The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1898-01-26
In THE HINTERLAND.'
WEALTH or WEST AFRICA THAT
FRANCE AND ENGLAND ARE AFTER.

WEALTH or WEST AFRICA THAT
FRANCE AND ENGLAND ARE AFTER.
The Tradesmen of tine Two European
Countries Are Engs gsd In Struggle
For Conquest Which May Call Tor Ar
bitratfon to Prevent a War.
James Pinnock, African merchant Of
Liverpool, who was one of the original
( promoters of the Royal Niger company
and director for many years, in the
course of an interview with represent
alive of The Daily Mail, said: II went
out to west Africa 40 years ago and Wis
tied almost every port and place in that
region, including the Niger, many
| times, and my business has been with
west Africa ever since. In 1870 built
a steamer. called the Rio Formoso, spe-
cialIY for service ON the river Niger, and
with her explored and opened up, for
the first time in history, the river For
/ cados. This river flows into the Atlantic
and is one Of the entrances to the Niger.
1.-THE Importance Of this greet river
Niger and the binteriapd is weA ,aown
to those who are en- lean
trade, but we can a. gill
slowly dawn on the u. fish
public | aIn conYine.s r,g. the
more they look into it tho Je .upor-
tant they will see it is to the inteiel,so of
British trade not to lose any Of it.
Fifteen years ago there were four
firms trading on the Niger. They were
the West African company, the Central
African Trading company (and with
this latter Iaubman Bros. one Of them
now Sir Taubman Goldie--were con-
| nected) Miller Bros. and myself. We
all four firms joined and called ourselves
the United African company, which
was subsequently changed to the Ma
tional African company and after that
again to the Royal Niger company.
''The position today" continued Mr.
Pinnock, would be better understood
| if good map could be put before the
public of the whole hinterland Of our
west African colonies. Such thing un-
| fortunately does not exist at present
| The strict geography Of the country is
| only understood by very few Our
| knowledge of the hinterland, however,
has increased immensely during the past
| few years, and to instance one particu-
| larry large territory / would point out
that the French flag is already flying at
| innuInerable towns and stations extend
| ing from 4 degrees east longitude to 3
| degrees west longitude and from about
6 degrees north latitude (iD the neigh
borhood CT Porto Noyo and the Daho-
mey country to the town of Say on the
| Niger, which is between 10 degrees and
Ia degrees north The English flag is to
be found to the east of Porto Novo, and
extending Inland to tho neighborhood
of Nikki (now occupied by the Freneh)
to various degrees Of latitude wherein
are found the three British possessions
and protee;oIates Of Lagos, the Niger
Coast protectorate and the Royal Niger
company
at is from the interior, however,
| that the future great wealth of Africa
| will be derived, and if all this is allow
| ed to fall into the lap of France she
will be possessed Of an empire second
only if not equal in the future to the
whole Of our Indian empire
''Gee what South Africa has already
developed into, and as far only as min
erals are concerned. The soil of Africa
| has not yet been barely scratched The
| population Of this part of Africa, with
the advent of railways, stoppage of the
| slave trade, cessation of internal tribal
warfare will increase in equal ratio to
| that Of the most favored parts of the
southern states of America mean as
| far as the multiplication of the negro
population is concerned.
1.-THE development of this hinterland
Will, in my opinion, exceed all the
dreams of the most enthusiastic coloni-
| al party in France Both I4snce and
| England have sacrificed many men and
much money in the race to grasp this
priceless treasure, and the difficulty of
| apportioning it will, | believe, be so
| great that it is more than probable, to
avert extremes, it will have to be re-
| ferred to some other nation, or council
of nations, TO arbitrate on, as the mat
ter is far too weighty for easy or speedy
| settlement
Gas evidence of the activity Of the
French may point to the railway from
Senegal to the upper Niger. Tins is
being pushed forward with further
vote of /, coo, 900 francs from tho Caisse
des Dcpots ct Consignations, thus cut
ting and heading off all our possessions
from Gambia, Sierra Leone, the Gold
Coast and Lagos down to the river
Niger.
"a very great deal. if not the whole
of the trouble on the Niger, added Mr..
Pinnock, would never have arisen but
for the obnoxious charter given to the
Royal Niger company. BY reason of
this charter every trader, white and
black, British or otherwise, is entirely
excluded from the country Had the
river and adjacent country been thrown
open TO free and legitimate trade, as all
merchants have been clamoring so long
for backed up by the chambers of COM
merce of Liverpool and Manchester, all
the places in question would have long
since been full of British subjects, white
and colored Trade would have devel-
oped thousandfold, and the French
would never have gone near it. Lon
ion Mail