. The Africander land. ndthat Colony would like to control its own railwaysand of course tax (indirectly) the Transvaal, as in theolden days. The economic development of South Africa as awhole is the goal aimed at, and it is satisfactory to notethat at the last Railway Conference (held in February,1905) a resolution was unanimously carried that the onlysatisfactory solution was to be found in the commonmanagement of at least the through lines, and thepooling of their receipts, with a division of profits ona fixed basis. Though so far merely an academicopinion, it is a step in the right directi
. The Africander land. ndthat Colony would like to control its own railwaysand of course tax (indirectly) the Transvaal, as in theolden days. The economic development of South Africa as awhole is the goal aimed at, and it is satisfactory to notethat at the last Railway Conference (held in February,1905) a resolution was unanimously carried that the onlysatisfactory solution was to be found in the commonmanagement of at least the through lines, and thepooling of their receipts, with a division of profits ona fixed basis. Though so far merely an academicopinion, it is a step in the right direction. The lastreport helps to establish the economical working ofthe railways already under the Council. The OrangeRiver Colony, however, is to construct the Bloem-fontein-Kimberley line at its own cost, and a railway(the Springs-Witbank Railway) is to be made by theTransvaal with the assistance of a loan from the PostalSavings Bank. The railways made by the Govern-ment in the new colonies so far are 310 miles in RAILWAY PROBLEMS 365 and there are 328 miles under construction and 693miles projected, 500 of which it is hoped may becompleted within a reasonable period. Within a shorttime there will be 2,500 miles in the system, or aboutdouble the amount existing before the war. Among the economic questions coming to thefront in South Africa the most important is un-doubtedly that of railways and railway rates, and thegeneral view seems to be that railway amalgamationshould be the first step towards federation. But end-less difficulties stand in the way, and, after all, an actualorganic amalgamation need not necessarily precedethe federation of the different colonies—it has not doneso elsewhere. To bring this about a highly developedCentral Government, Uke that of Germany or France,is required : a system opposed to the spirit of theEnglish-speaking peoples, certainly opposed to theAfricander spirit. The railways in South Africa aremainly in the hands of the different Gove
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Keywords: ., bo, bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectindigenouspeoples
