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GERMAN ANNEXATION OF NEW  

GUINEA.

We have been favoured by the Colonial Secretary with a   copy of the Allgemeine Zeutung, of November 27, which      

contains a long description of New Guinea and finishes by   urging that the island should be annexed by Germany, as   the foundation of future German colonial kingdom. We    

give a summary of the first part of the article:-        

"1. New Guinea is a part of the Australian division of     the world and of the tropics.

"2. It was neglected on account of the attraction of gold     in Australia and still remains a compartively unknown

land.

"3. New Guinea was explored by the Portuguese in the   16th century; in the 17th almost exclusively by the Dutch,     who seemed better satisfied with the country than other European nations had been, but had already too large a field     for their labours (three times the size of the German king- dom) in Java, Sumatra and Celebes, so that gradually they       gave up the larger island.

"4. The explorations of Powell, Moresby, Macfarlane       &c.' have made the island now worth some consideration.         It is considered useful by geological and biological people as      

holding in its forests the key to solve problems - by London missionaries as a field to win new souls - by better informed colonial politicians of all nations as a profitable field for    

cultivation; therefore geographical inquiries about it are now   little likely to come to a standstill. As we Germans have   learnt a little about conducting colonial policy, and as our  

wishes and plane turn with a certain vivacity towards New   Guinea, here is a short resume of the geographical     knowledge of others.

"5. Physical geography may well be in doubt whether     New Guinea, which is more than half the size of Germany         is extent, belongs to the Asiatic island world or to the Aus- tralian. No doubt the island forms a sort of connecting

link between these two so remarkably different regions of the earth.  

"6. On closer servey it is not cut off so roughly from         Asia as Wallace originally thought. The principal axis of the island is directed just like Sumatra's, to the south-   east, as also the mountain chains, whereas in New Holland the direction is meridional. Also with respect to height, the New Guinea mountain chains seem to belong to the same date as those of Sunda and Asia. If the two-mile-high liercules Hill of Lawson belongs to the category of imagi- nation, yet the summits of the south-east half-island attain tremendous heights; and quite on the northern edge, behind low foreground hills, there the Alpine heights, one nearly  

3000 metres hight. It can scarecely be doubted that the     central ridges - the Charles, Louis, and Victor Emanuel         mountains - which by European explorers have only been   touched on their southern point, will be found to be consider-  

ably higher. Through this we may perhaps account for     the strond descent and the waterfalls which the Fly River   already has in its upper course.            

" 7. As in the Sunda and Philippine Islands, volcanic   agency seems to have had an important share in the forma-     tion of the surface of the island. Numerous mountains show     just as rounded a form as Mount Junghans in Java. In     the immediate neighborhood of the North Coast an island volcano burst forth into eruption just in sight of Mikloghow         Maclay (the explorer), and the frequent earthquakes are   best explained by the active vvolcanic agency of New Guinea.        

The sedimantary formations also seem, as far as known, to   be allied to those of the Moluccan and Sunda islands. The   lime-rocks of younger formation especially, which are   characteristic of the north-west ísland, Pupua Oniui, seen strongly to correspond with those of the so-called Asiatic Islands, and the other sandstone formationas which form   the predominant stone in the north of New Holland, take       their place in the south-east of New Guinea, only very

gradually.  

'8. That the world of New Guinea organism does not     leave so sharp a line of division between New Guinea and India as Alfred Russell Wallace wished to draw, Rosenberg first proved, and the inquiries of Rutlrtv, Beit in, D'Albertis, &e., a seem to result in the same, although the   rc| orts ot tlio íuquii) ns to this quislion nru ii* Aitbv no inclina hmuhia Lndoubtedlv tbo 1 inDdoni of Indiin plutitn and iiuiiniil forms I* m Neil Gumin it ver) miirkid Olio, mid winu wo «nive) tho world of iire,imibin ot tb large island willi the pi uttciil cvi ol thi nur hunt,lultivtitui,mid colomnl publican-when we ullett thul tbo nutmeg lice, »igo und cocoa ! tims, juto plnul, sandalwood, liouivoud, ubouv, uud nuns linn thu most impoitiut plants m a uim niueiiil point ol view, v»e esjieeiull) think of ludin Hut the ditiei eut Indi in lultivatnn plants, bl ki o nil the tollee and ebinchonn trees und tobnecu, would lind it partituluil) fuvouinblö soil m Ni»» Guinoi.is nls> nut to be doubled Also, it dots not brim quite lo bo» anlm,: uipie.it mammal« of the highlv-orguuisid indu, thuugh ibu illnnied iiuut remo of thu rhmoieioa in iho island so lal eaiiutit bo pmied iheelimuto ol New Gulum ii, oft mise, u]ti ficth ludí m one, cxuitlv like that of Java, iii iinelirisid by nu evirlttbtuig lnnnotouoiiH tropntil beut, uud b) the damp und dr) monsoons, changing »nth tho time* i " >ni- lha eouneetiou willi India titi nils evm to utbuologiutl nluttoiis bim icluir-eoloured M ila) mee» huvo oieupied a great pait of tho (out us tar ii* the cxtn me south etibt, whilst ibu tlnik-eoloured itbm isintu, who elUuologieullv,ure uho uot to bu divided fruin the nee,!oes ut the icdiun Ulunds, beelu to huvo, for tho gieutei pirt, utrentid to the uiuunluinous

