470 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. 



CHAPTER XXXVI. 



Africa's Future. — Slaves and Other Articles of Commerce. — Trade Routes. — Export 

 of ludia- rubber increasing. — Internal Slave-trade. — Ivory Supply. — Products. — 

 Sugar - canes. — Cotton. — Oil Palm. — Coffee. — Tobacco. — Sesamum. — Castor - oil. — 

 The Mpafu-tree. — Nutmegs. — Pepper. — Timber. — Rice. — Wheat. — Kaffir Corn. — 

 Indian Corn. — India-rubber. — Copal. — Hemp. — Ivory. — Hides. — Bees-wax. — Iron. 

 — Coal. — Copper. — Gold. — Silver. — Cinnabar. — Mission Work. — Commercial En- 

 terprise. — Establishment of Depot's. — Scheme for advancing into the Interior. — 

 Light Railways. — Steamers on Rivers. — Probable Results. — Shall Slavery con- 

 tinue ? — How to stamp it out, and make Africa Free. 



It now only remains to discuss the present state of trade and 

 communication in Africa, and the future of this vast continent. 

 To speak of the regions of the Sahara, the Cape, the Niger ba- 

 sin, and Somali land is, of course, out of my province. 



I only desire to show the present condition of the large and 

 fertile country I have traversed, the different routes by which 

 it may be approached, and in what manner they may be util- 

 ized ; and, above all, how the utilization of these routes may 

 best serve to develop the vast latent resources of the country, 

 and remove that blot on the boasted civilization of the nine- 

 teenth century, " the cursed slave-trade." 



Slaves, ivory, bees-wax and india-rubber are now the only ar- 

 ticles exported from either coast, with the exception of a small 

 and local trade from the eastern littoral in gum-copal and grain. 



Of these, ivory and slaves occupy such a prominent position, 

 that it would be hardly worth while to mention the others, were 

 it not that the existing trade in them proves that commerce in 

 other articles besides slaves and ivory may be made profitable. 



The trade routes at present are : Firstl}^, from the East-coast 

 ports by land, which is in the hands of the subjects of the Sul- 

 tan of Zanzibar from Brava to Cape Delgado, and in those of 

 Portugal from that point to Delagoa Bay. 



Secondly, the Kile route, on which the advance of traders has 



