EAST AFRICA. 



273 



against tht> other Waganda and the Wasoga and 

 otlu-r neighboring tribes. Capt. Williams de- 

 cided to culled it regular tribute in Usoga, which 

 was divided in equal slmres by the company and 

 the King. Ho acquired a large quantity of 

 ivory for the company and imposed a tax of 10 

 per cent, on ivory brought down by traders. 

 Negotiations were entered into with King Kalia 

 llc;i, of I'nyoro, who was willing to purchase 

 peuee if lie could make satisfactory terms with 

 the company. 



When the Conservative ministers decided to 

 terminate the authority of the chartered com- 



Eany in Uganda and ordered it to withdraw its 

 arces, their policy was to continue the occupa- 

 tion with imperial forces and to build a railroad 

 from the coast to Victoria Nyanza. They were 

 careful, however, not to commit the Govern- 

 ment to either part of this scheme, and when 

 they retired they left the Liberals to decide 

 whether Uganda should be retained or aban- 

 doned. Sir Gerald Portal, as imperial commis- 

 sioner for the sphere of British influence, was 

 in>tructed to endeavor to make British influence 

 felt by the natives, to maintain peace and order, 

 to develop legitimate trade, to secure the safe 

 circulation of traders, and generally, " without 

 undue interference with tribal government and 

 native habits and customs, to pave the way for 

 conferring on the natives the benefits of civiliza- 

 tion." On Dec. 10, 1892, he was instructed by 

 Lord Rosebery to go to Uganda with an ade- 

 quate armed force on a special mission of in- 

 quiry. The results of this mission would enable 

 the Government to form an opinion as to whether 

 and in what form the official action of England 

 should be substituted for that of the private 

 company, or whether all European authority 

 should be withdrawn ; but the ministers promised 

 to take no decisive action without submitting 

 the question to Parliament after receiving the 

 commissioner's report "on the best means of 

 dealing with the country, whether through 

 Zanzibar or otherwise." Meanwhile Sir Gerald 

 Portal had a free hand to make any temporary 

 arrangements in Uganda that seemed best. He 

 was empowered to take over the stores and es- 

 tablishments of the East Africa Company in 

 that country; he might for the moment sub- 

 sidize the King, and was enjoined to impress 

 upon him the wisdom of following advice 

 tendered to him and to meet "with firmness and 

 caution " every occasion that might arise. Points 

 to be borne in mind in communications with the 

 King and his chiefs were "the prevention of 

 broils stirred up under the name of religion, the 

 promotion of peace, the encouragement of com- 

 merce, the security of missionary enterprise, and 

 the suppression of the slave trade." Besides 

 the treaty of perpetual friendship with Mwanga, 

 to which the British Government was not a 

 party, there were 83 others with native chiefs 

 that had been approved by the Secretary of 

 State, and it was feared that the evacuation of 

 the country in the face of these engagements 

 " might have a prejudicial effect on the British 

 good name in those regions." Sir Gerald Portal 

 was therefore desired to report on the course to 

 adopt with reference to this difficulty. 



Before the dispatch of this mission on the 

 receipt of Capt. Macdonald's report, the French 

 VOL. xxxin. 18 A 



Government, Aug. 30. 1892, laid Ix-fore the 

 British Foreign Office the complaints of the 

 French missionaries against the chartered cnni- 

 panv. M. Rilx>t subsequently explained that 

 there was no question of the French going to 

 1'g'iuda, which was beyond the sphun: of Kreneh 

 influence; all that the French Government de- 

 sired was that due consideration, respect, and 

 fair dealing should be shown to the French 

 Catholic missionaries. On Oct. 21 M. Wadding- 

 ton, French ambassador in London, submitted 

 the question whether the British Government 

 admitted the principle of indemnity for losses 

 and grievances of French missionaries. Lord 

 Kosebery replied that he must consult with his 

 colleagues before acceding to the wide and novel 

 principle of making a government liable for the 

 acts of officials of a chartered company. 



The internal condition of Uganda improved 

 after the arrival of Sir Gerald Portal at Men go, 

 March 17, 1893. On March 30 he sent Capt, 

 Portal and Major Owen to Toru to carry out a 

 plan for the disposal of the Egyptian soldiers 

 who had been stationed in 7 forts in Toru. and 

 being without European commanders or obliga- 

 tions to the company, had committed depreda- 

 tions on the neighboring tribes. The entire 

 force of 450 soldiers were enlisted into the Eng- 

 lish service. The two most distant forts were 

 abandoned, and their garrisons brought down to 

 the nearer ones, which still covered a line of 100 

 miles. The English officers remained to or- 

 ganize and discipline the Soudanese, diminished 

 by 100 men, who were brought down to take the 

 place of the Soudanese that Capt. Williams took 

 back with him to the coast when he left Kampala 

 on April 3. The slaves and followers of the 

 Soudanese drafted to Kampala were formed into 

 a colony near the fort. There were thus left in 

 Toru 3,500, as the family and slaves of each 

 soldier numbered about 10 individuals. Capt. 

 Macdonald was appointed resident at Kampala 

 and commandant of the district. 



Sir Gerald Portal next gave his attention to 

 the representations of Mgr. Hirth. the French 

 bishop, regarding the Catholics who, in spite of 

 the promises of Capt. Lugard, though they were 

 not responsible for the war and had been de- 

 feated by the troops of the company, after gain- 

 ing a victory over the Protestants, were still con- 

 fined as rebels in the district of Budu, where 

 they were gradually perishing from plague and 

 starvation. After a long controversy Mgr. Hirth 

 and Bishop Tucker, of the English Church Mis- 

 sion, were induced by Sir Gerald Portal to sign 

 an agreement, April 7, whereby the Catholics 

 were readmitted to the councils of the King and 

 obtained several important offices and an ex- 

 tension of territory nearly as large as Budu. 

 Besides Budu, the Catholics received the prov- 

 ince of Kaima, the island of Sese, the district of 

 Lwekula, and the shambas, or plantations of 

 Mwanika in Mugema. In return they delivered 

 up the young princes, not to Mwanga, but to the 

 British resident, who took them under his 

 guardianship, to reside within the precincts of 

 the fort. After the death of the Catholic 

 Rubuga, the King's sister, her office becomes 

 extinct. The office of Kimbugwe was abolished 

 forthwith, and instead of a single Katikoro. or 

 minister of justice, a single Gabunga, or com- 



