Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-11-13

region equal in extent to all that port ion of
the United States east Of the Rockies. This
includes the white mans country Of South
Africa, with its high table lands. its dia-
monds and its gold; British Central Africa.
or Rhodesia; British East Africa. stretch
ing from the Indian ocean TO Lake Vic
tCria, and having within its borders
Uganda, the pearl CT Africa" discovered
by Henry NJ. Stanley, and now fast dt,ri-
Cplng into prosperous and modern com
munity, with merchant ana WHrShip~ aid
ing its commerce on The lake and railroads
connecting ii with the ocean and the in
terror.
On the west coast is the Niger territory
holding the mouth of the great waterway
of Western Africa. under the control uI
the British ROyal Niger Company having
such absolute sway that ii makes war AMI
peace, concludes treaties with the natives
and exercises all the attributes of soNer-
eighty under the protecting care OF Great
Britain. Then there are the minor colonies
the Gold Coast, Sierra Leone, scarcely
worth speaking of. as they are relics OF
past greatness during the slave trade days.
1t is in East Africa, however, from the
Care up to the Mediterranean. that one
sees the present imperial sway of the
Briton. as well as the potential Importance
of this new empire. 1t extends practically
in an unbroksn sweep from the northern
most to the southernmOst points of the CON
tinent. Egypt continues to be- ncminally
Independent, although under the protection
of the British flag, with British officials
directing Egyptian finances and British Off
GERS leading Egyptian armies ESS ntially,
therefore, Egypt is to be regarded
British sphere of influence. and with kitch
el.er at khartoum it Will be only q short
time before Egypts lost coloni in the
Soudan will be brought back to her and 10
the British sphere of influence. The area Of
Egypt and the Soudan was not included in
the 300 900 square miles given as the Blit-
iSh empire in Africa and If these Deepen
denotes are added, the total is brought up
to almost 5000 900 square miles, equal &c
the area of the United States, not including
Alaska.
A glance at the British possessions in
Africa shows how strong the impuls" Of
British statesmen has been to knit together
this African empire into one homogeneous
whole instead of detached parts. Each
part is reaching out to its neighborS. This
has been going on until the chance of
-"Cairo to the Cape route. entirely under
British control, is no longer a dream. Al
r. ady the railroad is up TO Buiuwayo, I@p
miles from the Cape, while from the north
Kitchener has pushed the railroad even
farther. The Nile and the lakes give added
means of transportation. At present there
is a gan of less than 800 miles in the con-
nection of British Central Africa and Brit
ish East Africa, and with this gap nlled
the rule of the British empire will, in fact,
reach from Cairo to the Cape. II VIII be
from Germany or from the Congo Free
State that this gap will be made up, either
b. cesSion or lease.
Considering the steady development of
this new empire in Africa and the manifold
benefits springing from it. ii would seem
to be a part of this general plan that the
TransyaaI and the Orange Free State
should be absorbed by the larger power.
But 1t may be that these small communi-
courage which will resist this hitherto ire
sistible tide of empire
The French explorers and statesmen seem
to have chosen Western Africa as their