No. 414.
Mr. Marsh
to Mr. Evarts.
Rome, March 3, 1881. (Received March 19.)
Sir: The Bey of Assab, to the occupation of which by Italian citizens I referred in my dispatch No. 898 as ostensibly a private commercial enterprise, is now avowed by the Government of Italy as a national colony; and formal possession of the town and of the adjacent region has been lately taken by a ship of war, in the name of the King, as Italian territory.
It is to be provided with a garrison, and of course considerable expense will be incurred in harbor improvements, in the construction of public buildings, and furnishing other facilities for commerce; it is said, too, that arrangements have been made with the Sultan of Zanzibar for the establishment of a line of steamers between that port and Assab, touching also at other Red Sea harbors. Similar steps appear to be now taking with the Tripolitan province of Barca, of which the most important town is Benghazi, and which became known to the American people by Eaton’s remarkable march through it, resulting in the capture of Derne. Barca is the ancient Cyrenaica, and its chief town had formerly a good harbor, but it is now shoaled by sand deposits. The territory of Cyrene was remarkable for the excellence of its climate, soil, and other natural advantages. The gardens of the Hesperides of the classic poets were in this district, and the old geographers considered its territory the most highly favored and attractive portion of the habitable globe. It was, however, exposed to the ravages of the locust, [Page 654] and, since Northern Africa was overrun by the Arabs, to frequent and destructive incursions from the Bedouins of the Desert.
For some time past the district of Barca has been exciting renewed attention in Italy and in France, and is now believed to possess great capabilities for civilized occupation, notwithstanding the drawbacks to which I have alluded.
There is already so considerable a number of Italian citizens and protegés at Benghazi that the establishment of telegraphic communication between them and Italy is seriously agitated.
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I have, &c.,