FROM DARKEST AFRICA.

Taranaki Daily News, 4 December 1920, Page 9 (Supplement)

FROM DARKEST AFRICA.

, A FASCINATING STORYj UNRECORDED NAVAL .VICTORY. Au interesting visitor to New Zealand is the Rev. R. Stewart Wright, F.R.G.S., recently back from Central Africa, wlJctc he spent many .years working to Christianise the natives! lit tells of an eventful life and incidentally of an unrecorded naval victory Hie British gained during the war, "'I went nut to Central Africa in ISS7." he stated in an interview with lhe. X.Z. Times, "as a mi-.sionarv foi the London Mission Society. That was in the days before European Governments took over Central Africa—the days when slave-raiding, and head-hunt-ing were rampant. I had to begin by getting the language reduced to writing, without any hooks or interpreters. There was no white man who knew a word of the language. We were in the midst of war all the time. Raiders were always operating round about our district. Over and over again we were in imminent danger of being blotted out.

THE SLAVES IN CHAINS. 'T have seen slave gangs—the slaves chained—marched to the coast. Of course we. had very ill-health in the early days and we often could not get supplies' of necessaries from Home We had innumerable attacks of fever. However, I have been there on Tanganyika longer than any other Englishman. We have reduced two Central African languages to writing and have got grammars and vocabularies. The whole of the New Testament has been printed in these languages. "We have trained hoys as lirickmakers, bricklayers, cabinetmakers, bootrepairers, clerks, etc. Wo have a church membership of about 700. with 2.10 schools, 400 teachers, and over 13,00b scholars. We found these people living in just the condition our fore fathers in Britain were in 2000 years ago, and in 33 years we have civ'ilisen and them to that extent. The slave-trading has vanished and the head-hunting has stopped, and under a British Government there is peace, quietness and happiness. "I have twice walked right through German East Africa, which is 000 miles long, have stood on the spot where Stanley discovered Livingstone, and i have been more closely on Livingstone's track than any other man I am aware of.

WAR ON INLAND WATERS. "During the war one of our stations was just three inU.es from the German border and when war broke out Abercoru (our magistrate station) was attacked by the Germans, but they were beaten off. We had (wo disabled -steamers lying on the shores in our territory on Tanganyika and the Germans came round and smashed them up completely. The British Government sent out two motor-boats each armed with one heavy gun. These boats were taken to Capetown, carried from then about 2300 miles on the railway trad. and about 6000 miles through the bush by hundreds of natives and landed on Tanganyika. A German gunboat came round looking for trouble, not knowin" these boats were there. The motor" boats rushed out and sunk the German craft. Another German gunboat eamo looking for light, and they sunk it also. The third and last German gunboat came along and they disabled and captured it, and that gave us command of the lake and helped in the campaign against the Germans in German East Africa.

XEW ZEALAND SETTLERS. "I have travelled through British East Africa where there are quite a .number of New Zea landers .settling. It is a very fine country and from its tropical parts to its snow-clad mountains, will grow anything. Possibly, it is a country with a great future.' 1 have been in the Shire Highlands, discovered by Livingstone, and regarding which he expressed the opinion that it wpuld be well adapted for the residence of white, men. His " judgment was correct. To-day there are some hundreds of planters in the Shire Highlands growing' cotton, coffee, tobacco, and tea. In the town of Blantyre' there are two banks, a Chamber of Commerce, and business is "oing on I very satisfactorily. °

"in the early days there were only three of us—my fellow missionary, his wife and I. Many of the people had never seen a white man before We were cut off from the outside world for about a year at one time. A Frenchman, who was staying with me, was beheaded by (be natives and we were in great danger of meeting the same late Me were, also, threatened with attacks by Arabs, but we came in safety through all, and I have lived even m my little lifetime to see these people settled, with a language reduced to writing, trained to trades, and peace and a measure of happiness and prosperity reigning 'amongst them. And after that life I am going to settle down m New Zealand. T am takino- „p church work near Auckland."