The Transvaal.

Manawatu Herald, 5 October 1899, Page 2

The Transvaal.

♦ PROBABLE SCENE OF FIGHTING. " Uitlandor " writes in the Argus ;is follows : It has already been u rm^ed in previous articles that id the event of hostilities the western frontier, of the Transvaal would b*ha scene of the earliest operations This view now is fully borne out. R ferpnces to the map will show the enormous frontier line between th< Trnn<svaal and British possessions. and also that our railway service wi'h tin north is carried on along thic border. The importance of keeping open this line of communication has* for some tirao pa.<»t occupied the mention of the military authorittep. and, directly upon arrival, Colone* Baden-Powell and a number of the service officprs who accompanied him from England we^ to Mafeking and Buluwayo The ostensible reason for this wa■«aid to be to organise local forces, to guard against native trouble in cis< \f war breaking out, but according? to the latest news they have been engaged in organising measures frr r,he protection of the railway. For this purpose a special regiment ha been recruited in the Gape Oolony It has been placed under the command of lieutenant -Colonel C. 0 Hore (South Staffordshire Regimpnt) To avoid friction with the CapfMiniptry, the headquarters were not fixed, as they naturally should have been, at Mafeking but seventeen miles to the north, in the Bechuana (and protectorate, at Rabathlabama The camp at; Rabathlabama was established with some ffve hundred men of tbe Pretectorate Regiment, under the command of Lieutenant. Colonel Hore. The remainder of the regiment are in oamp at

Buluwayo, which is four hundred and eigb'y milpp to the north. Opposite to M^fekiDg. in Transvaal territory, is Z eru*r, and about ix?y miles to the south, is Manboga. jiose to the frontier, th- B iera have •Htabli-h^d a larger. What, how■ver, in of greater urgency ac present h that th^ M u-iboga laager would n all probabi i:y foitn <hu bane of ft B >»r atack upou V«yburg and Vlif-king. It is ftitua ed junt tquidisteme be^yeen the two places, Kimberley is certainly in a very defenceless condition, and the geographical position of the town is "4, one of great danger. There are a couple of strong volunteer regiments with magnificent records in Kaffir warfare, but there are no defences. A little time ago some pieces of artillery were sent from Capetewo but with regard to small arms tbtyp volunteers are very badly off, not having yet been supplied with the modern Lee«Metford. Gould the Boers succeed in reaching Kimbley they would do an irreparable amount of damage. m How rich a prize Kimberley woula be or rather how important is the town, will be recognised in tha fact that practically all the diamonds produced in the world to-day (with the exception of a relatively Braall quantity produced in the gigantic corporation— the De Beers ConMOlidaved — controls the entire industry, the capital valoe of this company being, according to ruling market prices, about £26,000,000. List year dividend* were paid to the amount of £1,500.000. The company employs about two thousand white men and about eight thousand K-tffird, the latter being located in large compounds, working under oontraot for six months. Although the Baer3 have a large amount of money in the Treasury so great has been their expenditure of late that their resources most soon approach exhaustion. What means are there of replenishing them ? Were war to break out, it is possible they might loot the banks, and obtain a certain sum in this way. The chief banks in Johannesburg are the Standard Bank of Sooth Africa, the Natal Bank, the Bank of Africa, the Netherlands Bank, and ihe African Banking Corporation, otherwise known as the A.8.0. There would also be the possibility, or rather the probality of a large mount of gold being obtained from " the mines The companies are still working, and the daily product of the Johannesburg miuea is about £60,---000. If only a week's Btock of amalgam could be secured it would iepresent in value nearly half a million of money