It was calculated by the promoters of the Congo Railway, now in process of construction, that one train a week would be sufficient for some years for the necessities of the upper Congo, but the crowded magazines of Mataddi and the increasing demands for transport prove that a daily train will scarcely suffice. I have lately received a large supply of photographs of the railway cuttings and bridge-work, and one glance at them shows the serious nature of the undertaking. The engineers are still engaged in the rocky defiles, slowly laboring up the slopes to gain the altitude of the ancient plateau. Fifteen miles of the track, I have been told, are in running order, and the embankments extend for twenty-five miles farther. When the rails have been laid thus far, the progress will be much more rapid, and the engineers will be able to state with precision how long a time must elapse before its completion. It is scarcely necessary to add that the arrival of the railway at Stanley Pool will insure the salvation of two-thirds of the Congo basin. After that, attention will have to be drawn to Stanley Falls, 1100 miles higher, and a railway of thirty-two miles in length will enable us to pass the series of cataracts in that region, and to command the river for about 1700 miles of its course.[1] [1] Last December (1891) the foreign population of the Congo State was as follows: Belgians, 338; British, 72; Italians, 63; Portuguese, 56; Dutch, 47; Swedes, 35; Danes, 32; French, 18; other nationalities, 83. Total, 744. Their professions are as follows: State officials, 271; merchants and clerks, 175; consuls, 2; doctors, 4; missionaries, 80; captains and sailors, 43; engineers, 12; artisans, 157. Total, 744.