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 THE 
 
 CONGO TEEATY 
 
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 THOMAS TOMLINSON, M.A., 
 
 CHRIST CHDBOH, OXFORD ; 
 OF THE INNER TEMPLE, BARRISTER- AT-LAW. 
 
 LONDON: 
 EDWAKD STANEOKD 55, CHAEING CKOSS. 
 
 1884.
 
 THE CONGO TEEATY, 
 
 At the opening of the present Session, the attention of Parlia- 
 ment was called to the Congo Treaty, allusion beiog made to 
 the subject, in the following terms, in the Speech from the 
 Throne : — 
 
 " An agreement has been arrived at with Portugal respecting 
 the River Congo, and the adjacent territories. This agreement 
 will be presented to you forthwith." 
 
 This announcement caused great interest in commercial 
 circles, especially in the centres of the manufacturing industry 
 of Lancashire ; and much dissatisfaction and uneasiness is felt 
 among residents and traders in the Congo district. 
 
 The negotiations which were commenced between Her Majesty's 
 Government and the Government of Portugal in November, 
 1882, have resulted in the conclusion of a treaty. We now 
 know the meaning and nature of the " agreement ;" the treaty 
 between Her Majesty and the King of Portugal, signed on 
 the 26th of February, 1884, having been presented to Parlia- 
 ment, and published.* 
 
 Earnest consideration has been given to the treaty by the 
 principal Chambers of Commerce in the country ; and the effect 
 the treaty may have on the existing trade of the Lower Congo 
 district, and (from a wider point of view) on the commercial in- 
 terests of this country, as well as on the future development of 
 West Africa, is receiving the attention of the public. Mr. Jacob 
 Bright shows in The Times of May 19th the harassing effect of 
 the treaty on the shipping trade. He refers to the regulations 
 affecting shipowners, and says "on reading them, one is dis* 
 
 * See page 46. 
 
 62
 
 posed to ask, whether trade and intercourse between distant 
 peoples are crimes, which ought to be discouraged by any 
 means which human ingenuity can invent? The statement 
 of Lord Granville in his letter to M. d'Antas, March 15th, 
 1883, *that it would be impossible to agree to the imposition 
 of burdens, which do not now exist,' was soon forgotten by the 
 framers of the treaty." 
 
 Efforts were made last session, in Parliament, during the 
 debate on a resolution moved by Mr. Jacob Bright, to place in 
 a clear light the real facts of the Congo question. The motion 
 was withdrawn on Mr. Gladstone promising "that the treaty 
 should be made known to Parliament before ratijfication in such 
 a way, and with the intervention of such an interval, that Parlia- 
 ment shall be enabled to exercise an independent judgment 
 upon it." ** I do not believe," Mr. Gladstone said, " that my 
 honourable friend the mover of the motion has any other 
 object or purpose in view whatever, except that which we also 
 have. We may err in the mode of giving effect to our common 
 wishes. Therefore, I say, he shall have an opportunity of 
 judging of the way we propose to give effect to them before 
 the country is finally bound by them." 
 
 Clearer language could not have been used, and we can 
 understand that through the usual channels of information, if 
 by no other means, Mr. Gladstone's statement must have come 
 to the knowledge of the Portuguese Minister. 
 
 The debate in Parliament has been postponed, communica- 
 tions on the subject of the treaty having been re-opened with 
 the Government of Portugal. On the 8th of May, it was stated 
 by Mr. Gladstone in Parliament that the Government would 
 inform the House, when these communications were brought 
 to a conclusion. 
 
 The public interest in this subject is increasing, and we 
 propose in this paper, briefly, to consider the Congo Treaty 
 question. It may be useful to bring together some information 
 relating to West Africa, and the Congo district, and opinions
 
 5 
 
 expressed by such authorities as Dr. Livingstone, Mr. Monteiro, 
 and Commander Cameron are referred to. 
 
 The commercial and political aspect of the question is prin- 
 cipally kept in view ; the intention being to discuss the general 
 purport of the treaty as it has been explained and defended by 
 the Government. 
 
 PART I. 
 
 Livingstone, in his * Kesearches in South Africa,' thus speaks 
 of the natural richness and productions of Angola. "The 
 fertility of the district " — he is describing the valley of the 
 Quanza — *' is marvellous to behold. All sorts of fruit trees 
 and grapes yield their fruit twice a year, without labour or 
 irrigation being bestowed." Of the extensive coffee plantations, 
 found on the mountain sides in the district of Cajengo, he says, 
 " They were not planted by the Portuguese ; the Jesuit and 
 other missionaries are known to have brought Mocha seed, 
 and these have propagated themselves far and wide ; hence 
 the excellence of Angola coffee." We are told how pine- 
 apples, bananas, yams, and orange-trees were, in the same way, 
 introduced. 
 
 But he adds, *' Viewing the valley as a whole, it may be said 
 that its agricultural and pastoral riches are lying waste. Both 
 the Portuguese and their descendants turn their attention, 
 almost exclusively, to trade in wax and ivory, and though the 
 country would yield any amount of corn and dairy produce, the 
 natives live chiefly on manioc, and the Europeans purchase 
 their flour, bread, butter, and cheese, from the Americans." 
 
 As regards means of transport, he writes : *' There being no 
 roads for wheeled conveyances, a system of compulsory carriage 
 by porters is resorted to by the Government of Loanda."
 
 6 
 
 We learn that on this line of road to the coast, as we know 
 is the case in very many, if not in most, parts of Africa, " calico 
 is the chief medium of exchange." 
 
 Livingstone says : " The Portuguese law preventing the sub- 
 jects of any other nation from holding landed property, unless 
 they become naturalised, the country has neither the advantage 
 of native nor foreign enterprise, and remains very much in the 
 same state as in 1575. There is not a single English merchant 
 at Loanda, and only two American. This is the more remark- 
 able, as nearly all the commerce is carried on by means of 
 English calico brought via Lisbon." A more enterprising spirit 
 may, perhaps, some day prevail. 
 
 Some of the best informed Portuguese expressed to Living- 
 stone their great dissatisfaction at the state of things. He tells 
 us " We were most kindly received by the commandant. Like 
 every other person of intelligence I had met, he lamented deeply 
 the neglect with which this fine country has been treated." 
 
 Livingstone says : ^' I have no hesitation in asserting that 
 had Angola been in the possession of England, it would now. 
 have been yielding as much or more of the raw material for 
 her manufactures, as an equal extent of territory in the cotton 
 growing states of America. A railway from Loanda to the 
 valley of the Quango would secure the trade of most of the 
 interior of South Central Africa." It has, however, recently 
 been stated, we are glad to see, that the Portuguese Minister 
 of Marine has presented a bill to the Cortes, authorising 
 the Government to adjudicate upon the question of the con- 
 struction of a line of railway from Loanda to Ambaca in the 
 province of Angola. This resolution of the Portuguese Govern- 
 ment, whether prompted or not by the prominence given here 
 in Parliament last year to the neglected and impoverished state 
 of Angola, is extremely satisfactory. 
 
 We have thus, briefly, shown the opinions of Livingstone, and 
 we now refer to Monteiro, who spent many years as a trader in
 
 the Congo district, and whose * Angola and the Congo * was pub- 
 lished in 1875. Monteiro had personal experience of the work- 
 ing of the Portuguese system in the territories south of Ambritz, 
 and at Ambritz itself; but looked hopefully to the prospects of 
 the free Congo region. 
 
 "Since the last slave was shipped in 1868," — Monteiro is 
 speaking of the Congo district — " the development of produce 
 in this part of the coast, and from the interior has been very 
 great, and promises in a few years to be still more, and very 
 important in amount. This will be more particularly the case 
 when the present system ceases by which natives of the coast 
 towns act as middle men to the natives from the interior.'* 
 Monteiro observes that " from the small extent of coast comprised 
 between Ambritz and the Cod go, we have a striking example of 
 the wonderful increase of trade and industry among the natives, 
 since the extinction of the slave trade, and we have evidence of 
 the great fertility of a country that, with the rudest appliances, 
 can return such quantities of valuable produce." " About twelve 
 years ago " (he wrote in 1875) " a very few tons with the ex- 
 ception of ivory, ground nuts, and copal being exported. Last 
 year" (1874) "from Ambritz to, but not including the river 
 Congo, the exports were — 
 
 Adansonia fibre. .1500 tons. 
 
 Ground nuts . . 7500 „ 
 
 Coffee ..1000 „ 
 
 India rubber . . 400 „ 
 ** amounting altogether in value to £300,000." 
 
 He proceeds : " This is an extremely gratifying result, from 
 which valuable lessons are to be deduced, when we compare it 
 with what has taken place in other parts of the coast in the 
 immediate neighbouring country to the south in the possession 
 of the Portnguese, and is a splendid example of the true 
 principles by which the African race, in Africa, can be success- 
 fully civilised, and the only manner in which the riches of the 
 west coast can be developed, and made available to the wants
 
 8 
 
 of the rest of the world. Trade or commerce is the great 
 civiliser of Africa." 
 
 Monteiro then invites us to look at Loanda and the interior 
 of the Portuguese province of Angola. He says with regard to 
 the sad state of the country : " only a total change in the system 
 of government, can again people the vast deserted tracts with 
 industrious inhabitants, to cultivate its rich land ; but, I am 
 sorry to say, a termination to the long reign of corruption that 
 has existed in Angola, is not to be expected for years to come. 
 As might be expected, the great peninsular obstruction and 
 impediment of high custom-house duties, so fatal to all com- 
 mercial and industi'ial development, is in full and vexatious 
 force in Angola." He further says : " With the great want of 
 roads and carriers, and other means of conveyance, either for 
 goods into or produce from the interior, transport is very 
 expensive, and it is evident that the levying of high import 
 duties, besides, on all goods for trade, so enhances their value, 
 that it becomes impossible to offer an adequate return or advan- 
 tage to the native for the result of his labour or industry, or to 
 leave much margin of profit to the merchant ; consequently the 
 development of the country becomes completely paralysed, and 
 the revenue of the state becomes small in proportion." 
 
 "The river Quanza," we are told, "is the gem of the 
 Portuguese possession of Angola. South of the great river 
 Congo, it is the only river navigable for any distance, and it is 
 the natural highway to the most fertile, and healthy countries 
 of the interior, navigable as far as Cambanbe." 
 
 With regard to the coffee trade, considerable business might 
 be carried on at Loanda, but to use Monteiro's words, " the 
 trade is shut out by the stupid and short-sighted policy of 
 high custom-house duties on goods, and other restrictions on 
 trade of the Portuguese authorities. Very little is cultivated. 
 It is the product of coffee-trees growing spontaneously in the 
 virgin forests of the second elevation. The natives, of course, 
 have no machinery to separate the berry from the pod, these
 
 9 
 
 being dried in the sun, and then broken in a wooden mortar, 
 and the husks separated by winnowing in the open air." 
 
 The effect of the occupation of Ambritz by the Portuguese, 
 is thus described : " The Portuguese following their usual blind 
 and absurd policy on the occupation of Ambritz, established 
 a custom-house, and levied high duties on all goods imported. 
 The consequence was that the foreign houses, to escape their 
 exactions, at once removed to Kinsembo on the other side of 
 the river Loge." 
 
 Here is one of the passages from Monteiro that was referred 
 to in Parliament last year by Mr. Jacob Bright : " It is a great 
 pity that Portugal should neglect, so disgracefully, her colonies, 
 so rich in themselves, and offering such wonderful advantages 
 in every way for colonisation and development." 
 
 As to the cost of transport on the Quanza, it was observed 
 by Mr. Jacob Bright, that for a distance on the river of from 
 150^ to 200 miles, as much is charged as between Liverpool 
 and the Congo. 
 
