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THE HOUSE IN CHARTERHOUSE STREET
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American
set up a subsidiary, Consolidated Diamond Mines of South West Africa,
Ltd. But others were in the field, too. In all, there were companies
financed by (1) American interests; (2) English interests; (3) French
interests; (4) Belgian interests; (5) Portuguese interests.
Eventually a deal was made.
But the important thing is this: When it was all over the syndicate obtained a contract to sell all Angola's diamonds.
Previously
it had had trouble controlling matters in German South-West Africa.
Germany had tried to set up a diamond industry there, selling diamonds
in Berlin in opposition to the London organization. But the war came
and in July, 1915, General Jan Christian Smuts occupied the German
territory and the Diamond Syndicate soon had that valuable property
under its thumb.
Another
obstacle was the Union of South Africa government itself. The
Nationalist party, then in power, was determined to prevent the
syndicate from controlling the scattered diamond fields that were being
discovered after the Lichtenburg and Namaqualand finds. It passed a
Precious Stones Control Bill in 1927 which gave the government
absolute power over all diamond rights, and rights to sell precious
stones; also the power to fix prices of diamonds anywhere in the Union
of South Africa. It even opened its own selling agency at Cape Town and
seemed bent upon underselling the prices established for the world by
the syndicate.
In
the mean time the "syndicate" had tightened up. It had now become the
Diamond Corporatiqn. It had every important producer in its membership,
as well as the selling houses of London. Therefore, it could afford to
wait out the government of the Union of South Africa.
(67)
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