SOUTH AFRICAN AFFAIRS

Press, Volume LXII, Issue 12452, 15 March 1906, Page 7

SOUTH AFRICAN AFFAIRS

» (raOM orn' own* coanKsroNDENT.) A JOHANNESBURG, January 30. A Constitution for tho Transvaal ha*, as you know, been framed for some considerable time, and the provisions it contained seemed to have met with tho approval of the- Jmgo balk of tho people JiX)st concrAed. Lately tho community on the Raud has been somewhat agitated lest tho Liberal Government should tinker with the said Constitution before it was put into operation which wo arc promised will be at a very 'early' date. The chief ground of fear that some of the clauses of .the Constitution might bo allowed rests in. tho fact that ex-lJeneral Smuts a> in England, and may have been urgiug t.ho Hot Yolk's views on the powers,-that is to increase tho value of the country vote. There may not be rc<kl grounds for assuming that tho Liberals, intend to seek to modify the Constitution aj^ drafted, yet at tJio same time it has tfben deemed expedient that the voice of the Transvaal should be heard protesting against amendment* of any kind. Tho Progretrsivo Party took the initiative in tho movement to thwart tho supposed machinations, that have been in progress in London. Large meetings have been jield in. Pretoria and elsewhere affirming that tho Constitution, as submitted for consideration to the people of \h& colony, was in every way acceptable, an/! that on no account should there Im> a-'departure- from the principal cf one voto one value. GERMANY'S LITTLE WAR. Talking of affaitts military leads mc to say that far from tho hope being realised that the. Daina.rlas.lund rebellion would be put down by tho Kaiser's birthday, it looks like as if the campaign would be a very protracted one. .. But little hiicccss has of lato come to the German arms. On the other hand, the Hottentots have made such suectsssfull raids as to denude tho Kaiser's troops of all available transport, e» much so that an entirely new outfit will have to bo requisitioned. l "' The rebels are in number as alnio.st as strong as over. THE MARKET. ■ Stagnation rules in tho local share market. For the simple reason that no transactions are taking place in nio«t stocks, these remain, at standstill prices. Tho very few in which there is any buying aoncl selling show a, fnllinig off in value. This i.s the case with the famous Premier Diamonds, ami as the country is directly concerned in the fortunes of the company, seeing that 60 per cent, of the profits conic to the Stat©, diminution, in tho output is a Kerious matter for tho Treasury. THE LABOUR QUESTION. The Government of Sir Henry Camp-bell-Bannerman have really been more kind to the "Randlords" tha.n was looked for, inasmuch as the requisitions for " additional Chinese that had boon sent in on the eve of the new Colonial Secretary, Lord Elgin, taking office- are to be allowed to stand. We will, therefore, have an augmentation of from 12,000 to 14,000 to the present number of yellow men within tho next few months. This will briiiig the army of Chinc&e on the main reef to well over 60,000, or .5000 in excess of tho number originally estimated as the maximum wanted to fulfil requirement. If the slavery cry influenced tho swelling of tho Liberal majority at Home, the elections were won on a false issue. Tho Chinese are, as a matter of fact, pampered to an excessive extent. The complaint of the dwellers on the Rand is that they, are allowed- far too much liberty. On a Chinese holiday, and the giving of tho national holidays is provided for in the contract terms, they flaunt about the streets of Johannesburg in cabs, and generally make themselves objectionable. On these days, at any rate, they appear, not •Hβ salves but as mast ere. On the mines they are much better housed and much. .befrUvr fed than tho Kaffirs. What ordinary mortals object to is that our own natives are not half so -well treated. It is passing strange that the,'people of England, while so solicitous about the Chinese, have no word to,say in regard to the blacks. Further the accepted .characteristics of the yellow man have not been borne out by tihe experience in the Rand mines. Instead of the Chinese turning out frugal; -patient, workera, they are just the opposite. They are indolent, have to be driven to their service, and have , litjtle or n<o * desire to improve their station. Far from.being content to lire "on. the , smell of an oil-rag" they dissipate all,, their earnings. One at least of the minor counts . against the employment ' > of Chinese, that they would spend noth-. ing, end consequently be of no benefit to "the white community, falls/to the ground. . / ■ VIEWS OF THE CHAMBER OF MINES. The Johannesburg Chamber of Mines, having regard to Lord Elgin's first dospatch announcing that' further impor- , tation must cease, prepared a statement of which the following is en-extract:— "The committee have invited information from the mining groups as to the effect on existing undertaking 'which, would be , produced- by the suspension of all farther importation. of Chinese and by tho repatriation at, the expiry, of their contracts of the coolies "who are or will be within the next few months at worit upon the Rand. t Aβ under such oircumstanoes more than one-third of tho existing supply of unskilled'labour ■ would be withdrawn, it would obviously be. impossible to carry on operations on anytliing like the same scale as at present, work would inevitably be concentrated by each group on the properties from which the best could bo obtained, and operations on tne properties would accordingly bo perforce • suspended. Tho effects which would bo thus produce! ere summarised in tho following ftgurce, which have been' sup- - plied by the group* above mentioned:— A The number of stamps now running which would be htPE up owing to certain companies having to suspend operations in-order to allow .of others on which work wculd be concentrated running their mills to full capacity is 3135. B. The.value of riant and machinery incidental to such. 3135 stamps" is £11,235,750. C. The number of skilled Europeans who would havo to be dismissed through tho necessary concentration of work, and consequent hanging up of stamps and suspension of development operations ie C 405. D. amount of local expenditure per annum whin would cease w> be inclined owing to concentration of work and coneequenr hanging up of stamps, and suspension of development operations is ,JCG,636,3'J"- The committee trust that the' figures quoted in fliis memorandum, which, are as accurato-ae it is possible for any estimate to be, and which'speak for'themselves, will afford matter for the clumest consideration, of all who are disposed to think that Chinese labour is not of rival importance to tho industry and to South Africa." PERSONAL NOTES. I dropped across am old New Zeala nd friend the other day in Commissioner street. Who was it made the;' remark that if one -paced Collins street, Melbourne, for a year, ho. would meet the best part of the inhabitants of Australia? I rathex fancy it could, with more truth, bo averred that to parade the Collins street of Johannesburg - namely, Commissioner street, you would come m contact'with the great majority of the white inhabitants of South Africa, for the Raaxl now focuses South Africans in a more especial degree than does Melbourne -bho dwellers of the Commonwealth. It was Mr Folcv I happened on. w Our previous meeting had been at Umtali, where my friend picked mo out from' among a travelstained khaki clad company of Y<fi\inteors* en route from the fever-fstricken - camp at Bamboo Creek to .the--, base I camp of the Rhodesia Field , Force at Marandellas. Mr Foley was then, as '■ ' : -' ■■ ■. .•■' .'.."■ • '■ . x