 There are difiSculties in the traders' path, which make it so 
 essential to leave trade to feel its own way, as free as possible 
 from restrictions ; and if the Portuguese could concentrate 
 their energy in trying to develop their own rich possessions, 
 instead of seeking to extend along the coast, they would have 
 plenty to do. It is observed by Monteiro, " That the natives 
 of Angola will cultivate large quantities of produce, if they 
 get moderately well paid for their trouble, is evidenced by 
 the considerable exports from the country from Ambritz to 
 the Congo, where there are no custom-houses, and also on the 
 Quanza, where steam navigation enables goods to be sent up 
 the country cheaply, and so to bear the almost prohibitive 
 duties levied on them at Loanda. It is not merely the high 
 duties, but the absurd, petty, and vexatious manner in which 
 the whole system is worked." 
 
 But, we must pass on, to hear what information Commander 
 Cameron can give, the latter part of whose route across the
 
 10 
 
 great continent was through the Portuguese possessions in 
 West Africa ; his work ' Across Africa/ was published in 1877. 
 
 " The mighty Congo," using the traveller's words, " king of 
 all African rivers, and second only to the Amazon and Yang- 
 tse-Kiang in the volume of its waters, has many affluents, which 
 fork into those of the Zambesi." " The Congo would seem," 
 Cameron says, " to offer a highway to the remotest part of 
 the Continent." 
 
 ** The whole trade of tropical Africa," he says, " is at present 
 dependent on human beings, as beasts of burden, and valuable 
 labour which might be profitably employed in cultivating the 
 ground or collecting products for exportation is thus lost." 
 
 Mr. Capper, whose valuable testimony we shall refer to again, 
 relates that he has seen an ivory caravan numbering as many 
 as 7000 bearers. 
 
 Cameron frequently bears witness to the slave trade, and he 
 says, " On the lines occupied by the Portuguese, especially that 
 from Bihe to Urua and Katanga, there is a vast amount of 
 internal slave trade ; but the greater part of those captured — 
 for they are nearly all obtained by rapine and violence — are 
 not taken to the coast, but to Kaffir countries where they are 
 exchanged for ivory." 
 
 Then he observes, *' Having the probable extinction of ivory 
 in view, and allowing, as all sensible people must, that legitimate 
 commerce is the proper way to open up, and civilise a country, 
 we must see what other lucrative sources of trade may here- 
 after replace that in ivory. Fortunately, we have not far to go, 
 for the vegetable and mineral products of this marvellous land 
 are equal in variety, value and quantity to those of the most 
 favoured portions of the globe." 
 
 With regard to supplying labour for making roads, he ob- 
 serves, " when the chiefs find it more profitable to employ 
 their subjects in their own country than to sell them as slaves, 
 they will lose the most powerful incentive towards complying 
 with the demands of the slave trader."
 
 u 
 
 He asserts that the first step necessary for the development 
 of the country, is the establishment of proper means of com- 
 munication. 
 
 Of the capabilities of the country, Cameron says he found 
 it *' far and wide favourable for the growth and production of 
 cotton, sugar cane, oil palm, indiarubber and tobacco." To 
 the west of Nyangwe, on the Lualaba, or Upper Congo, he 
 observed coffee as large as the Mocha bean, and he speaks of 
 an opening there might be for trade in hide and beeswax. The 
 abundant resources of the country cannot, however, be described 
 here. 
 
 After referring to the work of the missionary societies he 
 thus gives expression to his opinion, " missionary efforts, how- 
 ever, will not avail to stop the slave trade, and open the 
 country to civilisation, unless supplemented by commerce. 
 Wherever commerce finds its way, there missionaries will 
 follow, and wherever missionaries prove that white men can live 
 and travel, there trade is certain to be established." 
 
 "The Portuguese," Cameron says, *'hold the keys of the 
 land route from Loanda and Benguela, and keep out foreign 
 capital and enterprise. If they threw open their ports; and 
 encouraged the employment of capital, and the advent of 
 energetic men of business, their provinces of Angola and 
 Mozambique might rival the richest, and most prosperous of 
 the dependencies of the British Crown. But a blind system 
 of protection, carried on by underpaid officials, stifles trade ; 
 many of the Portuguese are aware of this, and lament it, but 
 say, they are powerless." 
 
 The universal aptitude for trade, shown by the natives, is 
 noticed by him. 
 
 A paper on "The Trade of Central Africa, Present and 
 Future," was read by Commander Cameron before the African 
 Committee of the Society of Arts on January 23, 1877. He 
 says, " The rivers of this great continent are something 
 marvellous. They are our great natural highways at present.
 
 12 
 
 but there are many parts of the continent which offer great 
 facilities for constructing roads or tramways, or light lines of 
 railway. The Zambesi, unfortunately, has its mouths in the 
 possession of the Portuguese ; I believe their government are 
 acting for the best according to their lights, but their system 
 of enormous protective duties, and of granting monopolies, and 
 so on, has helped to stop the road to the interior by the Zambesi, 
 and they are now attempting to annex the mouth of the Congo, 
 and thus to practically seal up the waterways to the interior ;" 
 and it is stated in this paper, that " the people on Lake Nyassa 
 are already finding that the duties charged by the Portuguese 
 on the Zambesi, render it very unlikely that their work will be 
 able to pay," and with reference to a road to Zanzibar it is 
 said " if they could get a route to Zanzibar with only a small 
 percentage of duty to the Sultan, it would have the effect of 
 bringing down the high duties levied by the Portuguese on the 
 Zambesi." 
 
 PART II. 
 
 Travellers who have recently visited the country confirm 
 opinions previously maintained. 
 
 Lord Mayo, for instance, made a journey in 1882 through 
 parts of Portuguese West Africa, traversing a distance of over 
 500 miles from Mossamedes to the river Cunene. At the 
 meeting of the Koyal Geographical Society on June 11, 1883, 
 he described his travels, and gave an interesting account of 
 the productions, the vegetation, and the condition of the 
 country. Sir H. Eawlinson, who occupied the chair, enquired 
 what information could be given as to the nature and extent 
 of the Portuguese authority, and Lord Mayo answered : " The 
 duties are excessive, and in fact the Portuguese had completely 
 ruined any chance of fair trade by the fearful duties which 
 they imposed." The duties on some cotton goods, that Lord
 
 13 
 
 Mayo took with him, were as much as one-third the invoiced 
 price. It is stated that the keeper of the store at Humpata, 
 130 miles from the coast, in lat. 15° S., found it cheaper to 
 drag his goods from Walvisch Bay, lat. 22° 52' S. rather than 
 to pay the excessive duties at Mossamedes. It is believed, 
 however, that the Portuguese Government were going to make 
 some effort to reduce the duties, and Lord Mayo says *' if they 
 did, they would greatly improve the country, as a more beautiful 
 and fertile region could not well be imagined." In concluding 
 the discussion, Sir H. Kawlinson remarked that " the observa- 
 tions of Lord Mayo were of considerable interest, not merely in 
 reference to that particular part of Africa, but also to the great 
 questions now being agitated on the Congo, where Portuguese 
 jurisdiction and government, if established, might be supposed 
 to be conducted very much on the same principles as farther 
 south." He also said " it was interesting to know what were the 
 relative positions in regard to the science of government of 
 the International Exploration party, the French, and the 
 Portuguese." 
 
 Major- General Sir F. J. Goldsmid visited the Congo last 
 year J on behalf of the International Association, and in a 
 descriptive paper read before the Koyal Geographical Society 
 on February 11, 1884, he said that the object of the Comite 
 d'Etudes du Haut Congo was to determine the question of 
 communications, and to enquire as to the establishment of 
 commercial relations with the tribes, and the introduction of 
 European manufactures in exchange for African products. A 
 flag had been adopted and stations had been erected, but the 
 motives of the Association were purely philanthropic, and he 
 expressed a hope that the "free" stations of the Association 
 would receive the support of the civilised world. Mr. Morgan, 
 who accompanied General Goldsmid, described his journey to 
 Stanley Pool. He says that whole regions have been depopu- 
 lated by the slave trade, but observes that farther inland the 
 population is more dense. The difficulties of the journey to
 
 14 
 
 Stanley Pool appear from Mr. Morgan's account to be consider- 
 able ; a road, howeyer, has been constructed. Mr. Morgan 
 repeats the account we have heard from Mr. Stanley and 
 Mr. Johnston, that 5000 miles of navigable rivers are accessible 
 from Stanley Pool. 
 
 The difficulties that would beset philanthropists, missionaries, 
 travellers, and merchants in gaining the navigable part of the 
 river were remarked upon by Mr. Waller, and Mr. H. H. 
 Johnston in reference to the so-called *' liberal terms " at present 
 in vogue in Mozambique, said, '* those who knew anything of 
 Mozambique would think that the terms were rather illiberal 
 than otherwise. He, therefore, thought it a very unfortunate 
 thing if Portugal was allowed to occupy Landana and Banana 
 (at the mouth of the Congo), the two points which would 
 affect the Congo in the future." It is important to put this 
 opinion of Mr. Johnston clearly forward, for he has been sup- 
 posed to be an advocate, or at least an apologist, for the 
 treaty. We shall refer to his views again. 
 
 General Sir F. Goldsmid stated at the same meeting, that he 
 thought there was now scarcely any trace whatever of Portu- 
 guese dominion in those parts (the Congo region) ; at the pre- 
 sent day he did not suppose that the Portuguese were better 
 known along the river banks than the English, Dutch, French, 
 or other nations there represented. At Loanda, of course, 
 Portuguese influence prevailed, as also farther down the coast 
 for some distance ; but it was generally understood that a 
 * white ' man could not go from Loanda to Ambritz without 
 being molested by the natives. He said, " a statement to this 
 effect will be found in Mr. Monteiro's clever book on Angola, 
 published about nine years ago, and he (Sir Frederic) had 
 learnt on trustworthy local authority, corroborated, to the best 
 of his recollection, by a Portuguese gentleman, on board the 
 steamer, on which he travelled, that such was, still, the case." 
 
 With regard to the trade on the Upper Congo, General 
 Goldsmid did not think that as yet there had been any pal-
 
 15 
 
 pable increase in the imports and exports, but this result could 
 hardly be expected so soon. He had little doubt, that when 
 more stations had been formed, and the aims and objects of 
 the Association were more clearly understood, the whole would 
 in time become centres, as it were, of traffic, and a great impetus 
 would be given to commerce and the march of civilisation. 
 
 The President (Lord Aberdare) in the course of his remarks 
 said, that he would not be tempted by the political hints that 
 had been thrown out, to enter into the question whether or not 
 Mr. Gladstone was going to violate his promise, that the treaty 
 with Portugal should be submitted to the House of Commons, 
 nor whether the Dutch merchants had received information as 
 to the contents of the treaty, which were not known in this 
 country. He had no doubt, that in process of time it would 
 be found that Her Majesty's Government would do all that 
 they had promised to do, and submit their treaty to the con- 
 sideration of Parliament; and he was bound to say that if 
 they had shown too great consideration for the interests of 
 Portugal, it could not be for w^ant of ample notice, in Parlia- 
 ment and out, of the opinion of the mercantile community of 
 this country. The President concluded by observing that 
 such considerations were not for their society. Their interests 
 were geographical, and the progress of geography led to 
 commerce. 
 
 If we are not referring at too great length to the proceed- 
 ings of the Geographical Society, a paper by Mr. Johnston 
 should be mentioned. He tells us that the country between 
 Loanda and Ambritz, "although nominally owned by the 
 Portuguese, is almost impassable for a European, owing to the 
 animosity of the natives." Mr. Johnston, it must be remem- 
 bered, is one of our most recent travellers. In the interior, 
 some ten miles from " independent, cosmopolitan Kinsembo," 
 he says, '' the landscapes are so many earthly paradises, with 
 their massive groves, and verdant slopes and prosperous plan- 
 tations. About a mile from the coast near Ambrizette, the
 
 16 
 
 scenery is beautiful and park-like." He says "the natives 
 of Ambrizette are decidedly opposed to any idea of future 
 annexation or protection by a European power." The fine har- 
 bour which would pass to Portugal under the treaty is then 
 described. " At the mouth of the Congo, on the inner side of 
 the little promontory of Banana, there is a deep and capacious 
 inlet of the Congo, where there is room for a whole navy to be 
 moored. Here, ships of the greatest size, can be anchored 
 within fifty yards of the shore." 
 
