首页 >出版文学> Ismailia>第94章

第94章

  Thusitisplainthat,whileIwasendeavouringtodomyduty,otherswhoshouldhavebeensupportingmewereactuallysupportingtheslave-hunters。NopeoplecouldhavehadtheabsurdaudacitytoattemptthepassageoftheriverinfrontofFashoda——agovernmentstation,garrisonedbytworegiments,andprovidedwithtwosteamers——unlesstheywereinleaguewiththeofficials。
  MypersonalinterferencehasrenderedtheslavetradeoftheWhiteNileimpossiblesolongasthegovernmentisdeterminedthatitshallbeimpossible。Atthecloseoftheexpedition,thehigherofficialshadbeenchanged,andthecountryappearedtobeingoodhands。ThegovernorofFashoda,JusefEffendi,hadcapturedtheslavevesselsofAbouSaoodaccordingtomyinstructions。IsmailAyoubPachahadbeenappointedgovernorofKhartoum。HusseinKhalifah,theArabdesertsheik,wasgovernorofBerber,andvariousimportantchangeshadbeenmadeamongthehigherauthoritiesthroughouttheSoudan,whichprovedthattheKhedivewasdetermineduponreform。
  OnegrandandsweepingreformwasabsolutelynecessarytoextinguishtheslavetradeofCentralAfrica,andthisIleadthehonourtosuggest:——”ThatallthepresentexistingtradersortenantsoftheWhiteNileshouldbeexpelledfromthecountry,preciselyasIhadexpelledthemfromtheterritoryundermycommand。”ThegovernmentwouldthenassumethemonopolyoftheivorytradeoftheWhiteNile,andthenativeswouldinafewyearsberestoredtoconfidence。
  Solongastheso-calledtradersofKhartoumshouldbepermittedtoestablishthemselvesasindependentpiraticalsocietiesintheNileBasin,theslavetradewouldcontinue,andtheroadthroughDarfurandKordofanwouldbeadoptedinplaceofthetabooedWhiteNile。
  ShouldtheWhiteNilecompaniesbetotallydisbanded,thepeoplenowengagedmustreturntotheiroriginalagriculturalpursuitsintheSoudan,andtheirlabourwouldtendtoanincreaseoftherevenue,andtothegeneralprosperityofthecountry。
  Ihavealreadypublishedsomuchonthesubjectoftheslavetradein”TheAlbertN’yanza,”thatIfeartorepeatwhatIhavebeforesoforciblyexpressed。Ihaveneverchangedmyoriginalopinionsonthisquestion,andIcanonlyreferthepublictopage313,vol。ii。,ofthatwork,whenceItakethefollowingextract:——”StoptheWhiteNiletrade;
  prohibitthedepartureofanyvesselsfromKhartoumtothesouth,andlettheEgyptiangovernmentgrantaconcessiontoacompanyfortheWhiteNile,subjecttocertainconditions,andtoaspecialsupervision……”Shouldtheslavetradebesuppressed,therewillbea,goodopeningfortheivorytrade;theconflictingtradingpartiesbeingwithdrawn,andtheinterestofthetradeexhibitedbyasinglecompany,thenativeswouldnolongerbeabletobarterivoryforcattle;thustheywouldbeforcedtoacceptothergoodsinexchange。Thenewly-discoveredAlbertLakeopensthecentreofAfricatonavigation。
  SteamersascendfromKhartoumtoGondokoroinlat。4degrees55’。Sevendays’marchsouthofthatstationthenavigableportionoftheNileisreached,whencevesselscanascenddirecttotheAlbertLake;thusanenormousextentofcountryisopenedtonavigation,andManchestergoodsandvariousotherarticleswouldfindareadymarketinexchangeforivoryataprodigiousprofit,asinthosenewly-discoveredregionsivoryhasamerelynominalvalue。”BeyondthiscommencementofhonesttradeIcannotofferasuggestion,asnoproduceofthecountryexceptivorycouldaffordtheexpenseoftransporttoEurope。TheproposedrailwayfromCairotoKhartoumwillovercomethisobstacle。”IfAfricaistobecivilized,itmustbeeffectedbycommerce,which,onceestablished,willopenthewayformissionarylabour;butallideasofcommerce,improvement,andtheadvancementoftheAfricanracethatphilanthropycansuggest,mustbediscardeduntilthetrafficinslavesshallhaveceasedtoexist。”Shouldtheslavetradebesuppressed,afieldwouldbeopened,theextentofwhichIwillnotattempttosuggest,asthefuturewoulddependuponthegoodgovernmentofcountriesnowdevotedtosavageanarchyandconfusion。”……”Difficultandalmostimpossibleisthetaskbeforethemissionary。TheAustrianmissionhasfailed,andtheirstationshavebeenforsaken;
  theirpiouslabourwashopeless,andthedevotedpriestsdiedupontheirbarrenfield。”
  Byareferencetothatworkalso——”TheAlbertN’yanza”——itwillbeseenthatinthepresentexpeditionIcarriedouttheplansthatIhadproposedattheterminationofmyfirstjourney。
  Ihavenodoubtthatmissionarieswilltakeadvantageofthechancethathasresultedfromthesuppressionoftheslavetradeandtheestablishmentofagovernment。Atthesametime,shouldtheyattemptasettlementintheneighbourhoodofGondokoro,theymustbepreparedwithaninexhaustiblestockofpatiencewhendealingwiththeBaris。
