CHINESE LABOUR. 417 with great care, and I have come to the conclusion that under the present conditions no real progress can be made, or at least it must be so slow that decades will hardly suffice to set upon a solid basis the work which has hitherto been done with so much trouble. Let us set aside all discussion as to the cause of the anomalies which exist—regrets are no cure. I cannot get over the conviction that if it is possible for Central Africa to be opened up, it can only be accomplished by means of the Chinese, and that our beautiful country, with all its rich resources, and with the possibility which is afforded of establishing good communications between each settlement by means of such workmen, would repay a thousandfold such an undertaking. This idea has been one of my dearest projects for four years, but I kept silence, because I hardly expected to obtain a single response to such wishes. Now, however, that you have given me permission to come to you for advice, it is different, for your influence in Government circles in Hgypt will attain much that “un certaan Hmin Bey” would strive for in vain.

Will you support me in this matter if I apply officially to the Government? Will you convince the Belgians that a few hundred Chinese established in any suitable place—under the direction of practical Huropeans—would form a better nucleus for the civilisation of Africa than any number of Indian elephants and ironclad steamers? Lastly, will you be so good as to give me your opinion on this subject ?

Do not be annoyed at my freedom. If I had not the welfare of these lands really at heart, if I did not fear that some day or other I must leave them, and that my work, the result of many a weary day, may fall to pieces, | would keep my own counsel, as I have done till now. Fortune has long permitted me to withstand the tropical climate. My days, however, may be numbered, so is it not better for me to speak out freely ?

When climbing a high hill in the Shuli district last year, I noticed a species of dwarf tree with reed-like leaves; its roots penetrated to a depth of about twenty or thirty inches in the moss-covered humus which lined the crevasses existing in the bare granite. The little tree was so remarkable that I then intended to ask its name.

T have again met with quantities of this tree on the mountains 2D