MR STANLEY ON THE CONGO.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 3612, 8 February 1883, Page 4

MR STANLEY ON THE CONGO.

A correspondent who has had an interview with Mr li. M. Stanley, sends to the Times some notes as to the work which has been accomplished on the Congo during the last three years under the superintendence of the famous explorer. Mr Stanley has hud practically unlimited means'at his command, through the generosity of the King of the Belgians, who, moreover, has been the main supporter of several of the so-called International African Expeditions ; as Mr Stanley puts it, he has been in a position to pay for every cubic inch of air he and his men breathed, and every square foot of ground they trod upon. The object of the King of the' Belgians appears to have been entirely disinterested —simply to do what ho could to render accessible to commerce and civilisation, and thereby develop the resources of the great interior of Africa. For this purpose the Congo formed a .splendid channel of communication, only, unfortunately, its lower course for many miles is obstructed by impassable cataracts. To surmount this obstruction has been theobjectot Mr Sanley*s work. He states that already he has carried a well made road, 13ft wide on an average, from below the cataract, 230 miles along the north bank of the river, far beyond Stanley Pool, and therefore well into the navigable upper waters. To assist him in this undertaking , lie has not only had native workers but relays of young Europeans as superintendents ; and for this work he finds Englishmen better than any others. Causeways have been laid where necessary and bridges btiilt, and the road has, by means of excavations, embankments of stone and layers of earth, been carried right round the face of a mountain which conies sheer down to the river at one place. On rounding the mountain Mr Stanley states that the road enters an avenue of exquisite beauty and coolness, which has been cleared through the forest. So thickly timbered is thecountry in some parts that thousands of trees have had to be felled, and their roots either grubbed up or levelled. At intervals along the road stations have been planted, and already there is a regular service of couriers between these stations, and by them a growing , traffic is being established. As an instance of the regularity with which the service is conducted, Mr Stanley states that during his work on tho upper river he received at stated intervals a supply of the leading London papers, daily, weekly, and monthly. As to what arc the possibilities of commerce along this route, he states that during the progress of his work a million yards of Manchester goods have been distributed through the country in payment for labor and other services performed by the natives. One of the articles of transport along the now road was a line steam launch, with which Mr Stanly has done some good exploring work some 100 miles above Stanley Pool, quite 700 miles above the mouth of the river. The launch, for example, was taken up a new river, opening from the south bank of the Congo, some distance above Stanley Pool, and which, it was found, led into a fine lake. The lake was covered with fishermen's canoes, whose occupants looked aghast at the snorting monster puffing out smoke, and fled in dismay. One, however, was caught, and after being soothed down and kindly entreated, was sent off loaded with presents to his wondering fellows peering from among the bush on the shore. In Mr Stanley's opinion the soil is capable of unlimited development for crops of all kinds, and, by judicious use, the supply of caoutchouc in the forests is inexhaustible. The greatest difficulty to the utilisation of the river throughout its navigable length is the almost untamable cannibal tribes who inhabit the upper reaches between Stanley's furthest point and tho neighborhood of Nyangine. Mr Stanley has, of course, much to say on the recent progress of African exploration. "With reference to the French scheme for the annexation of the Lower Congo, he naturally does not approve the action of M. dp Brazza, who, moreover, he maintain s, no more concluded a treaty with the Congo chief than he himself did. All the concession made to M. de Brazza was just what was made to Mr Stanley— permission to build on a certain spot. The French explorer, moreover, it should be remembered, went out to the Congo as the agent of the International African Association, for purposes of pure exploration. Mr Stanley states that M. de Brazza was subsidised by the King of the Belgians to the extent of 40,000 francs, while the French Government contributed only 10,000 francs, the remainder being given by the French branch of the International Association. If this be so, it will be more difficult than ever for M. do Brazza to justify his conduct, and there will be a strong reason why a generous nation like the French should decline to endorse his so-called treat}-. Mr Stanley has drawn up a statement on the subject for the King of the Belgians, who has transmitted it to our Foreign office, with his own comments. It is difficult to see, however, how England can take any action in the matter. The Times correspondent understands that when the road along the Congo was quite completed the company would undertake to work it; and this, doubtless, M. de Brazza knows, and hence his haste to get his Government to endorse his " treaty."