opment
were really very bright, but, to market the coal, the construction of
an expensive railway line from Indwe to the East London or Eastern
systems was indispensable. In spite of the unwearied and cogent
representations of Colonel Schermbrucker and his associates in control
of the Indwe field, the Cape Government was reluctant to defray the
cost of building this line. The scheme was a dragging one for years,
until De Beers Company came forward with a subscription of ,£75,000 to
the shares of the Indwe Railway Collieries and Land Company, organized
to extend the necessary railway lines and operate the mines.
In
view of this essential backing of capital, coupled with the cogent
appeals of Rhodes and his associates, the Cape Government was moved to
contribute a grant of ^50,000 toward the expense of construction, with
an additional allowance of 50,000 acres of land, worth about one pound
an acre. Then a line of sixty-six miles was laid at half the rate per
mile that was paid for building the lines under Government
Administration, and the mines were opened very successfully. It was
supposed by the projectors of the scheme at the outset that the main
business of the company would be the supply of coal for steamship use
at East London; but it was soon demonstrated, upon the com-
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