844 REPORT—1896. 
consideration of this problem as far as a few of the most important districts are 
concerned, confining myself, as I have said, to trade with existing native races 
within the tropics. Taking the East Coast first, and beginning at the north, the 
first region sufficiently populous to attract our attention is the Valley of the Nile, 
and parts of the Central Sudan. Wadai, Darfur, and Kordofan are but scantily 
inhabited, according to our map, and this is probably the case now that the 
Khalifa has so devastated these districts ; but, without doubt, much of this country 
could support a teeming population, and is capable of great commercial develop- 
ment. The Bahr-el-Ghazal districts are especially attractive, being fertile and 
better watered than the somewhat arid regions further north. These remarks 
remind me how difficult it is at this moment to touch on this subject without 
trenching on politics. Few will deny that the sooner this region is connected 
with the civilised world the better, and it is only as to the method of opening it 
up, and as to who is to undertake the work, that burning political questions will 
arise. The geographical problems connected with the lines of communication to 
the interior can be considered whilst leaving these two points quite on one side. 
A glance at the map reminds us of the well-known fact that, below Berber, 
the Nile is interrupted by cataracts for several hundred miles, whilst above that 
town there is a navigable water-way at high Nile until the Folarapids are reached, 
a distance of about 1,400 miles, not to mention the 400 to 600 miles of the Blue 
Nile and the Bahr-el-Gazal, which are also navigable. The importance of a rail- 
way from Suakin to Berber is thus at once evident, and there is perhaps only one 
other place in Africa where an equal expenditure would open up such a large tract 
of country to European trade. This route, however, is not free from difficulties. 
Suakin is hot and unhealthy. ‘Then the railway, about 260 miles in length, passes 
over uninhabited or thinly inhabited districts the whole way. Though the hills 
over which it would pass are of no great height, the highest part of the track 
being under 3,000 feet above the sea, it is often said that the desert to be 
traversed would add greatly to the difficulty of construction. According to 
Lieut.-Colonel Watson, R.E., however, these difficulties have been greatly exag- 
gerated, for the water supply would give no great trouble. The sixth cataract, 
between Metemma and Khartum, would make navigation for commercial purposes 
impossible when the waters are low; it is probable that this impediment could be 
overcome by erecting locks, but it is impossible to estimate the cost of such works. 
Then, again, the Nile above Khartum is much obstructed by floating grass or sudd, 
making navigation at times almost impossible; but it was Gordon’s opinion that a 
line of steamers on the river, even if running at rare intervals, would keep the 
course of the stream clear; this, however, remains to be proved. 
If the canalisation of the sixth cataract should prove to be too costly an under- 
taking, then it would be most advisable to carry on the railway beyond that 
obstacle. This might be done by prolonging the line along the banks of the Nile, 
or by adopting an entirely different route from Suakin through Kassala, I hope 
we shall hear something from Sir Charles Wilson as to the relative merits of 
these proposals during the course of our proceedings. Proposals have also been 
made for connecting the Nile with other ports on the Red Sea, and all of these 
suggestions should be carefully examined before a decision is made as to the exact 
route to be adopted. But in any case, considering the matter merely from a 
geographical standpoint, and putting politics on one side—a very large omission 
in the case of the Sudan—it would appear that one or other of these routes 
should be one of the very first to be constructed in all Africa. 
Passing further south, it is obvious from the configuration of the shore, and 
from the distribution of the population, that the lines of communication next to 
be considered are those leading to the Victoria Nyanza, and on to the regions lying 
north and west of the lake. 
Two routes for railways from the coast to the Victoria Nyanza have been pro- 
posed, one running through the British and the other through the German sphere 
of influence. Looking at the matter from a strictly geographical point of view, 
there is perhaps hardly sufficient information to enable us to judge of the relative 
merits of the two proposals. Both run through an unhealthy coast zone, and 
