References to the Plan. A, light house, furnished with @able lights. They may be seen clearly off deck at 16 miles' di tance; but they do not appear double till within 6 or 7 miles to the westward; from the northward only one light I seen. B, Lion's Rump. C, Tabie Mountain. D, Devil's Peak, in lat. 5357′ 2′′. E, Roblin Island. F, Salt River. The figures denote the soundings in fathoms. Port Dutructions. -Art. 1. On the arrival of merchant vessels in Table Bay, a proper berth will be pointed out to the misters thereos by the port captain, when he boards them; and no master of a merchant vessel shall shift his berth without permission from the port captain, unless in case of extreme emergency, when he must report his having done so as early as possible at the Port-office. 2. Should it be the intention of a master of a vessel to discharge or receive on board any considerable quantity of mer. chandise, a berth will be pointed out to him as close to the jetty, or other landing-place, as the safety of the vessel and other circunstances will admit. And the master will then moor with two bower anchors, with an open hawse to the N.N.E., taking especial care, in so mooring, not to overlay the anchors or any other ship, or in any way to give the vessel near him a foul berth. Ships and vessels touching in Table Bay for water and refreshments aione, may ride at single anchor in the outer anchorage; but in this case it is particularly recommended to veer out 80 or 90 fathoms, if they ride by a chain calde, as the liability of starting or fouling the anchor, or breaking the chain, will thereby be greatly lessened; and if riding by a rope of coir cable, to run out a stream or good kedge, to steady the sip; and in both cases the other bower anchor should be kept in perfect readiness to let go. When the vessel is properly moored with bower-anchors, or well secured with a bower and stream anchor, and with good cables, buoys, and buoy-ropes, the master will then take the ext place of the ship by the bearings of 2 land-marks, and the depth of the water; and should accident occur, by which the vesse! may drift from this situation, or lose her anchors, a good bearing and depth of water must be taken at the time, and the same must be notified in writing to the port captain. It is particularly recommended that ve sels be kept as snug as possible, to counteract the effects of the periodical winds, which at times blow with considerable violence. The district subject to Cape Town is of very great extent, and contains every variety of soil, from the richest level land to the wildest mountain, and tracts destitute of even the appearance of vegetation. The climate fluctuates between the two extremes of rain and drought. On the whole, its advantages and disadvantages seem to be pretty equally balanced; and the prospects which it holds out to the industrious emigrant, if not very ailuring, are certainly not discouraging. Produce. Large quantities of corn of a very gost de cription are produced in the immediate neighbourhood et Caje Town, and in other parts of the colony; but agricuture is crippled by the Dutch law of succession, which, by dividing a man's property equally among his children, hinders the accumulation of capital in masses, and the formation of proper farining establishments. (Thomson's Travels in Southern Africa, p. 321.) The Mauritius and Rio Janeiro are the principal markets for the cor of the Cape. The exports of woo! have increased very rapidly within the last 10 years, and it now forms by far the most important article sent from the colony. The native breed of sheep is very inferior; its fleece is worth nothing, and it is remarkable only for the size of the tail, which sometimes weighs 20 lbs. ! But fine wooded Spanish merinos, Saxon and English sheep succeed remarkably well, and their wool fetches a high price. The eastern district of Albany is especially suitable for sheep. Large quantities of wine, and of what is called brandy, are produced at the Cape; but with the exception of Constentia, they are very inferior. The effect of allowing the importation of Cape wines into the United Kingdom at a comparatively low duty is, not to occasion their direct consumption, but to cause them to be employed as a convenient means of adulterating others; so that, besides being injurious to the revenue, such reduction of duty promotes fraudulent practices, and detracts from the comforts of the public. Considerable quantities of hides, skins, and horns are exported. They are principally brought from Algoa Bay, on the eastern side of the colony; and the trade has increased very fast during the last 6 or 7 years. Aloes are an imp: rtant product; and horses, butter, beef, ivory, argol, and various other articles, are among the exports. The latter also include dried fich, whale and seal oil, &c., the Cape fisheries being of considerable value. The imports at the Cape consist of woollens, cottons, hardware, earthenware, furniture, haberdashery, soap, paper, books, and portions of most articles used in this country. Piece goods and teak timber are imported from India, tea from China, sugar from India, the Muritius, &c. Trade. The trade between the colonists and the indepen dent natives is subjected to various restraints, of which it is not always very easy to discover the policy. The sale of gunpowder and fire arins to the natives