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In the evening there was a public meeting presided over by a Mayor whose wife id[is]
most charming. He got a title of Sir last November which did not fit him but she pld [played]
the part of Lady to perfection since the Lord made her one before the King did. We
had a crowded house. The Dr. was not able to be present but will speak later. On
Tuesday there was a lunch with Mrs. Botha the wife of the Prime Minister. The house,
the lunch, the woman were rather ordinary but we were grateful for the recognition.
On Wednesday Mrs. H. C. Hull wife of the Minister of Finance lunched us and held a
drawing room meeting afterward where I spoke. This time the woman, the lunch the
house were extraordinary as refinement, courage of conviction, and familiarity with
society were in evidence on every hand. Mrs. Hull is pretty stylish broadminded. This
is interesting and both her husband and herself have had a touch of the tar brush.
In her case it is evident but if it would improve other women as much and lift them
as much above the average I wish they might all get it. I must mention that luscious
strawberries were a part of the Menu on the 27th day of Sept. one of the evidences
of spring. On Thursday two big Motors, one belonging to Mr. Sauer, the other
to Mrs. Hull came at nine o'clock for us. We four together with Miss Haynemann, Mrs
Biggars, Dr. Mary Hannan, and the pretty Mayoress who is President of the Club, were
loaded into them. The day was frightfully hot and the roads unspeakably dirty and
rough. We first visited a Native school. We saw all the gradez, standing to [windw?]
meantime. They sang for us and did very well but not so well as our Darkies. We
interested to learn that most of the girls were daughters of chiefs. There were several
men grown in the class of beginners and we learned that they had earned the
money to come to the school. They were paying about $60 per year. The girls have a
debating club and posted on the wall were some of the subjects they has discussed.
They were the simple differences which doubtless seemed most obvious to their minds
between civilization and uncivilized customs. For instanceN Is it better to sit down
or to sit on a chairM Is it better to have a two storied house or one story. Is it
better to have a decorated house or a plain one etc. We had morning tea with the
Superintendent and went on our way to the Premier mine. We arrived at noon very hot
and mussed, had a poor lunch at the hotel which belongs to the mine, and then under
direction of the Manager we went to see the works which are quite different from Kimberley,
the chief differences being that the mine is open and all the work is done from
the top and the other that the stone containing the diamonds is crushed instead of lying
for a a year and a half on the ground. The noise of the grinding machinery was so
great we could hear little. We were shown 50,000 pounds worth of diamonds ready for
the market. The people employed including 12000 Natives are kept with a walled City
the wall being composed of wire well barbed. There is a school and a church and ordinary
needs are supplied at co-operative stores where all who are members get a very
good return. It was here the largest Diamond in the world was found named the Culinen
after Sir. Thomas Culinen the chief developer of this mine.

They told us they had to pay 60 % tax to the Government whereas the DeBeers people
only pay 10%. I must inquire about this.

From the mine we returned to Pretoria via the farm of Samuel Marks a multi
millionaire who has spent a good deal on this farm. There was an artificial lake, fed
by an artificial canal, a very extensive poultry section very much up to date, a
dairy also up to date, a handsome tastefully furnished house, a very big orchard
gardens and extensive flower garden. It was beautifully kept and a tremendous expense
but at this time of year it was not pretty owing to dust. It showed us
something of the possibilities of farming here. We arrived home at seven o'clock
having ridden about 50 miles.