The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1890-06-18
THE MONARCH OF AFRICA.

When Greece was declared an indepen-
dent state some sixty years ago, the Euro
pean powers ransacked the roster of avail
able Princes for material for sovereign
for the new Kingdom. 1t was taken for
granted, first, that free Greece must be a
kingdom, and second. that her King must
be member of one of the royal families.
Again, within our day. when the powers
raised Roumania to the dignity of an indie
pendent power, so that it should serve as a
barrier between Russia and Turkey, an
other kingdom was called into existence,
and again the sovereigns went out among
the royal houses on hunt for a King. A
singular change must have come over men's
minds; for now that it is arranged to give
Congo a separate government, no one pro-
poses to make it a monarchy, and there is
no talk of searching for King for the new
member Of the family of nations. A plain,
untitled Anglo-American, who is not even
q Colonel nor an Honorable, appears 10 be
good enough for the purpose.
Henry NJ. Stanley, the newly appointed
Governor of Congo State, becomes practi-
cally the ruler of an area of country whose
boundaries are underlined, but which is per-
haps as large as the United States inclusive
bred millions of people. His dominions
are perhaps not as wide as those of the En-
peror of Russia, but whereas, the bulk of
Russia, both European and Asiatic, Is a
wild desert, sparsely settled, and incapable
of producing any surplus products, almost
every acre of Congo State is represented as
arabic and fertile, and is capable Of yield
ing in abundance every product Of the tenn
perate, the subtropical and the tropical
zone. OF what degree of civilization the
present generation of natives are capable,
it is difficult to say. Ages of conflict with
the slave-trader deteriorate the best natures.
But Stanley himself believes that the bulk
of the inhabitants of the valley of the Congo
and of the adjacent country are now pre-
pared, if they are assured against Arab
raids, to undertake agriculture, and posi-
bly, the simpler branches of industry.
They can be trained to be efficient soldiers.
Under competent leadership, an army
might be recruited on the Congo which
could hold its own against any force that
could be dispatched into Africa.
OF this country and of this people, this
untitled traveller, who was a newspaper re-
porter twenty years ago, is now to be abso-
lutte monarch. He is trammeled by no con-
stitution. He owes Difference to no estab-
liShed usages or laws. He disposes of the
country and of its denizens according to his
own judgment of what is best. Not Gen
ghis Khan at the head of his Tartars nor
Warren Hastings in the Sublimity Of his
despOtism exercised more complete sway
than is it seems, TO be given to him. His
word will be law. He will have to guard
against such revolts as the one which over
threw Emin Pasha; but to the master of
such forces as he will muster such dangers
will cause little anxiety. A tax ON products
which will not be felt will yield him an in
come that will make him independent of
money-lenders and will enable him to secure
the early construction of the lines of COM
munication which are necessary to supple
ment the navigation of the Congo and to
open the Nile from the lakes to the first
cataract.
The man who is thus to be invested with
this extraordinary power is in the full
vigor Of manhood. He is fifty years of age,
with a constitution hardened by exercise
and unimpaired by excuses. He is
thoroughly familiar with his future theater
of his operations. The problem of the
civilization of Equatorial Africa has been
444' oeu"J iVi Se"io' S4Atoeu Sedis dso He
was appointed Chief Agent of the Congo
Association, with full powers, and for eight
years he administered the affairs of that
company with vigOr and discretion. But
he realized that the work to be done could
not be accomplished by mere trading
company, that the man in control must be
political ruler rather than merchant, and
that Africa would never be civilized by per-
sons whose chief detectives were palm oil
and ivory. He resigned in 1884 to make
place for Sir Francis de Winton. Now he
returns to the scene of action clothed with
all the authority requisite for the work.
There is reason to hope that he will accom-
plish purpose which will cut some figure
in histnrrr