has been prohibited; a regulation which might have been a judicious one, had they not been able to obtain them from any one else. The Ameri cans have however traded with the eastern coast, and have lib rally supplied the natives with these and various other articles; so that by keeping up the regulation in question, we merely exclude ourselves from participating in what might be an advantageous trade. But since we have taken possession of Natal, this intercourse may perhaps have been stopped. Population. According to the official returns, the popu. lation of the Cape Colony in 1847, consisted of 167,995. Account of the Quantities and Values of the Staple Articles, the Produce of the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope, exported in the Year ended 5th January, 1847. Of the above, the value of the exports from Cape Town was Ditto exported from Simon's Town Ditto exported from Port Elizabeth * - 228,815 0 0 471 13 6 170,289 0 0 £398,775 13 6 Port Elizabeth, on the east side of Algoa Bay, is rapidly rising in commercial importance; and from the greater fertility of the country in its vicinity its exports will, probably, in no very lengthened period, exceed those from the Cape. A Summary View of the Trade and Navigation of the Colony, in the Year ended 5th January, 1847. Vessels outwards. Total Customs 171,522 467 160,386 93,081 0 5 100,758 4 9 1,123,061 15 10 489,354 3 6 37,904 315 45,232 209,426 782 205,618 93,081 0 5 100,758 4 9 1,123,061 15 10 489,354 3 6 CUSTOM-HOUSE REGULATIONS, DUTIES, FEES, &c. On Admission of a Ship to Entry, observe 1. The ship's register must be lodged in the Custom-house, until the vessel clear again for sea. 2. The manifest of the cargo on board for this place must be deposited there. 3. The cockets of cargoes shipped from any place in Great Britain or Ireland for this place must also be deposited there. From the endorsement of such cockets, an extract is to be made, which will show the contents of the different packages on board, and facilitate the making out of the entries. 4. In making out the declarations, the value by invoice of the different cominodities must be given by the importer, in order to enable the Custom-house to estimate the duties payable, and to send into government, annually, the required statement of the total duties received upon the several articles Imported. In the clearing of a Ship outwards, observe — 1. The master must produce a certificate from the harbourmaster, that the tonnage duties of the port have been paid. 2. The export manifest must be exainined with the permits granted, in order to ascertain whether packages have been shipped without a permit. 3. Export declarations must be sent in by the several ship. pers, of the quantity and value of goods or produce shipped by them, in order to ascertain the amount of the exports of the colony. 4. When Cape wine is shipped for exportation to England, affidavit of the particular description of such wine must be delivered, and a certificate granted, by the collector or comptroller of customs, to the master, of his having received such affidavit. 5. Manifests, in triplicate, of such goods as are shipped from the Cape for Great Britain, must be delivered, signed and sworn to by the master, before the collector or comptroller. The original of which is to be returned to the master to accompany the cargo. The duplicate to be forwarded, by the first conveyance sailIng subsequently to the vessel containing the original, to the commissioners of customs in England or Scotland respectively, as the case may happen. And the triplicate, written on or covered with a stamp, to remain as an office copy. N. B. Ships taking in cargoes for other parts of the world, are required to deliver only original and duplicate manifests, 6. When whale oil or whale bone is shipped from the Cape for England, the proprietor of the whale fishery is to make oath, before the collector or comptroller, that the same were bona fide the produce of fish, or creatures living in the sea, actually taken and caught wholly by his Majesty's subjects usually residing in this colony; and the collector or comptroller is to grant a certificate under his hand and seal to the master, testifying that such oath hath been made before him. 7. When salted seal skins are shipped from the Cape for England, the shipper is to make oath before the collector or comptroller, that the same are really and bona fide the skins of seals taken and caught on the coast appertaining to the Cape of Good Hope, wholly by his Majesty's subjects usually residing in this colony; and that all the salt used in the curing or preserving of the same was not made in, or exported from, Great Britain or Ireland; and the collector or comptroller is to grant a certificate to the ma ter accordingly. 8. The original manifest, and a copy thereof, of ships touching at the Cape of Good Hope, with cargoes from the eastward for England, to be delivered and sworn to by the master before the collector or comptroller. The original to be returned to the master, and the copy forwarded from the Custom-house to the commissioner of customs. 