 The commercial and political side of the question is not 
 treated in Mr. Johnston's interesting book on the Congo, which 
 contains such graphic descriptions of the scenery and natural 
 history of the country ; reference on this head must be made to 
 his paper on the "Portuguese Colonies in West Africa," read 
 before the Society of Arts on the 12th of February, 1884. 
 
 " Since I left West Africa," he says, " the Portuguese have 
 formally taken possession of a point on the south-west coast a 
 little to the north of the Congo. This is generally called 
 Landana, and is situated close to the embouchure of the river 
 Chiloango, an important highway into the interior. Landana 
 is nearly 100 miles from the mouth of the Congo, but receives 
 a great deal of the Congo trade, which follows the course of the 
 Chiloango." 
 
 It may here be mentioned that the Under Secretary for 
 Foreign Affairs, on the 23rd of April, 1883, in reply to Mr. 
 Jacob Bright, stated that " orders have been issued to the 
 Governor of Angola not to occupy an inch of territory in dis- 
 pute during the progress of negotiations, but to maintain strictly 
 the status quoP 
 
 Ambritz, to which further reference will be made, is described 
 by Mr. Johnston as the " natural " outlet for the trade of all 
 the interior lying about the 7th and 8th degrees of south 
 latitude, and stretching inland to the river Luango ; but he is 
 obliged to add, " it does not seem to prosper somehow, in spite 
 of being the only kind of port between Loanda and the Congo.
 
 17 
 
 IMany of its merchants have migrated across the Portuguese 
 boundary to Kinsembo, where, perhaps, the landing is the most 
 dangerous on all the south-west coast, in order to escape the 
 duties imposed by the Portuguese custom-house.'* The traveller 
 then turns attention to a district a little farther to the south. 
 "The intervening district between the river Dande (spelt 
 Dante in the narrative of the Capuchin missionaries who 
 left Italy on a mission to the Congo in 1666) and Ambritz 
 has never been conquered by the Portuguese, and still re- 
 mains impassable to Europeans. A force of twenty armed 
 policemen would suffice to clear the roarl, but, although 
 Portugal can dream of military expeditions to the Congo, she 
 cannot afford a few soldiers to connect Loanda with Ambritz by 
 land." 
 
 Alluding to the extent of the Portuguese African possessions, 
 Mr. Johnston estimates that as much as 1,000,000 square 
 miles of African Continent is now under the rule and adminis- 
 tration of Portugal. After some observations (and, the hospi- 
 tality the Portuguese invariably show to travellers must be 
 acknowledged), intended to place the Portuguese system in as 
 fair alight as possible, Mr. Johnston says by way of qualification 
 that he does not intend to advance *' a plea for an ext vision of 
 Portuguese power over fresh parts of Africa." He proceed^!, 
 indeed, to say that "Portugal has sufficient colonies at the 
 present day to last her all her political lifetime ; and yet, while 
 she pleads poverty as an excuse for not developing what she 
 has already got, she can afford to equip costly expeditions in 
 view of fartlier and fantastic conquests. The idea of Portugal 
 on the Congo is simply preposterous." Mr. Johnston concludes 
 by saying " The more one travels in Africa, the more one 
 arrives at the conclusion that the Portuguese have ^ot the 
 pick of the coast lands ; but, unfortunately, another conviction 
 forces itself on the mind, that tliey have more than they 
 can be reasonably expected to (ie elop ^^ith their individual 
 resources." 
 
 G
 
 18 
 
 We now turn to another authority, Mr. Capper, Lloyd's agent 
 for the Congo district, who read a paper on the Congo and the 
 Niger, before the Society of Arts (reported in the Journal for 
 the 11th of April, 1884). It has been said, in some quarters, 
 that the Congo trade is insignificant; Mr. Capper, however, 
 states that " the imports and exports of the West African trade 
 have risen from 28,000, tons in 1868, to 200,000 in 1882, and 
 steamers are now constantly running between England and the 
 Congo, and the Niger; " and he gives his opinion that " as long 
 as these rivers are free, legitimate commerce will thrive apace." 
 Mr. Capper speaks \^ith personal knowledge and experience, 
 having resided in West Africa for seven years, and having 
 traded on both these rivers. He say^ "The commerce of the 
 Congo is of recent growth. In my time, twelve years ago, there 
 were four English houses, one French, and one Dutch, trading 
 up the river as far as Nokki, there are now furty-nine European 
 factories on the banks, and th=i exports and imports are valued 
 at £2,000,000." " The Niger and the Congo," he asserts, " are 
 the present entrances to Africa, and if England is true to its 
 trust, it will not let them be recklessly thrown away." 
 
 On this question of the extent of the Congo trade the state- 
 ment of the Chairman of the Manchester Chamber of Commerce 
 should be noticed. He estimated the exports alone of British 
 goods to the territory from 5° 12' to 8" S. latitude a few years 
 ago at £500,000 per annum, now at £1,000,000, and the exports 
 and imports together at £2,000,000. Sir J. Lee considers this 
 an over-estimate; but granting that it is so, does Sir J. Lee 
 take into account that the effect of the treaty would be, not to 
 increase the trade, but certainly to curtail it ? 
 
 In the discussion upon Mr. Capper's paper, Mr. Tomlin- 
 son, M.P. for Preston, adverted to " the importance of opening 
 up Africa to commerce, as the trade of this country was suffer- 
 ing from the very want which Africa was capable of supplying,* 
 viz., a market for our goods, and the question was whether the 
 * See note 1, page 44.
 
 19 
 
 command of the West African market should be given to a 
 nation which was not, as England was, a commercial nation. 
 The Portuguese had no manufacture and no commerce of the 
 kind required for the African market." Alluding to the appli- 
 cation of the Mozambique tariff, he drew special attention to 
 the effect the imposition of 10 per cent, would have " on the 
 introduction of British goods " to the African market.* 
 
 To refer again to the Congo trade, a letter dated Ponta da 
 Lenha, December 30, has been reprinted from the Manchester 
 Examiner of March 13th, and it is stated by the writer that 
 " the oppressive duties imposed by Portugal on the province of 
 Angola have driven into the Congo many European traders. 
 Portuguese traders have also found it next to impossible to 
 transact business subject to the extortion of the officials. Hence, 
 they, too, have sought refuge on the Congo Kiver, and they do 
 not care to be followed by the system from which they believed 
 they had escaped." He also says that the trade with the 
 natives has now " become very considerable," and the claim of 
 Portugal is asserted to the detriment both of natives and 
 Europeans. He proceeds, " Do not be misled by the fallacy 
 that trade exists on the Congo, and that ours is of no import- 
 ance ; " and adds, " What increase there has been is here in 
 the Lower Congo, and here if we have fair play, such as we 
 have a right to demand from our countrymen, the centre of 
 commerce must necessarily continue." 
 
 This is a sufficient answer to Lord Fife's allusion in the 
 House of Lords on April 21th, 1884, to the "little" amount of 
 trade on the Congo. He did say, however, that, at present, the 
 Lower Congo possesses what trade there is. 
 
 * See note 2, page 44. 
 
 c2
 
 20 
 
 PAKT III. 
 
 Another point must be now considered. How far is the 
 Congo navigable ? With reference to the Lower Congo, G-eneral 
 Goldsmid says in a letter to the Times, in reply to Mr. John- 
 ston, that " nothing but the merest cockleshell propelled by 
 steam can pass up between Nokki and Vivi, and that up to 
 Nokki but few seagoing craft ever venture." 
 
 This is important, as a great deal is said about free transit 
 being secured by treaty stipulation. 
 
 The great waterway into Central Africa by the river Congo 
 only commences, so to speak, at Stanley Pool, the river as a 
 means of communication with the interior being the object of 
 our consideration. The question, therefore, is by what route, 
 and by what methods, can Stanley Pool be reached. There is 
 some distance to be traversed, and a connecting link is required 
 in the chain of communications. Until further surveys of the 
 country have been taken, and more accurate knowledge is 
 acquired, no opinion (keeping the cost of transport in view) 
 can really be given as to the route, and the best means for 
 carrying goods overland from the deep waters in the estuary of 
 the Congo to Stanley Pool. Whether starting from Boma, the 
 rugged and hilly ground should be followed, using the road 
 made by the International Association under the direction of 
 Mr. Stanley, and making available a portion of the river 
 between the falls ; or whether another route (always considering 
 the cost of transport) is to be taken, is as yet uncertain. It 
 can only be determined by further enquiry. 
 
 Lord Fife, when asking his question on the 24th of April in 
 the House of Lords, after observing that " the Lower Congo 
 led practically nowhere," said that '* the recent labours of 
 Mr. Stanley and Mr. Johnston abundantly proved that the best 
 route in the future by which to reach Central Africa was the 
 K\\ilu river." In regard to this, a point may, no doubt, be made
 
 21 
 
 by advocates in search of arguments on behalf of the treaty. 
 The results of recent expeditions go to prove, it is said, that the 
 Kwilu is practicable for some distance as a means of entering 
 the country, and that a possible route for a line of railway 
 may be found by following the course of the river, and tlien 
 working across the country to Stanley Pool. The Kwilu is 
 outside the territory that would pass to Portugal under the 
 treaty. An attempt, it seems, is being made to diminish the 
 importance of the Lower Congo trade, and at the same time 
 it is asserted that the route to the great artery of the upper 
 river is still left free to all the world. 
 
 Mr. Capper has had considerable experience in railway 
 works, and he has been a trader in West Africa. He was 
 asked a question at the recent meeting of the Society of 
 Arts as to a possible railway route to Stanley Pool, and with 
 reference to the Kwilu river, and he thus replied : " As to the 
 Kwilu river, from a commercial point of view, it did not do for 
 people to go to new rivers and commence laying down railways. 
 What a man of commerce liked was that his commerce should 
 grow as he put his hands in his pocket. The principal part of 
 the trade of the Congo came from the southern bank, and, as the 
 Kwilu was some distance to the north, the whole of the trade 
 would have to cross the river ; there would be the same diffi- 
 culties as at the Falls of Yellala ; there must be land carriaf^e 
 of some kind. It was due to British enterprise alone that 
 matters of that kind had been already dealt with in Africa:" 
 
 The existing circumstances and condition of the country, and 
 the necessities of trade, must be taken into consideration. A 
 correspondent writing from Ponta da Lenha in the Pall Mall 
 Gazette thus gives his opinion : *• Improved means of communi- 
 cation can only be serviceable where it is sufficiently cheap to 
 be profitable to those using it," and this writer seem to question 
 the utility for commercial purposes of the road constructed to 
 Stanley Pool, on account of the expense of transport. 
 
