GERMANY'S BEST COLONY.

Southland Times, Issue 17764, 24 September 1914, Page 4

GERMANY'S BEST COLONY.

German South-west Africa is tlm onlv nnr “f f»('rmnny‘s* lorrjpn p'fssfi-’sinns thul sh<* mi s'! 11 ronemva hly liavf some* (lav marlo into a real colony. Hut now it is fuirlv safe to say that this, too. is destined to belong to Britain. The total white population of the colony is under 15.000. and a couple of thousand of this number ere not Germans. If has been ironically said that of Germany's colonies the fertile ones are not habitable thy white men), and the habitable ones are not. fertile. German South-west Africa is certainly an exception m tills rule, though the estimates of its value are very eon trad jet < ,ry. a.nd there is little chance of its ever realisin' 1 ' the expectations of the great German Colonial Minister. Herr Dcrnburg. who looked upon it as a future rival of Canada and the Argentine. The colony has an area of over r,00.000 square miles, a groat deal of which is cultivable, and it ‘"runs north from the border of the South African Bnion. The Germans there in a v attack VValfish Ray, which belongs 10 Britain, and which it surrounds. except upon the sea side. But. Walfish Bay is said to he well garrisoned, and in anv ease the ultimate, end would bo the same. The fate of Togoland must overtake this German colony also t l, e south African Fnion can he trusted to make sure of that. Remembering that Germany lias spent nearly £IOO.000 000 in the last 2.7 years on her coloniai empire, and that the war with the I-lerreros in this particular colony cost her 2.000,000. one might almost sympathise* with her on her approaching loss. But the thought of broken treaties, peaceful Belgium made a battle ground, harmless fishermen, and emigrants murdered bv mine explosions, and cities held to ransom, prevent any possibility of that.