Page:Last Will and Testament of Cecil Rhodes.djvu/171

Rh look at it is somewhat as follows:—We have a capital of £2,000,000 in shares, let that be our capital; we have our debentures, as to half of which we have a liquid asset in the Crown Colony of British Bechuanaland. What future extra expenditure can there be? There can be no more wars, for there are no more people to make the wars. As to public buildings, in each of our towns we have most excellent public buildings, quite equal to the ordinary buildings in Cape Colony; I speak of Bulawayo, Salisbury, Umtali, and Victoria. As to telegraphs, every town in the country is connected with the telegraph excepting Umtali. As to railway communication. we have given railway communication in the east from Beira to Chimoio, through the ‘fly,’ and one of the richest portions of the country is only seventy-five miles from the terminus. We have extended the Vryburg Railway to Mafeking—that is five hundred miles from Bulawayo. If the country warrants further railway communications the money can be found apart from the Charter. If the country does not warrant any further railway extensions, then we had better not build it. The people must be satisfied as we were in the past at Kimberley. For years we had to go six hundred miles by waggon to Kimberley, and then we went five hundred miles, and later four hundred miles by the same means, although the yearly exports were between £2,000,000 and £3,000,000. When Kimberley justified a railway, a railway was made, and so it will be in this case. We have maintained our position. We have a complete administration, and we have railway facilities which will allow batteries to be sent in. I do not see, therefore, where more public expenditure is required. The