from Dar-es-Salaam to the lakes was about to be commenced, and met with the approval of the German Imperial Government. The native population numbered over 6,000,000 of inhabitants. The newly introduced hut tax yielded over 300,000 marks. Drought and damage by locusts had brought on famine which caused great mortality in the colony.

British East Africa. -The chief result of the British expedition under Colonel Martyr northwards from Uganda was the establishment of effective occupation as far north as Rejaf.

Colonel Macdonald's expedition arrived at Mombasa on their return from the country about Lake Rudolf early in March, having obtained a vast amount of very valuable information.

Sir A. Hardinge, her Majesty's Commissioner for the East Africa Protectorate, in September appealed for aid in behalf of the sufferers through famine in consequence of the failure of rain for three successive seasons in the Protectorate. The provinces of Ukamba and Sayyidieh exceptionally suffered. To relieve the victims of the famine the mission at Freretown under Rev. H. Binns had fed 500 to 1,000 of the natives constantly for twelve months.

Madagascar. A rising of the natives took place at Ikongo on June 24, and some fighting was found necessary to suppress it.

The French Government made reparation to the Society of Friends for the seizure of their mission hospital at Antananarivo in 1896.

General Galliéni adopted measures to keep down rebellion and maintain order in the island. He erected a line of blockhouses to protect the military road to Analamazaotra, and a ring of military posts around the capital.

The ex-Queen, Ranavalo, arrived on February 28 at Marseilles on her way to Algiers. She was not permitted to land in France.

Plague was raging in October among the Malagasy and Chinese in the island. The Sakalavas employed in constructing the Mojanga road had nearly finished it.

Uganda.-Bilal, the rebel Soudanese leader and the murderer of Major Thruston, was killed in action, and the band of mutineers was broken up and dispersed. On April 9 Kabarega was attacked on the east bank of the Nile by Lieut.-Colonel Evatt, and completely defeated. Mwanga, the ex-King of Uganda, with Kabarega, who was severely wounded, were captured and exiled to Kismayu on the coast.

The Uganda railway was making progress, and in April more than half the road to Lake Victoria was finished. A new route adopted had shortened the total length of the railway to 550 miles. The net expenditure on the railway in the year 1897-8 was 600,4891. The Macupa railway bridge from Mombasa to the mainland, 1,383 feet in length, was opened in July, and named Salisbury Bridge.

V. WEST AFRICA.

Gold Coast.-Lieut.-Colonel H. P. Northcott, C.B., was appointed administrator of the northern territories of the Gold Coast in August. A detachment of Hausas with British officers left Cape Coast Castle for the Hinterland early in the year to quiet the natives who were complaining of scarcity of food, and of being obliged to assist in laying telegraph lines.

At Accra the hut-tax was quietly collected. Colonel Northcott's Gambaga expedition was completely successful. The natives readily submitted, and Colonel Northcott, with the special service officers attached to the expedition, left for England at the end of March.

Gambia. The colony had a revenue during the past year of 43,7177. with an expenditure of 29,0351., and no debt. Amongst the imports Manchester cottons were of the value of 60,7871., while rice and sugar were prominent. Of the exports ground nuts, valued at 200,000l., were shipped to France. Exports of rubber had the value of 30,6001.

Lagos.-The arrangement with France recognising certain territory between Lagos and the Niger as within the British sphere, and admitting British rights over Sokoto, brought peace and security to a large region. The railway was opened for passenger traffic as far as Abbeokuta, and would be finished to Ibadan in a few months. Exports of mahogany were increasing. The rubber industry, it was feared, would decline in a few years on account of the reckless way in which the trees were tapped, although the rubber trade of late years has superseded the trade in palm oil.

Sierra Leone.-Major Nathan, C.M.G., administered the government during the temporary absence of the Governor, Sir F. Cardew, who came to England on leave. Bai Bureh and several other ringleaders in recent hostilities were brought from Karene in February by Major Stansfield, and the most important chiefs were deported to Accra in July.

The Sierra Leone railway was completed to Songo town, and trains ran on April 3. Of 600 passengers about ten were white people. A carriage was reserved for the whites, and the mayor of Freetown, Sir Samuel Lewis, who is a native African, not knowing of the reservation, attempted to ride in the reserved car. He was forcibly ejected by a white noncommissioned officer, who, for the assault, was fined 30s. and costs. The matter caused much feeling in Sierra Leone.

Congo State.-Baron Dhanis recovered Kabambarre on December 31, 1898. On July 20 he defeated the mutineers near Sungula, killing 100 of them, and losing himself 25 black troops, but no white officers or men. Two more battles with the rebel Batetelas were fought in October. The rebels lost 90 men killed, including three chiefs.

The Government was doing its best to better the condition

of its officers; new steamers for transport were building, and the railway was earning over 1,000,000 francs per month gross receipts.

The exports last year were 1,015,868., and the imports 1,007,4051. Rubber formed more than three-fifths of the exports; ivory and palm products nearly all the remainder. The rubber trade was almost wholly in Belgian hands. New railways were projected to connect Stanley Falls with the upper Ituri plateau, one branch turning northward toward Lake Albert Nyanza and the other southward toward Lake Tanganyika.

Nigeria. The new protectorate of Northern Nigeria was to come into being at the close of the year with Colonel Lugard as Governor. It will be the largest in extent of any of the British West African territories, and will contain about 300,000 square miles. Geba will be the capital till the new site is chosen in the direction of Kano.

The Royal Niger Company transferred its territories to the Imperial Government in August for 865,000.

The convention between Great Britain and France respecting boundary lines in West Africa, signed on June 14, 1898, was finally ratified this year.

