The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1899-11-02

! Germany, who may be said 70 have
nesun Inc scramble Tor Africa. has
come on with far less territory than
her rivals. II must be remembered.
however that although she began with
a rush. that rush started only as years
! ago Previous 20 that time she had
/ nothing nov she has undlsputcd pos
\ session of almost 100000 square miles.
She began her acquisitions i'm south
west Africa, where, by arrangement
/ with England, she came into possession
| OF Damaraland and Namaqualand.
But IL Is doubtful II this half desert
country can ever be OF any practical
value. In fact. IL would never have
been allowed 10 slip through John
Bulls hands were II otherwise. Ger
many's greatest African possession,
however, lies I'm the eastern part Of the
continent, with British East Africa on
it's north and Portuguese East Africa
on it's south. This territory OF the Ger
/ mans includes the southern half OF the
Victoria Nyanza - a portion of the
shore of Lake Tanganyika. with about
400 miles OF coast line Although sew
eral efforts have been made TO open
up this country. Germany does not
seem TO have the remarkable success
tempts. Today the vast bulk OF the
country Is little more than an unknown
desert. While Germany stil clings
stubbornly to an indefinite claim To
territory lying north OF Ashanti IL ~
extremely doubtful that her African
possessions win ever materially In
crease
The same holds good OF Portugal.
who. at the beginning OF the scramble.
put forth tremendous claims for
colonial empire stretching across the
continent from Angola TO Mozambique.
England soon stepped forward and
shattered that dream, and today the
actual Jurisdiction. of the Portuguese
seldom extends beyond a fringe os
coast territory. one of her richest
possessions, Delagoa Bay has just
passed into the hands OF the English
by purchase. and on the Guinea coast
all that remains OF her old possessions
I is small strip OF $4,000 square miles
| south OF the Gambia.
! Italy has had much the same luck as
J Portugal For many a year she had
cast covetous eye toward Tripoli.
/ France spoiled that scheme by curtly
telling her 20 keep hands off. or there
| would be trouble. So il was not until
| iob- ludl Snt took any step loNdIu
getting Il slice of the continental pie
that was going around. Twelve years
previously an Italian trading house had
obtained the cession OF little spot Of
land on Assab bay. and here Italy saw
the chance for forcing i'm the usual thin
edge OF the usual wedge. In q little
less than six years she had reached
Cape Kasar and had prepared to ab-
sorb Abyssinia. 1t was sad mistake.
| She bit off more than she could chew.
and. after series of humiliating dis
! asters was forced back to her little
| strip along the Red sea. She still ad-
| here's to a vague claim on Somaliland,
but II is doubtful If she will ever be
able To establish this claim.
During all these struggles life has
gone darkly with the African. While
his eventual fate may be, as scholars
t-U11d statesmen believe, that of the red
| Indian in America. il will be a much
greater length OF time before he VIII
| pass away from the continent which
the more virile white has wrung and Is
| still wringing from him. But II Is only
| a matter of time. and a very short time,
when every mile of Africa viii be open
ed up and every obscure tribe intro
duced 10 the railway engine and the
advanced ideas and the whisky bottle
Of the European civilizer When once
Cecil Rhodes dream of a Cape To
Cairo" railway is realized and the
heart Of the Dark Continent is pierced
| by a line of steel rails. the greatest
work in the transformation Of Africa
will have been accomplished Chris
tianization. once the watchword OF ev-
| cry power that intruded SO sancti-
moniously into the jungle of the black,
seems of late to have been quite for
| gotten in the mad rush for land.
Just how industrious the different
great nations have been i'm this respect
| may be CLEANED from the following ta-
bic. I'm which is given an approximate
| estimate Of the area claimed by the
different powers. France, it Will be
seen. comes first. but IL the Egyptian
Sudan and the other recently claimed
territories of Great Britain be consider
ed as absolutely belonging to that em-
plre. France would be second in the
list of African landlords:
Square miles.
France "'""V'v'V
Great Britain ..................'...s... @,5VhuN
Germany ...................'..... H-o'VW
| un,,, Frce state ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. 10000
po,tno,t ..................... 750,0O0
I.,ty Gncl,Jng Somaliland) ........... 490,0 ,000
| e,.f ...,.......... 2li,O01
| ooo