the cost of working material have to be met. (Speech of Mr. Rouliot,
President of _The Chamber of Mines_, January 26th, 1899.)[13]

Mr. J.H. Curle in his valuable work _The Gold Mines of the World_,
published in 1899, estimated the debts of the Rand Companies at
£5,515,000. "It is not unusual," he writes, "for the directors of a deep
level mine to spend £500,000 before one single ton has been crushed."

[Footnote 13: See the _Revue Sud-Africaine_ (Paris), February 26th,
1899.]


4.--_A Gold Mine is an Industrial Undertaking._

According to the report of the Industrial Commission appointed to
inquire into the mining industry, there were, in 1896, 183 gold mines in
the Transvaal. Of these 79 had been gold-producing, while 104, still in
process of development, had as yet produced nothing. Of the 183 only 25
had paid dividends.

In 1898, a year of great progress, of the 156 mines situated in the
Rand, 40 only were paying dividends, representing, on an average, a
return of 8.7 per cent.

In reality, a gold mine is as entirely an industrial undertaking, as is
any other form of commerce; for its proper development it requires men
of the highest capacity, not a mere set of adventurers, as Dr. Kuyper
and other Pro-Boers tell the simpletons who judge without examining
facts. This is what is said on the subject by Mr. Curle, who saw the
mines at work during his extended and conscientious enquiry: