C. WILSON,

PLUMBER AND GENERAL SHEET METAL WORKER,

No. 2, WILSON STREET,

PIETERMARITZBURG,

NEXT TO NATAL BREWERY.

^aolEi07EiolHi6raolsorao^ioraoVsorao^Hioraolso7ao^ioraolEiojHiol£io7aol30

Call and Inspect J. ANDERSON & CO.'S Large Stock
of Pipes, Walking Sticks, Cigars, and Tobaccos

before going elsewhere.

We have just unpacked a Large Assortment of Pipes and
Cigars.

Note Address —

J. ANDERSON & CO.,
« TOBACCONISTS, fr

272, LONGMARKET STREET (Opposite Police Station.)

XXXV.

MARITZBURG CYCLE COMPANY.

Bicycles for Sale on the Hire Purchase System, or.f or Hire by the
Hour, Day, Week, or Month on reasonable terms.

Cycling Taught by an experienced Tutor. Special attention to
Ladies. Charges moderate, or free to purchasers of Machines.

Repairs of every description by Experienced Workmen.

The Largest and most complete Stock of Accessories in Natal,
including the Latest Novelties. Fresh Supplies constantly arriving.

MARITZBURG CYCLE CO,, 264, LONGMARKET STREET.

JAMES & SON,

IMPORTERS OF

^IVatt e^cmcw, SFcuwtj @oo&>, iTotp and ®ofCd,

1 nWHON WHMQF 203 & 203, church street,

LUJXUUJX nUUOL, PiETERMARITZBURG.

WE WORK FOR ALL-
'S

0/' Jl Qs C/>« ++ 124, CHURCH STREET,

&irrett fr ^Liggett, maritzburg, natal.

Cycle Depot : Carriage and Ricksha Works. Cycle Repairs of every

kind and description. Agents for the best make of Cycle only. Coach

Builders and Manufacturers of Plain and Ornamental Iron Work, etc.

Carriages Retrimmed and Painted. Large Stock of Accessories, Cycle

Parts, and Fittings.

WE WORK OURSELVES.

W. E. BALE 6 MORTIMER

(Formerly W. E. Bale),

ESTABLISHED 1849.] [ESTABLISHED 1849.

2ioii$c>, &ytatcy and ^financial <9Lxcn/fo>.

AGENTS FOR THE
ROYAL INSURANCE COMPANY.

129, * CHURCH * STREET.

XXXVI.

elk 9lataf Afrikaner,

PROPRIETORS: J. HEBSHENSOHNN & SON.

The only Dutch ^Newspaper in the
Colony, issued twice ^Weekly.

1 lie best Advertising medium for those
who wish to advertise^ for 'Dutch Custom all-
over South- hiast Africa.

*€entraf rAotograpfa'e sftudio,

168, CHAPEL STREET,

MARITZBUHC, NATAL, S.A.

JOHN W. CONEY,

Sotfoait and Zandscave §{vo^oata/pfxc^.

High-clasu work finished in SILVER, PLATINOTYPE,
and BROMIDE. Only the Best Materials used.

CABINETS from 25s. per dozen.

IMPERIALS from £2 10s. per dozen.

Special Quotations for 12 x 10 Groups.

Permanent PLATINO-BROMIDE Enlargements.

Every description of Out-door Work executed promptly,
with the best results.

Views of Natal always in Stock.

An inspection solicited.

XXXV11.

4*h. ^VV\ HAY, -*•»

73afier and iionfectioner,

239, CHUKOH STREET,
PIETERMARITZBURG.

LA WES * CO.,

MILLERS AND PRODUCE DEALERS,

PRINTING OFFICE STREET, MARITZBURG.

THE PIETERMARITZBURG

STEAM DYEING AND CLEANING WORKS,

ESTABLISHED 1895.

Every description of Ladies' and Gent.'s Garments Cleaned, Dyed,
and Pressed.

