UNPOPULAR MILLIONAIRE

Greymouth Evening Star, 9 November 1929, Page 7

UNPOPULAR MILLIONAIRE

ROBINSON WILL EXPLAINED’ ’ FORTUNE FROM THEFT (Special to "Star.”) AUCKLAND, November 8. ‘‘No wonder the late Sir J. Robinson did not leave anything to South Africa,” said an Aucklander, to a “Star” reporter this mornirig. “I was in the country in 1922, when there was the scandal about his elevation to the peerage. You cannot imagine what an outburst there was, from one end of buth Africa to th other. It was known, or assumed, that he had given £250,000 to the party funds of Mr Lloyd George’s party in 1921, and the general assumption was that for that kindly contribution, he was offered a peerage. In fact his name appeared in the King’s Birthday list. When the announcement was made, the Press of South Africa, backed up by the whole of the people of the Union, raised such a howl of protest against what was described as an iniquitous proposal on the part of the Prime Minister of Great Britain in awarding a peerage to such a man, that Robinson was forced to drop the offer. Can you wonder that he did not leave anything to any charitable institution in the country which had scorned him in that manner? I never saw such a campaign of indignation. His accusers never left Robinson the smallest loophole, and he had no alternative but to drop the honour. There was also no. loophole left for the Lloyd George Government.

“The whole scorching criticism of the affair was based on the fact that in his younger days, Robinson had been the king pin of the 1.D.8., which means illicit diamond buyers. The South Africans said to the British Government: ‘lf you are going to raise to the peerage a man who ‘was known to be a notorious illicit diamond buyer, what is the peerage going to come to?’ The Press and people in South Africa made no bones about criticising Robinson. His

REPUTATION WAS NOTORIOUS. His connection with the 1.D.8. happened long before I was in the country. It was in the very early days before the precautions that now exist had been brought into force. At present, everything is regulated by the great De Beers Company. For all practical purposes De Beers is South Africa. The Government does not matter much one way or the other. It is De Beers that runs the country. Before the company came into operation and instituted measures thqt would make diamond stealing as difficult as possible, the 1.D.8. had a wonderful time. Robinson was apparently regarded as the head serang of the mob. He and others, men whose names became well known as millionaires, were all in the same “business.” They made money because they got in early. They were undoubtedly clever men in their way. They had the Natives who worked in the diamond mines well organised and the expedients used in getting the stones out of the mine area were amazingly smart. In some instances the natives went the length of actually swallowing the diamond. “Robinson and men of his kind would get the stones from these natives for a mere song and as sending them out of the country at that time was comparatively simple, and the diamond market was profitable, they made huge sums of money. Robinson undoubtedly had brains of a certain order, but people who knew him described him as

A COARSE FELLOW who was never more than gilded by his piles of sovereigns. He never took on any of the refinements that are often added in after life to successful “rough diamonds.” Cullinan, another famous name in the diamond world, was a very ordinary working class man, but he had a good heart and his name is remembered with gratitude while that of Robinson has curses poured upon it.” As a measure of Robiqson’s quality, another Aucklander „tells a story concerning the first lidnour. that was bestowed upon him. It was in Lord Milner’s time. Robinson was quite a power in the land, and the Governor thought it was time he had some honour shown him. There was no question of bribery or party funds about the matter at that stage. One of the Governor’s staff was told off to go and sound Robinson on the matter. When it was suggested that the Governor wanted to know if a baronetcy would be accepted, Robinson asked “What’s a baronetcy?” When the point was explained to him, he said: “What I want is something to hang round my neck, that I can show at dinners.” He got the K.C.M.G., which carries a nice large insignia which no doubt enabled the millionaire to enjoy his dinner with much more gusto than if he had worn a simple “boiled shirt.”

A DAUGHTER’S PROTEST. CAPE TOWN, November 8. The Countess Labia, the late Sir J. B. Robinson’s daughter, replies to the Cape Times’s article on her father’s will. She describes th© article as “a vicious, brutal attack on the memory of my father, who was one of the ablest, one of the most sensitive, and most kind-hearted men who ever lived —in fact, the biggest man South Africa ever produced.” She claims that thousands of South Africans have cause to bless his name in assisting them in distress and need, but he hated ostentation giving his thousands without any public acknowledgement.