Page:The empire and the century.djvu/632

 in Griqualand West, entirely overshadowed, however, later on, by the wonderful goldfields of the Witwatersrand. Gold had been known to exist in the Transvaal, and small quantities had been obtained from alluvial workings from about the year 1880, but systematic working only began in 1888. Before that year the total recorded output only amounted to £220,217. The following table gives at a glance the progressive output of the Transvaal, sadly broken, as will be seen, after 1899 by the war, but now in excess of the rate of production before the conflict:

But the Transvaal is not the only gold producer in South Africa. That industry in Rhodesia has had a very chequered career from a number of causes, which, in the narrow limits of this chapter, it is impossible to discuss; but all the well-wishers of that country, which