cars.

The next day I reached Johannesburg by the Netherlands Railway. I never rode over a better roadbed or in more comfortable They are equipped with all modern conveniences, and the dining cars reminded me of home. The cars are all of iron, even the covering and sides, and in warm weather, I am told, are like a furnace; but no better railway equipment, as a whole, can be found anywhere. Johannesburg is a busy, bustling city-the only real city in South Africa, from the standpoint of an American. The buildings would do credit to any city. The streets are wide, but the motive power of the street railways consists of horses and mules, and, as the Boers believe that the substitution of other power would stop the sale of forage and horses, the Government will not grant a concession. Of course, an electric road would open up new territory. Electric lines should also be built in Kimberley, East London, and Durban. The horse cars still run in these cities, and the length of the present roads is great.

Johannesburg.-Johannesburg has been built up by the goldmining industry, developed by foreign capital, and American ability has had a hand in the development, for Americans occupy the very necessary and responsible positions of managers, consulting engineers, and superintendents; and I was glad to learn that their ability was recognized by other countries. Mr. J. C. Manion, the United States consular agent at Johannesburg, is one of the prominent citizens. He has been the means of introducing mining machinery and supplies of all kinds of American manufacture, to the value of millions of dollars. I took pleasure in viewing the powerful engines, compressors, head gears, miles of piping, crushers, etc., that he had introduced. For 20 miles on each side of the city extend the head gears and smokestacks of mines-over 100 of them-which have made the city and State what it is and enabled President Kruger to sell a farm for $400,000 the day I was there.

The mining exchange, where the daily sale of shares occurs, is as lively and as unintelligible as our own stock exchanges. Over 15 tons of gold per month is the product of the mines, and the ground is only beginning to be worked. New discoveries are reported daily. The main reef crops out at the surface and the veins. dip to great depths; some of the new shafts are going down to 3,200-foot levels. Complaints are made of the prices of dynamite, which costs 70s. ($17.03) per case, and could be bought out of the State for 40s. ($9.73); the Government granted the concession to a company which makes thousands of pounds sterling per annum out of it. A concession for the manufacture of candles has just been granted, so that the miners who use candles for underground work will be obliged to buy of the manufacturer, as the duty will be prohibitive. The railways, I was told, charge for freight from

the border to Johannesburg, a distance of 47 miles, as much as it costs to haul from the seaports, 1,000 miles away. I was informed that candles made in Belgium were mostly used, as they can be bought much cheaper, but the candle concession will stop all outside purchases. While the United States can not now compete for the candle trade, I am pleased to state that the factory will be equipped with American machinery throughout.

American steel and iron makers should have a share of the trade in the tool and drill steel used so largely in the mines. England and Germany now furnish all of it, and their brands are well known. American manufacturers of steel should send samples to J. C. Manion, United States consular agent. At one mine, I saw hundreds of drills on the platform that had just been sharpened. The cyanide tanks used at all the mines, as well as their heavy iron supports, should also be made in the United States. Size of tanks, 37 and 47 inches high, 8 to 10 feet in diameter. The copper plates used to catch the gold amalgam, the immense amount of structural iron, the iron trucks that carry the ore and that wear out so rapidly, the round-head screw bolts, the bolts that hold the shaft timbers, the wire rope that pulls the innumerable trucks, the hoisting mechanism, and many other things should also be competed for.

I regret to report that the imports of bottled American beer are falling off rapidly, the light German beer largely taking its place; but that brewed in the South African Republic is largely used and is considered very good.

DURBAN.

Durban, Natal, is twenty-four hours' ride from Johannesburg, which city I left wearing an overcoat, but at Durban I found warm weather and an abundance of fruit and flowers. This is a winter resort, and at present the hotels are full of people from the Transvaal. Durban carries at present the largest tonnage to the Transvaal, but the value of goods imported via Cape Town is the highest. for January and February of this year were as follows:

From

Imports.

Quantity. Value.

I spent several days in Durban, calling on the merchants, talking trade, and comparing prices. One of them said to me:

After the

I recently ordered 5 tons of hoop iron of an English manufacturer. order had gone forward, one of your American salesmen came along and made me a price $10 per ton less, and I gave him an order for 5 tons and then tried to have

the English order canceled, but the English house refused, and in their reply stated that "no one could make and guarantee a first-class article at the price named, and a test would prove it." When the iron arrived, I tested both, and the American was several per cent the best.

I could fill several sheets with just such agreeable statements. A number of the stores I have visited are well stocked and of a magnitude that was unexpected to me. Our wholesale houses in America are many of them small in comparison. Large stocks have to be carried, and goods are often kept in bond. The stores cover a good deal of ground.

The jinrikshas, pulled are used as are our cabs. black race in the world. telligent, and easily governed. Those who pull the jinrikshas put the horns of animals on their heads and fasten the wings of large birds on their arms. Their arms, legs, ears, and noses are loaded down with iron and brass ornaments. No one is allowed to sell them any intoxicating drink, and they are consequently peaceable and happy.

by Zulus, are the public conveyance and The Zulus are the finest specimens of the They are mahogany colored, stalwart, in

I stopped at a hotel just being completed, and was pleased to note that all the doors and trimmings, and even the electric lights, were from the United States. In fact I was, during my whole trip, all the time putting my hands on something American. I was told that our "screw-drivers, hammers, hatchets, chisels, etc., were so cheap (though good) that it did not pay to grind or repair themthat it was better and cheaper to buy new ones."

