THE TRANSVAAL. 187 



Imperial Government. The sufferings are evidently 

 irritating to the French Government at least, many 

 of whose subjects are largely interested in the 

 gold industry, the prosperity of which it is the 

 policy of the Transvaal Government to minimise 

 or destroy, with a view of depressing the share 

 market till measures are ripe for bringing out the 

 companies and converting the property so secured 

 into a huge Government monopoly. 



Indeed, in the existent state of things it is simply 

 absurd to prate about British supremacy, para- 

 mountcy, conventions, and the rest, unless such 

 pressure is applied as will compel the Transvaal 

 oligarchy to abandon its Chinese attitude once for 

 all and link hands with all concerned in developing 

 the latent resources of South Africa. However 

 inferior the country may be in what I will call 

 surface value, it is more or less throughout a highly 

 mineralised country but very slightly prospected. 

 Whether such a disagreeable state of things can 

 be consummated peaceably or otherwise remains 

 to be revealed, but the sooner a crisis of some sort 

 is brought about the better. Otherwise dangers 

 and difficulties will continue to increase, and it 

 can hardly be wise or creditable to defer finalities 