int nor ''

Hie iolltiwing is n ¡mrsliition of the tonilusion of (he aitieli fioui tho newspaper -

' M hen, thoretuto, New Guinea, is uccordmg to our opinion, und without doiil t to u lettun demite, the ev- iterno brunch of tba Eist Indi m lsUud world, Unit cannot be couaidtred othenviao than in relation to Juvu und Suuiiitiu with respect to cultivation and ttvllisiti m, it is )0t ou tho other Hide-und, perhaps, in u still tiiuili hither dtgiee-itl-o the (in-l brain h ot the Austriliiiu lil tud win Id M e do nut m tho least doubt th it onie theie cMbted a nul of land botivcen New Gunn it und Ci ram, and Buluand Gillies, but just sucha nu kot lund existid evan moro piobablv betwetn tba North Austruhau Cuue \orle

und the Noiv Guinea Muikunn toast, uud this lust nu.k of 1 ind I rt bah)) lnt ted on into tim joun^ei e,iolo"iinl foiiiui t un, ¡ile the former I he hi"h sandstone roi le islands ol tim lone» Straits hum, 1 i is.ii, Sill ti i io lu ii ultim uieasuia the iciiiauin lift lit hind ol thi l-tUuiiis, und thu e,iranti s indstuuu bl ii I s »»bli h toi m tin sunland», lue the li wes of fiisliliindslij -uiuihnolicidbi liuicllera p mt out to tis jua ot tin e,euloon ii initea which hive dutroud tilt

lsthinu* m the i juim. nt nulli nniuiiia Hit ern».ve illect of sliMainiug run is ,m tin i nats if Nnv Guiuut si powerful that it, perhiq *, windi inline quito iiluno to explain the w uk uf dibtnieti m lint, als , (¡io »nish of Ibu s ii is m thu whole if Iht i mili east dilling ibu r nith i ist tuonao m li feiirfull) siion-í une, und tbo bicukeis nutui Ali % nibo gun» into tbs i ni

' In intin tin, lonlrnt to theso disturbing fones, \ri nolieo moreover in the c,itilogu al iippiurance-bj ex ícíl) i ii the sune b]ot, turue-d towards Australia, ver) ai li»o building t Hies, which itppuir to bi endeavour!.!,; to join a^uin lo- gt thor Iho broken Kind \\ o aie alluding now abo j all to tin lu f-buildiug lund re iioit s uud inillepon* whuh to tho uuuilt ruf billions mi ut work straight uiinis the touts «-traills, uni whuh, pirti) through their leets, iiiuko the pisbiteof the striittn.ub also tin lim houison thoNen Gunn t south ta-t io isis, so lAtruoidiuaulv difficult Al«o tho

uiiiuguiM) woods wini h tovtr tho sotith-eist coasts nt New Ginini loi u. Ion.'distuuit, whnh rttnn on tin lund tin uc,h their rout-woik ibu deposited pioduits of tin flow- ing wnti rs, and which thetobr eltcct a ptrpctuul ímieasi of tin land, must nut hire be forgottm

" \\ heil wu rdiect that the lund lonneitiou of New Guiñen wiln Australia consisteJ of lins until the ¿colo^icirl htir-peiind, wo cannot vvoiulu it we, through ita liviuir w ol id, nie reminded in n still hi.hir di.ne ot \ustralia lliuu of India lu the midst of the thick mungi ive incur anti vigil Woods upiiiur in hind div phicts, txteiided tiuita it the Auitiulliiu 1 angmio giu s und cucaljptus bushis

ni d to the New Gumni, Piipiiuu, and Muli) the kunc,niuo is rho piiutipiil game itutl tin piuicipal nniniul loud lust us to the australian blink of ISew tittil \\ ales lhopndumi I uaiKcot pouched itiiiiiiuls, and the povutv of ltti_,u and 1 In.hlv-developed luuiiinuls leiuniu cLuiai tinstlc of the I islinilut lu bl sight, and also ultei its thon u_.li liivi stign

