MR. RHODES
Of the chief personage in the political and financial history of
South Africa it is desirable we should know something definite,
though space does not allow of any long appreciation of all he has
accomplished for the advancement of the empire. The Right Hon. Cecil
John Rhodes was born in 1853. He was the fourth son of the late Rev.
Francis W. Rhodes, Rector of Bishop Stortford. In 1871 he went to
South Africa, there to join his brother Herbert, who was engaged in
cotton-growing in Natal. His constitution was delicate, and it was
believed that a journey to the Cape would be beneficial to him. In
1872 he returned in much better health to England, and entered Oriel
College, Oxford. While there he contracted a chill, and found
himself again under orders to return to South Africa. At that time
Herbert Rhodes had forsaken cotton-growing, and had become
fascinated by the prospect of wealth offered by the diamond fields
in the locality now known as Kimberley. The two youths joined hands,
and in 1873 we find the elder brother leaving his claim in charge of
the younger, the hard-working, astute, and masterful Cecil, whose
name has become almost a household word. The young man, who took his
degree at Oxford in the interval of his work, brought to every task
he attempted an educated mind and a certain dogged obstinacy, which
caused him to surmount all difficulties. He prospered amazingly. But
money, instead of numbing his activities, only sharpened them, and
he soon began to formulate his ideal--the Utopian dream of an
entirely British Africa from the Cape to the Zambesi!
[Illustration: THE MATABELE WAR--DEFENDING A LAAGER.
Drawing by R. Caton Woodville.]
His most conspicuous financial work was the De Beers Company, of
which we have treated elsewhere. From one big venture he went to
others more gigantic still. The famous Chartered Company and the
splendid province of Rhodesia came virtually into existence as the
result of his magnificent foresight. In 1881, in Basutoland, Mr.
Rhodes, the newly-elected member for Barkly West, had the good
fortune to meet General Gordon, who was struck at once by the
immense ability of the young man. In character, it seems, they were
the extremes that meet! These two men, of equally strong
personality, had an antagonism of character which, clashing, gave
forth a resonance that was vastly inspiriting.
Gordon and Rhodes would take long walks together, and discuss the
affairs of nations. The General, who was as dictatorial as his
associate, on several occasions severely criticised the opinions of
young Rhodes. "You always contradict me," he declared. "I never met
such a man for his own opinion. You think your views are always
right, and every one else's wrong. You are," he went on to say, "the
sort of man who never approves of anything unless you have had the
organising of it yourself."
It was a new edition of the pot calling the kettle black, and
afforded much amusement to onlookers.
On another occasion Gordon begged him to remain in Basutoland and
work with him, but Rhodes refused. He demonstrated that his work lay
in Kimberley, and there he would remain. "There are very few men in
the world," argued Gordon, "to whom I would make such an offer. Very
few men, I can tell you; but, of course, you _will_ have your own
way."
Once, when they were together, Gordon related to Rhodes the story of
an offer of a room full of gold which had been made to him by the
Chinese Government, after the suppression of the Tai-Ping revolt.
"What did you do?" asked Rhodes. "Refused it, of course. What would
you have done?" said Gordon. "I would have taken it," answered
Rhodes, "and as many more roomfuls as they would give me. It is no
use for us to have big ideas if we have not got the money to carry
them out."
When Gordon went to Khartoum he invited Rhodes to accompany him, but
Rhodes refused. He accepted the offer made by the same post of the
Treasurer-Generalship in the Scanlin Ministry. In 1884 he became
Deputy-Commissioner for Bechuanaland, which, as the key to South
Africa, he determined to keep under his watchful eye. He was at the
same time Treasurer-General of Cape Colony. In 1889 he became
Director of the British South Africa Company and Chairman till the
fiasco of 1896, at which time he was Premier of Cape Colony. In
addition to holding these posts, his activities have been unending.
He has been the moving spirit in every enterprise for the expansion
and development of South Africa. He has gained the esteem of the
loyal Dutch, and has succeeded in making himself feared if not
beloved by the disloyal. His great work of attempting to weld
together the two races into one united people is for the nonce
suspended, but should life be spared him he will doubtless see the
realisation of his dream. In addition to his other labours Mr.
Rhodes was Commissioner of the Crown Lands in 1890-94, Minister of
Native Affairs 1894-95, and served in Matabeleland in 1896.
RHODESIA--UNCIVILISED
In sketching the history of Rhodesia it is necessary to go at least
as far back as our friend Chaka, the great chieftain of the Zulus,
whose military prowess has been described. In the days of this
warlike personage, Matshobane, who governed the Matabele tribe on
the north-west of Zululand, preferred to submit to Chaka rather than
to be "eaten up." Matshobane was the grandfather of Lobengula, who
is intimately associated with the infant history of this promising
country. His son Mosilikatze, however, was not so amenable to Zulu
discipline. He broke out, annihilated all men, women, and children
who happened to come in his way, and betook himself finally to
remote regions where he had no masters save the lions. Later on, in
1837, he conceived the ingenious notion of exterminating all the
white men north of the Orange River; but the white men were too much
for him, and so he promptly retired to fresh fields and pastures
new--in fact, to the country now known as Matabeleland. Its
inhabitants were then settled between the Limpopo and the Zambesi.
