8 



AFEICA. 



decisive blow can only be dealt the Turkomans, 

 if they are attacked at the same time from the 

 direction of the Caspian Sea as well as from 

 Merv. The cause for a joint step of the three 

 interested states exists. A joint action on 

 their part, however, does not appear probable, 

 even to an Asiatic; to him it seems rather 

 that Kussia will enter the campaign alone. 

 Russia, however, fears to disturb its amicable 

 relations to Persia, as it would be impossible 

 to prevent a violation of Persian territory in 

 pursuing defeated bodies of Turkomans, and 

 of Afghan territory in case of an attack on 

 Merv. The idea of an agreement with Persia, 

 therefore, becomes plausible, while at the same 

 time the interests of Afghanistan would be 

 taken into consideration. Such agreements 

 must arouse anew the suspicions of England, 

 who found it such a difficult matter to secure 

 in the Afghan frontier a line inaccessible to 

 Russian intiuence." 



Captain Burton, another high authority on 

 the questions relating to Central Asia, speaks 

 in the following manner of the relations of 

 India to the Amir of Cabool: "Afghanistan, 

 this restless state of robber chieftains, has, 

 thanks to our intervention, considerably in- 

 creased in area and population. But, never- 

 theless, Shore AH complains because Lord 

 Lawrence recognized his elder brother, Afzul 

 Khan, who was friendly to us, because Lord 

 Mayo did not fulfill all of his wishes, and be- 

 cause Lord Northbrook did not pay his subsi- 

 dies (I should rather say his tribute) as regularly 

 as he desired. For that reason he refused to 

 receive the English mission to Kashgaria in 

 Cabool, under the pretext that he was not 

 able to protect its members in his country, 

 saying, 'Their blood be on their own heads if 

 they come to Cabool ! ' For that reason, also, 

 he will not permit an English resident at his 

 court, and the native representative of the In- 

 dian Government, Wakil-i-Sarkar-i, is barely 

 permitted to address the Amir in the durbar. 

 It is a fact that this miserable chief believes, 

 because we have taught him to believe it, that 

 he holds the road to British India in his 

 hands. He is convinced that he need only 

 offer his assistance to Russia, to drive us from 

 India. That he hates us, we know; during 

 the mutiny of the Sepoys, he urged his wise 

 father, Dost Mohammed, although in vain, to 

 invade the Punjaub; that he despises us, we 

 must see, and we must feel that our policy has 

 given him a right to do so." 



AFRICA. The area of Africa, according 

 to the latest calculations, amounted to 10,901,- 

 100 square miles, with a population of about 

 206,000,000.* 



The further existence of the Transvaal Re- 

 public, an independent state of Southeastern 

 Africa, was seriously endangered by a disas- 

 trous war with the Kaffres, in which the army 



* For the area and population of each of the geographical 

 and political divisions of Africa, gee ANNUAL CYCLOPAEDIA, for 

 UTBu 



of the republic was completely routed. In 

 consequence, a general desire for annexation 

 to Great Britain became manifest among the 

 population. The Transvaal Republic has been 

 an independent state since 1848. (See TRANS- 

 VAAL REPUBLIC.) 



The difficulties of the British Government 

 and the Orange River Free State with regard 

 to the South African diamond-fields were set- 

 tled satisfactorily for both parties during the 

 year. 



The project of a South African Confederation 

 under the protectorate of Great Britain re- 

 ceived a powerful impulse by the disastrous 

 war of the Transvaal Republic against the 

 Kaffres. It gained in popularity both among 

 the inhabitants of the British colonies and the 

 two republics of Orange River and the Trans- 

 vaal, being opposed only by the extreme re- 

 publicans of the latter. In the early part of 

 the year, President Brand, of the Orange River 

 Free State, went to England to settle the dis- 

 puted boundary question, and was received 

 with great distinction, both in the Cape Colo- 

 ny and in England. President Burgers, of the 

 Transvaal Republic, who visited the Cape 

 Colony in March, was also received with great 

 honors, and everything was done to impress 

 the two Presidents with the desirability of the 

 proposed confederation. In March, Mr. Froude, 

 the historian, sent a report to Lord Carnarvon, 

 the Colonial Secretary, on the advantages to 

 be derived from the confederation scheme. The 

 report was very favorably received throughout 

 the South African colonies. On August 3d 

 Lord Carnarvon opened a conference on South 

 African affairs. The members attending the 

 conference were, Sir Garnet Wolseley, as vice- 

 president, President Brand of the Orange River 

 Free State, Sir Theophilus Shenstone, Secre- 

 tary of the Interior, of Natal, Messrs. Aker- 

 man and Robinson, members of the Legislature 

 of Natal, and Mr. J. A. Froude, who repre- 

 sented West Griqua-Land. Lord Carnarvon, 

 in his opening address, stated that the con- 

 ference was to be of a deliberative character 

 only, that the communications of the different 

 members were to be of a confidential character, 

 and the object was to deliberate on the inter- 

 ests of South Africa, which was constantly 

 growing in importance, and possibly on the 

 constitution of a South-African Confederation. 

 President Brand stated that in accordance with 

 a resolution of the national Legislature he was 

 not empowered to take part in the deliber- 

 ations on the confederation scheme, but that 

 he would take part in the discussion of other 

 questions. The following sessions of the con- 

 ference were held with closed doors, and its 

 results are as yet (November, 1876) unknown. 



The war of the British on the West Coast 

 with the Ashantees was succeeded during the 

 past year by one with Dahomey. An outrage 

 on a British merchant at Whydah, the princi- 

 pal port of Dahomey, led a British officer after 

 an investigation to impose a fine of palm-oil, 



