RHODESIA. 199 



acquisition of the country and its retention in spite 

 of the determined efforts of the warlike Matabele 

 to eject them, but to the Home Government, which 

 for once in a way was wise enough to ignore " red 

 tape" and allow a free hand to competent men, 

 with the result that the Chartered Company may 

 fairly lay claim, as far as past action is concerned, 

 to adopt " Sans peur et sans reproche " as its 

 motto. 



The financial success of the Chartered Company 

 will, I think, depend entirely on the amount of 

 profitable gold exhumed within its territories, as, 

 although the capabilities for pastoral and agri- 

 cultural operations of many parts of Matabeleland 

 and Mashonaland are at least on an equality with 

 those of any of the settled parts of South Africa, 

 it is obvious that the success of the farming popula- 

 tion must depend on a good local demand for 

 produce. Mining centres will, if successful, ensure 

 the prosperity of the farming community as a 

 matter of course, and the cost of living on these 

 mining centres will compare very favourably with 

 such expenses on the Johannesburg gold fields, 

 situated as they are in a part of the country where 

 the commonest necessities of life have to be 



