You
told me on the telephone that you had all (which I take to mean you,
Mr. Wetzlar and Mr. Carl Davis) made up your minds to refuse such an
offer, that is on behalf of Bwana, and that if the offer were accepted,
you would prefer to wash your hands and go out of Rhodesia. ...
I really think that the position should be put quite clearly to Sir
Ernest Oppenheimer and regret most sincerely that he is not here, as I
feel sure that between all of us we would have found a satisfactory way
out of this unfortunate impasse which would be created in the event of
the Bwana board not sharing your views. I think that the Anglo American
Corporation group should be prepared to submit some counter-scheme. . .
.
The
position was duly put to Ernest Oppenheimer: 'The . . . price while a
very attractive one would enhance the influence of American Metal
Company in Northern Rhodesia which might be inadvisable in the national
interest.' American Metal, it appears, were dubious as to whether a new
company was really necessary and the Bwana offer might have seemed,
from their point of view, a better solution.
On
25 November 1928 Ernest Oppenheimer refused the offer for 'imperial and
financial reasons' and insisted that Bwana M''Kubwa should not part
with any of its assets. At the same time he wished all negotiations
with the American Metal Company to be broken off. Negotiations with the
Newmont Corporation were actively pursued with the result already
referred to, and the board of Bwana M'Kubwa, when it met in London on
29 November 1928, unanimously rejected the offer of American Metal.18
