The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1899-02-04
SOUTH AFRICA DIAMONDS

Iar as white women are concerned. Dur.
ing my first two years of -esidence there
saw only one white woman. She was
travelling through to join her husband, a
missionary. When the presence of this So
'cailed angel became known in the vicjn-
upon her. " e"1o
"From the discovery Of diamonds IN
south Africa until the present dav ono
great OBSTACLE the diggers and the conn
i'dhy mad always to contend with has
neeh the enormous loss annually of roug.1'
diamonds stolen by the native Kaffir
iaoorers while at work in the claims or on
eaie oeposltlns floors. These thefts reached
sucn enormous proportions and the dia-
Ioohds found such ready market amonr
me interruptions element of the white
population that it became necessary ia
enact specia! laws to cope with the evil
IN the earlier days, upon conviction. the
haII1r was simply punished for the theft
Dy ABOUT tWele months Imprisonment. hu+
the white buyer, for receiving stolen nron-
efty, was subject to a fine of about five
tlHes the actual value of the diamond
ana three months imprisonment with
fard labor. The profit to the buyer was
50 great that this punishment proved to
De utterly Inadequate Trial so far had
peen oy magistrate. 1t became now
necessary to create a special court. Under
an act passed by the Cape legislature
commonly called the illicit diamond buv-
ING or diamond trade act, this court con-
sisted or three supreme court iustices
dolng entirely away with trial BY Jury.
upon conviction the maximum sentence
for a Kaffir, the thief was fifty lashea
Upon the bare back with the cat-o'-nine-
ta1ls and to undergo imprisonment with
he'rd labor for term not exceeding ten
years. The receiver or illicit diamond
buyer, upon conviction. received as a
maximum sentence fifteen years' impris-
onment at hard labor, the first one-11fth
of the term to be spent in isolation and
In chains, and he was also liable to O.
line not exceeding $1,000, as we'll as con-
Hscat1on of all real and personal property
which he held at the time of hts arrest
within the diamond mining area Tho
ground taken was that the criminal had
accumulated this property from tho gains
or his Illicit traffic. Isolation in prison
consisted in being kept apart from all
lother prisoners as well as not having
the privilege of seeing visitor or writing
IA letter or communicating with any one,
The prisoner was herded with about fifty
others, consisting of Kaffirs and bush
men, in a large dormitory cell about 100
feet long by fifteen feet wide, and was
Eobilged to work twelve hours a day in the
mot sun IN 4 stone quarry, and had chains
weighing from seven to eighteen pounds
|riveted on his legs. His behavior during
this part Of the term had to be exem-
,c!a-y; otherwise it was prolonged at the
,discretion Of the prison superintendent.
Upon my leaving the colony there were
about 300 whites thus undergoing sen.
ltence There was no appeal from thiD
sentence except to the privy council or
lhcuse of lords, and this was hardly within
the reach of the average convict.
''This law checked to a certain extent
Illicit diamond buying, but it must be re-
th9f tn
/ the: crime was enormous. Fors instance,
a KafHr was induced TO steal a diamond
say of about 40 carats, which he could
safely conceal in his mouth, and even
!swallow. The native runner or go-be-
tween in the employ of the white buyer
would pay him about $40 for this stone,
which might have market value of from
$1,000 to $4,000 The runner received a
present of about S. in addition to
weeks salary of about $50 and his board.
Upon conviction the runner Jared the
same as his master Many fortunes have
been made in this traffic and the buyers
have slipped from the colony in the nick
of time on the eve. of being trapped.
Trapping is the mode of procedure re-
sorted to by the detective department in
order to catch the buyer. The detectives
get hold of a runner, who is induced to
betray his master A trusted Kaffir is
procured and thoroughly searched and
stripped by a number of detectives, so
that he has nothing in his possession. A
rough and uncut, we'll iden tified and ac-
curately weighed stone is then handed to
him. The runner takes him in tow and
Introduces him to his master. These two
are followed and watched by a number
of disguised detectives. The white man
will ask to see the stone. which the KAT
fir takes from it's hiding place. A bar
gain is struck for a few dollars. the
money is paid over, and the Kaffir de-
parts. AS soon as he reaches the open a
signal is given to the detectives, rush
is made, and the diamond buyer is ar
rested. Upon search being made the dia-
n.ond is found in the buyers possession
and the money in the Kafir's. The run
ner turns queens evidence against his
employer and is held as a witness. The
detectives corroborate all details and a
conviction is certain