ENGLAND AND AFRICA. A LECTURE ADDEESSED TO ' Clji Ipiterarg anb Sfttntifit GREAT YARMOUTH, SIR T. ROWELL BUXTON, Bt., M.A., F.R.G.S. ON FEBRUARY 26, 1878, LONDON: EDWARD STANFORD, 55, CHARING CROSS, S.W. 1 8 7 8 . PRICE ONE SHILLING. A V ll \ C A ^//w/ \*Sr/i r V ll K E •i’\ Constaiitmoplt IHIlds >t'altar Sfnut a/' inbrnJtM\ ' CmUii (iy’ie i Ivpahaii Wdj'pla. Golea LmMATOte tSiikrux Metiin«t el Tavi Mjtoiefia >In i<'nliih Ellfa'^ali ^ • L I£s 7 w 7 i' LMedina Sibld , Tauderiy I 0 A%i 6 r«A’ ! Tfi/'anf/a Shb^heet •SiuiJdn. DotiQola] T^tellnst^ ^iii/7iatyai I'inibuctu dpitdeS( ^phaJenu Fasamhara -''i! lemoo yj^ahal Guhei’ ~Iisanu Bathurst \ Socotra I. oRaixu' 5 lOnitsha Rftun, wianalc^^ ^^arderah Schiveimirffi •/npoiixKXu:} S^uuharu,' G 17 I f: Sf Tbimias L. Khiba or Jiib ffvtp.r' li I ^yPort Ihirnt'ord “ fjFbz^osaP- p ^elinde i fambasa ' ’^eznha I. yiiaH' Shnibp Rumanii S.Salyadof jZIaNZIBAII 7 7 lC>»'a oBemhe | -M,'n g o 1 a )fo2i£.a I. dmhri ^ 55 jLoauda/ R. 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Lander Gobatand Krapf KrapfX'Rehmann, Eastern AR'ica J84 o-q 2 Barth .Richardson , , cSj/tio/i 1850-55 and Overweq i Liyinpsfone Southern Africa 1349-56 Do East XiFentral Africa 1365-73 Burton and Speke Eastern Africa. 1857 - 53' ^ Speke and Grant Do Do ScTfUe ]860'62 Baker • . yUe 1869-65 ffnkefield and Rety Eastern. .^Lfriax 1864 67,1874 Sch>yeinixirii} 2file 1868 - 71 EoAttipal Sudan '. ■ ■ 186$ 74 Inharnbane b'estCentral Africa ^iguoi SSfLelenn B. .ondon Cape Towir- C.of Good ^ape Scale a( English Miles lOO O lOO 200 300 400 300 4 Stations of the C/mreit JV/wsionai*v Society/ Stanford's Geog} Estah'9 55 Gianhg Cross ZoTiiion: Ethvarti Stxuifurd, S5 Chnrmg Cross. ■H ■(TO . ENGLAND AND AFRICA. A LECTURE ADDEESSED TO ilht S^itoivrn ivnb Srixntifit .^otiftiT, GREAT YARMOUTH, SIR T. FOWELL BUXTON, Bt., M.A., F.R.G.S. ON FEBRUARY 26, 1878. LOJVBOiV: EDWARD STANFORD, 55, CHARING CROSS, S.W. 1 8 7 8. A LECTURE. On Tuesday Evening, Feb. 26, 1878, Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton, Bart,, gave a lecture in connection v/ith the Yarmouth Literary and Scientific Society, his subject being that of “ Africa.” The chair was occupied by the Mayor of the borough, who in a few remarks introduced Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton, who said :—It is now some time since I pro¬ mised to read a paper to your Society. The subject that I have chosen is that of Africa, and, though this choice is one that needs no apology, I feel that I owe you an explanation. I may point oi^t that the continent of Africa has been an object of great interest to this country for many years, and for three or four j reasons. In the first place there had been the Missionary Idea, as I may call it; the idea of a vast continent left apparently forgotten by the rest of the 1 world, calling for that attention which we are required to give when we ! I remember the old command, “ Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature.” Africa has been regarded as a land worthy of attention • : by the most active Missionaries, and has been the scene of many self-sacrificing labours, which, on the whole, have met with much success. Then there has been the_Humane Idea. It has been felt that this is a continent not only left alone ’ to sink into the suffering natural to it, but which is exposed to a great deal of unnecessary suffering brought upon it from without. Then, too, there is the desire for geographical knowledge. The African continent was, not so very long ago, drawn, we may almost say, as a great blank, and it was natural that a strong wish should be felt to obtain more knowledge concerning it. Again, there is the Commercial Idea. For several years, during this and the last century, this country has had a great part of its prosperity and trade dependent upon its intercourse with other countries, and on the work of supplying other countries with that outfit which young countries require. Now in reference to that point it has been observed that we have had a great deal of this work brought upon us by our intercourse with America. I cannot pretend to any accuracy as to figures in this matter, but I may state that it is believed that five hundred millions of pounds would not be an excessive figure as representing the amount of English capital invested in America, and the amount of interest derived from that expenditure amounts to some¬ thing like thirty millions a year. That amount measures the labour and work of Englishmen in fitting out the continent of America. With regard to India, it is safe to take the amount of English capital invested in ENGLAND AND AFRICA. Indian debts, railways, &:c., as exceeding two hundred million pounds. These figures are at least of some value as indicating the amount of work England has had to do by reason of its connection with those countries. There is also reason to think that to some extent, at any rate, as far as actual investment of capital is concerned, the work in connection with them is accom¬ plished. If that is the case it may prove to be true that a great deal of our future prosperity depends on finding a new continent in which to do the same kind of work. Now Africa may prove to be such a continent, one that requires English attention and capital, and English governing power. Our actual dealings with Africa have brought us into close relationship with that land. A few minutes will be well spent in observing in how many ways we Englishmen are connected with Africa. I.et us turn, first of all, to Egypt. We cannot fail to remember how much Egypt has been in the mouths of men and statesmen during the last few months, and for two or three reasons. Because, for instance, we have a vast amount of English capital, in debt, and so forth, invested in Egypt. Then it is an important portimi of the road which connects us with our dependency of India. On these and other grounds we have had it brought to our attention. This connection has led to controversy, which has not been confined to England, but has practically spread over the whole of Europe, whether or not it would be desirable that we should undertake the burden, and possible glory, of the Government of Egypt. One or two reasons have been urged on both sides. In the first place it is said that Egypt has been miserably governed, and that if England were to undertake it we should govern it better, and do much towards relieving oppressed peasants from the heavy burdens of taxation which they have to pay. Again, it is urged that if we undertake its Government, we, by our more enlightened system, shall raise more taxes, and more money will be forthcoming for the payment of interest due to those who have advanced the debt. Then it is said that if England takes Egypt it will secure the Canal and make safe the road to India. On the other side it is urged that although we may believe with the greatest confidence that our Government has been a very good thing over large portions of the surface of the earth, yet, if we e.xtend it too widely and increase its area too much, possibly our Government will become less beneficial, and we may find ourselves less able to e.xercise it advantageously than we have been, for it is to be remembered that the Government of Egypt carries with it the Government of the great valley of the river Nile extending to the south of the Equator. Again it is urged that we won India, and had kept it without the Canal, and that it is not so certain that it would be worth much risk and expenditure to maintain it. It is also said that if we were suddenly to seize on Egypt it would undoubtedly irritate some of our neighbours, and among them France. Passing the Mediterranean shores of Africa, on which we have no point ENGLAND AND AFRICA. 