The New York Herald Newspaper, October 12, 1872, Page 4

4 UP THE WHITE NILE. |: —_—>————- The Herald Correspondent’s Tour Through the Soudan with Its Governor Generel. MOONTAZ PACHA. A Wise, Prudent, Progressive Ooeat to the: Prince and Ardent Ad- mirer of America. VALUE OF THE sOUDAN. Astonishing Fertility in the Nile Region of Centrat Africa. ITS EXTENT AND POPULATION. Popular Prejudices and Fallacies About the India of Egypt. A VOYAGE ON A NILE EXPRESS BOAT. The Creen Banks of the Bahr- el-Abbiat. SCENES NEAR ARBAH ISEAND. A Viilage of Straw at the Settle- ment of Gaffel Harour. LIVING ON FIVE DOLLARS A YEAR The Monkey Rulers of the Forests Which Border the White Nile. FUTURE EMPIRE OF KING COTTON, The Ambition of Moontaz Pacha to Emulate American Progress. SLAVERY DEAD IN THE SOUDAN ——— Do the Great Powers of Europe Discover Amid the Sands of Africa a More Tempting Prize Than Asia? ON BOARD THE GOVERNOR GENERAL'S) DAHABEATI-RACOBA, TWELFTH DEGREE Nortn Latirvpe, Ware NILE, Arrica, March 19, 1872. Moontaz Pacha, the Governor General, is dozing, easily pillowed on the divan of the saloon, and (seize the opportunity to consider what there is in a journey of 300 miles to southward of Khartoum, Previous to a journey through the Soudan upon which the Pacha has invited me to accompany him, THE SOUDAN AND ITS PACHAS. The Soudan is to-day the most fertile country in the world. One acre of soil prepared in the rudest Manner will produce more than the same area of blooming Italy; and the world already knows how cotton and sugar raised in the dominions of the Viceroy now come into the markets of the world, The reason that this immense tract, called the Soudan, has been so long ignored lics tn the fact that Egypt has during her later years of prosperity been embarrassed by a variety of obstacles, Mo- bammed Ali pushed his army nearly to the borders of the Nyanzas, and the complete conquest of the territory to Fachoda was achieved under Ibra- him Pacha, Its entire submission and its semi- civilization have been somewhat slow, and it is only since a few years that perfect tranquillity and obedience have reigned. During the rule of sev- eral precediug Pachas at Khartoum the peoples have been oppressed by maladministration, the taxes have been applied to satisfy the personal greed of officials, and vast tracts of land designed by Gol to produce the most abundant crops have dain fallow, Mohammed Ali designed erecting upon the very territory which I see as I write lying a ‘vast plain before my cabin window an empire whose agricultural prestige should dominate the East, but he had too much to do in Lower Egypt, where he planted the seeds of her present wealth. Besides, com munication was dificult; it took sev- eral months to reach the so uthern bounds of the Soudan, and he knew not when his soldiery might be called upon to repel a Turkish invasion. Ibrahim Pacha wasted time and money in warring in Syria, which if it had been devoted to the development of the Soudan would have reclaimed one-third of the African Continent, and the shores of the Albert and Victoria Nyanzas might have been planted with flourishing cities of the size and opulence of Khartoum, at the junction of the Blue and White Niles. Moosa Pacha, a ruler who exaggerated his power to the limits of cruelty and his religion to the verge of fanaticism, while gifted with many btatesmanlike qualities, was far from being a Gov- ernor Generai faily adapted to the requirements of the people. He was a man of war. He loved to Kill the blacks. He was ever ready to put on his high boots and wade with his soldiers through the swamps of tue Bahr-cl-Gazal, or sleep on his arms among tie burning sands of the desert. He re- garded the negro as the sportsman does his game, His gilt to the Soudan was three years of furba- lence, He lies interred In an imposing mausoleum within the limits of Khartoum. ACHMED PACHA enriched the country by erecting 250 ‘“‘sikeaks” to irrigate the soil, and he constructed ten mills, which produced immense quantities of indigo. It was this wise man who, during his rule of five years, was the first to discover the agricultural value of the soil. He fel’ a victim to the political tatrigues of Lower Egypt, and in losing him Central | Africa lost a ruler energetic, honest, intelligent and loyal, JAPPA PACHA, the immediate predecessor of His Excellency Moon- taz Pacha, was in power during five years. He Was sadly deficient in energy, though permeated with atrocious bigotry. Feeble to a degree which excited ridicule, he was strong enough to ASSAIL THE COLORS OF THE UNITED STATES and tear our national escutcheon from the house of Azor, the American agent, who had prematurely exposed his badge of authority and before he was recognized at Constantinople. After reigning five years, and leaving the country three years behind with her taxes, he was replaced by Moontaz Pacha, and the Soudan was divided up as follows:— THE DIVISION OF THE SOUDAN. Khartoum, Sennar and Fachoda; Governor, ntaz Pacha, . rdoran, governed by Abdel Wahab Bey. Berber an Dongole, Fryernes by Hussien Bey, Takka, governed by Ali deen Bey, Suakim; Governor, Achmed Effendi, formerly Catholic missionary and a savant of renown. ai NEW YORK HERALD, SATURDAY, ‘OCTOBER 12, 1872.-TRIPLE SHEEY. Murowah, govérned‘by Mousinger Bey (Swiss). Bonuag,.. fe. ‘custom in’ the num , hence one eannot be exact with the figures. estimates Lobtained from His Rxcetiency the Rare’ Warcliod iat every province. of Mothora Moont in ‘every province ta who has been but four months and has done more work than all redecessore combined. He is the first man pocieiad Ses pemnanass of this country; ready form plans to utilize them, and who with a resolute hand has what Lam Srmly con: ‘and prosperoi the troplo. o “ wa? Like! Mohammed AML hase = Hative of Mesopo- he is the happy pee y-Whioh does not sacrifice sessor of a liberal ond interests aa Hes in fine, be is no He is ever ready ten to and enibrace new ideas and new inventions, He prefers tosee men with coats on their backs and well fed racher than to behold the aqualid Shel- locks murmuring feeble arog! which come not from bis educat conscience, but ignorant super- stition. For eight years His Excellency was the Governor General of Suakim, where he the cultivation of cotton for Effendini, and put under iminediate tillage over four hundred thousand acres. Tne Viceroy, for his distinguished administrative tal- ents, made Moontaz Pachsa present Of 25,000 frank rais him to the grade of Brigadier General an pre | hina with 600 acres of magnificent cotton lan. .a Lower Egypt, which produced an income of $1.00) a year in gold, He has lately ascended the Lue Nile high as Sennar, where he found Over 60,000,690 acres of superb soil, only awaiting seed and laborers; he visited the cataract between Berber and Khartoum after the departure of the which impede the na ion ol porns and, in two months one of the highest clus- rs Of