have done so, nor could it have assured for him the popularity which he
gained, not only among the European colonists, but also among the coloured
people, notwithstanding the ruthlessness which he displayed in regard to
them. There were millionaires far richer than himself in Kimberley and in
Johannesburg. Alfred Beit, to mention only one, could dispose of a much
larger capital than Rhodes ever possessed, but this did not give him an
influence that could be compared with that of his friend, and not even the
Life Governorship of De Beers procured for him any other fame than that of
being a fabulously rich man. Barney Barnato and Joel were also familiar
figures in the circle of wealthy speculators who lived under the shade of
Table Mountain; but none among these men, some of whom were also
remarkable in their way, could effect a tenth or even a millionth part of
what Rhodes succeeded in performing. His was the moving spirit, without
whom these men could never have conceived, far less done, all that they
did. It was the magic of Rhodes' name which created that formidable
organisation called the De Beers Company; which annexed to the British
Empire the vast territory known now by the name of Rhodesia; and which
attracted to the gold fields of Johannesburg all those whom they were to
enrich or to ruin. Without the association and glamour of Rhodes' name,
too, this area could never have acquired the political importance it
possessed in the few years which preceded, and covered, the Boer War.
Rhodes' was the mind which, after bringing about the famous Amalgamation
of the diamond mines around Kimberley, then conceived the idea of turning
a private company into a political instrument of a power which would
control public opinion and public life all over South Africa more
effectually even than the Government. This organisation had its own agents
and spies and kept up a wide system of secret service. Under the pretext
of looking out for diamond thieves, these emissaries in reality made it
their duty to report on the private opinions and doings of those whose
personality inspired distrust or apprehension.