5 bringing us actively into connection with the continent, we come down to the West Coast, where we have various settlements and jroints of contact. It ought to be remembered that the settlements along the West Coast—Gambia and Sierra Leone—were first taken in hand in the last century in order to offer aids and facilities to shipping, which was engaged in the carrying on of the slave trade, but, during this century, have been kept on foot in order to suppress the slave trade. It is also a matter worth remembering, though almost forgotten now-a-days, how very much of national activity has been displayed in the suppression of the Atlantic slave trade. At the Congress of Vienna, English statesmen made every effort to have the slave trade declared “ piracy,” but some Governments, espe¬ cially Spain and Portugal, objected to this, and, therefore, we had to content ourselves with entering into treaties for the suppression of slavery. Various treaties were negotiated with them for this purpose. Large sums of money were offered on our side and readily accepted by the Portuguese; but the treaties were not kept, and for a long time they made it extiemely difficult for English cruisers to put hindrances in the way of the slave traffic. d'he final stoppage of the West African ’slave trade was one of the first results of the American civil war, and came about in this way. An arrangement was made with the Government of the United States by which they and we were each to keep up a certain number of ships and guns on the coast. They would not allow the right of search, so that any slaver could defy our vessels by hoisting the American flag. On the breaking out of the American war, the government of Mr. Lincoln withdrew their naval force and consented to allow the searching of their merchant vessels by English officers, an arrange¬ ment which led directly to the suppression of the trade. I do not know whether it is possible to arrive at very accurate figures, indicating the cost of that suppression to this country, but I know that the sum of ^,^70,000,000 has been several times stated on high authority (and I believe it would be very difficult to prove that it was anything less), as the expenses incurred partly for the maintenance of ships and partly for special courts for dealing with slave vessels captured by British ships. There was another expense ; that was, v hen ships had been captured, and the miserable starving and dying cargoes were taken on shore, the survivors were in the hands of Government, and had to be taken care of, and to that purpose the colony of Sierra Leone was applied, and an arrangement come to between the Government and the Church Missionary Society. Now there has been a great deal of doubt expressed as to the policy of that arrangement. There can be no doubt that the settlement has been a great expense, and even now is continuing to be so; it may be the arrangements for education did not include all that might have been desired; but at all events they have been the means, undoubtedly, of giving a great deal of elemen¬ tary education, and the effect of that education has been felt not only in the town itself, but far along the coast—from Gambia to the Niger. We can well 6 ENGLAND AND AFRICA. understand that it would be unfair to judge of the educational value of Oxford and Cambridge by the education which may be displayed by children in the streets and alleys of those towns. The effects of education given in the Universities is felt not only in those towns, but throughout the empire and the world. In the same way we may claim for Sierra Leone, that the good done must not be looked for in the place itself, but all along the coast, where we find negroes filling most useful and important posts. The next point of contact to which we come is Cape Coast Castle and Ashantee, where we had so serious and expensive a war in 1873-4. In that case we had to defend one tribe (the Fantees) from another (the Ashantees). As showing the extreme complexity and dififitulty which beset us along that coast, it may be remembered that the war arose directly from an exchange of territory with the Dutch. It was found ex¬ tremely embarrassing that we should have possessions scattered along the coast; and among them possessions of other nations, Dutch and French, so that when arrangements were made for suppressing or regulating the import of arms, and spirits, the natives ceased to visit the British port, but obtained all they required from the Dutch and French. Therefore, it became extremely desirable that one country or another should take command, if possible, of the coast. In the case of the Dutch, an exchange was made, by our giving them a settlement on the coast at Acheen, in the north of Sumatra, and receiving in exchange territory near Cape Coast Castle. And what immediately led to the out¬ break of the Ashantee war was the fact that this exchange prevented the Ashantees obtaining arms, which they were in the habit of getting from the Dutch settlements. The Settlement of Lagos is the point at which we come into contact with the Yoruba tribes, with thair capitals of Abeokuta and Ibadan. Then the river Niger can hardly be passed without mention. It was first brought to notice by the well known traveller, Mungo Park, and was the scene of a great effort made by the British Government in 1841, to establish civilisation and a legitimate trade intended to supplant the slave trade. A great expedition was sent out, and at the time, and frequently since, it has been spoken of as a great failure, and, in many ways, it was so. There was a terrible loss of life, and, apparently, at the time it seemed as if no good came of it, but, from that time till now our trade has continued to increase, six or seven large steamers are employed upon the Niger, and there is good reason to anticipate a steady increase of the commerce carried on upon the river. The French have settlements on the Gaboon river, and further down, the Coast is claimed by the Portuguese. With that part the British have nothing I to do, except so far as we have been brought into contact with the Portuguese j by reason of our efforts to suppress the slave trade. I must now ask your attention to the Cape of Good Hope and the British Possessions in South Africa, a territory which is irow, and has been, for some ENGLAND AND AFRICA. 7 months past, brought prominently and painfully before us. But when the present war and the troubles along the frontier are spoken of, it ought to be remembered that tliis is no new calamity. Between i8ii and 1854 there were no fewer than five Kaffir wars to lament, to fight, and to pay for. This is not the time for going at length into the history of these wars, but I cannot pass them by without pointing out where differences of opinion and of interest are apt to arise. The colonists remember that they have been advanced to a condition of self-government. Since 1872 they have enjoyed the right of responsible government, and are not inclined to lose any right which in their opinion may be derived from that condition. It maybe said that the Colonist holds—(i) That he should altogether direct his own policy, both in his own affairs and those which concern his native neighbours ; (2) but then he remembers that he is a British subject, and claims that in all his troubles within his frontier, and wars without, he has a positive right to the support of British troops; (3) he does not wholly forget that the presence of a British force means great expenditure and increased value for all his productions. So that to many individuals a war conducted by British troops means not losses but large gains. On the other hand,—to judge by our actions rather than by our words,—the British view may be stated as follows:—(i) That if serious trouble arises we must fight the battles of the Colonists; (2) but if so, we ought to have some voice in the direction of the policy which may prevent or produce these native wars. Again, we cannot leave out of sight what might be the wishes of sensible natives. They may claim that our policy, whatever it is, should be con¬ sistent. We should make up our minds whether we wish to break up the native system of government and the tribal tenure of land, or whether we wish to maintain it, and when once our minds are made up to stick to one policy or the other. A great mistake is committed when sometimes one policy is held, and sometimes another, and such indecision has been a source of difficulty in many colonics and possessions where we are brought into contact with wild and savage tribes. Our inconsistent conduct may be illustrated in this way. When the European colonist wishes to buy land, his desire is to deal with one or two individuals, and to ignore the rights of the tribe as a whole. He cannot understand a tribal tenure, even though his ancestors throughout Europe knew it well. But when j he suffers injury from the natives—if his cattle be stolen or property injured— [ he is then ready enough to hold the whole tribe responsible, and to punish i them for the acts of the