THE CONGO TROUBLES. The present situation of the Congo Free State is serious. A revolt among the slave trading Arabs on the western shore of Lake Tanganyika, caused by the interference of anti-slavery agents, has spread westward until it is now described as almost general. The Arabs have invaded Kasongo and Nyangwe, on the Upper Congo, in force, and have annihilated the forces of the Katanga Syndicate stationed at Beni Kamba. This point is situated about a week's journey above Stanley Falls, which are 1,400 miles from the mouth of the Congo River. It is the location of a permanent settlement of the allies of Tippoo Tib. Commander Hodister, a Belgian, who was in charge of the station, was subjected to horrible torture, it is said, for three days, and was then beheaded by his captors. Only two whites escaped the massacre. M. Hodister is supposed to have incurred the enmity of the Arabs by dealing directly with the negroes for ivory, over the trade in which commodity the Arabs claim a monopoly. As the operations of the Katanga Company are carried on under the auspices of the Free State authorities, this outrage is a direct assault upon the Administration of the Congo State. It is feared that the Arabs at Stanley Falls, who have hitherto been loyal, may also be disaffected, in which case the trouble might be too serious for the State authorities to cope with.

It is generally agreed that a much stronger Government and a greater police force for the Congo Free State are imperatively needed. For the present, self-government is not regarded as practicable, owing to the small numbers of really civilized inhabitants. Whether Belgium is to assume the whole responsibility or not, is an international question still awaiting settlement.

EAST AND WEST AFRICA.

Serious tension, amounting to a rupture of diplomatic relations, is again reported to have occurred between the Hova Government and the French Resident in Madagascar, owing to

vexations offered by the authorities to French colonists at Tananarivo and Tamatave. The trouble is attributed to the leniency of the French Government, and the intrigues of British residents.

The Jebus and the Egbas, whose territories lie back of Lagos on the west coast, and who were reduced to submission in May last by a British expedition under Colonel Scott (p. 172), have again given trouble by blocking the trade route to the interior, and by kidnapping and murdering traders. A punitive force has been sent out under Captain Bower.

SOUTH AFRICA.

The "negro question" has, of late years, forced itself into prominence in the Cape Colony (see Vol. I., p. 528). In July last, the Governor, Hon. Čecil Rhodes, succeeded, by a majority of 45 to 20, in securing a second reading in the House of Assembly for a bill restricting the franchise. The measure is aimed at the black voter, at excluding from the enjoyment of the franchise the poorest and least intellectual stratum of the masses. The numerical preponderance of the blacks, who outnumber the whites by three to one, and who are increasing at a greater rate, has at length turned public opinion among those who still control the management of the State, in favor of a measure which is somewhat reactionary.

The end aimed at in the measure is accomplished by raising the electoral property qualification from £25 to £75, and by expressly disqualifying all who cannot write their name, address, and occupation. Very few whites will be affected. The blacks, however, who form the laboring class, and whose education compares unfavorably with that of the colored people in the United States, will be practically excluded.

The colonists of Natal are about to vote on the question of a revised Constitution, which, if accepted by them, will give them responsible government. After fifty years of prosperous existence, the colony feels that it should no longer remain "in leading strings." Since 1850, its annual im

ports have increased from £111,015 to £3,620,809; and its exports from £17,109 to £1,315,625; while its revenue has grown from £29,338 in 1851, to £1,318,769 in 1890-1. Heretofore the Governor, in all his acts, whether affecting the whites or the natives, has been reponsible only to the Imperial Government.

In the last number of Current History (p. 172), attention was drawn to the fact that Sir John Robinson and Mr. G. M. Sutton had gone as delegates to England to secure the Imperial assent to a revision of the colonial

Constitution. That assent has been granted, provided that the new Constitution be approved by the colonists at a general election. As already drafted, the proposed Constitution limits the power of the Governor by binding him to act solely on the advice. of his Ministers in all matters affecting the whites, but leaves him to the dictation of the home authorities as to his dealings with the natives. In this form, it will probably meet with general acceptance.

The Transvaal Republic has joined the Universal Postal Union.

UNITED STATES POLITICS.

As

S the polling will take place on November 8, the issues of the great Presidential campaign of 1892 will have been practically decided ere these pages reach our readers. A good deal is being said of the lack of popular interest in the contest; but the appearance of apathy is only on the surface. The great parties are straining every nerve to win; and it is to their credit that the fight has thus far been conducted in an eminently honorable and dignified manner. There has been much less than usual of personal calumny, much less of mere campaign bluster, and much more of earnest popular desire to clearly understand the issues, and to exercise the franchise in the light of an intelligent appreciation of its privileges and responsibilities.

Not since the Civil War has there been another campaign whose outcome, at a point so near its culmination, has been involved in so great uncertainty. The rise of the People's party; the strength of the popular reaction against the system of Protection, which so unmistakably manifested itself in 1890, but which is less apparent now; the silver demands of the Farmers' Alliance; the personal disaffection within the party ranks in several States-these have raised new issues and abstruse problems which

require on the part of the leaders the most adroit management.