Here he again carried on his fell work of extermination. Of the
horrors of his triumphant progress nothing need be said. They are
best left to the imagination. It is enough to explain that the
tribes of the Makalas, Mashonas, and others that happened to be in
the way, were speedily wiped out. The Matabele, reigning in this
vast now almost desolate region, soon became the terror of other
tribes. The ravagers continued their fiendish operations, and
finally set up military kraals and installed their chief in the
principal of these at Buluwayo.
How long this state of things would have endured it is difficult to
say. Fortunately there appeared on the scene a man--The Man--who
conceived in his mighty brain a way to clear this Augean stable and
transform it into a comparative fairyland. Mr. Cecil Rhodes came--he
saw--and he conquered in all senses of the word. He decided that
British civilisation must be extended to this "hinter-land"--as the
Boers called it--and, being a keen man of the world and no
sentimentalist, he argued, moreover, that British civilisation might
be made to pay its way! The idea that Mr. Rhodes is "the walking
embodiment of an ideal," without personal ambition in his schemes,
is as absolutely absurd as are the reverse pictures that have been
painted of him. He is no angel and no ogre, Mr. Rhodes is one of
Nature's sovereigns, who, conscious of his power and the limitations
of human life, uses every minute at his disposal to write his name
large in the records of his country. And, since his name is large,
he wants as a natural consequence a large and clear area to write it
in, and that area he means to have!
[Illustration: MATABELELAND.]
Now, Mr. Rhodes had decided that the British were the best
administrators of South Africa, and that if the British shirked the task
it would be undertaken by some other nation. He saw the key to South
Africa in his hands--he saw the Boer overspreading his borders, he saw
Germans and Portuguese intriguing for footholds--there was but one
course open, and he followed it. On the 30th of November 1888,
Lobengula, the chief of the Matabele, signed a document giving the
British the right to search for and extract minerals in his territory.
Upon that the British South Africa Company was started. In 1889 a
charter was granted by the Imperial Government. The Company was created
with a capital of one million sterling. There were eight directors,
three appointed by the Crown, and five elected by the shareholders. Mr.
Cecil Rhodes occupied the position of managing director. In a brief
space of time the wildernesses and the forests were traversed, roads
were made, and a strong protective force installed in the country. Dr.
Jameson was appointed administrator at Salisbury. A railroad was planned
and forts were built. These were occupied by the Company's police.
While the pioneers were at work prospecting for gold, and improving
the country in all manner of ways, Lobengula became cantankerous. It
must be remembered that he suffered from gout, for which he was
treated by Dr. Jameson. Now, Lobengula without gout was sufficiently
savage to cause much apprehension; with it, it is impossible to
describe the nature of the alarm he must have occasioned. He fell
out first with the Mashonas for trivial reasons, and murders were
committed. Dr. Jameson then came to the conclusion that, if the
place was to be held at all, Lobengula must be crushed. More
commotions followed. The Matabeles and Mashona tribes between them
contrived to render the country uninhabitable. The peaceable
Europeans would stand it no longer. The Matabele war ensued.
The High Commissioner gave Dr. Jameson permission to protect the
country, and the forces advanced in two columns upon Buluwayo. Major
Patrick Forbes acted as commander-in-chief, with Major Alan Wilson
as next in command. This column, with guns, baggage, and attendant
blacks (who assisted as camp-followers), kept as much as possible to
open country to avoid surprise. They marched from the Iron-mine
Hill, at the source of the Tokwe River.
The second column, commanded by Colonel Goold Adams, was composed in
equal numbers of Bechuanaland police and South Africa Company's
mounted men. In all they numbered about 450. It was accompanied by
some 1500 Bemangwats under their chief.
With Major Forbes's column were Dr. Jameson, Sir John Willoughby,
and Bishop Knight Bruce. The advance was carefully managed. The
column destroyed all military kraals in its line of march,
skirmishing at times, but cautiously providing against attacks of
the enemy. One of these attacks took place while the force was in
laager, on the 25th of October. A Matabele army, 5000 strong, made
three savage onslaughts, but were driven back on each occasion with
heavy loss.
The column still continued to advance, and Lobengula, hearing of its
victory and approach, sent forth to meet it a company of pure Zulus,
the flower of his army.
The Imbezu and Ingubo in front of the Matabele army then approached
the laager that was being formed near the source of the Imbembesi
River. They advanced with all their accustomed dash, and a warlike
intrepidity worthy of Chaka, their renowned ancestor.
But they could make no stand against the Maxim and machine guns, and
in a few hours all was over. Lobengula's day was practically done!
On hearing of the victory he set fire to his kraal himself, and fled
towards the Zambesi, leaving his magazine, whenever the flames
should reach it, to explode with ferocious uproar.
In November 1893 the Chartered Company's force came into possession
of the smoking, deserted region. Messengers were sent in search of
the chief. Lobengula was courteously advised to surrender. His
personal safety was assured to him by Dr. Jameson, but he refused to
listen. Efforts were then made to capture him. After a long and
fatiguing march, news was brought in that Lobengula's waggons had
been seen on the road the day before.
Major Wilson, with a well-mounted party, went off to follow the
spoor, being advised to return before dark. This he did not do. He
remained for the night beyond the Shangani River, and by daylight
reached the waggons of the chief.
Lobengula's followers immediately attacked the small company of
thirty-four Europeans, which was speedily annihilated. Some of these
might have escaped, but they preferred, though largely outnumbered,
to fight side by side with their comrades till the last!
