603 | 398,285 | ... | 2,277,640--1895|
|September | 194,765 | 202,562 | 262,150 | 408,502 | ... | 2,281,175--1896|
|October | 192,652 | 199,890 | 274,175 | 423,217 | ... | 3,034,674--1897|
|November | 195,219 | 201,113 | 297,124 | 413,517 | ... | 4,555,009--1898|
|December | 178,429 | 206,517 | 310,712 | 440,674 | ... | 3,193,777--1899|
+----------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+----------------+
|Total |2,277,640|2,281,175|3,034,674|4,555,009|3,193,777|21,899,562 ozs. |
+----------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+----------------+
Government Returns; some additions to be made for Rhodesia.

DIAMONDS

The discovery of diamonds in South Africa was made by a curious
accident. One day a trader travelling along in the neighbourhood
north of Cape Colony happened to stop at a farm. While there, he was
interested in a small child who was toying with a bright and
singularly lustrous pebble. His curiosity was aroused, and he
suggested that the thing might be rare enough to be of some value.
Thereupon the stone was sent to an expert in Grahamstown, who
declared it to be a diamond. The stone weighed twenty-one carats and
was valued at L500. From that date search was made in and around the
locality, and more diamonds, smaller and of inferior quality, were
found. During the years 1867-68 nothing very active was done, though
now and again these precious stones were discovered near the Vaal
River.

In the month of March, 1869, the world was startled and began to
open its eyes. The diamond known as "the Star of Africa," weighing
some eighty-three carats in its raw state, was obtained from a
Hottentot. This individual had been in possession of the valuable
property for some time, and had kept it solely on account of its
rarity as a charm. The stone was eventually sold for the sum of
L11,000.

The north bank of the Vaal where the discoveries were made was, at
that time, a species of "No-Man's-Land." The southern bank belonged
to the Free State, but for the other side there were many claimants,
none of whom could prove a title to it. The community of miners
which there gathered was consequently lawless and ruffianly, and its
mode of government was distinctly primitive.

The various claimants, notably the Griqua Captain, Nicholas
Waterboer, commenced disputes regarding the valuable portion of the
Free State territory, and finally it was decided to submit to
British a