individual. I think the native, whether in South Africa or New Zealand, might with reason ask us to adopt one policy or the other, and to abide by it. As showing that this question is occupying the minds of the Cape colonists, I m;iy refer to the speech of Mr. Sprigg, their present Premier. {Ste Aj)j>c^i‘iix, Extract B.) 8 ENGLAND AND AFRICA. It is impossible, however, to regard the present disturbance with anj'- other feeling than that of the greatest regret. In the interest of this country, of the colony, and of the natives, it is nothing less than a great disaster. But I think we may observe that it does not weigh on this country with anything like the force with which such difficulties have weighed in the past. As proof of this I may quote a passage from a letter written twenty-five years ago by Lord Grey to Lord John Russell, as follows :— “ Few persons would probably now dissent from the opinion that it would be far better for this country if the British territory in South Africa were confined to Cape Town and Simon’s Bay. But however burdensome the nation may find the possession of its African dominions, it does not follow that it can now cast them off consistently ivith its honour or its duty. It has incurred responsibilities by the measures of former years which cannot be so lightly thrown aside.” If we feel the great burden and trouble of having to send regiment after regiment and battery after battery to the Cape, when we do not know for a day or an hour what may be our need of them at home, we must remember that it is no new thing to feel the burden, and that the idea thrown out by Lord Grey twent3'-five years ago, is at all events stronger than any man would like to express now. But if that was the suggestion he threw out at that time, it is worth while to consider whether some steps may not be taken to check and diminish those dangers and difficulties which so frequently come upon us. I believe it may be possible with perfect justice, and in fact to the great advantage of the colonists, if we were, to some extent, to curtail the boundaries of the colonies, and confine them to those parts which have a population of English or Dutch, and that beyond the colonies there should prevail the Queen’s authority very much as it does in India. In India Her Majesty has an empire with native states within it, and so in Africa there might be an empire, and in it British representative colonies. Some arrangement of that kind would lead to such measures being taken on the frontier as would tend to save us from the recurrence of those disastrous conflicts which we have now to lament. Surely if England is called upon and expected to carry on wars with the natives, the home Government ouglit to have the direction of I the policy which may lead to or prevent those wars ? It must not be forgotten I that in times past, what no doubt influenced the colonists in the way of making them careless in their dealings with the natives was the knowledge that if war broke out and troops were sent out from England, they would be able to sell their horses, food, and other things at an enhanced price. When Ave sent out troops we always vowed it should be the last time we would do so ; but practically we promised always to send them Avhen wanted, and we always do send them. We thus acknowledge that the colonists have a claim upon us for military support; but I hold that if England is to be called upon to fight, she ought to have a controlling influence on the policy on which peace or war depend. We have heard only lately that the Governor has been obliged to dismiss his ; ENGLAND AND AFRICA. 9 ministers owing to a conflict of opinion as to the command of the troops. That was only one illustration of the extreme difficulty and inconsistent position in which he was placed. But we are responsible for putting him into that extremely difficult position. In fact, we have made the Governor of the Cape the sovereign of a constitutional country, and as such he has to follow the wishes of his ministers. But beyond that, he has the office of High Commissioner. In that capacity has to deal with matters beyond the frontier, and to look to the interests of the empire at large, and perhaps he takes a more far-sighted and wider view of matters than those who surround him. But it is manifest that these two offfces may easily become inconsistent, and whereas his ministers may wish to give the command of the troops to colonial officers, he may feel it his duty not to allow the command of military opera¬ tions to pass into any hands but those of officers of his own appointing. {See Appendix, Extract A.) Then we must remember that we have not been very far from having 1 another Kaffir War on our hands. I Less than a year ago it became the duty of an English officer to proclaim j Her Majesty’s Government in the Transvaal. The present difficulties appear to ! have been brought about in this way. The Boers so carried on their intercourse with the natives as to irritate them into acts of aggression, but during the last few years they have failed to make a good fight of it. They have done that which is most dangerous. They first excited aggression, and then failed to ^ meet it by opposing a strong front. The consequence was their neighbours ! in Natal had serious reasons to fear that the Kaffirs, under their kings • Cetewayo and Secocoeni, would overcome the whites to the north in the ! Transvaal, and would be so excited by their success, that they would carry on their aggression into the colony of Natal. So great an alarm was felt, that Sir Theophilus Shepstone, taking with him twenty-five policemen to the capital, Prgetoria, proclaimed Her Majesty’s sovereignty. That difficult inheritance has come upon us, but there is good reason now to hope that it may be settled without further fighting, and that, owing to his great authority and weight with the Zulu chiefs, he will bring it to a satisfactory settlement. Before passing from the Cape entirely, I think we should remember that though there has been one war after another, yet on the whole there is good reason to believe that our presence there has been a gain to the natives. It would be a very unhappy thing if we had to think otherwise, but on the whole we may believe it to have been to their advantage. It has taught them the value of industrial labour. Mr. Anthony Trollope, who has Been travelling through the Cape, tells ' us that 12,000 labourers are employed at the town of Kimberley, at wages of I os. a week, and that a vast number are earning their living as small farmers, each having horses and ploughs,-and leading industrial and decent lives. On the whole, therefore, we may consider that our presence in Africa has befen for good, while we must admit that this good has been in great measure owing lo ENGLAND AND AFRICA. to the untiring efforts of the agents of Missionary Societies, established by several Christian sects and in several countries. I have thus endeavoured to show that at a great number of points England has been brought into close connection with the outside shell of Africa. Let us now turn to the interior of that great continent, which in a scientific point of view must be of great interest to all at the present moment. We must in the first place remember that our knowledge now is in some respects not very much greater than it was 1,700 years ago. There is now a collection of maps at the Royal Geographical Society, beginning with those attributed to Ptolemy about A.D. 150, those of the middle ages, showing the discoveries of the Portuguese, and coming to that of 1800, which is the most bare of all; men of science were just then beginning to be conscious of their own ignorance. In 1788 the African Association had been established, and put forth a state¬ ment of which the following paragraph is worth reading ;—“ Africa stands alone in a geographical view ! Penetrated by no inland seas, like the Mediterranean, Baltic, or Hudson’s Bay; nor overspread with extensive lakes, like those of North America; nor having in common with the other continents, rivers running from the centre to the extremities; but on the contrary, its regions separated from each other by the least practicable of all boundaries, arid desarts of such formidable extent, as to threaten those who traverse them, with the most horrible of all deaths, that arising from thirst ! . . . . But the public are not to