rocks in the Nile wil have been put out of the way. His Excellency ts A THOROUGHLY MODERN MAN. His experience as a cotton producer at Suakim has taught him to appreciate the tands of the Sou- dan; and his knowled, of cotton cultivation laces him above the mediocrity of his predecessors, le is to this region what the Viceroy is to Lower Egypt—an executive of justice, energy and pra- dence. His Excellency was sent to Suakim by the Viceroy to buy 40,000 head of cattle, and while there he obtained 800 pounds of cotton seed which he put in the ground, and its success was 80 a that he demanded more seed,-and received 23,000 pounds with which, in two years, he produced over 800,000 pounds of seed. He demanded and received 2,500,000 pounds of seed for the province of Takka. So immense was the production that machines to clean and press the cotten could not be obtained, and it was necessary to send the crop in gross to Suez. Iam convinced that an nse factory for the fabrication of cotton ging and all the implements used in cotton culture, erected at Suakim by some erterprising Americans, or at Khartoum, would yield a fabuiong revenue. It was from Suakim that Moontaz Pacha first perceived the value of the Soudan territory, and even before he saw it he wrote to the Viceroy that he could produce UNTOLD QUANTITIES OF OOTTON, and in doing such a work he could unify and civilize the barbarians from the thirteenth to the Dinth degree of north latitude. Shortly after his arrival he sent to Cairo for seed and machines, and 2,600,000 pounds of seea are now at Korosko await- ing transportation to Khartoum. The machines have not yet arrived. THE START FROM KHARTOUM, At twelve o’clock on the morning of the 14th of March the Dahabeah of the Governor General lay anchored off the Mondertah (Governor's Palace), just astern of the steamer which was to tow us up the White Nile, The Racoba Medrhes! is a splendid Nile Poa p overy lake worthy of Egypt. Besides the long saloon, in which I am now writing, there are two finely furnished staterooms—one to starboard, the other to port—and a cabin astern. There is @ hurricane deck, @ long forecastle and toilet and store rooms. ‘The saloon itself 1s a beau- tifal apartment, filled with divans in damask, mir- Tors, and six cabin windows. The galley is forward, as in all Nile boats, The steamer was one ol the most powerful in the Soudan, and was called the Samia (trans) erent. Thad hardly reached the Racoba’s decks before I found that nearly all Khartoum had come down to see me off. In the saloon was Aboo-Sinf, Adam Pacha, Mr. Hansell, the Austrian Consul—in fine, all the celebrities of Central Africa, The bank was crowded with natives, Arabs, Diukas, Nubas, Shillooks and all the various black nations north of the equator, Coifee and cigar- ettes were served, and at one o'clock THE KACOBA SWUNG TO THE TIDR, was “tracked” down the Blue Nile, and we had begun our journey. The sole Curt were His Excellency Moontaz Pacha, El Hakim George, Medical Director of the Soudan, and the HERALD correspondent, His Excellency, In tendering your correspondent these extraordinary facilities, has done 80 in recognition of the power of the press and of his speciat admiration of the HenaLp. He believes in making this country kuown to the world, and for that reason he has been overwhelm- ingly courteons to your correspondent. No stranger who ever visited the Soudan has been treated with more marked attention, These atten- tions are by no means disagreeable, because they signify a superior cuisine, the best of accommoda- tions for the voyage and the society of an educated, progressive ruler, who is far ahead of countrymen. THE RESOURCES OF THE SOUDAN. Tn this estimate of the population of the Soudan is not included the immense tribes of blacks who have not yet submitted to Egyptian rule. What, then, are the resources of the Soudan, with which Moontaz Pacha begins to develop Central Africa? As follows :— Two productive States, each larger than France. Two hundred million acres of cotton lands, A civilized population of 6,000,000 of souls. A semi-civilized population of probably 30,000,000, A climate unequalled during eight months of the gs year. The Nile, with its confluents, for transportation. A railway to Catro, already surveyed. Blasting out the cataracts, already begun. A telegraph to Catro in working order, One million five hundred thousand camels. x Inillions of beeves and numberless sheep, en steamers, uy hundred barks, Anavy yard on Argel Island, near the twelfth paratie! of north latitude, Six thousand soldiers, infantry ; 2,500 cavalry. All the trades and industries represented by foreign mechanics, The port of Suakim and camel routes to Suakim and Lower Egypt via Korosko. ‘Two million acres already in cultivation by durrah, corn, melona, &c. POPULAR FALLACIES CONCERNING THE SOUDAN. Now let me name the popular fallacies concern- ing the Soudan. 18 IT UNNEALTHY? First—That it is unhealthy; that it is a deathly climate. I see as many old men here in eres to the population as I have seen in New York, Paris or London, and Aboo Sinn has already com- pleted his century. Egyptians and Europeans suffer more from the climate than natives ; but it is often because they indulge extravagant tastes and are intemperate in eating and drinking. Nearly all the foreigners who cowe here drink in- ordinately, then expose themselves to the sun. This climate has its rules of health the same as that of New York. It is very easy to freeze to death during the terrtble cold in America; it is likewise possible to be charred into a corpse by the blazing sun of Africa if you do not take the proper precaution. Khartoum needs a sanitary Potlce, All its fever arises from miasma, after the rains, and it is positively unhealthy only during two months. The smalipox prevails to some extent; but this arises from the superstition of the Arabs, who refuse vaccination. The government alone is occupied with the health of the population. Ire- peat that Soudan, all considered, is as healthy a country aa there is in the tropics. NOT AN ARID WASTE. Second—That it is an arid waste when it has soil to the extent of 141,000,009 acres o! the utmost fertility situated In the following provinces :— Dongola, 5,000,000 acres, very fertile. Between Dongola and Khartoum (proposed route of the railway), 14,900,000 acres, very fertile (canal necessary). . Between Khartoum and Berber, right bank of the Nile tg th Aare 20,000,000 acres, My fertile. Peninsula between the White and Blue Nile, 40,000,000 acres, superb soil. East of the Blue Nile, 12,000,000 acres, superb soil. 5 Ld ae of Fachoda, 8,000,000 acres, splendid and. Kordofan, 16,000,000 acres, not very fertile. Takka, 20,000,000 acres, Musowah, 4,000,000 acres, Suakim, 2,000,000 acres, Footing up a total of 141,000,000 acres, Such is the territory of Central Airica, utterly neglected, the richest I have ever seen, though a | traveller in many lands, This is