There is some reason to hope that the days of
the abomi- nable Kingdom of Dahomey are drawing to a close. King Behanzin's repeated attacks have forced the French to act with energy, and they have taken possession of Whydah, and Colonel Dodds is now pressing forward upon Abomey. With one thousand men of the Foreign Legion, and a considerable force of trained blacks from Senegal, he has, up to the date of the latest advices, defeated, with great slaughter, every attempt to arrest his march ; and on September 17th he was within a few marches of the capital. There is a rumour that he has been defeated, but it probably does not refer to his main body ; and if he can reach Abomey, Behanzin's power, which is based on incessant bloodshedding, will probably collapse. The country ought to be annexed, but the French Government never carries a colonising pro- ject quite through. Even now, the only white soldiers it em- ploys are the Foreign Legion, and it will not venture to make Dahomey a station for its conscripts. Its policy, therefore, will probably be to appoint a successor to Behanzin, which means a weak administration, with protection for French traders, but little advantage to the people of the country.
