THE CAPE DIAMOND FIELDS.

Grey River Argus, Volume XIII, Issue 1633, 29 October 1873, Page 2

THE CAPE DIAMOND FIELDS.

Mr John Forster, of Ross, has received a letter froth his brother William, lake of Boss, and -who is now at the Cape Diamond Fields^ which has been kindly placed at the disposal, of the " Guardian^" The letter is dated, Colesberg Kopjie, 27th June, 1873. With reference , to the carpenter trade, the' writer says he could get'l as much work at 25s per day as he ever

could set his face to, as carpenters are very scarce ; but he has given it up for diamond digging, at which employment he was at just a fortnight before the letter was written, and the party had divided L7O per man.. At the Colesberg Kopjie .there are 600 claims cut-up' 'into oneeighth, quarter, and half claims, which em-; ploy 1000 s - white -men and 20,000 Kaffirs, who wt>rk for about. three : or-four months; at 5 a spell; receiving ; about iOs per week, and as . niu,chl maize a3 they j can eat. There are a lot of shanty-keepers, who ; induce iihe, Kaffirs : to; steat the jdiamonds arid self them for a mere song ;-jbut these offences, are., punishe^n jyery j severely. When ' the Kafiirs ' are caught in the act they are put in gaol and receive SOJashes; while the white men for'receivirig gets six or twelve months' . imprisonment, -or. is: fined f! LlOO ; r 6r L2OO for the first offence, and five , years , for the] second. . ( Large; fortunes are said to" have been made out of. the gambling. houses,, of which there: we're 1 teri until about two months ago, their average profits being about LSQ ( O per night. Those gambling hells, however) have beenput a stop tp:by a proclamation, of the Governor, imposing a fine of LSOO on a person keeping a gambling table, for the first offence, and; five years for the second ; and ; all frequenters caught^ at play were liable' to a tirie of L 25 for the r first offence, arid twelve months' for the second.. Since the gambling has been done away with, one of the late keepers of a : table cleared out for home with L37, 000^ There are. also about fourihundred diamond, buyers, mostly Jews, who rule the" iriarket just as they think proper, and they jump at any excuse to say that the market is dull in' London. All the dirt has to be hauled put of the Kopjie in buckets ihade out of bullock-hide, slung on- a block, ! and pulled with a windlass along a wira rope on an incline. It ,is. r a wonderful sight to look,. down into the Kopjieand Weeao many, people as busy as bees. ; ]^. Forster. says ..;he:is much, better. pff. ( thari ' when ..'lie, left.rNew Zeaiarid,| although it cost^-hini L2OO to go there. The remainder of the letter contains family matters, of 'interest only to, the writer's relatives. ' it.'