Having had nine Years' experience with J. Pullau & Sons,
Perth, Dyers and Cleaners to Her Maiesty the Queen, Customers may
rely on satisfactory Workmanship. 1 erm*, Cash on delivery.

Prices to suit the times.

JAMES WEDDELL, ™. p^jer^ar.tz^street.

Printers, Bookbinders, and Publishers

186, LONGMARKET STREET, MARITZBURG.

Sole Agents for WESTLEY RICHARDS TARGET RIFLES.
Verniers, Ventometers, Orthopetics, &c, always on hand.

xxxvin.

D. NICOLSON,

BUILDER 1ND TIMBER MERCHANT,

Contractor to the imperial Government.
A Large and Well-assorted Stock of

BUILDING MATERIALS

of all Descriptions.

DEALS, PITCH PINE, FLOORING,

CEILING, GALVANISED IRON, &c, &c.
DOORS, WINDOWS,

SKIRTING, MOULDING.

I<$tiii)£iteg giveq iot Buildii^g of at|y
description.

---••U»,»»,»H>i»,'U»nli»"»l«"ll»M»i»»Mi«'-

Raiding, Waning, ifc, 6]/ sfteam muter, *
at Tftoderate *€/iarge6.

CITY STEAM SAW MILLS,

PIETERMARITZBURG.

XXXIX.

G. H. WILKINSON & CO.

194, * COMMERCIAL * ROAD,

Sixf-u. pctcw fzom Khb eToiim itaii oToii^t, QlZazits&uzcb,

Supply NATIVE BULBS and Seeds, Timber and Orna-
mental Trees, Fruit Trees, Camellias, Azaleas, Ros(s, and
other Flowering Shrubs. Seed Potatoes commence to arrive
from England in November, and. Seed from these is supplied
in Winter and Spring.

H. T. PEACH.

furniture, *€urio, and -> ~> ~>
~> -» <•* )§enera{ &)eafer,

231, COMMERCIAL ROAD,

PIETERMARITZBURG.

LIVERPOOL HOUSE.

ROBERT ELLIOT,

Grocer, Tea Blender, and Italian warehouseman,

Has a Lai'ge and Well-assorted Stock in the above lines. Fresh Goods
constantly arriving.
Having had a large Home experience in the Tea Trade, is making a
leading feature of this Branch, and solicits a trial of his Special Blends.
All Orders, Town and Country, receive prompt personal attention.

vn'DIPDT' WT T TDV IBB, Church Street, Maritxburg

HUJjJJJlll JhLiljlU L, (Xext door to the Golden Boot),

jfcio, viSru ix\MnJ_g\

191, Qfouzch Street, 3\LciZ'itz>&ULy,

§exve£lexo, gtc.

Diamonds. Precious Stones. Optical Gojds.
A Large Stock of Articles specially selected for Presentation.

xl.

JESSK SMITH & SON

STATUARIES AND MASONS,

STEAM MAP.BLE & STONE WORKS
(ESTABLISHED 1850,)

COMMERCIAL ROAD, MARITZBURG,

WEST STKEET (WEST), DURBAN, and

DeKORTE STREET, JOHANNESBURG.
Importers of all kinds of Marble and Granite, in Chimney
Pieces, Cemetery Memorials, etc.
Designs and Estimates forwarded on Application.

FISHER, PRIOR & WEDDELL,

flurdery tfeeddmen if ffioraf &rtkt6,

151, CHURCH STREET.

Tested Farm Seeds*

Tested Vegetable Seedsm

Tested Flower Seeds*

All description of Trees, Plants and Shrubs, Bouquets
Wreaths and Crosses, made up on the Shortest Notice.

Winners of the Silver Cup for Roses, 1897 ; First-Class
Certificate for Agricultural Seeds, 1897 ; Certificate of Merit
for Floral Devices, 1897.

Descriptive Catalogue on application.

9ftr. $ofin 9ft. Jferd/ieMo/inn,

CAPE UNIVERSITY,

Sworn Translator of the English and Dutch Languages,

201, ^Burger Street, 3daritzburg.

xli.

