PORTUGUESE NYASSALAND.
Portuguese Nyassaland. By W. Basil Worsfold. (Sampson Low, Marston, and Go. 12s.)—This, like so many books by the same author, is an admirable manual of the comparatively unknown subject of which it treats. It is based chiefly on the records of African travellers, the British Consular Reports, and the Reports furnished to the Administration of the Nyasa& Company by its officials; the fourth chapter—and from the commercial point of view perhaps the most important of all—is written by Sir Robert Edgcumbe, who says of the railway from Pemba Bay to the shores of Lake Nyassa that it "will not only bring the whole produce of the country from one end to the other into direct touch with the markets of the world, but immediately it is ready for traffic must become the great trunk line to the whole of the vast lake district of Africa, a territory of immense magnitude, temperate from its elevation, and teeming with population and natural wealth of every kind." Mr. Worsfold's account of the early connection of the Portuguese with Africa is a trifle too long; otherwise his book is a model of condensation. The information supplied as to the agricultural and mineral resources of Portu- guese Nyassaland seems to be full and accurate. What is said of the condition and prospects of Lourenco Marques and Beira ought at the present moment to be read with no little interest. The progress of Beira in particular may be gathered from the fact that its total trade increased in value from about £135,000 in 1893 to £512,480 in 1896. It may also be noted that Mr. Worsfold advocates for Nyassaland the " culture " system which has worked such wonders in Java.
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