The Story
of the
Congo Free State
Social, Political, and Economic Aspects of the
Belgian System of Government in
Central Africa '
By
Henry Wellington Wack, F.R.G.S.
(Member of the New York Bar)
With 125 Illustrations and Maps
G. P. Putnam's Sons
New York and London
Zbc Ivtiickerbochcr preee
1905
Copyright, 1905
BY
HENRY WELLINGTON WACK
Vbe fintclierbocltec press, Ttew ^orh
^1
Wlls
PREFACE
AS a student of Mid-African affairs for the past
seven years, and a close observer of the rapid
progress toward complete civilisation now-
being made in that part of the world, I have felt it
my duty to lay before m}^ countrymen the true and
complete story of the conception, formation, and
development of the Congo Free State.
At a period of such bitter controversy concerning
the government of the Congo Free State as the
present, it is necessary that I should explain the cir-
cumstances under which I add this volume to the
literature of that subject.
During a residence of several years in the United
Kingdom, I could not fail to observe the growth
there of an organised campaign against the Congo
Free State. That a small section of the British
public, interested in the rubber trade, should by
subtle means seek to delude or should even succeed
in deluding, the great British nation so completely
as to obtain general credence for its stories of
cruelty and oppression alleged against King Leopold's
government failed to move me. It was not my
concern, while enjoying the hospitality of England,
to criticise the way in which her religious organisa-
tions were being used to further the selfish aims of a
3J4.G97
iv Preface
small clique of Liverpool merchants. But when,
within the past year, I perceived that the campaign
of calumny against the Congo Free State was being
extended to the United States, I could not longer
regard the phenomenon with a merely passive in-
terest. It occurred to me that my knowledge of
Mid-African affairs might enable me to place before
the American people a complete statement of the
actual facts of the Congo Free State, and that my
self-imposed task could not fail to be of value at a
time when interested partisans were endeavouring
to deceive them.
Having obtained an introduction to the King of
the Belgians, I informed his Majesty that I believed
the American people would much esteem the true
history of the affairs of the Congo written by an
American, and that if his Majesty would grant me
access to the archives of the Administration of the
Congo Free State in Brussels, and leave me free to
write the story of his enterprise in my own way,
absolutely without interference or suggestion from
any of his ministers or himself, I would undertake
the task on my own account.
His Majesty, having considered my credentials and
the nature of my introduction, in due course in-
formed me that all the documents in the Congo
Administration Office were open to my inspection.
His Majesty added that he had no fear but that the
American people, when informed of the truth about
the Congo, would appreciate, as he did, that the
Congolese civilisation movement is the greatest
colonising success in the history of the world. I
Preface v
was admitted into the offices of the Congo Adminis-
tration and spent many weeks there searching for,
translating, and copying documents. Those which
had already been translated into English, I adopted
in the form in which I found them. When I left
Brussels, I again indicated to his Majesty's ministers,
and to his Majesty himself, that I should write the
story in my own way. I brought away many boxes
of memoranda and documents and at once began to
work upon The Story of the Congo Free State. I have
not submitted the manuscript or proofs to any per-
son connected, either directly or indirectly, with
his Majesty, with the Congo Free State, or with the
Belgian Government, neither have I in any way
communicated with his Majesty in reference to what
I have written. For all I know, his Majesty may
entirely disapprove of this history. I should, of
course, regret exceedingly to learn that I had dis-
pleased the royal host who had extended to me the
hospitality of his country during a long and inter-
esting visit. But as I am under no obligation what-
ever to the Congo officials, nor to his Majesty, and
as my original intention of writing an independent
history of the Congo was made quite clear to both,
I regard myself as absolved from blame should the
King of the Belgians disapprove of the straight-
forward story here presented.
That this story is true, I have satisfied myself in
every particular. It is the story of a great colonis-
ing undertaking founded upon modern social science.
It can hardly fail to interest the reader who ad-
mires the courage and daring which small countries
vi Preface
sometimes display in extending their borders and
establishing new markets.
Should this book in any way assist my country-
men in thinking out the underlying motives in the
campaign against the Congo, and bring them to a
knowledge of the real issues at stake, my labour will
be sufficiently rewarded.
I take this opportunity to acknowledge my obli-
gation to the works of Messrs. Stanley, Descamps,
Boulger, Johnston, Cattier, and Wauters, and to all
who have kindly assisted me with information.
H. W. W.
New York, January 2, 1905.
CONTENTS
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
VII.
VIII.
IX.
X
XI.
XII.
XIII.
► XIV.
XV.
XVI.
XVII.
XVIII.
XIX.
XX.
XXI.
XXII.
KXIII.—
Preface . .....
Genesis of Mid-African Civilisation
-Stanley AND King Leopold II. 's Concep
TiON of the Congo Free State .
Founding of the Congo Free State
•Early Belgian Expeditions
The Waterways of the Congo
The State and International Law .
Horrors of the Arab Slave Trade .
The Berlin Conference .
The Economic Regime of the Berlin
Act ......
An Appeal to Belgium to Suppress the
Slave Trade ....
The Second Brussels Conference .
The Congo Bequeathed to Belgium
Tribes of the Congo State
The Congo Public Force .
Belgian Campaigns, against the Arabs
Belgian Campaigns against the Arabs
— (Concluded) ....
The Suppression of Slavery .
Frontiers and Diplomatic Settlements
The Bahr-el-Ghazal and the Nile .
Mutinies of the Batetela Tribe
Displacement of the Population
The State's Administration : .
Department of Justice .
Native Chieftaincies
The Postal, Telegraph, and Telephone
Service ......
vii
PAGE
v
I
14
23
31
42
64
83
92
104
126
134
145
151
164
177
197
206
211
216
223
228
231
239
243
/'
viii Contents
PAGE
264
274
298
308
366
XXIV. — Navigation, Railways, Roads . . 248
XXV.— Science, Agriculture, Civilising Meas-
ures .....
XXVI.-^Trade, Revenue, and Taxes .
XXVII. — Missions and Schools
XXVIII. — State Lands and Concessions
XXIX. — The Nemesis of Libel
XXX. — The Congo Campaign in England
XXXI. — The Congo Campaign in America
XXXII. — Testimony of Travellers and Thinkers 397
XXXIII. — Testimony of Travellers and Thinkers
—(Continued) . . . . .411
XXXIV. — Testimony of Travellers and Thinkers
— (Continued) . . . . .418
XXXV. — Testimony of Travellers and Thinkers
— (Concluded) . . . . .424
XXXVI. — The Attitude of Europe and the United
States ....... 446
XXXVII. — Summary, Retrospect, and Prophecy . 472
APPENDIX
The Treaty of Vivi, 13th June, 1880 . . . .487
The Treaty of Many anga, 12th August, 1882 . , 488
The Treaty of Leopold ville, 29th April, 1883 . . 489
The Treaty of Stephanieville, undated . . . 490
Table of other Treaties, Districts ceded, and Stations
established by the International Association of the
Congo . . . . . . . . 491
Report from the Committee on Foreign Relations to the
Senate of the United States, March 26, 1884 (Sena-
tor John T. Morgan, of Alabama), recommending
the recognition of the International African Asso-
ciation as a friendly Government, M^ith citations
from the history of the American colonies . . 49 2
An essay on "The Free Navigation of the Congo." by
Sir Travers Twiss, taken from the Revue de Droit
International, 1883 . . . . . .502
Contents ix
PAGB
An argument by Professor Arntz, citing numerous
authorities, on the question, Can Savage Tribes
cede their territory to Private Persons with the
Sovereign Rights appertaining thereto . . .516
For Treaty between the International Association of the
Congo and the United States, see Chapter IV.
The General Act of the Berlin Conference . . . 530
Declaration of the General Act of the Brussels Confer-
ence, July 2, 1890 ...... 552
Treaty of Amity, Commerce, and Navigation between
the United States and the Congo Free State, Jan-
uary 24, 1891 553
Protocol in which the United States ratifies the General
Act of the Brussels Conference, February 2, 1892 . 559
Dispatch from his Britannic Majesty's Minister at
Brussels enclosing:
A Decree by the Sovereign of the Congo Free State
providing Settlements for native children orphaned
or abandoned, July 12, 1890 .... 561
A Decree instituting a local Commission of Europeans
for the Protection of Natives, September 18, 1896 . 562
Official letter of instruction thereon from the Secre-
tary of State to the Governor-General at Boma, in
the Congo Free State, October I, 1896 . . . 563
Letter of Governor-General Wahis to the Reverend
George Grenfell (British), of the Baptist Missionary
Society at Bolobo, transmitting Decree, December
26, 1896 ........ 565
Circular to all District Commissioners, lleads of Zones
and of Posts with regard to barbarous customs
prevaihng among the native tribes, February 27,
1897 566
Letter from the Reverend George Grenfell to the
Governor-General, July 13, 1897 . . . . 568
Co-ordinated text of various instructions respecting
relations between state officials and natives . -569
Report of first meeting of Commission for Protection
of Natives, May 17, 1897 57i
X Contents
PAGE
A Decree appointing additional members upon the
Commission for the Protection of Natives, March
23. 1901 572
The British Dispatch to European Powers calling at-
tention to charges alleged against the Congo Free
State, and inviting consideration thereof. August
8, 1903 573
Letter from Sir Constantine Phipps, his Britannic
Majesty's Minister at Brussels, transmitting text of
the Note and its enclosures addressed by the Congo
Government to the Powers parties to the Act of
Berlin, replying to the British Dispatch of August
8, 1903 577
Rejoinder of the Congo Government to the Report,
dated December 11, 1903, of Mr. Roger Casement,
his Britannic Majesty's Consul at Boma, wherein,
amongst others, charges of maltreatment of natives
are made. March 12, 1904 ..... 590
Memorandum on the part of the Congo Government
regretting that the British Foreign Office did not
deem it necessary to communicate to it previous
Consular Reports, the names of persons accused
and generally such specific information as would
enable the Congo Government to prosecute of-
fenders, etc., together with the remarks of the
Secretary-General of the Congo Free State upon
the debates in the British Parliament as to par-
titioning that State between the Powers whose
possessions surround it. May 14, 1904 . . 610
Features of the Land System in the African Colonies of
Germany, Great Britain, France, and Portugal . 612
Concessionaires, Firms, and Trading Companies in the
Congo Free State . . . . . . .616
Officials of the Congo Free State . . . . .617
Index .......... 619
ERRATA
Illustration, page 92, read Basoko for Baneko.
Illustration, page 130, read Turumbus for Barumbus.
Illustration, page 216, read Commissary-General.
Illustration, page 226, read House for Mission,
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
FACING PAGE
His Majesty Leopold II., King of the Belgians . Frontispiece
(From a painting by Jef Leempoels.)
Native Huts Built of Leaves (Aruwimi) ... 4
8
12
14
18
26
Elephant Farm on the Bomokandi
Basongolo Chiefs (Lokandu) .....
House of Governor-General, Boma
The Congo at Lokandu ......
View of the Port of Leopoldville (Stanley Pool)
Making a Road (175 kilometres) for Automobiles
(Kwango) .......
A Saddle Ox, Kassai ......
European Travelling in the Uelle District
Native Employees of the State Waiting for Rations at
Bomr ........
SS. Leopoldville Bound for Boma ....
Departure of Commissioner-General Halfeyt, on Board
SS. Stanley, Stanleyville, 1899 ....
Departure of SS. Goodwill from Upoto
Bridge, 80 Metres (Kwilu) .....
State Pilot Barge, Banana .....
Taking Merchandise to the SS. Leopoldville
State Post at Yankomi, near Basoko, Surrounded by
Palisade (Aruwimi) .....
Europeans at Stanleyville, 1902
Post-Office, Boma ......
Native Boys, Boma ......
30
34
34
40
42
46
SO
58
58
66
72
78
80
82
xii List of Illustrations
PACING PAGB
Group of Yie-Yie Women (Uelle) ....
Types of Bearers (North Bank of Cataracts)
Native Potters at Work (Aruwimi)
Making Manioc Flour, Baneko (Aruwimi)
Native Musicians at Lusambo (Lualaba-Kassai)
Market, near Boma ......
Government Park, Boma, 1904 ....
Students of the State Technical School, New Antwerp
(Bangala) .......
Hospital, Boma .......
Bridge Made of Cement, Boma ....
Types of Barumbus (Stanley Falls)
Government Wagons ......
House of Vice-Governor-General, Stanleyville
Postmaster's House, Suruango, 1904
A Street in Coquilhatville, 1896 (Equateur) .
Camp on Line of Cataracts Railroad, Songololo
Return from the Hunt at Bumba (Bangala) .
Baluba Chiefs .......
The Governor's House, Ponthierville (Upper Congo)
European Houses at Coquilhatville (Equateur)
Specimens of Hair-dressing among Women of the Sango
Tribe, Banzyville (Ubanghi) ....
Cicatrised Batetela Woman (Lualaba-Kassai)
Funeral at Bumba (Bangala) ....
Women Beating Rice, Uelle .....
Tribunal at Boma. Sentencing a Native to Death for
Cannibalism Committed in the Upper Congo .
Batetela Women (Lualaba-Kassai)
Kassai Women Returning from Market
African Belles. Hair-dressing of Sango Women at Banzy-
ville, 1894 (Ubanghi) . . . . . .160
List of Illustrations xiii
FACING PAGE
Bangala Women ........ 162
Bakusu Chiefs, Stanleyville . . . . . .162
Group of Warriors, Djabbir ...... 164
Coffins for Native Chiefs, Wangata, 1897 (Equateur) . 164
Native Making Butter at his Home in Botandana
(Kivu) 166
A Bangala Chief, with his Harem . . . .166
Native Canoes, Lower Congo . . . . .170
Fishermen, Uvvia . . . . . .170
Uelle Chief and his Wives, Van Kerckhovenville . .172
Port of Leopoldville. Natives at Work . . .172
Tailors' School, New Antwerp (Bangala) . . -174
Steam Saw-Mill, Boma . . . . . . .176
Camp of Bangalas, Stanleyville . . . . .178
Types of Lokeles, Jafungas (Oriental Province) . . i8o
Review of Troops by Governor-General at New Antwerp 184
Soldiers' Mess, Suruango, 1903 (Uelle) . . . .189
Soldiers' Wives, Bumba . . . . . .186
The White Man's Cemetery, Stanleyville . . .188
Hospital, New Antwerp . . . . . .188
An Avenue at Boma ....... 190
Office of Secretary-General, Boma . . . .192
Post-Office on River Bank, Boma . . . .192
Bishop's Palace, Mission of Our Lady of M'Pala (Tan-
ganyika) 196
Office of Director of Transport, Boma . . . .196
Cattle, Luvungy (Kivu) ...... 200
Various Mounts, Lusambo (Lualaba-Kassai) . . . 200
Grand Hotel, Boma ....... 203
Native Ploughing in Botanical Garden at Ealer (Equa-
teur) ......... 206
The Old Covered Market at Boma . . . .210
xiv List of Illustrations
FACING PAGE
Commissariat of the District of Banana, 1893 . .212
King Nekuku and his Suite at Boma . . . .214
Regiment of Commissioner-General Halfeyt, Stanleyville 216
State Officials at Ponthierville . . . , .220
Saddle Ox, Lusambo (Lualaba-Kassai) . . .220
Bird's-eye View of the Station at Basoko, 1893 . . 222
Dutch Mission, Banana . . . . . .226
Bishop's Palace at Baudouinville (Oriental Province) . 228
Children of the Settlement School, Boma . . . 234
In the State Printing Office at Boma. Natives Laying-on
and Taking-off ....... 238
Natives Working Sewing Machines at Kisantu . .242
Children of the Settlement Drilling at New Antwerp,
1896 (Bangala) ....... 246
Zappo-Zapp Musicians, Luluabourg . . . .250
Band of Government Technical School, Boma . .256
Coffee Plantation at Yalicombe (Oriental Province) . 258
Shelling Coffee, Stanleyville . . . . . .270
Making Baskets for Transportation of Rubber (Kassai) . 272
Collecting Rubber in Forest of Lusambo (Lualaba-
Kassai) ......... 280
Church and Rectory, Matadi . . . . .286
Native Carpenters at Work, Mission of New Antwerp, 1897 294
Orphans Praying at St. Truden (Kassai) . . .302
Children of the Settlement School at Boma Praying . 308
Mission of the White Fathers, Tanganyika . . .314
The Mission, Moanda . . . . . . .320
Missionary Necropolis, Luluabourg . , . .328
Franciscan Sisters at the Mission of St. Gabriel of the
Falls (Oriental Province) ..... 336
Native Christians of the Village of Our Lady of Lourdes,
near the Mission of Luluabourg, 1897 • • • 344
List of Illustrations xv
PACING PAGE
Drying Rubber in the Forest (Kassai) . . . .348
Mission Children at New Antwerp
A Beautiful Spot in Mayumbe ....
Interior of Cathedral, Baudouinville (Tanganyika)
Sisters of New Antwerp Teaching Natives to Weave
Building a Bridge for the Cataracts Railroad, 1897
Christian Child, New Antwerp (Bangala)
Fetich-Idol, Lower Congo .....
Coffee-Drying Grounds, Coquilhatville (Equateur)
Bakusu Woman (Lualaba-Kassai)
Village near Coquilhatville, A Native Attempt to Copy
the European Style .....
Melting Latex of Rubber in Forest of Lusambo (Lusambo
Kassai) ........
Soldiers' Mess at Coquilhatville (Equateur)
Public Library, Matadi .....
The Station at Bumba ......
Convent of Franciscans of St. Gabriel of the Falls
(Oriental Province) .....
Prison, with Carpenter's Shop, at New Antwerp (Ban
gala)
Native Planter's House, near Stanley Falls
Mission of New Antwerp (Bangala)
The Sultan Djabbir
Father Kisouru of the New Antwerp Mission (Bangala)
MAPS.
358
366
374
374
382
390
390
398
398
406
412
420
420
426
434
446
446
460
482
482
Outline Map of Africa . i
Map of Central Africa ...... At end
Outline Map of Africa
THE STORY OF
THE CONGO FREE STATE
CHAPTER I
GENESIS OF MID-AFRICAN CIVILISATION
THE decline and fall of great empires has ever
been a fascinating subject of study, congenial
alike to students of widely diverse opinions
and pursuits; yet it must be clear to all that in
human interest the breaking up of an em-
pire is as nothing when compared with its ^^ Embryo,
founding. The reason is, probably, that so
little is known of the origin of great national com-
munities. The United States is almost alone among
nations in respect that its growth, from its inception
to its mature ultimate triumph, has been watched by
keenly observant eyes, and every particular of its
perilous progress carefully recorded. But when the
future historian, with comprehensive appreciation im-
possible in a contemporary, reviews the events of
the last quarter of the nineteenth century, one fact
will stand well out before him, a unique and very
potent fact, fraught with vast possibilities for the
2 Story of the Congo Free State
future — none other than the founding, by the wisdom
of a kingly philanthropist, of a humanitarian, civilis-
ing, free political state in the very heart of savage
and cannibalistic Africa.
Consider for a moment how the great Congo Free
State has been evolved out of a group of warring
tribes (in part cannibal), and inquire what manner
of man is Leopold II., King of the Belgians, alone re-
sponsible for this wondrous transformation ; and who
even now, when weight of years and record of achieve-
ment might well entitle him to repose, works on
bravely, through good and through ill report, for the
prosperity and happiness of the twenty-odd million
Africans who acknowledge him for their Sovereign.
Thirty -six years ago, when the present Sovereign of
the Congo Free State succeeded his father as King
of the Belgians, and became known to the world as
Leopold II., Africa was generally referred to as the
"Dark Continent." At that period, and for long
after, even the most optimistic of statesmen failed
to perceive in those vast regions any promising out-
let for the congested populations of the Old World,
or possible markets for their manufactures. Dia-
monds, small in quantity and of indifferent quality,
had, it is true, been discovered in the southernmost
part of that continent, in a region already appro-
priated by the British. Gold, also, was thought to
exist there, but not in paying quantities; while the
deadliness of the African climate to Europeans, in
all save a few favoured sections, was an universally
accepted article of faith.
Foremost among the small band of thinkers who
Genesis of Mid-African Civilisation 3
totally dissented from this view was Leopold II., King
of the Belgians. A young man of extraordinarily
fine physique, an accomplished linguist, widely read
and travelled, and holding advanced liberal views
in all matters pertaining to statecraft and social
science. King Leopold had early the prescience to
perceive in Africa the means to uplift some twenty
or more millions of the Negro race from debased
savagery to peaceful civilisation, and af the same
time and by the same means — the latter a neces-
sarily accompanying incident of the former — found
a colony for the surplus population of the small
State of which he is King; Belgium being then, as
now, the most densely populated of European coun-
tries, its people almost entirely dependent on the
sale abroad of the products of their industry.
Bold and original ideas rarely find much favour
when first presented to the world. The bulk of man-
kind is conservative; it thinks of yesterday, is op-
pressed by the troubles of to-day, and lets to-morrow
take care of itself. At first, where King Leopold's
ideas for the regeneration of Africa attracted any
attention at all, they were regarded with bland
smiles as Utopian visions, more creditable to the
heart than to the head of the princely visionary.
But true genius, though it may be hampered and
delayed in its onward march, is not to be extin-
guished either by active opposition or cold indiffer-
ence. Of such calibre is King Leopold, or there
would to-day be no Congo Free State, nor what some
past-masters in the obscuration of the obvious are
sometimes pleased to call "the Congo Question."
4 Story of the Congo Free State
So long ago as i860, King Leopold, then Duke of
Brabant, in a speech delivered before the Belgian
Senate, said : " I claim for Belgium her share
s ntence^*^*^ ^^ ^^^ sea," — apparently a plain and colour-
less utterance, but really the expression of
a vital interest for his country, for which no market
spells extinction, and no political power but on Bel-
gian soil means no market for Belgian goods. In
i860 the attention of mankind was just beginning to
turn to Africa. Two years before. Sir Richard Bur-
ton and Captain Speke had startled geographers by
discovering Lake Tanganyika, a revelation to be soon
afterwards eclipsed by the further discovery of the
sources of the Nile and Lake Victoria, by Speke and
Grant. About the same time Sir Samuel Baker, then
in the service of the Khedive of Egypt, discovered
Lake Albert. The travellers whose fortune it was to
make these important discoveries had been preceded
by the intrepid Dr. Livingstone, whose marvellous
energies on behalf of civilisation and Christianity
were, however, chiefly confined to the Zambesi Valley
until the year 1866, when he first entered the Congo
region and further enhanced his already great repu-
tation by discovering the lakes Moero and Bangweolo.
Then came the discovery of Livingstone —
Choice. ^ himself so long lost to his anxious country-
men — by Henry M. Stanley. That was in
187 1, when the armed hosts of France and Germany
were engaged in a death struggle, and led Mr. Glad-
stone to remark:
The eyes of all the world are bent toward the bloody battle-
Genesis of Mid- African Civilisation 5
fields of France; but I prefer to regard those almost im-
penetrable African wilds where a small band of men, whose
numbers may be counted on the fingers of one hand, add
year by year to our knowledge of those little-known regions,
carrying with them the blessings of civilisation and of truth,
heralding the extinction of what for so many ages has been
the world's curse — slavery."
Gladstone was right. To all civilised peoples, but
specially to men of Anglo-Saxon speech — English-
men, who had given lavishly of their millions to free
the slaves held in their colonies ; Americans, who had
poured out their blood like water in a similar cause
— the accounts given by explorers and missionaries
of the horrors of the slave trade, rampant in Central
Africa, were as the smell of powder to the war-horse.
Only a few people are interested in geography as a
science. A vastly greater number are affected by a
widening of the area for trade. But the effectual
suppression of slavery is a question that comes home
to everybody. No one can stand aside, indifferent
to it. The ghastly horrors of the murderous raids
made by the remorseless Arab slave-traders upon
defenceless Central African villages, so graphically
described by travellers, thrilled the civilised world.
No effort was needed now to direct public attention
to Africa. Africa loomed large in men's minds;
and the question of slavery, fondly thought to be
for ever laid at rest by the tremendous conflict in
America in the early sixties, again became a vital
problem.
Of the numerous activities which distinguish the
character of Leopold II., philanthropy has the
6 Story of the Congo Free State
greater force. Much that is quite incontrovertible
might be urged in support of this statement; but
... ' this is neither the place nor time to ar-
King ^
Leopold's gue that matter. Suffice it to say here
^^}^ that upon no one did the revelations as to
the methods of capture and subsequent
treatment of Central African slaves make a deeper
impression than upon King Leopold. As a life-
long student of Africa, and a geographer of rare
attainments, in personal touch with all the au-
thorities on the subject, his information was as
accurate and complete as it was possible for it to
be. Though the great European governments had
compelled the Khedive of Egypt to exert himself
to the utmost to repress slave -trading on the Upper
Nile, and the complaisant Egyptian ruler had ap-
pointed first one Englishman and then another
(Sir Samuel Baker and Charles Gordon, the latter
being the ill-fated General of that name) to admin-
ister the government of the Soudan, and some good
resulted, it was well known to King Leopold that
south of the Equator to the Zambesi the slave trade
continued to be prosecuted as vigorously as it had
ever been in the remote past. How might the evil
be stamped out? Or, if such a consummation were
too much to hope for within the immediate future,
how best might the evil be checked? In consider-
ing these questions, King Leopold very rightly con-
cluded that the more thorough the knowledge of
Central Africa possessed by Europeans the greater
the possibility of success in their efforts to ameliorate
the awful misery of its people.
Genesis of Mid-African Civilisation 7
Imbued with these views, King Leopold in 1876
called the attention of the principal geographical so-
cieties throughout the world to the conditions then
prevailing in Central Africa, and invited all ex-
pert geographers of international reputation to con-
fer in Brussels. The circular letter of King Leopold
convening this Conference, though perfectly explicit
in its terms, has, in light of subsequent events,
been so distorted to serve personal interests, that
no excuse is necessary for reproducing its exact
words :
In almost every country [wrote King Leopold], a lively in-
terest is taken in the geographical discoveries recently made
in Central Africa. The English, the Americans, the Germans,
the Italians, and the French have taken part in their different
degrees in this generous movement. These expeditions are
the response to an idea eminently civilising and Christian:
to abolish slavery in Africa, to pierce the darkness that still
envelops that part of the world, while recognising the re-
sources which appear immense — ^in a word, to pour into it
the treasures of civilisation : such is the object of this modern
crusade. Hitherto the efforts made have been without ac-
cord, and this has given rise to the opinion, held especially
in England, that those who pursue a common object should
confer together to regulate their march, to establish some
landmarks, to delimit the regions to be explored, so that no
enterprise may be done twice over. I have recently ascer-
tained in England that the principal members of the Geo-
graphical Society of London are very willing to meet at
Brussels the Presidents of the Geographical Societies of the
Continent, and those other persons who, by their travels,
studies, philanthropic tastes, and charitable instincts, are
the most closely identified with the efforts to introduce civil-
isation into Africa. This reunion will give rise to a sort of
conference, the object of which would be to discuss in common
8 Story of the Congo Free State
the actual situation in Africa, to establish the results at-
tained, to define those which have to be attained.
In cordially accepting King Leopold's invitation,
the six great nations of Europe selected their most
distinguished geographers and travellers to
Conference, represent them. Great Britain sent five
delegates, all men of distinction in African
affairs, Germany sent four, France three, Austria
two, Russia one, and Italy one. Belgium had
eleven representatives, among them the accom-
plished Baron Lambermont. The Conference, which
lasted three days, was convened in the royal palace
at Brussels on September 12, 1876. It was opened
by King Leopold in person. The speech made by
his Majesty on that occasion follows so naturally
his invitation to the assembled gentlemen that it
might almost be mistaken for a continuation of that
document. The reason for quoting the former now
applies to the following exact translation of the
King's speech:
"Gentlemen," said his Majesty, "permit me to
thank you warmly for the amiable promptness with
which you have been kind enough to come here at
my invitation. Besides the satisfaction that I shall
have in hearing you discuss here the problems in the
solution of which we are interested, I experience the
liveliest sense of pleasure in meeting the distinguished
men whose works and valorous efforts on behalf of
civilisation I have followed for many years.
"The subject which brings us together to-day is
one that deserves in the highest degree to engage
m
a
Genesis of Mid-African Civilisation 9
the attention of the friends of hiimanity. To open
to civihsation the only part of the globe where it
has not yet penetrated, to pierce the darkness en-
shrouding entire populations, that is, if I may ven-
ture to say so, a crusade worthy of this century of
progress; and I am happy to discover how much
public sentiment is in favour of its accomplishment.
The current is with us.
"Gentlemen, among those who have most closely
studied Africa, a good many have been led to think
that there w^ould be advantage to the common ob-
ject they pursue if they could be brought together
for the purpose of conference with the object of regu-
lating the march, combining the efforts, deriving
some profit from all circumstances, and from all
resources, and finally, in order to avoid doing the
same work twice over.
"It has appeared to me that Belgium, a central
and a neutral state, would be a spot well chosen for
such a reimion, and it is this view which has em-
boldened me to call you all here, to my home, for the
little Conference that I have the great satisfaction
of opening to-day. Is it necessary for me to say to
you that in inviting you I have not been guided
by egotistic views? No, gentlemen; if Belgium is
small, she is happy and satisfied with her lot. I
have no other ambition but to serve her well. But I
will not go so far as to declare that I should be
insensible to the honour which would result for my
country if an important forward movement in a
question which will mark our epoch should be dated
from Brussels. I should be happy that Brussels
lo Story of the Congo Free State
should become in some way the headquarters of this
civilising movement.
"I have, then, allowed myself to believe that it
would be convenient to you to come together to
discuss and to specify, with the authority belonging
to you, the means to be employed in order to plant
definitely the standard of civilisation on the soil of
Central Africa, to agree as to what should be done to
interest the public in your noble enterprise, and to
induce it to support you with its money. For, gen-
tlemen, in works of this kind it is the concurrence
of the greater number that makes success ; it is the
sympathy of the masses which it is necessary to
solicit, and to know how to obtain.
"With what resources should we not, in fact, be
endowed if every one for whom a franc is little or
nothing consented to throw it into the coffers de-
stined for the suppression of the slave trade in the
interior of Africa!
"Great progress has been already accomplished;
the unknown has been attacked from many sides;
and if those here present, who have enriched science
with such important discoveries, would describe for
us the principal points, their exposition would afford
us all a powerful encouragement.
"Among the questions which have still to be ex-
amined have been cited :
" I. The precise designation of the basis of opera-
tion to be acquired on the coast of Zanzibar, and
near the mouth of the Congo, either by conventions
with the chiefs, or by purchase or leases from private
persons.
Genesis of Mid-African Civilisation 1 1
"2. Designation of the routes to be opened in
their order towards the interior, and of the stations
— hospitable, scientific, and pacifying — to be organ-
ised, as the means of abohshing slavery, of estab-
lishing concord among the chiefs, of procuring for
them just and distinguished judges, etc.
" 3 . The creation — the work being well defined —
of an International and Central Committee, and of
National Committees to prosecute the execution,
each in what will directly concern it, by placing the
object before the public of all countries, and b}^
making an appeal to the charitable that no good
cause has ever addressed in vain.
"Such are, gentlemen, the different points which
seem to merit your attention. If there are others,
they will appear in the course of your discussions,
and you w411 not fail to throw light on them.
"M}^ desire is to serve, as you shall point out to
me, the great cause for which you have already done
so much. I place myself at your disposal for this
purpose, and offer you a cordial welcome."
The object of the Conference, thus clearly out-
lined by the King, was loyally adhered to by the
delegates, their discussions being strictl}^ confined
to geography and philanthropy, nothing political or
personal obtrtiding itself upon their deliberations.
At the close of its three days' session the Conference
submitted to King Leopold the following declaration
upon its labours:
In order to attain the object of the International Con-
ference of Brussels — that is to say, to explore scientifically
12 Story of the Congo Free State
the unknown parts of Africa, to facilitate the opening of the
routes which shall enable civilisation to penetrate into the
interior of the African Continent, to discover the means for
the suppression of the slave trade among the Negro race in
Africa — ^it is necessary :
(i) To organise on a common international plan the ex-
ploration of the unknown parts of Africa, by limiting the re-
gions to be explored — on the east and on the west by the
two oceans, the Indian and the Atlantic, on the south by the
basin of the Zambesi, on the north by the frontiers of the new
Egyptian territory and the independent Soudan. The most
appropriate mode of effecting this exploration will be the
employment of a sufficient number of detached travellers,
starting from different bases of operation.
(2) To establish, as bases for these operations, a certain
number of scientific and hospitable stations both on the coasts
and in the interior of Africa — for example, at Bagamoyo and
Loanda, as well as at Ujiji, Nyangwe, and other points al-
ready known, which it would be necessary to connect by
intermediate stations.
In accordance with the recommendation contained
in this declaration of the Brussels Geographical Con-
The Out- ference, " The International Association for
come of the the Exploration and Civilisation of Central
Conference, ^j^^^ " ^^g formed, consisting of an In-
ternational Commission sitting in Brussels, assisted
by dependent National Committees in each country.
The executive power of the International Association
was vested in an Executive Committee, of which
King Leopold was appointed President. When the
British Government selected Sir Bartle Frere for the
Governorship of the Cape, it became necessary for
him to resign his position as a member of the Execu-
tive Committee, the vacancy thus created being filled
Genesis of Mid-African Civilisation 13
by an American, General Sanford, for many years
United States Minister at Brussels.
The idea of an International Association for the
Exploration and Civilisation of Central Africa, to
which the Brussels Geographical Conference had
given birth, at once began to grow, and flourished
amazingly. Not only were influential committees
formed in those countries which had sent delegates
to the Conference, but in other countries as well, the
United States among them.
To show how keen general interest in the civilisa-
tion of Central Africa had now become, it is only
necessary to cite a few instances of the powerful sup-
port given to the National Committees. In Spain,
the King; in Austria, the Archduke Rudolph, heir
to the Austrian throne; in Holland, Prince Henry of
the Netherlands ; in Belgium, the Count of Flanders,
brother of the King; all became Presidents of their
respective National Committees. Philanthropists,
men of science, all who were in any way interested in
the world's progress towards better things, accorded
ungrudging support to the work set in motion by
King Leopold.
The civilisation of Central Africa had now begun
in earnest.
CHAPTER II.
STANLEY, AND KING LEOPOLD IL'S CONCEPTION OF
THE CONGO FREE STATE
IN every case the National Committees of the In-
ternational Association for the Exploration and
Civilisation of Central Africa displayed extraor-
dinary activity ; but, as was to be expected, their rate
of progress was measured by the Belgian
Belgian Committee, which met, for the first time.
Enterprise.
on the 6th of November, 1876, in Brussels,
just six weeks after the close of the Brussels Geo-
graphical Conference which had decreed its exist-
ence. As was fitting in the circumstances, King
Leopold was present at the meeting, and delivered
upon that occasion a speech which may be regarded
as an amplification of his Majesty's previous pro-
nouncements on the situation, now in some measure
become political, in Central Africa.
' ' Gentlemen, ' ' said King Leopold, ' ' the slave trade,
which still exists over a large part of the African
Continent, is a plague-spot that every friend of
civilisation would desire to see disappear.
"The horrors of that traffic, the thousands of vic-
tims massacred each year through the slave trade,
the still greater number of perfectly innocent beings
who, brutally reduced to captivity, are condemned en
14
o
>
o
Conception of the Congo Free State 15
masse to forced labour in perpetuity, have deeply
moved all those who have even partially studied this
deplorable situation, and concerting, in a word, for
the founding of an International Association to put
an end to an odious traffic which makes our epoch
blush, and to tear aside the veil of darkness which
still enshrouds Central Africa. The discoveries due
to daring explorers permit us to say from this day
that it is one of the most beautiful and the richest
countries created by God.
"The Conference of Brussels has nominated an
Executive Committee to carry into execution its
declaration and resolutions.
"The Conference has wished, in order to place
itself in closer relationship with the public, whose
sympathy will constitute our force, to found, in each
State, National Committees. These Committees,
after delegating two members from each of them to
form part of the International Committee, will popu-
larise in their respective countries the adopted
programme.
"The work has already obtained in France and
Belgium important subscriptions, which make us in-
debted to the donors. These acts of charity, so
honourable to those who have rendered them, stimu-
late our zeal in the mission we have undertaken.
Our first task should be to touch the hearts of the
masses, and, while increasing our numbers, to gather
in a fraternal union, little onerous for each member
but powerful and fruitful by the accumulation of
individual efforts and their results.
"The International Association does not pretend
1 6 Story of the Congo Free State
to reserve for itself all the good that could or ought
to be done in Africa. It ought, especially at the
commencement, to forbid itself a too extensive pro-
gramme. Sustained by public sympathy, we hold
the conviction that, if we accomplish the opening of
the routes, if we succeed in establishing stations
along the routes followed by the slave merchants,
this odious traffic will be wiped out, and that these
routes and these stations, while serving as fulcrums
for travellers, will powerfully contribute towards
the evangelisation of the blacks, and towards the in-
troduction among them of commerce and modem
industry.
"We boldly affirm that all those who desire the
enfranchisement of the black races are interested in
our success.
"The Belgian Committee, emanating from the
International Committee, and its representative in
Belgium, will exert every means to procure for the
work the greatest number of adherents. It will as-
sist my countrymen to prove once more that Bel-
gium is not only a hospitable soil, but that she is also
a generous nation, among whom the cause of hu-
manity finds as many champions as she has citizens.
"I discharge a very agreeable duty in thanking
this assembly, and in warmly congratulating it for
having imposed on itself a task the accomplishment
of which will gain for our country another brilliant
page in the annals of charity and progress."
We have here, in his Majesty's own words, a very
lucid and reiterated exposition of King Leopold's main
object in concerning himself with Central African
Conception of the Congo Free State 1 7
affairs — the suppression of the slave trade, with con-
sequent moral and material advancement of its
peoples. But let it not be lost sight of that, subsidi-
ary to this lofty mission. King Leopold has never
disavowed — nay, his Majesty had more than once
expressly declared it — his desire to find in Africa
new markets for Belgian manufactures, and a wide
field for the surplus population of overcrowded little
Belgium, where his people might live and where their
peculiar genius in the arts and sciences might flourish
unfettered by alien laws.
The experience of recent travellers, and particu-
larly of Livingstone and Stanley, had demonstrated
the truth of what had hitherto always been
disbelieved, viz., that it was possible for the ^!^ ^^*®/
' ' ^ Disproved.
white man to live and maintain his health
in Central Africa. This fact alone was of vast im-
portance ; but when was added to it proof that the
country was fertile, with immense natural sources of
wealth, needing only the brain and hand of civilised
man to tap them, a prosperous future for the country
was assured. England, France, and Portugal, but
notably England, had already claimed large sections
of Africa for their own, and Italy and Germany —
especially Germany — were feverishly anxious to fol-
low suit. But it is doubtful if among all the students
of the African problem— and they numbered among
them the ablest of every nation — there was at this
period another man with prescience to foresee, as
we now know King Leopold must have foreseen, the
illimitable possibilities of Central Africa. Indeed it
is tolerably certain that had the great nations realised
1 8 Story of the Congo Free State
the potential value of this region, their cupidity would
never have permitted them to allow its sovereignty
to become vested in any single individual with claim
to it based upon anything except irresistible material
force. King Leopold's claim, as we have already
partly seen, and as will presently be fully demon-
strated, had for its foundation a long-cherished and
active philanthropic interest in the welfare of its
natives, chiefly in the form of the suppression of
slavery; the expenditure, out of his Majesty's private
purse, of large sums of money for exploration, estab-
lishment of route stations, etc. ; and generally for
calling the attention of the civilised world to a little -
known and less-cared-for region commonly thought
to be worthless.
Bacon asserts, in his Advancement of Learning,
that "States are great engines moving slowly," and
from the beginning of the world until long past the
English philosopher's time, the axiom was true; but
we of the twentieth century inhabit a world as unlike
the world that Bacon lived in as modem New York
is unlike the city that Washington Irving described
under that name. The teeming millions of Europe
are ever more and more perplexed by the problem
of how to live, and not a day passes but the cruel
competition of life waxes fiercer and hotter. New
lands, new markets, must be found — the social pres-
sure in the older nations demands it as a prime
necessity. Therefore comes it that States are no
longer "engines moving slowly." On the contrary,
they move very rapidly; and as all the fat lands of
the earth have already been appropriated, future
FlWr
Conception of the Congo Free State 19
trouble seems not improbable. John Bull, early in
the field, worked hard painting the map red, and
now it is not possible to get far away from one or
other of his frontiers. The British colossus has
many imitators; but these started in the game late,
when most of the prizes had been won.
No sooner was it perceived that the Congo region
of Central Africa is a valuable possession, than
France set up her flag on the Congo, at universal
Brazzaville. The Portuguese, rummaging Land
in their musty archives for traces of their unger.
past glory, set up a claim to the Congo River be-
cause one of her navigators had discovered the
mouth of it five hundred years ago. Germany, too,
now exhibited her desire for huge territorities in
East Africa, and did not betray any marked
scrupulousness as to whose rights were invaded in
obtaining them. With such neighbours pressing
closely upon him, it was no more than natural that
King Leopold should cast about him how best he
might preserve inviolate the great country to which
he had so lavishly devoted his time and money;
and he finally conceived the idea of a Congo Free
State, with himself as its Sovereign ruler. With-
out some such clear recognition of Congo terri-
tory, and of his own personal rights in respect of it,
it was abundantly clear that the first would be
filched and the second ignored. For King Leopold
to proclaim himself Sovereign ruler of the Congo
region was, of course, not sufficient. It would be
necessary to secure the assent to that course of all
the great Powers interested.
20 Story of the Congo Free State
It was a momentous time. While the French were
estabUshing themselves on Stanley Pool, Stanley the
man was working in the interests of King Leopold,
travelling through the Congo country, buying land
here and there, establishing stations, and making
treaties in the King's name with native chiefs.
The French regarded Stanley's proceedings with
jealous distrust, and in France the question was
raised whether the International Association for the
Exploration and Civilisation of Central Africa ought
to be permitted to exercise sovereign rights. That
history furnished examples of corporate bodies exer-
cising sovereign authority was acknowledged, but
there was a large party in France which insistently
asserted that no such right pertained to the Inter-
national Association.
The situation was very complicated. If King
Leopold recognised the preposterous claim of Portu-
gal over the mouth of the Congo River, the entire
region in which he was interested would be with-
out a free way to the sea, a fatal bar to its proper
development.
To deal with Portugal in this matter, even sup-
posing her alleged right to be well founded, would
have presented no insuperable difficulty; poor na-
tions like poor individuals being ever open to sell
their commodities at something more than their
market value. But just at this juncture an unex-
pected act on the part of Great Britain added enor-
mously to the difficulty. Lord Granville, at that
time British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs,
after having refused to recognise any right by
Conception of the Congo Free State 21
Portugal over the mouth of the Congo, in return
for concessions granted by Portugal to Britain else-
where, now recognised those claims in an extended
form.
This Anglo -Portuguese Convention, made on the
26th of February, 1884, had it been carried out,
would have killed at one blow the International
Association for the Exploration and Civilisation of
Central Africa, and all King Leopold's cherished
dreams would have evaporated like mists before
the sim.
But the good work done by King Leopold was not
fated to be so ignominiously extinguished. France
and Germany combined to denounce the joj^n g^^
Convention ; and even with the British pub- Compiais-
lic it was very unpopular, as hard things ^^**
being said of it in the British Parliament and press
as any uttered in Belgium. King Leopold appealed
to the British Government to suspend the ratifica-
tion of the Convention, urging the despatch of a
British mission to the West Coast to examine the
validity of the treaties made between his Majesty's
representatives and native chiefs in that part of
the Congo country which the Convention proposed
to acknowledge as Portuguese territory. The Brit-
ish Government granted the King's request, and
despatched General Sir Frederic Goldsmid to the
Congo. The result was a complete triumph for King
Leopold, General Goldsmid reporting to his Govern-
ment that the treaties were in perfect order and that
the allegations of the Portuguese were baseless. That
was the end of the Anglo -Portuguese Convention.
22 Story of the Congo Free State
Though the Anglo -Portuguese Convention was
dead, and nothing remained to fear from it, the
incident served to emphasise the great and growing
necessity for endowing the Congo region with a
clearer and more definite political status than it yet
possessed. There were not wanting other, and hap-
pier, incidents pointing the same moral. On April
2 2, 1884, the United States officially recognised the
flag of the International Association as that of a
friendly Government, in which course it was soon
after followed by France, though the latter country
made it a condition of its acknowledgment that the
Association would never alienate any of its territory
without France having the right of pre-emption . Ger-
many, entering upon joint action with France for the
first time since the war of 1870, concurred in recog-
nising the International Association as an independ-
ent and friendly State ; and on the very day that she
gave her adherence to it, she invited, through Prince
Bismarck, all the Powers interested in the future of
Africa to confer in Berlin with the object of regu-
lating African affairs. The invitation was accepted
by fourteen nations, whose representatives met under
circumstances to be presently described, and gave
reality to the grand idea, conceived long before by
Henry Morton Stanley and Leopold II., King of the
Belgians, of a Congo Free State.
CHAPTER III
FOUNDING OF THE CONGO FREE STATE
ON the 15th day of November, 1884, the In-
ternational Conference, convened by Prince
Bismarck to regulate what that statesman
termed "the African question," held its first meeting.
It took place in Berlin, Prince Bismarck jj^g qj.^^^
presiding. In briefly outlining the object Nations
of the Conference, the distinguished presi- Agree,
dent exhibited in no small degree that condensa-
tion and lucidity for which his utterances were re-
markable.
The Imperial Government [said Prince Bismarck] has been
guided by the conviction that all the Governments invited
here share the desire to associate the natives of Africa with
civilisation, by opening up the interior of that continent to
commerce, by furnishing the natives with the means of in-
struction, by encouraging missions and enterprises so that
useful knowledge may be disseminated, and by paving the
way to the suppression of slavery, and especially of the slave
trade among the blacks, the gradual abolition of which was
declared to be, as far back as the Vienna Congress in 18 14, the
sacred duty of all the Powers. The interest which all the
civilised nations take in the material development of Africa
assures their co-operation in the task of regulating the com-
mercial relations with that part of the world. The course
followed for a number of years in the relations of the Western
Powers with the countries of Eastern Asia having up to this
23
24 Story of the Congo Free State
moment given the best results by restraining commercial
rivalry within the limits of legitimate competition, the Gov-
ernment of His Majesty the German Emperor has considered
it possible to recommend to the Powers to apply to Africa,
in the form appropriate to that continent, the same regimen,
founded on the equality of the rights and the solidarity of the
interests of all the commercial nations."
Proceeding, Prince Bismarck declared that the
main object of the Conference was the opening up
to all the world of Central Africa. He rejoiced that
France was in perfect accord with Germany in this
matter. The first thing to be considered in this
matter was, he thought, how best to establish free-
dom of trade at the mouth and in the basin of the
Congo. On that subject the German Government
had formulated a plan, drawn as a declaration, de-
signed to assure freedom of trade in that region,
with equal rights for all nations, — monopolies and
preferential duties for none.
Prince Bismarck was followed by the British re-
presentative, Sir Edward Malet. No other Power in
the world, said Sir Edward, had done so much on
behalf of the objects that the German Government
affected to have at heart as Great Britain; and he
went on to point out that the warm support of his
country and Government might be relied upon for
proposals which had always formed part of their
policy. He hoped that the attention of the Confer-
ence would not be devoted entirely to commerce,
and that the welfare of native races would receive
attention. Freedom of trade should be restricted to
legitimate articles of trade, or the natives would lose
more than they gained. He apprehended that the
Founding of the Congo Free State 25
chief difficulty of the Conference would be, not to
secure its unanimous adherence to general principles,
but to provide means for carrying those principles
into effect. It was certainly desirable to establish
the validity of effective new occupations on the coasts
of Africa.
The Portuguese representative claimed for his
country the honour of having introduced the ele-
ments of civilisation into Africa, and saw in an
increase of commerce in that part of the world the
assurance of peace and respect for the rights of
humanity. The American representative contented
himself by calling attention to the part his country
had taken in the opening of Central Africa, and re-
ferred with pride to the achievements of Stanley,
congratulating his countrymen on being first to re-
cognise the good work accomplished by that great
philanthropist, the King of the Belgians. The prac-
tical business, however, of the sitting, was the ques-
tion, "What territories constitute the basin of the
Congo and its affluents ?" This being a matter less
easily disposed of, it was referred to a Commission
of eight experts selected by the eight Powers chiefly
interested in its solution.
The Commission of eight reported to the Confer-
ence at its third sitting as follows:
The Basin of the Congo is delimited by the crests of the
contiguous basins, to wit, the basins in particular of the
Niari, the Ogowe, the Schari, and the Nile, on the north; by
the Lake Tanganyika, on the east ; by the crests of the basins
of the Zambesi and the Loge, on the south. It comprises
consequently all the territories drained by the Congo and its
26 Story of the Congo Free State
affluents, including Lake Tanganyika and its eastern tribu-
taries.
This report seems as explicit as it well could be,
and after much discussion and some slight modifi-
cations it was adopted. Baron Lambermont (Bel-
gium) presented a report upon the best means of
safeguarding the welfare of the native races, treating
with remarkable ability of slavery, the importation
of alcohol into the Congo country, and other dangers
that threaten uncivilised races at their first contact
with civilisation. Count Van der Straeten Ponthoz
(Belgium) spoke even more vigorously to the same
effect, and between them these two Belgian subjects
of King Leopold showed themselves more solicitous
for the welfare of the Congo native than the repre-
sentative of any other nationality present.
The International Conference held its tenth and
last sitting on the 26th of February, 1885. As on
the occasion of its first sitting, Prince Bismarck pre-
sided. The drafting of the final act of the Confer-
ence was ably performed by Baron LambeiTQont.
The representatives of the Powers assembled at Ber-
lin signed conventions with the International Asso-
ciation, acknowledging it as a friendly and sovereign
State whose flag — a golden five-pointed star on a
blue banner — they agreed henceforth to recognise.
I am sure I am the interpreter [said the President in an-
nouncing the existence of these treaties to the Conference] of
the unanimous sentiment of the Conference in saluting as a
happy event the communication made to us on the subject of
the almost completely unanimous recognition of the Interna-
tional Association of the Congo. All of us here render justice
Founding of the Congo Free State 27
to the lofty object of the work to which His Majesty the King
of the Belgians has attached his name ; we all know the efforts
and the sacrifices by means of which he has brought it to the
point where it is to-day; we all entertain the wish that the
most complete success may crown an enterprise that must so
usefully promote the views which have directed the Confer-
ence."
Thus the great Bismarck. Sir Edward Malet
(Great Britain) said:
The part which Queen Victoria's Government has taken in
the recognition of the flag of the Association as that of a
friendly Government warrants me in expressing the satisfac-
tion with which we regard the constitution of this new State,
due to the initiative of His Majesty the King of the Belgians.
During long years the King, dominated by a purely philan-
thropic idea, has spared nothing, neither personal effort nor
pecuniary sacrifice, which could contribute to the realisation
of his object. Yet the world at large regarded these efforts
with an eyfe of almost complete indifference. Here and there
his Majesty attracted some sympathy, but it was somehow
rather the sympathy of condolence than that of encourage-
ment. People said that the enterprise was beyond his re-
sources, that it was too great for him to achieve success. We
now see that the King was right, and that the idea he pursued
was not Utopian. He has brought it to a happy conclusion,
not without difficulties, but the very difficulties have made
the success all the more striking. While rendering to his
Majesty this homage by recognising all the difficulties that
he has surmounted, we salute the new-born State with the
greatest cordiality, and we express the sincere desire to see it
flourish and grow under his aegis.
Baron de Courcel (France) said: "The new State
owes its origin to the generous aspirations and the
enlightened initiation of a prince surrounded by the
28 Story of the Congo Free State
respect of Europe." Other members of the Confer-
ence were as warm as the representatives of Great
Britain and France in their eulogy of the great work
achieved by King Leopold, and their opinions of his
Majesty's life-work were admirably summed up by
Prince Bismarck in his speech closing the Confer-
ence, in the course of which he referred to the con-
solidation of the Congo Free State as a "precious
service to the cause of humanity,"
Central Africa had now become in all essential
respects a State. It had been recognised as such
by the United States on April 22, 1884, seven
months before the opening, and ten months before
the close, of the Berlin Conference, but now its geo-
graphical limits were defined, its political status
fixed, its neutrality assured. The large part played
by Leopold, King of the Belgians, in its creation had
received full and complete acknowledgment from the
foremost geographers and statesmen of the world,
who had united in lauding the King, not only for his
wonderful achievement, but for the high humanitar-
ian motive stimulating his Majesty through all the
years of its difficult accomplishment.
But let no one suppose that it followed, as a neces-
sary consequence of all this, that the future govern-
ment of Central Africa was to be as plain
Ahead ^^ Sailing in smooth water. A new State had
been created, it is true, and it had had as
its sponsors the great Powers of the world, who
had recognised Leopold IL, King of the Belgians,
as its Sovereign ruler. But it is beyond the ability
of States, just as it is beyond the ability of indivi-
Founding of the Congo Free State 29
duals, to exist without money, and to be entrusted
with the government of a territory nearly a million
square miles in extent — about a fifth the size of
Europe, or a third of the United States — inhabited
by twenty millions or so of semi-barbarous tribes,
was no light task. The ' ' African Exploration Fund ' '
of the Geographical Society of London contribu-
ted ;^2 5o, and the Belgian Committee collected
among their countrymen 500,000 francs — a gener-
ous gift, but utterly inadequate for such a colossal
task as the civilisation of Central Africa. Belgians,
as a people, were in no degree liable for the expense
of the philanthropic colonial enterprise entered
upon by Leopold, their King, as an individual.
The magnitude of that expense will be apparent to
anybody who gives the subject a moment's thought.
The payment of explorers, — men of the first rank in
intellectual attainment, such as Stanley, — the cost of
their equipment (stores, carriers, lake steamers, etc.),
the carving out of routes, establishment of stations,
purchases of land from native chiefs, conciliatory
gifts, and so forth, had seriously depleted the large
private fortune of King Leopold.
Though all civilised countries were more or less
interested in the opening up of Central Africa, less
than twenty thousand dollars was subscribed out-
side Belgium for that object. It had, therefore,
some years before the Berlin Conference, become
necessary to raise money for the continuation of the
work. On November 25, 1878, the Comite d' Etudes
du Haut-Congo was formed in Brussels, with King
Leopold as honorary president and Colonel Strauch
30 Story of the Congo Free State
as president. The Comite was really a company,
and it had a capital of a million francs. Thanks no
less to its wise direction than to its sufficient capital,
the operations of the Comite were attended with so
much success that it soon usurped the place of the
International i^rican Association as principal agent
of the civilising crusade undertaken by King Leopold.
The work of the Comite was consolidated and greatly
accelerated by the General Act of the Berlin Confer-
ence, assuring the Sovereignty of the Congo State to
King Leopold, it being no more than natural that
Belgians should have increased confidence in a State
secure under the rule of their own King, and be dis-
posed to invest their money therein more freely
than when the form of its government was matter
of doubt. Though much still remained to be done,
the Congo Free State had now been founded, and
that fact of itself was sufficient to inspire confidence
everywhere, but particularly among the Belgian
people, whose King was its founder.
CHAPTER IV
EARLY BELGIAN EXPEDITIONS
HAVING narrated the principal political circum-
stances which eventuated in the founding of
the Congo Free State, it now becomes neces-
sary to revert to an earlier period, and sketch briefly
the various Belgian expeditions to whose Cartography
labours are so largely owing our knowledge and
of the geography of Central Africa, the ^^^^'^'^*^°°-
suppression of the slave trade there, and the estab-
lishment of civilising and humanitarian government
by Belgians.
It is hardly necessary to say that so great an
enterprise was not possible of achievement without
loss of life, and much personal sacrifice and suffering;
that many men of high intellectual power and in-
domitable courage fell by the way, martyrs to
<Usease, treachery, and the innumerable accidents by
flood and field which ever dog the footsteps of pio-
neer explorers. The official records of the expedi-
tions, for the most part vouched for by independent
testimony (chiefly Enghsh), establish beyond possi-
bility of dispute the patient forbearance and human-
ity of the explorers in their dealings with the natives.
The dignity of truth is lost with too much protesting,
and that some few mistakes were committed here
31
32 Story of the Congo Free State
and there, the result of over-zealousness on the part
of particular individuals, is frankly admitted, such
admission in no way detracting from the confident
assertion that no exploration of unknown lands had
ever before been made which occasioned so small an
amount of friction with their indigenous occupiers.
A sound discretion is not so much indicated by never
making a mistake as by never repeating it. Mis-
take, error, is the discipline through which we all ad-
vance, and the greatest of faults is to be conscious
of none.
The first Belgian expedition arrived at Zanzibar in
December, 1877, having been three months on its
voyage from Ostend. It was commanded
* by Captain Crespel, an officer of the Belgian
Army, and included, besides Lieutenant Cambier, also
of the Belgian Army, Dr. Maes, and M. Mamo, an
Austrian. Some time was spent by these explorers
in Zanzibar, purchasing supplies and engaging an
escort, before starting for the interior; a task in
which they were assisted by the Sultan, Seyyid
Burghash, an enlightened ruler, opposed to slavery
and sympathetic with the expedition and its objects.
Unfortunately, these favourable auspices were not
followed by correspondingly happy events. In less
than a month after the arrival of the expedition in
Zanzibar, Dr. Maes was dead of fever ; and Captain
Crespel, who was ill from the first moment that he
set foot on African soil, survived Dr. Maes only a
few days.
Shortly before these two sad events, Cambier and
Mamo had started on their journey into the interior,
Early Belgian Expeditions 33
and at once became the victims of every sort of mis-
fortune. Their cattle were tormented and destroyed
by the tsetse fly, which in that year assumed the pro-
portions of a plague, and, their route lying through
a marshy region, progress was rendered impossible.
Two months later they returned to Zanzibar worn
out and dispirited, having achieved nothing, only
to be greeted by the melancholy news of the death of
Captain Crespel and Dr. Maes. Command of the
expedition now devolved upon Lieutenant Cam-
bier, who resolved to await reinforcements from
Belgium.
It was not until September of the following year
that Lieutenant Cambier, accompanied by Lieuten-
ant Wautier and Dr. Dutrieux, ventured to move
forward. On the occasion of his second attempt he
started from Bagamoyo. His difficulties, if not so
great as on his previous journey, would have daunted
any ordinary mortal. His native carriers gave great
trouble, continually deserting or threatening to de-
sert him, while crossing the Mgonda-Mkali desert.
However, after passing through infinite danger and
difficulty, Cambier succeeded in reaching the terri-
tory of Mirambo, and prospered so well in his efforts
to secure the friendship and assistance of that power-
ful chief that the two entered into a treaty of al-
liance, and went through the strangely barbarous
ceremony of taking the oath of blood; after which,
according to African superstition and custom, they
became brothers. This was the first example of a
Belgian officer and a native chief takmg the oath of
blood. It was entered into by Cambier only after
34 Story of the Congo Free State
he had informed himself that it was a ceremony the
sanctity of which the Negro race held to be in-
violable, and was therefore exactly suited to his
purpose.
The object of the expedition was to found a sta-
tion on the shores of Lake Tanganyika. Having
been provided with some necessary supplies by his
newly made "blood brother," M. Cambier was about
to resume his journey, of which another hundred and
fifty miles remained, when he learned with consterna-
tion of the death of M. Wautier, the able lieutenant
to whoin he had entrusted the difficult task of keep-
ing open his communications with the coast, who
had succumbed to the climate after prolonged ex-
posure to torrential rain. M. Wautier was the third
Belgian who had lost his life in the cause of African
exploration. His place was taken by M. Bryon, a
Swiss traveller of much experience, who rendered
good and faithful service. But though so near to
his destination, M. Cambier's difficulties were by no
means ended. As before, it was his carriers who
made the trouble. They were insubordinate, quar-
relled among themselves, and deserted in great
numbers, on the slightest provocation, and often
for none at all. Finally, however, on August 12,
1879, Karema, on Lake Tanganyika, was reached in
safety, and the first station of the International As-
sociation for the Exploration and Civilisation of Cen-
tral Africa established by the Belgian Committee.
The site chosen for the station was about five thou-
sand acres of land, very healthfully situated, which
Cambier obtained by treaty with a local chief. Thus
A Saddle Ox, Kassai.
European Travelling in the Uelle District.
Early Belgian Expeditions 35
through difficulty and danger, by the expenditure
of energy, money, and of life itself, was the object
of the first Belgian expedition successfully accom-
plished, and M. Cambier set out to return to Belgium.
When he reached the coast he was surprised to meet
a second expedition, of whose existence he knew
nothing, which had just arrived from Belgium. In
consequence, M, Cambier decided not to return to
Europe, but to remain in Africa for a while to assist,
so far as he was able, in this second enterprise. The
period was May, 1879. The new expedition, under
command of Captain Popelin, of the Headquarters
Staff, assisted by Dr. Van den Heuval and Lieuten-
ant Dutalis, had not completed their arrangements
for their inland journey when the latter fell ill and
was obliged to return at once to Belgium. The ex-
pedition had brought with it four Indian elephants,
attended by two English keepers accustomed to the
management of those animals, it having been sug-
gested to King Leopold that elephants were better
adapted for transport purposes in Central Africa
than oxen. The experiment proved a costl}^ failure.
All four of the elephants died before any use could
be made of them, and their English keepers were
waylaid by brigands and murdered on their way
back to Zanzibar. Notwithstanding these misfor-
tunes, MM. Cambier and Popelin persevered bravely
with their task, stocked the station at Karema with
provisions, and organised a native guard for its pro-
tection.
The third expedition, judged by results, hardly de-
serves to be called such. It consisted of only two
36 Story of the Congo Free State
Belgians (MM. Burdo and Roger), and the health of
the former breaking down immediately on his arrival
at Zanzibar, he was obliged to return home at once.
War was now being waged between the chiefs Mir-
ambo and Simba ; but though each of the contestants
was friendly to the Belgians, the conflict rendered
their position very precarious. In the circumstan-
ces, MM. Cambier and Popelin judged it expedi-
ent to divide their forces, so as to ensure efficient
protection for the newly founded station at Karema,
and the route thence to the coast.
While matters were standing' thus, a fourth expe-
dition arrived, the strongest and be^st equipped yet
sent out b}^ Belgium, commanded by Captain Ra-
maeckers, an experienced African traveller, skilled in
native wiles, who had been more successful in his
dealing with the black man than any other Belgian.
Captain Ramaeckers was ably seconded by MM.
Becker and De Leu, lieutenants in the Belgian Artil-
lery, and an expert photographer. The moment of
the arrival of this expedition was opportune, for the
difficulties of MM. Cambier and Popelin, due to the
war between the natives, increased daily, and they
were in a bad way. Captain Ramaeckers made all
possible haste to succour them, and after a perilous
journey succeeded in joining his colleagues on the
banks of Lake Tanganyika ; but he lost by death on
the way his brave lieutenant, De Leu, a victim of
malarial fever, and the health of the photographer
failed so completely that it was found necessary to
send him home. Captain Ramaeckers now took
over the command from Lieutenant Cambier, who
Early Belgian Expeditions 37
had carried on the work in Central Africa for three
years, and was now desirous of returning to Europe.
In that period Cambier had contrived to achieve
much valuable work, of which the worth is more
apparent to-day than it was in December, 1880,
when he resigned his command. But in estimating
its value, then or now, the enormous difficulties under
which he laboured should never for a moment be
lost sight of. These difficulties were so great as
hardly to admit of exaggeration. Language is inade-
quate to convey any just conception of the trackless
deserts, impenetrable forests, and malarial swamps,
through which the explorers' route lay, complicated
by two friendly but warring tribes, each suspicious
•of the strangers' relations with the other.
Popelin and Ramaeckers, unlike Cambier, were
not destined to see their native land again. Eighteen
months after the departure of Cambier, Popelin died
of malarial fever, and a short while after Ramaeckers
also, from a like cause. In spite of these terrible
losses, the Belgian station continued to exist, and
even prospered in its work. The command now de-
volved upon Lieutenant Storms, then on his way to
Central Africa to establish a new station on the
western shore of Lake Tanganyika. When Storms
arrived and took command he chose as the site of
the new station a spot called Mpala, immediately
opposite Karema. The chief of the district, who
himself bore the name of Mpala, proved friendly to
the expedition, and the new station soon became as
important as Karema itself. So great was the influ-
ence exerted by Storms over Mpala that that chief,
3^ Story of the Congo Free State
when dying, left the appointment of his successor to
be determined by the Belgian officer. Storms showed
himself a clever diplomatist, and during his two-
and-a-half -years' control did much to consolidate the
work of his predecessors.
So far, we have seen, these expeditions were ex-
clusively Belgian. They owed their inception to
King Leopold, by far the larger part of the heavy
expense they entailed was met out of his Majesty's
private purse, and the personnel was Belgian almost
to a man. Humanitarian in their object, the expe-
ditions had been conducted so humanely that no
injury had resulted to any one for which the expedi-
tions could be blamed. With the exception of the
two English elephant -keepers, murdered by Arab*
brigands, the loss of life was wholly Belgian, result-
ing in every case from the trying climate of Equa-
torial Africa.
But before any Belgian expedition had started,
Henry M. Stanley, the great Anglo-American travel-
ler, had penetrated Africa as far as the
Journalist, rnouth of the Congo, and had startled the
world by the information contained in his
letters addressed thence to the New York Herald and
the London Daily Telegraph. In glowing and in-
cisive language Stanley demonstrated the future
commercial importance of the superb Congo River,
and significantly pointed out that, so far, no Euro-
pean power, except Portugal, had put forth any claim
to its control — a claim which England, France, and
the United States had refused to recognise.
This pregnant statement excited widespread re-
Early Belgian Expeditions 39
mark, but the King of the Belgians was alone in
acting upon the startling information. His Majesty
invited Mr. Stanley to Brussels to confer with some
distinguished geographers, merchants, and financiers;
and out of that meeting grew the Comite d^ Etudes dti
Haut-Congo, to which reference has been made in an
earlier chapter. Soon after, however, the name of
this body was changed to that of the International
Association of the Congo. Mr. Stanley was invited
to enter its service, and to establish along the Congo
a series of stations, designed as bases for future
operations, humanitarian and commercial, t. e., sup-
pression of the slave trade and securing the com-
merce of the Congo country.
How Stanley accepted that invitation, and car-
ried out the mission which the King of the Belgians
entrusted to him, is almost as well known as the
story of the same intrepid traveller's discovery of
Dr. Livingstone a few years before. With only ten
companions (five Belgian, two English, two Danish,
and one French), Stanley left Europe in January,
1879. ^t Zanzibar he hoped to be reinforced by at
least some of those who had been associated with him
on his previous journey. Meanwhile the steam-
boats En Avant and Royal, the twin-screw steamer
La Belgtque, one -screw barge Young Africa, and
two steel lighters, were sent direct from Bel-
gium to the mouth of the Congo, there to await
Stanley's coming. Stanley recruited a hundred and
forty blacks (Askaris and Kabindas), to say nothing
of carriers, whom he obtained as he required them
during his progress along the Congo.
40 Story of the Congo Free State
The first station to be founded was Vivi, and six
months were spent in fortifying it. Then came the
construction of a road from Vivi to Isang-
Pioneering. ^^^^ — ^^Y ^^^^ higher Up the rivcr — re-
quired for the conveyance of the steamers
in section, stores, merchandise, etc. This proved a
formidable task and took a whole year to accom-
plish. But Stanley and his men proved equal to it,
and another station was founded at Isanghila. At
that station, fortunately, the Congo was again found
to be navigable, and Stanley pushed on to Manyanga
by boat, where he founded a third station. It was
while at Manyanga that Stanley first learned of M.
de Brazza's having set up the French flag on the
northern shore of Stanley Pool, and calling it Brazza-
ville, a fact previously referred to.
Stanley countered this act by founding, on the
plain of Kintamo, near the lake, a station out of
which has grown the modem Leopold ville, named in
honour of the King of the Belgians, and now recog-
nised as the capital of Central Africa.
The spread of French influence so far as Brazza-
ville was significant and ominous. Clearly the na-
tions of Europe were waking up to the importance
and value of Central Africa. Leaving the expedition
in charge of Captain Hanssens, Stanley hurriedly
returned to Brussels to report the circumstance
in person. That was in April, 1882; and by Febru-
ary, 1883, he was back again with the expedition
in Africa, recharged, as it were, with energy, and
busied himself in establishing numerous stations.
In all, Stanley served five years with this expedi-
Early Belgian Expeditions 41
tion, which, notwithstanding his nationality, must in
all fairness be accounted a Belgian expedition.
Such, then, were the early expeditions in Central
Africa undertaken by Leopold, King of the Belgians.
There were other contemporaneous expeditions in
the same region undertaken by France, Germany,
and Russia, or rather by natives of those countries
presumably working in the interest of their respec-
tive nations, but their results will not stand com-
parison with those achieved by Belgians. At one
time it was the intention of King Leopold to appoint
General Gordon to the chief command on the Congo,
and that extraordinary man had agreed to accept
his Majesty's offer; but the British Government had
a prior claim on Gordon's services, who went to
Khartoum and lost his life there in tragic circum-
stances so well known that they need not be
recounted here.
CHAPTER V
THE WATERWAYS OF THE CONGO
IT was Diego Cam, an intrepid Portuguese navi-
gator, who, in 1484, voyaging towards the myth-
ical East Indies, discovered the Congo. In the
name of his sovereign, King Juan II., he took pos-
Discovery scssion of the country, though it does not
of the appear that he proceeded far into the in-
Congo. terior. From nzadi, the native name for
river, the Portuguese formed the word Zaire, and it
is by this name that the river was long called. It
so appears in the map of Martin of Bohemia, who
accompanied the expedition. The globe prepared
by this German cosmographer is still to be seen in
the museimi of Nuremberg. It was not until two
centuries later that the river was called Rio de
Congo.
On the south promontory of the Delta the Portu-
guese erected a pillar to commemorate their discov-
ery. This promontory is still known as the PadrSo
Foreland. It is certain that these Portuguese, who
were missionaries before they were explorers, re-
mained a considerable time in the Delta; for they
converted the King of Ekongo, as the country was
then called, to Christianity. It was to this king
that the sovereigns of Angolo traced descent, and it
42
The Waterways of the Congo 43
is significant that their blue banner with the golden
star is to-day the flag of the Congo Free State.
About seven years after the first expedition a
second was sent out from Portugal, and the ruins of
the trading posts then established, called San An-
tonio and Salvador, are still to be seen. The old
Kingdom of Ekongo continued a hundred miles
into the interior. It was bounded on the north by
N'zadi, the modem Congo, and on the south by the
river Coanza. The accounts of the early traders,
some of which are still preserved in the State ar-
chives of Portugal, abound in fanciful descriptions.
To the mediaeval mind the forest was peopled with
mythical monsters. It was probably for this reason
that the superstitious Portuguese kept so near the
coast.
In 1534 San Salvador, which until the arrival of
the Portuguese was known as Ambassa, became the
seat of a bishopric. Here a cathedral was erected,
but later the see was transferred to St. Paul de
Loanda, which thus became the capital of the Por-
tuguese authority.
In 1 784, to maintain their occupation of the Congo,
the Portuguese built a fort at Kabinda, about thirty
miles north, of the mouth of the river. Several slave
stations also were established in the interior. From
this position they were soon driven by the French,
though the latter made no attempt to found a colony.
In 18 1 6 the British Government despatched an
expedition to the Congo. James Kingston Tuckey,
the leader, explored the river from its mouth to
a distance of 170 miles into the interior. In his
44 Story of the Congo Free State
description of the country Tuckey speaks of the
numerous slave stations along the banks. At this
period two thousand slaves were exported annually.
Fifty years later this number had increased to over
one hundred thousand!
The Congo with its multitudinous branches forms
a river -basin unequalled even by that of the Missis-
sippi. This great territory, over fourteen hundred
miles in breadth, covers an area of nearly a million
square miles. Though mere size is not always a
measure of importance, yet this region is unsur-
passed, in respect to natural resources, by any part
of the world. Second only to the Amazon in volume,
the Congo precipitates about 2,000,000 cubic feet of
water each second into the Atlantic.
This immense basin has been divided by geo-
graphers into three gradual terraces: the first and
lowest is near the coast ; the second, in the region of
the Upper Congo; and the highest in the vicinity
of the great lakes. According to the official Act the
basin is bounded by the watersheds of the neigh-
bouring basins of the Niari, the Ogowe, the Shari,
and the Nile on the north ; by the eastern watershed
line of the affluents of Lake Tanganyika on the east ;
and by the watersheds of the basins of the Zambesi
and the Loge on the south. Congoland is about
1,500,000 square miles in extent. From its western
frontage of 400 miles it broadens eastward until at
Lake Tanganyika it has a frontier of about 1500
miles.
The numerous ramifications of the Congo open
rapid and economic channels of communication to
The Waterways of the Congo 45
the interior. To this magnificent system of waters
the country also owes its unequalled fertility. Many
of the rivers now practically useless can in time be
rendered navigable by the skill of the engineer.
Where blasting out channels is not feasible canals
can be built to connect the navigable parts of the
stream. It is obvious, too, that the effects on that
torrid climate of these great rivers, from one to
twenty miles in breadth, must be considerable.
Without them the country would be an arid desert,
another Sahara, deadly to life, both animal and
vegetable.
We shall first follow the successive stages of the
Congo, as the Chambesi, the Luapula, and the Lua-
laba, in the huge watershed on the eastern border
between Lakes Nyassa and Tanganyika.
The source of the Congo is in the Chingampo
Mountains, in British territory, and about 50 miles
from the western confines of German East
Africa, whence it issues as the Chambesi. ^^le Congo.
It was Livingstone who, in 1867, discovered
the Chambesi. Mistaking it for the undiscovered
source of the Nile, he explored it towards the
south-west — 250 miles — as far as Lake Bangweolo.
Thence he followed its gradual curve to the north,
first as the Luapula, through Lake Moero, as far
as Ankorro; and then as the Lualaba, in a north-
westerly direction to Nyangwe, 1300 miles from its
source. The river assumes the distinctive name of
the Congo first at Nyangwe. It was from this place
that Stanley, in 1876, made his famous descent of
the river. The journey, which covered 1660 miles
4^ Story of the Congo Free State
by water and 140 miles by land, was accomplished
in 281 days.
From Nyangwe the river flows due north 400
miles as far as Stanley Falls. The country between
these two places is peopled by the cannibal Bakumu,
With ' ' these insensate furies of savageland ' ' Stanley
had many bloody encounters. "At every curve of
this fearful river," he writes in his now famous book,
"the yells of the savages broke loud on our ears, the
snake-like canoes dashed forward impetuously to
the attack, while the drums and horns and shouts
raised fierce and deafening uproar."
From Stanley Falls the river, flowing west and
north-west, makes a huge curve, in the form of a
horse-shoe, to Equateurville, where the junction of the
Congo with the Ruki takes place. Throughout this
immense curve, called the Middle Congo, and as far
south as Leopoldville, a distance of 1068 miles, the
river is navigable. In the contiguous territory live
the Balolo, or "men of iron," forgers of metal instru-
ments. Famous as warriors, they are also noted as
clever craftsmen, and are valuable allies of the State.
From the junction of Lake Matumba with the
Congo, the river, flowing south-west about 450 miles
to Manyanga, forms the boundary between the
French and the Belgian possessions. Thence down
to Matadi it pursues a southerly course of about 100
miles through the territory of the State. From
Matadi, whence it flows westward to the sea, it forms
for 30 miles the northern boundary of the Portuguese
Congo.
At Stanley Pool the Congo is no longer navigable.
The Waterways of the Congo 47
Here, gathering the full force of its waters, the now
immense river ploughs its passage for over 200
miles through the Crystal Mountains, whence by a
succession of plunges it bounds down to Matadi,
1800 feet below.
From Matadi, unobstructed and triumphant, it
hurls the overwhelming volume of its current far
into the Atlantic. At its meeting with the sea, the
Congo, now over 3000 miles in length, is fully twenty
miles wide.
Until a few years ago there was considerable con-
troversy as to the true upper course of the Congo.
This has been at last established by the explorations
of Delcommune, Bia, and Brasseur; and it is now
agreed that the upper course is that continuation of
the Chambesi called the Luapula, and not the Lua-
laba, as was formerly believed.
The Luapula, the boundary between the Congo
State and North-Eastem Rhodesia, and navigable for
340 miles above Kassongo, is longer than the Lua-
laba. It is, however, inferior to the latter in size
and in the number and importance of its affluents.
The Lualaba rises in the southern part of the Congo
territory, about fifty miles west of North-Western
Rhodesia. The source of this river was discovered
by Lieutenants Derscheid and Francqui.
Along the important tributanes of the Luapula is
the Lufupa, which joins it not far below Nzilo. It
is at the Nzilo gorge that the first cataracts on the
Luapula are encountered. They continue almost
uninterruptedly for forty-three miles. Another af-
fluent of the Luapula is the Lubudi, a considerable
4^ Story of the Congo Free State
river on the left, which, because of its breadth and
volume, was at first mistaken for the main stream.
The next important tributary — the Lufila — empties
into the Luapula at Lake Kassali. It flows through
the fertile country of the Katanga.
This region, noted for its mineral resources, is
described by travellers as " a land flowing with milk
and honey." It was first explored by that inde-
fatigable pioneer, Delcommune. Until a few years
ago the Katanga was ruled by the truculent tyrant,
Msiri. Now that this despot is dead, the country is
developing rapidly. The climate is far more health-
ful than in the regions around the Lower or Middle
Congo. The fertility of the soil and the advantageous
climate augur a brilliant future for this section of
the State. The conditions are, in fact, well adapted
to the needs of the white race, and here, no doubt,
eventually will be established cities no less import-
ant and flourishing than those of Java. Already a
railway to the Katanga is being constructed. Great
deposits of copper are known to exist here, and it is
expected that the development of these resources
will begin a new era in the history of Central Africa.
By the railway, Katanga will be brought within six
weeks of the European centres.
In this vicinity also are the Kibala Mountains,
An African which will, no doubt, soon attract tourists
Switzer- from all parts of the world. The beauties
land. q£ ^-[^^g section are thus described by their
discoverer, Delcommune :
Seated on a rock of sandstone, eagerly scanning all around
us, glancing in every quarter, we were astonished by this
The Waterways of the Congo 49
picture, which no pencil could render. None of the loudly
vaunted beauties of Switzerland and the Pyrenees, where
charming scenery nevertheless exists, could rival these lost
corners of the Kibala Mountains, of which the whole effect, in
its turn picturesque and savage, imposing and on a grand
scale, seemed softened and rendered pleasant by the brilliant
equatorial vegetation.
We shall now briefly refer to the more important
tributaries of the Congo proper, first taking up those
that join the river from the south.
Of these the Lomami is navigable for nearly 650
miles. Rising in the Usamba Plateau, 600 miles
east of Lake Moero, it runs almost parallel to the
Congo till it joins that stream 150 miles west of
Stanley Falls. The Lomami varies in breadth from
60 to 400 yards. In places it has a depth of twenty
feet, and it is destined to play an important part in
the development of this part of the continent. It
was on the Lomami that one of those entrenched
camps was established which proved so effective in
the expulsion of the Arabs and suppression of the
slave trade. The many tributaries of the Lomami,
some of which are navigable, make that river the
natural base also of commercial operations.
The next southern affluent of the Congo is the
Lulongo. Rising not far from the valley of the
Lomami it flows for several hundred miles in a
south-westerly direction and empries into the Congo
at Uranga. A northern tributary of the Lulongo is
the Lopori. Both of these streams are rendered
more important by the fact that, being free from
obstruction, they are navigable. They water a
50 Story of the Congo Free State
beautiful and exceedingly fertile country, some of
which is yet unexplored.
South of the Lulongo and almost parallel to it is
the Ruki. It has two upper courses and rises near
the great valley of the Lomami. The Ruki is a
wide, open river, nearly six hundred miles in length.
It empties into the Congo at Equateurville, and
because of its several tributaries it renders a large
territory easily accessible.
But the largest of all the southern affluents is the
Kassai, which ranks in importance next to the Congo
itself. The exact course of the Kassai was until
recently a matter of considerable speculation. This
has now been definitely determined, and the San-
kuru, formerly thought by some geographers to be
the main course of that river, is now known to
be its largest affluent. The Kassai rises nearly one
thousand miles south of where it joins the Congo,
near the Portuguese possessions in the south-west-
ern corner of the Congo State. Its course is north,
north-east, and north-west. Navigable from Wiss-
mann Falls, which is situated about midwa}^ its
length, it forms its junction with the Congo not far
above Stanley Pool. Joining the Kassai, near
Bokala, is the river Kwango, which, rising in the
Portuguese possessions, flows directly northward
for several hundred miles. The Sankuru, like so
many other of the Congo rivers, rises in the Sambas
Plateau. Its course is first due north, then west,
and, at its junction with the Kassai, is an im-
posing stream, almost as deep and broad as the
Kassai itself. The Lubefu, a northern tributary of
The Waterways of the Congo 51
the Sankuru, reaches almost to the valley of the
Lomami.
It is intended soon to build a railroad connecting
these rivers, and when this is accomplished a large
area not now accessible will be open to commerce.
Necessarily such trading stations will, for a while
at least, need governmental protection. Hence each
station will be in the nature of a military establish-
ment, and will form also the nucleus for a future city.
The Caucasian, observing, of course, certain neces-
sary precautions, will find the climate of a large part
of this section quite congenial. It is not unlike that
of the tablelands of Java or of the highlands of
Ceylon. Moreover, the soil no less than the forests
and the mineral resources of this vicinity will offer
splendid opportunities to the investor.
Necessarily the future of this part of the Congo,
as well as that of all regions distant from the naviga-
ble rivers, is dependent upon the construe- j^ie
tion of a railway system which will bring Coming
them into touch with the rest of the world. Country.
That such railways cannot be built without a great
expenditure of money is obvious, but the success of
the lines already estabUshed and the enormous profits
sure in the end to repay the investors are calculated
to attract sooner or later the necessary capital. All
who have visited this part of the Congo country are
agreed that its natural resources are incomparably
greater than those of any part of Europe. When
developed they will excite the wonder of the world.
But this result, so devoutly to be wished, involving
as it does the betterment of millions of Hves lately
52 Story of the Congo Free State
enveloped in densest ignorance, is not to be attained
without some sacrifices. Capital, time, and labour
must co-operate to bring about this result.
On the right or northern bank of the Congo are to
be found several large affluents. Of these, one of the
jjjg most important is the Aruwimi, which joins
Congo's the Congo just below Nyangwe. The Aru-
Affluents. ^y{j^{ riscs in the Blue Mountains, not far
from Lake Albert Nyanza. Thence flowing westward
about seven hundred miles, and gathering on its way
the waters of its numerous tributaries, it is, when it
reaches the Congo, a copious stream over a mile wide.
Above Yambuya the navigation of the Aruwimi is
rendered impossible by a succession of cataracts,
that bane of the African navigator. However, the
beauty and the resources of the surroimding country
somewhat compensate for these hindering conditions.
Here is the famous forest of Ituri, the home of a
vast population and the haunt of many species of
game. In and around the Ituri occurred some noted
skirmishes with the mutinous Batetelas.
About 150 miles west of the Aruwimi the Rubi
reaches the Congo at Itembo. Rising in the Mabode
about 500 miles north of Stanley Falls, it flows west
and south-west for a distance of 600 miles.
Three hundred miles west of the Rubi is the Mon-
galla. It rises at the northern boundary of the
State and, flowing south -south-west, reaches the
Congo at Molieka. The Mongalla is a fine, open
stream, and on its banks the Government has estab-
lished a line of important stations. By these the
State maintains control of the surrounding territory
The Waterways of the Congo 53
and renders possible commerce with a large popula-
tion. Similar stations have been and are being
erected along the smaller navigable streams, and
these, when connected with the centres by railroad
and by telegraph, as eventually they will be, will
make the whole interior equally accessible.
Probably no tributary of the Congo is of more
importance than the Ubanghi. It was Van Gele who,
in 1886, first explored the Ubanghi country and
demonstrated the strategic value and commercial
possibilities of this mighty river. The Uelle, which
flows in a north-westerly direction, rises in the Blue
Mountains. It was discovered by Dr. Junker, the
German explorer, and may be considered the upper
course of the Ubanghi. Above the Panga Falls,
the Uelle is navigable for large vessels as far as
Niangara.
After receiving the waters of the Uelle the Ubanghi
forms for a long distance the boundary between the
Free State and the French territory. Beyond Ban-
zyville the river makes a wide curve towards the
north to Waddas, whence it flows almost directly
south, joining the Congo a little above Lake Ma-
tumba. The rich valley through which this splendid
stream, over a thousand miles in length, takes its
winding course, comprises an area of 160,000 square
miles. Emin Pasha described it as possessing won-
derful productivity — "The Granary of Equatoria" he
called it. Here the natives, who are instinctively
agricultural, raise tobacco, coffee, and sugar-cane in
large quantities. The highways now being con-
structed will give to the industry of this region an
54 Story of the Congo Free State
immediate impetus, and the natives, who are skilful
in the making of brick, will greatly contribute to the
development. It is also proposed to continue the
Uelle Railway to the left bank of the Nile. Such a
continuous route, amply justified by the resources
of this section and by commercial considerations,
will be a most desirable consummation.
The Lua, an eastern branch of the Ubanghi, will
prove of great commercial importance. Captain
Heymans, who first navigated the Lua, explored
it as far as Bowara. The Dekere, which also has
been partly explored, is probably the upper course
of the Lua, and this continuous stream will prove a
convenient route to the Uelle.
In this way the great detour of the Ubanghi, in
which are the impassable cataracts of Zongo and
Mokoangi, can be successfully avoided.
The importance of the Mbomu, a northern ramifi-
cation of the Ubanghi, is increased by the fact that it
forms for a considerable distance a natural bound-
ary between the Congo Free State and the French
possessions. Its position, therefore, renders it of
considerable political consequence. The Mbomu,
although not yet entirely explored, is destined there-
fore to play, with its numerous branches, a large
part in the history of the Congo. The country
around is not only of great fertility, but also very
beautiful. Here is to be found one of the finest
forests in the territory.
By means of the Congo and its tributaries an ad-
mirable system of communication is being estab-
lished, the ramifications of which, supplemented by
The Waterways of the Congo 55
the telegraph and the railway, will within a few years
render every part of this vast territory accessible.
In proportion thereto will increase the authority of
the State and its civilising influence. The growth
of commerce, and the security and advancement
of the native population, are, in fact, coexpansive
with the extension of the facilities of intercommuni-
cation. The larger rivers — the Kassai, the Kwango,
the Lualaba and the Ubanghi — are all patrolled by
government steamers.
Of hardly less importance than the rivers of the
Congo are the lakes. Besides the larger and navi-
gable lakes are hundreds of smaller ones.
There are thousands of shallow pools along ^^^ Congo
the courses of the rivers, as those along
the upper Luapula. It was that keen observer,
M. Delcommune, who foretold that many of these
lakes will eventually disappear. He contended
that a combination of causes, chief among which
being the dryness of the equatorial climate and the
consequent evaporation of the water, will gradually
bring about this result. By a succession of experi-
ments, covering a period of more than two years, he
discovered a diminution of the water of the Lualaba.
This process of evaporation, incessantly continued
for centuries, will completely absorb the water in
the marshes and pools, and decrease the volume of
the great rivers themselves. However, this need
occasion no alarm. On the contrary, it is believed
that it will aid materially the development of
the country. Not only will it dry the pestiferous
marshes, but it will also define the beds of the rivers,
56 Story of the Congo Free State
whose courses, because of the contraction of their
channels, will thus be rendered simpler and more
definite.
By the disappearance of the pools and lagoons,
now to be found in the vicinity of the rivers, hun-
dreds of thousands of acres of valuable arable lands
will be reclaimed. And as this soil, formed of allu-
vial deposits, is exceedingly fertile, the benefits that
will accrue therefrom are incalculable. The famous
polders of Holland, and the lowlands of Egypt near
the mouth of the Nile, demonstrate the possibilities
of such a soil.
But it will not be necessary to wait for the slow
processes of nature. Vast areas can be drained by
artificial means, and this, since the sun is for ever
assisting, can be done without great cost. The lands
so drained will possess, besides their extraordinary
fertility, other advantages, not the least of which is
their accessibility.
The most important lake in the western part of
the State is Lake Leopold II., discovered by Stanley
in 1882. It is broad but shallow, and is joined to the
Congo by the Mfini and the Kassai. On its banks
are several flourishing stations. North-west of Lake
Leopold is Lake Matumba, from which the navigable
river, Irebu, flows upwards into the Congo.
On the north-eastern boundary is Lake Albert
Edward, the western part of which belongs to the
State. This lake, the haunt of numerous hippo-
potami, is joined to Lake Albert Nyanza, which is
about 150 miles north, by the Semlika, the boundary
between the Belgian and British possessions.
The Waterways of the Congo 57
Directly south of Lake Albert Edward is Lake
Kivu. From this lake, part of which is yet un-
explored, flows the river Rusisi. This torrential
stream dashes through a rocky country, descending
2380 feet in 68 miles. It empties into Lake Tangan-
yika. On the eastern shore of the lake are Lubuga
and Luahilimta, trading stations, established by
the State. Lake Kivu is dotted with hundreds of
islets, and is situated in the centre of a lofty pla-
teau. Towering from this plateau rises a range of
enormous snow-clad volcanic cones, from eight to
over fourteen thousand feet above the level of the
sea. Of these the highest is Kirunga-cha-gongo,
which is said to be the largest inland volcano in the
world. It was first ascended by its discoverer. Count
von Gotzen, and later by the English naturalist,
Moore. All around Kivu are inaccessible crags, cal-
cined gorges, and arid deserts, showing that the
whole region is of volcanic origin. Such is the won-
derful clarity of the atmosphere that the outline of
every crag and spur of the mountains is visible sixty
miles away. The forests of Kivu abound in ele-
phants. Travellers report seeing here as many as a
thousand in one day.
Of Lake Kivu Count von Gotzen, its discoverer,
has given an excellent account. I quote the follow-
ing from his work, Durf Afrika von Ost nach West:
The bed of Lake Kivu, according to my measurement with
the hypsometer, is at an altitude of 4800 feet. Its extent
should be considerable, for on my crossing it I saw the im-
mense sheet of blue water disappear far off into the clouds.
Its general direction is from North to South. . . . The
58 Story of the Congo Free State
appearance of the isles of Lake Kivu is most picturesque.
Their rocky and snow-white banks rise in peaks and are fre-
quented by herons and cranes. A fresh breeze ever rustles
across the lake and cools the air agreeably. . . . When
one turns one's gaze to the north a sort of immense barrier
formed by the Kirunga-cha-gongo and the four other
Virunga Mountains is to be seen. . . . The neighbour-
hood of Kivu is extremely fertile in provisions of every kind.
Directly south of Kivu, and connected with it by
the river Rusisi, is Lake Tanganyika, partitioned
equally between the Congo Free State and German
East Africa. It is about four hundred miles in
length and nearly fifty in breadth. It was Stanley
who first circumnavigated Lake Tanganyika, though
it had been discovered in 1858, about twenty years
before, by Burton and Speke. It was, in fact, the
latter who first called the attention of the world to
the Congo Region. On the shores of this lake Lieu-
tenant Cambier, in 1879, established, at Karema, the
first station of the International Association of the
Congo. Cambier was so impressed with the possi-
bilities of this region that, by purchase and treaty,
he obtained from its native ruler about five thou-
sand acres of land, and this tract may be regarded
as the nucleus of King Leopold's colony. It was
this station on Tanganyika also that afterwards be-
came the basis of operations against the Arab slave-
trade.
From Albertville, Baudouinville, and other sta-
tions on its western shore a flotilla of small vessels
and several steam-yachts now navigate this lake, and
to these other and larger craft will soon be added.
viinjS'aU'liliiiiii^^s.
State Pilot Barge, Banana.
J^
Bridge, 80 Metres (Kwilu).
The Waterways of the Congo 59
A telegraph and telephone line, connecting Kas-
songo on the Lualaba with Baraka on Lake Tangan-
yika, was opened in the latter part of 1903. This
line will soon be extended to Lake Kivu.
The region around Tanganyika is noted for its
beautiful scenery, and a large part of it is said to be
unusually healthful. Like Kivu, this lake is situated
in an immense plateau, six thousand feet above the sea.
The angular inclination and general configuration of
all these lakes in the eastern part of the Congo is, in
fact, very similar; each lake, however, has its in-
dividual scenery, climate, and peculiar flora. Moore
found Tanganyika floored with the shells of millions
of molluscs, the zoological remains of a dead sea.
He discovered here also three kinds of sponges. On
the eastern shores abound huge swamps and im-
mense tracts of mimosa. The dark red cliffs on the
West Coast form a brilliant contrast to the blue
African sky and the white clouds. Between Tan-
ganyika and Nyangwe, the old slave-capital of
Tippo Tip, the country is tenanted by the Manyema,
famous as collectors of ivory. Surveys are now
being made for a railway from Beni to Tanganyika.
This it is proposed to continue to Stanleyville on the
Middle Congo.
Lake Moero, one hundred miles south-west of Tan-
ganyika and the south-eastern boundary between
British territory and the State, was discovered by
Livingstone. It was first explored, however, by the
Belgian officers, Bia and Francqui. This lake, which
is one hundred miles long and about half as broad,
is now patrolled by a steam -yacht.
6o Story of the Congo Free State
Only a few years ago the immense basin of the
Congo was an untamed wilderness, "a slave-park"
Stanley called it, bare to raids of murder-
B°°kw^ d ^^^ marauders. Bands of predatory Arabs
swooping down upon the defenceless natives
decimated whole tribes, and carried away men, wo-
men, and children by the thousand. The slave-
trader stalked like a pestilence through the land,
leaving in his wake the smoking ruins of a hun-
dred villages and the charred skeletons of his black
victims.
It was not only the natives who suffered from the
raids of merciless ravagers; but the Europeans, ex-
plorer, merchant, and missionary, were also subject
to their tyrannical impositions. And when, as in
the case of Emin Pasha, they opposed the designs
of these despoilers, they were ruthlessly murdered.
Flame and sword, robbery and massacre, — such,
until ten years ago, were the chief episodes in the
epic of the Congo.
To-day this vast region is not only geographically
determined, occupied, and effectually protected,
but the power of the Arab raider has been for ever
annihilated. Regions which for ages were the scene
of carnage and holocaust have now been pacified.
Where all was insecurity and turbulence a reign of
law and order has been substituted.
Nature has here been so prodigal of her gifts that
her very extravagance renders m some respects the
task of colonisation less easy. Before roads could
be built it was necessary to hew down huge forests;
before stations could be established it was needful
The Waterways of the Congo 6i
to explore and to conquer the wilderness. The paths
that plunged into the jungle ended in trackless soli-
tudes. The vastnesses bristled with unknown ter-
rors. There was call for the explorer and the pioneer,
but it seemed as if ages must elapse before there was
need of the carriers of commerce.
To conduct broad highways from the coast to the
centre, through a territory so vast in extent, so
dangerous, and so impenetrable, would seem indeed
a task for centuries. Such, too, it is safe to assume,
would still be the situation had it not been for the
magnificent water-system of the region and the
great colonising genius who turned its natural de-
stiny to the civilising course of an onward industry.
Without these splendid flowing highways of com-
merce, pulsing from the heart of the continent to the
sea, the wonderful progress of the last quarter of a
century would not have been possible. Following
the lead of the Congo and its tributaries, Belgian
pioneers have moved through the great wilderness,
planting the plough and the cross, until to-day Cent-
ral Africa, so long curtained from the eyes of civil-
ised man, lies bare to the world.
It was by this instrument that the siege of the
great unknown was prosecuted. It was thus that that
citadel of despair, the stronghold of Darkest Africa,
was subjugated. And as we look at the magnificent
results, and at the still more magnificent future
which those results foreshadow, we cannot but con-
clude that this natural aid to the efforts of a heroic
band of explorers was more than the mere mani-
festation of blind chance.
62 Story of the Congo Free State
The campaign of exploration planned by King
Leopold, and executed by his courageous subjects
and his able ally, Stanley, was the first of
Journalist, those remarkable achievements of practical
utility that have no parallel in the history
of modem colonisation. In the Congo and its afflu-
ents these State-builders found a providential and
generous auxiliary. These wide rivers, the veins of
the civilisation of the Congo, are the key to a situa-
tion of which triumphant Belgian sacrifice and valour
in Central Africa will yet perfect the sequel.
To the existence of these natural allies, then,
is largely due the speedy extirpation of the slave
trade, the suppression of cannibalism, the control of
the coimtry, the gradual conversion of its popula-
tions to the saving influences of civilisation, the
effective system of communication between port and
port, and the beginnings of the development of
those vast resources which already excite the cu-
pidity of nations less successful. Indeed, without
such advantage it is doubtful whether the King of
the Belgians would have been equal to the onerous
responsibilities he so cheerfully assumed.
But now with more than nine thousand miles of
waterways open to navigation, few sections of this
"Change immense domain are to-day inaccessible,
in all Great areas which but a few years ago were
Around.' virgin forests are now under successful cul-
tivation. The jungle, once the lair of the cannibal,
is safe and peaceful. Where the raider ravished his
shrieking victims, the State and the Mission instruct
in the attributes of a useful life. Chaos has at last
The Waterways of the Congo 63
yielded to order, and another triumph has been
added to civiHsation in the short term of twenty
years. It is a great story, and the Prince who
wrote it on the face of Africa need not deign to hear
the hiss of envy straining at the gorge. Let Leopold
IL find consolation in that rugged philosophy of
Carlyle which mocked at the timid temper of his
own time: "To subdue mutiny, discord, widespread
despair by manfulness, justice, mercy and wisdom,
to let light on chaos and make it instead a green
flowery world, is great beyond all other greatness,
work for a God."
CHAPTER VI
THE STATE AND INTERNATIONAL LAW
IN view of the confused controversy that has pre-
vailed between the friends and the enemies of
the Congo Free State, concerning its legal founda-
tion and its existence de facto before the Conference
of the Powers which recognised its statehood at
Berlin (November 15, 1884-February 26, 1885), it
seems pertinent at this point to examine the issue
at some length.
For unknown centuries Central Africa had been
peopled with many millions of savage, semi- savage,
Central ^^^ barbarian black men, hidden from all
Africa civilising influence. Their social condition
eviewe . yg^j-jg^j Many were cannibals, some were
living in a rude state of primitive tribal order,
others were at incessant war with hostile tribes,
all were living in the gloom of an interminable
night of barbaric existence. Their only touch with
the human family had been through the slave
trade, of which they were the object and the
victims. The white man knew of their lot in this
respect many years before he listened attentively to
an appeal for deliverance from the Arab marauders
who enslaved them. The natural law of human
solidarity had not as yet inspired civilised nations
64
The State and International Law 65
with an energetic movement to ameUorate the con-
dition of the savage black in Mid- Africa. Indeed,
Stanley's explorations had not gone to completion
save for the enlightened and philanthropic moral and
material support of Leopold II. When Great Britain
declined to provide Stanley with the means to fur-
ther his brave work, the King of the Belgians, having
several years before openly associated himself with
sentiments seeking the organisation of a consistent
civilising movement in Central Africa, sent for this
intrepid explorer and fortified his hopes and plans
from his private purse. It was with the highest
motives, from an elevated j^oint of view, that his
Majesty considered the situation of these cannibal
tribes. His solicitude for the Belgians, their eco-
nomic needs, their legitimate and necessary expan-
sion, gave point to his consideration of a distant
land, where great natural wealth lay unrevealed and
unused, for the good of the native and his benefac-
tor. A wild life abounded in those parts which by
civilisation might be regenerated and brought into
the sphere of human usefulness. Here opportunity
seemed to throw wide her arms for the Prince with
the courage to dare an undertaking which the great
Powers and the small had so far deftly avoided. "I
will pierce barbaric darkness; I will secure to Cen-
tral Africa the blessing of civilised government.
And I will, if necessary, undertake this great task
alone." So spake his Majesty, when, as Duke of
Brabant, he electrified Europe with what Europe,
in her narrowed conservatism, regarded as the Uto-
pian utterances of an impractical and effervescing
66 Story of the Congo Free State
youth. Europe smiled and shrugged her shoulders
at the temerity of him who essayed to analyse the
heart of Africa and prescribe its panacea.
If this great task had fallen upon a man of or-
dinary natural powers and acquired means, that part
of Darkest Africa which now defies the organised
conspiracy of the despoiler would interest nobody
save the slave-trader who terrorised the land and
polluted the sea with the black man's blood. To his
Majesty's great initiative in 1876, and to his pre-
science of mind, his generous hand, and astonishing
industry in the cause which inspired him are due
those two decades of progress which some regard as
a triumph of Colonial civilisation ; while others, from
motives which need not be examined with a lens,
stigmatise it as the curse of Central Africa.
Point of view and interest are important elements
in all controversy. Where so much has been charged
and refuted, a judicial attitude is sometimes main-
tained with difficulty. But against the assertion
that the Congo Free State is a creation of the Gen-
eral Act of the Berlin Conference, may be arrayed
a body of well-settled law which only an unreason-
ing enemy or a paid advocate would have the hardi-
hood to dispute.
Long before the Berlin Conference had been con-
ceived, acts of government had been effecting or-
Simpie ganisation and order in the territory now
Facts known as the "Independent State of the
Briefly Told. Congo. ' ' Legislation, one of the later signs
of established government, had occurred in the terri-
tory acquired by the Co mite cT Etudes du Haut-Congo,
The State and International Law 67
of which King Leopold was honorary president and
Colonel Strauch president.
The conception of the State was that of the King
personally; the character of its governmental mani-
festations was surcharged with his personality; its
being was crystallised by his own touch and model-
ling. It is error to confound the recognition of the
State by the Berlin Conference as the act which
created the State. Recognition presupposes exist-
ence, and in the case of the Congo Free State there
had been, for a considerable time before the adoption
of the General Act of the Berlin Conference, a gov-
ernment de facto in the territories under the dominion
of the Comite d'Ettides du Hattt-Congo. Indeed, be-
fore the Berlin Conference had adopted the General
Act, the State was qualified to announce, and did
notify the Conference, that it had been recognised
by all the Powers except one, which, however, soon
thereafter followed the example of the other signa-
tories. It was as a State, standing on an equality
with the other Powers, that the Congo Free State
attended the Berlin Conference and, under Article
37, adhered to an Act which did not deal with the
sovereignty of States at all, but confined itself to
a consideration of an economic regime applicable
throughout the Congo Basin, including the territories
therein of Great Britain, France, Germany, Portugal,
and the Congo Free State. Events anterior to its
introduction to the Conference as a friendly State
by Prince Bismarck do not depend for their quality
upon the form of that introduction. They are
not destroyed by the peculiarity of phrase or the
68 Story of the Congo Free State
spontaneous honour which accompanied its entrance
into the society of nations. That which does not ex-
ist cannot be the object of recognition. Even with-
out the facts of the recognition by the United States
of the State's flag (April 22, 1884) as that of a friendly
Government seven months before the Berlin Confer-
ence convened, and its recognition by Germany
seven days before the opening of the Conference
(November 8, 1884), the State contends that it was
a State in esse, a Government de facto, fully organ-
ised and qualified to maintain itself as such within
the territory it had acquired by cession from the
native tribal chiefs and by prior occupation.
An examination of competent authorities on this
important phase of Congolese civilisation convinces
us that the idle contention which questions the
State's independence of the Powers signatory of the
General Act of Berlin has been brought forth merely
for its cumulative effect, not for its inherent power
to sustain itself.
The subject may be approached by two questions :
What is a State? What is a Government?
' ' A State . . . implies the union of a number
of individuals in a fixed territory, and under one
central authority. Austria-Hungary is a State, but,
as Prince Gortchakoff once sarcastically remarked,
'It is a Government, and not a nation.' "
The Constitution of the United States defines the
term State as combining the idea of people, territory,
and government. Defining the difference between
a government in law and a government in fact, Mon-
tague Bernard says, in Neutrality of Great Britain
The State and International Law 69
during American Civil War: '' A de jure government
is one which, in the opinion of the person using the
phrase, ought to possess the powers of sovereignty,
though at the time it may be deprived of them. A
de facto government is one which is really in posses-
sion of them, although the possession ma}^ be wrong-
ful or precarious."
In Tharington v. Smith, 8 Wallace, 8-1 1, the
Court said:
There are several degrees of what is called de facto govern-
ment. Such a government in its highest degree assumes a
character very closely resembling that of a lawful government.
. . . There is another species of de facto government, and
it is one which may be perhaps aptly called a government
of paramount force. Its distinguishing characteristics are:
That its existence is maintained by active military power,
within the territories . . . etc."
In Wheaton's Elements of International Law, the
latest edition of the leading authority on the subject,
the author maintains that:
The recognition of any State by other States, and its ad-
mission into the general society of nations, may depend, or
may be made to depend, at the will of those other States, upon
its internal constitution or form of government, or the choice
it may make of its rulers. But whatever be its internal con-
stitution, or form of government, or whoever may be its rulers,
or even if it be distracted with anarchy, through a violent con-
test for the government between different parties among the
people, the State still subsists in contemplation of law, until
its sovereignty is extinguished by the final dissolution of the
social tie, or by some other cause which puts an end to the
being of the State.
. . . The internal sovereignty of a State does not, in
70 Story of the Congo Free State
any degree, depend upon its recognition by other States. A
new State, springing into existence, does not require the
recognition of other States to confirm its internal sovereignty.
The existence of the State de facto is sufficient, in this respect,
to estabhsh its sovereignty de jure. It is a State because it
exists.
Thus the internal sovereignty of the United States of
America was complete from the time they declared them-
selves "free, sovereign and independent States," on the 4th of
July, 1776. . . . The treaty of peace of 1782 contained a
recognition of their independence, not a grant of it.
The external sovereignty of any State, on the other hand,
may require recognition by other States in order to render it
perfect and complete. So long, indeed, as the new State con-
fines its action to its own citizens, and to the limits of its own
territory, it may well dispense with such recognition.
The principles thus indicated would appear to dis-
tinguish with marked certitude the vast difference
between the State's existence and its recognition.
The latter was a political consequence of the former.
At the Berlin Conference no question was raised con-
cerning a fact so patent, nor did the signatories dis-
tinguish between the five Powers in possession of the
Congo Basin in framing the clauses of the Berlin Act
imposing the same obligations on all these Govern-
ments. Those obligations related only to their
economic regime in Central Africa. The articles of
the Act concerning the Congo Basin, which applied
to the Independent State of the Congo, were also
binding upon Great Britain, France, Germany, and
Portugal. This sign of equality is inconsistent with
the notion that the Congo Free State is the vassal
territory of the Powers signatory of the General Act
of Berlin.
The State and International Law 71
It has been contended by technicians of the law
of nations who are in the service of those who seek
to disrupt the Congo Free State, that a State cannot
accrue out of a private association, such, for in-
stance, as the International African Association or the
Comite d' Etudes du Haut-Congo. But just as events
are constantly spoiling theories, so had the flag of
the Belgians confounded that contention by demon-
strating in a practical manner that a State did exist,
and that all the elements of a State government were
present in the neighbourhood of Stanley Pool long
before the Berlin Conference.
The identity of a State consists in its having the same origin
or commencement of existence; and its difference from all
other States consists in its having a different origin or com-
mencement of existence. . . . The habitual obedience of
the members of any political society to a superior authority
must have once existed in order to constitute a sovereign
State.'
American writers on the subject are of opinion
that the North American Indian in his aboriginal
state was not a political unit of the United States at
the time when the Union declared its independence.
In Johnson v. Mcintosh, 8 Wheaton, p. 543, Chief-
Justice Marshall described their status in the follow-
ing language:
The Indian inhabitants of the United States are to be con-
sidered merely as occupants, to be protected, indeed, while
in peace, in the possession of their lands, but to be deemed in-
capable of transferring the absolute title to others independent
of territorial sovereignty.
* Wheaton 's International Law.
72 Story of the Congo Free State
To this may be added the apposite declaration of
Mr. Fish, Secretary of State, to Mr. Hackett, June
12, 1873:
Aboriginal inhabitants in a savage state have not such a
title to the land where they dwell or roam as entitle them to
confer it upon persons from another country.
The Congo State law to which the foregoing decla-
ration applies will be discussed in the chapter on the
State Lands and Concessions. The citation
FaU*^^"^^ is offered here merely for its general bear-
ing upon the doctrine put forth by certain
writers who contend that barbarous races living in
primitive conditions upon lands over which civilised
government has not been established, attain to the
organic level of political units or citizenship upon
the recognition of the government which dominates
them with either its civil or its military power.
That doctrine, it seems to us, is untenable. There
is, on the other hand, no doubt that savage races
can, by the symbols and the operating functions of
government, humanely enforced according to the
conditions with which it must cope, be brought to
the knowledge of, and obedience to, an orderly civil
commimity. The instruments of civilisation must
vary with the various character of the life upon
which they are to operate effectively. Yet there
are strabismic monitors of African civilisation who,
representing no high moral standard in themselves,
have laid down a rule of conduct for the Congo
Free State which disregards that principle. It has
been this narrow view of a liberal civilising scheme
The State and International Law 73
that has caused so much mischievous mewUng in
Great Britain concerning alleged misrule in Central
Africa.
The foundation of the Congo Free State really
began with the organised movement and structures
of the Comite d' Etudes du Haut-Congo on November
25, 1878. The expedition of Stanley on August 14,
1879, was an earnest of the Committee's intention to
establish the institutions of a permanent local gov-
ernment with all practicable speed.
The Belgian post of Vivi was the first monument
fixed in the wake of Stanley. On February 21, 1880,
Isanghila was established, and on May i, 1881, Man-
yanga was occupied. In the following December the
expedition arrived at Stanley Pool, and reconstructed
the steamboat En Avant, which, having been disman-
tled, had been carried in small sections through the
forest to this point above the cataracts. In a short
time this pioneer craft bore Stanley up the Congo
River to accomplish the dream of Leopold II.
Many stations were established, steamers began
running between them, treaties were concluded with
the chiefs of independent native tribes to protect
the territory so occupied against the claims of sub-
sequent explorers; administrative and police serv-
ices were required, and all the effective essentials of
a central authority and an actual government were
then and there established.
At this juncture the Committee changed its name
to the International Congo Association and re-
doubled its activities. The Niadi Kwilu Basin
was explored; that important factor in late Congo
74 Story of the Congo Free State
prosperity, the Upper Kassai, was brought under the
influence of Belgian regeneration, and the Lunda
country and districts beyond were taken within the
Government's sphere.
In five years discoveries of great value had been
made in Darkest Africa, hundreds of tribes had been
peacefully visited, over five hundred treaties of
suzerainty had been made with the ruling chiefs,
forty stations had been erected and their comple-
ment of officers put to the work of administering
a definite system of local government, and five
steamers on the Upper Congo were regularly com-
municating the affairs of a Government which now
effectively controlled all the territory between the
East Coast and Stanley Falls, between Bangala and
Luluabourg."
This, then, was the position of the Government
in the Congo Basin in 1883, long before the Berlin
Conference. The status that Government acquired
as a consequence of its administrative acts in, and
dominion over, the territory it occupied, has been
briefly indicated from the point of view of Ameri-
can authorities on the subject of international law.
Before examining the leading European authorities,
whose approaches to the subject are peculiar to
European experience and learning, it is interesting
to observe how consistently the action of the Govern-
ment of the United States followed the American
view of the law on the subject.
Baron A. Descamps' New Africa, an excellent
essay on government civilisation in new countries,
* L'Etat Independant du Congo, M. Wauters, p. 27.
The State and International Law 75
embodies a concise statement of what occurred in the
fortiines of the infant State early in 1884, when its
progressive work had extended a civilising
influence to those regions of the Congo Basin Belgian,
where the Arab slave trade had not retained
its devastating sway. The writer says:
The practical sympathy speedily accorded to the Interna-
tional Congo Association by the greatest Power of the New
World, the United States of America, full of life and vigour
and ever inclined to progress, proved that King Leopold's
enterprise had secured public support and official suffrage
far beyond the limits of Europe. On April lo, 1884,
the American Senate, on Mr. Morgan's remarkable report,^
passed a resolution asking the President of the United States
to recognise the Association "as the governing power of the
Congo." A few days later, on April 22, 1884, that recognition
was an accomplished fact. In officially recalling, at the open-
ing of the Berlin Conference, the nature and cause of this
great Act, Mr. Kasson, Chief Plenipotentiary of the United
States, pointed out that, following upon Stanley's explora-
tions, the newly discovered regions "would be exposed to the
dangerous rivalries of conflicting nationalities. It was the
earnest desire of the Government of the United States that
these discoveries should be utilised for the civilisation of the
native races, and for the abolition of the slave-trade; and
that early action should be taken to avoid international con-
flicts likely to arise from national rivalry in the acquisition
of special privileges in the vast region so suddenly exposed
to commercial enterprises." Referring to the work so ef-
fectively performed by the International Congo Association
"under high and philanthropic European patronage," he said
' See Compilation of Reports of Committee on Foreign Relations.
United States Senate. Recognition of Congo Free State. March 26,
1884, Washington, Government Printing Office, 1902. Vol. vi., p. 221.
The appendices include, among other documents, the notes of Sir
Travcrs Twiss and Mr. Arntz.
7^ Story of the Congo Free State
that those gallant pioneers of civilisation had "obtained con-
cessions and jurisdiction throughout the basin of the Congo
from the native sovereignties which were the sole authorities
existing there and exercising dominion over the soil or the
people. They immediately proceeded," added he, "to es-
tablish a Government de facto.'' Declaring next that the
legality of the acts of that Government should be recognised,
under penalty of recognising "neither law, order, nor justice
in all that region," he concluded as follows: "The President
of the United States, on being duly informed of this organisa-
tion, and of their peacefully acquired rights, of their means of
protecting persons and property, and of their just purposes
towards all foreign nations, recognised the actual government
established, and the flag adopted by this Association. Their
rights were grounded on the consent of the native inhabitants,
in a country actually occupied by them, and whose routes of
commerce and travel were under their actual control and ad-
ministration. He believed that in thus recognising the only
dominant flag found in that country he acted in the common
interest of civilised nations."
"In so far," said the American Plenipotentiary, "as this
neutral and peaceful zone shall be expanded, so far he foresees
the strengthening of the guarantees of peace, of African civ-
ilisation, and of profitable commerce with the whole family
of nations." ^
Such was the position taken up by the United States of
America in regard to the recognition of the newly installed
government in Equatorial Africa. Germany was the first
European Power to consider this subject of recognition, and
to accord to the new enterprise marks of its sympathy and
the support of its authority. In acknowledging, by the Con-
vention of November 8, 1884, concluded before the Berlin Con-
ference opened, the flag of the International Congo Association
"as that of a friendly State," the German Government clearly
indicated that, so far as it was concerned, the new State
^ Protocoles et Acte General de la Conference de Berlin (1884-85),
p. 23 ss.
The State and International Law ^^
ought to take its place from the first among the Powers called
to the Conference.
M. Ernest Nys, Professor of International Law of
the University of Brussels, Associate Justice of
the Court of Appeal {Conseiller a la Cour Another
d'Appel de Bruxelles) ; member of the Insti- Learned
tute of International Law, a distinguished ^ ^^^°
Belgian, and writer on several branches of the law,
sets forth with greater detail the precise form of the
recognition of the Congo Free State by the Senate of
the United States. M. Nys relates:
In his annual message to Congress the President of the
United States raised the question of the relations which were
henceforth to be established between the Republic and "the
inhabitants of the Congo Valley in Africa." On 26th May,
1884, Mr. Morgan (Alabama) reported to the Senate in the
name of the Committee on Foreign Relations.
On 1 8th January, 1884, a communication from Mr. Freling-
huysen, Secretary of the State Department, explained to Mr.
Morgan how along the Congo the African International As-
sociation had created important establishments. On 13th
March of the same year a further communication from Mr.
Frelinghuysen set forth the opportuneness and the usefulness
of recognising the flag of the Association, and added that no
principle of international law was opposed to the creation of a
State by a philanthropical society.
In his report of 26th March Mr. Morgan recalled the fact
that Stanley had concluded at Vivi on 13th June, 1880, the
first convention with a native chief, and that since that date
nearly a hundred other treaties between tribal chiefs and the
agents of the Association had been concluded, in which im-
portant commercial arrangements and stipulations relative
to law, the maintenance of order, and the delegation of power
figured among the provisions. Consequently two hypotheses
presented themselves. " If the local rulers," said Mr. Morgan,
78 Story of the Congo Free State
"were qualified to make the cession they did, the sovereign
power that they conferred on the African International Asso-
ciation might obtain recognition on the part of other nations
precisely because that Association thus proves its exist-
ence as a Government by law. If," he added, "there exists
any doubt concerning the sovereignty or the territory or the
subjects, the understanding among the native tribes who
conclude treaties with the Association offers a sufficient guar-
antee to other peoples for recognising the Association as a
Government in fact."
The Committee on Foreign Relations made a motion in fa-
vour of the recognition of the Association. It is permissible
to affirm that at this moment a juridical person already ex-
isted, which could claim the principal rights of a State, and
which found itself prepared to fulfil the duties of one. The
first direction of the efforts of the Committee for studying the
Upper Congo had been indicated in July, 1879, in the in-
structions given to Stanley. "It would be wise," wrote
Colonel Strauch, "to extend the influence of the stations over
the chiefs and tribes inhabiting the neighbourhood. There
might be made out of them a republican confederation of free
Negroes, an independent confederation under this reserva-
tion, that the King, to whom its conception and creation
would be due, should nominate its President who was to re-
side in Europe. ... A confederacy thus formed might
of its own authority grant concessions to companies for the
construction of works of public utility, or issue loans, as
Liberia and Sarawak do, and also itself execute public works.
Our enterprise does not tend to the creation of a Belgian
Colony but to the establishment of a powerful Negro State." '
But the political idea was not slow in taking a precise form.
If in Mr. Morgan's report there is still question of the Free
States of the Congo the conclusion did not the less relate, as we
have just seen, to the African International Association.
It was it which was [sic], according to the Committee on
' F. Cattier, Droit et Administration de VEtat Independant du Congo,
1898, p. 17.
The State and International Law 79
Foreign Relations of the Senate, in law or in fact a "Govern-
ment" qualified to claim international recognition.
Besides, the solution was very soon effected. The Govern-
ment of the United States recorded the existence of The
International Association of the Congo, managing the inter-
ests of the Free States established in that region, and gave
orders to all United States officials on sea and on land to
recognise the flag of the International Association as the
equal of that of a friendly Government.
The following is the text of the declarations which
were exchanged on 2 2d. April, 1884:
The International Association of the Congo hereby de-
clares that by Treaties with the legitimate Sovereigns in the
basins of the Congo and of the Niadi Kwilu and in adjacent
territories upon the Atlantic there has been ceded to it terri-
tory for the use and benefit of Free States established and
being established under the care and supervision of the said
Association in the said basins and adjacent territories to
which cession the said Free States of right succeed.
That the said International Association had adopted for
itself and for the said Free States, as their standard, the flag
of the International African Association, being a blue flag
with a golden star in the centre.
That the said Association and the said States have resolved
to levy no custom-house duties upon goods or articles of mer-
chandise imported into their territories or brought by the
route which has been constructed around the Congo cataracts ;
this the}^ have done with a view of enabling commerce to
penetrate into Equatorial Africa.
That they guarantee to foreigners settling in their terri-
tories the right to purchase, sell, or lease lands and buildings
situated therein; to establish commercial houses, and to
carry on trade upon the sole condition that they shall obey
the laws. They pledge themselves, moreover, never to grant
to the citizens of one nation any advantages without imme-
8o Story of the Congo Free State
diately extending the same to tlie citizens of all other nations,
and to do all in their power to prevent the slave trade.
In testimony whereof, Henry S. Sanford, duly empowered
therefor by the said Association, acting for itself and for the
said Free States, has hereunto set his hand and affixed his seal
this 22nd day of April, 1884, in the City of Washington.
(L. S.) (Signed) H. S. Sanford.
Frederick T. Frelinghuysen, Secretary of State, duly em-
powered therefor by the President of the United States of
America, and pursuant to the advice and consent of the Sen-
ate, heretofore given, acknowledges the receipt of the fore-
going notification from the International Association of the
Congo, and declares that, in harmony with the traditional
policy of the United States, which enjoins a proper regard for
the commercial interests of their citizens, while at the same
time avoiding interference with controversies between other
Powers as well as alliances with foreign nations, the Govern-
ment of the United States announces its sympathy with, and
approval of, the humane and benevolent purposes of the In-
ternational Association of the Congo, administering, as it
does, the interests of the Free States there established, and
will order the officers of the United States, both on land and
sea, to recognise the flag of the International African Associa-
tion as the flag of a friendly Government.
In testimony whereof, he has hereunto set his hand and
affixed his seal this 22nd day of April, A. D. 1884, in the City
of Washington.
(L. S.) (Signed) Frederick T. Frelinghuysen.
We observe in the spontaneous recognition ac-
corded the youthful State — whatever its form of
government may have been — prompt ad-
states mission of its quaHfication as a member of
Leads the d^q society of nations. This was before
Wav
the signatory Powers to the General Act of
Berlin had opportunity of indicating that sympathy
The State and International Law 8i
which they expressed in substantial terms when they
followed the example of the United States and
Germany, and invited the Congo Government to par-
ticipate in the Berlin Conference as a friendly State
invested with all the attributes of statehood which
their recognition implied.
It is contended by the advocates of the Congo
Free State that the form of its government at any
time before or after recognition can not in the
slightest degree affect the question of the State's
actual existence. It matters not, say the European
authorities — Barboux, Picard, N3^s, Descamps, Van
Berchem, Azcarate, de Martens, and Pierantoni,
whether the earlier Government was composed of
"federated Negro tribes"; a State ruled by mon-
archy; territorial and tribal allegiance to an organ-
ised central authority; by an autocrat employing
civil and military powers, or any other scheme of
equitable and civilised domination. The right of
the Government to exist cannot be destroyed by
latter-day technicalities of law adroitly applied. The
point to be noted, says Baron Descamps, is that "the
claim to the occupation of vacant territories and
to the acquirement by cession of sovereign rights
was not inferior to the titles relied upon by European
Powers in the course of their colonial expansion."
All this was an element patent in the State's founda-
tion, obviously understood and admitted by the
Powers which, while they assumed that the Congo
Basin contained nothing of material or political
value to excite their cupidity, they recognised and
treated on a basis of equality — so far, at least,
82 Story of the Congo Free State
as the considerations of the Berhn Conference are
concerned.
In the present chapter have been briefly consid-
ered the legal and ethical aspects of the birth and
baptism of the Congo Free State, its romantic evolu-
tion from the enlightened forces put into play by the
indomitable personal powers of a Prince of the House
of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. In a succeeding chapter will
be observed how the obligations imposed by the
General Act of Berlin were discharged by the several
Powers which assumed them.'
' For a full report of the Committee on Foreign Relations to the
Senate of the United States, March 26, 1884, together with the Treaties
of Vivi, Leopoldville, Manyanga, and Stephanieville, see Appendix.
«
pq
CHAPTER VII
HORRORS OF THE ARAB SLAVE TRADE
SLAVERY: the absolute, irresponsible ownership
of one class of human beings by another class ;
a contract in which the only factors are might
on the one side and helplessness on the
other; servitude exacted by force. ^^T^Y
' -^ Defined.
Slavery has existed in all countries from
the earliest recorded periods. The most enlightened
philosophers of ancient Greece and Rome were un-
able to conceive a community of which a section was
not enslaved by the rest.
As a system, slavery, by its long-continued, uni-
versal practice, and the simple solution it affords of
what in our modern world is referred to as the
labour difficulty, appeals to two powerful human
instincts: conservatism and cupidity. The ethical
unfairness of one man's being made wholly subserv-
ient to the will of another; forced to labour for
him without reward; his chattel to retain, sell, or
slay, as though he were a horse or a dog, was per-
ceived from the earliest times. But those most in-
terested in the overthrow of the system, the slaves
themselves, being ignorant, and purposely kept in
that condition by their taskmasters, suffered on, cen-
tury after century, finding no champion for their
83
84 Story of the Congo Free State
cause until the advent of the Redeemer of Mankind,
preaching universal brotherhood and equal rights for
all men.
But the greater the wrong the longer it takes to
right it, and Christ's words were but the seed from
which has sprung our great harvest of freedom. It
has been a harvest of slow growth. For ages after
the divine words were spoken on behalf of the slave
by the first and greatest of his advocates, slavery
was still regarded by many nations as indispens-
able to their existence. Indeed, eighteen centuries
elapsed before there was any appreciable awakening
to the deep infamy of slavery. It occurred in Eng-
land, and was the result of the unwearied efforts of
a small band of enthusiasts, whose labours, like those
of all reformers, were at first derided.
England, though free from the curse of slavery
within her own proper borders, had in the course of
history done as much as, nay, more than, any other
nation to enslave the Negro. She had acquired him
in Africa by thousands in exchange for guns, knives,
alcohol, and dry goods ; had transported him across
the Atlantic to her American cotton plantations in a
manner compared with which a modem steerage
emigrant's experience may be regarded as a luxuri-
ous cruise; and had then extracted the utmost
amount of work from him by the aid of the lash.
All the vested interests created by this traffic, long
persevered in, as well as the callousness engendered
by its brutality, had to be fought against England's
and overthrown by a small band of Libera- Retribution,
tionists, aided by nothing but their enthusiasm
3
o
u
O
pq
n
L
Horrors of the Arab Slave Trade 85
and a just cause. Nevertheless they daily gathered
strength, and finally succeeded in inducing the Brit-
ish Parliament to vote a hundred miUion dollars for
the purchase and liberation of every slave in every
country where the British flag flies. This grand
event took place in the year 1830.
Three decades later came that tremendous convul-
sion in the United States, the like of which the world
has not seen. It was resolved by the United j^^^ pj j^^
States Government to free the slaves, for Right
slavery being a system never deliberately ^^^ Umon.
adopted by the United States, but inherited, as it
were, from the English Colonial regime, of which
they had by revolution become the successors. The
slaveholding Southern States, resisting the new law,
sought to withdraw from the Union, and civil war
ensued, in which the Abolitionists were entirely
successful, but at an appalling cost in men and
money.
It has been necessary to refer thus briefly to
the history of slavery because of the strangely pre-
valent opinon that when peace was restored
within the United States, and slavery ^ Common
•^ Error.
finally abolished there, slavery no longer
existed in the world. True, it was known that
there was a sort of domestic service, chiefly of
women, akin to slavery, practised in China, Persia,
and some minor Oriental countries; but that was
thought to be all. It came, therefore, as a rude
shock to civilised humanity when travellers of un-
questionable veracity, such as Dr. Livingstone, Sir
Samuel Baker, and Henry M. Stanley, demonstrated
86 Story of the Congo Free State
that the slave trade not only still existed throughout
vast regions in Africa, but was rampant there in its
most atrocious aspect. At first it was hardly real-
ised that the labours of Granville Sharpe, Clarkson,
and Wilberforce, the monetary sacrifices of England,
and the devastating war in America had, taken
together, fallen so far short of complete triumph.
But the evidence was overwhelming that such was
indeed the case, the Soudan, the Upper Nile, and the
basins of the Congo and the great lakes — more than
a third of all Africa, exceeding in area the whole of
Europe — being still the field of the iniquity. The
Sultans of petty states in the Soudan were shown to
be, for the most part, chiefs of ferocious Arab tribes
who thrived by raiding Central African villages and
carrying off their inhabitants, whom they sold for
slaves. The cruelties attending their marauding
operations were too great to admit of exaggeration.
"All over Africa," wrote Schweinfurth, a German
traveller, "dried human skeletons show where the
slave-trader has passed."
Acting under heavy pressure brought to bear upon
it by the an ti -slavery humanitarians in England
the British Government coerced the Khedive of
Egypt into signing a convention having for its object
the suppression of slavery within his dominions. In
order to carry out the engagement into which he
had entered, the Khedive appointed General Gordon
Governor of the Soudan, and that remarkable man,
during the six years that he held that office, dis-
played so much energy and skill that he succeeded in
utterly eradicating the evil throughout the entire
Horrors of the Arab Slave Trade 87
region placed under his control. Nevertheless, the
general result was not so good as had been hoped
for; the slave-traders, despoiled of their hunting-
grounds in the Egyptian Soudan, pursuing their
nefarious occupation with redoubled vigour on Lake
Tanganyika and the Upper Congo. With what ex-
tremity of horror they conducted their
operations has been so graphically de- j^ words.
scribed by a Belgian merchant, M. Hodister,
that we make no apology for quoting his account
in full.
It is four o'clock in the morning [says M. Hodister]. A
great calm prevails, only the soft and melancholy cry of the
African owl is to be heard. The village sentinels are either
withdrawn, or squatting low, asleep; the houses are closed;
every one sleeps; all is repose; the sense of security is abso-
lute. Suddenly the sound of a gun, then cries of terror are
raised, breaking the great silence, followed by a fusillade,
which seems to come from all sides, piercing the straw walls.
The boatmen have fired, leaving their canoes to their women;
they have rushed forward, attacking the village in front,
while the others are assailing it from the rear. The inhabit-
ants, suddenly roused from their sleep, rush terrified from
their houses. They are panic-stricken, and forget wives,
children, everything. Their one thought is of flight — to
conceal themselves in the wood. The panic is at its height;
rifle shots, horrible cries, resound, mixing with the shrieks of
fear from the women and children. Then follow the stifled
noise of a struggle at close quarters, of falling bodies, a sup-
pressed groan, sharp cries of agony. The ground shakes
under the tread of the combatants and fugitives. Soon
afterwards appears a star in the blackness of the night, and a
dry, crackling sound is heard. It is a detached hut fired by
the enemy to light them in their work without the risk of
burning the whole village. Before doing that, they wish to
88 Story of the Congo Free State
pillage it. Meanwhile, a few of the inhabitants have seized
their weapons and attempt some resistance; but in a little
time this is overcome by superior numbers. To the noise of
the fight succeed the cries of the prisoners, of the wounded
and the dying. The horizon lightens ; the sun has risen sud-
denly and illumined this field of carnage and desolation.
Then the Arabs kill the wounded, bind their prisoners, and
begin to plunder the village. Every house is visited and de-
spoiled of its contents. Where in the evening there had been
a pretty village, surrounded by a plantation like a covering of
verdure, a gay and happy population, there is now a great
black, empty spot; for on the completion of the sack the vil-
lage had been set on fire and burned to the ground. Men,
women, and children, tied together promiscuously, corpses
strewing the ground, blood puddles emitting an acrid smell,
and the assassins, horrible in their war paint, which during
the struggle has run with their sweat and blood, complete the
picture.
Bound together in groups by stout cords around
their waists and necks, the wretched procession of
captives, often two or three thousand in number,
was, after an incident such as this, marched to the
coast. Generally, at least a third of them died by
the way. The sick and the lamed, unable to main-
tain the desired pace, were weeded out at each halt-
ing-place and ruthlessly butchered by their captors.
It will require no very inventive imagination to
appreciate the magnitude of the difficulties confront-
ing the Belgian pioneers in their effort to
iean^Ta"k ^uppress slavery, carried on with such fero-
cious brutality over an area so vast as Cent-
ral Africa. Yet that was but one of several tasks
enjoined upon them by their King; but it was first
in order and importance, and until it was accom-
Horrors of the Arab Slave Trade 89
plished little or no progress in other respects could
be hoped for. ' ' Crime is not punished as an offence
against God, but as prejudicial to society," says the
historian Froude. King Leopold saw in the crime
of slavery both the offence to God and the prejudice
to man, and was prepared to exert his utmost energy
and, if necessary, expend the last franc of his private
fortune, to stamp out the evil. In this heroic en-
deavour his Majesty was ably seconded by his min-
ister, the distinguished Baron Lambermont, who has
recorded his opinion of slavery in these words : ' ' The
slave trade is the very denial of every law, of all
social order. Man-hunting constitutes a crime of
high treason against humanity. It ought to be re-
pressed wherever it can be reached, on land as well
as by sea."
It is not claimed that there is anything original
in the sentiment that animates this well-expressed
sentence. Similar views to those of Baron Lamber-
mont have been held by all great thinkers since the
establishment of the Christian religion; but it is
referred to in this place as an additional proof, if
any were needed, of the high moral purpose under-
lying the entei*prise of the King of the Belgians, and
to show how that moral purpose was sympathised
with and shared by his Majesty's ministers and the
Belgian people.
That every religious sect without exception has
denounced slavery as the blackest spot sullying the
fair fame of the nineteenth century need not be re-
iterated. In logical sequence, every religious sect was
prepared to assist, morally and materially, in the
90 Story of the Congo Free State
removal of a disgrace which was felt to reflect upon
every civilised community. In an encyclical, dated
5th of May, 1888, addressed by Pope Leo XIII. to
the bishops of Brazil, congratulating them upon the
abolition of slavery in their country, his Holiness
referred to the deplorable condition of the Negro in
Central Africa, and called upon "all who wield
power, those who sway empires, those who desire
that the rights of nature and humanity be respected,
and those who desire the progress of religion, to unite
everywhere to secure the abolition of this most
shameful and criminal traffic."
This noble appeal touched the hearts of thousands
in every nation of Europe and in America. For Car-
Pope dinal Lavigerie, the Belgian prelate, who
Leo XIII. had so long laboured on behalf of the op-
en Slavery, pj-gggg^j Congolese, it had a special signifi-
cance, inspiring him with renewed courage and energy
in his glorious work. When, for the first time in
history, a small band of Christian Negroes from
Central Africa was received in audience by the Pope,
a few days after the issue of this encyclical, Leo
XIII., replying to the address of Cardinal Lavigerie,
who had presented them, said:
Since We have been Pope, Our regards have turned towards
that disinherited land, Central Africa. Our heart has been
touched at the thought of the enormous amount of physical
and moral misery that exists there. We have repeatedly
urged all those who have power in their hands to put a stop
to the hideous traffic called the clave trade, and to use all
and every means to secure that end. And, inasmuch as the
African continent is the principal scene of this traffic and, as
it were, the house of slavery, We recommend all missionaries
Horrors of the Arab Slave Trade 91
who there preach the Holy Gospel to devote their whole
efforts, their whole life, to this sublime work of redemption.
But it is upon you, Cardinal, that We count especially for
success.
Cardinal Lavigerie's practical reply to this direct
personal appeal from the head of his Church was the
formation in Belgium of the Anti-Slavery Society.
The agitation on behalf of the Negro was not con-
fined to Catholics. Among the friends of the move-
ment were to be found the best of every creed as of
every nation. Great conventions were held in Ger-
many and England having for their object the sup-
pression of slavery in Central Africa, and societies
formed in those countries; and France, Austria,
Switzerland, Italy, Spain, and Portugal quickly fol-
lowed suit. Though "man's inhumanity to man
makes countless thousands mourn, " it was now sho^\Ti
to be also potent to arouse some of the best instincts
of human nature to assure its suppression. At last
the horrors of the African slave trade were adequately
realised, and the world applauded Leopold, King of
the Belgians, for his arduous labours for its extinc-
tion, and was anxious to strengthen his hands for
grappling with the still formidable work that re-
mained to do.
CHAPTER VIII
THE BERLIN CONFERENCE
A CLEAR view of the position of the State pre-
vious to the adoption of the resolutions
known as the General Act of the Berlin Con-
ference may be had from a summary of the signal
events which had marked its formative period.
The Congo Free State was bom of the Congo
International Association founded by his Majesty,
Leopold II. in 1883, while Stanley was in his service.
Prior to the legal foundation of the State, the Asso-
ciation had obtained recognition of its sovereignty
as hereinbefore indicated. By treaties concluded in
1884 and 1885 with the United States and with many
of the European Powers, it adhered, on the 25th of
February, 1885, to the resolutions of the Berlin Con-
ference, which, embodied in a General Act, established,
amongst other things, freedom of trade throughout
the Congo Basin, and declared free navigation on the
xjjg Congo River, its tributaries, and the lakes
General Act and canals connected therewith. The text
of Berlin. ^^ ^^^^ General Act of Berlin, so far as it
relates to the Congo, is fully set forth in an appen-
dix. The principal subjects contained in the Act
which may concern the reader are briefly stated:
I. A Declaration relative to freedom of trade in the Basin
92
CQ
The Berlin Conference 93
of the Congo, its embouchures and circumjacent regions, with
other provisions connected therewith.
2. A Declaration relative to the Slave Trade, and the opera-
tions by sea or land which furnish slaves to that trade.
3. A Declaration relative to the neutrality of the terri-
tories comprised in the Conventional Basin of the Congo.
4. An Act of Navigation for the Congo, which, while hav-
ing regard to local circumstances, extends to this river, its
affluents, and the waters in its system (eaiix qui leiir sont
assimilees), the general principles enunciated in Articles
CVIII. and CXVI. of the Final Act of the Congress of Vienna,
and intended to regulate, as between the Signatory Powers of
that Act, the free navigation of the waterways separating or
traversing several States — these said principles having since
then been applied by agreement to certain rivers of Europe
and America, but especially to the Danube, with the modifica-
tions stipulated by the Treaties of Paris (1856), of Berlin
(1878), and of London (of 187 1 and 1883).
5. An Act of Navigation for the Niger, which, while like-
wise having regard to local circumstances, extends to this
river and its affluents the same principles as set forth in Ar-
ticles CVIII. and CXVI. of the Final Act of the Congress of
Vienna.
6. A Declaration introducing into international relations
certain uniform rules with reference to future occupations on
the coasts of the African Continent.
The treaties which, before the adoption of these
resolutions on February 26, 1885, the Congo Free
vState had concluded with various Powers, were those
with the United States of America, dated April 22,
1886; Germany, 8th November; Great Britain, i6th
December; Italy, 19th December; Spain, 7th Janu-
ary, 1885; France, 5th February; Russia on the
same day; Sweden and Norway, loth February;
Portugal, 14th February; Denmark and Belgium,
94 Story of the Congo Free State
23rd February, These treaties ' were notified to the
Conference on the 23rd February, and the neutraUty
of the State was declared and pubhshed on the ist
August in the same year.
At the close of the Berlin Conference on 26th
February, 1885, Prince Bismarck offered his tribute
of appreciation for the work which, de-
raise rom j-jyjj^g {^g inspiration from the King of the
Belgians, had, by the Powers represented,
been formulated into an economic code for the
guidance of the four nations, which, besides the
Congo Free State, occupied the great Congo Basin.
Prince Bismarck's address has the effect of oracular
utterance in the light of events since the day when
he wisely said that the work of the Conference
would be, like every human undertaking, suscep-
tible of improvement. The following is the full
text of Prince Bismarck's closing speech:
Gentlemen: — Our Conference, after long and laborious de-
liberations, has reached the end of its work, and I am happy
to state that, thanks to your efEorts, and to the spirit of con-
cihation which has presided at our negotiations, a complete
agreement has been estabhshed on all the points of the pro-
gramme which was submitted to us.
The resolutions which we are on the point of sanctioning
assure to the commerce of all nations free access to the centre
of the African Continent. The guarantees with which com-
mercial liberty in the Basin of the Congo will be surrounded,
and all the arrangements made in the Acts of Navigation for
the Congo and the Niger, are of a nature to offer to the com-
' For full text of the treaties with Germany, Great Britain, France,
and Portugal, and the Declaration exchanged with Belgium, see
Appendix.
The Berlin Conference 95
merce and tlie industry of all nations the most favourable
conditions for their development and security.
By another series of provisions you have shown your
solicitude for the moral and material well-being of the native
populations, and there is room to hope that those principles,
dictated by a spirit of practical wisdom, will bear fruit and
will contribute to bestow on those populations the benefits
of civilisation.
The practical conditions under which are placed the vast
regions that you have just opened to commercial enterprise
have seemed to exact special guarantees for the maintenance
of peace and public order. As a matter of fact, the evils of
war would assume a particularly disastrous character if the
natives were led to take part in the conflicts of civilised
Powers. Justly preoccupied with the dangers that such an
eventuality would entail in the interests of commerce and of
civilisation, you have sought the means of withdrawing a
great part of the African Continent from the vicissitudes of
general politics, by restraining these national rivalries to the
pacific competition of commerce and industry.
In the same category you have aimed at preventing the
misunderstanding and contests to which new seizures of ter-
ritor\^ on the coasts of Africa might give rise. The declara-
tion as to the formalities to be complied with in order to
make acquisitions of territory effective has introduced into
public right a new regulation, which will contribute in its de-
gree to remove from international relations causes of dissen-
sion and conflict.
The spirit of mutual good understanding which has dis-
tinguished your deliberations has equally presided over the
negotiations which have taken place outside the Conference,
with the object of regulating difficult questions of delimita-
tion between the parties which exercise sovereign rights in the
basin of the Congo, and which by the nature of their position
are called upon to become the chief guardians of the work
which we are about to sanction.
I cannot touch on this subject without rendering my
homage to the noble efforts of His Majesty the King of the
96 Story of the Congo Free State
Belgians, the founder of a work which is to-day recognised by
almost all the Powers, and which by its consolidation may
render precious services to the cause of humanity.
Gentlemen, I am charged by His Majesty the Emperor and
King, my august master, to express to you his warmest thanks
for the part that each of you has taken in the happy accom-
plishment of the task of the Conference.
I fulfil a final duty in making myself the mouthpiece of the
gratitude that the Conference owes those of its members who
have discharged the difficult labours of the Commission, nota-
bly the Baron de Courcel and the Baron Lambermont. I
also thank the delegates for the valuable assistance they have
afforded us, and I associate with the expression of that grati-
tude the Secretaries of the Conference, who by the precision
of their work have facilitated our task.
Gentlemen, the work of the Conference will be, like every
human undertaking, susceptible of improvement and perfec-
tion; but it will mark, I hope, a step forward in the develop-
ment of international relations, and will form a new link of
solidarity between civilised nations.
The brilliant, cordial, and edifying final session of
the Berlin Conference presaged no such campaign of
Sir Charles calumny as that which has proceeded since
Diike Sir Charles Dilke, on gross misinformation
Astray. purveyed by interested persons, and on
what appears to have been his wilful misreading
of a book entitled The Fall of the Congo Arabs,
attacked the Congo State by moving in the Brit-
ish Parliament on April 2, 1897, a measure calling
for a new Conference to consider charges which no
one had presented, but which, for some inscrut-
able reason, this eminent parliamentarian seemed
anxious to dignify by sensational legislation.
When the Berlin Conference concluded its labours,
The Berlin Conference 97
it was with manifest sympathy for the King of
the Belgians and his voluntary pledge to an African
task which practically all the participating Powers
regarded as impossible of achievement, such were
its glaring difficulties. Now, after twenty years of
Belgian sacrifice, there are those who, jealous of
the achievements in a task they were so anxious to
avoid in 1885, must destroy where they cannot reap
in 1905. To men of purpose and brave outlook, this
is merely one of the many incivilities of civilisation.
Success begets envy in one's neighbour; failure often
confirms him in his secret contempt.
In Belgium the completion of the General Act of
the Berlin Conference evoked a patriotic feeling of
satisfaction which, in its address to the King, the
Chamber of Representatives voiced in the following
language: "To your Majesty belongs the honour of
having conceived the African work, of having pur-
sued and developed it by persevering efforts.
We felicitate your Majesty on these important re-
sults, and, as Belgians, we are proud of the solemn
homage rendered by the Powers to the generous and
progressive ideas of our Sovereign." The Belgian
nation, for a long time uncertain of the result of the
philanthropic work of its King in Central Africa, and
having observed that other nations had shrunk from
this costly task of civilisation, now uttered its senti-
ments of approval in many forms. In his speech
before the Chamber on March 10, 1885, M. Beer-
naert, then Minister of Finance, said, amongst other
expressions of hope for the new State, that the merit
of the work accomplished "belongs especially to the
9^ Story of the Congo Free State
initiation, to the persistent energy, and to the sacri-
fices of our King." Then, expressing the hope of
extended industries — a hope that was largely, if not
entirely, the incentive which actuated the Powers
Signatory to the Berlin Act — the Minister concluded
his address with the belief that the Congo would
offer "to our superabundant activity, to our indus-
tries more and more confined, outlets by which we
shall know how to profit. May the enterprising
spirit of our King encourage our countrymen to
seek, even at a distance, new sources of greatness
and prosperity for our dear country "' The Belgian
Chamber and Senate ratified the nation's participa-
tion in the General Act of the Berlin Conference
without a dissentient voice.
To the loyal address of his Parliament, the King
of the Belgians made reply, graciously acknowledg-
ing the support his subjects had given him in his
great African work.
There remained now the making of a Sovereign
for the new State, and, having regard to the universal
tribute of praise rendered to its founder at the Berlin
Conference, it was clear enough, in its opinion, who
should continue to direct the destinies of a wild
territory in which so much had been accomplished
in so short a time. Belgium, however, was not pre-
pared, in 1885, to take over the Congo State as her
colony. There were, at that time, many consider-
ations in Belgium and in the Congo to suggest cau-
tion to a naturally conservative Government. The
creation of the Congo State had involved many risks
and great difficulties. It had required a huge ex-
The Berlin Conference 99
penditure of money, nearly all of which the King
had personally contributed without the slightest
assurance that his country or his estate would ever
recover it, except in so far as his marvellous fore-
sight assured him in this respect. If there were
many difficulties at the beginning of his Majesty's
African enterprise, there were still greater obstacles
to be surmounted. To the ultra-conservative sec-
tion of the Belgian Parliament the whole project was
still enshrouded in doubt. But the King, having
so far borne the risks and the cost of civilising the
savage African black man, had also given his country
the written assurance that the result of his labours
— whatever they were when realised — should be at
the disposal, by appropriation or otherwise, of the
Belgian nation "without costing her anything." As
the theory of a purely personal union between Bel-
gium and the Congo State had found much favour,
it was proposed that the King of the Belgians should
be empowered to become the Sovereign of the Congo
Free State without in any respect involving the
Belgian nation.
In this eminently practical proposal the King had
taken the initiative in the following letter to his
Council of Ministers:
Gentlemen: — The work created in Africa by the Inter-
national African Association has greatly developed. A new
State has been founded, its limits are fixed, and its flag is
recognised by almost all the Powers.
There remains to organise a Government and an Adminis-
tration on the banks of the Congo.
The plenipotentiaries of the nations represented at the
Berlin Conference have shown themselves favourable to the
loo Story of the Congo Free State
work undertaken, and since then the two Legislative Cham-
bers, the principal towns of the country, and a great number
of important bodies and associations have expressed to me
on this subject tlie most sympathetic sentiments.
With such encouragement I could not recoil from the prose-
cution and achievement of a task in which I had, as a matter
of fact, taken an important part; and since, gentlemen, you
consider, as I do, that it may be useful to the country, I beg
of you to demand from the Legislative Chambers the assent
which is necessary to me.
The terms of Article 62 of the Constitution describe by
themselves the situation which has to be established.
King of the Belgians, I should at the same time be the
Sovereign of another State.
That State would be independent, like Belgium, and it
would enjoy, like her, the benefits of neutrality.
It would have to provide for its own needs ; and experience
based on the example of the neighbouring colonies justifies
me in affirming that it would dispose of the necessary
resources.
For its defence and its police it would rely on African forces
commanded by European volunteers.
There would then be between Belgium and the new State
only a personal bond. I am convinced that this union would
be advantageous for the country, without there being the
possibility of imposing any burdens on it in any case.
If my hopes are realised, I shall find myself sufficiently
rewarded for my efforts. The welfare of Belgium, as you
know, gentlemen, is the object of my whole life.
Leopold.
There were a few obstructionists in the Belgian
Parliament who, impelled by an habitual attitude
of opposition to all that the dominant political party
proposed, offered considerable criticism. They dis-
regarded the similar expedients adopted by Prussia,
Holland, and Great Britain in reference respectively
The Berlin Conference loi
to Neuchatel, Luxembotirg, and Hanover. But the
spirit of the Belgian people favoured the King's
suggestion, and his Majesty's Ministers stood firmly
by him. When the vote was called on April 28, 1885,
the Chamber passed the following resolution with
but one dissentient:
His Majesty, Leopold II., King of the Belgians, is author-
ised to be the chief of the State founded in Africa by the
International Association of the Congo. The union between
Belgium and the new State of the Congo shall be exclusively
personal.
The Senate two days later having passed a sim-
ilar resolution, the King addressed the following
acknowledgment to his Ministers:
Gentlemen: — The Chambers, by voting almost unani-
mously the resolution that you submitted to them, have
shown themselves convinced that at the same time that I
was pursuing, in the general interest, the international African
work, I had it at heart to serve the country, to contribute to
the augmentation of its wealth, and to increase its reputation
in the world. I have asked you to thank, in my name, the
Chambers for the mark of high confidence which they have
given me. I also beg of you to accept for yourselves the
expression of my very sincere gratitude. Believe me, gen-
tlemen, your very affectionate
Leopold.
Leopold II., King of the Belgians, had now be-
come Sovereign of the Congo Free State, a territory
with a population estimated as five times larger
than the Belgium which he had ruled since 1865.
Many foreign bodies, philanthropic, scientific, and
commercial, sent their congratulations; the Lord
I02 Story of the Congo Free State
Mayor of London visited the King in state, and of-
fered him the felicitations of the British metropoHs,
and all the Powers concerned in the Conventional
Basin of the Congo expressed their satisfaction with
this happy consummation of his Majesty's en-
lightened undertaking in Mid-Africa.
What, by the Berlin Conference had been sanc-
tioned, now assumed permanent form, organisation,
and well-defined onward movement. There were
still difficulties ahead, some of them with the State's
neighbours, France and Portugal. Their early ex-
actions may be regarded as symptomatic of that
febrific goading which has now become the mania
of lesser bodies elsewhere. Subsequent conventions
with France and Portugal somewhat assured the
Congo State that its onward march would not be
obstructed by these Powers. On the other hand,
the exalted views and edifying principles so generally
prevalent at the Berlin Conference soon became
stale and innocuous in the official mind of the other
Powers who had subscribed to precepts which, from
subsequent indifference or self-interest, were dis-
regarded. Not the least among the pledges of the
Powers of the Berlin Conference was that designed
to regulate the importation of alcohol. Consistent
with the Christianising aims of its Sovereign, the
Congo Free State has fulfilled this pledge in a man-
ner to put its neighbours to shame for the large
percentage of revenue they derive from a debasing
liquor traffic.
So if the young State started upon its progressive
course in 1885-87, having paid a heavy price to
The Berlin Conference 103
France and to Portugal for freedom to develop under
the government of the strong personality of its mag-
nanimous Sovereign, it was perhaps because such a
course would secure the Congo State to the Belgian
nation in accordance with the preconceived purpose
of its King. By the Congo-French Convention the
basin of the Kwilu and the left bank of the Congo,
from Stanley Pool as far north-eastward as its ex-
plorations had attained, were assigned to France.
On the other hand, it insured to the Congo Free State
what constitutes its outlet to the sea, the possession
of the district of the Cataracts, and the towns of
Boma and Banana at the mouth of the Congo. The
Congo-Portuguese Convention assigned to Portugal
territory south of the Congo as far as Noki, and along
the parallel of Noki to its intersection by the river
Kwango, which from that point was designated as
the boundary in a southerly direction. The terri-
torial assignments of these conventions were sub-
sequently modified, and Germany and Great Britain
have since acquired the large areas of the Congo
Basin lying east of Lake Tanganyika and its parallel
north and south.
CHAPTER IX
THE ECONOMIC REGIME OF THE BERLIN ACT
THE Berlin Act and the economic, that is,
domestic, regime which it sought to estab-
lish in the Congo Basin occupied by Ger-
many, France, Great Britain, Portugal, and the Free
State, were, with various inadequacies and experi-
Eariy mental defects, the logical expression of
Colonial the drift that political science as applied
^^^^^y to the law of nations had assumed in Eu-
rope as early as 1874. Under the operation of
the old Facte Colonial, the policy which prevailed
in the colon es of the European Powers discrim-
inated greatly against the subjects of all save the
mother country. The commercial policy of such
colonies was that of the Power which governed the
colonial territory, whether that was an extension of
the home territory or merely a dependency.
Some marked theoretics freighted the course of
international life as the time approached when ex-
ploration had revealed all the colonising areas which
the known earth contained. Europeans and their
descendants already occupied, under different forms
of law, as states, colonies, protectorates, leaseholds,
spheres of influence, over 82 per cent, of the lands
of this planet. Those who followed the evolution
104
^v^fetv^-aS^^^Sj^v'^'
Economic Regime of the Berlin Act 105
of the law of nations were impressed by an African
situation in 1884 which offered opportunity for ex-
perimentation with new, and perhaps more elastic,
economic principles for the regulation of colonial
interests in regions where the character of the coun-
try, its natural features, such as waterways and
coastal advantages, and the juxtaposition of several
governments, tended to a conflict detrimental gen-
erally to the civilisation of such possessions and their
contributions to the markets of the world.
In the Annates de Vlnstitut de Droit International,
vols. iii. and vii., are to be found the various
resolutions of Prof. Egide Arntz relative to practical
and co-operative jurisdiction in the Congo Basin.
These were offered on September 7, 1883, at the
Munich meeting of the Institute. But long before,
namely, in 1878, M. Gustave Moynier had raised the
question of a concerted civilising movement and the
adoption of a scheme of political regulation in the re-
gion of the Congo. M. Emile Laveleye and the late
Sir Travers Twiss had, thereafter, also discussed the
question before the Institute. The essays of Pro-
fessor Arntz and Sir Travers Twiss, which embody
their respective views on what to them at that time
appeared to be a signal opportunity for applying
principles of colqnial government as yet unestab-
lished by tests of practice, are fully set forth in
the Report of the Committee on Foreign Re-
lations.
The Berlin Conference of November 15, 1884, may
be regarded as the crystallised result of the interest
manifested in respect of the Mid-African situation
io6 Story of the Congo Free State
by the learned bodies and the eminent legal authori-
ties indicated, and also as the outcome of Germany's
Experi- tactful method of superseding the then
ments of the imminent treaty between Great Britain
BerUn Act ^^^ Portugal signed on February 26, 1884,
but thereafter abrogated. As pointed out in an-
other chapter, the British-Portuguese treaty met with
active opposition in Germany and in England.
It was during the agitation of this feeling that
the Conference was summoned at the instance of
Germany. If one could analyse in extenso
German ^^ ^-j^^ essentials which so aptly informed
Astuteness ,111
Prince Bismarck of Germany s masked ad-
vantages in such a Conference, the Iron Chancellor
would stand revealed as an early monument to the
German astuteness of to-day. In creating an Areo-
pagus of the fourteen Powers assembled at Berlin
and referring to it the questions which, if unsettled,
would have led to conflicts, combinations, and con-
fusion prejudicial to German East Africa, Prince
Bismarck's workmanship surpassed the materials
which his skill employed. As the Prince said at the
final session of the Conference, the lofty aims and
political idealities proclaimed during its earlier ses-
sions would, when translated into facts, offer oppor-
tunity for improvement. Indeed, time and the
practical application of its precepts, so enthusias-
tically proclaimed, have revealed the theorist where
the man of practical political sense would better have
WTitten certain clauses of the General Act. As it steed
in 1885, it cannot be regarded with that awe which
certain persons manifest when they misinterpret its
Economic Regime of the Berlin Act 107
inconclusive preachments. Some praise it as "the
inauguration of a truly new era in colonial affairs."
Others, condemning it without reserve, speak of it as
"the work of theorisers without experimental basis."
A fair estimate of this unique political palaver, as
embodied in its General Act, probably lies j^ie Act
somewhere between the extravagant praise Praised and
and the untempered condemnation fre- Condemned
quently bestowed upon it. If, from a legal and
political point of view, it can be regarded as only a
tissue of the substance it aimed at, the fact remains
that the Berlin Conference has more than justified
itself by guiding, often dispelling commercial rival-
ries which, in their tmchecked development, might
have nullified the great sacrifices of Belgian blood
and money in the cause of African civilisation. The
Conference entered the forum when many compli-
cations, arising from competing expeditions, con-
flicting explorations, unregulated trading operations,
the advent of evil adventurers, the devastating
slave trade, and a combination of other causes —
commercial and political — had provoked the dis-
trust and avarice frequently observed when several
European peoples occupy in common a vast and
fertile territory inhabited by savage tribes. At a
meeting of a Committee of the Conference held on
December 10, 1884, Mr. Kasson, the Plenipotentiary
of the United States, gave utterance, in retrospect
of early American colonisation, to expressions of
historic fact which graphically portray Mid-African
conditions twenty years ago:
The first colonies founded in America [said Mr. Kasson]
io8 Story of the Congo Free State
have been the work of different nationaUties. Even there,
where at first emigration was of a free and peaceful nature,
foreign Governments were soon installed, with military forces
to support them. Wars immediately broke out in Europe.
The belligerents had colonies, and soon the field of battle
spread to America. In the heat of the struggle, each of the
belligerents sought allies amongst the native tribes, where
they thus excited their natural inclination for violence and
plunder. Horrible acts of cruelty ensued, and massacres
where neither age nor sex were spared. The knife, the lance,
and the torch transformed peaceful and happy colonies into
deserts.
The present condition of Central Africa reminds one much
of that of America when that continent was first opened up to
the European world. How are we to avoid a repetition of the
unfortunate events, to which I have just alluded, amongst the
numerous African tribes? How are we to guard against ex-
posing our merchants, our colonies, and their goods to these
dangers? How shall we defend the lives of our missionaries
and religion itself against the outburst of savage customs and
barbarous passions?
Finding ourselves in the presence of those whom v/e are
urging to undertake the work of civilisation in Africa, it is our
duty to save them from such regrettable experiences as
marked the corresponding phase in America.
Whatever defective novelty may still reside in the
Berlin Act, the Conference which begot it gave an
The Real immense impetus to the great work of
Value of African civilisation. It eliminated move-
the Act ments by the various Powers which were
accomplishing little or nothing for lack of definition
and unity. It organised a scramble, so to speak,
into an orderly and intelligently directed set of
enterprises, chief among which were those urged
forward by the King of the Belgians and his diligent
Economic Regime of the Berlin Act 109
subjects. In that amplitude of pledges, which when
applied to them the other Signatory Powers found
it convenient to forget, little Belgium strove mightily
not only to discharge her obligations under the Ber-
lin Act, but to demonstrate her own innate genius
for the work of colony-building and civilisation. It
is perhaps in the inevitable result of this
spirit that we find the explanation of Bel- Dominance
gian dominance and Belgian progress far
excelling that of its African neighbours.
In the United States the Berlin Act has not met
with the universal respect of competent legal author-
ities. It provided no means for its own enforce-
ment, and left the national committees, which were
to carry out certain of its provisions, without ma-
chinery and without that central authority essential
to its life. It also appears that the national com-
mittees never acted. Each of the Powers, supreme
within the border of its own African territory, pur-
sued a course which it believed was best calculated
to develop the resources ,and the civilisation of that
region of the Congo Basin in which it ruled. Never-
theless, the General Act had delimited the territory
comprised in the Conventional Basin of the Congo ;
defined the domain occupied therein respectively by
Germany, France, Great Britain, Portugal, and the
Free State; applied to the entire Congo Basin the
princij^le of freedom of commerce and of naviga-
tion, and concerted the aims of all the Powers to
the suppression of the iniquitous slave trade and
the horrible practice of cannibalism. It did not deal
specifically with questions of territorial sovereignty,
I lo Story of the Congo Free State
nor with the internal public and private land system,
nor, in fact, with any act or principle of the civil or
military government of a State. It did.
Commerce howcver, scck to restrict the duties upon
the Congo and its affluents, and stipulated
that upon these highways there should be open to
all nations the freedom to trade and to navigate.
As Baron Descamps aptly says in his essay on Gov-
ernment Civilisation in New Countries:
The broad-minded measures of the Berlin Conference did
away with many of the existing anomaHes. Doubtless, the
general application of those measures to all colonies would
have been a step in the right direction; but while their gen-
eral adoption could have been justified on the same grounds
as their special application to the Congo, the Conference would
not have been able to accomplish such a gigantic reform of
distributive equity. The Conference, however, did what it
could in this direction. It felt that the impracticability of the
complete scheme did not prevent its partial application ; that
it was not easy to reform the whole world at once, especially
the colonial world; that the field of experience on which it
could operate was large enough; and that, last but not least,
the nature of the countr}'-, where the Government was as yet
more or less insecure, was calculated to induce those con-
cerned to make exceptional sacrifices.
The Conference therefore made the following regulations
for the Congo Basin :
Art. I. The trade of all nations shall enjoy complete
freedom.
Art. 2. All flags, without distinction of nationality, shall
have free access.
Art. 3, § 2. All differential dues on vessels as well as on
merchandise are forbidden.
Art. 5- No Power which exercises or shall exercise sover-
eign rights in the above-mentioned regions shall be allowed
> J ' p
pq
Economic Regime of the Berlin Act m
to grant therein a monopoly or favour of any kind in matters
of trade.
The five Powers occupying and governing the
Congo Basin have here assumed certain obhgations
in reference to the commercial regime which Freedom of
should prevail in their territory. There Commerce
shall be freedom to trade, and to navigate i^efined
in pursuit of commerce; there shall be no differ-
ential duties imposed; there shall be no monopoly
in matters of trade. In the fourth protocol of the
Berlin Conference, Baron Lambermont's report in-
cludes a definition of what the Conference meant by
monopoly "in matters of trade." This statesman
declared that :
No doubt whatever exists as to the strict and literal sense
which should be assigned to the term in- commercial matters.
It refers exclusively to traffic, to the unlimited power of every
one to sell and to buy, to import and to export, products and
manufactured articles. No privileged situation can be cre-
ated under this head, the way remains open without any
restrictions to free competition in the domain of commerce, but
the obligations of local Governments do not go beyond that
point.
Notwithstanding the explicit nature of this defin-
ition, those who, for reasons which it is not the pur-
pose of this volume to expose in detail, condemn
the governmental system of the Congo Free State,
and declare that the General Act of the Berlin Con-
ference aimed at much more than insuring the
common right (freedom) of all nations to pursue le-
gitimate trade in the Basin of the Congo. How much
112 Story of the Congo Free State
more, and precisely what the Act aims at, according
to hostile commentators, varies with the capacity
for exaggeration, or the speciousness in argument,
of the critic. Some declare that freedom in matters
of trade means that anybody may invade the Congo
Basin and barter with natives for the produce of the
soil and the chase, laws respecting private property
and providing regulations to govern traffic notwith-
standing. In his essay on Principles of Government
in the Congo Free State ' the author briefly indicates
the motif of King Leopold's rule in Central
of Congo Africa and the cogent reasons for the sys-
Govern- -^gj^i which has made that rule the envy of
persons whose faculty of perception is not
as dormant to-day as it was in 1885, when it was
lazily assumed that the salvation of a territory, not
worth much materially, was being imposed iipon an
enthusiastic and impractical kingly philanthropist.
Amongst other things, this essay contains the fol-
lowing exposition of the system of internal govern-
ment by which the Congo Free State and its people
have morally and materially prospered. It is, in
substance, the definition of Congolese policy stated
by his Majesty, King Leopold:
. . . The principles of the Congolese system of internal
government appear to be in entire conformity with the Gen-
eral Act of Berlin, wherein freedom of trade is assured to the
subjects of all nations. This signifies the liberty to sell and
to buy in a legitimate way, not in a way peculiar to the the-
ories of Congo despoilers. It is repugnant to law, and disturb-
ing to civil order and progress, to permit the product of the
* September, 1904.
Economic Regime of the Berlin Act 113
land to be purchased from any person but its legitimate owner.
Congo law represses theft, the insidious encouragement of
which would appear to be the aim of those who so grossly
misinterpret the principle of Freedom of Commerce. A re-
spect for property is essential to all governments
which hope to endure, and the law of this attitude ^^^^ °^
1 Property
is universal in all civilised communities. Trade,
whether free or restricted, could not exist on any other basis.
The forces of civilisation are paralysed without it, and un-
tamed natives are left to savage internecine strife.
The principles of the Congo Government are that the soil
shall maintain those who develop its resources for the better-
ment of the sower and the reaper. The civilisation of the
native by industry and other forms of instruction in the
attributes of order, civic life, and all that he may be capable
of absorbing of enlightened freedom. For the privilege of
residing within the sphere of a State so governed, the white
man is the most taxed member of society in the world.
Shall savages alone be exempt from labour and
iust contribution to organised government ? Shall ^"^^^ * ®
Great
the white man's rule teach the black that idleness, civiliser
craft, animal instincts, predatory habits in gaining
his irregular subsistence, are the foundations of civilisation?
Or shall the white man by precept and example, and by
humane but positive insistence, train the savage in the ways
of law and order, industry and thrift?
Reverting for a moment to the assertion that the Govern-
ment of the Congo Free State is primarily responsible for
what its detractors allege to be the enslavement of the native,
I fail to find conviction in unfounded statements often re-
peated, and arguments upon wrong premises, varied only in
form, not substance. Ignorance of the motif impelling Congo
State method and movement has misled those who have
brought prejudice to a subject worth the attention only of the
broadest minds. The system, which is the object of attack
when new stories of atrocities are scarce, is briefly stated to
be to devote the revenue derived from the State's property
8
114 Story of the Congo Free State
as much as possible to cover the State's expenses; that is to
say, to the moral and material organisation and regeneration
of the country and its inhabitants ; to resort to the imposition
of a tax in specie as rarely as possible ; and to exact a few
hours' labour monthly from the natives, in order to give them
the habit of work, which is the greatest of civilising precepts.
In this connection the Congo Government goes ba-
th N f yond its duty, and pays the natives for this work,
teaching them the relation between labour and
its reward. The habit of work, when formed, will elevate
the natives from the savage instincts which tend to debase
them in idleness. The exaction of, and payment for, forty-
odd hours' work each month from an able-bodied native, for
whose redemption from savagery millions of money and
many lives have been, and are being, spent, is a lesser tax
than the white man pays on his meagre income from daily toil
in the cities of London, New York, Paris, and Berlin. The
county road tax alone, levied upon the farmer in the United
States, is a greater imposition than this. Those who have the
hardihood to argue that the enforced practice of habits of
industry upon savages in an African colony, less than twenty
years in the making, is an unjust and iniquitous burden, can
have no conception of the condition of the white slaves of the
Midland counties of England, no understanding of life and its
burdens in the centres of the world's highest civilisation.
The Congo Free State, like all other States, acquired pos-
session of ownerless lands, not by bloody wars which have
characterised the acquisitive and "civilising" methods of its
principal mentor in morals, but only after treaty with the
natives who happened to occupy those lands in their savagery.
All lands which the natives occupy with at least the rudiments
of peaceful industry are guaranteed to them. What for ages
had been unused and undeveloped for the good of
The State , . , ^. . • . , .
, , mankmd, native or foreign, is now being success-
fully exploited by the State. Before this indus-
trial, civil, and moral era, the vast Congo forests were not
even traversed by the indolent native, so long as he could
Economic Regime of the Berlin Act 115
acquire liis food in the sluggard idleness which to this day
prevails throughout neighbouring African colonies.
The Congo Free State is pursuing a policy for the preserva-
tion of its forests, far in advance of other colonies, by en-
forcing the replanting of rubber trees and vines as fast as the
old growth has been sapped, thus ensuring to future genera-
tions the results of Belgian foresight and wisdom.
The Congo Free State does not trade as a State. Like
other governments it is interested in the development of the
Government domain by its inhabitants. The United States
first occupied the wild lands of North America by conquest of,
and treaty with, the Indians. It then threw the land open to
the pre-emption of its citizens under certain restrictions and
impositions; for instance, to improve the land within a cer-
tain time, to maintain its yield, to pay taxes, build roads, and
in other ways contribute to the cost of administering and
improving the State.
After vainly waiting seven years for the influx of foreign
capital and enterprise to freely enter upon its public lands,
and assume the burdens and enjoy the gain of
developing the forests for the wealth they con- v^® *^*®
tained, the Congo Free State proceeded to cause a ^j^^ Land
part of its lands (one-fourth) to be developed en
regie (by trustees), in order that the land might at least con-
tribute to the creation and support of the public works to be
established within the State for the benefit and betterment
of its native population. Another part (one -fourth) of the
forests have been conceded to private companies, in harmony
with the system followed by France, England, Germany, and
Portugal, whose territories are contiguous to the Congo Free
State. But here again we have an exhibition of far-seeing
statesmanship, almost unparalleled in colonial history. Instead
of doling out the State lands absolutely to favoured conces-
sionaires, which has been the invariable practice in other colo-
nies, the Belgians have exacted a tremendous guarantee and a
growing revenue from those who exploit the natural resources
of its forests, by retaining in some cases a half interest in the
II 6 Story of the Congo Free State
capital of the concessionary companies. As an example of
practical politics, this admirable system alone constitutes a
material heritage to the future of the Congo. The revenue
thus annually accruing to the support of the Congo budget
must play materially in the development and wel-
The Con^ f^^.^ ^^ ^-^e State. Moreover, while the State has
^ . such large influence in the internal affairs of its
Companies °
concessionary companies, it has a practical power
within the companies in addition to the State law. This dual
control should ensure a commercial policy in harmony with
the spirit and the letter of the underlying principles of the
State's government. Under this system, the Congo Free
State now exports to European markets 5000 tons of rubber
annuall}^ where a few years ago this great asset lay hidden in
a forest upon which none of the Powers Signatory to the
General Act of Berlin desired to spend its means or its
labour.
One of the counts in the complaint by certain perfervid
pamphleteers in Great Britain against King Leopold is that
there is no freedom of commerce in that part of the Congo
Basin occupied by the Free State. Freedom of Commerce
under the definition of such persons is the indiscriminate right
of traders and adventurers, and purveyors of arms and spir-
ituous liquors, to swoop down on the State and private lands
of the Congo, incite the native to invade the forest, steal rub-
ber product and sell it to the trader at the latter's price. One
need not dwell upon the preposterous nature of
J 1.1 ^ J that transparent scheme of commercial freedom,
and Plunder ^
Private property is nowhere open to unlawful in-
vasion. Public property is not open to the spoliation of ad-
venturers and vandals. The 5000 tons of rubber gathered
by the several industrial forces at work in the Congo can be
purchased by traders as well at Matadi as at Stanley Pool, at
Boma as well as at Antwerp, at a proper price. If the freedom
of commerce defined by Congophobes were permitted to
prevail in any civilised or uncivilised country in the world,
anarchy and tribal wars would ensue, all rights of property
Economic Regime of the Berlin Act 1 17
would be violated, and the larcenous proclivities of the Afri-
can Negro would be encouraged. In the case of the Congo, a
reign of terror would decimate the native population, and
denude the forests which the wise laws of the State endeavour
to preserve. Upon their ruins the "savagery" of the white
man would have succeeded that of the black.
As already indicated, Congo law very properh' forbids in-
vaders of the State from buying the product of private pro-
perty from any one except the owner. In that respect it does
not depart from the law of every other country. The desire
of adventurers to buy rubber and ivory direct from the natives
is not sufficient reason for permitting the latter to trespass
upon private property for the purpose of stealing its product.
Once establish a traffic on these lines, and you put a premium
on the crime of theft, and pit the spear of every native against
his brother in their rubber-hunting areas.
The difference between the Congo system of colonisation
and those of its principal critic is the difference between a
definite State policy which, having the land and its resources
for its material basis, applies humane measures for enforcing
its development for the benefit and civilisation of the native,
and the permanent constitution of the State, and a policy
the baneful influence and unprogressive operation of which
can be observed in the protectorates and colonies of one of its
neighbours, where the budgets are to a large degree sustained
by the importation of alcohol as a beverage — a "civilising
influence" which, to the honour of the Belgians, is almost
entirely excluded from the Congo Free State. ...
The foregoing exposition of internal policy may
be regarded as a brief statement of the principles
which underlie the system of government in the
Congo Free State.
That the United States did not construe an il-
logical meaning into the phrase "freedom of com-
merce," and warp it out of all semblance to its
ii8 Story of the Congo Free State
natural character, is evidenced by the terms of its
treaty with the Free State made seven years after
the promulgation of the General Act of
Trcfltv
between ^he Berlin Conference, during all of which
Congo State time the Congo State authorities had acted
and United ^p^j^ ^j^g interpretation of the phrase indi-
cated in Baron Lambermont's definition,
and in the learned opinions of Maitres Barboux, Nys,
Van Berchem, and Picard.
Article I. of the treaty of April 2, 1892, between
the United States and the Independent State of the
Congo reads:
The citizens and inhabitants of the Independent State of
the Congo in the United States of America and • those of
the United States of America in the Independent State of the
Congo shall have reciprocally the right, on conforming to the
laws of the country, to enter, travel, and reside in all parts of
their respective territory; to carry on business there; and
they shall enjoy in this respect for the protection of their
persons and their property the same treatment and the same
rights as the natives, or the citizens and inhabitants of the
most favoured nation.
In this connection Sir Edward Malet, the British
Plenipotentiary at the Conference, clearly pointed
S^ out that "freedom of commerce unchecked by rea-
sonable control would degenerate into licence."
Reasonable control is only another name for State
law and police regulation. The Congo Government
maintains that, subject to its internal laws and
regulations which affect its own and foreign subjects
alike, the subjects of every nation are free to enter
Students of the State Technical School, New Antwerp (Bangala).
Hospital, Boma.
Economic Regime of the Berlin Act 119
its territory in pursuit of legitimate trade. Apropos
of this phase of the subject Baron Descamps says:
The power of the State in this connection is incontestable.
That power is derived directly from the primary right and
duty to maintain public order everywhere and under all cir-
cumstances. Nobody can deny the State the right of tak-
ing steps, for example, for the preservation of public safety.
Government cannot be carried on without a judicial and ad-
ministrative police system, and a State could not renounce
that prerogative without laying itself open to a charge of
incapacity in its primary and essential functions. Hence,
such a renunciation could not be argued from mere presump-
tions or inductions. '
Amongst the innovations attempted by the Ber-
lin Act was that which sought, by Article IV., to
abolish all import and transit dues. Little -j-he
serious account appears to have been taken Free-Trade
— so far as the Act reveals — of the practical Policy
necessity for erecting and sustaining works of public
utility to commerce, and the equity of imposing
proper charges on the wares upon which the bene-
fits of such works were bestowed. The absolute
prohibition of import duties created great difificulties
for the Free State which, but for the personal munifi-
cence of its Sovereign, would have wrecked a liberal
undertaking, handicapped and fettered by the fan-
ciful legislation of the Berlin Conference, — "Mer-
chandise imported into those regions shall remain
free from import and transit dues." Fortunately
the legislators of the Berlin Conference were not to
become the practical governors of the Congo Free
^New Africa, p. 68.
I20 Story of the Congo Free State
State, else they might have realised that the gravest
body may enact farce and commit folly. It was the
experiment of a new principle in colonial administra-
tive economy which they aimed at, but there is a vast
difference in substance between a mirage and a moun-
tain. That there were misgivings in the mind of
some members of the Conference as to the logic of
driving traders into the Congo, on the one hand,
utterly untaxed for the support of the Government
and the security it afforded, while on the other the
State was charged with the creation of public works
and the maintenance of law and order without
revenue, is manifested by that final clause of Article
IV., which provides that "the Powers reserve to
themselves to determine, after the lapse of twenty
years, whether this freedom of import shall be re-
tained or not." In this case the Powers did not wait
twenty years to revise their principle of free trade.
Five 3^ears were sufficient to reveal its inapplica-
bility to a new country, and the Second Brussels
Conference, assembled in 1890, made of the free-
trade clause of 1885 a clause allowing on merchandise
other than spirituous liquors an impost not exceed-
ing ten per cent. "It would never do," said Baron
de Courcel, at the Conference, "to renew the colo-
nial experience gained in the sixteenth century,
when colonies were brought to ruin by those who
pretended to fix in Europe, from a purely metro-
politan point of view, their financial and adminis-
trative system." The experiment of prohibiting
import duties proved, as already indicated, a serious
hindrance to the economic life of the new State.
Economic Regime of the Berlin Act 121
That the experiment would not, however, be per-
sisted in by the Powers, had been foreshadowed by
the suggestion of Baron Lambermont at the ^ j^j^_
Conference when he said: "It is experi- porary
ence which will then inspire the interested Experiment
Powers with the most favourable resolutions for the
development and commercial progress in their pos-
sessions." There were, therefore, after all, men of
practical political foresight at the Conference, whose
assent to so radical a policy of free trade was accorded
for the purpose of the moment only, and while the
great question of civilising Central African tribes
dominated their early aims even to the disadvantage
of the correlated questions of commerce. Article
III. of the General Act, therefore, provided that:
"Wares of whatever origin, imported into these re-
gions, under whatsoever flag, by sea or river, or over-
land, shall be subject to no other taxes than such
as may be levied as fair compensation for expendi-
ture in the interest of trade, and which for this reason
must be equally borne by the subjects themselves
and by foreigners of all nationalities." The reasons
actuating the Berlin Conference not to fix the rate
of such taxation as it provided for at the Brussels
Conference, are clearly indicated on page 85 of the
protocols to the General Act, from which the follow-
ing declaration is quoted:
The rate of the taxes of compensation is not fixed in any
definite manner. The support of foreign capital ought to be
placed, with commercial freedom, amongst the most useful
aids to the spirit of enterprise, whether it has reference to the
execution of works of public interest or whether it has in view
122 Story of the Congo Free State
the development of the cultivation of the natural products of
the African soil. But capital only goes, in general, to places
where the risks are sufficiently covered by the chances of
profit. The Commission has therefore thought that there
would result more disadvantages than advantages from bind-
ing too strictly, by restrictions arranged in advance, the lib-
erty' of action of public powers or of concessions. If abuses
should arise, if the taxes threatened to attain an excessive
rate, the cure would be found in the interest of the authorities
or of the contractors, seeing that commerce, as experience
has more than once proved, would turn away from establish-
ments the access to, or use of which, had been rendered too
burdensome.
That contribution by traders to the maintenance
of the State under a system of taxation and poHce
regulation is not incompatible with commercial
freedom was forcibly reiterated at the Conference
by Count de Launay and, of course, by other mem-
bers who at all dwelt upon a principle so well estab-
lished. Treating this question with much erudition,
Baron Descamps cites the French law of March 2,
1 79 1, relating to patents, which, he says, "gave the
most emphatic assent of modern times to the prin-
ciple of commercial freedom. The very clause pro-
claiming freedom of commerce provided for licence
dues! Thus: 'Everybody shall be free to carry on
any business he chooses; [sic] but he must first ob-
tain, and pay for, a licence, and submit to any re-
gulations of police that may be made.' " '
Obviously the "freedom of commerce" intended
by the General Act of the Berlin Conference is not
the open door with the key thrown away and <^haos
^ New Africa, p. 67.
Economic Regime of the Berlin Act 123
prevailing behind it. The State is mistress of her
domain. She is alone responsible for its civil order
and the just regulation of its life, whether ^j^g q
social, commercial, or political. Her atti- Door and
tude upon all fundamental rules of civilised Chaos
government has two facets: the one toward her
subjects, the other toward the society of nations
which surrounds her. She must conduct her affairs
with due regard for those broad principles of national
morality which civilised communities recognise as a
lofty standard of social and political life. Until she
prove herself incompetent in this respect, her terri-
tory cannot become the subject of international
partition or regulation on pretexts of humanitarian-
ism or on any other, nor is it in the justice of nations
or of men to undermine the force of her authority or
to enfeeble the integrity of her Statehood by any
agency whatsoever.
From the latest report of the Vice-Govemor-
General of the Congo Free State are quoted below
statements which shed light upon the be-
lief held by the Belgians concerning their °^n\^gg!
own fiscal policy, and the attitude they
offer to the criticisms of its burly neighbour. Great
Britain, in its rule of the Soudan and its other
colonial possessions:
In the region of commerce the Congo State, which was the
first to inscribe in its international conventions the principles
of liberty, has not failed, no matter what any one says to the
contrary, in the programme which was drawn up in 1884,
and of which, as has recently been recalled, Stanley was made
the spokesman. The regime of the "open door," which has
124. Story of the Congo Free State
just been claimed by the Liverpool Chamber of Commerce,
at the very moment, too, when purely philanthropic declara-
tions were being heard in the House of Commons, is that also
of the Congo State ; and there cannot be discovered in our
territory the existence of monopolies such as those of ivory
and rubber which the Government of the Soudan has created
for its own profit in some parts of the Soudan.'
The traders of all nations may sell on the Congo the objects
of their commerce, and buy the natural produce from the
proprietors of the soil; no limit, no hindrance is placed on
this traffic, and that is really freedom of trade. That this
freedom may remain complete notwithstanding the existence
of the domain rights, and the granting of concessions, has
been proved up to the hilt, and to declare, as has been done
in the House of Commons, that trade does not exist on the
Congo is to put oneself in contradiction with the law and the
facts. These statements, by repetition, end by being con-
sidered as axioms, and it is not realised that they still await
proof. The regime of concessions, besides, has not been es-
tablished for the exclusive advantage or benefit of the Bel-
gians ; the opening was given to foreign initiative and capital
without distinction to become interested in the development
of the country, and if, by a want of confidence that the event
has not justified, English capital was withdrawn from some
Congolese undertakings, the prosperous condition of which is
now made a grievance, it does not follow therefrom that those
who did run the risk inherent in enterprises in new countries
should see to-day the results of their efforts and their perse-
verance assailed.
It is to the astonishment, not to say to the general indig-
nation, of the handful of Europeans who are working, and
undergoing hardships on the spot, that these attempts are
^ Soudan Gazette, published by authority of the Soudan Government,
No. 47, Khartoum, ist May, 1903: "It is notified for information that
the following articles are governmental monopolies in the following
districts: Rubber and gutta percha, in the whole of the Soudan, ex-
cepting Kordofan. Ivory, in the Bahr-el-Ghazal and Fashoda. . . .
(Signed) Reginald Wingate, Governor-General."
Economic Regime of the Berlin Act 125
made abroad to represent them all, from the highest place
to the most obscure of the assistants, as associated in an
odious work of destruction and inhumanity. The duty of
protesting against this legend is imposed on whoever has seen
with his own eyes these territories, once disinherited, being
opened to civilisation, evangelisation, and progress; popula-
tions, formerly troops of slaves, reborn to confidence and
freedom; the rapid economic equipment, the railways under
exploitation or construction, a flotilla which covers the river
and its affluents, routes which open up the most distant
regions, telegraphic and telephonic lines to the Upper River,
cultivation and plantation gradually extending, cattle in-
troduced into every district, mission establishments opened
in all parts, vaccine institutions, and services of medical,
sanitary, and hygienic orders. Such are some of the results
of what has been called the system of the State, a system
which was inspired before everything by the vows of the
Berlin and Brussels Conferences, and it could not be explained
how it has been possible for the State's adversaries to cry it
down if it were not known that their customary tactics are to
lay stress on the inevitable imperfections of a work of that
extent still, after all, in the stage of its beginning. . . .
As concerns cotton, which before the Mahdist invasion was
seemingly cultivated in a sufficiently considerable degree, I
hold it on good authority that in Cairo and Lower Egypt
some little disquietude is being shown on the subject of the
activity displayed by the Belgians on the Upper Nile, and that
some apprehension is felt there of a cotton competition in
the near future.
CHAPTER X
AN APPEAL TO BELGIUM TO SUPPRESS THE SLAVE
TRADE
SLAVERY is as ancient as war, and war as old
as human nature. Upon this premise Vol-
taire philosophised when his thought reverted
to the early inequity of human life. Christian na-
tions were deep in the slave trade in the sixteenth
century. A black cloud of human flesh, aggregating
sixteen million souls, was imported into America
upon Western slave dhows in three centuries, ex-
clusive of the twenty -odd million Negroes who
perished in transit. More atrocious than the pes-
tilential slave dhow was the slaughter of blacks by
the slave-raider, that fiend incarnate who until a
few years ago carried on his inhuman traffic under
the very gaze of Christian Europe. Indeed, Europe
herself was a slave-dealer for centuries. Some of
her Governments sanctioned it in terms unspeakably
callous. There was little pity and less mercy in
officially lading "tons of niggers" for American
ports.
Late in the eighteenth century, Great Britain had
championed the cause of humanity and sought a
remedy for the horrible conditions which slavery
entailed. The movement which, assuming definite
126
--?.•"«»»*..
Bridge Made of Cement, Boma.
An Appeal to Belgium 127
shape about the time of the Declaration of Inde-
pendence, had found able and eloquent advocacy
in such men as Granville Sharpe, Clarkson, Wilber-
force, and William Pitt. These staunch humani-
tarians, after what seemed the hopeless labour of
many years, finally triumphed so far as to impel
the Vienna Congress of 18 15 and the Verona Con-
gress of 1822 to forbid any civilised nation to carry
on the slave trade.
The next steps, also furthered by the British
Government, sought to abolish the legal status of
slavery and to suppress slave markets and slave
dhows. The Western world began to awaken to a
sense of duty. In all directions the noble initiative
taken by Great Britain found earnest agency. The
Christian nations, now thoroughly aroused to the
iniquity of the slave trade, exchanged treaties in
1 84 1, the operation of which was designed to clear
the ocean of slave transports. When shut out of
the American market, it was believed that the in-
famous slave traffic would subside. But the scourge
continued almost unabated. Driven out of the
West, it flourished the more in the East, where
large markets still remained open. The northern
and eastern coasts of Africa continued to supply
the Oriental markets, the Soudan, Upper Nile,
and Congo Basin being the slave -hunter's Elysium.
The Sultans of the Soudan, whose avarice knew no
limit, strove in the cruellest manner to increase
their spoil in this man-hunting chase. Khartoum
slavers pressed into the Bhar-el-Ghazal, while the
Arabs from Zanzibar devastated the Manyema and
128 Story of the Congo Free State
Tanganyika regions. West-coast raiders had even
penetrated as far inland as the Upper Kassai, and
created that wretched condition of native hfe in the
interior of the Congo Basin which impressed Living-
stone, Stanley, Kirk, Bartle Frere, Nachtigal, Wiss-
mann, Serpa Pinto, Massaia, and that great exemplar
of Christianising work, Cardinal Lavigerie.
In 1876, nearly ten years before the Berlin Con-
ference, the King of the Belgians called upon Europe
to join in a concerted movement to suppress the
slave traffic in Central Africa. In the same year the
British Government published its Report of the Royal
Commission on Fugitive Slaves. The words of Prince
Bismarck at the Berlin Conference of 1885 were an
intimation of the legislation which was thereafter
effected by clauses 6 and 9 of the General Act. By
clause 6, the Powers agreed "to watch over the
preservation of the native tribes and to care for the
improvement of the conditions of their moral and
material well-being, and to help in suppressing
slavery and especially the slave trade." Baron
Lambermont stated the distinction between slavery
and the slave trade: "The slave trade," said the
Baron, "has another character; it is the very denial
of every law, of all social order. Man-hunting con-
stitutes a crime of high treason againt humanity.
It ought to be repressed wherever it can be reached,
on land as well as by sea."
It was with characteristic activity that the Sover-
eign of the Congo Free State had taken the initiative
in making the suppression of the slave traffic an
essential aim in the civilisation of an African State
An Appeal to Belgium 129
which had not only been the source of slave supply
for many markets, but whose territory touched
closely upon a number of slave-dealing countries.
In the eighteenth century, the nations of Etu-ope
had partitioned the coast of Africa to the French
between Senegal and Gambia, to the British on
the Gold and Ivory coasts, and to the Portuguese in
the Angola and Benguela regions. The object of
this territorial apportionment was to facilitate the
slave trade and render it more profitable! Now,
in the nineteenth century, these same Governments
were dividing African territory with the much loftier
purpose of extirpating the slave trade. The march
of a hundred years had raised European morality
and justified the Christian influence of the age.
Undaunted by the material difficulty of realising
the excellent theories which European nations were j
now offering to carry out in the very nest of the
slave trade, the Congo Free State formally tackled the
problem by promulgating three decrees in Novem-
ber, 1888. The first provided practical means for
suppressing the slave trade, amongst which were
measures prohibiting trade in firearms, gunpowder,
and explosives; the second, seeking to protect and
improve the natives, dealt with contracts of service
between natives and foreigners, and enacted laws
which guaranteed the former from imposition. The
third decree established a body of volunteer police //
to suppress crimes and offences against public order
and individual liberty^; Then followed the organi-
sation of the Belgian Anti-Slavery Society which,
creating a special volunteer corps, operated against
I30 Story of the Congo Free State
the slave-raiders in the Tanganyika district. Refer-
ence has elsewhere been made to the vigorous man-
ner in which these and similar decrees were enforced,
and how the slave-raider was driven from one lair
to another, until, almost unaided and alone, the in-
domitable energy of Belgian officers succeeded in
uprooting the institution of slave traffic and opening
an immense river basin to the pursuits of civilisation.
A great wave of sympathy for all enslaved races
had spread throughout the civilised world. Nations
heretofore indifferent to the weal of the black man
in the brutal toils of the slave-raider, were actuated
by a desire to co-operate with the practical forces
already at work for emancipating the Dark Conti-
nent. All religions combined in the motherhood of
the human race and, now thoroughly alive to the
principle of human liberty, lent their support to the
great cause of African civilisation. The movement,
now become general throughout Europe, gained im-
petus in 1888 by the abolition of slavery in Brazil.
In that year. Pope Leo XIII. reiterated the appeal
made by Leopold II. in 1876, and besought all na-
tions to unite in purging the page of history of a
further record of the abominable crime of slave-
hunting. In addressing that wonderful engine of
missionary work, Cardinal Lavigerie, His Holiness
pointed out the misery of "that disinherited land,"
and urged all who are moved by human impulse
to devote their lives to "this sublime work of re-
demption."
The self-sacrificing work which Cardinal Lavi-
gerie has done for the salvation of Africa will for ever
Oh
H
An Appeal to Belgium 131
be a white monument in a black wilderness. It was
his appeal to the peoples of the Christian world
which witnessed the first organised work of Leopold
II., and it is this prelate's indefatigable industry,
and his love for these savage souls of Africa, which
has largely carried that work to its present fruition.
The world-wide adhesion to the cause of Christian-
ising the Dark Continent took diplomatic shape soon
after a meeting held in London on July 31, 1888, at
which Lord Granville presided. On motion of Car-
dinal Manning, the following resolution was adopted :
The time has now fully arrived when the several nations of
Europe who, at the Congress of Vienna, in 1815, and again at
the Conference of Verona, in 1822, issued a series of resolu-
tions strongly denouncing the slave trade, should take the
needful steps for giving them a full and practical effect. And,
inasmuch as the Arab marauders (whose murderous devasta-
tions are now depopulating Africa) are subject to no law, and
under no responsible rule, it devolves on the Powers of Europe
to secure their suppression throughout all territories over
which they have any control. This meeting would, therefore,
urge upon Her Majesty's Govermnent, in concert with those
Powers who now claim either territorial possession or terri-
torial influence in Africa, to adopt such measures as shall
secure the extinction of the devastating slave trade which is
now carried on by those enemies of the human race.'
On October 27th, an anti-slavery convention was
held at Cologne, at which the following resolutions
were passed and sent to the Reichstag:
I — The suppression of slave-hunting with its attendant
horrors, devolves upon Christian States and constitutes the
primary condition of the abolition of the slave trade.
^ Times, London, August i, 1888.
132 Story of the Congo Free State
2 — While the Congo Conference obhges all the Signatory
Powers to help in the suppression of slavery and the improve-
ment of the lot of the natives, at the same time the Congo
State, Portugal, Great Britain, and Germany, as being directly
threatened by Arab slave-traders, are expected to take the
initiative in, and to bring to a successful issue, the struggle
against the slave trade.
3t— The meeting expresses the conviction that the honour
of the German flag and German interests, which have been
violated by Arab slave-traders in East Africa, will be avenged
by the Imperial Government.
4 — It also expresses the hope that the Reichstag will sup-
port these resolutions, as a proof of tlie perfect agreement of
the German nation without distinction of party or creed.
On November 13, the Cabinets of BerHn, London
and Lisbon had agreed upon coercive measures
against slave-traders on the East Coast of Africa.
Meantime, on September 17, 1888, the British Gov-
ernment had appealed, through the Belgian Foreign
Office, to King Leopold to take the initiative in
assembling a Conference at Brussels to consider the
subject. In conveying this invitation to the King
of the Belgians, the British Minister to the Belgian
Court stated that :
The change which has occurred in the political condition of
the African Coast to-day calls for common action on the part
of the Powers responsible for the control of that Coast. That
action should tend to close all foreign slave -markets, and
should also result in putting down slave-hunting in the
interior.
The great work undertaken by the King of the Belgians,
in the constitution of the Congo State, and the lively interest
taken by His Majesty in all questions affecting the welfare of
the African races, lead Her Majesty's Government to hope
o
An Appeal to Belgium i33
that Belgium will be disposed to take the initiative in inviting
the Powers to meet in Conference at Brussels, in order to
consider the best means of attaining the gradual suppression
of the slave trade on the Continent of Africa and the immediate
closing of all the outside markets which the slave trade daily
continues to supply.
On August 24, 1889, King Leopold deferred to this
wish and called a Conference of the Powers for
November 18, 1889, to determine upon a course of
action for the gradual suppression of slave-hunting
on the African Continent and the immediate closing
of all markets supplied from that source, and "to
put an end to the crimes and devastation wrought
by the slave trade, and effectively to protect the
native populations in Africa."
Thus, after thirteen years of arduous labour, and
the vicissitudes which attend the progressive pioneer
in savage lands, where the mission and the plough
follow the white man's trail, the Belgians were again
called upon to lead in a war against the most degrad-
ing of human conditions.
CHAPTER XI
THE SECOND BRUSSELS CONFERENCE
THE zealous labours of Cardinal Lavigerie, Arch-
bishop of Algiers, who had founded the Mis-
sion of the White Fathers in 1878 to convert
the Soudan and the Congo regions to Christianity,
had always been generously supported by the per-
sonal munificence of King Leopold. The
Cardinal rescript issued to this devoted and untiring
apostle by Pope Leo XHL had inaugurated
endeavours on behalf of civilisation unexcelled in
any colony in the world. King Leopold's earnest
and generous encouragement of this evangelistic
work equalled the broad-minded and hopeful man-
ner in which he supported Stanley and others in
their early expeditions through the unknown forests
of the Congo. There was, therefore, a sympathetic
tie between His Holiness, the King, and the Cardinal
in the world's task in Congoland.
Early in 1888 Cardinal Lavigerie visited Belgium,
and, being convinced by his long African experience
The Anti- ^^ ^^^ ncccssity f or an organised . anti-
siavery slavery crusade, opened a campaign in the
Crusade. Brussels Cathedral which, by its popular
interest, carried him to many parts of Europe. The
eloquence of this truly great prelate was born of
134
Postmaster's House, Suruango, 1904.
House of Vice-Governor-General, Stanleyville.
The Second Brussels Conference 135
that deep sympathy for the African black derived
from his intimate knowledge of the debasing con-
ditions still prevalent in those parts of the Congo
Basin where, for many practical reasons, the Bel-
gians had not penetrated with their work and in-
fluence. The Cardinal exhorted the Belgians, first
of all, to support and emulate their King, who, he
said, "would open before you a country seventy
times as large as your own — an immense field for the
spread of your religion and for charity. . . . You
have not given to the struggle with barbarism all
the assistance that was incumbent upon you."
To the avowed support given by his Majesty to the
movement which the Cardinal's numerous sermons
inspired, may largely be attributed the Belgian
campaigns against the Arab slave -raiders which
the Brussels Conference of the following year urged
upon the interested Powers.
The hundred admirable articles of the General
Act of the Conference do not all concern the reader.
Their general purpose, already indicated in a previ-
ous chapter, was the suppression of the slave trade,
the protection of the natives, and the provision of
revenue from import duties wherewith to maintain
a practical executive to accomplish both aims.
The Conference convened on November 18, 1889,
and held the last of its thirty-three sessions on the
July 2, 1890. The King of the Belgians had again
welcomed the representatives of all the Powers
party to the Berlin Act. Persia, having mean-
time adhered to that Act, was also represented.
The Prince dc Chimay, Belgian Minister for Foreign
1 36 Story of the Congo Free State
Affairs, presided at the formal opening of the Con-
ference. At its first session Baron Lamberniont
was unanimously elected to preside over its deliber-
ations. His able associate at Berlin, M. Emile
Banning, also represented Belgium at this Confer-
ence, while Baron Van Eetvelde, for many years
devoted to its moral and material development,
represented the Congo Free State. Chief among other
distinguished representatives were Count von Alven-
sleben for Germany, M. Bouree for France, Lord
Vivian and Sir John Kirk for Great Britain, Mr. Ter-
rell, Minister at Brussels, for the United States, and
Prince Ourroussof and Professor Martens for Russia.
Foremost in the work of framing a proposed Act,
under which the Congo Free State inherited great
responsibility and a tremendous task, were the Bel-
gian representatives. The other interested Powers
pledged themselves to join, each in its own territory,
in the anti-slavery campaign which the Act pre-
scribed. Briefly stated, the signatories to the Gen-
eral Act of this Conference declared that they were
"animated by the firm intention of putting an end
to the crimes and devastation engendered by the
traffic in African slaves, of protecting effectually the
aboriginal populations of Africa, and of insuring
for that vast continent the benefits of peace and
civilisation."
The first article, relating to effective methods of
The suppressing slave -raiding in the Congo Ba-
Generai sin, was divided into seven sections:
Act.
The first provided for the progressive organisation of ad-
The Second Brussels Conference 137
ministrative, judicial, religious, and military services — in
fact, the whole machinery of government. The second rem-
edy was to be the gradual establishment in the interior of
strong protective and repressive stations. The third clause
provided for the construction of roads and railroads, so that
human porterage might be ended. The fourth, for the plac-
ing of steamers on the lakes and inland waters. The fifth,
for the laying down of telegraph lines. And the sixth, for
the organisation of expeditions by movable columns. While
these clauses were of an active character, the seventh came
under the head of prohibition. It provided for restriction in
tlie import of firearms, and especially of modern rifles and
ammunition, within the whole extent of the territory affected
by the slave trade. The General Act only provided for the
restriction in the import of firearms; but the King, in the
administrative decree, applying its provisions to the Congo
State, interdicted the importation, traffic, and transport of
all rifles, as well as of powder, bullets, and cartridges. The
same decree imposed severe penalties on those who in any
way violated these regulations.
The second article of the Act laid down that "the stations
and the interior cruisers shall have for their object the pre-
vention of the capture of slaves, and the interception of the
routes of transit. They shall extend their efficacious pro-
tection over all the dependent populations within the range
of their authority, by prohibiting intestine war, and by in-
itiating them into agricultural labour. They will assist com-
merce, verifying labour contracts; they will aid the missions,
and they will organise a sanitary service." ^
The second article, recognising the duty of the
Powers to prevent slave -raiding in the territory
under their control, adopted, amongst others, the
following prescription :
To support and, if necessary, to serve as a refuge for the
native populations; to place those under their sovereignty
' Boulger, The Congo State, 1898.
