Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III LOURENgO MAEQUES AND DELAGOA BAY (Continued) The harbour at Delagoa Bay is really wonderful, owing to the natural configuration of the land. There is room for absolutely hundreds of vessels in the inner bay, and even at low water they can anchor fairly close in-shore. If the proper works and harbour improvements were carried out (as they ought to have been years ago) vessels of any tonnage and draught should be able to come alongside the quays and wharves with perfect safety, and discharge their cargoes direct. The present system of employing lighters, is not only expensive and troublesome, butalso causes serious delay and often loss as well. When the harbour works are completed and proper arrangements made with regard to the railway, the traffic will be enormous. Consignors will quickly discover the vast difference implied in change of ownership, once we obtain possession. At the present time the cost of living at Louren9o Marques is undoubtedly high, and its inhabitants suffer under many disadvantages, soon, we hope, to be removed. The taxes are heavy, and the climate at certain seasons of the year trying. However, for six or seven months in the year the climate is good, and the heat is not too great, more especially between the months of May and September. After the heat of the day deliciously cool breezes spring up each evening, coming direct from the sea, and instill new life and strength in the residents. At these periods of the year the nights are fairly cool and invigorating, and are very healthy and bearable for Europeans; after September, however, the climate is not so good, the heat during the daytime being very trying, and the moisture in the atmosphere, besides being unhealthy, induces a languor which is alike detrimental to business or spor…
