The commonwealth. (Scotland Neck, N.C.) 1896-1929, 1899-08-31
ABOUT AFRICA.
What Its Future Is to Be.
MANY CHANGES PREDICTED,
BY G. GROSvENoR DAVE.
Written fo- The Commonwealth.

~
port OF the Cold Coast, small bu
thoroughly equipped railroad is in e.
1stence, solely designed for bringin
mahogany logs from this upper Assir
, le river to the coast, instead OF pei
, mlttlng them to float to the coast a
heretofore. This fact is cited as a tyn
OF the Influences that will re-make Al
rlca IN the next twenty-five years
Railroads and electric lines, designe
for purposes Of pure commerclalism
will inevitably open the way for al
that Is modern and energizing in th4
colonizipg nations OF the world. Th
knell Is sounding for the Dark Cont
nent, and in its stead will appear
continent whose readiness and capacit,
tor development.ar are almost limitless.
W.
twenty-five years ago the map O
Africa was mainly guess work. Large
spaces were set down as desert tha,
have since proved to be productive
and the boundaries of the different in
terror territories were curved in sus.
picious beauty and regularity. The
Nile, Notwithstanding Speke's efforts
was still regarded asa mystery. The
| traveller who chose to let his imagina-
| ton run riot regarding things he had
seen, either asleep Or awake, could do
50 with impunlty; beyond which point
the yellow journals haye scarcely pro-
gressed whenever they refer to Africa,
even now. The bravery and devotion
OF Livingston were then a new story
and Henry nj. Stanley had just started
Tor the expedition during whose course
he partially surveyed Lake Nictoria
Nyanza and which ended in his reap
pearance via the Congo, to pen his
great story OF F'Ac-oss the Dark Con-
tlnent." OF course partial exploration
had preceded all this in many dircc-
tions. In 1885, DR.. Barth crossed the
Great Desert and added to our know
ledge OF the Niger, only however to
leave the Impression that this vast
river OF the west coast was a feeder Ct
the Nile. On this same river also.
Mungo Park in 1896 experienced a
number Of dubious adventures and ex-
plored the river for 16O miles from its
mouth. This same region also and
much other of the African coast. was
known and traded with by the Phoe
nicians Of old, whose beads are even
now dug up occasionally by the lnhab-
itants OF the Guinea coast and used as
ornaments by native royalty. In the
South as early as 1862 the Dutch had
possession of the Cape OF Good Hope,
having themselves ousted the Portu-
gess and themselves being ousted by
the British. Yet after all is said re-
garding efforts made, territory subdued,
and knowledge gained of Africa prior
to the middle of the present century,
it may be summed up safely as triAing
and ineffective.
The present day map of Africa is an
different thing. The re.
gions to the north and their control,
remain practically unchanged except,
of course, Egypt. That is English in
all the elements that make Tor progress
aad quiet development, unthreatened
by southern foes. But South, East and
West the map has been re made.
Based upon Stan!ey's explorations that
vast Congo Free State-that pet plan
Of the King OF the Belgians-now
stretches from the Atlantic ocean to the |
great equatorial lakes. On the south |
northward Star of Empire has taken its
way till even Transvaal, once thought |
of by its founders as safe from all dis |
turbance and surprising has already |
been left behind and Rhodesla stretches
OUT LQ6 MANU- III us Iul0 CCNdiO VIC |
Zambesi and onward again to the
equatorial lakes. On the east the ter
ritory has all been amicably divided
among the great European nations,
though not yet settled. Now that the
partition has been effected, the inter-
national race fer commercial deyelop-
ment and political supremacy has def-
initely started. If the British are true
TO their genius and alive to their OPP
nortunities, there can be but little
lonht as to the victor. Militarism in |
the north under General Kitchener
and conmercialism in the south under
Cecil Rhodes, have already given the
British control through the centre OF
ne continent, from the Mediterranean
- the Antartic ocean with the excep-
ion Of 100 miles belonging to German
East Africa. The sale Of Italy's port
# Erithrea on the Red Sea together
With the region called British East
fr,ca. almost surround Abyssinia
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