1 38 Story of the Congo Free State
in a position to co-operate for their own defence ; to dimin-
ish intertribal wars by means of arbitration; to initiate the
natives in agricultural pursuits and industrial arts, so as to
increase their welfare; to raise them by civilisation and
bring about the extinction of barbarous customs, such as
cannibalism and human sacrifices; and, in giving aid to com-
mercial enterprises, to watch over their legality, controlling
especially the contracts for service entered into with natives.
The third and fourth articles contained the pledge
of all the interested Powers to assist in enforcing
these commendable provisions for the betterment
of the black races in Africa. The succeeding apathy
of the Powers in no wise abated the energy of the
Congo Free State in its heroic effort to realise for
civilisation the views which Belgian statesmen had
largely inspired at the Conference. The Belgian
campaigns against the Arabs, briefly narrated in
succeeding chapters, were only one phase of those
multiform difficulties which beset the pioneer in
savage lands where the heralds of civilisation find
it necessary to suppress the old and impose a new
order of life upon untutored human beings.
The second chapter referred, amongst other things,
to caravan routes, the transport of slaves by land.
Alcohol ^^^ ^o providing means of livelihood and
and education for liberated slaves. The sixth
CivUisation, Qj^^pter enumerated the measures to be
taken to restrict the trade in spirituous liquors.
The six articles composing this chapter forbid the
importation of distilled drinks ' ' in the regions where
they have not yet penetrated," and "each Power
will determine for itself the limit of this zone within
its own pOvSsessions." It is in reference to these
3
The Second Brussels Conference 139
infirm clauses, as elastic as Congo rubber, that the
Free State has fulfilled promise with performance
that puts her neighbours to shame. Each year of
Belgian rule in the Congo has been marked by a
contraction of the area in which alcoholic liquors
are legitimate traffic even in a restricted form. To-
day spirituous liquors are practically excluded from
more than four-fifths of the entire State. The
Sovereign of the Congo Free State does not respect
that colonising enthusiasm which is founded on de-
leterious Scotch whiskey, Holland gin, and Jamaica
rum. He has, therefore, carried out the spirit as
well as the letter of the liquor clauses in the Brussels
Act, and lost revenue for the State from a source
which, to a large degree, supports the budgets of
neighbouring colonies.
In the eighth article it is declared that
the experience of all nations who have intercourse with
Africa has shown the pernicious and preponderating part
played by firearms in slave trade operations as well as in
intertribal wars, and has clearly proved that the preservation
of the African populations is a radical impossibility unless
restrictive measures against the trade in firearms and am-
munition are established.
It was, therefore, stipulated that in those parts
of Africa between the twentieth parallel of north
latitude and the twenty-second parallel of south
latitude the importation of firearms, and especially
of rifles and weapons of precision, powder, balls, and
cartridges, should be greatly restricted, and as far
as possible prohibited. The only exceptions in later
articles to this prescription were made in favour ofl
y
140 Story of the Congo Free State
f ' measures directly by governments for arming of a
force puhlique and the organisation of their defence."
To carry out the onerous duties imposed by the
Brussels Act upon all the interested Powers re-
Attitude quired more than a Conference and its
of the lofty ideals and appropriate resolutions.
Powers. -gy ^j^g Berlin Act import duties had been
prohibited in the Congo Basin only as an experi-
ment. The attitude of the Powers towards this
question was now more enlightened and more reason-
able. Experience, and admiration for King Leo-
pold's rapid acheivements in the development of
the new State, combined, in the face of the slave -
raiding enemy, to predispose the representatives of
the Powers to a rational view of the practical neces-
sities of governments which were called upon to
establish order and a civil community upon the
trail of the murderous slave-chaser.
At the thirteenth session of the Conference, held
on May 10, 1890, it was proposed that the stipula-
tion of the Berlin Conference prohibiting
Duties. ^11 import duties for twenty years should
be withdrawn, and that the "assenting
Powers having possessions or protectorates in the
Conventional Basin of the Congo shall be at liberty,
so far as authority to this end is required, to estab-
lish duties on imported goods, the scale of which
shall not exceed a rate equivalent to ten per cent.
ad valorem at the port of entry, always excepting
spirituous liquors." Applying especially to spirit-
uous liquors are the provisions of articles 90 to 95
of the General Act.
The Second Brussels Conference 141
In supporting this measure, Baron Lambermont
said:
Not only has geographical acquaintance with the Congo
Basin revealed the wealth of the vast regions it comprises,
but European commerce, which was blocked at a short dis-
tance from the coast, has penetrated the heart of Africa, in
countries hitherto utterly unknown. Civilisation, in divers
forms, has made no less progress, and has been permanently
established in the very centre of Africa. The rapidity with
which this transformation has been accomplished would seem
to make it a duty to hasten the revision of the free-trade rule
temporarily laid down by the Berlin General Act. The pro-
tection due to commerce and missions, the establishment of
systematic justice, the opening up of easier means of com-
munication with the interior of the continent, the organisa-
tion of public services as auxiliaries to private enterprises,
require financial resources which it is reasonable to obtain,
by means of imposts, from those who profit by the new order
of things. While in most of the African colonies tariffs are
among the principal sources of revenue, the countries situated
in the Conventional Basin of the Congo alone are deprived
of the right of levying customs duties; and yet these are the
countries that find themselves at the front in the crusade
against the slave trade! The resolutions of the Brussels Con-
ference, in imposing on them new tasks, will also increase the
expenses necessary for the carrying out of their civilising
mission. The legitimacy of import duties destined to meet
these expenses cannot be denied.
In the debate which naturally ensued upon such
an important measure, Baron Gericke d'Herwijnen,
representing Holland, which has a large spirit
trade along the West Coast of Africa, opposed views
for a time unfavourable to the adoption of this
supplementary Declaration ' to the General Act.
'See Appendix for full text.
142 Story of the Congo Free State
Notwithstanding his views, the Dutch representa-
tive gracefully alluded to ' ' the well-merited homage
it [Holland] had rendered to the work of the King
of the Belgians from its very commencement."
On the part of Great Britain, Lord Vivian sup-
ported the proposition in words which should sear
the few unkindly, astigmatic eyes of those who re-
gard King Leopold's rule in Africa with splenetic gaze
and caterwauling. His lordship spoke aptly when
he said:
As to the question whether this modification is opportune,
the fact must not be lost sight of that the Berlin Conference
never intended to fix unalterably the economic system of
the Free State, which, as was already then foreseen, would
undergo radical modifications under the influence of progress,
nor to establish for an indefinite period regulations which
may hinder, check, and even arrest its development. Pro-
vision was wisely made for the probability of future changes,
which would require a certain latitude in economic matters
in order to secure their easy realisation.
The moment has now come when the marvellous progress
made by the infant State is creating fresh needs, when it
would be only in accordance with wisdom and foresight to
revise an economic system primarily adapted to a creative
and transitional period.
Can we blame the infant State for a progress which, in its
rapidity, has surpassed the most optimistic forecasts? Can we
hinder and arrest this progress in refusing Iter the m,eans neces-
sary for her development? Can we condemn the Sovereign who
has already made sucJi great sacrifices to support for an in-
definite period a burden which daily becomes heavier, and at
the same time impose upon him new and Jieavy expenses neces-
sitated by the suppression of the slave trade?
We are convinced that there will be but one answer to these
questions.
wBefm^^^MijSm
Pi
The Second Brussels Conference 143
Following the British representative in support of
the proposal, Count von Alvensleben, the German
Minister, expressed himself as follows :
The Imperial Government will be glad to have such an
opportunity of showing its sentiments of sympathy for the
Congo Free State, which, under the wise direction of its
august Sovereign, has given such striking proofs of vitality.
The German Government will willingly lend its help in
placing the Congo Free State in a position to acquire the
means which may seem necessary to assist its development
and to enable it to continue its valuable services to the cause
of civilisation and humanity.
Indeed, the expressions of appreciation of the Bel-
gian work in the Congo were unanimous and en-
thusiastic. The Declaration was adopted, prance and
and became part of the General Act of the the Slave
Brussels Conference by the ratification of Trade,
all the Powers — the Dutch Chambers sanctioning
the ratification on the intervention of the Queen
Regent, mother of the present Queen, Wilhelmina.
In giving her adhesion France did so with the re-
servation that she ' ' would not recognise the articles
relating to the zone of maritime search, jurispru-
dence, arrest, seizure, and condemnation of sus-
pected ships." This has always been regarded as a
flaw in the effort of the Powers to suppress the slave
traffic with unity of force and aim. France's re-
markable reservation has had the effect of affording
to slave -dealers the only existing protection of a
civilised Government on the East African Coast.
The motive for this is revealed in the fact that slave -
dealers are still employed in the French possessions
144 Story of the Congo Free State
of the Indian Ocean." It is to be regretted that
repubhcan France should stand out from that soHd
phalanx of the Powers by which alone the abomin-
able institution of slavery can be stricken from the
calendar of modem crime.
' Boulger.
Baluba Chiefs.
Return from the Hunt at Bumba (Bangala).
CHAPTER XII
THE CONGO BEQUEATHED TO BELGIUM
THE Declaration supplemental to the General
Act of the Brussels Conference, referred to
in the previous chapter, assured an income
to the Congo Free State, which, however inadequate
for its needs at that time, served, in a degree, to clear
its future of the doubt which had caused Belgium,
as a nation, to shrink from incurring financial re-
sponsibility in support of it. The cost of the early
undertakings, from the day in 1876 when Stanley
took leave of King Leopold in Brussels and set out
upon his expedition up the Congo River, and the ex-
penses of the entire enterprise, including those of
the International African Association, had been
borne by the King and his immediate adherents.
The amounts so expended each year now aggregated
a sum approximating 100,000,000 francs. On 29th
April, 1887, the Belgian nation had authorised the
Congo State to raise a loan of 150,000,000 francs,
which, however, it did not guarantee. These funds
were largely employed to found the chartered com-
panies provided for in the Decree of 27th Februar}',
1887. The time had now again come when the
Belgian Chamber should consider the reasonable-
ness of asking the assistance of the Belgian nation,
145
146 Story of the Congo Free State
especially as the King's African enterprise had been
undertaken for the benefit of civilisation and the
expansion of Belgian markets.
On the 3rd July, 1890, the day after the General
Act of the Conference had been signed, a Convention
was concluded between M. Beernaert, the Finance
Minister, on the part of Belgium, and Baron Van
Eetvelde, on the part of the Congo Free State, by
which Belgium engaged to lend the Congo State
5,000,000 francs at once, and 2,000,000 francs a year
for the next ten years — 25,000,000 francs in all, on
condition that Belgium should have the option, six
months after the expiration of the ten years, of an-
nexing the Congo Free State ' ' with all the rights and
advantages attached to the sovereignty of the State
." provided it also assumed the obligations
of the State to third parties, "the King-Sovereign
expressly refusing all indemnity on account of the
personal sacrifices he had himself made.'' It was
further agreed:
3. From the present time the Belgian State will receive
from the Independent State of the Congo such information
as it judges desirable, on the economical, commercial, and
financial- situation of the latter. It may specially ask for
communication of the budgets of receipts and expenses, and
of the customs dues both on imports and exports. This in-
formation is to be given, with the sole object of enlightening
the Belgian Government, and the latter will not in any way
interfere in the administration of the Independent State of
the Congo, which will continue to be attached to Belgium only
by the personal union of the two crowns. Nevertheless, the
Congo State engages not to contract any new loan hereafter,
without the assent of the Belgian Government.
Pi
a
o
The Congo Bequeathed to Belgium 147
4. If at the fixed time Belgium decides not to accept the
annexation of the Congo State, the sum of twenty-five milhon
francs lent, inscribed in the ledger of its debt, would not be-
come demandable until after a fresh period of ten years, but
it should bear in the interval interest at the rate of 3^ per
cent., payable every six months, and even before this term
the Independent State of the Congo should devote to partial
repayments all the sums obtained from cessions of land or
the mines of the domain.
Long before the date of the Brussels Conference
and the Convention just concluded, King Leopold
had written to his minister, M. Beernaert, a letter
clearly indicating his unselfish purpose in developing
the Congo State. The persons who charge the King
of the Belgians with governing the Congo for his
personal benefit might temper their mendacity by
the fact that this letter is dated 5th August, 1889,
nearly a year before the conclusion of the Brussels
Conference. Having regard to the false charges
busily purveyed in respect of his Majesty's true in-
tentions towards his people and the Congo State,
it seems but just to quote it :
Sth August, 1889.
Dear Minister [M. Beernaert]. — I have never ceased to
call the attention of my countrymen to the necessity of ex-
tending their view to countries beyond the sea.
History teaches that States of limited size have a moral
and material interest in stretching beyond their narrow front-
iers. Greece founded on the shores of the Mediterranean
opulent cities, centres of art and civilisation. Venice, later
on, established its greatness on the development of its mari-
time and commercial relations, not less than on its political
successes. Holland possesses in the Indies thirty millions of
148 Story of the Congo Free State
subjects, who exchange the commodities of the tropics for
the productions of the mother country.
; It is by serving the cause of humanity and progress that
i people of the second rank appear as useful members of the
great family of nations. / More than any other, a manufac-
turing and commercial nation like ours should strive to secure
outlets for all its workers, for those of thought, capital, and
labour.
These patriotic preoccupations have dominated my life.
They determined the creation of the African work.
. My labours have not been sterile. A young and vast State,
{directed from Brussels, has peacefully taken its place under
/.the sun, thanks to the benevolent aid of the Powers which
have applauded its beginning^ Belgians administer it, whilst
others of our countrymen, every day more numerous, profit-
ably employ their capital in its development.
The immense river basin of the Upper Congo opens to our
efforts ways of rapid and cheap communication, which per-
mit us to penetrate direct into the centre of the African Con-
tinent. The construction of the railway of the region of the
Cataracts henceforth assured, thanks to the recent vote of the
Legislature, will notably increase these facilities of access.
Under these conditions, a great future is reserved for the
Congo, the immense value of which will soon be apparent to
every eye.
On the morrow of this considerable act, I have thought it
my duty to place Belgium herself, when death shall have
struck me, in a position to profit by my work, as well as by
the labour of those who have aided me in founding and direct-
ing it, and whom I thank here once more. I have therefore
made, as Sovereign of the Independent State of the Congo,
the Will that I send you. I ask you to communicate it to
the Legislative Chamber at the moment which shall appear to
you the most opportune.
The beginnings of enterprises such as those which have so
much occupied me are difficult and onerous. I have held
myself bound to support the cost. A king, in order to serve
w
The Congo Bequeathed to Belgium 149
his country, ought not to fear to conceive and to pursue the
reaHsation of a work, even if it be apparently rash. The
wealth of a sovereign consists in public prosperity; it alone
can constitute in his eyes an enviable treasure, which he
should endeavour constantly to increase.
To the day of my death I shall continue, in the same desire
of national interest which has hitherto guided me, to direct
and sustain our African work ; but if, without awaiting this
term, it should be agreeable to the country to establish closer
links with my possessions on the Congo, I should not hesitate
to place them at its disposal. I should be happy to see it,
during my lifetime, in the full enjoyment of their possession.
Allow me, in the meanwhile, to say to you how grateful I am
towards the Chambers, as well as towards the Government,
for the aid that they have afforded me on several occasions in
that creation. I do not think I deceive myself by affirm-
ing that Belgium will derive important advantages from it,
and that she will see opening before her, on a new continent,
happy and larger prospects.
Believe me, dear Minister, etc.
Leopold.
Accompanying this noble expression of a monarch
toward his people on his sacrificial work in their be-
half, was the King's Will, as Sovereign of the Congo
Free State:
We, Leopold IL, King of the Belgians, Sovereign of the
Independent State of the Congo:
Wishing to assure to Our well-beloved country the fruits of
the work which for many years We have pursued on the Afri-
can Continent, with the generous and devoted co-operation
of many Belgians:
Convinced of thus contributing to assure for Belgium, if she
wishes it, the outlets indispensable for her commerce and her
industry, and to open new paths for the activity of her
children :
Declare by these presents, that We bequeath and transmit,
150 Story of the Congo Free State
after Our death, to Belgium all our sovereign rights over the
Independent State of the Congo, as they are recognised by
the Declarations, Conventions, and Treaties concluded since
1884 between the foreign Powers on the one side, the Inter-
national Association of the Congo and the Independent State
of the Congo on the other, as well as all the benefits, rights,
and advantages attached to that sovereignty.
Whilst waiting for the Belgian Legislature to pronounce its
acceptance of Our aforesaid disposition, the sovereignty will
be exercised collectively by the Council of the three adminis-
trations of the Independent State of the Congo, and by the
Governor-General.
Leopold.
Done at Brussels the 2nd of August, 1889.
The announcement of the King's Will, bequeathing
the Congo State to the Belgian people, was received
with a demonstration of popular approval. In 1901
the Convention of 3rd July, 1890, giving Belgium
the right to annex the Congo State, was extended
for another term of ten years. Meantime the great
prosperity of the State and the voice of saner lib-
eralism in the Belgian Chamber are combining to
identify the more intimate support of the Belgian
Government with King Leopold's progressive Afri-
can colony. That the Belgian State will take over
that colony in 19 10, or on the death of King Leopold,
is hardly within the pale of rational doubt.
CHAPTER XIII
TRIBES OF THE CONGO STATE
THE difficulty in arriving at an estimate of the
native population of the Congo Free State
that tolerably approximates the truth is
very great. Some authorities place it at as high
as 30,000,000, some as low as 15,000,000, population
while other observers, equally entitled to of Congo
respect, assert that 20,000,000 is about ^*^*®'
accurate.
This wide divergence of opinion ceases to be
matter for surprise when we reflect that the popu-
lation of an empire so important as China, known
to white men for centuries, is variously estimated
by them at anything between 300,000,000 and
400,000,000.
Compared with our knowledge of China, our ac-
quaintance with the countries and peoples comprised
within the boundaries of the Congo Free State is
a thing of yesterday. The nomadic habits of the
various semi-savage tribes of which the population
of the Congo Free State consists renders their exact
enumeration impossible. Besides, there can be no
doubt but that vast numbers of the dwarf (Pigmy)
race inhabit parts of the great Central African
forest not yet penetrated b)' the white man.
151
152 Story of the Congo Free State
It is certain, however, that all the vast region
with which this book is concerned contains no race
or tribe that has not come in contact with
Civmsation ^^^ civilising Belgians, or whose barbarous
habits and customs have not, in greater or
lesser degree, been modified into some semblance of
conformity with the standard of civilisation exem-
plified by their new masters. At present that con-
formity is far from being general, and where it is
found it is invariably more superficial than real.
To frankly admit so much is in nowise a reflection
upon the extent or value of the civilising influence
exerted by the Belgians upon their King's dusky
subjects. The complete transformation of the bar-
barian into the civilised man is not possible in one
generation. A consideration of the principal tribes,
their habits and customs, as they were when the
white strangers first appeared among them, and as
to some extent they continue to this day, cannot,
therefore, fail in interest.
The nomadic habits of the native races inhabiting
the Congo region, discussed at length in another
Origin of chapter, render an inquiry into their ori-
Congo gin a work of great difficulty and uncer-
^^"'- tain result. Sir Harry Johnston, G.C.M.G.,
K.C.B., whose expert opinion upon this subject is
entitled to the utmost respect, believes that the
Negro type which originated in Southern Asia wan-
dered across the peninsula of Arabia into Eastern
Africa, mingling, perhaps, on the way, with the Cau-
casians from the north, evolving that negroid race
known as the Hamite, whence sprang the early
Is
W)
G
ui
m
B
Tribes of the Congo State 153
Egyptians, and to which the SomaH, Gala, Abys-
sinian, and Nubian owe their origin.
From Eastern Africa this primitive race is thought
to have spread, in the course of ages, throughout all
Central Africa, and probably to have penetrated
almost to the southern and western coasts of that
continent, changing their physical characteristics
according to their environment, and again modifying
those characteristics by subsequent intermixture.
The numerous Central African tribes, as they exist
to-day, exhibit marked differences in height, shape,
language, habits, customs, and even in colour, some
being an intense black, some of a chocolate hue,
some reddish brown, and some of a bronze aspect.
The five main divisions, according to Johnston,
appear to be: (i) the forest Pigmy; (2) the Bantu;
(3) the Nile Negro; (4) the Masai, and (5) the
Hamite.
The native tribes in the neighbourhood of Leopold-
ville consist chiefly of the Musseronges, the Kakon-
gos, the Baoilis, and the Mayombes.
The Mvisseronges are difficult of approach. Not
only do they hold themselves severely aloof from
the white man, they are also very shy and g^j^g
guarded in their intercourse with other Tribal
native tribes, and are never known to com- ^^^^^'
bine with any of them, even when threatened by a
common enemy. They are tall, strong, and better-
looking than most members of the Negro race,
though this commendation must not be taken for a
certificate of beauty. They file their teeth to a
point, or cut them square, or into semicircles, their
154 Story of the Congo Free State
object being to provide themselves thereby with a
weapon for use as a last resort in a fight, when they
literally throw themselves upon their enemies and
seize them by the throat with their fangs, as a
bulldog inight do. They wear their hair short, and
indulge in the practice of tattooing, for purposes of
ornament, but not to any great extent. Strange
to say, the women are taller and stronger than the
men, which may perhaps be explained by the fact
that all the work of the tribe, except hunting and
fishing, falls to their share.
The Kakongos and Mayombes are less intensely
distrustful, but the Baoilis are markedly hostile to
the white man. They have been known to refuse
to barter oysters— their principal diet, of which they
frequently have supplies largely exceeding their
requirements — for European commodities which it
has been certain that they ardently desired to
possess.
All these four tribes are of cleanly habits; and
their practice of bathing daily, when the proximity
Modes et ^^ ^ river or lake puts it in their power to
Robes k la do SO, may put to shame some of the in-
Congo. habitants of great cities. The forest tribes,
to whom cleanliness by water is impossible, smear
their bodies with palm oil and a kind of red ochre,
which they afterwards scrape off. The original cos-
tume of a few leaves, or an exceedingly small apron
made from fibrous bark, for women, and a loin-
cloth of the same material for men, has yielded
to the superior attraction of common cotton goods,
which now reach them from far-away Manchester
bfi
a
"S
<u
pq
a
a
o
Tribes of the Congo State 155
or Saxon ^^ These stiiffs, ornamented by large
patterns in flaming reds or yellows, delight the eye
and rejoice the heart of the Congolese maid and
matron, while such of the men as desire to stand well
with the gentler (?) sex will also condescend to use
them. No time and skill are devoted to making a
garment. A piece of the gaudy stuff wound in loose
folds around the loins suffices both for men and
women. In every tribe, children of both sexes are
entirely nude until they reach the age of puberty.
In at least one tribe, neither men nor women wear
any covering. In a few tribes it is customary for
the women to remain nude until they are married.
Some women denote their married state by covering
their breasts with strange ornaments, while others
secure this object by elaborately dressing their hair,
which they build up to a great height by aid of palm
fibre and gum. Both men and women, of what-
ever tribe, ornament themselves with just as many
collars, bangles, and anklets as they can obtain.
Without exception, the possession of a few strings
of coloured beads is to them a source of great hap-
piness. They gaze upon such treasures with de-
hght and guard *them with jealous care. Some of
their customs are very peculiar. Men and women
will not eat together. A man guilty of eating in
company of his wives would be hopelessly disgraced.
In time past they have eaten one another, and
would doubtless do so again should existing restraint
be removed, but they may not eat together. After
their separate repast, the sexes mingle again freely,
and both engage in smoking their long-stemmed pipes.
1 56 Story of the Congo Free State
All the males of the Congo Pigmies seen by Sir
Harry Johnston were circumcised, and all in both
sexes had their upper incisor teeth and
Pigmies canines sharpened to a point. In their
forest homes they go naked, both men and
women; but in presence of strangers the men usually
don a small covering of genet, monkey, or antelope
skin, or a wisp of bark-cloth, and the women leaves
or bark-cloth.
The Pigmies [says Johnston] have practically no religion,
and no trace of spirit- or ancestor-worship. They have some
idea that thunder, lightning, and rain are the manifestations
of a Power or Entity in the heavens, but a bad Power, and
when (reluctantly) induced to talk on the subject, they shake
their heads and clack their tongues in disapproval, for the
mysterious Something in the heavens occasionally slays their
comrades with his fire [lightning]. They have little or no
belief in a life after death, but sometimes think vaguely that
their dead relations live again in the form of the red bush-
pig, whose strange bristles are among the few brightly col-
oured objects that attract their attention. They have no
settled government or hereditary chief, merely clustering
round an able hunter or cunning fighter, and accepting him
as law-giver for the time. Marriage is only the purchase of a
girl from her father. Women generally give birth to their
offspring in the forest, severing the naVel string with their
teeth, and burying the placenta in the ground. The dead
are usually buried in dug graves, and if men of importance,
food, tobacco, and weapons are buried with the corpse.
The same authority has observed that all the
Bantu-speaking forest folk on the Up-
Cicatrisa- r^ , • • - • -• o
tion P^^ Congo practise cicatrisation, bcores
and weals of skin are raised either by
burning or cutting with a knife, and introducing the
Tribes of the Congo State 157
irritating juice of a plant into the wound. The
effect of this is to raise on the surface of the body
large or small lumps of skin. Sometimes these
raised weals are so small that they produce almost
the effect of tattooing; at other times they are large,
ugly excrescences. The Babira people cicatrise their
chests and stomachs ; but in the forest, toward the wa-
ters of the Congo, their faces are hideously scarred.
Both men and women of the Bantu Kavirondo ex-
tract the two middle incisor teeth from the lower
jaw, in the belief that if a man retains all his lowei'
incisor teeth he will be killed in warfare, and that
if the wife fails to pull out her teeth it may cause
her husband to perish. For the same reason of
averting ill-fortune, a woman inflicts cuts on the
skin of her forehead, which leave small scars. The
women also, as a means of securing good fortune for
themselves and their husbands, make a number of
small incisions, usually in patterns, in the skin of the
abdomen, into which they rub an irritant, so that
huge weals rise up into great lumps of skin. The
Kavirondo husband, before setting out to fight or
starting on a journey attended with great risks,
usually makes a few extra incisions on his wife's
body.
The traveller in the Congo will frequently ob-
serve repulsive disfigurements in the natives, and
is very liable to attribute to the cruelty
of oppression what are but nianifestations praud^
of old-time tribal customs. The danger is
accentuated by the organised campaign of slander
now proceeding against the Congo Free State, which
158 Story of the Congo Free State
does not scruple to make capital out of such an op-
portune circumstance.
Almost all the tribes entertain a hazy notion of an
invisible Supreme Being; but they regard them-
selves as of no account in His estimation, and di-
rect their petitions for supernatural aid to their
fetiches, which they endeavour to propitiate by
gifts through the medium of their witch doctor or
medicine man, a kind of priest who pretends to pos-
sess supernatural powers and abuses the credulity of
his followers to an extraordinary extent.
Among the Mangbettus, a dead chief is buried in
a sitting posture, in the centre of a new hut specially
built on the banks of a stream. Five of
w^dows"^ his widows are strangled and their bodies
laid out with their feet towards their dead
husband. The bodies are then covered with bark-
cloth saturated with palm oil, after which the spot
is held to be sacred and must not be approached,
under penalty of death, by anybody but the ruling
chief and one attendant.
At the mouth of the Uelle is found the great
mass of the Azande, a very numerous and important
tribe, who range the country from 23 de-
Azande grecs east to 30 degrees west, and from 6
degrees north to 3 degrees south. There
are three subdivisions of the Azande — the Abandjia,
the Avongura, and the Makraka, born fighters all,
and devoted to cannibalism. Some of the Azande
men, however, will eat only the flesh of their ene-
mies whom they have slain in battle, declining a
diet of human flesh otherwise obtained, though they
M
Tribes of the Congo State 159
all (except such of them as dwell south of the
Uelle) forbid their women and children to touch it.
And here arises a curious subject for speculation.
The cannibalistic Azande are much farther advanced
in the arts of peace and war than many other tribes
that are not cannibal — ^the forest Pigmies, for in-
stance. Notwithstanding some peculiar customs
concerning them, they hold their women in high re-
gard, and never barter them for goats and cows, the
almost universal practice among other Central Afri-
can tribes. Their skill, too, in agriculture, pottery,
and in the making and playing of their musical in-
struments, seems quite incompatible with their
abhorred anthropophagy.
Each Azande chief is really a despotic king. His
power over his subjects is absolute, and any one of
them who is so unfortunate as to offend him is sim-
ply handed over to the executioner, a procedure
which to the Azande mind seems the most natural
thing in the world. The courage of the Azandes is
beyond praise. They know no fear; and when as-
sailed by a murderous fire, against which they have
no chance of success, they will rush right up to their
enemy and grapple with him hand to hand, though
nine-tenths of their fellows fall by the way. Their
favourite weapons are the lance and light throwing-
spear, and each warrior carries, in addition, a shield.
Among the Azande, criminals condemned to
death are despatched with the lance. Oc-
casionally, however, they employ a peculiar "^potso/
method of trial, known as the ordeal by
poison, which precludes this method of execution.
i6o Story of the Congo Free State
On such occasions the chief acts as judge, and the
person accused is made to drink a cup of poison, the
theory being that if the accusation is baseless
the accused survives unharmed. Of course, the in-
variable result is that the drinker falls dead within
a minute or so. It is safe to assume that an Azande
chief is sufficiently intelligent never to subject one
of his tribe to this ordeal whose death he has not
previously determined upon.
Another singular custom, not peculiar to the
Azande, but common to all Central African tribes,
Blood- ^s ^^6 ceremony of blood-brotherhood. Two
Brother- men who are in no way related having
^°°^* agreed to become "blood-brothers," i. e.,
to live in peace and amity for ever after, meet in the
open air, in the presence of the chiefs and people,
when a small incision is made in the forearm of each
"brother," sufficiently deep to cause a little blood
to flow. Each mutilated one then licks the blood
from the other's arm, and thenceforth they are re-
lated as brothers.
A slight modification of this ceremony was early
conceded by the various chiefs to accommodate the
pardonable squeamishness of Europeans; and now,
instead of licking each other's blood, the "brothers"
merely rub their incisions together, so that their
blood may mingle. Stanley was made blood-
brother to so many African chiefs that at last his
arm was well scored with incisions. Several Bel-
gian commandants, and a few Englishmen, have
submitted to this operation; always, it is almost
needless to remark, from motives of policy, for it
a
t3
Tribes of the Congo State i6i
has been proved that Africans regard the rite with
real veneration, and esteem the "brother" they ac-
quire by it at least as highly as they would a natural
brother.
It is not necessary in this place to give the names
of all the tribes of which the native population of
the vast Congo region is composed. They are numer-
ous, and for the most part not easily pronounceable.
Of the tribes not already referred to, the Basundis,
Bakuendas, Batekas, Bayanzis, Bangalas, Batetelas,
Mongos, Bantu, and Mombettus are most prominent.
While differing in personal appearance, prowess,
habits, and customs, clearly denoting that the}' are
not descended from a common stock, there are not
wanting certain traits which distinguish them all.
All are polygamous, nearly all are cannibal, and the
morals of the most advanced among them such as
shock the average civilised man upon his first con-
tact with them. Strangely inconsistent with the
low moral sense which prevails among most of the
tribes, some of them punish the crime of adultery
with death,, others by horribly mutilating the male
oifender.
Cannibalism has long been suppressed by the
Congo Government just as murder is suppressed
among civilised communities; but the hor- Cannibai-
rid practice is still indulged here and there, '^™'
as opportunity occurs for evading the vigilance of
the authorities. So recently as 1898, and possibly
to the present day, it was necessary to maintain a
constant guard at the cemetery in Leopoldville, the
chief station on the Upper Congo, to prevent the
1 62 Story of the Congo Free State
Bangalas unearthing the dead and carrying them
ofif to feast upon. Several such cases were proved
against them, and capital punishment had to be
resorted to in order to stamp it out. This horrid
subject is sickening to contemplate; but no de-
scription, however brief or superficial, of the Congo
people, can ignore a fact which has occasioned, and
still presents, such a tremendous difficulty for civil-
isation to surmount. This is but one of many diffi-
culties with which the Congo Free State has had to
contend, and those who sit in judgment upon that
State should bear in mind that the Central African
black is not by nature predisposed to civilisation.
Not all the cannibal tribes are so repulsive and cruel
as the Bangalas. Most of them eat no other human
flesh but that of their enemies slain in battle. That
source of supply will not suffice for the Bangalas,
who make up its deficiency with prisoners or slaves.
Having broken their victim's limbs, they place him
in a pool of water, with his head supported just
above its surface so that he may not drown. After
having left him in that position for three days (if
he survives so long), he is killed and eaten. Another
method is to behead the victim, singe all the hair
from the body over an ember fire, and then cut it
into pieces for cooking. The portions not imme-
diately eaten are smoke-dried and put aside for
another occasion. The teeth are extracted and
made into necklaces by the women. Sometimes
the skin is used for drumheads.
It is the general opinion of competent observers
that polygamy will for many years stirvive the ex-
o
a
Tribes of the Congo State 163
tinction of cannibalism. Nothing but the spirit of
Christianity will overcome that evil. The native
mind cannot be induced by ordinary ars^u- _ ,
. 1 Polygamy.
ment to see any wrong m it. Why a man
should not have just as many wives as he can afford
to buy and keep is too much for his comprehension.
He regards woman as created solely for his pleasure
and profit, and trades in her accordingly. He buys
her from her father for one or two goats or a cow;
she becomes the mother of his children, and prepares
and cooks his food for him. That is her career, and
she shares it with as many other wives as her hus-
band's inclination and resources permit him to buy.
When she dies she is buried — sometimes. Certain
Central African tribes regard burial after death as
a superfluous ceremony for women, and place their
bodies where they will be devoured by hyaenas and
vultirres. From two to three wives is the average | /
quantum of the ordinary Central African barbarian,
and between thirty and forty for a chief.
After their prodigious effort and expense in sup-
pressing the slave trade, the Belgians set to work to
weld into a homogeneous civilised State a vast region
full of warring tribes with attributes such as these,
utterly oblivious to all sense of right and truth as
readers of these pages understand these words.
Looking at the Congolese as they were in 1876,
and again as they are in 1905, who can a Reflec-
honestly deny that King Leopold has, so *'°°-
far, well performed his arduous mission ?
CHAPTER XIV
THE CONGO PUBLIC FORCE
THE State's military organisation is constituted
by what is called the Congo Public Force
{Force Puhlique). It had its origin in the
necessities of the International Association before the
State had gone far along its difficult way. It was
To Main- recruitcd from the^.blacks of Zanzibar and
tain along the West Coast at Lagos, Sierra Leone,
Order. Elmira, and Accra. The first troops were,
therefore, foreigners — -Zanzibaris and Haussas. Their
foreign origin was, in a sense, an element of security
to the Association when it had to direct repressive
measures against some of the Congolese tribes. The
Zanzibaris and the Haussas had great military apti-
tude and, lacking sympathy for the Congolese, were
generally loyal to their commanders. They loved
an enemy from the instinct inherent in savage natures.
J The maintenance of this early body of troops was
^exceedingly expensive for the young State. Be-
x/sides food, uniform, and medical attendance, these
mercenaries received one franc twenty -five centimes
a day. Moreover, on the expiration of their term
of service they were sent back to their homes at the
expense of the Government. As the term of their
engagement was only three years, this obligation
formed an important addition to their cost.
It was beyond the financial power of the State to
164
7^r"
tf.m
o
The Congo Public Force 165
provide an adequate military organisation on such a
basis. While the administrators of the Congo were de-
vising means for the support of an efficient force at
a reduced cost, the British government on the Gold
Coast prohibited further recruiting of Haussas by
foreign states. Barred from getting its soldiers from
surrounding British territory, the Congo Government
proceeded to develop its earlier plans for raising a
native local force, the first purpose of which was that
it should supplement the main body of regular troops.
The nucleus of what is the present Public Force
were the men of th e Bang^ alatribe. whom Captain
Coquilhat employed as armeSfpolice when he founded
Equateurville in i^^^ A short tim.e thereafter,
Captain Van Dorpe made the same experiment
among the Manvanga. Finding the men from both
tribes fit for a military career, the principle of em-
ploying aboriginal races in the Public Force was
followed with the rapid establishment of the numer-
ous posts and stations erected at that time. The
wisdom of employing natives for the organisation
of such a national force was soon apparent. In 1888
an order was issued to.Jonn ei^ght companies of one
liundred and fifty men, with..po\Yer_ to increase the
number to two hundred and fifty. It was not, how-
over, till 1 89 1 that Baron Van Eetvelde and the
Governor-General, M. Camille Janssen, drafted a
practical scheme for the foundation of a permanent
Public Force. Mr. Demetrius C. Boulger. whose
volume entitled The Congo State treats at length
of the subject up to 1898, describes the scheme
which the Sovereign had approved:
1 66 Story of the Congo Free State
The principal features of the scheme were, that the force
should be divided into twelve companies corresponding with
the administrative districts, and that one hundred and twenty
European officers, chiefly Belgians, should be appointed to the
command and disciplining of this force. The different grades of
this army were: one commandant, eleven captains, ten lieuten-
ants , thirty-nine sub-lieutenants , and sixty sergeants . The new
system of recruiting was of two kinds. The first provided for
the engagement of volunteers for a period not exceeding seven
years, and the second for an enforced levy of militia by order
of the Governor-General, and arranged between the commis-
sary of the district affected and the local chiefs. The levy
was to be made, wherever possible, by lot, among the men
between the ages of fourteen and thirty. The term of service
for the latter was to be five years, with a further period of two
years in the reserve. Each man received, besides food for
himself and his wife (if he had one) , a daily pay of twenty -one
centimes, or a sixth of that which had to be paid for the alien
soldier. Moreover, the expense of sending the men back to
their homes was reduced to a minimum. The reduction in the
cost meant, besides a saving to the Government, the possibil-
ity of raising the strength of the force to a figure more in
proportion to the requirements of the State. Of the old alien
contingent, it has never been found possible to maintain more
than three thousand men, and the native contribution to this
was about two hundred; but in 189 1 the latter was increased
to sixteen hundred men, and in 1897, by which time the alien
element had been eliminated, the Public Force was raised to
a grand total of eight thousand militiamen and four thousand
volunteers. The number of companies had been raised to
twenty -two, with a nominal strength of nine thousand five
hundred and forty men at the end of last year (1897) , whereas
in 1891 the total was only two thousand nine hundred and
fifty.
For the purpose of training these forces, seven camps of
about five hundred men each were formed, and the period of
training the men undergo is fixed at eighteen months. The
uniform is blue linen, or, for full uniform, blue cloth, with a
.tUtK^W* '•
pr^
1
^W^^^V^^^^^S* ' ^Hn-H I^^^^^W^ ^^^^^ib^
A Bangala Chief, with his Harem.
Native Making Butter at his Home in Botandana (,Kivu).
The Congo Public Force 167
scarlet fez. The arm in general use is the Albini, with a short
bayonet. The white officers carry the Mauser rifle, with a
magazine. The greatest pains is taken in the fire-training and
discipline of the men. Competitions are held every three
months among sections of fifty men, and prizes awarded. A
great improvement has been eftected in the housing of the
troops, who are now almost entirely accommodated in brick
barracks. The artillery of the force is of considerable strength,
and includes, Krupps, Maxims and Nordenfelts.
The seven camps of instruction are Zambi, for the Lower
Congo; Kinshassa, Bolobo, Irebu, Kassongo, Umangi, La
Romee, for the Upper Congo. The principal armed camps,
as they are called (because they are bases of military power),
are those at Lusambo, Bomokandi, and the Aruwimi; but
Vankerckhovenville, Dungu, and Redjaf are now of equal, if
not of greater, importance. At Kinshassa, on Stanley Pool,
a fort with a battery has been constructed for the protec-
tion of Leopoldville and the railway terminus ; and here an
experiment has been successfully tried of utilising the ser-
vices of prisoners of war. ]\Ien selected from the captives
of the nurherous expeditions have been passed through a
probationary course on the works of this place, and in this
manner a considerable number of recruits have been ob-
tained for the Public Force on more favourable terms than
the militiamen recruited through the chiefs. Kinshassa is
not the only fortified place within the State territory; for
at Chinkakassa, near Boma, a strong fort has been con-
structed, commanding the navigation of the Congo and the
approaches from the ocean. Here Captain Petillon, of the
Belgian Engineers, has placed eight Krupps and a number
of smaller guns in an admirably selected position, while
the Mongos tribe, from the Equateurville district, has sup-
plied an adequate number of skilful and handy gunners.
The authorities of the Congo State will experience no dif-
ficulty in procuring suitable men for this arm of their Public
Force.
The first and oldest company of the Public Force deserves
a special notice to itself. This is t he auxil iary^xompagy of
1 68 Story of the Congo Free State
the Congo Railway, and was founded by royal decree of 9th
August, 1890, or twelve months earlier than the decree con-
stituting the general force. Its organisation was entrusted
to Captain Weyns, an officer of the Carabiniers. Its strength
was first fixed at the modest total of fifty men; in 1892 it was
increased to a hundred men, and afterwards it received a
further addition of fifty men. T he task entr usted to this
corps was the protection of the railway works and" of TRe~^il-
lages through which the railway passed." As"-eight thousand
"navvies were employed on the line, and as these were com-
posed of many nationalities, the task was no sinecure, but it
was performed with perfect success and without friction. The
auxiliary force was recruited in a different manner from the
rest of the military. It contained several elements: for in-
stance, twent^r-five Senegalese, and fifty Batetelas from the
country between the Sankuru and the Lualaba. Although of
precisely the same race as the mutineers of the Dhanis column,
/ the latter gave no trouble in 1897. Like the other militiamen
y of the State, they serve for five years with the colours and for
two years in the reserve, but the cost of maintaining this corps
is borne by the railway company. It, however, forms an
integral part of the general Public Force, and can be utilised
if any occasion arises. Captain Weyns reported so favourably
of the quickness of the Batetela recruits and their military
aptitude, that all vacancies in this company are now, like
those in the rest of the Public Force, filled up with natives of
the Congo territory.
In the archives of the Congo State's Administra-
tion in Brussels, there are interesting official reports
dealing with the question of creating a reliable native
force from the most civilised of the Congolese tribes.
The problem was not without many peculiar diffi-
culties. Baron Van Eetvelde, whose lofty aims for
Congolese civilisation were fortified with many wise
measures of great utility to the Government, had
The Congo Public Force 169
formulated plans for the establishment of a system
of military conscription, as to which in January,
1897, he reported as follows:
The State has set itself to the task of creating a purely
national army, with the view of lightening the budget of the
considerable charges which weighed upon it through having
to recruit abroad, and also with the view of putting an end,
in accordance with the highest dictates of policy, to its de-
pendence in this matter upon foreigners. It considers, more-
over, the period of military service as a salutary school for
the native, where he will learn respect for authority and
the obligations of duty. It is happy, from this view, to see the
number of national militiamen increase, and, in order that the
institution may preserve all its value, special provisions have
been made to prevent abuses, to regulate the recruiting, to
assure the welfare of soldiers on service, and to provide occu-
pation for those who have served their term. The decree on
the recruiting of the Public Force is not more rigorous than
any other similar act of legislation, and the incorporation is
made under as sure guarantees of -human liberty as in the
armies of Europe. As is the case in almost all countries, the
recruiting, independent of voluntary engagements, is made
by annual levies, but "within the limits of the contingent
fixed by the King-Sovereign," and within these limits "the
Governor-General determines the districts and localities in
which the levy is to be made, and also the proportion to be fur-
nished by each locality. . . . The mode according to which
the levy operates is determined by the district commissary in
agreement with the native chief; and although the drawing
by lot is recommended, we must recognise that it would be
difficult, in the present circumstances, to have recourse always
and everywhere to this method in each village, and to refuse to
recognise the customary authority of the village chief, when he
designates the militiamen among his own dependants. . . .
The length of active service is for five years. At the expiration
of this term, the men pass two years in the reserve. The time
1 70 Story of the Congo Free State
passed under the colours, then, cannot exceed seven years —
a term which experience shows not to be excessive; and it is
strictly forbidden to keep under the flags men who are no
longer borne on the lists, or whose term of service has expired,
under pain of misdemeanour. These organic dispositions have
been completed by instructions, which prescribe on the officers
' to watch carefully that the men receive a sufficient nourish-
ment, are comfortably housed, that the sick are well taken
care of, that the men are always properly treated, that their
misconduct is dealt with in conformity with the regulations,
and carefully avoiding all excessive severity.'
In fact, this system renders light for the native his obliga-
tions as a soldier. We do not desire any other proof than
those four thousand volunteers who are actually enrolled, and
those numerous re-engagements, which show the taste of the
native for the profession of arms. It was not with an army
of malcontents that the State could have carried out its anti-
slavery campaign. The State continues to interest itself in its
soldiers after their term has expired. The time-expired men,
sent back to their homes at its expense, together with their
wives and children (if there are any), are the object of special
protection, and receive concessions of land in a station at
their own choice.
The latest report of the Vice-Govemor-General
(July, 1904) indicates the great improvement to
which the Public Force has attained since the date
of Baron Van Eetvelde's statement of the system
which prevailed in 1897. Local experience in savage
lands should be the foundation of the reforms im-
posed. In the case of the State's Public Force, many
local conditions, traits, and prejudices, and much
inaptitude, were encountered to modify or extend
those principles of police control which the State's
earlier administration had adopted with character-
istic hopefulness. M. Fuchs sets forth the present
Native Canoes, Lower Congo.
Fishermen, Uvvia.
The Congo Public Force 171
position of the Force with considerable detail and
suggestion :
The Government is aware that the militar}'^ service of
the black race must be the object of constant watchfulness,
in order that it may be impossible for them to practise the
cruelties to which their primitive instincts might impel
them.
The officers and commanders of the troops have been often
warned that they must show themselves inflexible guardians
of the observance of those instructions, which have been
issued for the protection of the natives against any possible
abuse on the part of soldiers left in isolated positions or sub-
ject to insufficient control. Instructions have been given to
this effect — and I am happy to be able to say that they have
been almost evers^where faithfully carried out. Any contra-
vention of the order forbidding the despatch of armed soldiers
under the command of black officers is also severely pun-
ished, and may entail even the dismissal of the agent in fault.
These measures have been completed by the formal prohibi-
tion of the employment of auxiliaries under no matter what
circumstances.
It has also been laid down that direct relations are to be
established between the natives and European agents. In
order still further to strengthen the maintenance of discipline
among the soldiers of the black race, the regulations on the sub-
ject have been completed by the penalty of dismissal from the
Public Force. This is the most severe punishment in the eyes
of the soldiers, for they highly esteem the profession of arms.
Dismissal from the Public Force is inflicted on those soldiers
who show themselves absolutely incorrigible or who are un-
worthy to remain in the ranks. In order to surround this
rigorous measure with all the necessary guarantees, the sol-
diers whom it is wished to dismiss are brought before a Coun-
cil of Discipline. The dismissal is pronounced, at Boma by
the Commander of the Public Force; in the districts by the
District Commissioner or by the head of the expedition, after
172 Story of the Congo Free State
examining the charge, the evidence, and the decision of the
Council. Chiefs of zones cannot pronounce dismissal.
The Government have just finally decided that, for the
future, the soldiers of the Public Force shall not take part in
work at the stations, and that their time shall be exclusively
given up to their instruction, education, and military service.
The former arrangements which put soldiers, during some
hours of the day, at the disposal of the territorial chiefs,
chiefs of zones, and chiefs of posts, over and above the hours
assigned for military duty, have been modified so as to main-
tain in a more continuous fashion the men under the control
of their officers. In order to make this decision of the Gov-
ernment as fruitful as possible, the territorial chiefs have been
ordered to reduce to the effective force strictly necessary for the
assurance of security, the garrisons stationed at the posts in
zones and districts, and to concentrate at the chief places in
the territory garrisons as complete as possible. These meas-
ures are intended to produce the best results from the point
of view of educating and instructing the troops, as well as
from that of assuring military discipline, provided the terri-
torial chiefs scrupulously carry out the new instructions
mentioned above.
It has also been pointed out to them that it will be ex-
pressly recommended to the officials charged with the in-
spection — and the Government has decided to increase the
inspections throughout the State territories — to ascertain if all
these instructions, concerning the execution of the new table
of daily work for the public force, have been carried out.
The other measures of organisation which have been passed,
the formal prohibition to establish posts commanded by black
officers, or to confide military operations to them, and finally
forbidding the practice of taking sub-officers from their mili-
tary duties to employ them as chiefs of stations, are of a
nature to make us hope that very soon our public force will
constitute a body in which we may have complete confidence.
In February, 1904, I thought it my duty to point out to the
Government the manner in which instruction was given in the
camps, and to draw its attention to the necessity that there
Uelle Chief and his Wives, Van Kerckhovenville.
Port of Leopoldville. Natives at Work.
The Congo Public Force 173
would be to engage quickly a superior officer entrusted more
especially with the mission of seeing to the higher direction
and the general control of all the orders issued concerning the
Public Force. The Government, which had also occupied itself
with the question, has confided this high employment to a
superior officer who will be entrusted with the command of
the Public Force.
The Government has resolved to send, at the same time
three or four officers of the grade of commandant to be at-
tached to the staff of the Public Force, and whom the com-
mander will be able to appoint to exercise constant control
over the companies and camps.
It is right to recall the fact that military service is so far
from constituting a laborious servitude for those subjected to
it, by virtue of the organic law of conscription, that voluntary
engagements increase from year to year. Besides, the in-
structions of the Government encourage this state of mind
by improving the well-being of the soldier from the triple
point of view of habitation, food, and clothing. And they
are not only natives of Congolese territory, properly speaking,
who seek there military employment; numerous Africans
coming from the English colonies of the West Coast solicit
engagement at Boma.
The table (on page 174) of the engagements of men, na-
tives of the coast and British subjects, is characteristic in this
respect.
The multiplicity of voluntary enrolments will gradually re-
move, from the absolutely indispensable law of conscription,
what might seem rigorous, particularly in the eyes of people
not yet thoroughly acquainted with civilisation, and with the
idea of the necessity of public order.
It is nevertheless important to note that the efforts at-
tempted with the view of nationalising the police forces are be-
ing crowned more and more with success. The State can now
renounce the assistance, elsewhere advantageous, of foreign
mercenaries, thanks to the methodical, extensive, and wise
application of the militia law, and especially to the consider-
able increase in the number of national volunteers. But there
174 Story of the Congo Free State
Accra
Haussas (Lagos) |
Sierra-Leonese
i2
(British)
(British)
(British)
>;
En-
Re-en-
En-
Re-en-
En-
Re-en-
Offi-
gaged
gaged
Officers
gaged
gaged
Officers
gaged
gaged
cers
1883
1884
1885
—
—
—
50
30
20
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
2
—
—
—
1886
—
—
—
5
—
2
—
—
—
1887
—
—
—
642
20
16
—
—
—
1888
—
—
—
300
5
17
—
—
—
iSSg
—
—
—
10
5
4
204
—
—
1890
—
—
■ — -
1,200
53
12
—
—
—
1891
—
—
—
542
6
1 1
9
—
—
1892
—
—
—
300
16
9
125
13
3
i«93
192
—
3
450
13
9
790
3
9
1894
29s
—
I
760
14
14
710
5
2
1S95
36
—
2
330
10
T I
72
20
2
1896
3
2
—
300
28
I I
136
40
10
1897
6
6
—
70
6
8
55
43
2
1898
8
13
3
200
1 1
14
200
37
12
1899
19
I
1
71
40
15
76
52
9
1900
I
5
—
20
17
5
50
38
8
1901
I
3
—
15
26
6
92
43
9
igo2
2
6
I
10
50
4
42
70
10
1903
—
7
— -
ID
21
7
37
59
6
563
43
II
5.335
341
177
2.598
1
423
82
could be no question of abandoning the system of recruiting
by means of regional conscription. It signifies, indeed, that
all the population throughout the whole extent of the territory
participates in this public charge as much in the interests of
the regular and permanent operation of the recruiting of the
national militia as in that also of the natives who benefit by
the lessons of their military profession (a sense of order, dis-
cipline, cleanliness, clothes, hygiene, habitation, &c.). The
stay in the ranks of the armed force has as its principal advan-
tage their initiation in civilised life, and their preparation for
a regular life of work.
The proportion of deaths has become very low among the
blacks of the Public Force and among the labourers. This is
due in a great degree to the improved conditions under which
our men live. The lodgment is well aired and neatly kept.
The food is varied as much as possible, and its careful prepara-
The Congo Public Force 175
tion is provided for. The camps of the soldiers of the PubHc
Force are well kept up. Barracks constructed in stone with
cemented floors serve in the Lower Congo as lodgment for
our troops. The black officers have their habitation separate
from that of their men.
In the stations on the upper river these prescripts are also
well followed. At Boma the creation of a working city, con-
structed of well-chosen materials, is in progress.
It is interesting to quote with regard to the constant and
progressive improvement in the existence of the natives the
following paragraphs from the report of Mr. Casement, His
Britannic Majesty's Consul:
"Then (in 1887) I had visited most of the places I now
revisited, and I was thus able to institute a comparison be-
tween a state of affairs I had myself seen when the natives
lived their own savage lives in anarchic and disorderly com-
munities, uncontrolled by Europeans, and that created by
more than a decade of very energetic European intervention.
That very much of this intervention has been called for, no
one who formerly knew the Upper Congo could doubt, and
there are to-day widespread proofs of the great energy dis-
played by Belgian officials in introducing their methods of
rule over one of the most savage regions of Africa.
"Admirably built and admirably kept stations greet the
traveller at many points.
"The Government station of Leopold ville numbers, I was
informed by its chief, some 130 Europeans, and probably 300
native Government workmen, who all dwell in well-ordered
lines of either very well-built European houses, or, for tlie
native staff, mud-built huts.
" On the whole, Government workmen at Leopold ville struck
me as being well cared for," and they were certainly none of
them idle."
In thus taking care of their employes the agents have per-
formed a duty which has not only resulted in the well-being
of the blacks, but has also allowed of a reduction in tlie num-
lier of the workers, and accomplisliing better and more rap-
idly executed work.
176 Story of the Congo Free State
It will be observed elsewhere in this volume that
some of those who condemn the State's system of
government point to the Force Publique as
feet, but the chief instrument by which the Ad-
Good, ministration encompasses the enslavement
of the native population. There are glaring dis-
crepancies in what such persons, either maliciously
or in ignorance, represent as the police system which
prevails in the State at the present time. There
does not exist a police system anywhere in Europe
or Africa which has not some inherent defect. To
expect the highest discipline and the utmost control
in a police body composed of the imperfectly civil-
ised Negroes of Equatorial Africa is only one man-
ifestation of that narrow, imintelligent outlook upon
the subject over which certain persons are agitating
themselves into suspicious frenzy. The report of
M. Fuchs denotes that the State's police system is
foimded upon high principles of justice, that dis-
cipline and order are being maintained without the
abuse of power, and that, whatever individuals may
have done to transgress in the sphere of their op-
portunity, no such extravagant charges of mis-
government as a few persons have made can be
fixed upon a State with the police laws above in-
dicated. A million square miles of savage territory
are governed with 14,2 7j;^,. natives enrolled in the
State's military service. This is seven soldiers to
about every 625 square miles. Does this not signify
native respect for, and tranquillity in, the State?
What civilised community maintains its authority
with such a meagre force?
CHAPTER XV
BELGIAN CAMPAIGNS AGAINST THE ARABS
IT had long been foreseen, as an inevitable result of
the advent of the Belgians in Central Africa,
that a direct conflict between them and the
Arabs, continued to the extinction of one or other
of the belligerents, must sooner or later take place.
The chief cause of the presence of the Belgi-
ans in the country being the suppression of ^^^^^\!°
slavery was in itself sufficient to assure this.
As shown in the chapter dealing with that subject,
the Belgian pioneers in establishing posts throughout
the coimtry were guided chiefly in their selection of
sites by a desire to obstruct the natural routes of
the slave-traders ; and this, as we have seen, had the
effect of frequently bringing Belgians and Arabs
into collision.
After the Belgian operations on the Uelle and
Lualaba, the Arabs became seriously alarmed. They
perceived not only their nefarious method of liveli-
hood at stake, but their very existence as a coherent
fighting force was also threatened. In dread at
this prospect, the Arabs resolved to precipitate mat-
ters, and took the offensive. It is not easy to see
what other conclusion they could have reached, for
the Belgians had now concerted practical measures
xa 177
178 Story of the Congo Free State
which rendered their raids upon Negro villages no
longer possible, while such Negro chiefs as had
hitherto been amenable to Arab influence had been
either alienated or killed off in fair fight. A tax on
ivory, too, imposed by the Congo Government in
1 89 1, though moderate in amount and perfectly just
in its incidence, was bitterly resented by them. It
was clear, therefore, that the only hope for the Arabs
lay in recovering the country which the Belgians
had wrested from them ; and as with every day that
passed their chances of doing this became more re-
mote, they resolved to stake all that was left to them
upon one desperate effort.
The first practical proof of this intention came
upon the Belgians somewhat as a surprise. M.
Hodister, acting on behalf of the Belgian Society of
the Upper Congo, a company of merchant adven-
turers, had founded two stations on the river Lo-
mami. In this act, M. Hodister was held by the
Congo Administration to have exceeded the range per-
mitted him. Lieutenant Le Marinel, the Belgian offi-
cer commanding that region, having foreseen danger
in pressing so closely upon the Arabs, a contingency
with which he was not as yet prepared to deal. But
the opportunity of striking a blow afforded by Hod-
ister's precipitate act was too inviting to be neg-
lected, and the Arabs promptly seized it. The blow
fell March 15, 1892, near Riba Riba, on the Congo,
the Arabs murdering Hodister and his ten white
companions. It was not a fight ; it was a massacre.
Elated by their success, the Arabs next proceeded
to burn the factories belonging to the Belgian So-
n
a,
a
ei
O
Belgian Campaigns against the Arabs 179
ciety of the Upper Congo, and to kill their inmates;
so that, for the moment, the collapse of Belgian
power in that section of the country was complete.
Another event that occurred about this time
served to emphasise the determination of the Arabs.
Rashid,' the Arab governor of Stanley Falls, on be-
ing invited by the Belgians to assist in obtaining the
punishment of the murderers of Hodister and his
companions, absolutely refused to have anything to
do with the matter, and with difficulty concealed
the satisfaction he felt at that tragic event. Sefu, a
son of Tippo Tip, began now to realise his father's
property, an ominously significant act. On all sides
it was felt that a crisis was at hand, and Lieut. Le
Marinel prepared to meet it by appointing to the com-
mand of the camp at Lusambo Lieut. Francis Dhanis,
an officer who had distinguished himself by founding
the camp at Bosoko, on the Aruwimi, and in many
other ways exhibited uncommon energy and resource.
Immediately upon the arrival of Lieut. Dhanis
at Lusambo, intelligence reached him that Gongo
Lutete was on the war-path, seeking to pass the
Sankuru. This Gongo Lutete was a Negro chief
who had allied himself with the Arabs and assisted
them in enslaving his own race. The following is a
description of him from the pen of Dr. Sidney Hindc :
Gongo Lutete was by blood a Bakussu. He had himself
been a slave, having as a child fallen into the hands of the
' A nephew of Hamed-ben-Mohamed, better known as Tippo Tip, —
/. e., "winking the eye," — an Arab slave merchant, invested with the
government of Stanley Falls by King Leopold, at the instance of
Stanley, he having, in consideration of a monthly salary, bound him-
self to repress all slave-hunting and slave-dealing below the Falls.
i8o Story of the Congo Free State
Arabs. While still a youth, as a reward for his distinguished
conduct and pluck on raiding expeditions, he was given his
freedom. Starting with one gun at eighteen years of age, he
gradually collected a band of brigands round him, whom he
ruled with a rod of iron, and before long became Tippo Tip's
chief slave and ivory hunter. At the time of his adhesion to
the State, Gongo was perhaps thirty years of age. He was a
well-built, intelligent-looking man of about five feet nine
inches in height, with a brown skin, large brown eyes with
very long lashes, a small mouth with thin lips, and a straight
comparatively narrow nose. His hands were his most re-
markable characteristic; they were curiously supple, with
long narrow fingers, which when outstretched had always the
top joint slightly turned back. One or both hands were in
constant movement, opening and shutting restlessly, especiall}-
when he was under any strong influence. His features mean-
while remained absolutely immovable. One had to see this
man on the war-path to realise the different aspects of his
character. The calm, haughty chief, or the genial and
friendly companion, became on the battlefield an enthusiastic
individual with a highly nervous organisation, who hissed
out his orders one after another without a moment's hesi-
tation. He was capable of sustaining intense fatigue, and
would lead his warriors through the country at a run for
hours together.
With such a redoubtable fighter as Gongo Lutete
to contend with, it was clear to Lieut. Dhanis that
no time must be lost. Believing, with von Moltke,
that the best defence against your enemy is to at-
tack him, Dhanis moved against Lutete without
delay, and brought him to battle on the 23d of April,
and again on the 5th and 9th of May. The first two
engagements were undecisive. The third proved a
hard fight. At first the fortunes of the day were all
in favour of the Arabs; and when his native aux-
Jd
Belgian Campaigns against the Arabs i8i
iliaries turned and fled it seemed impossible for
Lieut. Dhanis to gain the victory. But that very
circumstance, so disconcerting in itself, saved the
Belgians. As the Arabs advanced, they shouted:
"Do not fire! These are natives; make them pris-
oners." It was a fatal command. The Belgians
rallied, and received their foes with such a tremend-
ous fusillade that they were thrown into confusion
and took refuge in flight. Gongo Lutete surrendered
unconditionally to Lieut. Dhanis, and professed
himself henceforth a faithful vassal of the Congo
State. He was an able man, probably the most in-
telligent of the Negro race in the country, and cer-
tainly the best acquainted with the wily Arab and
his ways; so, after some hesitation, his overtures of
friendship were accepted. The force which Gongo
Lutete had commanded being now at the disposal
of the Belgians, its first employment under its new
masters was the establishment of a new post on the
Lomami, at Gandu, on the route to Nyangwe and
Kassongo.
Meanwhile Sefu, son of Tippo Tip, had not been
inactive. With cunning worthy of his father, he
had no sooner returned from Stanley Falls ^rab
to Kassongo than he made war upon the Treach-
station there and seized it. Two Belgian ^^^'
officers, Lieutenants Lippens and De Bruyn, were
also captured by him, to whom he confided the
comforting assurance that he only refrained from
putting them to death because he hoped to find
them useful as hostages in his negotiations with the
Congo Government. Sefu had for his ally Munic
1 82 Story of the Congo Free State
Moharra, chief of Manyema, a powerful Arab leader.
Between them they raised a formidable force,
which they hastened to employ against the Bel-
gians. Before doing so, however, they stated the
terms upon which they would make peace. As
these terms included, among other provisions, hand-
ing over to them Gongo Lutete and the establish-
ment of a new frontier to be indicated by them,
there was really nothing for the Belgians to con-
sider. Their terms being, of course, refused, the
Arabs marched from Nyangwe and Kassongo in the
direction of the Lomami. Their exact numbers are
not known; but notwithstanding the defection of
Gongo Lutete and his following, it is certain that
they were very numerous.
The force at the disposal of Lieut. Dhanis, though
not so great as that of the Arabs, was yet a con-
siderable one. His staff consisted of seven Euro-
peans, and he had three hundred and fifty regular
troops and one 7-5 Krupp gun. The command of
the troops acquired by Gongo Lutete 's defection
from the Arabs, numbering several thousands, was
entrusted to Captain Michaux, with Lieut. Duchesne
second in command. The Arabs having crossed the
Lomami at a lower point than where they had been
expected, were met by Captain Michaux and Gongo
Lutete at Chige, and a battle ensued. The Arabs
numbered sixteen thousand men, not more than
half of whom were armed with muskets, the rest
carrying bows and spears. Lutete having com-
plained that his men could not fight because their
guns had become wet with the rain, Michaux, know-
Belgian Campaigns against the Arabs 183
ing that the Arabs must be labouring under a like
difficulty, ordered a general attack. His men re-
sponded nobly and a fierce fight ensued, but it was
of brief duration. Perceiving that they were out-
generalled, the Arabs became confused and rushed
madly into the river which they had recently been
at so much pains to cross, only to find that retreat
was impossible. In that situation they were shot
down in great numbers. Twelve hundred Arabs
were drowned, more than half that number lay dead
upon the battle-field, and nearly a thousand prisoners
were captured, together with a large quantity of
war material. Thus opened the Arab campaign on
November 23, 1892, with the battle of Chige.
Having re-formed his forces, Lieut. Dhanis now
crossed the Lomami, determined to carry the war
into the enemy's stronghold. His army, which had
been reinforced, was now quite a large one, num-
bering six Belgian officers, four hundred regulars,
and twenty -five thousand natives, the latter being
commanded in detail by their own chiefs. Lieut.
Scherlink and Dr. Hinde commanded the advance
guard. Michaux and Gongo Lutete marched to-
gether, and joined forces with Scherlink and Hinde
at Lusana. On the route, several Negro chiefs made
their submission and strengthened the force with
men and provisions.
On reaching Lusana, the Belgian leaders learned
with deep regret that Sefu, son of Tippo Tip, had put
to death their brave comrades, De Bruyn a Triple
and Lippens, and that he had also exe- Tragedy,
cuted a native who had endeavoured to save them.
1 84 Story of the Congo Free State
in circumstances at once pathetic and heroic. Sefu,
it now appeared, accompanied by Munie Moharra,
was hurrying to attack Dhanis, and the latter in-
structed Lieutenants Delcommune and Francqui,
then just returned from Katanga, to intercept him
if possible.
But the second battle of the campaign was to be
fought by Dhanis' force. It took place on Decem-
ber 30th, and opened inauspiciously for the Belgians,
Gongo Lutete's men being defeated and dispersed.
Fortunately they formed only the advanced guard,
and on Dhanis and Michaux coming up the fortune
of the day changed. Dhanis confined his energies
to a frontal attack, while Michaux assailed the Arabs'
flank. What Lutete's irregulars had been imable
to do, the Belgians accomplished — but not easily.
Part of the battle was fought in a swamp.
The Belgians displayed great courage imder ex-
traordinary difficulties, and continued the fight until
the Arabs broke and fled. The honours of the day
rested with the Krupp gun, which killed many and
frightened more. The Arabs left two hundred men
dead on the field, the Congo State only eighty, in
which number is included the wounded. When the
Belgians captured their enemies' camp, it was found
that they had slain their own women, that being the
barbarous custom of the Arabs to which they resort
whenever there is danger of their women being made
prisoners of war.
Immediately after this battle, the Congo State
force crossed the Mwadi to a plateau known as the
Gois Kapopa, and, having set up a camp there.
"'^w^
^
t'
o
Belgian Campaigns against the Arabs 185
rested for a week. At the end of that period in-
teUigence reached Lieutenant Dhanis that Sefu had
gathered about him a vast following and was again
threatening trouble. Slightly counteracting the dan-
ger this implied, the same messenger also annoimced
that, by order of Lieutenant Delcommune, Lieuten-
ant Cassart, with a numerous body of men, was then
on his way to join Dhanis.
Cassart came, as announced, but met with a
desperate adventure by the way. He had been
entrusted to bring to Dhanis fifty thousand car-
tridges, and was provided with an escort of thirty
European soldiers and about two hundred and fifty
of Gongo Lutete's men. All went well with him
until dawn of January 9, 1893, when he was suddenly
attacked by Moharra. A short, sharp fight ensued,
as a result of which Cassart contrived to reach
Dhanis' camp with a loss of only seven men; he
also saved his cartridges, all but the five thousand
or so that he had used during the fight.
The conflict between Moharra and Cassart oc-
curred not far from the Belgian camp and was heard
there, whereupon Dhanis sent a detachment of his
men under Lieutenant De Wouters to join Cassart.
De Wouters failed to effect his object ; but he came
upon a portion of Moharra's men, who mistook his
force for a contingent from Sefu coming to their aid.
When within twenty yards of the Arabs, De Wouters
undeceived them by opening a terrific fire upon
them. At the first volley Moharra fell dead. He
had been wounded in his fight with Cassart, and
was being carried by his wives when he met his fate.
i86 Story of the Congo Free State
The manner in which the news of Moharra's
death was conveyed to Sefu is a sufficiently strik-
ing proof of the debased savagery with
A Cannibal ^yj^j^^j^ ^]^g Belgian civilisers have had to
Feast. ^ ,j
contend. They "broke the news gently
to him, thus: "We ate Moharra a few days ago."
The death of Moharra and defeat of his troops so
upset Sefu's calculations that he immediately aban-
doned his strong camp on the Kipango, and betook
himself and his followers behind the Lualaba, on
Nyangwe. But for the unfortunate breaking of a
bridge, Dhanis would have attacked him in his re-
treat. In consequence of that accident, Sefu was
enabled to cross the river without molestation.
Dhanis, having no canoes, could not come up with
him; so the two forces settled down on either side
of the river for five weeks and occasionally exchanged
harmless shots.
The canoes in which the Arabs had crossed the
river belonged to the Wagenia, a tribe who made
their home hereabouts and who lived chiefly by fish-
ing. Nearly all their canoes were now in the pos-
session of the Arabs, who evinced no disposition to
part from them. Dhanis exerted all his wit to induce
the Wagenia to provide him with canoes, but they
cither could not or would not. Professing friendship
for both belligerents, and ready at all times to take
bribes from each, they proved useful go-betweens.
One day the Wagenia reported that the store of pro-
visions in Nyangwe was almost exhausted. ' ' Here, ' '
said Dhanis to his informant, "take these six fowls
to Sefu and present them to him from me. Tell
Soldiers' Mess, Suruango, 1903 (Uelle).
Soldiers' Wives, Bumba.
Belgian Campaigns against the Arabs 187
him that at present I have plenty, but when my
supply runs out I will cross the river." This message
deceived Sefu, as it was intended to do. As a matter
of fact, the six fowls were the only ones Dhanis had
in his camp. The effect of this strategem was per-
ceived before many days, the Arabs coming over to
the western side of the river, where they began to
build forts, or "bomas," as they call them, a short
distance below the Belgian camp. Dhanis resolved
to attack them at once, and with this object divided
his force into two columns. The engagement that
ensued proved a complete triumph for the State
troops. The Arabs lost nearly a thousand men,
many being drowned in an attempt to swim across
the river. The Wagenia, anxious to ally themselves
with the winning side, hastened to produce canoes in
abundance. Dhanis was now able to transport his
troops across the Upper Congo, and, that object
achieved, he captured Nyangwe almost without an
effort, Sefu retreating to Kassongo without firing a
shot. This event occurred on 4th March, 1893.
Though Dhanis was now master of Nyangwe, his
difficulties were not all surmounted. He had not
been installed there many days before it became
necessary to bum down a large part of the town in
order to frustrate an attempt by the Arabs to sur-
prise it. Then other and worse dangers threatened.
Influenza and smallpox broke out among his men and
decimated them. No active prosecution of the cam-
paign was possible until April, when these plagues
abated and reinforcements, five hundred strong, under
Commandant Gillain and Lieutenant Doorme, arrived.
1 88 Story of the Congo Free State
Leaving De Wouters in command at Nyangwe,
Dhanis now marched on Kassongo. It was a bold
Civilisation Venture, for while the Arabs had sixty
Trium- thousand men, and held four "bomas,"
phant. Dhanis disposed of only three hundred
regular troops and two thousand auxiliaries. On
April 22, Doorme had the good fortune, at the be-
ginning of the fight, to rush an important fort which
commanded the Arab rear. The Arabs were greatly
perturbed by this circumstance, and fought with
less than their usual valour. Before two hours had
passed, Kassongo was in the hands of the^ Congo
State troops, with vast quantities of valuable spoil.
The triumph of civilisation over savagery was com-
plete, the only jarring note in Belgian ears being
confirmation of the murder of Emin Pasha a month
before.^
^ For amplified accounts of the Arab wars, see The Congo State, by
D. C. Boulger; Le mouvement geographique, by A. J. Wauters, 1884-
1898; Rapport de Baron Dhanis sur la campagne arabe dans le Man-
yema, 1895; The Fall of the Congo Arabs, by Dr. Sidney L. Hinde.
Hospital, New Antwerp.
The White Man's Cemetery, Stanleyville.
CHAPTER XVI
BELGIAN CAMPAIGNS AGAINST THE ARABS
{Concluded)
WHILE the events described in the preceding
chapter were being enacted, M. Tobback,
Resident for the Congo Free State at Stan-
ley Falls, with his second in command, Lieutenant
Van Lindt, and a small force, occupied a position of
imminent danger. Rashid, a nephew of
Tippo Tip and cousin to Sefu, was installed ^ ^^^^
there. This arch-traitor, while professing
the utmost friendship for the State authorities, and
accepting favours at the hands of Belgian officers,
was really a confederate of the Arabs. His character,
which had long been suspected, appeared unmis-
takably from evidence discovered by Lieutenant
Dhanis at Kassongo, when that place was captured
by the State troops. On May 1 3th, immediately after
he had been informed of the fall of Kassongo, Rashid
openly attacked the State garrison. A fierce fight
ensued, in which three of Tobback's men were killed
and seven wounded. Nearly a hundred of Rashid's
men were placed hors de combat; but he was better
able to stand the loss than Tobback was his. Four
days the struggle continued with varying fortune,
but on the fifth day it became evident to Tobback
t89
190 Story of the Congo Free State
that it was impossible for him, with the handful of
men at his disposal, to successfully resist the large
force operating against him. He was perfecting his
plans for the evacuation of the station, and had pre-
pared six large canoes, when the whole situation
changed by the . opportune arrival of Commandant
Chaltin. The presence of this officer, and the State
troops that accompanied him, justified the experi-
ment of an attack upon the Arabs, which proved
entirely successful. The State troops captured all
the Arab positions, and took fifteen hundred pris-
oners, Rashid himself escaping capture in ignomin-
ious flight.
At this juncture the Congo State officers came to
the conclusion that the Arab power was effectually
broken, and they did not anticipate further trouble
with the slave-traders beyond, possibly, an occa-
sional skirmish. The State's progress in its cam-
paign against the Arabs had, on the whole, been
extremely successful, and its Sovereign had good
reason to be satisfied with the work accomplished.
When, in June, 1893, Captain Ponthier came up the
Congo with reinforcements for Dhanis, that event
seemed to give emphasis to this optimistic view.
Certainly it so alarmed Sefu that he abandoned the
struggle and fled to German territory.
Immediately after the flight of Sefu a painful in-
cident occurred which greatly embarrassed the Congo
A Fatal State authorities. A Belgian officer, hav-
Biunder. jj^g come to the groundless opinion that
Gongo Lutete was a traitor, ordered him to be court-
martialled and shot. It was a disastrous event, not
PQ
Belgian Campaigns against the Arabs 191
only wrong in itself, but alienating from the State
the affection of Gongo's men, and affording its
enemies in Europe an opportunity of reviling the
Congo Administration; a libel which, though it has
been many times refuted, they still industriously
disseminate.
It soon became evident that May, 1893, was not
to be recorded in history as the month in which
slave-trading Arabs had been finally re- a New
pressed. A chief belonging to Ujiji, named Enemy
Rumeliza, with a considerable force of ppears.
Arabs, now appeared east of Tanganyika. Having
penetrated as far as Kabambari, midway between
Kassongo and the lake, he encamped there, and ex-
plained his presence by avowing his intention to
reconquer Manyema.
Rumeliza 's following was so numerous and so well
equipped that October had arrived before Captain
(for such he had recently become) Dhanis thought
it expedient to move against him. When he did take
the field, his force consisted of five officers (of whom
Ponthier was one), about four hundred regulars, and
three hundred auxiliaries; and they had with them
the Krupp gun which had served them so well in
many a battle. Unfortunately, ammunition for it
was all but exhausted.
On reaching the Arabs' camp at Mwana Mkwanga,
they were found to be very advantageously placed
in two large, well-built bomas." The first efforts to
' The following description of a boma is from the pen of Dr. Hinde :
"An Arab force on the march employs a large number of its slaves
in cutting down and carrying with them trees and saplings, from
about twelve to fifteen feet in length and up to six feet in diameter.
192 Story of the Congo Free State
dislodge them met with no success. The Krupp gun
proved of very Httle service. Of the scanty supply
of ammunition, a large portion was wasted by the
native troops through lack of skill in manipulating
the gun, and finally they abandoned it, after which
it was worked by European officers who could be
ill spared for the duty. When one of his officers,
De Lange, fell woimded, Captain Dhanis decided
to retire, and a position was taken up scarcely in-
ferior to that held by the Arabs.
Emboldened by what they erroneously regarded
As soon as a halting place has been fixed on, the slaves plant this
timber in a circle of about fifty yards in diameter, inside which the
chiefs and officers establish themselves. A trench is then dug, and
the earth thrown up against the palisades, in which banana stalks,
pointing in different directions, are laid. Round the centre, and fol-
lowing the inequalities of the ground, a second line of stakes is planted,
this second circle being perhaps three or four hundred yards in diameter.
Another trench is then dug in the same way, with bananas planted as
before in the earthwork. The interval between the two lines of forti-
fications is occupied by the troops. If the boma is only to be occupied
for two or three days, this is all that is usually done to it; but if it is
intended for a longer stay, a trench is dug outside the palisades. The
object of using banana stalks in this way is ingenious. Within four
or five hours they shrink, and on being withdrawn from the earth
leave loopholes, through which the defenders can fire without exposing
themselves. Little huts are built all over the interior of the fort, and
these huts are also very ingeniously devised, and are, furthermore,
bombproof. They consist of a hole dug a yard and a half deep and
covered with wood. This wood forms a ceiling, over which the earth
from the interior is placed to the depth of a couple of feet, and a
thatched roof placed over all to keep off the rain. In many of the
bomas we found that the defenders had dug holes from the main
trenches outwards, in which they lived, having lined them with straw.
The whole fort is often divided into four or more sections by a palisade
and trenches, so that, if one part of it is stormed, the storming party
finds itself in a cross fire — a worse position than when actually trying
to effect an entrance. We found that the shells from the 7.5 Krupps
did little or no damage to these forts."
Post Office on River Bank, Boma.
Office of Secretary-General, Boma.
Belgian Campaigns against the Arabs 193
as a great victory, the Arabs lost no time in attacking
the State camp. But this time the tables were
turned, and they were repulsed with heavy loss.
The arrival of reinforcements from Kassongo con-
tributed to this result; but in consequence of some
error, Kassongo was left without sufficient guard.
This fact coming to the knowledge of the Arabs,
they hastened to take advantage of it. To avert
this calamity, De Wouters, by order of Captain
Dhanis, marched night and day, through a violent
storm, and effectually intercepted them. Not a day
passed without a fight, victory inclining first to one
and then to the other belligerent. On the whole,
the Congo State troops continued to hold their own
fairly well against great odds. Wearying of the
protracted struggle, the Arabs decided to make a
desperate attack in full force upon the State camp.
They selected a foggy day on which to make their
assault, and were greatly aided thereby. At first
they succeeded so well that they actually entered
the State camp and engaged the Congo troops in a
hand-to-hand combat. The struggle lasted five
hours. The State troops lost fifty men, including
the brave Captain Ponthier, notwithstanding which
they succeeded in completely repulsing the Arabs,
whom they chased right up to Rumaliza's boma.
The Arab losses were far heavier than the State's.
Captain Dhanis had every reason to be satisfied.
Leaving De Wouters in active command, he now
returned to Kassongo to reorganise.
After the departure of Dhanis, De Wouters con-
tinued the aggressive policy of his chief. In attacking
194 Story of the Congo Free State
the boma of Lubukine, Lieutenant De Heusch was
killed, and so hot was the fight that his men fled.
De Wouters lost five men killed (including De
Heusch) and ten wounded; but the Arab loss was
far heavier, and included Sefu, the son of Tippo Tip,
who had returned from German territory and was
pursuing his old courses.
It was not until nearly the end of December that
Dhanis was again strong enough to take the offen-
sive. By that time his troops had been rested and
reinforced. They were none too early in taking the
field, for information now came to hand that Rashid
had rallied his forces after their defeat at Stanley
Falls and was hastening to join Rumeliza.
To deal with this combination, Dhanis despatched
Commandant Gillain with one hundred and eighty
soldiers and two hundred auxiliaries to cut off Rume-
liza's retreat, while De Wouters attacked Rumeliza's
great boma at Bena Kaltmga, Dhanis, with two
Krupp guns, personally commanding the reserve.
Rumeliza's boma proved impregnable, the Krupp
gims failing to injure it, and news arrived that fresh
forces were on their way from Tanganyika to aid
Rumeliza.
Matters stood badly for the State when the op-
portune arrival of Commandant Lothaire, with three
hundred men, changed the outlook entirely. This
occurred on January 9, 1894, a day marked by
another singular piece of good fortune. The boma
which had so long defied the best efforts of the be-
siegers was set on fire and destroyed, a shot from one
of the Krupp guns having blown up the Arab maga-
Belgian Campaigns against the Arabs 195
zine. In their haste to abandon it, many Arabs
were shot, while others were drowned in a desperate
attempt to cross the river. By cutting off their
water supply, the other garrisons were compelled to
surrender, so that within three days over two thou-
sand Arabs were taken prisoners by the State troops.
The Arab power was now effectually broken. To
break it was an arduous task, expensive both in
blood and money, but on the whole it was conducted
as humanely as it is possible to conduct military
operations. The sufferings of the Europeans were
fully as great as, if not greater than, the sufferings
of their enemies. Proportionate to their numbers,
their mortality was higher. More succumbed to
disease and the hardships of the campaign than were
killed by the enemy's bullets, among them the gal-
lant De Wouters, who passed away in the very hour
of his triumph.
The chief honours of the Belgian campaigns against
the Arabs undoubtedly rest upon Dhanis, who had
exhibited foresight, patience, and skill in
his every act. His ability and success °°°^^^^^°'"
were recognised by King Leopold, who con-
ferred upon him the title of Baron. In his final re-
port to King Leopold of the Arab campaign, dated
December 20, 1894, Baron Dhanis thus tersely sums
up the results of that memorable struggle :
The annihilation of the Arab power has brought about the
complete suppression of the devastating bands which, in order
to procure slaves, had been ravaging the country with fire
and sword, from the Uelle in the north down to the Sankura
in the south. With them the slave trade disappears from the
196 Story of the Congo Free State
regions they exploited, and very soon, we may hope, it will
no longer exist in the Congo State. The native chiefs who
have submitted have been reinstated in authority ; others who
have disappeared have been replaced by intelligent soldiers of
the State ; and some of the Arabs, who made their submission,
have been left in enjoyment of their possessions. All have
been disarmed and warned that their authority must be
exercised under the direction of the State's agents, who are
charged with the pacific settlement of any differences that may
arise. . . Large camps will be formed at Kassongo and
Kabambari, and the numerous soldiers instructed there will
form the nucleus of the national army. From this point of
view the Arab campaign has forcibly shown that the natives
of the various districts of the Congo are in no way inferior as
soldiers to the blacks of the coast, who are most famous for
their bravery. The Baluba and others trained and led by
Lieut. Doorme, the Bangala under Captain Lothaire, etc.,
have been admirable. In the near future we may expect that
it will no longer be necessary to recruit soldiers abroad at
great expense. The country will mainly supply its own re-
quirements, and the Manyema will be of great importance,
alike from the number of men they can furnish and from the
special aptitude of these men to the profession of arms.
Office of Director of Transport, Boma.
Bishop's Palace, Mission of Our Lady of M' Pala (Tanganyika).
CHAPTER XVII
THE SUPPRESSION OF SLAVERY
IT is an old world- truth, supported by countless
historical instances, that the way of the reformer
is hard. When his progress is not opposed by
vested interests, his enthusiasm is regarded with
chilling indifference. However just his cause, he
may safely count upon numerous oppon- -jj^g worid
ents, every one a giant. Even when he has Conserva-
succeeded in establishing a clear case for *^^®'
reform, he is merely set free from one set of diih-
culties in order to confront other, and generally
more formidable, obstacles.
When it first became known to the world that his
Majesty Leopold II., King of the Belgians, had
seriously determined to suppress the slave trade in
Central Africa, the news provoked but little com-
ment. "Is there any slave trade carried on in Central
Africa?" people asked one another — for notwith-
standing the wide dissemination of records of travel
by Livingstone and Stanley, and the numerous re-
ports from missionaries belonging to every religious
sect, all affirming it, the great bulk of civilised man-
kind, too busy to regard them, rested content in the
delusion that the iniquitous traffic was a thing of the
past.
197
198 Story of the Congo Free State
This apathy, if apathy it may be called to be in-
different where the facts are not properly known, had
to be fought and overcome by King Leopold, first
among his own countrymen, and afterwards in the
other countries of Europe and in America. By
many the King's enterprise was regarded as quixotic,
impossible of achievement ; some continued indiffer-
ent, and yet others commended the King warmly,
and lent their moral support in furtherance of his
scheme. The material support, however, which was
proffered to amplify his Majesty's own huge outlay
came almost entirely from Belgians. On the whole,
it was an uphill fight; but King Leopold won all
along the line. As we have seen, his Majesty, by his
wise initiative, patient labour, and lavish expendi-
ture, first created the Congo State, and afterwards
obtained from the great powers their recognition of
the State so created, and of his own sovereignty of
that State, accompanied by their hearty approval
of what had from the first been King Leopold's main
object in the foimding of the Congo State, viz., the
suppression of slavery.
It will be noted that an important epoch had now
been reached. King Leopold's mandate was clear
jQ and irrevocable. If it had been an ardu-
Leopoid's ous Struggle to win that mandate, the effort
Mandate, ^ountcd for little when compared with what
was needed for the accomplishment of the task now
opening out before him. The King of a small State,
and with a depleted fortune, Leopold 11. had, as
materials for his task, his own natural ability, the
righteousness of his cause, and the unswerving
The Suppression of Slavery 199
loyalty of his people — three grand factors, it is true,
but hardly commensurate with its magnitude. The
suppression of slavery in a region a third as large
as the United States, populated by diverse and hos-
tile tribes, among whom slavery and cannibalism had
prevailed from time immemorial, would have been
no light undertaking for a missionary Croesus with
a huge army at his back. King Leopold was no such
Croesus, and his pioneers were few in number. But
what they lacked in numbers they made up in
geographical knowledge, in bravery, and in tact in
their dealings both with the Negro and his oppressor,
the Arab. Being human, some few mistakes were
made; but they were very few — fewer than has
frequently marked the establishment of a European
colony in countries where there has been no question
of slavery awaiting solution, no cannibalism to stamp
out, no climatic dangers to encounter. When the
time comes for King Leopold to be assigned his place
in history as an empire builder, the future historian
will probably designate as his Majesty's most bril-
liant work his solution of the problem of the sup-
pression of the slave trade in Central Africa.
A wrong may be persevered in until its perpetrator
comes to believe it is right. The Arab had for so
many centuries harried the Negro race — and, taking
advantage of their tribal disputes, plundered, en-
slaved, and sold them, under circumstances of re-
volting cruelty — that he had long ago grown to
regard the Negro as his natural prey, and was
seriously alarmed at the appearance in Congoland
of the white -faced strangers with their im welcome
200 Story of the Congo Free State
creed of liberty for all men, which they dreaded even
more than their weapons of precision. To the Arabs
this was a strange doctrine, inimical, they conceived,
to their vital interests, and it behoved them to resist
it to the death. That their alarm was well founded
the sequel will show.
One of the first acts of the newly recognised Congo
Free State was to forbid trade in firearms, gun-
Congo powder, and other explosives. Another
Free State act defined contracts of service between
*^^' natives and foreigners, affording the former
special protection. A third act created a volunteer
corps whose chief business it was to protect indi-
vidual liberty. Before any aggressive action, how-
ever, could be taken by this corps, the consent of the
sovereign's delegate was necessary.
Concurrent with these three acts, the Belgian
Anti-Slavery Society raised another, and quite dis-
tinct, volunteer corps for similar work, but restricted
to the neighbourhood of Lake Tanganyika. In ad-
dition, about this period the same Society despatched
to Congoland, in rapid succession, three expeditions
of a missionary and civilising character. In such
circumstances, collisions between the Belgians and
Arabs were inevitable. During the first few years
of the existence of the Congo Free State these col-
lisions occurred chiefly on the Upper Congo and its
tributaries, the currents of the interior slave trade,
particularly those from the eastern and southern
provinces, being checked by fixed military posts and
flying columns. For two years — from 1892 to 1894
— a continuous campaign was in progress, having
Various Mounts, Lusambo. (Lualaba-Kassai).
■Kfi^i :':J.A :, '^'Jf^
Cattle, Luvungy (Kivu).
The Suppression of Slavery 201
for its object the interception of the slave caravans
accustomed to come from the south and east, which
was entirely successful. In the vast territory known
by the name of Lualuba-Kassai, at a time when the
resources of the State were unequal to the expense
of maintaining a Hne of posts,, it was usual, up to so
recently as 1902, on the appearance of a gang of
slave- dealers to despatch a detachment of troops
from Lusambo or Luluabourg to intercept them.
Many engagements were thus brought about be-
tween the State volunteers and the slave-dealers.
Now military posts are established on all the prin-
cipal roads formerly used by the slave-traders, and
the barrier is complete.
In the north, Commandant Chaltin struck a dam-
aging blow to the Dervishes in February, 1897.
After traversing with his force the whole of the Uelle
territory, he encountered the Dervishes at Redjaf
on the Nile. The place was strongly held by four
thousand soldiers, more than half of whom were
armed with modem rifles. A severe battle ensued,
lasting nearly all day. Victory lay with the Bel-
gians, the Dervishes being forced to evacuate Redjaf.
They accepted their beating badly, making several
attempts to retake the place, but without success.
Thus we have seen that it was in the districts of
the Lower Congo that the slave trade was first
stamped out; that it was next eradicated from the
Middle Congo ; and finally extinguished on the Upper
Congo, where Belgian bravery and military skill
succeeded in effectually crushing the last vestige of
Arab power.
202 Story of the Congo Free State
The Negro was quick to respond to the revivify-
ing influence of security for Ufa and property, and his
rapid progress in civiHsation may be said
vancement ^^ ^^^^ from the day when -this essential
primary condition was estabhshed. From
a report to King Leopold made by Baron Van
Eetvelde, Secretary of State for the Independent
State of the Congo, the following passage is extracted :
Slowly but surely the black is being transformed, his intel-
lectual horizon is being enlarged, his sentiments are being
refined. A thousand facts, in appearance insignificant, mark
the halting-place left behind. The black to-day has his place
marked out where ten years ago no one thought of using him.
He is to be seen, according to his aptitude, as a clerk in the
Administration, as a postman, as a warehouseman, as a pilot
or sailor on the river boats ; also as a smith, mechanic, sawyer,
or brickmaker. Porter in the region of the Cataracts, navvy
on the railway, he offers his arms and his labour when the
remuneration satisfies the new needs that have taken birth in
him. Trader above all, he becomes of a more delicate taste in
the acceptance of merchandise in exchange; the stufEs, the
tissues of striking colours but mediocre quality, formerly
sought for, have to-day no demand, and must give place to
articles of a superior kind. He accepts money; he is even
acquainted with paper money, for many purchases are effected
by means of bonds, which are then cashed at the European
revenue offices. He is conscious of his own personality —
claims loudly the redress of any wrong which he conceives
himself to have suffered. Grown more sociable, he receives,
without distrust in his house, the stranger and the traveller.
He begins to repudiate his old primitive customs, such as the
casque, or the proof of poison. He sends his children to the
missionary schools; and, to encourage him in this, the State
has started a system of colonies of schools, the pupils of which
are rapidly increasing. Fetishism is beginning to lose ad-
o
u
O
The Suppression of Slavery 203
herents, and religious proselytism proceeds not without suc-
cess. The legend of the Negro opposed to all improvement
can no longer be maintained in face of this experience. We
may consider it as certain that the native, well conducted and
well directed, is fit to be assimilated with civilisation. Guard-
ing ourselves against optimism, we do not disguise that there
remains much to be done in order to introduce by successive
stages that civilisation to the farthest frontiers of the State.
But the facts warrant our believing in the possibility of such
a result, which is the final object of the enterprise of your
Majesty. The Congo State in the few years which have
elapsed since its creation, has not failed in its task. Time
and perseverance will crown the work, and it will be to Bel-
gium, if she wishes it, that its accomplishment will belong.
In a later report — the last from which it will be
necessary to quote — Baron Van Eetvelde reviews the
complete work of the Congo Free State from its
creation to the date of his writing (1897), and very
ably sums up the situation then existing:
The Congo State [says Baron Van Eetvelde] inherited from
its birth the heaviest and most perilous task in the anti-
slavery work. The territories which fell to it had the sad
privilege of being in their greater part handed over to the raz-
zias, and of including the principal slave centres and the most
important markets of human flesh. However willing were the
Powers, who in the Berlin Act solemnly condemned the slave
trade, the most optimistic only dared to hope for the disap-
pearance of the abominable practices, like those Stanley had
witnessed on the banks of the Upper Congo, in a distant
future.
In truth, the crusade against the slave trade, in some meas-
ure ordered by the Berlin Conference, remained in the follow-
ing years in the condition of a mere vow; and the Congo
Government, which on its own account had then already
organised a chain of posts of defence against the invasions of
204 Story of the Congo Free State
the slave-hunters, was condemned to deplore that, despite
some partial successes, a great part of its provinces still re-
mained in their power. Such were at that epoch the horrors
and cruelties denounced to the civilised world, such was the
deplorable situation in which the people of Central Africa,
decimated and massacred by their oppressors, passed an
agonising existence, that, struck by a sentiment of legitimate
indignation, the Powers again decided by the Act of Brussels
(1890) to deal a decisive blow at the slave trade.
The Brussels Conference characterised the part reserved to
the Congo State in the anti -slavery campaign, the importance
of the undertakings which devolved upon it, the difficulties of
the task which assigned it the perilous honour of being the
advance guard on the battle-field. The number of enemies to
be fought, the organisation of their bands, their installation
from a remote date in the regions which they terrorised, their
supply in firearms and munitions, the subjection even of the
natives, were so many grounds of apprehension and dis-
quietude as to the final issue of the struggle undertaken, and
as to the fate ultimately reserved for the African populations.
It really seemed, in that encounter between civilisation and
slavery, of which the stake was the life and liberty of millions
of human beings, as if failure would dispel for ever the hope of
a better future. Thus it was that circumstances had placed
in the hands of the Congo State the destiny of Central Africa
and its tribes, and the situation was tersely defined by an
English missionary when, with the experience acquired during
a long residence in Africa, he wrote in 1893, during the pro-
gress of the military campaign: " I am convinced that, unless
the Arabs be annihilated, a general massacre will ensue. This
is the moment for the Europeans to play their last card against
the Arabs. Whether they will carry the day or not, I cannot
say."
Civilisation did carry the day. And has not history to
register that this victory for the Congo State, due to the
bravery of Belgian officers, entitled it to merit well of those
interested in the fate of the native populations? If to-day
there opens for them a new era of liberty and regeneration, if
The Suppression of Slavery 205
the amelioration of their material and moral condition can
now be pursued, they owe it to the annihilation of the pro-
moters of slavery.
Elsewhere has been told at the price of what sacrifices of
men and money, at the price of what valour in every case,
these results have been attained. The facts are there to attest
that these sacrifices have not been in vain. The men-hunters
reduced to impotence, their bands dispersed, their chiefs dis-
appeared, the fortresses of slavery laid level with the ground,
the natives rebuilding their villages under the shadow of the
posts of the State, giving themselves up to the peaceful pur-
suits of cultivation of the soil — an era of tranquillity succeeding
the sombre and sanguinary episodes of the old regime. Every
mail from Africa brings proof of the progress of this period of
pacification, and shows the natives, delivered from an odious
yoke, recovering confidence, and living peaceably in their own
abodes.
That the problem of the suppression of slavery in
Central Africa had now been solved, we have had
abundant incontrovertible evidence. That ^ oratify-
its solution was effected with a minimum ingRetro-
of bloodshed, and in a marvellously short ^^^^^'
period of time for the accomplishment of so gigan-
tic a task, we have also seen. The first and greatest
of the objects for which King Leopold had so long
laboured was at length realised. The applause of
all civilised peoples had been justly earned, and was
ungrudgingly given, and substantial reward was
soon to follow.
CHAPTER XVIII
FRONTIERS AND DIPLOMATIC SETTLEMENTS
THE Conventional Basin of the Congo contains
about 1,500,000 square miles, of which the
Free State occupies 1,000,000, and its neigh-
bours, France, Great Britain, Gerraany, and Portu-
gal, about 500,000. On the east of the Free State,
and divided from it by Lakes Tanganyika, Kivu,
and Albert Edward, is German East Africa, on the
coast of the Indian Ocean; on the south-east lie
British possessions; on the south the Portuguese,
and on the east and north-east the French Congo
and Soudan; on the north-east, in the Nile Valley,
lie the Egyptian Soudan and the Uganda Protec-
torate, the one on the west, the other on the east
bank of the Nile.
The Berlin Conference of 1885 had not dealt with
questions of territory except to delimit the area
comprised in the Congo Basin. By the Anglo-
German Agreements of 1886 and 1890, the borders
of German East Africa had been generally defined.
France, however, still fostered the hope of acquiring
dominion of the Egyptian Soudan and, perhaps, of
nearly all of the northern part of Africa. The ar-
rangement with the Sovereign of the Congo Free
State, giving her a right of pre-emption of the State
206
W
w
o
o
Frontiers and Diplomatic Settlements 207
over other Powers, would indicate an ambition in
this direction. That France endeavoured to achieve
her aim in this respect was forcibly demonstrated
by the expedition of Captain Marchand and the
Fashoda incident. So far as Germany and Portugal
were concerned, the Congo Free State's boundary
had been well-nigh firmly established, but with
France and Great Britain there was a lack of settle-
ment on this important question which threatened
the State with future insecurity.
The first convention on this subject was con-
cluded w4th Great Britain, and concerned the Bahr-
el-Ghazal, referred to in the succeeding chapter.
The Franco-Congolese Convention of 14th August,
1894, was of great importance to the young State,
albeit the price it paid for the friendly attitude of
France may appear greater than the security af-
forded. The relations which existed between France
and the State, when the upper course of the Ubanghi
became the object of frontier settlement, were de-
fined by the Convention of 5th February, 1885, and
that of 29th April, 1887. In the first, France agreed,
in return for the right of pre-emption conferred
on her in 1884, to determine her own Congolese
limits and those of the Free State, and to guaran-
tee the latter's neutrality. In the second, the Bel-
gian Congo surrendered a considerable territory to
France by substituting the Ubanghi to the 1 7th de-
gree of east longitude for the boundary defined in
the third article of the treaty of 5th February, 1885,
and the modification of her right of pre-emption in
favour of Belgium in certain contingencies. These
2o8 Story of the Congo Free State
negotiations, beginning in 1 891, were not settled un-
til 1894, owing to conflicting views as to the course
of the Ubanghi. Moreover, the French Government
had expostulated vigorously against the British pro-
posal to lease the Bahr-el-Ghazal to the Congo Free
State, while Germany protested against British pos-
session of the strip of land between Lakes Tan-
ganyika and Albert Edward, which the Free State
intended granting in payment for its lease of the
Bahr-el-Ghazal. The article conveying this strip,
manifestly intended for the Cape-to-Cairo railway
conceived by Mr. Cecil Rhodes, was, in fact, with-
drawn by arrangement betw^een the British and
Congo Governments on June 22, 1894. Meantime,
the French Government had contended that the
river Uelle was the true upper course of the Ubanghi,
and that the State had no rights north of it, "even
though it resulted in moving the State's frontier line
south of the fourth parallel secured to it by the Con-
vention of February, 1885." There were, however,
on the part of the Congo State, the advantages of
possession and effective occupation of the territory
north of the Uelle and the right bank of the Mbomu,
which had now been geographically established as
the uppermost course of the Ubanghi. An offer was
made by the Congo State to arbitrate the matter in
accordance with the provisions of the Berlin Act.