STANDARD RESTUARANT & NATAL CLUB,

CHURCH STREET,

PIETERMARITZBURG.

162, CHAPEL STREET, MARITZBURG.

<$oti$hed Oak and $antllcd (B&ttins at §>hoitc$t Qtotice.

N.B.— HEARSE AND MOURNING COACH FOR HIRE.

* 8. W. LEAKE, ¥

Wholesale and Retail

STATIONER, PRINTER, AND BOOKSELLER

'CITY' RUBBER STAMP MAKER,
Direct Importer of

¥ei\ni^, Cfidket, a^d ot^ef G^ame fjeqtii^ite^,
275, CHURCH STREET (opposite Town Hall), MARITZBURG.

ROBT. A. DIX,

Accountant, Conveyancer, Financial, and General Agent,

^3oroug£ Jludtfor, "^Tavif^Burg,

claetit -fos Khi £l-Micmce GL$$uzance (Bow-'panii, of London,

LYLE'S CHAMBERS, P.O. BOX No. 76

2SO, Church Street, Pictcrmaritzburg .

xlii.

Established 1884.] [Establi shed 18 54 .

W. W. WATLING, WATCHMAKER, JEWELLER,
and OPTICIAN, 178, Church Street, Maritzburg.

A Nice Stock of Watches, Jewellery, and Spectacles for Sale.

Goods sent on approbation.

Country Orders carefully attended to.

All work guaranteed.

T6fm. ^atOa *€aney,

fttOTOQflAfttEfr

Studio, Opposite ZNatal cJBank.

J. IV. DE HAAS,

COMMISSION AGENT,

Stall No. 6, Market Roll,

fMaritzburg, SVatal.

VICTORIA HOTEL

(LATE DIAMOND1,
TIMBER AND LONGMAPKET STREETS,

PIETERMARITZBURG.

^ his ^Id' Established blouse is the most
Central ZHotel in Gl own. dt has been recently
renovated and greatly improved throughout.

SHOWER AND PLUNGE BATHS.

'■-^ ^F\/\d

Terms:— 7/6 per Day; 42/-perweek. Special Terms
for Monthly Residents.

TRAINS MET WEEN ADVISED.

R. I.AMBEBT, Pbopbietob.

xliii.

<gi^imnmmjiiu]^

ffif,

* IMPERIAL + HOTEL, *

313 & 314, I^oop Street,

MARITZBURG-

Proprietress: Mrs. EMMA THRESH.

k This is the 1/argest and 'SBest i&fotel in the c(S>ity.

3b is Centrally situated, niar the Principal lousiness
part of the Town, the theatre, and the cJ?ark, being
convenient for business men as well as those who
come on pleasure.

The tflotcl is fitted throughout with Electric
Ijight and other modern conveniences.

cl Ibus meets all drains.

Telegraphic Address :
P.O. BOX 140.

IMPERIAL. "

*. *^ *. .,

^lUlliiiiiumTTrnnrnrnTrnTnTTTTTiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiriiiiiiiiiTnTTT

liiTiuiTiiiy

xliv.

IE3I. HDOIIDGKEJ, <+

T.M.CA. BUILDINGS,

LONGJKARKET ♦ STREET,
BOOKSELLER AND STATIONER.

cBooJU, <slV<xU eTc-ccfe, &te.

MANUFACTURER OE HIGH-CLASS MINERAL WATERS.

268, LONGMARKET STREET, and

73, CHURCH STREET, MARITZBURG.

Direct Importer of Pure Drugs. Chemicals, Patent and Homoeopathic
Medicines, Perfumery, Sponges, Toilet Requisites, etc., etc.

N.B. — Prescriptions accurately dispensed. Night Bells promptly

attended to.

LW HTll?! T TIMBER MERCHANT,

. VV • UJL/JliJjlj. GENERAL IRONMONGER,

Deals, Pine and Poplar Boards, Doors, Windows, Ceiling,
Flooring, and Cement.