 Mr. Bentley, a missionary, who has spent five years on the
 
 22 
 
 Congo, gives his views in the Fall Mall Gazette for May 20tli, 
 in this journal's Topics of the Day. Spealdng of Mr. Johnston, 
 he says, " Many of his leading positions are fundamentally 
 unsound. Take, for instance, his point that the true entrance 
 to the Upper Congo is by the Kwilu, not by the Lower Congo. 
 Now, not a single ocean steamer can go up that river, which is 
 only partly navigable by boats of small burden. It takes you 
 nearly 200 miles out of your right course, it traverses a country 
 peopled by natives very hostile to trade, and the tract across 
 which Mr. Johnston would place his railway — from Ste-phanie- 
 ville to one of the tributaries of Stanley Pool — is a region 
 across which I was assured by a Belgian representative of the 
 International African Association it would be difficult, not to 
 say impossible, to construct a line of railway. The true entrance 
 to the Upper Congo is a port opposite Ponta da Lenha, on the 
 southern bank. From this point, where ocean steamers can 
 discharge in safety, there would be comparatively small engineer- 
 ing difficulties in constructing a line passing through the Bas- 
 Congo country to Leopoldville. By this means the cargoes 
 destined for the Upper Congo would pass direct from the ship 
 that brought them from Liverpool or London to the railway, 
 which would have its terminus on the Upper Congo, and from 
 thence goods might be despatched in river boats throughout 
 the whole interior of Africa." " The line," said Mr. Bentley, 
 " would pass through a country presenting few engineering 
 difficulties. For the most part fairly level, and traversing 
 through the whole of its route tribes well disposed to Europeans 
 and keenly attached to trade, there is everything in its favour." 
 Would it not be our best and most prudent course, with the 
 view, alone, of improving the means (that may be undertaken 
 some day — perhaps before long), of approaching from the coast 
 this great inland waterway of the Upper Congo, to leave the 
 Lower Congo and all the adjoining territory, as free as possible 
 from restrictions of any kind ? Shall we not thus be really 
 aiding the opening up of vast fertile, densely-populated regions
 
 23 
 
 to commerce? One of the existing trade routes, it should be 
 added, now follows a line from Stanley Pool to Ambrizette, 
 and Ambrizette would under the treaty, fall within the rule of 
 Portugal. 
 
 Next, with regard to France : In his speech in Parliament 
 last year Mr. Jacob Bright said : " There is an opinion, I do not 
 know how far it is well founded — that what has been done and 
 said by a subject of France (M. De Brazza) in Africa has 
 somewhat disturbed people's minds, and has had some influence 
 at the Foreign Office. Some of those who have communicated 
 with me think that there has been a great exaggeration in 
 regard to this niattei*, and that it may only result in a salutary 
 extension of French commerce." 
 
 In the Journal of the R )yal Geographical Society for 
 August, 1883, in page 483, it is stated that the news from 
 the headquarters of the International Association at Brussels is 
 to the effect that Mr. Stanley has stringent orders to maintain 
 a friendly understanding with the French Expedition, and to 
 show deference to the rights acquired by France on the Congo. 
 At the Geographical Society's meeting on February 11, 1884, 
 Commander Cameron spoke in high terms of M. De Brazza. 
 A more modest man, he said, could not be found. He was an 
 enthusiast in his work, and Cameron added that he did not 
 think any Englishman would set that down as a failing. 
 
 As to the opinion entertained by the French Government, 
 Mr. W. E. Forster, in The Times of April the 14th, draws 
 attention to a despatch of Lord Granville's of the 1st of June, 
 1883, in which our Foreign Minister says : " M. Challemel 
 Lacour, in a recent conversation with her Majesty's ambassador 
 at Paris, distinctly denied that the pretensions of Portugal to 
 that part of the coast (the Lower Congo district) are admitted 
 by France." 
 
 As regards Holland, a Keuter's telegram, in The Morning Post 
 of April the 28th, reports that the Dutch minister for Foreign 
 Afiairs stated in the First Chamber of the States General that
 
 24 
 
 the commercial interests of the Netherlands gave the Govern- 
 ment the right to defend the same, as, in fact, it had already 
 done, and he added : " Holland does not demand any rights of 
 sovereignty, but demands simply to protect her commercial 
 interests, which are ignored by the treaty which has been con- 
 cluded. The Government reserves to itself liberty of action, 
 and is prepared to accept the responsibility of its decision." 
 
 The following appears in the Times of May the 16th, with 
 reference to the views held by Germany : 
 
 Berlin, May 15. 
 
 Prince Bismarck has sent the following answer to the 
 Chamber of Commerce of Frankfort-on-the-Maine, as well as to 
 the several other bodies of a similar kind which had sent in 
 remonstrances to the Foreign Office on the subject of the 
 Anglo-Portuguese treaty : — 
 
 "Berlin, il% 12, 1884. 
 
 " In reply to your favour of the 8th inst. with reference to 
 the Congo Treaty concluded between England and Portugal, I 
 beg to state tliat I regard as justifiable the objections raised by 
 the organs to German commerce to the stipulations of the 
 treaty affecting German trade. To this view I have given 
 expression to both the said Governments, notifying, at the same 
 time, to them that the Government of His Majesty the Emperor 
 would never be able to admit the applicability of these stipula- 
 tions to the subjects of the Empire. At present we are engaged 
 in an exchange of opinion on this question with the Govern- 
 ments of the countries most concerned in the trade with Africa, 
 and I hope that this ex -hange of opinion will lead to a settle- 
 ment of commercial r^ilations in the Congo territory, which 
 also takes German interests into account. 
 
 " Von Bismarck." 
 
 Mr. Johnston having stated in a letter to the Times that 
 there were only two alternatives, and that it was a question of 
 either France or Portuo:al on the Lower Con^o, General Sir F.
 
 25 
 
 GoLlsiuid wrote in reply, pointing out that the clioice was not so 
 limited as Mr. Johnston believed, and that Holland might with 
 eqinl propriety have been suggested, and he observed that Mr. 
 Johnston omitted " the by no means unimportant, if aban- 
 doned, alternative of an International Commission." Lord 
 Granville, we know, did not succeed in prevailing upon the 
 Portuguese Government to acquiesce in the suggestion of an 
 International Commission. Mr. Johnston seems also to have 
 ignored (we shall not perhaps be far wrong in using the expres- 
 sion), the "desire" of the Congo traders to be left alone. It 
 should not be forgotten by whose capital and enterprise the 
 trade of the Congo district has been created. 
 
 As to the position on the Congo of the International Associa- 
 t'on, to which so much attention is now being given, some 
 further allusion may here be made, though an enquiry into the 
 objects and work of the Association is beyond the scope of this 
 paper. 
 
 The Times, of April 24, contained a telegram^ announcing 
 that the American Senate has concurred in the President's 
 recommendation to recognise the International Association. 
 
 Keplying to Lord Fife's question in the House of Lords on 
 April 24, as to whether the Government intended to recognise 
 the Association, Lord Granville said "the noble earl had 
 referred to a very large, important, and difficult matter, in 
 regard to which he was not prepared to give a definite answer 
 on the present occasion. He understood that the Association 
 referred to in the question of the noble earl was promoted by 
 the lung of the Belgians, not as a Sovereign, but as an 
 individual who had carried out the scheme on philanthropic 
 grounds with immense munificence. The Association was not 
 separated, he thought, from commercial objects, and under the 
 energetic conduct of its leader, Mr. Stanley, very large and 
 important results had been achieved. With regard to the 
 recognition of the society by Her Majesty's Government, he 
 might say that the noble earl had correctly referred to the
 
 2G 
 
 recognition of it by the Government of the United States. 
 He bad bimself to-day received a telegram sbowing that the 
 Government of the Unite! States bad recognised the flag of 
 the Association as that of a friendly government. The whole 
 question of the constitution of the society was, of course, very 
 impoitant. Her Majesty's Government had not, under con- 
 siderat'on, at present, the particular question which the noble 
 earl had put, and they would have to go much farther into 
 detail as to the matter and the view which was held by the 
 Government of the United States before giving any definite 
 answer to the question." 
 
 The writer of the letter in the Pall Mall Gazette, from Ponta 
 da Lenha, already referred to, is not complimentary to the 
 Association, but the tone (if it does express the view of the 
 Lower Congo traders) may, })erhaps, be accounted for on the 
 ground of a belief, that but for the existence of the Association, 
 there might have been one pretext less for a treaty injurious to 
 trade. 
 
 The Association by carrying on still further the work of the 
 pioneer, undertaking scientific surveys, and making roads and 
 communications, will be giving an impetus and encouragement 
 to the opening of trade with this part of Africa. This, indeed, 
 seems to be its very raison d'etre. Its philanthropic leaders 
 devote their resources to such purposes. In the course of their 
 Work, and in establishing outlying stations, which have been 
 carried far up the river into the interior of Africa, they have 
 proved that Europeans can live in the country. If by the 
 efforts of the Association, and the enterprise of individuals, 
 trade can in the future be developed with these regions, it 
 ought to be the object of our Government to see that the 
 commerce of all nations is equally entitled to benefit. 
 
 One more allusion to engineering and other woiks. Mr. 
 Cai)per's advice should be kept in view. The cost of transport 
 is to be regarded, whether it is by the Association or by some 
 other agency that works are undertaken. Trade should Le
 
 27 
 
 The producer must s^e his profit. The African 
 ill these regions, it must be remembered, has a tendency to be 
 contented with gathering the abundant frnits of the earth, 
 without labour ; he must be taught and " induced " to cultivate 
 the soil. 
 
 In the National Beview for May, General Goldsmil thus 
 concludes an article on " Portugal and the Congo." " We 
 have spoken of the International African Association: the 
 American Senate recognise this as the chief po^'er on the 
 Congo. Possessor of an extensive territory in the region of the 
 river, the history of its rapid rise is too well known that we 
 should here attempt to recount it. . . . But we may say 
 from personal knowledge of locality and personnel, that its dis- 
 interested objects are as manifest to the minds of disinterested 
 people as are its steamers and stations to the eye of the 
 ordinary traveller. And we would ask whether it is not time 
 that this outcome of royal generosity, and munificent philan- 
 thropy should be acknowledged by Europe at lar^^e, and have 
 the status of a distinct colonial power? Had such ackn >wledg- 
 ment been made a year ago, it is probable that the guardian- 
 ship of the Lower Congo would have been disposed of, so far as 
 England is concerned, in a way less provocative of criticism 
 than in the case of the transfer to Portugal." 
 
 The Times of May 16 contains the following intell'gence : — 
 
 " Brussels, May 15. 
 " An Antwerp journal states that the International African 
 Association is elaborating its Constitution as a free Federal 
 State established on the Congo. 
 
 " The same journal afiirms positively that an agreement 
 has been concluded between France and the Association, the 
 documents bearing the signatures of M. Ferry for France, and 
 of Colonel Strauch for the Association." 
 
 The particulars that the Times of May 20th gives of this 
 agreement will be read with interest : " We understand that 
 the following are the terms of the arrangement which has been
 
 28 
 
 concluded between tlie Government of the French Kepublic 
 and the Association Internationale du Congo :— France pledges 
 herself to respect the stations and the free territories of the 
 Association, as also to recognise the exercise by. the Associa- 
 tion of the rights which it has acquired. The Association 
 undertakes not to dispose of its possessions, but in the event of 
 circnmstances compelling their abandonment, the option of 
 purchasing is reserved in tlie first instance to the French 
 Government. The agreement whereby the United States 
 Government recognises the flag of the Association Interna- 
 tionale, already provides that no customs duties are to be levied 
 on goods imported into the territories of the Association, and 
 that equal rights as regards residence, dealings in land, and 
 general trading privileges, are to be accorded to the citizens of 
 every nationality." 
 
 PAKT IV. 
 
 The manner in which the attempts that have been made on 
 the part of the Portuguese Government to acquire an extension 
 of territoiy on the West African coast from latitude 5^ 12' to 8° 
 have been met by Great Britain, shall now be shown. 
 
