Omaha daily bee., 1899-09-23
OTHER LANDS THAN Guns.

In the first six months OF the present
year the output OF gold in Rhodcsia was
S6. .204 ounces, against 1S0S5 ounces In the
twelve months Of 1898 and 7,l69 ounces for
tho period between 1890 and 1898. II this
rate Of increase be maintained the produce
tion will soon begin to answer the bright
hopes that have been entertained in regard
to the Rhodesa gold field The Buluwayo
railway also shows greatly increased net
earnings. II reached Buluwayo in 1897
and in that year earned s3S3,500 net. At
present the net earnings are at rate OF
$500 900 year The road is being pushed
northwest to the Zambesi river. A hum
dred miles of roadbcd have been completed
and two bridges are well in hand. The
prospect of war with the Transvaal arrests
somewhat the development of Rhodesia.
Labor 10 less easy to get, as the natives
wish to take part in the war. The $4,000
white inhabitants of Rhodesa will have
their hands full to keep the Matabele and
Mashonas in subjection. The Matabele war
cost 100000; the Matabele rebellion sl3,-
500 00O Rhodesla has cost its stockholders
SIS, 100000 in excess of all receipts.
The annual report OF the British post
master general for the year ending
March 81 last makes a very good showing.
The total receipts of the postal and tel
egraph service exceeded the expenditures
by SIS, 1876, $50. II allowance is made for in
terest on the capital invested in the tel
egraph branch of the service, 543i3, ,315, the
profit on the entire department business for
the year was SIC $50 $40, a very "tidy" sum.
This includes profits from the parcels pest as
we'll as from the postal service proper, The
rate for letters In the United Kingdom is
penny, or cents of our money. For the
same amount a letter is carried 1900 miles
or more in the United States, which really
makes tho rate in this country very mucn
lower than In England The star-route sys-
tenn in the United States through the
sparsely settled portion of the country is
something unknown in the United Kingdom.
1t is very expensive part of our service.
The payments to railroads in this country
vastly exceed the amount paid in Great
Britain. The postal service banks in the
United Kingdom held s615, 72O 495 in deposits
at the end OF the year. an increase for ths
year of about s25,O00,OOO. To Judge from
the postoffice returns, Great Britain is in a
prosperous condition.
1t is not generally known that prior to ten
years ago not an ounce of sugar was man
explanation of protection for home in
dustries" the government placed heavy
tax upon the imported article. UnreGned
sugar brought to the frontier cost about 30f
quintal (about 250 pounds). On entering
the country 1t was charged SSf. a quintal.
Thus a kilo of sugar (about two and oneehalf
pounds) which originally cost about 8 cents
was raised to the value of 25 cents. After
being refined the price of the sugar, in
cluding the local tax, to the consumer is
about 30 cents for two and half pounds.
Quite recently Italian farmers have dis
covered that beetroot grows finely in CEN
trail and southern Italy. This beetroot makes
excellent sugar In 1898 there were twelve
plantations cultivating beetroot for sugar
manufacture. 1t is expected that the out
put for this year will be 2S0,000 quintals.
In order to encourage the home manufac-
ture of beetroot sugar, some countries have
placed bounties at the disposal of the grow
ers Italy has recently passed a law which
imposes a heavy tax ON domestic sugar.
Italian agricultural experts have estimated
that with proper encouragement all the
sugar consumed in the peninsula can in a
few years be produced at home. The aver
age amount consumed ranges from 5000
to 100000 quintals a year. This yields a
duty to the government of from TO- 900, 900
lire (s14O00,000 to 79,000.000 lire, which |
promises to be rapidly reduced on account OF
the homegrown beetroot sugar.
General Sir Redvers Butler who will have |
the chief command in South Africa in case |
war occurs, is 60 years old and has seen |
active service In eight campaigns in Asia |
and Africa. In six OF these he has won |
medals and in all of them has received |
honorable mention. The Victoria Cross
was bestowed upon him for his heroism
in the retreat Of Inhloband during the
Zulu war, when he rescued two officers and |
one private soldier whose horses had given
out and who would surely have been over
taken and slain by the zulus but for Col
onel Buffers assistance. Besides the Zulu
war his campaigns include the Ashantee war
OF lST3-74, the Boer war CT 1881. the Egyp
tian war of 1882, the Soudan expedition OF
Sir Gerald Graham in 1884 and the Soudan
expedition of Sir Garnet Wolseley in 1SS4-So.
In the latter campaign he was Wolseley's
chief OF staff and later took command OF
the desert column and extricated it from
a perilous position at Gubat, fighting ana
winning the battle of Abu Klea Wells. He
was chief of staff to Sir Evelyn Wood dur
ing the Boer war of 1881. He was once com
mander of the forces in Ireland. General
Sir George Stewart White, who has been
appointed to command the troops in Natal,
which will carry with it the active field COM
mand OF the war, is Ga years old and has
served In the Indian Mutiny, the Afghan
war of 1850, besides numerous lesser
mostly in India. He was COM
r-in- chief of the forces in India from
1898 to 1898.
When Venezuela last voted for president
az the country, in 1897, General Andrade, the
staunch supporter of General Crespo and
of the cabinet, was declared elected.