Nevertheless,
progress was slow: a host of technical points had to be cleared up, and
as Farrer, the managing director of the Diamond Corporation, had to
point out to Ernest Oppenheimer (by this time in London) on 30 October,
while regretting the snail's pace of the negotiations, the 'number [of]
officials concerned with details of scheme' made this inevitable. On 13
November he cabled: 'Duncan has written confirming that agreement has
been reached between us and him regarding main provisions of
association and sales agreements. Administrator's approval still to be
obtained, new drafts should have reached him today. Union revenue
authorities are satisfied. . . .' As far as London was concerned, the
Diamond Corporation had already cabled a fortnight earlier that
'omnibus agreement in final form approved by all parties and will be
signed upon receipt of information from your side that relative
documents completed'. Unfortunately, it took a great deal more time and
more negotiations before 'the relative documents' were completed.
The main principles of all the proposed arrangements were again set out
in a document forwarded to the Secretary for Mines on 4 December, on
the same date the producers and the Diamond Corporation accepted Mr.
Duncan's proposal that the chairman of the board of the association
should be the Government representative on the board, and suggesting
that the South African producers should appoint the chairman of the
London committee, their choice being Sir Frank Meyer, the deputy
chairman of De Beers. Further delays occurred, this time because the
producers themselves desired to make some further changes. The
solicitor who had been responsible for the technical drafting was
informed that
Mr.
Farrer has asked me to write to you to say that it is now almost
certain that the agreements cannot be signed until early in the New
Year, and, in any case if they are signed before then, they cannot be
given effect to until the new standard assortment26 and
basic prices are fixed. This work is well advanced, but it will not be
possible to complete it before the year end. This being so, the
question arises as to what amendments, if any, should be made to the
agreements as now drafted. . . . We think that if it is possible to
leave the agreements as they are until the board of the association is
constituted and the trading company formed and then provide by means of
26
The technical work of making up the assortment was in the hands of
Louis OppenÂheimer at Kimberley. Ernest Oppenheimer, who was in London,
had sent him a long technical cable on 15 September with regard to the
rearrangement of the series and of prices—'so as to bring various
qualities into line. You may find that it is advisable to reduce prices
better qualities and at the same time increase prices of the goods
which are now readily saleable. Should you decide on that course inform
us promptly so that we do not sell small quantities of these qualities
still in stock too cheaply.'
