year
later he joined his brother in his mining ventures. This same year,
1873, Barnett J. Barnatto came from London to join his brother, Henry,
at Kimberley, as a buyer of rough diamonds. Both Rhodes and Barnatto
soon acquired some property and became interested as small mine owners.
They increased these holdings rapidly, until after a time both saw the
need of combination in mine ownership and especially the need of
scientific management in operating the mines. In 1888, they, with
Messrs. Rothschild, Alfred Beit, and other able mining men, formed the
DeBeers Consolidated Mines, Ltd. Since the formation of this company
the mines have been developed along scientific lines by an extremely
able management, resulting in great benefit to the company and also to
the world.
Since
the formation of the syndicate the price of the gems has never been
allowed to break, — even in times of the greatest commercial
depression. In the early days of diamond mining, on the other hand, and
especially in India and Brazil, prices sometimes fluctuated very
widely. Mr. Streeter, as an example, states that at the time of the
commercial crisis of 1857 the prices of Brazilian diamonds fell to one
half that of the year previous.
