The Stampede from South Africa.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIIC, Issue 13490, 11 January 1908, Page 3 (Supplement)

The Stampede from South Africa.

f Itv Frt-St ij' k Walker in lh- I.<uul"U Paily Mail.) liulawayip, (lelob r 12. F have fate!;.' read ill tllf ".p'klv Tillies that 'iie number of JhoA? (niiab'tly 15rilLsli wln» daring lb- first- s-vtn month of thiw year li.nl rt turned to J'.ngInnd from Smith Africa exceeded ihote going out En Sf>uth Africa by 8203. being an v.tc*-?-:-- of 1161 over tJit- tigHres for the same period !a-t year. I'ondvrinir over this confirmation. ><> ruid official figures, of ;>ll f had svirn and heard .?inc • I lift Kngland fin a t ht- » - puiU cmpiy sliijn. I began asking iiiywlf ljr»\r far my :?uidUs of years and my obs-, nations ami enquiries during the wont ii-s-ftu-e I had left Knglaiul had supliol me with reasons to account- for thw ."taiii,,f whites, "mostly Britr-sli .subjects,"' from tltc country wliich ha- caused u> such irre|iarable in blood and trta* Mire, and for which we have hur.g round the necfc> of unborn gentrations such a. heavy burden in thv idiap.; of Imperial guarantees. I co:ild not. help feeling that to me the caitsM were very elear and inanifi st though av yet apparently oh-vcrne to lint:': "Hiding the dotinies of the Ifritis'h nation—and I determined to tvy to wiiie them down in plain and simple language a.- 1 I could command. not for the guidance of .jwditieiaus. but for the in-{i-rni;:ion of ttice'.' who liii'V be ciftjidviiitf the abrisability of inventing money in Eolith Africa. 1 have travelled from the Cape to nearly <IOO mite* north of the Zambi.si. I have amvj dl fr-.ely aud i.!i>cil>>ed the position franklv, not meivly with t:t a teamen and jwjlilicians. but with a wide selection of whit Pitt called "the middling cla:.-!„" - -importer, and eSJiorters, trader.-, and distributor*. farmers, field eorntr. mining official*, bankers, lawyers, doctor.-, clergy, railwayinen. pros-pe ctors. old Biwr cs-of'ticia!-. "re ti inched" Kngiinh officials and I hav» arrived at the conclusion that the following fact:- are indisputable : 1. That from the Cape »" tlie Zand*-* 1 I ami far north of the Zambesi, the whole eonntrv (except |Kiliapv Kimberly) has. •hiring tin* liiit two yeais or more. been titiTering from unexampled depression. 2. That tlii" depletion ceiitris in .lotianuL>b'iig. all other districts feeling and teffecting tie- stagnation in that centre. 5. That all parties and nationalities agree that the base of this is an uU-er want of confidence. notwitbstaridii»g that the Hold mining of the l!and m till in ii> infancy, and. if systematically d* ve!oj>f>fi. might reasonably be expected t» maintain, and even increase the present output of gold for at leas-i another tiftv vear- - perhaps for anoth-r ioO year.-. /f. That- the ISanket reefs of the Hand Chough continuous and more, uniform than hMHV~ivcf:-. and on that account remark ulilv valuable) are of no low a grade t-hal-tle-V t>utv yield a profit if worked oil all rnointoti.- scale, and with hiileli ch*'apei labour l lie it can be supplied by white laborers.

5. Tint tin- labor imligriioif.s i'> country supplied by various black trib<-.* herded tmrvtlHT v>ll»i'|uii<l ly if "Kaffirs"' w txpensive. itn flici-ii!. and nntrnf-tworthy.

(!ti th" !a>t point my Dutch informant-! u*i\- t vi-ii move clear and 'iiipliiit it- th-m tit** Knsii-ii. Xo» in vi- « of Sh' >t7 tmd "|in! d |>r.< |w»iithue-, th-- ii>an.ij;riv t»f thv \'aiif»um!tt»v l> lonsii'K '•» sfi;>r>'lioM* i-> msident in Kngl.ind and the K'n upcan 'on tin -nt >oiipli' oth-i' and inoi-- lv'.iaidc ->«p pfir— «»{ labour and. «'th th.- sanrtion of t!i ■ livftr-rh t ojvvnuio ni. « .\i>tndi d vast •inn.- of nion v in an ad»<|iiate