France, however, declined to submit the case to such
tribunal. Finally, after three years' delay, a con-
vention between France and the Congo Free State
was signed in Paris on 14th August, 1894, which
contained six articles. The first conceded part of
Frontiers and Diplomatic Settlements 209
the Belgian claim by constituting the river Mbomu
the upper course of the Ubanghi.
Article i. The frontier between the Independent State of
the Congo and the colony of the French Congo, after following
the thalweg of the Ubanghi to the confluence of the Mbomu
and the Uelle, shall be formed in the following manner: —
First, the thalweg of Mbomu to its source; second, a straight
line joining the crest of the water-parting between the basins
of the Congo and the Nile. From this point the frontier of
the Independent State is constituted by the said crest of the
water-parting to as far as its intersection with the 30th degree
of east longitude (Greenwich).
Article 2. It is understood that France will exercise, under
conditions which shall be determined by a special arrange-
ment, the right of police on the course of the Mbomu, with
the right of pursuit on the left bank. This right of police will
not be exercisable on the left bank, but exclusively along the
course of the river, and so long as pursuit by the French
agents is indispensable to effect the arrest of the authors
of offences committed on French territory or on the waters
of the river. France shall have, when necessary, a right of
passage on the left bank, to assure her communications along
the course of the river.
The third article stipulated for the gradual sur-
render to the French of the posts established by the
State north of the Uelle ; and the fourth and the final
articles "bound the State to renounce all political
action of any kind to the west or north of the follow-
ing line — the 30th degree of east longitude, from its
point of intersection with the crest of the water-
parting of the basins of the Congo and the Nile to
as far as the point where this meridian meets the
parallel 5° 30', and thence that parallel to the Nile."
2IO Story of the Congo Free State
By these articles, and the good feehng that has
since prevailed between the French and the Belgians,
all matters likely to have caused dispute have been
settled. A well-defined boundary has been laid
down between the French possessions and the Congo
State from the Atlantic to the Nile. If the King
of the Belgians surrendered to France what others
would have retained, it was so dealt with because of
that wise political foresight which has characterised
his Majesty's diplomacy in other respects. The
friendly relations between France and the Congo
State, the settlement of northern boundaries along
the Mbomu, and the lease of the Bahr-el-Ghazal from
Great Britain, have dispelled much Belgian anxiety.
The question which now appears to forebode diffi-
culty is what the Belgians believe to be Great
Britain's scheme for a pretext to break the lease of
the Enclave of Lado, a rich and prosperous territory
in the Bahr-el-Ghazal, where the Belgians have
established posts along the Nile as far north as Lado.
As to Great Britain's purpose in this connection
there have been many recent signs.
CHAPTER XIX
THE BAHR-EL-GHAZAL AND THE NILE
IN addition to the territories of the Congo Free
State proper, the sovereignty of which is vested
in Leopold II., King of the Belgians, and his
successors, King Leopold holds on lease from Great
Britain the Bahr-el-Ghazal up to io° N. A treaty
entered into between the Congo Free State and Great
Britain on 12th May, 1894, determines the duration
of this lease, and the extent of the territory to which
it applies. The conditions are somewhat compli-
cated, partaking in a measure of the nature of an
exchange, the Congo Free State, by Article III.,
leasing to Great Britain a strip of territory between
the lakes Tanganyika and Albert Edward.
To be more precise: In 1890 the Congo Free
State despatched several missions to its frontiers,
some of which penetrated the Nile region and made
various political arrangements with the ruling chiefs
there. It happened also at that period (July,
1890) that Germany and Great Britain entered
into an agreement whereby Germany acknowledged
the paramount influence of Great Britain in the
Nile Basin. This agreement was no sooner con-
cluded than Great Britain opened negotiations with
the Congo Free State, offering to grant thereto, on
2 1 2 Story of the Congo Free State
lease, certain territories situated west of the Basin
of the Nile, if the Congo Free State would accord to
Great Britain's presence in the Nile Basin recog-
nition similar to that which it had just obtained
from Germany. Out of this overture grew the
treaty of 12th May, 1894, between the Congo Free
State and Great Britain, to which allusion has al-
ready been made.
By that treaty, Great Britain leases to Leopold II.,
King of the Belgians and Sovereign of the Congo
Free State, the territories limited by a line starting
from a point situated on the west bank of Lake
Albert Edward, south of Mahagi, to the point of inter-
section of the 30th meridian east of Greenwich, the
frontier line of the territories so assigned following
the head of the division of the Nile and Congo waters
to the 2 5th meridian east of Greenwich ; and along
this meridian to its intersection with the loth north
parallel, and along this parallel direct to a point north
of Fashoda ; thence to the west bank of Lake Albert
Edward, south of Mahagi. These territories comprise
the entire basin of the Bahr-el-Ghazal River and its
affluents (except the upper portion of the Bahr-el-
Arab), and are generally referred to as the Bahr-el-
Ghazal. The treaty further provides that the lease
is to remain operative during the reign of King Leo-
pold IL only, except as regards that portion of the
Bahr-el-Ghazal west of the 30th meridian, perma-
nently vested in the Congo Free State.
France, which had never recognised British in-
fluence in the Nile Basin, at once protested against
this arrangement, asserting that Great Britain had
m
The Bahr-el-Ghazal and the Nile 213
leased territories which did not belong to her. While
this delicate question was sub judice there arose the
celebrated Fashoda incident which brought Great
Britain and France perilously near to war. The
circumstances of that incident are too near our own
times, and too remote from the purpose of this book,
to need recounting here. But it is important to
refer to it in this place, because in the settlement of
the Fashoda dispute between Great Britain and
France the latter recognises the paramount influence
of the former in the Basin of the Nile.
The only obstacle in the way of the execution of
the treaty of 12th May, 1894, was now removed,
Great Britain's right to dispose of the territories
leased to the Sovereign of the Congo Free State being
everywhere admitted. But now Great Britain her-
self sought, without justification, to annul the treaty.
Because the Congo State had made therein certain
reservations in regard to France— a perfectly natural
proceeding at a period when the rights of Great
Britain over the Bahr-el-Ghazal were in dispute —
Great Britain contended that the treaty of 12th
May, 1894, had practically lapsed. After the battle
of Omdurman, the British even went so far as to
give, in part, practical effect to this extraordinary
view of their treaty obligations, occupying, upon
several occasions, Meshra-er-Rek, at the confluence
of the Bahr-Djur and the Bahr-el-Ghazal.
From information which reached Europe and
America early in November, 1904, it would appear
that Great Britain has resolved to carry this matter
with a high hand. A British expedition was said to
214 Story of the Congo Free State
be then in process of formation, composed of 2500
native troops, officered by Englishmen, to penetrate
Central Africa, ostensibly to restore order among
the Niam-Niam tribe.
Now the Niam-Niam tribe inhabit the Bahr-el-
Ghazal country. That is one reason why Great
Britain concerns herself with that tribe; but there
is another, and a much stronger, reason. Recently
it has been discovered that vast mineral wealth ex-
ists in that region, and Belgians, Frenchmen, Ger-
mans, and particularly natives of that country which
"seeks no gold mines and seeks no territory,"
have busily employed themselves in prospecting it.
Trading relations have been established by small
companies supposed to be engaged in exchanging
fire arms and ammunition for ivory, but really
prospecting for ore.
Side by side with this information comes the
official announcement that the British Government
has given orders, either directly or through a sub-
sidised company, for the erection of a permanent
telegraph connecting Khartoum with the Bahr-el-
Ghazal, and that transport for traders up the White
Nile is guaranteed as far as Fashoda. Already a
section of the British newspaper press is advocating
the establishment of British military stations and
posts upon ground of which King Leopold holds a
perfectly valid lease granted by Great Britain !
Is it too high a flight of the imagination to suppose
that the patience with which the British Government
has listened to the libellous tirades against the Congo
Free State, in the form of petitions to the House of
M
The Bahr-el-Ghazal and the Nile 215
Commons, is to be explained by its evident desire to
cut loose from its treaty obligations, and forcibly
take away what it voluntarily ceded to the Congo
Free State for a valuable consideration?
CHAPTER XX
MUTINIES OF THE BATETELA TRIBE
THE hasty and ill-advised trial and execution
of the chief, Gongo Lutete, described in
another chapter, proved a source of much
danger and tribulation to the Congo Free State. It
was the act of a misguided and over-zealous officer,
The without doubt undertaken in good faith,
Bateteia but none the less disastrous upon that
Grievance, ^ccount. The incident has never been de-
fended, but always deplored, by the Congo Govern-
ment, to which it occasioned grievous loss in men,
money, and reputation.
Lutete's men were loyal to their chief and bitterly
resented his execution. So threatening did their
attitude become that it was decided to remove them
to some considerable distance from the scene of the
tragedy. At the moment of their departure, they
fired upon the people and vowed complete vengeance
whenever opportunity for it should occur. Later,
at Luluabourg, when they accepted an invitation
to enter the Force Publique, all danger from them
was thought to have been averted. But the ap-
parent content of the fierce Batetelas was simulated;
they were merely biding their time.
216
■tiSL
C5
a
9)
B
i^m
Mutinies of the Batetela Tribe 217
It was d tiring the stimmer of 1895, ^^ Luluabourg,
that the Batetelas openly revolted. After murder-
ing some of their officers, they attacked the j^ie
post at Kabinda. Next, they struck out First
to the north, with intent to surprise Lu- Revolt,
sambo. At Gandu, and on the Lomami, they mur-
dered more Belgian officers, and for a time it was
impossible to foresee a limit to their depredations.
Though the mutineers were less than four hundred
in number, in the circumstances they were potent
for a vast amount of mischief. They were well
armed with modern weapons of precision, were
abundantly furnished with ammunition, and had,
besides, some military knowledge, acquired from
their Belgian officers, which rendered them almost
the equal of European troops. To these advantages
must be added the natural valour of the Batetela,
and the desperation with which men, knowing that
their treason will be punished by death in the event
of their capture, may be expected to fight.
Commandant Lothaire, on hearing of the mis-
fortune that had befallen the State, hastened with a
small force to intercept the Batetelas, then marching
on Nyangwe. He met the mutineers on the i8th of
October, near Gandu, and, notwithstanding that
the force he commanded was much inferior, at once
assumed the offensive. A fierce fight ensued, in
which the mutineers were badly defeated, losing
many killed and prisoners, and having finally to fly.
Previous to this engagement another Belgian officer,
Lieutenant Gillain, had been active to retrieve the
fortunes of the State. Having gathered together
2i8 Story of the Congo Free State
such remnants of the State's forces as remained
loyal, and were to be found scattered about the
Lomami district, he boldly attacked the mutineers.
The battle opened greatly to his disadvantage, but
ended in his victory. Lieutenant Gillain then added
his forces to those of Commandant Lothaire, and
the combination, as we have seen, was far less in
number than that of the mutineers, though it
proved superior to them.
After their defeat on the 1 8th of October, in which
they lost the greater part of the spoil taken at Lulua-
bourg, Kabinda, and Gandu, the Batetelas broke up
into small bands, and sought refuge in a forest, into
which it was impracticable for the State's forces to
pursue them. The latter had now become nearly a
thousand strong, and numbered among its officers
the brave Michaux, Svensson, De Besche, Jiirgens,
Konings, and Droeven — a force sufficient, it was
believed, to deal with any recrudescence of the
trouble.
A few days later an incident occurred which rudely
dispelled this notion. The scattered bands of mu-
tineers again united, to make safe their retreat, and
were probably about to march to the Manyema coun-
try, when they accidentally met a Belgian column.
Both were surprised. The Batetelas, by far the
more numerous, at once attacked the Belgians. At
the very opening of the fight, the four Belgian offi-
cers who were leading the Congo force were shot
dead. The bands which had to the present re-
frained from joining the main body of the Batetelas
now hastened to do so.
Mutinies of the Batetela Tribe 219
Perceiving that their power would continue to
grow so long as they were left unmolested, Com-
mandant Lothaire determined to attack the Bate-
telas again with all the force at his command. The
battle took place November 6th, at Gongo Machoffe,
and resulted in a complete victory for the State
forces. The Batetelas lost heavily in killed and
prisoners, while such of them as survived fled for
protection to various local chiefs, who soon, how-
ever, handed them over to Commandant Lothaire.
Again, notwithstanding their bitter experience,
the Congo State and its advisers, military and civil,
permitted themselves to be lulled into the confidence
of security. Nearly two years of quietude on the
part of the Batetelas led the Belgians to believe that
that fierce race had forgiven, if they had not for-
gotten, the injury unwittingly inflicted upon them —
that the trouble had been fought out, and the inci-
dent from which it originated relegated to its proper
place among the unfortunate happenings of a by-
gone period.
The awakening from this dream came in 1897.
Commandant Chaltin had driven the Dervishes as
far as the Nile, and Baron Dhanis, with a -j-jje
larger force than Chaltin's, had been sent Second
to take possession of the Lado territory Revolt,
to found posts there, and to fortify it against possi-
ble Dervish inroads. With a column of more than
three thousand men, a third of whom were Batetelas,
Dhanis set out from Avakubi towards the Nile.
In the second week of February, 1897, Captain
Leroi, with two thousand men, had just reached
220 Story of the Congo P>ee State
Dirfi, when the Batetelas, of which the force was
mainly composed, suddenly mutinied. The mutiny
began with the murder of Captain Leroi and his
fellow officers, after which the mutineers retreated
upon the Obi. As soon as news of this event was
brought to Dhanis, he threw his force right across
the path of the mutineers, and a desperate battle
ensued (March i8, 1897). The pages of history af-
ford few parallels to this singular conflict. No
sooner had the fight begun, than about five hundred
of the Batetelas commanded by Dhanis deserted,
and went over to the enemy, their kinsmen. The
result, as may be imagined, was chaos. With great
difficulty Baron Dhanis effected his retreat. His
losses were grievous. Ten Belgian officers fell,
among them a brother of Baron Dhanis. Among
those who specially distinguished themselves by
their gallantry upon this occasion was Lieutenant
Delecourt, who, with a miserably small following,
covered the retreat, at the cost of his own life and
the lives of every member of his faithful company.
Having at last succeeded in reaching Avakubi,
Dhanis entrenched the handful of men left to him
in the little station there, and, leaving Commandant
Henry in command, hurried to Stanley Falls, to
report the disaster and concert measures for regain-
ing what had been lost.
Meanwhile the Batetelas were not inactive. Mak-
ing straight for Stanley Falls, they destroyed all the
stations on their way; but just before they reached
what was thought to be their objective they struck
out eastward. Baron Dhanis at once concluded
State Officials at Ponthierville.
^sSHDHnc^v
-i*^ --
■*!-:
"j».*^-^ «■
Saddle Ox, Lusambo (Lualaba-Kassai).
Mutinies of the Batetela Tribe 221
that they were bound for their native country^
Manyema. The assurance that they contemplated
no invasion of State property was a rehef, but the
possibihty that so considerable a number of well-
armed men, flushed with victory, reaching their
tribe and reporting to it how they had defeated the
redoubtable Baron Dhanis was very disquieting, for
such an event would infallibly have led to the up-
rising of all the Batetelas. Baron Dhanis, having
returned from Stanley Falls, placed a body of picked
men at Nyangwe and Kassongo, to intercept the
mutineers if they chanced to pass that way, while
troops, with European officers, were sent from Stanley
Pool to pursue them.
At this juncture, the Belgian cause was aided by
an outbreak of smallpox among the mutineers,
which compelled them to encamp near Lindi, not
far from the British frontier. At that place Com-
mandant Henry, fresh from Avakubi (which he had
found deserted), with seven hundred men, came upon
them and almost succeeded in driving them into
British territory. Meanwhile, Lieutenant Sannaes
had successfully repelled an attack upon his post at
Katue (Semliki), which so enraged the mutineers
that the leader of the attacking party, a man named
Malumba, was murdered by one of his own men who
held him responsible for its failure.
June had arrived before Commandant Henry and
Lieutenant Sannaes could join their forces, and then
the regular pursuit of the mutineers began; but
another month elapsed before they could be brought
to battle. The result was a great victory for the
222 Story of the Congo Free State
Congo State forces. Over four hundred Batetelas
were killed, and they lost, besides, five hundred rifles
and ten thousand cartridges. And then ensued
what had happened in like circumstances before —
the surviving mutineers broke up into small bands
and dispersed in various directions. Though vic-
torious, Commandant Henry was exhausted, and
fell back upon his base. Baron Dhanis, who had
been guarding the Lualaba to prevent the mutineers'
crossing it, now found it safe to pursue their scattered
bands.
At last the Batetela revolt w^as broken. There-
after some minor skirmishes occurred here and there ;
but they were as the feeble flickerings of an expiring
flame — a flame that had seared the growing Congo
State only to enable it to show to the world an admir-
able example of discipline and resisting power in
circumstances of extraordinary difficulty.
CHAPTER XXI
DISPLACEMENT OF THE POPULATION
THE instinct of the nomad largely prevails in all
savage races, but in none does it prevail to a
greater extent than among the black tribes
of Central Africa. It is one of their marked char-
acteristics, and a fruitful source of trouble.
Central African tribes are greatly influenced by
their superstitions. Like the North American In-
dians, they have their medicine men who victims
conjure up all sorts of occult prognosti- ofSuper-
cations of imminent and mysterious phe- stition.
nomena. With them the fetish doctor is little less
than a god. If this wise man asserts that a village
has suffered ill-luck because the new moon dips to
the left or right, his deluded followers collect their
effects, devastate the village, and move into some
region which he may indicate is free from that curse.
If rain has not fallen in sufficient quantity, and the
crops surrounding the village have withered, or if
the rain has been too abundant, the fetish doctor
may forthwith present an explanation based upon
some new superstition. Indeed, there are thousands /
of tribal beliefs in the Congo Free State which are^^
for ever disturbing the settlement of the population.
Implacable enemies of the Congo Free State, not
223
224 Story of the Congo Free State
wholly ignorant of these tribal beliefs and cus-
toms, pretend to regard the migratory nature of the
Central African savage as evidence of his fear of
the State's government, arising from a feeling of
insecurity. Such persons point to the native's
incorrigible habit of moving his abode as an un-
mistakable sign of his desire to escape from the bar-
barities practised upon him by officers and soldiers
of the Congo Government. In this way it is sought
to deceive those who are imacquainted with the
habits of the black man — the man who, a few years
ago, ate his brother with a relish which civilised
white men can hardly conceive.
The State, however, fully cognisant of the natural
habits of its black subjects, has often considered the
question of how to deal effectually with these dis-
placements of the population. There are times when
neither superstition nor tribal custom causes a large
exodus from a well-established village. Sometimes
the fertility and luxuriant grass of another region
attracts the more enterprising black, who has learned
to cultivate his own land. Allured by glowing ac-
counts of such a nature he gathers about him his
friends and family, and makes off to what he con-
siders to be a new Eldorado. In a short time, the
diablerie of the fetish doctor has again unsettled
him.
Then, again, there have been occasions when the
natives have migrated to avoid payment of the taxes
imposed upon them by their own chief on behalf of
the State, taxes which are infinitesimal in value as
compared with the benefits of civilisation which
Displacement of the Population 225
the State confers. To deal generally with the dis-
placement of the population of the Congo Free State
has been a matter of much concern to the Govern-
ment. A case of sleeping-sickness or smallpox has
occurred, and away goes the whole village pell-mell
into another region. The movements of the native
tribes are often inscrutable, and afford the State no
clue as to how they may be prevented. Like some
species of wild animals which instinctively avoid
certain districts of the forest at particular sea-
sons, or on account of some unusual phenomena, the
black man will sometimes quit his residence for no
apparent reason at all. Nine times out of ten, how-
ever, he migrates on account of things entirely un-
connected with any administrative act of the State.
Entire villages have been removed because a death
has occurred there the cause of which was inex-
plicable to the black man. Occasionally the fetish
doctor, inspired by some unexplained caprice, will de-
cree that the tribe shall move — he knows not where.
Ignorance and superstition invariably follow a leader
whose pretence is some occult power. The tribe
moves; and another tribe, moving from a similar
or other impulse, may occupy the very village which
the first tribe had abandoned a few weeks before.
These removals along the banks of the river have
sometimes created the impression on a superficial
observer that the population of the Congo Free
State has diminished or disappeared. Regardless of
the impression these deserted villages have made
upon those who seek to find opportunity for vilifying
the Congo Government, the inconvenience resulting
226 Story of the Congo Free State
from the constant removals has been very great.
There is often at one point an aggregation of people
too numerous for their subsistence, and public order
and tranquillity are disturbed, with disastrous re-
sults. More strife between village and village and
tribe and tribe has been occasioned by this migratory
habit than by any bloodthirsty instinct inherent in
the Congolese black. This is notoriously true; and
it has had a gravely adverse effect, too, upon the
population of the Soudan, with regard to which the
statements in Lord Cromer's report of 1893 are
conclusive.
Vice -Governor-General Fuchs, always seeking to
improve the governmental machinery of the Congo
Free State, has recently made the following
Remedies Suggestions, which, if adopted, he believes
would tend to control the migratory nature
of the subjects over whom he so intelligently rules:
I think that it would be opportune to pass the necessary
legislative measures, so that an end may be put to this col-
lective kind of vagabondage. The administrative authority
finds itself at present unarmed, the Congo courts having de-
clared the absolute right of the native to move about and to
dwell where he likes. But it appears to me that public order
is directly interested in having these emigrations in a mass,
from region to region in the interior of the country, regulated
by law. This regulation would also result in assured stability
for a fair distribution of native taxes. It would also facilitate
the establishment of definite and permanent means of com-
munication throughout the country.
There is, however, still a special case to be taken into con-
sideration. Some natives on removing in this way are ready
to establish themselves on the territorv of one or other of
Displacement of the Population 227
those Sultans whose native authority extends beyond, as
well as within, the political frontiers of the State. The
determination of the_sovereign power such individuals may
wield might, owing to the silence of our laws, not be without
future difficulty, when, for instance. Sultans, established on
foreign territory and dependent themselves for it on foreign
power, are concerned. It would be well if all doubtful ele-
ments were removed by a decree which in a general manner
might establish the principle that every native of Congolese
origin who, by naturalisation or otherwise, shall endeavour
to modify his national status, will still be considered as a
subject of the Congo State, and remain amenable to Congolese
law, so long as he shall reside, in fact, within the limits of
the State territory.
From this it will be observed that in addition to
the numerous other difficulties with which the new
State has to contend, it is now called upon to legis-
late for the solution of a problem which the State's
detractors have distorted and misrepresented as a
result of the State's cruel system of government.
The importance of this question cannot be over-
stated, as it forms a great hindrance to the proper
organisation of so vast a territory as the Congo
Basin. That the potentialities of King Leopold's
beneficent rule in Central Africa will eventually
legislate wisely, and permanently abolish this
native inconsistency, no one who has observed the
intelligent governmental genius of the State can
doubt.
CHAPTER XXII
THE STATE'S ADMINISTRATION
JUSTICE — NATIVE CHIEFTAINCIES
TO provide a just and equitable process for giving
effect to the civil laws of a savage country
requires an administrant force of exceptional
powers, of rare patience, and of wide sympathies.
Highly civilised communities largely govern them-
selves by the aggregate contribution and
Problem, example of all orderly persons. The very
momentum of their civilisation and the hab-
its and tendencies of a cultured people conduce to the
observance of law and the tranquillity of the social
life to which the law applies. Rules of State and
municipal procedure for the government of European
countries have, by use and the experience of time,
long ago attained to an automatic operation. The
social phenomena of all civilised communities are
well established, and they form part of that large
body of academic theory called social science. The
development of human society has its constitution
and its philosophy, yet those who are charged, by
a duty arising from exceptional circumstances, to
apply social and political principles to savage tribes
distantly situated from all civilising contact with
228
a*
m
The State's Administration 229
human beings of superior attainment, are charged
with a task of unknown and multiform difficulty.
The characteristic thoroughness with which the
Belgians have established their administrative ma-
chinery in the Congo Free State is apparent in the
latest report (July, 1904) of Vice-Govemor-General
Fuchs, the acting head of that Government. Mon-
sieur Fuchs has had twenty years' experience in Cent-
ral Africa. He is, perhaps, the best-qualified living
colonial official dealing with the black races of the
African Continent. The great progress of the coun-
try he governs, and the moral and material better-
ment of the tribes which thrive under his liberal rule,
are astonishingly revealed in the report from which
the following quotations are made :
The development of the State administration is attested
in a general wav by the ever-increasing number of Posts of
different kinds that are in operation irr its territories.
Thus there are at the present time 233 Posts and Stations,
all of them under the command of white men, scattered over
tlie 14 districts.
The European staff attached to the services of the districts
mentioned is distributed as follows:
Organic Staff 294
Service of Justice 57
Administrative Service 115
Medical Service 27
Service of Public Works 92
Service of Agriculture 89
Service of Finance 74
The Public Force 490
Service of the Marine 166
Various 20
Total 1424
230 Story of the Congo Free State
The number of blacks attached to the different services of
the districts is about 20,000 men.
I here render justice to the zeal and devotion of the servants
of the State; besides Belgians, who form the great majority,
they also comprise Italians, Swiss, Scandinavians, Germans,
English, etc., according to the following order:
Belgians, 898; Italians, 197 ; Swiss, 89; Swedes, 86; Danes,
34; Germans, 31; Norwegians, 22; Finns, 19; English, 16;
Dutch, 9; Russians, 5; French, 4; Austrians, 3 ; Americans,
2; Turks, 2; Lvucemburgers, 2; Portuguese, 2; Greeks, i;
Spaniards, i ; Cubans, i ; total, 1424.
To whatever nationality they belong they vie with each
other in the ardour with which they perform their numerous
duties. All are penetrated with the greatness of their role in
the heart of savagery, and impelled by the noblest emulation
compete in the gradual realisation of our civilising work.
Numerous are the testimonies that I have collected during
my last official tour of their fruitful activity exercising it-
self in all directions, of their protecting benevolence with
regard to the natives; and these testimonies emanate from
missionaries, from learned men, from travellers, and even
from persons inclined rather to criticise than to praise our
works.
In order that this staff may become more experienced, by
acquiring progressively a knowledge of the country, its re-
sources, and its inhabitants, it has been particularly recom-
mended to the agents composing it that they should learn the
native dialects. Knowledge of the local idioms is, indeed,
indispensable to the European who seeks to enter into di-
rect relations with the blacks — to study their manners and
customs, and by that means take account of the measures
to employ for the introduction and development of our
ideas of civilisation.
The judicial statistics show the vigilance and impartiality
with which the Parquet (Public Ministry corresponding to
our Public Prosecutor) inquires into breaches of the law,
no matter who their authors may be, and aims at allowing no
offence to remain unpunished. If some faults have been
The State's Administration 231
committed by our agents, the guilty have been prosecuted
conformably to the law.
The attention of the members of the service besides has
been frequently called to the consequences which would result
for them from transgressing the laws and instructions of the
Government. In order to ensure their faithful and complete
execution, the Government has just again added to the staff
of superior officials new State Inspectors.
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
The magistrates by profession number at the present time
32; they are assisted by 25 judicial agents properly so called.
The judicial services of Boma, to which are attached seven
magistrates by profession, and a dozen judicial agents, allow
of:
1. An Appeal Court, composed of a President and two
judges, of the State Prosecutor who occupies the seat of the
Public Minister on this jurisdiction, and of a Registrar;
2. A Council of War in Appeal, the presidency of which
devolves on the President of the Appeal Court, of two judges,
officers of the Public Force, of the State Prosecutor, and of a
Registrar ;
3. A Court of First Instance, composed of a professional
judge, of a substitute, a doctor of laws, and of a Registrar;
4. A Council of War of First Instance, composed of a
judge, officer of the Public Force, of the substitute attached
to the Court of First Instance, and of a Registrar.
These four jurisdictions are competent in penal cases.
Those occurring under i and 3 are competent also in civil and
commercial matters. They sit in such cases without the
Public Minister. A report of the Registrar of the Court of
First Instance attached to this sets forth the order of civil
business.
The other professional magistrates are distributed between
the territorial courts and the councils of war.
Territorial courts exist at Matadi, Leopoldville, Popokab-
aka, Coquilhatville, New Antwerp, Basoko, Stanleyville, Toa
232 Story of the Congo Free State
(Albertville), Lukafu, Kabinda (Katanga), Lusambo, and at
the chief place of the Rusisi-Kivu zone (Uvira), independ-
ently of the councils of war, which will be shortly replaced by
ordinary courts as the number of magistrates is increased.
The Parquet attached to these courts is represented by the
substitutes of the State Prosecutor, all of whom are doctors
of laws.
Among the following officials of judicial rank the majority
are Belgians. There are also Italians, Danes, Swiss, and Nor-
wegians.
President of Court of Appeal: Baron G. Nisco.
Judges, Court of Appeal: M. Horstmans, M. A. Gohr.
Judge, Court of First Instance: M. T. Beeckman.
Prosecuting Attorney: M. F. Waleffe.
Director: M. A. Gohr.
Magistrates {Territorial Judges and Substitutes): Ernest Dupont, Her-
mann Weber, Iwan Grenade, Louis Rossi, J. Jenniges, P. Vincart,
C. M. B. L. Greban de St. Germain, Stanislas Lefranc, Martin
Rutten, Albert Sweerts, Robert de Meulemeester, Michel Cucini-
ello, Angelo Cagginla, Mario Falcetti, Gennaro Bosco, Frederic
Erdrich, Manlio Scarpari, F. J. S. M. Lambin, Torquato Polimante,
Loviis Tessaroli, Paul Bossolo, T. C. Lund, H. G. Moth-Borgliim,
C. J. R. Vandekelder, A. A. A. Celletti, C. E. A. M. Smets, C. L.
Gianpetri, Jacob Vogt, Ragnvald Koht, T. Fessante Adrien
Beeckman.
The administration of justice shows that its representatives
are conscious of the responsibility of their mission. No one
has ever been able to impugn its impartiality and independ-
ence, and the judgments and sentences awarded establish its
qnxiety to reach all the guilty, and not to leave unpunished
any breach of the laws for the protection of the natives. I
will not mention any other examples of this than the judg-
ments recently pronounced against the agents of a trading
company, upon whom heavy sentences of penal servitude
were passed for crimes committed upon natives. The tribute
which the Government on that occasion paid to the
Courts' sense of their duties will be a valuable encouragement
for them. I am confident that the Government's appeal
The State's Administration 233
to the vigilance of the Department of PubHc Prosecution to
prevent any offence of the kind passing unpunished will not
be in vain.
The superior administration of Boma is instructed to follow
the principle of bringing before the competent courts all
cases of abuses of natives that are pointed out to it by the
authorities, by the direct complaints of residents in the
Congo, or by criticisms in the press. These last accusa-
tions, the frequency of which is found to coincide with
the campaign conducted against the Congo State, are regu-
larly submitted on the spot to careful examination in detail.
The impression that is left by the investigations that have
been made, and some of which are still unfinished, is that
as a general rule the complaints formulated are wanting
in the precision necessary to fix the responsibility, if any,
for them; or that they rest exclusively on the gossip and
statements of natives which have not been sufficiently veri-
fied. In this latter respect a long experience of African
affairs has shown me with what circumspection,
not to sav with what distrust, the statements of
as a
the blacks must be accepted. Their peculiar Witness,
mental characteristic renders them inclined to
lie with an ease that is disconcerting, and magistrates are
obliged to direct their inquiries and questionings with real
skill and untiring patience in order to arrive at the truth
amongst the inaccuracies and omissions of coloured witnesses.
That will reveal how much and how often the stories of
sensational facts circulated by natives are distorted by them,
when they are not absolutely invented, and what disappoint-
ments those who accept them too easily prepare for them-
selves. A typical case is that of a Protestant missionary
who was accused by natives of having inflicted on the
l)lack engineer of his mission's steamer blows and wounds
that caused his death. The judicial investigation disposed
of this charge, which had been fabricated in all its details
by the natives with the view of avenging themselves on the
missionary, with whom they were engaged in a dispute on a
234 Story of the Congo r>cc State
question of wages. And yet the natives making the accusa-
tion never ceased for a moment, despite the proofs to the
contrary, from maintaining their lying charges with a per-
sistency which could not fail to create an impression. It is
to be regretted that Mr. Casement ' was not put on his guard
against the statements of the blacks, and especially by this
incident, of which he could not have been ignorant, since the
missionary concerned accompanied him during the inquiry into
the case of Epondo, whom the natives also represented to have
been the victim of a criminal act.
I will, by another example revealed during a recent in-
quiry, show how much the charges brought against the Ad-
ministration of the State are wanting in prudence. Some
correspondence from a missionary published in England has
given rise to violent comments in the press of that country
upon the Congo Free State. When invited by the State
Prosecutor to formulate and present his charges, this mis-
sionary did not allege anything against the State agent,
whom, in his writings he had charged with responsibility
for odious crimes. He had invoked, as corroborating his
own statement, the affirmations that other European agents
had made to him; he declared by what follows that these
affirmations were to be kept strictly confidential. "It is
true," he adds, "that these facts have been published, but
as the publication was made in England I thought that
the confidence placed in my discretion was not betrayed."
He also declares that "before accepting the responsibility
of revealing and specifying in a precise manner the facts,
he desires to consult, and take the opinion of, if not a bar-
rister, at least some one knowing Congolese law, and that
the extracts published of his letter have not perhaps been
made with strict precision of language." In short, the want
of clearness, the subterfuges of the examination, attracted
the attention of the State Prosecutor, and left on his mind
the most unfavourable impression as to the good faith of
* His Britannic Majesty's consul, author of the Report referred to
in a succeeding chapter.
The State's Administration 235
this missionary, and as to his highly blameworthy manner
of recognising the hospitality that he has hitherto enjoyed
in the Congo.
I have entered into these few details in order to show the
occasionally inconsiderate character of the attacks directed
against our Administration.
And I owe it to truth to make another reproach, not less
grave, with regard to certain foreign elements which do not
seem to have an exact view of their duty in incul-
cating the natives by their example and teachings .
with the respect due to the authority of the State ^jjg state,
and to its representatives. It is impossible not to
be struck by the strange rumours in the vicinity of the Pro-
testant missions, which for some time have been announcing
to the population a change in the established order, and pre-
dicting the end of the State. There natives have been
seen to offer insults to the European agents; officers of
the Companies have lodged complaints as to the arrogant
attitude of part of the population subject to certain influ-
ences; a tendency to shake off the duty due to the State,
and to repudiate respect for our laws, has manifested itself
among them. It is not doubtful that here we see the result
of the underhand intrigues sapping, more or less intention-
ally, the legal authority. The remark inevitably follows that
this position reveals itself solely in the neighbourhood of some
evangelical posts, and it assumes a more significant character
when it is known that the tendency of these establishments is
to exercise over the surrounding population a sort of sover-
eign power, in opposition to "Boula M atari, " ' thereby cre-
ating a state of antagonism between the influence of the
mission houses and the authority of the State agents. I have
pointed out for the attention of the Government this grave
position, and the measures that it ought to take if it con-
tinues. Already local agents have been obliged to act on
their own initiative to safeguard the State's authority, and if
' The name which the natives applied to Stanley. It is now used
to designate the State.
236 Story of the Congo Free State
it becomes necessary the Governor-General will consider the
occasion for making use of the means placed at his disposal,
by the decree of 15th September, 1889, for dealing with for-
eigners who should employ against the State their influence
over the natives.
It would be desirable that an appropriation be provided to
carry out the plan at present under examination, of establish-
ing on the Upper Congo a number of civil courts and a second
Court of Appeal.
In my opinion the Government ought to go farther in the
way of developing our judicial machinery. A point which has
not ceased to attract attention is, in the first place, the re-
cruiting of the staff. Whatever may be the goodwill of the
judicial agents, it is beyond doubt that some newcomers have
not always possessed, before their entrance into our judiciary,
a sufficiently long experience of judicial practice. I here renew
the wish, already expressed, to hear that judges of Belgian
courts and parquets be authorised to obtain leave of absence
to occupy judicial posts in the Congo.
The spirit in which this recommendation by the
Vice-Go vemor-General was received in Belgium is
clearly indicated in the following announcement on
behalf of the Minister of Justice at Brussels :
The Minister of Justice has just authorised Belgian magis-
trates who may be desirous to do so, and be accepted by the
Congo Free State, to undertake, by a limited engagement, to
serve as judges in the Congo, — and for that purpose, to obtain
leave of absence without pay, save that their rights of seniority
in the Belgian magistracy are to be reserved.
The Congo has been for us a field of heroism. It has
enabled numerous Belgians, who were smothering within
their frontiers, to prove their value in a much broader sphere,
where territorial, political, and diplomatic conditions per-
mitted some display of their inborn qualities, and to reveal
themselves first-class pioneers, soldiers, and administrators.
The State's Administration 237
If considered only from an ideal point of view, this advant-
age is well worth something. And those of our officers who
out there have put down slavery, pacified the native tribes,
opened the ways of navigation, commerce, and industry,
created agricultural stations, depots, railways, forest ex-
ploitations, and roads will surely from this point of view
alone have rendered our little country as much service as
they could have rendered it in the service of our garrisons.
It has often been said that narrow frontiers mean narrow
ideas. To broaden our horizon, is to broaden our ideas. It
seems to us that without going beyond these considerations,
this decision taken by our Department of Justice deserves to
be commended.
Without any burden on our Treasury on that account, —
since the Belgian judges serving in the Congo will, during the
term of their service, cease to draw upon our budget, — our
magistracy will be losing nothing of their value, so justly ap-
preciated, by delegating a few of their members — selected
from the youngest — in those new regions where their know-
ledge of law, coming into more direct contact than at home
with nature and practical needs, will acquire renewed strength
at the very springs of equity and juridical conscience.
At the same time, their authoritative participation in the
colonial undertaking will contribute to do away with the very
suspicion of those abuses which, after being systematically
exaggerated by interested opponents, have been used as a
pretence for this deplorable Congophobe campaign which
has led av/ay in England a few minds more generous than
enlightened.
Fortified in this manner, the Congolese magistrates, who
even now worthily bear comparison with any colonial magis-
tracy, will, by the mode of their recruitment, and their own
merit, command respect from our adversaries.
They will be continually renewed, which is advisable in
these tropical regions, where the conditions of climate very
soon exhaust individuals, and the new and continued re-
lations which will thus progressively spring up between
238 Story of the Congo Free State
Belgium at home and its African extension will contribute to
force into our colonial undertaking the best part of our tradi-
tions and of our national spirit.
It would be also useful if the ambulatory character attri-
buted by Congolese law to the Courts of First Instance were
made more effective, by rendering it an obligation for these
courts to move about periodically throughout the extent of
their province, to sit regularly at important centres, and to
betake themselves to all points to which the necessities of
their presence required them to proceed. This object might
be easily attained, if only there were placed at the disposal
of the magistrates the material means — with regard to trans-
port, provisions, and lodging — that the frequency of these
movements on circuit might call for.
I would also recommend a new measure which would con-
sist in establishing in the different jurisdictions a corps of
special agents who should be remunerated by the Govern-
ment, and whose mission would be to discharge in the inter-
ests of the natives the role of barristers. At present it is to
the magistrates themselves that the native addresses himself
in order to obtain the necessary counsel for the protection of
his rights. It would be preferable that those who may be
called upon to lay down the law on a conflict of civil right,
should not fill also the post of being counsel to one of the
parties. On the other hand, from the penal point of view the
measure that I propose would permit of professional defend-
ers being assured to the accused. This institution, which it
would be necessary to render of as general application as
possible in the Upper as in the Lower Congo, would thus place
on the spot, at the disposition of those natives who thought they
had ground of complaint, gratuitous defenders of their interests.
Indeed it would be useful to constitute in Belgium a Court
of Cassation to which the sentences and definite judgments in
penal matters which might possibly be contrary to the law
should be submitted. Such a court might be composed of mem-
bers of the Belgian Court of Cassation, or of the Appeal Courts
admitted to the grade of emeritus, or actually practising.
it!
G
o
C
*>»
The State's Administration 239
It will certainly seem natural that these different opportu-
nities of co-operating in the Congolese work should be given
to the Belgian magistracy. Belgium would see therein, as it
seems to me, the occasion of drawing closer the links of a
moral nature which already unite it to its future colony, and
the mission not without distinction which Belgian officers
have fulfilled and are fulfilling in Africa would find its com-
plement in the collaboration of jurists of merit who can be
counted in our country in great numbers.
NATIVE CHIEFTAINCIES
The institution of native chieftaincies, due to the decree of
6th October, 1891, realises an idea too just and too politic for
it not to receive all the extension possible. If during the first
days that followed the promulgation of that decree the dis-
trict Commissioners displayed praiseworthy emulation in
recognising native chieftaincies, it is not less certain that these
have not rendered, up to the present, all the services which
we could expect, so far as they were called upon to create
between the European authority and the natives a natural
intermediary, having its duties and responsibilities, and cal-
culated to facilitate the action of the Government.
The cases in which it has been applied still show the ad-
vantages of the system and testify to the greater facility with
which the natives rally to the new order of things when it is
personified in their eyes by the chief whom they have always
recognised. It is proved that respect for the orders of au-
thority, obedience to the laws, the execution of legal obliga-
tions, such as military recruiting and the payment of taxes, —
in a word the principles of an organised social state, are more
easily accepted by the natives forming part of a chieftaincy
than by those who are quite independent. The chiefs, be-
sides, have generally a real influence over the population, and
thus, as has several times been said, if they feel themselves
supported they will succeed in making our ideas prevail and
in imposing them on the natives through our support.
Another appeal has just been quite recently made by the
240 Story of the Congo Free State
local government to all the chiefs of districts and zones in
order to inspire them with these views, and so that they may
increase the official chieftaincies to a great extent.
The instructions issued are inspired by a double object: to
maintain and even to extend the authority of the chiefs over
their subjects, to avoid all intervention in the internal affairs of
the tribes which would be of a nature to compromise the pres-
tige of that authority.
"It is the right of the chief," these instructions declare,
"to assure the execution of his orders according to native
rules and particularly to bring to his decision the sanction
demanded by native custom."
The only restriction on the authority of the recognised
native chiefs lies in the necessity for them not to run counter,
in the decisions taken, to public order, that is to say, principles
which are at the base of the organisation of society, as it is
comprehended and wished to be by the legislator.
The chief's authority ceases as soon as the measures taken
are contrary to that public order.
Thus, in matters of private right, the native chief could not
legitimately take any course which would assail the organisa-
tion of families constituted under the regime of the civil Code,
and according to its prescribed form, — in other words, entered
on the European statute.
On the other hand, he could not establish slavery, oppose
religious liberties or commercial liberty, or order acts con-
trary to the penal law.
Still it is necessary to remark that he may employ coercive
and repressive measures to ensure, as chief, and within the limits
of his power according to custom, the execution of his orders.
But this sanction itself would be contrary to public order
if its character differed from our ideas of what repression
should be, more especially if it were accompanied by torture,
mutilation, or other acts of cruelty, or if it were surrounded
with superstitious practices, such as the proof by poison; in
a word, if it were really to run counter to our ideas of humanity
and the civilising object of the State.
The State's Administration 241
Corporal punishments, similar to those employed by the
State and in a similar measure to what is employed by it, in-
flicted by the native chief according to custom, would evi-
dently not be contrary to public order.
Such are the regulations set forth in a general way which
govern the 258 recognised native chiefs in their participation
with the political life of the State.
These instructions recommend to the territorial authorities
"continual relations with the native chiefs, incessant instruc-
tions and recommendations, a direction and control without
interruption, and a moral and material support in order to
maintain and increase the chief's authority with a similar
object," and to the judicial authorities "an intervention
marked by prudence in order not to diminish uselessly the
chief's authority, and not to destroy, or even weaken, the in-
fluence that he should have, and of which the Government
means to make use for the spread of civilisation."
The care of maintaining intact and of developing the prin-
ciple of the chief's authority might perhaps one day be carried
farther. It would indeed be permissible to wish that, in the
future, all the decisions of an administrative and judicial char-
acter, passed by the European authorities themselves, should
be executed by the intermediar}^ of the recognised chief; in
other words, the native would receive orders only from his
natural chief.
This measure, when it becomes possible, will produce the
best results with regard to order and discipline, the natives
being less inclined to rebel against the orders of the chief
whom they have freely chosen. '
In order to avoid the abuse which might result from ignor-
ance of our laws, and to make the native chief acquainted
with his rights, there should be attached to the proces ver-
banx of investitute of the chiefs a protocol setting forth the
penalties that it will be permissible for the local authorities to
continue to apply, as in the past, with a specific mention of
the offences subject to their jurisdiction.
They will be made acquainted with this act on their investi-
16
242 Story of the Congo Free State
ture, at the same time as they are instructed as to the general
obligations imposed on them by the State, and which should
also figure in the document in question.
All that precedes evidently relates only to native chiefs
properly so-called, and not to the present sultans who, as
prescribed by the Government's instructions, must not have
the authority which they at present possess increased.
u
CO
tD
a
u
o
CHAPTER XXIII
THE POSTAL, TELEGRAPH, AND TELEPHONE
SERVICE
MODERNS regard the post-office and the mis-
sion school as substantial signs of civilisa-
tion wherever the two are found in mutual
endeavour. In compliance with Article VII, of the
General Act of Berlin, the Congo Free Twin
State joined the Postal Union, and has sent CiviUsers.
official representatives to its periodic congresses.
In the Belgian Congo the postal service is very
efficient. It already penetrates to districts most
remote from the central office at Boma. It was ef-
fectively established in 1885 when the irregular ser-
vice was succeeded by the rudiments of the present
system. In 1887 it was, in fact, a piece of perfect
governmental machinery. On the 28th of February
that year it signed a formal Postal Convention with
Belgium. It was soon thereafter apparent that a
postal money-order service was required to facilitate
the transit of small sums between Europe and the
Congo. Agreements in this respect were made with
Belgium on May 13, 1893, ^^^ November 24, 1898.
The rapid development of the Congo Basin already
calls for even further extension of the system.
243
244 Story of the Congo Free State
The latest report on the subject is that of Vice-
Govemor-General Fuchs, which follows:
POSTAL SERVICE
There are at present on the Congo: 23 post-offices, sub-
post-offices, and depots for stamps.
According to the returns before me, there were transported
in 1885 only 33,140 letters and printed objects, whereas for
1902 the postal movement was represented by 372,007 letters
and printed objects.
Correspondence is conveyed by either railway or steamer;
on the roads it is forwarded to its destination by special native
couriers.
The weight of the despatches enclosing letters and printed
matter may not exceed, for transport by land, 10 kilogrammes.^
The porters required for this service are furnished by the
chiefs of posts.
The transmission of correspondence into the interior of the
country is, besides, regulated by instructions, to which the lo-
cal authorities frequently draw the serious attention of the
territorial chiefs. Thus, in all parts of the State territory, the
couriers must leave on a fixed day, and they have a certain
time, which has been calculated after much experience as
sufficient, for the journey from one point to another.
It is expressly forbidden to the authorities to detain the
native couriers after the date fixed for their departure, or
to entrust them with correspondence not sealed. All postal
packages must be paid for (with the exception that certain
officials have the right to post free) and enclosed in a sealed
envelope having the address clearly shown.
Each postal despatch contains a ticket of advice which is to
be returned to the originating office, dated and signed by the
agent of the office that received it, after he has found the con-
tents exact. The carrier of the mail is also in possession of a
route ticket which informs him of the number of sacks and
envelopes composing the mail. It must be checked and dated,
'About 22 lbs.
Postal, Telegraph, and Telephone Service 245
and must show in a special column, for the way out and back
and for each station, the hour of the arrival and departure of
the couriers.
The sub-controllers of the post-oflfices must forward each
month, for the purpose of verification, to the Controller of the
post-ofhce at Boma, the route tickets of the couriers sent
during the previous month.
The Director of Finance sends, as often as possible, the
Controller of the Post-Office to examine the accounts of the
various offices which are run by selected agents appointed
from the Belgian administration.
In districts where sub-post-offices are established, the Dis-
trict Commissioner sees to the strict observance of the in-
structions regulating the important postal service.
It has been found that in several districts the services of
soldiers in the garrison have been utilised for the mails. Not
only did these not always render the services which workmen
or other men specially engaged for the service of transports of
all kinds render, but even there was reason to fear that the
soldiers, on account of their uniform and arms, as well as being
without control, sometimes abused their powers to make levies
on the villages through which they passed. But now the
strict instructions of the Government forbid soldiers being
taken away from their garrison and military duties, and re-
quire that they should always remain under the control of
their chiefs. It has, therefore, been positively forbidden to
send any mail by soldiers of the Public Force.
TELEGRAPH AND TELEPHONE SERVICE
On 27th November, 1893, the State ordered by decree the
first telegraphic line, and in July, 1895, ^ ^^st wire was
stretched across the river; and on 15th September, 1898, it
became possible to telephf^ne and telegraph from Boma to
Leopoldville, or for a distance of 452 kilometres (282 miles).
Later on, and when the transport of material had been made
easier by the openmg of the Matadi-Leopoldville railway, the
telegraph line was extended to Coquilhatville.
246 Story of the Congo Free State
At the present moment there are thirteen telephone and
telegraph offices working in the State.
The principal offices and distance separating them from
each other are:
Boma-Matadi 52 kilometres
Matadi-Tumba 185
Tumba- Leopold ville 215
Leopoldville-Kwamouth 233
Kwamouth-Mopolenge-Yumbi 177
Yvimbi-Lukolela 121
Lukolela-Irebu 102
Irebu-Coquilhatville 114
Total 1,199 kilometres ^
(nearly 750 miles) of development. This extensive telegraph
and telephone line is carried on iron posts from Boma to
Leopold ville, and from Leopoldville to Coquilhatville the wire
is supported in some places on steel posts, in others on trees,
in the proportion approximately of 4494 steel posts and 2782
trees.
The line has to make two very important crossings of water,
one across the Congo a little above Underhill Point (Hell's
Kettle), the other across the Kassai near its mouth.
At the crossing of the river at Underhill the wires are sup-
ported by trellised steel towers, the piers of which are distant
800 metres from each other; and they are placed 73 and 63
(2) metres ^ respectively above the bed of the river at the
highest flood.
The crossing of the Kassai is made by two casts of the line,
one being 450 and the other 670 metres in length. Fourteen
steel towers, of 36.50 and of 38.50 metres in height, help
crossing the river. One of the towers is placed on an island,
and four conductors ensure the proper working of the tele-
graph line.
The camps of Lisala and Umangi are also connected by a
telephone line 22 kilometres in length. Besides a strong per-
manent body of native workers and European linesmen, the
* A kilometre is .621 of a mile. ^ A metre is 39.37 inches.
PQ
CO
Postal, Telegraph, and Telephone Service 247
line is maintained by the natives of the villages through which
it passes. The natives receive ample compensation in monthly
payments.
Another telegraph and telephone line of about 320 kilo-
metres, which leaves Kassongo on the Lualaba for Baraka on
Lake Tanganyika, was opened on 5th December, 1903. It
connects the telegraph and telephone offices of Kassongo, Ka-
bambare, Kalembe-Lembe, Baraka. This line will be ex-
tended to Lake Kivu, in the extreme eastern part of the Free
State.
For about two years past experiments have been in progress
to establish communication by wireless telegraphy between
Banana and Ambrizette, so as to connect the Congolese sys-
tem with the rest of the world.
Telegrams for Europe are at present brought either by the
State steamers or by ocean steamers from Boma to St. Paul
de Loanda, to San Thome, and to Sierra Leone, whence they
are transmitted to their destination. Telegrams can also be
sent from the Congo for Europe by the French route of the
Gaboon by taking them to the French office of Brazzaville.
A convention recently established between the French Repub-
lic and the Government of the Congo Independent State will
allow the telegraphic systems of the two States to be con-
nected by sinking a cable in Stanley Pool between Brazzaville
and Kinshassa. This work finished, the Congo State will be
connected with the telegraphic system of the globe.
CHAPTER XXIV
NAVIGATION, RAILWAYS, ROADS
THE Sovereign of the Congo Free State adheres
to a gospel of labour of which he is personally
the greatest exemplar in Europe. His Maj-
esty's industry is in motion at five o'clock every
morning. It gathers force as the sun rises, and sub-
sides only when his ministers and attend-
The strenu- ^^^g have retired. In this respect much
ous Life. . ^
might be written to attract the world's ad-
miration to a monarch who has the false reputation in
America of toying with time and its tintinnabulation.
Tremendous are the energies which the King's
example inspires, not only in the Belgium which his
rule has beautified, and which he has made the least-
taxed country in Europe, but also in the heart of
blackest Africa. There are, in that vast territory,
manifold monuments to the infectious spirit of en-
deavour which prevails in the palace at Laeken,
at Brussels, and in the lofty chalet at Ostend. These
monuments, by their nature, appear to confirm Bel-
gian intention to occupy the future of the Congo
State with structures of enduring substance, whether
they be material, political, ethical, or social. The
charge, sometimes uttered against King Leopold,
that his interest in the Congo is merely what it can
be made to yield him during his lifetime, dissolves
248
Navigation, Railways, Roads 249
into the mist of the slander it becomes in the pre-
sence of the physical improvement going on, with
mighty strides, in Congoland.
When the Congo Free State was founded, com-
munication by water with Europe was infrequent
and uncomfortable. Liverpool and Lisbon Benefits
sent a few ships at irregular intervals. Later of state
Germany and Holland followed their ex- ■^"^®*
ample at a time when Fuka-Fuka was the farther-
most settlement on the Congo coast. No means of
transport into the interior existed except by canoes,
or by native carriers. To-day all this has been
altered by Belgian capital, skill, and industry.
The maritime development of the Congo began in
1 89 1, when the State, joining the commercial com-
panies of the region, concluded an agreement with
certain German and English steamship lines to estab-
lish a monthly service between Antwerp and Matadi.
These ships left Antwerp on the 6th of each month
and arrived at Matadi in about fifteen days.
In 1895, under the auspices of a syndicate com-
posed of the masters of these ships, there was incor-
porated at Antwerp La Compagnie Beige Maritime
du Congo, which provided a monthly service of
steamers sailing under the Belgian flag. The success
of this enterprise induced other companies to engage
in the Congo trade, among them being L'Empresa
Nacional de Navigagao, of Lisbon; Les Chargeurs
Reunis, of Bordeaux, related to Fraissinet et Cie., of
Marseilles; The Woerman Line, of Hamburg; The
African Steamship Company, combined with the
British and African Steam Navigation Company.
250 Story of the Congo Free State
Extensive harbour works have been erected at
Banana, Boma, and Matadi, and several signal lights
have been placed at the mouth of the Congo to in-
dicate the entrance to the channel. The Lower
Congo, from Banana to Matadi, has been charted
by buoys, and a pilot service has been organised at
Banana. The river channel is being constantly im-
proved by dredging, and Matebe, which in the dry
season was inaccessible except to small craft, is now
on the line of general navigation. A regular service
of steamers plies the Lower Congo, and the State boats
go regularly to Landana to meet the Portugese mail.
In 1890 the shipping in the ports of Banana and
Boma amounted to only 166,028 entries, and 163,716
departures. The present tonnage into and out of
these ports is over 500,000.
On the Upper Congo a large flotilla carries on an
excellent service. The State operates thirty-two of
these vessels and the companies about forty-five,
besides which there is a considerable number of
smaller craft belonging to private individuals and to
missions. The tonnage of the Upper Congo flotilla
is 1675 tons. The marine service numbers 166
whites and 1300 blacks.
The first steamers launched on the Upper Congo
were of only five tons, their component parts having
been carried on men's backs along caravan routes
long before the construction of the railway of the
Cataracts. Even before the completion of the rail-
way from Matadi to Stanley Pool the State had
launched twelve five-ton boats on the Upper Congo,
each of which had a capacity of nearly 50,000 poimds.
s
Navigation, Railways, Roads 251
Besides these, the Government launched one steamer
of twenty-three tons and four of forty tons burden.
With the completion of the railway, the necessity
for considering the weight of the loads ceased, and a
new type of craft, the stem -wheel, was chosen. Its
system of propulsion offered greater advantages
against the variable conditions of navigability with
which the vessels had to contend. The ports and
landings are in a state of complete organisation at
numerous points on the river, and cargoes are now
moved with great facility. At regular intervals
along the watercourse, posts at which Government
workmen gather wood, supply the steamers with this
form of fuel. In order that the forests along the
banks may not be denuded, a State law enforces the
replanting of trees as fast as they are cut down.
In 1896 the Government established a regular fort-
nightly steamship service between Leopoldville and
Stanley Falls. The three steamers, Brabant, Hain-
aut, and Flandre, have been assigned to this service.
The dates of their departure from Stanley Pool have
been fixed to correspond with the dates of arrival of
European ships. In order to ensure service on the
navigable stretches beyond the Falls, steamers have
been launched on the rivers Lualaba, Itimbiri, and
Ubanghi. A sailing vessel has been launched on Lake
Tanganyika and a steamer on the Nile, Native
rowing crews have been organised in many regions,
and their services are often of great vakie. All in all,
the 102 steamers plying the Congo River in the
governmental and private service, the efficient port
facilities, the means of transport up the navigable
2=^2
Story of the Congo Free State
affluents, and the hydrographic surveys constantly
going on constitute a condition of colonial develop-
ment which truly merits the commendation of Herr
Von Puttkamer, Governor of the Cameroons, in
which, amongst other things, he vSays: "The energy
and practical sense displayed here deserve the greatest
admiration,"
As the Congo steamboat largely abolished the
laborious native carrier system through the riverain
districts of the State, so has the Congo Railway,
popularly known as the Cataracts Railway, largely
contributed to relieve the black man, under Bel-
gian rule, from lugging fifty-six pounds dead weight
through the African jimgle. The iron horse in
Central Africa has given great momentum to the
industries of a fertile region. In constructing the
railway from Matadi, near the mouth of the Congo
River, to Stanley Pool, traversing a distance of 260
miles over as tortuous and steep a route as ever dar-
ing engineers ventured to follow; climbing the Pal-
laballa Mountains at gradients of 150 feet in the
mile, and finally steaming over a summit 17,000 feet
above the sea, Belgian skill has again manifested its
extraordinary quality, a quality observed in all that
it has accomplished in the Congo Basin.
To connect the navigable regions of the Lower and
the Upper Congo by a line over the route just indi-
cated seemed at first to be beyond the possibility
of achievement. On July 6, 1898, after nine years
of unremitting toil and the expenditure of sixty
million francs, the line was in complete and regular
operation through a region which, on account of its
Navigation, Railways, Roads 253
picturesque scenery, may be likened to the Simplon
Pass in Switzerland.
Without a railway running round the thirty-two
great cataracts which tumble furiously in their de-
scent of eighty miles to the sea, the Congo River, in
the opinion of Stanley, would not have much value
in the development of the Basin.
The first estimate of the cost of constructing the
line was twenty-five million francs. This was based
on the surveys of Major Cambier for the Compagnie
du Congo pour la Commerce et ITndustrie, which,
as early as the year 1887, had been granted certain
rights and privileges if it would undertake to build
the railway. On July 29, 1889, the Belgian Chamber
agreed to provide ten million francs of the Company's
first capital, the remaining fifteen million francs
having been subscribed chiefly by Belgian investors.
The work so enthusiastically undertaken met with
one setback after another, owing mainly to the en-
gineering difficulties encountered in the rocky side
of the mountain of Pallaballa, forming a spur of the
great Crystal range, the western rampart of the
Central African plateau. It required four years and
indomitable perseverance to construct the section
of the line from Matadi over the summit of Pal-
laballa, a distance of onl}^ twent3^-six miles. In
December, 1893, Colonel Wahis opened this part of
the line with appropriate ceremonies, which many
Europeans interested in Congo affairs attended. In
the Mouvement Geographiquc appeared the following
interesting description of this unique engineering
triumph :
254 Story of the Congo Free State
The train, on leaving the station of Matadi, passes in front
of the works of the State and the Belgian and Portuguese
commercial establishments, and debouches immediately by
the Neck of the Guinea Fowls (Col des Pintades) into the
Leopold Ravine, which it crosses by a bridge of sixty-five feet.
It follows for a few minutes the right bank of the ravine, and
is then on the bank of the Congo, whose magnificent panorama
is suddenly exposed. Here commences the sensational part
of the journey. For four miles, first alongside the Congo and
then alongside the Mpozo, the way is hooked on to the side of
the strong rock of Matadi. It mounts by a gentle incline,
having on its right a perpendicular rocky wall, in some places
seven hundred feet high, and on its left, in the foreground, the
river rolling in rapids ; and in the background the grand land-
scape of the right bank, with Vivi and Mount Leopold. At
the sixth kilometre, where the Mpozo flows into the Congo,
and before entering the valley of the former river, the view
is exceedingly grand. At this point the railway is two hun-
dred feet above the river — the Congo, enclosed in a gorge,
rolls its tumultuous waters with extreme rapidity, as they
have just made the descent from the Falls of Yellalla. On
the left, to the north-east, the scenery is quite wild. It is
equally so to the south-east, while the water is closed in in
the narrow valley of the Mpozo. It was in these parts, at the
very commencement of the work, that the difficulties were
the greatest. From the Leopold Ravine to the bridge of the
Mpozo, or for over four miles, the platform of the line had to
be cut in terraces on the side of an immense rock of hard stone,
through the thick equatorial vegetation which encumbered
every ravine. Beyond Sleepy Kollow (Ravin dii Sommeil),
and after passing the ancient camp of Matadi-Mapembe.
commences the famous ascent of Pallaballa. At the tenth
kilometre the line attains a height of three hundred feet, or a
rise of six hundred feet in four and a half miles. Beyond this
the line traverses the Devil's Ravine to reach the summit of
the mountain, one thousand seven hundred feet, and in the
course of this part of the work several bridges have had to be
thrown across the intervening chasms or ravines. The whole
Navigation, Railways, Roads 255
of this part of the journey is really inspiring. The scenery
is grand, works of skill succeed each other every minute,
the perspective modifies itself to each of the numerous curves
the road makes at every passage across the ravines. The
railway ever ascends, hanging on to the mountain, suspended
in places froin three hundred to five hundred feet above the
bottom of the Devil's Ravine. The engine blows with force
to the very moment of reaching the station of Pallaballa.
Here the most interesting portion of the journey is over. The
great difficulties, the long slopes of ascent at a maximum
incline, recur no more.
It had now become apparent that the railway
would cost more than double the sum originally es-
timated. Additional powers having been granted to
the Company and a tripartite convention having
provided the Congo Free State and the Belgian
Government with power to buy the road, capital
was raised to bring the total up to sixty million
francs. By an extension of the time when the Congo
State and Belgium may buy the line, the railway
Company has possession until 1908,
The Cataracts Railway has some unique char-
acteristics. It maintains a first- and a second-class
car on each train. Trains leave Matadi
every other day. Persons returning from R^i^Jja'^^
the Congo refer to it as the strangest as
well as the most profitable railway line in the world.
It runs the distance between Matadi and Stanley Pool
in twenty-four hours. First-class passage costs 500
francs, the second-class 50 francs. The former is,
therefore, at the rate of 40 cents a mile. This, it
is to be hoped, is at least some compensation for the
great difficulties encountered in the construction of
256 Story of the Congo Free State
the line. For the final accomplishment of what is
regarded in Europe as one of the great engineer-
ing feats in Africa, the energy and skill of Lieuten-
ant Thys, the original surveys of Major Cambier,
and the support of the King and the Belgian Par-
liament are largely to be credited. Outside as-
sistance was almost entirely lacking.
The Mayumbe Railway is the second which was
imdertaken in the development of the Congo Free
State. It connects Boma with Lukula, eighty kilo-
metres (about fifty-four miles) distant, and has been
in operation since 1901. It is narrow gauge (0.60
metre), while the Cataracts Railway is 0.70 metre.
On the completion of the Mayumbe Railway, the
State inspired the construction of three lines of one-
metre gauge, with a total length of 1600 kilometres
(1080 miles). These lines are being undertaken by
the Compagnie des Chemins de Fer du Congo Super-
ieur aux Grands Lacs Africains under an agreement
made with the State on January 4, 1902. The latest
report of the Vice -Governor-General (July, 1904)
indicates the present stage to which these lines and
others have attained:
A route for a railroad from Stanleyville to the Great Lakes
has been surveyed. This survey comprehends a principal
trunk line, Stanleyville-Bafwaboli-Mawambi-Irumu, 762 kil-
ometres in length. Near Irumu the track branches off in two
directions, one, Irumu-Mahagi, of 358 kilometres, the other,
Irumu-Beni, of 135 kilometres. At present the surveys are
being made for a track from Beni to Lake Tanganyika.
In addition, the track has been completely surveyed for a
railway from Dufile to Redjaf, following the left bank of the
Nile, which would be 157 kilometres in length.
pq
Navigation, Railways, Roads 257
This railway would turn the unnavigable part of the river.
At this moment a line is being constructed between Stan-
leyville (left bank) and Ponthierville. This line will be 140
kilometres in length. The rails have been placed over ten
kilometres, and the embankment finished for fifty kilometres.
This line will permit of transports being made on the river above
Ponthierville. As soon as this first line is finished, others will
be constructed along the unnavigable parts of the river.
At the present moment surveys are also being made for a
railway connecting a point on the southern frontier of the
Congo Independent State (Katanga) with a point situated on
the Lualaba, south of the junction of that river with the
Lufila.
The approximate length of this line, the survey of which
commenced as far back as 25th April, 1903, will be about 500
kilometres.
Having regard to those articles of the Berlin
General Act which relate to the free navigation of
the Congo and its affluents, the legal status of rail-
ways within the Conventional Basin of the Congo
becomes a matter of considerable importance, es-
pecially in view of the growing controversy as to
the proper construction of the Act.
Baron Descamps has ably treated this subject in
his New Africa, a volume of exceptional interest at
this time. After pointing out that the "freedom
of navigation" declared by the Berlin Act must not
be confoimded with freedom of railway traffic, inas-
much as the latter admits of grants of monopoly and
the former does not, this eminent writer on questions
of general and special law says :
The idea of considering railways as continuations of water-
courses, or as junctions between water-courses, was quite a
new one, as was pointed out at the Berlin Conference. The
258 Story of the Congo Free State
Conference realised the necessity of providing for the logical
consequences of such an idea, and therefore it drew up special
regulations which are worthy of careful examination.
The general legal standing of railways in the Congo, the
essential rights of the authorities as to their construction,
their concession, their running powers, their charges, their
position as public highways, their administrative and judicial
policy are the same as those of railways in other countries.
The Berlin Act, as regards railways destined to provide
transport where the Congo and the Niger become unnavigable,
made special provision in clauses 16 and 23 on the one hand,
and 29 and 33 on the other — the only clauses which are con-
cerned with railways — for certain details of these communi-
cations. After declaring that these railways, as means of
communication, are considered as auxiliaries of the rivers, the
Act dwells on the legal consequences attaching to the introduc-
tion of this new idea, this conventional innovation in inter-
national relations. The consequences are as follows:
1. The obligation of opening the railways to the traffic of
all nations (Art. 16, § i), and the inviolability at all times of
the lines thus opened to the trade of all nations (Art. 25, §1).
2. The obligation to refrain from any excessive railway
rates, that is to say, "not calculated on the cost of construc-
tion, maintenance and management, and on the profits due to
the promoters." The Berlin Act states but these general prin-
ciples, its object being to give the basis of calculation rather
than a detailed solution of the problem, since it does not draw
up a schedule of rates with respect to the nature of goods or
the scale of the charges.
3. The obligation to observe, in fixing a tariff within these
broad limits, "equality of treatment for the strangers and the
subjects of the respective territories."
Thus, equality is sure to be observed as regards the tariff,
both in the case of subjects and foreigners, and especially so in
business which may be called the sphere of private activity,
i. e., commerce. Thus also the power of the State to allow
exclusive access to the railways, to impose extra or unfair
charges, is minimised. The Berlin Act goes so far, but does
P4
!«
Navigation, Railways, Roads 259
not pass these limits. Beyond this, it does not affect the
sovereign prerogatives of the State as regards its territory.
According to the usual right of the Powers in all that re-
gards railways, the State can order the establishment of the
same, can have them constructed, run them itself, and fix
their tariff. It can also, if deemed preferable, authorise a
concessionaire to collect the charges on the contemplated line,
on condition that he shall undertake the construction and
maintain the established tariff.
The Berlin Act respects these fundamental rights. It offers
no opposition against whatever arrangements the State makes
with its concessionaire as regards a schedule of rates with
respect to the nature of goods or the scale of the charges. It
does not intrude upon the internal organisation of the rates,
except so far as it circumscribes them within the following
limitations: i, all are free to use the railways ; 2, no distinc-
tion can be based on the nationality of individuals ; 3, and no
excessive rates are to be imposed.
Circumstances may render changes in the tariff advisable,
and the State may modify the rates periodically.' It may also
exercise the right of ordering its concessionaire to make cer-
tain modifications and reductions.
This was the course adopted by the Free State in relation
to the Congo Railway in its initial estimates. It also reserved
the right of repurchase. This latter reservation, however, it
abandoned for a time by Act dated November 12, 1901, which
also stipulated in what manner its optional power of reducing
rates was to be exercised. That power it exercised by im-
posing a comprehensive system of reduction, and without at
the time committing itself to any declaration as to the specific
classes of goods on which the rates were to be reduced. It
does not concern strangers whether it be exercised in one act
or in two, and whether the concessionaire acts by special
agreement with the State or under general powers. The main
consideration is whether the procedure followed for the attain-
ment of the reductions aimed at is in accordance with the
' As this volume is going to press, the announcement is made that
the rates have been reduced.
26o Story of the Congo Free State
Berlin Act. In the present case, the procedure certainly was
in accordance with that Act.
From a legal point of view, nothing can be said against the
State's reducing railway rates, inasmuch as it was invested
with the right of primarily drawing up those rates.
By the same Act of November 12, 1901, the State enjoys
certain special conditions of transport for carrying out works
of public utility. That right is quite legitimate for the Gov-
ernment, and does not entitle private citizens to demand its
application for their own purposes. The State could have
enjoyed these advantages if it had itself built and worked the
line. The mere fact of a concession by no means robs the State
of all its rights in this respect. These advantages are justi-
fied, for the State has made real sacrifices in ceding a part of
its territory and in abandoning the repurchase clauses. The
advantages accruing to the State do not in any way interfere
with the equal treatment of individuals stipulated for in
Article 16, which says: "As regards the rate of these tolls,
foreigners and subjects of the respective territories shall be
treated on a footing of perfect equality."
No distinction is made on account of nationalities ; the only
difference made rests on a service of public utility, regardless
of nationality. Neither subjects nor foreigners can say that
their civil or commercial liberties are endangered.
There are certain authoritative interpretations of the Ber-
lin Act which confirm our view of this question. The German
Government, for example, considers no breach of equality the
exemption of all dues granted to a German railway conces-
sionaire. Below are two clauses of the Imperial German
decree, dated December i, 1891, and relating to the railway
in German East Africa (Usambara line).
"Clause I. — The Imperial Government shall grant to no
other contractor, either individual or corporation, the right
of constructing or working a railway line joining the said
localities or liable to compete with the line ceded by the
present decree or any parts of same."
''Clause g. — The Imperial Government guarantees to the
tjerman East African Railway Company, subject to compli-
Navigation, Railways, Roads 261
ance with the prescribed formalities, an exemption from all
taxes on materials, engines, working tools, and all other im-
plements and articles which may be imported into German
East Africa for the construction, repair, renewal, and running
of the railway."
In drawing up special tariffs with its concessionaire, it may
be asked whether the State can base these rates on the actual
working expenses — that is to say, with neither profit nor loss
for the concessionaire. From an economic point of view, such
a tariff is perfectly justifiable. Transporting operations, per
se, cannot be separated from the transactions to which they
are related. These transactions must be considered in view
of all the surrounding circumstances. In negotiating trans-
port operations, which of themselves entail neither profit nor
loss, a contractor is quite justified in calculating on present
or probable advantages which may result from the whole of
the operation; as, for instance, the opening of new markets
and the renunciation to the right of immediate repurchase of
the concern. To forbid him to do this would be to spoil
his chances and deprive him in many cases of a part of the
profit to which he is justly entitled.
Neither can it be argued, in the case of a railway like that
of the Congo, that the contractor should require rates superior
to his actual expenses, in order to realise an immediate profit.
Clause 16 states "that there shall be collected only tolls cal-
culated on the cost of construction, maintenance, and manage-
ment, and on the profits due to the promoters." To argue in
the sense indicated would be against the purport of the clause
which aims at forbidding excessive rates, but which in no way
interferes with a gradual realisation of average profits by the
contractors. To arbitrarily forbid the contractor to make
such profits would be to fly in the face of Clause i6, inasmuch
as it refers to the profits due to the contractor. It is equally
fallacious to imagine that because certain merchandise is car-
ried for a time without profit, the rates for certain other mer- /
chandise must needs be increased. Finally, it would still have •^-
to be shown that the Berlin Act forbids a proper and reason-
able equalisation of contractors' charges. But the Berlin Act
262 Story of the Congo Free State
does not meddle with such arrangements; it does not estab-
Hsh a detailed and proportional schedule of rates. It only-
says that such charges must not be excessive — that is to say,
they must not exceed the comprehensive amount of the neces-
sary^ expenses and due profits. The Act, moreover, fixes no
maximum for such profits, neither does it fix any maximum
rates on produce. Its intentions in this respect are shown by
its refusal to define, even by means of a maximum scale, the
extent of compensatory rates.
Time was when the native Congolese, lazily living
out his torpid life in a land where Nature in her
Africa Un- Itixuriance yielded him subsistence without
known to the ennobling concomitant of his labour,
ricans. avoided the great forests, the jungles, and
the marshes of Equatorial Africa. He moved about
to regions of easy access where the land afforded
his indolence the greatest pleasure for the least re-
sponsibility. Explorers and the early builders of
the Congo Free State often experienced great diffi-
culty in preventing the desertion of their native
carriers over a trackless course, such, for instance,-
as Stanley, Wissmann, De Brazza, cut out on their
several expeditions. In short, the African Negro
regarded his feet with such solicitude that he waited
for the white man to show him the thickets and the
fastnesses which contained those natural resources —
rubber, oil, gum, ivory, nuts — which certain library
philosophers and untravelled colonisers assert were
the conscious property of the savage who neither
knew of, nor cared for, their existence. Industry
was not worth while to him who could supply his
wants in idleness.
The State, on the other hand, has not only taught
Navigation, Railways, Roads 263
the native Congolese the enlightening influence of
honest labour, it has set him an example of colonial
industry the like of which can not be found in the
possessions of any other European Power. It built
its railways where the engineering skill of its more
powerful neighbours predicted failure; it sought
the hidden treasure of a vast domain with routes
and transport services which, in part, account for
prosperity which others observe with manifest envy.
Not content with these, it has lately penetrated the
forests with wide avenues, hundreds of miles long,
upon which to operate an automobile service. On
this subject Vice-Govemor-General Fuchs says:
The Government has also given attention to the construc-
tion of routes for motor cars; two chief routes of this kind
are being constructed.
The first in the Uelle between Redjaf and Ibembo. It will
be about 1250 kilometres in length, of which, according to the
latest information furnished, 400 kilometres are now open to
use. Experiments are being made there by means of three
steam waggons.
The second starts from Songololo, a station on the railway
from Matadi to the Pool, and proceeds to Popokabaka on the
river Kwango.
Routes destined for transport by waggons are, besides, in
course of construction, and in some parts of the territory are
sufficiently advanced to permit of transport by oxen, par-
ticularly in the Uelle, Katanga, and Manyema. The Mahagi-
Irumu route is working for a length of 165 kilometres; eleven
large villages are now established along this route, at distances
of from 13 to 16 kilometres from each other.
CHAPTER XXV
SCIENCE, AGRICULTURE, CIVILISING MEASURES
WITHIN the lifetime of men who may still be
accounted young, the words that stand at
the head of this chapter had no appli-
cation to any part of Central Africa. Science, in
A Marvel- ^^^ ^^^ forms, was Utterly unknown there;
lous Trans- agriculture can hardly be said to have ex-
formation, .g^g^^ though a few of the tribes raised
scanty crops of a nature that needed little or no
attention; while of civilising measures there were
absolutely none. These concomitants of long-estab-
lished civilisation followed naturally the advent of
the Belgians; and they have ever since, year by
year, taken root, and spread until there are no two
countries in the world more dissimilar than the
Central Africa of thirty years ago and the Central
Africa of to-day.
Realising to the full that complete success in any
undertaking is only possible where all the conditions
The Gospel affecting it are thoroughly understood,
ofThor- the Congo State, early in its career, es-
oughness. -^ablished nineteen scientific stations, at
various points throughout its territories, for the col-
lection of data relating to anthropology, botany,
ethnography, geology, philology, pisciculture, miner-
264
Science, Agriculture, Civilising Measures 265
alogy, zoology, etc., and for trigonometrical and
astronomical surveys. Each of these stations is in
charge of an expert, with properly qualified assist-
ants. They have transmitted to Europe a whole
literature of monographs, of great interest and value,
upon all sorts of subjects, and their field of work is
still far from being exhausted. The study of the
Congo climate by these savants has proved especially
valuable, their recommendations as to regimen,
dress, habitation, etc., for travellers and settlers,
having reduced the death rate of the whites to six
per cent., thus dispelling for ever the old notion
of the deadliness of Central Africa, and showing it
to be at least as healthful as India, and healthier
than either German East Africa, the Cameroons,
the Niger Territory, or Cochin China. A small, but
continual and increasing, influx of Europeans and
Americans demonstrates the gradual abandonment
of fear of the Congo climate, and faith in the hy-
gienic system inaugurated by the Belgians, — a sys-
tem which maintains sixteen State doctors to watch
over and report upon the health of the various
stations, and a permanent Hygienic Commission,
which sits at Boma.
At the royal palace of Tervueren, near Brussels,
now used as a public museum, are exhibited nearly
eight thousand objects illustrating industry
1 , ,1 • •■• 1 r Museum at
and art among the primitive peoples ot xervueren.
Central Africa, such as costumes, dwellings,
musical instruments, and implements of hunting,
fishing, agriculture, river navigation, and war. The
museum also contains several thousand geological,
266 Story of the Congo Free State
mineralogical, and zoological specimens, and a very
comprehensive herbarium, all collected within the
borders of the Congo Free State. The latter is of
particular interest, containing specimens of more
than four hundred new species.
From the first it has been the unswerving policy
of the Congo Free State to promote, by every means
at its disposal, the advancement of science as it
affects, and as it is affected by, conditions prevailing
within its territories. Until the Belgians came
among them, smallpox from time to time decimated
the natives, and was as great an evil as the slave
trade or their own internecine wars. They had no
conception of its prevention or cure, and submitted
to its ravages with unintelligent dumb passivity as
a providential visitation impossible to resist. The
white man with his vaccine was a revelation to
them; and though they at first refused to believe
in its efficacy, and would not accept vaccination,
they soon perceived the error of their disbelief; and
now they voluntarily come to the Belgian medical
officers asking to be vaccinated. Both Boma and
New Antwerp have vaccine producing institutions,
and vaccine is also distributed from Coquilhatville
and Stanleyville. The results are most gratifying;
for although, unfortunately, smallpox is by no means
stamped out of the Congo State it is far less pre-
valent and less virulent than formerly, so that it
is not unreasonable to look for its practical extinc-
tion in the near future.
To the present. Science has proved powerless to
cope with that strange malady, the sleeping -sick-
Science, Agriculture, Civilising Measures 267
ness. The ablest physicians, not only of Belgium,
but of England, France, and Germany, have studied
the disease exhaustively. Though much ^^^ sieep-
valuable data relating to its cause and ing sick-
effect have been collected, the discovery
of its antidote seems as far off to-day as ever. The
prevalence of this fatal sickness among its people
makes it a subject of vital concern to the Congo
Government, which is unceasingly vigilant in seek-
ing to discover the means for its extinction or al-
leviation. In its pursuit of this object, all possible
facilities have been afforded to foreign doctors visit-
ing the Congo State. By request of the English
medical faculty, three Congolese patients, suffering
from sleeping sickness, were recently sent to the
School of Tropical Medicine at Liverpool. On
another occasion two others were sent to the Char-
ing Cross Hospital in London. Animals have been
infected with the germs of the disease, and its every
symptom, from inception to climax, noted with min-
ute accuracy. The disease, which is invariably fatal,
appears to be on the increase, and there have been
many victims of it on the Gold Coast as well as in the
Congo State. For some obscure reason this dreadful
malady has been strictly confined to individuals of
the black race. Notwithstanding its want of success
in combating the evil, the Congo Government may
congratulate itself that it has neglected no precau-
tion, and spared no expense, in its effort to mitigate
what may conceivably develop into a veritable plague. '
' In the opinion of scientists, sleeping sickness is due to a trypano-
mous microbe, the propagating agent of which is the tsetse fly.
268 Story of the Congo Free State
In numerous ways has the Congo Government
appHed modem science to the upHfting and general
betterment of the people over whom it rules, without
distinction of colour or creed. Twenty-seven medi-
cal men, holders of European dij^lomas, twenty
Health Committees scattered throughout the coun-
try, a Bacteriological Institute, and a Hospital for
Natives at Boma not only labour for the cure of
disease, but disseminate as widely as possible among
the natives knowledge of the laws of health. On
the whole, the work has been marvellously produc-
tive of good results, and the native is now incom-
parably more healthful, cleaner, better fed, and
better housed than at any previous period of his
history.
Thirty years ago what is now the Congo Free
State was a wild tangle of luxuriant tropical growth
through which hordes of black savages
ACTkuiture ^oamed, fought, and practised their un-
speakable barbarities, living almost entirely
upon the spontaneous products of Nature. The
white magician has waved his wand and the scene
is transformed. In, and far around, each of the
numerous governmental stations or posts, life and
property are as secure now as in any part of Europe
or America. The spade and the hoe have displaced
the throwing-spear and poisoned arrow in the hands
of the native. Where the shy antelope or spring -bok
browsed, remote from human intrusion, the soil is
now turned up by the plough, and devoted to the
growing of coffee, cocoa, tea (of the Assam variety)
and various condiments, cinnamon, pepper, ginger,
Science, Agriculture, Civilising Measures 269
nutmegs, cloves, vanilla, etc. The establishments
for the breeding of cattle, horses, and donkeys, par-
ticularly in the Enclave of Lado, in Ruzizi-Kivu,
Equateur, Bangala, and Lualaba-Kassai, are numer-
ous and increasing. Latest accounts to hand state
that they exceed seventy. Many of the natives
display considerable aptitude in learning how to
tend herds of cattle. Great expense has
been incurred by the State and by various °^^ca«ie
companies in the purchase and importation
of pedigree horses and cattle. The animals have
been selected from the best European stocks by ex-
perts, and assigned to various breeding establish-
ments throughout the country. The enterprise has
proved extremely successful, the number of cattle
of European origin now in the State being no fewer
than 4500, with sixty horses, and nearly as many
donkeys.
In following agricultural employments the natives
receive liberal encouragement from the Government.
The State offers rewards for the cultivation of coffee
and cocoa. At all suitable stations is a coffee and
cocoa nursery, established by the State; that is to
say, the State has supplied the necessary seeds, and
contracts to allow an indemnity for each shrub on
its attaining two feet in height, and to pay the native
half the value of its produce less the cost of transport
to Europe.
Coffee has been found to flourish most in the
districts of Equateur and Aruwimi, and
in the zone of Stanley Falls. Liberica, Ar-
abian, and Guadaloupe are the varieties which have
270 Story of the Congo Free State
been selected as suited to the Congo soil and climate.
The number of coffee plants has increased from
61,517 in 1894, to 1,996,200 in 1902. Cocoa plants
numbered no fewer than 298,003 in 1902, an in-
crease of 284,136 in ten years!
In 1899 the State erected a factory for the prepa-
ration of coffee at Kinshassa, and adopted several
new methods, improvements upon the practice in
vogue in countries where coffee has been culti-
vated for generations. After being dried at the
plantations, the coffee is placed in sacks and sent
in State steamers to Stanley Pool, and thence to
the Kinshassa factory. So good is the quality of
Congo coffee that in 1894 it realised no less than
100 francs per 100 kilogrammes in the open market
at Antwerp.
Caoutchouc (rubber), for countless ages wholly a
spontaneous product of the forests, every year be-
comes more and more an object of cultivation. By
a decree dated January 5, 1899, it is provided that
in all the forests of the domain caoutchouc trees
shall be planted in the proportion of 150 feet to the
ton of caoutchouc collected during the same period.
By a subsequent decree, dated six months later, the
number of caoutchouc trees to be planted for each
ton of caoutchouc collected was raised from 150
feet to 500 feet. The enforcement of these decrees
is attended to by a staff of foresters, consisting of
eight controllers and twelve sub-controllers, work-
ing under a chief inspector.
Until prohibited by State decree, the method of
collecting caoutchouc practised by the natives was
it!
Science, Agriculture, Civilising Measures 271
to make an incision in the plant (liana), and al-
low the fluid to run into a jar. Sometimes they
allowed it to run into their hands, and
afterwards smeared it over their bodies, and Rubbe?
in that manner it was conveyed to market,
where it was rubbed off with sand. It was an ex-
ceedingly wasteful method, or rather want of method,
for the plant thus drawn from was necessarily killed.
Only the prodigious quantity of plants existing on
the Upper Congo and its tributaries has saved it
from extinction. Now caoutchouc is harvested by
extracting the fluid from the stem of the plant in a
way that does it no injury, a scientific yet simple
operation easily performed by women and children.
The industry has assumed enormous proportions.
The number of caoutchouc plants put into the
ground by companies and by the State are valued
at five million francs. The rubber annually pro-
duced in the world amounts at present to something
over 30,000 tons, of which the Congo Free State
exports 5000 tons.
In the African forests the caoutchouc or rubber-
bearing plant grows to a great height, often exceed-
ing 100 feet. It is commonly about six
inches in diameter at its base, and shoots ^ pianT
upward to the light through a dense mass
of tropical growth until, failing to find further sup-
port, it falls upon the branches of the tallest trees,
and spreads itself over them. There are numerous
other plants of the same genus which closely resemble
it, but their sap lacks the qualities of true rubber.
For several years past the State has experimented
2 72 Story of the Congo Free State
with these plants, and has sent specimens of them
to the authorities at the Botanical Gardens at Brus-
sels, Kew, Berlin, and Paris, for investigation. The
ever-increasing demand for rubber for use in the in-
dustries stimulates the inquiry as to whether or not
it is possible to so treat what is now regarded as
"false rubber" that it shall serve all the purposes of
"true rubber."
Amongst the true rubber lianas in which the
Congo Basin abounds are the following: Ficus
altissima, ficus Eetveldeana, ficus elastica, ficus nek-
buda, ficus religiosa, manihot glaziovii (French name,
ceara) , clitandra Arnoldiana (native name, mondongo),
juntumia elastica (French name, Ireh), landolphia
gentillii, and the landolphia owariensis (native name,
matofe mengo).
Constant experiments are being made, privately
and by the State, in the production of copal, sugar,
tobacco, and cotton, with results that justify the
confident expectation that at no distant date they
will be profitably exported. The cultivation of the
vine, and of numerous fruits and grasses, receives
also much attention, and is full of promise.
African ivory is ever3^where esteemed for its
superiority in colour and hardness to the Indian
variety. The large herds of elephants in-
and'ivo^'. habiting the forests of the Congo State
provide, at present, an enormous supply;
but the Government wisely takes into account the
possibility of its exhaustion, and has prohibited the
shooting of elephants. Wise laws also regulate
the cutting and export of lumber; and the folly of
Making Baskets for Transportation of Rubber (Kassai).
Science, Agriculture, Civilising Measures 273
denuding vast regions of trees, such as we have been
guilty of in America, will not be repeated on the
Congo.
In every way the State has exerted its utmost
influence to effect the moral improvement of the
native races, and its efforts have met with
much success. Their liberty and property influence?
are very carefully guarded. Polygamy is
not only discountenanced, it is penalised, no polyga-
mist being eligible for employment, whether mili-
tary or civil, by the State. Christian marriages
between natives, which ten years ago numbered
eighty-four, now take place by thousands every
year.
Alcohol is prohibited over 2,337,500 square kilo-
metres of Congo territory, the zone w^ithin which
its sale is tolerated extending to only 12,500 square
kilometres, w^here its abuse is guarded against by
carefully devised restrictions, rigidly enforced. The
sale of absinthe is absolutely forbidden in every part
of the Congo Free State.
It thus appears that, as the guardian of the wel-
fare of its people, the Congo Free State has nothing
to learn, either in theory or practice, from the most
enlightened governments of the world.
CHAPTER XXVI
TRADE, REVENUE, AND TAXES
AMONG the earlier trading companies on the
West Coast of Africa was the house of Regis
et Cie., estabhshed at Banana in 1858, whose
successors, Daumas, Beraud et Cie., were carrying on
a considerable business when Stanley explored in-
land from the mouth of the Congo in 1878. The old
Dutch house, the Afrikaansche Handels-Vennoot-
schap, of Rotterdam, had a branch at Boma in i860,
and the Portuguese firm of Valle & Azvedo, and the
agents of Hatton & Cookson, of Liverpool, opened
trading depots near by a few years later. These
firms had, however, very little direct trade with the
interior of the Congo Basin, commerce in their early
time being confined to the coast. Trade with the
interior is almost entirely due to the Belgians.
Before the Free State was founded the trade of
Central Africa was chiefly in slaves. As a Belgian
writer quaintly observes, the slave was at once the
means of labour, the main capital, the vehicle of
transport, the common currency, and the usual
tribute given to satisfy the covetousness of native
chiefs. The slave was the standard of wealth and
the element of power. In order to estimate the
influence of the slave trade as an economical factor
274
Trade, Revenue, and Taxes 275
in barbarous communities, and compare it with the
trade regime of civiHsation, it would be necessary
to imagine deaHngs in some object representing all
these uses in our markets."
To destroy the slave trade creates the problem of
substituting a trade that is legitimate, that is founded
upon the natural resources of the country. It
simultaneously creates the problem of labour. The
soil depends upon the man in the ratio in which man
depends upon the soil. The Belgians heard from
Stanley what vast wealth the Congo contained ; but
that wealth lay behind difficulties so great that no
one in Europe ventured to pursue it until the in-
domitable personality of one man inspired men with
the courage to undertake a seemingly hopeless task.
Without a railway from Matadi to Stanley Pool
commerce could not develop in the Congo Basin.
This was Stanley's opinion. His judgment that the
Congo had little value without such a railway in
the region of the Cataracts has been justified. The
Belgians built the railway at a cost nearly treble
that of the original estimate. In fact, while others
have been groaning and droning and musing upon
the ethical theories of ideal colonisation and civili-
sation, in pamphlets and innocuous books, the Bel-
gians have followed their own gospel of work and
been at their task throughout the waking hours of
each day. Spontaneous initiative, timely energy, un-
remitting labour, these appear to be the character-
istics of Belgian dominance in Congoland. Having
regard to the habit Europeans have of considering
^ Descamps.
276 Story of the Congo Free State
Americans the great exemplars of an age of ma-
teriahsm and hustle, there is almost an element of
humour in the fact that one of the first Congolese
companies formed under the aegis of the Free State
was founded by an American, General Henry S.
Sanford, sometime United States Minister at
Brussels. This was the Sanford Exploring Ex-
pedition, constituted by General Sanford and M.
Georges Brugmann in 1887. Its business was that
of dealing directly with the natives for rubber and
ivory, and it and the Mateba Syndicate and the
Compagnie du Congo pour le Commerce et 1' Indus-
trie are generally regarded as the pioneers of organ-
ised trade in the interior of Central Africa. It
would seem, therefore, that the accident of a king's
friendship with an American minister, whose wise
counsel he often consulted, might justify at least
sentimental interest in the welfare of a region where
the restless spirit of strenuous American life had
manifested its tendencies nearly twenty years ago.
Since the day when General Sanford set the ex-
ample, forty-eight Belgian and fourteen foreign com-
panies, with an original capital of 136,000,000 francs,
have established a commerce in Congoland which is
attracting the envy of some and the admiration of
many throughout the world.
Before indicating the practical details of the trade
and revenue of the State, a brief glance at the ten
years before the Brussels Conference enabled it to
create its support by levying import duties will recall
the fact that from 1878 to 1890 King Leopold per-
sonally expended upwards of 3,000,000 francs a year
Trade, Revenue, and Taxes 277
for the founding and maintenance of the State,
irrespective of the meagre support derived from
other sources. Indeed, no one felt disposed to sup-
port an African enterprise which promised to yield
only ' ' enlightened niggers. ' ' As Stanley sarcastically
said in his lectures in England, too many of his
audience measured "civilisation" by the dividends
it produced. The inability of the Free State to
support itself from enthusiastic humanitarians out-
side of Belgium was significantly indicated in 1886,
when the revenue of the State was less than 75,000
francs! The exports, chiefly ivory, were only
1,750,000 francs, and the Congo Association, when
it was merged in the State, possessed only thirteen
stations. Out of two hundred and fifty -four for-
eigners on the Congo in 188 5- 1886, only forty-six
were Belgians. In fact, nothing looked gloomier
than the prospect of the new State in the African
jungle; and yet one man, with a superhuman sense
of the future, continued to pour gold and his labours
upon that dark and distant land with its thirty
million unenlightened souls. Now, when from a
wilderness and savagery have been evolved civili-
sation, a thriving industry, a prolific field and
growing market, religion, order, and prosperity, all
that the early pioneer did is utterly lost and for-
gotten in the noisy controversy over a rich spoil.
It was by the Brussels Act of 1890 that the State
acquired the right to levy taxes and impose customs
dues. What Leopold II. had expended on be-
half of the State in its long formative period was be-
yond recovery. It will be recalled that the Belgian
278 Story of the Congo Free State
Parliament had sanctioned a loan to the State of 25,-
000,000 francs, 5,000,000 francs to be paid soon after
the Brussels Conference, the remainder at the rate of
2,000,000 francs a year. To this sum the King, hav-
ing abandoned all claim to the huge sum he had pre-
viously advanced to the State, now added an annual
subsidy of 1,000,000 francs. The State, therefore,
began the development of its resources with an as-
sured income of 3,000,000 francs a year — not a large
sum when compared with the responsibility of fight-
ing cannibal slave-raiders with one hand while tilling
the soil, constructing railways, creating posts and
missions, and organising the State's machinery with
the other. Beside the task in Congoland, the early
American colonist enjoyed a holiday in a land of
greater security and healthfulness.
The revenues first provided were on the export of
rubber and ivory. These were fixed, after agree-
ment with the neighbouring States of France and
Portugal, at ten per cent. The duty on vegetable
products was fixed at five per cent. Import duties
were as follows: On arms, ammunition, and salt,
ten per cent. ; merchandise of any kind, six per cent. ;
on spirits, fifteen francs per hectolitre ' at 50° of the
centesimal alcoholmetre ; boats, machinery, and
articles for industrial and agricultural use were ex-
empt till May, 1898, and thereafter paid only three
per cent.
The tax on caoutchouc (rubber) was first fixed at
■ twenty -five centimes a kilogramme (about five cents
on two pounds) equivalent to four per cent, on its
^ About twenty-two gallons.
Trade, Revenue, and Taxes 279
value in Europe. When, however, the Cataracts
Railway was finished, and human porterage along
the route from Stanley Pool to Matadi abolished,
the tax on rubber was increased to eight per cent,
of its European value. Another decree of the same
date (February, 1898) provided for the payment of
a licence of 5000 francs by all persons establishing
a rubber factory or depot in the domains. Other
sources of revenue are coffee, tea, cocoa, gum-co-
pal, palm oil, palm nuts, rice, tobacco, maize, sugar-
cane, vegetables, fruit, cinnamon, pepper, ginger,
vanilla, nutmegs, cloves, and spices.
Great credit is due the local administrators of the
Free State for the progress they have made in a long
list of cultivated products, and the growth of the
country's export trade resulting from Belgian and
native co-operation and industry. For instance, in
1887 the total exports amounted to only 1,980,441
francs'; in 1891, 5,353,519 francs, and in 1903,
54,597.835-21.
The following tables indicate at a glance the pro-
ducts imported and exported, their comparison with
previous years, and their value :
* Reported in the Bulletin Officiel, 1898.
28o Story of the Congo Free State
STATISTICS OF PRODUCTS EXPORTED FROM THE CONGO
FREE STATE DURING 1903
Special Commerce
General Commerce
Exports
Quantity
Value
Quantit}'
Value
Arachides
Coffee
Rubber
White Copal
Palm Oil
Ivory
Palm Nuts
Cocoa
Beans
Maize
Kilog."-
328,463
136,148
5.917,983
341.883
1,647,434
184,954
4,957,635
89,365
740
4,750
5
33,654
Frs. Cs.
65,692.60
129,340.60
47.343,864.00
649.577-70
971,986.06
3.791,557.00
1,487,290.50
125,1 1 1.00
222.00
546.25
15,000.00
16,827.00
Kilog.
461,652
172,674
6,594,804
342,317
1,848,092
353.679
5,909,900
89,365
740
4,750
5
33.654
35,810
235
5 m. 3
Frs. Cs.
92,330.40
164,040.30
52,758,432.00
650,402.30
1,090,374.28
7,250,419.50
1,772,970.00
125,111.00
222.00
546.25
15,000.00
16,827.00
17,905.00
70.50
750.00
Rough Gold
Rice
Sesame
Tobacco
Wood
235
5 m-3
70.50
750.00
Totals
54,597-835-21
63,955.400.53
^ 1 kilogramme equals 2.20 lbs.
TOTAL VALUE OF
Place of Export
Special
Commerce
General
Commerce
Free State (Upper Congo
" " (Lower Congo")
Frs. Cs.
51,790,451.05
2,807,384.16
Frs. Cs.
] 54,597,835-21
French Possessions (Upper Congo) . .
Portviguese Possessions (Left Bank
of the Congo)
German Possessions (West Coast of
Africa)
Portuguese Possessions (Basin of the
Shiloango)
Portuguese Possessions (Sea Coast) . .
6,738,689.35
1,293,043-47
895,611.50
271,840.18
158,380.82
Totals
54,597.835-21
63.955,400.53
Collecting Rubber in Forest of Lusambo (Lualaba-Kassai).
Trade, Revenue, and Taxes
281
COMPARISON OF EXPORTS FOR 1903 WITH THOSE OF PRE-
VIOUS YEARS
Years
Values
Special
Commerce
General
Comjnerce
Second half-year, 1886
Year 1887
1890.
1893.
1894.
1895.
1896.
1897.
1898.
1899.
1900.
1901 .
1902.
1903.
Frs.
886,
1,980,
2,609,
4,297^
8,242,
5.353.
5.487.
6,106,
8,761,
10,943.
12.389.
15.146,
22,163,
36,061,
47.377,
50,488,
50,069,
54,597.
432
441
300
543
199
519
632
134
622
019
599
976
481
959
401
394
514
835
Cs.
03
45
35
85
43
37
89
68
15
07
85
32
86
25
33
31
97
Frs.
3.456,
7,667,
7.392,
8.572,
14,109,
10,535,
7.529,
7.514,
II. 031,
12,135,
15.091,
17.457,
25.396,
39.138,
51.775.
