The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1902-05-15
LANDS WITHOUT COLONIES.

Only Single La,in-American State Has
Acquired u Colony.
One of the most interesting facts
that will occur to any one VINO exam
ines map of the colonial possessions
of the world, is that, of all the Latin
American countries occupying about
one.half Of the Western World, none
has acquired any lands outside OF It's
continental domain except the little
Republic of Ecuador. The Galapagos
Islands, which form a little world
apart far from the coast of South Am
erica, belong politically to Ecuador
These Is islands are really worth de-
veloping, though Ecuador has done
scarcely anything for them except to
occupy them in 1882. Their settled
population, concentrated on Chatham
Island, is now less than 800.
All the other Latin-American coun-
tries have had so much trouble at
home that they apparently have not
cared to acquire possible trouble
abroad. At all events, their territorial
ambition has been confined to the
mainland, wnere most of them are
still claiming more land than their
reighbors concede to belong to them.
Argentina, to be sure, still asserts
that the Falkland Islands belong to
her by right. but Great Britain has
never conceded the claim and is in
full possession of the islands. The
misunderstanding is still unsettled,
ard seems to have been pigeon-holed
without any agreement. 1t is years
since Argentina filed her last protest.
Chill. maintains the most southern
postofice in the world at Punta Are
mas. There are settlements further
south where mails have irregular dis
tribution, but Punta Arenas is lnciud-
ed in the postal system of the ccun-
try of which it is part. But this set
Element on the Straits of Magellan is
as much a part of Chill proper as Val
paraiso. The time was when Chilli,
ii she had been so disposed, might
have acquired some of the Pacific
groups, for they were open to the first
conner, and Chilli, being nearest to
them, had considerable influence
among them. Even today the Chilian
silver dollar is current two-thirds OF
the way across the ocean between
Chill and Australia. 1t is found in Sa-
moa and the Tonga group and barely
misses the Fiji Islands. But Chill lost
her chance. She has been absorbed by
home boundary disputes to the eXciu-
sion of all the early opportunities
to acquire Pacific islands.
France, in fact. is now the only
Latin country that may be called
colonial power of large Importance.
The Canary Islands are today the
most valuable remnant remaining to
Spain of her former vast colonial en-
pire. ./Portugars African possessions
are large, but she is depending upon
foreign capital and enterprise for most
cf their development, which IS as yet
very small in proportion to their great
population and extent. ltalys terri
tory Oh the east coast of Africa mas
been an expensive luxury and has
involved her in the humiliation or
being the first white power in Africa
to be decisively defeated by a native
foe.
The European powers that have no
colonies are the Kingdom of Sweden
and Norway, which has long seacoasts
but small population; Austria Hungary,
which has a very short seacoast but
large population; Switzerland and Ser
via, which have no sea coasts, and all
the other Balkan states except Tur-
key, some of the outlying parts OF
whose empire enable it to take rank
among the colonial powers. All the
Asiatic possessions of Russia bear the
relation of colonies to the central
government. Belgium, to all lntents
and purposes, is responsible for the
Congo state and may declare it a col
ony when she chooses to do so.
Japan entered the colonial arena
with the acquisition OF Formosa, and
China would have stepped out of it
by the loss of the same island II 1t
had not been for possessions in Gen.
tral Asia which she still holds. The
Chinese are great colonizers along the
coasts of Asia and In the Malay Archl-
pelago; but when they leave their ma
tive shores they have to go to foreign
countries. Siam, Persia, Afghanstan
and Corea, which are counted among
the independent countries of Asia,
have no colonies.
The regions of the world that rank
as colonies are far greater in ex-
| tent than all the states that have no
colonies; and some of the colonies
such as Canada, Australia and India
are of far more Importance than most
of the Independent states that do not
hold foreign possessions.-New YORK