Although during my recent expedition I have not travelled over much new
ground, the advantages to geography are considerable, owing to the
professional observations of Lieutenant Baker, R.N., to whom I confided
the entire charge of the topographical department. Some slight
corrections have been made in observations for longitude taken during my
first expedition; and as every place is now rigidly attested on the map,
that portion of Central Africa is most thoroughly investigated, and the
astronomical positions of all principal points and stations are
incontestable.
The fact of this thorough exploration, and the establishment of the
Egyptian government, now afford a firm base for all future travellers.
The good work of one man can be carried on by his successor. Formerly it
was impossible to render the necessary support to an explorer in Central
Africa. A distant country cannot plunge into war with a savage potentate
of the equatorial Nile Basin because he has either captured an explorer
or devoured a missionary.
There was only one step practicable if the improvement of Africa were to
be attempted. Egypt was the only country that could form a government by
the extension of her frontier to the equator. This would insure the
safety of future travellers where hitherto the life of an individual had
no guarantee.
This annexation is now effected, and our relations with the Khedive
assure us that the heart of Africa will be thrown open to the civilizing
influence of the North.
When the railway shall be completed from Cairo to Khartoum, there will
be direct communication by rail and river. Countries that are eminently
adapted for the cultivation of cotton, coffee, sugar, and other tropical
productions will be brought within the influence of the commercial
world, and the natives, no longer kidnapped and torn from their homes,
will feel the benefits of industry, as they now feel the blessings of
protection.
It is well known that the greatest difficulties lie in the first
footsteps of a great enterprise; but those difficulties are overcome,
and patience and perseverance will at length perfect the good work. The
impression of civilization must be gradually and slowly engraved upon
Central Africa, and those who work in this apparently hopeless
undertaking must not be appalled by the difficulties of the task.
In the share that I have taken during nine years passed in Africa, I
have simply represented one of those atoms of which Great Britain is
composed. I deeply regret that personally I have not had the honour of
serving my Queen, but I trust that indirectly I have worked out that
principle, which England was the first to initiate, expressed in the
word "Freedom," which, we maintain, is the natural inheritance of man.
