Page:The Annual Register 1899.djvu/297

 1899.] Germany. — Mr. Rhodes. [289

two countries by the secret agreement arrived at in the previous year (Annual Begistbr, 1898, p. 259), and further important advantages were secured to Germany by the arrangement made with the British South Africa Company in consequence of the visit paid by Mr.* Bhodes to the Emperor in March. The object of this visit was to secure the co-operation of Germany in the work of opening the African continent to civilisation, and this object was completely attained. The following is an abstract of the agreements, dated March 15, and October 28, 1899, entered into between Mr. Bhodes and the German Government on the subject: —

1. The construction of the telegraph line will be carried out by the company at its own cost, and must be completed within five years.

2. The company has to erect at its own cost, between the two stations nearest Bhodesia on the south and nearest British East Africa on the north, a telegraph wire intended for the service of German East Africa. The cost of maintaining this wire shall be borne by the company.

3. The German Government reserves the exclusive right of establishing and working telegraph stations in German East Africa, and of introducing for such stations the tariffs for Ger- man East African messages. On the other hand, the German Government will not run the through-going wires of the com- pany into such stations without the company's consent. The German Government will jointly use the telegraph line (as opposed to the through-going wires of the company) within the limits of German East Africa for the purpose of erecting its own wires on the poles between the two stations of the company nearest the East African frontiers in Bhodesia and in British East Africa respectively.

4. The German Government has secured the control of the line with its territory by the reservation of perfect liberty to connect the wires at any point between the two stations mentioned in article 2.

Furthermore the company has to pay a tariff of ten centimes per word to the German Government.

The two last-mentioned conditions may be dropped in exchange for the concession by the company of advantages of equal value in some other sphere.

5. On the expiration of forty years after the completion of the telegraph line through German East Africa, the German Government has the right to take over the German East African section of the line without payment. The cost of maintenance will then fall upon the Government. The company will, how- ever, have to pay the Government a yearly transit charge amounting to the whole of the annual cost of administration, provided always that this payment shall not exceed the amount of one halfpenny per word.

6. The company is bound to transmit over its lines at its

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