The Portland daily press., 1895-07-02
VICTORIA MAMA TO THE SEA.
The British Railway to Open tho Heart of
Africa to Trade.
(From the Philadelphia Telegraph J

The Uganda Railway, which the British
Government has decided to construct
from some point on the Victoria Nyanza
to Mombassa, on the Indian Ocean, will
at last give an adequate outlet to the
trade of Central Africa. Hitherto all the
products of the country have had to be
carried by caravans to the Zanzibar coast,
or by caravan to the navigable waters of
the Nile, and from thence to the marts of
the world. These ways were both ex-
tremely hazardous and expensive, and
the new scenes will to large degree OBJ
viate these objections. England will of
necessity be compelled to establish pro-
tectorate over the country through which
the railway will pass, and the cost of
transportations by rail is much cheaper
than that by caravan.
Uganda is country well worth develop
ing. 1t occupies about 80, 900 square miles
to the west and northwest of Victoria
Indian Ocean. 1t is part of the territory
in East Central Africa allotted to England
by the Anglo-German agreement, and it
has been occupied by Great Britain ever
since 1890, when an invitation to enter
was given by the native King and his
people. The capital of the country is
Mengo Oh the nothern coast of Victoria
Nyanza, and the headquarters of the I'm
perial East Africa Company are at Kam
pala, which will ultimately be the termi-
nus of the railway The natives of the
country are the Waganda, a fine. intelli-
gent race of negroes, under the rule Of
the notorious King Mwanga Mwanga
has no sons, and his successor will be
chosen, according to present plans, from
among three Of his nephews, one of whom
is Mohamlnedan, the other two being
Catholics, as are large proportion Of
the influential people of the country. An
active missionary propaganda has been
carried on in Uganda of late years, with
the result that the people are divided into
two great factions the Protestant and
the Catholics, each of which claims about
5000 baptized adherents. There are also
many thousand more who side with either
of these Christian elements, which to-
gether possess the dominant influence in
the country. There are also, of course,
large Mohammedan and heathen elements
among the 400, 900 people who are said to
inhabit Uganda.
To the efforts and writings of Henry
NJ Stanley is due to large measure the
determination of the British Government
w CoOoOISu uillc Id1lWdyy oiiOdSl1 VI
course, political influence was brought to
bear by the Imperial East Africa Com
pany Writing in advocacy OF the rail
roads construction. Mr.. Stanley has
said: Uganda is the center of region
which is inhabited by millions of the
finest people in..Africa. Victoria Nyanza,
around whose northern coast the country
lies, has 1900 miles of coast line of it's
own. AT one point it is but $50 miles
from Lake Tanganyika from Beatrice
Gulf it is only sixty miles; from Albert
NyanZa it is barely hundred and the
navigable Nile is also within easy reach,
SO that by this lake we have, roughly
speaking, access to about 5000 miles of
lake shore and 5000 of river banks. To
join these with the sea will be to establish
vast trade 1 regard the region through
which the railway must run as only
means to an end, although the interven-
ing country will then become naturally of
great value 1t is the Pearl of Africa
That is our object Many have tried to
fertility of the soil and the variety of it's
products, but the truth is that the term,
applied as it was by the Portuguese aptly
illustrates the superior value of Uganda,
because of its populousness, the intelli-
gence of it's people, it's strategic position
for commerce and for spreading Chris
tianity-all of which make it pre- emf
nently desirable colony Tor trad1nS
and CIVILIZED nation like ours. Uganda
was indeed THE Pearl of the Crown of
Portugal.
~ have met no African race which i'm
pressed me so much with its mental,
Spiritual and moral capacity as the
Waganda Administered by British
commission, assisted and directed by
British officers, educated by British mis-
sionaries. and trained in industrial crafts
by British teachers, Uganda and it's
people are capable of astonishing Central
Africa, as the japanese have astonished
the far East.