expect, even under an improved system of African Geography, that the interior part of that continent will exhibit an aspect similar to the others; rich in variety; each region assuming a distinct character. On the contrary, it will be meagre and vacant in the extreme. The dreary expanses of desart which often surround the habitable spots, forbid the appearance of the usual proportion of towns ; and the paucity of rivers, added to their being either absorbed or evaporated, instead of being conducted in flowing lines to the ocean, will give a singular cast to its hydrography; the direction of their courses being moreover equivocal, through the want of that information, which communication with the sea usually affordsat a glance ” That Society collected a sum of ^^430, which sounds a small amount to us, who are asked for thousands when expeditions are on foot—and at once sent out two expeditions—Ledyer to Cairo and Lucas to Tripoli; and in 1795 Mungo Park was sent to explore the West Coast. But little progress was made up to the year 1850, when a distinct step was taken. Two Missionaries were sent from the Church Missionary Society, who took up their residence at Mombasa, on the East Coast of Africa. * They did not travel far inland themselves, but made careful inquiry of the Arabs and native travellers whom they came across, and they heard from these of great inland lakes and seas. From what they learnt they drew up a map of Africa with an imniense lak-e extending from the Equator through many degrees of latitude. On this they marked the names of Ukerewe and Ujiji, places already made centres of Missionary enterprise. ENGLAND AND AFRICA. 11 They heard that there was water in different directions, and they jumped to the conclusion that there was one great inland sea. It depended on future travellers to find out that these observations were in great measure correct. This information, received in 1854, excited a desire for further knowledge, which rapidly produced fruit. In the next few years a great advance was made. In 1858 Burton and Speke discovered Lake Tanganyika, and in the same year Speke also discovered Victoria Nyanza. In 1859 Dr. Livingstone and Dr. Kirk discovered Lake Nyassa. d'hese travellers started from Zanzibar, made up their caravans on the East Coast, to carry what goods they needed, and marching tovvarJs the West made the discoveries I have indicated. In 1864 Sir Samuel Baker, coming from Egypt, discovered the Albert N3’anza. It is easy for us to sum up the results of these labours, but we must not forget at what cost they have been acquired for us. The tedious delays—the frequent attacks of fever and illness ; the desertion of the pagaazi, or the native carrier; the want of food, are the every-day incidents of African travel,— to which are not wanting those more serious perils by land and water—perils by robbers and wild beasts, which are expected in all unexplored countries. When those men came face to face with the great lakes, we can well understand how great was the interest excited in their minds. How it would immediately carry them back to the days of Herodotus and to his guesses as to the source of the Nile, and how it would take them forward to the days when a flourishing commerce would be carried on along their banks and down the streams which ran from them. I cannot illustrate this better than by quoting a few lines from Speke, on his discovery of the Victoria Nyanza ;— “ This view was one which, even in a well-known and explored country, would have arrested the traveller by its peaceful beauty. The islands, each swelling in a gentle slope to a rounded summit, clothed with wood between the rugged angular closely-cropping rocks of granite, seemed mirrored in the calm surface of the lake; on which I here and there detected a small black speck, the tiny canoe of some Muanza fisherman. On the gently shelving plain below me, blue smoke curled above the trees, which here and there partially concealed villages and hamlets, their brown-thatched [ roofs contrasting with the emerald green of the beautiful milk-bush, the coral j branches of which cluster in such profusion round the cottages, and form alleys and hedge-rows about the villages, as ornamental as any garden shrub in England. But the pleasure of the mere view vanished in the presence of those more intense and exciting emotions which are called up by the con¬ sideration of the commercial and geographical importance of the prospect before me. I no longer felt any doubt that the lake at my feet gave birth to that interesting river, the source of which has been the subject of so much speculation, and the object of so many explorers. The Arab’s tale was proved to the letter. This is a far more extensive lake than the Tanganyika ; ‘ so broad you could not see across it, and so long that nobody knew its length.’ ENGLAND AND AFRICA. 12 I had now the pleasure of perceiving that a map I had constructed on Arab testimony, and sent home to the Royal Geographical Society before leaving Unyanyembe, was so substantially correct that in its general outlines I had nothing whatever to alter.” The finding of the great lakes was the solution of one problem, but many more still remain to be solved, one is as to Lake Tanganyika. When Stanley and Livingstone went down its waters they believed it must have an outflow to the north, and Livingstone was strongly beset with the belief that it would prove to be a portion of the Nile, but they found that the stream flowed not out of but into the lake, and they left it without satisfying themselves as to any outlet. Lieutenant Cameron afterwards visited Lake Tanganyika, and was convinced that the river named the Lukuga ran out from the lake. Stanley again visiting it in 1875 examined the river, and tells us that it runs into the lake, and reports that the lake has in fact no outlet, but that its surface is continually rising in consequence of the inflow gf its rivers. Another geographical question has been recently solved—the identification of the river Lualaba with the Congo. Livingstone had seen this river, and believed it to be the Nile. Cameron failed to follow it down to the coast, but was the first to bring forward such evidence as justified his belief that it must be a portion of the Congo. Stanley has now followed its course to the sea. and shows how great may be its value for commercial purposes. We may look forward without over sanguine expectation to the possibility of the construction of canals by means of which the goods of Europe may be conveyed into those tropical regions, and the produce of those countries brought back in return. It must not, however, be supposed that the interests of this country are confined to geographical discoveries alone. We can not pass over the interest to be derived from an enquiry into the characters of the natives of Africa, which like those of men in other parts of the world are various, and to which the old fashioned generalisation that a negro lay in the sun and did nothing, all day long, had but little application. There are tribes who show great industry, growing corn and cotton, and manufacturing pottery and iron, and who have shown themselves exceedingly hospitable to travellers, but at the same time there are tribes not far distant showing characters exactly the reverse, who live by robbery, and who are inclined to exhibit great hostility to foreigners and intruders—hostility, which may be shown to be often the result of fear, knowipg what had happened to their neigh¬ bours by intercourse with strangers, and thinking similar dangers would happen to themselves. At all events many undoubtedly live rural, quiet lives. Livingstone testifies that, as we learn from the following extract from a letter to Lord Clarendon :— ‘ Chitimbwa was an elderly man with grey hair and beard, and of quiet, self-possessed manners. He had five wives, ami my hut being one ol the circle which their houses formed, I often sat reading or writing outside, and had a good opportunity of seeing the domestic life in this Central African ENGLAND AND AFRICA. 