Page:The empire and the century.djvu/887

 traffic to the New World in slaves had died out, but with the growth of commerce the import of firearms and crude spirits had increased enormously.

The following five years witnessed the first real attempts of the European races to establish themselves and assume administration in the interior, and, just as ninety years before the conscience of Europe was awakened by Great Britain to the horrors of the oversea slave traffic, so now again our nation led the way in the calling of a Conference at Brussels (1890) to consider the question of the interior slave trade. This memorable Conference dealt with the remaining phase of the oversea traffic (now conducted almost solely by Arab dhows between the East Coast and Arabia) and with the prohibition of the import of firearms into Africa, which in the hands of natives had been found to be a primary means of promoting slave-raiding, and also a threat to the domination of the white races, who now proposed to partition the continent among themselves. Efforts were also made to control the import of spirits, which in the British Colonies alone amounted to many millions of gallons per annum.

During the last ten years the energy of our French neighbours has compelled the effective occupation of the Hinterlands of our various West African Colonies, and though owing to this cause it has been somewhat more rapid than it otherwise might have been (for the tradition of limiting the energies of administration to the collection of Customs from gin on the coast died hard), it cannot, I think, be denied that it. has resulted in an enormous extension of trade, and in great benefit to the native races. During this period the settlement of our frontier with France has led to not a little friction, which is now happily a thing of the past. The only important war was caused by the hostility of the Ashantis, and led to the annexation of their country after a brilliant campaign under Sir J. Willcocks. Minor troubles have occurred in the consolidation of our rule in each separate colony, with the result that