RAND SITUATION.

Taranaki Daily News, 21 March 1922, Page 5

RAND SITUATION.

RETURN TO NORMAL. REPLACING NATIVE LABOR. DAMAGE ESTIMATED. By Telegraph.—Press Assn.—Copyright. Received March 21, 1.30 a.m. Capetown, March 20. -•An indication of the return to normal vonditions on the Rand is afforded by General Smuts’ return to Capetown. Efforts were being made to replace the native labor in the mines as speedily as possible. It is estimated that the damage to property on the Rand during the revolt amounts to a million sterling. A considerable proportion is due to lootings. It is also estimated that Lloyd’s will lose three-quarters of a million, while they probably received only a qiarter of a million of premiums on th» lost insurances. As illustrating the unsettling effects of the revolutionary upheaval on eountry opinion, it now transpires thit at a meeting held at Brantfort, near the Bloemfontein Free Stale, a proposal was made to raise a commando to proceed to Johannesburg and stop further bloodshed, which a speaker alleged was flowing in the interests of the Clamber of Mines. The proposal was »nly abandoned when news was received hat hostilities had ceased.—Aus.-N.Z. Cible Assn. HONORING THE FALLEN. CURFEW 'HOUR ENLARGED. Received March 21, 1.40 a.m. Capetown. March 2(1 A week ago .Tohannesbiirg resoun<ed with the noise of battle. To-day a memorial service in honor of the faien heroes was held in front of the Tovn Hall, all the units which quelled ihe rebellion being represented. The first relaxation of martial hw in the central area is making the Cirfew hour nine instead of seven o’clotk. The only union concerned which las not yet called off the strike is fie Amalgamated Engineers’ Union. Tlis is due to the difficulties of balloting tn the East Rand, but it is anticipated tie difficulties will be immediately remove!. ' —Reuter Service. REBELS’ LOSSES UNCERTAIN. •‘REDS” START THE TROUBLE. THANKS TO BURGHERS. Capetown. March 18. The prisoners captured by the Gov ernment forces are estimated to exveel 7000. There is no official statement o' the rebel casualties. The natives stat that the rebels buried many dead dur ang the fighting and endeavored to con real the extent of their losses. Then is reason to believe that the numbei killed doe? not exceed 200. Probably the exact total will never be known. Many rebels supposed to be dead are probably in hiding among the kopjes, caves and plantations along the reef. Some hundreds are in woods south of Johannesburg. Military operations are now practically confined to seaching for rebels end arms.

The gradual emergence of fresh facts shows that the Reds in the southern suburbs established mob law as early as Thursday evening, when transports were smashed, telephone wires cut and trench'es dug everywhere. The rising was organised down to a hospital staffed by young girls under the charge of a chemist. who has now been arrested. From that time the southern suburbs were in complete possession of the Reds, but, in spite of the elaborate preparations for resistance, in the end they surrendered without firing a shot, their morale being completely broken by the success of the Government forces at Brixton, Fordsbnrgh and Jeppe. The Premier and Minister of Justice visited a large force of mounted burghers at Auckland Park and had a remarkable and enthusiastic reception, the burghers cheering, breaking the ranks and crowding round the car. General Smuts said he could assure them he did not have a sleepless night. He knew thousands and tens of thousands would stand by him and not stay to ask the reason why. The revolutionaries were broken and had learned a lesson. Ugly things and horrible things had happened, atrocities which he never would have exSed even from barbarians. People been murdered in cold blood, even dated. He could not allow that sort of thing. It was a great thing for the Government to know it need keep no standing army, but could rely on the burghers when an emergency arose to do their duty without pay o reward. Addressing the burghers at Auckland Park, the Minister of Justice said they had shown rebels and revolutionaries what stuff they were made of. They were not going to bolerate all these foreign ideas which had taken root at Johannesburg. It is estimated that six millions sterling have been lost through JJhe stoppage of gold production. » RELIEF OF DISTRESS.

General Smuts has issued an appeal to the public to raise a great fund for the relief of distress on the Rand. He stated that the Government, provincial and local authorities would do their best to provide work for the unemployfed, but there was certain to be want and distress on a large scale. The adminfistrators of the provinces had been asked to take the lead in the collection of funds. General Smuts has also issued an earfaeet appeal to the employers to err on jth.e side of generosity in re-employing ■nen and to refrain from anything likely to be interpreted as a desire to take advantage of those who in many cases acted unwillingly under compulsion. He asks the employers to be generous, not only in the actual re-engagement of the anen, but also in the question of wages. The heavy legacy left by the recent deplorable events needed a spirit of goodwill and generosity to enable the country to recover and to commence the process of industrial development. One of the most remarkable personjUitim of the revolution was Percy Fishfer, a prominent strike leader, and afterwards in command of the Reds at Fordsburg. A captured policeman has given ghe Star a graphic story of his experiences as a captive in Fisher’s hands. Prisoners were required to take an wath not to take up arms or give evidence against their captors. On Sunday a marked change came jpver the Reds, caused by the news that

the Gvernment forces had taken Vrededorp. On londay, Fisher compelled some of the cotives to write a letter to General Siuts, urging him to accept an offer from le rebels, but it is doubtful whether te letter was ever sent. THE CLOSING SCENES. On Uesday the outlaws faced their inevitale fate with stolid stoicism. Fisher »eat five men unmercifully with a sjam’ak for trying to leave Fordsbnrg and goto the show grounds. When the closing our of the ultimatum approached, thegarrison met in the Red Hall, and aftr an address by Fisher, sang the Red Fla They then had drinks and departed or the trenches for the last time. The catured policeman never expected :o leave he place alive. At 11 o’clock the jrat shronel burst over the market buildings filling the hall with smoke. Fisher tol the police he did not want to see than murdered and they could take 3over. N«t a man accepted the invitation. Phcv simply sat and smoked and zheerec as the bombardment incjeased. An attmpt was made in the trenches to hoist le white flag, but that was instantly suppressed by the commander, who nnaced the men with a Winchester reiater. In tl last hour Fisher addressed the prisone with vehemence and begged them a voting Africanders to keep the flag flyg. He then handed them a blac\ kitten, hich had remained in the building, anasked them to keep it for good luek. ? several times paced up and down b hall, a moody bowed figure. Suddenl he turned and said good-bye and lefithe hall with Spendiff. “Going to put imself out,” said an old sergeant. he bodies of Fisher and Spendiff wer found in a room of the Market Hall Death was due to self-inflict-ed revolt shots. EMOBILISING FORCES. A itarhas been made with the demobiUsatn of the Government forces. In respse to the Premier’s appeal, the Gianer of Mines subscribed £20,000 fcr relief of distress on the Rand.