70 BEDINGFELD ON THE CONGO. [Feb. 27, 1860. 



tember, so that there is ample time should it be deemed a subject 

 worthy of consideration. 



Mr. J. J. MoNTEiRO said — I have heard with great pleasure Captain 

 Bediiigfeld's proposition for an expedition to the River Congo. 



I consider this proposition as a most important one in many respects, and 

 which, if carried out, will be productive of the greatest benefits to Africa and 

 to commerce. It will be the means of obtaining correct and reliable informa- 

 tion on questions of the utmost importance, and at present very prominently 

 attracting attention. I allude more particularly to the suppression of the 

 slave trade, and to the magnificent capabilities of the whole of Augola for the 

 production, on any scale, of cotton of the finest quality. That the hot, damp 

 climate of Angola is essentially suited to the cultivation of cotton is evident 

 from its growing luxuriantly on soils and under circumstances of very great 

 variety. I have seen it growing abundantly, though not with equal facility, 

 perhaps, on the stony soil of the mica and quartz rock, and on that of the 

 mica schist and clay slate, from Ambriz to Bembe, as well as on thaj cal- 

 careous tufa and trap rocks of the country traversed by Livingstone, and on 

 wliich I have travelled as far as the farthest limits of the province of Cam- 

 bambe, and within a day's journey of Fungo Andongo. In these parts it is 

 produced in great abundance, and the blacks are everywhere seen spinning it, 

 as described by Livingstone. I saw it also growing abundantly on the banks 

 of the Eiver Quanga, down which I returned to the coast from above the im- 

 portant " quitanda " or fair of Dondo. From these circumstances we may be 

 certain that the rich banks of the Congo must also be eminently suitable to 

 the cultivation of cotton. 



From my knowledge of the " Mussurongos " and other negroes of that 

 locality, I do not, I am sorry to say, anticipate any commercial advantages 

 soon to result from this expedition ; but I do anticipate most important and 

 valuable results from its observations on that hot-bed of the slave trade. 

 This expedition will inform you how the negroes of that country love the 

 slave trade above all others, and how perfectly impossible it is to induce 

 them to cultivate cotton, ground-nuts, or other produce, so long as the traffic 

 in slaves exists, and how impossible it is to abolish this horrid traific in human 

 flesh and blood without a firm occupation of the principal points on that river 

 and coast, and that then only can commercial enterprise with any safety 

 be established, and civilization or Christianity be introduced amongst the 

 scoundrelly negroes that at present unfortunately occupy that fine coast. 



As my contribution towards the realization of this expedition, I beg to offer 

 you a few suggestions, the result of nearly two years' experience at Ambriz 

 and Bembe, a couple of degrees to the south of the Congo. In the first 

 place, the expedition should arrive at the river from the middle to the end of 

 May, and not later, if possible ; that is to say, immediately after the rainy 

 season. September, as proposed by Captain Bedingfeld, would be the very 

 worst time to arrive at the coast, the rainy season commencing about October 

 and ending, as I have said, about the middle of May. This is subject, of 

 course, to slight variations, but from May to October may be safely taken as 

 the dry season. Again, in September, all the rivers on that coast are at their 

 lowest level, and the rainy season, then about to commence, is the unhealthiest 

 for Europeans, though the best for the blacks, on account of the terrific heat. 

 The dry season is cool, excessively damp, misty, and comparatively sunless, 

 particularly towards the higher interior country. The rivers in May are, of 

 course, full ; and, though the current may be stronger, it is better than having 

 to rot anywhere on the banks of the river, as it is not possible to travel during 

 the rainy season. I do not say it could not be done, as I have myself travelled 

 during the rainy season, and I do not believe one constitution in a hundred 



