SOUTH AFRICA.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 397, 5 January 1909, Page 5

SOUTH AFRICA.

MINING THE YEAR., (Bt TEMJOBAPH—PRESS ASSOCIATION—COPIBIGH't,) ' London, January, 3.;. Tho dividends from the South.Afrioan.gold and otbor companies .last. year. arAoiinfednto £1.3,070,442.' ;;.'•';•-. '■■■■:;. ': ' ' ■•■ ' ; : BOOM ONCE MORE IN JOHANNESBURG. The Johannesburg correspondent of the"Dailj Mail" recently wrote:—A;few.days ago*handful of men wearing smoked'glasses stood''u'poii the roof i of 'one: of • the' ; tall«st : Wildings- :in Johannesburg, v • ..-'■ ' :;■ '■ .'■' ''■/:"■''■■ <■£■■ They had with them an instrument like e megaphone, or the funnel of,a gramaphone.ilr it they collected the rays of the sun—colleoted heat. And they collected .it, so effectively; that an 'enthusiast who placed half a sovereign into : the little-charcoal crucible under: thenar row:end of the funnel saw a button of gold in less than : ten'seconds/' ; ' This particular experiment,'by i ,the..way.r ..was not >repe,ated. .■/ ■'."■ ~, ■'..;.*.-rV'^V^.v.-.y< iWhether: the new process of extracting metal from ores-by the concentrated heat.'djE the shr is ever;.widely used matters not—to' ; ine' at ;anj rate. .Ther.Solar Syndicate;may 'be.-a :huge success or'it may not. ", But the fact that the capital-of the. Solar- Syndioate, is: .believed- tc have been subscribed several times'i6v4r-''is:-,i» teresting. It. is. a sign.. It/;me»ns that thorVii a boom. A year ago you-could anything on,the.Band. Tp-Jay .the:peopls.-'arf eager to put money into 'anything' and every, thing. ' ■'■vr-iSj' ','- !-,'• \,iiV -.•;;;->"i ; 'i ' IfTt had only bought.that Low Country diamond mine which was offered to me four-years ago for half a crown, I could .float it to-day fos a little cash, nnd a large handful'.of scrip. .Syndicates, have been formed, on-even; smaller pro- , vocation. ... - *.;:; ;■;.- ..;■'/" ,•-.'•;.','. ■■■ * For Johannesburg shows every syniptom" of a quite severe attack of b0.0ming..1.....1'...2_-^...:.. What the Boom Did". . -v~-"-- ---;• ■.-■'■■ The boom came in silently. 'No one ,noted its. arrival.- But -suddenly stockbrokers, who used to walk into morning (for exercise, of' course), wer4«JJ£sßning to ride.in tram and:thatr'som« reckless individuals occasionally-toc-K-'S oab".' *'' -Soom A*n«;oujo sba. mooq^ou^:fSß[.;u puy-; nised. It appeared on'the market bills of the newspapers. The. share' market - report,; which for months had languished on . some. obscure page; was once more given a,place among the cable''hews and the.' horrors." ■■'■ -The--theatres became, crowded,- the popping' of ..champagne corks' sounded, in hotels .wffiph. had ,9& customed to serving siipemty il -beefs l shilling whiskies. In some-rcases debts were .paid—this evidence of. returning: prosperity is, however, not as yet- very noticeable. . Iteally,. it is [ quite times again.' The Stock Exchange is once s liipre full of life and noise. .'The talk of shutting 1 it up or running if as a club has subsided? °'Back subscriptions are being paid up; office rent long in arrear is forthcoming. .Wonder-of wonders,- some new members have obtained is places! '.sltetrenoh'ed clerks are -drifting backed their. old, work,;and the.exoited groups in' the i stre«ts'--'outsi'dq ( ; 66mer times remind one of the 'old'.'days.'," Between the Chains." '. '■ ."- ii "''' J - '.-'•'"-. •-."."-.• y Old Scrip Resurrected. ?ff'i:.l;Si.^J\/ * Johannesburg has thrown, itself'intcr-'t.hei old gamble with. enthusiasm.': -Forgotten are tallies and Lecomtes and. Coronations,, and .the disappointments of the last, fawi Even old shares which one thought"de^S.iSnd*rHlrj|d have come to life. Scrip:wnich.'-hti's;iain-at-the bottom of. a trunk for .years,.looked'Upo'n'-al-most as ;sormuCh';wasta>paper,' = '-.uas- suddenly become' worth bringing Jnta ~""..'... Some, time ago a tailor''!bonglit!'a' i, b'arch-"6'f 2000 shares at Is. Id. per, shared To-day'they stand, at 18s. or. 19s. ■■% Shares''.wliieh;"a r -few months back were oheap.eri.than now become marketable.;'..lndeed, c-nuhibers-of people have bought up allrthe cheapest'stufl they could-lay their- hands on; in tjie belief that'it will go up with" a-rnnindprovi'sale-, able. : •..;;'. "'":.' .: ■..-■.-. - It is the old gamble. .Everyone is in. it frohi the office hoy, who lingers outside- one -of-tho opon-at-night exchanges, to the magnate, who deals in hundreds of ,■ thousandsr.« -a:'^'■•'>■ <■ It is a curious. thing./aßout.:Johannesburg that as soon as there is the-'least indication of a;:boom there-is plenty<of money''available for market Where;it;comes' frbni no one knows. But men who have- nbtpaid "anyone for years suddenly begin to.dabble in ! the share market. . ..'.. :■■":--:..-:. o-, <