9. If any part of such cargo shall be discharged at the Cape of Good Hope, the collector or comptroller is to indorse upon the manifest the part of the cargo so discharged, and verify the 4 0 020 0 1 6 In bottles, each not exceeding 12 to the imp gal. doz. Not in bottles imp. gal. Goods, wares, and merchandise, not otherwise charged with duty, and not herein declared free of duty, being the growth, produce, or manufac ture of the U. K., or of any B. possessions abroad, for every 1007. of the value Goods, wares, and merchandise, not otherwise charged with duty, and not herein declared to be free of duty, being the growth, produce, or manufacture of any foreign state, for every 1007. of the value Bottles of common glass, imported full Casks, staves, hoops, and coopers' rivets 500 - 12 0 0 Free. Provided, that whenever any article, being the growth, production, or manufacture of any foreign country, herein-before charged with any duty, is imported into the said colony from the . K., having been there entered for consumption and reexported without any drawback of duty having been first paid thereon, such articles shall be liable only to such duty as is herein-before charged upon similar articles, being the growth, production or manufacture of the U. K., or of any of the B. possessions abroad. Provided also, that if any goods, being the growth, produce, or manufacture of any foreign country, be imported into the said colony through the U. K. (having been warehoused therein and being exported from the warehouse, or the duties thereon if there paid having been drawn back), there shall be charged on such goods, over and above the duties herein-before imposed on similar goods, being the growth, produce, or manufacture of the U. K., or of any of the B. possessions abroad, 3-4ths of the difference (if any) between such duties and the duties herein-before charged on goods not being the growth, produce, or manufacture of the U. K., or of any of the B. pos sessions abroad. A Table of Prohibitions and Restrictions. Gunpowder. Arms. Ammunition or utensils of war. Prohibited to be imported, except from the U. K., a from some other B. possession. Articles of foreign manufacture, and any packages of such articles, bearing any names, brands, or marks, purporting 19 be the names, brands, or marks of manufacturers resident in the U. K. Base or counterfeit coin. Books, wherein the copyright shall be subsisting, first composed, or written, or printed in the U. K., and printed or reprinted in any other country, as to which the proprietor of such copyright, or his agent, shall have given to the Commite sioners of Customs a notice in writing that such copyright subsists: such notice also stating when such copyright will expire. Table of Duties, Fees, &c. Queen's Warehouse Rent. A certain sum per week is charged upon goods in proportion to their bulk and value. Wharfage and Cranage. The wharf department is under the immediate control of the customs. The following tan!! ...” dues is levied under authority of Ordinance No. 34., dated 14th Dec. 1816. On Goods landed. — On every pipe, puncheon, butt, or other cask, of the capacity of 80 imp. gall, or upwards, and containing wine, spirits, or other liquids. cask 0 2 0 cast 0 16 cask 0 1 0 On every hogshead, half puncheon, tierce,, or other cask, of the capacity of 40 imp. gall. and under 80 gall., containing wine, spirits, or other liquids On every quarter or other such cask of the capacity of 20 imp. gail., and under 40 gall., containing wine, spirits, or other liquids On every barrel, anker, keg, or other cask of less capacity than 20 imp. gall. containing wine, spirits, or other liquids' cask 0 0 8 Liquids in jars, bottles, and other packages (not in bulk) each of the content of one imp. gall. or upwards imp. gel. 0 0 1 Liquids in jars, bottles, and other packages (not in bulk) each of less content than one imp, gall, gall 0 0 Tea in all packages 100 tbs, 01 Coffee, sugar, pepper, sago, saltpetre, tumeric, taniarinds, spices, dates, and drugs in bags Rice in bags 1 3 bag 0 0 bags or imp. quarter 0 0 196 its. 006 cwt. 0 0 CWL U O Wheat, barley, oats, rye, and other grain, in bulk Flour Tobacco, manufactured (except cigars) Tobacco leaf CAPITAL, in political economy, is that portion of the produce of industry existing in a country, which may be made directly available, either for the support of human existence, or the facilitating of production.—(Principles of Political Economy, 3d ed. p. 96.) But in commerce, and as applied to individuals, capital is understood to mean the sum of money which a merchant, banker, or trader adventures in any undertaking, or which he contributes to the common stock of a partnership. It signifies likewise the fund of a trading company, or corporation; in which sense the word stock is generally added to it. Thus we say the capital stock of the Bank, &c. The profit derived from any undertaking is estimated by the rate which it bears to the capital that was employed. CAPSICUM. See PEPPER. CARAVAN, an organised company of merchants, or pilgrims, or both, who associate together in many parts of Asia and Africa, that they may travel with greater security through deserts and other places infested with robbers; or where the road is naturally dangerous. The word is derived from the Persian kervan, or cûrvân, a trader or dealer. - (Shaw's Travels in the Levant, p. 9. 