54,007,
56,962,
63,955.
Cs.
050.41
969.41
348.17
51919
781.27
619.25
979.68
791-39
704.48
656.16
137.62
090.85
706.40
283.67
978.09
581.07
349-44
400.53
'Statistics of exports were not taken until after July i, 1886.
EXPORTS FOR 1903
Destination
Special
Commerce
General
Commerce
Belgium
Portuguese Possessions (Sea Coast)
Low Countries
England
Portuguese Possessions (Left Bank of
the Congo)
Portugal
British Possessions (East Coast of
Africa)
Gennany
French Possessions (Upper Congo) ....
France
German Possessions (East Coast of
Africa)
German Possessions (West Coast of
Africa)
Italy
British Possessions (West Coast of
Africa)
Sweden and Norway
United States of America
Frs. Cs.
51,944,628.76
1,786,869.55
415.558.85
213,602.45
66,433-75
63,471.62
50.327-50
22,074.48
16,269.75
6,238.00
7,277.50
2,500.00
1,312.00
820.00
287.00
164.00
Frs. Cs.
60,119,981.46
1,872,934.45
1,293,801.56
297,676.91
85.057-75
85,823.62
50,327-50
103.797-78
16,269.75
17.369-25
7,277.50
2,500.00
1,312.00
820.00
2S7.00
164.00
54,597.835-21
63.995-400.00
282 Story of the Congo Free State
STATISTICS OF GOODS IMPORTED INTO THE CONGO FREE
STATE DURING 1903
Sumtnary
Goods
Values
Special
Commerce
General
Commerce
Matches .
Live Ani-
mals and
Fodder
Arms, Am-
munition,
and belts
Boats, En-
gines, and
Detached
Pieces for
Boats
C Homed Cattle
Sheep
Pigs
Horses
Donkeys and Mules
Others
Fodder
Cannons
Piston Guns
Flint Guns
Other Guns (Improved Sys-
tems)
Pistols and Revolvers
Charge Pieces
Side Arms
Cartridges
Caps
Gunpowder
Ordinary and Blasting
Powder
Explosives
Sundries
Belts
Steamers
Engines and Boilers
Charge Pieces for Engines
and Boilers
Boats and Sailing Vessels..
Detached Pieces for Boats . .
Canoes
Sail-Cloth ;
Anchors and Chains for
Navy
Wood for Masts
Other Rigging and Ap-
paratus
Frs. Cs.
17,367.67
15,360.00
2,197.20
48.00
7.379-48
10,370.40
227.40
1,654.08
66,306.18
34,788.66
26,848.44
68,215.97
10,295.82
23.516.53
1,356.26
292,323.80
8,889.14
167,024.44
2,046.61
48,183.67
76,749.90
33-720.30
845.957-00
30,920.00
223,517.94
66,950.00
715,858.90
22,981.20
5,216.44
2,585-71
120.60
8,781.91
Frs. Cs.
21,375-79
15,360.00
2,197.20
48.00
7,379-48
10,370.40
227.40
1 ,654.08
66,306.18
48,541.45
74.585-18
90,044.50
12,347.82
23.834-71
1,356.26
308,606.84
16,558.34
271,145.04
2,963.41
48,183.67
79,268.93
34,141.26
845.957-00
56,332.83
302,308.83
66,950.00
715,858.90
22,981.20
6,553-18
2,848.27
120.60
9,302.88
N. B. — The Special Commerce includes goods for consumption which
are declared directly they arrive, or at the time of their removal from
the warehouse.
General Commerce embraces all goods which enter the territory of
the State that may be declared for consumption, transit, or warehouse.
Trade, Revenue, and Taxes
^^Z
Goods
Values
Special
Commerce
General
Commerce
Jewelry
and
Clock-work
Liquors
Fuel
Gold and Silver Jewelry
Other Jewelry
Watches and Fittings
Clocks and Alarums
Carved Wood and Wooden Objects
Beer
Brandy, at 50 Degrees or
Less
Brandy, at more than 50
Degrees. . ;.•
Other Brandy (including
Liqueurs)
Wines
Candles
Coffee
Camping Equipments
f Briquettes of Coal
I Coke
Coal
Charcoal
Rope, Cord, and Fishing Implements. . . .
Colours, Varnish, and Painters' Ma-
terials
' Canned Meats, Fish, Vege-
tables, Butter, Cheese,
etc
Starch, Biscuits, Flour, etc..
Seeds (Beans, Oatmeal, Len-
tils, Barley, etc.)
Dried Fish
Potatoes and Onions
Rice
Salt. ._. _
Sundries (Spices, Yeast,
Tea, etc)
Chemicals
Pottery and Earthenware
Seeds and Berries
Clothing and Lingerie
Harness and Saddlery. .
Oils, f Petroleum
Grease, and | Oils, Tar, Grease,
Bitumen [ etc
Tools, Scientific Apparatus, etc. . .
' Engines
Cars
Alimentary
Provisions
Resin
Machines,
Frs. Cs.
183.30
4, Sot). 60
11,315.90
5.S19.75
287,143,01
203,181.34
96,725.40
113,987.22
85,148.69
890,618.56
39.473-91
16,041.49
60,143.52
220,681.79
103.20
1,470.36
I.574-83
49.973-37
90,181.70
2,117,536.81
378,337-04
8,696.69
516,216.60
67,376-77
412,772.93
loi ,206.70
175,696.59
42,450.49
51,218.48
33,491-80
1,112,571.28
35,262.87
41,865.91
126,940.40
126,258.93
29,400.00
46,073.88
Frs. Cs
183.30
7.144
11.635
5.963
325.245
207,279
1 16,101
147,452
133,834
1,053,073
49,133
24,265
66,217
220,681
103
1.470
1.574
54.429
64
99
91
73
16
51
44
79
20
36
83
73
96,694.46
2,501,029.49
478,102.87
9.331-56
547,529-61
73,21 1.63
472,494.35
132.471-30
220,038.06
46,085.27
58,014.07
36,869.80
1,284,929.00
51,670.17
44,597.69
133,992.10
134,216.20
29,400.00
46,073.88
284 Story of the Congo Free State
Goods
Values
Special
Commerce
General
Commerce
Machinery,
Tools,
Telegraph
and
Telephone
Apparatus,
Metallic
Structures
Building
Materials
Metals
Machines and Various Ma-
chinery
Charge Pieces and Acces
sories
Various Tools
Material and Apparatus for
Telegraph and Telephone
Various Metallic Structures.
Bricks
Lime
Cement
Other Material
Mercery and Perfumery
' Steel Bars
Steel
Steel Rails
Steel Plates
Other Steel
Copper and Brass
Other Copper and Brass. . .
Tin
Iron Bars
Pure Iron
Iron Nails
Iron
Iron Girders
Sheet Iron
Other Iron
Mercury
Lead
Zinc
Furniture and Furnishings
Papers, f Account-Books and Papers.
Cards, I Papers and Cards
Office j Office Stationery and
Stationery [ Printed Matter (Sundry).
Chemical Products
Pharmaceutical Products
Ironmongery (Kitchen Utensils, House-
hold Articles, Sundries such as Copper
and Iron Bands, Mirrors, etc.)
Soaps
Tobacco i Cigars and Cigarettes
( Other Tobacco
Tissues ^ Unbleached Cotton
( Bleached Cotton
Frs. Cs.
244.595-21
147,997.82
300,770.38
32,454-55
337.512.43
2,098.38
13,166.52
98,351-29
116,396.30
I35-047-3I
596.46
209.52
378,287.50
4,941.61
1,335.60
479,356.67
21,452.05
1,667.14
885.32
2,772.24
55,678.83
6,544-36
602.48
68,334.43
32,279.45
348.90
1,489.99
6,792.88
119,458.27
73.873-84
28,598.79
115,664.81
63,644.81
224,577.48
640,032.60
91,364-23
80,874.89
72,897.57
835,792.11
141,243.69
Frs. Cs.
291,491.21
150,092.90
322,553.56
40,776.55
340,782.43
2,098.38
14,541.84
100,560.41
128,908.61
163,413.99
1,681.08
2,292.10
378,287.50
7,587-61
1,454-40
522,850.66
27,190.16
1,979.14
1,583-24
2,772.24
58,704.06
9,386.68
602.48
77,021.87
49,102.97
348.90
2,704-75
8,515-78
133,537-33
76,413-49
31,743-82
139,694.47
70,509-15
248,789.45
784,079.20
106,753.67
102,181.71
91,313-90
895,633-90
180,482.79
Trade, Revenue, and Taxes
285
Values
UOODS
Special
Commerce
General
Commerce
r Printed Cotton
Frs. Cs.
688,813.04
3,966,602.10
123.052.95
446.94
52,766.94
1,060.20
48,863.76
190,920.12
8,914.84
6,99552
2,036.26
17.685.73
58,068.92
50,128.43
253.278.71
Frs. Cs.
772,302.83
4,632,076.80
132,819.78
152.06
446.94
54,174.68
1 ,060. 20
Dyes Cotton
Other Kinds, Cotton
Raw Wool
Woollen Prints
Woollen Dyes
Woollen Cloth
Tissues \
Other Wool
60,844.02
Hemp and Jute
223.715-70
14,228.44
Silks
Velvet
9,300.42
7,083.20
22,616.82
Shawls
Carpet
Awnings, oil-cloth, and
Tarpaulin
60,320.68
58,606.07
324,955.06
f Glassware
and Fancy
Glass
Fancy Glass
Totals
20,896,331.02
23.933.375-02
IMPORTS
Year 1903
RECAPITULATORY TABLE, SHOWING COUNTRIES FROM
WHICH PRODUCTS WERE IMPORTED
Countries
Belgium
England
Germany
France
Low Countriv?s
Portuguese Possessions (Sea Coast)
Portugal
Austria
Denmark
Italy
Switzerland
Special
Commerce
Frs. Cs.
15.699.535-09
2.390.779-79
639,098.72
584,372.36
491.758-23
451.903-78
155,500.81
1 10,976.30
85,195.04
76,616.46
69,763.40
General
Commerce
Frs. Cs.
16,524,451.18
2,790,509.07
781,608.72
1,724,921.27
975.031-13
478,443.69
160,004.16
115.275-70
85,607.06
81,730.76
69,857.22
286 Story of the Congo Free State
Countries
English Possessions (East Coast,
Africa)
Spain (Canary Isles)
Zanzibar
Sweden and Norway
Portuguese Possessions (Left Bank of
the Congo)
British Possessions (West Coast,
Africa)
United States of America
Senegal
Algeria
Spain
French Possessions (Upper Congo)
German Possessions (East Coast,
Africa)
Grand Duchy of Luxembourg
Republic of Liberia
Totals
Special
Commerce
Frs. Cs.
59,210.70
27,645.02
13,301.28
1 1,790.87
8,245.69
5,467.20
5.274-33
4,800.00
2,647.20
i>i4i-55
731.28
434.82
84.00
60.00
>, 331-02
General
Commerce
Frs. Cs.
5,210.079
27,645.02
13,301.28
12,077.07
8,245.69
5,467.20
9,285.88
4,800.00
2,971.20
1,166.03
1,121.28
434.82
148.86
60.00
23.933.375-02
COMPARISON OF IMPORTS FOR 1903 WITH THOSE OF PRE-
CEDING YEARS
Years
From May 9th to December 31st, 1892^.
Year 1893
i»94.
1895.
1896.
1897.
1900.
1901 .
1902.
1903.
Values
Special
Commerce
Frs. Cs.
4,984,455-15
9. 175. 103. 34
1 1,194,722.96
10,685,847.99
15,227,776.44
22,181,462.49
23,084,446.65
22,325,846.71
24,724,108.91
23,102,064.07
18,080,909.25
20,896,331.02
General
Commerce
Frs. Cs.
5,679,195.16
10,148,418.26
1 1,854,021.72
11,836,033.76
16,040,370.80
23,427,197.83
25,185,138.66
27,102,581.18
31,803,213.96
26,793,079.37
20,699,723.98
23.933.37502
I The collection of import duty commenced May 9, 1892.
at
Trade, Revenue, and Taxes 287
These tables show what has provided the enemies
of the Congo Free State with a great deal of puerile
prattle — an excess of exports over imports which is
more apparent than real. One of the bitter critics
who write from Liverpool repeats the charge in the
press that the Sovereign of the Free State is denud-
ing the Congo of its natural resources by exporting
inore than he imports. In this respect a German
writer in Der Tag, Berlin, September, 26, 1904, not at
all friendly to the Congo State (because it is divert-
ing the Zanzibar trade of the Fatherland), has some
pertinent things to say of the excess of exports over
imports in the British colonies of South Nigeria and
Lagos. Herr Eberhard von Schkopp discusses the
Congolese, British, French, and German trade statis-
tics in the following concise manner:
In I go I the Congo State importations reached twenty-
three million francs whilst the exports attained fifty millions,
and the transit trade seven millions. This excess of exports
over imports has been turned to account to support the at-
tacks — justified besides — upon the Congo State's system of
government.
If that circumstance is of a kind to weigh in the balance,
it ought to be imputed as a ground of complaint against all
nations carrying on a practical colonial policy, and whose
possessions export more than they import. The Congo State
is neither the only nor even the first colony where this excess
has been exhibited.
The exports of the English colony of South Nigeria have
always surpassed the imports. Here are the figures:
1896 1897 1898 1899 1900
Imports . .750,000 655,000 640,000 732,000 723,000 pounds ster.
Exports . .844,000 785,000 750,000 774,000 888,000 pounds ster.
288 Story of the Congo Free State
Statistics of the trade of the EngUsh colon}'- of Lagos:
1896 I'^f^? 1898 1899 1900
Imports. .881,000 758,000 892,000 960,000 832,000 pounds ster.
Exports. .975,000 810,000 882,000 915,000 885,000 pounds stcr.
Here also, except for 1898 and 1899, the total of exports
exceeds that of imports. The case is the same with the com-
merce of the Gold Coast and the Gambia.
The French colonies also — Ivory Coast, Dahomey, Guinea,
and French Congo — can also boast of having frequently had
their exports higher than their imports.
No one has ever yet pretended to make that a grievance
against the English and the French, and it must appear aston-
ishing that the favourable trade statistics of the Congo State
should lead to an attack on the system of its administration.
It would be very desirable if, following the example of the
Congo State, and as we have seen of the English and French
colonies, our possessions [the German] across the sea were to
show exports exceeding their imports. For a commercial
firm that is the best proof of success, and it cannot in any
way be concluded from this fact that the "poor" blacks of
Africa are being exploited by Europeans devoid of conscience.
But let us see if the Congo State exports really do
exceed the imports, and if so, by what sum. The
exports of the State are estimated in the tables at
their value in Antwerp, after they have been har-
vested, prepared for transport from remote parts of
the Congo Basin, stood charges of porterage, freight,
export duties, taxes, insurance, brokerage at the
African and European terminals, and merchant pro-
fits of an indefinite measure — in all, at least half
their European value. The original value of Cen-
tral African ivory, rubber, palm oil, gum copal, and
other exports is, in fact, less than half their market
value in Europe. In other words, if the exports of
Trade, Revenue, and Taxes 289
the Congo State were estimated at their value as they
left the forests or the native collector, instead of
aggregating 54,597,835.21 francs for the year 1903,
they would show but 27,298,917.16 francs.
On the other hand, the imports, also estimated at
their European value, but having similar distances
to undergo and similar charges to bear, represent
when they reach their consumers at least double their
invoiced European cost. On a proper basis of value
in their ultimate African market the imports for the
year 1903 would amount to 42,792,662.04 francs.
Thus the exports would stand at 27,298,917.16
francs, and the imports at 42,792,662.04 francs for
the year 1903.
But even this is not a just comparison with the
exports and imports of the British colonies, inas-
much as in the colony of Lagos, for instance, the
imports include about sixty-five per cent, of alco-
holic liquors,' leaving the native the beneficiary of an
' The revenue of the British colony of Lagos for the last three years
available was derived as follows:
1898 1899 1900-1
Fes. Fes. Fes.
Alcohol 3,386,450.00 3,288,250.00 3,345,850.00
Tobacco 273,250.00 266,125.00 379,150.00
Salt 40,075.00 43,750.00 140,800.00
Cotton Goods 428,075.00 382,850.00 432,450.00
Other Articles 366,650.00 661,350.00 799,775.00
The following is a comparison between the alcoholic liquor imported
into Lagos and the Congo Free State:
Lagos Congo Free State
Gin 463,380 gallons
Rum 129,780
Whiskey 8,100
601,260 " Total consumption = 43,300 gallons.
Thus for every gallon of alcohol imported into the Congo Free State
19
290 Story of the Congo Free State
aggregate import of really civilising products of only
thirty-five per cent, of the total, while the Congo
imports, containing only five per cent, of alcoholic
liquors, bestows ux)on the native legitimate products
for his civilisation to the extent of ninety-five per
cent, of the total of all the imports of the State.
Deducting, therefore, from the Lagos imports sixty
of their sixty -five per cent, of gin, rum, and whisky,
thereby placing them on an equation with the im-
ports of the Congo, we find in Herr von Schkopp's
figures an arraignment of Lagos "civilisation" which
indicates where the real curse of Central Africa abides.
The foregoing is an astonishing record of exports and
imports for a country practically developed in the
short period which has elapsed since 1886. Congolese
products are largely sent to Antwerp and, as the
tables show, Belgium is by far the largest exporter
and importer. A few years ago England was the
chief exporter to the Congo of its cotton stuffs and
other goods, but the same laggard spirit which
caused Englishmen once interested in the Anglo-
Belgian India-Rubber Company (known as the Abir)
and other undertakings to abandon their Congolese
enterprises has lost England a large and growing
market in Central Africa. That the Belgians have
developed the Mid-African trade by dint of hard
work, organisation, and the risk of capital, is a state
of things intolerable to those who have neglected
and lost it. The awkward English monetary system
is alone responsible for a large percentage of the
(1,000,000 square miles in area,) there are imported into British Lagos
(3,460 square miles in area), thirteen and seven-tenths gallons, or as
5 per cent, is to 68J per cent, of total revenue.
Trade, Revenue, and Taxes 291
world-wide diminution of British trade. All other
nations have shown greater adaptability to the
characteristics of foreign markets, and the capabil-
ities and peculiarities of the peoples who compose
those markets. The Germans, French, and Ameri-
cans circulate their catalogues and price lists in the
language of the country where they seek a market
and quote prices in its coin, giving the equivalents
in francs, marks, and dollars. British merchants,
on the other hand, have adhered to their ancient
custom of employing a monetary system so need-
lessly cumbersome that it can hardly be attributed
to intelligent origin.
Belgian manufacturers have patiently studied the
needs of the natives and have successfully endeav-
oured to supply them with the textures and food
stuffs, machinery, agricultural implements, and
building material which, being of simple construction,
they are capable of putting to intelligent use.
The mineral wealth of the country which prospect-
ing during the last five years has revealed in many
sections of the Congo Basin, it is not the purpose
of this volume to more than mention. Fine out-
croppings of gold, coal, and copper have been dis-
covered in the Katanga district in the south-eastern
comer of the State. It has lately been rumoured in
Europe that foreign prospectors have discovered ter-
ritory marvellously rich in gold near the borders of
British East Africa in the south, and again in the En-
clave of Lado in the north. On this subject, and the
likelihood of early and interesting mineral develop-
ments in that region, the Congo State authorities
292 Story of the Congo Free State
appear to have considerable knowledge. They do
not, however, discuss the matter with any degree of
candour. When the secret of certain political phases
of Congolese history shall have been revealed, a con-
nexion may be found between the mining and rubber
industry and the calumnious campaign now pro-
ceeding against the State. But with that story, the
present volume has naught to do.
The State's revenue, consisting of import and ex-
port dues, tolls, excise, and direct personal taxation,
is indicated in the following table:
1902
Nature of Receipts
1903
Estimates
Estimates
Frs.
3,000.00
70,000.00
6,055,000.00
580,000.00
Registration Taxes
Frs.
3,000.00
20,000.00
6,150,000.00
600,000.00
Sale and Letting of Domanial Land,
Timber Felling, etc
' Customs Duties on Exports, ]
Frs. 4,550,000.00 1
■ Customs Duties on Imports, includ- \
ing the Duties on Alcohol,
Frs. 1,600,000.00
Direct Personal Taxation
Road Tolls
1 ,000.00
125,000.00
155,000.00
55,000.00
25,000.00
8,000.00
4,160,000.00
Taxes on Timber Felling
Postal Receipts
Maritime Rates . . .•
Judicial Receipts
Chancery Duties
Transport, and Different Services
of the State
140,000.00
155,000.00
60,000.00
25,000.00
6,000.00
3,100,000.00
60,000.00
16,440,000.00
1,100,000.00
105,000.00
125,000.00
60,000.00
15,452,000.00
1,703,000.00
122,000.00
135,000.00
Taxes on Portage
Proceeds from the Private Domain
of the State, from Tributes and
Taxes Paidin Kind by the Natives
Interests and Dividends
Fees for Licences Granted to Con-
golese Companies
Extra and Casual Receipts
Total Receipts
28,709,000.00
28,090,000.00
Trade, Revenue, and Taxes 293
It will be observed that by far the greater propor-
tion of the State's revenue is derived from the State
lands (Domatne prtve), which is fully considered in
a succeeding chapter. Direct personal taxation is a
comparatively small item, being only 600,000 francs,
or one forty-seventh part of the year's budget. Im-
port duties, including duties on alcohol, are only
1,600,000 francs, while duties on exports amount to
4,550,000 francs. These duties were, as hereinbefore
stated, fixed by arrangement with France and Por-
tugal on April 8, 1892, for a term of ten years, and
by a protocol dated May 10, 1902, extended until
July 2, 1905.
The export duty collected on India-rubber and
ivory under these tariff agreements between the in-
terested Powers are as follows:
Ivory, in pieces or sticks Frs. lo per kilo.
Tusks of less weight than 6 kilos " 16 "
Tusks above 6 kilos, in weight " 21 " "
India-rubber " 4 " "
"Personal taxes," says Descamps, "are levied
upon three bases : i , The area of inhabited buildings
and enclosures; 2, the number of employes in ser-
vice; 3, the ships and boats used by tax-payers."
As to the taxes en nature, levied upon the natives and
already referred to in a previous chapter, the Chev-
alier de Cuvelier, Secretary of State of the Congo
Free State, says in his official capacity in the Bulletin
Ofpciel for June, 1903, that "it is as legitimate as any
other kind of tax. It does not impose upon the
native obligations of a different nature or heavier
than the system of taxation employed in neighbour-
294 Story of the Congo Free State
ing colonies, such, for instance, as the British hut-
tax. It is the native's contribution to the pubhc
charges incurred by the State in exchange for the
protection given him. In the Congo State this par-
ticipation in the State's support is hght, seeing that
it represents on an average not more than forty
hours of native labour in a month." It is the pay-
ment of tax in this form that the State terms presta-
tion, which, if literally translated, would mean
enforced labour upon roads.
In 1902 a general reduction of direct taxation was
decreed. At the same time the taxation of all re-
ligious, charitable, and scientific institutions and
enterprises was reduced to 50 per cent, of the rate
which prevailed when the State had no revenue from
import dues or from its domain lands. By a decree
of 25th June, 1902, all personal taxes are entitled to
one-fifth reduction so long as the State lands {do-
maine), tributes, and taxes in kind, yield the sum of
17,000,000 francs annually. In order to develop
and extend the public highways, and works increas-
ing the facilities of commerce, religion, agriculture,
etc., the native prestations and their proper distri-
bution have formed the subject of numerous decrees,
all seeking to equitably adjust this form of taxation.
One of the later decrees, that of i8th November,
1903, provides, amongst other measures protective
of the native, that "In order to fix the tax justly and
equitably among the natives, the territorial chiefs
must take into account the nature of the work to be
done, the age and the skill of the natives subjected
to the prestation, and finally the obligation of the
g
Trade, Revenue, and Taxes 295
State to remunerate the natives for all work done
by them."^
The items constituting the State's annual ex-
penditure throw an interesting light on the subject of
these native prestations in the Congo State. The
State's enemies found their charges of slavery largely
upon the fact that the State enforces this labour
upon the natives instead of imposing a tax in specie.
In 1903 the State paid to its European officials and
employes in the Congo force puhlique the sum of
1,800,000 francs, whereas during the same period
the wages it paid to natives in the same service
amounted to 2,050,000 francs. In developing the
State lands at a cost of 6,014,790 francs during that
year, the sum of 2,802,190 francs was paid to natives
as wages. For extending agriculture and replant-
ing India-rubber vines the sum of 1,373,932 francs
was expended in 1903. The following items, taken
from the table of expenditure for the same year, may
be interesting:
Home Department
Frs.
The Administrative Service of Europe 165,000.00
The Administrative Service of Africa 3,180,310.00
The Army 7,701,765.00
Naval Expenditure 2,023,376.00
Sanitary Department 504,120.00
Public Works _. _ 1,081,885.00
Missions and Educational Establishments 121,425.00
Expenses relating to some Transports in Africa, not
Drawn up in the Budget 1,600,000.00
Financial Department
The Administrative Ser\'ice of Europe 99,000.00
The Administrative Service of Africa 503,065.00
Agriculture 1,373,932.00
Exploitation of the Domain 6,041,790.00
Savings-Bank, Interest of the Loans and Guaranteed
Stock 1,656,228.00
' Report of Vice-Govcrnor-Gcncral, July 1904. "
i^
296 Story of the Congo Free State
Foreign Office and Justice
Administrative Service of Europe 227,100.00
Postal Department 66,000.00
Navigation 140,200.00
Justice 910,000.00
Worship 250,000.00
The currency of the Congo Free State consists of
copper, silver, and gold coins and paper notes. The
former are issued under a decree of 27th July, 1887,
which established the monetary system upon the gold
standard. The gold coins are of the value of twenty
francs; the silver coins are the five, two, one franc,
and the fifty centime piece. The copper coins are
the ten, five, two, and one centime pieces.
Paper Currency. By a decree of February 7, 1896, with
the object of faciUtating business transactions between the
different parts of the State, banknotes of the State, payable to
the bearer at the General Treasury of the Congo Free State,
in Brussels, were issued. This decree sanctioned a first issue
of notes to the value of 400,000 francs.
An order of the Secretary of State of February 8, 1896,
limited the value of the issued notes to a sum of 269,850
francs, comprising 2,000 notes of 100 francs each, and 6,985
ten franc notes.
Formerly, in the Lower Congo, agents of the State and
merchants were accustomed to give the natives, in exchange
for their services, a mokande or cheque, which enabled them
to purchase what they required at the factories.
It is evident that silver, copper, and paper currency of the
State have a great advantage over the mokande or cheque
system, these latter often being only payable at a fixed date
and by certain persons. At first the circulation of money
was slow and difficult. It was only with a good deal of
trouble that foreign money was displaced in the Lower Congo,
and in the interior there was the same difhculty in abolishing
the custom of barter, and the usage of the mitako, or brass wire.
Trade, Revenue, and Taxes 297
Finally, to accelerate the introduction of State currency,
the Government decreed:
1. To pay the soldiers and native workmen in cash, and
also to pay in the same manner for all goods bought from the
natives by the State ;
2. To stop all payments in kind at the stations of the
Lower Congo;
3. To substitute for the rations formerly issued by the
State to the agents, an equivalent in cash, and so forth.
Immediately after the enforcing of these measures the
State currency began to circulate rapidly, and merchants no
longer hesitated to open retail stores, where the natives in
the employment of the State and commercial companies,
and other natives as well, came to exchange their money for
European goods.
At the present time, in the region south of Stanley Pool, the
greater part of the commercial transactions between Euro-
peans and natives is carried on through the medium of the
State currency, and in the native markets it is no longer
possible to purchase anything except with the silver or copper
Congolese money — the preference being given to silver.*
The native's love of tinsel causes a large quantity
of the silver and copper coins put into circulation to
disappear from the sphere of commerce. Congolese
vanity manifests itself in many forms. Necklaces,
earrings, bracelets, anklets, and other ornaments are
made of the State coins, and worn by the men and
women of all the tribes which come in touch with
the Congo coinage. Powerful chiefs are often buried
with many coins placed upon their bodies.
' Descamps.
CHAPTER XXVII
MISSIONS AND SCHOOLS
IT will be remembered that clause VI. of the Ber-
lin Act enacts that "They [the interested
Powers] shall, without distinction of creed or
nation, protect and favour all religions, scientific
or charitable institutions, and undertakings created
Berlin ^^^ Organised for the above ends, or which
Act on aim at instructing the natives, and bringing
Missions. -j^QijiQ -to them the blessings of civilisation.
Christian missionaries, scientists, and explorers, with
their followers, property, and collections, shall like-
wise be the object of especial protection."
For this enlightened enactment the thanks of the
world are due to the Count de Launay, of Italy. In
proposing its inclusion in the Berlin Act, Count de
Launay said :" It is to scientific men and explorers
that we owe the marvellous discoveries made during
these latter years in Africa. The missionaries, for
their part, lend valuable assistance in winning these
countries over to the civilisation which is inseparable
from religion. It is our duty to encourage them, to
protect them all, both present and future."
How faithfully the Congo Government has carried
out clause' VI. of the Berlin Act, impartially and
completely administering it in the spirit in which it
298
Missions and Schools 299
was conceived, is apparent in the number and diver-
sity of the Christian missions at present existing in
the Congo State.
Upon Protestants rests the honour of being first
in the endeavour to evangehse the races inhabiting
the countries of the Congo Free State. Of
, . . . 1 -r» • -i>T- Protestant
their numerous missions, the Baptist Mis- Missions,
sionar}^ Society of London was first in the
field, it having been estabhshed so long ago as 1877.
It has posts at Matadi, Tumba, Takussu, Bopoto,
Monsembe, Bolobo, Lukolela, Kinshassa, and Gombe
Lutete, and its missionaries are the Messrs. George
Grenfell, Ross Phillips, J. H. Weecks, A. E. Scrive-
ner, Kerend Smiths, Lawson Forfeit, Whitehead,
Stapleton, Bentley, J. Howell, Kirkland, Frame, and
Kempton.
Next, in respect of age, comes the American Baptist
Missionary Union, founded in 1883, which now in-
cludes the earlier Livingstone Inland Mission, founded
in 1879. It has posts at Matadi, Pallaballa, Lu-
kungu, Kimpese, Banza, Leopoldville, and Bolengi,
and is served by the Messrs. C. H. Harvey, A. M. D.
Sims, W. S. Leslie, J. Clarke, and Faris.
The Congo Balolo Mission is very active. Though
it has but six posts — Lulangi, Bongandanga, Bon-
ginda, Ikau, Leopoldville, and Baringa — it has a
numerous staff, including Mr. and Mrs. Morgan,
Gilchrist, Whiteside, Armstrong, Ellery, Lawes,
Ruskin, Gamman, Jeffrey, Harris, and Frost; the
Messrs. Beale, Bond, Padfield, Rankin, Boudot,
Wallbaum, Steel, McDonald, and Stannard; and the
Misses Padfield, Cork, and Amory.
300 Story of the Congo Free State
Other important missions are the Christian and
Missionary AlHance, the Swedish Missionary Society,
the Garenganze EvangeHcal Mission, the Foreign
Christian Missionary Society, and the Bishop Taylor
Self-Supporting Mission.
Each mission owns lands, either absolutely or in
tenancy, the Baptist Missionary Society Corporation
heading the list with no fewer than fifteen, being
followed by the American Baptist Missionary' Union
with fourteen, and the International Missionary
Alliance with thirteen. The other missions have
between one and eight locations each, their field of
action being throughout the Upper, Middle, and
Lower Congo.
All these missions are Protestant. Their work is
done by between two and three hundred white mis-
sionaries, to say nothing of native evangelists, and
they dispose of a considerable revenue, subscribed,
for the most part, by the Protestants of Great
Britain and the United States.
Of the five large missionary steamers in the Congo
State, four are owned by Protestants. The Peace
and the Goodwill belong to the English
steamers Baptist Mission, the Henri Reed to the
American Baptist Mission, and the Pioneer
to the English Balololand Mission. Roman Catholics
own only one mission steamer, Our Lady of Per-
petual Help^
As might be expected from its history, the pre-
vailing faith in Congoland is the Roman Catholic.
^ In the French Congo there is only one small launch devoted to
missionary work.
Missions and Schools 301
The Congo Free State tolerates all religions, no one
of them enjoying a privilege denied to the others.
Unfortunately the Protestants are split up Roman
into several sects; but there is no division Catholic
among the Roman Catholics, and this fact ^^^sions.
has resulted largely in favour of the growth of the
latter.
The White Fathers began their mission in Congo-
land in 1878, a year later than the first Protestant
mission. They were followed by the Scheut Fathers
in 1888; the Trappists, 1892; the Jesuits, 1893; the
Priests of the Sacred Heart, 1897; the Premontre
Fathers, 1898 ; and the Redemptionists, 1899. There
are also the missionaries of the Ghent Sisters of
Charit}', the Sisters of Notre Dame, the Trappistines,
the Franciscans, and the Sisters of the Sacred Heart
of Mary.
The wide-reaching results of the earnest labours
of these self-denying evangelists is apparent in the
existence to-day of 59 permanent and 29 temporary
posts ; 384 missionaries and sisters 1528 farm chapels ;
113 churches and chapels; 523 oratories; 3 schools
of the second degree; 75 primary schools; 440 ele-
mentary schools (in which native teachers instruct
in the elements of reading, writing, and arithmetic) ;
7 hospitals, 71 Christian villages, and 72,383 Chris-
tians and catechumens.
From statistics such as these, pregnant as they
are with proof of the onward march of civilisation,
it is a relief to turn to records in words. Here are
two extracts from a diary kept by the Rev. Father
Orison, missionary in charge of St. Gabriel's, Stanley
302 Story of the Congo Free State
Falls. The diar}^ from which they are taken was
written in odd moments snatched from an excep-
tionally busy life in a far-off land, with no idea that
any line of it would ever be given to the world.
Aug. i6, 1902. Yesterday we had 17 baptisms and I ad-
ministered Holy Communion to more than 300 people.
Holy Week. If it had not been for the colour of the con-
gregation kneeling before the Blessed Sacrament, you could
not have believed you were in Central Africa. The church
was filled with flowers, and a large number of people kept
coming during the whole time.
We did not know exactly how things were going on at
Banalya, but we did hear that our Christians were prosperous
and had won over several catechumens. As soon as we came
within a distance of about one and a half hours from the
place, a number of the village people came out to meet us,
laughing, singing, and kneeling in the mud of the marshes
for our benediction. They told us that some little catechists,
who could hardly read themselves, had managed to teach a
number of the others to pray every morning and every even-
ing, and then to teach them some catechism, so when we came
over we found that a large number of the people had already
been converted. We immediately landed 150 catechumens at
Banalya, 80 at Yambuga, and nearly 200 at Basoko, where
a young woman, baptised the year before, — although she is
iinable to read, — superintends morning and evening prayer
for the whole village.
The following, from the diary of the Rev. Father
Wulfers, written at Yanonghi (Romee Mission),
June 22, 1902, accurately portrays the hopes and
fears, the triumphs and disappointments, which
attend the life of a missionary in Central Africa.
M
Missions and Schools 303
Our Station is flourishing. We have a fine spring of rock
water near the house, and a beautiful vista across the river,
about two miles wide. The cofTee groves begin near the house,
affording shaded walks for hours. Within a short distance,
we find the Arab settlements; and, somewhat further away
from the river, immense rice fields. Fruits and agricultural
products abound. It is from here that rice is supplied for
a number of stations and missions, all the way down to the
Falls and Leopoldville. The missionary of Romee supplies
our other posts with large quantities of rice, besides the seeds
furnished b}^ the State Agricultural Station, and a number of
articles which we get from the Arabs in exchange for cotton
cloth. Of course everything has to be bought; they will
give nothing for nothing. The railroad — Romee-Ponthier-
ville — will start from here. The survey is progressing. That
branch will help to avoid the rapids on the river on both sides
of Bertha Island and the Lakes, which frequently interfere with
navigation. Our situation, therefore, is pretty good from the
material point of view; but, of course, we have some troubles.
The Arabs are not peaceful, and the State contemplates
the establishment of a military post here to protect the whites
against them and the Turumbus, who are fierce cannibals.
When Monseigneur van Ronsle was here last year, he wanted
to establish a mission at Romee, because the State maintains
there a force of about 600 men to protect the new rubber
plantation. At present there are here about 120 catechumens
and 20 Christians. I baptised ten of them last March and
three in May. They come to Mass every Sunday, sometimes
arriving Saturday evening to sleep here. I expect to have
a great many more Christians when the work on the railroad
begins. Although the Turumbus are still very savage, I hope
to do a good deal with them, for they have already helped
me to build my house. Yesterday I gave them some pre-
sents. One got a pipe ; another a looking-glass ; another some
cotton cloth, with some rice for their children. They went
away very happy, saying the Father is a good man. The
people of the neighbouring villages sometimes come to me
saying they want to stay a year and then be baptised. I
304 Story of the Congo Free State
promise them when the chapel is built that I will visit them,
teach them to read and write, and then get them to teach the
catechism to others. They seemed very happy. As regards
the Arabs, I am afraid they will not come to the catechism
so soon. They sometimes listen to it out of curiosity. They
appear to understand it, and acknowledge that it is true; but
a virtuous life seems hard to them, and they have no inclina-
tion to it. Their Chief often inquires about the beginning of
the world, the origin of the white settlements in Africa, the
story of Christ, etc. He works with me, comes to see my pic-
tures, and asks for explanations. Some of the Arabs want to
learn French. I shall teach them some in order to gain their
confidence. When the chapel is finished I will see what I can
do to Christianise the Arabs, who are about 200,000 strong.
I have had a disheartening experience at Yafolo, where I
found the community, which had inspired me with so much
hope, had gone over to the Dilwa worship. This is a form
of public worship of the Dilwa. It lasts for two or three
months. During that time all the young men, from seven
to twenty years of age, devote themselves to the Dilwa. Of
course I denounced the falsity of that superstition. I went
into the middle of the crowd with a revolver in my pocket,
because I did not know what they might do. They were
sorry that I came, because they thought I was going to drop
dead as a punishment for my temerity. They told me if I
touched any of the Dilwa men my arm would wither and fall
off. I touched some of them, and of course nothing happened ;
but they kept on, and during the three months of the Dilwa
work I could not do anything for them. I went again a
month ago and learned that about two-thirds of the cate-
chumens were willing to return to Christianity, but their
parents would not let them come, believing all those who
have gone through the Dilwa to be sacred people and to have
no further need of God. Some old people told me that when
the Dilwa is over they will all come back. I wonder if they will !
The same missionary records yet another of his
experiences, which throws a vivid light upon the
Missions and Schools 305
horrid subject of cannibalism. It is dated February
7> 1903-
While the Rev. P. Kohl was staying with me, a young chief
named Kalonda visited us. He told us that he had said to
his warriors: "Come, let us visit our Father. He is such a
good man that he is sure to give us something!" Speaking
to the Rev. Kohl, he added, " He certainly is a very good man.
He visits our village and tells us beautiful things about God.
You will see that he loves us, because he certainly is going to
give us something." In the meantime he was slapping his
stomach, to show what he expected. We could not help
laughing, but he took no offence. Turning to his warriors,
he began again: "Children, here is the Good Father of whom
I have so often spoken to you." There I stopped him, say-
ing: "That will do, Kalonda. Look here, now. If you
answer my questions well, I shall give you a present."
"To be sure. Father, I am going to tell the truth."
"Are you a great chief?"
"Yes, Father."
"And you formerly used to go to war very often?"
"Now listen, Father! I used to have a great many more
men than I have now. They were vigorous, and understood
war. I went through all the villages with them as far as
Lindi."
"Then you have killed many people?"
"To be sure."
"You have carried away and eaten quite a number of
women and children? Of course," said I, immediately, in
order to prevent an explosion of wrath on his part, "you do
not do so any more?"
"No," said he, very deliberately, "I do not do so at all
now; but formerly we ate a number of men. We used to
kill as many as we wanted at the time and take away the rest
to fatten. The flesh of the women and children is the best."
"How does it taste?" I asked of the young boy who was
standing near the chief [his father].
He answered quite naturally: "It tastes like boiled rice."
3o6 Story of the Congo Free State
It is out of material such as Kalonda that Chris-
tian missionaries and just laws carefully adminis-
tered are evolving a peaceful, pastoral people.
That so large a part of this prodigious task should
have been achieved during the brief period that the
Congo State has existed places its triumphant com-
pletion in the near future beyond all doubt. The
patience, skill, and energy of the men who in cir-
cumstances so difficult have achieved so much, if
not appreciated at their true worth now, will as-
suredly be regarded by posterity as one of the bright-
est pages in the history of our time.
There are no harder workers in the world than the
Catholic missionaries of the Congo. The following
passage from the diary kept by the Rev. Father
Grison, missionary in charge of St. Gabriel's, Stanley
Falls, by no means depicts an exceptional experience :
Oct. 19, 1902. — It is Sunday, 9.30 p.m. I have been busy
in the church since 6 a.m. Said Mass at 7, and preached.
Had a little coffee and wanted to retire to my room for a brief
rest, when from 60 to 80 people called. They had come from
Vincent yesterday in order to hear Mass to-day. They com-
plained that they had not brought enough supplies and they
wanted me to give them some rice; which, of course, I did.
Then an important palaver turned up at Adela, and I was
called upon to act as interpreter between the natives and the
State. Then I had to patch up the quarrels of three or four
married couples who had fallen out. Next, I had to grant
about sixty permits to work on account of its being Sunday ;
and, finally, I found a little time to do my Breviary. My
brother missionaries are in the same fix. The Rev. Father
Kohl, who has charge of the Sisters' Convent, gave them a
lecture, and then had to busy himself with the choir boys to
whom he teaches the ceremonies. About noon I received a
Missions and Schools 307
visit from two gentlemen from Stanley Falls, who are on their
way towards the Great Lakes surveying for the railroad.
Towards one o'clock the blacks warned us that the boat was
coming on, and we knew that in about an hour we should
have news from home. The steamer arrived, bringing some
stores, which we hurriedly landed, deferring until to-morrow
to put them in their proper places in the storerooms. After
that we said the Rosary and gave Benediction. Then came
the Catechism lesson and a Marriage; then a sick call. Bre-
viary again, and then supper. Such is our Sunday, supposed
to be a day of rest!
The Rev. Father Grison is typical of Catholic mis-
sionaries in Congoland. Other missionaries there
are, of the Protestant faith, equally sincere and ar-
dent; but it is an unfortunate fact that among the
latter have been included certain quasi-political
agents who believe that they find advantage in de-
preciating the Government under which they vol-
untarily elect to live. Others, again, for the purpose
of increasing the zeal of the congregations of the
churches in their fatherland to provide for them
sufficient support, have permitted themselves to
excite the sympathies of the home associations by
exaggerated tales of oppression and cruelty. Ac-
quisitiveness is not an unknown quality among mis-
sionaries. Mr. Stokes, the so-called martyr, who
suffered for supplying arms in time of war to the
enemies of the Congo Free State, was originally a
Protestant missionary, but he abandoned that voca-
tion to become a trader.
CHAPTER XXVIII
STATE LANDS AND CONCESSIONS
IT would seem reasonable that practical colonial
government should begin the pursuit of its ob-
jects by a policy so flexible that it might readily
conform to the altering conditions upon which it
operates. The exceptional nature of the
e tate s ^^^\^ imposed upon the Government of the
Congo Free State, its varied and numerous
difhctilties, and the uncertainty of the radical prin-
ciples imposed upon it, left its administrators no
choice of colonial precedent to follow, no govern-
mental model to adopt. It stood alone, in a unique
enterprise not devoid of new hazards, pitfalls, and
strange teiTors. It had been regarded at first as an
adventure, then as a serious experiment. A civil
community was to be created of savage hordes; to
maintain itself by its own people led on to civilisa-
tion by a few Europeans with a courage and zeal the
equatorial sun should not subdue. The vast field
it occupied and the untamed characteristics of its
large population, the early philanthropic aims of its
royal patron, and a general desire to carry out the
principles enunciated at the Berlin Conference, all
contributed to invest the Congo State Government
with a special character, and to saddle it with
original duties supposedly beyond its powers to per-
308
State Lands and Concessions 309
form. Thus, in the midst of an unexplored and,
barbarous land, vvith everything before it unknown,
with all behind it seemingly unsuited for employ-
ment here, ways and means and a state system of
government had to be adopted not only for internal
regulation and development, but also to maintain
the integrity of its relations with the rival Powers
which surrounded it. The natural problems of the
sovereignty of an unknown land and savage people
were difficult enough; but when these had been
intensified and their practical solution hindered by
the fine theories and high ideals of the Berlin Con-
ference, there appeared reason for the belief that
a West African Don Quixote had been charged to
assault a windmill. Colonial traditions appeared
to the men on the spot to be inapplicable to the
Congo. There was no tax-burdened home govern-
ment to rely upon for support. Nor were the
African forests or the palaces and mansions of
Europe crowded with philanthropists desirous of
dedicating their fortunes to the welfare of the Bantu
race in the distant Congo. In popular parlance, the
King and his Congo were left to subsist on fine senti-
ments and a jug of water. If in these circumstances
a colonial policy of self-support was adopted and
carried out with an economic skill which in its re-
sults excites foreign envy and covetousness to-day,
it should not be attributed to wrong motive, but to
that of stem necessity. Concerning this formative
period of early Congolese policy the recent exposition
of Baron Descamps may be aptly quoted:
The problem had to be solved without bringing into conflict
3IO Stoiy of the Congo Free State
certain elements which are difficult to assimilate, namely, the
exigencies of commercial freedom as recognised by the con-
ventions, the civiUsation of the natives and their material
and moral improvement, the exigencies of the life and pro-
gress of the State itself considered as the organic principle of
the new political society, and finally the exigencies or rather
conditions relating to the personal union of the Free State
with Belgium.
In the accomplishment of this complex task, the State was
first inspired with the principle of a scrupulous respect for
international engagements. This principle was never lost
sight of, even at the critical periods of its life following on the
Berlin Conference, when a regime of complete exemption from
import duties weighed heavily upon its economic existence.
The State was also filled with the determination to faith-
fully respect the declaration of permanent neutrality which
it made a short time after the Berlin Conference. As we have
remarked elsewhere, this was an honourable action towards
the Powers who were thus reassured concerning the policy
and pacific autonomy of the new State. It was also an act
of prudence which protected the Congo State from the solicit-
ations of other States interested in influencing its political
life.^
The poHcy of the new State was to be "fruitful
activity" in peace and order as soon as the Arab
wars had ceased and the slave trade had
The tate's j^ggj^ superseded by an agricultural and
industrial regime. With a neutralised State
this seemed to be a permanent function commend-
able alike to its people, its Government, and its
international associates and sponsors. Whether we
regard the moral concomitant of an era of fruitful
activity or only the material essentials of a com-
munity so employed, the bald reality called for men
^Report to the Belgian Senate, July 25, 1893.
State Lands and Concessions 311
and money for its accomplishment. Of white men
there were few in a region where a tropical sun, and
other climatic disadvantages, counted heavily against
their labour. The Negro alone appeared to thrive
in conditions more suited to his physical character-
istics. The problem of creating a State of the
Negro population involved social and material ques-
tions of vast import to those who had undertaken
to develop and govern this unknown and savage
land. Should the Negro be taught the nobility of
labour — informed of the glorious edifices to civilisa-
tion it had reared and what benefits its pursuit would
shower upon him if he would but follow the white
man's precept and example in the sphere of honest
toil?
The trade in black men had been suppressed by
the courageous white men of Belgium. Trade in the
material resources of the country was now but a
phenomenon of the law of self-preservation and the
principle of self-support. It is in the adoption of
practical measures to develop that trade for the
greatest good of the greatest number that the Bel-
gians have shown an executive skill which gives the
character of indolent farce to the droning adminis-
tration of certain other African colonies, particu-
larly British Lagos, which derives sixty -five per
cent, of its supporting revenue from traffic in alco-
holic liquor,^ as compared with five per cent, de-
rived from the same source by the Congo Free State.
If the Government of the Congo Free State had to
deal with a white population capable of co-operation
' For statistics supporting this statement, see page 287.
312 Story of the Congo Free State
as independent political units in the State's develop-
ment, it may easily be conceived that measures
perhaps more in consonance with certain European
theories might have been devised. The candour of
this suggestion in no wise detracts from the fitness
and happy efficacy of the measures by which the
Government of the Congo State has achieved one of
the greatest colonising successes of modem times.
It is the co-operative principle — so utterly lacking
in the uncivilised native Congolese — which often
inspires those governmental speculations in new
countries whereby it is sought to solve the problem
of sustaining the State upon its own undeveloped
resources. There can be little doubt that this
principle, now well recognised in the industrial world
and constantly adopted and expanded in the United
States and Great Britain by enlightened labour
leaders and great corporations, unconsciously in-
fluenced the Belgian statesmen who framed the land
and taxation laws of the Congo Free State. The
civilisation of Central Africa was, and forsooth, still
is, an immense task, and the State's early attitude
of welcoming quasi private enterprise to co-operate
with it in the development of lands which indolent
native races had ravaged — first for their own im-
mediate wants, later at the behest of adventurers
and despoiling traders, whose coin was alcohol and
shoddy tinsel — was not only justified in a Govern-
ment seeking rational progress, but it followed the
soundest principles of what the higher socialism
terms community of interest. If more modern in
theory, the Congo State has in practice often fol-
State Lands and Concessions 313
lowed the most experienced of old-world colonisers
— the Dutch and the British. Where practicable
under like conditions "it imitates these experienced
colonisers, without, however, following them blindly "
or attaining at once what it has taken them several
generations to accomplish. "Neither does it per-
sist in methods which have been recognised as er-
roneous, but it alters and corrects them where
possible." Being like all governments, old or new,
in savage lands or civilised, unable to reform its
domestic policies at command, it seeks the better-
ment of its system with that gradation of movement
which shall not disorganise and disrupt the structure
of its statehood. Those who avowedly speak for
the Congo Free State say that "its policy is essen-
tially a work of methodical experiment and practical
adaptation. Even when colonial science is more
advanced than it is to-day, that policy will retain its
raison d'etre and its merits."
Having considered those early causes which
evolved a State land policy largely founded on the
principles of co-operation and self-support, it is
pertinent, at this point, to examine the theory of the
State land system which has met with the criticism
of commercial interests in Great Britain.
The origin of the land system of the Congo Free
State may be said to have assumed legal form by the
official order of Sir Francis de Winton, ^j^g state's
who, it will be recalled, was appointed Land
Governor-General of the State when Henry System.
M. Stanley returned to Europe. The order is dated
Vivi, July I, 1885.
SH Story of the Congo Free State
A Decree of the Sovereign will presently request all non-
natives who now possess, by any right whatever, land situ-
ated within the territory of the Congo Free State, to make an
official declaration, describing the land in question, and sub-
mitting their titles to be examined and approved by the Gov-
ernment. The object of the said Decree will be to secure,
in the prescribed form, the acknowledgment of acquired
rights, and to make the regular organisation of land property
in the said State possible in the near future.
In the meantime, with a view to avoiding disputes and
abuses, the Governor-General, duly authorised by the Sover-
eign, orders as follows:
Article i. Dating from the publication of the present
proclamation, no contract or agreement with the natives for
the occupation of portions of the land will be acknowledged
or protected by the Government, unless the said contract or
agreement has been made in the presence of a public official,
commissioned by the Governor-General, and according to the
rules laid down by him in each particular case.
Article 2. No one has right to occupy without title any
vacant land, nor to dispossess the natives from their land;
all vacant land must be considered as belonging to the State.
This order provided for the official recognition of
title to land appropriated by foreigners before July
State Pro- ^' ^^^5 ' ^^^^ occupied Up to the same date
tects Lands by natives, and land which, having been
of Natives, j^gi-t^]-^^;^ occupicd by natives nor appro-
priated by foreigners, was declared to be the property
of the State. Particular emphasis was given to the
clause protecting the native in his occupation of
land whereon his industry had created improve-
ment, where he lived in the peaceful pursuits com-
mon to his tribe.
As the appropriation by the State of vacant lands
CIS
a
a
H
State Lands and Concessions 315
in the Congo has inspired many of the specious
arguments which have lately emanated from Eng-
land alone and more particularly from the claque of
the Congo Reform Association in Liverpool, it may
be opportune to consider first what the Belgians have
said in justification of a course which every student
of political history knows has been followed by all
civilised States
In his essay, New Africa, Baron Descamps briefly
analyses the theory of the State's unquestionable
property in all vacant lands within its territory:
Territory is that part of the globe over which a State exer-
cises its sovereign rights ; it is the material basis of sovereign
influence.
The mere fact of the acquisition of a pohtical sovereignty
over a certain territory does not in itself confer on the Sover-
eign — at least according to modem law — the ownership of
all property over which private individuals have acquired
rights. But the recognition of these same rights, the fixing
of just titles of acquisition, the regulation of the legal system
relating to property and especially of the condition of vacant
land, all that constitutes an essential attribute of sovereignty,
in conformity with the necessities of public order and the
general welfare of society.
As a sovereign and independent State, the Congo State has
been, and continues to be, invested with that prerogative.
In appropriating vacant and ownerless land, the State has
made lawful use of an indisputable and perfectly legal right,
sanctioned by international custom and acknowledged by the
law of nations.
When regularly in possession of vacant land, is it expedient
for the State to appropriate certain portions for public uses;
to transfer other portions gratuitously or for a consideration,
with full rights of ownership or with the right of using them
only, to private individuals; to preserve other parts for
3i6 Story of the Congo Free State
revenue purposes, by means either of direct administration
or of tenure, with a view to employing the revenue according
to the needs or convenience of the State? That is a question
of internal administration which may be discussed theoretic-
ally, as we have already observed, but which must be left, in
practice, to the sovereign decision of the State.
Before the Congo State was founded, a few
European traders and missionaries in the Lower
Early Congo Were occupying certain undefined
European lands under agreements — more or less pre-
Settiers. carious in term and effect— with native
chiefs. These occupations partook largely of the
temporary nature of the native occupations on the
banks of the river. As these occupations ceased
and the land was abandoned, it reverted to the
State, precisely as it reverts, under certain con-
ditions, in other States and colonies throughout the
world.
That the Congo State dealt equitably with for-
eigners who had seriously squatted upon lands in the
basin, is plainly indicated in its next decree, dated
2 2 August, 1885:
Considering that it is necessary to take steps to recognise
the rights of non-natives who acquired property situated in
the Congo Free State before the publication of the present
Decree:
On proposal of Our Council of General Administrators,
We have decreed and do decree as follows:
Article i. Non-natives who have rights to substantiate
on land situated in the Congo Free State, may have them
registered by presenting a request for registration in the form
prescribed by the following regulations:
This request must be presented in duplicate, before April
State Lands and Concessions 317
1, 1886, to the public officer, who will have to record the
deeds of land.
Our Governor-General has the power to authorise the ad-
mission, after this date, of demands for registration, which
for some exceptional reason could not be presented within
the prescribed time.
Article 8. The manner in which requests for registration
will be controlled shall be settled by Our Governor-General.
When a non-native shall have duly proved his rights over
a portion of land, the Recorder of Deeds shall give him
a registration certificate which shall constitute a legal title
of occupation until such time as the land system has been
definitely settled in the Congo Free State.
Under this decree, practically every land claim
presented was admitted by the Government. Fur-
ther decrees provided for the compulsory measure-
ment of land held by private owners; the Torrens
Act system of transferring the title to land was
adopted; rules of survey and its certification were
prescribed; deeds were registered at the office of a
Registrar, and generally the complete and practical
machinery of an efficient Land Department was
established for the benefit of natives and foreigners
alike. As the State progressed in its organisation
it defined its earlier improvisations with greater pre-
cision, provided laws in regulation of native "occu-
pations," private lands and the lands of the State.
Its respect for the equities in property of those who
had hazarded life in that wild region extended also
to a scrupulous care for the native whose lands it
guarded from invasion and trespass. By decree
dated September 14, 1886, the State provided that
3i8 Story of the Congo Free State
"Lands occupied by native populations under the
authority of their chiefs shall continue to be governed
by local customs and uses," thus insuring aboriginal
tranquillity in the presence of a scheme of civilisation
which the administrators of the State wisely re-
frained from imposing with disturbing rigour. The
savage black man at first instinctively shrinks from
the civilised white, and the Belgians, with knowledge
of this almost universal timidity of the African races,
offered him a mild measure of civilising rule as dis-
tinguished from the bluff and peremptory subjuga-
tion which has always characterised the decimating
colonial methods of its burly neighbour in the
Uganda and Soudan countries. By the same decree
the Government of the Congo State provided that:
All acts or agreements which might tend to expel the
natives from the territories occupied by them or to deprive
them directly or indirectly of their freedom or means of sub-
sistence, are forbidden.
Where natives occupy, or have moved upon, lands
which it is sought to lease from the State, provision
has been made by the decree of April 9, 1893, that:
When native villages are enclosed in the land acquired or
let, the natives may, as long as the official measurements
have not been made, carry on agricultural pursuits without
the consent of landlord or tenant, on the vacant lands sur-
rounding their villages.
All disputes which may arise in the matter between the
natives and the grantee or tenant, shall be finally settled by
the Governor-General or his delegate.
A decree of February 2, 1898, appointed a Land
Commission charged to consider whether certain
State Lands and Concessions 319
lands, as to which claims may have been made,
' ' shall be reserved either on grounds of public utility
or with a view of promoting their cultivation by the
natives." Reference has already been made to the
bounty paid by the State to natives who cultivate
coffee and cocoa plants. Even in the mining laws
of the Congo the State has continued its solicitude
for the native and decreed that he shall not be dis-
turbed in the pursuit of those rude industries which
tend to elevate his moral nature and provide him
with means of self-support. By a decree dated June
8, 1888, the native is exempted from the prohibition,
under a previous decree (July i, 1885), ^^ working a
mine without a concession from the State. Under
this exemption natives are expressly authorized to
"continue to work mines for their own account on
lands occupied by them." Indeed in all cases where
local tribal customs do not directly conflict with
civilising tendencies, the rule of the State has been
to observe them in all their integrity. To facilitate
this policy in its intercourse with natives, the State
has dealt with the aboriginal population largely
through the chiefs of the native tribes. This means
of linking the black man to the State which is striving
to civilise him by the gradual substitution of the
white man's methods for those of the savage, has
been attended with much success and inspired con-
fidence where instinctive distrust might have long
prevailed Amongst the local customs which are
safeguarded by the State are what are known as
coutumes de rations, a form of royalty to which the
natives are entitled on the produce of certain land.
320 Story of the Congo Free State
So far has the State concerned itself in perpetuating
this form of support to the tribes where the custom
prevails that, by an order of the Governor-General
dated November 8, 1886, it has provided that:
The issue of registration certificates does not exempt the
interested parties from observing, in their deaHngs with the
natives, existing local customs, especially those relative to
royalties known as coutumes de rations, although these royal-
ties may not be mentioned in the certificates, among the
encumbrances affecting the property.
If, in consequence of the non-payment of the rations or
coutumes, usual in such cases, disputes occur between the
landed proprietor and the natives, the certificate of registra-
tion may be cancelled by the Courts on the application of the
curator of land titles.
From the foregoing and many similar decrees in-
tended to secure the property and other rights of the
natives, it will be observed that the administrators
of the State consistently undertook to carry out all
that was implied in King Leopold's early declaration
of his aims in Central Africa. If in the execution
of the Congo State laws there has sometimes been
laxity, error, and perhaps individual cases of per-
version, the fact remains that the law is sound and
the land system in respect of native possessions an
equitable scheme devised in the interest of their
general welfare and protection. The administration
of the Congo Free State should be judged with due
regard to the nature of its savage population, its
unexplored territory of a million square miles, its
early lack of organised governmental forces, the
necessary newness and the rudeness of its civil in-
State Lands and Concessions 321
stitutions, and the thousand and one uncatalogued
difficulties which must have beset such ambitious
pioneers as that Httle band of Belgians which dared
venture into an abyss from the safe walls of which
Europe smiled derisively and shouted orders to the
men below.
Having provided laws securing to natives the lands
occupied by them, and regulated the land titles of
foreigners, the State declared as its own g^^^g claims
all unoccupied lands not subject to the Vacant
ownership of the native or the foreigner. ^° ^'
This governmental possession of unoccupied territory
is not only sanctioned by the most enlightened laws
of the age, it is the express duty of a State to bring
under its care all territory which, if abandoned,
might become the object of dispute, internecine
strife, and sanguinary warfare. The very element
of, and respect for, ownership of lands, chattels, or
other objects of material value, preserves that order
which all law seeks to enforce, for which civil so-
ciety is organised on foundations of equity and just-
ice. Was it not the very principle which actuated
the Berlin Conference when, in order to remove the
Congo Free State from the covetous rivalry of the
Powers — their disputes and possible wars — it recog-
nised the occupants of the Congo Basin and neu-
tralised the Congo State? If, during the twenty
years that have elapsed since the Berlin Conference
settled the matter, the Congo Free State had re-
mained in the position of territory open to the pre-
emption, adverse possession, invasion, and trespass
of anybody, the savage European war of words, of
322 Story of the Congo Free State
diplomatic missiles, or perhaps of actual arms,
would have been a deadly substitute for the native
savagery of the African black. Civilisation with-
out property vested in the State or its citizens is
inconceivable.
The categories into which the lands within the
borders of the Congo Free State naturally fall have
Various already been briefly indicated in a previous
Tenures chapter. The land system includes, first,
° ^° • a reservation of land exclusively for the
use of the public. Second, lands sold upon an
official scale of prices through a Land Department
composed of five members. Third, concessions of
land granted for a certain term of years, or as free-
hold, to companies organised to develop its pro-
ductivity. Fourth, grants of use extended to those
who, by arrangement with the State, thereby obtain
the right to work a prescribed area for india-rubber.
Certain zones of rubber-bearing territory are not
subject to grants of use, the State reserving therein
the exclusive right to work the forests, thereby
following the system in force in the Soudan and
in other neighbouring colonies. Finally, there are
leases of three, six, or nine years, of land for com-
mercial purposes, and leases for twenty to fifty
years of lands for agricultural uses and the estab-
lishment of missions, schools, and churches. The
latter possess areas aggregating about six thousand
acres.
The principal concessionary companies, operate
over approximately one-fourth of the State. The
lands conceded to such companies are transmitted
State Lands and Concessions 323
under contracts very similar to those employed in the
Soudan,' and provide for the improvement of the
land b}^ the erection of buildings, planting rubber
vines, coffee, cocoa, breeding cattle, and collecting
rubber in a manner which will not deplete the grow-
ing stock. The Congo State law imposes upon the
rubber companies the duty of planting at least five
hundred feet of rubber vines or trees for every ton
of rubber harvested. The forests are safeguarded in
respect of wood and other products, and special in-
spectors see to the rigorous enforcement of the law.
There appears to be a different state of things in
the rubber-bearing districts of British Lagos, where
reckless destruction of the vines, waste, inattention,
and lack of intelligent organisation have reduced
the rubber yield in 1900 to one-tenth its harvest in
1896, with the decline still continuing. The same
measure of rapid decline is going on in the Gold
Coast and Sierra Leone. "The decrease in the ex-
port of rubber from £347,721 in 1896 to ;^i6o,3i5
in 1899 is clearly due to the reckless and unskilful
manner in which rubber was collected " ^
This report is corroborated by the statistics of the
British Gold Coast, which in 1899 exported rubber
to the value of £sSS^73'^^ but in 1902 to the value of
only ;;{^88,6o2; Lagos, 1896, £347,721, in 1901,
£14,749; Sierra Leone, 1895, ;£86,94o, in 1902,
£8,192. Indeed, the table from which these quota-
tions are made shows that the rubber exports from
' Sale of Government Land in the Anglo-Egyptian Soudan, Times
(London), July i8. 1904.
'Annual Colonial Report, Lagos, 1899.
324 Story of the Congo Free State
eight British colonies have greatly decreased since
1898, desx)ite the increased European value of that
product. It would seem that the care and skill
which during these same years caused the Congo
exports to rise from less than a million francs in 1 886
to over fifty -four millions in 1 903 were at least worth
the emulation of the Gold Coast, Lagos, and Sierra
Leone muddlers hiding defeat behind the humani-
tarian pretexts of Liverpool rubber merchants and
their agents, whose conscience is as flexible as their
trade product.
Concerning the concessionary scheme which pre-
vails in the French Congo, and which the Congo
Free State Government has so successfully carried
out in its own territory, M. Eugene Etienne, a dis-
tinguished French scholar, Vice-President of the
French Chamber of Deputies, and leader of the
French colonial group, has said and written some
pertinent things. The French Congo, lying on the
coast west of the Free State, has been also assailed
by the few interested British merchants and their
religious and secular agents and reform associations
for having been forbidden to trespass upon and de-
spoil Central African territory which has so far
escaped the acquisitive proclivities of John Bull.
M. Etienne's dissertation contains the following
passages as applicable to the Free State as to the
French Congo :
1 stop in the enumeration of the results obtained by the
Independent State of the Congo, and I will not put in the op-
posite column the balance sheet which gives little enough to
rejoice over of the progress realised in the neighbouring
State Lands and Concessions 325
French colony. Certainly from the point of view of the ex-
ploration of the country, and the management of the na-
tives, our officials have obtained what might be French and
called, in a formula borrowed from mechanics, Belgian
the maximum of result with the minimum of Systems
expense. . . . Compared.
The constitution of landed property in the Congo, regu-
lated by the decree of 28th March, 1899, and the attribution
of vacant lands by important lots to companies bound by a
cahier des charges, form a work carefully thought out and
elaborated on the advice of eminent jurists. It does honour
to the Minister of the Colonies who took the initiative in the
matter, my eminent colleague in the Chamber of Deputies,
M. Guillain, as well as to the Councillor of State, M. Cotelle,
who gave his active collaboration as President of the Com-
mission of Concessions.
The justification of the large concessions is to substitute
a regular and methodical exploitation of the products of the
soil for the svstem of trading which destroys the
Ooti cessions
natural riches, leaving behind it only the exhausted , ^.^ ,
' ° -' Justinea.
and mutilated bush. Is it a question of the
collection of caoutchouc [rubber], — the native cuts the lianas,
bleeds the producing shrub to complete exhaustion. Is it
a question of ivory, — the precious product disappears rapidly
with the increase of the price, and the easier destruction of
the elephants by means of arms of precision. Left to him-
self the native destroys, and does not concern himself to ask
the earth to restore what he has taken from it. At the most
he scratches a little of the soil round the villages he inhabits
in order to carry out thereon some cultivation of food stuflfs.
Thus has it already been recorded in our Congo colony that
the caoutchouc lianas have nearly disappeared from the
coast, and from the banks of the rivers. It would be the
same in the end in the regions further removed from the sea,
if wise regulations did not put a stop to it.
Quite different would be the value of the soil if new planta-
tions replaced those exhausted by successive harvests, and
added new products to those which come without cultivation.
326 Story of the Congo Free State
Coffee trees and cocoa trees succeed admirably on the Congo.
The soil lends itself to all tropical cultivations. As to the
collection of caoutchouc, which will long remain one of the
principal resources of the country, it demands management
and care. It is for this motive that, according to one of the
clauses of the cahier des charges annexed to the decrees of
concession, the concessionaire companies are bound "to
plant and to maintain to the termination of the concession, by
replacing those which shall have disappeared, at least 500
feet of caoutchouc plants per ton of caoutchouc produced."
The contract signed between the State as the proprietor of
vacant lands and the concessionaire is the following: The
concessionaire is authorised to establish himself on the lands
assigned to him, he exercises there for a period of 30 years
all rights of possession and exploitation (under reservation
of lands allotted to the natives, and of rights of proprietorship
previously acquired by third parties) ; but this lease of 30
years is to be changed into definite proprietorship for all lands
which shall have been improved. How is it to be decided
whether the lands may be considered as improved? The
cahier des charges answers this question with precision. Shall
be considered as improved:
1. Lands occupied over at least one-tenth of their surface
b}^ buildings ;
2. Lands planted over at least one-twentieth of their sur-
face with rich cultivation such as cocoa, coffee, caoutchouc,
vanilla, indigo, tobacco, etc.;
3. Lands cultivated over at least one-tenth of their surface
with food cultivation such as rice, millet, manioc, etc.;
4. The pasturage on which shall be maintained during at
least five years beasts for breeding and fattening at the rate
of two heads of large beasts or four heads of small beasts per
10 hectares ' ;
5. The parts of forests of a superficies of at least 100 hec-
tares of a single tenancy in which caoutchouc shall have been
regularly collected for at least five years at the rate of at
least 20 feet of trees or lianas as the average per hectare. . . ,
'Approximately twenty-four and one-half acres.
State Lands and Concessions 327
In exchange for these advantages the concessionaire as-
sumes charges which are not defined with less rigour : Fixed
annual rents to be paid to the colony, share of the profits, 15
per cent, of the company's receipts going to the local budget,
obligation to float on the watercourses traversing the con-
cession steamboats of a fixed model, all without prejudice to
the payment of a security.
The British merchants ^ complained of being deprived of
the rights which they had exercised during many 3^ears of
sending their contractors to collect the caoutchouc on the
lands conceded to the new companies, a dispossession for
which they demanded reparation. The Court, after having
ascertained that the English firms did not claim any per-
manent establishment on the domain conceded, non-suited
them, objecting with reason that the State as proprietor of
free lands in the Congo had the right to dispose of them, and
that the long tolerance which the merchants had enjoyed for
the collection of the products of the soil could not constitute
an acquired right in their favour. Beaten in the French
courts, the Liverpool firms lodged an appeal before a tribunal
where they were certain of being heard. They set in movement
the English Chambers of Commerce, interested the press and
public opinion in their cause, and made the British Foreign
Office intervene.
I have always admired the ardour and solicitude with which
British diplomacy takes part and cause for the grievances of
British subjects abroad. The British citizen, as formerly the
Roman, is assured of being protected and defended. I know
citizens of other countries who cannot always say as much.
The complaints of the Liverpool merchants furnished in their
way a fine platform for diplomacy. The Congo with the
guarantees stipulated by the Berlin Conference, should it not
be the chosen land, the last refuge of commercial freedom?
To the complaints of merchants established in the French
' Two Liverpool firms, Messrs. Hatton & Cookson and John Holt &
Co., have alone figured in the cases brought before the Courts of
Libreville.
328 Story of the Congo Free State
colony were added those of the English merchants and consuls
resident in the Belgian Congo. It was the placing on trial of
the Independent State in its entirety — of its commercial
policy, of its native policy, which formed the subject of in-
quiry in the press and before the British Parliament. . . .
Now in no country of the world has freedom of commerce
been considered as interfering with the rights of property.
The proprietor of the soil alone has the right to dispose of the
products of the land which belongs to him. Do people in
England think that freedom of commerce is violated because
the first passer-by of a rich and extensive manorial domain
cannot take the fruits and vegetables, kill the bucks and the
hinds, and lay the axe to the trees? Why should it be other-
wise on the Congo? The whole question is, whether the
State, which in the French Congo (as in the Independent
State) has proclaimed itself the proprietor of vacant and
unowned lands, has this right legitimately. If it has, it can
in one form or another alienate the lands belonging to it.
That this exercise of the law of property may inconvenience
those who formerly enjoyed the products of the soil, I do not
deny. There are countries where hunting is not forbidden, and
the ga'ine belongs to the killer. A day arrives when the pro-
prietor reserves his rights. He forbids hunting, he institutes
suits. It is very disagreeable for those who used to traverse his
land freely. But it does not follow that they have the right to an
indemnity. Still that is the strange suit that England wishes to
bring before the European Areopagus. The Congo has pro-
tected its hunting grounds; the poachers exclaim against the
injustice and claim damages ! '
Has the State been right in considering itself the legitimate
proprietor of vacant and unowned lands in the Congo? If
any doubt existed on the subject, the luminous
British opinion given to our concessionaires by Maitre
Concessions --i^ • t-. i i u ^ ^ -^ a r^
in Canada Henri Barboux should suince to remove it. After
having recalled that in all countries, at all periods,
the exercise of the right of sovereignty implied the appro-
^ Italics by the author.
State Lands and Concessions 329
priation for the profit of the State of conquered lands, the
eminent advocate shows how England has made use of that
prerogative; in Lower Canada where a single Governor
granted 1,425,000 acres to sixty persons; in Upper Canada
where in 1825 out of 17,000,000 measured acres, an extent
almost equal to Ireland, 15,000,000 had been given in con-
cession; in Australia where the distribution of lands to
colonists in gratuitous concessions or by sale was never con-
sidered "as in contempt of the rights of the primitive inhab-
itants of the country, nor as contrary to the largest principles
of commercial freedom." In India, Ceylon, at Hong-Kong,
in Africa (Cape Colony, Natal, Bechuanaland), in the Fiji
Islands, Great Britain has always admitted that "the whole
country falls to the Crown, and that the Crown Crown
can attribute to individuals portions of the country. Lands in
while reserving as its own domain all which is not British
given in concession " (Creasy, TJie Imperial and Colonies.
Colonial Constitutions of the Britannic Ernpire, p. 66). Hol-
land applies the same rules. In Germany the Imperial
ordinance of 26th November, 1895, ordains in these terms:
" Under reserve of the rights of property or other real rights
that individuals or juridical persons, native chiefs or com-
munities, can invoke, as well as of the rights of occupation of
third persons resulting from contracts passed with the Im-
perial Government, all the land of German East Africa is
vacant land of the Croum. The proprietorship of it belongs to
the Empire.''
These very same principles have been applied by the
European nations which have shared amongst themselves
the Conventional Basin of the Congo. The reservation of the
rights acquired by third persons, the reservation of the rights
of natives are stipulated for in our contracts of concession
with a precision which leaves nothing to be desired. "The
society having the concession cannot exercise the rights of
enjoyment and exploitation which are accorded to it except
outside villages occupied by natives, and the lands reserved
to them for purposes of cultivation, pasturage, or as forest.
The perimeters of these lands if it is a question of natives
330 Story of the Congo Free State
with a fixed residence, or the successive perimeters to be
occupied or reserved if it is one of natives with a changeable
residence, shall be fixed by the decisions of the Governor of
the Colony, who shall equally determine the lands over which
the natives shall preserve the rights of hunting and fishing.
The lands and rights thus reserved shall not be ceded by the
natives either to the concessionaire or to third pp.rties except
with the authority of the Governor of the Colony." (Art.
lo of the decree of 28th March, 1879, on concessions.) These
stipulations are the most liberal that could be carried out in a
country where native proprietorship is not regularly con-
stituted, where the land surrounding the villages is alone
cultivated, where the villages are shifted about with extreme
ease, what was field or plantation one year returning to the
state of the bush in the following. As to lands really oc-
cupied by Europeans, they have always been left outside the new
concessions. What it has not been thought proper to respect is
the pretension which some traders have put forward of being
masters of what tlwy never possessed, of trading in what did not
belong to them.
Up to the present I have spoken only of the concessions
given on French territory. The Independent State has em-
ployed the same system. In a part of its territoiy it even
inaugurated it. All that may be said to defend our admin-
istration from having violated on the Congo the principle
of commercial liberty is, then, applicable to the Belgian
concessions.
The Private Domain {Domaine Prive) of the Congo
Free State embraces approximately one-fourth of
the unoccupied lands within its borders.
of"TraderT '^^^ ^^ ^^^ feature of the State's general
scheme of physical development which ex-
cites its enemies to make many foolhardy assaults
and become voluble with fallacy and hollow argu-
ment. It was created by a decree dated December
State Lands and Concessions 331
5, 1892. All the net revenue derived from the
Private Domain is placed in the State's treasury and
applied to the payment of the cost of its public im-
provements and all its undertakings seeking to im-
prove the condition of the native population, the
facilities for their civilisation and the elevation of
their moral nature.
The revenue from the Private Domain is derived
from the State's direct exploitation of its lands.
Rubber and ivory are its chief products at the present
time. Various kinds of wood abound in its forests,
and cocoa and coffee plantations, experimental
farms, live-stock ranches, agricultural areas, all are
being developed under the direct supervision of
State agents.
The question which is periodically enlivened con-
cerning this governmental scheme for acquiring
necessary revenue is: Can the State, in occupation
of its own lands in the Congo Basin, develop the land
by direct cultivation, or en regie (by trustees), for
the benefit of the State budget, which, in its integrity,
is devoted to increase the power of the State to
civilise and elevate its native people? There can
be no doubt about the State's right to develop terri-
tory which for lack of private initiative and capital
would produce nothing for the benefit of the society
for which the State has been created. This right has
been recognised not only by the Powers at the Berlin
Conference in reference to Central Africa, but, in
varying aspects, by all civilised countries in refer-
ence to other parts of the globe. Belgian, French,
English, Russian, Swiss, and Italian jurists have
332 Story of the Congo Free State
considered this question at great length. The opin-
ions of Messrs. Van Berchem, Van Maldeghem, de
Paepe, John Westlake, K.C., Sir Horace Davey, K.C.,
de Martens, Barboux, Nys, Pierantoni, and Azcarate,
besides the weight of opinion expressed by United
States authorities which have been consulted, all
concede the State's right to develop its territory for
the benefit of a treasury devoted to the welfare of
its people. Moreover, this scheme of self-develop-
ment is not peculiar to the Free State. France,
Germany, Great Britain, and Portugal declared un-
occupied land to be the property of the State. The
establishment of that principle at once implies the
adoption of that other by which the State may im-
prove its own property and turn it from a wilder-
ness into a productive garden. In addition to
innumerable earlier decrees by the Governments
surrounding the Congo Free State, many of which
are set out in the Bulletin Ofpciel of the Independent
State of the Congo for June, 1903, new ordinances,
amplifying and extending the early decrees, have
been recently (September 20 and October 23, 1904)
put into operation. Their inclusion herein would
unduly extend the text of this volume. A brief in-
dication of their provisions will be found in the
Appendix under the title: Features of the Land Sys-
tem in the African Colonies of Germany, Great Britain,
France, and Portugal.''
From the Neue Hamburgische B or sen Halle, 20
October, 1904, we quote the following comment upon
the German decree of the same date, inasmuch as it
'See Appendix.
- State Lands and Concessions 333
reveals what, in general, is the European opinion of
the British criticism of the Congo State land system :
The decree brings under the designation of forest products
the products from all woodlands, whether fenced in or not,
and even from isolated plantations, from bush and under-
brush, bamboo and elm trees, and from all liquaceous plants,
especially the lumber, the bark, the sap, the rubber, the
leaves, the flowers, and the fruit. In such part of the terri-
tories as have, after eflfective occupation, been declared
forest reservations by a public notice of the government, it
is strictly forbidden to gather any kind of forest products, for
such harvesting is made an exclusive right of the Treasury.
That decree is interesting in many ways. First, it shows
that the German Colonial Office has decided to systematically
protect the forest domain of the Colony in order to prevent
indiscriminate deforestation, which would rapidly bring dis-
aster upon the country. But it also reminds one of the
violent onslaught made by some English people, and es-
pecially by the Liverpool rubber dealers, against the Congo
Free State.
What England unceasingly argues against the Belgian
Congo — for the humanitarian movement is only a pretext —
namely, the exploitation by the Government of such parts of
the territory as are not private property of individuals, is
actually made a rule by the [German] decree just referred to.
A previous decree of the Government has still more closely
indicated what parts of the territory are assigned to the
Treasury as forest reservations. Added to the other Treasury
lands of various description they cover more than nine-tenths
of the Colony.
The conclusion is that in German East Africa, as well as in
the Congo Free State, the rubber harvest, in which the Liver-
pool merchants take such lively interest, is gathered from
crown-lands only, and practically constitutes a State monopoly.
Now, a large part of German East Africa comes under the
provisions of the Berlin Act. And, in order to show the
334 Story of the Coni^o Free State
extent to which British hypocrisy will go, it is enough to recall
that for years, both in British East Africa and in Uganda,
which also partly come under the scope of the Berlin Act,
the same government rules have been enforced, declaring
india-rubber a State monopoly not only on the crown-lands,
but even on private estates.
What is lawful for one party must be lawful for the other,
and we cannot reproach the Congo Free State for upholding
against British would-be interference such rights of the
Crown as other governments maintain in their own colonies.
This example of vigorous Teutonic candour might
be repeated from the columns of many other Euro-
pean journals, but the desire to avoid passing from
the historical to the controversial in the present work
must limit the use of abundant similar material.
To show that the direct exploitation of domanial
forests is made a legitimate source of revenue in
Eastern countries, the instance of Japan may be
cited. That brave little country, so heroically en-
gaged in fighting for the unmolested right to pursue
its brilliant course of modern progress, directly culti-
vates and harvests for the benefit of its treasury a
State domain equal to seven times the entire area of
Belgium!
When the ministers of his Majesty, King Leopold,
were requested to indicate the principles upon which
the Domaine Prive of the Congo Free State was
developed, they stated that, having in view the
necessity for revenue from the soil, the civilising in-
fluence of labour, and the social, physical, and moral
condition of the African black, they had devised
that scheme which would attract the only existing
available labour in the country, the co-operation of
State Lands and Concessions 335
the native, for which co-operation the State not only
paid him, but provided him with hberating and en-
lightening opportunities for participating in the
growth of African civiHsation. In its official reports
the Government of the Congo Free State refers to its
aims in this respect:
The object which the Government aims at, is to succeed in
turning the private domain of the State to profit, exclusively
by means of voluntary contributions [of labour] from the
natives, and inducing them to work through the allurement
of an earned and adequate payment. The rate must be
sufficiently remunerative to stimulate in the natives the de-
sire of obtaining it, and, as a consequence, to induce them
to gather in the products of the domain.
Where the attraction of commercial benefit is not sufficient
to assure the working of the private domain, it is necessary
to resort to the tax in kind ; but, even in this case, the work is
remunerated in the same manner as the voluntary contribu-
tions. The Government's orders in this respect are positive.
Properly speaking, the tax in kind is not a real tax, since the
local value of the products brought in by the natives is given
to them in exchange.
The Government has never neglected an opportunity to
remind its agents, intrusted with the collection of taxes in
kind, that their part is that of an educator: their mission is
to impress on the mind of the natives the taste for work ; and
the means available would fail of their aim if compulsion was
changed into violence.
What is called the Domain of the Crown is a
limited territory defined by decrees dated March 8,
1896, and December 23, 1901, lying in the basins of
Lake Leopold II. and of the Lukenie River, in the
basin of the Busira-Momboya River, and between
certain boundaries at the confluence of the Lubefu
336 Story of the Congo Free State
and Sankuru rivers, to the western summit-line of
the Lukenie basin, and including certain contiguous
areas. These lands include six discovered mines
which have so far not been worked. The Domain
of the Crown is a corporate body administered by
a committee of three persons appointed by the
Sovereign.
The forests of the Congo are the finest in the
world. They contain a great variety of hard and
soft wood, fruit-bearing trees, rubber trees and
vines, and gum trees, and constitute an industrial
wealth which is being preserved by enforcing rigor-
ous laws. A decree dated July 7, 1898, and orders
dated November 22, 1898, and March 21, 1902,
regulate timber cutting. Under these, steamboats
may take on supplies of wood fuel on payment of
an annual tax measured according to their tonnage
and speed.
The mining laws of the State are embodied in the
decrees of June 8, 1888, and March 20, 1893. They
provide, amongst other things, that the purchase of
land from the State or from individuals does not
' ' confer the right of working the mineral riches be-
neath the surface ' ' ; that ' ' mineral riches remain the
property of the State ' ' ; that ' ' no person can work
a mine except by virtue of a special concession from
the State "; that "the Government fixes by decree
the regions where mining researches are authorised
either in favour of all persons without distinction,
or of the persons specified in the decrees." A
licence fee of 2500 francs and other fees are imposed
upon those who, having discovered mineral -bearing
^
(^
State Lands and Concessions
jj,
properties, desire to work them. A mining con-
cession is limited to an area not exceeding 24,000
acres. Article 4 of the decree of March 25, 1893,
provides that:
Whoever shall discover a mine in the regions where he is
authorised to make researches in conformity with Article 3,
can obtain a right of preference for ten years for the concession
of this mine, on condition that he complies with the regula-
tions laid down in the present Decree.
All mining concessions are limited to a term of
ninety-nine years. On its expiration the State
succeeds to the property as it stands. A system of
royalties on the product of the mine is stipulated in
all concessions. Such royalties shall not be less than
one dollar a year on each 2.47 acres. These fixed
annual charges may be commuted by arrangement
with the State.
In commenting upon the criticism which British
merchants and their allies have uttered against the
entire land system of the Congo Free State, an
eminent Belgian closely identified with those who
support the Congolese policy has said:
It is an easy matter to point out, in an undertaking sucli
as the Congolese enterprise, the inherent imperfections and
difhculties of the task, and the accidental defects in the in-
struments which the State is called upon to employ.
It is, however, very unfair to hide under a bushel the good
results which have been obtained, and the progress which has
been realised, and to expose on a pinnacle a few exceptional
and regrettable facts, to draw a conclusion from particular
cases to the detriment of the general rule, and to condemn
wholesale an institution which draws forth the admiration
33^ Story of the Congo Free State
even of its enemies, and of which a witness, certainly to be
little suspected, has been able to say: "/w the whole history
of Colonial life, there is no example on record of such a result
obtained in such a short period of time.''
We are far from overlooking the important role which
criticism plays in a matter which is as yet so little advanced
as the art and science of colonisation, but in order to play
this role properly, the critic must remain impartial.
After all, if these severe criticisms have been at times
formulated, there are ample compensations in many authori-
tative comments from abroad. For instance, M. de Lanessan,
formerly Minister of the Admiralty in France, says:
"Belgium has shown that, in matters of colonisation, she
possesses more practical and rational ideas than ourselves,
and a better understanding of the methods of modem col-
onisation."
As to the condition of the natives, this is the opinion of Sir
Harry Johnston, speaking from experience of that part of the
Congo which was formerly the most backward:
"This portion of the Congo Free State was inhabited by
cheerful natives who repeatedly, and without solicitation on
my part, compared the good times they were now having, to
the misery and terror which preceded them when the Arabs
and Manyema had established themselves in the country as
chiefs and slave-traders."
As this volume is going to press, advices are to
hand that M. Gaston Doumergue, the French Minis-
ter for the Colonies, submitted to the President of
the RepubHc of France — and on October 23, 1904,
procured his signature to — a decree consolidating
the Repubhc's legislation concerning French West
Africa. This decree reaffirms that "all vacant lands
in the colonies of French West Africa are the property
of the State ' ' ; that the property of the State may
be alienated, leased, or developed according to the
State Lands and Concessions 339
methods employed in the Free State; that conces-
sions may be granted; that property held in com-
mon by tribes under their chiefs may not be sold
by them without the State's consent, etc. In
short, the success of the land regime practised by the
Congo Free State having convinced the Germans
and the French of its wisdom, both countries have
now conformed their own laws to it.
CHAPTER XXIX
THE NEMESIS OF LIBEL
ON Friday, the 25th of March, 1904, in the King's
Bench Division of the High Court of Justice,
London, the case of Captain Henri Joseph
Leon De Keyser, and his colleagues-in-arms, Com-
mandants Chaltin and Dubreucq, against Captain
Guy Burrows, an EngUshman, one time in the ser-
vice of the Congo Free State, and his pubHshers,
Messrs. R. A. Everett & Co., London, came on for
trial before Mr. Justice Ridley and a special jury.
The trial of this action for libel is the first which
has, so far, been determined against those who are
charged with traducing the men whose courage in,
and devotion to, the Congo cause has erected a pros-
perous State in the heart of savage Africa. The case
irradiates much that has been long proceeding in
Great Britain, and that has recently received sig-
nificant impetus in the United States through the
action of certain persons operating from the city of
Boston.
The author has no acquaintance with any of the
parties to this case, but deems it incumbent upon
one who essays to write a full history of the Congo
Free State to include an account of litigation which
in its proceedings and result reveals and explains
340
The Nemesis of Libel 341
many things with which the present work will not
otherwise specifically deal.
Belgian officers brought this action against an
English officer, whom they charged with libel and
attempted blackmail, before a British jury. Captain
Guy Burrows, the defendant, had published a book
containing false statements of atrocities in the Congo.
He had followed the Liverpool and Boston custom
of attributing villainy to the officers of the Congo
State Government. But imlike the Liverpool and
Boston general allegations. Captain Burrows attrib-
uted the wrongful acts to Captain De Keyser and
Commandants Chaltin and Dubreucq. What the
Court thought of the case as it sensationally unfolded
itself may be gleaned from the observations and
summing up of Mr. Justice Ridley. What the jury
felt is indicated in its verdict for damages against
the defendants in all the cases.
To ensure the fairest statement of this interesting
and informing suit, the following quotations, ver-
batim et literatim, are taken from a stenographic
report of the trial.
There was a fine array of learned counsel on both
sides, among whom Sir Edward Clarke, K.C., Mr.
J. Eldon Bankes, K.C., and Mr. Lewis Thomas (in-
structed by Messrs. Bird, Strode & Bird, solicitors)
appeared for the plaintiffs; Mr. Crispe, K.C., and Mr.
Swanton for the defendant Burrows; and Mr. Ger-
maine, K.C., and Mr. G. A. Scott for the defendants,
Messrs. R. A. Everett & Co.
Defendants' counsel opened the case by asking
leave of the Court to withdraw his clients' plea of
342 Story of the Congo Free State
justification, by which, in popular terms, he stated
that Captain Burrows was unable to prove any of
the monstrous accusations he had made against Cap-
tain De Keyser and his colleagues, in the book which
contained the libels complained of. After this dra-
matic collapse of previous pretence, Sir Edward
Clarke proceeded with the case as follows :
May it please your Lordship. — Gentlemen of the Jury, I
feel bound to preface the observations that I have to make
to you upon this case by just a very short reference to what
has taken place this morning. A very sudden transformation
has occurred in the condition of the case, and in the issues
which are to be put before you. In February last year Cap-
tain De Keyser, a gentleman who has served in the Belgian
Army, and who has been employed in the Congo Free State,
found himself compelled, by circumstances which I shall ex-
plain to you in a few minutes, to take the opportunity of
bringing this action against Captain Burrows and against
some London publishers in respect of accusations against him
of the gravest possible kind — accusations dishonouring to his
character as a man of honour and as a man of humanity, and
dishonouring to him as an officer in the Belgian Army; and
he brought his action in February last year. Thereupon, in
the course of the year. Captain Burrows puts on a defence in
the month of April or May, and Messrs. Everett & Company
put on a defence in the month of August, in which they say
that those accusations against Captain De Keyser were true;
and what were called Particulars, to which, however, I need
not now refer, were put in, in which it was alleged that Cap-
tain De Keyser had been guilty of infamous conduct as a
servant of the Government of the Congo Free State. This
case has gone on month after month. There have been ques-
tions as to the time when it should be tried, and those who
were advising Captain De Keyser and those who are interested
in this matter have had the anxious duty of taking care that
it never could possibly be said that the Defendants did not
The Nemesis of Libel 343
have a fair opportunity of trial. The case stood over for a
considerable time, and even so lately as when it was before
the Lord Chief Justice there was a practical assent on the
part of the Plaintiffs to the postponement of the case in order
that no one should ever say that the Defendants had not the
fullest opportunity of putting their case before you; and now,
at this moment, when we come into Court to-day, suddenly,
the statement that the accusations are true is absolutely
struck out. Not only do the Defendants say that they are not
prepared to call witnesses to support the allegation that those
allegations are true, but they appear not to be prepared even to
challenge Captain De Keyser himself, or to ask him any ques-
tions as to his conduct in the Congo Free State. I do not know
how far I may be allowed to go — how far it may be possible
in the present state of the Pleadings for me to get any abso-
lute vindication of Captain De Keyser in this Court. I dare-
say my Lord will be indulgent with me with regard to that,
looking at the very cruel position in which this gallant officer
has been placed by accusations made against him which might
affect, and, I believe, have affected him, very seriously in
private life — accusations which have come to be known and
to be talked about — accusations, as he was prepared to show,
which were absolutely untrue, and accusations at the very
last moment withdrawn, struck away from the Record, when
not only has he been here prepared to give his evidence, but
when we have tried to get, and succeeded in getting, as many
of those as could be possibly called here who were associated
with him in his responsible work in the Congo Free State to
carry to a demonstration the proof that he could give that
there was not a tittle of foundation for the injurious state-
ments that have been made about him. Now, at the last
moment, it comes to a question of publication, and my learned
friends have taken the position that if I can prove against
them that there was a publication of these libels, then they
are without a defence, and are not able to say that there is
any truth in the statements that they have made, and must
submit to such verdict as you may give in the matter. As to
the verdict, I do not know whether, in Ihc ultimate results,
344 Story of the Congo Free State
the amount of it will matter very much, but you may think,
when you hear the statement I have to make to you with
regard to the publication of these accusations, that it is a
case in which, whether there is ever any possibility of recover-
ing the money or not, at all events there should be a very
definite expression of your view with regard to the conduct
that these parties have pursued. I shall prove not only a
publication, but I shall prove an attempt to blackmail the
Belgian authorities, and the authorities of the Congo Free
State, by these people in conjunction. Captain Burrows and
Everett & Co. I believe I shall prove it up to the hilt, and
then it will be for you to say, by your verdict, what you
think of the conduct of which they have been guilty.
Gentlemen, I must limit very closely the observations which
I was going to make to you. My learned friend and I had
somewhat laboriously prepared ourselves for dealing with all
the possible issues of fact that might be raised in this case
that were suggested by the accusations against Captain De
Keyser. That has passed out of the case, and I must treat
very shortly the questions with which I should otherwise have
had at some length to deal. It is essential when you are con-
sidering the persons against whom, if I prove the publication,
your verdict must go, for you to consider who those persons
are. The accusations which were made have been made by
Captain Burrows and published by the Everetts, and were
accusations which concerned the course of government in the
Congo Free State, a matter which has attracted great attention
from time to time and with regard to which certain very
strong statements have been made in this country and else-
where.
Now, Gentlemen, the Congo Free State is a State which, as
a separate and independent State, has not existed very long.
It was in the year 1884 or 1885 that that State was consti-
tuted under the Government of the King of the Belgians, who
is called the King Sovereign of the State, and it has from that
time been administered by Belgian authorities as the author-
ity of the Free State. It has been a Government in process
of construction, and it was not, perhaps, until the year 1891
00
S
The Nemesis of Libel 345
that it can be said that there was an organised system of
government extending over the Congo Free State. It is an
enormous area of over 800,000 square miles. It is an area
scantily populated, but populated by savages of almost the
lowest type of existence, savages among whom the practice
of cannibalism, the practice of mutilation of enemies who
have been killed in battle, and of violent punishments as be-
tween one tribe and another, had reigned without check until
the representatives of civilisation came, in the officers of the
Congo Free State, and established some sort of organisation
and government throughout that country. The difficulties
have been enormous. The difficulty of dealing with an area
of more than 800,000 square miles with only a very few hun-
dred white men who were in command of black troops, drawn
from the very tribes whose habits I just now referred to, has
been enormous. It has been one of the most anxious and
difficult tasks that a civilised country ever undertook. That
task has been fulfilled — on the whole with signal success. No
set of men are absolutely free from reproach. The position of
the representatives of the Congo Free State has been an
extremely difficult one. At the time when Captain De Key-
ser went out, a captain and seventy-five men had been killed
a few weeks before, very near to the place where he was sent
to carry on his work. Every white man is surrounded by
hundreds or thousands of black men, and is in a position not
only of great responsibility but of great personal danger and
of great difficulty, and there may have been here and there
a default on the part of now one and now another of the offi-
cers in the employ of the Congo Free State. It has not been
the fault of that State, for from time to time orders have
been issued to the officers of the Free State, by which it has
been attempted to prevent any sort of misconduct, and there
have been administrative orders by which severe punishments
have been inflicted on the natives for cannibalism or for the
mutilation of persons who have been killed in battle, and this
amelioration of the condition of the people has been going
on with great success. Captain Burrows, who wrote against
Captain De Keyser these most atrocious libels, has been on
34^ Story of the Congo Free State
two occasions in the employment of the Congo Free State.
He was employed there from June, 1894, until September,
1897. He never had an opportunity of seeing or knowing
the character of the work which Captain De Keyser did, for
they were together only fourteen days in the year 1897. But
from 1894 to 1897 Captain Burrows was out in the Congo
Free State. He came back to Europe in 1897, ^^^ the first
interesting circumstance about him is that he became at once
the champion of the Congo Free State against allegations
made by Captain Salusbury. In 1896 Captain Salusbury had
made accusations against certain oflticers of the Congo Free
State, and one of his allegations had been that there were
mutilations— hand-cutting and the like. Captain Burrows
made himself the defender of the Congo Free State and of its
administration. He had had four years' experience, and he
sought an interview with the Etoile Beige, and had a conver-
sation with the representative of that newspaper, which was
pifblished ; and you will find in a letter from Captain Burrows
that he takes to himself the credit for what he had done in
getting rid of, or answering, the accusations of Captain Salus-
bury. I will read a line or two from this statement: "As for
his accusations," — that is, Captain Salusburv^'s accusations
against the Congo State and the Belgian officers who employ
him, — "they fail from the outset. It is without any compul-
sion that the natives enlist in the public forces. The harvest
of ivory and caoutchouc gives rise to no atrocity. I have wit-
nessed none of the odious deeds related by Captain Salusbury,
and they certainly would have come to my knowledge if they
had been real. I say this for the simple reason that it is true."
Then at the end he says as to the action of the Government :
"With such accounts one is silent instead of becoming an
accuser. I do not pretend that all is perfect at Congo. It
certainly commits errors sometimes, but truth compels me to
state that the Government seeks only to redress them, and to
punish those who have been guilty of it. The Belgian officers
do not use their men brutally at will as Captain Salusbury
has affirmed. Indeed, the soldiers are much attached to
the greater number of their white chiefs, and the latter
The Nemesis of Libel 347
can confidently count on their courage and devotion in time
of war."
The close of it all was— and this you will find extremely
important when you see what Captain Burrows was saying
later: "The tales that have been told of cut hands are all
pure legend. I have never seen a living native mutilated.
As for the cannibal customs of certain tribes of the Congo,
they should not be charged to the whites, who do what they
can to modify them, but who can only succeed in doing it after
lapse of time." That was as explicit as it was possible to be.
That was published in the year 1898. He came back in 1897.
You will find a reference in the letter which I am going to
read. He published a book. I will read the letter first. The
letter is the 20th November, 1897. "Dear Mr. Liebrechts, —
I send you the last article of Mr. Salusbury. ... I do
not like asking anything for myself, but if it were possible
for you to obtain for me the order of the ' Lion,' and that
I should be named the Captain Commandant of the first
class, Salusbury would know it, and this would be an ab-
solute denial of his exposures. ... I have an idea of
writing a book entitled The Truth about the Congo. It
should be dedicated (I do not know if that is the word) to
the King, and an introduction written by Stanley. What do
you think of the idea? Yours always. Burrows." M. Lie-
brechts is the Secretary General of the Congo Free State, resi-
dent in Brussels. He has had the administration of the Congo
under the King for years past. He himself served for six
years in the Congo, came back, and has been Under Secretary
for the Congo Free State since 1889. He has been Secretary
General for the State, and has had the responsibility for the
administration of the place, and is at present here in Court.
