SOUTH AFRICAN REPUBLIC. 



779 



mining industry of the Witwatersrand and Bar- 

 berton districts has changed the economical, polit- 

 ical, and social conditions of the country. The 

 gold production, which was 6,010 in 1895, grew 

 to 1,869,645 in 1890, 8,569,555 in 1895, and 

 11,476,260 in 1897, exceeding that of any other 

 country. The quantity extracted in 1897 was 

 3,289,720 ounces, of which 3,034,678 ounces were 

 from the Witwatersrand, 113,972 ounces from De 

 Kaap, 84,781 ounces from Klerksdorp, 50,942 

 ounces from Lydenburg, 223 ounces from 

 Zoutpansberg, and 5,120 ounces from Swazi- 

 land and other districts. The 72 principal com- 

 panies in 1897 employed 8,060 whites, paying 

 them 2,521,603 in wages. The number of na- 

 tives employed in the mines was about 70,000. 

 In 1898 the output of the Rand increased to 

 16,240,630 in value, with a prospect of its reach- 

 ing 20,000,000 in 1899. Since the opening of 

 the mines in 1884 the total production has been 



1,254,058 for clothing, 869,443 for railroad 

 material, and 864,126 for iron goods. 



Railroads and Telegraphs. The railroads of 

 the Republic have outlets at the Cape, Durban, 

 and Delagoa Bay. There were 774 miles in opera- 

 tion on Sept. 1, 1897, and 270 miles were under 

 construction and 252 miles projected. 



The telegraphs erected within the boundaries 

 of the Republic have a total length of aboiit 

 2,000 miles, connecting the principal towns with 

 the systems of Cape Colony, Natal, and the Brit- 

 ish South Africa Company y s territory. 



Swaziland. The native territory of Swaziland 

 passed under the administration of the South 

 African Republic by a convention concluded with 

 Great Britain in 1894; but it is not to be incor- 

 porated in the Republic, and the natives retain 

 the right to govern themselves in accordance with 

 their own laws so far as these are consistent with 

 civilized customs, and must not be deprived of 



PORT NATAL AND DURBAN. 



70,228,603. The investments in the mines are 

 held not alone in Great Britain, but largely in 

 France also, and to a considerable extent in Ger- 

 many. 



Coal is found within convenient distance of the 

 Witwatersrand and other gold fields. The quan- 

 tity raised in 1897 was 1,600,212 tons, valued at 

 612,668. 



P.rsides gold, the principal exports are wool, 

 cattle, hides, grain, ostrich feathers, ivory, and 

 minerals. The dutiable imports in 1897 amount- 

 ed to 13,563,827, paying 1,289,039 in duties. 

 The total value of imports was estimated at 

 21.515.000, of which 17,012,000 came from 

 Great Britain, 2,747,000 from the United States, 

 1,054,226 from Germany, and 701,774 from 

 Holland, Belgium, and France. The values of the 

 principal imports were 1,876,391 for machinery, 



their lands and grazing grounds. The hut tax 

 and other imposts have been collected since Au- 

 gust, 1898. The territory has an area of about 

 8,500 square miles and a population of 40,000 to 

 60,000 natives and about 1,000 whites. The per- 

 manent chief, Ngwane, has an army of 18,000 

 men. Before the natives began to pay taxes the 

 Government of the South African Republic had 

 to provide about 48,000 a year for the expenses 

 of the administration, which is in charge of a 

 special commissioner, J. C. Krogh. Gold is mined 

 to some extent, and recently coal mines have been 

 opened. Tin was formerly obtained, but mining 

 has been suspended. 



The Boer Ultimatum. After the failure of 

 the Bloemfontein conference and the enactment 

 by the Transvaal Volksraad of a seven years' 

 qualification for the franchise, Mr. Chamberlain, 