4to ed.) - Every caravan is under the command of a chief or aga (caravan-bachi), who has frequently under him such a number of troops or forces as is deemed sufficient for its defence. When it is practicable, they encamp near wells or rivulets; and observe a regular discipline. Camels are used as a means of conveyance, almost uniforinly, in preference to the horse or any other animal, on account of their wonderful patience of fatigue, eating little, and subsisting three or four days or more without water. There are generally more camels in a caravan than men. (See CAMEL.) The commercial intercourse of Eastern and African nations has been principally carried on, from the remotest period, by means of caravans. During antiquity, the products of India and China were conveyed either from Suez to Rhinoculura, or from Bussorah, near the head of the Persian Gulf, by the Euphrates, to Babylon, and thence by Palmyra, in the Syrian desert, to the ports of Phoenicia on the Mediterranean, where they were exchanged for the European productions in demand in the East. Sometimes, however, caravans set out directly from China, and, occupying about 250 days in the journey, arrived on the shores of the Levant, after traversing the whole extent of Asia. —(Gibbon, vol. vii. p. 93.) The formation of caravans is, in fact the only way in which it has ever been possible to carry on any considerable internal commerce in Asia or Africa. The governments that have grown up in those continents have seldom been able, and seldomer indeed have they attempted, to render travelling practicable or safe for individuals. The wandering tribes of Arabs have always infested the immense. deserts by which they are intersected; and those only who are sufficiently powerful to protect themselves, or sufficiently rich to purchase an exemption from the predatory attacks of these freebooters, can expect to pass through territories subject to their incursions, without being exposed to the risk of robbery and murder. Since the establishment of the Mohammedan faith, religious motives, conspiring with those of a less exalted character, have tended to augment the intercourse between different parts of the Eastern world, and to increase the number and magnitude of the caravans. Mohammed enjoined all his followers to visit, once in their lifetime, the Caaba, or square building in the temple of Mecca, the immemorial object of veneration amongst his countrymen; and in order to preserve continually upon their minds a sense of obligation to perform this duty, he directed that, in all the multiplied acts of devotion which his religion prescribes, true believers should always turn their faces towards that holy place. In obedience to a precept so solemnly enjoined and sedulously inculcated, large caravans of pilgrims used to assemble annually in every country where the Mohammedan faith is established; and though, owing either to a diminution of religious zeal, or the increasing difficulties to be encountered in the journey, the number of pilgrims has of late years declined greatly, it is still very considerable. Few, however, of the pilgrims are actuated only by devotional feelings. Commercial ideas and objects mingle with those of religion; and it redounds to the credit of Mohammed, that he granted permission to trade during the pilgrimage to Mecca; providing at the same time for the temporal as well as the lasting interests of his votaries. "It shall be no crime in you, if ye seek an increase from your Lord by trading during the pilgrimage.”— (Sale's Koran, c. 2. p. 36. ed. 1764.) The numerous camels of each caravan are loaded with those commodities of every country which are of easiest carriage and readiest sale. The holy city is crowded during the month of Dhalhajja, corresponding to the latter part of June and the beginning of July, not only with zealous devotees, but with opulent merchants. A fair or market is held in Mecca and its vicinity, on the twelve days that the pilgrims are allowed to remain in that city, which used to be one of the best frequented in the world, and continues to be well attended. "Few pilgrims," says Burckhardt, "except the mendicants, arrive without bringing some productions of their respective countries for sale: and this remark is applicable as well to the merchants, with whom commercial pursuits are the main object, as to those who are actuated by religious zeal; for, to the latter, the profits derived from selling a few articles at Mecca diminish, in some degree, the heavy expenses of the journey. The Moggrebyns (pilgrims from Morocco and the north coast of Africa) bring their red bonnets and wollen cloaks; the European Turks, shoes and slippers, hardware, embroidered stuffs, sweetmeats, amber, trinkets of European manufacture, knit silk purses, &c.; the Turks of Anatolia bring carpets, silks, and Angora shawls; the Persians, Cashmere shawls and large silk handkerchiefs; the Afghans, tooth-brushes, called Mesouak Kattary, made of the spongy boughs of a tree growing in Bokhara, beads of a yellow soapstone, and plain coarse shawls manufactured in their own country; the Indians, the numerous productions of their rich and extensive region; the people of Yemen, snakes for the Persian pipes, sandals and various other works in leather; and the Africans bring various articles adapted to the slave trade. The pilgrims are, however, often disappointed in their expectations of gain; want of money makes them hastily sell their little adventures at the public auctions, and often obliges them to accept very low prices.”