Perth Amboy evening news., 1904-01-16
Busy Cities in New English Terri
tory in Africa.
Annually Visited by Millions of Ma
tives of the Dark Continent
Notable Addition to Colo
a Empire.

that is to say, OF a district as large as the
states of New York, Pennsylvania and
New Jersey combined. This addition to
the British empire, reports the New
York Tribune. has been accomplished
by means of conquest, and with COM
paratively little loss of life to the Eng
lish forces, which consisted entirely of
native troops commanded by white Off
GERS, both commissioned and non-com-
misioned.
The mere increase in the size of Eng
lands possession in the dark continent
is of small Importance, however, COM
pared to the immense value. of the cap
ture of Kano and of Sokoto from a com
mercisl point of view. For Kano is, in
deed, the principal market and center of
trade in the interior of Africa, and not
only that, but likewise the center of all
sorts of African industries, Kano, in
deed, having been frequently described
as the Manchester and Birmingham
combined of the dark continent.
Colonial Secretary Chamberlain de-
clares that the annual attendance of the
market at Kano exceeds a million per-
sons from all parts of Africa, while Col.
Monteil, the French explorer, and Ed
mund d. Morrell, in his Affairs of West
Africa" estimates that the number of
natives who visit Kano each year for
purposes of trade is ~ least twice as
large. The market is held daily through
out the year, and the NEST bewildering
diversity of articles are always on sale;
native cloths, which are products of the
Hausas' looms and dye pits; silk-em-
broidered robes, leather and brass ware,
weapons, rough agricultural imple-
ments, silver and brass ornaments,
ivory, anthony, ostrich feathers, live
stock of every conceivable description,
slaves. salt cakes, n%atron, European
merchandise and ammunition-all these
and a thousand things more are on sale
in this immense city, which, inclosed in
a lofty encompassing wall, is reputed
to be no less than 16 miles in circumfer-
.ence.
Many caravan routes converge at
Kano. and the procession of heavily
AlpNh ClAllOio dilu dS6Coy u AhCh'
and on foot, of salves, women and chill
dren. seems to be endless. The market
has been held thus daily on the same
cite for over 1 1000 years, and at the time
when William the Conqueror fought the
battle of Hastings and established him
self on the throne of England it is
probable that the daily market was in
progress at Kano amid surroundings al
most identical in form and appearance
with those of the present day.
Each particular class of goods has its
W special market. and thus. whereas
in one quarter of Kano one finds moth
ing but leather on sale, in another dis
trict of the city the trade is restricted
to cloth. Every imaginable type of
African may be seen there, merchants
from Egypt, Tunis, Tripoli and Moroc-
co, from the eastern Soudan and from
the shores Of the Red sea, as well as from
the western coast, which is washed by
the Atlantic. Even Zulus, oriental
Jews, East Indians and Malays are seen
there, and, strange to say, not only has
peace from time immemorial been pre-
served among this strange medley of
purchasers and vendors. but moreover,
they likewise understand one another
carrying on their bargainings by mean
of signs. The traders have indeed, a
sort of language which beneath their
long sleeves is carried on by means of
diverse grasps of one another's hands,
wrists and arms, the deliberations being
in this way concealed from the onlook-
ers and from the curious.
Gen. Sir Frederick Lugard, to whom
King Edward is indebted for this notable
addition to his colonial empire, and
who is the governor general and high
commissioner of all Great B~ritain's POS
sessions in western Africa and Nigeria
extending to the Anglo Egyptian Sou
dan, proposes to rule the sultanates of
and of Kano in the same way as
the other Hausa states, that is through
native emirs, according to native ideas,
so as not to interfere in any way with
the trade of Kano, which he hopes to de-
velop still more by rendering more ia
cile its intercourse with the outer world.
He will make no effort to proselytize,
nor will be encourage missionary ac-
tivity, but will endeavor to inspire the
natives with confidence in his assur-
ances that no attempt will be made to
modest their various religions and prac-
tees.
The only thing that he will endeavor
gradually to suppress is the slave trade,
which is indeed the sole Objectionable
feature of the Kano market. This will
be accomplished by degrees, as in Fan
zibar, in eastern Africa and in other
parts of the world where the British
flag flies. Slave raiding Sir Frederick
Lugard will under no circumstances toll
crate. Indeed, its suppression has been
the supreme object of his career in Nyas-
in Uganda and also in northern
Nigeria. Without the slave raiding, and
with a cessation of the payment of trib-
ute in the form of slaves by the numerous
yassal chiefs to the Fulani rulers of
Xano and Sokoto. the slave trade will
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