UPHEAVAL IN SOUTH AFRICA

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLVIII, Issue 15773, 14 March 1922, Page 3

UPHEAVAL IN SOUTH AFRICA

GOVERNMENT TROOPS GAINING CONTROL. REVOLUTION LIKELY TO BE OVER IN FEW DAYS. .TClee. TeL Copyright—Gnlted Press Assnj (Router's Telegram.) CAPETOWN, March 13. Vrededorp is reported to be surrounded by Government troops. The revolutionaries are said to bo under tlio command of Commandant Erasmus. Tielman Boos, chairman of the Transvaal Nationalists, lias returned to Pretorfa. He did not visit the revolutionary headquarters. llerlzog and other prominent Free Stat* Nationalists strongly condemn the movement to form commandos at Bloemfontein. Tho Government forces are making headway ; 2200 rebels have been captured in tho central area with slight Government casualties, it is estimated that* the Government has .six thousand men concentrated along the Reef and other loyal commandos are on the way. It is believed the revolution will be over in a few davs. There are many instances of abuse, of tho Red Gross by rebels. A gallant .stand was made by a handful of police at Fordsburg, which probably saved the* heart of the town and the best residential area from being overrun by revolutionaries. Fordsburg is tho key to the position. If it had been forced, the consequences would have been serious and the difficulties of the Government's task enormously increased. There is general testimony to the magnificent behaviour of the police, also the citizen defence force, many of whom are young lllds. OFFICIAL STATEMENT. REVOLUTIONARIES HEAVILY ENGAGED, AIRMEN'S EXCITING EVENTS. (Reuter's Telegram.) CAPETOWN, March 13. An official communique states: Tl\f central area operations were entirely satisfactory. Two squadrons of police besieged at Brixton and Auckland Park were relieved by our forces, which pushed well forward to tho high ground at Westcliffe, with slight casualties. An aeroplane operating against the rebels was forced to land, and' a second machine attempting to rescue the stranded pilot, was damaged. A third machine then landed and look oil successfully with two of the stranded aviators. Of the remaining three, one managed to reach the house of friends, and the other two took, refuge in a plantation, where they were attacked by mounted revolutionaries. One aviator was wounded, but a revolutionary was killed. The two aviators escaped and reached a hospital in the eastern area. Vandevenlcr's forces heavily engaged the revolutionaries, who retired into Benoni. Our forces now occupy the positions held by,tho rebels in the western area. Large numbers of our forces reached Krugersdorp late in tho afternoon, and are now pushing eastward. Operations continued! all day long in the vicinity of Pretoria and the Germinston railway line.. The revolutionaries were heavily bombed, but persisted in attempting to damage the line, having already done so twice. On both -occasions the line was repaired. Forces under Colonel Breytenback occupied Rietforteim. RED CROSS CARS FIRED ON. NURSES IN GREAT PERIL, CAPETOWN COMMUNISTS URGE GENERAL STRIKE. RAILWAYMEN WANT,PARLIAMENT DISSOLVED. (Australian and N Z. Cable Association.. (Received March 14, 11.30 a.m.) CAPETOWN, March 13. On Saturday afternoon three Red Cross motor-cars carrying lied Cross flags were despatched to Auckland Park to briiig back nurses for service. They were subjected to a heavy lire from tho rebels, and were obliged to pull up. The nurses Jay down. Attempted rescuers,"under a white flag, were fired' on. It was almost throe hours before tho cars succeeded in escaping, being riddled with bullets. Officials of tho Industrial Federation maintain that they had no knowledge of the commando's intention to attack the police. Tho Chamber of Mines adheres to the previous position. While it is prepared to discuss the question with trades unions it will refuse to recognise the federation. Capetown communists passed a resolution in favor of a general strike, but there is not a prospect of success., The military authorities do not anticipate trouble in Capetown, but are fully prepared for any contingency. They have no intention of calling up local defence units. The power station at Durban is guardedl by police. Most of the members affiliated with the union are on strike. A meeting of the Railwayman's Union passed a resolution, palling on tho Governor-General ty> dissolve Parliament and appeal to the people to prevent further bloodshed; also demanding a ballot for a general strike. TRANSPORT IN JOHANNESBURG. ACTIVITIES f3F*THE POLICE. Aas'vallm and NZ. Cable Association." (Received March J. 4, 1.30 p.m.) CAPETOWN, March 13. Motor transport in Johannesburg is again running freely, but normal activities are almost at (t standstill. The police are drafting tho male polulatipu of some disaffected' areas into convenient localities, and! combing out those wanted. REBEL FORCES AT FORDSBURG. STRONGLY ENTRENCHING. A THOUSAND MEN TAKEN AT BENONI. CAPTURED PO~LIOE WITHOUT FOOD FOR THREE DAYS. Australian and NZ. Cable Assoclatlon.l (Received March 14, 12.20 p.m.) CAPETOWN, March 13. At Fordsburg the revolutionary forces dug themselves in in' the street. They are working hard entrenching the street corners. They displayed notices declaring martial law. A few police are still held prisoners in a school room. Tho roads leading from the (own are effectively barricaded. A thousand prisoners were taken in the capture "of Benoni. Those arrested include a number of strike leaders. Tho beleaguered police released nt Brixton were in an exhausted condition. They had been kept without food for three days. Boy scouts attempting to relievo them were sniped 1 at. THE- FIERCE FIGHT AT VREDEDORP. BIG GUNS IN ACTION.' . Australian and N/, Cable Association.! (Received March 14, 12.40 p.m.) CAPETOWN, March 13. Details of tho fighting show that tho engagement with the Vrededorp commando was of a most desperate character. After aeroplanes had bombed for an hour, big guns came into play, while machine guns and rifles kept up a continuous fusillade. The Reds were well armed, and defended the position with the utmost vigor. It is believed that the slaughter was heavy. Over lOUI Red prisoners were captured. Thousands of spectators watched the advance of the Government forces. Soon after the artillery commenced shelling the ridges where Reds were entrenched, they began to retreat in good order. The retreat quickly swelled into a continuous stream. It is now stated that money, to finance the revolution came from abroad,

