The New York herald., 1879-03-09
Commerc. I'm Central Africa.

in these days. From Belgium we hear the
note of preparation of great enterprises on
foot with regard to that country. British
boards of trade are keenly interested in a
land whose millions of natives will buy
more calico than India and will not
fight half 30 fercely as the Zulus-
The Egyptian Khedive was at one
time prepared to develop the CONNER
cial resources of the lake country and
open a route to the Indian Ocean at his
own expense. if English merchants at Zan-
zibaY had not been alarmed lest there
might be one chance less in the world for
British enterprise. With this subject OF
what may be done in Central Africa handed
around and considered in England, Egypt,
Belgium, Germany and Italy. it is natural
enough that it should come up in this city
also, and nobody was astonished, therefore.
when the Chamber of Commerce had the
subject before it on Thursday.
Commercial projectors may reasonably
find tho suggestion of grander visions OF
wealth in Africa than in any other part OF
the known world. From twelve degrees
north of the Equator to twenty degrees south
of it, and stretching through the thirty
degrees of longitude from ten to forty east
of Greenwich, lies region which with re-
gard to colonial possession by European
nations or commercial monopolies is prac-
tically a great ''No Mans Land" except as
to few points on tho coast, which are
infinitely insignificant by comparison
with the extent of this enormous
tract of populous and fertile coun-
try. For ages it was supposed that this
unknown region was one vast desert; that
the region of elevated country lying from
east to west, between twelve and sixteen
degrees north latitude, was a mountain
wall that separated the sandy desert Of the
north from wider and wilder desert of the
south, bounded only by the two oceans and
the bit of good country at the Cape. In
ancient times it is certain they had more
accurate information on this point, but
though some fragments OF the ancient
knowledge crop up here and there it
passed out of sight as q whole, and
modern times accepted from the Middle
Ages the easier tradition that this wide
tract was one Of those that could only be
properly represented on the map by pic
lures of nondescript and ever hungry wild
beasts. But it is now toierably certain that
that greatest of human anthills, the Chinese
Empire, is the only region in the world
whose swarming population outnumbers
what is to be found in this part of Africa
On the law that population is principally
affected by the food supply there need be
no limit to the population of the district,
save that of room, for every part of it is fer
tile, and the only sources of destruction
are the wars that are kept up by the traffic
in slaves.
But the millions that swarm in the little
touched parts of Africa, unlike those of the
Chinese Empire, have taste for commodi-
ties they cannot make for themselves.
Without mechanical ingenuity, and with
Jealous spirit that needs direction rather
than stimulation to make their agricultural
products of great importance, these people
are waiting for the commercial nations to
come and pick them up and make custom
ers of them-customers in want of every
thing that is ordinarily sent to barbarous
races and they will be customers
capable of paying enormously in the
raw material that grows spontaneously.
or with little culture, in their own
country. Commerce with the African
races once established on a good basis
would be one of the double trades which pay
both ways; for the ship that carried out
cargo OF cotton goods from American looms
might return loaded with sugar, coffee,
ebony, some of the most valued dyes in the
world, ostrich feathers, ivory and gold and
many other much treasured articles Of COM
mercial importance. In fact, since Mr.. STAN
ley led his now famous expedition through
that country and showed its real character
it has been perceptible how erroneous were
all the older notions Of it, how important,
in traffic sense, was the new knowledge,
and the problem of interest has been who
shall profit by it.
Why should not American merchants
have their share of interest in the results of
discovery made by an American? If flags
are of any consequence and the theory of
discovery and possession on which about
half the known world has been seized is of
my value then every inch of the Congo
Valley must recognize the dominion of the
United States. Spanish, English, Portu-
guese and Dutch countries of the colonial
sort fell to the possession of those
several Powers generally because some
Spaniard, Englishman, Dutchman or Por-
tuguese in ship was the first to look
upon them from the high sea or to
land at some deserted spot and there sur
reptitiously plant the colors of his country.
An American was the first to explore this
newly known country, and to make his way
down the whole length of this great river;