The leader. [volume] (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1895-1905, 1898-04-27
LAWS IN SOUTH AFRICA.
A Traveller from the Cape Compares
American Gold Fields with
Those of Africa.

n miner OF tHe AiTiCdu TItt oidtc
left johannesburg in October with the
intention of going to the Klondike.
There can hardly be a comparison be-
tween Colorado and the Rand" said
he. ''for your Colorado ores are exceed
ingly rich in comparison with those of
the Transvaal, but in many respects
there is a great similarity between the
two countries.
The great dixie upon which the mines
are located has been traced through
the country for distance Of 200 miles.
and besides the main reef, in which the
richest mines are found, there are sew
eral others running parallel with it.
There is every reason to believe that the
mines will be productive for great
many years. The ore body has been
prospected with diamond drills to the
depth of 1900 feet and found to be con-
tinuous TO that depth, so there is a rea-
sonable certainty that it will be worked
till that depth at least has been reached.
THE only drawback to the rapid adj
vance of the country is the character
of the government. The Beers see that
they are outnumbered by the foreign
ers, and in order TO maintain their con-
troll resort to all kinds of methods.
They know that the time must come
when the foreigners will have certain
concessions in the administration of
civil affairs, and that when that time
comes the original citizens will lose the
control of affairs. The foreigners are
already securing the ownership of a
great portion of the lands, and in the
nature of things will have to be rec
ognized as the supporters of the gov
eminent. There would be no change
in the form of government, even if tie
Beers should be displaced. All of the
foreigners are in favor of the continual
ton of the republic. The only differ
ence it would make would be the discon-
tinuance of certain prohibitory duties
that raise the expense of living enor-
mously. Take the matter of dynamite
The government granted a concession
to a German company to make all the
dynamite used in the colony. The COM
pany does not even take the trouble &c
make the powder, but brings it from
Germany. duty free. The result is that
miners are compelled to pay an adj
vance of 50 per cent. above the price
at which they could otherwise secure
superior American powder.
Everything goes by concessions
there. In the mountains near the mines
are immense deposits of iron ore, with
great beds of good coal in close proX-
unity. One firm has concession from
the government giving it the sole right
to- manufacture iron in the republic.
That is all that has been done up tc
the present time. There is every oppor.
tunity there to make money in the
manufacture of iron, but it can't be
done because the right has been given
away. Even such a highly important
matter as forage Is subject to prohib.
itory tariff. 4 great deal of it comes
from Cape Colony. It is sold in bundles
at so much per hundred, and, while
Cape forage could be sold at 25 or &c
shillings per hundred, on account of the
tariff it is sold at from 40 to so shillings
per hundred. 1t is the same with
mealies or Indian corn. Everything is
taxed that comes from abroad, and, as
very little is raised in the country, the
consequence is that there is high tar.
iff upon everything used
another serious hardship is the
mining license. All prospects are taxed
five shillings per claim per month, and
the owners of all developed mines are
required to pay five dollars per month
per claim. As the claims are a little
less than one-third the size of a claim
in this country. it will be seen that for
one of your Colorado claims the owner
would have to pay the state $50 per
big mining companies would be very
serious drain.
THE farmers of the country are s1lf-
fering severely from the losses by the
main dependence of the farming COM
munity; there are thousands of people
that are in absolute want. just before
I left Africa the government appropri-
ated S6,OOO.OOO for the relief of the suf-
ferers. When it is remembered thai
these sufferers are men who own their
own farms, many of them owning thou
sands of acres, the extent of the suf-
fering can be imagined.
"In coming out of the country went
over the railroad through Portuguese
territory to Dalagoa bay. 1t is little
narrow-gauge road, and the country
through which it passes is extremely
unhealthy. 1t is said that the construc-
ton of the road cost a life for every
sleeper. The cars run at a nominal
rate of speed, and if passenger wants
to get off for any purpose the conductor
will stop the train for him ten min
tes."-Denver Republican.