TOPICS OF THE DAY

Press, Volume LVIII, Issue 11012, 9 July 1901, Page 4

TOPICS OF THE DAY

Now that the ques-1 The Wealth tion of taxing tli« pro- j of the Transvaal, fits of the mining com* ' ponies in the 'Trans- ' vaal is being considered, the information supplied by Mr Bleloch, one of the "Stan- j dard's" war correspondents in South Africa, ! in "his lately-published book on "The New South Africa," gives, in readable form, some valuable information as to the wealth of the conquered colony. This lies mainly, of course, in its goldfields, which are of three kinds, alluvial, quartz reefs, and a peculiar hard pebble bed, known as banket, from its resemblance to a popular sweetmeat. The •. banket formation supplies most of the gold that has been raised in the Transvaal. The j pebble beds of which it is composed are believed tby geologists to have been deposited in earlier ages on the shore of some ancient j sea. They vary in richness, the most vaiu- | able being /called the main reef. This com- j prises tliree, and sometimes four, distinct ! pebble b&dk, and has been proved to exist < for fifty miles and to go down at 3250 ft. The wealth of the Rand is proverbial. Between 1884 and 1898 the Transvaal produced gold

valued: at over seventy millions sterling.

It was not until 1889 that the production exceeded a million pounds, but in, 1898, the year before the war, it had reached the enormous sum of fifteen millions. Mr Bleloch has »et himself the almost impossible task of estimating the unexhausted wealth, and though for some reason he assumes that no more goldfielde will be discovered, he arrives afc conclusions which must be highly satisfactory to the British Chancellor of the Exchequer. The "main reef" of the Transvaal, he finds, alone contains a source of wealth sufficient "to pay any reasonable war debt, and to support in peace and plenty a great population of workers. It can offer a reward to capital in the shape of 730 millions or more in prospective profits, and, in addition, it has a purchasing power of

nearly 1400 million pounds' worth of labour, machinery, material, foodstuffs, and other goods, and it will pay for all these things in gold. It can help to keep the Old World industries busy for many years, besides providing a market for all the agricultural produce the old population of the Transvaal and a grand army of immigrants may find themselves able to supply. All that is required is an enlightened and equitable Government poboy, which will so order things that all will benefit—no one at the expense of

his neighbour."

The mining on the famed WitThe wateisrand, which made JoMining hannesburg one of the marvels Magnates, of the age, has been a matter for great engineering skill and inventive genius, and plenty of hard work. The capitalists who control the vast industry which has grown up within less than twenty years have been called many hard names. Mr Blelock practically admits that some qf their methods may be open to question but he gives them credit for action which perhaps has been rather overlooked. "They have contributed liberally ,to the various relief funds. They nave equipped and supported several splendid fighting corps, among others the famous Imperial Light Horse. Some of them have not done their duty fnerely by proxy, but have gone into the thi'<?k of the battle themselves, and fought with bravery and distinction. Further, they have expended immense sums in supporting their employees, by allowing them half-pay during the war. They have not been niggartily in parting with some of their wealth tb their fellow-men of the Rand since the pinch became severe. In fact, the great sums which they have provided voluntarily must, in nar>y cases, have proved! a serious drain on even their resources, especially seeing that the paymnts have been spread over k '.-ag period, when the mines were producing nothing, except what was taken by the enemy, and when the market value of t2re*%. properties was continually falling." With %ba return of peace the other mineral riches of the-Trans-vaal will no -doubt be exploited. Alluvial gold has up to the present been neglecteS, s and possibly may not be worth while troubling about on any large scale, but with the adr-ent of the gold dredge into Rhodesia, ! where river claims three times richer than the best in New Zealand' have (been predicted, some attempt will doubtless' be made to test the Transvaal rivers. There is also much lead, iron, copper, and coal in the country, and in time to come, when safety and good government are assured, the Transvaal should be one of the busiest and Richest coontras in the world.

7 r Not vonepwiected with the A.Plague plague oi noiaea in modem of Pianos. . cafci«e, witSk wfoicfc we dealt yesterday, was .a case beard lately ia a London Court wherein a p«eofclemab sought the aid of the law to mitigate the nuisMKje. ceased to hiia.ty tie piano practice in an adjoining mqooL Up to 1899, it appeara, ttere wm nothing to comptein about, bufe in that.y«*r a new maskroom, divided into ten cubicles, each containing a 'piano, was built close to the dividing wall. These pianos were the cause of all the diueomJort experienced the , petitioner. They were in almost constant use from 6.30 a.m. until' after nine o'clock a£ night, and sometimes until after ten o'clock. Each pupil played different pieces/sometimes descending as low in the range of melody as scales and fingerexercises, «nd sometimes going as high as Tchaikowski. The combined effort was none the more pleasing; in fact, Mrs Davraon, the complainant's wife, declared that when all ten pianos were going at once, and the skytigliU and windows were open, she and a friend could not hear each other speak in the garden. Tte concord of sweet sound j so affected the Davisons that even the cook j protested, and told the Judge that she often i had to leave the kitchen to "get away from the row," while-Mr Davison asserted that he must have an injunction or a etrait-waist-cc.it. The schoolmistress admitted that of her eighty-five .pupils fifty learned the piano, three the violin, and six einging. The architect declared that- the music-room was built on the most scientifically sound-proof lines, and tba* when the windows were closed aa.thab could be heard from the ten pianos was aT"subdued sound. . Possibly the architect waa fond c€;.mUsic, it is even imaginable iihafc he was slightly deaf, at any rate he did not live next cloor to fifty learners of the piano. An amicable arrangement was arrived at after all, tbe school authorities agreeing that there should be no practising before eight o'clock in the morning or after tea-time, and promising to keep «a the windows closed. The arrangement represented a decided gain for the Davisone, 1 with whom one feels a good deal of sym-.pa-thy.

■ The Russians are making Russia's almost superhuman efforts New Ice-free to conquer all the natural Port. disadvantages of their un- < wieldly empire, with ite frozen coaebs and; harbours. While still "expanding" in Siberia and Manchuria they are not neglecting to strengthen themselves in the homeland;. A most valuable addition to their power is Ekaterind, in Lapland, which supplies ithe long-felt want of a I European, port ice-free all the year round, the warm waters of a fragment of the Gulf 'Stream reaching it, and preventing it from being ever ice-blocked. In constructing this port great difficulties have 1 been overcome with characteristic Russian I determination. Wliaryes, warehouses, ar- \ senate, bawacke, and official residences have j all been "blasted into existence" from the rocky cliffs of granite that rise sheer above j the sea. The baapbour is capable of con- ' taimiinig a formidable fleet, which ail alarmist in the "Daily Mail" suggests "may saiddeftly issue forth and oft the third day be belching fire and destruction on the British coast." The.purpose of Russia is made clear by its latest national undertaking—• the construction of a great ship canal from the Lapland coast, connecting the White -. Sea with the Gulf of Finland, andi thus securing a short and , safe cut to the Baltic. jAH Northern Russia- is wakening into activity. .'Communication is already esta- '■ bliished with Moscow and St. Petersburg by the railway".that run*.through EkateI rina and Archangel. . A still longer railway: I joins thie line with the great Siberian trunk ! Mne. Both these are political lines, and ! feeders of the mew northern port, agents of commerce in times of peace, but also a highway-to carry munitions of war wHien the time comes. So, at least, tiinks Air Montefiore Brice.