—( Travels in Arabia, vol. ii. p. 21.) The two principal caravans which yearly rendezvous at Mecca are those of Damascus and Cairo. The first is composed of pilgrims from Europe and Western Asia; the second of Mohammedans from all parts of Africa. At The Syrian caravan is said by Burckhardt to be very well regulated. It is always accompanied by the pacha of Damascus, or one of his principal officers, who gives the signal for encamping and starting by firing a musket. On the route, a troop of horsemen ride in the front, and another in the rear to bring up the stragglers. The different parties of pilgrims, distinguished by their provinces or towns, keep close together. night torches are lighted, and the daily distance is usually performed between 3 o'clock in the afternoon and an hour or two after sunrise on the following day. The Bedouins or Arabs, who carry provisions for the troops, travel by day only, and in advance of the caravans; the encampment of which they pass in the morning, and are overtaken in turn and passed by the caravan on the following night, at their own resting place. The journey with these Bedouins is less fatiguing than with the great body of the caravan, as a regular night's rest is obtained; but their bad character deters most pilgrims from joining them. At every watering place on the route is a small castle and a large tank, at which the camels water. The castles are garrisoned by a few persons, who remain the whole year to guard the provisions deposited there. It is at these watering-places, which belong to the Bedouins, that the sheikhs of the tribe meet the caravan, and receive the accustomed tribute for allowing it to pass. Water is plentiful on the route; the stations are nowhere more distant than 11 or 12 hours' march; and in winter, pools of rain-water are frequently found. Those pilgrims who can travel with a litter, or on commodious camel-saddles, may sleep at night, and perform the journey with little inconvenience: but of those whom poverty, or the desire of speedily acquiring a large sum of money, induces to follow the caravan on foot, or to hire themselves as servants, many die on the road from fatigue. —(Travels in Arabia, vol. ii. p. 3—9.) The caravan which sets out from Cairo for Mecca is not generally so large as that of Damascus; and its route along the shores of the Red Sea is more dangerous and fatiguing. But many of the African and Egyptian merchants and pilgrims sail from Suez, Cosseir, and other ports on the western shore of the Red Sea, for Djidda, whence the journey to Mecca is short and easy. The Persian caravan for Mecca sets out from Bagdad; but many of the Persian pilgrims are now in the habit of embarking at Bussorah, and coming to Djidda by sca. Caravans from Bagdad and Bussorah proceed to Aleppo, Damascus, and Diarbeker, laden with all sorts of Indian, Arabian, and Persian commodities; and large quantities of European goods, principally of English cottons, imported at Bussorah, are now distributed throughout all the eastern parts of the Turkish empire by the same means. The intercourse carried on in this way is, indeed, every day becoming of more importance. The commerce carried on by caravans, în the interior of Africa, is widely extended and of considerable value. Besides the great caravan which proceeds from Nubia to Cairo, and is joined by Mohammedan pilgrims from every part of Africa, there are caravans which have no object but commerce, which set out from Fez, Algiers, Tunis, Tripoli, and other states on the sea-coast, and penetrate far into the interior. Some of them take as many as 50 days to reach the place of their destination; and as their rate of travelling may be estimated at about 18 miles a day at an average, the extent of their journeys may easily be computed. As both the time of their outset and their route is known, they are met by the people of the countries through which they travel, who trade with them. Indian goods of every kind form a considerable article in this traffic; in exchange for which, the chief commodity the inhabitants have to give is slaves. Three distinct caravans are employed in bringing slaves and other commodities from Central Africa to Cairo. One of them comes direct from Mourzouk, the capital of Fezzan, across the Libyan desert; another from Senaar; and the third from Darfur. They do not arrive at stated periods, but after a greater or less interval, according to the success they have had in procuring slaves, ivory, gold dust, drugs, and such other articles as are fitted for the Egyptian markets. The Mourzouk caravan is said to be under the best regulations. It is generally about 50 days on its passage; and seldom consists of less than 100, or of more than 300, travellers. The caravans from Senaar and Darfur used formerly to be very irregular, and were sometimes not seen in Egypt for 2 or 3 years together; but since the occupation of the former by the troops of Mohammed Ali, the intercourse between it and Egypt has become comparatively frequent and regular. The number of slaves imported into Egypt by these caravans is said to amount, at present, to about 10,000 a year. The departure of a caravan from Darfur is looked upon as a most important event; it engages for a while the attention of the whole country, and even forms a kind of æra. — (Browne's Travels in Africa, 2d ed. p. 78.) A caravan from Darfur is considered large if it has 2,000 camels and 1,000 |