13 hareem, without appearing to be prying. It was the time of year for planting and weeding the plantations, and the regular routine work of all the families in the town was nearly as follows :—Between three and four o’clock in the morning, when the howling of the hyenas and growling of the lions or leopards told that they had spent the night fasting, the first human sounds heard were those of the good wives knocking off the red coals from the ends of the sticks in the fire, and raising up a blaze to which young and old crowded for warmth from the cold, which at this time is the most intense of the twenty- four hours. Then the cocks begin to crow (about four a.m.), and the women call to each other to make ready to march. They go off to their gardens in companies, and keep up a brisk, loud conversation, with a view to frighten away any lion or buffalo that may not yet have retired, and for this the human voice is believed to be efficacious. The gardens, or plantations, are usually a couple of miles from the village. The distance which the good wives willingly go to get the soil best adapted for different plants makes their arrival just before dawn. Fire has been brought from home, and a little pot is set on with beans or pulse—something that requires long simmering—and the whole family begins to work at what seems to give them real pleasure. I'he husband, who had marched in front of each little squad with a spear and little axe over his shoulder, at once begins to cut off all the sprouts on the stumps left in clearing the ground. All bushes also fall to his share, and all the branches of tall trees too hard to be cut down are filed round the root, to be fired when dry. The mother works away vigorously with her hoe, often adding new batches of virgin land to that already under cultivation. The children help by removing the weeds and grass which she has uprooted into heaps to be dried and burned. They seem to know and watch every plant in the field. It is all their own ; no one is stinted as to the land he may cultivate; the more they plant the more they have to eat and to spare. The clearances by law and custom were the work of the men; the weeding was the work of the whole family, and so was the reaping. The little girls were nursing baby under the shade of a watch-house perched on the tops of a number of stakes about twelve or fourteen feet high, and to this the family adjourn when the dura is in ear, to scare away birds by day and antelopes by night. About eleven a.m. the sun becomes too hot for comfortable work, and all come under the shade of the lofty watch-tower, or a tree left for the purpose. Mamma serves out the pottage, now thoroughly cooked, by placing a portion in each pair of hands. The meal over, the wife, and, perhaps, daughter, goes a little way into the forest, and collects a bundle of dry wood, and with the baby slung on her back, in a way that suggests the flattening of the noses of many Africans, the wood on her head, and the boy carrying the hoe, the party wend home. I should have liked to see them take life more easily, for it is as pleasant to see the negro reclining under his palm as it is to look at the white lolling on his ottoman. But the great matter is, they enjoy their labour, and the children enjoy life as human beings ought, and have not the sap of 14 ENGLAND AND AFRICA. life squeezed out of them by their own parents, as is the case with nailers, glass-blowers, stockingers, fustian cutters, brick-makers, &c., in England. At other periods of the year, when harvest is home, they enjoy more leisure, and jollification with their native beer called ‘ ponibe.’ But in no case of free people, living in their own free land, under their own free laws, are they like what slaves become.” The great defect amongst all the natives appears to be a want of cohesion —the absence of organised government over the whole ; and to this want of organisation may be traced the great calamity of the country— the slave trade as carried on by Arabs and Portuguese. One or two facts with reference to that trade are worth noticing. It must be remembered that it does not appear to be a trade which had always been going on. By reference to the travels of Vasco di Gama, we learn that the country was then populous and flour¬ ishing, with towns similar to those on the coast of India, and merchants attired in silks and riding in their carriages. It was the slave trade which had put an end to that state of prosperity, and this was in consequence of the depopulation of the country by the slave trade, and the wars that are intended to feed it. We have further reason to believe that fifty years ago the slaves exported to the Mauritius or elsewhere came from near the coast, while more recently they had come from far inland, from the neighbourhood of the Great Lakes. From the description that Dr. Livingstone gave, we may understand how that trade had been carried on. He described the state of things in the Valley of Shire River. There, in i86i, he found a thriving population and a flourishing community. People were growing corn and cotton and tobacco, and working in pottery and iron, living industrious and commercial lives. He came back two years later in 1863, and found the whole place swept and bare. Three-fourths of the population were appa¬ rently swept away, and the remainder hiding in the jungle or dying of starvation all over the country. He had the mortification of believing that his first discovery led to that disastrous result. He believed that the Portuguese had not dared to venture up the country until he showed the way, and that they had taken advantage of his discovery to go up and harry the country in the way he had described. If in one single valley we are able to see what took place, we can well understand how it had been that the whole country had been depopulated. I believe one great step has been taken, I believe I may say that the slave trade so long carried on over sea has been put a stop to. I cannot name the papers that will prove it, nor can anything be said with certainty, but there is no doubt that those who have the best opportunity of judging do believe that owing to the efforts made by many here and elsewhere it has been finally put an end to. If that is the case we must all rejoice over it. We should also remember those who have taken part in it. There are certain Societies, whose names were well known, who have never ceased to urge the question. But it is not enough known how very active a part has been taken by ENGLAND AND AFRICA. 15 one or two in the Foreign Office, especially Mr. Wylde, who for many years had been the active coadjutor of Lord Palmerston and Lord Clarendon, who took so active a part in the work. It will never be known how much we owe to Dr. Kirk, our Consul at Zanzibar, for his efforts in the suppression of the slave trade. We should also not forget the Sultan of Zanzibar himself, who, although a Mahomedan, and brought up in an atmosphere which was likely to make him feel indifferent to it, has most loyally kept to his engagements, and there are instances in which he has even gone beyond his engagements and done more than he was bound to do. A great deal is due to him. The part taken by Sir Bartle Frere should not be forgotten, especially in his expedition to Zanzibar, when, at a great sacrifice, he went off for many months, an effort which resulted in a most valuable treaty. There was also Dr. Badger, who worked with him. There are others who have taken an honourable and active part in the suppression of the slave trade, but not nearly enough credit is given to those I have mentioned. The results of exploration show that we have in Africa a great continent, rich in products of immense value in the European market, with immense tracts of fertile soil, and a climate ready to produce almost anything that can grow —^Indian corn and every kind of grain—and teeming with peoples ready to receive English manufactures and commerce. We have this great continent before us. It is difficult to think of it without believing that the time has come when an effort should be made to see if legitimate trade and commerce could not be introduced into the continent of Africa. This is not an idea felt by England only, but it is felt on the Con¬ tinent also. Among those who have cherished those feelings, a leading part has been taken by the King of the Belgians, who has viewed with keen interest and anxiety the project for establishing a legitimate trade in Africa, not only for the good it would bring in itself, but also for the blow that it would give to the slave trade. In September, 1876, he invited a number of gentlemen interested in Africa, and established what was called an International Committee for