the known soil; how much may there be then yet unexplored which one day my jorm the outlying provinces of a vast nation! Thid—That the Soudan ts A SAVAGE COUNTRY, and that there are none of the comforts of civiliza- stion, Before leaving Cairo I heard, even from the ministers themselves, that this was a miserable, forsaken ccuntry. I never had such a mountain of evil forebodings piled up in my eyes before. Such an idea o/ the Soudan ts entirely faise. WAT LOWER EGYPT MUST DO in order to develop her India:—First—She mast re- move from the Soudan the stigma of calling it the rison of Lower Egypt. Delinquents must be sent 10 some other quarter, Secondiy—There must be a administration, as there is now under Moon- faz Pacha, Thirdiy—The population must be made to work, It wili work without coercion, for the Arab loves money and s0 does the black. Fourthly— ‘Transportation must be had by rail or the cataracts of the Nile must be excavated and destroyed, Both are ronoeet. The rail running along the bank of tie is to cut across from Dongola to Khartoum, ag al: ly surveyed. The renaissance of the Soudan, ho’ er, can be; in at once, The reader should remember that the Soudan {san island of great fertility, surrounded by three seas of land, and that which has kept back the progress of the country has been the dificult, dangerous and expensive transportation, Shortening the trip to four from Oairo to Khartoum would wing @ wonderful disregard banks of the White Nile are Arabs or their rink. ‘They occu. for sir and White almost kK. sols, and of sreidelat earth, Its rigoiens vatue, At Und « we disembarked and DiC ee MUNDRED THOUSAND AOBHE OF LAND, the rat durrah and corn. fosires fo ture _chie territory into the fumetion ¢ of the ies is some! Itis resembles the Onest quality tors kaow not its IM, thirty miles from turn for that purpose it t8 Only neces- @ canal. several hundred fect long, and te an immense tract and alone produce crops of value of $1,000,000 per year, is only an example of the many piece of territory not utillzed. Outlying from Nad allt is @ vast plain ek away to tho Blue Nile an‘ to the southward, and the further you pen- etrate to the castward the richer the soll becomes. With what pride did I behold this country, but yes- terday the sporting ground of savagery, to-day peers a inspection for the seeds of & lasting prosperity ‘ELL THR AMERIOAN PEOPLE," said the Governor General of the Soudan to me, “that [have found a new America in the heart of Africa.” Let us take theso words for @ text, and gee really, as wo sail up the White Nilo, the extent and opulence of a territory which, far back in the night of time, was on the jen-spot of mil- lions of blacks, Fiiteen years have alone suM™iced to bring 30,000,000 ot people within the circle of somi-civilization, and He 000 of them are the Shellooks, described by Bayard Taylor twenty years ago as a tribe of savages Who were wont to commit murder and theft. Now they are engaged in the cultivation of cotton, and their production is abun- dant and ofa superior quality, Not alone in this Nile region, but in every quarter of the Water Shed inclining toward the Indian Ocean, is to be founa a youthful, energetic progres:—a A Tc td which points to eh piste! Ghee eepeeagestig Africa as one vaa' en of sugar, cotton and grapes, Leat it might be thought that the Governor was in- dulging in a spirit of enthusiastic exaggeration, ‘and that your correspondent has been duped by an iufectious credulity, I shall state, with truth, THE PREJUDICES which must be buried in a deep grave, and the cus- toms which rust be abolished before such a politi- cal and commercial structure as the African Em- pire can dominate the Nastern tropics, These im- pediments are physical, soctal and financial, and it requires no superhuman aid to level them in one ear. They are the bigotry and ignorance of the t portion of the Mussulmans and tl disinclination of the le to break awa: from their agreeable st ation, From what I have observed after @ month’s residence in Khartoum, and from the average sentiment of foreigners there, it seems that the Christians are much better tiked than in former years. They open stores, create & commerce and live in a semi-Eure- pean, semi-Turkish fashion. One of the greatest evils of the country is the want of money. ‘THR PROPRIETORIAL VALUE OF THE SOUDAN is estimated here at $50,000,000, but there is not in this whole country the sum of $2,000,000 in coin. The consequence is that there are many money- lenders here, who loan money on good security at four to five per cent a month—mark well, sixty per centum per annum. Of course they become rich. The country is sadly in need of a banking system which will protect and succor the smail merchants, Profits on gale are, cowever, enormous, and almost every man of small means is a speculator. Labor is not well or even justly compensated. The gov- ernment is the most liberal with salaries, and the European is always paid more than the Arab. In order to express more exactly the condition of the Soudan, I have carefully prepared the follow- ing table, which gives the sf Bh * COMPENSATION QF HMPLOYES AND THE PRICE OF i .. STAPLE ARTICLES in the avetage:—Doctor, $75 per month; engineer, $75 per month; clerk (writer of Arab), $60 per month; mechanics, $75 per month; captains of steamers, $40 * Month; captains of barks, $7 50 Per month; sailors, $3 per month; cooks, $2 per month; doorkeeper, $3 per month; kerasse (police- man), $15 per month; tailor (Arab), $15 per month; carpenter (Arab or European), $50 per month; joiner, $50 per month; shoemaker, $30 per month; tinmaker, $15 per month; workman in ground, $250 per month; commercial servants, $5 per month; house servants, $4 per month; slave (to buy), male, $80; slave (to buy), female, Averuge price ofan Abyssinian horse, $15; aver- age price ofa horse (Arab), $100; camel, dromedary, $40; donkey, $5; donkey to ride, $40; sheep, $1; cow, $5. To buy a house (African style), $500; the ground of the country, $1 (two acres) ; an clephant’s tusk (the average), $100; for 100 pounds of gum, first als, $10; for 100 pounds of gui, second quality, sary to dig by buch & conduit he oan tri 7 DOCTORS NOT IN DEMAND. The doctors are notin demand. If a Mussulman is sick he sends for ‘the Kadi, who recites the Koran to him; he puts a substance over the por- tion recited, then anoints water with this spirit- ualized body, drinks the water and the cure pro- ceeds, A man who lives next to my house was amiicted with a disease. He sent to me, knowing I was a white, and applied for remedies. I judged jin to be the best; at least it went as far as ny nowledge of his symptoms, But the invalid would not take it, because it is prohibited by the Koran. The other trades are fairly patronized, A word about ivory. THE ELEPHANT'S TUSK I have put down at $100. This is the average rice, Curiously enough, the race of elephants have been pushing southward each year, chased