Page:Africa by Élisée Reclus, Volume 4.djvu/108

 everlasting snows and ice of the Antarctic regions. In order to keep up constant and regular intercourse with the civilised world, the colonists have to traverse thousands of miles of the great oceanic highways in the direction of Great Britain, of India, and Australasia. The nearest continental headland to the Cape is the

southern extremity of the New World, which is still distant 3,250 miles. Tasmania, which forms the third terminal point of the continents tapering southwards, lies about 6,000 miles to the east. Consequently, until the South African settlements become consolidated in one vast and populous state, with still more