SOUTH AFRICAN AFFAIRS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2258, 10 June 1897, Page 17

SOUTH AFRICAN AFFAIRS.

London, Junta 1. ] The Standard states that a section of the Transvaal Raid Committee is conferring on the question of the refusal of Mr Hawksley to produce cablegrams whioh passed between Mr Rhodes and persons in London at the end of 1895. The object of the conference is to adopt means by which Mr Hawksley's refusal will not be reportad, as threatened, to the House of Commone, Mr Harris has written to the Raid Committee asking that inquiry be made into the fresh allegation by Mr Labouohsre that a gentleman in a high position and large experience had informed fche Daily News of Dr Jameson's raid before it took place. June 2. The Transvaal Raid Committee refused tha request of Mr Harrie that Messrs Rhodes and Hawksley be reported to the House of Commons for refusing to produce. cablegrams from Mr Rhodes to persons in London,, Mr Chambsrlain deposed that Mr Hawksley in May, 1896, showed him in confidence copies of telegrams. They contained nothiug of the slightest importance. Mr Chamberlain added that he had no personal objection to their production. Mr Beit asked the chairman to appeal to Mr Labonchere's Eease of honour and justice to establish or withdraw the charges made against him. MrLabouchere remained silent. June 3. M. Blowitz, the Paris correspondent of The Times, says that Paris financiers are convinced that without reforms in the Trans- . vaal French interests in the Rand will be seriously endangered. . . Jane 6. Before the Select Committee of the House of Commons appointed to inquire into the Jameson raid on the Transvaal and cognate subjects, Earl Selborne, Parliamentary Secretary to the Colonial Office, stated that no official of the Cape branch of the Colonial Office was aware of Dr Jameson's plans. The committee have adjourned to prepare their report, which will deal with the raid cmly. Many party newspapers complain that tha

inquiry has been inadequate. They refer to it as " a conspiracy of silence " to shield Mr C. Rhodes and Mr Chamberlain. Capetown, May 31. Sir G. Sprigg, the Premier, complains that the Transvaal Government have ignored the inquiry instituted by Sir Alfred Mflner with reterence to the action of a Transvaal official in supplying the rebels at Bechuanaland with ammunition. June 2. In the Assembly the bill for the confiscation of land belonging to Bachuana rebels was read a second time without a division. The land is to be thrown open to occupation by Europeans. Reports from Salisbury, the chief settlement in Mashonaland, brought there by a Cape boy, state that the rebel Haßhonas have surrounded Ballyhooly, near Salisbury. June 3. It is reported that an epidemic is raging in the chief Sscocoeni'a country in the Transvaal. Tha natives are dying in hundreds. June 4. Reports are to hand of appalling mortality amongst the natives of the Northern Transvaal, arising from pollution by eating cattle infected by rinderpeat. June 7. The Volksraad of the Orange Free State has decided to confer the franchise on all adult residents possessing the necessary qualifications after a residence of three years without requiring them to relinquish their nationality. This is regarded as a oheck to the Transvaal. Pretoria, June 4. A commission is to be appointed to revise the grondwet, or fundamental law of the Transvaal. (Feom Our Own Correspondent.) I Wellington, June 1. ! Mr Harry D. Griffiths, a prominent resident of Johannesburg, who is largely interested in mining matters, has »rrived in New Zealand. The Post publishes an interesting interview with him, in the course of whioh he said : — "My object in coming to New Zealand is to inquire as to the prospects for mining investments in this colony. It may be that later on I will have a representative in New Zealand as well sb in the Transvaal. Several Johannesburg firms are now interested in the North Island gold mines, in the Thames district;, and more capital is available for investment here if tho prospects warrant it. The recent decision of the courts regarding the cyanide patent has made a great difference to the Transvaal mines. The decision was that there were ho patent; rights, which decision, while a severe blow to the MacArthur-Forrest Company, did great good to the mining corapniiiex, many oi: whioh wero I owing large royalties which had been held ia j suspense pending the decision of the court, Without; fche use of the cyanide process not one balf of the mines afc present paying divir dendu would do so. "WithonS the process

only some 58 or 60 per cent, of tht gold wat recovered. We found that we oonld not recover what was -left in the sandß and ••limes.' Now, with the aid of fche cyanids process, we extract sa much as 80 per cent, of tha assay value of the ore, and this result i«i likely to be slightly increased by treatment of.', the 'slimes.' Alrendy two companies haver; treated the • slimes ' iv this way, and although" not yet very successful there is every chance of success in the future. So far as can be seen i the question is merely a mechanical one." ' Referring to political matters in the Transvaal Mr Griffiths said: "If the Uitlandors ware secretly balloted for a free republic or British annexation, I think they would deoide for a free republic. This is clearly evidenced by the attitude of the loading men of the reform movement who at the time of the Jameson raid became disunited ou account ! of the rnmour prevailing at the time that Bngland would annex the Transvaal in case of the raid proving successful. I believe that the ! number of Australians in the Transvaal afc tha present time must exceod 7000. This, of coarse, is only a rough guess, as it ia difficult to find out the i->a.tioo»lty of the men employed in the surrounding districts. Thsss -would probably vote for a. free republic. While their j sympathies would be with the mother country j they would prefer to rule themselves."