SCIENCE 



FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 1888. 



The political events in East Africa and the death of Major 

 Barttelol have made the position of Emin Pacha, and probably that 

 of Stanley, very difficult. Since the English have given up the 

 Sudan to the Mahdi, the Europeans have lost much of their influ- 

 ence over the Arabs, who feel that they are able to resist European 

 influence. As at the present time English and German traders are 

 making rapid progress in Central Africa, and as the Sultan of Zan- 

 zibar has yielded his political power to Europeans, the Arabs are in 

 fear of losing their profitable trade and of being compelled to aban- 

 don their slave-raids. This fear, combined with the consciousness 

 of their power, makes the situation in eastern Africa one of great 

 difficulty. It is erroneous to ascribe the disturbances to oppressive 

 or offensive acts of European, especially of German officials, as the 

 sole fact of their presence and of their progress is a satisfactory ex- 

 planation. As a matter of fact, the disturbances have not origi- 

 nated in, and are not confined to, German territory. In April severe 

 struggles took place between the Arabs and English traders near 

 the northern part of Lake Nyassa. Since the German East African 

 Company has taken possession of the coast of the mainland, the 

 hatred of Europeans has received a sudden stimulus, and the Arabs, 

 aided by their native supporters, everywhere offer resistance to 

 European travellers. Thus Dr. Hans Meyer's second e.xpedition 

 to the Kilima Ndjaro has been scattered, and all further expeditions 

 starting from Zanzibar have been made impossible. Besides this, 

 new complications have arisen in the lake region. The last news 

 from Uganda was dated June 27. According to it, communication 

 with Emin is again absolutely interrupted. While for a long time 

 Kabrega, King of Unyoro. seemed to be friendly to the whites, he 

 has all of a sudden turned against them ; and it would seem that 

 the cause of his change of mind may have been either the fear of 

 Stanley's arrival and the subsequent strengthening of Emin's power, 

 or the advice of Arabian traders. However this may be, he has 

 killed Mohammed Biri, the Tripolitan trader, who, in 1886, opened 

 a trade between Uganda and Wadelai at the instance of Dr. Junker- 

 and was the only one to continue it, and thus keep us informed of 

 what was going on in the Equatorial Province. It would seem that 

 Kabrega has also caused the unfortunate Captain Casati to be 

 murdered, but it may be that this news is not correct. On account 

 of this new interruption, the last news of Emin dates back to Nov. 

 2, 1887, and it seems not improbable that Stanley may meanwhile 

 have reached him. It must be borne in mind that the news of 

 Stanley's death and of the destruction of his caravan would have 

 reached us from some direction. H. Wichmann, in the October 

 number of Pctcriitan>i s Miiteilungcn, reminds us, rightly, that the 

 news of the destruction of Hicks-Pacha in Kordofan on Nov. 5, 

 1883, was known in Lado in March, 1884 ; that the capture of 

 Lupton Bey in the Bar-el-Gazal Province was known in November 

 in Khartum. Events of such importance as the destruction of a 

 whole caravan headed by many whites would have been reported 

 and known all over the country within a few months. Undoubtedly 

 both men, Emin as well as Stanley, are in a position of great diffi- 

 culty. We are unable to know whether they have succeeded in 

 uniting their forces since Nov. 2, 1887. The danger of their situ- 

 ation arises not so much from attacks of petty tribes, as from the 

 general feeling of power and distrust against Europeans among the 

 Arabs, and eventually in Uganda and Unyoro, and from the im- 

 possibility of obtaining the necessary ammunition and provisions. If 

 the story of the ' White Pacha ' had referred to any important event. 



it is probable that we should have had additional information from 

 the Bar-ei Gazal region. 



THE INTERNATIONAL GEOLOGICAL CONGRESS. 



The fourth session of the International Geological Congress 

 was held in London from Sept. 17 to Sept. 22. Nature gives a full 

 report of its proceedings, from which we take the following 

 notes : — 



So far as members go, the congress was a complete success, as 

 it was more largely attended than any previous meeting, both by 

 home and by foreign geologists. The success of such a gathering 

 may, however, be reckoned on other lines, and here opinions 

 on the subject may differ. Those who hold that the first duty of 

 such a congress is to formulate rules and to fix nomenclature may 

 well feel some disappointment ; for although excellent discussions 

 took place, and the general feeling was often evident, no formal 

 vote on any such subject was taken. It was generally felt that 

 votes from such mixed assemblages have no value. 



Three invitations for the fifth meeting of the congress in 1 891 

 were received from America, — from Philadelphia, New York, and 

 Washington. Philadelphia was chosen. A committee of Ameri- 

 can geologists was appointed to take such steps as it thought neces- 

 sary to make the arrangements for this meeting. The committee 

 consists of Messrs. J. Hall, Dana, Newberry, Frazer, Gilbert, 

 Hunt, Marsh, and Walcott. 



When the congress met at Bologna, much of the time was oc- 

 cupied with discussions upon the exact meanings to be attached to 

 various geological terms, and upon the general principles which 

 should guide us in geological classification. Certain rules were 

 then laid down, which probably few authors have consistently fol- 

 lowed, and which it is unlikely will be universally adopted. At 

 Berlin the discussions turned more upon precise questions of classi- 

 fication, especially those relating to the sedimentary rocks ; upon 

 the lines by which various groups of strata should be marked off ; 

 and, in some cases, upon the names by which these groups should 

 be known. This change of procedure was necessitated by the 

 progress made with the international geological map of Europe ; 

 the material for such discussion on classification having been pro- 

 vided in the shape of reports from various national committees, of 

 which that from England, presented by Professor Hughes, was by 

 far the most complete. 



At the London meeting the classification of the Cambrian and 

 Silurian strata was fully discussed ; and two other questions, only 

 lightly touched upon before, were here considered in some detail, 

 — the nature and origin of the crystalline schists, and the upper 

 limit of the tertiary system. 



In Bologna numerous votes were taken, in Berlin several, but in 

 London none. It was recommended that members of the country 

 in which the congress meets should vote separately from the for- 

 eign geologists : if the votes of the two groups agree, the question 

 will be taken as settled ; if they disagree, the further consideration 

 of the question will be postponed. The resolution further recom- 

 mended that votes should not be taken on questions which are 

 purely theoretical (such questions to be simply discussed, and vari- 

 ous views obtained), and that decisions of the congress should only 

 refer to the more practical questions. 



Two commissions of the congress have existed since the Bologna 

 meeting, — that on the map of Europe, and that on nomenclature 

 and classification. The work of the former is plainly marked out, 

 and much has yet to be done. The other commission has. how- 

 ever, in many respects ser\'ed its purpose : it has obtained reports 

 from the various national committees, most of which have been 

 ably summarized by Professor Dewalque. The future work of the 

 congress will partly lie in discussing these reports, and in deciding 

 such questions in general classification as may apply to wide dis- 



