The Richest Country in the World.

Evening Post, Volume LX, Issue 114, 10 November 1900, Page 1 (Supplement)

The Richest Country in the World.

A' SOUTH AFRICAN FORECAST BY MR. J. B. ROBINSON. Though there is no man more largely interested in the development of the Transvaal than Mr. J. B. Robinson, nor any one who knows "more about South Africa, (says a contributor to the London Daily Mail) he has, owing to the, serious illness of his wife, had other things to think about "for some weeks than the future of South Africa. "What is to be the future of the Transvaal?" he said, repeating my question. "That is a matter which lies largely with the British Government. Such fighting as A% 'still going on is mainly guerilla,, which, while it may cause some trouble, cannot be regarded too seriously. The oack of the/resisttfncg is undoubtedly broken. Jt^could ,not be otherwise. I believe ' the vßoers'.v Boers'. are only lengthening out. their resistance bejcaua^ of fear .of what may happen to them when they surrender. Once the people feel assured that *no terrible results will follow'surrender, they will bow^to the inevitable. "The British'- Government has doubtless its' plans prepared for what is to follow the conquest of the Transvaal. Judging from what happened after the conquest of the Free State, it may be assumed that the Transvaal will be annexed to the British Empire. If that ia so, we shall see a period of development on every line such the world has never witnessed before. ' People in this country have no idea of the potential riches of the Transvaal, riches that as $et have been barely scratched. Ybu have a territory twice the size of France and a territory that possesses mineral and agricultural" wdhlth unequalled by any land of its size anywhere. v^' ALMOST UNTOUCHED. "Up to now, the development of the Transvaal has bareljr begun. - To open up a land, you must have railways. Great stretches ofgold-bearing land have remained untouched because it was impracticable to bring machinery to work them. The first great step in the expansion of the Transvaal will be the building of railways in all directions. Many companies will be floated, many lines built, and millions of pounds' worth of rolling stock and plant will be sent out from England. . * " " With the building of railways will come* a development of $the coal fields. The Transvaal is one of the richest coal territories on earth. On our own properties, we find great? seams of gold, and we have* already* worked our coal to some extent. But these seams of coal are sunning all over the land, they are at an easy depth to work, and will give an unlimited supply of very cheap fuel. " .ADundant transit and cheap fuel must mean the beginning of other mining apart from gold. There are extraordinary amounts of copper in the northern parts of the Transvaal, literally mountains of copper, ;as well as silver, cobalt, lead, and diamond mines. NOT- MERELY. A MINING ,COUNTISY. '" But the growth of the Trtmsvaal (still assuming that the British Government annexes it) is not going to be only a mining development. Farming; will progress, too. You ask me if it is pbsfox- English agriculturists' .to do well in the Transvaal. I answer that during the past few years many English agriculturists have made fortunes by farming there. They have secured land and have largely gone in for stock-rais-ing and sheep-breeding, with the lijost profitable results. "You understand that if the British Government takes over the Transvaal it will come into possession of great expanses of real estate. All over the territory there are enormous stretches of State lands, the same as the Crown lands in England. Well wooded, well watered, . mountains and valleys, with rivers running through them, and fountains springing up, it i? hardly possible to exaggerate their value. Such State lands will form admirable centres for the Government to parcel out to immigrants in the country, if it wishes, for the purpose of tilling the land and raising stock. These State lands are also highly auriferous, and gold and other minerals will be found in laTge quantities ' upon them. "In the past all that has been done in the Transvaal has been accomplished in the face of very great difficulties. Permission has been refused to build necessary railways, and enterprise has been checked on every hand. Hence most; of the growth ' has been around Johannesburg, where every one has lived on the gold mines. In the future the development will be more evenly scattered all over the. countiy. I tell you," said Mr. Robinson, emphatically, "you have seen nothing like what is now coming. Given a fair/ chance, the fertility and, resources of the dominions are such that not only, in a few years, will millions find employment there, but the increase of trade and the new demand for English manufacturers, will bripg fresh prosperity to the' Mother Land." ENGLISH AND DUTCH IN UNITY. '*WiU the Dutch settle down, and allow this peaceful development to s take place?" " The Dutch and English are going to liye together in South Africa in unity. .That is as sure as that two and two make four. ' The Boers will quickly recognise the inevitable logic of events. They have fought splendidly— who will deny it? They are recognising that they have failed, apd once they recognise this, they will peacefully submit to British rule. When they find luat British rule means impartial justice, incorruptible government, and an ignoring of raeia.l issues,

their misapprehensions "will fade away. The Boer lanner will find that when he comes before the Court against an Englishman, the English judge does not look to who is English or who is Dutch, but regards merely the facts of the case. "The whole history of the Dutck pfeople in South Africa since we finally annexed ikt Cape in 1806, is proof that Dutch and English do combine. Once the heads of disaffection in the Bepublic are made Harmless, much of tha trouble of to-day will disappear. Every coming development will bind the Dutch to us. ENGLAND'S WISE POLICY. '* It wjll be the wise policy of Eag" land, once the Transvaal is annexed, to deal very generously and leniently with the Dutch, and not only the Dutch of the Republics, but even the rebels of Natal and t<he Cape. It is our work to make those men one with us, and, they are Worth winning. No finer pioneer* are to be found on this earth. I know what they can do in opening up a land, and none can compare with them. They can ignore hardships that wou\d kill many Europeans." w . , - "What form of government do you think must be adopted in the- Transvaal, should England annex it?" "It must be a Crown colony for the time being. To make it an annexe, or in any way a dependency of Natal or the Cape, would be fatal. Let there be an Administrator, or Lieutenant-Governor, working under the High Commissioner, who, of course, will be at Capetown. But the States will only have to do with the High Commissioner in- his position as High Commissioner, not as Governor of Cape Colony. Then there seould be an Executive of twelve members, of whom four or five should be chopen from among the most important and influential Boers in the Transvaal and - Sic Free State. The remaining seven or eight will, of course, he men whom the Im* perial Government selects. fc