the purpose of carrying on a systematic and methodical exploration of Africa, and the establishment of a legitimate trade, and the suppression of the slave trade. Committees were established to act with it in various countries. It unfor¬ tunately appeared impracticable for a Committee in this country to act with it, A Committee called the African Exploration Fund Committee was established in connection with the Royal Geographical Society, and H.R.H. the Prince of Wales took the presidency of it, but it was not possible that it should exactly ally itself with the Committee established at Brussels. It is manifest that many things easy to the kings and princes of the Continent are not so easy to princes of the Royal House at England, who are brought into connection with many parts of the world, and colonies, and dependencies, and find it necessary to avoid embarrassing engagements. It was felt that the perfectly neutral position occupied by the King of the Belgians, and the certainty that he had no ambition for acquiring foreign 16 ENGLAND AND AFRICA. possessions, gave him an excellent opportunity for advancing that kind of work which has been referred to, without causing suspicions as to ulterior intentions. This Committee could not easily be connected with the Committee at Brussels in a formal manner, but there was nevertheless the warmest sympathy between the two. In the recent case of the party sent out from Brussels the English Committee not only contributed to the funds, but did what it could to facilitate the journey, and put them in the way of making a successful start. At the same time it must be acknowledged that the Belgians set an excellent example, and at first went ahead of the English in their success, for whereas the Exploration Committee in London have only collected a few hundreds, the Belgians gathered ^10,000, or 12,000, and ^3,000 was ensured annually. When the Conference was held at Brussels, various proposals were discussed with a view to the furtherance of the ends sought. It was decided that the best thing that could be done at present would be to open up communication with the interior, and to make roads for the conveyance of goods which had been hitherto carried on the heads of men. It was shown that the improvement of communications would be a great step towards destroying the slave trade. We find that ivory brought from the interior is often carried on the heads of slaves, and that slaves are captured to carry ivory. It is clear that if the much more economical and easy mode of conveyance by carts could be introduced, it would facilitate legitimate tra.de, and at the same time tend to put a stop to the slave trade. It was also suggested that Stations with Europeans in charge should be established here and there, where travellers might get such assistance and aid as they required. It became my duty to explain how some of these objects were already in process of accomplishment by Missionary agencies. It was pointed out that six or seven such Stations were already established, or arrangements made for their establishment, in the interior, all of which will be able to fulfil the duties, which at the Conference, at Brussels, were agreed to be so important. The first duty of those Missionaries would be the great work of teaching the Gospel, but they will be able also to help travellers to take observations as to the climate, the geology of the country, and everything connected with its produce and prospects. They had also taken in hand the making of roads. Owing to the united action of the Church Missionary Society and London Missionary Society, one of 240 miles has been constructed from the coast to Mpwapwa while by another party a beginning has already been made with one towards the north end of Lake Nyassa. It was interesting to notice how much of the work indicated at the Conference is already being done by Missionaries commissioned by English Societies. The meeting at Brussels was a proof of the general interest felt throughout Europe in any efforts for the development of Africa, and the civilization of its inhabitants, and afforded an admirable opportunity for considering what influences may best bring about this result. ENGLAND AND AFRICA. 17 The influences that must be depended on, as of first importance for this work, are those of religious Missions, commerce, and good Government. Some controversy has arisen in reference to these influences. Some hold that one, and some another, is to be regarded as of supreme importance. It appears to me that of all controversies this is the most idle and useless. What is manifest is, that in the work before us—the civilisation of a continent —each must have its share, and that none can be neglected. I have shown that Missionary Societies have been active in preparing for their share in the work. Let us now consider the prospects of bringing to bear the influence of commerce. We now learn that the trade in oil on the west coast may be extended along the course of the Congo. Again, the trade in India rubber had grown with extraordinary rapidity. Of this material the value exported amounted, in 1875, to ^40,000, in 1876, to ^^100,000, and in 1877, it was expected to exceed ;!^25o,ooo. These trades liad grown suddenly, and there was every reason to believe their growth was the direct result of the check put on the slave trade. There was one curious fact upon which explorers differed. Indian corn, cotton, and tobacco were always believed to be purely American plants, but yet they were found growing across the continent of Africa. It yet remains to determine whether they are indigenous to the soil, or whether they have been imported by the Portuguese, or others from America. A striking instance of the growth of trade has been alluded to by Dr. Moffat. IVdien he took up his residence in the interior there was no trade whatever. When he left it, a large and increasing commerce was thoroughly established. The chief Station through which it passes is Bamangwato, to the west of the Transvaal. The different houses there established carry on a trade, which reaches to the Zambesi, in ivory, ostrich feathers, cotton goods, and guns, which amounts to over ;^2oo,ooo a year. Another striking instance of the growth of legitimate trade connects itself with the Missionary work of Bishop Crowther of the Niger. In 1851 it became necessary to seize Lagos ■, it was the last stronghold of the Slave Trade, and the port for the embarkation of the slave gangs brought down from the Yoruba country. Various tribal disputes between the Egbas, whose capital is Abeokuta, and the Yorubas of Ibadan, have somewhat interfered with the prosperity of Lagos; but it is now the emporium for all the legitimate traffic, which consists of the export of the native products from the interior and the imports of manufactured good from Europe. It w'as a liberated slave. Bishop Crowther himself, who pointed out to the chiefs of the interior that the benni seeds, palm kernels, ground nuts, palm oil, shea butter, and other products so little prized by them, would be highly prized by the English manufacturers. Efforts were also made to establish the cultivation of cotton with some success, and what are the results now? In three years, 1867-68-69, Lagos imported European commodities to the amount 01^1,079,662, and exported African produce to the value of J [ i8 ENGLAND AND AFRICA. ^1,699,856; and the revenue of the settlement more than balanced the expenditure. These results may be attributed to the civilizing influence of Missionary labour, and I see no reason for doubting that similar results may be expected in the Lake regions of Central Africa. Another question of great interest brought before us is that of the future Government of Africa. Mr. Stanley and many others do not hesitate to say that England must undertake the Government of all the interior. It is a very easy thing to say, but I confess when I hear foreigners stating a wish to see the English taking the government of all the waste places of the earth, I wish they would do some of the dirty work themselves. The Americans are not willing to undertake the task of the occupation of Cuba, though that island is very near the American coasts, and sadly needs a strong and despotic’govern- ment, such as they know how to apply to their territories. “ Oh, dear no,” they say, “ we do not want the burden and expense of governing more