 A passage from a paper read before the Society of Arts will be 
 quoted here, as it will lead us to a consideration of this branch 
 of the subject. On the 16th of March, 1877, Mr. Irvine thus 
 described to the Society the results of the Portuguese occupa- 
 tion of Ambritz. *' The Portuguese," he sa'd, " immediately 
 established a custom-house under a full fig of officials. On the 
 opposite side of the river stands another trading station, known 
 as Kinsembo, from which, before the occupation of Ambritz by 
 the Portuguese, large quantities of copper ore were exported, 
 thirty to fifty tons being a common ballast for a vessel ; but
 
 29 
 
 since the arrival uf the Poituguese on the opposite shore the 
 trade has absolutely died out, and whenever you ask the natives 
 the reason of this, they tell you quite openly that if they showed 
 you the riches of their country the Portuguese woidd come and 
 take possession of it. Within the last few months " (the paper 
 is dated 16th March, 1877) " the Portuguese have actually laid 
 claim to this very place (Kinsembo), to Ambrizette, to Banana, 
 and up to the Congo, the Congo itself included, but on repre- 
 sentations being made to Her Majesty's Governuicnt, such 
 decided steps were taken by Lord Derby that by last mail 
 instructions went out from the Government at Lisbon to the 
 Governor of Angola to withdraw absolute' y from any attempt 
 to extend their territory beyond what is now recOj>nised as theirs, 
 in virtue of actual occupation." 
 
 With the view of placing in a clear light the manner in 
 which the claims of Portugal have been always regarded, some 
 points in the correspondence published in the African Parlia- 
 mentary Papers must here be touched upon. 
 
 Lord Palmerston, in his despatch of September 26, 1846, to 
 Lord Howard de Walden, referring to " territories over which 
 His most faithful Majesty has declared that he maintains his 
 rights," says that "while the right of Portngal to exclusive 
 sovereignty, and jurisdiction from 8° to 18^ S. latitude, was 
 fully recognised by the British Goveriiment, her right over 
 territory from 5° 12' down to 8° was not so recognised." Allusion 
 is made to an apprehension expressed by the Loanda Court 
 lest an enforcement by Portugal of sovereign rights over the 
 territory from 5° 12' to 8°, '* would much interfere with the 
 intercourse of British merchants with the natives, who at 
 present carry on their trade, which must be an increasing one, 
 without the payment of any dues to the Portuguese Govern- 
 ment." " To pass without notice a sentence of the Portuguese 
 Court which involves a claim of exclusive territorial possession," 
 Lord Palmerston observes, " might prejudice the right wliich it 
 is important in the interests of commerce for Her Majesty's
 
 30 
 
 Government to maintain to nnrestricted intercourse with that 
 part of the west coast of Africa, whicli lies between 5°, 12', 
 and 8°." 
 
 Lord Palmerston's soh'citude for the '* interests of commerce " 
 shoukl be noticed ; and it becomes important to lay stress on 
 this declaration of Lord Palmerston's, as in the statements 
 made by Her Majesty's present Government it is not made to 
 appear that the *' interests of commerce " did form a ground for 
 Lord Palmerston's resistance to the claims of Portugal. Another 
 inference, in fact, might be drawn from the letter Lord Gran- 
 ville wrote on March 21st to the Chairman of the Manchester 
 Chamber of Commerce in vindication of the treaty, in which he 
 says: "A policy which was formerly justifiable for the pre- 
 vent'on of the slave trade may have ceased to be so, under 
 the altered circumstances of a time when the slave trade on the 
 West Coast has ceased to exist. ' 
 
 Again, writing to Baron Moncorvo, on November 80th, 1846, 
 Lord Palmerston speaks of the right which it is impoitant "^?^ 
 the interests of commerce, for Her Majesty's Government to 
 maintain to unrestricted intercourse with this territory." 
 
 Li similar terms, Lord Clarendon, in his despatch of 
 November 26, 1853, lepeats *'the declaration of Her Majesty's 
 Government that the interests of commerce render it imperative 
 upon them to maintain the right to unrestrained intercourse 
 with that part of the west coast of Africa which lies between 5°, 
 12', and 8° S. latitude." 
 
 When it was announced in 1855 that an armed force would 
 be sent to Molemba, Lord Clarendon, in his despatch of Api il 6, 
 sa'd **' it would be the duty of Her Majesty's Government to 
 oppose " such a determination of the Portuguese Government ; 
 and it should be noticed that Lord Clarendon added that 
 " Foreign nations would thus " (if Portugal carried out its object) 
 " be debarred from having free intercourse with the place." 
 
 The occupation of Ambritz was effected in 1855. The effect 
 of the occnpation was most injurious to the interests of com-
 
 31 
 
 merce, thougli it might have been very different if the promise 
 made by the Portuguese had really been fulfilled, nnd if they 
 had acted according to their word, viz., "that tliey did not 
 intend to make any alteration with regard to commercial 
 intercourse v\ith that place, nor to impose any dnties." See 
 Mr. Ward's Despatch to Lord Clarendon, August 8t*h, 1855. 
 
 Having succeeded at Ambritz, the Portuguese Government 
 were attempting to treat the territories of Cabinda and Molendja, 
 north of the Congo, as included in the province of Angola, and 
 with reference to this, Lord Clarendon says in his despatch of 
 August 15th, 1856, that "any attempt at territorial extension 
 will be resisted by force." 
 
 With reference to Kinsembo (which would pass under the 
 present treaty to Portugal), Lord Russell wrote in his despatch 
 to Count Lavradio on the 28th of July, 1860, " I cannot omit to 
 notice at once the statement in your letter of the 9th inst., that 
 Kinsembo appertains to the Crown of Portugal. You must be 
 aware that Her Majesty's Government have invariably resisted 
 this claim." Lord Russell informs Count Lavradio that " al- 
 though Her Majesty's Government acquiesced in the occupation 
 of Ambritz, any attempt to extend that occupation to other 
 parts of the coast would be opposed by Her Majesty's naval forces." 
 
 No stronger language could be used than is to be found in 
 Lord Russell's despatch of the 13th of October, 1860, when he 
 informs Count Lavradio that " the interests of Portugal would 
 be far better consulted by developing the resources of the 
 vast territories which she already possesses in Africa, than by 
 seeking to extend a barren sovereignty over farther tracts of 
 country on that continent, which can only be acquired by 
 violence and bloodslied." 
 
 In 1867 Lord Derby (then Lord Stanley) wrote on the 21st 
 of Aujrust to Mr. Harris: "With reorard to the claim now 
 again put forward on behalf of the Portuguese Crown to the 
 sovereignty of the territory lying between S'" 12' and 8°, it 
 will be right that you should ask for some explanation from
 
 32 
 
 the Government of His Faithful Majesty, because if no notice is 
 taken of this chiim, it may lead to serious differences between 
 the British and Portuguese naval forces on the West African 
 station, as the iustructions which were issued in 1856 to the 
 British naval commanders to pieveiit the occupation by the 
 Portuguese of the territory in question still hold good, and will 
 be acted upon if necessary." 
 
 A different attitude having been adopted by the present 
 Government throughout the negotiations that they have carried 
 on with the Government of Portugal, it is necessary to hear any 
 explanation that can be given as to their views and objects. 
 
 For this purpose we have to look to the speech in Parliament 
 of the Under Secretary for Foreign Affairs, during the debate 
 last year on the motion of Mr. Jacob Bright ; and we must 
 ask our readers to give their attention seriously to the ques- 
 tion of the sufficiency of the reasons, and of the adequacy of the 
 pleas that have been advanced on behalf of the Govern- 
 ment. 
 
 The Under Secretary for Foreign Affairs said that he con- 
 sidered Mr. Bright's speech an indictment of the policy of the 
 Government, ai.d he had, therefore, he says " to show the reasons 
 which liad induced the Government to depart, up to a certain 
 point, from the attitude hitherto observed by the Foreign Otfice 
 in regard to this question." He observed that he would not 
 altogether admit that Her Majesty's Government had departed 
 from the attitude taken upon this question by the eminent 
 statesmen alluded to by Mr. Whitley, viz.. Lord Clarendon, 
 Lord Kussell, Lord Palmerston, and the present Lord Dei by, 
 and he asserted that the attitude taken by them — ^'that they 
 did not recognise the position of the Portuguese in this 
 region, was still the attitude of Her Majesty's Government." 
 Lord E. Fitzmaurice then proceeded to say that " Her Majesty's 
 Government considered that circumstances had since arisen, 
 ^^hich, they believei^, had they arisen iu former days, would 
 have induced the Government to consider, whether they did
 
 33 
 
 not furnish adequate reasons for taking, up to a certain point, 
 a new departure." 
 
 This, it must be confessed, seems rather a subtle distinction 
 between what is, and what is not a " new departure." 
 
 The fact is plain and simple, that Lord Granville by his 
 despatch of the 15th of March, 1883, admits that *' the claim of 
 Portugal is not established." The Government does not recog- 
 nise the validity of an old claim to territory between latitudes 
 5° 12' and 8° S. " over which Portugal has not had any right'' 
 
 It is, however, equally plain that by the first article of the 
 treaty *' Her Britannic Majesty agrees to recognise the sovereignty 
 of His Most Faithful Majesty the King of Portugal and the 
 Algaves over that part of the West Coast of Africa situated 
 between 8° and 5°-12' S. latitude." 
 
 This most important point as to sovereignty is the turning- 
 point of the whole question. It is the foundation on which 
 the treaty rests. The Government agree to allow the exercise 
 of the Portuguese jurisdiction over the territory claimed. A 
 total change of position. It is altogether a *' new departure," 
 and a reversal of the policy of the predecessors in office of Her 
 Majesty's Government. It is this, the bringing in of the 
 sovereign jurisdiction of Portugal to the hitherto free territory, 
 and not whether, the validity of the claim has been admitted 
 as of right or not, that is of vital moment to the traders, and 
 the vast commercial interests concerned. No wonder that this 
 has been called not merely a concession, but a "surrender." 
 
 Lord E. Fitzmaurice having observed that *' it was difficult 
 to say at what exact moment the present stage of the nego- 
 tiations began," it will be well to bear in mind the date of the 
 affair at the mouth of the Congo, reported by Mr. Hopkins in 
 his despatch of the 28th of April, 1877, as having then lately 
 occurred. The previous year, on the 8th of February, Lord 
 Derby at the time Her Majesty's Secretary of State for Foreign 
 Affairs had written a despatch to the Duke of Saldanha, 
 apparently disposing in the clearest manner of the Portuguese 
 
 d
 
 34 
 
 claims, and expressing " the earnest hope of Her Majesty's 
 Government that the Government of Lisbon will issue no in- 
 structions to their authorities on the West Coast of Africa, 
 which will alter the existing state of things on that coast, inas- 
 much as the orders which were issued in 1856 to the commander 
 of Her Majesty's cruisers to oppose any attempt on the part of 
 the Portuguese authorities to extend the dominions of Portugal 
 north of Ambritz, and of which the Portuguese Government 
 were informed at the time remain still in force." The affair at 
 the mouth of the Congo, occurred, as we have said, early in 
 1877. Sir J. Pauncefoot, on the 21st of August, 1877, wrote 
 from the Foreign Office to Mr. Consul Hopkins, with reference 
 to the case of Scott (one of the persons concerned in the affair 
 on the Congo), stating in this despatch that Her Majesty's 
 Government " have always contested and opposed " the claims 
 to the territory made by the Portuguese Government." 
 
 There is no wavering here, no deviation from the position 
 always maintained towards the claims of Portugal, nor is there 
 the least loophole afforded, or encouragement given for treating 
 the affair at the mouth of the Congo as a pretext. 
 
 It is clear, then, that up to 1877 the claims of Portugal were 
 firmly resisted ; and the Portuguese Government had failed to 
 acquire jurisdiction, or gain any foothold in the territory in 
 question. 
 
 There is no other despatch published until we come to the 
 year 1882. The chairman of the Manchester Chamber of 
 Commerce in his speech to the Chamber on March tlie 17th, 
 1884, drew notice to the fact that " there is no record published 
 of any importunity on the part of Portugal to get anything 
 from the year 1877 to 1882." 
 
