property.
Before any answer could be received, even by cable, Rhodes, who had
gone from Kimberley to Cape Town to attend the Session of Parliament,
became very impatient about securing this property, and wired me to
join him, and we sailed from Cape Town on the 6th of July. In my letter
to Messrs. Smith and De Crano I put before them the plan which Rhodes
proposed to carry out, and the object he had in purchasing the French
Company's property, viz., to prevent the amalgamation of all the
interests in that mine, which might be set up as an independent company
in conflict with the interests of De Beers.
On
our arrival in London we met Lord Rothschild, and Rhodes discussed the
plan with him. In the meantime, while we were on the water, Rhodes's
scheme had been presented to the late Mr. Tite and to Mr. Carl Meyer of
Messrs. N. M. Rothschild & Sons, who were very favorably impressed
with the business, and had discussed it with Lord Rothschild. Mr. De
Crano had made several trips to Paris, and had already
paved the way for a conference between Rhodes and the directors of the "French Company."
At
the close of the interview, Lord Rothschild said, " Well, Mr. Rhodes,
you go to Paris and see what you can do in reference to the purchase
of the French Company's property, and in the meantime I will see if I
can raise the £ 1,000,000 which you desire."
On
leaving the room Lord Rothschild stopped Mr. De Crano for a moment, and
said to him, "You may tell Mr. Rhodes that if he can buy the French
Company, I think I can raise the million pounds sterling."
The same evening Rhodes, Mr. De Crano, Mr. Harry
