THE JAPAN OF THE DARK CONTINENT.

Lake County Press, Issue 982, 3 October 1901, Page 2

THE JAPAN OF THE DARK CONTINENT.

UGANDA AND ITS PEOPLE. SIR H. H. JOHNSTON’S REPORT. “ They are the Japanese of the Dark Continent, (he most naturally civilised, charming, kindly, tactful, and courteous of black peoples." That is the estimate of the Ragattda formed by Sir Harry Johnston during his stay in the Uganda Protectorate as His Majesty's Special Commissioner, and expressed in the very interesting report published and presented to the Imperial Parliament. Within the compass of twenty pages or so Sir H. H. Johnston reviews events in Uganda and the neighboring territories from the time of the expedition under Grant and Speke in 1862. summarises present conditions in the Protectorate, and supplies much valuable information, which enables us to estimate the weight of his conclusions as to the future.

Since the establishment, of the Protectorate in 1894, Uganda, His Majesty's Commissioner estimates. Inis cost ns £1,394.000, in addition to £4.900.000 for the raih'aw What justification is there for this outlay.' Why do we hold Uganda? The reasons, says Sir H. Johnston, are political and philanthropic : —“ The political reasons aic that the lands comprised within the Uganda Protectorate contain the head waters of the River Nile. We take a peculiar interest in the welfare of Egypt because that country is at present such an important stage on the way to India. The maintenance of our control. therefore, over the hast African and Uganda Protectorates is necessitated by our regard for the political future of India. There is a secondary reason, nun cover. On account of our Indian Empire we are compelled to reserve to British control a large portion of East Africa. Indian trade, enterprise, and emigration require a suitable outlet. East Africa is. and should be. from every point of view, the America ot the Hindu." Sir H. Johnston does not dwell on the philanthropic reasons. It is sufficient that both parties are pledged to maintain the Protectorate, and this pledge 11111-; remain binding " even at the cost of a fen milium pounds." Still every effort must be madi to relieve the Imperial government ns soon ns possible from the financial burden, an accordingly : pans of the Protectorate definite arrangements have now been made with the chiefs and people for the payment ot a hut and mm tax. In this way we. gathered in taxes of a face value approaching £60,000 but the actual cash value, which we banke; . S o to -peak was not more than £34,000. I his. however, was at least twice the amount I had estimated as the results of the hist year’s taxation. I had calculated that when all the settled population is possessed ot (•ash (and cash in the form of rupees, thanks to the enterprise of British, Indian, and German merchants, is Hooding the country) the tax-paying peoples of the Uganda Ptotectorate should furnish a revenue out of the hut and gun lax ol something like £165,000. With the additional revenue to he derived from the Customs duties, licenses, ajid what may he called generally the taxation of Europeans and foreigners, there should he made up m time a local revenue sufficient to meet the, of the local administration. In addition, it is probable that the products of ihe, Government forests, sail mines, royalty on minerals, and sale and rent of lands "may, in time, produce a surplusage |i olll which, hv degrees, the indebtedness to the Protecting Power might he. paid ulf. )t, might, even he possible, in this maimer (o fund to t lie United Kingdom the cost of constructing Hie, Uganda railway. I know the. Uganda Protect orate to he weallln in certain trade products to a device which is, almost sine to bring about a, liiianeial equilibrium within the next lew years. There maj be wealth behind t his of which i and others at this moment know nothing.” In IJ I is connection the ease ot the I raiisvaa| is insl.iineed. "See how easy it. would have been," savs the author ot Ihe re poll, “for the Transvaal, had it remained a. Bnlish colony uninterruptedly, to have repaid to Ihe United Kingdom the. lew million pounds spent tin its original development.” Bid even so, where is the protit in this transaction to come in? Sir 11. 11. Johnston sees it in the marked development of British commerce in the Protectorate, to the lesonrees of which he devotes seseial pages. He says; “About one fifth ol Ihe area of the Uganda Pro!eel, ol ate is covered more or less densely with rubber producing trees and vines, piimipally belonging to Hie Apoey naeCons order (Ta bennemoiit a 11 a ; Eandolphia). There is said also to be a species of real gnlla peieha tree, but ol ihi.1 have no certain proof. The rubber de rived from the above nielli ioned sources is of very good quality, and I he samples which