Very little remains to be told. Lobengula endeavoured to arrange
terms with the British force, but his messengers and money never
reached their destination. Babyane and four other indunas--followed
after a few days by others--came to inquire what terms of peace
would be granted. They were required to surrender their arms before
returning to their kraals, which they did with alacrity. Most of the
natives followed their example, being well satisfied with British
rule. The death of Lobengula, of fever and gout, in January 1894 put
an end to further complications.
RHODESIA--CIVILIZED
So far we have seen the establishment of the British in a hitherto
absolutely savage arena. It may be interesting to hear what
travellers have had to say regarding the region that has recently
become our own. Its present aspect, and its prospects for the
future, are best learnt from authorities who have personally
inspected the place. Mr. Charles Boyd discourses thus on the
subject:--
"When you have got out of the train before the corrugated iron
building which stands on the edge of the illimitable grey, green
veldt, to mark where the great station of the future is to arise,
there is one feature of Buluwayo which is making ready to seize hold
upon you. It is not, perhaps, the most important feature, but it is
conspicuous enough to entitle it to a first place in any jotting of
local impressions. It is what a logician might call the
_differentia_ of Buluwayo. Put it bluntly it comes to this, that you
have arrived in a community of gentlemen. A stranger making his way
about the brown streets, neat brick and corrugated iron buildings
set down on red earth, and divided into alternate avenues and
streets--'little New York,' said a policeman complacently--a
stranger pauses to ask himself if he dreams, or if the Household
Brigade, the Bachelors' Club, and the Foreign Office have depleted
themselves of their members, and sent them, disguised in
broad-brimmed hats and riding-breeches, to hold the capital of
Matabeleland. Young men of the most eligible sort are everywhere.
Some of them are manifestly youthful, others are well on in the
thirties, there is even a sprinkling of men of years; but the mass
of the population presents the same aspect of physical fitness, that
indefinable something besides, which is perhaps not to be expressed
save under the single head of 'race.'" In fact, our authority
asserts that nowhere can be found a healthier, shrewder, or
friendlier set of men. He believes in them, and in the discipline
that has toughened them to meet the real needs of life, and kept
them alive to a sense of their political and social importance. He
says--
"Buluwayo now possesses a population of 5000, a mayor and
corporation, daily and weekly papers, and several public buildings,
including banks, clubs, and an hospital built as a memorial to Major
Wilson.
"The rapid increase in the value of land at Buluwayo is shown by the
fact that whilst in 1894 the average price of a town stand was L103,
in 1897 it had advanced to L345. By the opening of the railway, in
November 1897, it is placed in direct communication with Cape
Town, and a still greater increase in value may be anticipated."
[Illustration: "TO THE MEMORY OF BRAVE MEN."
THE LAST STAND OF MAJOR WILSON ON THE SHANGANI RIVER, 1893.
Painting by Allan Stewart.
Reproduced by special arrangement with the Fine Art Society,
London.]
Things in Rhodesia are as yet expensive, but Mr. Boyd thinks that
railroads will have a cheapening influence. He quotes some present
prices, which would make the hair of a Londoner stand on end!
Imagine the feelings of the comfortable cockney who found himself
face to face with a breakfast bill for nine shillings! For this
modest sum Mr. Boyd was supplied with tea, ham, eggs, marmalade, and
toast, in fact, the little commonplace things that we have come to
consider as the natural fixtures of the metropolitan table!
Of the library, whose foundation-stone was laid by Sir Alfred
Milner, he speaks in highly favourable terms. He says that in laying
the foundation-stone no one seemed more keenly impressed than the
High Commissioner himself. He prophesied the foundation of a rich
university at Buluwayo to replace that other and easy one which a
library is avowed to supply. At this some one smiled. But Sir Alfred
rebuked him for the frivolity. He had seen enough, Sir Alfred
declared, of the temper of this place, to believe a university at
Buluwayo to be a consummation neither fanciful nor impossible. In
regard to the agrestic qualities of this new district, Mr. H.
Marshall Hole has spoken at some length in an article which appeared
in an issue of _Colonia_, a magazine published by the Colonial
College, Hollesley Bay, Suffolk. He declares that "the great
advantage of Rhodesia as an agricultural country is the facility
with which irrigation can be carried on; the conformation of the
land is undulating, and even the so-called 'flats' are intersected
in all directions by valleys, each of which possesses its
watercourse, so that by the simple expedient of throwing a dam
across these valleys, water may be stored and led on to the adjacent
fields as required. The soil is in all parts naturally fertile, but
the farmer sometimes has great difficulty in reducing it to a proper
state for cultivation, owing to the roots and growth which must be
exterminated before the seed is sown. The strongest ploughs and the
most careful harrowing are required for this work, otherwise the
settler will have to face the annoyance and delay of broken
ploughshares, and the disaster of a crop choked by tangle-grass and
weeds. The crops to which farmers have hitherto most devoted
themselves in Rhodesia are mealies (maize) and forage (oat hay).
These find a ready market at all times, as they form the staple food
of horses. The next most popular crop is potatoes, which do well,
are not liable to disease, and are in so great request that they
sometimes fetch 1s. 6d., and seldom fall below 3d. per pound in the
market. All kinds of English vegetables prosper with very little
trouble, beyond careful watering in dry weather, and weeding during
the rains; but, for some unexplained reason, vegetable culture is
left almost entirely to the coolies or Indians, who, despite their
very primitive methods of irrigation and tillage, make immense
profits thereby."