by the ivory traders, wars and civilization. The traders from Zanzibar have likewise driven the monsters into tne interior, and it is thought here that a few years alone will suffice to extinguish the last prestige of the African colossi. They are no more ct the Bahr-el-Gahzal, but are now hovering about the Equator. I have tried to discover how many of the beasts exist—that is, the elephantine popula- tion—and as near as Ican estimate there remain in Central Africa 100,000, more or less, It is now but a few years ago that elephants were found as high as the fourteenth degree of north latitude, m the 16th of March we found that we could not reach Fachoda, because of the shallows on the route. During the day we sailed through a lovely | country, low fat banks, covered with a growth of durrah, corn, onions, radishes, melons and tropical vegetables, immense herds of beeves drinking at the shore, often thousands in a body; small cone- topped huts, sheltering a family of twelve for in- stance, camels, camels, camels! I was enchanted. The Nile of Lower ypt has a dull, monotonous shore, compared with the bright, smiling green banks of the BAUR-RL-ABBIAT, You have before you a river, extending away to the southward, white as the sheen of silver, em- bosomed in a grotio of green. The boats of tiat wonderful people, the Shillooks (small dug-outs), lle up against the banks; behind the trees you de tect here and there a modest habitation, and then in the epen a bed of velvet verdure. The natives, naked, come down to the shore and cry out to the Pacha to stop. His Excellency is just, the steamer slows down, the gig pulls off to the shore and the man is brought on board. He turns out to be an Arab, living on the borders of Kordofan. He is very handsome and speaks Arabic with purity. The tax gatherer has tried to get two levies out of the Arab—one for Khartoum, the other for Kordo- fan. This is tne price of being a border State man. The steamer goes ahead a few miles. There is an- other cry; again we stop. An old man, an Arab, protests against paying $4 taxes because he ts old and has four sons, The Governor refuses his peti- tion, for the old man fs rich and can well afford to divert four dollars to the State. We remain here for half a day taking in wood, while His Excellency is strending to official business, The old man has taken up his position abreast the cabin window on shore, and at intervals utters loud cries. “MOS-LOOM! MOS-LOOM! MOS-LOOM!'? “They have done me injustice.” “such,” said His Excellency, “is the way they present petitions in the Soudan."* More than a dozen times the steamer was called from the banks to stop so that His Excel- lency could be petitioned to repair some injustice, real orimaginary. The Shillooks, a unit of savagery twenty years ago, have now submitted to the gov- ernment, though in the transition more than one illion have perished. They are robust, fine-look- ing, thrifty negroes, and thelr condition 1s much amehorated, , x r THE DUCK COUNTRY. On the morning of the 16th we were in the thick of the duck country—about cighty miles from Khartoum. His Excellency stopped the steamer and the dahabeat hove to, and your correspondent invaded a flock of 200 with @ small boat anda double-barreled gun, and easily slaughtered ten in half an hour, They were magnificent specimens of pe We stood on and on the afternoon of the A VIOLENT STORM suddenly burst over the Nile, the waters rose, lofty columns of sand from the distant desert swept across the southern vista,the winds howled through the forests and snapped and cracked the dry oranches, and the maiden rain of the year _be- gan to fall, but in a few moments it was over, This eccentricity occurs very often. Sometimes the moorings are torn from their fastenings and other damage occurs. STORES AND SUPPLIFS FOR BAKER. Later in the day we met six boats on their way to Sir Samuel Baker's expedition, laden with stores and supplies. This flotilla, however, goes only to Fachoda, where it will remain until the coming season, ‘The 17th we saw TWO HIPPOPOTAMI sporting in the Nile, and trees on the bank were lined with the white-breasted, biack-faced, gray- backed tribe of monkeys. The river grew very wide at points, sometimes averaging four miles be- tween the perpendrcular masses of foliage which grow down to the water's edge. On Sunday Lagat | the Rucoba arrived off Argel Island, in the twelfth degree of north latitude, after @ journey of 300 miles, accomplished in four days and a fraction. These 300 miles were ONE CONTINUED FIELD OF FERTILITY, of rich islands, vast herds of beeves and mutton, I had traversed the heart of the future empire. Beyond, a8 I look to southward, are the still uncon- quered lands of the Kitch, Dinka, Barri, Madi and osi, aud further yet the Nile itself, which has never been traversed by source, Speke, after Channel, quitted the Nile rejomed it miles from the Lake Victoria Nyanza, and tt yet whother the Victoria Nyanza, th Albers — Nyan: or Lake Tanganyl as the true source of the Nile, or whether the Nile is simply the Cah A @ great basin satu supertinous rains. ts still in the high Nile section, sent bg ern, ment to make a map of the region ut latitude ten degrees north, | tude thirty-one do; east from Paris. e brave young, Aust who, to escape the imbecilittes of his government, undertook the rdle of an African explorer, went to in the sei when it was yot Journey. ir Samuet Baker is at Geadokore; and muy. ave. been "undercaken, other ¢: itions may nave ul Here tn Conceal ‘Afrion we no newspapers, 1D—THE NAVY YARD OF THE SOUDAN. ARGBL ISLANI Ai Island ts 8 Bin; man to its very seen Nay many is not 10 rgel ‘8 lonely spot, and is now the navy yard of the souasa. te morning, in com- Batratita isle Epes eases vos ani the settlement is 4 nymph’s hand) rit COnBIstS of yellow straw + It col houses, bullt cane the shade of immense trees, soine of them very neat and Stilt. Woe be to that man, however, who smokes @ high wind; for the straw is very dry, and hundreds are consumed in the flames ‘almost before be! they are aware of@ fire. A house is built one-storied, with- out windows, sometimes round, often square. When square one whole side ts left-open, and the owner sits in the atcove, smoking and drinkin; coffee. The scenes about this rude life were posl- tively fascinating. The immense trees, with thou- sands of monkeys leaping from branch to noch; yonder jon. mimosa, with more than one hundred bi Afrioan eagies pefohed water's edge; spikin, te @ bark in embryo; negroes riding cows; the air black with pigeons and the river ‘swarming with ducks, Bakors’ boats are lying by the shore fillin, for the coming season; two steamers are anchore: in the stream, flying the red and crescent of Effendint, and the sound of chopping, of monke; gurgling, and the compound muede up from the roats of cows, camels and donkeys tells one tliht he is in a@ hermaphrodite land—half savage, halt cytines. Going