Baxter Springs news. [volume] (Baxter Springs, Kan.) 1882-1919, 1895-12-07
ENGLISH CONQUEST IN AFRICA.
Means for Accom- pllshinr u ID Open To
(ifave Objactl0uG,. .-a

Means for Accom- pilshins II Il Open to
Gfave ObjactI6nS. -s
Africa has been 81 late the field OF
our anncSing operations, not because
territory is valuable there, but because
II 10 difficult to find territories to annex
elsewhere. Equatorial Africa Is unfit
for European residence. II consists
mainly Of swamps, jungles and iinpen-
etrable forests In these black tnen
have lived according to their own fash.
lon for centuries, and we and other ma
tons have been satisfied with the occu-
patton Of few seaports, where advcn-
turous merchants have risked their
health III endcavors to grow rich by
trading with the natives inland This
was not enough for the new school, and
1t was determined to extend the area OF
empire. Therefore spectators were
encouraged to make treaties with the
chiefs OF the various African tribes
These treaties recognized our para.
mount rule and, as the chiefs did not
understand them, they were ready to
agree to them for bottle or two Of
bad spirits. Our next step was to make
over these treaty-acquired territories
10 some trading company. Other ma.
tons soon followed our example. They,
too, made treaties and these resulted In
u plurality Of claims. These claims
were adjusted by portioning out Africa
among the great European powers into
spheres OF influence" One power
agreed with another power on the cx-
tent OF their respective spheres, and
other powers declined to recognize the
arrangement
In western Africa we have included
In our sphere oil the "hinterland," q
vague term borrowed from the Ger
man language. Our neighbors are the
French, who have also their sphere.
But the frontier between the two
spheres Is vague. In eastern Africa
we converted Zanzibar into n British
protectorate. As we had pledged our
selves to France not TO do so without
her assent, we obtained it by making
her present OF Madagascar, which did
not belong to u.s. Then we proceeded
10 divide the eastern hinterland be-
tween ourselves and Germany, and,
having done SO, we coded our sphere"
to company. Within our sphere was
Uganda, land separated from the
coast by about fifty miles of desert.
Its inhabitants are mainly slaves, and
its sole produce Is little ivory de.
rived from hunting elephants. The
company sent an envoy with IN accom-
paniment of Maxim guns to make
treaty with its king, and the poor
wretch had to acknowledge the com.
pany MS his paramount lord. His SUBJ
jects objected, so the company killed
many of them. Finding, however, the
speculation valuelcss, the company re-
tired. On this we declared Uganda
under British protectorate, paid the
company some two hundred and TWEEN
~ thousand pounds for having left 1t,
and since then we have been paying
cash ut the rate Of about sixty thou
sand pounds per annum In salaries to
officials there, and in retaining in
our service gang of ruflianly
Soudanese to overawc the inhabitants.
We are now about to build railroad
to connect this wondrous acquisition
with the sea coast, and favora BILE esti-
mates were put forward TO show that
II we run one train per week we shall
be able to perform this feat Mt cost
of not more than fifty thousand pounds
per annum In excess Of all returns. 1t
is vaguely urged that the annexation
and the railway will help put an end
to slavery.
But most Of the population in the
protectorate arc slaves, and 1t Is not
proposed to free them. Moreover, In
the proposed sultanate Of Zanzibar
there are about 200, 900 slaves SO hardly
worked that their lives only average
ten years, and yet this slave popula-
ton Is on the increase. As for new
markets, it is equally vaguely stated
that the soil OF Uganda might produce
crops, and that II produced the crops
might be exchanged for cotton goods.
Commercially. the whole scheme IL
about MS absurd us 1t would be for us
TO annex the north OF Greenland and
10 build a railroad across that conti-
nent in the hope Of establishing
rcmunerative trade with the Eskimo.
London Truth.
A Shakers Opinion of Society.
Some years ago knew IN elder OF