THE SOUTH AFRICAN GOLD

Tuapeka Times, Volume I, Issue 49, 16 January 1869, Page 6

THE SOUTH AFRICAN GOLD

The Natal Merctjry'' pf MjM says j-4 i t _ ,v \ The gr^fat excite^nent of the past fortnight has been the tidings from the goldfieldsan Matjen's territory.^ The existence of the fields has now been placed beyond a doubt. A specimen of the quariir Jbsrrfitived in Durban, and been exhibited at the store of* Mr. At ■ W. EVans. ' 'NuaSori W&nm have eagerly soiight^>J(joft &% The specimen is very, rich indeed, and Mr. "W". H. Evans" is o¥ that a ton of such ( Quartz; Would yieM fron» 200 ozs. to 2500z5. of* gold. .Xy was a picked specimen", but 'not" the best. Cithers !s^&s%#^%Pm\SiQheli t 8 Town to Sir Philip Wodehouse and to GMsh'ftnstd'Wn.' ' 'TheSe^ere the richest fragments received from the diggers. Many of -our readers are interestedinwhat^Dr. Baylor thinfcß of matters/ He writes under date June 7 :■— " Scohomo's (erroneously called Bamahgwato), ten days' trejk frQm the "diggings. I have seen some' specimens ofgold in quartz, \\rbich are really very fine, and a small quantity of washed* gold. . -. v We have had. long and tiresome trek from- Sustenburg, and suffered "considerably from want of water. ... As sopn. as, 1 have ascertained the quantity oT gold lively to be obtained I .shall return." Mr. Bromwich; who accompanies Dr. Taylor, writes to Mr. . Grice, from Shoshou, under date 17th of June, that they reached that place (Matjen's vice Sekomi) on the 4th of June, via Eustenburg. He had "seen some beautiful specimens of miartz, -with bits' of gold attached the size of Small shot. Also a little gold dust washed from the earth. He describes ! S^oshou as being a- large town, con- j taining about 50,000 natives, whose chief's name is Matjen. Bamangwato is the name of the mountain ran we under which Shoshou is built. On the way from Bustenburg they were once 24i hours,, and once 26 hoars without water. One of the most agreeable features of the week's budget is the announcement that Moselekatse has virtually recognised Matjen's sovereignity over the Victoria goldfields by declaring" as Tiis southern boundary the N'kljuezi stream, wich is 60 miles to the north, of t&e^Tatin,., where the diggers are. " Hatjen'in his turn, Becks to become a British subject, and has permitted the British flag to be hoisted in his territory. Surely the Jbigh commissioner will not shrink from accepting the responsibtlifcr entailed by such a request. The only bar to £he annexation of this territory was the possibility of complications with Moselekatse, who is too strong a chieftain to be* despised, That difficulty, by his own act, is now removed. Mule trains ought now be organised, at all events as far as the borders of Natal, to relieve the port and city from the sure of unnecessary detention* there in of large bodies of impatient diggers, who ought toiind all the facilities of locomotion that are practicable. As regards accommodation en the road, that will not be any difficulty until beyond Harriamitb, and private enterprise will in time put that right. But if at the outset it were possible to organise a transport system* there as well, it would be an additional means permanently establishing 1 Natal as the main artery to and from the digginsg. Th^ibllowing is the substance of CapftMKjiSck's letter to Mr. Bisset, date dj^^HHia Diggings, May 3:— in^^^^^Bl little to say- about the Ijj^^^^^^^p l° n o way to sink for pit down nearly 40 $botit lis feet, through slate-stone we do not hard.. It is a very 1 I should not until I can

: around there are.gtyarts ridges, and room encmgh.for thousands and thouiW'isMetii'tof Jtertc*^be«fcise 1 caofflft giye r rarijj> faqfea repdrt, sfqp which lam very^otry . AH%rt!csme mvrt come on the same footing, thM foond whif ire* came iof , bgt not in The Ad*tt*w " feb B^VU place 'ftMjaHiUk^fc. J^en^'s^&wjmen comp^ iatbe cHef j8 Maclwiene. * Egs counfgr and Sekdmi's is the same, 'Se^mf Having forth^p^seViilef^^Ke^coAkfey.^ Tfifr, name 1 MacHlfenerappears I sometime* in the papers as "Jiatjen^vfcich: iij, however a twist given to .Maehuene by boere .and travellers... The. name, however", is as we haye, written il h Machuene, and signifies f^the* of the* babbon.' "We learn a&o^tfiatTttachileiie is very desirous of bee<Jmin^ a Britiih subject, and wtfJbelieve a commission from him is on\it§ way to the Cape; The Transvaal Gfovernment has already annexed the. gold -country to their own, very -much to. Mac|»ttie'B dlssajasfec^ ticftV.wltb jfcOjttla 'mWlr prefer* being » Briton' to beuTJgiETv^peme. v A Prassia*n is also m the country, having credentials from Count Bismarck. •' "Wa think Machuene's proposal should be entertained and his couAtr^ annexed. It is true the land is a long jway from the colonial border, and 'serious difficulties m-iy "be in the way*^ our annexing it ; but still ..more serious difficulties will arise if it be annexed to the Transvaal Republic, or to, betaken possession of by the Prussian Govern* ment. In round numbers the Machuene diggings are about ten weeks distant from Colesberg. travellffig lay a bullock waggon. The road lies tbjoßgn Hopetown on to Euruma, antjhilu.e nprfth, or nearly so, keeping along a line not very far from the western boundary of the Transvaal. Machuene is somewhat to the south of Mose^ lekatse, and of course nearer to us. ■ t /