we have submittted to examination on the East Coast of Africa and at Kcw, though not quite properly prepared, have fetched from 2s to 3s per lb. A much larger eon signment of various kinds of rubber is now on its way to England for examination. I have not up to the present time taken any steps to regulate the native price of the rubber; hut in consideration of the facilities we afford the natives I think it would be as well later on to limit their selling price to the merchants to a maximum of 9d per lb. lam not in favor, personally, of granting at present any exclusive concessions of rubber forests to individuals or associations. I think it would be far better to adopt experimentally the plan 1 have sketched forth of allowing the native under proper supervision to gather the rubber and to soil it to all and sundry at bis own price up to a. reasonable maximum.’' The Commissioner suggests also coffee, cocoa, sugar, tea as other likely fields of successful enterprise, and the Man forests contain magnificent timber, which will be of commercial value iu the East African and Indian markets.

With regard to the mineral wealth of the Protectorate. Sir H. H. Johnston’s investigations do not. promise a great deal. He writes: "Most of our specimens of ’ gold ’ have tinned out to he iron pyrites or mica. There are. however, unquestionable indications of gold, alluvial gold, in distant parts of the Protectorate, which it- is not necessary to specify at the pre sent time, as they lie far beyond the railway and the ordinary range of traders or settlers. There are traces of copper in Busoga. I have found small fragments of coal, apparently anthracite coal, in the beds of the streams all round Mount El gon. . , . Iron and hematite iron are abundantly met with throughout the Protectorate. In parts of the Eastern Province there are forms which seem to indicate matrices for the formation of precious stones. Some of the specimens brought, home by me seem to be opals of poor quality.” (Some interesting information is included in the report on the manner in which the Protectorate is administered. The arrangements have been made with the object of leaching the natives, as far us possible, lo govern themselves, without too much interference, “within the limits of law and order, and regard for the principles of civilisation.” In the opinion of Sir H. H. Johnston, the presence of the European element should be restricted, as far as possible, to the administration of justice to foreigners, revenue and finance, the management of railways and steamers, the supervision of public works, etc. The author of the report has some interesting paragraphs on the manner in which Christianity has affected the habits of the natives. He says:—"Whatever disappointing results may have shown themselves iu other parts of Africa, in the form of cant, hypocrisy, and purely nominal or superstitious forms of Christianity, T do honestly consider that the work of the great missions in the Uganda Protectorate has achieved most satisfactory results. It cannot be said that the natives of the Uganda Protectorate have been "spoilt” by Christianity: they have been greatly improved, and have not, in the adoption of this religion, lost either manliness or straightforwardness.”

With regard to the little King of Uganda, His Majesty’s Commissioner writes: "He is an intelligent little fellow, but is becoming somewhat spoilt by the adulation of his Ministers and people. To this end. 1 would venture to propose that in about two years’ lime the British Government should select and appoint an English tutor to reside in Uganda and take charge of the education of the little King. The King, by arrangement with the leading chiefs, was baptised as an Anglican Christian, and it is quite understood that he is to he brought up in the tenets of the Church of England. It is desirable, however, that he should have as bis tutor one who is quite independent of any of the missionary societies at work in the country. I should certainly oppose the idea of his being educated away from his own country in Emrland. as that might tend to make him grow up an alien in spirit o.d habit." Sir 11. 11. .Johnston has in an c.ir’ie'. - part of his report spoken in great praise of tin' work of the missionaries. In a subsequent paragraph he proposes that they should he relieved of certain i nties on books, stationery, and other arti-les directly connected with educational pur poses, as a return for their efforts to edu-

cate the natives, and it is suggested tUd they might be required by the Inioentl Government to conduct their teaching in the English language.—’ Daily News.