far back into the interlor we came up to NATION OF MONKEYS who rule the trees of the White Nile, They are never caught without being shot; they are seduced by means of liquor, ‘ishing to t1 ® monkey the native places a dish of marissa at the foot of a tree. Marissa is an intoxtcating beverage, made from durrah, He goes away, and presently the monkey descends to drink. first Co-co is shy and drinks cautiously. Appetized, he indulges freely and becomes drunk. In this condition he is seized without difficulty, and when he emerges from his debauch he is a prisoner with a cord about his body. Nearly all monkeys from the White Nile have been intoxicated at least once. The Island of ae produces the finest wood in Northern Africa, and at this moment about a dozer boats are bein; built tor the White Nile trade, But the very spo Where the settlement of Gaffel houses exists is covered at high Nile, and the Arabs and Shillooks retire into the interior, THE RETURN TO KHARTOUM. To-day we wy olgnes. anchor, and, under a fult head of steam, started for Khartoum. It is not to be supposed that in a week's voyage with the Governor General, His Excellency did not speak often and clearly of the country. “Tam gratified,” said he, “that you have come among us, Tlie world has forgotten Africa, and the name of the Soudan is not known be- youd Egypt; and even there its fertility is. disbelieved. You have seen for yourself what there ts, and you can write to your great journal what our future must be. Do you see that splendid soil (pointing tothe plain stretching back to the interior)? There is wore than two hundred million acres of such soil. I shail be- gin at once to cultivate, Ihave no machines; but when they are sent Lam fseald | with the sepneny 3 Lower Egypt, that Loan proddce a revenue Ih a lew acae amounting to $25,000,000 annually; and the Soudau, developed to its fullest extent, thor- oughly irrigated, with @ good administration, is susceptible of producing 40,000,000 bales of cotton of the American size,” “And WILL THE POPULATION WORK ?? “Certainly there is a great greed for money here. Ineed not tell you that is the lever which moves all peoples, the most barbaric or the most en- lightened. I wish to clothe the naked races, to consolidate and civilize them and render themcom- fortable and happy.” PRESENT CONDITION OF THE NATIVES. “What is their condition now?! “They are nude, savage, dying from disease, star- vation and exposure. ‘They have no religion, and each tribe wars inst its neighbor and demands tribute of beef and mutton, Their condition is hor- rible. They must be made to submit to the gov- ernment by force, and be divided into d.stinct populations, The Shillooka were easily subjugated and are now good cultivators, All the savage tribes worship their cows; they do not eat them, and if you demand a cow from a mother or a father they prefer to give you their child, In some prov- inces the inhabitants sell their children for a hand- tl of durrah, These miserable negroes live like monkeys, On iruits and herbs, and are in a sad way.” OHEAP LIVING. “But it is easy to (ets a living here #7" “Yes, when durrah is cheap a laborer can live on six francs a year ($1 25) ; that Js, his cating.” “Then Isuppose for ive dollars a year @ man could live in the Soudan ?”” 7 “Yes!” rudely, “How did you discover THE WEALTH OF CENTRAL AFRICA ?”? “T inquired of every traveller who had been here, and then I had studied America closely, I saw and envied your sudden rise and progress; your mar- vellous ry of growth; your agricultural great- ness, and I felt that the same resources were pre- sent here, Isaid I SHALL IMITATE AMERICA, and that is what lam trying todo. Even now one man can cultivate forty acres of cotton and three crops @ year. The same plant is good for four ie For instance, a man plants ten acres. While he is gathering in the crop ten more adjoin- ing acres are growing, and while the second ten are being gathered a third is maturing, and so on, a man can work forty acres, and labor the year round,”” DR. GEORGE DEMETRIF, who has been on the journey with His Excellency and your correspondent, deserves a nee place among famous Alrican voyagers. He was born in Egypt, of Greek parents. His father was the Chief Surgeon to Mohammed Ali and Abbas Pacha, and rendered distinguished medical services to the Court up to the time of Ismail Pacha. His son was educated at the expense of th» govei nment, at Pisa, Italy, where he learned Freach and Italian. He has occupled many places-of distinction in Lower Egypt, and, from his thorough knowledge of Arabic, Greek, Turkish, French, Italian and English, he re- ceived rapid advancement. For twelve years he has been the best known European of the Soudan, and has been in every province and knows the country thoroughly. The government has named him to represent the Soudan in the exhibition of 1873 at Vienna, and he is now making his collection, Like Moontaz Pacha, he Is a believer in the future of Central Africa, and has ventured his own money to buy gins and machines to prove that he believes in the oe of Africa as an agricultural Em- pire. hen in Cairo he will present to the Viceroy @ substance as a substitute for coal. He claims to have tried it in the SouJan, and that it ts the desid- eratum. SLAVERY ia legally dead here, One held to servitude can always obtain his freedom by applying to the Gov- ernor General. Such is the law of the land. The brood of White Nile slave traders {3 scattered to the four quarters. Iam living in Poncet’s deserted mansion now. De Bono is gone. All who amassed wealth and obloquy, and tortured, siaughtered and tyrannized, have left the Soudan. Voluntary slavery alone remains, perhaps with exceptions which I caanot define here; and until the Koran 1s amended and the religion of the Ottoman Empire changed perfect freedom hke our own in America cannot be. You can go to A. and say, “Here are $100, give me your servant Mohammed!’ The contract is made; but, if Mohammed chooses, he is free. Selling to the highest bidder does not exist. A SUBJECT WORTHY OF SERIOUS REFLECTION. The public spirit is excellent. The truths I have written are known only to the most intelligent, but the feeling grows that while Europe may be infu- enced by a general war Africa will profit by the oc- casion to furnish the depleted factories with raw material. And who knows? Does not England, losing strength in India, turn with a greedy glanco toward the Soudan and {ts more docile population ? The subject is worthy of reflection, and it would also he a nice calculation to know how long it will be before the Powers of Europe will be stretching their longest fingers over the deserts which sur- round the Soudan, to feel for a small State of the size of France. THE OIVIL SERVICE, The Examinations Continued=—Mr, Wm. Curtis to Attend To-Day. Inthe matter of examining candidates for Cus- tom House appointments there was very little done yesterday, asthe competition for the exist- ing vacancies had narrowed down to only two as- pirants. These gentlemen were deterred from putting in an appearance on the previous day, and as the Board of Examiners are very anxious to give every aspirant for ofice every opportunity to attend they allowed these men to finish their ex- amination yesterday. In response to the invitation sent to Mr. George William Curtis to meet the different Boards of Ex- aminers yesterday at their roor: sent a reply that it was impos their kind request yesterday, but would be very happy to attend to-day at one o'clock, in regard as to who have carried off the palm of Thursday's trial nothing has as yet transpired. The examiners have a herculean labor to perform in determining the proper standard of each can- didate’s proficiency, and are very busily engaged ring and grading every copy of the appli- int’s answer tot a erenern uestions, sa rule, the majority of the contestants have demon- strated considerable proficiency in the various branches of study requistte, and those selected from this batch for appointment and confirmation will reflect great oredit on the Unitqd States Civil Geo, Services FROUDE ON IRELAND. either to Tho Views of the Great Historian | Sis oie, corebsrnoaing ‘hed st ter Foreshadowed. Calling Up the Grievances—Why Didn't Irish- men Fight and Mot Be Always Going To Do It—The Ireland of To-Day—An Eng- lishman on the Platform in Be- fence of “Old Albion.” There has been much spéontation in literary cit- | been dis] Cles since the arrival in this city of James Anthony Froude, a8 to how that distinguished histortan will Seow in 3 there treatin his lectures the very dificult subject of country. I must Ireland's past and present condition. The lecture is Platform in thia city, and, mdeed, everywhere throughout the country, it is considered in England | ments that would even has been used by lecturers on Irish subjects for the purpose of inculcating @ political doctrine that represents Ireland aga martyr and England as a | estates in Ireland tyrant. It ts seldom that an Englishman ascends the rostrum in this country, either to attempt to 88 for emigration, I should . for to seoilt even ons more woale than it te an efort to ‘up wit persist im being, when they were when | Ife, even though they have “It is often sata England unjustiy cripples Irish gaterpriee. “git eng on oa Ptneve te in Belfast quite 's io im tee manufacture; but I suppose what you is that the rivers are not used to advantage. it is true that the water power of the country might be dev more than it has been, but aot to L log like — eome persons represent, there is no coal in the il ha ‘ ’ aa shoe Botaad a8 walk 1"? pees ort orgs ry I aa saree is ait tor the eect Nave been united under some ene have been in England land, and Ireland is_essen! & cattle- , too, that the land 16 ra are vayilting to Ser pend money in di it Le making mun " “iit 18 ald that tandlords’are oven more Ladle: ent about the land than are the te 4p “Thore is something of a raiiaoy in that. The are wi wel what they call ‘absentee’ lan rds prefer that thore should be no suct’ as Sentee’ landlords, It seems to be an disabuge Americans, as he would think, of false | condition of society in a country when the owners. opinions as to the relative positions of England and Ireland towards cach other, or to plead for a fairer judgment on the British government. Apart, of rno away from them. Yet theao fre the ‘best managed in Irolaud tnd tor son that the ‘absentee’ landiord is alw: place some man ie chai of i ‘sure tO his estate upon then, from the kindly weicome ever given in this | Whose prudence and abiilty he oan rely, and whe country to men distinguished in Europe for services in itterature or in the arts, attention centres in this English historian on ac- an unusual degree of | are two sides to’ this Iris! is experieuced in the kind of work he “On the whole, sir, has to do."" I infer .that you think th ih quest and that men should have faith in the British Parliament “ireland, for her ulation, has a r count of the bold step he bas taken in defending | gontation in the Horio Peritnment tee citaee British policy in Irish affairs, or, at least, in his try- ing to prove from historic data that Ireland after all has to blame herself more for her unfortunate condition than she has her more powerfal neighbor across the channel, It wH! no doubt be very interesting to hear Mr. Froude discourse on the historic events of the | not come hurriedly past and to watch his skilfal pertrayal of critical scenes with all the light and shadow a master can impart to them, It is, however, of more interest still to come down to our own times and sce how the Irish of to-day are living and to learn some- | aamitted to Tare faculties of obse: weight in the le y thing from so high a British authority as Mr. Froude of the probability of the realization of every Irishman’s dream—the chances of an Ireland for the Irish, with “the green above the red.” England or Scotland,” In the course of the conversation, which, ef course, has not been given in the words used by Mr. Froude, several incidental remarks were made by him which show that he is thoroughly convinoed of the soundness of his views in regard to Frelana nd of his personal interest in the welfare of that country. Whether he be right or wrong, he before the American public te advance his theories. For four or tive rey he has, every summer, resided in Ireland and trav- elled treely among the y himsewt the operation of exiting laws and the effects the people and their industries, The opinion eminent an historian, and one who is untve: E must have ture room, Whet or not he defended England -merely upon historical analogies, there canbe no doubt that will be listen to by tn who charmed by his e! pat ousands, loquence, His first lecture io this In order to foreshadow to an extent the tenor of | CIty will be given on Wednesday evening next, what Mr. Froude may have to say on the much- vexed question of Ireland's present and future a HERALD reporter called yesterday on the eminent historian and had a long conversation with him. Being ushered into Mr. Froude’s modest parior, at the Brevoort House, the reporter was soon put at his ease by the frank and honest manner of the Englishman. Mr. Froude is a gentle- man of apparently forty-five years of age or thereabouts, of commanding presence, tall and without the least whit of the bookworm about him, He ts the last man in a crowd that you would think was willing to devote the best years of his life to poring over old manuscripts, correcting anachron- isms or bothering himself about the British world from the time Wolsey died to the advent of the virgin Elizabeth, Mr, Froude was inclined, more than once during the interview, to turn the tabies on the reporter, for he essayed to interview the in- terviewer, and learn something more than he knew about the Empire City and the throbbing of