THE RUSH TO TRANSVAAL.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 2683, 8 June 1889, Page 6 (Supplement)

THE RUSH TO TRANSVAAL.

A GLOWING ACCOUNT OF THE FIELD. Of late comparatively little has been heard in Melbourne of the South African goldfields, which a few years ago attracted great attention both in the Australian colonies and at home. This absence of intelligence, it would seem, does not arise from the fact that the Transvaal has ceased to attract attention. On the contrary, tho letter which we give below, dated Johannesburg, 2Sth March, and received a few day ago by Mr John Coleinan, of the Albion Family Hotel, Northcote, gives the impression that the Transvaal is going ahead in au extraordinary manner, and that there are few places in the world at the present moment which afford a better market tor both labor aud oapital than the South African Republic. The writer of the letter is a hard-working practical man, of a Jong and varied experience on Australia and New Zealand goldfields, and, as our informaut assures us, " a man who has been so often disappointed himself by misleading reports that he would not think of misleading others." An additional testimony to the tempting nature of this new field of mining enterprise is given us by a passenger just arrived in Melbourne from England via the Cape. He says that when at the Cape, Bank clerks, commercial men and tradesmen were all clearing out for the goldfields, and employers were sending home for men. There being no direct cable communication with the Cape accounts in some measure for the absence of intelligence about what is going on in the Transvaal. The appended letter will be read with some interest :—

I hasten to write you some particulars about this wonderful country, I had some difficulty in getting np here, communication with the interior being, as yet, of a rather primitive character, and the traffic between North Natal and the Transvaal is simply immense, and altogether in excess of the carrying capacity of our limited conveyances. The Transvaal is the heart of this great South African Republic. You can have no idea of what is going on iu this part of the world. Australians know simply nothing of South Africa, and this fault is attributable to the deplorable absence of all African news from the columns of your great Melbourne dailies and weeklies. So far as I can judge your papers have no correspondents here, so that all news concerning this place, its doings and prospects goes to England ; and the news agents or correspondents there don't seem to think it worth while to send it on to you, believing, perhaps, that you are already well supplied direct from the Cape. I can acoount for the oversight in no other way. Anyhow, let the blame be where it may, the fact is the same, that Victorians have been allowed to remain in tho dark about the really inaguificent inducements this country holds out to all active men. Here there is a great and grand outlook, which everybody should know about ; still 1 look in the Australian papers in vain for | a single word about it, while the papers in other countries are positively aglow with the discoveries daily coming to light, I have not words to express my sorrow at not coming here when I left Western Australia. Had I done so I would have arrived here in the middle of one of the greatest mining booms that have yet taken place. We have lost a really good thing. Perhaps the like will never occur again during our lifetime and I blame the Australian Press for keeping us in ignorance. There is a plethora of English capital here ; Broken Hills is not a patch on Johannesburg for foreign money. It never got caught on there as it did here ; aud even now there is plenty of money, and I hope it is not too late to do 3ome good. Every day new companies are being floated and syndicates formed, and it is expected that another booin will be set going shortly on account of recent discoveries 200 miles from here. Vrom all these accounts these are really good. There is a line of reef supposed to be traced for sixty miles, and some of tho specimens are declared superb. The output for the month is expected to give the grand return of 40,0000z. That is at Johannesburg. This is not bad for a place ouly two years discovered, and proves that the gold is here. In the face of all this, 1 must say I have not much faith in the permanency of the place, chough everybody else has. The amount of capital invested here would amaze you. The town is becoming a great place, and may be spoken of as the coming metropolis of South Africa. Money is plentiful, and business of all kinds is good. People are flocking here daily from all parts. A re-action to all this is inevitable, I know but, as yet, there are no evidences of it apparent. South Africa is one of the finest countries in the world. There are on all hands—l am speaking of the country passed through coming up here —immense tracts of agricultural and pastoral land, plenty of water, and a climate something like Auckland, Anything can be grown in the Transvaal. There is plenty of coal, silver, tin, copper ; but timber in most parts is inconveniently scarce. This place is 30 miles from Pretoria, the Dutch capital, but the Dutch are fast going down now. The capital, however, bids fair to be a great and lonely city, about 400 miles from Port Natal. I think the Natal Government have nearly completed 200 miles of railway to the Transvaal border, and I believe that the Dutch Government are about to at once take the line from the border to the capital. lam glad that I have come here, late though it be. I hope to get something worth having be. fore long, though as things are at present I cannot complain. The wages paid to ordinary miners are £1 a day, but " bosses" get something better. I expect to go out for a syndicate in a day or two at £50 per month, with a sixth interest in what I find. As far as I can see you would not regret coming here. The country is only opening up, and there may be some good things in the future worth having a " go" at. They can command plenty of money here, which is not the case in Western Australia. To my mind there is nothing like being where coin— real live coin—is, not Western Australian coin, i. e., paper. I have written this carefully, so that you may keep in mind your best interests. For my part, had I known what I know now before making up my mind to come here, all the ropes in Melbourne would not have restrained me. Yon know what I am, and I don't think you could do worse than follow my fortune. If you know anything of M— —, or can find his address, write and tell him to follow me. Give him all instructions how to find me, and let him fear not for the result.

The best way to get here is to sail direct to Cape Town by steamer if possible and, if not, by sailing vessel from Adelaide to Port Natal. Do not take the Mauritius route, for I nearly died in that beabtly hole with the fever, and I wasn't the only one. I would rather go right to London, and come out to the Cape than go by Maritius. From Port Natal you get rail to Ladysmith, and from thence by coach in three days to Johannesburg. From the Cape to the Kimberly diamond fields you can get by rail and from thence by coach, four days, to here.