Further on he says that farms of about 3000 acres may be bought at
from L250 to L2000, according to their situation as regards
neighbouring towns, or the extent of cultivation done on them; and
while the farmer will not derive much more than a bare subsistence
for the first year or two, he may, by combining dairy-farming and
timber-cutting with his more extensive operations, make both ends
meet at any rate, and enhance the value of his land without being
out of pocket. One with a small capital has, of course, a better
chance of immediate profit, and such an one would do well to join
some established and experienced man in partnership, or as a pupil,
in order to learn something of the business before entering it
finally. His advice to adventurous youth is, "By all means go, if
you can manage to put together enough money to pay your passage and
to keep yourself for two or three months after your arrival."
Of the towns he speaks appreciatively. "We have buildings of a very
substantial type, built for the most part of brick. There are blocks
of rooms which form bachelor 'diggings' for single men, and small
but comfortable suburban houses for families, while the railways on
the east and west afford facilities for the importation of excellent
furniture. Eight years ago it was so difficult to obtain furniture
that every little packing case was carefully treasured, its nails
drawn out and straightened, and its boards converted into tables,
stools, and shelves. To-day it is no uncommon thing to find pianos
and billiard tables in private houses in Buluwayo, and even in
Salisbury, which has not yet been reached by the railway, while the
club-houses at both places are models of comfort and luxury."
A writer, who signs himself "W. E. L.," in _British Africa_ says of
Rhodesia, "That the soil is mostly very fertile; in Matabeleland
alone 6000 square miles are suitable for cultivation without any
artificial irrigation, or other extensive preliminary work. In 1891,
a commission of Cape Colony farmers visited the country, and
reported favourably on the land from an agricultural standpoint. Mr.
Lionel Decle said, 'I am the first traveller who has crossed Africa
from the Cape to Uganda, and I must say the British South Africa
Company may certainly boast of possessing the pick of Central Africa
on both sides of the Zambesi.'
"Teak forests cover 2000 square miles in North-West Matabeleland;
and Mashonaland is very well timbered, mostly with trees of the
acacia family.
"The native crops are rice, tobacco, cotton, and india-rubber. All
European vegetables can be grown to perfection, especially
cabbages, lettuces, beetroot, turnips, carrots, and onions. There
were in 1897 over eighty market gardens in the neighbourhood of
Buluwayo, and for the half-year ending September 1897, the value of
the produce sold was L9630.
"Fruit orchards are being planted, and nearly all fruit appears to
flourish, especially grapes, figs, oranges, peaches, almonds,
walnuts, lemons, bananas, quinces, apricots, pomegranates, and
apples. All kinds of European cereals can be grown, and maize does
well.
"The average rainfall is 30 to 35 inches, 90 per cent. of which
falls during the wet season--November to March.
"The temperature rarely touches freezing point, except on the
highlands round Salisbury and Fort Charter, and owing to the great
elevation (4000 to 5000 feet) of most of the country, rarely exceeds
90 deg. in the shade. In the low-lying Zambesi valley, however, it is
very hot from December to March."
Of the mineral wealth, it seems as yet dangerous to prognosticate.
Prophecies are many, and there is every reason to believe that the
mines will be prolific as those of the Transvaal. In regard to this
matter, however, time alone can show.
GOLD
It may be remembered that in and after 1854, the Boers commenced to
block up the path of travellers, and in some cases to cause
expulsion of visitors across the Vaal. Doubtless this policy of
expulsion originated in the nefarious traffic in "apprentices,"
which they wished to carry on uninterruptedly, but there was also
another reason for their precautions. Stray discoveries of gold had
been made from time to time, and gold prospectors began to take an
uncomfortable interest in the district. Now the Boers had no desire
to open up their country to the mining population, or to run any
risks which might interfere with their hardly won independence.
After the discoveries of the German explorer Manch, however, they
were unable entirely to resist invasion. The ears of the public were
tickled. The hint of nuggets in the Transvaal naturally drew thither
a horde of adventurous Europeans who would not be denied. The first
immigrants betook themselves to Barberton, and some three or four
years later to the Witwatersrandt. These appear mostly to have been
Scotsmen, for President Burgers christened the earliest goldfields
Mac Mac, in consequence of the names of the invaders. Miners and
speculators of all kinds commenced to pour into those districts,
some to make a fortune as quickly as possible, and rush off to
spend it elsewhere, others to settle themselves in the country and
develop schemes for financial outlay, profitable alike to themselves
and to the land of their adoption. Now these permanent visitors were
scarcely appreciated by the Boers. They foresaw the alien
transformed into the citizen, and objected to him. The power which
they had acquired, both by long years of hardship and long hours of
scheming, they wished to keep entirely in their own hands. With the
arrival of further settlers they feared this independence would be
materially weakened. In order that further possible citizens might
not be attracted to the Transvaal, the Volksraad passed a law
calculated to damp their ardour. This law imposed on all candidates
for the franchise a residence of five years, to be accompanied by
register on the Field Cornet's books, and a payment of L25 on
admission to the rights of citizenship.
The first discoverers of the great goldfield are reported to be the
Brothers Struben, owing to whose perseverance and patience the
Witwatersrandt became the Eldorado of speculators' dreams. In 1886
this locality was declared a public goldfield by formal
proclamation, and the South African golden age began.
