360
SIR ERNEST OPPENHEIMER
longed from the first of January 1943 'until the cessation of the present hostilities.
'The
date on which hostilities cease shall be determined by the Minister of
Mines for the Union of South Africa, and he shall notify the
association thereof as soon as possible.'
If the
Minister's views as to what constituted the end of hostilities happened
to differ from those of other authorities, difficulties were likely to
arise, and this, in the event, proved to be the case: the outside
producers took a different view of the situation. This put Ernest
Oppenheimer in a very difficult position, since the conclusion of new
agreements with the outside producers was an even more urgent
necessity, given the complete uncertainties of the post-war situation,
than it normally was, and even normally 'sales through one channel' was
indispensable to the stability of the diamond industry.
To
follow the subsequent course of events it is important to bear in mind
that from an earlier date, Ernest Oppenheimer had had in mind the
separation of the trade in gem stones from the trade in industrials.33 In
February 1945 he circulated a memorandum, which he had prepared with
his son Harry, on the 'Post-war organization of the diamond trade'.
While
insisting upon the necessity for continuing the salient features of the
organization of the diamond trade as they had been elaborated since the
creation of the Diamond Corporation and the Diamond Producers'
Association, it proposed the adoption of two new principles. The first
was that the
continuity
of operations by the South African producers must be ensured. This has
always been the first objective in organizing the trade, but until now
the financial strength of the producers and their associated concerns
has not been sufficient to guarantee that in all circumstances
production would continue. The position is, however, now such that it
will be possible to guarantee that for the period of a long contract,
operations will in all circumstances be continued by De Beers, C.D.M.,
and, when it has reopened, by the Premier.
This
principle, though it had not hitherto been applied to South Africa, was
virtually only an extension of the principle already familiar so far as
the outside producers were concerned, i.e. minimum purchases. Its
adoption would, nevertheless, be of fundamental importance.
The
second principle was the one already referred to, namely, the
separation of the trade in industrials from the trade in gem stones:
33 Supra, IV, p. 323 et seq.