In that letter he refers to an introduction written by Stan-
ley — that is, Sir Henry M. Stanley. Here is the book that
was published. It was not called The Truth about Central
Ajrica; it was called The Land of tlie Pigmies. It is dedicated
to the King of the Belgians by permission, and it does contain
an introduction by Stanley. It purports to give a full account
of the Congo State, and I need hardly say there is not the
348 Stoiy of the Congo Free State
smallest reference in it as to any sort of atrocity. At one
page there is a statement of a man being caught, who had been
guilty of inhuman conduct, and of his being most severely
punished, but that is given as an instance of the untruth of
the stories that inhumanity was allowed. This was the posi-
tion in 1898. Captain Burrows went back in June, 1898, and
was at Basoko from 1898 till February, 1901. Then he came
back to Europe on the 21st of May, 1901. He wrote a letter
to Mr. Liebrechts. You will be interested to note the atti-
tude he takes with regard to his treatment by the Congo Free
State. "Sir, I have the honour to ask you to have the good-
ness to request the Government to permit me to convert into
capital (i. e., sell) my allotment of the public debt 4 per cent.
Congo Free State, granted by your letter dated the 19th
April, 1 90 1." The explanation is that when an officer has
served in the Congo for a certain time and retires from the ser-
vice there is allotted to him a certain income from the Public
Debt, and he is allowed to take that as a lump sum, instead
of receiving the interest from year to year upon the propor-
tion which is allotted to him. "The motives which have de-
cided me to make this request are as follows: It is more than
probable that I shall not return any more to the Congo. I
shall in all probability go to the Transvaal, and in that case
the stock granted to me would be almost useless. It would
indeed be difficult for me to again enter into service with the
State after having been four times passed over for promotion
by officers of shorter terms of service. Moreover, I have
never received any increase of pay during the two years and
six months of my last term of service as Commissioner of the
district of Aruwimi. In spite of services rendered since
my arrival in the Congo in July, 1898, I was the object of
unrelenting suspicion on the part of several functionaries of
the State, and I am informed that many of these gentlemen
disparage me to the State. Amongst the services which I
have rendered I can remind you that it was I who silenced
Captain Salusbury. I wrote and published a book distinctly
favourable to the State, for which Sir Henry M. Stanley was
pleased to write the introduction. I regret, Sir, that such cir-
The Nemesis of Libel 349
cumstances oblige me to quit the service of the State.
I have the honour to remain, District Commissioner Burrows."
You see by that that he was leaving the service. He was
stating his grievances: that his pay had not been properly
raised, and that he had not received sufficient distinction.
The next thing that happens is on the 15th of November,
I go I — a note which is the beginning, as you watch from this
point, of the scheme by which it was attempted to blackmail
the Government of the Congo Free State, or anybody else, by
the combination of Captain Burrows and Messrs. Everett,
publishers of his second book. On the 15th of November,
1 90 1, this very curious note was written: "Dear Monsieur
Liebrechts. I should be very grateful if you would have the
kindness to tell me if the State wishes to employ me again.
If so, will you let me know the conditions? Mr. Canisius is
here. He says that he is engaged in writing a book on the
Congo." That is a very interesting bit of information. Mon-
sieur Canisius was a gentleman who had been in the employ-
ment of the Congo Free State, and had left that employment
to go into the employment of a private Company, and then
had desired to come back into the employment of the Congo
Free State. He had been refused. It is a rule, I think, with
the Congo Free State not to take back into the State service
those who have left to serve in private companies. Captain
Burrows says: "Canisius is here. He is engaged in writing
a book on the Congo." M. Canisius was not there; M.
Canisius at that time was on the Gold Coast! It was a very
curious notification to send: "Are you going to have me back
into the State service? There is somebody here who is writ-
ing a book." On the 23rd of November he was answered by
Commandant Liebrechts: "I have duly received your letter
of the 15th of November and hasten to thank you for the
communication you have been good enough to make me. I
heard Monsieur Canisius was spreading certain calumnies
about the State." On the i6th December Captain Burrows
writes again: "I presume that your letter is a refusal on the
part of the Free State to re-engage me for a third term of
service. I beg you to enlighten me on this point, then I shall
350 Story of the Congo Free State
know whether I am free or not to do what I wish" — another
very interesting suggestion ; it is enlightened very much by
what you will hear shortly. On the 21st of December M. Lie-
brechts writes thus: "I quite understood at the time of our
last conversations, that you no longer wished to resume serv-
ice at the Congo, and we seemed to be agreed that a post
suitable to your capabilities would be very difficult to find in
Africa. You must not, however, conclude that we shall no
longer be able to make use of your services should an occasion
arise, for special missions, such as may arise at any moment
in other regions. If you were inclined to hold yourself at
our disposal, I should be obliged if you would let me know."
On .the 31st December Captain Burrows wrote: "I do not
remember the conversation alluded to in your letter of the
2ist December, in which I said quite plainly that I no longer
wished to resume service at the Congo. I understood that it
was a question of the conditions under which it would be im-
possible to resume such service. You ask me if I am dis-
posed to hold myself at the disposal of the State with a view
of being employed for special missions which may arise at
any moment in other regions. Am I to understand that I
am still in the service of the State or not? And if so, under
what conditions of remuneration, etc. ? " On the 2nd of Janu-
ary, 1902, Commandant Liebrechts writes: " In reply to your
letter of the 31st December, 1901, I hasten to inform you that
your agreement ended with your return to Europe, and that
since then you have, according to our laws and regulations,
ceased to be a member of our staff. It is precisely for this
reason that I asked you in my last letter if it would suit you
to hold yourself at our disposal for a certain period — let us
say two years. You will have to undertake during that period
any mission with which we might entrust you. Of course, if
you accepted this proposal, an annual salary would be allowed
to you for that period of two years. But before deciding this
point I should like to know if, in itself, our proposal com-
mends itself to you. I should be obliged if you would reply
as soon as possible."
Gentlemen of the Jury, we have come now to January, 1902.
The Nemesis of Libel 351
There was an end of the negotiations, so to speak, between
Captain Burrows and Commandant Liebrechts, and Captain
Burrows found himself, to use his own expression, free to do
as he chose.
During the early part of 1902, he began writing some things,
and an advertisement appeared in the Wide World Magazine
m which an announcement was made of "Life in the Congo
Free State," a series of articles which were to be published,
written by Captain Guy Burrows. The advertisement reads:
"Captain Burrows was recently in the employ of the Congo
Free State Government, and in his ofificial capacity has seen
much of the misgovernment which prevails in that little-
known territory. He has a good deal to say about the atroci-
ties which have taken place in connection with the rubber
industry, and the sworn testimony and photographic evidence
which he holds will no doubt create a sensation in high circles.
Captain Burrows' articles in the Wide World will be illustrated
with his own snapshots." That was the advertisement that
appeared. Why there was a mention of atrocities in it ap-
pears presently. The articles appeared in April, May, and
June, in the Wide World. They are articles with regard to
the Congo State, and there is not one syllable in them about
any atrocity of any sort or kind. That is what he was doing
in the early part or middle of the year 1902. In the latter
part of this year an agreement was entered into between
Captain Burrows as author, and E. A. Everett & Co., London,
as publishers, for the publication of a work then entitled The
Congo Free State. This was signed on November 17, 1902.
On the 24th of November, 1902, this letter was written by
Everett & Co. to the Secretary of State of the Congo Free
State at Brussels: "Sir, we have recently concluded a con-
tract with Captain Guy Burrows, well known to the English
public as having served some years in the service [sic] of the
Congo Free State, to publish an important work on the Congo
Free State. The information contained in this book is of such
a startling character, and contains so many revelations con-
cerning the administration of the Congo Free State of Bel-
gium, that we thought it well to advise you of its publication
352 Story of the Congo Free State
beforehand, and at the same time to enquire if we may have
the honour of oflfering you the Belgian rights for pubHcation
in your country. We are arranging for simultaneous publi-
cation in Italy, Germany, France, Norway, and Sweden, and
the United States of America. We need hardly say that the
book will be well got up, and illustrated with a very large num-
ber of valuable and unique photographs taken on the spot by
the author and others. If you wish to move in the matter
of this offer, we should be glad if you would let us know at
your earliest convenience.." That, written on the 24th to the
Secretary General, was followed by a curious communication
sent to the editor of the Independance Beige at Brussels, on
the 27th November by Everett & Co.: "Dear Sir, We send
you the advance notice of the enclosed valuable work, and
trust you may find room to insert the same in your literary
column. If you have an agent here, we could, perhaps, tell
him of some of the marvellous revelations in this book, but
which we could not put on paper." On the 8th of December
Commandant Liebrechts wrote to him: " I have received your
letter of the 24th ulto., in which you inform me that you
have agreed with Captain Guy Burrows for the publication of
a work on the Congo State, and you offer me the rights of
publication in Belgium. Before replying to your proposition
I wish to see the manuscript or a proof of the book." On the
9th Messrs. Everett & Co. wrote: "We are in receipt of your
letter of the 8th inst., for which we have to thank you, and
we much regret, that we are unable to comply with your re-
quest in sending you the MSS. of this book, as we are under
a contract with the author not to part with the MSS. under
any consideration whatever. We should, however, be happy
to send you the title and contents so as to give you some idea
of the nature and scope of the book, and we should also be
willing to show the MSS. to any of your accredited agents in
London (by appointment). The MSS., signed documents, and
photographs are of such vital importance that we should not
care to put them through the post, for fear of loss. We under-
stand that the author, Captain Burrows, was lately a District
Commissioner for the Congo Free State, and is a Chevalier of
The Nemesis of Libel 353
the Order of the Lion of Belgium." In consequence of their
offer to show those documents to anybody who was sent over,
Mr. Bigwood came over to this country, and he saw Messrs.
Everett. He met them and had a conversation with them,
and then there was shown to him the document of which this is
a copy, called "The Curse of Central Africa." It was the same
document as had already been sent to the Independance Beige.
At the end of chapter xxv., the very last chapter, there is
this: "A Belgian's treatment of a native chief — more bestial
than human — goes unpunished." That was afterwards ap-
plied to Captain De Keyser. Then comes a list of illustra-
tions. At the end there is a list of Belgian officers and officials
who, the author alleged, are responsible for the atrocities men-
tioned in this book ; and a series of names included the name
of Captain De Keyser.
Captain Burrows was in England on the i6th of December.
He had a conversation with Everett on the i yth of December.
This note was written to Mr. Bigwood at the Hotel Metropole
by R. A. Everett: "With reference to your visit yesterday
at my office, I think it would be to your advantage for you
to call upon me at my club. I shall be here during the even-
ing." That was the National Liberal Club, Whitehall Place.
On the 17th, Everett was at the National Liberal Club, and
he was there with Captain Burrows and young Mr. Everett,
and then a very interesting agreement was signed which
throws a very clear light indeed upon the correspondence that
had been going on with Brussels. It is witnessed by A. E.
C. Everett, that is, the son, who went over to Brussels and
posted the post cards in bad French. Captain Burrows signs
it: "I hereby agree to pay Mr. John George Leigh the sum of
/^5oo, if and when my publishers, R. A. Everett & Co., 42,
Essex Street, Strand, receive the amount which may be paid
by the Belgian Government for the non-publication of the
manuscript written by myself and him entitled ' The Curse of
Central Africa.' In case the book is published I agree to pay
Mr. J. G. Leigh one third of the profits accruing from such
publication as per agreement with the said publishers." There
never was more definite evidence of the intention with which
23
354 Story of the Congo Free State
these communications had been made with Brussels. If they
had succeeded in extorting from the Belgian Government by
any apprehension of the publication of these documents, a
substantial sum of money — ^^500 — was to be paid under that
agreement.
Mr. Leigh is a brother-in-law of Mr. Canisius, and Mr.
Leigh eventually signed the introduction to the book. He is
a journalist. That agreement having been made on the 17th,
on the 30th Mr. Everett writes another letter to the State
Secretary: "At the request of Mr. Bigwood, who called upon
us recentl}^ on your behalf, we send you a revise of the title-
page, and one or two chapters of this book" (you will hear
from Mr. Bigwood that that is not true; he did not request
them to send anything at all), "and we shall be glad if you
will let us know definitely, and at once, whether you wish to
go any further in this matter. The more important photo-
graphs detailing the cruelties are being enlarged from the
originals, so please do not take the enclosed to be the size. —
We have the honour to remain your obedient servants, R. A.
Everett & Co."
In the documents you will find the passages to which I
have now come, which are contained in this: "Flogging a
native by order of De Keyser. At Basoko, the headquarters
station of the district of the Aruwimi, where the notorious
De Keyser [meaning thereby the Plaintiff], of hand-cutting
fame, was in command, women were daily flogged for the
most trivial offences, etc." This, you will notice, is stated
to have occurred in November, 1897. It was a time when
Captain Burrows himself was not in the Congo State at
all, but you will hear from Captain De Keyser that there
is not the smallest ground for the allegation of cruelty that
was made against him. It is true that a chief was taken
down in the steamer on which Captain De Keyser was, but
the suggestion that he was treated in that barbarous fash-
ion is entirely untrue. The next passage which has to be
read is with regard to Basoko, and as to Basoko, what I have
told you is that at Basoko, for fourteen days only, Captain
Burrows was at the place where Captain De Keyser had his
The Nemesis of Libel 355
command. "At Basoko, the headquarters station of the dis-
trict of the Aruwimi, women used to be flogged almost daily
for the most trivial offences. In one case five women were
beaten for daring to go to a village a short way up the river
to buy food without having previously informed the com-
mandant." Thus, after six and a half years, during which
no breath of accusation has been made with regard to these
matters by Captain Burrows, there comes this extraordinary
attack: " De Keyser, of hand-cutting fame"; "De Keyser's
massacre " ; De Keyser described as walking about the station
where he was employed with his gun, and shooting with reck-
less cruelty at the natives — De Keyser, who is accused of
taking a man prisoner and practically roasting him on the
stack-pipe of the boat as he is going down the river. There
was not only that, but the imputation of habitually flogging
women at this place. These odious and appalling accusa-
tions, the echo of which follows a man through his whole life,
are made against him, and made against him by whom? By
a man who had been in the service of the Congo State itself,
who, in the year iSgy, as I have shown, made himself the
defender of the administration of the Congo State, and de-
clared in an article which was put in the interview which he
had with UEtoile Beige, that there was no foundation what-
ever for the accusations which had been made against the
Belgian officers, and he was able to say so because he knew
the truth. He attacked Captain Salusbury and disposed of
that. This man, who in 1897 was taking that attitude, who
afterwards leaves the service of the Congo State and feels
himself aggrieved because he has not been so highly paid,
because he has not had such distinction conferred upon him
as others have had conferred, — he, seven years afterwards,
enters into this — is it too much to call it a conspiracy ?
They are grave accusations, accusations which, if there
had been any semblance of truth in them, or if there had
been any honest reason for their being made, would have
l)een made long before in different circumstances and in a
different way. At the time when they are eventually made,
they are made in a way which will not do public service, but
35^ Story of the Congo Free State
will put money in Captain Burrows' pocket and into the pockets
of the publishers who are joining with him in publishing. It
is perfectly impossible to misunderstand the correspondence
with Commandant Liebrechts. If this had been an honest
thing, honestly done by Captain Burrows in the performance
of any pubhc duty, do you think there would have been a
going first to a pubhsher and then a letter from that pub-
lisher inviting the Belgian Government to consider what it
would be worth their while to pay for the suppression of this
book? There is no question as to the meaning of that letter.
What do you think was the object of putting a crowd of
names into the revise, some of which afterwards disappeared?
Why, it was because the object was the illegitimate object of
endeavouring to bring pressure upon the Belgian Government
and to induce them to pay money to buy up this book. It
was not for any public object at all, but because the mention
of these names, showing that there was a list of persons for-
merly or at present in the Congo Company's service against
whom accusations might be brought, might make it worth
the while of the Belgian Government to prevent a great scan-
dal by procuring the suppression of this book. But the Congo
Free State or the Belgian Government was not going to buy
up the book in order to suppress it or in order to prevent its
publication. As one of the witnesses, Commandant Liebrechts,
said, " For the first time we found that we should be in a posi-
tion to deal with specific statements." It is all very well for
people to be spreading over the world — I do not care whether
they are in reports or interviews or anything else — general
statements with regard to things that are done in the Congo
Free State. Commandant Liebrechts says there had been
complaints : "I had heard on more than one occasion of com-
plaints being made as to conduct in the Congo. Whenever it
was known, and found out, it was dealt with and it was pun-
ished. These allegations about maladministration of the
Congo Frae State had been spread about from time to time by
interviews, suggestions, newspaper reports, and the like, but
here we saw that there was an opportunity for the men who
were personally attacked to come and vindicate themselves
The Nemesis of Libel 357
from the charges which were made against them." There-
fore, there was no attempt to buy this book, and the con-
spirators were disappointed who had been preparing this
revise, and cramming it with an enormous amount of ma-
terial which it was thought would frighten the Belgian Gov-
ernment from permitting it to be dealt with. I do not
know what the price might have been which they would
have asked for, but that there was a price they were think-
ing of you will see in a minute or two. What did they expect
to get for it? We do not know. But we do know this,
that there were two principals in the matter, and there was
by way of being a subordinate. I speak of Mr. Leigh as
a subordinate. I do not suggest in the least that he was
associated with the attempt that was being made in Belgium,
but what we know is, that he was doing a minor part of the
work, that the manuscript was said to have been Captain
Burrows' manuscript, that the materials for this book were
supposed to be Captain Burrows' materials, and Captain Bur-
rows therefore was the principal person, and Messrs. Everett
had lent their name and their work, and were acting with
Captain Burrows, and no doubt expected a very large share
of the money that would be got from the Belgian Government.
If Mr. Leigh, in his modest inconspicuous, and irresponsible
position, was to get ;C5oo for helping in putting together
the materials for this book, what do you think that Captain
Burrows and Mr. Everett thought that they might be able to
extort from the fear of the Belgian Government that this
thing would go all over the world ?
The address to the jury of Mr. Crispe, counsel
for the Defendant Burrows, was often eloquent,
always adroit, and showed great skill in defending a
cause to which the main defence had been abandoned
when the pleas of justification were withdrawn.
Gentlemen [said Counsel for Everett & Co., one of the de-
fendants], apart from what Commandant Liebrechts termed
"moral damage," there is no evidence of actual damage
35^ Story of the Congo Free State
suffered by Captain De Keyser in this having come to the know-
ledge of Commandant Liebrechts. Commandant Liebrechts
says that he had investigated these charges and found out
that they were false. If so, the repetition of them could
have no effect upon his mind as regards the complicity of
Captain De Keyser in them, and therefore, so far as that is
concerned, no damage could have been suffered with reference
to Commandant Liebrechts.
Those are the facts on the question. I now ask you to
deal with the printer in this case in the most general and
lenient manner that you can. He has, as I told you in open-
ing, been compelled to accept the evidence given him by the
man who brings him the material. He safeguards himself to
an extent, or at all events his bona fides [sic], he safeguards by
obtaining the statement in that agreement that these allega-
tions are true, and that there is nothing libellous in the work
that he is about to produce. Mr. Everett has not been able
to establish the plea of justification, and if the statements, as
Captain De Keyser says now, in the books are untrue, Mr.
Everett can only express his regret that he should have ac-
cepted from Captain Burrows, on Captain Burrows' assurance
that they were true, statements which were false, and which
have led Mr. Everett to being made a Defendant in an action
for libel.
Gentlemen, I ask you to say that throughout Mr. Everett
has believed in the truth and the proof of these allegations;
that otherwise he would not have published the book, and
placed himself in such a dangerous and perilous condition;
and I ask you further to say that whether the Plaintiff comes
here to-day to vindicate and clear the character of Captain De
Keyser, or whether he comes here to vindicate and clear the
character of the Congo Free State administration, there was
no necessity, in order to do that, to try and blacken the char-
acter of the Defendant, Mr. Everett.
Mr. Justice Ridley, in charging the jury, after dis-
posing of several minor matters, said :
What is the real case here? The action is brought by Cap-
The Nemesis of Libel 359
tain De Keyser to clear his character against libels which have
been published. I do not wish to use epithets in a case like
this, but they are certainly libels of a most serious character.
It is charged that he had been guilty of abominable outrages
against the natives, against men and women who were under
his government, a thing which is of an atrocious character,
enough to blacken the good name of any one for the rest of his
life. That is what he came here about ; he came to say that
this was a libellous statement, to say that it was untrue, and
to ask for a verdict from you. The answer of the Defendants
is that it was true. That has remained their answer until
yesterday morning, when it ceased to be their answer.
We have been listening this afternoon to statements made
by Counsel, in which it appears that they complain because
they cannot cross-examine, or they cannot examine, or they
cannot do something or other. It seems to me that, upon the
other hand, it is the Plaintiff who has the right of complaint,
that he has been brought here with such a plea on the Record
until the very last minute. That is very late, is it not? It
is absolutely untrue that he ever did any one of those things.
There is not one tittle of evidence to that effect, and nobody
dare say so.
It appears that Captain Burrows, who is one of the Defend-
ants, was out in the Congo at an earlier year. I am not sure
when; he returned to Europe on November 20, 1897. He
was at that time a supporter of the Government in respect of
the charges made by a person named Salusbury. In i8g8 he
brought out another book, called "The Land of the Pigmies,"
against which I have nothing to say. It contained nothing at
all in the shape of a charge against anybody in respect of this
matter. He then went back again to the Congo, but he re-
turned in 1 90 1, and then commenced a correspondence be-
tween him and Commandant Liebrechts. There is an earlier
letter in which he states that he is proposing to bring out
another book. Later on there is correspondence as to which
I agree, that it shows that he and the Belgian Government
jjarted on terms not of dismissal of him, but upon a proposal
being made that if he liked to place himself at their disposal
360 Story of the Congo Free State
for two years they would pay him a salary, and that he must
be ready to accept any expedition on which he was asked to
go. He declined that service. That was at the end of 1901.
In the following year he published certain articles in the
Wide World. They contained nothing at all about cruelties,
as I understand, although the}- contained articles about the
administration of the Congo Free State. That was in the
year 1902; but when we get to the autumn of 1902 a new
state of things commences, because up to that time you will
see there is nothing to indicate that he had taken up a hostile
position against either the administration of the Congo Free
State or against any one who had been concerned in it.
But on the 17th November things begin to assume a some-
what different complexion. There is the Agreement of the 1 7th
November, 1902, made between Captain Burrows and Messrs.
Everett & Co., under which the author warrants that the
work is to be an original work. He names the work then
as The Congo Free State. The publishers agree to pay him
the sum of ;^25o on account, and a royalty of 15 per cent.
On the 24th November, when that agreement was in force, a
letter was written by Messrs. Everett & Co. to Commandant
Liebrechts. Now the point of this letter is: Was the action
of the Defendants bona fide in this matter ? Are they persons
who have unwittingly fallen into a false statement, or have
they done a thing with a purpose regardless of the conse-
quences? Have they done the thing which is what we com-
monly call blackmail, or forcing people to pay over money
unless they wish to have a foul charge made against them?
These are the letters which bear upon this matter. The
first is November 24th: "We have recently concluded a con-
tract with Captain Guy Burrows, well known to the Eng-
lish public as having served some years in the service of
the Congo Free State, to publish an important work on the
Congo Free State. The information contained in the book is
of such a startling character, and contains so many revela-
tions concerning the administration of the Congo Free State
by Belgium, that we thought it well to advise you of its pub-
lication beforehand, and at the same time to inquire if we
The Nemesis of Libel 361
may have the honour of offering you the Belgian rights for
publication in your country." That may mean nothing but
what it says, but it may have a sinister meaning in it. It
may be that the fact that ' ' the information contained in the
book is of such a startling character, and contains so many
revelations concerning the administration of the Congo Free
State," that the point which is meant to betaken by those to
whom it is written is : Is it worth your while to buy it up and
stop it; not to publish it, but to have the right of publica-
tion so as to prevent it from being published in the ordinary
way? Is that the meaning of the letter, or is it merely a
bona fide offer of trying to push a book which is supposed and
intended to be innocent, and to get people to push the sale
of it? If that was the object, one is rather at a loss to under-
stand how it could be to their interest to publish revelations
concerning the administration of the Congo Free State by
themselves, and, of course, contrary to the good faith and to
the proper administration of the Government. That it might
be to their interest to buy it up, and refuse to publish it, I can
understand; the other part I have a difficulty in following.
It states: "We are arranging for a simultaneous publication
in Italy, Germany, France, Norway, Sweden, and the United
States of America." I suppose this could not also be bought
up through some agents of the Government of Belgium, but
if so, it would be a larger sum to come to the publishers.
That is the letter of the 24th. On the 27th, by the same
people is sent to the paper in Brussels an "advance notice of
the enclosed valuable work." That is the first issue which
contains a list of the persons who are implicated in the atroci-
ties. It does not contain the chapter which is the subject of
this libel, but it contains a list of Belgian officers and officials
responsible for the atrocities mentioned in this book. That
is sent to the leading paper in Belgium. With what object?
Do you think it possible that they thought that by some means
or other it would come to the knowledge of the Government
through the Press, or through some other means, that there
was something which it would be worth their buying?
Now came Mr. Bigwood. The result upon the Belgian
362 Stor}^ of the Congo Free State
Government was not that they made an offer; they made
nothing of the sort. They said, We will find out what this is ;
and they sent Mr. Bigwood over, whose evidence we heard
yesterday, and who says that he then saw and took back with
him not only the first issue, which is the one I have just been
mentioning as containing the names of the officers, but that
he also saw upon the table the second issue, which is now put
forward as the first of the two libels in the case, but he did
not take it with him. It was sent upon the 30th December,
as you know. Now, an important thing upon this part of
the case seems to me to be the document of the 17th Decem-
ber. That is, you see, between the two dates; it is after the
24th and the 27th November, and it is about the time of the
visit of Mr. Bigwood, or just after he had left. Mr. Bigwood
had seen on the table the second issue, but he had not taken it;
it was not sent until the 30th December. In the interval we
have got a document which is signed by Captain Burrows, and
which says : " I hereby agree to pay to Mr. John George Leigh "
(who is the man whose signature appears in the introduction) ,
"the sum of ;£5oo if and when my publishers, Messrs. Everett
& Co., receive the amount which may be paid by the Belgian
Government." What for, do you think, gentlemen? You
will say, of course, for the publication of the book. But it
is not so: it is for the non-publication of the book. There-
fore he is to get ;^5oo, which is to be paid by the Belgian
Government for not publishing the book; that is to say, for
suppressing it. Nothing could be plainer. "If the Belgian
Government think it worth their while to buy it up, so that
it should not be published, I will pay you £s°'^-" I^ is under
his own hand and signature, and I cannot see what the answer
to it is. To my mind it is absolutely conclusive. I do not
know whether you will consider that the meaning of the first
letter is not that the book should be published broadcast but
that the rights of publishing it should be bought up with the
view of stopping its being published broadcast. He goes on:
" For the non-publication of the manuscripts written by myself
and him, entitled 'The Curse of Central Africa.' In case the
book is published, I agree to pay Mr. Leigh one-third of the
The Nemesis of Libel 363
profits accruing from such publication as per agreement with
the said publisher." That, of course, goes for nothing. It is
the first part, and it appears to me to be clear upon that, that
the meaning of such words must be that the object was not to
get the Belgian Government not to publish, but to prevent the
publication. Now, if so, of course I am perfectly aware that
that is not the point of the case, but you cannot keep out of
your mind in a case of this kind what has been the conduct
of those who are responsible for the libels which have been
published. Is it a case in which they have done the thing
with a bona fide intention to produce and to bring to light, and
to make to cease outrages and atrocities which have been com-
mitted in any part of the world, or is it, on the other hand, to
make a profit out of something which has been brought to
their knowledge to the detriment of other people? If you
think that this was done to get a profit by forcing the Belgian
Government to buy their silence, it would appear to me that
you would deal with the matter upon a different footing to
that on which you would be willing to deal with it if you
thought that the Defendants, from beginning to end, had done
their best to alleviate the mischief which their published state-
ments might have unfortunately brought about.
You must also, I think, look at the conduct of those who
were guilty of having published this libel. Have they done the
best they could to alleviate the consequences, or have thej^
on the other hand, maintained the fact that it was true until
almost the eleventh hour; and have they also, or have they
not, whilst this matter has been going on, been actuated by
other motives, not merely the motive of bringing to light in
the public interest a scandal that was going on, but by the idea
that out of this business they would make some ugly profit for
themselves ?
The jury retired at 3.22 o'clock. In ten minutes
it returned a verdict for the plaintiff, Captain De
Keyser, awarding him ;)^5oo damages and costs. Sir
Edward Clarke, plaintiff's counsel, having moved the
Court to make the preliminary injunction forbidding
364 Story o( the Congo Free State
publication of the book perpetual, defendant's coun-
sel gave expression to the thought that if the Court
complied, it would be a "very hard and cruel pro-
ceeding." In replying to this observation. Sir
Edward Clarke said:
I do not know that the interference with the business of
persons who publish libels like this is a public misfortune ; but
it would be very unfortunate indeed if after the Jury have
found a verdict in my favour upon this matter, and awarded
substantial damages, that the Defendant should be free from
the Injunction which has gone on for the last year. I do not
ask your Lordship to vary the Injunction, but I ask your
Lordship that the Injunction which lasted while this matter
was in dispute shall be made perpetual.
The terms of the Injunction which was granted by Mr. Jus-
tice Bigham are these: "Ordered that the Defendants, their
servants and agents and each and every of them be restrained
and an Injunction be granted restraining the Defendants, their
servants and agents, and each and every of them, from print-
ing or selling or otherwise distributing a book entitled ' The
Curse of South Africa ' under that or any other title, or any
portion of the said book under that title or any other title."
I submit that I am at least entitled to be continued in the pro-
tection which existed while the action was pending.
I was so protected when it was uncertain whether I had
sustained any grievance or not. Now it has been established,
and I have recovered substantial damages for that grievance,
I surely am entitled to a continuation of that protection.
Mr. Justice Ridley: I shall make it perpetual.
Thereupon counsel for defendants in the remaining
cases of Chaltin versus Captain Burrows and Everett
& Co., and Dubreucq versus the same, agreed to sub-
mit to a verdict in favour of the plaintiffs for ;^5o
damages and costs. The jury returned verdicts for
The Nemesis of Libel 365
this sum, and the Court made perpetual the injunc-
tion against the pubhcation of the book.
So resulted the first opportunity Belgian officers in
the service of the Congo Free State have had to
vindicate their characters during the long campaign
which certain persons have, from varying motives,
waged against the youngest and most progressive
State in Africa.
CHAPTER XXX
THE CONGO CAMPAIGN IN ENGLAND
THE English are an admirable people, who have
excelled in every department of human effort ;
but the evidence of the more critical among
them, with whom love of fair play counts for as
Some much as pride of race, has never failed to
EngUsh reveal in the national character (as of
^^^*^* course in the character of every nation) a
goodly number of weak spots whereat the critic and
the wit may profitably direct their shafts. John
Biill, the trader, is a keen-eyed, hard-headed bar-
gainer. Good; it behoves every merchant to be no
less. He regards the whole world as his farm by
right divine, and resents his exclusion from any
part of it. When his remonstrance is met by
counter-remonstrance, he points to his home markets
and his colonies, and emphasises the fact that these
British markets are open (long after his own trade
has been firmly established therein) to the traders
of the world.
But it is in his ultra-sentimental mood that John
Bull is seen at his worst. Has there been a conflict
between some semi-barbarous tribes in that seething
cauldron of discontent, the Balkans, and the Sul-
tan's troops have thrashed them indiscriminately
366
o
CO
The Congo Campaign in England 367
and dispersed them, John Bull, or at least that part
of him which wears white ties and is described as
"reverend," rushes off to Exeter Hall and demands
the prayers of the churches and the forces of his
Government for the suppression of the inhuman
atrocities which he denounces. (Incidentally, but
in unmistakable terms, he at the same time calls
the attention of his audience to the joyful fact that
it is their duty and privilege to assist in this good
work by giving liberally of their mone3^) Of course
it is but a section of the English people which ap-
proves and supports this sort of thing, and a still
smaller section that exploits it. But in a country
politically constituted as England is, where the
suffrage is almost universal, it is sufficiently large
and influential to influence from time to time the
conduct of the British Government. This is more
particularly the case where the interests of the
pseudo-humanitarians and those of the traders
happen to coincide. On such occasions, fortunately
somewhat rare, the spectacle of Cant and Commerce
in alliance is enough to bring a smile to the face of
a sphinx.
Protestant missionaries of various sects, in rivalry
with each other, but often alike in being envious of
the superior results obtained by Roman
Catholic missionaries in the Congo Free ^^ance^
State, denounce the Congo Government as
a gang of barbarous extortioners, oppressors, mur-
derers. A small but active set of Liverpool mer-
chants, dismayed at finding that what twenty years
ago they regarded as worthless has, under judicious
368 Story of the Congo Free State
Belgian administration, become a valuable asset, and
some of whom appear willing to resort to any means
by which they may at least be enabled to share the
prize, join their forces to those of the missionaries.
Lies fall as thickly as leaves in Vallombrosa. No
sooner is one mendacious story refuted than ten
others take its place. The Congo campaign mul-
tiplies its adherents, it gathers force daily, its voice
becomes more and more thunderous, until at last it
invades the British House of Commons and moves
a British minister to write a puerile dispatch to the
Great Powers, which the Great Powers, in the exer-
cise of their common-sense, x^olitely ignore. Onl\7-
up to a certain point does Baron Munchausen tri-
umph. Verb. sap.
What magnificent material for the mouthings of
certain English ultra -humanitarians would be the
Why is lynching of Negroes in our own Southern
John Bull States! The jail -breakings, the hangings^
Silent? shootings, and burnings — could more effec-
tive subjects for stereopticon slides and the perfervid
oratory of paid lecturers be devised? And all true
and ready to hand, needing neither lies nor distor-
tions! Alas! nothing can be made out of that cam-
paign. It will not pay to call our country to account
for its neglect or failure to suppress these things.
The United States own a fleet which, if not as strong
as it should be, is sufficiently powerful to inspire
respect; and our President can at any time call up
an army of a million citizen soldiers, volunteers of
proved valour. With the Congo Free State this is
not t-he case. Caution was ever a prominent charac-
The Congo Campaign in England 369
tens tic of John Bull, and he has carefully noted that
fact. Neutral little Belgium may safely be bullied,
her King libelled, and his enterprise misrepresented
and held up to the scorn of an undiscriminating
world, too busy to undertake a careful analysis of
motives or even to distinguish between the true and
the false.
Judicial consideration of the English campaign
against the Congo, naturally a difficult task, is ren-
dered doubly so by the general suppression of ma-
terial evidence favourable to that State. From
motives best known to their proprietors,, one or two
important London newspapers, ever ready to afford
space for an attack upon the Congo Government,
however violent or by whomsoever made, frequently
decline to publish replies thereto. Indeed, the miore
complete the refutation, and the greater the author-
ity of the writer, the less chance of its acceptance for
publication in these newspapers. Upon several oc-
casions has Major Harrison been refused space for his
temperate letters to the Morning Post, and the Daily
News, the principal support of the Aborigines Pro-
tection Society, is avowedly against the continued
existence of the Congo Free State. A complete
answer to Mr. Roger Casement's Report, prepared
by the Congo Government, was unanimously rejected
by London editors. This most unjust partisanship
extends even to English press reports of proceed-
ings in the House of Commons, of which one might
reasonably expect to find in English journals a com-
plete record; or where the exigencies of space ne-
cessitate condensation, that at least that editorial
370 Story of the Congo Free State
operation should be performed without bias. That
expectation meets with disappointment.
On June 9, 1904, Sir Charles Dilke, with a fine
show of virtue which has not always characterised
his conduct, delivered a speech in the House of Com-
mons wherein he assumes the truth of the various
libels upon the Congo Government prepared by mis-
sionaries, merchants, and dismissed employees. That
speech, and the speeches of such other members of
the British House of Commons as for various reasons
have been induced to follow a similar course, have
been reported in extenso, while the speech of Mr.
John Campbell, member for South Armagh, has not
so much as been referred to. Mr. Campbell derided
the Congophobes' plea that they have at heart only
the interests of humanity.
The gold [he remarked] of that fine phrase is alloyed with
other arguments. Commercial considerations have also their
weight. Some speakers began by talking of humanity and
ended with commerce. Others began with commerce and
ended with humanity. One honourable member had thrown
overboard the humanitarian theme and flatly talked business.
But, in spite of all the ornamental flowers of philanthropy,
the groundwork of all these speeches is — commerce. The
true motive which prompts the Anti-Congo campaign, con-
ducted with such vigour in this country and within these
walls, was exposed in a few words by Stanley when he said :
' ' The sentiment that inspires tlie charges against tJie Congo is
jealousy. The Congo is succeeding better than any other State
in Africa."
One would suppose that sentiments such as these,
supported by the authority of Stanley, would at
least be as worthy of a few lines in an English news-
The Congo Campaign in England 371
paper as the vague charges of cruelty alleged by
some missionaries based upon what they have been
told that somebody else has heard, etc. But, no ! such
references are rigidly suppressed in a large section of
the English press, just as much of Mr. Casement's Re-
port that is favourable to the Congo Government has
been suppressed.'
' The following letter, addressed to the Secretary of the Congo Re-
form Association, Liverpool, on December 8, 1904, by the editor of
the Catholic Herald (London), indicates that certain British journals
are sincerely seeking to expose the truth concerning the Congo and the
motives underlying the campaign against the Free State in England.
The writer of the letter is the publisher of the thirty-odd leading
Catholic papers in the United Kingdom. As a Member of Parliament,
and as an editor, his attitude towards public questions has always been
conscientious and fearless.
"Sir, — The following matters so intimately concern your veracity,
and, therefore, deeply concern the public, in connection with, your
anti-Congo campaign and your Congo Reform Society, that I draw
your attention to the fact that this letter will be printed in full in the
Catholic Herald of next week, and will also be sent out broadcast to
the newspapers of this country, so that you may have a full opportunity
of defending yourself from the most serious charges made therein.
"On the 24th of November last, in defending an abusive attack made
by the London Daily News on the Belgian people, in which it referred
to them as 'barbarians,' you made a statement to the effect that fifteen
Congo officials were then in prison at Boma for the grossest outrages
upon natives, and that ten more were awaiting their trial.
"In reply to a communication sent to a member of the Belgian
House of Representatives, a statement is made by the Belgian author-
ities, that only two officials are in prison in Boma. This statement
was forwarded to the Daily News, which has lent itself to the disgrace-
ful and lying campaign against the Congo, but, although the editor
has been several times requested to publish it, he has up till now de-
clined to do so.
"I, therefore, draw your attention to this emphatic contradiction of
your story, and, having every confidence in the honesty and truthful-
ness of the statement made by responsible gentlemen in Brussels, state
that your assertion can only be treated as a gross invention, quite on
a par with the other methods of your anti-Congo campaign.
"But this is not the most serious matter. On the following point,
372 Story of the Congo Free State
Just as this book is going to press particulars come
to hand of an incident which throws a strong Ught
I charge you with putting forward a statement in the Daily News, with
reference to the Congo Reform Society, which you knew to be lontrue,
for the purpose of deceiving and misleading the public of this country.
It was stated in a letter which appeared in the Daily News on Novem-
ber 25th, that Liverpool shippers and merchants were aiding the Congo
Reform Society, and financing it. On the 29th November a letter
appeared from you in the Daily News, in which you denied this, and
called upon the writer to offer an apology for his statement. You
proceeded to assert that you had enclosed (for the private information
of the Editor of the Daily News) a list of the subscribers to the Congo
Reform Society, and the editor supported your statement by the
assertion that 'the list of donors and subscribers supplied does not
contain the names of any British merchants or shippers.'
' ' The clear purport of your letter was to make it out that there was
no co-operation between the Liverpool shippers and merchants and
this so-called Reform Society, which is nothing more or less than a
bogus name adopted to cover the campaign of falsehood and calumny
which you and your friends have entered upon.
"On November 30th the following statement was published in the
Daily News in answer to your denial : — ' With reference to the Liverpool
merchants I have not seen the "private list" that he (Mr. Morel) for-
wards to you. I cannot tell whether it contains the names of all the
subscribers to the Congo Reform Society, but I cannot accept the
denial of the secretary with reference to the Liverpool merchants, in
view of the candid admission of Mr. Fox Bourne that some of the mer-
chants in Liverpool are working with the Society, and his further ad-
mission that they had helped to finance it. I believe Mr. Fox Bourne's
statement, and if an apology is required for perversion of the facts, the
secretary of the Congo Reform Society must make that apology. '
"To that emphatic disproval of your statement, you have up till
now made no reply. In fact you cannot deny Mr. Fox Bourne's honest
admission, which has already appeared in our columns, and of which
evidently you were entirely ignorant at the time you attempted to
throw dust into the eyes of the readers of the Daily News by your
untruthful denial.
"Now, one of two things : either you are in a position to free yourself
from this charge of deception and untruthful statement put forward
for the purpose of deceiving the public, or you are not. If you are in
a position to do so, come forward immediately, in the interests of the
Congo Reform Society, and of yovu-self as its secretary. If you are not
in a position to disprove this statement and to substantiate your words,
you stand convicted of flagrant deception and falsehood on a most
The Congo Campaign in England 373
upon the methods adopted by the enemies of the
Congo Free State in maniifacturing evidence against
important public matter, and the people of this country will know how
to judge a person, or a society, which descends to such methods for the
purpose of bolstering up selfish and disgraceful designs.
"At the very moment that you were writing this denial in the col-
umns of the Daily News, you were in treaty with a former Congo offi-
cial, and bribing him for the purpose of giving evidence against the
Congo State, and as a witness to the document that passed between
you, you called in Mr. John Holt, merchant, 8i, Dale Street, Liverpool,
who was associated with you in this attempt to purchase testimony,
and who actually paid, at the Exchange Hotel, Liverpool, on the 21st
November last, a sum of £,j^o to Mr. Benedetti, the Congo ex-official
referred to, and yet you have the impudence and the hardihood to
assert that the Liverpool shippers and Liverpool merchants are not
associated with the Congo Reform Society!
"Nor are these all the inventions, perversions, and misrepresenta-
tions which can be proved against you in connection with this move-
ment.
"The book that you have just written and published is packed with
such lies and suppressions of truth. You print a travesty of the case
of the man Stokes, who was executed in the Congo, and you say that
the charge against him was 'of trading with natives,' whereas, as a
matter of fact, he was proved to have supplied the cruel and barbarous
Arab slave raiders of the Congo, who have been put down by the Congo
Government, with guns and ammunition for the purpose of carrying
on their nefarious work.
"These slave raiders evidently receive your warm sympathy, and
the man Stokes, who helped them to carry on their trade, is held up by
you as a martyr! Yet you dare to appear before the people of this
country as a friend of the natives of the Congo, and your present cam-
paign is ostensibly carried on for the amelioration of their condition!
"Again, you have ventured to make a most infamous charge against
Catholic missionaries in the Congo. In a letter to the Times you said
that ' they dared not state in public what they have said in private. '
In other words, you accuse them of double dealing of the basest char-
acter, like Mr. Fox Bourne, who says, 'they ofFcr religion to the natives
only as a bribe, or to terrorise them into further enslavement.'
"You have never produced a single iota of evidence in support of this
statement against the CathoHc missionaries, who are doing such splen-
did work in the Congo territory. We characterise the statement as a
gross and palpable invention, but, in that respect, it has only been on
a par with the general policy of yourself and the so-called 'Congo
Reform Society' in connection with these matters.
374 Story of the Congo Free State
it. The paid officers of the Congo Reform Associa-
tion in Liverpool, the Aborigines' Protection So-
"It has also been asserted by the secretary of the Aborigines' Pro-
tection Society — which has been mainly responsible, with yourself and
the Liverpool shippers and merchants, for working up this campaign
of calumny — that the clerical party in Belgium is supporting the King
in his Congo policy, irrespective of any atrocities that may be com-
mitted, because the King has agreed to siipport them in Belgium. This
is not only a libel on Belgian Catholics and the Belgian people — who
have been insolently referred to by the Daily News as 'barbarians' — -
but is amply disproved by the fact that the most recent exposure of
your tactics, and the tactics of your society, has been made in the
columns of the well-known anti-clerical paper, The Independance
Beige, of Brussels, which has published the disclosures with reference
to your bribing of a Congo official to secure evidence from him, and
has amply exposed, on many occasions, the selfish and dishonest
character of this anti-Congo campaign.
"You have printed the grossest inventions with reference to the
treatment of British natives in Congo territory. You have said that
at Lagos, and in the surrounding district, if the word 'Congo' is men-
tioned to a native he will make for the bush if he is on land, and will
jump into the water if he happens to be on sea, in order to escape
going to the Congo!
' ' A full and impartial inquiry made by a number of English gentle-
men at Lagos, and the evidence of one hundred and seventy- five
natives taken on oath, shows how baseless and unscrupulous is your
statement. One English gentleman declares that ' in a single week's
time he would undertake to send two thousand natives to the Congo,
if the English Government would permit their enrolment ' — the taxa-
tion being so much heavier in British territory than in Congo territory,
that natives have to seek in the latter the means of earning the taxa-
tion which they are compelled to pay to the British administration.
"Missionaries of all classes, Catholic and non-Catholic, have
borne ample testimony to the humane and civilising influence of the
Congo administration. Englishmen like Lord Mountmorres, Major
Harrison, of Hull, Mr. Grenfell, Mr. Bell, Mr. Holland, Mr. Maguire,
as also Mrs. French-Sheldon, Mrs. Doering, and others, have borne
the most emphatic testimony to the lies and misrepresentations that
have been so sedulously spread by yourself and your friends with refer-
ence to the Congo administration.
"You cannot have failed to notice that in La Verite sur le Congo for
October-November, 1904, page 3, you are accused of actually having
faked certain photographs which appeared in. your book — one on page
49, in which certain natives are represented holding cvit-off hands.
Interior of Cathedral, Baudouinville (Tanganyika).
Sisters of New Antwerp Teaching Natives to Weave.
The Congo Campaign in England 375
ciety, and kindred organisations, must find it in-
creasingly difficult to justify their existence when
The publication referred to says that 'the hands seem to have been
added aftenvards'; and, with regard to a photograph on page 225 of
your book, the same pubHcation says that 'the chains around the
necks of the natives would also appear to have been designed on the
plate.'
"You have put these photographs forward as real. Will you pro-
duce the negatives and the i.ame of the person who took the actual
photographs? Or will you remain content to rest under the charge
of fabricating evidence of this description to deceive your readers ?
"The Catholic Herald denounces, and will denounce, outrages upon
natives and wrong-doing and maladministration of native territories,
whether by Belgians or by any other people. No doubt wrong-doing
has taken place; but is it of such a character as justifies people in this
country taking up arms against those responsible for it ?
"Is it not rather inseparable from the administration of native
territories ? Let any one responsible for native administration answer
this question, but let not the good cause of fair play and justice for the
natives be disgraced and besmirched by the recklessness and vicious -
ness that have been displayed in connection with this Congo agitation.
"The Catholic Herald accepts in full all responsibility for the state-
ments made herein, and for the publication of them, and for their
circulation broadcast through the Press of this country, and believes
that in doing so it is discharging a public duty, not only to the Catholic
name, which you have foully libelled, but also to the cause of inter-
national peace and goodwill, which this anti-Congo campaign, based
on selfish and sordid motives, has done so much to impair.
"The administration of the Congo will compare more than favour-
ably with the administration of native territories imder British rule.
There is more consideration shown to the natives, more care e\'inced
for their interests, and they arc less heavily taxed, and more humanely
treated in the Congo, than is the case in any British territory in Africa
to-day.
"Some of the lies sent forth on the wings of the Press arc hereby
nailed to the counter, and it is to be hoped that yourself, or your
Society, will at once disprove, by any means at your disposal, charges
which, if not so disproved, clearly show that your evidence in con-
nection with these matters is discredited and untrustworthy, and that
no one will be justified in paying attention to any statement of yours,
unless supported by evidence that has not been purchased or invented.
"The Editor,
"The Catholic Herald."
376 Story of the Congo Free State
tactics such as are here exposed have to be resorted
to.'
In 1902, on the recommendation of a high official
of the Free State, Mr. Antoine Benedetti, a cultured
A Typical gentleman belonging to an ancient and
phobe' wealthy family in Sicily, was appointed
Method. chief commissary — a post which had never
before been conferred on a foreigner on account of its
special responsibilities. This rapid promotion shows
in what esteem Mr. Benedetti was held by his chiefs.
Mr. Benedetti returned to Europe on November
7, 1904, and when requested to give his chiefs some
information on the existing situation in the Congo,
related circumstances which might well be consid-
ered fit for a novel, if their accuracy were not
vouched for by authentic documents.
' From The Transvaal Trouble, an Extract from the Biography of the
late Sir Bartle Frere, by John Martineau (pp. 211, 212):
"During these years, about 1879, a society in London, called the
Aborigines' Protection Society, took upon itself the function of judging
between the white and the black races in South Africa, and of arraign-
ing the conduct of the white race whenever there was a question be-
tween the two. That a society in London, with paid officers bound to
justify their employment by finding something to complain of, should
take upon itself to pronounce judgment upon difficult and complex
questions between races in South Africa was, on the face of it, not more
reasonable than that a society should be started at Cape Town, say,
to protect women and children in London. By its constitution,
which was practically that of advocattis diaboli against the white man,
such a society must always of necessity take a one-sided view, from
which misapprehension and mischief could hardly fail to result, how-
ever carefully considered were the methods employed.
"The methods employed by the Aborigines' Protection Society bore
some resemblance to those of mediaeval Venice. The Blue-books of
the time are full of letters from the society to the Secretary of State,
detailing stories of alleged oppression or cruelty, and demanding an
inquiry; or sometimes a question was asked to the same effect in
Parliament. It would be many months before the reply to the in-
The Congo Campaign in England 1"]^
While at Boma, Mr. Benedetti noticed that a
Negro named Shanu, a British subject from Lagos,
was trying to discover his opinions on Congo policy
and admini:,tration. Shanu having been at one time
in the employ of the State, Mr. Benedetti suspected
nothing; but in the course of conversation with the
Negro, he perceived what Shanu wanted to get from
him. Shanu boasted to Mr. Benedetti of the hu-
manitarian character of the English campaign against
the Congo, and he further hinted that, if he were
correctly informed, Mr. Benedetti would surely join
in the said campaign, a course which would be of
great advantage to him. Mr. Benedetti pretended
to share the views of Shanu, who thereupon pushed
the matter home by producing some letters of Mr.
quiry could come back from the Cape, and, in the meantime, the story
was circulated, and the refutation came too late to be listened to.
The society generally refused to give the name of its informant, or the
particulars of time and place, so that, like the lion's mouth at Venice,
it offered an opportunity to any one — agitator, place-hunter, or
criminal having a spite against a magistrate or official — to injure him
anonymously. The fear of being denoiinced by some scoun-
drel to the society in some districts seriously interfered with and
often perverted the administration of justice. ... In one in-
stance, a man, on whose testimony is placed special reliance, was dis-
covered to be a disfrocked clergyman who had been in custody for
swindling another informant, who in turn was a trader who had been
in jail for gun-running.
"Mr. H. Nixon, writing to Sir Bartle Frere, says:
'"The lawlessness of the coloured races and their hopeless state of
degradation, their drunkenness, and general dissolute habits may
fairly be laid to the baneful influence of the Aborigines' Protection
Society, which has done everything it possibly could to paralyse the
arm of the law in the execution of justice, and I consider the demoral-
isation of the natives is entirely due to their persistent agitation.
The drunkenness in this province is quite alarming and unprece-
dented.'"
37^ Story of the Congo Free State
Edmund Deville Morel, Secretary of the Congo Re-
form Association.
In one of these letters, Mr. Morel informs Shanu
that Mr. Benedetti, commissary at Boma, has been
spoken of to him as one who would be a valuable
acquisition in the English campaign against the
Congo. Mr. Benedetti at once saw what was ex-
pected of him; he realised that efforts were being
made to enlist in the anti -Congo campaign the num-
erous Italians in the service of the Free State; and,
with the sole desire of protecting the honour of his
fellow-countrymen in the Congo, he resolved to
defeat Mr. Morel's jjlans. With a view of gaining
Shanu' s confidence, he declared himself to be on the
Negro's side, and by so doing compromised himself
in the eyes of his official colleagues. He told Shanu
— who lost no time in informing Mr. Morel — that by
virtue of his position, he was able to make some
startling revelations. Shanu thereupon suggested
that he should send in his resignation, giving as the
reason certain compromising allegations against the
Free State. Shanu then wrote to Mr. Morel to
the effect that he and Mr. Benedetti agreed that
the latter was just the man to lead the campaign
against the Congo. On the receipt of Mr. Morel's
reply, the departure of Mr. Benedetti was decided
upon.
Mr. Benedetti was promised his passage money to
Europe, as well as compensation for the loss of his
place under the Free State, and, later, a handsome
bonus. Mr. Morel requested Mr. Benedetti to meet
him at the Exchange Station Hotel, Liverpool, on
The Congo Campaign in England 379
the 19th November, and to announce his arrival by
the following telegram:
"Morel care Jellani arrived Benedetti "
Under these circumstances, Mr. Benedetti sent in
his resignation, alleging that private business called
him to Europe. He left by the SS. Philippeville,
and the British Consul at Boma gave him ten pounds
sterling for his travelHng expenses. The receipt for
this sum was made out by Mr. Benedetti in the name
of Shanu.
Up to the time of his departure, Mr. Benedetti had
discharged his duties so well that he was congratu-
lated by the local authorities. Having spoken to
nobody about the course he was adopting, so little
was his sudden departure understood that his col-
leagues were mystified. He could not, of course,
enlighten them without showing his hand. Mr.
Benedetti landed at Antwerp on November 7th, and
on the 17th arrived at Liverpool, having previously
despatched to Mr. Morel the telegram agreed upon.
After some delay Mr. Morel went to see Mr. Bene-
detti at the Exchange Station Hotel in that city.
Mr. Morel appeared somewhat distrustful, and
asked Mr. Benedetti if he had authenticating docu-
ments. The latter produced some unimportant
papers, which he pretended were valuable, and told
the Secretary of the Congo Reform Association some
sensational stories of absolutely imaginary crimes.
In short, Mr. Benedetti played his game so well that
Mr. Morel no longer hesitated to close the affair, but
said he would introduce to him a gentleman who was
greatly interested in the Congo.
jSo Story of the Congo Free State
In response to a telephonic message from Mr.
Morel there arrived Mr. John Holt, a merchant, of
Dale Street, Liverpool. Mr. Holt is Vice-President
of the Liverpool Chamber of Commerce and a mem-
ber of the Congo Reform Association. Mr. Morel
told Mr. Holt what Mr. Benedetti had said, and then
certain practical questions were discussed. It was
agreed that Mr. Benedetti should relate in the West
African Mail the stories that he had just invented;
but Mr. Benedetti, wishing to gain time, stated that
he would rather publish them first in Italy, after
which the organ of the Congo Reform Association
might reproduce them. It was decided also to issue
a pamphlet, for which Mr. Benedetti was to receive
eighty pounds. Some generous promises were made
to Mr. Benedetti: five hundred pounds as damages
and his fare paid to Tenerifie by the Congo Reform
Association. At Tenerifie, it was agreed, he should
seek to poison the minds of Italian officers returning
from the Congo. Later, Mr. Holt was to go to Italy
where, together with Mr. Benedetti, he was to sub-
sidise a newspaper to attack the Congo, and if this
newspaper war resulted in the King of Italy recalling
Italian officers serving in the Congo, Mr. Benedetti
was to receive a further sum of four thousand pounds.
The former commissary of Boma would not accept
verbal promises; he requested a document. He
demanded first of all a contract for the publication
of the pamphlet. Mr. Benedetti invited Mr. Morel
and Mr. Holt to dinner, and it was during this dinner
on the I gth of November that the clauses of the con-
tract were discussed. Conversation was carried on
The Congo Campaign in England 381
to a late hour and Mr. Holt, in an unguarded mo-
ment, remarked that in England everything was
done by and for the sake of business, and that senti-
ment was obliged to give way to trade. The signing
of the contract was fixed for eleven o'clock on the
morning of the 21st of November, 1904, when the
three gentlemen concerned attended and the follow-
ing document was drawn up and signed. The text
is in English and French :
Between Mr. Benedetti and Mr. Morel it is agreed as fol-
lows: — Mr. Benedetti agrees to publish in a special pamphlet
all the statements that he made and proved by means of
documents on the evening of the 19th of November at the
Exchange Station Hotel, in the presence of Mr. Morel and
Mr. Holt, as well as various other facts the evidence of which
is in his possession in Italy.
Mr. Benedetti shall first submit to Mr. Morel, before the
5th of December, a rough copy of his pamphlet in English and
Italian. Upon this rough copy Mr. Morel reserves the right
to make corrections, and to send these corrections to Mr.
Benedetti by the 9th of December, unless prevented by force
majeure.
As soon as the pamphlet has been approved by Mr. Morel,
Mr. Benedetti shall send to Mr. Morel a corrected copy (if cor-
rections have been made) in English and Italian, as well as a
copy of the original documents in his possession, certified by
the British Consul on the original text.
Mr. Benedetti undertakes to be ready to publish all by
22nd December, or by such date as Mr. Morel shall telegraph
to him.
In any case, Mr. Benedetti will not publish all or any part
of the pamphlet without previous understanding with Mr.
Morel as to the date.
Mr. Benedetti undertakes to place at Mr. Morel's disposal,
after the publication of the pamphlet, all original papers
382 Story of the Congo Free State
referred to in the said pamphlet, and Mr. Morel undertakes
to return them, if required.
Mr. Morel deposits a thousand francs for Mr. Benedetti's
travelling expenses from Boma.
Mr. Morel undertakes to pay Mr. Benedetti the sum of two
thousand francs, which sum represents the loss to Mr. Bene-
detti of his situation in the Congo State, owing to the publica-
tion of statements made in the said pamphlet, as soon as he
receives from Mr. Benedetti notice that the pamphlet has
been published in Italy, and a copy of the pamphlet.
Mr. Morel undertakes to pay the expenses incurred in pub-
lishing the pamphlet in Italy up to the sum of five hundred
francs. Mr. Benedetti undertakes to send two hundred
copies of the pamphlet to Mr. Morel.
It is understood on both sides that the above entirely
covers all relations between Mr. Benedetti and Mr. Morel.
Mr. Morel undertakes to obtain from Mr. Shanu, of Boma,
the receipt for the two hundred and fifty francs handed by
Mr. Benedetti to Mr. Shanu, and to deduct the sum from the
two thousand francs above mentioned.
Signed the 21st November, 1904, at Liverpool Exchange
Station Hotel.
E. D. Morel.
A. Benedetti.
Witness to signatures of A. Benedetti and E. D. Morel:
John Holt,
merchant,
81 Dale Street,
Liverpool.
It is not without interest to call attention to the
final clause, concerning the receipt for the 250 francs
which Mr. Benedetti had given to Shanu, as a guaran-
tee of the £10 which the British Consul at Boma had
given him before his departure.
As to the clause concerning the thousand francs
«
pq
The Congo Campaign in England 383
which Mr. Morel undertook to pay Benedetti for his
travelling expenses from Boma, it came about
through the fact that his departure from Boma was
not in accord with the regulations. As his engage-
ment was not terminated, the question of his being
sent home at the expense of the Congo Free State
was not settled. Mr. Holt took from his pocket a roll
of Bank of England notes and paid Mr. Benedetti
As soon as he was in possession of this contract,
Mr. Benedetti returned to Brussels, whence he sent
Mr. Morel the following letter:
Brussels, 30th November, 1904.
Mr. E. D. Morel, Liverpool,
I have the pleasure of remitting herewith to you a cheque
on the South Wales Bank, Limited, No. 109,880, to the order
of Mr. John Holt, merchant, Dale Street, Liverpool, for ^40,
which this latter gave me in the Exchange Station Hotel,
Liverpool, on the 21st of this month.
I will also send you a sum of ^"lo in exchange for the re-
ceipt of Shanu, which you promised to procure for me.
You made a mistake. Sir, when you thought I would play
into your hands in your campaign against the Congo, and
thus do grievous harm to my countrymen working in the
Congo.
Believe me, my conduct, from my first interview with
Shanu, when acting for you, till my telegram from Paris on
the 28th of this month, was dictated by a sentiment of duty
and patriotism.
A. Benedetti.
The telegram to which Mr. Benedetti alludes was
addressed to Mr. Morel from Paris, and was to call
his attention to an article in the Tribuna favourable
to the Congo, and to ask him for arguments in answer
384 Story of the Congo Free State
to this article for pubHcation in an Italian paper.
Mr. Morel replied that he had not had time to get
the Trihuna article translated.
This edifying incident needs no comment. When
the denial of its genuineness, or a qualification of its
meaning and purpose, comes, it is understood that
the Congo Administration will publish a facsimile of
Mr. Morel's contract with Mr. Benedetti, bearing his
signature and the signature of Mr. John Holt, mer-
chant-philanthropist, Vice-President of the Liverpool
Chamber of Commerce, etc., in order that intelligent
people may form their own conclusions upon it at
first hand.
Mr. Morel writes to the London Times of December
19, 1904, defending the part he has played in this
Benedetti incident. "You persist," says Mr. Morel
(addressing M. Roland de Mares), "to make readers
believe that I proposed to pay M. Benedetti for false
testimony, whereas my role was limited to giving him
the opportunity he asked for (that is to say, to come
to Europe and to publish under his own name, in
the interests of truth and of his fellow-countrymen),
by defraying the expenses of his journey and the
positive pecuniary losses which his action would in-
volve, and by participating in the printing expenses
of his pamphlet."
CHAPTER XXXI
THE CONGO CAMPAIGN IN AMERICA
THE interest taken by Americans in the affairs
of the Congo Free State has never been very
keen. What little of interest, however, we
do take in that distant region has been sentimental,
for the greater part based upon the national respect
for Stanley and his work. The campaign in England
against the Congo, therefore, fails to evoke any
substantial sympathy on this side of the Atlantic.
Citizens of the United States are better employed
than in undertaking knight-errantry at the behest of
certain disappointed British merchants and fanatics.
But, inasmuch as it is vital to the enemies of the
Congo Free State that our country should be with
them in their crusade, the Rev. Mr. W. M. American
Morrison, of Lexington, Virginia, a gentle- Aid
man whose Christianity is liberally leavened Wanted,
with business acumen, was brought to the front and
set upon a pedestal. The light of publicity was
turned upon the reverend gentleman, who then pro-
ceeded to relate stories of outrage and oppression,
examples of which he had seen and heard — chiefly
heard — during six years' residence in the Congo Free
State as a missionary of the American Presbyterians.
Mr. Morrison's stories are of the stock variety,
and include looted villages, wholesale deportations,
385
386 Story of the Congo Free State
mutilations, burnings, State slavery, and refusal of
land concessions to missionaries — in brief, the whole
catalogue of infamies without which, real or alleged,
men such as Mr. Fox Bourne, the Secretary of the
Aborigines' Protection Society in England, and Mr.
Morel, who built the Congo Reform Association
around himself, would find their occupation gone.
The italics are mine. Why I have used them will
at once appear.
"Concessions or grants of land, however small,"
wails Mr. Morrison, ' ' can now no longer be obtained
A Morris- f^om the State by other than favoured indi-
onian viduals or corporations . . . Not only
Jeremiad. ^^^ conccssions refused to traders, they are
also refused to missionaries." Alas! yes, in the case
of a missionary who demands, as Mr. Morrison did,
that no taxes shall be levied, and no soldiers drawn
from certain populations around Luebo." '
The refusal of Mr. Morrison's demand for the
creation of an Alsatia which should be equally at-
tractive to the idle and the thrifty, from which the
State was to receive no support, and which, in the cir-
cumstances, would certainly at once become the
most populous district in all the Congo Free State,
seems to have angered the reverend gentleman, for
thereafter followed his discovery of atrocities com-
mitted by State officials against natives. Land was
offered to Mr. Morrison upon equitable terms, iden-
tical with those agreed upon between the State and
numerous other missions.
When Mr. Morrison was in Brussels in the spring
^ The scene of the Rev. Mr. W. M Morrison's mission.
The Congo Campaign in America 387
of 1903, negotiating with the Congo Government
concerning the concession of land, and in constant
touch with officials of that Government,
he said not one word about any atrocities Discovery
which he had seen or heard of in Congo -
land; but a few weeks later, he was in London,
associating with the English Congophobes, and
calling upon the Government of the United States
to combine with that of Great Britain to coerce
the Congo Government, though in what manner
and to what effect is not quite clear. What, how-
ever, is perfectly clear, is the bad faith of the
men who make it their business to vilify and mis-
represent the Congo Administration. For example,
here is Mr. Morrison's statement about the almost
impossibility of obtaining concessions of land for
missions, when up to May, 1903, there had been
fifteen grants of land conceded in the Congo State
to the American Baptist Missionary Union; two to
the American Congo Mission; fifteen to the British
Baptist Society Corporation; seven to the Bishop
Taylor's Self -Supporting Mission; "seven to the
Congo Balolo Mission; eleven to the International
Missionary Alliance ; nine to the Swedish Missionary
Societ3^ and forty-four to the Roman Catholic
Mission.
The campaign against the Cong in this country
was opened on the 19th of April, 1904, by the pre-
sentation to Congress of a huge inflated ^ew Facts
memorial, accompanied by numerous sub- in Many
stantiating documents of great length. It
was gotten up by the Rev. Thomas S. Barbour,
388 Story of the Congo Free State
Chairman of the Conference of Missionary Societies
and Secretary of the American Baptist Missionary
Union, Boston, with the assistance of the Rev. W. M.
Morrison and six other gentlemen interested in mis-
sionary work. Senator Morgan, of Alabama, under-
took the work of presentation, and performed his
task with as much moderation and grace as its na-
ture permitted. The memorial was referred to the
Committee on Foreign Relations and ordered to be
printed.
On the whole, the reception of this strange literary
budget— a rechauffe of oft -refuted fables and adroit
Not Uncle distortions of events that occurred long
Sam's ago — was decidedly passive. The prevail-
Afifair. ^j^g impression among Senators seemed to
be that even if all that is asserted in the memorial
be true (a monstrous supposition which surely its
promoters never seriously entertained), to play into
the hands of John Bull's merchants at the bidding
of John Bull's missionaries is hardly a suitable role
for Uncle Sam.
The next move in the campaign against the
Congo Free State in this country took place at
A Mischiev- ^^shington on the 30th of September,
ous Busy- 1904, when the Secretary of the Congo
° ^" Reform Association (an English organ-
isation of which Mr. John Holt, the merchant-
philanthropist, of Liverpool, is one of the pillars)
presented a memorial to President Roosevelt con-
cerning affairs in the Congo Free State, and asking for
his intervention therein. The memorial was politely
received, acknowledged with graceful platitudes,
The Congo Campaign in America 389
and laid aside. During the few weeks that the
Congo Reform Association's agitator was in this
country, he talked freely to every newspaper re-
porter he met, and disseminated broadcast the old
libels which had grown stale with use in England.
When the Belgian people learned of the presenta-
tion to President Roosevelt of the second anti-Congo
memorial, wherein the agents of the British -pj^e Belgian
merchants strove to make it appear that People
the United States ought to do what all the ^^^^'
continental powers had, by their silence, refused to
do when the British Foreign Secretary appealed to
them in August, 1903, their leading citizens took a
hand in the literary carnival and sent President
Roosevelt their reply to the series of slanders which
were being so widely disseminated in America by the
Liverpool organisation. Although the anti -Congolese
resolutions of the Boston Peace Conference were
published in extenso in the secular and religious press
throughout the United States, for some inscrutable
reason the Belgian reply to the second Liverpool
memorial sent to President Roosevelt on October 3,
1904, has so far never had the advantage of similar
publicity. This fact alone would indicate that his
Excellency, Baron Moncheur, Belgian Minister to the
United States, and his talented coadjutor. Professor
A. Nerincx. an eminent Belgian advocate, author,
and instructor in the University of Louvain, were
quite indifferent to that campaign of publicity which
the enemies of the Congo Free State began in Eng-
land and now continue in America. In justice, how-
ever, to the Federation for the Defence of Belgian
390 Story of the Congo Free State
Interests Abroad, a Belgian society numbering over
fifty thousand adherents, it is deemed desirable to
quote in full the only communication bearing upon
the anti-Congolese campaign which the offtcial of the
Free State or the Belgian people have ever addressed
to the people of the United States :
fedi;ration pour le defense des interets belges a
l'etranger.
Brussels, October 3, 1904.
To His Excellency, Theodore Roosevelt,
President of the United States.
Mr. President:
The Federation for the Defence of Belgian Interests Abroad
presents its compliments to the President of the United States
and begs leave to state:
That we are loth to impose upon the President of the
United States considerations which are foreign to the interests
of his Government. But inasmuch as certain persons are
conducting within the United States a movement to involve
the Government of the United States in the consideration of
their unfounded charges and interested misrepresentations
against the Government of the Congo Free State, we feel it
our duty to present a brief statement of the objects of the
Congo Government to the President of a friendly Power in
order that the unjust methods being employed by the enemies
of the Congo Free State may not mislead the President to
encourage Congressional action prejudicial to our interests
before we shall have been fully heard.
Our Association has been formed for the defence of Belgian
interests and possessions abroad. Our people esteem and
admire the people of the United States and we have great
respect for their President. The Belgians desire that they
shall not be slandered and vilified in the midst of the American
people. They feel it their duty to assist the American people to
a proper \mderstanding of the lofty purposes which actuate the
a
The Congo Campaign in America 391
Government of the Congo Free State. In this connection
the Belgians recall with pleasure and with pride the fact that
the Government of the United States was the first great
nation to recognise the flag of the International Association
of the Congo as that of an independent State. By its treaties
and by its adherence to the Berlin and Brussels Acts it
promised liberty of trade in its part of the Congo Basin, and
it respectfully asserts that it has fulfilled that promise in
spirit and to the letter in so far as the short term of its exist-
ence in a savage cotintry has enabled it to establish an organ-
isation which, by its prosperity and progress, now excites the
envy of those who seek to disrupt it.
The principles which actuate the Congo Government are
tersely set out in an essay written by a highly qualified
American citizen, which is herewith enclosed. We humbly
beg the President of the United States to honour us by perus-
ing this concise exposition of the fundamental principles
which underlie, and which have given such progressive
momentum to, the Government of the Congo Free State.
The principles of the Congo Government are devoted to
progress and civilisation. The State's motto is "Work and
Progress." We have always felt that to intelligently follow
that motto was to firmly establish in the midst of conditions
of savagery the habit of industry and a respect for property
as well as for life, according to the universal law of nations.
Concerning the term " Freedom of Commerce," which Congo
enemies are interpreting to mean ungovemed license, we beg
to refer the President to the laws of the United States and
penalties concerning trespass upon and pillage of public lands
and their product. Perhaps no nation in the world has so
precisely developed the law of private and public property,
nor administered it with finer understanding of the principles
of equity and justice, than the United States. The Congo law
relating to property is in consonance with the law of the
world's greatest nations. The great success which has been
attained by the Congo Government for the betterment of its
native inhabitants by the operation of this law, and the order
which exists thereunder, has excited the envy and the avarice
392 Story of the Congo Free State
of those whose ulterior motive is being cloaked in the garb of
humanitarianism and questionable philanthropy. On the one
hand it is charged that the Congo Government by its method
seeks to enslave the native in order that he may serve it
with his hands for the benefit of interests whose welfare he
does not share. On the other hand, the libellers of the
Congo wilfully utter not only the unfounded accusation but
the inconsistent charge, that the Government cuts off the
hand whose work it seeks to enslave. Concerning the un-
truthful character of the testimony in this respect which
has been published against the Congo by the promoters of
the so-called "Congo Reform Association" of Liverpool, we
beg to refer your Excellency to the great mass of genuine
and reliable evidence by Englishmen, Frenchmen, Germans,
Americans, Italians, and Belgians in direct contradiction of
the falsehoods which form the traffic of the Association, whose
leading spirit has never been near the Congo nor the natives
who form the pretext of his search for personal notoriety
and aggrandisement.
We also call your Excellency's attention to the fact that
the Congo Government, when assailed by missionaries at all,
is assailed by a few individual missionaries operating in con-
junction with the Liverpool Association, whose object we
shall in due course expose. The Congo Government has not
been assailed by other missionaries at all. The Catholic
missionaries are in reality all seeking the moral, spiritual, and
intellectual betterment of the native races, while those of a
material faith, who have sought from the Congo Government
and been denied personal concessions of material value solely,
are secretly working in directions entirely unconnected with
the spiritual and moral welfare of the Congo population. In
due time and in the proper place the Government of the
Congo Free State will produce its testimony bearing upon
this phase of the campaign begun in England, and now
carried to the United States, against an undertaking which
within twenty years has done more to promote civilisation
than was ever before attempted in all the great continent of
Africa.
The Congo Campaign in America 393
We beg your Excellency to receive from the hands of our
representative an abundance of carefully prepared matter
upon this subject, and to command him in any further de-
sires which you may wish to express. A cursory outline,
limited to only a few phases of the questions which the
enemies of the Congo so confusedly mince in their wild con-
demnation of a State justly founded and intelligently and
humanely governed, is not of course intended as a sufficient
statement of our case. It is merely intended to introduce
your Excellency to the subject on which our representative,
and the evidence and literature he will offer to you, may lead
you to those wise and equitable conclusions which have
always characterised the highest tribunals of the American
people.
Your Excellency is too well versed in the science of govern-
ment to be influenced by the statement that where individual
acts are committed in violation of enacted penal law the
Government should be primarily charged therewith. If such
were the case, penal institutions for the incarceration of
violators of police law would be no part of a nation's structure.
It is not infrequent that the cable conveys to us intimation
that in some sections of your own free and glorious country
an inflamed mob seizes upon a black inhabitant and burns
him at the stake. Our governmental experience has taught
us that such acts would have been impossible if your Govern-
ment had been advised in time to prevent them. And yet
we know that your Government is the subject of harsh
criticism by self-constituted associations formed in the same
countr)'- whence come those who accuse the sincere govern-
mental effort of the Congo Free State. The law of the Congo
Free State is based upon the loftiest ideals of humane control
of a vast territory and undeveloped interests, and every
part of the State's machinery is employed to ensure equal
justice to all.
The "method of the State," at which Congo accusers hurl
their shafts, cannot be charged with responsibility for lawless
acts in a vast territory of a million square miles where the
Government of that State is vigilantly and earnestly seeking,
394 Story of the Congo Free State
by the extension of its organisation and police powers, to sup-
press and punish crime and redress wrong. If the subjects of
one nation were compelled to submit to the opinion of its
unfriendly neighbours as to the correctness of their habits and
conduct, and obliged to submit themselves to the penalties
that their neighbours would attach to the alleged misconduct,
the subjects of one nation would inhabit the prisons of
another.
We need hardly call the attention of your Government to
the great and humane work which your Government is now
so earnestly, and with so much sacrifice, furthering in the
Philippine Islands, to meet with that broad and sympathetic
view of the situation in all savage countries; which, if fairly
and justly applied to the Congo Free State, would place us
upon that plane where co-operation, not criticism, were the
reward of our sacrificial work in the darkest part of Africa.
It has been the pleasure of our beloved King, Leopold II.,
Sovereign of the Congo Free State, to appoint a Commission,
composed of eminent men, to undertake with the utmost
freedom a judicial investigation upon all and singular the
vague charges from time to time used by the promoters of
the Congo Reform Association in prostituting certain public
journals in England. Your Excellency may be assured of the
utmost integrity of the gentlemen who compose this Com-
mission, and that the Congo Government will afford them all
the help in its power to place the truth before the eyes of the
world.
In this connection Congo reformers pretend that the de-
cisions of the Congo Courts indicate that the government is
bad, when in fact these very decisions are, in our opinion,
proof of unimpeachable good faith and judicial independence.
Concerning the Congo standing army of 14,000 natives, as
to which some criticism is uttered by the same persons, we
need only indicate that the State Government is so well re-
spected in the Congo Basin that it is able to control its vast
territory with only seven soldiers to every 625 square miles.
We have no doubt that if the Congo governmental system
had not included this meagre police force for the repression
The Congo Campaign in America 395
of tribal strife and the maintenance of order, its critics would
have represented the Congo Government as unprepared to
guarantee protection to persons and property, and as unable
to maintain the integrity of its frontiers. The Congo army
is recruited in conformity with the Belgian law of conscription,
which is a restriction of the universal service in Continental
Europe. When the Government enlisted a part of its army
in a neighbouring colony it was requested to desist, the
promises of England to permit such recruiting notwithstand-
ing. Now the Congo army is characterised as barbarian!
Doubtless the Congo Government would have no objection
to recruit its army in China, as miners are recruited for
the Transvaal. But would it thereby escape censure? We
think not. Some things which are right and proper in a
British colony become crimes when done in the Congo Free
State.
It is the earnest desire of the Belgian people, and those
who are interested in the welfare and progress of the native
population of Mid-Africa, that the good-will and respect of the
people of the United States and their President may continue,
by their sympathy, to enliven the devotion, energy, and
sacrifice which the builders of the Congo Free State are ex-
pending upon races which but a few years ago were in a state
of the wildest savagery.
We are, Mr. President, with great respect,
Your obedient servants,
(Signed) A. Dufourny,
President of the Federation for the
Defence of Belgian Interests Abroad.
At the Peace Congress held at Boston in October,
1904, to attend which was as much the reason of the
visit to these shores of the Secretary of the g-^^g
Congo Reform Association as the presenta- Leopold
tion of a memorial to President Roose- -^"^cked.
velt, he recited his usual tirade against the Congo
Government and the person of King Leopold with
39^ Story of the Congo Free State
somewhat more than his customary unction ; but his
contentions were utterly demoHshed by the superior
information and saner reasoning of his fellow-coun-
tryman, Mr. George Head, and by a letter which
was read from Cardinal Gibbons {vide Chap, xxxiv),
warmly defending the aims and achievements of the
Belgians in Central Africa.
The net result of the Peace Conference to the
Congophobes is to expose and appreciably weaken
their conspiracy.
There remains in our country a small section of
the press obedient to the will of an ti -Congolese
campaigners and their merchant support,
FaUs^"^^^^ and the eloquent sophistries of Messrs.
Morrison and Barbour. But these forces
are surely inadequate to cause the Government of
the United States to forget all of our political tra-
ditions, and to so abate our natural shrewdness, as
to become a catspaw for an avaricious foreign com-
mercial clique.
CHAPTER XXXII.
TESTIMONY OF TRAVELLERS AND THINKERS
SIR HENRY M. STANLEY
IT will ever be esteemed a fortunate circumstance
by all who have regard for historical accurac}^
that the late Sir Henry M. Stanley, discoverer of
the course of the Congo, who assisted so materially
in the creation of the Congo Free State, did not pass
awa}^ without recording his opinion of the campaign
of calumny against the Congo Administration. In-
comparably the greatest authority of his time upon
this subject, what Stanley had to say about it must
be given here in full. It took the form of
an interview with a representative of the dT^t?
press, and was first published in the Petit
Bleu (Brussels), 13th November, 1903:
I do not believe [said Sir Henry Stanley] in the charges
brought against the Congo, and I do not share the opinions
that inspire them. I do not think that any State will be in-
clined to step in, and to spend the money that Belgium and
the King of the Belgians spend to adapt the darkest part of
Darkest Africa to the interests of commerce. King Leopold
lately assigned ;£i 20,000 a year to the Congo administration.
He thereafter gave ^£40,000 and Belgium £80,000. Tell me,
what other country would be ready to do as much?
When I consider the limited number of years which have
397
39^ Story of the Congo Free State
elapsed since the Congo became a State, I hold that the work
which has been accomplished there does great honour to
Belgium, and I am certain that not one of the countries who
are invited by the newspapers to put itself in its place would
have been able to do better.
You can feel certain that the King of the Belgians interests
himself personally in the smallest detail of the administration.
I do not pretend that he can superintend the acts of each indi-
vidual, but what Government, what State could do that?
But the recitals of atrocities, and of bad administration which
have of late been spread about are almost all, if not all, pure
reports. Naturally, if it is question of seeking cause for a quar-
rel there is no difficulty in finding it; but if the Congo of
1885 is compared with the Congo of to-day, it must be allowed
that its progress has been remarkable.
The English Note of the month of August is founded, I am
convinced, on reports stamped with partialit3\ The asser-
tions of a missionary have been reproduced, according to whom
the natives flee at the approach of the Congo State officials.
They fled before me also when I was there. The mere ap-
parition of a white man, the simple sight of an unusual being
or object, puts them to flight. That is part of the animal in-
stinct of self-preservation. Whites and blacks always ap-
proach one another for the first time with a general sentiment
of distrust. Little by little they learn to know one another,
and this sentiment disappears.
The Congo was in truth the darkest part of Africa. To-day
with its forests pierced and open, its routes, its stations, it is
in advance of all other African States. Take the French
Congo, German East Africa, Portuguese West Africa, and
compare them ! The Congo State prospers in a greater degree
than any other part of the black continent.
The Congo State is accused of employing as soldiers can-
nibal Negroes. When I was on the Congo, and I accused a
tribe of cannibalism it replied: "We are not cannibals, but
our neighbours are." The neighbouring tribe said: "It is
not we, it is the next tribe that you will meet"; and that
tribe referred us on to the next, and so on continually. They
Coffee-Drying Grounds, Coquilhatville (Equateur).
Bakusu Woman (Lualaba-Kassai>
Testimony of Travellers and Thinkers 399
seemed to be ashamed of their cannibalism. They concealed
it. Yet there was no doubt as to the existence of this prac-
tice. I frequently met with trenches freshly disturbed, from
which corpses had been taken to be eaten. It was very sel-
dom that I could discover the guilty. How then in recruiting
its troops was the Congo State to distinguish the black can-
nibals from those who are not cannibals ?
I am convinced that since I left Africa King Leopold has
done his best to prevent all crime on the Congo. But he is
no more responsible for the crimes which may be committed
there than for those occasionally committed on the soil of
Belgium itself. There are on the Congo 300 officials who re-
port to the Governor-General, who in his turn addresses a
summary of these reports to the King. They discharge their
mission under the most difficult conditions, and I believe that
I may assert that from the Governor-General down to the
humblest official there is not one of them guilty of cruelty.
Moreover, it is for those who speak of atrocities to furnish
proof of them.
I kndw by experience what a large number of stories are put
forward, then refuted, and afterwards resuscitated year after
year. These are legends for travellers. Use is made of them
with every change of the wind in Africa. Those who relate
them are often the prey of climatic maladies.
The Congo has not the most enviable climate in the world.
The maladies contracted there are often debilitating, and
things are seen and things are described through the malady,
which distorts the morale and changes the optic.
I had on the Congo under my orders 300 men — English, Ger-
mans, Dutch, Portuguese, Belgians. There were 80 English,
but the majority were Belgians. I found no difference between
them. All did their best, according to their means. All were,
in the course of duty, the object of some charge. I examined
the charges minutely, and always found them to be without
foundation. That did not prevent these stories reaching
Banana, and from there Europe. Well, that is what hap-
pened on the Congo in my time; that is what is happening
there to-day.
400 Story of the Congo Free State
The sentiment that inspires the charges against the Congo
is jealousy. The Congo is succeeding better than any other
State of Africa.
I do not think that the Congo State would be administered
better by France, the United States, or Germany. Under
French administration the Congo would retrogress. Germany
would content itself with fortifying it in a military sense.
And commerce does not develop when it is covered with a
coat of mail. Germany does not permit and will not permit
the English to penetrate into its territory, except under cer-
tain restrictions. England would not have managed the
Congo better than King Leopold has done if she had been
mistress of it, as she might have become in 1877.
The white man must remain master of the Congo. Drive
him out of it, and you will see war arise anew between one
native village and another, a return to barbarism. It is diffi-
cult to govern so vast a country; yet, in a limited number of
years, the King of the Belgians has put an end to the horrible
Arab slave trade. I do not think there is another sovereign
living who has done so much for humanity as Leopold IL
SIR HARRY JOHNSTON, G.C.M.G., K.C.B.
About a year previous to the publication of Stan-
ley's vindication of the Congo Administration, ap-
peared a remarkable book, entitled The Uganda
Protectorate, written by the distinguished English
traveller, Sir Harry Johnston, from which the follow-
ing passage is taken:
In spite of an element of Arab civilisation which the slave-
trader had certainly implanted in the Congo Forest, he had
made himself notorious for his ravages and cruelties. Num-
bers of natives had been horribly mutilated, hands and feet
lopped off, and women's breasts cut away. These people ex-
plained to me that these mutilations — which, as only a Negro
could, they had survived — had been the work of the Manye-
ma slave-trader and his gang, done sometimes out of wanton
Testimony of Travellers and Thinkers 401
cruelty, sometimes as a punishment for thieving or abscond-
ing. May it not be that many of the mutilated people of
whom we hear so much in the northern and eastern part of
the Congo Free State are also the surviving results of Arab
cruelty? I am aware that it is customary to attribute these
outrages to the native soldiery and police employed by the
Belgians to maintain order or to collect taxes; and though
I am fully aware that these native soldiers and police under
imperfect Belgian administration, as under imperfect British
control, can commit all sorts of atrocities (as we know they
did in Mashonaland and in Uganda), every bad deed of this
description is not to be laid to their charge, for many out-
rages are the work of the Arab traders and raiders in these
countries, and of their apt pupils the Manyemas. This much
I can speak of with certainty and emphasis: that from the
British frontier near Fort George to the limit of my journeys
into the Mbuba country of the Congo Free State, up and down
the Semliki, the natives appeared to be prosperous and happy
under the excellent administration of the late Lieutenant
Meura and his coadjutor, Mr. Karl Eriksson. The extent to
which they were building their villages and cultivating their
plantations within the precincts of Fort Mbeni showed that
they had no fear of the Belgians, while the Dwarfs equally
asserted the goodness of the local white men.
Great value attaches to the evidence of Sir Harry
Johnston, it being impossible to impute to him any
particular bias. He travelled independently, visit-
ing the Congo on three occasions — 1882-83, 1891-96,
and 1900. In a letter published in the Daily Chron-
icle (London) of 28th September, 1903, he thus
further expresses his opinion of the Congo Adminis-
tration :
• I was present on the Congo at the birth of the Congo Free
State. In 1 882-1 883 I paid a prolonged visit of eight months
36
402 Story of the Congo Free State
to Stanley. During the course of this visit I travelled up the
Congo nearly as far as the point where it crosses the Equator.
I came into continual contact with the Belgian officers and
officials who had been sent out on the part of the Comite
cV Etudes du Haitt-Congo to assist Stanley. I may mention
that I was "nobody's" man. I paid my own travelling ex-
penses, and had no reason to espouse any one cause more
than another. I conceived, however, the highest admiration
for Sir Henry Stanley, personally, and for the work he was
doing. I convinced myself over and over again by constant
cross-examination of the natives of the Congo, and of Zanzi-
baris and Somalis, that Sir Henry was always just and never
cruel, and that the first interests he had at heart were those
of the natives of Africa. His memory still lingers in all the
regions from the mouth of the Congo to Zanzibar, and any
one who doubts the justice of my opinion has only to do as I
have done through many years — question the natives as to
their impressions of "Bula Matadi" (the Breaker of Stones).
Nor did I at that date see anything to object to in the con-
duct of the Belgian officers, for many of whom I entertained
feelings of warm friendship and esteem. The work of such
men as Nilis, Van Gele, Hanssens, Coquilhat, Braconnier,
Janssen, and Roger, not to mention others, was such as no
missionary could or did find fault with.
And again :
Subsequently when I returned to the vicinity of those re-
gions as Commissioner for British Central Africa, I came a
good deal into contact with the Belgian officers sent to con-
trol those countries. I never received any complaints from
natives or Europeans at that time which tended to show that
the natives were ill-treated by the Belgians.
Lastly comes this convincing pronouncement:
In 1900, whilst at work in Uganda, I had occasion to visit
the adjoining regions of the Congo Free State along and
Testimony of Travellers and Thinkers 403
across the Semliki River. In this portion of the Congo
Forest (into which my expedition penetrated for about thirty-
miles west of the SemUki) I questioned many natives — Pig-
mies, Babira, Bambuba, Lendu, Bakonjo, and Basongora.
From none of them did I receive the sHghtest complaint
as regards the treatment they received from the Belgians,
and indeed the sight of their villages, plantations, and set-
tlements, the fact that they so freely came and talked to the
white man, were sufficient to show that they were perfectly
content with their present lot. The Belgian and Swedish
officers whom I met in this portion of the territory of the
Congo Free State were men of the best character. In short,
this portion of Congo territory left little to be desired, and in
some respects was better organised than the adjoining dis-
tricts of the British Protectorate. One Musongora chief com-
plained to me that the native soldiers in Belgian employ had
taken awaj' some of his wives. He expressed himself so
dissatisfied with this treatment that he asked permission to
cross over into British territory. That permission was given
him; but when he found that he had to pay the hut tax on
Uganda soil he returned to his old quarters. In addition to
the foregoing experiences I might say that I took into my
employ about this time natives of many districts along the
Upper Congo, from the country of Bangala on the west to the
mouth of the Aruwimi on the east. I did this with the idea
of making studies of their languages, and they lived with me
for about a year, accompanying me on all my journeys through
the Uganda Protectorate. I did not ask the permission of the
Belgians to recruit these people, for the very good reason that,
having apparently complete liberty of action, they had walked
through the Congo Forest to the British frontier to offer
themselves for work. It cannot be said therefore that the
Belgians selected people especially to fill my ears with pleas-
ing stories as to Belgian administration. I questioned these
natives of villages all along the great northern bend of the
Congo Not one of them had any complaint to make against
the Belgians. When I was preparing to leave Uganda to
return to England I offered these men (who were accom-
404 Story of the Congo Free State
panied by their wives) plots of land in the Uganda Protector-
ate ; but they were quite decided in wishing to return to their
homes on the Upper Congo ; and so far as I know they did so,
as every facility was given them in that direction. It strikes
one that if these particular people were living under a reign
of terror they would hardly have been so eager to return to
their homes with the wages they had earned.
The absolute impartiality of Sir Harry Johnston's
review of the Congo Administration well appears in
the few following words; in which it will be noted,
that while he claims no immaculate perfection on
behalf of every Belgian official, he compares them
as a body, and that not to their disadvantage, with
his own countrymen :
There are, no doubt, bad Belgians, as there have been bad,
cruel, and wicked Englishmen and Scotchmen, amongst
African pioneers. In the early days of African enterprise I
have seen too many misdeeds of my own countr}^men in
Africa to be very keen about denouncing other nations for
similar faults.
MAJOR JAMES HARRISON
This eminent authority on the Congo has recorded
his impressions of the social and economic condi-
tions prevailing in that country, and of the false
statements regarding them disseminated by inter-
ested parties, in the following letter, which appeared
in the London Times of June lo, 1904:
To tJie Editor of the " Times"
Sir, — Having just returned from a shooting trip across the
Congo Free State from the Nile to Boma, on the West Coast,
I naturally feel much interested in the correspondence now
Testimony of Travellers and Thinkers 405
going on with regard to that country. As I came down the
Congo River a copy of Mr. Casement's report was lent me
to read, and I was more than surprised at the contents of a
letter written by Lord Cromer, which was inserted as a pre-
lude to the more serious indictment following.
Now, Sir, had this letter been published alone it might not
have seemed so serious, but taken in conjunction with what
followed it formed a most damaging article.
As my experience of the Government of the Lado Enclave
is so entirely opposite to the view taken of it by Lord Cromer,
I feel compelled, in fairness to the Belgian officials, to give my
views of the country and its Government. That I am not
alone in discovering so much that is good in the Belgian ad-
ministration of the Lado Enclave is vouched for by other Eng-
lish officers who have hunted and travelled among the natives
beyond the waters west of the Nile.
I assume from Lord Cromer's report, and from what I was
told at Lado, that he only landed at the Kiro and Lado sta-
tions, so that the greater part of his report must have been
founded on inform.ation supplied by others, which, besides
being often incorrect, might possibly have reference to times
gone by, when, I believe, a certain official was promptly dis-
missed the service for unfair treatment of the natives.
Lord Cromer compares the deserted appearance of the west
banks of the Nile with the east bank between Kiro and Lado.
My experience of this part was that you could hardly see
anything of the west bank, owing to the channel lying well
over to the east, and endless sudd stretching to the west. The
reasons for natives not living near the bank I give later on.
Again, Lord Cromer contrasts the peaceful, settled state
and the confidence of the tribes under English rule on the Nile
as compared with those on Belgian territory; yet within a
few months of his visit a whole British force was annihilated
on the Bahr el Ghazal, while in the Game Ordinance published
last year it stated: "The whole of the left bank of the Nile
is at present closed to sportsmen, owing to the unsettled state
of the natives."
Since my return I see that yet another British force has been
4o6 Story of the Congo Free State
severely handled by the natives. Through the whole of my
Congo trip, absolutely alone, I wandered about, visiting 50
different tribes and hundreds of villages, armed as a rule with
a camera, umbrella, and, at times, a collecting gun. Yet I
had no unpleasant experiences; on the contrary, I was re-
ceived with kindness far different to any I ever met with
when hunting among British African natives.
As I went up the Nile I heard the same stories Lord Cromer
did — as to how all the natives were flying across the river
from the Belgian country owing, I was told, to ill-treatment.
As I spent a month hunting all the district 40 miles inland
from Lado and Kiro, looked after by the two big Bari chiefs,
Kenion and Fariala, I took great interest in learning all I
could, and, owing to my capitow talking Arabic, the chiefs'
favourite language, I had excellent chances for finding out
all I wanted.
To my question as to whether many of their tribes went
over the river, and why, they replied: "A few boys ran away
the other side, but mostly bad bo3'-s who won't work." Asked
again, if a few good men went, and, if so, why, they answered:
" English pay in money ; some boys, if once had money, like it
better than being paid in cloth or beads," but no mention of
ill-treatment.
Lord Cromer considers because the native villages happen
at these particular posts to be several hours' distant, that this
is also owing to bad treatment. I wish to point out that the
villages must either be right on the Nile bank, or inland where
they are, for the whole country between is waterless during
four months. Another reason given for not living on the Nile
was that in olden days the few who did so were all killed or
taken prisoners by the Dervishes; hence the survivors kept
clear of waterways.
Again, there are no sites for villages near the river, as nearly
all the banks, lying low, are covered with marsh a.nd sudd, har-
bouring millions of mosquitoes, whereas a few miles inland
there is good water, not a single mosquito, plenty of game,
with good grass and tillage land.
When I visited Gondokoro every one was complaining at
I
Testimony of Travellers and Thinkers 407
having the station on the Nile, instead of a few miles inland,
for similar reasons.
One of the wisest rules of the Congo is not to allow native
villages adjoining the posts; and I hear we are copying the
same on the West Coast; it means a reduction of 75 per cent,
in sickness.
That no natives live near Lado arises from purely natural
causes. Lord Cromer would find plenty of posts in the in-
terior, with thousands of natives settled as near as they are
allowed to.
Another statement, that "the soldiers are allowed full lib-
erty to plunder the natives," is by no means correct. During
my journey I saw hundreds of soldiers being sent off on dif-
ferent work — such as postal. Government despatches, fetching
in porters, etc. ; but not one ever left without having received
cloth, beads, or wire sufficient to purchase all necessary food.
I quite admit a few of the soldiers helped themselves now and
again, and I found the worst sinners in this respect were our
own Sierra Leone boys, a number of whom take service in the
Congo. Should their acts be reported they are quickly dealt
with.
During my trip I must have employed over 1200 porters.
I can only say I never came across a more cheerful, well-
disposed set of men. I never had the least trouble with
them, though asking them to march 30 and 40 miles a day.
How often I thought of my woes and worries in British Cen-
tral Africa, never knowing how many porters would run away
each night, though only marching ten miles a day! Had all
the accounts of ill-treatment and non-payment been true,
would men have come in so readily and worked for me as these
carriers did ? Many an hour at night I used to spend getting
them to talk about the country, its ways, and any grievances.
1 found, naturally, two or three officers who were evidently
disliked (no doubt I will be added to that list after our long
marches); but, on the other hand, they talked of many
officers as their "white fathers." As for the way in which
the Belgians have opened out the country, it is wonderful.
The posts are now all well-built brick houses, and in a few
4o8 Story of the Congo Free State
months' time most of the barracks will be similar; excellent
roads connect many of the posts, while all sorts of vegetables
and fruit are being grown, cattle and sheep also being intro-
duced in many parts. Though I was told in Khartoum by
several of our officers who had been stationed on the frontier
how well the Lado Enclave was run, I was quite astonished
at such progress. I am glad to see my views are shared by
Major Gibbons and Captain Bell, both of whom have had
chances of seeing life inland from the Nile.
I met during my wanderings several English and American
traders having concessions both in Uganda and the Congo.
These men have to visit all the villages. They all said the
same thing — that there was nothing wrong with the Govern-
ment of the Enclave. I also had a long and interesting talk
with Father Maguire, of the Roman Catholic mission station
at Amadi. He spoke most warmly in praise of the work done
by the Belgians in such a few years. He said: "Think of
what this country was only a few years ago, overrun with
Dervishes, decimated by the slave-dealers, the natives all
cannibals — and now you walk in here with only an umbrella
as a protection."
I can only add that I admire the excellent work being done
by such men as Commissioner General George Witerwulge,
Commandants Ravello (Lado), Menwnaer (Redjaf), Wacquez
(Buta), Holmes (Dungu), Grazione (Lodka), and all the many
other officers, too numerous to mention, who are quietly work-
ing hard, day after day, opening out those vast regions to
civilisation; and I shall never forget the kindness met with
at the hands of all, from the Nile to Boma.
I must apologise for trespassing on your valuable space,
but if I were to try and refute many of the statements I have
seen in print I should have to trespass considerably more.
Yours truly,
James J. Harrison.
Bachelors' Club, London,
June 6th.
P. S. — Since writing the above I see in to-day's Morning
Post quotations from some English trader in Matadi. He
Testimony of Travellers and Thinkers 409
says: "From all I hear, things up country are worse than
ever. In the Mayumbe country, behind Boma even, the
State has begun collecting rubber by force from the natives."
As I happened to travel home on the same boat as Mr. Ave,
an American missionary, who has for some years been in charge
of this Mayumbe district, his statements to me may be of
interest. Mr. Ave said all these reports were untrue; that
the district was governed by an officer who was most kind and
considerate in all his dealings with the natives; that he had
carefully readjusted the taxation so as to fall as fairly as pos-
sible with regard to villages and population of same; and
that the officer was universally respected by all the natives as
a kind and just man. The same Morning Post article seems to
be slightly inconsistent. It quotes one Equatorial mission-
ary as saying that "the white man will be swept out of the
Congo and a revolution will take place within two years,"
while farther on it quotes the Matadi trader "as deprecating
the founding of a new post for i,ooo soldiers at Bomasundi."
Surely, if the first assumption is correct, the wisdom of the
second is sound. I am glad to find since my return that few
people take notice of or believe those wonderful statements,
copied from a more wonderful paper — the West African Mail.
This is the way Major James Harrison a few days
later demolishes a side issue raised by Mr. Morel.
The letter is addressed to the Editor of the Morning
Post (London), and appeared in that journal of June
25, 1904:
Mr. Morel in your paper to-day himself answers the question
asked him by others, viz.. Why has the Congo Reform Associa-
tion noticed my statements? If they were incorrect surely
his letter would have dealt with them, instead of which all
he can say is that I am attacking a man of Mr. Casement's
standing.
While quite ready to take full responsibility for any letter
or interview alluded to by Mr. Morel, I absolutely deny having
attacked the character of our Consul in any way, nor did I
4IO Story of the Congo Free State
find in Boma Belgian officers "showering abuse" on him.
