Weekly Chillicothe crisis. (Chillicothe, Livingston Co., Mo.) 1878-19??, 1883-07-12
Tho Basin OF the Congo.

New York Times.
The conflicting claims of European
powers in the heart of the Dark CON
tinent have attracted but little attention
since the beginning Of hostilitics in
Madagascar and Anam. While the
French were bOmbarding the llova
ports and shipping troops 10 TOnquin
Stanley was pushing his way up the
Congo river, and it is now announced
that he has reached Brazzavillc with
600 followers, and has met there NJ.
dc Braaaa who is said to have made
but little progress. Mr.. Stanley is the
agent of the international and neutral
organization known as the COmitc IL
Etudcs du llaut Congo, at the head Of
which is the king of tho BGlgians.
The Association lnternationalc Afri-
cainc, of which King Leopold is the
moving spirit, undertook to open u
path from Zanzibar on the east coast,
TO the great lakes of the interior. A
path was opencd and Il station was cs-
tablishcd on the eastern shore Of Lake
Tanganyika. The other organization
undertook TO explore the course OF the
great river Congo from its mouth ON
the west coast 10 its source, and to
make rOadwayS around the Cataracts
that divide the basin of the upper Con-
90 from the nayigable waters, which
extend for ID miles eastward from the
rivers mouth.
The rOadwayS were built and Il
steamer was placed in the waters above
the cataracts, ut Stanley pool, beyond
which navigation is unimpcdcd for
nearly one thousand miles into the
heart of the continent All this work
was done under 4 neutral flag by an
association that represents no nation,
and that advocates the opening Of the
rich valley and basin of this great river
to the commerce of all nations. Al
ready the trade of this region is great,
the gross exports and imports amount
ing, it is said, to Sl0,0OO,OOO Il year,
The association that undertook TO
make path westward from Zanzibar
granted out Of its funds 90
900 francs to Il French
committee that desired TO do part of
the work. This committee sent out NJ.
dc Brazza as its agent. He discovered
another and n better route from the
western coast TO the upper Congo by
avoiding the lower Congo and the
cataracts, and following the course Of
the River Ogowe that cmpties into the
Atlantic north Of the mouth of the
Congo. The spirit of acquisition and
annexation that has taken possession
of the French nation took possession of
NJ. de Brazaa. He passed from the
service Of n neutral organization into
the service Of France, induced u native
chief to ccdo TO France, the northern
shore Of Stanley Pool, and raised the
French flag upon this territory,
In this way the French gained Il
foothold in the basin of the Congo. The
Portuguese suddenly discovered that
the king of Congo had been their vas
sal since li9l, and laid claim to the
region above and below tho mouth of
the river. So that the international
scientific and philanthropic associa-
tions that have undertaken to open n
belt across the continent, and have al
ready accomplished 50 much, are con-
frOnted by the pretentionS of two
European nations. This could have
been foresecn. Tho great wealth Of
the basin east Of the mountains, cover
ing thirteen degrees of longitude and
fourteen degrees of latitude, having
been revealed by bold explorers,
aroused the predatory instincts of Eu-
rope, and the peaceful work Of King
Leopold and his associates must soon
give way to struggle between coloniz-
crS and conqucrOrs.
There will be great changes in
southern and central Africa in the
next fifty years. A large area OF rich
land is to be explored and opened to
civilization. The colonizing nations
of Europe may contend among them
selves for n division of the spoil. An
cicnt and forgotten claims, like the
claim brought forward by Portugal,
will be revived by other powers, and
the Dark continent may be lighted up
by the fires of great conflicts.