(luii. |

' if we lix oin mea upon this large lsl mil tceording tu i llspujaicnl -cogruphj and possiblo dev eloping chart ctcistles ' i nh 11 uni the standpoint of the colonial politn ian and eulti

N itor, it upp ais to us, from what we thus far know of it, | not in thi hast us it inutuuptible object ot pus csslou And , in eiiso the Gt mian Government make attempts, us tnuuj wi«h to acquire tiro island, vvt miRlit pcrhups, in the inteiest ( f our uutiou, lougrutul ite ourselves on tiro aapisilijii

Atiorduig to out oDiuion it might bo possible to create nat of tho island n Geitiun Java, a _,riut tn.de und plant! lio i colotn, vt hi li would form a stutelv fuilinUUou Seoni foi it German i iluuiul kiu.dtuu of the luture l'cuplo willpci hirpa loplj - Ihe elim ite of New Gunei is u tiopn.il ? ne, nulle tlthy for LuropLuns \U theieupon ansvvei - Not t i

uuheullliv us Jax t Aud this reporto! the tropical iliuiuto I is itaording to our opinion, through tulse lnlcicuusj

fioni the former excellences of the history of colonist- I tion, ii lunch woise one than it oii^hl to be >

", Pioiuirs of civilisation, in lho midst of tho mau- ' lîrovu woods and srvuruisof mosquitos, duilni; tho trupiiul j iiiintind during the ttupiiitl heat ot thosun without suliicient I couifnit, late nil possible hardships 1 uiopcuu suldici-<, who must tump in the opeu mr -Luropi au sailors, »hi, after the inouytonous ship fare, allow themselves to b beiiuikd through the splendid tio.ical fruits into till aorta ot mistakes in diet, lui tbo tropic ti chinan ceitnulv uuhealthj. But would ltiemuu deiialj if Eiuoptan lultivuttd peuple could be sutliciurtlv con- siderate about their health J Besides, do not tho

numerous Get mans, who in foreign service-we j aro thinking purtreularh of Holland-work us culti- vators, m tho tiopics, face just tho emit dangers ' TIOIII the Gunian or European "colonists in Ntw Gumin one ought to lcqulie just as littio strained phj-ieal work us is the cuse in other tropical colonies, loi tönt, one would lequirc tiopicnl people lho natives of New Guinea oller in this r spict no bettei prosptcts, but uko siucclv lunch wotse, than those of Java, oi Suuiutiii, und ot Cuba, havo allcird inch m ita time Uhuo thev ure nghth bandied thix appcm, us a rule, lo be xerv friiudk to Linopetiis, and much is their diligente prosed alreadv m thur piLsint pmiiitive stuge ot eivilisi tion 1 lorn ililli lent races, at least w ith reference to this,

biucthinir might be cxpictid if tkisi, -n to saj, were pined | under Luiopeuu iruurdiirnsliip I hut tm urttvis mo not j 1 ndvmnod tu the foiinatiou or u State mi-lit eerli ips i îthei I

nuke then civilisation easj than diliu till 1 llet tunl nsist- i unco to an oecupition bv the Luropi nui ut hast would not

be muí h to be found from thim But u ituriillv, in case ot |

neill, Chinese labourers could just as easily bo procured aa j i foi Queensland. I

" Finttllj , so far na tha places am concerned which aro fit for the founding of trade faetones, thtro aro on the coaBt inure than enough of them All paita of the island possess

good harbours, and the Fly River offers an encollent ffl natural road also Into the innermost heart of tho land. m

" That other nations would not despise tho colonisation ni ü Now Guinea if thov wero not too powerfully encased eine li xvhereiavv oil known. Captain Moresby even niTmns in ihi K appendix: io his book nbout the island, that it is for the ] *". __§ llshnttion a 'dutv' lonniicxiitiiiioloniso N'ev Gmn, i p "," II haps wo ini.lil, willi (pulu lho mine ii'bt, allum' il\H W I the duty of th» Gonn m uitti m to tukn m IUTII it,,. , ,|" mf

rnsutinn of New Gui-ier. 'I lit thuin, tn po-scsmouof the ü Diltdionthn westhill ni the ivhnid rnspiie us with novtry li pu.it consider ttion, and wn deem it, tlnieforo, quite inner. El ' litmus to etiL'i iurthot into thom in this place."  

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