As a result the stranger soon
perceives that the whole community revolves on one axis, and is centred,
so to speak, in one authority. "De Beers" is the moving spirit, the
generous employer, and the universal benefactor. At that time there were
7,000 men employed in the mines, white and black, the skilled mechanics
receiving as much as L6 a week. Evidence of the generosity of this
company was seen in the model village built for the white workmen; in
the orchard containing 7,000 fruit-trees, then one of Mr. Rhodes's
favourite hobbies; and in the stud-farm for improving the breed of
horses in South Africa. If I asked the profession of any of the smart
young men who frequented the house where we were staying, for games of
croquet, it amused me always to receive the same answer, "He is
something in De Beers." The town itself boasts of many commodious public
buildings, a great number of churches of all denominations, an excellent
and well-known club; but whatever the edifice, the roofing is always
corrugated iron, imported, I was told, from Wolverhampton. This roofing,
indeed, prevails over the whole of new South Africa; and although it
appears a very unsuitable protection from the burning rays of the
African sun, no doubt its comparative cheapness and the quickness of its
erection are the reasons why this style was introduced, and has been
adhered to.
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