We confess we read with a certain dismay all articles,
letters, and reports upon the Congo. They all come to this,—that the Congo, with its affluents, has a waterway of 4,500 miles ; that it drains a territory far larger than Bengal—as big as India, some writers say—that the French and Portuguese, as well as our- selves, are making settlements ; and that if the natives are to be well treated and British trade made secure, a Pro- tectorate, either British or International, must be established over the huge valley. Mr. Stanley contends for the former solution, and the Times for the latter. Is it not for once possible to let both alone ? International Protectorates involve inter- national quarrels, of which there are enough ; while the Pro- tectorate of Great Britain alone involves not only the govern- ment of another huge slice of the world, but the growth of a feeling among the nations that Great Britain is a grand mono- polist. She is everywhere, and leaves no room for anybody else. We might, if it were a duty to acquire the Congo, dis- regard that feeling, but strained as we are, with no conscription, and whole continents to protect, we think we might leave this new task to other hands. Even if the French undertake it, we shall have the trade, as we have in Anam, and we cannot see why we should stop them. As we pointed out last week, the English with their children, and the people of Spain and Porta- enl, already own every pleasant land not fully occupied, and there is no place for German, or Frenchman, or Italian. Is it indeed cowardly for the " weary Titan " to look askance at this new burden, and pass on without stooping P
Previous page