 The commercial progress of the free territories had gone on 
 increasing through the enterprise of traders of various nations, 
 not especially Portuguese (the exact proportion of purely 
 Portuguese factories, is not yet, it seems quite accural ely 
 ascertained). That it would gratify the pride and ambition of
 
 35 
 
 the Portuguese to see these territories included in the posses- 
 sions of the Crown of Portugal is easy to understand. The 
 desire of the Portuguese Government to place them under 
 similar fiscal, and other regulations to those of the Portuguese 
 African possessions is natural enough.* 
 
 PART V. 
 
 The claims of Portugal are again advanced in 1882. Senhor 
 Serpa, in his lengthy despatch of the 8th of November, renews 
 the demands of Portugal on various grounds, and alludes, among 
 other matters, to the affair on the Congo in 1877. 
 
 Whatever the Portuguese point of view may be, our wish is 
 to discover the ground for the " new departure " on the part of 
 Her Majesty's Government, and to ascertain the " new circum- 
 stances " that have " arisen " to justify the change erf policy. 
 
 The objects of the Government, are explained in Lord Gran- 
 ville's Letter from the Foreign Office on March 21st, addressed 
 to the chairman of the Manchester Chamber of Commerce. 
 The letter, published in The Times, attracts attention. Lord 
 Granville states that he " thinks that on further consideration 
 the Chamber may see reason to modify the views expressed " 
 in their communication of March 6th in opposition to the 
 treaty, and he speaks of " disputes, which in the absence of 
 treaty engagements may lead to local bloodshed, and ulti- 
 mately to even more serious consequences ; " and observes, *' I 
 would call your attention to the fact that only within the last 
 few weeks serious disputes between the natives and traders 
 have arisen at Nokki and at Moculla, and that at the latter 
 place forty natives were killed by the fire of the Dutch traders 
 from their fort, and that ultimately the Portuguese were called 
 in to keep the peace, through the action of the traders them- 
 
 * See notes 3 and 4, page 45. 
 
 d 2
 
 36 
 
 selves, including the local representative of at least one important 
 British firm." 
 
 Mr. Jacob Bright in his speech last year dealt with the 
 question of order and security in the Congo district. He said : 
 " As to the general security of the country merchants make no 
 complaint. They pay an annual tribute, and there the matter 
 ends. The missionaries make no complaint. Nobody in that 
 region complains. I have looked at the official papers, pre- 
 sented to the House a few days ago, containing a correspondence 
 between Her Majesty's Government and that of Portugal from 
 the year 1845 to the year 1877. During this period there is no 
 evidence of disorder until the year 1877." 
 
 The chairman of the Manchester Chamber of Commerce, 
 Mr. Button, stated in his speech before the Chamber that " it 
 is because the trade is free, because there is a peaceful way of 
 conducting it, because no difficulty is met with in trading with 
 the natives that the trade has gone on extending," and again, 
 " not only is the trade free, but it is very rarely that the peace of 
 the trade is disturbed, I will challenge any one to show an 
 instance during the last thirty or forty years where that trade 
 has hitherto been disturbed to any serious extent." Mr. 
 Hutton further says, " The British Government saw the import- 
 ance of this free trade thirty or forty years ago, and we have in 
 the book I hold in my hand eleven treaties with the chiefs and 
 headmen of this district for securing the peaceful carrying on 
 of this trade." " These treaties, from which I have quoted, 
 were signed by the chiefs of their own will; they were not 
 wrung from them." It may be mentioned that a letter was 
 published in the Morning Post on April 19th, from "A Ten 
 Years' Kesident on the Coast," who states that " the agents 
 have always lived on the most friendly terms with the natives ;" 
 and with regard to the affair alluded to by Lord Granville as 
 having occurred at Nokki and Moculla, the correspondent of 
 the Morning Post says : " This affair took place at Muculla 
 (on the coast), a long, long way from Nokki, last year, and is 
 a veritable instance of how old sores will at times be raked
 
 37 
 
 up, to make capital of» There were under thirty Datives killed, 
 and it was through the unfortunate explosion of a powder 
 store, otherwise very likely not one man would have lost his life. 
 The natives here had hitherto performed the work of labourers 
 at the Dutch factory, and the agent having employed some 
 Kroomen to do this, the natives of the place looked upon the 
 innovation as an infringement of their rights. As the agent 
 would not send the Kroomen away the natives attacked the 
 factory. This shows conclusively that the natives are free and 
 independent. Had the natives submitted this dispute to a 
 * palaver,' as is invariably the case, it would have been settled 
 with advantage to both parties." And it may be observed 
 that it has been stated in the Manchester Courier with reference 
 to the recent disturbances, that ** no doubt seems to exist on 
 the coast that Portuguese political instigation was the cause 
 of them. Supposing, however, that the attacks of the natives 
 were made spontaneously, the assistance afforded by the 
 Portuguese authorities is altogether misrepresented. Should 
 a settlement, no matter to which nation it belongs, be attacked, 
 all the white people assist in its defence. If a Portuguese 
 man-of-war be in the neighbourhood, help is naturally asked 
 for, but just the same assistance is asked of any vessel near, of 
 whatever nationality, whether French, English, or Dutch." 
 
 To this affair at Moculla, and to the occurrence on the Congo 
 in 1877, too great importance and prominence may easily be 
 accorded. The Portuguese have their own claims to establish, 
 and arguments brought forward by the Portuguese Government 
 in a diplomatic correspondence require sifting before they can, 
 at once, be admitted. Her Majesty's Government seem almost 
 to be adopting and emphasising the Portuguese line of argument. 
 
 It would appear to be more in accordance with the facts, 
 taking the whole of the circumstances together, to regard these 
 occurrences as exceptional and isolated cases ; for, throughout 
 the narratives and recorded experiences of residents, traders, 
 and missionaries, the condition of the district is represented as 
 on the whole free from disturbance. The generally prevailing
 
 38 
 
 state of affairs both as between the traders themselves, and as 
 between the traders and natives, is orderly and peaceful. 
 
 The Government propose that Great Britain should enter 
 into the present treaty for the reasons explained by Lord 
 Granville in his letter. " Speaking generally," he says, " the 
 treaty has been entered into to establish security and peace on 
 the Congo." How far the necessity exists, for the preservation 
 of order, for calling in a European Power, and the Portuguese 
 Government in particular, is for our Government to explain. 
 
 In a somewhat different sense to that contemplated by 
 Lord Granville when writing his letter of March 21st, 1884, 
 protection and assistance for the peaceful conduct of trade may, 
 indeed, become necessary. Landana, at the mouth of the 
 Chiloango, was last year, it seems, for a time at all events, 
 occupied by the Portuguese. A question in Parliament, on 
 March 8th, 1883, was asked by Baron de Worms, and the 
 Under Secretary for Foreign Affairs replied " that the Portu- 
 guese Minister had informed him that no force was being pre- 
 pared, and that while negotiations were pending no ships would 
 be dispatched to the West Coast." Again, on March 19th, in 
 reply to Baron de Worms, the Under Secretary stated that 
 " the Portuguese Minister had recently repeated the assurance 
 that no naval expedition would be sent to the Congo pending 
 negotiations." 
 
 On the general question of the preservation of order and 
 security in African territories, it should be remembered that 
 the influence exercised by the British Consul at Zanzibar is a 
 most beneficial one. It is felt, we are told, not only along the 
 coast near Zanzibar, but far and wide into Central Africa. Then, 
 in Central Africa, in the neighbourhood of the great Lakes, 
 a British Consul is established. On the West side of Africa, 
 can no means be found for enabling traders on the Congo to 
 have the protection of a British Consul ? The British Consul 
 might be in easy communication, whenever needed, with 
 British ships of war ; or at least a couple of gunboats at the 
 call of the British Consul might supply all that is necessary
 
 39 
 
 for the preservation of order and security in tlie district of the 
 Congo. The calling in of Portuguese authorities might not, 
 under such circumstances, be needed. 
 
 Mr. Jacob Bright expressed, in his speech, the opinion that 
 "if an authority is established there (on the Congo) which 
 does not now exist, it should be one in which the natives can 
 have confidence and which the traders can respect ;" adding 
 that " if a change is made it should be a change for the better." 
 
 PAET VI. 
 
 With regard to the great question of slavery, it is said by 
 Lord Granville, in his letter in justification of the treaty, that 
 it '* contains valuable stipulations in regard to the abolition of 
 slavery," the expression used in the treaty itself is '* to provide 
 for the complete extinction of the slave trade." 
 
 It is by legitimate commerce, however, that we can hope to 
 diminish, if not put an end to slavery. 
 
 Without minimising the importance of treaty stipulations, 
 we should, nevertheless, place in the strongest light the testi- 
 mony, that every missionary and traveller has given, that 
 legitimate commerce is the arm to fight with in the struggle 
 ft:ith slavery in Africa. The memorial to Lord Granville of the 
 Anti-Slavery Society places this before us in the clearest 
 
 language. 
 
 April 12th. 
 My Lords, 
 
 " The Committee of the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery 
 Society have read, with deep interest, the draft of a treaty with 
 Portugal, for the future regulation and delimitation of her 
 possessions, and of her claims in South-western Africa. While 
 the committee feel grateful to Her Majesty's Government for 
 the careful provisions, they have made in the treaty for the 
 suppression of the slave trade, they nevertheless hold strong
 
 40 
 
 objections to its ratification, on the following grounds: — 
 1. That the extensive regions already claimed to be occupied 
 by Portugal, have for ages been devoted to the prosecution of 
 the slave trade, both on the part of her own subjects and of 
 Arab marauders. 2. That such subjects of Portugal, as exist in 
 these countries, have been largely supplied by the expatriation 
 of convicts from the mother-country, conducing greatly to 
 the elements of crime and disorder. 3. That long experience 
 has shown, that any control over these regions on the part of the 
 Portuguese Home Government, is of the feeblest character, in 
 consequence of which, the slave trade provisions of this treaty 
 must necessarily, to a large extent, prove ineffective. 4. That 
 in confirmation of these allegations, the committee are able 
 to show, on unquestionable evidence, that at this time the slave 
 trade is, to a considerable amount, being carried on by the 
 Portuguese from their settlements of Loanda to the islands 
 of St. Mome and Principe, and even to the Cape de Verds. 
 Under such conditions, the committee would look with great 
 apprehension on the acknowledgment of any claims on the 
 part of Portugal to any territories which have heretofore been 
 disallowed by Great Britain. Specially would they do so in 
 respect of any claim by Portugal of a jurisdiction over any part 
 of the Kiver Congo. In view of the ineffective and corrupt 
 character of the administration of Portugal in her African 
 territories, the committee are compelled to regard such an 
 occupation as obstructive to any real suppression of the slave 
 trade, and subversive of any hope of its being now supplanted 
 in those regions of Africa by a larger extension of legitimate 
 commerce and of Christian civilisation. 
 
 " On behalf of the Anti-Slavery Committee. 
 *' We are, with much respect, 
 
 " Arthur Pease (President). 
 
 " Edmund Sturge (Chairman). 
 
 " Joseph Allen (Treasurer). 
 
 '' Charles H. Allen (Secretary).**
 
 41 
 
 PAKT VIT. 
 
 In conclusion, we are told that one object of the treaty is 
 *' To promote the development of commerce and civilisation." 
 With reference to this expression, which is used in the treaty, 
 Mr. Jacob Bright wrote in the Baily News of April 18, '' The 
 world is familiar with the hollovvness and insincerity of diplo- 
 matic utterances, but it would be difficult to find a stronger 
 case of insincerity than in the document from which I quote. 
 The Portuguese are to develop commerce and civilisation on 
 the Congo ! " 
 
 " The general objects which Her Majesty's Government 
 aimed at in the negotiations," to use Lord Granville's words in 
 his letter of March 21, " have been, they believe, fully attained 
 by the present treaty." These objects, after the recognition of 
 Portuguese sovereignty, are stated in his letter to be " to obtain 
 guarantees for the proper treatment of British trade, and for 
 the complete equality, in all matters, of Her Majesty's subjects 
 with those of Portugal, as well as for the treatment of the 
 most favoured nation," the final object being, " to secure that 
 transit through the territory occupied by Portugal should be 
 free as regards all practicable routes." 
 
