Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, "Kelly, Edward" to "Kite" by Various

1899. He died in London on the 8th of April 1902, being succeeded in the

700 words  |  Chapter 29

earldom by his eldest and only surviving son, Lord Wodehouse (b. 1848). KIMBERLEY, a town of the Cape province, South Africa, the centre of the Griqualand West diamond industry, 647 m. N.E. of Cape Town and 310 m. S.W. of Johannesburg by rail. Pop. (1904), 34,331, of whom 13,556 were whites. The town is built on the bare veld midway between the Modder and Vaal Rivers and is 4012 ft. above the sea. Having grown out of camps formed round the diamond mines, its plan is very irregular and in striking contrast with the rectangular outline common to South African towns. Grouped round market square are the law courts, with a fine clock tower, the post and telegraph offices and the town-hall. The public library and the hospital are in Du Toits Pan Road. In the district of Newton, laid out during the siege of 1899-1900, a monument to those who fell during the operations has been erected where four roads meet. Siege Avenue, in the suburb of Kenilworth, 250 ft. wide, a mile and a quarter long, and planted with 16 rows of trees, was also laid out during the siege. In the public gardens are statues of Queen Victoria and Cecil Rhodes. The diamond mines form, however, the chief attraction of the town (see DIAMOND). Of these the Kimberley is within a few minutes' walk of market square. The De Beers mine is one mile east of the Kimberley mine. The other principal mines, Bultfontein, Du Toits Pan and Wesselton, are still farther distant from the town. Barbed wire fencing surrounds the mines, which cover about 180 acres. The Kaffirs who work in the mines are housed in large compounds. Wire netting is spread over these enclosures, and every precaution taken to prevent the illicit disposal of diamonds. Ample provision is made for the comfort of the inmates, who in addition to food and lodging earn from 17s. to 24s. a week. Most of the white workmen employed live at Kenilworth, laid out by the De Beers company as a "model village." Beaconsfield, near Du Toits Pan Mine, is also dependent on the diamond industry. Kimberley was founded in 1870 by diggers who discovered diamonds on the farms of Du Toits Pan and Bultfontein. In 1871 richer diamonds were found on the neighbouring farm of Vooruitzight at places named De Beers and Colesberg Kopje. There were at first three distinct mining camps, one at Du Toits Pan, another at De Beers (called De Beers Rush or Old De Beers) and the third at the Colesberg Kopje (called De Beers New Rush, or New Rush simply). The Colesberg Kopje mine was in July 1873 renamed Kimberley in honour of the then secretary of state for the colonies, the 1st earl of Kimberley, by whose direction the mines were--in 1871--taken under the protection of Great Britain. Kimberley was also chosen as the name of the town into which the mining camps developed. Doubt having arisen as to the rights of the crown to the minerals on Vooruitzight farm, litigation ensued, ending in the purchase of the farm by the state for £100,000 in 1875. In 1880 the town was incorporated in Cape Colony (see GRIQUALAND). In 1874 a great part of the population left for the newly discovered gold diggings in the Lydenburg district of the Transvaal, but others took their place. Among those early attracted to Kimberley were Cecil Rhodes and "Barney" Barnato, who in time came to represent two groups of financiers controlling the mines. The amalgamation of their interests in 1889--when the De Beers group purchased the Kimberley mine for £5,338,650--put the whole diamond production of the Kimberley fields in the hands of one company, the De Beers Consolidated Mines, Ltd., so named after the former owners of the farms on which are situated the chief mines. Kimberley in consequence became largely dependent on the good-will of the De Beers corporation, the town having practically no industries other than diamond mining. Horse-breeding is carried on to a limited extent. The value of the annual output of diamonds averages about £4,500,000. The importance of the industry led to the building of a railway from Cape Town, opened in

Chapters

1. Chapter 1 2. prologue as a sermon preached in acts. Although Samuel Johnson described 3. 1867. He subsequently edited the _Pesti Napló_, which became virtually 4. 1454. He was buried at Canterbury, in the choir. Kempe was a politician 5. 1586. Kendal was plundered by the Scots in 1210, and was visited by the 6. 1576. His son John (c. 1567-1615), who became the 5th earl, was lord 7. 832. The Pictish Chronicle, however, gives Tuesday, the 13th of February 8. 687. There is some evidence for a successful invasion by the East Saxon 9. 1819. The Bank of the Commonwealth was chartered in 1820 as a state 10. 1822. A court decision denying the legal tender quality of the notes 11. 1900. (E. He.) 12. introduction into Germany of the Gregorian calendar; but the attempt was 13. 17. Later, Kerak was the seat of the archbishop of Petra. The Latin 14. 1793. He had, however, entered the ranks of the Girondins, and had voted 15. 1811. He studied theology at Göttingen, Berlin, Heidelberg and Munich, 16. 1879. More than once the sultan offered him anew the grand vizierate, 17. 950. Their home was in the spurs of the Caucasus and along the shores of 18. 1790. The fortifications have fallen into decay. The name Kherson was 19. 1832. The first mention of the cloth trade for which Kidderminster was 20. 1813. As a boy he was delicate, precocious and morbid in temperament. He 21. 1576. The town is of high antiquarian interest. There is a Protestant 22. 1790. After being bombarded by the Anglo-French fleet in July 1854, it 23. 1622. Sir Robert was a member of all the parliaments between 1603 and 24. 1612. Pepys says that as a boy he satisfied his love of the stage by 25. 1423. It is situated near the confluence of the rivers and glens of the 26. 1795. He then took part in the Italian campaigns of 1796 and 1797, and 27. 1885. Kilmarnock rose into importance in the 17th century by its 28. 4440. The chief buildings include the public library, the Masonic hall 29. 1899. He died in London on the 8th of April 1902, being succeeded in the 30. 1885. On the outbreak of war between the British and the Boers in 1899 31. 1591. With his younger brother John he proceeded from Westminster School 32. 1609. Henry King entered the church, and after receiving various 33. 1838. Another descendant, PETER JOHN LOCKE KING (1811-1885), who was 34. 1550. It is situated on the Firth of Forth, 2¼ m. E. by N. of 35. introduction to Solomon. But Lucian's recension of the Septuagint (ed. 36. introduction (iii.), a contains generalizing statements of Solomon's 37. introduction. Further confusion appears in the Septuagint, which inserts 38. 1867. Lord Kingsdown never married, and his title became extinct. 39. introduction to Mr R. E. Dennett's _Notes on the Folk Lore of the Fjort_ 40. 1894. (A. E. S.) 41. 1887. The twenty-one years spent by Kirk in Zanzibar covered the most

Reading Tips

Use arrow keys to navigate

Press 'N' for next chapter

Press 'P' for previous chapter