The Sun.
London, England, 1862-10-23 00:00:00

THE WEST AFRICA COMPANY (Limited).
Incorporated under the Joint Stock Companies' Acts
of 1856 and 1857, whereby the liability of the Shareholders
is limited to the amount of their subscriptions.
Capital, £250,000, in 25,000 Shares of £lO each.
First issue, £12,500 Shares.
.E 1 to be paid on application and Ll 10s. on allotment.
The holders of such first Shares to have the preference, pro
rata, in all further issues. No call to exceed £2 10s. per
Share, nor to be made except at an interval of at least
three months fram any previous Call.
If no allotment be made, the deposit will be returned in
full.

DIRECTORS.
Thomas Bazley, Esq., M.P Manchester
Thomas Bradshaw, sq., Temple
George Braginton, Esq., Torrington, Devon
Thomas Briggs, Esq., Prestwich Park, Manchester
henry Browitrigg, E
Thomas Clegz q., Manchester
sq., 3 ~ Lime-street, E.C.
, Es
Frederic Doulton, Esq., M.P., Manor-house, Dulwich-
Ambrosecommon Emerson, Eq. (Messrs. Newby, Carson, and Co.,
Gresham 119 use, E.C.)
Captain J• F. Napier Hewett, F.R G S., J.P., Cardiff
Edward Hollins, Esq., Preston, Lancashire
Gerard Ralston, Esq., Consul-General for Liberia, 21,
Tokenhouse-yard, E.C.
(With power to add.)
BANKERS—The London and Westminster Bank, Loth-
bury, E.C.
.soLicyrous Messrs. Cotterill and Sons, 32, Throg-
morton-strect

BROKERS.. Messrs. Huggins and Rowsell, 1, Thread
needle-street, E C.

GENERAL MANAGER—J. B. Langley, Esq.
SECRETARY—F. W. Stone, Esq.
Temporary Offices-41, Gresham-house, E.C.
PROSPECTUS.

- -
The object of the Company is—To establish Trading
stations, Factories, and Depots on the Coast of Western
Africa, and, by means of organised agencies, to bringdown
and collect for shipmeat at such stations the valuable pro-
ducts of the interior; to import goods, and introduce ma-
chinery for cleaning and pressing cotton, and for other
purposes; and generally to enter into commercial relations
with the native traders, by means of barter, traffic, or other-
wise ; and thereby to open up, in exchange for British
manufactures, a practically illimitable market for cotton
and other products—and to secure their transmission to
the ports of the United Kingdom.
The capabilities of Africa to meet the commercial require-
ments of Europe are evidenced in the variety of its proproduc-
tions,and the increasing extent of its trading operations ;
and it has long been a matter of surprise, that the en-
couragement of Native industry should have been left to
associations of a philanthropic character, or to a few Mop.-
chants intent upon the enormous profit which exclusive
dealings with the Natives incontestably afford.

COTTO
The cultivation of the Cotton P ant,
and the employment
of African labour on its native soil, have already been suffi-
ciently tested, There is abundance of labour seeking
eniPlaYni'dnt, a fertile soil well adapted for its growth, and a
P.,,, .°Pulation actively alive to what will benefit themselves.
'4:13 expensive or uncertain experiments are required to test
the ability or the will of the Natives to supply this country
'with cheap and good cotton. The testimony of the officers
of the Niger expedition concurs with, and confirms, the
evidence of Dr. Livingstone, and other African travellers,
that indigenous Cotton is growing in abundance throughout
east districts, covering many thousands of miles of territory,
and only waits to be gathered. Some tribes of the Natives
are largely engaged in manufacturing Cotton into clothing
for their own use. It is calculated that more than 200,000
Pieces of these cloths are annually exported from Africa
into the Brazils. In fact, only buyers on the spot are
'wanted to take from the Natives what they have to offer,
giving in exchange manufactured goods suitable to their
requirements.
~In a letter from Dr. Balfour Bakie, in command of the
Niger Expedition, to the Secretary of State for Foreign
Affairs, which Lord Russell caused to be inserted in the
London Gazette of August 29th, 1862, he emphatically
urges his lordship " to call attention, in England, to the
peculiar eligii ility of this portion of Central Africa (Bida
Nusse), as a Cotton field." Again, speaking of Sudan, and
the Yoruba country, he proct eds to say—" Here Cotton is
already in abundance, and cultivated by a people able and
willing to work, and accustomed to its habits and rearing;
nothing is required but increased demand, means of pur-
chase, cleaning and shipment. The rest would speedily
foilow.,,
Mr. I. Lyons M'Leod, Hon. Secretary to the African Aid
Society, in a Letter to the Times, March 28th, 1861, writes
It is a well-attested fact, that from Western Africa
(chipping port Lagos), Cotton in abundance may be pur-
chased at 2d. per lb., and allowing for exorbitant overcharge
for cleaning, freight, &c., it may be sold from the same lo-
cality in Liverpool at 44d. per lb. This Cotton is equal in
quality to New Orleans at 61d. per lb., proving beyond
doubt, that from IN estern Africa, which is nearer to our
shores than the Cotton districts of America, we may ob-
tain the same amount of Cotton for £20,000,000, for which
we are paying the Slaveholders of the United States
X 30,000,000, In Western Africa—the Yoruba Country,
and al otnogb tyh
De
r. 13 valleyall
Balfour
rt the Niger"aki
o_ „(tt
hh
ee
Natives localities shove re-
ferredsupply any amount of Cotton for Manchester andare readyG l
to
gow Manufacturers,"as-
These testimonies appear to demand the most serious
attention and consideration at the present crisis.
The supply of Cotton from the Southern States (which
till a recent date formed 80 per cent. of our consumption),
cannot be fully renewed for several years ; part of the crop of
1861 has been burned, and the remainder may never reach
us. In 1862, it is believed, that only about one-fourth of
the usual crop has been sown, and it is not likely that a
larger area can be placed under Cotton Culture in 1863; so
that, if the Civil 'War were to be ended by any means to-
morrow, the full supply of Ametican Cotton could not be
resumed till September, 1864. Till that date, the price of
middling and ordinary Orleans are not likely to fall below
One Shilling per pound.
There is abundant evidence to show that India cannot for
many years supply the quantity or quality required. The
Egyptian supply is the only one which might be supposed
likely to compete with that imported from West Africa;
but the Egyptian Cotton imported into England has never
hitherto reached 200,000 bales in any one year, and if
doubled (which it cannot be for two or three years), it will
not suffice to make up the deficiency created by the reduced
supplies of ordinary Americans. Besides, the average price
of Egyptian Cotton has been Bd. per pound for several
Years. African Cotton, equal to middling Orleans, can be
delivered in Liverpool, at a cost to the Importer of Four-
pence Halpenny per pound. In the seed, in Africa, it may
be procured in unlimited quantities at about one Halfpenny
Per pound ; cleaned Cotton about Threepence. Payments
being mad.) in barter, the profits' on the Goods reduce the
east price of the Cotton considerably.
It is not the intention of the " West Africa Company" to
become Cultivators of Cotton ; the Company will simply be
Purchasers of Cotton, which will be brought down to their
Stations by the Native Traders, and thence Shipped to the
ports of the United Kingdom.
Several well-known Firms, having used African Cotton
in their Manufactories, are able to report favourably of its
quality for working.