 The questions of sovereignty, and of practicable routes have 
 been already considered. 
 
 As regards " proper treatment " of British trade, how is this 
 brought about by obtaining complete equality with the subjects 
 of Portugal ? The Portuguese complain of the effect of the 
 duties imposed on trade in the Portuguese African possessions. 
 The trade of the Congo district is, at present, free for all. From 
 a state of freedom from duties to the condition of things under 
 the treaty, is not a " bargain " (whatever Mr. Johnston may 
 have said) to satisfy this country, and is not (in the opinion of 
 the Chambers of Commerce) " proper treatment " of British 
 trade. 
 
 At the present moment, we are striving to obtain more ftivour-
 
 42 
 
 able terms, where prohibitive tariffs now exist. The Congo 
 district is absolutely free. Does Portugal throw open to us its 
 African ports ? This is what Lancashire desires ; but such a boon 
 is not to be obtained under the proposed treaty. If anything, 
 even in a small degree, can force down prohibitive duties, and 
 other imposts in the Portuguese African possessions, it is to 
 be effected by maintaining the commercial freedom of the 
 Congo district. 
 
 After teaching our methods of manufacture, inculcating free- 
 trade doctrines, and opening our markets, we know^ it is the 
 consumer that reaps the benefit. The consumer in Africa, 
 however, is not to share this blessing. The introduction of 
 British goods to another country, and that a free country being 
 in question, why is not the most vigorous effort made to con- 
 tinue, wherever it exists, freedom from import duties ? There 
 is a prospect, through agencies at present at work, of an exten- 
 sion of the trade that now exists in the Congo district. Shall 
 we deliberately throw away this opening ? 
 
 The opinion of our mercantile and manufacturing centres has 
 been given. The decision of the Liverpool Chamber of Com- 
 merce is adverse to the treaty. The Manchester Chamber of 
 Commerce replied to Lord Granville's letter of March 21st, 
 that "it saw no ground for modifying the views it has so often 
 and so earnestly expressed." The Chambers of Commerce of 
 Manchester, of Birmingham, of Glasgow, of Sheffield, and of 
 Swansea, have all passed resolutions in disapprobation of the 
 treaty, and have petitioned Parliament that it may not be 
 ratified. The Council of the London Chamber of Commerce 
 has recently discussed the Congo treaty and " condemned it as 
 detrimental to British trade." 
 
 It is not the Secretary of State, still less the Under Secretary 
 for Foreign Affairs, or the permanent officials, that can be 
 held responsible. It may be said, perhaps, that the negotia- 
 tions should have been broken off", after the debate last year 
 when Mr. Jacob Bright, Mr. Whitley, Mr. Bourke, Mr. W. E.
 
 43 
 
 Forster, and Sir S. Northcote spoke in opposition to the 
 proposed treaty. But was it not then too late? Could the 
 Government, by its own action, do anything to revoke the 
 important decision on the question of sovereignty which was 
 communicated to Portugal at the earliest stage of the nego- 
 tiations ? Lord Granville informs M. D'Antas on the 15th of 
 December, 1 882, that " Her Majesty's Government have given 
 their most careful consideration '* to Sen. Serpa's despatch, 
 and that they " would be prepared to enter upon the negotia- 
 tions of a convention," the first basis of which, as appears in 
 the next line of the despatch, is " that Great Britain should 
 recognise the sovereignty of Portugal." 
 
 This despatch is more than the act of the Secretary of State. 
 It is the authoritative expression of the decision, the will, the 
 policy of the Government. 
 
 A desire to settle amicably questions and differences that 
 arise between two Powers deserves, and will always win the 
 support and sympathy of the country. Can we, however, say 
 that under all the circumstances of the Congo question, for- 
 getting all the past, we can hand over this free territory to 
 the rule of Portugal ? 
 
 The treaty has been concluded. The 15th article requires 
 that it shall be ratified, and that the ratifications shall be 
 exchanged at London as soon as possible. The session of the 
 Portuguese Parliament has closed ; and it is not likely that 
 there will be any haste in asking for the ratification of the treaty. 
 
 The usual course is for treaties to bie presented to Parliament 
 after ratification, and it is well for the country that on the 
 present occasion this course has not been followed. 
 
 Whenever the treaty, or the further correspondence is dis- 
 cussed in Parliament, the Government will have to explain and 
 defend its policy; and the representatives of the nation will 
 be expected to guard the country's honour, to watch over its 
 commercial interests, and to secure for British trade expansion 
 and development.
 
 44 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 NOTE 1. 
 
 The necessity for extending our commercial relations and finding new markets 
 for our manufactured goods becomes more and more apparent. That the 
 state of the cotton trade is far from satisfactory may be proved by a reference 
 to the Economist for May 10th : — " Speaking generally the cotton trade cannot 
 be said to be one whit better than it was at the close of the year, when the 
 employers were constrained to enforce the reduction of wages. The report of 
 the British Trade Journal for April is, that : " Slowly, but surely, the truth 
 is becoming known respecting the cotton trade. The manufacturers have 
 curtailed production, by stopping a portion of the machinery, and have reduced 
 the wages, but neither course has brought relief." 
 
 It is satisfactory to see that the Board of Trade Returns for April, 1884, 
 show that the export from Great Britain of articles of cotton manufacture to 
 West Africa is increasing. 
 
 Quantities, 
 Four months ended April 30th. 
 
 Values. 
 Four months ended April 30th. 
 
 West Coast of Africa (British). 
 Piece goods, in yards. 
 1883. I 1884. 
 
 13,963,200 I 17,633,400 
 
 West Coast of Africa (British). 
 1883. I 1884. 
 
 £170,914 I £205,643 
 
 West Coast of Africa (Foreign). 
 Piece goods, in yards. 
 1883. I 1884. 
 
 16,268,900 I 20,026,000 
 
 West Coast of Africa (Foreign). 
 
 1883. I 1884. 
 
 £218,897 I £262,832 
 
 NOTE 2. 
 
 Lord Granville, in his speech on the Congo Treaty in the House of Lords 
 on May 9th, 1884, said : " It is all very well for individuals to say that we 
 are attacking freedom of trade." The complaint, however, that is made is 
 that as Great Britain is a free trade country, every effort should be made to 
 retain the right, now possessed in the Congo territory, of free admission for 
 British go6ds.
 
 45 
 
 NOTE 3. 
 
 The motives that led former Governments to resist the claims of Portugal 
 are alluded to by Lord Granville in his speech on May 9th. He is reported 
 to have said that the motive of the different Secretaries of State was " exclu- 
 sively the fear of the Portuguese encouraging, and of our not being able to 
 deal with, the slave trade." In addition to the passages already cited from 
 the correspondence, it may be mentioned that Lord Clarendon, in his despatch 
 to Mr. Howard of May 26th, 1856, says : " I have to instruct you to point 
 out to the Government of His Most Faithful Majesty the embarrassments in 
 which they will be involved by any attempt to interfere with the rights which 
 British subjects have for a long series of years enjoyed of carrying on a free 
 commercial intercourse with the natives of the district to the north of Angola." 
 
 NOTE 4. 
 
 Lord Granville states, in his despatch of March 15th, 1883, that " the claims 
 of Portugal are not established." In his speech on May 9th, 1884, however, 
 he says, " The Portuguese have claimed this particular territory for nearly 400 
 years, and there is no reason why their claim should not be perfectly good.'* 
 The extent to which the Portuguese claims may be carried can be inferred 
 from a pamphlet (referred to by Lord Granville in his despatch of March 15th, 
 1883) by the Secretary of the Lisbon Geographical Society, from the English 
 edition of which the following passage is taken : " The Portuguese spread 
 themselves rapidly into the interior of Equatorial Africa, which they pierced 
 and explored in many directions. Merely to continue this brief indication of 
 our discoveries to the south of the Equator, would be equivalent to writing 
 the history of our vast and ancient dominions on the great black Continent." 
 In a letter from " A Portuguese " in the Morning Post of May 6th, a map of 
 Africa of the year 1570 is referred to, "in which," the writer says, "is 
 manifest the great extent of the dominion of Portugal in that part of the 
 world, and also the original Portuguese names of the lakes, for which new 
 names have been invented by English explorers." The fame of the Portuguese 
 discoverers of a former day will endure. Imperishable, also, will be the 
 honoured names of the African travellers of the last thirty years, to whom (if 
 we may apply the words of Mr. Keith Johnston in the Preface to Stanford's 
 * Africa ') is due " the rolling back of the clouds of obscurity which until a 
 few years ago hid from view all but the coast line" of Africa.
 
 46 
 
 TREATY WITH PORTUGAL. 
 
 Her Majesty the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and 
 Ireland, Empress of India, &c., &c., &c., and His Most Faithful Majesty the 
 King of Portugal and the Algarves, «&c., &c., &c., being animated with the 
 desire to draw closer the ties of friendship which unite the two nations ; to 
 put an end to all difficulties relative to the rights of sovereignty over the 
 districts at the mouth of the Congo on the West Coast of Africa, situated 
 between 8° and 5° 12' of south latitude ; to provide for the complete extinc- 
 tion of the Slave Trade ; and to promote the development of commerce and 
 civilization in the African Continent; have resolved to conclude a Treaty 
 for this purpose, and have named as their Plenipotentiaries, that is to say : 
 
 Her Majesty the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and 
 Ireland, Empress of India, the Pdght Honourable Granville George, Earl 
 Granville, Lord Leveson, a Peer of the United Kingdom, Knight of the Most 
 Noble Order of the Garter, a Member of Her Majesty's Privy Council, Lord 
 Warden of the Cinque Ports, and Constable of Dover Castle, Chancellor of 
 the University of London, Her Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for 
 Foreign Affairs, &c., &c. ; 
 
 And His Most Faithful Majesty the King of Portugal and the Algarves, 
 Senhor Miguel Martins d'Antas, a Member of His Majesty's Council, Peer of 
 the Realm, Honorary Minister and Secretary of State, Commander of the 
 Ancient, Most Noble, and Illustrious Order of St. James, for the reward of 
 scientific, literary, and artistic merit. Grand Cross of the Royal Order of 
 Charles the Third of Spain, of Leopold of Belgium, Envoy Extraordinary and 
 Minister Plenipotentiary of His Most Faithful Majesty at the Court of Her 
 Britannic Majesty, &c., &c. ; 
 
 Who, after having communicated to each other their respective full powers, 
 found in good and due form, have agreed upon the following Articles : 
 
 ARTICLE L 
 
 Subject to the conditions of the present Treaty, Her Britannic Majesty 
 agrees to recognise the sovereignty of His Most Faithful Majesty the King of 
 Portugal and the Algarves over that part of the West Coast of Africa 
 situated between 8° and 5° 12' of south latitude; and inland as far as 
 follows : — 
 
 On the River Congo the limit shall be Nokki.
 
 47 
 
 On the coast situated between 8° and 5° 12' of south latitude the inland 
 eastern frontier shall coincide with the boundaries of the present possessions 
 of the coast and riparian tribes. This frontier shall be defined, and the 
 definition shall be communicated with the least possible delay by His Most 
 Faithful Majesty to Her Britannic Majesty. 
 
 The definition, when approved by the High Contracting Parties, shall be 
 recorded in a Protocol to be annexed to the present Treaty. 
 
 AKTICLE II. 
 
 The territory specified in Article I. shall be open to all nations, and 
 foreigners of all nationalities whatever, conforming themselves to the laws of 
 the country, shall enjoy within the said territory the same benefits, advan- 
 tages, and treatment, in every respect, as the subjects of Portugal. 
 
 They shall have full liberty to enter, travel, or reside, with their families, 
 in any part of the said territory. 
 