blacks ; ” but they would be very glad indeed to see England using its strength in further acquisitions. A grand task is put upon us Englishmen, but we must be very cautious as to the way in which we allow our Government to be extended, and I could not feel certain that if our Government were to embrace the whole interior of Africa, its control would be so good as our rule has been in India and elsewhere. Our hands may be too full of government to permit our control being as good as could be wished. We see, however, in Gentral Africa many of the conditions which have led to the introduction of English Government elsewhere, and I cannot but feel it most important that we should make up our mihds whether or not we wish to see it extended to those regions. If we look at the processes which have led to the building up of the British Empire, we see that in some cases independent communities of Englishmen have settled themselves down, and have found the necessity of demanding that British authority shall be extended over them. Such was the case with New Zealand. Again, the Government may feel the necessity of asserting authority over British subjects whose conduct appears to need control. Perhaps the case of the Fiji Islands belongs to that class. Again, Her Majesty’s Indian Empire is the leading instance of that class of dominions which have come to us through the growing power of commercial companies. Now it appears to me in the highest degree probable that conditions similar to those I have just alluded to will shortly be found in Central Africa. There are, no doubt, many circumstances existing in Africa resembling those which have existed in other places, and have led to the introduction of English rule. We have English settlements around the lakes, and between the coast and the lakes. We may expect these to increase in number as trade increases, and it is not unlikely that, in one way or another, English Government will be asked for. Should the demand come, it will be difficult to resist it. It may even be that Englishmen will go there, and their conduct be such that we ENGLAND AND AFRICA. 19 should feel it necessary to follow them in order to assert our authority over them and keep them in order—and this may lead to English rule being extended over the country. It is a moot question whether such a result is to be desired or not. It may be good or it may be an evil to extend our Government, but it must be a bad thing to drift into it without fully making up our minds and without preparation. It is my belief that our proper line of policy is to take advantage of any organised Government, such as we have in one part of Africa or another, and so direct and guide it as to increase that authority and improve the Government. In two parts there seem to be organised Governments which only need development to be of great advantage. Of first importance is the authority of the Sultan Burghash of Zanzibar. His power may be indefinite, and his boundaries uncertain, but his must be con¬ sidered the most prominent of all the Governments of Eastern Central Africa. The family to which he belongs in 1650 dispossessed the Portuguese,— who had ruled all the northern and western coasts of the Indian Ocean from about A.D. 1500,—of their hold on the shores of Arabia. About 150 years later the same race seized a large part of the East Coast of Africa belonging to Portugal. During the present century the head of that race known as the Imam of Muscat, ruled the dominion of Zanzibar, as a dependency of his Arabian possessions. These territories, after the death of the last ruler, Seid, were divided, in 1859, by the arbitrament of Lord Canning, as Governor General of India. The present ruler, Seyyid Burghash, has shown himself in earnest in his endea¬ vours to suppress the Slave Trade, and is, without doubt, looking for the prosperity of the country and the increase of his own revenue from the growth ' of legitimate trade. His power in the interior is exercised by his Arab representatives, but is far from being clearly defined. In the island itself his authority would be considerable if it were not hampered by the engage¬ ments and treaties into which he has been forced by European countries and the United States of America. It is but small blame to him that his harbour is without a lighthouse. The treaties entered into many years ago forbid his levying harbour dues for the purpose of building one. Such were the dominions of the Sultan of Zanzibar, extending, we may fairly say, from the coast to the lakes Tanganyika and Victoria Nyanza and if the influence of the Sultan were made greater, and at the same time he had a wise and judicious official at his elbow, as he has in Dr. Kirk, at the present lime, and able and upright Lieutenant Governors for the mainland, as the Khedive of Egypt has in Colonel Gordon, the Government would gain greater power, and would be of greatly increased benefit to the whole of his large tract of country. The influence of our Government over him has been frequently exercised, and j exercised, I firmly believe, for the great good of his country. Again, in the interior we meet with governments of considerable power—of such a kind is that of King Mtesa, of Uganda, undoubtedly savage in character, but having I many hopeful features about it. This monarch has been introduced to us in | ENGLAND AND AFRICA. 20 this way. We have clear and distinct pictures of him drawn at different times. Those different photographs, as it were, indicate a great change in die mind of the man. He is a very powerful monarch, not a mere chieftain of a village ; he has a real vital authority over a considerable tract of country. He has, a large fleet of canoes, and an organised Government strong enough to maintain open roads across a great extent of country. He sends his servants hither and thither. The first description of him is that given by Captain Speke. He found King Mtesa a very wayward and violent savage. Every day one or another of the women of his harem was led out to execution upon the mere whim of their sovereign. Captain Speke gave him a gun, he took it and shot a cow to try the value of it Then he gave the gun to a boy, and told him to go out and shoot a man, and the boy went out and did it in the same way that a boy in England might shoot a sparrow. Instances of that kind occurred again and again in the full account Captain Speke gave of King hltesa. Then we have a picture of him drawn, 1870, by Colonel Long, who described him in very much the same way. He wished to pay Colonel Long a compliment by calling out scores of men for execution. In 1875, he was visited by Mr. Stanley. He protested against such murders, and said that if they were continued, he would publish Mtesa’s iniquities to the world. But he did more than that. By his own account he argued with King Mtesa, and impressed on him that it was unworthy of him as a man and a sovereign to make such a murderous brute of himself. Pie had been subjected to some Mohammedan influences, and had adopted some of their customs. He seemed desirous of rising to something better than he had been used to, he had learnt to read some of the texts from the Koran, but he did not give up his murderous habits. Mr. Stanley appears to have taken him in hand and faced him boldly. He read to him from the Bible, and translated into his language portions of the Bible, the . Lord's Prayer, the Ten Com¬ mandments, and other portions, and he seriously said he believed that that savage, blood-thirsty king had been converted into a Christian. That may seem a very bold assertion for him to make, but we may compare it with what the Church Missionary Society describe as found by their agents last year. They were received with the greatest possible kindness. The king had expressed to Mr. Stanley his wish to see Christian Missionaries. Large sums were placed at the disposal of the Society, and a party was sent off. King Mtesa received them with great kindness, and asked to have the letters read. Hearing the firing of guns, the Missionaries asked what was meant by it, and were told that it was in honour of the name of Jesus Christ. It may be impossible now to describe the real nature of the change in the man’s mind, but it seems as if he was desirous of rising to something better, and of laying hold of some mode of life superior to that which he was brought up in, and so far Mr. Stanley has been the means of leading him to something better. The Missionaries seem to have had some good influence over him, and perhaps may help him to become a monarch ENGLAND AND AFRICA. 