In a little while the regions north of the Limpopo began to be
investigated, and each in their turn to yield up their treasures. In
1888 a concession to work mineral upon his territory was obtained
from Lobengula, the Matabele king. A year later the British South
Africa Company was founded. The Company having obtained its charter,
no time was lost. In 1890, we find the now noted pioneer expedition
plying its activities in Mashonaland.
Mr. Basil Worsfold, in a most instructive article in the
_Fortnightly Review_, affords an excellent insight into the energy
that characterised the Company's proceedings:--"In the space of
three months, a road 400 miles in length was cut through jungle and
swamp, and a series of forts was erected and garrisoned by the
Company's forces. After the Matabele war, which occupied the closing
months of 1893, the prospecting and mining for gold was commenced in
Matabele, as well as in Mashonaland, and at the present time
Buluwayo, Lobengula's kraal, has become the chief centre of the
industry. These operations were checked by the revolt of the
Matabele and Mashona in 1896, but since that period gold mining has
been steadily progressing. The Buluwayo yield for December 1898
amounted to 6258 oz.: while that of the four last months--September
to December--of the same year was 18,084 oz., of the value of about
L70,000!"
[Illustration: A MATABELE RAID IN MASHONALAND.
Drawn by W. Small, from Sketches by A. R. Colquhoun, First
Administrator of Mashonaland.]
The other fields which yield gold are the Transvaal, Lydenberg, and
De Kaap fields, and the Klerksdorp and Potchefstrom fields. The
output of these fields continues to grow apace, but how much
longer the growth will be maintained is uncertain. The opinion of
Mr. Hamilton Smith, who wrote to the _Times_ on the subject in 1895,
is worth consideration. He says, "In 1894 the value of the Randt
gold bullion was L7,000,000, and this without any increase from the
new deep-level mines; these latter will become fairly productive in
1897, so for that year a produce of fully L10,000,000 can be fairly
expected. Judging from present appearances, the maximum product of
the Randt will be reached about the end of the present century, when
it will probably exceed L12,500,000 per annum."
It is interesting to find that Mr. Smith's maximum figure was
already exceeded in the year 1898, when the total yield of gold was
4,295,602 oz., valued at L15,250,000!
The following table, based on Mr. H. Smith's and Dr. Soetbeer's
estimates, affords us an opportunity for comparing the South African
output with that of other countries, and the world's present supply
with that of former years:--
GOLD OUTPUT FOR 1894. | WORLD'S OUTPUT.
------------------------------------------------------------------
| Average annual
Value | From value.
United States L9,000,000 | 1700 to 1859 L 2,000,000
Australasia 8,000,000 | 1850 to 1875 25,000,000
South Africa 7,000,000 | 1875 to 1890 20,000,000
Russia (1892) 4,000,000 | 1894 (one year only) 36,000,000
Of the stimulus given to railway construction by the establishment
of the gold industry Mr. Worsfold speaks with authority. He says,
"To-day, Johannesburg--built on land which in 1886 was part of an
absolutely barren waste--is approached by three distinct lines,
which connect it directly with the four chief ports of South
Africa--Delagoa Bay, Durban, Port Elizabeth, and Cape Town. Of these
lines the earliest, which traverses the Free State from end to end,
and links the Randt with the Cape Colony, was not opened until July
1892. The Pretoria-Delagoa Bay line was completed in the autumn of
1894; and the extension of the Randt railway to Charlestown, the
connecting-point with the Natal line, was not effected until the
following year. These, together with some subsidiary lines,
represent a total of 1000 miles of railway constructed mainly under
the stimulus of the gold industry in the Transvaal. To this total
two considerable pieces of railway construction, accomplished in the
interest of the gold industry in the Chartered Company's
territories, must be added. Of these, the first extended the main
trunk line of Africa from Kimberley successively to Vryburg and
Mafeking, in 1890 and 1894, and then finally to Buluwayo in 1897,
and the second, the Beira line, by securing a rapid passage through
the 'fly country,' brought Salisbury into easy communication with
the East Coast of Africa at the port so named. Taken together, they
measure 930 miles. It should be added also that arrangements are
already in progress for the extension of the trunk line from
Buluwayo to Tanganyika--a distance of about 750 miles. This will
form a new and important link in Mr. Rhodes' great scheme of
connecting Cape Town with Cairo."
The telegraph advanced more speedily even than railroads, and the
population has kept pace with wire and rail. Johannesburg has a
population of 120,800 souls, and Buluwayo, a savage desert not long
ago, has now an European society of over 5000 persons. It is
therefore somewhat questionable if Mr. Froude is justified in his
opinion that diamonds and gold are not the stuff of which nations
are made. Nations, if they are to expand, must be fed, and while
diamond and gold mines give up of their wealth, we are assured of
sufficient food to foster expansion. That done, it remains merely
with the Government of the flourishing nation to decide whether its
work shall be little or large.
It is curious to note that in spite of the disturbance in the
Transvaal the mines continued to maintain their position, with the
result that the gold output from the Randt for July shows a
considerable increase upon previous months. According to the
official figures received from the Chamber of Mines, the returns
were as follows:--
456,474 ozs. for the Witwatersrandt district
22,019 ozs. for the outside district
--------
478,493 ozs.
The production in June 1899 was:--
445,763 ozs. for the Witwatersrandt district
21,508 ozs. for the outside district
--------
In all 467,271 ozs.
And in July 1898:--
359,343 ozs. for the Witwatersrandt district
22,663 ozs. for the outside district
--------
In all 382,006 ozs.
