New-York tribune., 1910-11-06

Two days ago the first Union Parliament was
opened In Cape Town. and what has been a
mere ministry became in fact true representa-
tive government
The flag OF the new land is the flag of Eng
land. and the party in power is the party OF the
Beers Louis Botha is Premier. and Louis
Botha VAS commander-in-chief Of the Boer
armies Yet race pride and race hatred. fanati-
cal religion and the gold hunger of vast corpora
tons. bddite and fire and concentration camps
and the death OF % 600 men in the field are no
materials with which TO build free powerful
peaceful commonwealth Certainly there have
been forces at work in South Africa since the
peace that are as well worth attention = were
the stirring scenes that went before.
The very name south Africa" calls up a vivid
picture to mems minds wherever newspapers
have cone. The whole world remembers il a
desolate. lofty land. trseIess. wateriess and i'm
nense. I Land Of mirages and dust storms, in
habited by cattle and by uncouth, slow-spoken
men whose thoughts like hot Goals Tn
derground there VAS gold and there We're da-
monds. and cities had sprung UP above the
veins
There the two proudest. sullencst races on
earth were face To face, their hatred for each
other in5anaed by piety and gold fever. Oldest
Of breeders They had fought and had
patched uP a truce which many men Of each
side believed a shameful one. The Dutch had
given ap their independence: the English seemed
10 have given up nearly everything else.
So far rs il went that picture Of South Africa
WAS a true one. Il is not true to-day. The veldt
Is gtiH lonely. mysterious and overwhelming.
There are steam YIoughs on II today and miles
Of grain and Indian corn where there we're only
cattle ranges The Boer farmer acts in a very
different spirit from that which moved him ten
years ago He has learned modern dry farm
ing Forty times many acres are planted
in -rpus to-day there were before the war
But .Hase green fields are only sPecl1s in the
fr.naensity Of the yeldt. and the distances be
tween them are stil measured in DAYS of riding
The city of Johannesburg. flung saddle fashion
ar-ass the middle OF the Wilwatersrand. has
crown i,,- half since the war. The Gaunt hoists
and roaring stamping mills have pushed out
cast and Aest along the reef Tor almost us |
whole extent The older mines have their lower /
workings mile below the surface ana the ere
IS as -jeh a. eyer The output Of the mines mas /
nearly doubled In IS!'S the greatest gold year /
before the war. the Transvaal mined ; S'o't1oPV'.
AT the end Of last July the amount for the hIsI
seven months Of 1910 was SS900000o Last
year the TransEaal produced Sl52'ooo'Vo N
gold r,ore than any other country in the World |
more bg half than the United States, its nee |
est connection and practically one-thlTd the en-
tire gold production OF the world.
Tha diamond mines have doubled their output
since The war. The great mine at kimberley IN
IaO7. proauce,i nearly S;0000 600 and all South
Africa exported a trihe less than S49,PHVVo
worth Of the gems
But the veldt. vast and rich as Il IS Is not
South Africa. Eastward II stops short at The
e--eaf barrier OF the D-akensberg, and beyond
the land falls off II huge terraces 1900 feet
down % tie fat green plains along the coast
Here bet vyeen the Drakensberg and the sea-
lies IN. garden province" Of Natal, smallest
and most stiff -necked Of the four states Of the
union
South of the Orange Free State province Is
another mountain wall Here the vedt ends, |
and beyond are the 'karroos' Of Cape Colony, |
great rolling uTlands covered with the scrubby
plant that gives the region its name, The land
lies IN terraces as in Natal. but heulned in by
mountain chains. Il is q famous sheep raising |
country Here as on the veldt are signs OF
natural progress and OF the new spirit that is
stirring among the people, The sheep have
ra1,ItfuTi-d terfoId since the war. and to-day |
there are half as many as there in the whole
United States
Dry farming has made great strides here.
Iarge tracts have been withdrawn from the |
sheep ranges and planted IN 'mealies,' the
South African calls Indian corn, the staple crop
pf al dry regions Further south are more