DER NEDERLANDEN" NAAR DELAGOABAAI.

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tainly the weighing machines. In these the coins are supplied in long tubes, and the machine actuated by a slowly moving pulley and strap does all the rest, taking the coins one by one, weighing them with perfect accuracy, and then sorting them out. All that are correct are sent into one till below, and those overweight are sent to another. Machinery of the most beautiful and delicate kind does nearly everything in this place, where money is made, but „poor humanity" is required for only very important operations, and that is testing every coin for hidden flaws or cracks. For this the sense of hearing alone can be trusted, and there at two tables sit two kaflrs, who with a steel block in front of each, and huge basis of coin on the tables, ring every piece and pass or reject by the sound. Those two men continue their monotonous task hour after hour, and it is surprising_ how fast they get throught a huge basin full of gold or silver. The High Commissioner was especially interested in all the operations, and was most pertinacious in his questions. He asked in particular about the profit that was made on the coining of silver, saying that it must be fully 100 per cent., since two shillings and sevenpence worth of silver was converted into coins of the value of. five shillings and sixpence, while the working expenses certainly should not be more than 5 per cent. The Director of the Mint was, however, evidently not prepared to discuss the question with such an expert in finance. Another point on which the High Commissioner desired information was as to whether the Mint did as was done in London, and actually coined gold sent in to it by different people for the purpose. It was not stated, however, that this was not the present practice of the Mint, as the gold was all bought by the bank and no other gold was coined. The laboratory and assay-ropms were also visited, and, before leaving the Mint, the party was conducted to one of the stamping-machines, where a number of discs of silver of the size for iiorins had been prepared, and these were fed into the machine to fall out in a glittering shower of plain but handsome medals in commemoration of the festivities. These medals bear on the one side the figure of the head of the President, as on the coins, with the words round, „Zuid Afrikaansche Republiek"; on the other side are the words, „Spoorweg Feesten, Pretoria, Juli, 1895". The inspection of the Mint occupied a very long time, and, at the conelusion, the directors of the State Bank entertained their distinguished visitors in the Board Room.

DE WEDRENNEN.

Deze zijn ditmaal bizonder goed gelukt. Het publiek was erg groot en er waren bepaald goede toiletten. Johannesburg was uitstekend vertegenwoordigd, ook wat betreft

M. '95—'96 19