Page:Africa by Élisée Reclus, Volume 2.djvu/210

 172 NORTH-WEST AFEICA. although Leghorn formerly disputed with Mareeilles for the commercial supremacy in Tunis, at a time when the whole of the Mediterranean was even known to the Tunisians as the " Sea of Guma." The French, whose numbers have more than tripled since the events of 1881, almost exclusively occupy the new town, near the " Marina," a promenade where meet people of all nations and costumes : Mussul- mans with hats, and Christians with turbans, hybrid beings produced by the contact of two civilisations. The transformation of Tunis into a European city is much less advanced in sanitary respects. Most of the streets having no drains, the refuse from the houses is collected in oix»n ditches, and removed by scavengers at stated times. It often happens that for several days the streets are obstructed by heaps of earth and sand, on which all manner of filth is thrown, so as to harden it by exposure to the air, and thus render it easier to be carried away. The drains of the town, sloping towards the Baliira, run into seven open kandaks, or canals, which discharge into the neighbouring lake. These trenches, never being cleaned, emit an unbearable stench, to which the natives formerly attributed the exceeding healthiness of Tunis, which, however, is probably due to the north winds, liut the districts watered by these foetid streams are precisely those on which the new quarters are to be built. Hence the urgent necessity of a main drainage system for the collection of the sewage, and its chemical treatment at some distance from the town. Although there is not yet a sufficient supply of water for all requirements, there is still enough to put an end to the abominable smells which, no less than the perfumes of its flowers, have procured for Tunis the surname of " the odorous." The question of rendering Tunis, and more especially the French quarter, healthy, is connected with that of the new port, which it is proposed to construct in the neighbourhood of the present " Marina." On the solution of this problem depend the future prospects of Tunis. Large ships are at present obliged to anchor off Golctta, about half a mile from the shore, and passengers and merchandise have to be landed in steamboats or rafts, which penetrate up the narrow canal, either discharging their cargo on the quays of Goletta, or proceeding to Tunis across the shallow la^^oon. In rough weather, the passage from the vessel to the shore is not wuiiout danger, and the cargoes are very often damaged by the sea water. Masts rising above the water mark the sites of sunken vessels, whose keels obstruct the approaches to the coast. The heavy charges for passengers and goods between the port and the offing are also a great obstacle to the development of trade. Since Tunis has been connected N'ith Bona by a direct line of railway, and a double stream f)f traffic established with the interior through the custom-house station of Ghar- iliinau, the commercial movement has been largely diverted to Algeria, thanks especially to the superior advantages of the port of Bona. Even from Tunis itself goods have been forwarded direct to Europe through this port. Hence the urge^t importance of re-establishing the natural balance by creating a well- sheltered and commodious harlwur at this place. For this purpose it is proposed to form a deep entry in the roadstead by means of jetties, and to continue this channel by a cutting ■outh of the town, and of the narrow passage now followed by the boats, which is