Wanamatu Herald. SATURDAY, APRIL 25,1891. South Africa.

Manawatu Herald, Volume III, 25 April 1891, Page 2

Wanamatu Herald. SATURDAY, APRIL 25, 1891. South Africa.

+ Within the past twelve months the greater portion of South Africa has been subdivided between England, Germany, France and Portugal. It is known that more difficulty in establishing a settlement has occurred with Portugal than with any other power. This is partially explained by noting that this country had many small claims upon the coast east and west, yet had practically no hold on the inland territory. No country likes to give up its nominal possessions, much less a weak power, and so the Portuguese have vacillated in their dealings with England. It must be remembered that the Portuguese Parliament has not as yet ratified any agreement, and thus we receive cablegrams which point to a new source of confusion. The last agreement presented by Lord Salisbury to the Portuguese Government was, that in exchange for their claims over the whole of Central Africa along the river Zambesi, they should be acknowledged on the west coast, in WaLfish Bay, down to the boundary of Cape Colony, and should be allowed to extend their sphere of influence south of Delagoa Bay on the east coast to the British sphere, say Cape St. Lucia. We have said that as yet Portugal has ratified nothing. Within the inland boundaries of these two strips of Portuguese coast territory lie portions of the Cape Colony, of land under British protection, and the South African Republic. The latter State is formed by descendants of the old Dutch settlers, the Boers,

Our latest cablegrams announce that the Boera propose to absorb the territories bounded by the Limpopo on the south, Mabellano on the west, and Zambesi on the north, and the Portuguese country ou the east. This practically means that the Boers are going to claim that strip of coast line which Lord Salisbury offered Portugal, as until the proposed agreement was made, the Zambesi was the southern boundary of their possessions, though they had a settlement at the excellent harbour at Delagoa Bay. This, unfortunately, is not wholly the trouble, as the Cape Parliament has carried a resolution deprecating the alterations proposed to be mode with Portugal on the west coast. The dilatoriness oi Portugal in deciding upon the acceptance of the terms offered her, has given time to others to join in the scramble, and they are just the parties which will give the British Government more trouble to deal with, than any foreign nation. They will want everything and will have nothing to exchange. The news from South Africa bids fair to become more intricate as the months run on.