AFRICA.
—Forty light-houses of great range have been established in the Red Sea, to render navigation less dangerous during the night.
—Dr. Schweinfurth has returned to Suez after a month’s exploration in the Island of Socotora, where he found a very abundant flora. The forests constitute the principal riches of the isle.
—Following the massacre of the expedition Giulietti, two Italian vessels have been sent to Assab, to be stationed there during the inquest that the Egyptian Government has ordered, with a view of discovering the murderers and punishing them. They will be supported by an English vessel.
—Dr. Southern, of the London Missionary Society, has been laboring for more than a year at Urambo, the capital of the noted chief Mirambo. He has been received with much cordiality, and is able to report results of his work in terms which are suggestive of a bright future for that station.
—The Governor of the Gold Coast has placed, as a condition to the conclusion of a treaty with the King of Achantis, the abolition of human sacrifices in the states of the latter. The king having demanded that a representative of the Governor should visit him, M. Maloney, the Colonial Secretary, has accompanied Prince Buaki, who has returned to Coomassie.
—The necessary materials for the construction of the railroad of the Senegal have been transported over the upper river, the King of Foutah guaranteeing the security of the passage. There is still some difficulty with the King of Cayor on the subject of the passage of the road over his territory, but they hope for a satisfactory solution.
—A business house in Hamburg has sent out an agent to attempt the culture of coffee in the region of the Ogove. A clearing has been made near Corisco bay, where several thousand coffee trees have been planted, promising an abundant harvest this year. The American Presbyterians have a mission some hundreds of miles up the Ogove river, and the project is on foot to open a route this way to Stanley Pool on the Congo.
—The Universities Mission to Central Africa, which was first undertaken in 1860 through the influence of Dr. Livingstone, and afterwards suspended, has recently entered upon a very hopeful career. Bishop Steere has now a well equipped staff of thirty-one European missionaries, of whom seven are ladies. He already understands the language of the tribes among whom he labors. The present work of the mission is threefold: First, that on the island of Zanzibar, which is now of a comprehensive character, including many agencies; secondly, the work at Magila and its surroundings, some forty miles from Pangani, on the main land to the north of Zanzibar; and thirdly, the missions on the main land to the south in the Rovuma district.
—The Missionary Herald for August, the organ of the Baptist Missionary Society of London, contains an admirable map of the Congo from its mouth to Stanley Pool. This Society already has a mission at San Salvador, south of the Congo, between one hundred and two hundred miles from the coast. It recently sent two of its missionaries, Mr. H. E. Crudgington and Mr. W. H. Bentley, on an exploring tour to Stanley Pool for the purpose of fixing a site for a mission at the latter point. The report of their exploration is given almost entire in the Herald, and constitutes one of the most interesting and profitable narratives of perseverance and heroism that has been given to the public in the annals of missions.
—The C. M. S. of London has established a new mission at Uyui, a collection of villages under the control of a governor appointed by the Sultan of Zanzibar. It is described as a very large town for Africa. Mr. Copplestone, one of the early missionaries for Mtesa’s kingdom, took up his abode at Uyui in 1879, and in June 1880 was joined by Mr. Litchfield, who came south from Uganda for the benefit of his health. Mr. Copplestone, who has learned the Unyamnezi language, has built a school-room where he teaches the natives. He is assisted by one of the Frere Town African Christians.