of the Abbasides, and carried him to Constantinople. There he was constrained or persuaded by the bribe of his freedom and an annual pension to hand over his title and office to Selim, and ever since the Turkish Sultans have claimed and have by a section been acknowledged to be the successors of Mohammed, and head of his orthodox Church. But the acknowledgment was never universal, and was always largely dependent on victory attending the banner of the prophet. The Caliphate of the Sultan is too purely political, is without the theological basis which could alone give it legitimacy and authority to the conscience of the truer Islâm. He owes it neither to the voice and votes of the faithful, nor to his descent from the prophet or the prophet's family or tribe, but to the skill of his diplomacy and the success of his sword. And these form a rather insecure basis for a great religious claim, especially in the eyes of those who will not forget that the man who makes it is an alien, while they strongly believe that the man to whom alone it can belong of right must be of their own blood. The Sultan of Turkey may indulge in Panislamic dreams, but he will never realize them. The world of Islâm is too deeply divided, and too deeply divided about him, to be unified and vivified by him. His Caliphate is to the sections most radically opposed, alike to those most loyal to the prophet and to those most loyal to the people, to the men who most love the Holy Book, and the men who most love the Holy Land, a deep offence, an act of worst usurpation. Everywhere throughout Islâm the passions and aspirations and hopes are at work that create a revival or a revolution in religion, but where these are strongest Turkey is least loved, the Sultan's authority either little regarded or openly denied. In an historical religion, fanaticism always assumes the form of a return to the primitive type; and at this moment the true believers in Mohammed turn from the exhausted and depressing present to seek their ideal in that inspiring period of the past when their faith lived in newborn purity and victorious strength; and then they lift their eyes to the future, in the fond hope that one of the prophet's blood shall come, in the prophet's name, mighty

to save.

A. M. FAIRBAIRN.

BRITISH POLICY IN WEST AFRICA.

THE

HE Western Coast of Africa has been known to European traders for upwards of three centuries, but during this long period it has made less progress than perhaps any other country open to civilizing influences. The greatest commercial nations-Portugal, Spain, England, France, and Holland-have all had possessions on its main shores and upon the banks of its rivers, from latitude 25° N. to latitude 25° S. Gradually, however, these foreign possessions have been relinquished, cr have been consolidated greatly under one rule. In the year 1850 the Danes, who also had settlements in this region, ceded their last possessions to England. In the year 1872 the Dutch did the same. The Spaniards, of all the territories they once held there, only now retain the island of Fernando Po, used as a penal settlement. The Portuguese still have in Central West Africa a small station at Bissagos, on the Jube River, and the large territorial settlement of Loango on the Southwest coast. This latter place was very flourishing at one time, but it has now little importance. In fact, the English and French are the only two European nations who can be said to-day to possess or seek power and influence in West Africa.

If we turn first to the French Settlements: those at the Gaboon River, in Central West Africa, and at Assinee, on the Gold Coast, are of small extent, and have never been of any value commercially. The French Government expends much energy on its North-west African possessions at Senegal, which have been very costly to it, both in men and money; but, notwithstanding these efforts, the position has not improved much within a century. It is true that more isolated forts have been erected, more territory has been annexed, and a larger jurisdiction has been laid claim to; but these acquisitions have been of small worth for any practical purposes-the commerce and the industries of the

country have shown scarcely any increase, and no real progress has been made towards a better civilization.

England, to speak next of ourselves, has four centres of Government Administration on the Western Coast of Africa-Gambia, Sierra Leone, the Gold Coast, and Lagos. At the head of the Gambian Settlement is an Administrator who receives his orders from the Colonial Office through the Governor of Sierra Leone; and, since the last Ashante war, Lagos forms a part of the Gold Coast Government, but with a separate revenue fund. This will, so far, seem geographically simple, but other parts of the territorial position are not without complications. From Sierra Leone to the Gold Coast there is about 800 miles of coast, over the greater part of which the Liberian Republic claims jurisdiction; then follows the French Settlement of Assine, bordering on the Apollonian Gold Coast ceded to England by the Dutch in 1872. Between Gambia and Sierra Leone-a distance of 480 miles-the country is under the dominion of native rulers, with the exception of the little Los Islands, which are dependencies of Sierra Leone, and lie near the mouth of the Mellicourie River and Bissagos, already mentioned as a small Portuguese settlement. Between the Gold Coast and Lagos there is a strip of territory, about 60 miles long, where England has no direct jurisdiction; this stretch of country is claimed by Dahomey and the natives. But, after allowing for the above gaps in our possessions, this hasty sketch is enough to show that England is the only European Power having any important territorial jurisdiction in Western Africa between Gambia and Lagos, or for about 1,600 miles of coast. The Liberian Republic is African; although its formation was due to negroes brought from the United States, the land of their birth, the immigrants were of African extraction, and all the subjects of the Republic pride themselves on being citizens of an African State.