Window Glass, Nails, Oils, Paints, and Paraffin, at lowest
Prices. Send for Quotations.

184, CHURCH STREET, PIETERMARITZBURG.

COLONIAL INDUSTRY.

JOHN HUGHES,

GJIBIIJETIItflW fllJD nP^OIiSTEIfef},

JVIknufkdtufef °f iJWijitutfe ^uitkkle fof ^lar^ioit of
Cottage, ffom Colonial ai|d Imported \Yood+

147 AND 149, CHURCH STREET, PIETERMARIIZBURC

xlv.

GEO. SMITH,

171,

WATCH AND CLOCKMAKER,

JEWELLER AND SILVERSMITH,

CHURCH STREET, PIETERMARITZBURG.

X X &

o «- -
0 cd »

> to to n*
<u C ® *

s- Q

Every description of Repairs to Watches, Clocks, Jewellery.
Optical and Scientific Instruments, Musical Boxes, &c, promptly and
properly executed.

Electric Gilding and Silver Plating done on the Premises.

R. H. COOPER,

Contractor and T3uitder,

gfortfracfor to 'glafaC <&ovevnment ^atCiPa^s.

ALL KINDS OF CONTRACT WORK UNDERTAKEN.
ESTIMATES GIVEN FOR ALL KINDS OF BUILDING WORK.

X1V1.

H. COLLINS,

TIMBER IVTtHCttATiT,

BUIiBS/p ^WD CONTPACTO^

Staircases, Store fronts, ^Fittings, and joinery

of every description made to 'Order at Shortest

^Notice. Special el erms to the GL rade.

^Wood and firon buildings, 'Etc., and all
buildings at lowest Elates.

ADDRESS :

H. COLLINS,

*€fa6 and ^ieterman'tj of {reefy,

rietermarityurg

SCIWAKE, WATT & CO.

Established 1878.

LONGMARKET ST.,

Near Plough Hotel, W \M ^— ^>— ^ ^FH x>tzitnced tyVotk-

Market Square.

Three Years' Guarantee.

WATCHMAKERS, JEWELLERS, AND OPTICIANS.

This well-known Firm keeps a Superior and Selected Stock of
Gold and Siiver Watches, Alberts, Diamond, En-
gagement and other Rings ; Gold and Silver Brooches, Silver and
Electro-plate of best quality, Cutlery, and Hollow Ground Razors ;
Scissors of Superior make ; all requisites in the Optical Line, such as
Field Glasses, Telescopes, etc. : Guld, Silver, Nickel, and Steel
Spectacles and Folders ; Cylindical and Cataract Lenses made to
Order ; Oculists' formulas accurately carried out.

xlvn.

T3utfder and Contractor,

101, BOSHOFF STREET,
MARITZBURG.

testi+nalcs cvivzn o\v application.

R. MASON & SON,

ESTABLISHED

THE CORN EXCHANGE

IN 1868,

And have for many Years held, and still hold, the PREMIER
Position in the City as

GR^iq ipiTOPS M® EQIIiLE^g.

73udi'nei4 rremi4e4 : SOS, *(>6ure/i hftreet.

MILLS (Water-power), situated on the Umsindusi River,
Edendale Road.

ADDRESS—

R. MASON & SON,
303, Church Street,

Maritzburg, Natal.

Telegraph : "S5WERSBY," Maritzburg.

PRINTED BY WM. WATSON,
CHURCH STREET, PIETERMARITZBURG.

RETURN TO the circulation desk of any
University of California Library

or to the

NORTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY

University of California

Richmond Field Station, Bldg. 400

1301 South 46th Street

Richmond, CA 94804-4698

ALL BOOKS MAY BE RECALLED AFTER 7 DAYS

To renew or recharge your library materials, you may
contact NRLF 4 days prior to due date at (510) 642-6233

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MAR 1 9 2008

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