Like myself they (and most people over here with, whom I
have discussed it) did not think it a wise appointment, and
certainly it placed Mr. Casement in an awkward and un-
enviable position; but after all he would only carry out his
orders. But as to the travelling about on a mission steamer
I most strongly assert it was a most unfortunate error. It is
well known to all natives on which side most of the Protestant
and Baptist missionaries are, and to expect them to give
contradictory evidence in such circumstances was attributing
to them virtues unpossessed. I have noted Mr. Morel places
much of the Belgian evidence (say, the Epondo case) out of
court for the selfsame reasons. After the using of a mission
steamer I hardly see that any work Mr. Casement might have
been interested in originally could make any difference. Still,
for his own sake it might be wise if Mr. Morel stated exactly
what occupations or duties he was interested in, say, between
1885 and 1900. I trust Mr. Morel in his next letter will deal
more fully with my "absurdities" put forward in my letter,
and not have to simply try and find an imaginary attack on a
gentleman for whom, through mutual friends, I have every
respect.
My object in entering this Congo controversy is to try and
place before the English public a more broad-minded view of
the question, and while making allowances for the well-nigh
insuperable difficulties the Congo Government have had to
contend with, at the same time try to help on improvements
for the future, rather than dwell entirely on the past. I can
assure Mr. Morel that I am by no means alone in my "ab-
surd views," but will be supported by others who have lately
crossed the whole Congo State, blessed with an open mind.
Yours, &c.,
James J. Harrison.
Bachelors' Club, London,
June 24th.
CHAPTER XXXIII
TESTIMONY OF TRAVELLERS AND THINKERS
(Continued)
THE three authorities whose testimony was given
in the preceding chapter are all distinguished
travellers of British nationality. It is now
proposed to lay before the reader the opinions held
upon Belgian Administration in the Congo
by three well-known Americans — Mr. James ^«"ca°
-' "^ Opinion.
Gustavus Whiteley of Baltimore, member
of the Institute of International Law, who has repre-
sented the United States Government at several in-
ternational congresses; the Rev. W. H. Leslie, a
missionary of the American Baptist Missionary
Union; and Mr. Mohun, a former United States
Consul at Boma.
MR. JAMES G. WHITELEY
It is unfortunate that so many false impressions about the
Congo have been accepted without examination. For exam-
ple, there is a popular belief that the King runs the Congo
" for revenue only," and that he oppresses the natives in order
to extort money from them. The exact opposite is the truth.
The King receives no revenue from the Congo Government;
on the contrary the State owes its very existence to the gen-
erosity of the King, who advanced several million dollars to
keep the Government going in its early struggle for existence.
411
412 Story of the Congo Free State
It is true that there are in the Congo extensive Crown lands,
the revenue from which belongs to the King, but His Majesty-
refuses to take the receipts from this land and has turned the
money into a fund for the erection of schools, the encourage-
ment of science, and similar purposes. He does not even
manage the fund himself, but has placed it in the hands of
three trustees.
I have seen the statement in several newspapers that the
Congo State was created by the Berlin Conference in 1885
and placed in the hands of King Leopold for administration, the
Powers reserving a sort of right of guardianship over it. This
is entirely erroneous. The Congo was a sovereign State before
the Berlin Conference was thought of. The first official ac-
knowledgment of the new State came from the United States
in the spring of 1884. It was afterwards formally recognised
by the other nations, and it entered the Berlin Conference on
an equality with the other Powers. It has never placed
itself under the guardianship of any Power or collection of
Powers. It has no connection with Belgium except the fact
that King Leopold happens to be king of each of them. The
two Governments are entirely independent.
One of the great achievements of the Congo State has been
the suppression of the Arab slave-traders, who were in the
habit of invading Central Africa, carrying oif slaves to the
eastern markets, and laying waste the country through which
they passed. It is estimated that 100,000 natives were killed
each year in these slave raids. I recently saw an erroneous
statement to the effect that the slave raids are still carried on,
and that they are encouraged by King Leopold and his agents
as a means of revenue. It is difficult to see how the King or
his Government could reap any profit by encouraging the slave-
raiders to destroy the villages, and kill off a hundred thou-
sand or so of the inhabitants. Such lack of logic is damaging
to the case of the gentlemen who put it forward as a serious
argument. As Lord Westbury once said to a young English
barrister: "Never make a mistake in your logic; the facts
are always at your disposal."
In this case, however, the anti-Congo critics have availed
w
(^
Testimony of Travellers and Thinkers 413
themselves of both false logic and false "facts." The facts
are that the slave-raiders were finally vanquished and driven
out by the Congo forces in the early nineties, after a severe
struggle and at the cost of much Belgian blood. As the
present Viceroy of India said some years ago: "The Congo
Free State has done a great work and by its administration
the cruel raids of the Arab slave-dealers have ceased to exist
over many thousand square miles."
Another prevalent error about the Congo Government is in
regard to the treatment of the natives by the officials. An
impression has got abroad that there are many atrocities
committed.
There have been cases in which the natives have been mal-
treated by minor officials, but these are isolated cases, and
are severely punished by the authorities. Such cases have
occurred in all public services where an attempt has been
made to govern inferior ' aces. Such things have happened
in the Philippines, in British Africa, and in India. No colo-
nising nation can cast a stone at King Leopold on that score.
Among a large number of officials scattered over a vast terri-
tory there will often be one or two wicked stewards who de-
spitefully use the natives. All that any State can do is to
keep vigilant watch and to punish the wrongdoers, and this
the Congo State has done. It has even established a Com-
mission for the protection of the natives. By the decree of
1896, this Commission consisted of seven members, three
being Catholic priests and four Protestant missionaries.
It has been said, among other things, that the State prac-
tically enslaves the natives by forcing them to pay a tax in
labour. The tax is light. According to a statement made
the other day by Baron de Favereau, it consists of 40 hours'
work per month, and for this work they are paid at the regular
rate of wages obtained in the district. It is a tax which helps
the State and also helps the native, for it teaches him to
work. It is one of the most civilising influences in African
colonisation, for it is only by teaching habits of industry to
the natives that civilisation can make any progress in the
Dark Continent.
414 Story of the Congo Free State
The detractors of the Congo administration make a great
outcry, but as Burke said in one of his celebrated speeches:
"You must not think because the crickets make a great noise
that they are the only inhabitants of the field. The cattle
browsing in the shade make less stir, but they are infinitely
more important." Those who cry out against the Congo are
a small band, and generally of small importance. Their evi-
dence is light in comparison with the testimony of such men
as the Count de Smet de Naeyer, the Baron van Eetvelde,
Baron Wahis, the Chevalier Descamps, and Mr. Nys, but if
these witnesses be considered as in any way prejudiced on
account of their official positions, you have only to look at the
evidence of Sir Harry Johnston, late British Commissioner to
Uganda, as well as the evidence of such men as Cardinal
Lavigerie, Paul Leroy-Beaulieu, the great authority on po-
litical economy, Mr. Pickersgill, the British Consul, besides
the missionaries, such as the Rev. G. Grenfell, of the British
Baptist Missionary Society, Mgr. Augouard, Rev. Holman
Bentley, Father van Hencxthoven, Rev. Herbert S. Smith,
Mgr. Streicher, Rev. Lawson Forfeit, Father Gabriel, and Rev.
W. Verner of the American Presbyterian Mission.
The Congo State furnishes a model for civilisation in new
countries. A great work has been accomplished in Equa-
torial Africa, and, as a distinguished missionary said, "Pos-
terity will place the name of Leopold at the head of human
benefactors for the princely enterprise, perseverance, and
sacrifices contributed by him in such a cause."
THE REV. W. H. LESLIE
In a recent number of the Missionary Review of
the World, a magazine pubUshed by Messrs. Funk &
Wagnalls of New York, there appeared an article
written by the Rev. W. H. LesHe, a missionary of
the American Baptist Missionary Union, stationed in
the Congo. In that article Mr. Leslie refers to the
exceeding degradation of the Congo people twenty
Testimony of Travellers and Thinkers 415
years ago. He states that, naturally, not a little
evil remains, that immorality and various heathen
practices are still prevalent. But he speaks with
much enthusiasm of the social and moral uplifting
and the industrial development within that twenty
years. He says4;hat the people are learning to work,
are learning to read and write, are clothing them-
selves, and are building better houses. In other
words, they are gradually adopting the manners and
customs of civilisation.
MR. MOHUN
Of course you must understand that for the moment I am
in the service of the Congo Free State, and a great many-
people might consider anything I should say in favour of the
Congo as being biased; but I can assure you that, in my
opinion, it would be impossible for any one to give other than
a favourable report on the work of the Free State in the East-
em province. The administration is excellent. The country
is quite quiet from the Falls to Tanganyika. The native
tribes seem contented and happy, and are paid by the Govern-
ment for every stroke of work they do. The price of rubber
has increased, and every man who brings in rubber receives
pay for it. Formerly robbery and murder existed to a great
extent among the native tribes, but are now quite rare; and
the old "Mwavi," or ordeal by drinking poison, seems to be
disappearing. Justice is administered with an impartial
hand, and I firmly believe the natives are beginning to ap-
preciate the benefits of good government.
Some months ago a woman was shot dead near my camp.
I immediately sent for the chief, and told him I wanted the
murderer arrested and brought in. Three hours later he re-
turned with him and also two accessories to the crime, to-
gether with all the stuffs they had stolen from the woman.
The principal actor in the crime was tried and hanged, while
4'6 Story of the Congo Free State
the others received long terms of punishment. This incident
is merely cited to show that when the natives are living in
a contented way, and are satisfied with their surroundings,
they will assist the Europeans wherever possible. I could enu-
merate a dozen cases where natives have themselves arrested
and brought to justice thieves, ravishers,&c., of their own ac-
cord. They never received a present for these services. In
the Manyema, which is very thickly populated, a great market
has been established at Vieux Kasongo, and this serves as a
meeting-place for thousands twice a week. Caravans come
from Ujiji nearly every month, and the natives journey there
by a 15 or 20 days' march. I never saw a disturbance at the
market, either going or returning. By common consent guns,
knives, spears, and knobkerries are excluded from articles of
exchange, and the men only carry thin walking-sticks. There
are no soldiers guarding the market, but immunity from
thieves is guaranteed by some ten or twelve native policemen,
who receive no pay, and are highly pleased to have an oppor-
tunity of showing their authority.
I have been astonished in coming down river from Kasongo
to the coast to see what extraordinary changes have taken
place. First, the administration is now established on a good,
firm basis, and all the officials take an intelligent interest in
their work, with the result that scandals are quite a thing of
the past. The stations are all splendidly and solidly built in
brick, and the grounds are laid out in a very pleasing way.
The transport service by canoe between Kasongo and Stanley
Falls goes without a hitch, and thousands of loads go up river
every year, absolutely unguarded, and the loss by theft is
almost nil. The steamer service between the Falls and Pool
is good, and an enormous improvement over the old days,
especially in the matter of messing. The large steamers
Hainaut and Brabant are most imposing-looking craft, and
comfortably fitted up. They carry 200 tons of cargo and 600
troops, in addition to 40 white passengers. The new steamer
La Flandre, of 250 tons, is on the slip at Leo, and I think will
make her first trip in February next year (1904). She is to
be lighted by electricity. So far as I know, the whole coimtry
Testimony of Travellers and Thinkers 417
is tranquil, with the exception of a small portion of the Ban-
gala district north of Bumba.
It has been the fashion during the past for travellers who
have been in the Congo State to run it down in every way,
but it gives me the greatest pleasure to be able to affirm that
only a most captious critic would be able to find fault with its
administration to-day.
With regard to specific pronouncement on the alleged mur-
der of several hundred natives who failed to supply the re-
quired quota of rubber, I can say nothing, it having been out
of my district. Personally, I do not believe it, excepting in
a vastly modified degree ; and I must point out that the au-
thorities are taking such steps as must bring any offenders to
summar}^ justice. I absolutely deny the absurd attempt to
fasten responsibilities upon the authorities for any acts of
violence they cannot control from this side. Such acts com-
mitted while I was there would have been reported, and it is
evident the}^ are now taking steps to prevent, in so far as
possible, any recurrence of them. In all human institutions
there are imperfections ; here and there employees prove them-
selves unworthy of the trust reposed' in them; but these, in
my opinion, are exceptions rather than the rule.
CHAPTER XXXIV
TESTIMONY OF TRAVELLERS AND THINKERS
{Contintied)
ALEXANDER DAVIS
THE following valuable testimony is extracted
from an interesting volume written by this
gentleman, entitled The Native Problem in
South Africa:
The Congo atrocities campaign is fed upon just a sufficient
substratum of truth to make it plausible. But the public in
their administered sentimentality travel very wide of the true
case. After a full career of blood-curdling horrors unhesitat-
ingly placed at the door of the administration in highest au-
thority irrespective of conditions of environment or personal
responsibility, a Sir Harry Johnston, accepted authority, in
plenitude of personal knowledge and experience presents a
rock of fact which checks the wave of misrepresentation.
In the Congo Free State in addition to the superior council
to advise the King in Belgium, the Governor General has the
assistance of a similar nominated body at Boma. Local con-
ditions here do not admit at present of following the French
system, but it is guided largely in its deliberations by the
reports and advice of the district commissioners who with the
co-operation of the local chiefs and their own officials form
really limited autonomous administrations.
Turning to the Congo Free State the general division of the
territory, from an administrative point of view, is based on the
418
Testimony of Travellers and Thinkers 419
districts at the head of each of which is a district commis-
sioner representing the State. The commissioner is assisted
by sub-commissioners, but is alone responsible for the good
order of his district. Their principal instructions, on which
the State lays great stress, are to maintain friendly relations
with the natives and wherever possible to prevent or patch up
intertribal disputes; they are also charged with abolishing
as far as possible barbarous customs and especially human
sacrifices and cannibalism, still practised over a large extent
of the territory. ... In close co-operation with the
district commissioner is the native chief or chiefs of the dis-
trict. The institution and recognition of these are encouraged
by the State in order to improve the relations between it and
the natives, to consolidate authority over individuals, to
ameliorate their condition, and to facilitate their regular con-
tribution to the development of the country. The chiefs have,
as a rule, to be first recognised as such by native custom, and
are then officially recognised by the Government, and receive
a certificate to that effect. They are allowed to exercise
their usual authority according to native usage and custom,
provided the same be not contrary to public order and is in
accordance with the laws of the State. They are held per-
sonally responsible for their tribe's supply of public labour as
notified to them annually. The acknowledged native chiefs
number 258.
The safeguards provided by the co-operation of the chiefs,
and the supervision of the central authority are now on the
Congo supplemented, as far as human action under such condi-
tions can go, by a very thorough organisation of the judicial
side of the Government. It has pleased many of the critical
theorists who have attacked the Congo Free State to say that
this latter has been established merely as a blind to the actions
of the administration. It may be merely remarked that no
infant struggling State is likely to go to the great expense of
such an elaborate and widely organised system of justice as
has now been called into existence on the Congo pour rire, and
furthermore that jurists of the character of those now serving
on the Congo are not those capable of lending themselves to
420 Story of the Congo Free State
such practices. A certain amount of latitude must of course
be made for the different conditions in individual countries,
especially when in a state of savagery, but generally speaking
the Congo tribunals do their duty as well as similar ones in
British colonies.
The Sovereign and Government of the Congo Free State
have stated over and over again that they desire justice to be
rendered impartially, and that as it is necessary that offences
committed by natives should not remain unpunished, so
penal laws must also be applied to the whites who are guilty
of illegal doings. The mere fact of having constituted a
superior court of appeal with judges of different nationalities
and of appointing foreign lawyers and magistrates as judges
and officials of the lower courts in the interior of the country
is a proof, and a more than evident guarantee, of the impar-
tiality and seriousness of the judicial administration aimed
at. The writer holds no brief for the Congo Free State ; rather
the contrary in fact, but in common fairness after a very lengthy
study of its judicial machinery, laws, and decrees, and the in-
structions given to its officials, he finds it difficult to conceive
what more King Leopold could have done to safeguard its in-
ternal affairs than has now been done — given the peculiar con-
ditions of the country. The abuses which have from time
to time arisen in the past have been due, as far as one ac-
quainted with similar conditions in West Africa can see, to
three things, viz. : (i) to the abuse of power by agents of the
concessionaire companies before the State had fully realised
the necessity of keeping a sharp control over these semi-inde-
pendent individuals; (2) to the want of experience of early
officials ; and (3) to the lack of trained colonial servants whose
known antecedents and constitutions fitted them for isolated
and arduous responsibility in an unhealthy, tropical, and sav-
age country. It is only right to add, however, that though
isolated misdeeds may still continue to occur here as every-
where else, the measures now in force guard as far as possible
against a repetition of the former regrettable occurrences, and
where these occur the offenders are brought to trial without
delay.
Public Library, Matadi.
Soldiers' Mess at Coquilhatville, (Equateur).
Testimony of Travellers and Thinkers 421
The native idea represents that of primitive society every-
where in the world, the European that of latter-day civilisa-
tion; and if this were always borne in mind, less nonsense
would be written by those ill-informed sentimentalists who
insist on treating the former on the lines of the latter.
Nothing is more astounding in regard to the Congo cam-
paign — to take a very flagrant case in point — than the utter
ignorance displayed by those who, while violently denouncing
every detail of Congo administration, appear to be totally un-
aware either of the past history of social evolution, of modem
civilisation in Europe, or of the conditions existing in other
African countries at the present day.
We have here (British Central Africa) admitted, as in
Uganda where we have shown that it has been actually carried
out, the right of the British Crown to assume ownership of
"vacant lands," and the principle enunciated that the reserves
allotted must be sufficient to allow of the lying fallow of the
ground for a period of three years in addition to allowing a
proportion for the natural increase of the family. Had the
same principles set forth above been applied to the early days
to British West Africa that country would be far more pros-
perous and advanced than is the case to-day.
Bearing these facts in mind it is possible to understand
more fully the situation on the Congo where the general sys-
tem has been pursued of assuming possession of the vacant
lands and allotting to natives reserves throughout the country,
though it may be remarked that on the plea of conquest alone
the State has a valid title to a large part of the country apart
from that set forth.
In the case of the Congo Free State, however, the opposite
course has been taken, i. e., the State has undertaken the
direct exploitation of its private domains, the profits realised
being allotted to public works and the expenses of administra-
tion ; and without stopping to examine the necessities of
the case its critics have eagerly seized on this as a point of
attack.
When criticisms, however, are raised against the very com-
plete system of land tenure now in existence on the Congo as
42 2 Story of the Congo Free State
regards the State, non-natives and natives, it is as well to re-
member that the exploitation of the land by the State is an
after and separate act quite unconnected with the assumption
of sovereign powers over the land in the State, which latter is
in accord with general European and universal American cus-
tom, though after all whether a State raises mone^^ for public
revenues by selling, leasing, or by personally exploiting the
State lands seems to be a mere matter of detail in which the
principle of the action is exactly the same. En passant it
may be remarked that the Royal Niger Comj)any, though an
administration, raised its principal revenue and paid its divi-
dends by its trade — not by duties or taxes.
Further south, getting down to the Congo again, we find a
State which, sharing these views, has the courage of its convic-
tions and acts upon them to the great scandal of our own
Exeter Hall set, no doubt, but to the very marked improve-
ment of the native races affected as well as to the development
and opening up of the State.
It will have been observed in what special terms
Mr. Davis repudiates personal interest in champion-
ing the Congo Administration against its detractors.
Should any reader be so sceptical as to question the
accuracy of that repudiation, attention is invited to
the following declarations by three English states-
men, two of them of high political attainment, and
all three by social position and actual record of
approved bona- fides.
VISCOUNT CURZON, VICEROY AND GOVERNOR-GENERAL
OF INDIA
It is only fair to remember that the Congo State has done
a great work, and by its administration the cruel raids of
Arab slave-dealers have ceased to exist over many thousands
of square miles.
Testimony of Travellers and Thinkers 423
THE LATE MARQUESS OF SALISBURY, K.G., PREMIER
OF THE BRITISH PARLIAMENT
Look at the Congo State. Everything has not gone there
as well as could be wished, but still a great domination is main-
tained. There are two sets of opinions; but what is un-
doubtedly true is that Belgium — a very much less powerful
country than Great Britain — has been able to maintain the
dominion of her King over a territory larger than the Sudan.
THE MARQUESS OF SALISBURY
Lord Cranborne, now Marquess of Salisbury, declared, during
the debate of 20th May, 1903, in the House of Commons, that
"There was no doubt that the administration of the Congo
Government had been marked by a very high degree of a
certain kind of administrative development. There were
steamers upon the river, hospitals had been established, and
all the machinery of elaborate judicial and police systems had
been set up."
CHAPTER XXXV
TESTIMONY OF TRAVELLERS AND THINKERS
{Concluded)
A
MONG the denunciators of the Congo Adminis-
tration a prominent place must be assigned to
DR. H. GRATTAN GUINNESS
{English)
a part medical, part missionar} , wholly illogical per-
verter of facts. The plimges made by this eccentric
individual into the depths of human credulity would
certainly receive no attention in this place but for
the strange circumstance that some people have
actually so far belied their intelligence as to accept
them without investigation. Strange to relate, Mr.
Booker Washington (a singular lapse of sagacity in
a man so generally intelligent) is among those whose
credulity has been abused by stories of strings of
Negroes' hands being set to dry in the sun, the said
hands having been cut off from natives by wicked
European officials of the Congo Administration as a
punishment for failure to collect a sufficiency of
rubber, etc.
In the course of a recent lecture in Scotland, Dr.
Guinness said : "To our knowledge the natives never
424
Testimony of Travellers and Thinkers 425
mutilated their victims by cutting off their hands.
The wild Ngombe never practised the mutilation re-
ferred to. It was reserved for civilisation to intro-
duce this certificate of death."
Now it is a matter of history, quite outside the
realms of argument, that punishment by bodily
mutilation has been practised by natives of Central
Africa from the earliest times of which we have any
record. Here is a sentence taken from a book en-
titled The First Christian Mission on the Congo,
published before the Congo State came into exist-
ence, written by Mrs. H. Gratten Guinness:
From half a million to a million of lives are annually sacri-
ficed in the slave trade, and as many more in all probability
in inter-tribal wars and contests. Physically a land of sun-
shine and beauty and redundant life, it is spiritually a land of
darkness, deformity, and death.
This evidence, given by the wife of Dr. Grattan
Guinness in 1882, is a strange foundation for Dr.
Guinness to erect his 1904 statement upon. Let us
hear what other people have to say upon this subject.
COMMANDER LOVETT CAMERON
{English)
In Ouroua only two punishments are known, mutilation
and the penalty of death. Both are much in use, but espe-
cially the former. For the least offence the chief and his
lieutenants cut off a finger, a Hp, a portion of the ear or of the
nose. For more serious offences, they cut off the hands, etc.
DR. WILLIAM JUNKER
{German)
Mazindeh wished to punish the man according to A-Zandeh
law by cutting off a finger. ... I saw a man who had been
426 Story of the Congo Free State
punished by the loss of his finger and of another important
member. A Mahngdeh told me he knew about twenty men
who had been similarly punished.
SIR JOHN KIRK
(English)
If slavery were abolished, all criminals would probably be
put to death or mutilated.
CARDINAL LAVIGERIE
{Belgian)
King Wemba, near Tanganyika, finding the wooden drum-
sticks too harsh for his ears, cut off the hands of his slaves
so that they might beat the drums with their stumps.
MR. J. A. MALONEY
{English)
The offender was lucky if he escaped with instant death,
for Msiri delighted in diabolical refinements of cruelty. Quite
minor crimes were punished by the lopping off of a hand or the
docking of an ear. In fact Msiri practised mutilation almost
as extensively as Kasongo.
MR. FREDERICK STANLEY ARNOT
{English)
Mr. Giraud noticed some men whose noses or ears had been
cut off. Mkewe's six drummers had a thumb on each hand
hut no fingers. . . . Mr. Giraud says that everywhere the
Bemba people practise these barbarous customs. First the
fingers and toes are cut off.
These quotations will surely prove that bodily
mutilation is essentially an African barbarity that
Testimony of Travellers and Thinkers 427
prevailed more or less among all the tribes of the
Congo region, but is now almost entirely suppressed,
thanks to Belgian civilisation. The charge brought
by Dr. Grattan Guinness against that civilisation,
that it introduced and practises this certificate of
death, is a libel so monstrous that it carries with it
its own refutation.
MR. GRENFELL
(English Missionary)
The welcome that I have received and the faciHties ac-
corded me everywhere in the course of my journey through
the Eastern Province have made this journey very agreeable.
This is now the third day that I have received the hospitality
of this post, and before leaving it, which I expect to do to-
morrow morning, I consider that I must write and tell you
how happy I have been to have had the opportunity of making
this most interesting journey. In the course of my tour I
have been much struck by the order which has been estab-
lished, and by the real progress accomplished. When the
position of the country under the Arab domination is recalled,
and when the relatively brief number of years since the ter-
mination of the military operations rendered necessary by the
revolts is taken into account, the progress that has been made
is nothing less than marvellous. If in spite of such numerous
difficulties so much has been done, I am sure that when the
railway towards Ponthierville has been completed the pro-
gress will prove more rapid still. — May ji, igoj.
MR. WILLIAM FORFEIT
(English Baptist Missionary)
We arrived to-day at New Antwerp in order to take our
farewell before leaving for England. 1 much regret that we
428 Story of the Congo Free State
are not able to see you. I desire to thank you for the kind
interest and consideration for the mission at Upoto which
you ' have always displayed.
The condition of the natives is much improved, all the vil-
lages of the district can be visited in absolute safety, and I
beg to congratulate you on the tranquillity of the district of
which you are the Commissary -General. — March 14, igoj.
MESSRS. ASCENSO AND POLIDORI
{Italian Physicians)
The dwellings for soldiers and labourers are numerous in
Kabinda. They are symmetrically arranged and separated
from one another by wide alleys from 10 to 15 metres across.
Each black family has a separate house sufficiently large,
divided into two rooms. Each dwelling is raised half a metre
(nearly 20 inches) above the ground, and surrounded by a
verandah one metre broad. The soil has been well beaten
down, and the walls are whitened with lime. The roofing is
without a ceiling, with a large opening admitting ventilation;
each man sleeps on a bed raised one metre. The ground sur-
rounding the post is formed into separate small gardens in
which each soldier cultivates maize, manioc, etc.
All the villages around Kabinda are united to the post by
wide and long avenues, well kept up and bordered by trees
and pineapples. The natives greatly feel the effects of the
neighbourhood of the white man, and make every effort to
rival him in the maintenance, cleanliness, and prettiness of
their villages. The houses are placed on an elevation, and
are built in the same way as those of the soldiers with truly
remarkable care and propriety. Each house has two or three
rooms containing from 12 to 15 cubic metres, with good
verandahs, and meets the prescribed hygienic conditions.
Large free intervals separate the dwellings from one an-
other, and in them are the vegetable plantations.
A detail worthy of being pointed out is the great cleanli-
^ The Commissary-General of New Antwerp.
Testimony of Travellers and Thinkers 429
ness of the natives of this region. During the course of my
journey from the West Coast of Africa to Kabinda I remarked
many things, and I ascertained that at Kabinda all the natives,
in place of sleeping on the ground, have a raised bed, formed
by means of flexible canes with coverlets, stuffs, and mosquito
nets. There are houses that contain magnificent sarcophagi
of truly artistic work.
Everywhere there are small pieces of furniture coarsely
sculptured, but which reveal the artistic taste of this people
and their progressive march towards civilisation. It must
also be said that they have a marked desire to dress decently.
In conclusion, they are, in my opinion, the first people I met
in Africa who, without being spoilt by money, possess a rela-
tively advanced degree of civilisation, and an hygienic system
beyond dispute.
The fertility of the soil and the abundance of provisions of
all kinds allow of changing the food of the soldier and the
native. Their food generally consists of chickens, goats, wild
animals, manioc, maize, vegetables, and various fruits. They
feel the effects of this good nourishment. They are strong,
robust, support fatigue well, and consequently give little hold
to sickness.
On a hill close to the post a hospital has been constructed
by the natives. It contains three large rooms separated from
each other and containing loo cubic metres. — February 21,
1904.
MR. MAGUIRE
{English Missionary)
Though I have travelled by boat and on foot from Boma
to Amadi and higher up to Surunga, calling at all the State
stations; though I have visited many establishments, both
Catholic and non-Catholic, as well as some stations of inde-
pendent companies; though I have passed nights and days
in my tent in the forest and in villages of the natives; though
1 have had ample opportunities of seeing much in my jour-
neys as to how the natives are treated, I have never seen or
430 Story of the Congo Free State
heard of any of the atrocities with which the agents of the
Free State are charged. On the contrary, one cannot but
admire the wonderful progress that has been made in so short
a time, the commendable way in which the natives are treated,
the little work that is exacted of them, and the manner in
which they are punctually paid for every service rendered or
work done. The little work which is occasionally exacted of
them by way of tax in porterage or otherwise is as nothing
when compared with the immense benefits conferred upon
them by the State. In fact the methods of the Belgian officers
drew a highly complimentary eulogium from the Sirdar dur-
ing his recent visit to the Enclave of Lado — methods which,
he stated, might be followed with advantage by our English
officers: "Messieurs," said the Sirdar, "nous avons d'excel-
lentes lemons devant nos yeux." — March ji, igo4.
DR. CHRISTY
{English Physician)
I went to the Congo last September as a member of an ex-
pedition of the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, which
was despatched especially to investigate sleeping sickness in
the Congo, the same disease which so recently, as the public
know, broke out in such virulent epidemic form in Uganda.
For a considerable time I was in Leopold ville, which is the
Bombay of the Congo — that is, everybody throughout the
whole of the Congo goes through Leopoldville in order to
reach Europe and the outer world. Hence you can quite
understand that any one, like myself, for instance, stationed for
a time in Leopoldville, must, if he take any trouble at all,
come across all the officials from the whole of the Congo, who,
from various causes, are bound at intervals to be in or passing
through Leopoldville. Thus, whilst there I had excellent
opportunities of finding out exactly what happens in that
country, particularly as these men — that is, the officials of the
Congo — are extremely ready to talk. Besides opportunities
of acquiring information in that way, I have travelled on foot
Testimony of Travellers and Thinkers 431
in the Belgian Congo State, and personally observed the con-
dition of things which prevails there. I assure you that if I
were to tell you all I know against the Congo Administration
it would amount to a very little indeed compared with what
I know in its favour. The credulousness of the British Gov-
ernment in respect of the Casement report is something mar-
vellous. Casement travelled up the river in a missionary
steamer, arm in arm with missionaries practically all the time,
and obtained all his information from the river bank instead
of personally investigating the various stories of outrage and
mutilation which he received. It is the most astonishing
thing that the British Government have given the Casement
report so much credence.
The agitation now going on with respect to atrocities in the
Congo is based on things that happened a long time ago.
There is no doubt that in times gone by atrocities have oc-
curred; but, thanks to the altered methods and conditions of
administration, such things are not likely to recur. The basin
of the Congo, mainly the Belgian Congo, is practically the
sole rubber-producing area of the world. This territor}^ also
contains the lowest class of natives in the whole of Africa.
The natives all over the East Coast — the Masai, the Nandi,
the Kaverondo, the Bukedi, the Baris, the Madis, the Dinkas,
the Shiluks, and others — stretching right away up to the
Soudan, are all a magnificent class of Negro, a fighting people,
a manly, upstanding people, who impressed me immensely.
I have been through parts of all their territories, and they are
indeed a magnificent set of people. Then you get towards
the West Coast — the basin of the Niger, where I was for nearly
two years, and you see a lower class of natives. On the Benue,
where the present punitive expedition is operating in Niaiger,
you have again a distinctly lower class of natives. Then, as
you go farther South, and get into the Congo watershed, you
come upon a still lower class of natives. The natives over large
areas in the Congo are cannibals to the present day. They are
a very low class of native indeed. That is the territory which
the Belgians have so successfully opened up for the rubber
trade. In that opening-up process they have had, as I say,
432 Story of the Congo Free State
to contend with absolutely the lowest class of natives in Africa
at the present day. As you travel through the Congo you
cannot help feeling — at all events any one like myself, who
has been through the British tropical colonies — that the
amount of general advancement and civilisation in the Congo
Free State is far ahead as compared with our own. This is
doubtless owing to the fact that the Belgians have made the
natives work. The Belgians have gone on the principle, to
begin with, that the native must be a participating element
in the development and civilisation of the country — that is,
that he must work with and for the white man, and thereby
benefit not only the white man but himself. I was immensely
impressed with the state of government and the advancement
and general opening-up of the Congo, the more so as I can
compare it with other districts under British control in which
I have been. We do not attempt to make the native work,
with the result that we do not get the benefit we should from
our Protectorates. Uganda and British East Africa are far
behind the Congo Free State. Not more than a third of
Uganda is opened up to administrative control. I once spent
ten months in Uganda, and visited every station in it, walk-
ing 2300 miles and returning down the Nile. The Belgians
have got stations everywhere in the Congo practically, and
most of the natives, except in one or two areas, are entirely
under control. The Uganda native is a fat, lazy chap, who
will do no work. There is no industry in Uganda. The Bel-
gians pay the Congo natives for their labour. They realise
that the native is a valuable asset in the country, and treat
him accordingly. It is surely obvious that it is not to the
interest of the Congo administrators to maim the native.
All the mutilations and cruelties which have been spoken
of took place in the early days of the opening-up process to
which the country has been subjected and before the railway
was constructed. The men who have been guilty of the
atrocities have not been Belgians in all cases. In many in-
stances they have been Italians who have been appointed to
the smaller outlying posts, the better and higher positions
being kept for Belgians. These Italians and other foreigners
Testimony of Travellers and Thinkers
-i-v).
who have been given the charge of outlying stations have in
some cases perpetrated cruehies in times gone by. These men
were not accustomed to exercise power, and this led them to
ill-use the natives. That is how the atrocities such as these
were originated. But that has all gone now; they are all
cleared out. I have seen nineteen such men, chiefly Italians,
in prison at Boma on charges of cruelty, which proves that
the Belgians are doing their best to put a stop to the kind
of thing complained of. The agitation that is now going
on about atrocities is exaggerated out of all proportion to
the amount of the atrocities that happened at any time.
The Belgians are doing everything they can to supersede the
men who have acted improperly in the past; they, have
appointed inspectors for different districts, and they have
allowed inspectors appointed by the Italian Government and
the Scandinavian Government to go out into the Congo for
the purpose of keeping an eye on those of their own nationality
in positions of responsibility and control in the Congo Free
State. Things in the Congo now are very different to what
they were even two or three years ago. The King of the
Belgians has sent out Baron Dhanis — who had more to do
with opening up the Congo in the early days than anybody
else — to reorganise the whole military system of the Congo
Free State. There are to be two or three large military
centres in the Congo, and the soldiers will be much more
highly trained and be more under control. Hitherto the
small posts have recruited men from the surrounding villages,
and given them a bit of uniform and a rifle, and they have
gone about, supposed to be doing their duty, instead of which
they have probably been ill-treating the natives. The whole
thing will be changed now, however, for they will have a
much more highly organised army and a much higher class of
officer. It has been these unscrupulous foreigners — Itahans,
etc. — who have been guilty of the cruelties reported. Another
proof of the endeavours to stop any existing abuses of admin-
istration is the fact that a Belgian officer who for many years
held a high post in the Congo has recently been sent out by
the King as Royal High Commissioner, to investigate all
28
434 Story of the Congo Free State
questions of maladministration and, particularly, payment of
State employees and the natives for labour, with power there
and then to rectify or alter any existing rules which he thinks
might be amended in any part of the Congo, the territories of
concessionary companies included. With regard to the muti-
lations in the Congo, described by Mr. Casement, I may tell
you that only last year in Uganda I saw similar mutilations,
which, it is well known, were done by the natives in Uganda,
notably in King Mtesa's day. In walking through Toro and
Unyoro, I have seen men without noses, ears, and, frequently,
without hands.
With regard to Lord Cromer's assertion that in the Lado
Enclave the natives have left the banks of the river and the
immediate regions of the Belgian posts, — well, I have walked
along the Nile from the Albert Nyanza into the Soudan, and
visited the Belgian stations on the river, besides having seen
a good deal of the natives on both banks. I feel sure that
Lord Cromer is wrong when he states that the natives are
leaving the Belgian side and going over to the Uganda side.
The natives certainly had nothing to complain of, and cer-
tainly are not migrating across the river. As for there being
no villages round Lado Enclave, the explanation is that there
is for several months of the year absolutely no water and,
therefore, necessarily no villages. But at many other places
along the banks in the Lado Enclave there are large villages.
I saw several thousand natives at Wadelai, employed by the
Belgians in rebuilding the old fort of Emin Pasha, preparatory
to making a large station there, and they seemed quite con-
tented and happy, and worked like a hive of bees. The con-
clusion to which I am irresistibly driven as a disinterested
observer is that the present administration of the Congo is
not only free from cruelties, but is of the most complete and
efficient description, and counts for the fullest commercial
and industrial development of the Free State. I am sure that
that administration is doing its level best in every way, from
the highest to the lowest officer, to make the country prosper-
ous, and the native happy and useful. — June 23, 1904.
Testimony of Travellers and Thinkers 435
MR. GREY
(English Civil Engineer)
From the "Morning Post" (London), January 20, igoj.
Since I returned to England a few weeks ago I have read
some correspondence in the Morning Post on the subject of the
administration in the Congo State. I am an EngUshman,
and have during the last two years led an expedition of the
Tanganyika Concessions (Limited), organised in Rhodesia
to explore and search for minerals in the Katanga district of
the Congo State. During the latter part of 1901 and the
whole of 1902 sections of this expedition have explored and
settled in the district of Katanga, and at the same time the
representatives of the Special Katanga Committee have occu-
pied and governed the country. It is almost impossible for
one man to have intimate knowledge of more than a portion
of the territory of the Congo Free State, and I can only claim
to know a small and remote section. Still, seeing that so
much attention has been directed of late to Belgian administra-
tion in the Congo, my experiences in that country may be of
interest. It is, perhaps, necessary to explain that the Special
Katanga Committee, the governing body in Brussels of the
territories of Katanga, is composed of the representatives of
an amalgamation between the separate interests of the Congo
Free State Government and the Katanga Company. The
former originally owned two-thirds, the latter one-third, of
that portion of the Congo State. This administration is
entirely Belgian, and the African staff is composed of a repre-
sentative of the committee, whose headquarters are at Lukon-
zolwa, on Lake Mweru, and who occupies the position of
administrator, and of numerous officials, civil and military, in
charge of the various sections of the district and departments
of the administration. The country is garrisoned by a large
force of native troops, with European officers. My duties
have confined me to the section of the district called the Upper
Luapula Section, which borders on the south and east with
Northern Rhodesia. I have visited the chief of that section,
nI
436 Story of the Congo Free State
Mr. Vervloet, at his headquarters at Lukafu, and an officer of
the Katanga force with a few soldiers has been attached to
my expedition.
I have, therefore, had considerable opportunity on the spot
of learning the instructions which the Special Committee give
their officials, and how those instructions are carried out. I
myself and many members of my expedition have become
fairly intimate with the native inhabitants of large portions
of this district, and have from time to time employed as
carriers and miners sevei^l hundred labourers. That the
natives of this country had never suffered ill-treatment from
white men was evident to me from the time I entered the
countr}^ They showed no hesitation in working for my ex-
pedition and in bringing quantities of food to sell, and always
seemed quite confident that fair payment would be given, both
for labour and food. I have lived for many years in parts of
Africa in which the native inhabitants were for the first time
coming under the influence of European government, and
where conditions rendered the aid of such government by
native troops necessary. It is almost impossible constantly
to restrain the tendency to oppress and ill-treat his less
powerful countrymen which is inherent in the native soldier,
and I do not believe that it ever happens that the advent of
that form of government is unaccompanied by acts of injustice
and oppression. Generally there is a constant effort on the
part of the European officer to prevent such acts and punish
offenders. My experience is that this is especially the case
in the district of Katanga. The regulations of the Special
Committee provide that no armed parties of soldiers should
travel or patrol without a European officer. Native soldiers
are not allowed to enter villages alone, and weekly markets
are held at which a European official buys food for his soldiers
from the neighbouring villages, so endeavouring to do away
as far as possible with direct dealing between the soldier and
the people. My experience of the last two years has con-
vinced me that in the district of Katanga at any rate the
Belgian officials endeavour to treat the Central African native
with justice and leniency, and in as great a degree as officials
Testimony of Travellers and Thinkers 437
of any other nation look on him as a human being, with a
perfect right to sell his labour and his food on terms satisfac-
tory to himself. When I first entered the Congo, at the time
that the officials of the Special Committee were establishing
their government, and before I had come into personal con-
tact with them, I found some armed natives who posed as
soldiers of the Belgian Government, and who lived more or
less the life of robbers, raiding and stealing wherever they
went. The natives believed that these men were the au-
thorised police of the European Administration, whose white
officials they had not yet seen, and members of my expedition
reported to me on the shocking behaviour of the Belgian
Askari. I later learnt the complete mistake we had made in
believing these men to be Government employees. In a short
time they completely disappeared, caught or driven out by
the agents of the committee. The Ba-Luba and Wasanga,
the tribes we have been working among, are, we find, a peace-
able, industrious race, with practically no warlike propensity,
an easy prey to any organised hostile force. I am led to be-
lieve that their numbers have decreased during the last fifty
years owing to a continuous traffic in slaves with the Arabs
of the East and Mambunda of the West. To-day the slave
trade has ceased in this particular district, the traders being
afraid to come anywhere near the Belgian posts. To such an
extent have conditions changed with the advent of Belgian
administration that many small chiefs are now recovering in-
dividuals raided from them by their stronger neighbours and
not already sold to the traders when European control reached
the country.
In all discussions and criticism of the mistakes made by
European administration in Central Africa there is one condi-
tion which seems to me to be never taken into account. That
is the necessity of employing officials who have to spend a
long time learning how to do efficiently the work that they
have to carry on from the day they arrive at their posts. There
is no school in which to learn Central African Civil Service
except Central Africa, and it is impossible in Africa to obtain
a sufficient number of qualified officials. Not many go to
438 Story of the Congo Free State
Central Africa with the idea of making their permanent homes
there. It has been my own good fortune to settle in a healthy
part of Central Africa, but from my knowledge of the Conti-
nent as a whole, I think it is not an exaggeration to state that
two-thirds of the officials who leave Europe are, within five
3'ears of their arrival, either killed by the climate, invalided
home, or have left the country at the termination of an agree-
ment. All these have to be constantly replaced by inex-
perienced men, with their job to learn. What wonder then
that grievous mistakes are sometimes made by some of these
untried men, necessarily placed in responsible positions? In
writing this letter to you, I state onl}^ my own experience and
opinion of the spirit and effect of Belgian administration in
the district of Katanga ; but it seems natural to me to suppose
that the same spirit extends throughout the whole of the
Congo territory ; and it seems almost the duty, at the present
time, of any Englishman who has had opportunity to judge of
the general methods of Belgian administration to give pub-
licity to his knowledge. — Yours, etc.,
G. Grey.
In presence of testimony such as this, it is not
matter for surprise that His Eminence, Cardinal
Cardinal Gibbons, should have characterised as in-
Gibbons Opportune the consideration by the recent
Speaks out. pg^^^g Congress at Boston of the oft -refuted
accusations brought against the Congo Free State.
Where not absolutely false in every particular (as
the majority of these slanderous stories most cer-
tainly are), they are grossly exaggerated, distorted
out of all resemblance to the events they are based
upon, and mendaciously attributed to a Government
that has consistently and unswervingly repressed
wrongdoing, of whatever kind, or by whomsoever
done, and brought the light of civilisation to a vast
Testimony of Travellers and Thinkers 439
barbarian population more thoroughly and in less
time than was ever done before.
The opinion of Cardinal Gibbons upon this point
well appears in a letter addressed by His Eminence
to the Honorary Secretary of the Congo Reform
Association, of which the following is the full text.
HIS EMINENCE, CARDINAL GIBBONS
(American)
Baltimore, Oct. 21, 1904.
The Honorary Secretary,
Congo Reform Association.
Sir, — I avail myself of the first opportunity which has pre-
sented itself to acknowledge your letter of the i8th instant.
In that letter you call my attention to certain resolutions
adopted by the Peace Congress at Boston. I fail to see in
these resolutions any vote of censure upon the Congo Free
State. They express rather a desire for information in regard
to the international status of that State.
It appears that those who voted for the resolutions were in
need of enlightenment on the subject, but this information
lies near at hand. There is no need to appeal to any tribunal.
Diplomatic history, diplomatic correspondence concerning the
Independent State of the Congo, and the acts and the proto-
cols of the Conference of Berlin, as well as of the Conference
of Brussels, all prove conclusively that the Congo Free State
is an independent sovereign State, and that the powers have
no right of guardianship or intervention.
Your letter also refers to certain documents, such as the
British Parliamentary White Book, Africa, No. 7 (1904),
which, however, has not escaped my attention. Permit me
to say that this book, instead of proving your contention,
proves the exact contrary, and shows that both the adminis-
tration and the courts of the Congo are using their endeavours
to correct such evils as may exist — for no human government
is perfect.
440 Story of the Congo Free State
The interpellation in the Belgian Chamber of Representa-
tives, to which you refer, seems to have been simply a fruit-
less attempt on the part of the Socialist leader to annoy the
Grovemment. The very fact that the Chamber considered
Mr. Vandervelde's charges against the Congo, and refused to
sympathise with him in his views, is in itself a significant
indication of the baselessness of his accusations.
In your letter you are also pleased to say that in speaking
in defence of the Congo Government I have spoken "unwit-
tingly," and to imply that I have not considered the facts
nor weighed the evidence. I can assure you that I have not
spoken without due consideration. As to the evidence, it is
overwhelmingly against your contention.
It is only some score of discontented men, depending largely
on the untrustworthy hearsay evidence of natives, who have
raised an outcry against the Congo Administration, out of a
great band of 500 or 600 missionaries, both Catholic and
Protestant, who are working on the Congo, and who give
thanks to the Congo Administration for its support to the
missions, and for its successful efforts to introduce Christian-
ity and civilisation into Central Africa.
Overwhelming evidence in favour of the Congo Government
has been given recently by missionaries and by travellers, and
it is not only Catholic missionaries, like Monsignor Van Ronsle
and Father Van Hencxthoven, who have spoken in praise of
the State, but also the most distinguished Protestant mis-
sionaries, such as the Rev. Mr. Bentley and Dr. Grenfell.
As it is not likely that you will convert me, and as I see no
probability of convincing you, I, for my part, think it best to
consider the correspondence closed.
Very sincerely yours,
(Signed) James, Cardinal Gibbons.
Viscount Mountmorres
In the summer of 1904, an Irish peer, Lord Mount-
morres, began a journey through the Congo Free
Testimony of Travellers and Thinkers 441
State, whence his lordship is sending an admirable
series of letters, descriptive of his experiences and
impressions, to the London Globe. The dismal
scenes of torture, desolation, and death, in which
the missionary-agents of the Liverpool merchants
assure us that unhappy country abounds, appear in
some way to have escaped the observation of this
traveller. "The further one goes into the interior
the more civilised one finds it, the better organised,
and the more developed," says Lord Mountmorres
at the opening of his second letter :
I was utterly unprepared [he continues] for what I found
at Irebu and at Coquilhatville, buried away there on the
equator in the very heart of the great forest. For what are
these stations? Large haphazard jumbles of native dwell-
ings and white men's bungalows in an arid clearing, with ill-
kempt roadways, such as one would find in the Western
States ? No ; here we have great open towns of really artistic
brick houses, with palm-thatched roofs and wide verandahs,
each standing in its own little garden, bright with roses and
hibiscus, Spanish iris and flamboyants, and set well back
along straight, wide avenues shaded by bamboos, mangoes,
papayes, acacias, bread-fruit trees, or one of a dozen other
leafy and ornamental equatorial trees. In spacious grounds
will be found the residence of the local governor, chef-de-
poste, or commandant, as the case may be, with its twenty to
thirty-foot verandah and its flagstaff in front, placed usually
so as to command the full view of the river front. Round
one or more spacious squares at the intersections of the prin-
cipal avenues will be the various public offices — the Director-
ate of Transports, the Post Office, the Magasins de I'Etat,
the headquarters of the Force Pubhque, the Office of Agri-
culture, and the rest. At Bikoro there are 2200 acres over-
looking the lovely Lac Tumba, sometimes miscalled Man
Tumba or M'Tumba, a corruption of Mai Na Tumba, water
442 Story of the Congo Free State
(or lake) of war. Round Coquilhatville there are little short
of 4500 acres of these plantations, and round Irebu and
Imesse something like 1200 acres in each case. Then near
to each station will be the extensive market gardens, where
every manner of vegetable, both European and tropical, is
raised in profusion, and also the large, well-kept farm or
farms, which supply the principal officials with beef and
mutton, goat and pork, poultry and ducks, and in which a
ceaseless series of experiments in breeding and raising stock
adapted to the climate is carried on.
And this has been achieved not in one isolated spot near
the coast, where material and transport were ready to hand,
but at every "white post" up here in the very heart of the
black continent, cut off until a few years ago from the capital
and the seaboard by that deadly, costly barrier — the white
man's cemetery of the Cataract caravan road. How has it
been done? Let us take Irebu as a typical case. Seven
years ago a young Belgian lieutenant, Jeuniaux by name, was
sent out to take charge of the military training camp at the
junction of the Ubanghi, the Congo, and the Tumba Canal, on
the site of a former larger and flourishing native village. He
came, and he found an unhealthy and pestilential swamp
covered with the ruins and the filth of the then almost de-
serted village of Irebu. Among these unpleasant surround-
ings was a large group of ill-kempt and badly constructed
mud and thatch huts — the training camp ; and here he was
doomed to pass at least three years. But he was young and
energetic, and had passed unscathed along the latter half of
the caravan road in the cataract district, for the railway was
then but half completed. He had seen brick houses in other
stations, and clean, well-kept, well-arranged little townships.
He would have the same. But his first difficulty was that
this was a training camp, whither the raw, untutored savage
was drafted in his naked ignorance to undergo six months'
tuition only; and, so soon as he had acquired a sufficient
training to make him of use to the white man, he was hurried
on elsewhere and a new batch of raw material took his place.
Jeuniaux had but a hazy notion of architecture, but, unaided,
Testimony of Travellers and Thinkers 443
he planned and designed his barracks, and acted as his own
foreman, devising quaint methods to construct weather-proof
walls and roofs from the materials at hand, and instructing
his workers, man by man, in these methods, and that without
even the medium of a common language.
At last his barracks were built, and the old huts destroyed;
coffee, cocoa, maize, sweet potatoes, and bananas grew in
well-ordered plantations, between parallel, palm-lined avenues,
where formerly had been a wilderness of insanitary ruins.
Then came the great feat of all — brick houses for the whites
and for the Departmental offices. Bricks, bricks. He knew
that bricks were made somehow from some sort of clay, and
he had a hazy notion that straw was essential to their com-
position. So he started on a series of experiments. In the
intervals of his work — with two sub-lieutenants to help him,
he was responsible for training, feeding, and controlling from
looo to 1500 soldiers, with their wives and families, for main-
taining order in his district, and developing its commercial
resources, and for ruling the natives in it; how well he had
done this work I will show in a moment — but, in the inter-
vals, he went on clay-hunting expeditions, and then sat up
at night experimenting on what he had found, and at last he
produced what he recognised as the real red brick — the
philosopher's stone of his research. And so the first brick
house in Irebu was built in one year from when Jeuniaux
first came. And he built other houses for his lieutenants and
white non-coms., and a residency for himself, and a guest
house large and comfortable, and post-office, state stores,
guard-house, pharmacy, armoury, and houses for all the
other whites. One by one they were built, and Jeuniaux,
now Commandant Jeuniaux, and his ever-changing pupils
built them all, until he had realised his ambition, and had
constructed a model station, with its lovely avenues, its
riverside promenade, its fine landing-stage, its parade ground,
where 1200 men may, without crowding, manoeuvre in com-
panies at once, and its pretty public gardens. And when his
first term of three years was over he left, with the sense of
work accomplished, for his six months' holiday. All the
444 Story of the Congo Free State
time in Europe he pictured the growth of his plantations and
his palms, and told his friends he should be glad to get back
"home" to Irebu, the town he built with his own hands.
And the night before he reached it he could not sleep for
excitement; and all day he strained his eyes to catch a
glimpse of it, and at last it came in sight. But not the Irebu
he knew. The plantations had reverted into jungle, the
avenues had disappeared, lost in the qtiick, rank growth; the
pleasure gardens were a wilderness; the finest of the palms
had been cut down; and he went through the coarse, wild
vegetation that clogged the entrance to his house, and into
the damp hall- way that was become the home of bats, and of
rats, and of lizards, and he sat down there, and he wept. For
so, in six short months, had an idle officer left in charge
during his absence undone the labour of three years.
But he is not a man to be easily daunted. To-day Irebu
is as spick and span and as beautiful as he first conceived it.
The benefit that accrues to the natives as well as to the whites
from so well-built and arranged a station is shown by the
change that has occurred in the health of Irebu. One of
Jeuniaux's first cares was to make the place sanitary. Now,
since he built the station, i. e., in the five years since summer,
1899, there have been only two deaths among the whites, —
although their number has been increased, — and of these one
was a case of sunstroke, the other one probably of deliberate
intent to die by disobeying orders during an illness on receipt
of bad news. Since 1901 there has not been one death among
Europeans. The mortality rate among the soldiers has de-
creased to 14 per 1000 average, and for the current year to
12 per 1000, or a fraction under. And this despite the fact
that the sudden change in their mode of life when they enter
military service must be a severe strain on the recruits, and
also that Irebu, lying at the junction of waterways, is con-
stantly having dumped down in it cases of infectious diseases,
which are discovered on the river steamers, and which are
put ashore at the nearest station.
Now, I mention all this about the building of Irebu, not
simply to glorify Commandant Jeuniaux, but because the
Testimony of Travellers and Thinkers 445
work that has been done there, the difficulties he has had to
contend with and has overcome, the result that has been
achieved, are identical with what every commandant has met
with in each of the beautiful stations that you will find in
the Middle Congo. Each of these represents the personal
exertion of one individual, and their existence is eloquent
testimony to the ability and devotion with which the State
is served by its servants.
Mrs. M. French Sheldon
Mrs. French Sheldon, the traveller and author,
returned to Europe in December, 1904, after a tour
through the Congo Free State.
I have witnessed [she says] more atrocities in London
streets than I have seen in the Congo, which remark applies
to the rubber country as well as the rest of the State. I
travelled through every part of the country, and am con-
vinced that the allegations of maladministration are ground-
less. Wherever I went I found the natives treated with
kindness and consideration, while the improvements in the
condition of the land and its inhabitants are almost incredible.
CHAPTER XXXVI
THE ATTITUDE OF EUROPE AND THE UNITED
STATES
THE Congolese kaleidoscope has revolved so
swiftly since 1896, that it is with difficulty
the European attitude towards the Congo
Free State notoriety can be completely indicated.
It would be unfair to the English people — that great,
sane mass of them which sits imperturbably serene
and looks on — to say that the British attitude
towards the Congo is of that bitter hostility which
a few hysterical Liverpool merchants and writers
wish the outside world to believe. Indeed, it would
appear to be part of their plan to make sufficient
noise to induce the Germans, French, and Ameri-
cans to attribute the agitation to the entire British
public. The fact is that the severest condemnation
of the anti-Congo campaign is being uttered by
Britons against the clique which is striving to en-
tangle British ministers in an affair that may some
day redound to England's humiliation. The shifts
have been many to which certain Liverpool mer-
chants and their chief crier have been put to main-
tain a hubbub which they hope will, by accident or
the logic of events, create an opening for their
ulterior commercial plans.
446
Native Planter's House, near Stanley Falls.
■Xi* •
Prison, with Carpenter's Shop, at New Antwerp (Bangala).
Attitude of Europe and United States 447
In 1897, the services of Sir Charles Dilke were first
enhsted against the Congo State. In that year it
was evident to those who had previously erred in
their estimate of the value of the Congo as a com-
mercial and political asset, that the Free State
would more than fulfil the early expectations of
Leopold 11. and Henry M. Stanle}^ The awakening
to this fact is the genesis of the envy which enlivens
Congolese history to-day. So long as Stanley sat
in Parliament and avowed his confidence in the Bel-
gians who are erecting a State upon the ruins of the
slave trade, and so long as he reiterated to his
colleagues on the benches there the truth of the
practical difficulties in Central Africa, the campaign
against the Congo State in Efngland made little
serious progress. When Stanley died, when his
voice in defence of the great work which he had
shared with the King of the Belgians could no
longer expose the fallacies and the true motive of the
despoiler, the Congophobe epidemic spread to Amer-
ica and became more virulent than ever.
Early in 1903, a number of British merchants ex-
pressed their grievance against the French Congo
in a volume by the author ^ whose active hostility
against the Belgian Congo has given currency to
many false statements and unjust beliefs. In the
preface to the story of the British Case in the French
Congo, this writer states that:
The British merchants in the French Congo have been sacri-
ficed to save the face of certain French poHticians — to stave
off for a while the inevitable exposure of a deplorable error
■ E. D. Morel.
448 Story of the Congo Free State
of colonial policy. In the French Congo, rather than admit
the overwhelming body of proof pointing to the Concessions
Decree of 1899 being framed in ignorance, unworkable in
practice, monstrously unjust in its effects upon the merchant
and native alike, successive Colonial Ministers have endeav-
oured to square the circle, and, of course, they have lament-
ably failed. An existing trade has been destroyed, the colony
is practically bankrupt, the revenue is steadily falling, the
natives are either in open rebellion or thoroughly disaffected,
the military expenditure has largely increased, and the Con-
cessionaires will only last as long as they are allowed to
maintain themselves by the ingenious system of fining the
British firms — that is to say, until a way is graciously found
for the latter to sell their factory depots and their merchan-
dise (which, of course, is deteriorating steadily) ; or until,
despairing finally of effectual home support, our merchants
themselves destroy or embark all that remains of their actual
possessions, and leave the country in a body.
The purely commercial considerations upon which
this complaint against the French Congo is founded
are quite apparent and need not form the subject of
argument. It may be enlightening, however, to note
the fact that since this impassioned book was hurled
at the heads of Frenchmen across the English Chan-
nel, the Anglo-French rapprochement has been ef-
fected, and the entente cordiale of King Edward's
visit to Paris has likewise intervened to divert the
merchant wrath from the French Congo to the
Congo Free State. French Deputies have visited
London and enjoyed that bounteous hospitality
which none can gainsay of a British household;
members of Parliament have gone to Paris and
dignified the gaiety of the quai d'Orsai. Not a ves-
tige of the British complaint against the French
Attitude of Europe and United States 449
Congo now freights the air. Instead, there prevails
a friendly persiflage between those two great powers.
Inasmuch as the concessionaire system adopted
in the French Congo gave new impetus to the
British campaign against the Belgian Congo, it may
be profitable to examine what precipitated matters.
The occasion was the organisation in the French
Congo of the system known as the regime des con-
cessions. A decree of the President of the French
Republic, dated March 28, 1899, divided the whole
territory of the French Congo Colony between about
forty concessionaire companies, which were to de-
velop it under various conditions imposed upon them.
The companies were granted all the rights of owner-
ship over the ceded areas.
In 1 90 1, several of these companies prohibited cer-
tain English merchants, who had been established
in the country upwards of twenty-five years, from
buying rubber direct from the natives, alleging that
all natural produce belonged to the owner of the
soil. Goods were even seized on their way to the
English factories.
The injured traders complained that such action
was not in accordance with the General Act of Ber-
lin, the terms of which insure freedom of trade in the
Congo Basin. They appealed to the French Congo
courts, whose decision was in favour of the com-
panies. Many judgments were pronounced, all of
which held that the agricultural exploitation of the
forests was an exclusive right of the concessionaire
companies, and did not run counter to the provisions
of the Berlin Act.
450 Story of the Congo Free State
These judgments were rendered by the Council of
Appeal at Libreville, on November 27, 1901, the
petitioners being John Holt & Company (Liverpool)
and the defendants the Compagnie Frangaise du
Congo Occidental.
In spite of these judgments, British commercial
circles persisted in the view that the concessions
system was a violation of the free -trade clause of the
Berlin Act. The Chamber of Commerce of Liver-
pool took the lead in a movement based upon this
view. On September 30, 1901, a memorial was pre-
sented to the British Foreign Office protesting
against the concessionaire regime in the French
Congo, petitioning for an inquiry into its legality
under the Berlin and Brussels Acts, and urging the
British Government to insist on these Acts being
respected by the French.
A similar memorial was presented on October 22,
1 90 1, by the Manchester and Birmingham Chambers
of Commerce, and in December of the same year
delegates from ten British Chambers of Commerce
were received in audience by Lord Lansdowne, who,
according to the Paris Temps, acknowledged that
their grievances were well founded and promised
to do all in his power for those interested in the
question.
At that time West Africa, the journal of the
Liverpool Chamber of Commerce, renewed its cam-
paign against the Congo Free State, accusing its
administrators of being the principal sinners, inas-
much as the Free State's land system had been
copied in the French Congo and German East Africa.
Attitude of Europe and United States 45 1
In its issue of October 26, 1901, West Africa called
the Congo State fans et origo mali, and declared that
it was the Belgian clique which had drawn France
into the economic errors of its present system.
This campaign quickly assumed large proportions.
West Africa continued to wage war against the
French system of concessions and against the Congo
Free State, the latter being bitterly denounced as
the evil genius who conceived a land system which
supported the State without the assistance of large
revenue from the liquor trade or the presence of
intriguing foreign merchants.
In the hope of putting an end to the Anglo-French
difficulties in the Congo without raising questions of
principle, the Temps of December 29, 1901, sug-
gested that an amicable settlement be arranged be-
tween the French Government and the British
traders affected by the concessionaire system in its
West African Colony. By such arrangement, these
traders would have received compensation for their
loss. But, in a letter dated January 7, 1902, the
Temps' special correspondent in Liverpool warned
the French that such an expedient would not put a
stop to the agitation, and endeavoured to show in
its true light the campaign which was going on in
England
Meantime the Aborigines' Protection Society pur-
sued its old course of agitating something, anything,
so long as its secretary, freedom of speech, and the
attention of a Foreign Office combined to afford op-
portunity. The purely commercial grievances of
British traders who had been made to conform to
452 Story of the Congo Free State
Congolese law required new elements of support.
What could be of greater assistance to their com-
mercial schemes than the tearful work of the Abor-
igines' Protection Society of England, the new Congo
Reform Association of Liverpool, and their peculiar
methods of playing upon the credulity, sentimental-
ity, and the sympathies of susceptible and deluded
persons whose leisure sought occupation and new
interests? While the business brigade of the anti-
Congo campaign sought to enlist the aid of the
German Chambers of Commerce, the humanitarian
scouts developed the atrocity theme — not so much
against the French Power as against the Belgian
jngmy. Belgium and the Congo Free State cannot
resort to the arbitrament of that force which as a
last resort decides the contests of all nations.
The opportunity for attracting the co-operation of
commercial factions in Germany was greatly pro-
pitiated by the unfortunate Stokes incident. Stokes,
a British subject, once a missionary, had become an
itinerant trader, and came into the Congo State from
German East Africa, where he had established head-
quarters. His caravan was largely composed of
natives from German territory, and the goods they
carried for the purpose of barter were to a large ex-
tent of German manufacture. When Stokes was
caught, red-handed, bartering guns and ammunition
with the native enemies of the Free State for ivory
which they had unlawfully acquired, he was tried
and executed. This summary disposal of a trader
who had been undermining Belgian and native
security in the Congo met with vehement protests
Attitude of Europe and United States 453
in Germany as well as in England. Other factors
began to operate in favour of an Anglo -German
alliance against the Free State, not the least of
which was the apprehension felt in Hamburg, Bre-
men, and Berlin over the remarkable progress the
Belgians were making with their transport facilities,
whereby the trade of German East Africa was being
diverted to the Free State. For a time, therefore,
the German press joined the British in decrying the
Belgian Government in Central Africa. German
attacks upon the Congo State economic policy have,
however, been largely confined to interested mer-
chants or enlisted politicians. Herr von Bornhaupt,
Prince F. d'Arenberg, and Consul Vohsen have been
actively identified with German criticism of the
Congo State's policy, notwithstanding that Ger-
many, as shown in a previous chapter, has inaugur-
ated a land policy founded upon precisely the same
principles as those which prevail in the Belgian
Congo. The statement of Consul Vohsen that "the
Congo State's methods were diverting trade from the
German East African colonies," betrays, perhaps,
the only pretext upon which the criticism of German
merchants may rest.
Until recently the political attitude of certain
German statesmen toward the Belgian Congo has
been to bring about a revision of the Berlin Act of
1885. In announcing a desire to form an inter-
national league. Consul Vohsen said that its object
should be to induce the Powers party "to revise
the Berlin Act and to force the Congo State to re-
spect its provisions." Europeans suggest that the
454 Story of the Congo Free State
gentleman probably means, by this contradiction in
terms, that the real aim of England, Germany, and
France, working in secret combination against the
energetic little fellow with the biggest part of Central
Africa, is to come to an understanding which will on
the part of England realise the prophetic utterance
of Mr. Cecil Rhodes ' and the ambitions of Lord
Cromer and Sir Reginald Wingate in the Cape to
Cairo schemes; on the part of Germany, establish a
new western frontier for German East Africa; and
on the part of France, the final adoption of definite
settlements in the Soudan and on the east and south
banks of the Congo River. In short, the million
square miles of immensely rich territory lying within
the borders of the Congo Free State can, when rudely
wrested from the heroic pioneers of little Belgium,
be used by the three European Powers dominant in
Africa to enlarge the gouty, the bilious, and the
apoplectic tints of the African continent. That such
views are abundant throughout Europe, and that the
humanitarian pretext on the part of Congo enemies
is regarded with derision, is all too evident from the
columns of the leading continental journals. Euro-
pean editors have referred to the Congo debate in the
British Parliament on May 20, 1903, as a "Parlia-
mentary raid," and likened it to the Jameson Raid
in the Transvaal, which acted on the principle of
violating first, negotiating afterwards, but in the end
*In a speech delivered by Mr. Rhodes, in which he outlined his
scheme for linking Egypt with the Cape, he said that his measures, if
adopted, "will give to England Africa, the whole of it." (Boulger,
P- 373-)
Attitude of Europe and United States 455
bringing the whole subject within the pale of dispute,
speculation, and bargain.
As long ago as 1897, Belgian statesmen were con-
vinced that certain English statesmen, of whom Sir
Charles Dilke was foremost, had espoused the cause
of the commercial men of Liverpool and Manchester
with intent to settle upon a purpose of hostility
towards the Congo State. Whatever there may-
have been lacking to justify the Belgians in harbour-
ing this belief at that time, intervening events have
unfortunately confirmed them in their impression.
Belgians connected with the Congo administration
in Brussels still maintain what they said in 1897,
that "there was a set purpose to create for the
Congo State difiiculties both in Africa and in Europe,
to discredit it by magnifying isolated facts, and by
preparing, under the colour of philanthropy, the
moment when there could be produced the terri-
torial and financial designs concealed behind that
campaign. The plan is clearly traced. At the com-
mencement a feint is made that the sacrificed in-
terests of the native populations of the whole of
Africa is the cause they have at heart, and the idea
of a new conference is put forward. As soon as
this idea has appeared to germinate and public
opinion has been baited, it becomes a question of
the Congo State alone, and the division of its terri-
tories is boldly spoken of."
On March 2, 1903, Sir Charles Dilke asked the
British Government in the House of Commons
whether it intended taking steps to procure the
co-operation of the principal signatories to the Berlin
456 Story of the Congo Free State
Act with a view to suppressing abuses in the Congo
Free State. In reply the British Government stated
that it did not then contemplate taking steps in that
direction. On March 3rd, the Associated Chambers
of Commerce of Great Britain met and resolved to
press their grievances against the Congo State upon
the British Government. On the nth of the same
month Viscount Cranbourne declared that no ac-
tion would be taken to interfere with the Congo
State, as the British Government had no reason to
believe that slavery was tolerated by that State.
Then the Baptist Union threw in its weight on April
30th, and at a meeting held in London, denounced
the concessionaire system of the Free State and at-
tributed to that system all the cruelties alleged
against the State. Meantime the British press,
which reeked with stories of atrocities in the Belgian
Congo, had not a word to say against the French
Congo and that concessionaire system therein which
was the Belgian system carried to extreme. At a
meeting held in London on May 6, 1903, by the
Aborigines' Protection Society, W. H. Morrison, an
American Congo missionary, from Lexington, Vir-
ginia, having returned from a visit to Brussels,
where he had asked for and been refused land con-
cessions to which special advantages should attach,
delivered a series of complaints against the admin-
istration of the Congo Free State, and caused his
charges to be telegraphed to the press of Europe and
America. While in Brussels seeking extraordinary
land concessions, Mr. Morrison did not utter one
word of complaint against the local administration
Attitude of Europe and United States 457
of the Congo. On May 7th, a member of the House
of Commons again inquired whether a petition had
been presented from British Chambers of Commerce
or traders complaining that trading rights on the
Congo under the BerHn Act were not respected, and
what, if anything, the British Government intended
doing in regard to the matter. Finally on May 20,
1903, the House of Commons, pressed by organised
British commercial interests, passed the following
resolution :
Resolved, That the Government of the Congo Free State
having, at its inception, guaranteed to the Powers that its
Native subjects should be governed with humanity, and that
no trading monopoly or privilege should be permitted within
its dominions, this House requests His Majesty's Government
to confer with the other Powers, signatories of the Berlin
General Act by virtue of which the Congo Free State exists,
in order that measures may be adopted to abate the evils
prevalent in that State.
On August 8, 1903, Lord Lansdowne addressed a
dispatch ' to the Powers signatory to the Berlin
Act, setting forth the grievances which had been
brought to the attention of his Government, and
suggesting that :
In these circumstances. His Majesty's Government con-
sider that the time has come when the Powers parties to the
Berlin Act should consider whether the system of trade now
prevailing in the Independent State is in harmony with the
provisions of the Act; and, in particular, whether the system
of making grants of vast areas of territory is permissible
under the Act if the effect of such grants is in practice to
create a monopoly of trade by excluding all persons other
* See Appendix.
45^ Story of the Congo Free State
than the concession-holder from trading with the natives in
that area. Such a result is inevitable if the grants are made
in favour of persons or Companies who cannot themselves use
the land or collect its produce, but must depend for obtaining
it upon the natives, who are allowed to deal only with the
grantees.
His Majesty's Government will be glad to receive any
suggestions which the Governments of the Signatory Powers
may be disposed to make in reference to this important ques-
tion, which might perhaps constitute, wholly or in part, the
subject of a reference to the Tribunal at The Hague.
Three of the Powers, the United States, Italy, and
Turkey, formally acknowledged receipt of the British
dispatch ; all maintained silence in respect of it.
On September 17, 1903, the Government of the
Congo Free State delivered its reply ' and, pursuing
the same course as the British Government had
followed, sent it to all the interested Powers. The
attitude of Europe concerning the issue thus joined
may be gathered from the silence of the Powers
signatory to the Berlin Act, and the press comment
which the two dispatches evoked. The Morning
Advertiser, London, a conservative organ, referring
to the British dispatch, said:
A weaker official document we do not ever remember to
have read. . . . The use of the word "alleged" in the
title of the document gives the key to its whole tone. The
note sets forth various "alleged" shortcomings of the Congo
Government, and then says, lamely:
"His Majesty's Government do not know precisely to what
extent these accusations may be true."
Surely this is a very serious matter — to accuse the Adminis-
tration of a friendly State of inhumanity and "systematic
*See Appendix.
Attitude of Europe and United States 459
oppression," and then to admit that we do not know whether
the accusations are true.
The leading article in the Times (London) of the
same day described the Congo State's reply as
"weak, inconclusive, and confused." While Lord
Lansdowne's note had been published in its en-
tirety, the longer reply on behalf of the Congo Free
State was accorded scant space in the British press.
From Black and White (London), November 21,
1903:
To pile Peliqn on Ossa in the way of accusation only to
encounter a rebuff by being non-suited, scarcely recommends
itself to the judgment as a course either dignified or statesman-
like. Yet in the present instance the fact that the English
Note remains without a single answer from the twelve States
to whom it was addressed three months after it was despatched,
shows beyond question the trend of Continental opinion.
In the Standard (London) of October 24, 1903, the
following utterance would imply a threat:
The Belgian Administration objects to submitting ques-
tions of internal government to arbitration, but it would do
well to remember that there is an alternative of a still more
unpleasant character.
On September 19th the Morning Advertiser (Lon-
don) has the following to say by way of insight into
British desires in Congoland:
Nearly twenty years have passed since a great Englishman
came through the Dark Continent and down the Congo, and
it has always seemed a strange thing to other Englishmen that
the great river of Central Africa should have remained ever since
under the domination of the smallest country in Europe.
460 Story of the Congo Free State
The general tone of the British press was in sup-
port of Lord Lansdowne's Note, and intolerant of
the Congo State's reply. On the Continent, the
weight of opinion favourably acknowledged the
force of the Congo State's reply. In France, Ger-
many, Austria, and Italy certain British journals were
severely criticised for suppressing the publication of
all evidence favourable to Belgian rule in Congo -
land, for dignifying the fulminations of E. D. Morel,
the penman of the merchants and shippers of Liver-
pool, the self-appointed coroner of the Congo, sitting
in judgment upon the disjecta membra which he so
luridly and so falsely portrays in the books which
the anti-Congo campaign incidentally serves to ad-
vertise. Brief quotations from the arguments of
M. Etienne, the French Deputy, have been set
forth in a previous chapter. Criticising the Lon-
don Times for its partisanship, the Depeche Coloniale
of October 16, 1903 stated editorially:
. . . We invite the great journal [London Times] of the
city to cease this chicanery which might discourage men whose
task in Africa demands the co-operation of every one. In this
task, in its success, we are all interested, and the fact of having
opened to commerce the immense territory of the Congo
should of itself spare Belgium the bitterness of misdirected
criticism.
In La Liberie (Paris) the editor, referring to the
Congo State's reply, says:
Now that we have before us the reply of the King of the
Belgians, we may say that we have reason from every point of
view to defend the Congo Free State against accusations as
d
at
S
Attitude of Europe and United States 461
stupid as they are prejudiced. England may definitely re-
nounce the hope that she had entertained of increasing her
colonial empire by means of puerile calumnies.
The Phare de la Loire:
We should not forget that a similar quarrel has been sought
for with us [the French]. French concessionaires have had
much trouble with two English houses — Holt & Company and
Hatton & Cookson [Liverpool] — whose agents had turned the
natives away jrmn French factories by offering them exorbitant
wages.
The General Anzeiger, October 30, 1903, is merely
quoted to indicate the violence to which criticism
of the British dispatch attained, not as a specimen
of sound Teutonic reasoning nor of temperate com-
mentary :
Truly, when reading this one hardly credits one's eyes.
Here is what the English Government, whose officials are al-
most without exception discredited by reason of their rude,
brutal, and often inhuman attitude towards natives; here
is what is written [sic] on the faith of pure colonial gossip,
of unauthenticated rumour. It is not ashamed to act thus —
this very Government whose cruelties in the last African war
are still too fresh in the memory. . . . It is impossible to
say whether this cynical fashion of acting is more striking
than the hypocrisy which makes us indignant. . . .
The Chronique (Belgium) of November 4, 1903,
contains an interview with M. Edmond Picard, ad-
vocate of the Belgian Court of Cassation, from which
the following is quoted:
The reply to the English Note drafted by the Independent
State of the Congo appears to me as nobly simple, and as
4^2 Story of the Congo Free State
proud in form as peremptory in substance. As for convinc-
ing the English ogre desirous of swallowing up the Belgian
Congo as it swallowed up the Transvaal and Orange State —
it would be ridiculous to hope for this. This people is as en-
thusiastic a brigand as a nation as it is honest and loyal in
the individual.
The Miinster Westphal, November 3, 1903:
The insatiable English greed claims a new prey. The two
Republics have been happily swallowed and digested. What
is to be served up now? That fine phrase, "British Africa
from the Cape to Cairo," has been recalled at the right mo-
ment, and it is remarked that the Congo State is still one of
the obstacles to the realisation of that phrase freely quoted
by our cousins. And hardly were the two Boer Republics
given up to British domination than commenced, at first a
little timidly, then with more effrontery and brutality, the
chase of the Congo State. A mass of trifles were then put
forward with incredible exaggeration; the pretext for the
agitation against the Congo State was given: "British Africa
from the Cape to Cairo," that is the objective of the anti-
Congolese. No one is deceived about it.
The Kleine Journal (BerHn), October 21, 1903,
contains the following admonition from the well-
known explorer, Eugene Wolf:
"The Germans to the front!" such has always been the cry
of the English when they have need of some one to take the
chestnuts out of the fire for them.
"The Germans to the front!" has also been the cry of the
English in the question of the Independent State of the Congo.
And in this matter also the English have found among us a
fool; for the aid which England has found in this Congolese
question quite needlessly exaggerated cannot come from the
heart of the German nation, but from the mouth of a member
Attitude of Europe and United States 463
of the German Colonial Society, inhabiting Berlin, making
himself of importance, and who, turning to account a residence
many years ago on the east and west coasts of Africa, invok-
ing his title as retired Consul, and his possession of a colonial
library, gives himself out as the spokesman authorised by the
nation in order to pass himself off on his own authority as
infallible in colonial matters. With the war cry : "The trade
of Germany is intercepted by the agents of the Independent
State of the Congo, and we must settle it!" this gentleman,
whose name is known to everybody, has made an attempt
which has evidently remained unfruitful of stirring up
Germany against Belgium and of disturbing the feelings of
good neighbourship and the commercial relations existing
between the two countries. The persons who have seriously
at heart the interests of the German colonies do not allow
themselves to be taken in by this trick. And if the Congo
State is governed in a more profitable fashion than our own
colonies, we must heed their example and imitate it. After
all, it is not only with the object of realising permanent
deficits that we have acquired our colonies.
The Corner e Toscano (Italy), October 31, 1903:
There is on the Congo as in every civilised country only
one justice ; blacks and whites are subject to the same laws,
and the State's motto, Work and Progress, is adopted and
followed by all with the greatest ardour.
Finally the views of some of the leading journals
of the United States, manifestly free from bias,
founded on self-interest, may be interesting.
The Evening Transcript (Boston).
The Congo Administration has not waited for any com-
mission of inquiry to sit. It has already replied fully to the
charges brought against it, but no reply will silence its
accusers. They want the Congo's riches, not its King's de-
4^4 Story of the Congo Free State
fence, and will continue clamouring until the utter futility of
their shouting threats at Leopold is brought home to them.
Already they have prepared a map, a copy of which is before
me as I write, of the Free State of the Congo partitioned out
as they wish. The districts to be offered as bribes to France
and Germany are duly marked on it, but they are small. The
plotters do not hide their hands, they show clearly that Eng-
land, and England's puppet Egypt, is to take the lion's share.
This, which I have related, accounts for the tumult of
popular opinion in England, always easily stirred up by such
tales. Multitudes, misled by the cheap, if genuine, sympathy
felt with the oppressed, join unthinkingly in the cries against
the Congo.
From the New York Press:
Those missionaries who are urging the United States Gov-
ernment to interfere in the quarrel between the British and
the Congo Governments doubtless mean well, but they fail to
offer any valid reason why this country should entangle itself
in a matter in which it has no especial interest. The British
Government has demanded, and the Belgian Government has
conceded, all reasonable protection and privileges for the
missionaries labouring in Congoland.
The other demands of the British with regard to the basin
of the great African river are not entirely devoid of a tinge
of self-interest, and it would be entirely improper for the
United States to interfere at all in the matter. If an Ameri-
can missionary in the Congo is oppressed, or his treaty rights
as an American citizen in any way violated, the State De-
partment could and would interfere in that particular case,
but further than that the missionaries ought not to expect
this country to go. Missionaries, while most excellent and
self-sacrificing people, are not perfect, and one of their im-
perfections is that in all parts of the world they are a little too
anxious to bring about the interference of their home Power
in the affairs of the Government in whose territory they are
labouring.
Attitude of Europe and United States 465
The Public Ledger (Philadelphia), October 26,
1903:
The acquisition by Great Britain of the Congo State would
not only join her separate dominions, but would give her an
immense territory of the most wonderful wealth. Not only
so, but it would open to British Central Africa and Rhodesia
an outlet to the sea down the Congo, and give even the Trans-
vaal a chance of trading with England through a port on that
great river, saving 2000 miles of the sea voyage to London.
English horror at Belgian mismanagement of Congoland is
easily understood in the light of these facts. Does any one
imagine that the British conscience would be so sensitive
about cruelties alleged to have been committed in lands not
contiguous to British territory, and not extremely desirable
as annexations? The crime of King Leopold is that he has
developed a colony which England wants.
Sufficient has been quoted to indicate that the
silence of the Powers in regard to the British dispatch
of August 8, 1903, was fairly interpreted by the
press of Europe. The meaning of that silence is
unmistakable. British ministers having been mis-
led to undertake a serious diplomatic act which was
admittedly based on commercial grievance and un-
proved accusations, it now became necessary to
]:)ack up the charges contained in Lord Lansdowne's
dispatch by something seemingly more tangible than
the complaints of persons peculiarly interested in
doing mischief to the Government of the Congo
Free State. It is the British view that the official
report of Mr. Roger Casement, British Consul at
Boma, in the Congo Free State, dated December 11,
1903, four months after the Powers had been appealed
to, supplied the necessary confirmation of all that may
466 Story of the Congo Free State
have been lacking to justify the precipitate diplo-
matic act of August 8th which had met with rebuff.
The report ^ and enclosures of Consul Casement
would occupy approximately one hundred and
eighty pages of this volume. It is an interesting
account of a brief journey on the Upper Congo dur-
ing a period of two and a half months, most of which
was spent in the Equatorial district. The report
contains many paragraphs in praise of the wonderful
changes wrought by the Belgians in the Congo during
the last twenty years. There are other passages in
the report which condemn the land and concession-
aire system of the State. Enclosed in the volumin-
ous document are statements from Protestant
missionaries and certain natives concerning alleged
atrocities. As the official reply of the Government
of the Congo Free State, brief as it is, deals fairly
and fully with the essential allegations in Mr. Case-
ment's report, it has been set out in full in the
Appendix.
In T 0-Day (London), December i6, 1903, Mr.
John Henderson, an experienced traveller who had
visited the Congo to ascertain for his journal the true
state of affairs under Belgian rule in the Free State,
wrote the following amongst other interesting com-
ments on Consul Casement's Report:
I suggest that we should be careful in our condemnation of
the methods of the Congo Government. The agents of the
State are subject to perils and dangers unheard of, undreamed
of by the people in comfortable Britain — the climate, the con-
dition of living, and the natives combine to make life always
^Africa, No. i, 1904.
Attitude of Europe and United States 467
uncertain, and at times absolutely terrible. In Europe, or
the West Indies, or Australia, or in any fairly salubrious
country, the methods of Free State agents as pursued in
Congoland might be judged barbarous, but it is impossible to
judge the methods of the peoples of all countries and climates
by one standard of ethics.
For my part, I shall hesitate to praise or blame the Congo
State by this report alone. I have little doubt that some of
the facts Mr. Casement will bring forward will be extremely
shocking (while in the Congo I was several times shocked
myself), but these reports of excesses will not prejudice me
for or against the State. If Mr. Casement will furnish us with
reports which will show us the exact conditions prevailing
among the other West African districts — the French Congo,
the Portuguese Congo, German West Africa, Nigeria, and the
Gold Coast — then I shall hope to arrive at a more or less
correct understanding of the matter. Cruelty and excess un-
doubtedly exist in the Congo Free State, but my experience
in Congoland taught me that those guilty of any crime who
come before the notice of State agents were severely punished.
To carry on the anti -Congo campaign in the
United States, the Congo Reform Association of
Liverpool has established headquarters at Boston.
Its organisation includes a secretary, pamphleteers,
press writers, and Protestant missionaries. It prints
and sends broadcast to the press of America a
weekly "News Letter," composed of articles de-
signed to intensify agitation against the Belgians in
the Congo. It is sagaciously understood by its sup-
porters that one missionary with imagination and
glib speech, turned loose on society in America or
Europe, can make more noise, effect more mischief,
do more to prostitute Christian work in foreign
lands, than twenty earnest, patient, toiling, praying
468 Story of the Congo Free State
missionaries can accomplish for humanity by mind-
ing God's work in the dark heart of Africa. That
concession - seeking, commercially - inclined Congo
missionaries should be enabled to gratify their de-
sire for notoriety after the fashion of the Congo
coroner, Mr. Morel, and gain the slightest connection
with American Missionary Societies, is only to be
accounted for by the large financial support which,
having prevailed in England, may be presumed to
lie back of the campaign in America. There are
certain phases of the Congolese question since 1897
by which even a disinterested observer is deeply
impressed. The large financial support and the
numerous agencies it employs is one of them.
So far the attitude of the American press has been
eminently disinterested. Its leading journals have
shown a keen insight into the motives which under-
lie a campaign that has been overdone to the dis-
gust of all fair-minded observers. There is, in all
colonies, whether under British, German, American,
French, or Belgian rule, ample opportunity for
criticism. There is, on the other hand, even greater
opportunity for help and co-operation. The de-
moralising story of British Lagos is alone sufficient
to make British criticism of every other nation's
colonies pusillanimous. Acts of cruelty by natives,
foreigners, or by State servants are in violation, not
in consequence, of the Congo State's system of
government. For such infractions of the law the
individual, not the State, is responsible. But when
the support of a British colony is derived from a
debasing traffic in alcohol for whose existence the
Attitude of Europe and United States 469
home Government is directly responsible, that Gov-
ernment should not assume the grotesque position
of custos morum of Africa.
The Lagos Standard, reputed to be favourable to
the British Government, referring to the Colony's
revenue for 1 901 -1902, says:
It would appear that the chief and ruling tendency of the
successive administrations has been to draw from the Colony
the fullest possible revenue, the greater part of which is spent
in salaries of the officials. Every effort has been made in that
direction, and no resource that ingenuity can appeal to was
spared in order to reach that purpose. . .
The revenue derived from import duties on spirits, gin,
rum, alcohol, whisky, reached 65.53 % of the total revenue
of the Colony.^ To this add the licences for the sale of spirits, -
which brings up the contributive share of spirits in the bud-
get's receipts to 67.53 %. . . .
Alcohol is the great staple of trade. By visiting Lagos,
one would be inclined to believe that it is practically the only
commodity. Everywhere on the huge quay, extending sev-
eral miles, where large business houses are established, on
their wharfs, in their warehouses, are accumulated heaps of
green cases and pyramids of demijohns of gin and rum. All
the important stores have the same signboard, bearing in
large letters the words. Wholesale Spirit Merchants, and from
morning to night, every day of the week, there is on the
lagoon a continual traffic of large steamers coming in to dis-
charge their cargo and leaving empty. On the quay there is
a continual movement of black porters carrying cases of
spirits on their heads, which they either pile up by thousands
in the warehouses, or remove them therefrom in order to
load the boats, which are powerful launches of the native
traders who spread the poison all over the markets of the
villages alongside the lagoon and its affluents.
> Message of the Governor to the Legislative Council, February 26,
1903, p. 9. ' Blue Book, 1902, p. 21.
470 Story of the Congo Free State
The quality of these horrible goods has been too often
described to render it necessary to revert to the subject.
Their price says sufficient: 4^d. per litre, bottle and pack-
ing included! The Government analyst found them to con-
tain extremely strong poisons known under the name of
fusel oils, in the enormous proportion of from 1.46 to 4.31 %
of the weight.' Is it to be wondered at that after absorbing
several bottles of this poisonous liquor, the drinker should be
overcome by a sort of madness? Is it to be wondered at that
criminality is on the increase, that the birth rate is on the
decrease, that this magnificent race of Yoruba agriculturists
is speedily degenerating?
Where Europe, whose interests in Africa are
material as well as moral, has not seen fit to join a
British traders' campaign against a small neutral-
ised State, it would seem that the United States
Government could not be led into action on the pre-
text that its recognition of a friendly Government in-
vested it with police powers over the internal affairs
of the State so recognised. "Territory" and "com-
merce" are the tightly furled, secretly carried banners
of the raid upon the Congo State. This exagger-
ated humanitarian solicitude for the African black is
purely pretence. By its hypocrisy, falsehood, and
disputative vulgarisation, the movement, instead of
remedying what evils exist in all African colonies,
is made utterly puerile. By such vituperative fan-
faronade as the following, rational minds are made
to turn from the subject in disgust: ^
Of such is the kingdom of Congo.
The tale is told — the tale of " King Leopold's rule in Africa."
I Message of the Governor, p. 8. * E. D. Morel.
Attitude of Europe and United States 471
A piratical expedition on a scale incredibly colossal. The
perfection of its hypocrisy ; the depth of its low cunning ; its
pitiable intrigues ; the illimitableness of its egotism ; its moral
hideousness ; the vastness and madness of its crimes — the
heart sickens and the mind rebels at the thought of them.
A perpetual nightmare reeking with vapours of vile ambi-
tions — cynical, fantastic, appalling. A tragedy which ap-
pears unreal, so unutterably ghastly its concomitants, but the
grimness of whose reality is incapable of superlative treat-
ment. Destroying, decimating, degrading, its poisonous
breath sweeps through the forests of the Congo. Men fall
beneath it as grass beneath the scythe, by slaughter, famine,
torture, sickness, and misery. Women and children flee from
it, but not fast enough, though the mother destroy the un-
born life within her that her feet may drag less heavily through
the bush.
There has been nothing quite comparable with it since the
world was made. The world can never see its like again.
Sufficient that it exists, that each month, each year, the
terror of this Oppression grows, immolating fresh victims,
demanding new offerings to minister to its lusts, spreading in
ever wider circles the area of its abominations.
After that, what can one say or do except to ap-
preciate one's sense of humour, and the lack of it
in a zealot? A tower of babel on a pile of words!
CHAPTER XXXVII
SUMMARY, RETROSPECT, AND PROPHECY
THE rise and progress of the Congo Free State
marks a unique page in modern history. The
boldness of the State's conception, the ap-
parent hopelessness of its early conditions in a
region unspeakably savage and barbarous, its grad-
ual evolution under the magic touch of a master
hand; the horrifying vicissitudes of its bloody re-
demption from the accursed slave -raider, and finally
its admission into the society of independent nations,
constitute a set of circumstances unparelleled in the
history of the world. The span of its life from a
wilderness to a self-supporting and prosperous State
is about twenty-five years. Its rapid evolution was
at first watched with sneers and derision. During
the last ten years it has been the object of the hostile
vigilance of those whose early regard had been scorn.
Young as it is, a considerable literature already ex-
ists descriptive of the infant State. This literature,
however, is very unsatisfactory, being for the most
part bitterly partisan, either perceiving no good
point at all in King Leopold's rule, or regarding that
rule as a perfect thing in which no improvement is
possible. Neither attitude is just. And this may
be said not only of the Congo Free State and its ir-
472
Summary, Retrospect, and Prophecy 473
resolute and disappointing African neighbours, but
of States whose civiHsation is the pride of our own
times.
There have been error and crime on the Congo as
there have been error and crime on the Thames and
the Hudson. Savages left the banks of the Thames
nearly eighteen hundred years ago. The white man
came and refined their cruelties in a thousand ways
now practised by civilisation behind the curtain and
the padded door.
The aboriginal black cannibal still occupies the
banks of the Congo. But his nature, so recently in
its savage state, is manifesting great change. He is
on his knees in the mission chapel; the song of the
White Fathers and the Sisters of Mercy inspires in
him the rude awakening of new emotions. His own
voice abandons the war-cry and makes its fervid,
untaught plea to the white man's God.
On the Congo, religion is perforce a plain, sincere,
and a comforting thing. It is taught by a small,
earnest band of men and women whom the epithets
of the flaccid, arm-chair colonising hero will not dis-
turb. These rugged Christian teachers pursue their
lowly, patient work to please God — not Liverpool.
On the Congo, the gospel knows nothing of the
elaborations of insincerity, sophistry, and cant. It
finds the soul of the black man in a patient and a
[practical way by instructing his body in the habits
of honest toil, of cleanliness and decency, and by
developing an intelligence to supersede his savage
instinct.
The results of only twenty years' guidance in this
474 Story of the Congo Free State
direction are manifest to-day. They have placed
the Negro in the midst of the uncovered wealth of a
vast and fertile country ; of waterways teeming with
traffic; of a magnificent forest stored with rubber;
timber of great variety, ivory, oil, and fruit; of
promising fields of coffee, cotton, cocoa, tea, and
sugar; deposits of gold, copper, coal, and iron. This
short era of civilisation has created in the Congo
over four hundred commercial houses doing a thriv-
ing business with Europe; built railways over
mountain routes where only Belgian engineers and
Belgian capital had the courage and the skill to
venture. In the midst of it all the black man's
hands and acquired energy have provided him with
new value to himself and to the State. He is at the
plough, on the cart and the railway, on the wharf
and upon the road and the farm, in the shop and
factory, learning the uses of the white man's im-
plements of labour, and imitating his enlightened
ways. Industry and order, Christianity, civilisa-
tion, and material progress have succeeded tribal
wars, cannibalism, and the horrible atrocities of the
slave chase. This has been achieved by the brawny
men of Belgium in less than twenty years.
The smug men of the study, untra veiled in re-
gions wilder than Westminster, St. Albans, or Liver-
pool, are as incompetent to judge of civilisation in
Congoland as are the Manyema of the lack of it on
Park Lane, in London. Their beautiful theories of
civilising the African Negro with illuminated manu-
scripts, florid dissertations on the Berlin Act, and
freedom of (alcoholic) commerce, constitute a pyra-
Summary, Retrospect, and Prophecy 475
mid of fustian with but a single thought starring
its apex — Empire.
While the English campaign against the Congo
Administration was confined to nebulous libels, pro-
ceeding for the greater part from wrangling mission-
aries and aggressive traders, it was the policy of that
Administration, conscious of its own rectitude, to
ignore the attacks made upon it. In light of sub-
sequent events, the wisdom of that course appears
open to question. Did not one of England's poets
observe that a lie seven times repeated without being
challenged acquires the force of truth ? Some of the
fiction concocted by enemies of the Congo Free State
has been so industriously reiterated by so many
different agents of English traders that, collectively,
the British Government could no longer refuse to
give ear to their vapourings. Whether the British
Government did so willingly or unwillingly is another
story. What has been the outcome of that Govern-
ment's acquiescence in the demands of the slanderers
of the Congo Free State the world now knows. Mr.
Roger Casement was sent to the Free State, where
he traversed ground carefully mapped out for him,
and interviewed natives specially instructed in their
parts by the persons whose agitation had occasioned
his mission. The result was precisely what might
have been expected, and that without impeachment
of Mr. Casement's integrity — an inaccurate and par-
tial report. That report, magnified, distorted, garbled,
has afforded material for the enemies of the Congo
Free State upon which they have not yet ceased to
work. The refutation of all its more important pro-
47^ Story of the Congo Free State
nouncements will probably not disconcert Mr. Case-
ment's believers in the least, as they are immune to
the logic of facts. Nevertheless, the Sovereign of
the Congo Free State, in order that the world may
not accept as a thing against which no defence can
be made the judgment passed upon his rule by the
cliques banded together to embarrass or overthrow
it, in July, 1904, resolved to send a special com-
mission to the Congo to inquire into the atrocities
alleged to have been committed.
The Committee of Inquiry appointed by King Leo-
pold consists of the following members: (i) M. Jans-
sens, Advocate-General of the Supreme Court of
Belgium, president; (2) Baron Nisco, Judge of the
Court of Appeal at Boma, and (3) Dr. De Schu-
macher. M. Janssens, who as Advocate -General
holds the second highest judicial office in Belgium,
is a Belgian; Baron Nisco is an Italian, and Dr.
Schumacher is a Swiss. Assisting these three heads
of the mission are MM. De Neyn and Gregoire and
Professor Dupont, all of whom are Belgians. These
gentlemen constitute a Court of Inquiry, and their
instructions are to investigate closely every detail
of Congo administration, and to examine on oath
every person who may be able to give evidence of a
nature valuable to the commission. The testimony
of missionaries and traders is now being taken, and
the committee will see to it that they obtain the
evidence of the heads of British and American, as
well as of Belgian, French, German, and Italian
missions. The investigations are being held in many
parts of the State. The committee is to travel
Summary, Retrospect, and Prophecy 477
throughout the country into all the districts covered
by Mr. Casement in his recent tour of inspection, be-
sides visiting many places Mr. Casement never saw.
In brief, the committee is to hold inquiry wherever
evidence can be obtained. Where native witnesses
give evidence of a nature prejudicial to white men,
the committee will see that such witnesses are pro-
tected from the possibility of suffering at the hands
of officials against whom they may bear witness.
The Government of the Congo holds itself respon-
sible for the safety and well-being of such witnesses.
On this latter point King Leopold has expressed
himself in the strongest possible terms. Inquiries
are to be held publicly, open to all. The committee
has the right to compel witnesses to appear before
it. A general instruction to the committee asks
for a report laying bare absolutely the condition of
the rule in the Congo to-day, and enjoins it to devote
all its efforts to a full and entire revelation of the
truth. The duration of the stay of the Committee
of Inquiry in Congoland is limited only by the
exigencies of its task. The committee sailed from
Southampton, in the Belgian SS. Philippeville, on
September i6, 1904, and arrived at Boma early in
October.
Such are the constitution, powers, and purpose of
the Committee of Inquiry now at work in the Congo
Free State. It is almost unnecessary to record that
the committee has already been denounced by the
enemies of the State on ever}^ conceivable ground.
"A farcical commission" and "a bogus inquiry" are
two of the descriptions which have been applied to
478 Story of the Congo Free State
it. That indefatigable meddler, Mr. H. R. Fox
Bourne, who writes contemptuously of Stanley and
his work, objected to Dr. Schumacher's presence on
the committee on the ground that he is a brother of
King Leopold's private secretary. On its being
pointed out that Dr. Schumacher is nothing of the
kind, Mr. Fox Bourne retracts his assertion, and
substitutes another equally unfounded. Upon this
second statement being questioned, Mr. Fox Bourne
withdraws that also, and falls back upon his com-
plaint that the members of the Committee of
Inquiry will be paid for their labours. Such conten-
tions are simply fatuous. Does not the Aborigines'
Protection Society pay Mr. Fox Bourne for his
labours ?
During the few years in which the Belgians have
been criticised for their progressive rule in the Congo,
the Belgian people have heartily co-operated with
their King in his long and arduous work. There
has been, however, a small but active section in the
Belgian Chamber spasmodically opposed to the
Congo, and to any other expansion of territory,
influence, or market, on the part of Belgium. This
set of politicians, acting in suspicious harmony with
the foreign enemies of the Congo State, have been
exploited by the latter as representing the attitude
of the Belgian people. To carr}^ out this deception,
certain foreign papers, peculiarly interested in the
affairs of Liverpool merchants with African schemes,
publish the speeches of this disloyal minority, and
suppress the addresses of Baron de Favereau, Min-
ister of Foreign Affairs, Count de Smet de Naeyer,
Summary, Retrospect, and Prophecy 479
Minister of Finance and Public Works, and other
Belgian statesmen. In a masterly arraignment of
those members of the Chamber who have been hos-
tile to Belgium in this respect, these gentlemen, by
their speeches in Parliament, inspired the organisa-
tion, in July, 1903, of a federation composed of
religious, commercial, industrial, social, and scien-
tific societies throughout Belgium. This large and
representative bod}^ is known as The Federation
for the Defence of Belgian Interests Abroad. Its
short address, presented to President Roosevelt in
October, 1904, has already been referred to. In a
speech made at a meeting of the societies allied to
the Federation, General Baron Wahis, President of
the Brussels African Club, and Governor-General
of the Congo Free State, eloquently contrasted the
condition of the Central African tribes twenty years
ago with their improved state to-day. Baron
Wahis and Vice -Governor-General Fuchs are men
on the spot. Their long experience on the Congo
invests their statements with authority. In the
address referred to. Baron Wahis narrated the fol-
lowing graphic picture of Congolese conditions two
decades ago.
