Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1883-05-02
The French on the Congo.

FroiA Inc saturday Eeyew.
There can be no doubt that the French gov
eminent have seriously undertaken to make
their pr0tectOrate effectual. They have not
only supplied NJ. de Brazza with arms and goods.
but have given him commission and the sup
port OF troops The powers said to have been
conferred upon him are nearly as wide as any
given to the naVigatOrs of the sixteenth century.
III he was going to an uneXplOred continent he
could scarcely have wider commission. The
only limit placed on him is very vaguely
worded. He is to extend the French prOtectO-
rate as far as possible. There is OBJ
viously very little knowledge In Paris as to
how far that may be. Familiarity with geog-
raphy has never been the strong point of the
French, and they have very loose ideas both as
to what there is to take and as to itsvalue But
If their knowledge is little their hopes are great.
The ambition to possess great colonial empire
has always been strong among Them and has
revived Of late. for sufficiently obvious reasons
They find the road blocked everywhere except
In Africa. and that makes them all the more
determined to avail themselves Of such open
ing I as they can get. The fact that the
West Coast Of Africa has been occupied at
different points by England, Holland. POrtu-
gal, and even by themselves, and found to be
scarcely worth the trouble of keeping Is not
likely to stop their present enthusiasm to get
better footing there. They thoroughly under
stand that when they cannot get what they
would like they must like what they can get
What is to be obtained on the equatorial coast
of west Africa is nothing very considerable
There is already French settlement on the river
Ogowai, some five degrees to the north of the
Congo. 1t is said to consist like most of their
colonies, chiefly of government officials To ex-
tend this valuable possession along some three
hundred and twenty miles of pestferous coast
does not seem to be very magnificent colonial
ambition But they would extend their terri
tory and their influence, and when the French
can feel that they have performed that feat they
are not too curious in examining into the value
OF what they have obtained. In the present
case, too, they feel that there is something be-
hind the vaueleSs coast which is well worth
having There is all the center of Africa to be
opened up to trade and made into COLONY
The Congo has been shown by Mr.. Stanley to be
naylgable above the Livingstone Falls and to
flow through rich countries in which there are
great things to be done. Having been shut out
from almost everywhere else, the French are
eager to profit by this last chance. The onlv
serious obstacle to their enterpr;sesis the trading
post on the upper Congo established by the Bel
gian company They do not of course openly
propose to expelthe independent traders; but it
is obvious that. if once they obtain possession
of the mouth of the river, they can regulate the
trade at their pleasure And it is the certainty
that they will do so which is causing SO much
uneasiness to be felt about their schemes among
other nations interested in the actual or possible
commerce of Central Africa