At the election of 1888, Mr. Harrison, to speak generally, was supported by the Northern group of States, excepting Connecticut and New Jersey; Mr. Cleveland, by the Southern group, together with the two Northern States mentioned. There were four doubtful States-New York, Indiana, Connecticut, and New Jersey-of which the first two went to Mr. Harrison, securing him the election. In the present contest, the area of doubt is much wider. In the West and Northwest, lies the strength of the People's party; and it is there that the shrewd Democratic leaders are endeavoring to effect fusion with that party in the hope of diverting electors from the Republicans. In the South, however, the Democratic position is less doubtful. It is true, there have been dissensions in Texas, Louisiana, Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama, while the Farmers' Alliance has crippled the regular party organization in the Carolinas; yet, as a general thing, the Alliance wing throughout the South are in accord with the Democratic party, and the phalanx of the "Solid South" is generally conceded to the latter.

As we have previously noted, in this as in all general elections, much depends upon the attitude of the pivotal State of New York. There, the

situation is complicated by the remnants of that opposition which gave the solid vote of the State in the Na.tional Convention to Senator Hill, Mr. Cleveland's opponent, and by the split in the Democratic ranks which gave rise to the anti-Hill Convention at Syracuse (pp. 73 and 177). Although Senator Hill has declared in favor of united party action in support of Mr. Cleveland, his action does not necessarily restore compiete harmony; and the attitude of the Tammany Democrats, as well as of the "Anti-Snappers," i. e., those who formally opposed Tammany control of the State Democratic organization, is still a total uncertainty. The latter have somewhat resented their suppression at Chicago, as well as the later efforts of the Democratic National Committee to prevent their interference in the State canvass, which has been placed under the management of Lieutenant-Governor Sheehan, a friend of Mr. Hill's.

It was only in the latter part of July, that the respective party organizations were completed. Mr. W. J. Campbell, of Illinois, being obliged through business engagements to resign as chairman of the Republican National Committee, Hon. Thomas H. Carter, Ex-Congressman from Montana, was chosen as his successor, on July 16. Mr. Carter won the first Republican victory ever achieved in Montana. As Secretary of the Congressional Committee in the 51st Congress, he gained a very wide political acquaintance; and he is a man of tact, of resolution, and of great popularity among politi

cians. He took a prominent part in advocating the candidacy of President Harrison at Minneapolis.

On July 21, the chairmanship of the Democratic National Committee was filled by the appointment of Hon. William F. Harrity, Postmaster of Philadelphia during President Cleveland's Administration, and now Secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Mr. Harrity's appointment was unanimous, a result due to the adroit management of Hon. W. C. Whitney, Mr. Cleveland's main supporter at the Chicago Convention. The friends of Mr. Hill secured recognition in the appointment of Robert B. Roosevelt, of New York, as Treasurer of the Committee. Mr. Harrity was a delegate-at-large to the Democratic National Convention in 1884. In 1890, he supported the candidacy of Robert E. Pattison for Governor of Pennsylvania, and was made Secretary of the Commonwealth. By his appointment and the powers conferred upon him in regard to nominations on the Executive, the Campaign, and the Advisory Committees of the National Committee, the control of the whole Democratic campaign machinery has been practically intrusted to the friends of the Ex-President.

On July 20, at an enthusiastic gathering in the Madison Square Garden, New York City, attended by fully 15,ooo people, Mr. Cleveland and Mr. Stevenson were formally notified of their nominations, the occasion being specially noteworthy as the first time that the ceremony of notification was ever performed in public.

September 26. None of these letters raises a single issue as between the political parties, which had not been defined by the leaders at the National Conventions. The candidates, as customary in such cases, confine themselves strictly to the lines already laid down. Mr. Harrison devotes much space to an exposition of the benefits claimed as resulting from the Republican policy of Protection and Reciprocity. It has aroused, he claims, the concern of foreign nations, whose

VOL. II.-21.

values, and consequent distress to the poor most of all. On the matter of the national currency, the President declares free coinage of silver desirable, provided that such a ratio to gold can be maintained as will insure the parity of the metals in purchasing power; but he is of the opinion that independent action of the United States, without the co-operation of other nations, would greatly promote foreign, and injure domestic, interests. As to free elections, he advocates no law,

policy of his party. The tariff, he claims, is a tax upon the daily life of the people, and, as such, is justified only to the extent required for the proper administration of the functions of government. In opposition to the Republican contention that tariff schedules should be so framed as to foster special interests and industries, he declares that such a proposal is clearly contrary to the spirit of our Constitution; and that, instead of securing the benefits of higher wages

freer raw material should be accorded to our manufacturers; and we contemplate a fair and careful distribution of necessary tariff burdens, rather than the precipitation of free trade." On the coinage question, Mr. Cleveland's deliverances are practically in accord with Republican tenets. As to federal supervision of elections, he declares that the attempts of the opponents of his party "to interfere with and control the suffrage of the States through federal agencies" develop a