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 NIHILISM

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NIHILISM

Nigeria. France, however, retained two colonies at Bailjibo-Arenberg and at Forcados; navigation was free to all.

Politically Nigeria is divided into two provinces, Southern or Lower Nigeria, Northern or i'i)|)er Ni- geria, separated by the parallel which i)assos tlirough Ida. Each division is governed by a high coiniiii.'^sioner named directly by theCrown. Northern Nigeria with an area of over 123.400 square miles is as yet only partly settled, and has nine constituted provinces. The ancient capital, (iebha, is now replaced by Wush- ishi on the Kaduna. The chief cities are Lokodja, Ilo, Yola, Gando, Sokoto, Kano, etc. Kano, situated two hundred miles to the north, is a remarkable city and one of the largest markets of the whole world. For more than a thousand years the metropolis of East Africa, Kano contains about fifty thousand inhab- itants, is surrounded by walls built of hardened clay from twenty to thirty ft. high and fifteen miles in circumference. Every year more than two million natives go to Kano to exchange their agricultural products or their merchandise. The chief articles of commerce are camels, cattle, ivory, sugar, ostrich plumes, and kola nuts. Kano is also a great inrlus- trial centre, renowned for its hides and its cotton materials; sorghum and many kinds of vegetables and cereals are cultivated. The natives are very good workmen, especially in the cultivation of the fields. Although nominally subject to England, some chiefs, or sultans, have remained almost independent, for in- stance those of Sokoto and Nupe. English money, however, has circulated everywhere and three-penny pieces are very popular. Northern Nigeria has a popu- lation of about fifteen million inhabitants, divided into several tribes, each speaking its own tongue, the chief of which are the Yorubas, the Nupes, the Haussas, and the Igbiras. English is the official language of the administration.

Constantly pressing to the south, Islam has pene- trated as far as the markets of the Lower Niger, and carries on a \'igorous proselytism, aided by the repre- sentatives of the English Government. Mussulman chiefs and instructors are often appointed for the fetishistic population. Powerful English Protestant missions have unsuccessfully endeavoured to gain a foothold. Catholic missionaries explored a portion of these same regions as early as 1 883, but only now have they undertaken permanent establishments. Nigeria is divided into two prefectures Apostolic; that of the Upper Niger is confided to the Society of African Mis- sions of Lyons (1884), and that of the Lower Niger to the Fathers of the Holy Ghost (1SS9). The first com- prises all the territory west of the Niger from For- cados and north of the Benue to Yola. Its hmits were only definitively constituted by the decrees of 15 Janu- arj- and 10 May, 1894. The prefect Apostolic resides at Lokodja. The mission is chiefly developed in the more accessible part of Southern Nigeria, where Islam is still almost a stranger. Its chief posts, besides Lo- kodja, are Assaba, Ila, Ibsel(5, Ibi, Idu, etc. The twenty missionaries are assisted by the Religious of the Queen of the Apostles (Lyons) ; in 1910 there were about 1.500 Catholics and an equal number of catechu- mens. The Prefecture Apostolic of the Lower Niger comprises all the country situated between the Niger, the Benue, and the western frontier of German Kam- erun. Less extensive than that of the Upper Niger, its population is much more dense, almost wholly fetish- istic, and even cannibal. Towns of five, ten, and twenty thou.sand inhabitants are not rare; the popula- tion is chiefly agricultural, cultivating the banana and the yam. In the delta and on Cross River the palm oil harvest is the object of an active commerce. Sev- eral tribes are crowded into these fertile districts; the Ibo, Nri, Munchis, Ibibio, Ibani, Ibeno, Efik, Akwa, Arc, etc. Their religion is fetishism, with ridiculous and cruel practices often admitting of human sacri-

fices, exacted by the ju-ju (a corruption of the native word eijugu), a fetish which is supposed to contain the spirit of an ancestor; but purer religious eli'iiicnts are found beneath all these superstitions, belief in God, the survival of the soul, distinction between good and evil, etc.

The Mussulmans are located in important centre8 such as the market of Onitcha. Moreover, wherever the English Government employs Haussas as militia the latter carry on an active propaganda, and where they are^ a movement towards Islam is discernible. This is the case at Calabar, Lagos, Freetown, and nu- merous points in the interior and on the coast. Eng- lish Protestant missions have long since penetrated into this country and have expended, not without results, enormous sums for propaganda. Native churches with pastors and bishops have even been or- ganized on the Niger, constituting what is called the native pastorate. At Calabar the United Presbyte- rian Church dates from 1846, strongly established throughout the country. In 1885 the Catholic mis- sionaries of Gabon established themselves at Onitcha, the centre of the Ibo country and a city of twenty thousand inhabitants. Several native kings, among them the King of Onitcha, have been converted, nu- merous schools have been organized, towns and vil- lages everywhere have asked for missionaries, or lack- ing them, for catechists. Until 1903 no establishment could be made at Calabar, the seat of the Government and the most important commercial centre of South- ern Nigeria, but once founded the Catholic mi.s.sion became very popular, adherents came in crowds, the schools were filled to overflowing. There is need of labourers and resources for the immense harvest. The Fathers of the Holy Ghost are seconded in their efforts by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Cluny. The progress of evangelization seems to necessitate in the near future the division of the mission into two pre- fectures, one of which will have its centre at Onitcha, the other at Calabar.

Missions catholiques au XIX' sikcle; Missions d*Afrique (Paris, 1902); Missiones Catholicm (Rome, 1907).

A. Le Roy.

Nihilism. — The term was first used by Turgeniev in hisnovel, ''Fathers and Sons" (in "Russkij VCstnik", Feb., 1862) : a Nihilist is one who bows to no authority and accepts no doctrine, however widespread, that is not supported by proof. The nihilist theory was for- mulated by Cernysevskij in his novel "Cto delat" (What shall be done, 1862-64), which forecasts a new social order constructed on the ruins of the old. But essentially. Nihilism was a reaction against the abuses of Russian absolutism; it originated with the first secret pohtical society in Russia founded by Pestel (1817), and its first effort was the military revolt of the Decembrists (14 Dec, 1825). Nicholas I crushed the uprising, sent its leaders to the scaffold and one hundred and sixteen participants to Siberia. The spread (1830) of certain philosophical doctrines (He- gel, Saint'Simon, Fourier) brought numerous recruits to Nihilism, especially in the universities; and, in many of the cities, societies were organized to com- bat absolutism and introduce constitutional govern- ment.

Theoretical Nihilism. — Its apostles were Alexan- der Herzen (1812-70) and Michael Bakunin (1814- 76), both of noble birth. The former, arrested (1832) as a partisan of liberal ideas, was imprisoned for eight months, deported, pardoned (1840), resided in Mos- cow till 1847 when he migrated to London and there founded (1857) the weekly periodical, "Kolokol" (Bell), and later "The Polar Star". The "Kolokol" published Russian political secrets and denunciations of the Government; and, in spite of the police, made its way into Russia to spread revolutionary ideas. Her- zen, inspired by Hegel and Feurbach, proclaimed the destruction of the existing order; but he did not advo-