H. M. STANLEY.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 2131, 22 May 1889, Page 2

H. M. STANLEY.

100 KING OCT FOR NUMBER ONE

A very good old lady said the other day, "I am so thankfol to hear the assuring news that H. M. Stanley Is safe and well. What a noble fellow he Is to devote his life to the improvement of the heathen blacks In Central Africa, How be Is following In the footsteps of tbe sainted Livingstone." I waa glad (says the London correspondent of the " New Zealand Times ") the old lady waa so selfsatisfied with ber own opinion, and I could not be cruel enough to take the glamour from her eyes and show her the solid truth. No doubt Stanley is a fine fellow, a man worthy of muoh praise for the immense amount of light he has thrown on the dark Continent j but I hope— .nay, I know he would forbid lb himself — tbat he will not be elevated Into a calntdom. Stanley is a smart man ; hfs American training has shown him the advantage of the almighty dollar, and In all his perils, notwithstanding the Immnoio amouat of work he is doing for science, be does not by a long way negleot any opportunity of adding a few dollars to hij little pile for a rainy day. He Is sensible and thoroughly praotloal. 1 know on good authority he has scoured largs tracts of valuable land iv the very eyes of tbe Congo, and has laid an embargo on a considerable amount of mineral wealth, In another oentury his heirs will be millionaires, If not billionaires, if Afrloa, as I expsot it will, goes ahead like other oolonles,f or without doubt Central Afrloa is to be a second Australia, with the advantage of being only a third of the dlstanoe from London. To show Stanley's forethought and buslnesi taot, no fewer than four consignments ol ivory from him have already been reoeived by a Sh- ffhld firm of merohants, with tbu flews tli-t many m ore tons are on tbe way to them.' Tne ivory was ob talned m tbe Lake Nyarz* distriot, and Is of very fine quality. The Sheffield firm Is paying Stan'ey £800 per ton for It, and it Is said that he has over 600 torn 00l looted for shipment, Bravo Stanley 1 Intrepid travelling Is more romantla when you oan make a decent pile by It,