2 I of an organised kingdom, and of a people who may be of great use in that part of the world. It appears to be the desire of the Khedive of Egypt to extend his authority over the whole valley of the Nile. It is possible that the Government of Egypt is a benefit to those parts where in fact no native Government prevails, and when it is exercised by such men as Colonel Gordon. But if it is part of his scheme to crush down existing organised Governments like that of King Mtesa of Uganda, it would be worth while for our Government to suggest that the Khedive had gone far enough, and they should not be pleased if he went further. It is an instance which proves that our Government has, at any rate, a great many points of resoonsibility in reference to Africa. We have questions coming on us of great difficulty; questions, the decision of which may mean happiness and prosperity, and progress over a large portion of the Continent, and may further mean encouragement to trade with Europe and other countries. As a nation we have had much to do with the past history of the Continent. I It is impossible to doubt that in the future we have a yet greater share before I us. Tnose duties can only be performed aright if the nation meets them with j its eyes open, and with a desire to fulfil aright that work which has been j manifestly put into its hands. 22 ENGLAND AND AFRICA. APPENDIX. Extracts from Speech of Mr. Sprigg, delivered at East London, \()tk March, 1878 . Extract A. “ In England there is no doctrine better understood or more clearly defined than this, that the Sovereign is at the head of the troops. If that is the constitution of England, undoubtedly it is the constitution of this colony, that I understand to be the meaning of Responsible Government for which I fought before it was introduced here. The Governor represents the Crown in the colony, and the Governor, in my opinion, holds the same relation to the troops in this colony, whether Imperial or Colonial, as the Queen holds with refer¬ ence to the troops in England, but the doctrine attempted to be set up by the late Ministry was that, although the Governor in his representative capacity had the right to command the Imperial Troops, he did not occupy that posi¬ tion with reference to the Colonial forces,_ and that doctrine has been endeavoured to be upheld by Mr. Stockenstrom, the late Attorney-General, who lays it down in the advice which he tendered to the Governor that the Governor has no more power over the Colonial forces than is contained in the particular Act of Parliament under which those forces are raised. “ In my opinion both he and the late Ministry are altogether in error, and that was the constitutional question to which I just now referred as being the immediate cause of the rupture between the Governor and his late Ministry. The reason why the Governor and his Ministry could not agree was because the Go/ernor believed that the Ministry were acting in an illegal and unconstitutional manner in claiming to themselves the right to direct the movements of the Colonial forces without reference to the Governor. I say that is not the constitution of this colony, and that the late Ministry, and anyone who support them in the action which they took, cannot rightly under¬ stand what is the constitution of England, which is also the constitution of this colony. I will not now refer to the question as to whether the war would have been properly carried on if what was attempted by the late Ministry had been carried out. That is, to have two distinct armies in the field, which should be placed under separate commands, and be kept studiously apart without one knowing anything of the movements of the other. Eor that was the position attempted to be established by the late Ministry. The General commanding Imperial Forces was to have no communication whatever with the General commanding the Colonial forces. There was no attempt made ENGLAND AND AFRICA. 23 to bring them into harmony, but, on the contrary, they were studiously kept out, and there was antagonism set up and endeavoured to be maintained between the different forces operating against the common enemy. I said I would not go into that question, but I think you will agree with me that success was not very likely to follow military operations conducted upon such extraordinary principles.” Extract B. “ It is too early yet to unfold the plans of the Government, but I will say say just as a hint of what we purpose to do, that it is our intention to break down, not to talk about breaking the power of the chiefs, but really to break that power. If we get the support of the country and the support of the Parliament, and are permitted to carry out what we think to be for the good of the country, our intention is to recognise no chief whatever within the colony. In my opinion in a British colony there is but one chief, and that is the Governor. I don’t care whether a man’s name is Sandilli, Toise, or Sivvani, they can be chiefs no longer, they are simply British subjects, the same as you and I, and they are not to be regarded as having any authority by reason of having formerly been chiefs of certain tribes. Our object, therefore, will be to break up all tribes; that a tribe shall not live together as a tribe ; that certain small locations only shall be established, giving a sufficient amount of com¬ monage ; that there shall be granted a Kaffir village, and into that village you shall not put any particular tribe, but a certain number of natives. You shall put in that location a real inspector of native locations, it shall be of such a size that he can inspect those people truly. You shall not have the people scattered as they are now over a wide extent of country, and you shall not have, touching the bounds of one location, another location of black people, but you shall have white people intervening, you shall have a strip of country taken from the rebels, occupied, perhaps, by some of the men who have been nobly fighting the battles of the country. In these native locations we intend to have small plots of land of three or four acres surveyed, and a title given to heads of families, so that the land shall not belong to the Chief, but to the individual man—which will operate as a security on his part against disturbing the peace of the country. But we intend to do more than that. We intend to disarm all the natives within the colony. It will be necessary to go to Parliament to obtain its consent to*a disarming act. It has been said in some parts of the press of the colony that the Kaffirs must be treated as men or brutes. The Government are going to treat them as men. That is, as men are treated in other parts of the world. In some parts of Europe and Ireland, for instance, a disarming act has been carried out. Men whom the Govern¬ ment considered could not be trusted with arms were deprived of arms. I say that that is a good precedent to go upon. Natives within the colony, our 24 ENGLAND AND AFRICA. fellow subjects as they have been in the past and will be in the future, do not require arms for any purpose whatever except the purpose of war. There is no game in the country, and they don’t use them for that purpose, nor for practising at target. They get possession of arms for one purpose only, to strengthen their position against the white men. They have been permitted to get arms to any extent they please, and they thought (a great mistake they made) that the possession of these arms made them as strong as the white man, and they made an onslaught upon us in the full expectation of being able to drive us off the country. If that is to be prevented in the future, the arms will have to be taken out of their hands, and that is the fixed determination of the Government. You, gentlemen, will remember that H. E. the Governor expressed himself in favour of that when waited upon by a deputation while the late Ministry was in office. He considers, and I fully go with him in that belief, that that is the essential requisite to secure permanent peace to the country, that these men should be deprived of the means for the future of bringing trouble upon the colony as they are now doing.” 1 w n .r • • \ 1 / \ \ k •r.^.L.! 4