At the club I met a gentleman whose moderate way of expressing himself
made me regard him as being inclined to be impartial, and when urged to
give his views, he said that "undoubtedly there were great grievances
which every well-wisher of the State would desire to see removed. The
administration was so corrupt that it was difficult to get a Boer
official to attend to any business, unless his palm was oiled
beforehand. The officials had got into the habit of excusing themselves
from doing their duties because they were overwhelmed with work, or that
they had no time. It is a way they have of hinting that unless it is
made worth their while, they will not put themselves out to do what they
are paid to do by Government. Many companies understand this so well
that they set apart a fund from the profits to meet this necessity. You
know, perhaps, that the Dynamite Concession is one of the most corrupt
things in the State. One member of the Raad gets five shillings a case,
and the Government pocket ten shillings for every case of dynamite sold
in the Republic. When we know that forty-seven shillings would be a
sufficient price for a case of dynamite, to invoice a case at forty
shillings higher shows that some people must have grand pickings. Were
the mines in full operation they would consume about 250,000 cases, and
this extortion of 2 pounds a case means 500,000 blackmail on the mining
industry. Then the railway administration is just as bad. The tariff
is abnormally heavy. The first-class fares are greatly in excess, and
as for freight charges, you can imagine how high they were when it was
proved during the drift closure that ox-wagons could make the transport
as cheaply as the railway."
"Then you appear to justify Rhodes in his attempt to rectify this?" I
said.
"No, I do not; but all that he stated before the Parliamentary Committee
about the abuses is perfectly true. I cannot, however, absolve him for
attempting to promote a revolution to effect a change. But about this
corruption at Pretoria. I do not blame the Boers so much as I blame the
Hollanders and our Jews here. They are the real causes of the disorders
in the State. The corruption was started by the Hollanders, and the
Jews have been only too willing to resort to bribery, until the share
market has become demoralised. These fellows unite together to
discredit a mine, until there is no option but to close it. Many of the
mines have been closed through their intrigues. Mine is one of them,
for instance."