 They shall be permitted to establish factories or trading stations; to 
 possess, purchase, rent, or lease land, houses, manufactories, warehouses, 
 shops, and premises, and all other kinds of property. 
 
 They shall be allowed to carry on their commerce by wholesale or retail, 
 either in person or by any agents whom they may think fit to employ, and 
 in accordance with the existing local usages and customs of trade. 
 
 AKTICLE III. • 
 
 The High Contracting Parties recognise the entire freedom in respect to 
 commerce and navigation of the Pvivers Congo and Zambesi and their aflSuents 
 for the subjects and flags of all Nations. 
 
 The claims of Portugal on the Shire shall not extend beyond the confluence 
 of the Eiver Piuo with that river. 
 
 ARTICLE IV. 
 
 The trade and navigation of all rivers and waterways within the territory 
 specified in Article L, and along the sea-coast thereof, shall be open to the 
 flags of all nations, and shaU not be subject to any monopoly, exclusive con- 
 cession, or other impediment, nor to any customs duties, tolls, charges, fees, 
 fines, or other imposts whatever not expressly provided for in the present 
 Treaty, or hereafter agreed upon by the High Contracting Parties. 
 
 A Mixed Commission, composed of Delegates of G-reat Britain and Portugal, 
 shall be appointed to draw up Eegulations for the navigation, police, and 
 supervision of the Congo and other waterways within the territory specified in 
 Article I., and to watch over their execution. 
 
 The Regulations may impose such tolls as may be sufficient to defray the 
 cost of works necessary to facilitate trade and navigation and the expenses of 
 the Commission. 
 
 The Commission shall come to an arrangement with the Portuguese autho-
 
 48 
 
 rities for the erection and maintenance of lighthouses, beacons, and marks to 
 denote channels. 
 
 AKTICLE V. 
 
 No transit or other duties,Mirect or indirect, of whatever denomination, 
 shall be levied on goods in transit by water through the territory specified in 
 Article I. This freedom from duties shall apply to goods transhipped in 
 course of transit, or landed in bond for further conveyance by water. The 
 transhipment or landing in bond of such goods will be effected under the 
 supervision of the Portuguese authorities, in order to prevent any fraud, and 
 the expenses of such supervision will be chargeable to the traders or their 
 agents. The scale of such charges will be fixed by the Mixed Commission. 
 No such duties shall be levied on goods in transit by land through that 
 territory, which shall have been legally imported and which shall have paid 
 the duties imposed by the Tariff approved by the present Treaty. 
 
 AETICLE VI. 
 
 All roads in the territory specified in Article I. now open, or which may 
 hereafter be opened, shall be kept free and open to all travellers and caravans, 
 and for the passage of goods. 
 
 ARTICLE VII. 
 
 Complete protection shall be afforded to missionaries or otber ministers of 
 religion of any Christian denomination, of whatever nation or country, in the 
 exercise of their vocation, within the territory specified in Article I. 
 
 They shall not be hindered or molested in their endeavours to teach the 
 doctrines of Christianity to all persons willing and desirous to be taught ; nor 
 shall any natives who may embrace any form of Christian faith be on that 
 account, or on account of the teaching or exercise thereof, molested or troubled 
 in any manner whatsoever. 
 
 It is further agreed that the local authorities shall set apart a piece of land 
 within a convenient distance of each of the principal towns, to be used as a 
 burial-ground for persons of whatever religious denomination. 
 
 All forms of religious worship and religious ordinances shall be tolerated, 
 and no hindrance whatever shall be offered thereto by the Portuguese 
 authorities. 
 
 Missionaries of religion, whether natives or foreigners, and religious bodies, 
 shall have a perfect right to erect churches, chapels, schools, and other 
 buildings, which shall be protected by the Portuguese authorities. 
 
 All religious establishments, of whatever denomination, shall be on a footing 
 of perfect equality as regards taxation and local charges. 
 
 ARTICLE VIII. 
 
 Her Britannic Majesty engages to communicate to His Most Faithful 
 Majesty immediately after the ratification of the present Treaty, all 'treaties
 
 49 
 
 or Engagements subsisting between Great Britain and native Chiefs in the 
 territory specified in Article I. 
 
 His Most Faithful Majesty engages to communicate to Her Britannic 
 Majesty all Treaties or Engagements subsisting between Portugal and native 
 Chiefs in the said territory. 
 
 His Most Faithful Majesty engages to respect and confirm all the rights of 
 the native Chiefs and of the inhabitants of the said territory under any of 
 the Treaties and Engagements above mentioned, so far as is compatible with 
 the sovereignty of Portugal; and undertakes to protect and maintain the 
 said Chiefs and inhabitants in the free possession and enjoyment of the lands 
 and other property now held by them, and not to allow them to suffer on 
 account of anything which has happened in the past. 
 
 AETICLE IX. 
 
 The Customs Tariff in the territory specified in Article I. shall not, for the 
 term of ten years from the date of the exchange of the ratifications of the 
 present Treaty, exceed that which was adopted in the Province of Mozam- 
 bique in the year 1877. At the end of that term the Tariff may be revised, 
 with the consent of the two High Contracting Parties; but no alteration 
 shall be made therein pending such revision. 
 
 Provided always that, in the territory specified in Article I. of the present 
 Treaty, British ships shall not at any time hereafter be liable to the payment 
 of any higher or other duties and charges, or be subject to any other restric- 
 tions, than are there payable or imposed on Portuguese ships ; and goods, 
 whether the property of British subjects, or imported in British vessels, or of 
 British origin or manufacture, shall not at any time hereafter be subject to 
 any diflerential treatment whatsoever, but shall be on the same footing in 
 every respect as goods the property of Portuguese subjects, or imported in 
 Portuguese vessels, or the produce or manufacture of Portugal. 
 
 Such equality of treatment shall apply to British vessels and goods, from 
 whatever port or place arriving, and whatever may be their place of desti- 
 nation. 
 
 In all the African possessions of Portugal the present Customs Tariff shall 
 not be raised for the term of ten years from the date of the exchange of the 
 ratifications of the present Treaty. 
 
 No bill of health or other quarantine formality shall be required in any 
 Portuguese port from British ships bound direct for British ports. 
 
 ARTICLE X. 
 
 His Most Faithful Majesty guarantees to British subjects and their com- 
 merce in all the African possessions of Portugal, in addition to any rights 
 which they may already possess in the Portuguese Colonies, the treatment of 
 the most favoured third nation ; — 
 
 1. As regards residence, w^hether temporary or permanent ; the exercise of 
 
 e
 
 50 
 
 any calling or profession ; the payment of taxes or other imposts ; and the 
 enjoyment of all legal rights and privileges, including the acquiring, holding, 
 and power of disposing of property. 
 
 2. As regards commerce ; in respect of import and export duties and all 
 other charges on or in respect of goods of whatever description, and whatever 
 may be their place of origin or manufacture, and whether intended for con- 
 sumption, warehousing, or re-exportation. Also with respect to the transit 
 of goods, prohibition of importation, exportation, or transit ; samples, Customs 
 formahties, and all other matters connected with commerce and trade. 
 
 3. As regards navigation ; in respect of vessels, whether steam or sailing, 
 from whatever place arriving, and whatever may be the place of origin or 
 destination of their cargoes. Also, in respect of all charges or dues on or in 
 respect of the said vessels and cargoes, and all formalities and regulations 
 relative to them. 
 
 4. Any favour, privilege, or immunity in regard to subjects, commerce, or 
 navigation, as well as any reduction of Customs duties or other charges on or 
 in respect of goods or vessels which may hereafter be conceded by Portugal 
 to any third Power, shall be extended immediately and unconditionally to 
 Great Britain. 
 
 5. British Consular officers, as regards appointment, residence, functions, 
 and privileges, shall be placed on the footing of the most favoured nation. 
 
 AKTICLE XI. 
 
 Every assistance shall be given by the local authorities in all the African 
 possessions of Portugal to vessels wrecked on the coasts or in the rivers, or 
 forced into the ports or the entrance of rivers by stress of weather. 
 
 Such vessels and their cargoes shall be exempt from all Customs duties, 
 charges, fees, fines, and other im^DOsts whatever, except as regards any goods 
 landed therefrom for purposes of sale or barter. 
 
 Information of such wrecks shall be given, without delay, to the nearest 
 British Consular officer, who shall be authorised to interpose for the protection 
 of the ship, its merchandise, and effects. 
 
 ARTICLE Xir. 
 
 The Portuguese legislation for the complete extinction of slavery and the 
 Treaties for the suppression of the Slave Trade shall, from the date of the 
 exchange of the ratifications of the present Treaty, be effectively applied to 
 the territory specified in Article I. 
 
 The High Contracting Parties bind themselves to use all possible means for 
 the purpose of finally extinguishing slavery and the Slave Trade on the eastern 
 and western coasts of Africa. 
 
 His Most Faithful Majesty agrees to grant, from the date of the ratification 
 of the present Treaty, permission to Her Britannic Majesty's ships employed 
 in suppressing the Slave Trade to enter the bays, ports, creeks, rivers, and
 
 51 
 
 other places in the eastern African Colonies or possessions of Portugal where 
 no Portuguese authorities shall be established, and to prevent the Slave Trade 
 from being carried on in such places. British vessels employed in this service 
 «liall exercise all the powers conferred on Her Majesty's vessels by the Slave 
 Trade Treaty between Great Britain and Portugal of the 3rd July, 1842. 
 
 Similar powers shall be given, if required, for similar purposes to Portu- 
 guese vessels in Her Britannic Majesty's South African dominions. 
 
 Whenever the Commander of a cruizer of one of the High Contracting 
 Parties shall have occasion to act under the provisions of this Article in the 
 territorial waters of the other High Contracting Party, such Commander 
 shall, whenever practicable, having regard to the circumstances of the case, 
 invite a naval or other officer of the other High Contracting Party to accom- 
 pany the expedition, in order to represent the national flag in such teriitorial 
 waters. 
 
 The provisions of this Article shall come into force immediately on the 
 exchange of the ratifications of the present Treaty, except as regards any 
 provision which may be found to require legislative sanction in either country, 
 and as regards such provision, it shall come into force from the date when 
 such legislative sanction shall have betn obtained and duly notified hj the High 
 Contracting Party requiring the same to the other High Contracting Party. 
 • 
 
 AETICLE Xni. 
 
 The provisions of the present Treaty, affecting the territAy specified in 
 Article I., shall be fully applied to all territories adjoining the same in Africa 
 that may hereafter be brought under the sovereignty of His Most Faithful 
 Majesty the King of Portugal and the Algarves. 
 
 ARTICLE XIV. 
 
 His Most Faithful Majesty the King of Portugal and the Algarves engages 
 for himself, his heirs and successors, that if at any time it shall be the inten- 
 tion of Portugal to withdraw from the fort of St. John the Baptist of Ajuda, 
 on the coast of Mina, due notification of such intention shall be given to 
 Great Britain, to whom the cession of the fort, and of all rights appertaining 
 to its possession, shall be offered ; and no arrangement shall be made lor the 
 cession of the fort to any other Power without the previous consent of Great 
 Britain. 
 
 This engagement shall apply in all its terms to the abandonment or cession 
 by Portugal of any rights which may be claimed by her between 5° east and 
 5° west longitude on the same coast. 
 
 ARTICLE XV. 
 
 The present Treaty shall be ratified, and the ratifications shall be exchanged 
 at London as soon as possible.
 
 52 
 
 in witness whereof the respective Plenipotentiaries have signed the present 
 Treaty, and have affixed thereto the seals of their arms. 
 
 Done in duplicate at London the twenty-sixth day of February, in the year 
 of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and eighty-four. 
 
 (Signed) GKANVILLE, 
 
 MIGUEL MARTINS D'ANTAS. 
 
 PRINTED BY EDWARD STANFORD, 55, CHARING CROSS, LONDON, S.W. 
 
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