The Berlin long, washed by the Atlantic ocean. I t contains within Conference. - ' ‘
its borders eight spacious river basins, and throughout
all its broad surface of 90,000,000 square hectares,
not one utterly destitute of worth can be found.
Portugal issues out of the Conference with a coastline
995 English miles in length, 351,500 square
statute miles in extent, a territory larger than the
combined areas of France, Belgium, Holland, and
Great Britain. On the Lower Congo, its river bank
is 103 miles in length. It can now boast of healthy
pastoral lands to the south, oil and rubber producing
forests northward, mineral fields in the north-eastern
portion of its territory, and valuable agricultural
regions in its eastern borders. I f her own population
were added to the aboriginal population of this African
colonial territory, and distributed over its area, there
would still be sufficient to give 32§ acres to each
Portuguese white and black subject. Her home
and colonial populations of all colours number now
8,300,000. The area of her territories in Africa,
Asia, and the oceans, measure 741,343 square miles,
or 474,500,000 acres, sufficient to give each subject
57 acres. Great Britain, on the other hand, with all
her vast acreage of 5,056 millions of acres, can only
give to each of her 249,000,000 of people the small
portion of 20j acres.
The International Association surrendered its claims
to 60,366 square miles of territory to France, and to
Portugal 45,400 square miles, for which consideration
600 square miles of the north bank between Boma
and the sea were conceded to it, besides cordial recognition
of its remaining territorial rights from two
powerful neighbours.
To the world at large, the two powers above mentioned
have been also duly considerate, for the territories
surrendered to them by the Association have been
consecrated to free trade, which, along with those recognised
The Berlin
Conference.
as belonging to the Association and which were
pre-ordained for such uses, and those as yet unclaimed
by any Power, but still reserved for the same privileges,
form a domain equal to 1,600,000 square miles
in extent, throughout which most exceptional privileges
have been secured by the cordial unanimity of the
riveraine of the United States and European Powers
for commerce. With due reserve for the sovereign
rights of Portugal and Zanzibar, this Free Trade area
extends across Africa to within one degree of the East
Coast, thus enlarging the privileged commercial zone
to 2,400,000 square miles.
Cynics may declare, on glancing over the large mileage
proudly claimed to have been reserved for free
development and trade, that the advantages are only
prospective; that there are no traders within the
boundaries to be benefited by these liberal endowments.
That is true enough; but the absorption of
Africa by European Powers was rapidly advancing,
and considering that of the coasts there remained but
little unoccupied, it is something surely to have rescued
such a large portion of Africa from final closure to
possible commercial enterprise.