who rushed to the placers of California, or with the fancy picture of
the "wealthy metal-hearted mine owners," presented to us by Dr. Kuyper.


5.--_Distribution of the Gold Production._

Dr. Kuyper speaks of "the vultures" who come to rob the country of its
gold; we would point out to him that before gold can be extracted from
the rock, a vast amount must be sunk in it. We have just seen that the
cost of production often exceeds the profits.

Dr. Kuyper, in his childish innocence, imagines that "the vultures"
carry off the gold as soon as it is extracted.

Had he taken the trouble to ascertain the facts, he would have seen that
the greater part of this gold remains in the Transvaal, and either goes
to the Government, or to defray the cost of production.

I borrow the following figures from the supplement to _The Critic_ of
July 8th, 1899.

Let us take the last five years:--

Gross Profits. Dividend to Paid to Boer
Shareholders. Government.

1894 £7,930,481 £1,595,963 £2,247,728
1895 8,768,942 2,329,941 2,923,648
1896 8,742,811 1,918,631 3,912,095
1897 11,514,016 2,923,574 3,956,402