The daily morning journal and courier., 1906-12-13

man who employs a respectable sized gang of boys-was only recently on the verge of giving in. A run of blank weeks had eaten away his capital. His boys were unpaid. He could hardly force himself to remain on the bank and go through the endless washing, always finding nothing. At last he de- eided to chuck It." Some of his gtar was actually removed, when suddenly ne was put back, and the digger is still tempting fortune on the banks of the Vaal. Over there is a Manchester man with his ''ehum." The former is an educated man, formerly an account ant. They have no native labor, but do the whole of the rough work them selves. A few days ago they were lit- erally existing upon mealie pap. Then two small stones were found, and to- day they are again eating white mans food. Many curious history could be told by the diamond dlggers of the Vaal. Here are men who have tray eled over half the globe, always driven onward by the passion for finding the wealth which nature hides so cleverly. Hope leads them ever onward, like a will O the wisp, Another blank day, to-day? Never mind, there is to-mor- row; and then, perpaps-- Alas! an old digger told me that only five per cent. of the diggers ever do even mod erately well. In most cases, those who have luck squander in a few hours the windfall of a minute.
 But there is trouble brewing on the banks of the sunny VaaI You notice that although there are evidences of past digging on the Transvaal shore, all the diggers have removed to the Orange River Colony bank. This is not because the zoutpan's Drift side is the richer. The bend of the stream on the Christiana side is believed to contain Tar the greater wealth. During the little work that was done there stone of thirty-three carats, which was sold on the spot for four hundred and sev- enty-two pounds sterling, was dscov- cred, whereas, in all the digging on the opposite shore, the gibgest diamond has been nineteen and one-half carats, the sale price being one hundred and twen- ty pounds But further licenses for the Transvaal side have been refused It has been ruled that the bed of the riv- CT is Crown land. This necessitates it's formal proclamation by the govern ment, and there will be considerable delay before this can be done.
 The sequel is likely to be trouble, As the river falls there will be a great in- fiuX of dlggers from other parts )f the river as well as from the Rand. A thousand are said ta be cor, 1g down. These men will find the Orange River Colony bank fairly filled up, and yet before their eyes a potential Eldorado. which, for some reason they cannot fathom, is a closed land. The danger is-and 1t is not remote one-that the diggers will defy the law and descend into the bed of the river, as soon as the water Is low enough, and begin work. Once established there it will be hard to get them to shift, and some people on the spot already mention the word riot. It certainly seems desirable that the men should be allowed to work, even if there is technical breach of the law. The diggings realize between twelve hundred and eleven hundred pounds month in diamonds, and the trade which results keeps Christiana, which is the seventh or eghts largest town in the Transvaal, solvent The season is a short one, and the rains may come down in October or Ooyem- Der and stop all work. Unless some action Is taken the season will be lost, and the town and the dlggers will be reduced to serious traits. In fact the little industry on the Vaal is threat ened with ruin-stranger by red tape. So, to-day, there is discomfort in the tents and mud huts, and the river dig gens threaten to possess the land they regard as theirs, whether the formal sanction is given or not,-Pall Mall Gazette.