The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-08-21
GoBBLINe OF THE GLOBE.
,rTI p GROUND LEFT For THE Ma
TIONs TO DEVOUR.


e1evenths of Africa Sliced Up
Among the POwers-SOuth Sea Is
lands In Grabbing - Mother
ror+y,,s ..UncInimed" Babies.
From the New York Mail and Express.
rhe change in ownership of several
,,rqa slices Of land on the globe, as re-
,ulr Of the Spanish war, makes it interest
ing TO take bird'e-eye squint at the
earth and see what a precious small frac-
lion of it is not covered by somebody's
mortgage. By long odds the most stu
deDdous acquisition, at one fell swoop,
came when the discoveries of Columbus
vested the title deeds of the new world
:, Spain. Gradually, by writs of eject
ment based on revolution, all this superb
domain has passed out of her hands, till,
at the end of four centuries, Spain now
finds herself driven. bag and baggage,
from her venerable possessions in Amer
lea.
Next in point of magnitude was the Eng
fish conquest of India, Australia, New
Zealand and British North America. Good
government in all these vast regions has
tended to quiet title so far that Cousin
Bull may be looked upon as their perma-
nent landlord. Russia's absorption of ST.
beria the Dutch acquisitions in the East
Indies and the territorial seizures of Ger
many and France left but little of the
sarth's surface in the open market.
About a generation ago, after a series
of discoveries in Africa, the Powers op-
ened their eyes to the wisdom of slicing
up the dark continent. Within a single
4 generation and chiefly within the past
decade. that vast area has been practical
" gobbled. Nearly the whole of South
Africa andpa huge part of North Africa
have witnessed a rapidity OF conquest
comparable only to that of the Spanish
captains after the discovery of the new
world but it has not like the latter, been
attended by bloodshed, rapine and wide
spread ruin. 1t was a commercial grab,
pure and simple, with the philanthropic
annex called the destruction of the slave
trade that oldest and direst plague-spot
Of the continent.
It had, perforce, to be conducted on very
different principles from the Spanish seiz-
ures in America, because there were too
many strong powers who wanted piece
of the African pork and no single ogre
would be allowed to swallow il all. So
they resorted to diplomacy. All the Powers
were called to the inquest, and each had
his surgeon on hand with his knife. The
autopsy was managed on business princi-
pies by the conventions entered into by
Great Britain with France, Germany,
Italy and Portugal during the years 1904.
They called it "delimiting the present and
future spheres of action" and the results
were reasonably final. Extent of the ter
ritories assigned to each of the contract
ing Powers was definitely settled by those
important international treaties OF
course, the natives had no vote. 1t was
division without representation.
There was one snag, however, and
they've not got it out of the channel yet.
The Germans introduced a diplomatic nov
city called "Hinterland." It means back
lands, or the regions extending inland
from any strip of occupied seaboard, much
ike the common-law claim that a man
who owns property, owns to the sky
"usque ad coelum." The first clash I'M
der this theory came when Portugal ran
her claims inland till they butted into a
choice reservation of John Bull. This
was amicably settled by a compromise,
but there has been continual friction ever
since over this Hinterland principle be-
tween England, France and Germany in
the Central Sudan and the South African
dominion. 1t may lead yet to a warlike
matinee.
In this way Africa. which fifty years
ago, was largely the property of coniding
black cannibals without wardrobes, is now
actually occupied or administered by the
Powers, or claimed as under their protec-
uon, or within their respective spheres of
influence. Large sections of the protected
lands are really administered" by trad
ing companies which enjoy almost SOW
ereisn rights, and are responsible to the
nome governments. Other regions, such
as the Cape and Natal, constitute self
governing colonies, in the enjoyment of
representative institutions, while others
are crown colonies. The vast Congo ba-
SIN has hitherto been administered under
International guarantees by the King of
the Belgians.
80 the African autopsy now stands as
follows, according to the latest authori-
ues. The total area of the continent is
H'9SOWO square miles, and here is the re-
sun OF the dissection in square niles up
10 date:
Great Gritain ......................2 ISIS. OCO
rance OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES. 3,074 600
PORTUGAL oot coo