New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-03-23
THE POWERS IN AFRICA.

Lord Salisbury may well go on his vacation.
He has earned IT, The day before starting for
the Riviera he signed. with VI. Cambon. 4 con-
vcntjon defining the line Of dcmarcation be-
tvccn the British and French possessions In
the Soudan and Sahara That was fine piece
oc work. 1t removed from diplomacy one OF
tho most vexnG questions Of the day. II re-
moved from the British sky one Of the most
n,cnaclng stormcloudS. and 1t secured for the
British Empire the full scope of It's legitimate
claims in that quarter Of the world. o'hcl
hcnnficent purposes were also served by H. Oh
which we shall presently take notice
The convention confirms Great Britain in
comDlc,p possession Of the Nile from the Delta
TO the Lakes. That is the first and most i'm
portant point. France is to have full rights Oh
erec trade on the Nile and in the Egyptian
Soudan. That Is not political, nut pure.y
commercial. matter and we assume that IN
accordance with her fixed policy, Grea' brl'-
ain Will Give similar rights to all other friendly
nations that care 10 trade in those parts AHo
political control. however, is to be e1cIus!Ve'!
British And the British control is TO De owe:
not only the Nile, but the whole Bahr-eiUh"~ei
region. Dar-Fur and Kordofan in Othe: Worus'
the whole region claimed by Egypt before 'he
Mahdist revolt. All will be British from 'nc
Nile westward to about the twenty-htm meriu-
ian of east longitude. which is now approx
.matclv the western boundary OF Egypt proper
West of that the Soudan and Sahara VIII DE
French as Ear as Lake Tchad. lDat IKE vii
be \ pont where three empires meet us nor'n
and east shores will be French. the German
Cameroons will touch it at the south. Ana AT
the south and west the British Niger terr'-
tories will abut upon 1t.
This settlement will give Great Britain an
unhrokcn strip of land across Africa from the
Indian Ocean AZ Zanzibar to the Mediterranean,
though not in the other direction 20 the Gul' OF
Guinea. the Niger territories remaining mere
enclave 1t will give France giant empire
fronting upon the Gulf Of Guinea, the Nor'h
Atlantic and the Mediterranean, but not reach
inc across "a the Red Sea, nor even TO the Me.
roch of these Powers will therefore have
coined nm important point, and have conceded
= noInt TO the other which Is about the only
way I'm which a satisfactory settlement cou'u
bc made France will have ns indeed she mas
lang had. a larger share Of Africa than any
other Power. with Great Britain 4 good sec
opd And In all of Africa north OF the equator
there will be LEFT for future partitonlne only
Morocco and the strip of coast south OF II WIG"
Sna,n nominally claims, all OF which forms an
enclavc in French territory; Trlpoli ana ez-
von which lie between French and British
territories and may be partltloTed between
those Powers; Liberia, which ought to he MAN
tanned IN independence, but will not be
France and Germany can help 1t, and ADys-
slnio fo. which four Powers have been con-
tending. But all these put together are scarce
IL moro important than the territory wh:ch
Lord Salisbury and NJ. Cambon have just ols-
nosed of with few strokes OF their pens.
Now the other purposes thus served, to which
,ro have referred. are these: The last recesses
If the Dark Continent are being opened to Eu-
-onean light, and in that benefcent work the
F,roDoan Powers are not only working mar
moniously. but are finding appeasement OF 'heir
elsewhere hostile rivalrics The talk OF PICK
"o,hauhe and Red Brooches sacklng the Mod
tern Carthage" fails utterly at sight OF all
three amlcably facing each other on Lake
Tchad This settlement in the Soudan maees
France and Great Britain friends ana NJ.
Rhodes's bargain with the German emperor
for British telegraphs and railroads across Ger
man East Africa makes Germany ana Great
britain friends 1t will he an interesting turh
re affairs II the rival Powers which have been
scowlinc at each other across the Rhine ana
across the Channel shall find the place OF
their pcacemaking IN the heart Of Darkest Al
-ico Vet exactly such G consummation IS what
now seems 10 be impending