This table shows that during the twelve months since July 1898 the
production of gold on the Randt has increased by 100,000 ozs. a
month--equivalent to 1,200,000 ozs. a year. It will be found that,
if these returns are compared with the estimates made by competent
authorities, the actual output is far in excess of all estimates,
following is the gold output table, Transvaal, to July 1899:--
+----------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+----------------+
| MONTH. | 1895. | 1896. | 1897. | 1898. | 1899. | TOTAL TO DATE. |
+----------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+----------------+
| | Ozs. | Ozs. | Ozs. | Ozs. | Ozs. | Ozs. |
|January | 177,463 | 148,178 | 209,832 | 336,577 | 431,010 | 369,557--1889 |
|February | 169,296 | 167,019 | 211,000 | 321,238 | 425,166 | 42,000--'87-8-9|
|March | 184,945 | 173,952 | 232,067 | 347,643 | 464,036 | 494,817--1890 |
|April | 186,323 | 176,003 | 235,698 | 353,243 | 460,349 | 729,238--1891 |
|May | 194,580 | 195,009 | 248,305 | 365,016 | 466,452 | 1,210,867--1892|
|June | 200,942 | 193,640 | 251,529 | 365,091 | 467,271 | 1,478,473--1893|
|July | 199,453 | 203,874 | 242,479 | 382,006 | 478,493 | 2,024,163--1894|
|August | 203,573 | 213,418 | 259,603 | 398,285 | ... | 2,277,640--1895|
|September | 194,765 | 202,562 | 262,150 | 408,502 | ... | 2,281,175--1896|
|October | 192,652 | 199,890 | 274,175 | 423,217 | ... | 3,034,674--1897|
|November | 195,219 | 201,113 | 297,124 | 413,517 | ... | 4,555,009--1898|
|December | 178,429 | 206,517 | 310,712 | 440,674 | ... | 3,193,777--1899|
+----------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+----------------+
|Total |2,277,640|2,281,175|3,034,674|4,555,009|3,193,777|21,899,562 ozs. |
+----------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+----------------+
Government Returns; some additions to be made for Rhodesia.
DIAMONDS
The discovery of diamonds in South Africa was made by a curious
accident. One day a trader travelling along in the neighbourhood
north of Cape Colony happened to stop at a farm. While there, he was
interested in a small child who was toying with a bright and
singularly lustrous pebble. His curiosity was aroused, and he
suggested that the thing might be rare enough to be of some value.
Thereupon the stone was sent to an expert in Grahamstown, who
declared it to be a diamond. The stone weighed twenty-one carats and
was valued at L500. From that date search was made in and around the
locality, and more diamonds, smaller and of inferior quality, were
found. During the years 1867-68 nothing very active was done, though
now and again these precious stones were discovered near the Vaal
River.
In the month of March, 1869, the world was startled and began to
open its eyes. The diamond known as "the Star of Africa," weighing
some eighty-three carats in its raw state, was obtained from a
Hottentot. This individual had been in possession of the valuable
property for some time, and had kept it solely on account of its
rarity as a charm. The stone was eventually sold for the sum of
L11,000.
The north bank of the Vaal where the discoveries were made was, at
that time, a species of "No-Man's-Land." The southern bank belonged
to the Free State, but for the other side there were many claimants,
none of whom could prove a title to it. The community of miners
which there gathered was consequently lawless and ruffianly, and its
mode of government was distinctly primitive.
The various claimants, notably the Griqua Captain, Nicholas
Waterboer, commenced disputes regarding the valuable portion of the
Free State territory, and finally it was decided to submit to
British arbitration. President Brand refused the offer, but
President M. W. Pretorius of the South African Republic, who had
grievances against the Barolong, Batlapin, and Griqua tribes,
agreed. A Court was appointed, the Governor of Natal acting as
umpire. The interests involved were many, and on the subject of
their rights the various claimants seemed somewhat hazy. The Free
State was not represented, and the umpire, acting on the evidence of
Mr. Arnot (the agent of Nicholas Waterboer) gave judgment against
the South African Republic, and allowed the claim of the Griqua
Captain, including in the award the tract claimed by him in the Free
State. The complicated situation is thus described by Mr. Bryce in
his "Impressions of South Africa":--
"As Waterboer had before the award offered his territory to the
British Government, the country was forthwith erected into a Crown
Colony, under the name of Griqualand West. This was in 1871. The
Free State, whose case had not been stated, much less argued, before
the umpire, protested, and was after a time able to appeal to a
judgment delivered by a British Court, which found that Waterboer
had never enjoyed any right to the territory. However, the new
Colony had by this time been set up, and the British flag displayed.
The British Government, without either admitting or denying the Free
State title, declared that a district in which it was difficult to
keep order amid a turbulent and shifting population ought to be
under the control of a strong power, and offered the Free State a
sum of L90,000 in settlement of whatever claim it might possess. The
acceptance by the Free State, in 1876, of this sum closed the
controversy, though a sense of injustice continued to rankle in the
breasts of some of the citizens of the Republic. Amicable relations
have subsisted ever since between it and Cape Colony, and the
control of the British Government over the Basutos has secured for
it peace in the quarter which was formerly most disturbed.