Durban gets its meat and butter from Australia, and some of its wheat and flour. There are no mines, but the sugar and tea industries are growing; the labor is furnished by coolies from India. A company has recently been formed to manufacture fiber from the aloe plant. The fiber is a smooth, long, and strong article, superior to sisal and equal to manila.

The suburbs of Durban are on a range of hills and contain some of the finest residences I have seen anywhere. They command an ocean view and are surrounded with tropical trees, flowers, and fruits. Many people of means come here to live. We may look for some very handsome orders from this section.

EAST LONDON.

Taking a steamer of the Union Line, I left Durban for a seven days' voyage to Cape Town. I stopped in East London to visit. W. H. Fuller, our consular agent there. He is of the firm of Dyer & Dyer, merchants, who have branch stores in other towns, do a large wholesale as well as retail business, and are firm friends of American

productions. Their stores, covering a whole block, are filled with American goods, and Mr. Fuller called my attention to the specimens of our furniture he had, which he pronounced good, and added that since United States manufacturers are now imitating English styles the demand will be larger.

The United States consular agents in South Africa are all representative, able men, well known and well liked, and are helping our commercial interests, as is shown by the statement that, although the total of imports into South Africa was less for 1898 than for 1897, the imports from the United States increased instead of falling off. East London is a business city and through its port passes a large amount of the imports and exports of South Africa. Tonnage. (registered) of vessels that entered the port in 1898 amounted to 397,037 tons, and 253,351 tons were landed. Its total imports amounted in 1898 to £3,758,469 ($18,290,539) and exports to £978,985 ($4,789,855); the goods in transit to the South African Republic amounted to £262,937 ($1,279,583). The imports of food stuffs for 1897 and 1898, most of which came from America, were:

One can see in this city a stock of agricultural implements equal to that in any American city of equal size, and nine-tenths of the stock is of American manufacture. I would advise the plow manufacturers of the United States to send over, not salesmen, but mechanics and experts, to learn the wants of these customers.

PORT ELIZABETH.

From East London I sailed for Port Elizabeth, visiting the agency there while the ship was discharging cargo. One more stop was made at Mossel Bay, where I found a ship from America (a British ship) discharging a cargo of 1,000 tons of rails for a new railroad. I might add, in reference to Port Elizabeth, that the registered tonnage entering the port in 1898 was 1,794,671 tons, carried by 534 vessels. The total exports for 1898 were valued at £2,103,351 ($10,235,958), of which wool amounted to £851,784 ($4, 145, 207), Angora hair to £589,510 ($2,868,504), and ostrich feathers to £442,759 ($2,214,683). The total imports for 1897 were £8,411,606 ($40,935,081) and for 1898 £6,645,030 ($32,338,038), and, while a decided decrease is shown, I state again, to impress it upon the minds of

our producers, that the imports from the United States did not decrease. American goods are liked, are bought, and with no unforeseen disaster will be bought in greater quantities from year to year if our manufacturers do their part.

Several corporations in the United States have also been incorporated in Great Britain, with offices in London, for the purpose of better commercial intercourse.

ELECTRIC LIGHTS.

I must make mention of the electric-light and telephone plants seen on the trip. At Kimberley the service is American and is good. At Johannesburg it is Dutch, and everyone is finding fault; no service is furnished after 5 p. m., and you must pay a year's subscription in advance-about $75 per month. In Durban it is German,

and fair.

CAPE TOWN, June 15, 1899.

J. G. STOWE,
Consul-General.

BROOM FACTORY IN THE TRANSVAAL.

Consul Macrum, of Pretoria, under date of June 24, 1899, sends translation of a concession by which the Government of the South African Republic grants to Messrs. Gottstein & Lagesen certain rights and privileges in the manufacture of brushes and brooms. The consul adds that he understands that Mr. Gottstein is about to depart for the United States in quest of capital, machinery, material, etc. The substance of the concession is given below:

The Government gives the contractors the right to manufacture all kinds of brushes and brooms, made of hair, plants, fiber, etc., as well as painters' and all other sorts of brushes. The place of erection is to be specified by the Government and the construction of the factory is to be begun within twelve months. The contractors are to use, as far as possible, the raw produce of the Republic. The products shall not be sold at a higher price than the fluctuating market prices of the South African Republic, the additional special duty not being included. If the products of the factory are of a quality and quantity to satisfy the Government, a special prohibitive duty of 333 per cent will be granted by the Volksraad. After the first three years, the Government is to receive 5 per cent of the net profits accruing from the above-named factory, this payment to be made yearly. Government officers shall inspect the books of the factory from time to time and exercise control of the working.

Nonfulfillment of the contract will involve a fine and revocation