The Mason County journal. [volume] (Shelton, W.T.) 1886-1927, 1894-07-13
THE CAMEROONS.
A Country That Is Giving Ger.
many Much TrOubl
An African Territory About Which the
English Government Is vitality Con-f
~ cerned-The Dispute About J
y Its boundaries. Il

i -
Battle in the CamerOOns." says re-
cent cable. What and where are the
allcroons? This from the New York
Herald will clucidate little:
The Cameroons is a territory on the
Blight of Biafra. West Africa, one
hundred and fifty Thousand square
miles in extent. and with an estimated
ponrlation of two millions. 1t has =
coast line of one hundred and twenty
miles between the Campo river and the
Rio del Rey. is bounded on the north
east by IL treaty line running north
east TO the east of YOla. on the upper
Hpnuc. and on the south by line run
ming inland. due east from the mouth
OF the Campo river, to about the me-
ridian of longitude fifteen degrees east,
which nav be regarded as the eastern
or inland limit of the SO-called pro
tectOratc.
In 1892 there were one hundred and
,iXty-aiN whites. of whom one hundred
and nine were German and thirty-One
English. II became a German pro-
tectOratc in lSSI. and is placed under
an i'm Dcrial governor, assisted by
chancellor. two secretaries and local
council of three representative mer-
chants. The country is fertile, and
numerous valuable African vegetable
productions grow in profusiOn. Plan
tations Of cacaO and tobacco have been
farmed by company, and numerous
factories carry on an active trade in
ivory and palm oil. On January l.
1855 an import duty was imposed on
European goods. and from this the
revenue is mainly derived. The chief
town j., CamerOOnS. and in the South
BAHAMA. Bmbia and Ballundu Town
are other important trading stations.
and Aqua Town and Bell Town are the
principal native settlements. The I'M
ports and exports are quite large.
In April last. Mr. Henry NJ. Stanley
wrote to TN" peac" association a letter
in which Ac attributed the increase of
trade in 1892 1T African ports under
German administration to the growing
practice among German merchants Of
importing into Africa small arms and
ammunition. These materials Of war,
he .>;iI. were sold to the slave traders
ard do incstimable damage. Mr. Stan
lev iNcuipated also the Portuguese in
his charges. He appealed to the Euro
pean nations to suppress the traffic in
armG carried or by the Germans and
Portuguese. Unless this step be taken.
he added. ali efforts to stop the slave
trade would be useless.
I'm February German expedition.
which was under the command OF
Frciherr Won Stotten. proceeded from
the CamcroonS coast up the river San
nara To talinga. whence it travelled to
the thicl,ly populated district of Tikar
and reached Ngandere and YOla.
Treaties were concluded with the ma
tive tribes in the districts passed
through. This temperance on the
coast. the lIreuZ Zeitung pointed out.
was peculiar in view of the statement
made by members of the expedition
that Lake Tchad was their goal. 1t is
IL fact. though at present an ineXplica-
bic one that German expeditions fail
to reach the more caSterly portions OF
the I!intcrland of the CamcrOOns. The
expedition returned in September.
England and Germany had long
dispute about the boundaries of the
tameroonS. which was settled in May
last. The third section of the agree
mcnt reads: The German colonial
administration engages not to allow
any trade settlements to exist or be
erected on the RIGHT bank of the Rio
del Fey Creek or waterway. In like
manner the administration of the Oil
river; i:rot@ctOratc engages not to al
low any trade settlements to exist or
TO be erected on the western bank Of
the halla:;>y peninsula from the first
creek below .irsibon's village to the
sea and eastward from this bank to
the Rio del Rey waterway.
According to the German view the
new agreement is purely fiscal one.
intended to enable the British and
German administrations to cope with
the widespread smuggling. which was
especially detrimental to the Gamer
cons. There had been no question of
altering the frontier laid down by the
provisional agreement of 1890. which,
in consequence OF disagreement. be-
tween the two governments. left the
Rio del Rey out of count and settled
the frontier as a straight line running
from the upper end OF the waterway
to the rapids of the Cross river. But
this indefinite upper end" has now
been fixed as above set forth. Much
satisfaction was expressed in Berlin at
the pledge given by the English gov
crpm"nt not to allow trade settlements
on the Baka>sy peninsula. which other
wise would have afforded an excellent
base for contra band operations.