its great big pulse, It is needless to say that such artless artifice on the part of the great historian proved an utter failure, and that Mr. Froude was led back, though with gentle forck, to the ragged track in which he had found himself, and out of which he had been trying to escape. Before touching at all on the subject of Ireland, Mr. Froude expressed himself as having quite a fancy for yachting, and he was very anxious to have an opportunity during his stay here of seeing some of our first-class yachts and to learn all about our modes of building, and about our clubs and Trace courses. He said he keeps a little yacht him- self in Ireland, with which he amuses himself when he can get a chance to run away from his literary labors, and he is passionately fond of the noble sport, that is grand in its simplicity and ennobling in the wor reflective character of its pleasures. This subject naturally suggested to the reporter's mind the name of poor old Ashbury, and Mr. Froude was at once asked what was thought of him in oh ag as a representative yachts- man, or he was atone; for, added the reporter, people over here were beginning to think that he was born to be a historian of yacht rules and regulations and of thé quibbles of match- making. Mr. Froude’s re Ly, was confidential, but “a nod ts as good as a wink.” On the subject of Ireland’s present condition Mr. Froude spoke cautiously, but candidly. The re- porter asked— “Ig there any probability that the home-rule movement will meet with success ?? “f think not. I am decidedly of opinion that Ireland could not govern herself to her best advan- tage. “Probably Cardinal Cullen {s pushing this move- ment, as he met withso greata victory on the Church question.” “L should not wonder if that were so; but I do not think that those who are pressing for home rule have any ideu that they will get it. The ques- tion of education, according to the national school atom, seems to be what the Catholics fight most about.’ “Was not the national school system adopted with the consent of the Catholics?” “Certainly it was; but these people now are more aggressive than they were at the time these schools were introduced.” “It would seem, then, that the religious squabbling is still In its vigor?’ “Yes, and I don’t believe It will ever be other- wise., The Irish Catholics cling most tenaciously to the belief that there has been some mysterious system of constant oppression of them by England and nothing will remove it, The Protestant Church has been disestablished, and yet it was only the other day that the hate between the religions broke out as flercely—more flercely, perhaps, than it had ever done beiore. I don’t believe this dis- like or hate can ever be rooted out, I have no resitation in ae that if Ireland were entirdly Catholic or entirely Protestant {t would be easy to govern her, and that the people would be far more happy and contented, But, yousee, this is not so, The Catholics and the Protestants will not agree.’ “The priests, it is said, wield immense power over the people ?”” “Yes; and | think, under all the circumstances, this is reasonable ov, at least, what might be ex- pected, 1am myself opposed to this, because I see What the result of it is in all Catholic countries. For my part I should like to sce all ministers of re- ligion subject to the laity, I am persuaded this would be for the better interests of the State.”” “T have been led to believe that Fenianism was so widespread over the Replies opposition to the teaching of the Catholic clergy in Ireland, that the clerical influence has been con- siderably broken.” “Well, I don't know. What is there new In Fentanism? Nothing. Fentanism, or what is the same, only under another name, has been cropping up throughout [reland’s history for hundreds of years. ‘ihis thing called Fenianism has been in reland for seven centuries, It 1s part of the people, for Fentanism means dissat: tion, sor- rowful longing for what cannot be; a lethargy in Ireland with a hate and distrust of England, It is not now diferent from what it has always been, Look at Scotland. Scotland had its Fenianism, and the men of the country fought for it, and won what they fought tor. How about Irelana’s fighting for her own freedom? She had more men and greater resources than Scotland had, and yet she has never been able to succeed. Why did she not fight and win? She had a right to fight if she was able, and be free, But she didn’t doit. Why, then, continue this mournful strain of persecut! on—this never ending cry of England's tyrannical dealing with her? The truth is, Ireland would bave long ago been an independent country if she wanted to be independent; or, In other words, if Irishmen would pei the enemy and not be ever Aghting each other. “Then you are inclined to think that Ireland hag not yet grown out of her first and earliest faults ’”” “1 can't see that she has, I like the people well, and would wish to see them happy and prosperous, but I fail to see how England to-day is impeding Jreland In any way.” “Was it not expected that when the grievance of the Established Church would be removed harmony among all creeds would follow ?”” j “It was hoped so, but the hope was delusory.’” “Another grievance, it was claimed, was the sys- tem of land tenure—has not this been remedied 1" “Tho Irish tenants are to-day far better provided for than are the tenant farmers of either England or Scotland. They have a security, and enjoy other privileges which should certainly make them con- tent. The Land law in Ireland all that any ten. ant could desire.”’ “How do Irish farmers compare with English, /or Scotch farmers ?"” é “The Irish farmers are far better off than either the Engiish or Scotch farmers. They are faking money fast, and there can be no doubt ‘about the advantages they possess. The Irish I,porers are how getting three shillings for a day’s work. Not so very long ago the same class wer’, getting six- nce aday. So you see the times, have changed for them.” ‘ “Jt is said there 18 a dearth of In;oor; that emigra- tion has deprived the farmers 0% this necessary ad- juanct to an agricultural count yy and so directly in | v Professor Tyndall, Professor Tyndail, the eminent scientist, left this city yesterday for Boston, where, on Monday even- ing next, he will deliver his first lecture ia America, A HRRALD reporter had @ conversation with him at the Brevoort House, before his leaving, and learned that the New World seemed to him not like a strange land, but as a country in whisk, though he had never secn it before, he was’ among old friends, whom he had known tor many yeare, The Professor visited the City of Churches: ‘aud was all admiration of it, speaking Say of the Brooklyn acadeniy of Music, which he said was & splendid affair, ‘ith Broadway in this si he was delighted. He said he was astonished at seeing such magnificent buildings devoted to mercantile business as those which appeared on the