ABOUT SOUTH AFRICA.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 560, 15 July 1909, Page 2

ABOUT SOUTH AFRICA.

r .,Mr:.Stephen;P.;Heyis,s a,resident.of South Africa, at present travellings through ;Australasia was interviewed' by- a DqiinnoN'reporter op, Tuesday.': Mr. Heyfts' was .fdr'many; years secf retary' of .the Merchants' Association of Cape Town, arid is'a nephew, of the Don."W. P. tie Villiers Graaff, M.L.A., of Cape Colony, feo. that he was in' olosa touch with the business and. political life of the country. Touching 'on the political situation'at Cap© Town;, ; Mr.. Heyns said: that, a question . that had attracted much, attention .was the 'proposed union of the. Johannesburg and. Provinces; .'■''. Johannesburg,, though,,apparently flourishing at present, ;is' dependent almost solely on its i mining' resources, andvthese,, as most people acquainted with'mining knbiv,'canriot endure for ever, at least'they nave not! the stability.'of agriculture. Therefore the people of Johannesburg, were desirous of securing agri-: cultural country, arid they, looked .with hungry eyes on the Western: Province, at present controlled by Cape. Colony. They offered to pay the .whole":debt of the province,'.and, take it over, but/the Colony refused.,. : ■'.:; '■. Speaking of the, Western. Province- 'led Mr; .Hoyns to talk.of farming, the occupation offering the best prospects to settlers in .; South Africa. At the present time the farming' coin-, munityis made/up of old settlers, who'are ; not progressive. They argue' on the lines: ''If Imy father 60wed 12 sacks ,of potatoes, half I for himself and half, to cover, expenses,' and lived well on it, why should I do more?" and they do' no. more. /Not, ono farmer in 40 has I any idea of getting out of the old groove, and i large areas of land/are/lying ;wasto; .Even I forage.was being imported a littlo while back. ■• "If a:New Zealander-or ah Australian, .who understood farming, went/ : over ;, to: South said Mr. Heyns, " he, would' succeed iwonderfully.■ N0t.15 miles from Cape Town' itself farms are to be obtained; at' very : low prices, and there is a good demand for farm produce in the town; while sheep' fetch' at Maitland, the. principal salcyards;.'.froih l?s. t0.215. /Further up the country,;somerSO niiles, there are cattle farnis, also offering grand opportunities. to. cnergetio men." ..',';.:,' •'.-' .. •.•'..-' For farmers ;there were certainly good openings, but for most other occupations tho': outlook''was not: at'all good. In ,Capo Tov ! n this Hindus have taken possession .of-the grocery and butchery businesses, and are rapidly driv-' ing. their European 'corapeTitor's.!off the mar.. :ket.. " They are able ■■' to sell, and' live,"' said, Mr. Hoyns, "on a 5 per cent, profit, which no white man can-.-possibly do." v •, •: :■..'■'..'■ : ■ Tho depression was likely to:be;aggravated at /an .early' date as the- result: of/.the. South African Union. The-capital/had been'fixed-at Pretoria, but though the Assembly' met. at Gape Town, it- was anticipated that in three years at'the, most it would;'b<y transferred to the Transvaal city. This would mean'that business generally would suffer, while even now/in Capo Town, properties were'sold and failed to realise the first mortgage.'. ''/.:•/,'.