  TheMadiandShoolitribeswouldbefoundtractableandmorecapableofreligiousinstruction。Itismyopinionthatthetimehasnotyetarrivedformissionaryenterpriseinthosecountries;butatthesametimeasensiblemanmightdogoodservicebylivingamongthenatives,andprovingtotheirmaterialmindsthatpersonsdoexistwhosehappinessconsistsindoinggoodtoothers。Thepersonalqualificationsandoutfitforasinglemanwhowouldthussettleamongthenativesshouldbevarious。Ifhewishedtosecuretheirattentionandadmiration,heshouldexcelasarifleshotandsportsman。Ifmusical,heshouldplay`theHighlandbagpipes。Heshouldbecleverasaconjurer,andbewellprovidedwithconjuringtricks,togetherwithamagiclantern,magneticbattery,dissolvingviews,photographicapparatus,colouredpictorialillustrations,&c。,&c。Heshouldbeagoodsurgeonandgeneraldoctor,&c。;andbewellsuppliedwithdrugs,rememberingthatnativeshaveaprofoundadmirationformedicalskill。
  AmanwhoinfullHighlanddresscouldatanytimecollectanaudiencebyplayingalivelyairwiththebagpipes,wouldberegardedwithgreatvenerationbythenatives,andwouldbelistenedtowhenanarchbishopbyhissidewouldbetotallydisregarded。Heshouldsetallpsalmstolivelytunes,andthenativeswouldlearntosingthemimmediately。
  Devotionalexercisesshouldbechieflymusical。
  Inthismanneramanwouldbecomeageneralfavourite;andifhehadanever-failingsupplyofbeads,copperrods,brassringsforarms,fingers,andears,gaudycottonhandkerchiefs,redorblueblankets,zincmirrors,redcottonshirts,&c。,togivetohisparishioners,andexpectednothinginreturn,hewouldbeconsideredagreatman,whoseopinionwouldcarryaconsiderableweight,providedthatheonlyspokeofsubjectswhichhethoroughlyunderstood。
  Aknowledgeofagriculture,withagoodstockofseedsofusefulvegetablesandcereals,ironhoes,carpenter’sandblacksmith’stools,andthepowerofinstructingothersintheiruse,togetherwithaplentifulsupplyofverysmallaxes,wouldbeanimmenserecommendationtoalaymissionarywhoshoulddeterminetodevotesomeyearsofhislifetotheimprovementofthenatives。
  InthemagnificentequatorialportionsofAfricathereisagreatfieldforBritishenterprise,andmuchmightbeaccomplishedbylaymissionaries,whowouldatthecommencementavoidtheologicalteaching,untilbyothermeanstheyshouldhavegainedanascendencyoverthemindsofthenatives。Byslowdegreesconfidencemightbeestablished;
  andmuchmaybeeffectedbygoodexample……
  ThegeographyofCentralAfrica,thathasmadegreatstrideswithinthelastfewyears,willnowberapidlyextended。Thefactofanestablishedgovernmentunderthedirectionofmyablesuccessor,ColonelGordon,R。E。,issufficienttoassurethemostscepticalthatthefuturewillberichingeographicaldiscoveries。
  ItishopedthatthesteamerwhichIcarrieduptoGondokorowillbetransportedtotheAlbertN’yanzaearlyintheyear1875。ItisimpossibletoforetelltheresultofsteamcommunicationonthegreatinlandseaM’wootanN’zige。
  Idonotlovetodwellupongeographicaltheories,asIbelieveinnothingbutactualobservation;butIcannotquitedisbelievemynativeinformants,whoassuredmethattheyhadtravelledtoUjijibycanoefromChiberoontheAlbertN’yanza。
  BythelatestintelligencefromLieutenantCameron,datedUjiji,28thFebruary,1874,themeanofmanyobservationsforaltitudeoftheTanganyikaLaketakenwithmercurialbarometer,aneroids,andboilingwaterthermometers,gives2,573feetabovethesea-level。
  ThecorrectedaltitudeoftheAlbertN’yanza,takenbymeatVacovia,N。
  lat。1degree14’,March14,1864,is2,720。Theuncorrectedortheabsoluteobservationoftheinstrumentwas2,448。
  WheneverLieutenantCameronshallreturnhome,itwillbeinterestingtoobservetheresultsofhiscorrectedobservations,astheyalreadysocloselyapproachtheleveloftheAlbertN’yanza。
  AstheKhedive’sexpeditionunderColonelGordonwillshortlyhavetheadvantageofasteamerontheAlbertLakeorM’wootanN’zige,thequestionofaconnectionbetweenthetwolakeswillbedefinitelysettled。
  Whenthatquestionshallhavebeenresolved,geographersmustturntheirattentiontothegreatriverSobat,whichisbyfarthemostimportantaffluentoftheNile。
  AlthoughduringmyrecentexpeditionIhavenottravelledovermuchnewground,theadvantagestogeographyareconsiderable,owingtotheprofessionalobservationsofLieutenantBaker,R。N。,towhomIconfidedtheentirechargeofthetopographicaldepartment。Someslightcorrectionshavebeenmadeinobservationsforlongitudetakenduringmyfirstexpedition;andaseveryplaceisnowrigidlyattestedonthemap,thatportionofCentralAfricaismostthoroughlyinvestigated,andtheastronomicalpositionsofallprincipalpointsandstationsareincontestable。
  Thefactofthisthoroughexploration,andtheestablishmentoftheEgyptiangovernment,nowaffordafirmbaseforallfuturetravellers。
  Thegoodworkofonemancanbecarriedonbyhissuccessor。FormerlyitwasimpossibletorenderthenecessarysupporttoanexplorerinCentralAfrica。AdistantcountrycannotplungeintowarwithasavagepotentateoftheequatorialNileBasinbecausehehaseithercapturedanexplorerordevouredamissionary。