The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1879-03-27

"vh never you Tear
II never you hear
The divers horn again"
The Relation of Africa 10 the Future Of
the worlds Commerce.
We published Ia late issue Of the IL.
TELLiOEScER remarkable article III regard
to tho future Of English commerce,
especially us to the extent to which It was
threatened by the commerce Of the United
States, That article aimed to show that
henccfoHh English supremacy would
steadily decline In favor Of this country,
and that the day might come ere long
when u regular decadCnCo from wealth
and power would set IN IN England.
Let the case he as II will, with respect to
the facts SGT forth in the article referred
to, iG does not seem likely that England
will yield her supremacy without u great
struggle to find cOmpcnsattOns for tho loss
Of American trade In other quarters Of
The world. Just nj this time her peo.
pie are tirod with enthusiasm at the idea
Of converting the Continent Of Africa into
great trading ground for British com.
mOrcC. This enthusiasm results from the
discoveries OF Stanley, the American explo.
rer. Since his reports have been madcp pub.
lie scheme atterscheme has been preached
fortho building upoi great commercial re-
latlOns in Central Africa. The latest project,
which, VIZ are told, is IN the hands Of
committees Of noblcmen, gentlemen.
manufacturers and merchants contcm.
plates, tlrat, the construction Of safe
harbor on the African sOa.coast, nearly
opposite Zanzibar; second, u single
limo OF railway to Viii, which commands
the entrances 10 Central Africa; and third,
tho construction Of wharis and dGpots on
lake Tauganylka, for tho storage Of mer.
Chandise. This lake, running north and
south, was first circumnavigated by STAN
ley in his last expedition, and the discov.
cry made tina! tho outlet for Its immense
body OF water is the LuNlaba river, which
he subse luently found to be the source OF
the great river Congo, which crosses the
continent and Cmptles itscontVnts into the
Atlantic ocean.
1t will thus bes seen that the British plan,
when carrie into execution, will throw
the whole Of Central Africa open to the
commerce Of the country. BY this
achievement infinite possibilities for the
development OF trade are presented. EQua.
torial Africa is surprisingly rich in the
natural products which civilization most
prizes COEOe, rice, cloves, ivory, gold
dust, ssatSaparilla, cobalt, rare woods,
sugar cane, sesame sced-theso arc but
handful Of the natural products which
abound in this unknown region. But the
problem OF exchanging these articles for
the products Of the English looms and
manufactures will still be a difficult one.
Not but there are plenty OF people in
Africa. In the single region drain
ed by Lake T4n1anyIke, Stanley es-
Inmates that fifty millions OF natives
find their homes. Beyond, towards Cen
trail Africa, there is an ,unmeasured popu-
lation variously estimated between two
and four hundred milliens OF souls. With
the exception Of few OF the border tribes
these natives are stepped in barbarism
as complete as that which enshrouded
them at the dawn OF the world. They are
clothed in nakedncss,, and English cot.
tons and wooleus will be long in tempting
them to a more civilized garb. Their tastes
and habits are simple, beyond those Of
any other portion OF the globe. They
have existed without iron utensils and
implements, ignorant Of the thousand con.
trivances by which civilization relieves
and adcrns the labors Of life. The penc.
tratine influences of civilization must ne
cessarily work slowly among them. The
enterprizing spirit which prepares the way
for opening up this region must leave
another generation to reap the substantial
reward.
But there are other features connected
with the development OF this fruitful por.
ton Of the African continent. Wherever
the English flag goes, thore follow English
eolonists, bringing with them the energy
and the progress so characteristic OF the
blood. There is no reason why there
should not grow up a great English city
on the banks OF lake Tanganyika, as Cal.
cutta and Madras havcgrown up in India.
Here new industries can be organized,
new wants created, new people brought
into existence. lis absurd to talk about
the world being full, when a great cont.
nent like Africa is still given over to the
savages who subsist on the surface, US the
American Indians subsisted in this coun.
try when Europe first found it out Colo.
nization has before it even greater achieve
ments than it has yet accomplished.
In the work OF opening up new coun.
tries to commerce and civilization, Eng.
land has surpassed all the nations OF tho
globe together. Last in the field, after
Spain, Portugal, Holland aud France had
founded distant colonies, Great Britain
has literally thrown a grille Of English
States around the world. Her colonial.
ton schemes have been in the main an
incident Of her commercial progress. She
has found markets by making them. Al.
ready Germany is beginning to inquire
why it is that her commerce has not been
developed in the same manner; aud a