ENGLAND AND PORTUGAL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 2318, 31 December 1889, Page 2

ENGLAND AND PORTUGAL.

X. «, In view of the " misunderstanding which has arisen between England and Portugal m reference to the spheres of influence of those Powers respectively m t Eastern Africa, we, the other day, com- ' piled from such sources as were avail- , able a few particulars which threw some j light upon the present position and the circumstances which have brought it I about. We now propose to follow this 1 up by the compilation of some further ' information gathered from articles m the " London Timeß " and its Welling- j ton namesake. Portugal has not only ; several settlements at the mouth of the j Zambesi River, but has laid claim to 1 possessions m Eaßt Africa, for Borne 300 years, the Kings of the first named country claiming authority over a territory extending from Mozambique on the East to Benguela on the West Ccast, | ; a broad belt 800 miles wide, extending i right across the continent, and barring out Great Britain from any trade to the North of Zambesi. Yet Portuguese " *__# authority has for all that long period been a mere fiction— a politico-geogra-phic expression — for though she claims to have had control since the beginning of the sixteenth century, she has not contributed to the progress of the country, and has done little or nothing to develope its resources, her influence being mainly exerted towards assisting and encouraging the slave trade, " from which leading members of Portuguese society have for ages drawn a most lucrative income." That trade and that income are threatened with extinction by the advent of British influence as an active colonising agency, two powerful Sovereign Companies, on the model of the East India Company, which laid the foundation of the Indian Empire, viz., the British East African Company and [tho Zambesi Company, of which the 'Dukes of Fife and Abercorn and Mr Albert Grey are the principal directors, having been granted charters entrusting them with large administrative powers, including that of raising and controlling armed forces sufficient for protective purposes. The dominion of the lastnamed company " will be called Zambesia or Zambesiland, and will cover Matabeleland, North Bechuaualand and Khamas territory, m all four hundred thousand square miles, or twice the area of France. More than iialf of this vast region is fit for European settlement, and the whole of it is rich m minerals." Then again to the East African Company there has lately been ceded by the Sultan of Zanzibar " the island of Lamu and the inletß near it, which command the entrance to a flue harbor together with tbe neighboring territories on the mainland, including tbe important post of Witu, the Company thus reigning over a very long stretch of coast. The town of Witu really gives the control of the most important routes into the interior. In this Portugal no doubt sees that her power m that vast territory is on the wane, and that British pluck and enterprise will not only absorb the trade and open up the country, but that . . . the advent of the British into East Africa is a sure blow to the slave trade, and it is no wonder then that Portugal feels jealous," That jealousy it is pointed out is doubtless all the more keen m consequence oi the expulsion from Brazil of Dom Pedro, who like the King of Portugal belongs to the house of Braganza, the decline of Portuguese power m Brazil having, it is suggested, most likely had the effect of turning the attention of the latter to the possibility of " acquiring more power m the alluring East African settlements." The first indication of trouble, it will he remembered, occurred m reference to the Delagoa railway dispute, and this has been followed by tha collision between Major Serpa Piu o and Consul Johnston, that collision being the outcome of the conflict of claims to territorial authority. Referring to this the London " Times " admits that much of the territory included m the charter of the British Zambesi Company is territory within which Portuguese establishments formerly existed, but indicates pretty plainly that this is not to be acknowledged as sufficient reason for recognising Portuguese supremacy m the region referred to. It says :— •" For centuries the Portuguese have not troubled themselves about a region lying at the door of one of their oldest colonies ; and now that enterprising Englishmen have discovered that it is an El Dorado and a Land of Goschen combined and have m the space of a year or two taken important steps towards its organisation and exploitation, Portugal develops a sudden zeal for its ' exploration.' Fortunately, m the active assertion of its claims to the territory covered by the charter the company will receive the warm support of the Foreign Office. Mr Rhodes, who is now on the spot, has sent out three expeditions, north, northeast, and east, to make arrangements with the native chiefs, to plant the flag of the company, and otherwise to carry out tho purposes of the charter. In doing this he will certainly extend the chartered area as far east as is desirable, and leave the Foreign Office to settle with the shadowy claims of Portugal. What form that settlement is likely to take may be seen from the operations which Consul Johnston is conducting to the north of the Zambesi, m the region on the Shire and Lake Nyassa, where British missionaries and traders have been working for a quarter of a century, and which, it is satisfactory to learn, Lord Salisbury is determined not to give up. The conclusion come to by our Foreign Office apparently is that when wa believe we have a just claim to any region m Africa over which Portugal has pretensions, we should simply step m and wave the British flag over it. That appears to be the instruction which has been given to Mr Johnston, so we may hope before long that under the new charter the company will extend its operations to the north of the Zambesi, and there co-operate with the African Lakes Company. . . . The districts m which Mr Johnston has been distributing the British flag ought, of course, to be at once occupied. How this is to be done it is unnecessary to tell either of the companies. Of this they may both be assured, that whatever step they take m assertion of their rights and m support of Mr Johnston's action will not be looked upon with indifference by the Foreign Office:"