"These two cases show how various are the causes, and how mixed the
motives, which press a great power forward even against the wishes
of its statesmen. The Basutos were declared British subjects, partly
out of a sympathetic wish to rescue and protect them, partly because
policy required the acquisition of a country naturally strong,
and holding an important strategical position. Griqualand West,
taken in the belief that Waterboer had a good title to it, was
retained after this belief had been dispelled, partly perhaps
because a population had crowded into it which consisted mainly of
British subjects, and was not easily controllable by a small State,
but mainly because Colonial feeling refused to part with a region of
such exceptional mineral wealth. And the retention of Griqualand
West caused, before long, the acquisition of Bechuanaland, which in
its turn naturally led to that northward extension of British
influence which has carried the Union Jack to the shores of Lake
Tanganyika."
[Illustration: KIMBERLEY, AS SEEN FROM THE ROCK SHAFT.
Photo by Wilson, Aberdeen.]
Griqualand West, whose capital is the salubrious Kimberley, was
settled in 1833 by the Griquas or Baastards, a tribe of Dutch
Hottentot half-breeds. As we have seen, the territory was claimed by
the chief, Waterboer, and his claim was allowed by the Governor of
Natal. When he subsequently ceded his rights, the province was
annexed to Cape Colony, but with independent jurisdiction. In 1881
it became an integral part of Cape Colony. Griqualand East comprises
No-Man's-Land, the Gatberg and St. John's River territory, under
eight subordinate magistrates.
A word, before passing on, of Kimberley. This town, hitherto known
as the City of Diamonds, has now the distinction of being the casket
where Mr. Rhodes, with the price of L5000 on his head, was
incarcerated. Its real birth dates from 1869-70, when all the world
rushed out to win fortune from its soil. Happily at that time Mr.
Cecil Rhodes happened to be in the neighbourhood. With his usual
gift of foresight, he recognised that some process of amalgamating
the various conflicting claims and interests, and merging them in
one huge whole, would be necessary if the value of diamonds was to
be kept up. He invented a scheme, and succeeded--the great
corporation, the De Beers Consolidated Mining Company, limited the
output of diamonds to an annual amount such as Europe and the United
States were able to take at a price high enough to leave an adequate
profit. This arrangement has, in a measure, had the effect of
depopulating the place. At least it has thinned it of the crowd of
adventurers who previously infested the region and struggled to
maintain an independent existence there. In the absence of these
loafers the town is civilised, and comparatively refined. There are
groves of gum-trees to promote shade, and thickets of prickly pear,
which have ever a rural, though touch-me-not aspect. The
low-storeyed houses, built bungalow-wise, have an air of
capaciousness and ease; and further out, in Kenilworth, there are
comfortable dwellings, surrounded with trees, and suggestive of a
certain suburban picturesqueness. This region owes its cheerful and
well-ordered aspect entirely to Mr. Rhodes, who is at the same time
the parent and the apostle of all progress in South Africa.
The diamonds have their home in beds of clay, which are usually
covered with calcareous rock. These beds are the remains of mud
pits, due to volcanic action. Mr. Bryce, in his "Impressions of
South Africa, says:--
"Some of the mines are worked to the depth of 1200 feet by shafts
and subterranean galleries. Some are open, and these, particularly
that called the Wesselton Mine, are an interesting sight. This deep
hollow, one-third of a mile in circumference and 100 feet deep,
enclosed by a strong fence of barbed wire, is filled by a swarm of
active Kaffir workmen, cleaving the 'hard blue' with pickaxes,
piling it up on barrows, and carrying it off to the wide fields,
where it is left exposed to the sun, and, during three months, to
the rain. Having been thus subjected to a natural decomposition, it
is the more readily brought by the pickaxe into smaller fragments
before being sent to the mills, where it is crushed, pulverised, and
finally washed to get at the stones. Nowhere in the world does the
hidden wealth of the soil and the element of chance in its discovery
strike one so forcibly as here, where you are shown a piece of
ground a few acres in extent, and are told, 'Out of this pit
diamonds of the value of L12,000,000 have been taken.' Twenty-six
years ago the ground might have been bought for L50."
To encourage honesty in the miner good wages are given, and ten per
cent. is allowed to finders of valuable stones who voluntarily
deliver these to the overseer. Apropos of this subject, Mr. Bryce
relates an amusing tale, which, if not true, is certainly _ben
trovato_: "I heard from a missionary an anecdote of a Basuto who,
after his return from Kimberley, was describing how, on one
occasion, his eye fell on a valuable diamond in the clay he was
breaking into fragments. While he was endeavouring to pick it up he
perceived the overseer approaching, and, having it by this time in
his hand, was for a moment terribly frightened, the punishment for
theft being very severe. The overseer, however, passed on. 'And
then,' said the Basuto, 'I knew that there was indeed a God, for He
had preserved me.'"
Before leaving the subject of diamonds, it may be interesting to
note the material increase of the products of the mines year by
year. The following is a table of statistics of the De Beers
Consolidated Mines, Limited, since its formation, 1st April 1888:--
TABLE OF STATISTICS.
[Transcriber's Note: In order to fit into the limits required by
Project Gutenberg, this table has been split into three parts.]
