and
we arc doing our utmost to get prompt settlement. So far as producers
are concerned agreements are ready for ratification and we are
informing Government accordingly and urging them to press for
Administrator's consent.
Strong
efforts were naturally made to get Barnato Brothers to rescind their
threat to withdraw. De Beers urged: 'We strongly urge you to reconsider
your withdrawal and allow matters to stand over . . . because
negotiations were still proceeding and were on the point of finality
when your cable to Minister arrived.' The Diamond Corporation (this
was obviously Ernest Oppenheimer) went further and informed London that
'in event of their refusal [to rescind the withdrawal] and in order to
show good faith of Dicorp we propose informing Government that Dicorp
is prepared to carry out the agreements . . .' adding, in repeating
this cable to their Cape Town solicitor, 'we arc very upset at the
position but with knowledge of these cables you can assure Government
that we are doing our utmost to overcome difficulty'. These efforts
were successful to the extent that Barnato Brothers cabled that 'in
response to your urgent appeal Barnato Brothers authorize you to inform
Minister that they cancel their withdrawal provided agreements ratified
Monday'. The Administrator still raised difficulties, but at last, on
16 May, Ernest Oppenheimer was able to cable to Louis: 'Agreements
ratified.' A week later S. B. Joel was dead.
The
strain on Ernest Oppenheimer had been enormous. He must have been glad
to receive a word of thanks from the deputy chairman of De Beers in
London, under date 28 May, though the news it contained as to the world
economic situation could not have been very comforting.9
9
'Many thanks for your letter of 8 May from Cape Town enclosing a report
of your meetings with the Government on the 5th and 6th. The report of
the proceedings I found very interesting and illuminating. I think it
is remarkable that you should be able to keep your temper with these
people when they make such outrageous accusations of bad faith against
you and your colleagues. However, I am sure you are right to take the
attitude that they are small men with small minds, that it is not worth
while getting angry with them and that the only thing that matters is
to get the best possible terms for the industry and for the companies.
Meantime the agreements have been ratified and I take this opportunity
of congratulating you on the successful result of all your efforts. It
is a great accomplishment and, although personally I should not have
been sorry to have seen all the agreements scrapped, I am glad that we
have kept faith and done the right thing so that no one can throw a
stone either at the Diamond Corporation or the producers.
'Since
I sent you that cable on 4 May . . . things have got very much worse,
both here and in America. I shall be very surprised if we get through
the summer without serious trouble in which one or two of the biggest
houses may be involved. All sorts of rumours
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