Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1882-11-08
The Congo Controversy.


Paris Letter,
The speech of Mr.. H. NJ. Stanley on
NJ. de Brazza's pretensions in connec.
ton with the territory of King Ma,
koko is exciting a good deal of inter
est in London. 1t was pretty fully
reported by telegraph in yesterday
papers. The American journalist wa.
bitter, as we'll as humorous, in hi.
description of De Brazza, whom he
praised as a capital story teller, al.
ways amusing, but not worth mention
ing as an explorer" Mr.. Stanley
explained the entire situation with
circumstantial details, which appear tC
leave little doubt that King MakokC
intended, in the SO called treaty
simply TO give De Brazza the righl
to build a station, but certainly not t.
annex nine miles OF villages, anG
people, goats and pigs. Mr.. Stanle,
is OF opinion that it will be very Sc.
rious for the white people in
this region should the French gov.
eminent attempt to ratify the D,
Brazza treaty with the Interpretation
which has been put upon it by certain
French journals. With one excep
ton no mention of the closing Incl
dent OF the banquet to MIR. STANLEY
appears in the London journals. DE-
Brazza, himself, it seems, unexpeot.
eddy entered the room and addressed
the meeting without having heard
Mr. Stanley's speech, Seeing that his
remarks were pacific in the extreme,
he would read after with no little
chagrin the sarcastic description
which MIR. Stanley had been giving Of
his first appearance on the loW,l
Congo two years ago, "a shoeless,
poorly dressed person, remarkable
only for a faded uniform and frock
coat, with a small following Of
men, carrying about 125 pound,
of baggage and in no sense
an imposing figure, or one likely to in.
spire a thought that he was some
illustriOus person in disguise" With.
out having heard this philippe De
Brazza declared he came there to
welcome Mr.. Stanley, and to estab
lish the fact that he regarded him not
as an antagonist, but simply as a la.
borer in the same field, the progress
and civilization of Africa. 1.-THE
flags" he said, (which | everywhere
distributed as tokens Of peace and
friendship, are being carried from
tribe to tribe, proclaiming a new era
among the African populations. ]
am a French officer. belonging to the
French navy. | drink to the civil
cation of Africa by the united effort.
of all nations under all flags" These
remarks were received with loud ap.
plause, and on learning what Mr.
Stanley had previously said of De
Brazza, it does not appear that the
two travellers have yet fought, or thai
De Brazza has the least intention O
calling Mr.. Stanley out. NJ. Victor
Hugo has had something to say upor
this great African question, and hi.
remarks are. quoted with a running
fire of sarcastic criticism by the free
lances of the lighter journalism of the
day. AT no distant date" says the
French poet and patriot, France
Italy, Spain, and even Greece, leaving
a share to England, will jointly occupy
Africa on behalf of civilization.
English people smile at the suggestion
O Greece leaving a little to England
in the matter; aud the alliance OF the
beasts, who left the lion to kill the
stag, and her assembled to join in the
feast, is considered to be apDropos tC
the situation indicated by NJ. Hugo
Mr.. Stanley has accepted an invitation
to dine with Mr.. Henry Irving at the
Garrick Club tomorrow evening. i
is understood that the author O.
Through the Dark Continent has {
new work in preparation.
"Yet Mr.. Stanley has a warm hear
of his own, as we'll as a very warn
temper. A commission has been in.
t listed to him to pierce Africa Will
mercantile highways, and he is K
cutting it. He had a commission Il
discover Livingstone, and he dis.
covered him. Were his African
t SIX ended. and he were told to dis
cover the North Pole, he would find il
or die. Once laid on the scent O.
any quarry he follows it inch by inch
with the p~ertiDacity of a bloodhound
That does not hinder him from feeling
an especial delight in labors directed
to particular objects. Without
%pretense or enthusiasm, and without
scrupli0g 10 emp oy occasionally harsh
e~xpedients in attaining his aims, he
must be confessed to have shown his
power Of appreciating the magnanimity
Of philanthropists with whom he
would not compare himself, and to
have proven his admiration by toiling
on tier track. Although it can
scarcely be asserted hat he has given
himself to African pioneering for the
sake of the negro, he has always
evlnced as clear a perception as
Livingstone himself that the end and
reason Of such efforts should be the
Enlightenment and prosperity Of the
negro first Of ALL"
The great attention which Europe
has given the labOrs Of Stanley, the
Herald correspondent in he Congo
country, is remarkable. The London
Times t~elegraphed the Paris speech
OF the explorer to the extent of three
columns. and all the important Jour.
mails in England and France have dis
eussed the question of jurisdiction in
West Africa between Stanley and
Brazza, the alleged representative OF
France. The London Times, October
q, opens a leader on this subject with
the following paragraph:
Mr.. Stanley deserves all the praise
he is receiving on his return from
setting on foot one of the most adven
turous enterprises Of modern times.
His speech at the Hotel Continental
on Thursday, though it adds little to
the account we were enabled to print
on Wednesday, brings the III o and
his work into vivid juxtaposition.
More energy practically applied has
never been exhibited than 10 that ex-
traordinary road he has engineered
along the lower valley Of the Congo.
He talks Of the Dark Continent. To
him il has no deeper mystery than
a railway cutting in England or
France. He has the gift Of seeing
things very close, and doing what he
has TO do without troubling himself
excessively without the Wholesale and