The import duty on spirits imported into the Niger Coast Protectorate was raised on June 17, from 2s. per gallon to 3s. per gallon.

French Soudan.-In October by decree the French Soudan ceased to be a distinct province, and was divided between Senegal, Guinea, the Ivory Coast and Dahomey, West Africa.

Early in January the Voulet-Chanoine mission, authorised to explore the country between Say and Lake Chad, were about ninety miles above Say at Sansanne Hausa, and in March left for Lake Chad. Lieutenant Peteau, attached to the expedition, brought charges before the French authorities in the Soudan against the officers in command of excesses and cruelty towards the natives and of wantonly burning their villages. After a partial inquiry Lieut.-Colonel Klobb of the Marines was ordered to proceed from his station at Kayes to take over the command, and if the charges proved true to arrest Captains Voulet and Chanoine. On July 14 on the approach of Colonel Klobb at a place near Damangara, West Africa, Captain Voulet sent word that he should retain the command and if Klobb continued to advance that he should treat him as an enemy; that with 600 rifles under his orders he should prefer fighting to a stupid suicide. Colonel Klobb advanced unfurling the French flag, whereupon Captain Voulet ordered his men to fire three volleys and then independently. Colonel Klobb, while forbidding his own men to return the fire, was shot dead, Lieutenant Meunier was badly wounded, and their men were routed by a bayonet charge. In October Voulet and Chanoine were no longer with the mission. It was under the command of Lieutenant Pallier who was seeking to place it under the orders of the Foureau

Lamy expedition, and on October 18-the very day that a memorial service was held in Paris for Lieut-Colonel Klobbnews came, by a strange coincidence, that both Voulet and Chanoine had been killed by their own followers.

M. Bretonnet's expedition, one of the four sent to explore the Lake Chad region, was massacred in August by the natives under Rabah in the vicinity of the Bagirmi. The FoureauLamy mission was reported to have reached Lake Chad in safety.

Anglo-French Agreement. It was arranged between Great Britain and France that the fourth article of the Convention of June 14, 1898, should be completed by the following provisions, which should be considered as forming an integral part of it :

:

1. Her Britannic Majesty's Government engages not to acquire either territory or political influence to the west of the line of frontier defined in the following paragraph, and the Government of the French Republic engages not to acquire either territory or political influence to the east of the same line.

2. The line of frontier shall start from the point where the boundary between the Congo Free State and French territory meets the water-parting between the water-shed of the Nile and that of the Congo and its affluents. It shall follow in principle that water parting up to its intersection with the 11th parallel of north latitude. From this point it shall be drawn as far as the 15th parallel in such manner as to separate in principle the kingdom of Wadai from what constituted in 1882 the province of Darfur; but it shall in no case be so drawn as to pass to the west beyond the 21st degree of longitude east of Greenwich (18° 40' east of Paris), or to the east beyond the 23rd degree of longitude east of Greenwich (20° 40′ east of Paris).

3. It is understood in principle that to the north of the 15th parallel the French zone shall be limited to the north-east and east by a line which shall start from the point of intersection of the Tropic of Cancer with the 16th degree of longitude east of Greenwich (13° 40′ east of Paris), shall run thence to the southeast until it meets the 24th degree of longitude east of Greenwich (21° 40′ east of Paris), and shall then follow the 24th degree until it meets, to the north of the 15th parallel of latitude, the frontier of Darfur as it shall eventually be fixed.

4. The two Governments engage to appoint Commissioners who shall be charged to delimit on the spot a frontier line in accordance with the indications given in paragraph 2 of this declaration. The result of their work shall be submitted for the approbation of their respective Governments.

It is agreed that the provisions of Article IX. of the Convention of June 14, 1898, shall apply equally to the territories situated to the south of the 14° 20′ parallel of north latitude,

BB

and to the north of the 5th parallel of north latitude, between the 14° 20′ meridian of longitude east of Greenwich (12th degree east of Paris) and the course of the Upper Nile.

Done at London, March 21, 1899.

British Central Africa. It was feared by the planters that the Trans-African Railway would result in withdrawing native labour from Nyassaland to the mining districts in South Africa and thus lessen their supply.

The notorious Yao chief, Mataka, with Makanjira and Zirafi, two other raiding chiefs living in Portuguese territory south-east of Lake Nyassa, were giving trouble, and against them the British and Portuguese acted in concert. Zirafi and Makanjira submitted, and offered to assist against Mataka. The Portuguese force in October defeated him and destroyed his town.

The chief Kazembe, who had strongly fortified his town, was defeated by the British force before the two expeditions effected a junction. Kazembe's fortress was the rendezvous of all disaffected Arabs.

Plenty of rain had fallen in the Shiré highlands at the end of October, and the coffee crop was not less than a thousand tons, while for the next season a much better crop was anticipated.

CHAPTER VII.

AMERICA.

I. UNITED STATES.

THE state of political parties in the Congress of the United States at the opening of the year 1899 (the third session of the fifty-fifth Congress) was as follows: In the Senate, 46 Republicans, 34 Democrats, and 10 Independents. In the House of Representatives, 206 Republicans, 134 Democrats (including 15 classed as Fusionists), and 16 Independents. William P. Frye, Republican from Maine, was President pro tempore of the Senate, and Thomas B. Reed, also of Maine, was Speaker of the House of Representatives.

One of the most important acts of this short session of Congress was that providing for the reorganisation of the Army. The bill as passed in the House of Representatives permitted the raising of the regular Army to 100,000, with an amendment providing that the minimum enlisted strength