+----------+----------------+---------+---------+-------------+---------------+
| |Year Ending | Number | Number | Number of |Amount Realised|
| | |of Loads |of Loads | Carats of | by Sale |
| | |of Blue |of Blue | Diamonds | of Diamonds. |
| | |Hoisted. | Washed. | Found | |
+----------+----------------+---------+---------+-------------+---------------|
| {|March 31, 1889, | | | | L s. d.|
| {|prior to | 944,706| 712,263| 914,121 | 901,818 0 5|
| {|consolidation | | | | |
|De Beers {|March 31, 1890 |2,192,226|1,251,245|1,450,605 |2,330,179 16 3|
|and {|March 31, 1891 |1,978,153|2,029,588|2,020,515 |2,974,670 9 0|
|Kimberley{|[A]June 30, 1892|3,338,553|3,239,134|3,035,481 |3,931,542 11 1|
|Mines {|June 30, 1893 |3,090,183|2,108,626|2,229,805 |3,239,389 8 6|
| {|June 30, 1894 |2,999,431|2,577,460|2,308,463-1/2|2,820,172 3 9|
| {|June 30, 1895 |2,525,717|2,854,817|2,435,541-1/2|3,105,957 15 8|
| {|June 30, 1896 |2,698,109|2,597,026|2,363,437-3/4|3,165,382 1 4|
| {|June 30, 1897 |2,515,889|3,011,288|2,769,422-3/4|3,722,099 3 3|
| | | | | | |
|Premier | | | | | |
|Mine |June 30, 1897 | 271,777| ... | ... | ... |
| | | | | | |
|De Beers | | | | | |
|and | | | | | |
|Kimberley | | | | | |
|Mines |June 30, 1898 |3,332,688|3,259,692|2,603,250 |3,451,214 15 3|
| | | | | | |
|Premier | | | | | |
|Mine |June 30, 1898 |1,146,984| 691,722| 189,356-1/4| 196,659 18 8|
+----------+----------------+---------+---------+-------------+---------------+
+----------+----------------+---------+-----------+-----------+----------+
| |Year Ending | Number | Amount | Amount |Cost of |
| | |of Carats| Realised | Realised |Production|
| | |per Load | per Carat | per Load. |per Load |
| | | of Blue.| Sold. | | |
+----------+----------------+---------+-----------+-----------+----------+
| {|March 31, 1889, | | | | |
| {|prior to | | s. d. | s. d. | s. d. |
| {|consolidation | 1.283 | 19 8-3/4 | 25 3-3/4 | 9 10-1/2 |
|De Beers {|March 31, 1890 | 1.15 | 32 6-3/4 | 37 2-3/4 | 8 10-1/2 |
|and {|March 31, 1891 | .99 | 29 6 | 29 3-3/4 | 8 8 |
|Kimberley{|[A]June 30, 1892| .92 | 25 6 | 23 5 | 7 4.3 |
|Mines {|June 30, 1893 | 1.05 | 29 0.6 | 30 6 | 6 11.6 |
| {|June 30, 1894 | .89 | 24 5.2 | 21 10.6 | 6 6.8 |
| {|June 30, 1895 | .85 | 25 6 | 21 8 | 6 10.8 |
| {|June 30, 1896 | .91 | 26 9.4 | 24 4.5 | 7 0.1 |
| {|June 30, 1897 | .92 | 26 10.6 | 24 8.6 | 7 4.3 |
| | | | | | |
|Premier | | | | | |
|Mine |June 30, 1897 | ... | ... | ... | ... |
| | | | | | |
|De Beers | | | | | |
|and | | | | | |
|Kimberley | | | | | |
|Mines |June 30, 1898 | .80 | 26 6.2 | 21 2.1 | 6 7.4 |
| | | | | | |
|Premier | | | | | |
|Mine |June 30, 1898 | .27 | 20 9.3 | 5 8.2 | 2 7.1 |
+----------+----------------+---------+-----------+-----------+----------+
+----------+----------------+----------+---------------------------------+
| |Year Ending | Number of| |
| | | Loads | DIVIDENDS PAID. |
| | |of Blue on| |
| | | Floors at+------------------+--------------+
| | | Close of | | |
| | | Year, | Amount. | Equal to |
| | | exclusive| | |
| | | of Lumps | | |
+----------+----------------+----------+------------------+--------------+
| {|March 31, 1889, | | | |
| {|prior to | | L s. d.| |
| {|consolidation | 476,403 | 188,329 10 0| 5 per cent. |
|De Beers {|March 31, 1890 |1,576,821 | 789,682 0 0| 20 " |
|and {|March 31, 1891 |1,525,386 | 789,791 0 0| 20 " |
|Kimberley{|[A]June 30, 1892|1,624,805 | 1,382,134 5 0| 35 " |
|Mines {|June 30, 1893 |2,606,362 | 987,238 15 0| 25 " |
| {|June 30, 1894 |3,028,333 | 987,238 15 0| 25 " |
| {|June 30, 1895 |2,699,233 | 987,238 15 0| 25 " |
| {|June 30, 1896 |2,800,316 | 1,579,582 0 0| 40 " |
| {|June 30, 1897 |2,304,917 | 1,579,582 0 0| 40 " |
| | | | | |
|Premier | | | | |
|Mine |June 30, 1897 | 271,777 | ... | ... |
| | | | | |
|De Beers | | | | |
|and | | | | |
|Kimberley | | | | |
|Mines |June 30, 1898 |2,377,913 |} | |
| | | |} | |
|Premier | | |} 1,579,582 0 0| 40 per cent. |
|Mine |June 30, 1898 | 727,039 |} | |
+----------+----------------+----------+------------------+--------------+
[A] These figures are for a period of fifteen months. Add
10 per cent. for other products.