Page:The Annual Register 1899.djvu/394

 386] FOEEIGN HISTOEY. [1899.

and to the north of the 5th parallel of north latitude, between the 14° 20' meridian of longitude east of Greenwich (12th degree east of Paris) and the course of the Upper Nile. Done at London, March 21, 1899.

(L.S.) Salisbury. (L.S.) Paul Cambon.

VI. CENTRAL AFRICA.

British Central Africa, — It was feared by the planters that the Trans-African Eailway would result in withdrawing native labour from Nyassaland to the mining districts in South Africa and thus lessen their supply.

The notorious Yao chief, Mataka, with Makanjira and Zirafi, two other raiding chiefs living in Portuguese territory south-east of Lake Nyassa, were giving trouble, and against them the British and Portuguese acted in concert. Zirafi and Makanjira submitted, and offered to assist against Mataka. The Portuguese force in October defeated him and destroyed his town.

The chief Kazembe, who had strongly fortified his town, was defeated by the British force before the two expeditions effected a junction. Kazembe's fortress was the rendezvous of all disaffected Arabs.

Plenty of rain had fallen in the Shir6 highlands at the end of October, and the coffee crop was not less than a thousand tons, while for the next season a much better crop was antici- pated.

CHAPTER VII.

AMERICA. I. UNITED STATES.

The state of political parties in the Congress of the United States at the opening of the year 1899 (the third session of the fifty-fifth Congress) was as follows : In the Senate, 46 Eepubhcans, 34 Democrats, and 10 Independents. In the House of Eepresentatives, 206 Eepubhcans, 134 Democrats (including 15 classed as Fusionists), and 16 Independents. William P. Frye, % Eepublican from Maine, was President pro tempore of the Senate, and Thomas B. Eeed, also of Maine, was Speaker of the House of Eepresentatives.

One of the most important acts of this short session of Congress was that providing for the reorganisation of the Army. The bill as passed in the House of Eepresentatives permitted the raising of the regular Army to 100,000, with an amendment providing that the minimum enlisted strength