• tifiplv rrf hard uoikini; nikii from China. A fi>»h t',f»v.'viiiinnt having .i-sinn-.d anihoi-ity in th'-.-. ai iii'-. F»;u .• tf' i' • iiH t ll'd willioiil rompeiis.-.t ioii „lt (li,» ground thai th- Cll ivt-r.- kept in >-iivtiy. 'lli-s-- allejrations not tru-. and are now prnetkally ;il>;in(|inivii. btit th-"- repatriation of tii • ( hiitL'-e K stiii in-i.-rt'-d on. and frt>-h f"" 'hi« iii'irfcrai!''.' "itJi the »r-

rangeim ill:- ami ve.it ed lights uf the pa>-ti-i- liav •Im . n put forward. Ilnnc cm s-st in III:- alleged immorality •>f the Chinlull I am esMired. lIV all com-'-it! nli-: l Vi-i-. that this- lip re after thought has littl" solid foundation in fact. I have. Midred. been informed by the liomaii Catholic Bishop of Johaum sburg that t:i.- morals nl tin European navvit.-. unpolled eoin-- lini" ago tu il" railway eotk compared v-i;. unfavourably wil >i the mora 1 :- of tin- Chine.-,'. who for t)i • iiai-i pari \vi iv a singularly decent anil, according (•> ilii-ir faith, religious lioily of ti. It now publicly ami bluntly :•«!- lilitli-il. by at Ira.-l oil'.' of the I: ;nJ<-i-> ill the Tiaii<-vnal of tin- Labour l'aity. thai 'tis not the vies but tile virtue:, of thC hili.-si of wheh ihe Labor l*arly i.s afraid. i'cr>o : iii||y. I i|o no' propose to ili -i u:-* tb-' |)i..|ni.|y or impropriety of excluding <bitie-e or oih r indent nv>-tl labor in tli leal c.r r.ttpp<.-ed inter«-ts of tin- British working man. Ii is a pity. I think. thai th:ir « xctusion should have been ju-stitied I'V foil' ami infamous accusal iotbin now ihat ti;? grounds- for that cxeliiision arc. frankly admitti'il-- vi/... that thel e is dangrr of tlt-:ii- with white laborer:- T ncf'l not discuss thai proposition. I merely except the fact that the existing < JoveiniiH-nt of (treat l>iHaiti leeogni.scts that il is too dependent on the workingclass vote to allow L'hmcse indenturod labor to be introduced into a British colony.

The prWition iv now jierfectly clear. In the Tratlsvaal there i-> oti'.y one imlu-stry capable of bearing, or anyhow willing to bear any substantial taxation, and thaiis gold mining. This one industry pays 85 per cent, of the whole revenue of ihe country: all the other industries put togetlter—including i-ven the 60 per cent. r-hare of the I'reiuier Diamond Mine profits—only contributing 15 per cent. In order to keep up and develop llii.s one great industry on which the prci-.-perilv and '-veil the solvency of the colony depend, vast sums of capital inv.it b.: continually expended. I-a~t month I went down Ihe .lupiler Mine extendiug to a depth of llCfJfi. I iii'iniivd how long il Has since liny !>•■- gall sinking. " About ten veai:-." was th<reply, "the work having been interrupted during the war." I then inquire'! how much had been spenl oil Ihe mini' up lo date, and wai-. informed about £7S').CCO more. " When will von begin crushing';" 1 a>ked. "'in about thirteen montlis." was the reply. "How much more will you have to expend?" "About £250.000. We have noL vet- erected the mill-"

Now t liiy one case exemplifies how the present, want of confidence has arisen' in the country.

How can any body of shareholders ;n tlm future be exjieeted to sink hundreds of thou iand.y of pounds and wait yeai.s lor their dividends when they are told that the conditions of the industry existing when they began their enterprise may be entirely altered by the exigencies of a. political pally in England? The prieipal excuse now put forward for the repatriation policy is thai, there aie .sufficient Kaffir laborers available to make the employment, of Chinese- tinncce- ssaiy, and t!eiter.'l Botha, in a -speech lecenllv delivered, declared that during the pieceding year oOOCO more KafViishad applied for employment iu the mines than could bo taken on. 1 can only say in reply that- in consequence of the general depression throughout South Africa, there have been wholesale discharges of halido bv the railways, a cassation of all a voidable public works, a great reduction in the demand for "boys" for domestic service, and au extensive closing of shopo iind shutting down of bL';siiiessc.-> . In •iohannisburg alone nine breweries have been closed. Bcsidts all thiis. several mines have ceased operations. including lh>' Hercules, a big new deep-level proposition which w;::s to have begun ci ushing in a few months. In view of these faclts. there would !>:: nothing to be surprised at if there were at the moment a plethora of 30,000 boys, but the leal fact is thaL so great is the dearth of labor that ail these causi-.i puttogether have not been sufficient to produce any appreciable surplus of labor. The i;verago grade of the Wit-waten;-liind ore:; tends continually downwards, and profits rapidly turn info lows if every decimal of a. penny of cxpenw-s per lon is not carefully scrutinised. Personally I can i-ec nothing in tire future outlook to justify any return of confidence by the European investor or any reason for :>nticip:iting an early cessation of the •stampede.