The four British Settlements above named have long been established centres of trade. Many of the numerous small trading stations, locally called "factories," scattered along the coast and up the rivers, are to a large extent supplied by houses established at the following points :The town of Bathurst, situated on the River Gambia; Freetown, on the peninsula of Sierra Leone; Cape Coast Castle and Accra, on the Gold Coast; and Lagos, lying on the river of that name. From Gambia the bulk of the exports are shipped direct to France, the staple article being the ground-nut; but the trade of the station is unprogressive. From Sierra Leone the ground-nut is also mostly shipped to France; hides, however, form a considerable inland trade, and hese are all shipped to the United States. Of such other produce as there is, the greater proportion is sent to England. Most of the commerce on the Gold Coast is carried on with England; still American vessels do a good deal of miscellaneous trading, exchanging rum, tobacco, and breadstuffs. Indeed, the American shippers are securing an increasing trade in these parts, and it is not difficult to understand why they are liked and respected everywhere. They have as much influence as the agents of English houses,

and show much smartness in keeping on good terms with the natives. At Lagos trade is mainly divided between England and France; but Germans-representing Hamburg and Harburg houses-export considerable quantities of palm oil and palm kernels. If, however, it should be asked at what point in the West of Africa the largest British trade is done, the answer must be with the natives of the Bights of Benin and Biafra, places where England has no political settlements. We may explain that the trade in palm oil and palm kernels begins in the neighbourhood of Sierra Leone, and continues to increase in importance and value up to the Equator. The produce of the palm oil tree in its different forms constitutes the main article of export along the line of coast extending from Sierra Leone to Benguela, and it is estimated at the yearly value of at least two millions sterling. But, respectable as this sum is, the natives only collect a portion of the bountiful crop Nature offers to them; vast quantities of the nuts always lie ungathered, and so are wasted.

This brief account of the general situation shows the importance to the British public of correct information as to the relations of England with the inhabitants of these regions, and in attempting to supply such knowledge special attention needs to be fixed on the Gold Coast. It is, in a certain way, the most prominent of the settlements, having been made so by the trouble it has given in recent times; but notwithstanding this few are accurately acquainted with its history. As it now exists, the Gold Coast Settlement is in part a very late acquirement. The transfer to the Crown in 1872 of the Dutch forts and Protectorate made a striking addition to our sway; but it was contrary to the wishes of the inhabitants of the ceded country, who were allies of Ashante. They were only willing to fall in with the arrangement if they were permitted to retain their ancient customs, and also that England would become friendly with Ashante. The Imperial Government on its part assented to these terms; but the local administration subsequently pronounced against the retention by the inhabitants of their native customs. In the eyes of the people the policy that was solemnly agreed upon at Elmina Castle between their chiefs, the Dutch Governor Ferguson, and Governor Hennessey for England, was not being carried out, and they therefore resisted the transfer to our rule by force of arms. But they resisted ineffectually. It is partly a friendly Protectorate which England now exercises over the region; but it carries serious obligations. The Fante people, who hold the country around the ancient British forts, have in all their recent disputes called upon the Crown to protect them from the consequences of their acts. If they had not had our aid to fall back upon, the result would certainly have been their being subjugated by Ashante. Indeed, the danger of this happening is the only reason why the Protectorate is continued in its present form.

But it is requisite to go further back in our retrospect. It is about two centuries since English merchants (associated as "The Royal African Com

pany") first regularly established themselves on the Gold Coast as traders, building forts at several places to secure their goods and slaves. Other countries, notably Holland and Denmark, had as early as this establishments and forts of considerable importance on the same coast and for the same purposes. None of these trading establishments, however, claimed any sovereignty beyond the limits of the ground actually occupied by their buildings. When war broke out between the Europeans, the forts were open to be taken and held by a hostile flag. It was thus that the Elmina forts were captured by the Dutch from the Portuguese, and Cape Coast Castle also was occupied by the English, but was used only for trading purposes. from the politics of the country. In the Danish and Dutch forts there were military governors, appointed by their respective Home Governments; but in the English trading settlements the merchants were left to carry on their own administration.

At this time England held herself perfectly aloof

In the year 1821 "The African Company" was dissolved by Act of Parliament, and the settlements on the Gold Coast were transferred to the Crown, being placed under the Government of Sierra Leone. Still the Government did not succeed to any political obligations when it took possession; for the old arrangements continued, and there was no jurisdiction claimed beyond the walls of the buildings. But it is difficult, sometimes, for a great Power to keep clear of local disputes in the same way as a merchant or a company of merchants can do. A governor has not the same material interests at stake as mere traders have, nor, consequently, the same reasons for keeping neutral. On the other hand, he has a mighty power to back his views, which the merchant lacks; he is also keenly sensitive as to the duty of interfering for the honour of the flag he hoists-a risky responsibility which the merchant does not lie under. A most notable example of this difference was soon presented in the history of this very settlement. Only two years after the occupation of the forts by the Crown-that is, in the year 1823-the governor of Sierra Leone, Sir Charles Macarthy, visited Cape Coast Castle, and deemed it proper to interfere actively in the wars between the Fantes-the people who occupy the line of coast between Winnebah and Cape Coast Castle-and the Ashantes, their inland neighbours. The Fantes and British were defeated, and Sir Charles Macarthy was killed, January 1824. Subsequently, in the year 1827, the Fantes and British forces, again operating together, defeated the Ashantes near Accra. What was designated a "tripartite treaty" was made in 1831, England, Fante, and Ashante being the parties to it. The natives understood that by this treaty the Fantes were placed under British protection, and that Ashante would have to fight England also in all future disputes between her and the Fantes. As the result proved, the native populations in this judged rightly. Had the Fantes been a people with capacities similar to those shown by the Ashantes, their alliance with England would have afforded them the means of