great thoroughfare. He was not so much surprised at the extent of Broadway itself, but the marble panos were something he was unprepared for. ‘he Professor is hale and hearty, suffei in way from the fatigue of his voyage across. ‘Thor his hair is silvered there is yet about him the elasticity of youth, and he will no doubt see again, patore age wearles him, his well-loved Alpine sum- 3. R. M. T. HUNTER ON FINANCE. The Virginia Senator and Confederate Statesman on the Republican Finan- cial System. In reply to a letter from Mr. Augustus Schelt, Chairman of the National Democratic Committee, Mr. R. M. T. Hunter, of Virginia, has written a long letter on the financial interests of the country. He reviews the course of the administration and of the republican Congress on these points with a certain breadth of view acceptable to a great many who do not wish to sce the present financial syatem of the country continue in operation, and who believe that this will best be achieved by a change ofrulers. The letter bears date of October 5, but was not published before the Pennsylvania elec- tion. He challenges, in opening, the republicama argument, that it would be prudent to retain that party in power for financial reasons. In treating his contradiction of this argument he first takes up the question of the payment of the public debt at our present rate, He says:— The Reid use of public credit ts to enable a nation to raise what unexpected emergencies may require by loan; and, when the sum is too large to be met by immediate taxation, to divide the payment with posterity, who share in the benefits. To impose the whole burden, or any con- siderable portion of the whole burden, upon’ the preseut generation, seems never to have been thought of except y our radical legislators. Following this up, he attacks the U ie taxation neces- sary to meet this yearly outlay, aud quotes trom Com- missioner Wells to’ sustain him. He denounces the Lor taxes on whiskey and tobacco as part of this aystem. the shipping question he all the blame of our na- tional falling off in this respect to the tariff, giving, of course, the Confederate cruisers a share in the Eredit tor this decrease originally. The, tax upon wool he declares fatal to American sheep as if “the rot” appeared amo them, and argues outward that the present cumbrous gystoin keeps the Ainerican manufactures out of the mar- o he world, while returh cargoes. . It forms one of his objections tw the tariff that it affords a constant cause of apprehension to the country, if this sum be large and In the hand: of either an’ unskiltul or corrupt Se the Treasury. What mischiet @ mistaken use of this power in the hands of a reckless and unskilful Secretary can still be estimated kets preventing our shipg He next treats by those in New York who remember the celeprated Black Frida; memorable in the annals of this adininis- tration, Areducticn of this tariff by safe degrees to the revenue staydard would diminish this amount and the capacity of the Secretary of the Treasury for mischicf to a very great extent. On the varions modes of relief from this vitat question he says:— Tho Secretary of the Treasury has well said that there are two modes ot “relief” (meaning a return to specie pay- ments); “one {8 to reduce the volume of currency, as was Fecommiended by me in my annual report, submitted to Congress in December, ; the other mode is to awalt the growth of the country and the increasing de- mands of business, which in time will produce desired result.” Of the two, the last seems to me to be de- cidedly the best and the safest. Nor should we have long to wait for it. He states that the average premium.on old in 1968 was 39.54 per cent; in 1800, 32.98 per cents for ¢ year 1870 it was 14.83 per cent, and for the first oleven moniths of the year 1871 it was 12.1 per cent. He properly attributes this decline in the premlnm on gold to the in- creased demand for paper, in the increased business of the country. This of business in this country t¥ go rapid that the day cannot be distant when the demand for paper will raise it to par with specie. ‘The quantit of paper is fixed, but the demand for it Is variabl and ‘constantly. increasing. Suppose this were helped as it might be, by treeing the South from the system ot oppression under which it ts suffering, and by permit- ting it to develop its resources through the agency of its best and most efficient material. Suppose, in other words, its annual export of cotton should be raised, as i ily be done, trom a little more than $200,000,0x 1000 $45,000,000; suppose, too, the taritt should be #0 modified ay to let up other great producing interests of the country, how long would it be before specie payments would be resumed by the operations of trade itselr? This 1s the true way to restore specie pay- ments to the beneft of all and without injury to any. Men who have contracted on the basis of this paper woitld not be forced to pay an unexpected value through. a sudden change. Nor should we ineur the danger of di- minishing the amount which is necessary to move the crops of the West and South before the system of ex- changes is completely restored. | We shoult thus accont, plish our desires without any shock to the system of Credit or curreney—an exceedingly desirable result, PLYMOUTH CHURCH SILVER WEDDING. The Close ot the Wedding Services—A, Mass Mecting for Prayer and: Exhorta— tion=—The Administration of the Lord’s Supper to Three Thou d Commani~ cants. The silver wedding services.of Plymouth.church, were appropriately closed last night by the’ usual Friday evening prayer and experi- ence meeting. The exceptional fentures of last night’s service were that the meet ing, usually held im the lecture room, waa held in the audience room, ordinarily opened on Sundays, and that the Lord's Supper wasad- ministered at the close of the meeting, Before the service was cemmenced the choir, im Lts tull strength, sang the well-known hymn, “Abide With Me,” ine Starling singing tho first three lines of each stanza, as a solo, Mr. Beecher occwpied his @ccustome ve on the platform, and, atter a few ‘words of introduction, @ hymn was sung and prayers offered, alternated —_occusion- ally with the singing of hymns. this the mecting took the form ot a Metho- dist experionce meeting, in which Dr. Edward, Beecher, Rey. W. Taylor, of the Broadway Tabor- nacle, New York; Mr. Lyman Abott, Captain Dun- can and Mr. G. A. Bell told the story of thaoir relt- ions life, After the singing of “Lord Remember ie,’ Mr, Beecher closed by leading the, audience in one of his characteristic prayers. To adminis. tration of the Lord's Supper was t roceeded with, very few of the vast audience, which filed nearly every pew in the house, leaging the house, as Mr. Beecher invited all to regain, The scene was very impressive, and fitly closed @ serie’ Oh “It seems to me there 1s 8, supply of laborers, and, | never-to-be-orgotten gorviceiy |