PREMIER. SAYS POSITION IS SATISFACTORY. dope that rebellion will soon be: crushed. lAustraiian and N.Z. Table Association.! (Received March 14, 12.40 p.m.) CAPETOWN, March 13. General Smuts, interviewed, declared that the position was in every way satisfactory. The response of tho Government commandos was magnificent. Ho was confident that the revolution would soon be utterly crushed. Mr. Mnlaii, outlining tho progress ot events in the Legislative Assembly, said the Government felt that it had the hearty co-operation of all true-minded citizens in this crisis. ADVANCE AGAINST THE REDS. (Reuter's Telegram.) (Received March 14, 12.40 p.m.) CAPETOWN, March 13. Colonel Nusscc's force occupied Roodepooi't and Florida, and are marching on Maraisburg, where the Reds occupy a strong position. The Government forces sustained only 25 casualties in the capture of Benoni. In connection with the reported murder of two officers at Jeppes, it now transpires that one, Captain Ironside, >wus twice wounded, robbed, and threatened that he would be shot, but ho was rescued by some strikers and sent to hospital. Nothing has been heard regarding the other officer. WORLD'S GREATEST GOLD REEF. Richard Curie, the well-known writer and traveller, writes: — Npw that attention is being called to the Transvaal gold industry by the strike of the white miners on the Rand, it may be interesting to describe what the Johannesburg gold reel is really like. Its developed area, stretches from Johannesburg to Heidelberg, a distance of about 40 miles, and from the top of some high building you may trace it clearly by the enormous mounds of white* tailings, up to 3,000,000 tons in weight, that are dotted along its length. They lie bleached and glaring in the sun, the fine dust of their surface blowing in the wind, and though attempts to grow grass upon them have been made, air have failed through the, action of the cyanide with which they are impregnated. The. battery "stamps" aro never silent. Night and day they are pounding up the rock, and there are certain spots in Johannesburg where you can hear them as you lie in bed in the stillness of the early hours like the regular beat of distant waves. And sometimes, too, you will hear the muffled rumble of falling rock within old, disused shafts,.a rumble that shakes the houses and curiously resembles a genuine earthquake. Indeed, the mines in Johannesburg itself are now_ mostly used-up, and year by year the industry shifts farther to the' east. The mines themselves are like so many self-contained towns. A large mine, for instance, will employ 20,000 men and a completeness of equipment both-above and below the surface that is astonish-, ing.. I have travelled 3000 vertical feet into the earth at 40 miles an hour in,one of these mines and have found down there elaborate pumping machinery, electric trains, a crowd of men going about their business as if on the surface. And up above, the hoisted rock is being pounded into powder, is passing over the mercury-coated slime-boards, is gradually being* made to give up its treasure. And then, of course, there is the social side of the mine, the trim quarters for the whites, the naiive compound with its up-to-date' kitchens and bakehouse, the hospital accommodation. Yes, each mine is, as far as possible, complete in itself. The final thing they show you when you visit a mine is the finished-article. That is to say, when you have observed the whole vast complex energy of the machine they point out the results in a few bars of dull yellow metal. They arc made in two sizes, worth respectively (without the premium) £4OOO and £2BOO. I had heard some vague l'umor that if you could lift one of them and carry it away you got it as a present, but I was hastily disillusioned before I could make the attempt. Perhaps they saw the look of desperate determination in my eyes.