Let us see in what position these peoples were before the
formation of the State, and what is their position now.
In tlie Lower Congo, close to the sea, there was one locality
which already possessed some importance, viz., Boma. Be-
fore the first expedition of the State landed at Boma there
were at that point some commercial liouses. For a long
period they derived their profits from the sale of slaves;
later, they obtained their chief profits from the sale of alcohol,
480 Story of the Congo Free State
and, accessorily, of the products of the soil. The traders
carried on a more or less prosperous business according to
their strength and courage. They made expeditions into the
interior, and frequently burnt native villages for not bringing
in at fixed periods the expected quantities of palm nuts and
other products. Their staff of labourers was composed of
slaves upon whom they inflicted torments for the least in-
fraction of their orders. These punishments had no limit.
It is related, and the fact is not open to doubt, that during
the time of which I am speaking there were once found in the
waters of Boma the corpses of thirty blacks attached to one
chain. The chain bore the name of "Olivares," but it was
alleged, and probably with good reason, that the perpetrator
was not Olivares, that the chain had been stolen from him.
The name of the person really guilty of this horrible crime
was mentioned, and it was represented as the consequence
of a mutiny by the staff of a factory. That was the kind of
administration to which the blacks were subjected, under the
eyes of Europe it may be said, seeing that ships of war had
easy access to Boma.
Higher up, in the present district of the Cataracts, the
population was in part subject to the Negro king of San Sal-
vador. Read the book of Mr. Bentley, an educated English
missionary, who has been in Africa thirty years, and who
saw the administration under which the natives lived when
he arrived there. He expresses his admiration for the enor-
mous progress which has been made, so far as the protection
of the blacks goes, since they came under the government of
the Congo State. Why are not the statements of this ster-
ling man, so eminently competent in all questions relating to
the protection of the blacks, quoted? . . .
But whatever may be said to the contrary, the system
adopted by the Government of the Independent State is more
equitable than any other system whatever, and imposes upon
the natives a minimum of taxes. Each man's tribute is very
small. In certain regions where the rubber is abundant, he
can gather in one day the tax that is required of him for a
month. Besides the work thus performed by the natives
Summary, Retrospect, and Prophecy 481
being remunerated, their households find themselves in pos-
session of some supplementary resources. The desire to add
to their well-being increases each day.
Let us hope that the policy established by the Congo State
in this respect will not be changed. The strong black races
which cover many parts of its territory will acquire the habit
of regular work, in place of their primitive idleness. There
will result from this what has resulted in countries long
civilised. The countries in which people know how to work
are strong, and in the van of progress. Such a future seems
to me reserved for the Congo State if it perseveres in its
present course.
The story of the Congo Free State offers great
opportunity for speculation and for prophecy. Tak-
ing a broad view of the opinion prevalent in Europe
and the United States, the conclusion that Great
Britain seeks to acquire important territory in Cen-
tral Africa is inevitable. This theory of the anti-
Congo campaign is strenuously denied by all un-
official persons engaged in that campaign. And
yet there are unmistakable signs that of the many
theories so industriously exploited, British acquisi-
tion of the keystone of African territorial possession
seems to be most in line with the history of British
methods of expansion. The Free State is one -third
the size of the United States. It lies squarely
across the heart of Africa, with an outlet to the sea
on the West Coast which brings it many miles and
many days nearer European markets. It separates
the British African Empire, — the Soudan and the Nile
country adjoining the Free State on the north, from
the Cape and the Boer war territorial acquisitions on
the south. It is as if the Louisiana Purchase, owned
4^2 Story of the Congo Free State
by a small country, say Portugal, divided the United
States. One might dwell long and interestingly
upon the political possibilities of such a rich country
and its great waterways separating the energies of
the east and the west in our country's social, politi-
cal, and strategic solidarity. The British and the
Germans appreciate the vast possibilities of the
great African Continent. While the former expands
its territory by costly wars, the latter, by adapting
its methods to suit the native populations, encom-
passes the African market. While the former per-
sists in imposing its ancient, crude, and ineffectual
methods of colonial development, the latter, more
modern, more direct, more flexible, is gaining trade
and influence which might belong to intelligent
British rule. The palsied arm and the obsolete
method of regeneration, prevalent in the territories
devastated by the Boer war, illustrate the incom-
petency of the present generation of British colo-
nisers. Their failures are multiplying. It is the
old story of worship of the Past, confusion in the
Present, misconception of the Future.
The growth of the Congo Free State has from the
first been skilfully directed by clever men of thought
and action. Now that the transformation is com-
plete, and what but three short decades ago was the
very heart of savagery has become a valuable com-
mercial and political asset, the forcible ejectment
from the African Continent of the authors of all this
good is openl}'- discussed ! Such is the reward which
it is proposed should be meted out to the gallant,
self-sacrificing little nation which has replaced the
m
Summary, Retrospect, and Prophecy 483
horrors of barbarism by the blessings of civilisation,
and incidentally discovered vast material wealth.
After disposing of the Belgian African possession,
that international x^igmy, Portugal, occupying Dela-
goa Bay to the obvious chagrin of Britain, will be
served with the long-expected writ of ejectment.
These little fellows in Africa will have but one choice
of leaving — by the door or by the window. Will the
world tolerate such iniquity? — an iniquity of the
baser sort, veiled with specious pretence. Much
depends upon the attitude of the American people —
youngest of the great nations, herself too recently
emerged from the trials and tribulations which beset
every newly created State not to discriminate be-
tween greed and hypocritical pretence on the one
hand and conscientious well-doing on the other.
APPENDIX
485
APPENDIX
TREATY OF VIVI
M. August Sparhawk, agent of the International Expedition of the
Upper Congo, acting in the name and for the account of the Comite
d'Etudes, of the Lower Congo, and Vivi Mavungu, Vivi Mku, Ngusu
Mpanda, Benzane Congo, Kapita, have come together the 13th of
June, 1880, at the station Vivi, in order to discuss and to decide upon
ce'rtain measures of common interest.
After full examination they have arrived at the dispositions and
engagements which are embodied in the present treaty, to wit:
Article I. — The aforesaid chiefs of the district of Vivi recognise
that it is highly desirable that the Comite d' Etudes oi the Congo should
create and develop in their states establishments calculated to foster
commerce and trade, and to assure to the country and its inhabitants
the advantages which are the consequence thereof.
With this object they cede and abandon, in full property, to the
Comite d' Etudes the territory comprised within the following limits:
To the west and north and east the left banks of the river Lulu, and
to the south the districts of Kolu and Congo.
Art. II. — The chiefs of the district of Vivi solemnly declare that
these territories form an integral part of their states, and that they are
able freely to dispose of them.
Art. III. — The cession of the territories specified in the last paragraph
of Article I is consented to in consideration of a present represented by
the following articles and goods to each one: A uniform coat, a cap,
a coral necklace, a knife; and a monthly gift to Vivi Mavungu of two
pieces of cloth ; to Vivi Mku of one piece of cloth ; to Ngusu Mpanda,
one piece of cloth; to Benzane Congo, one piece of cloth; to Kapita,
one piece of cloth.
Art. IV. — The cession of the territory includes the abandonment by
them and the transfer to the Comite d'Eiudes of all sovereign rights.
Art. V. — The Com.ite d' Etudes engages itself e-xpressly to leave to the
natives the free enjoyment of the lands which they now cultivate to
supply their needs. It promises to protect them and to defend their
persons and their property against aggressions and encroachments,
487
488 Story of the Congo Free State
from whatsoever side, which shall attack their individual liberty or
shall seek to take away from them the fruit of their labours.
Art. VI. — The chiefs of the district of Vivi grant, besides, to the
Comite d' Etudes —
(i) The cession of all the routes of communication now open
or to be opened throughout the whole extent of their states. If the
Comite deems it proper it shall have the right to establish and levy
for its own profit tolls upon said routes, to defray the expenses incurred
in their construction. The routes thus opened shall embrace, besides
the routes properly so-called, a breadth of twenty metres right and
left therefrom. This breadth constitutes part of the cession, and shall
be, like the route itself, the property of the Comite d'Etudes.
(2) The right of trading freely with the natives who form part of
their states.
(3) The right of cultivating unoccupied lands; to open up the for-
ests; to cut trees; to gather india rubber, copal, wax, honey, and, gen-
erally, all the natural productions which are found there ; to fish in the
rivers and streams and water-courses, and to work the mines.
It is understood that the Comite can exercise the several rights men-
tioned in the third paragraph throughout the whole extent of the
states of the chiefs of Vivi.
Art. VII. — The chiefs of the district of Vivi undertake to unite
their forces to those of the Com,ite to repel attacks which may be made
by intruders, no matter of what colour.
The chiefs, not knowing how to sign, have put their marks, in the
presence of the witnesses hereafter designated and who have signed.
[Seal.] Aug. Sparhawk.
[Seal.] John Kickbright.
[Seal.] Frank Mahoney.
[Seal.] Geoffrey.
TREATY OF MANYANGA
During the palabre held at Manyanga the 12th of August, 1882, it
is agreed between the members hereinafter designated of the Expedi-
tion of the Upper Congo :
Dr. Edward Pechuel Loesche, chief of the Expedition;
Capt. Edmund Hanssens, chief of the division of Leopold-Manyanga ;
Lieut. Arthur Niles, chief of Manyanga;
First Lieut. Orban, deputy chief of Manyanga;
Edward Ceris, assistant of Pechuel, representing the Comite of the
Upper Congo;
and the chiefs hereafter named of Manyanga —
Makito, of Kintamba;
Nkosi, of Kintamba;
Appendix 489
Filankuni, of Kintamba;
Maluka, of Kintamba;
Kuakala, of Kintamba;
Mankatula, of Kintamba- Kimbiiku;
Luamba, of Kintamba;
In the name of their subjects.
Article I. — Hereafter the territory of Manyanga, heretofore be-
longing to the chiefs before cited, situated north and south of the river,
and bounded on the west by the stream Luseto, and by the stream
Msua Mungua on the east, shall be the sole property of the Comite
d'Eiudes of the Upper Congo.
Art. II. — The chiefs and their subjects, their villages, their planta-
tions, their domestic animals, and fishing apparatus shall be placed
under the protection of the Expedition.
Art. III. — In all political affairs of -the populations of the district
protected and acquired, their quarrels, differences, elections of chiefs,
shall be submitted to the decision of the member of the Expedition
who shall be present at the station.
If the people of Manyanga shall be attacked by neighbouring tribes,
the Expedition shall defend their women and children and their pro-
perty by all the means in their power. If the Expedition shall be
attacked by another tribe, the men shall be bound to defend the
station.
Art. IV. — In consequence of the rights acquired and protection
afforded, no stranger whatsoever can build or open a road or carry
on commerce in the territory of Manyanga.
Art. V. — At the request of the chief of the station, the chief of the
district shall put at his disposition the necessary number of labourers,
men or women, for the work of the station and the service of the
caravans.
Art. VI. — Besides the sum stipulated, which has been remitted in
goods to the assembled chiefs in payment for their territories, and for
which they have given a receipt, the chiefs shall receive monthly
presents on condition that they remain true friends and voluntarily
perform the services asked of them.
Art. VII. — The first chief of Manyanga, Makito, residing at Kin-
tamba, receives the flag of the Expedition, which he will raise in his
village in sign of the protection exercised by the Expedition.
[Here follow the crosses and signatures.]
TREATY OF LEOPOLDVILLE
29th of April, 1883.
We, the undersigned, chiefs of the district of N'Kamo, of Kuiswangi,
of Kimpe, and of all the districts extending from the river Congo to
490 Story of the Congo Free State
Leopoldville and to Ntamo, up to the river Lutess and the mountains of
Sama Sankori, have resolved to put ourselves, as well as our heirs and
descendants, under the protection and patronage of the Comite d' Etudes
of the Upper Congo, and to give power to its representative at Miamo
to regulate all disputes and conflicts that may arise between us and
foreigners of whatsoever colour, residing out of the district or territory
of N'Kamo, in order to prevent strangers, animated by wicked inten-
tions or ignorant of our customs, from exciting embarrassments or
endangering the peace and security and independence which we now
enjoy.
By the present act we also resolve to adopt the flag of the Comite
d'Etudes of the Upper Congo, as a sign for each and all of us that we
are under its sole protection.
We also solemnly and truly declare that this is the only contract we
have ever made, and that we .will never make any contract with any
European or African without the concurrence and agreement of the
Comite d'Etudes of the Upper Congo.
To the above resolution we freely put our marks.
Ngaliema, his X mark.
Makari, his X mark.
NuMBi, his X mark.
Manwale, his X mark.
Nyasko, his X mark.
TREATY WITH THE KING OF NIADI
STEPHANIEVILLE
Between, on the one side. Captain John Grant Elliott, commissioner
and representative of the Comite d'Etudes of the Upper Congo,
and, on the other hand, M'Wuln M'Boomga, King of Niadi, in
his own name, and in that of his heirs and successors, the following
contract has been made and signed in the presence of the wit-
nesses whose signatures are below given:
Article I. — The party first named engages himself to make to the
second party named above an immediate payment of 60 yards of save-
list, 20 pieces of superior stuffs, 8 pieces of ratteen stuff, and a keg of
powder. He, moreover, engages to make to the above-named party
of the second part, his heirs and successors, a m.onthly payment, which
shall commence in four months, with arrears from the date of this con-
tract, of four pieces of stuffs, and to continue always this payment, if,
in compensation therefor, the party of the second part, in his name
and in that of his heirs and successors, makes an absolute and imme-
diate sale of a certain portion of territory sketched further on, de-
Appendix 49 ^
scribed in Art. II., the territory selected by the first-named party, and
over which the flag of the Comite d' Etudes of the Upper Congo, that is
to say, a blue flag with a yellow star in the centre, has been raised.
Art. II. — The country ceded by the abov^e-named article is de-
scribed below, and accepted by the contracting parties. Captain John
Grant Elliott and the King.
1. Six miles towards the west, from the junction of the Niadi and
the Ludema, and following the banks of the Niadi (Niari).
2. Ten miles from the same confluence, towards the south, and
following the banks of the Ludema.
3. Ten miles towards the east, from the confluence above named,
and following the course of the Niadi (Niari).
4. Ten miles towards the south, from the same confluence, and
following the Ludema.
5. Ten miles to the north of the Niadi (Niari), on each side from
that point of the Niadi opposite the mouth of the Ludema, running
back five miles towards the north.
Grant Elliott,
wuln m'boomga.
Witnesses :
Von Shaumann,
Legat,
Destrain.
Other treaties, districts ceded, and stations created by the In-
ternational Association of the Congo, and which form the
chief places of the states possessed by this Association on
the Congo and on the Niadi Kwilu in the Year 1883.
Stations: Vivi, Isanghila, Manyanga, Lutete, Leopoldvillc, Msuata,
Bolobo, Rudolfstadt, Baudoinville, Franktown, Stanley Niadi, Step-
hanieville, Anvers, Gideemba, Lukolela, Equateur, Philippe ville, Bu-
langungu, Mboka, Mkula, Grantville, Massabe.
Treaties and Districts ceded: Vivi, Yellala, Sala Kidougo, Gan-
ghila, Sadika Banzi, Ingha, N'Sanda, Kionzo, N'Bambi M'bongo,
Talaballa, Issanghila, Ndambi M'bongo, M'Kelo, Fua na Sondy,
Konimovo M 'Bongo, Yanga, Kamsalou, M'binda, Sakali Boadi,
Tchouma Ranga, Tombukile, Ngoma, N'Zadi, Tchincala, Banza
ngombi, Manyanga, Bandanga, Banza, M'bou, Sello, Loufountchou,
Kimbanda, Ngombi, Leopoldvillc, Kimpoko, Kinshassa, Kintambou,
Souvoulou, M'bala, Woutimi (south), Woutimi (north), Msuata,
Bolobo, Matchibouga, Tchissanga, Kitabi, Zientu, Mongo, Franktown,
Goudou, Ganda, Fouindoukifout, Makouba Banga. Sitambe, Bieba,
Moyby, Matalila, N'Zombo, Ganda Kobombo, Mabuka, Chinnifor,
Mudenda, Nyangc, Lubu, Zoa, N'Gewlla Chunikonbo, M'Gwella,
Sangha, Charli, Mikasse, Moulangas, Mackanga, Ludema, Ungoonga,
Buconzo, Matenda, Tanga Dibiconga, Licarnga, Bumianga, Chibanda
N'Kuni, Kingi, Anversland, Buda, Towha, Gideemba, Sushwangi.
492 Story of the Congo Free State
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 26, 1884. — Ordered to be printed
Mr. Morgan, from the Committee on Foreign Relations, submitted the
following
REPORT
(To accompany S. Res. 68 and Mis. Doc. 59)
The Committee on Foreign Relations, to whom were referred Senate
Mis. Doc. No. 59 and Senate Joint Resolution 68, relating to the occu-
pation of the Congo Country, in Africa, have had the same under con-
sideration, and report a substitute for the same, and recommend its
passage.
The President, in his annual message to this Congress, expresses the
sentiment of the people of the United States on the subject of our
future relations with the inhabitants of the valley of the Congo, in
Africa.
Our attitude towards that country is exceptional, and otu" interest in
its people is greatly enhanced by the fact that more than one-tenth of
our population is descended from the negro races in Africa.
The people of the United States, with but little assistance from the
Government, have established a free republic in Liberia, with a con-
stitution modelled after our own, and under the control of the negro
race. Its area is 14,300 square miles; its population is about 1,200,000
souls; its commerce is valuable; its government is successful, and its
people are prosperous.
The necessity for a negro colony in Liberia was suggested by the
fact that slaves found in vessels captured for violations of the slave-
trade laws and treaties were required to be returned to Africa when
that was practicable, and it was impossible, and it would have been
useless and cruel, to send them back to the localities where they were
first enslaved. Humanity prompted certain private citizens of the
United States to organise the American Colonisation Society in aid of
the return of captured slaves to Africa and to find a congenial asylum
and home for negroes who were emancipated in the United States.
Henry Clay was, for many years, president of this association, and
assisted it with the influence of his great name and broad philanthropy.
The success of the Liberian colony has demonstrated the usefulness
of that system of dealing with a social question which is, to the people
of the United States, of the highest importance. It has also estab-
lished a recognised precedent in favour of the right of untitled indi-
viduals to found states in the interests of civilisation in barbarous
countries, through the consent of the local authorities, and it has given
Appendix 493
confidence to those who look to the justice of the nations for a restora-
tion of the emancipated Africans to their own country, if they choose
to return to it.
This great duty has, so far, been left entirely to the efforts of citizens
of the United States, and it has been supported almost exclusively by
their personal contributions. The governments of the world have
been slow even to recognise the state thus founded by the courage and
means of private citizens, but it is now firmly established in the family
of nations and is everywhere recognised as a free and independent
nation.
This pleasing history of progress, attended with peace and pro-
sperity in Liberia, has given rise to a feeling of earnest interest amongst
the people of the United States in the questions which arise from the
recent discovery by their countryman, H. M. Stanley, of the great
river which drains equatorial Africa. They rejoice in the revelation
that this natural highway affords navigation for steamers extending
more than half the distance across the continent, and opens to civilisa-
tion the valley of the Congo, with its 900,000 square miles of fertile
territory and its 50,000,000 of people, who are soon to become most use-
ful factors in the increase of the productions of the earth and in swell-
ing the volume of commerce.
The movements of the International African Association which,
with a statement of its purposes, are referred to in the letter of the
Secretary of State, appended to this report, are in the direction of the
civilisation of the negro population of Africa, by opening up their
country to free commercial relations with foreign countries.
As a necessary incident of this praiseworthy work, which is intended,
in the broadest sense, for the equal advantage of all foreign nations
seeking trade and commerce in the Congo country, the African Inter-
national Association has acquired, by purchase from the native chiefs,
the right of occupancy of several places for their stations and depots.
The property so acquired is claimed only for the association, which is
composed of persons from various countries, and it could not, there-
fore, be placed under the shelter of ajny single foreign flag.
From the time when the people of Christian countries began to ex-
port slaves from Africa, the custom grew up of locating "barracoons"
or slave depots along the African coasts and rivers, and they were each
placed under the shelter of the flag of the country to which the slave
merchants belonged. In this way certain settlements were made
along the shores of the Congo River as far inland as Yellalla Falls, and
were claimed and held under the protection of the respecti\'e flags of
the countries from which these traders came.
This was, generally, a mere personal ad\'enture, and had no relation
to any governmental authority of those covintries over the barracoons.
When this traffic took the shape of legitimate commerce with the
494 Story of the Congo Free State
natives, these places were called factories, and they gradually assumed
certain powers of self-government as their necessities required. Each
factory was independent of the control of all others, and established
for itself such regulations, having really the effect of laws, as were
necessary to protect life and property. To this day those settlements
are held in the same way, and while the governments, whose flags are
thus displayed over them, claim no sovereignty there, they do not
recognise the rights of their people at such places as entitling them to
protection, and they require their flags to be respected.
In some instances the native chiefs sold the lands on which the fac-
tories were situated, with the privileges of trade to foreign companies,
and these in turn sold them to persons of still other nationalities.
The African International Association established its stations, and
opened roads leading from one to another around the falls of the Congo
in the same way that the older factories had been established, with
the additional fact in their favour that their settlements were always
preceded by an open agreement with the local government in the form
of a treaty. A flag was as necessary for the purposes of their settle-
ment and as an indication of their right and to designate the places
under their control, as it was to the slave-traders, whose only advan-
tage is that they have been in possession a long time for the purposes
of nefarious traffic in slaves, while the Association has been in posses-
sion only a short time for the benign purposes of introducing civilisa-
tion into that country.
Having no foreign flag that they could justly claim, they adopted a
flag and displayed it, a golden star in a field of blue, the symbol of hope
to a strong but ignorant people, and of prosperity through peace. The
native people instinctively regarded that as the first banner they
had seen that promised them goodwill and security, and they readily
yielded to it their confidence.
There is no historical record to be found of such a rapid and general
assembling of separate and independent rulers under a banner that
was raised by the hands of strangers, as that which took place amongst
the chiefs and people of the Free States of the Congo. Within five
years from the time the banner of this Association was first displayed
on the Congo, its agents have made nearly one hundred treaties with
the chiefs of the different tribes in the Congo countrjr. In each of
these treaties there are valuable commercial agreements and regula-
tions touching law and order and certain delegations of limited powers,
all of which are intended for the better government of the country.
The powers are not ceded to a new and usiirping sovereignty seeking
to destroy existing governments, but are delegated to a common agent
for the common welfare. In the language of the first treaty, concluded
at Vivi June 13, 1880, and which is the plan after which nearly one
hundred subsequent treaties have been modelled:
Appendix 495
"The aforesaid chiefs of the district of Vivi recognise that it is
highly desirable that the Comite d' Etudes of the Congo should create and
develop in their states establishments calculated to foster commerce
and trade, and to assure to the country and its inhabitants the advan-
tages which are the consequence thereof.
"With this object in view they cede and abandon, in full property
(fee-simple) to the Comite d'Etudes, the territory comprised within the
following limits," etc.
A copy of this treaty is appended to the report of the committee.
If these local governments had the right to make these concessions,
so much sovereign power as they confer upon the African International
Association is entitled to recognition by other nations as justifying its
claim to existence as a government de jure. Or, if there is still a ques-
tion as to its sovereignty, affecting either its territorial extent or the
subjects as to which it may legislate, there is still enough of concert
amongst the native tribes, in placing themselves in treaty relations
with this Association, to warrant other nations in recognising its exist-
ence as a government de facto. In either case, it is our duty so to
recognise it, because its purposes, as avowed in those treaties, are
peaceful, and commend themselves strongly to the sympathies of our
people.
The golden star of the banner of the International Association re-
presents hospitality to the people and commerce of all nations in the
Free States of the Congo; civilisation, order, peace, and security to the
persons and property of those who visit the Congo country, as well as
to its inhabitants; and if, in the promotion of these good purposes, it
lawfully represents powers ceded or delegated to the Association by
the local governments necessary to make them effectual, it does not
thereby offend against humanity nor unlawfully usurp authority in
derogation of the rights of any nation upon the earth.
Powers asserted in good faith, and with a reasonable show of ability
to maintain them, even by rebels, within a state that denounces their
assertion as treasonable, are often recognised as being lawful, as well
in the interests of humanity, as to give to the alleged rebels an oppor-
timity to make good their pretensions by arms.
The history of our recent civil war discloses the recognition of the
belligerent rights of the Confederate States by all nations, including the
United States, which wholly denied the lawfulness of the acts of
secession which led to hostilities and denounced them as treasonable.
If the flag of the Confederate States could protect its armed citizens
against the penalties of piracy while destroying the ships and com-
merce of the United States, it would be diflficult to state a reason why
the flag of the International African Association should not protect
its ships from capture and condemnation while carrying on peaceful
commerce on the Congo. It would be still more difficult for any
49^ Story of the Congo Free State
Christian nation to assign a reason founded in the principles of inter-
national law why it should refuse to recognise this flag. The Congo
River has been for centuries, and is now, the common resort of the
ships and flags of all countries, and it requires a total change of the
political conditions in that country to destroy this right, and either to
declare the waters and shores of the Congo as being neutral territory
or as being under the sovereignty of any one or more of the foreign
nations.
These reasons, and others which appear in the papers appended to
this report, are a just and sufficient foundation for the declaration by
the United States which individualises the flag of the African Interna-
tional Association as a national flag, entitled to our recognition and
respect.
The precedents in our own history to justify our recognition of
states while in the process of early development are numerous and
conclusive. They are cited in the papers appended to this report, and
are sustained by many other references which show that in Europe,
Asia, and Africa civil power, exerted by commercial associations, and
by religious orders, and by propagandas of civilisation, and by groups
of Hospitallers, has owned large war fleets and raised armies, fought
great battles, levied taxes, and performed every function of govern-
ment. They did all this without claiming to possess sovereign power
as organised nations ; and they submitted themselves to the authority
of the state after they had prepared the country where they ruled for
that final act of establishment of sovereign power, and then they ceased
to exist.
It is not necessary to go further in order to find a justification of the
action suggested in the message of the President, and of the resolution
which the Committee on Foreign Relations recommend as a proper
means of carrying into effect this policy concerning the Free States of
the Congo.
It is, however, proper to make some examination of the alleged
claim of Portugal to the sovereignty of the mouth of the Congo, and
of the riparian country as far into the interior as the first falls of Yellalla.
Portugal's pretensions to this sovereignty are completely refuted
by the fact that it has not been heretofore acknowledged by the five
great powers whose flags have been flying for more than a century in
the country now claimed by that Government. On the contrary,
these powers have constantly refused to make any such concession on
all occasions since 1786, and some of them previous to that time.
The claim of Portugal, based on discovery of the mouth of the Congo
by Diego Cam in 1485, and by his having erected a monument on the
shore to testify to his landing there, only establishes its antiquity and
not its rightfulness under modern interpretations of the laws of
nations.
Appendix 497
If the laws of Christian nations give any effect to the discovery by
the subjects of a Christian power, of a country inhabited even by
savages, they also require that discovery shall be followed by continu-
ous subsequent occupation. If such occupation ceases, it is justly
considered as being abandoned, since the only foundation of reason or
of justice that can support the occupation of an inhabited country by
a foreign power is, that it is better that the savages should have the
advantages of Christian instruction and laws, than that they should
continue in darkness to rule the country in their own way. If, there-
fore, the Christian ruler should cease to occupy the country, it must
be considered that he abandons his duty, and, with it, the sovereignty
of the country.
Portugal did not exert continuous or exclusive authority on the
Congo for any great while; her possessions there, as well as those of
the other Christian powers, fluctuated with the supply of slaves, the
capture or purchase of which was the chief inducement to these settle-
ments. They all followed up the supply of slaves from the interior of
Africa, along the coast, according to its abundance, as the fishermen
visit different localities in search of better fishing grounds.
In 1786, disputes having arisen between France and Portugal, as to
the sovereignty of the latter over the mouth of the Congo, under the
mediation of the King of Spain, Portugal conceded the point that her
rights in that country were not exclusive. Since that time England
has repeatedly denied, in the most formal and solemn manner, that
Portugal had any sovereignty or suzerainty over the Congo country.
None of the great powers claimed such sovereignty for themselves,
nor have they conceded it to Portugal ; their occupancy has not been
such as implied any right to rule the country, but only such as was
necessary to carry on trade. That is equally free to all nations. In
the papers appended to this' (report, and especially in the valuable tes-
timony of Earl Mayo, based upon his personal observations in the
Congo country in 1882, we find the most conclusive proof upon all the
points above stated, and unquestionable evidence that Portugal's
northernmost boundary on the West Coast of Africa, south of the
Equator, for many years past, has been the river Loge.
The attitude of Great Britain towards the pretensions of Portugal
to the sovereignty of the Lower Congo has been that of decided, fre-
quent, and stern denial, accompanied with distinct orders to her fleets
to repel any advance of Portugal to assert her authority north of
Ambriz. This record, so repeatedly reaffirmed, is by no means changed
by the fact that Great Britain may now be ready to admit Portugal, in
alliance with her, to sovereign rights in the Lower Congo. Her change
of policy cannot change the facts, especially when Great Britain ob-
tains from Portugal the cession of Wydha in consideration that she
will acknowledge the rights of Portugal to the sovereignty of the Lower
49^ Story of the Congo Free State
Congo. Great Britain has also made treaties with fifteen tribes in the
Lower Congo country, paying no attention to Portugal's claims of
sovereignty there.
In like manner France has disregarded these pretensions, and has
made treaties with tribes north of the Congo. De Brazza, an enter-
prising explorer, went into that region of Africa as an agent of the
African International Association, and also as an agent of the French
Government, and was supported with money from the French treasury.
He made these treaties in the name of France, and the Chamber of
Deputies has ratified them. In view of these facts it can scarcely be
denied that the native chiefs have the right to make treaties. The
able and exhaustive statements and argtunents of Sir Travers Twiss,
the eminent English jurist, and of Professor Arntz, the no less distin-
guished Belgian publicist, which are appended to this report, leave no
doubt upon the question of the legal capacity of the African Interna-
tional Association, in view of the laws of nations, to accept any powers
belonging to these native chiefs and governments which they may
choose to delegate or cede to them.
The practical question to which they give an affirmative answer,
for reasons which appear to be indisputable, is this: Can independent
chiefs of savage tribes cede to private citizens (persons) the whole or
part of their states, with the sovereign rights which pertain to them,
conformably to the traditional customs of the country?
The doctrine advanced in this proposition, and so well sustained by
these writers, accords with that held by the Government of the United
States, that the occupants of a country at the time of its discovery
by other and more powerful nations have the right to make the treaties
for its disposal, and that private persons, when associated in such
country, for self -protection or self-government, may treat with the
inhabitants for any purpose that does not violate the laws of nations.
The following incidents, mentioned in Bancroft's History of the
United States, show how much we owe, as a people, to the early recog-
nition of these doctrines:
"MASSACHUSETTS
"One day in March, 1621, Samoset, an Indian, who had learned a
little English of the fishermen at Penobscot, entered the town, and,
passing to the rendezvous, exclaimed in English, 'Welcome, English-
men ! ' He was the envoy of Massasoit himself, the greatest commander
of the country, sachem of the tribe possessing the land north of Narra-
gansett Bay, and between the rivers of Providence and Taunton.
After some little negotiation, in which an Indian who had been carried
to England acted as interpreter, the chieftain came in person to visit
the Pilgrims. With their wives and children they amounted to no
more than fifty. He was received with due ceremonies, and a treaty
Appendix 499
of friendship was completed in few and unequivocal terms. Both
parties promised to abstain from mutual injuries, and to deliver up
offenders; the colonists were to receive assistance, if attacked; to
render it, if Massasoit should be attacked unjustly. The treaty in-
cluded the confederates of the sachem ; it is the oldest act of diplomacy
recorded in New England ; it was concluded in a day, and was sacredly
kept for more than half a century. " — (Bancroft's History of the United
States, p. 2IO.)
"The men of Plymouth exercised self-government without the sanc-
tion of a royal charter, which it was ever impossible for them to ob-
tain." — {Ibid., p. 213.)
"The attempt to acquire the land on Narragansett Bay was less de-
serving of success. . . . In 1 64 1 a minority of the inhabitants,
wearied with harassing disputes, requested the interference of the
magistrates of Massachusetts, and two sachems near Providence sur-
rendered the soil to the jurisdiction of that State." — {Ibid., p. 287.)
"providence plantations and RHODE ISLAND
"In June (1636) the law-giver of Rhode Island (Roger Williams),
with five companies, embarked on the stream; a frail Indian canoe
contained the founder of an independent State and its earliest citizens.
Tradition has marked the spring of water near which they landed.
To express unbroken confidence in the mercies of God, he called the
place Providence. . . . The land which he occupied was within
the territory of the Narragansetts. In March, 1636, an Indian deed
from Canonicus and Miantonomoh made him the undisputed possessor
of an extensive domain ; but he ' always stood for liberty and equality
both in land and government.' The soil became his 'own as truly as
any man's coat upon his back'; and he 'reserved to himself not one
foot of land, not one tittle of political power, more than he granted to
servants and strangers. ' He gave away his lands and other estates to
them that he thought most in want until he gave away all." — {Ibid.,
P- 254.)
"Before the month (March, 1638) was at an end, the influence of
Roger Williams and the name of Henry Vane prevailed with Mianto-
nomoh. the chief of the Narragansetts, to make them a gift of the
beautiful island of Rhode Island. ... A patent from England
was necessary for their security; and in September they obtained it
through the now powerful Henry Vane." — {Ibid., p. 263.)
"CONNECTICUT
"In equal independence a Puritan colony sprang up at New Haven,
under the guidance of John Darenport as its pastor, and of his friend
the excellent Theophilus Eaton. . . . In April, 1638, the colonists
500 Story of the Congo Free State
held their first gathering under a branching oak. ... A title to
lands was obtained by a treaty with the natives whom they protected
against the Mohawks." — {Ibid., p. 271.)
"new HAMPSHIRE
"At the fall of the leaf in 1635, a band of twelve families, toiling
through thickets of ragged bushes and clambering over crossed trees,
made their way along Indian paths to the green meadows of Concord.
A tract of land six miles square was purchased for the planters of the
squaw sachem and a chief, to whom, according to Indian laws of pro-
perty, it belonged." — {Ibid., p. 271.)
"north CAROLINA
"In 1660 or 1661 New England men had found their way into the
Cape Fear River, had purchased of the Indian chief a title to the soil,
and had planted a little colony of herdsmen far to the south of any
English settlement on the continent." — {Ibid., p. 409.)
"It is known that in 1662 the chief of a tribe of Indians granted to
George Durant the neck of land which still bears his name." — {Ibid.,
p. 410.)
We owe it as a duty to our African population that we should en-
deavour to secure to them the right to freely return to their fatherland,
and as freely to agree with their kindred people upon any concessions
they may choose to make to them as individuals or as associated colo-
nists, looking to their re-establishment in their own country. The
deportation of their ancestors from Africa in slavery was contrary to
the now accepted canons of the laws of nations, and now they may
return under those laws to their natural inheritance. In exercising
this right they should not be obstructed by a power that had more to
do with their enslavement and expulsion, in bondage, from their own
country than any other, and that never held a claim upon that country
for any purpose of advantage to the people there, but held it chiefly,
if not entirely, for the mere purpose of enslaving them.
It is stated, with the support of strong testimony, that Portugal is
still protecting the slave trade on the West Coast of Africa under a thin
guise of the voluntary emigration of the negroes to other countries.
Extracts appended to this report, from Earl Mayo's De Rebus Af-
ricanus, in which he gives an account of his personal examination,
in 1882, of the Portuguese trading posts, supported by the report of
M. du Verge, our United States consul at St. Paul de Loando, show that
slavery still exists in the country claimed by Portugal on the Congo,
and is fostered there and at St. Paul de Loando by the Portuguese
residents.
This violation of the slave-trade treaties renders the occupancy by
Appendix 501
Portugal of any African territory at the mouth of the Congo dangerous
to all the tribes of the interior, and cannot be sanctioned by the treaty
powers while it is attended with such incidents without an abandon-
ment of all treaty obligations and duties relating to the slave trade.
The importance of the Congo River to the continent of Africa as a
channel through which civilisation and all its attendant advantages
will be introduced into a region inhabited by 50,000,000 of people can-
not be too highly estimated.
After Stanley had made his journey of exploration of nearly 7000
miles across the continent of Africa, and had revealed to the world the
extent and importance of this great river Congo, all the great commer-
cial nations at once began to look earnestly in that direction for a new
and most inviting field of commerce, and with the high and noble
purpose of opening it freely to the equal enjoyment of all nations alike.
The merchants of Europe and America insist upon this equal and
universal right of free trade with that country, and their Chambers of
Commerce have earnestly pressed upon their respective Governments
the duty and necessity of such international agreements as would
secure these blessings to the people of Africa and of the entire com-
mercial world.
The enlightened King of the Belgians has supplied the means from
his private purse to inaugurate civilisation in the Congo country under
the authority of its native rulers. He has no thought of extending the
power of his realm over that country, but has engaged in this move-
ment only as any citizen might.
Its progress is thus further described by an agent of the African
International Association in a letter within the past month:
"Brussels, February 25.
"Our territories are extending now on a very rich coast south and
north of the mouths of the Quillou, a distance of more than 350 kilo-
metres (about 300 miles).
"That coast has given itself to us by unanimous acclamation of the
natives, who hoisted our flag and refused our presents.
"Our territories are going to be divided into three provinces: (i)
Coast and Quillou Madi; (2) Lower Congo, Vivi, Stanley Pool; (3)
Upper Congo.
"Our governmental organisations will then be complete: in Africa,
a head chief and governors administering the country and justice: in
Europe, the association providing for the financial wants of the new
State, and representing the new state and many native sovereigns who
have confederated with vis and hoisted our flag.
"This is the present situation and prospects of the enterprise."
It may be safely asserted that no barbarous people have ever so
readily adopted the fostering care of benevolent enterprise as have the
502 Story of the Congo Free State
tribes of the Congo, and never was there a more honest and practical
effort made to increase their knowledge and secure their welfare.
The people of the Congo country and their benefactors alike deserve
the friendly recognition of the United States in their new national
character.
Your committee, therefore, report a substitute for the resolutions
referred to them by the Senate, and recommend its passage.
(From the Revue de Droit International)
THE FREE NAVIGATION OF THE CONGO
By sir TRAVERS TWISS
The Congress of Vienna inaugurated a new era in the reciprocal
relations of European states, by laying down the principle that these
relations should be subordinated to the interests of the European
community in case of conflict between the individual interests of
the states and that which is just in an international point of view. It
is a fact, which is apparent to every attentive observer of the great
political evolutions of our centvuy, that it is more and more per-
ceived that the community of nations create obligations towards it,
and that the empire of this community over the states which form
part of it has several times obtained formal sanction by means of con-
ferences whose protocols point out to us the considerations which
dominated their counsels. These protocols form declarations of which
all the participants are the sureties. We are proud of modern civil-
isation. We congratulate ourselves upon the progress of interna-
tional law among civilised nations. We are therefore justified, it
seems to me, in asking of the states which participate in the European
concert of public law, whether it would not be possible to assert this
principle of duty towards the community of states as a means of
solving the question of the Congo, without awaiting the stern necessity
of intervening to put an end to war, or, at the least, the occasion of
offering mediation to avert a recourse to the sad arbitrament of the
sword. The Congo question is in the condition of a young tropical
plant, whose germ has not yet commenced to develop, but which will
perhaps assume suddenly unexpected proportions.
I have already treated of the free navigation of the Lower Congo,
but I have omitted, or at least only glanced at the idea of an interna-
tional protectorate, under the cegis of which a modus vivendi could be
established upon a solid basis of stipulated right, among the diverse
nationalities whose flags float over the factories of Banana Creek, at
the entrance of the Congo, and thus proclaim the cosmopolitan char-
acter of the settlement. Ascending the channel of the river, Punto
da Lenha is reached, where a pentarchy, so to say, of European flags
Appendix 503
equally affirms the cosmopolitan character of the port, and gives
notification that the individual interests which prevail there rest
under the protection of five states. Formerly, a common end, the
slave trade, was the only bond which united those diverse nationali-
ties in a kind of commercial fraternity. To-day there exists between
them a law of usage, intended to regulate their common interests;
but this usage leaves much to be desired, and it does not control the
private life of the residents of each factory, who are free to regulate,
according to their own pleasure, their relations with the natives. In
fact, there does not exist social order, properly so called, among the
factories; there is no collective will among their members, no author-
ity which they are bound to obey, and one may say, " Ubi nulla
societas, ibi nullum jus." The sad truth of this axiom is confirmed by
the stories of frightful cruelties committed upon the natives in the
year 1877, an account of which can be found in the dispatches of the
English consuls to their Government. {Parliamentary Papers, Africa,
No. 2, 1883.)
M. Moynier, president of the International Committee of the Red
Cross, at Geneva, called the attention of the Institute of International
Law, during its last session at Munich, to the question of the Congo,
and the readers of the Review will remember the proposition which M.
Emile de Laveleye developed thereupon (pp. 254-262), asking, in the
interests of humanity, that the waters of the Congo should be neu-
tralised by European action. M. Moynier had already treated of this
subject at the Institute in Paris, in September, 1878; but it was not
expected at that time that the majestic course of waters explored by
Stanley in 1877 would soon become the object of dangerous rivalries.
The result has proved that the whites, who have formed many stations
upon the Upper Congo and its affluents, have already run the risk of
being engaged in competitions which may disturb the good feeling
between the newcomers and the natives, to whom European civilisa-
tion should bring only benefits. The arrival at Stanley Pool of a
French expedition which ascended the channel of the river Ogouve,
from the affluents of the Congo, has introduced upon the banks of
tlie Upper Congo the representative of a European Government, who
has taken possession, in the name of France, of a territory ceded by
the native chiefs of the country.
It is evident from the very nature of things that the question of
the Congo may properly be divided into two parts, for the Lower Congo
is already subjected to an order of things entirely exceptional, in which
five European nations participate. This condition of affairs was based
originally upon a common traffic in slaves, to which has succeeded a
legitimate trade with the natives — a commerce in which the European
nations take part in a perfectly independent manner, each for itself.
In spite of that, there is on the Lower Congo, because of these na-
504 Story of the Congo Free State
tionalities, a certain solidarity of interest which counsels a common
accord upon the subject of the navigation and the police of the river.
But, as I have before said, as far as regards criminal jurisdiction, the
whites of each factory regard themselves as independent, and not as
responsible to any Government whatsoever.
The Upper Congo, on the contrary, bathes the territories of many
native tribes. Their chiefs have granted stations to the agents of the
International Association, which depend upon no European sovereign,
but which are modelled upon certain institutions of the Middle Ages,
to enable the population of barbarous Africa to participate in the
advantages of European civilisation. All the stations which this
Association possesses have been acquired peaceably by treaties with
sovereign chiefs of the country. It governs them by intelligent men,
belonging to all European nationalities. And, moreover, it has hoisted
over these stations a flag which signifies that they belong to no especial
nation, but that they form part of an International Association
founded in the interests of the natives, and which represents all
countries interested in the progress of humanity. A single European
nation has entered this humanitarian arena, and that is the French
Republic, w-hich, in accepting, as a European State, the cession of
territory made to M. Savorgnan de Brazza, has notified the civilised
world that France has not sought to put private interests in opposition
to the general interests of civilisation, represented in Africa by a flag,
the principal merit of which is precisely that of not being the flag of
any one power. (See Report presented by the Government of the
Republic to the Chamber of Deputies, 20th November, 1882.)
' ' Neither in the spirit of your Commission [it is there said] nor in
the views of the Government, is there any purpose at this moment to
go upon the banks of the Congo, or upon the neighbouring shores with
military array, but simply to found scientific, hospitable, and com-
mercial stations, without other military force than may be strictly
necessary for the protection of the establishments successively created. "
Unfortunately, the appearance of a European national flag upon
the banks of Stanley Pool raised the question whether the agent of an
association which had not the political character of a State, could, by a
cession of the actual Sovereign of the countrj^ acquire and exercise the
sovereignty of a territory situated outside of Europe. I say outside of
Europe, because we do not seek to find the solution of such a problem,
as affecting Africa or Asia, in the existing political condition of affairs
in Europe, nor in the fixed regulations of European society, upon which
that condition of things rests, but in the unwritten law of nations,
which should regulate the relations between free peoples, no matter to
what family they belong, nor what religion they profess. Yet the
practice of Europe, while Christianity was seeking to accomplish the
high mission of civilising the barbarous races on the northern and
Appendix 505
eastern frontiers, merits our attention, because of a certain analogy
between the condition of those frontiers in the eleventh century, and
the present condition of Equatorial Africa.
In order, therefore, to appreciate the action of the International
African Association, and to fathom the question whether this action
is without precedent in the action of European peoples, it will be
profitable, in the first place, to study the archives of a period when
Europe was not entirely Christian, and when Christianity made a
propaganda among the native pagan tribes who at that time inhabited
a part of the country which we now call Prussia. This study will
bring to our knowledge the action of an international association which
accomplished the civilisation of a country inhabited by people who
might be called savages, and, at the same time, will furnish a refuta-
tion of the assertion put forth by certain publicists that States alone
can exercise the rights of sovereignty.
M. de Laveleye, before cited, has made allusion to the Teutonic
Order as an institution for the propagation of civilisation, which, in
the Middle Ages, carried ci\41isation to the populations on the borders
of the Baltic and cemented them to the rest of Europe. The action
of this famous order in regard to the acquisition of the sovereignty of
a barbarous country has an important analogy to the action of the
International African Association.
Thus this order was originally a charitable association of Germans
which the citizens of the free cities of Bremen and Lubeck instituted
at the siege of St. Jean d'Acre, during the Fourth Crusade. After-
wards, this association constituted itself into an order of chivalry
towards the end of the twelfth century, and, after the religious en-
thusiasm to which the Crusades had given birth had ceased to in-
flame the nations of Southern Europe, the order established itself at
Culm, in the country which is now called Western Prussia, where
Conrad, Duke of Massovie, of the Polish Dynasty of the Piasts, ceded
to it a territory and assured to it the conquests it might make over the
idolatrous Prussians. The order by gradual steps established its
dominion with Christianity over the whole of Prussia. The city of
Konigsberg, upon the Pregel, was built by it in 1255, and the city of
Marienbourg, upon the Nougat, which became afterwards the capital
of the order, dates its foundation back to the year 1276.'
Another order, that of the Chevalier's Sword- Bearers (Ensijerri),
was established in Livonia, where, finding itself too weak to sustain the
attacks of the pagans, it ended by uniting itself to the Teutonic Order.
This union rendered the Teutonic Order so powerful it was able to
' The Schloss Hauptmann of the Castle of Marienbourg, formerly
the palace of the grand master of the order, is now appointed by the
King of Prussia.
5o6 Story of the Congo Free State
establish its authority over the whole of Prussia, Courland, and Sene-
gal, and from the annalists of that time we learn that in converting
the people to Christianity the Teutonic Order subjected them to an
exceedingly hard yoke. The Teutonic Order maintained itself in the
sovereignty of this country until the middle of the fifteenth century,
when it was subjected to great territorial losses in a war against
Poland, and was compelled to become the vassal of the King of Poland
for East Prussia. It is upon the embers of this order that the
Prussian monarchy was established by the courage of the descendants
of Duke Albert of Brandenbourg, grand master of the order, the first
Duke of Prussia.
It is to be observed that, during all this time that this order was
sovereign, it was not recognised as a State, and that the master of
Livonia was not admitted to a sitting and vote among the States of
the German Empire until after this order had ceased to be sovereign.
The City of Dantzic was, for two centuries, up to 1454, the mari-
time capital of the order, and it may be said that the Teutonic Order
was the supreme power during two centuries on the shores of the
Eastern Baltic, without being organised as a State. ^
On the other hand, in the south of Europe, there was an order of
chivalry whose services to civilisation in defending Christian countries
against the invasions of the Arabs and the Turks are more famous
even than those of the Teutonic Order. I refer to the sovereign Order
of St. John of Jerusalem. This order, originally founded for the serv-
ice of the hospital of St. John at Jerusalem, quitted the holy city at
the commencement of the fourteenth century and established itself
in the island of Rhodes to defend the frontiers of Christianity against
the attacks of the Saracens. Then it had to give up the island of
Rhodes to the Turks, and it established itself in the island of Malta,
of which it obtained the territorial sovereignty as a gift from the Em-
peror, Charles V., in 1530. Even this order adopted a territorial
title, that of the Order of Chevaliers of Malta, and maintained its
sovereignty over this island until the year 1798. The English having
soon after become masters of the island by conquest from the French,
it was proposed by the Congress of Amiens, the 27th March, 1802, to
restore the fortress of Malta to the Order of St. John, and to put the
independence of the island under the guarantee of the powers uniting
in that congress. This project failed. At the Congress of Vienna, in
1 81 5, the Order of Malta demanded to be provided with another
' The old Teutonic Order was suppressed in the year 1809 at the
peace of Luneville, when the grand master of the order was secularised
for the archduke to be chosen by the emperor. It may be said of the
Teutonic Order that it was renewed in 1824 and reorganised in 1840
and 1865, but that it is the shadow of a great glory — magni stat nominis
umbra.
Appendix 507
sovereign establishment in the Mediterranean suitable for the institu-
tion of the order, and that its independence and neutrality should
be guaranteed by all the powers. The congress would not listen to
this demand.
I have cited these two examples to show that according to the law
of usage of Europe, associations which are not organised as states
can, nevertheless, exercise sovereign rights. But it may be said that
these orders of chivalry were privileged orders, and that they belong
to an epoch when Christian civilisation was propagated at the sword's
point. Putting aside, then, the military epoch of the civilising pro-
paganda, let us pass to the commercial era inaugurated by the dis-
coveries of Christopher Columbus and Vasco de Gama. The theory
of publicists which we have to examine is this, that a private asso-
ciation cannot exercise sovereign rights in a barbarous country. A
learned collaborateur of the Revue de geographie, of Paris, has formu-
lated it in these terms: "It is a principle of law that states alone can
exercise sovereign rights; that no private company can have them. "'
It is evident that this proposition is affirmed by M. Delavand in too
absolute a manner, for the facts of history contradict it. Among the
members who formed the great Union of the United States of North
America there were at least four which owed their origin to private
associations, whose territorial sovereignty had been established be-
fore they received any charter of incorporation from the Crown of
England. Everybody knows that a commercial company acquired
by treaties with the natives the sovereignty of the English Indies. A
similar Dutch company acquired and exercised sovereign rights in the
island of Java and in the Malaccas. Should there be a different rule
in Africa from that which has prevailed in America and Asia? Or
should there be, for the young republics of the nineteenth century, a
law of nations directly opposed to that which prevailed at the founda-
tion of the independent States on the shores of North America —
States whose federation gave birth to the parent republic of our age?
I do not think so. Doubtless the national law of a country may pro-
hibit its citizens from accepting the sovereignty of a barbarous coun-
try, but the international question must not be confounded with the
question of national law, in regard to which we may sa.y," Extra tcrri-
toriutn jus dicenti intpune -non parctnr"
Will it be said that these ideas are superannuated; that they do
not belong to our age? I will reply by a very recent example, which
has been the subject of discussion between the Governments of Spain,
the Netherlands, and Great Britain. It is known that certain native
chiefs on the northern coast of the island of Borneo delegated to a
European, a private individual, rights implying the exercise of terri-
» Vol. xii. of the Revue above cited, p. 224.
5o8 Story of the Congo Free State
torial sovereignty ; that the person to whom the chiefs of the country
had delegated supreme power, under the title of maharaja, ceded his
rights to a private company, and that that company obtained from
the English Crown a charter of incorporation. It may be said that
the history of the propagation of civilisation in the seventeenth cent-
ury in America is renewed in Asia and Africa in the nineteenth cent-
ury. The English Government regarded this delegation of sovereign
rights by native chiefs, in return for an annual subsidy, as a sufficient
title to enable the company to exercise these powers, and sustained
this proposition before the House of Commons. In reply to a ques-
tion in regard to the granting of the charter of incorporation, Sir Henry
James, Attorney General, said:
"The rights which have been accorded the company have become
legally its property, and it would have been an act of confiscation if
the Government of Her Majesty had attempted to deprive it of them."
And the prime minister, Mr. Gladstone, also affirmed that the
charter had not granted to the company any power to exercise rights
implying sovereignty which it had not already acquired by delegation
from native chiefs. A correspondent of the Revue de geographic of
Paris has specified these rights according to the contents of the act of
delegation.^ It is not doubtful that in virtue of this act the company,
without being a state, can exercise sovereign rights over a considerable
territory in the northern part of the island of Borneo. M. E. de
Laveleye, before cited, says that Germany, formally consulted by the
British Government in 1882, did not question the capacity of private
individuals or of companies to obtain from non-civilised Sovereigns
the concession of rights implying the exercise of rights of sovereignty.
The Governments of the Netherlands and of Spain did not deny such
power, but they claimed to have anterior rights over the northern
portion of Borneo; and it was in virtue of those anterior rights that
they protested against the rights claimed by the British North Borneo
Company. It is, therefore, evident that the obstacles which the
establishment of stations by the International Association upon the
Upper Congo might meet with from European powers are not to be
found in the fact that they are in contravention of any law of nations
by virtue of which states alone can exercise sovereign rights, but
solely in the fact that Portugal pretends, by reason of anterior rights,
to deny the capacity of the native chiefs of the country to cede the
sovereignty of a part of their territories without the consent of
Portugal.
It appears, in the meantime, that the British Government did not
^ Mr. A. J. Wauters, assistant secretary of the International Con-
gress of Commercial Geography, 1879. First number of the Revue,
July I, 1883, p. 63.
Appendix 509
yield to the pretensions raised by Holland and Spain concerning the
northern part of the island of Borneo, and that the Government of
the French Republic, in spite of the pretensions of Portugal, has
recognised the supremacy of a native king upon the Upper Congo, and
has accepted the cession of his hereditary rights. This treaty, con-
cluded by M. Savorgnan de Brazza, as the representative of France,
at Neousa, the 30th October, 1880, ceded to France a territory which
was in the possession of certain chiefs, vassals of the King Makoko;
and said chiefs signed the treaty, whilst the King Makoko, in his
capacity as suzerain of these chiefs, ceded to France, by an act in-
vested with his mark, his rights of supremacy over this territory. It
seems, therefore, that there is no place for a suzerainty of Portugal over
the regions arotmd Stanley Pool, according to the opinion of the
Government of the French Republic, for the Senate and the Chamber
of Deputies authorised the President of the Republic to ratify the
treaty and act above mentioned, and the President has promulgated a
law to give them full effect.
It might reasonably be asked, if there is any difference in principle
between the right of African chiefs, admitting they are sovereigns
of a territory, and the right of Asiatic chiefs to cede their territory
to a private company. France, at least, has recognised the right
of King Makoko, suzerain of the Batakes, to cede to a European State
his rights of sovereignty, and the right of the chiefs subordinate to
his authority to cede the possession of the parts of the territory they
occupied. Why should it be forbidden to a native chief to cede his
territory to an international European company, which, according to
the law of nations, is perfectly capable of accepting and exercising
such a sovereignty?
The Contite d'Etudes of the Upper Congo — for it is necessary to
distinguish between the association which occupies the Lower Congo
and the association which occupies the Upper Congo — has made,
through Mr. Stanley, with the native chiefs, treaties, which in regard
to their tenor resemble more closely the treaties concluded by the
British Society with the Sultans of Brunei and Sooloo, in the island of
Borneo, than the treaties concluded by the native chiefs of the Upper
Congo with M. Savorgnan de Brazza. Take for example the treaty
which Captain Eliot, agent of Mr. Stanley, concluded with the Chief
Manipembo, the 20th of May of this year. The first three articles de-
clare that the Chief Manipembo cedes and abandons to the committee
of the Upper Congo, in full property, certain territories in return for a
present the receipt of which is acknowledged, and he solemnly de-
clares that these territories form an integral part of his State, and that
he can freely dispose of them. It is clearly evident from the tenor of
these articles that the Chief Manipembo recognises no superior chief
Article IV. of the treaty states that the cession of territory' carries with
5IO Story of the Congo Free State
it the abandonment by the above-named chief, and the transfer to
the committee of all his sovereign rights.
Was this transmission of sovereign rights to the committee of the
Upper Congo illegal according to the law of nations? It is indis-
putable that the Chief Manipembo was legally capable of concluding
treaties with European Powers, for the French Republic, through M.
Cordier, on the 12th of March of this year, concluded with him and
■with the King of Loango treaties by which all the left bank of the
river Quillou,' which empties into the Bay of Loango, is placed under
the protectorate of France.
Concerning the exercise of sovereign rights by the committee of
the Upper Congo, accjuircd by treaties with native chiefs, if reliance
can be placed upon an article in the Journal V Export, which professes
to have its facts from good authority, the committee has instructed
its representatives, in case of expeditions from any nation seeking to
establish themselves there, to give them gratuitously the necessary
land. The committee wishes especially to create colonies at the sta-
tions of the Congo, and to see developed there a new kind of free
cities. An idea which may throw some light on the future of the
Upper Congo is this: An International Protectorate of the Lower
Congo, under the presidency of Portugal, and a system of free cities
for the Upper Congo.
History teaches us that the march of the caravans which traverse
the sandy deserts of Northern Africa has been rendered possible by
the existence of certain spots where nature has made provision of
water and vegetation where travellers and camels can rest and refresh
themselves. Why should not a philanthropic association be per-
mitted to imitate this foresight of nature, and to establish, like these
oases, free cities at certain distances upon the banks of the great river
of Equatorial Africa, to facilitate the progress of a humane civilisation
and the development of a beneficent commerce?
The institution of free cities in Germany greatly accelerated the
progress of the arts and civilisation in Europe, and the rapid develop-
ment of these cities in the fourteenth century teaches us that by
means of such an organisation a nearly barbarous country can be
erected into a civilised body upon an industrial and commercial basis.
These cities, either through their origin or by virtue of the charters
granted them by sovereign powers, secured to themsehes a free gov-
ernment, which assured to their citizens personal liberty and the owner-
ship of their property under the protection of their own magistrates.
The traveller in the free city of Bremen, on arriving at the market-
place, will see before him a great stone column which is called the
Rolands Saule. This column supports the colossal figure of a man,
holding in his right hand a sword, and crushing under his feet the head
^ Niadi-Kwilu.
Appendix 5"
and hand of a man. This is emblematical of the right of the city to
dispose of the lives and labour of its inhabitants. The present column
was erected in 141 2, but it replaced a wooden column which dated
back to the period of the First Crusade, and whose origin is unknown.
Other monuments of analogous character to this are found in many of
the cities of Germany, and they are symbols of the right which the
magistrates of these cities had to exercise both civil and criminal
jurisdiction. They bear witness that these cities were siii juris in
regard to the power to make and execute their laws. Should an in-
stitution which contributed so much to attach the North of Europe to
the civilisation of the South, which rooted itself so firmly upon the
shores of the North Sea and the Baltic that its vitality withstood the
strain of wars and civil dissensions for six centuries, — should that be
regarded as an innovation in the usages of nations when transplanted
into Equatorial Africa?
When the Dutch Provinces of Spain revolted against the Spanish
Crown, and the Prince of Orange granted letters of mark to individuals,
to make reprisals against Spain, the Spanish Government refused to
recognise the legality of these letters of mark, upon the pretext that a
republic could not exercise rights of admiralty which belonged ex-
clusively to crowned heads. This is the origin of the term of oppro-
brium, quex de mer, which the Spaniards employed to degrade the
Dutch, but which the Dutch adopted as a title of honour. In the
same way as now, it was then attempted to make it appear that under
the law of nations states alone could exercise sovereign rights. But
the facts contradicted this proposition. The suggestion recalls the
fable of the hare and the tortoise. According to the principles of pure
mathematics the tortoise should never be able to catch the hare, but
the problem is simplified enormously when recourse is had to the
proof of the facts. To use a scholastic expression, "Experience dis-
covers the truth" — solvitur ambulando. For example, the right of the
International African Association to hoist a flag upon its steamboats
upon the Lower Congo cannot be denied, while the English society, in
possession of the rights of the Sultans of Brunei and Sooloo, implying
the exercise of rights of sovereignty, has raised its flag, and the British
admiralty has been authorised to recognise it.
To return to the objection of certain publicists that a State alone can
exercise sovereign rights. The free cities of ancient Rome and of the
empire of Germany (to distinguish it from the present empire) were
not subjects of the Emperor, but vassals of the empire, and when the
free city of Strasbourg capitulated, in the year 1681, the King of France
received it under his royal protection, and it preserved all its privi-
leges and its magistrates with civil and criminal jurisdiction, as a free
republic, with a territorial zone, under the protection of France, until
the French Revolution.
512 Story of the Congo Free State
What are the obstacles which delay the establishment of a system
of free cities on the banks of the Upper Congo, and which prevent the
powers whose subjects have establishments on the Lower Congo from
coming to an agreement as to an international protectorate of the
river? There is a European power which arrogates to itself, in virtue
of a discovery of the mouth of the river Congo in the year 1484, the
sovereignty of all territory watered by this river and its affluents. I
do not speak of the pretensions of this power over all the territory of
the west coast of Africa, between 5°, 12', and 8° south latitude — pre-
tensions which have been contested by France, by Holland, and even
by England since the slave trade was abolished by conventions be-
tween the British and Portuguese Governments. So long as the slave
trade existed, everybody hunted Negroes in common in the regions of
the Congo. Since the slave trade was abolished the maritime powers
of Europe have treated the pretensions of Portugal with courtesy,
but not one has admitted them.
I affirm, with all the respect due to the coimtry of Prince Henry
the Navigator, that this is the condition of things upon the Congo,
although the Portuguese Government, in a circular dispatch, written
in reply to a resolution of the Institute of International Law, has
asserted that its rights are not disputed.
In support of this assertion of the Portuguese Government the
author of the dispatch cites an incident of the last Franco-German
war. During the war a French corvette captured a German merchant
vessel, the Hero, lying at anchor in Banana Creek, inside the mouths
of the Congo. The circular dispatch states that the German Govern--
ment requested the Portuguese Government to demand the rendition
of the prize, as captured in Portuguese waters; but it does not say
that the Portuguese Government took any steps before the French
prize courts, or that the French Government acceded thereto. The
statement of facts stops there. Then, the dispatch says that "the
news soon reached Europe that the French governor of Gaboon,
the port into which the captor had carried his prize, had set at liberty
the crew, and caused the German ship to be taken back to Banana
Creek, where it remained at anchor till the close of the war."
The author of the dispatch appears to me the victim of the paral-
ogism described by the phrase post hoc, propter hoc, for he attempts
to draw from these facts the ' ' irresistible conclusion ' ' that the Governor
of Gaboon recognised the waters of Banana Creek as Portuguese
waters. It appears, on the contrary, that the ship was set at liberty
by the Governor of Gaboon, ^notu siio proprio, and in no manner on
account of any demand of the Portuguese Government; and the only
legitimate conclusion from the premises is this: The Governor of
Gaboon recognised that the capture of the ship had been effected in
territorial waters, where, whether they belonged to a native King or to
Appendix 513
a European power, France had not the right as a belligerent power to
capture the enemy's ships.' The Governor of Gaboon conducted him-
self loyally without waiting special instructions from his Government.
This fact, which the author of the dispatch cites as a proof of Portu-
guese sovereignty over the territories of the west coast of Africa, be-
tween 5°, 12', and 8°, south latitude, comprising the mouths of the
Congo, has absolutely no significance as an argument.
Another event which the dispatch of the Portuguese Government
recalls is that of the ist of May, 1877, which had previously acquired
considerable notoriety by the publication of the correspondence be-
tween the Portuguese Government and the Government of her Bri-
tannic Majesty. Several old slave-traders, established at Punta da
Lenha, were carrying on a regular and legal commerce with the na-
tives, but, at the same time, were slave-owners. In consequence of
an incendiary attempt upon a Dutch factory, the residents of Punta
da Lenha made a "noyade" (drowning of several persons at the same
time) of Negroes in the river opposite Boma. The British consul, who
resides ordinarily at Saint Paul de Loando, which city is under the
jurisdiction of the Portuguese crown, wished to make inquiries at the
scene of the crime in regard to the summary execution of twenty-nine
Negroes by order of their masters, but he did not dare to disembark at
Punta da Lenha because of the threats of the inhabitants. Under
these circumstances, the Portuguese Government conducted itself in
a very proper manner. At the instance of Consul Hopkins, of Loando,
the governor of the Portuguese province of Angola sent a gunboat to
Punta da Lenha, and arrested a British subject named Scott, im-
plicated in the noyade, and was perfectly willing to try the accused
according to the laws of Portugal with the consent of the English
consul; but the correspondence between the two governments shows
that the English Government was unwilling to admit Portuguese
sovereignty over the banks of the Congo. It is surprising that the
author of the circular dispatch should have cited this incident as in-
dicating the recognition of Portuguese sovereignty by the English
Government, when the correspondence presented to the British Par-
liament in regard to the matter proves precisely the reverse. Here, for
example, are the terms of a dispatch of Sir Julian Pauncefote, under
secretary of state, to the English consul at Loando, which closes the
correspondence :
"The territory in which these outrages have been committed has
long been claimed by the Portuguese Government, and this claim is
renewed in the correspondence with the Portuguese authorities in-
' The Times of the 5th November, 1882, in which an English transla-
tion of the circular dispatch of the Portuguese Government is pub-
lished, says: "Unquestionably becaitse the Government perceived
that the capture had been made improperly."
SH Story of the Congo Free State
closed in your dispatches. Her Majesty's Government, however, as
you are aware, have always contested and opposed that claim, and
cannot, therefore, admit the jurisdiction of the Portuguese tribunals
to deal with the case of Scott. ' ' *
No one accuses Portugal of wishing to impede the free navigation
of the Congo, but it is to be regretted that, being powerless to insure
that navigation to its own subjects, it is unwilling to consent to a
friendly agreement with the powers whose subjects have factories upon
the north bank, to put the navigation of the river beyond risk of
danger. I have said advisedly that Portugal is powerless to insure
the navigation of the river to its own subjects. I have already spoken
of the tribes which inhabit the borders of Pirates' Bay, upon the north
bank of the river, against whom the English commander, Hewitt, had
to organise an expedition in 1875, because they had plundered an Eng-
lish merchant ship and massacred the crew. But there is, on the
south bank, a considerable tribe who practise piracy on a large scale,
and do not even respect Portuguese vessels. The pirates especially
infest San Antonio, at the southern extremity of the mouth, in the
immediate neighbourhood of the column of Point del Padron. The
author of a book entitled Four Years on the Cortgo,' published in Paris,
describes an attack by these pirates upon a Portuguese brig. The ac-
count is interesting, but I will not now go into details. What it im-
ports is, the powerlessness of the Portuguese Government to suppress
the piracy of this tribe and to punish the guilty ones. I cite an extract
from this work which gives the history of the Portuguese expedition
sent to punish the Mussorangos who had attacked the Portuguese brig:
"On the 15th of November two corvettes and the frigate La
Guadiana left Loando. The little fleet, commanded by M. Viegas de
C , headed for the Congo. The commander hoped to surprise the
Negroes. Arrived at a place considered sacred, and which is called
the "Stone of the Fetish," they anchored, and M. Viegas himself, with
one company, ascended the creek in a steam gunboat and effected a
landing, which the savages endeavoured at first to oppose; but soon
afterwards, dislodged by the showers of grape shot from the frigate,
moored a few cables' length only from the shore, they retired in good
order. Meanwhile, the little band of whites, finding no serious resist-
ance, advanced. The corvettes shelled the \dllages in sight. Some
groups of Mussorangos, who had stood firm till then, feeling themselves
vanquished fled in every direction, returning and stopping, from time
to time, behind trees to discharge their guns at the whites. The com-
mander burned all the villages he found. That was all that could be
done. It would not have been prudent to march at a venture into an
unknown country in search of an unapproachable enemy, always flee-
' Parliamentary Papers, Africa, No. 2, 1882, p. 86.
2 Paris, G. Charpentier & Co., 1883.
Appendix 515
mg. It was necessary to re-embark; the ships came back to Banana,
where they remained some days, and then returned to Saint Paul."
This is a very recent occurrence, which does not very well bear out
the assertions of the Portuguese Government relative to the efficacy
of its jurisdiction as remedy for the disorders of the Congo.
"The Congo [says the author of the circular dispatch] and the
territories bordering its mouth are already the seat of an important
commerce, and of European establishments of diverse nationalities,
but there is no security either for life or property, no police, no courts,
nor any of the institutions so necessary to all civilised people, and
which can only be established under a recognised and effective juris-
diction. And such jurisdiction can only be exercised by Portugal,
because no other nation possesses or claims any rights of sovereignty
over these territories." '■
I repeat, the good intentions of Portugal are not in dispute. What
is wanting is energy and material power; and it is necessary to have
these in order to civilise the country discovered by the agents of the
International Association. Four centuries have elapsed since Diego
Cam, a Portuguese cavalier, erected a column upon the Point del
Padron, the end of the south bank of the river's mouth, in commemora-
tion of the fact that a subject of the crown of Portugal had discovered
the great river Congo. This same point is to-day in the hands of
a native tribe, which not only does not recognise the sovereignty
of Portugal, but openly defies it. Nevertheless, the author of the
circular finds much fault with the resolution of the Institute of In-
ternational Law, because that resolution implies, according to him,
forgetfulness of the rights of Portugal. What rights? There exist
rights based upon the discovery of the country, but considering that
the fleets of Pharaoh Neco, King of Egypt, made the circuit of Africa,
we cannot admit that the legal discovery of the Congo was effected by
Diego Cam. But rights founded upon the discovery of the country are
only imperfect rights; occupation should follow, within a reasonable
time, to render them perfect; otherwise the discovery becomes inop-
erative, like an abandoned title. Has Portugal occupied both banks
of the Congo to acquire possession of its waters? Have we the proof
of it? On the contrary, the very territory where Cam erected this
column is to-day in the power of a native tribe, who have always resisted
Portuguese sovereignty, and who openly claim to be (a thing almost
incredible) the enemies of the human race (Jiostes humani generis).
And, on the other hand, England, which pretends to no sovereignty
over the waters of the Congo, has been obliged to land a force
upon the north bank to chastise an act of piracy committed by the
inhabitants of the creeks in the neighbourhood of Banana.
' I quote the te.xt of the circular as published in the Independance
Beige of the 7th November, 1883.
5i6 Story of the Congo Free State
It is evident that very soon the problem of the free navigation of
the Congo will assume such proportions that the solution cannot be
longer deferred. Should this solution wait upon a state which up to
now has only demonstrated its powerlessness to civilise the countries
on the south bank of the Lower Congo, its sovereignty over which is
not disputed by any European state?
London, November 21, 1883.
ARGUMENT OF PROFESSOR EGIDE ARNTZ
Can independent chiefs of savage tribes cede to private citizens the
whole or part of their states, with the sovereign rights which pertain
to them, conformably to the traditional customs of the country?
This question, as it is propounded, presents two aspects. It must
be considered :
I. From the point of view of the right of the one who cedes.
II. From the point of view of the one to whom the cession is made.
In examining this question from the standpoint of international law,
we must first ask if the chiefs of savage tribes can, generally, make
treaties, conventions, cessions of territories; in other words, if the
tribes which they represent are considered as states, having the
capacity to make international treaties, which would be respected as
such by all civilised or non-civilised nations.
From the fifteenth century till early in the nineteenth century, the
rules of international law were regarded as being to some extent an
exclusive privilege of Christian peoples, for the establishment of regular
relations between them. With regard to pagan peoples, they were not
considered as participating in the political community which interna-
tional law established between Christians; and it was only by Article
VII. of the treaty of Paris of the 30th of March, 1856, that the Sub-
lime Porte was admitted "to participate in the advantages of the
European concert."
We can easily understand that Christian nations could not admit to
participation in the advantages of international law the people of
nations who did not recognise this law as binding upon themselves,
and who did not practise its precepts. Publicists and moralists teach
that in their relations with pagan and savage populations. Christian
sovereigns should always conduct themselves honestly, and observe
the rules of justice, equity, and Christian morality.
It would be too long to enter here into the details of the discussions
which the authors of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries had on the
subject of the conduct of European nations in regard to the Indians.
We shall limit ourselves to saying that the relations of the states of
Appendix 517
Europe with other nations had no fixed rules, that they varied much,
according to the power and importance of the foreign nations, accord-
ing to the communications more or less niimerous which Europeans had
with them, and according to the manners and customs practised by
them.'
Thanks to the progress of hiunanitarian ideas, of a better practice of
Christian morality, and the greater influence of principles of interna-
tional justice, feeble people, almost savage, although not possessed of
the benefits of civilisation, are no longer considered in our days, as de-
stined to serve as a mine for civilised nations to "work." All those
having a human face, turned towards the heavens, are considered as
members of the great htunan family, children of the common Father,
animated by the same Divine breath, having the same destiny to ac-
complish, and meriting the respect due to human dignity.
These ideas have prevailed with jurisconsults and publicists, have
permeated their doctrines, and happily have guided their practices.
Savage tribes, although living in very imperfect communities, as well
as their territories, are no longer regarded to-day as things without a
master, and belonging to the first occupier, that is, to the first comer
stronger than themselves. Want of civilisation can no longer serve
as a pretext to ci\'ilised nations to put them under subjection, or to
control them by violence.
The law of nations is a science still imperfectly moulded or stereo-
typed, and especially is it a science which ought not to be, and #annot
be, formulated a priori. Its fundamental principle is, no doubt, phi-
losophy, but it has its positive base in the facts of history and authori-
tative doctrine.
What are the conditions to enable a state to exist, as such, and to
qualify it to treat?
"A certain number of men and families, who, being united, in a
country, and having fixed their abode there, associate and submit
themselves to a common chief, with the intention of providing for the
safety of all, form a state," says Kluber,^ and to the same effect says
G. F. Von Marten. 3
"Sovereignty [continues Kliiber 4] in this extended sense consists in
the ensemble of rights belonging to a state, independent as regards its
'Heffter, par. 7, p. 14: "With respect to non-Christian states, which
are not yet regularly admitted into the bosom of the European family,
the application of the same law is entirely free, and founded upon
a purely conventional reciprocity. Relations with them are formed
according to the exigencies of policy and morality."
' Droit de gens tnoderne, p'ar. 20.
3 Einleitung in das positive eiiropaische Volkerrecht, Gottingen, 1796,
p. I.
4 Droit des gens moderne, par. 21.
5i8 Story of the Congo Free State
object. It comprises, first, the entire independence of the state in
the face of foreign nations; second, legitimate power of the Govern-
ment or of the authority which the purpose of the state demands."
The same author says ' :
"Sovereignty is acquired by a state either at its foundation or when it
separates itself legitimately from the dependence under which it was. To
be valid, it does not need to be recognised or guaranteed by any foreign
power whatever, provided its possession is not faulty (vicieuse)."
It is useless to multiply extracts. The principles summarised by
Kluber on the sovereignty, the independence, and the equality of
states, from the legal point of view, are equally professed by all au-
thors. We will limit ourselves to the following: Heffter, par. 15, 16,
pp. 32-34; par. 23, pp. 42, 43; par. 26, 27, pp. 47-49. Wheaton,
vol. i., pp. 32, 43. Vattel, lib. i., chap, i., sec. 4. W. E. Hall, Inter-
national Law, par. 2, 4, pp. 16-20; par. 6-8, pp. 34-37; par. 9, 10, pp.
39-42. Calvo, Droit international, par. 39-41, pp. 143-147.
Tribes inhabiting determined territory, represented by their chiefs,
form, therefore, independent states.
From this the first consequence is that the territories which they
occupy are not things without masters (res nullius), and cannot be
occupied by other states. It is only territories without master, that
is to say, upon which no sovereign power is yet established, that can
be the object of occupation.
As regards the right of occupation, see the following authors :
"Christian people cannot rightfully take possession of lands which
savages already really occupy," says George Frederick von Marten. 2
Kluber 3 says : "A state can acquire things which belong to no one
{res nullius) by occupation {original) , and the goods of others by means
of conventions (derivative occupation) ... In order that the
occupation may be legitimate, the thing itself should be susceptible of
exclusive property and belong to no one. (A) The state should have
the intention of acquiring the property thereof."
In the note (A) the author says: "Property thus is acquired right-
fully by an occupation without flaw; it is preserved by continuous
possession. In consequence no nation is authorised, no matter what
its pretensions, especially if of a higher degree of culture, to seize upon
the property of another nation. It cannot even take it from savages
or nomads."
The author cites in support of this, Gunther, Vdlkerrecht, vol. ii., p.
lo et seq. See also the beautiful and energetic passage from Heffter,
Le droit international public, vol. i., par. 70, pp. 141, 142: "Droit
d'Occupation. "
^ Droit des gens moderne, par. 23.
^ Einleitung in das positive europaische Volkerrecht, par. 31.
3 Droit des gens moderne de V Europe, par. 25.
Appendix 519
To give validity of occupation it is necessary that the property should
be without master, and that the intention to acquire the domain
should be joined to the fact of an effective taking possession. Let us
examine each of the three conditions:
I. Occupation is only to be applied to property which, although
susceptible of being possessed, has no master. It does not extend to
persons, who can only be the object of a submission, whether voluntary
or forced. Occupation is to be applied notably to countries and
islands uninhabited or not entirely occupied; but no power on earth
has the right to impose its laws upon wandering or even savage peoples.
Its subjects can seek to establish commercial relations with these
latter, can remain among them, in case of necessity can demand of
them indispensable articles of provisions, and even negotiate with
them the voluntary cession of a portion of the territory, with the
object of colonising it. Nature, it is true, does not forbid nations to
extend their empire upon the earth; but it does not give the right to
a single one among them to establish its dominion anywhere wherever
it chooses to do it. The propaganda of civilisation, the development of
commercial and industrial interests, the putting into activity of un-
productive values, do not justify it either. All that can be accorded
on the subject is, that in the interest of the preservation of the human
kind, it may be permitted to nations to unite in order to open by
common accord the ports of a country hermetically sealed to their
commerce.
See, to the same effect, Bluntschli, Droits des gens, codifie, par. 20,
P- ^3- . . .
Similar citations could be multiplied.
Communities of non-civilised tribes, forming according to the law of
nations, as to-day admitted, independent states, the first logical con-
sequence which follows is that these states cannot be acquired by
reason of occupation by other states. A second consequence which
necessarily follows from the same premises is, that these states, or their
chiefs, can make international treaties of every kind — treaties which
have obligatory force for the contracting parties, and which should be
respected by all other states, if they do not interfere with existing
rights.
We would remark here, with Calvo,' that "international treaties
may be concluded, even with nomadic peoples, having no territory of
their own nor fixed domicile, when they have an expressed political
organisation and a common council by the intennediary of their chiefs
or their assemblies." "In this category [adds the same author] may
be classed the Bedouins, scattered over the deserts of Arabia, Syria,
' See Charles Calvo, Manuel du droit international public et privi,
par. 49, p. 85; also his Droit international theoriqu£ et pratique, vol. i.,
p. 320.
520 Story of the Congo Free State
Egypt, and barbarous Africa, and the Turcomans, who wander over
the plains of Central Asia."
"There are conglomerated populations which do not compose a
state. . . . But the nomads and the savages have, either among
themselves or with civilised people, an international law which is ob-
served equally with the international law of civilised nations," say
Funck, Brentano, and Sorel.'
By still stronger reasoning the tribes composing states dwelling in
determined territory can make international treaties. Savage African
tribes, possessing determined territories, can make all kinds of treaties.
Their chiefs can therefore cede territory, in whole or in part, to whom,
we will see under No. 2. This rule, or rather this consequence, cannot
be impeached in theory.
"Sovereignty of a state, in the sense of international law [says
Kliiber, Droits des gens m,oderne de V Europe, p. 22], consists essentially
in independence of all foreign control in relation to the exercise of
rights of sovereignty; it ought by its nature even to be exercised in-
dependently of the antiquity of the state, or the form of its constitu-
tion of government, or the order established for the succession to the
throne, or the rank, title, or state of its sovereign; of the extent of its
territory; of its population, political importance, manners, religion,
state of culture in general, the commerce of its inhabitants," etc.
And the same author, par. 127, says:
"In regard to public domain, the state has, over the things which
form part thereof, all rights of property, not only of exclusive posses-
sion and the right to enjoy it as owner, but also that of disposing
freely thereof. The conventions or arrangements which it may make
in this respect, whether with its subjects or with foreigners, are abso-
lutely independent of other Governments. Nothing forbids it alienat-
ing its property, its putting it in pledge, or abandoning it. It has the
capacity to acquire by accession." ^
Without going back to antiquity, modern history, since the seven-
teenth century up to our own days, furnishes us numerous examples
of treaties, of cessions of territories, etc., concluded between civilised
states on the one hand and savage tribes on the other. It is sufficient
to recall the most noted cases:
In 1620 the English Puritans embarked on board the Mayflower,
after establishing themselves in the northern part of Virginia, con-
cluded with the chief or sachem of the Indians, Massasoit, a treaty of
friendship, the most ancient treaty concluded by New England.3
In 1639 the founders of the colony of New Hampshire concluded
^Precis du droit des gens, Paris, 1877, No. X., p. 23.
2 See on this point. International Law, by Edward W. Hall, M.A.,
barrister-at-law, Oxford, 1880, par. 35, p. 100.
3 Bancroft's History of the United States, vol. i. , pjj. 342-350.
Appendix 521
with the Indians conventions for the purchase of land situated between
the Piscataqua and the Merrimac, and there estabUshed the town of
Exeter.^
Later, William Penn made treaties with chiefs of Indians. It is
useless to cite here the numerous treaties between the different States
of New England and the chiefs of Indian tribes.
Wheaton ^ recounts that some of these Indian tribes have recog-
nised by conventions that they held their existence entirely at the will
of the State within the limits of which they resided, and that others
preserved a limited sovereignty and the absolute dominion of the ter-
ritory inhabited by them ; and he adds that by two decisions of the
Supreme Court of the United States, in 1831 and 1832, the Cherokee
Nation, residing within the limits of the State of Georgia, are held to
constitute a distinct political society ; that numerous treaties made by
this nation with the United States recognise it as a people capable of
maintaining relations of peace and war; that the English Government,
having preceded the United States, bought their lands by contracts of
sale, freely assented to, and never forced them to make sale against
their will.
Let us pass from America to Africa and Asia. In the course of the
last fifty years England has concluded with the chiefs of countries
adjacent to the Congo thirteen treaties, of which we mention specially
two, one concluded the nth of February, 1853, with the King and
chiefs of Cabinda, the other concluded the 20th June, 1854, with divers
chiefs of the river Congo.
The treaty concluded by M. Savorgnan de Brazza with the King
Makoko is of public notoriety.
To terminate the series of historical documents in support of the
theory that chiefs of savage tribes can validly make treaties and ces-
sions of territories in full sovereignty, let us recall further the recent
treaties of the 2gth of December, 1877, and the 22nd of January, 1878,
by which the Sultans of Brunei and of Sulu, in the island of Borneo,
ceded a part of their territory to Mr. Alfred Dent and Baron Overbeck.
If, from the point of view of international law, it is indisputable that
no state, civilised or not, has the right to arbitrarily trouble the chiefs
of savage tribes in the possession of their sovereignty, the same pro-
liibition applies to those to whom they have conceded, whoever they
may be.
The cessionnaires have the same rights as the ceders. Under what
pretext could another state trouble them? Their cession is valid, and
thus all motive, or even all pretext for trouble is wanting; or, the ces-
sion is null, according to the law of nations, and then the sovereign
who made the cession has, in right, preserved all his sovereignty, and
^ Carlicr, History of the American People, vol i., p. 300.
? Elements of Intcrnalioual Law (Fr. tr.), vol. i., p. 50.
522 Story of the Congo Free State
no other state has the right to trouble it, or even to interA-ene to make
good the nullity of the cession,
II
Let us take the second question. Can a cession be made to a private
citizen ?
We are happy to be able to abridge this part of our work by referring
to the article, "The Free Navigation of the Congo," published by our
eminent colleague of the Institute, Sir Travers Twiss, in the sixth
number of the Revue du droit international for 1883.
It is true that Sir Travers Twiss occupies himself with the question
whether those associations which are not organised as States can exer-
cise sovereign rights, rather than whether these rights of sovereignty
can be conceded to private individuals; but the argument which he
invokes in support of his thesis applies in great part to cessions made
to individuals.
When writers establish their point of departure to arrive at a demon-
stration they commence often by saying :
"It is an established principle," etc. Or, "It is a principle of law,"
etc. And they employ this form when their principles are the most
contestable. In the article we have just cited, Sir Travers Twiss men-
tions an article in the Revue de geographie of Paris,' in which Mr. Dela-
vand says: "It is a principle of law that states alone can exercise
sovereign rights, and that no private company can have them." He
(Sir Travers Twiss) adds, with reason, that this proposition is affirmed
in too absolute a manner, and he proves conclusively by historical
facts that his criticism is just.
Doubtless an individual, as such, and a private society, in that
capacity, are not sovereigns, and exercise no act of sovereignty. This
needs no demonstration. But, in virtue of what principle of inter-
national law is it sought to be shown that one who is a private citizen
to-day cannot become a sovereign to-morrow, and be in possession of
the plenitude of sovereignty? Such a principle does not exist. No
author of international law has ever sustained it, and all the history of
humanity, from the earliest down to modem times, denies it.
Individuals can become sovereigns, and exercise the rights of sovereigns,
in two ways:
First. By creating themselves into a state — that is to say, by
establishing themselves upon a territory which belongs to them, and
forming themselves into a community with a regular government, and
legal organs of public power — in a word, with all the constituent ele-
ments of a state.
Most of the states of antiquity, according to legends and tradi-
' Vol. xii., p. 12.
Appendix 52;
tions, or positive historical information, have been created in no other
way.
The states of the Middle Ages had the same origin. The Franks,
the Visigoths, the Ostrogoths, the Burgundians, and others, were only
nomadic peoples, composed of chiefs who, in the eyes of international
law, were only individuals, but who founded states.
The Italian republics of the Middle Ages were only municipalities
without international sovereignty, and they have become sovereign
states. Simple individuals, poor fishermen, caused the republic of
Venice to rise from the waves of the Adriatic and to become its
queen.
Almost all the States of New England, in America, have been
founded by individuals.^
States, to exist, have no need to be recognised by other states.
Those who have founded them are the sovereigns, and therefore have
the right to exercise the rights of sovereignty in so far as this exercise
has not been delegated to an authority instituted mider the constitu-
tion of the state.
And a revolution which has for result the detaching from a state of
one of its parts, is it not at the commencement the work of individuals?
And those individuals, if they unite themselves in their enterprise, can
erect a simple province or provinces into a new and sovereign state,
and exercise then sovereign rights.
And if to-day, simple individuals should establish themselves on a
desert island, or on territory unoccupied by another state, they can
establish a new state, with all the rights of sovereignty. We have
seen Texas thus formed.
Second. An individual can become sovereign by succeeding to an-
other sovereign in the exercise of the sovereignty of a state. From a
private individual he becomes a sovereign.
The question whether a private individual can accept a sovereignty
when the interior laws of his state forbid him is outside of our subject,
and we do not treat of it.
Philip, Duke of Anjou, great-grandson of Louis XIV., was, from the
point of view of international law, a simple individual. After the
death of Charles II., by the treaty of Utrecht the states belonging to
the Crown of Spain were dismembered, and Philip V. was recognised
as the King of Spain, and acquired part of the states of the Spanish
monarchy. Other examples might be cited.
When a prince was elected King of Germany he became a sovereign
from a private individual that he was.
Or, again, when a chief of an African tribe, forming a sovereign
state, cedes to an individual in full sovereignty a part of his state, does
he do other than to call another person to the exercise of rights of
' See the histories of Bancroft and Carlier.
524 Story of the Congo Free State
sovereignty over one part of his state, erected into a new state? What
difference is there between the case of a European prince who is called
as sovereign to a state, or part of a state, and that where an African
chief calls upon an individual to exercise sovereign powers over part
of his state? In the fact undovibtedly there is much difiference, but in
law there is none; and that is the qttestion. It is a question of law
{droit) we have to study here.
It is even possible that an individual may remain a subject of the
state to which he belongs, and may be the sovereign of another country.
The sovereign, therefore, can have a double personality. Thus,
Ernest Augustus, and George V., Dukes of Cumberland, were subjects
of Queen Victoria and peers of England and at the same time Kings of
Hanover. In 1787 the sovereign bishop of the principality of Osna-
bruck, the Duke of York, sat as a peer of England in the House of
Lords.'
The question which has been laid down at the head of this opinion
is a novel one. It has not been foreseen or treated in works of inter-
national law. Many authors treat a question which touches upon
this one, but which differs from it a good deal. They ask if an indi-
vidual can make in his own name an act of occupation of a territory
newly discovered without a master. They reply negatively to this
question, and, in their line of ideas, they are right; for those who dis-
cover new territories are almost always navigators, travelling in a
public ship, often public officers or individuals commissioned by their
governments — agents of the government — and they cannot occupy
in their own name.
A recent event furnishes a powerful support to the theory that
rights of sovereignty can be ceded to individuals, namely, the treaty
between the Sultans of Borneo and Sulu and Mr. Dent and Baron
Overbeck, who, in their turn, have ceded their rights to a private
British company, the "British North Borneo Company." This
fact has importance in itself, as a new event which enlarges
juridical science; but what especially gives strong support to our
thesis is the manner in which this event has been appreciated, be
it inferentially or explicitly, by several governments, by jurisconsults,
and by eminent statesmen whose opinions can be invoked as having
authority.
The opinions of jurisconsults and publicists are ranged among the
sources of international law.^
In the first place, the Governments of Holland and of Spain, who
believed themselves most directly affected by the concessions, ac-
corded by the two Sultans of Borneo, did not den}'' the principle of the
capacity of individuals or of associations to have ceded to them rights
* Heffter, Le droit international piihlique, par. 52, p. 104.
* Wheaton, vol. i., par. 12, p. 25; Heffter, par. 8, p. 16.
Appendix 525
of sovereignty, but they raised reclamations against these treaties by
invoking rights previously acquired.
Let us reproduce here the passage written by M. de Lave le ye upon
the discussion to which the giving of a charter of incorporation to the
British North Borneo Company gave rise in the English Parlia-
ment ^ :
"Certain members of the left, adversaries of what is called in Eng-
land the imperial policy, that is to say of the policy which seeks ex-
tension of territory and of influence, criticised the measure because
it created a new responsibility for the country; but no one contested
the right of individuals or of the company — rights resulting from
treaties concluded with indigenous chiefs. In the reply made in the
House of Commons by the attorney-general, Sir Henry James, we
read:
"' These rights were conceded to the company and became legally its
property. The Government of Her Majesty had no power to enter
into a general examination of the propriety of the occupation of
Borneo by a commercial company. It would have been an act of con-
fiscation if, after what had happened, the Government had interfered,
and had endeavoured to take from it the rights which it had acquired.
The only thing the Government had to decide was whether or
not it was necessary to leave the company to act without impediment
and entirely without control.'
"Mr. Gladstone was not less affirmative. Said he, at the same
sitting:
" 'The charter has not conferred upon the company a single privilege
above and beyond what it had already acquired by virtue of a title
sufficient to enable it to exercise all these powers.'
"From the explanations given by Lord Granville in the House of
Lords, the 13th March, 1882, it appears that if Holland and Spain
have protested against the rights invoked by the Overbeck-Dent Com-
pany, it was because of anterior rights which these states pretend to
have over the northern part of Borneo; but, no more than Germany,
formally consulted in the matter by the British Government, have
they raised any doubt as to the capacity of indi\-iduals and companies
to obtain from non-civilised sovereigns the cession of rights implying
the exercise of sovereignty. This capacity also was not denied by the
members on the opposition side of the House of Commons."
Thus, the opinion of four Governments, the opinion of two English
ministers, Lord Granville and Mr. Gladstone, and of the attorney-
general, Sir Henry James, that of Sir Travers Twiss, and of M. de
Lavelcye, to which we would add the considerations developed in the
■ Revue de droit international, vol. xi., pp. 258, 259.
526 Story of the Congo Free State
open letter addressed, the 23d April, 1883, by a member of the African
International Association to the Courrier des Etats-Unis, form an
assemblage of authorities of a nature to fortify us in our conviction if
we had any doubts.
We conclude with these observations:
1. It is evident that if some powers have raised against similar
concessions, made by chiefs of savage tribes to individuals and associa-
tions, reclamations founded upon rights previously acquired, there
would be ground to submit these pretensions to serious examination,
or perhaps they might be submitted to arbitration, as Great Britain
and Portugal, in 1875, submitted to the arbitration of the President of
the French Republic, M. MacMahon, the contest in regard to certain
lands situated on the bay of Delagoa.
2. New sovereignties, at the head of which are individuals or associa-
tions, the concessionaries of the chiefs of savage tribes, exist of them-
selves, of their own right and their own strength, without having need of
the recognition of other States. (See Kliiber, par. 24; Hefifter, par. 23,
p. 42, and par. 51, p. 104; Bluntschli, pars. 28 and 38; and all the
authors.)
It depends upon the convenance of other States to recognise or not
to recognise these new sovereignties. But whatever may be their
determination in this respect, the want of recognition does not give
them the right to act as if these sovereignties did not exist, and to
consider their territories susceptible of occupation.
3. According to the practice of international law, at this day, the
recognition of one to whom sovereignty has been conceded, as a sover-
eign, can even follow of itself, in certain cases. Almost all govern-
ments, especially Great Britain and the United States of America ^
have adopted the rule of considering de facto governments as legitimate,
as far as they themselves are concerned. (See Heffter, pars. 51, 53,
pp. 101-105.)
Let us suppose a European nation had concluded a treaty of friend-
ship or commerce with the chief of a savage tribe, inhabiting a fixed
territory. This treaty is supposed to be concluded, and is effectively
concluded with the State which the chief represents. The chief had
ceded his rights of sovereignty to a European individual or a European
association, who are put in real possession of the sovereignty. Could
the European nation deny the legitimacy of this new Government if it
was a government de facto, according to international usages? No.
At least, Great Britain and the United States would recognise it, and
probably other States also. And if the preceding chief had been dis-
placed by internal revolution — which can break out among blacks as
among whites — and if the black chief had ceded his sovereignty to
another Negro, a relation or even a stranger to his family, would that
* See manifesto of President Monroe, of December 2, 1823.
Appendix 527
be a reason for refusing recognition to the new sovereign? And if the
chief of the tribe had ceded his sovereignty to a white man, in place of
choosing for his successor a black man, or an association composed of
whites, certainly the difference of colour could not be a reason for refus-
ing recognition to the new sovereign.
Thus it is seen that in wandering away from true and simple prin-
ciples difficulties of every kind are encountered.
Therefore I am of opinion that independent chiefs of savage tribes
can validly cede to a private individual the whole or part of their
State, with the sovereign rights which belong to them, and conformably
to the traditional customs of the country.
Brussels, December 15, 1S83.
OTHER AUTHORITIES CITED
(Extract from the Droit international codifie, by M. Bluntschli.)
(Page 68, paragraph 35) : A new State has the right to enter into the
international association of States, and to be recognised by other
powers when its existence cannot be put in doubt and is assvired. It
has the right because it exists, because international law unites existing
States by common laws and principles based upon justice and humanity.
Recognition by other sovereign States is a voluntary act on a part
of these latter. It is not, nevertheless, an absolutely arbitrary act,
because international law unites, even against their will, diverse
existing States, and makes of them a kind of political association.
The opinion is frequently advanced by the older publicists that it
depends upon the good pleasure of each State to recognise or not to
recognise another, outside of the necessary and absolute line of inter-
national law. If this law rested solely upon the arbitrary will of
States, it would not be just that it should be simply a conventional law.
(Page 164): A State has evidently the right to constitute itself
without the ratification of another State. This would be the case
when emigrants, for example, found a State upon an uninhabited
island, as did the Norwegians in Iceland in the middle ages. A num-
ber of new States of North America were founded by individuals;
it was only later that they were recognised by England, and to this
day they proceed in the same manner in the United States. If new
states can in this way constitute themselves, by still stronger rea-
soning analogous extensions of territory already existing should be
recognised.
ANOTHER MANNER OF ACQUIRING THE SOVEREIGNTY
OF A FREE COUNTRY
(From Vattcl, Le droit des gens, vol. i., page 489, par. 206.)
If free families, scattered over an independent country, unite to
form themselves into a nation or a State, they acquire the sovereignty
528 Story of the Congo Free State
over the whole State which they inhabit, for they possess already the
domain; and since they wish to form a political society and to estab-
lish a public authority to which all will owe obedience, it is quite mani-
fest that their intention is to confer upon this public authority the
right of sovereignty of the whole country.
(From Heffter, Le droit international publique de V Europe.)
(Pages 32 and 33): The existence of a state supposes the following
conditions, to wit:
I. A society capable of existing by itself and independently.
II. A collective will regularly organised, or a public authority
charged with the direction of society for the end which we have just
indicated.
III. A permanent status of society, the natural base of a free and
permanent development, and which depends essentially on the fixity
of the tenure of real estate and the intellectual and moral tendencies
of its members.
We regard as idle the questions discussed by the schools, such as,
What is the number of persons necessary to form a state ? or, If one or
three persons are sufficient? The distinctive characteristics of a state
which we have just indicated sufficiently answer these questions.
(Page 42) : A state exists de facto so soon as it unites the necessary
elements indicated above; that is to say, will, imited to the indis-
pensable means and strength to defend its independence.
(Page 43) : The entry of a new state upon the political scene depends
in no wise upon an express preliminary recognition by foreign powers.
It is fully accomplished the day when it commences to exist. On the
other hand, political reasons alone may decide foreign powers to
recognise or enter into direct relations with it. Recognition only con-
firms what legally exists by admitting the new member into the grand
European family.
(From the Cornmentary upon the Elements of International Law, and
History of the Progress of International Law, by William Beach
Lawrence.)
(Page 162): It is not necessary that there should be a determined
number of persons to form a state.
(Page 197): Texas was recognised by England in 1839, when its
population was not more than 60,000 souls. Lord Palmerston said on
that occasion to Mr. O'Connell that "the principle of the Government
was to recognise every state which had a de facto independence."
(Chamber of Commerce of the State of New York. Founded A.D.
1768.)
At an adjourned meeting of the Chamber of Commerce, held January
10, 1884, the following resolutions, presented by Mr. A. A. Low, were
adopted:
Appendix 529
Whereas, the President of the United States has, in his recent
message, called attention to the fact that the rich and populous valley
of the Congo is now being opened to commerce by the International
African Association, and has especially dwelt upon the interest, for the
purposes of trade and commerce, that we have, as a people, in the neu-
trality of that valley, free from the interference or political control of
any one nation: Therefore,
Be it resolved, As the opinion of this Chamber that it is incumbent
upon the Government of the United States, through its accredited
representative, to apprise the Portuguese Government that it will not
recognise, but denies the right of the latter to interfere with the free
navigation of the Congo; that the discovery of this great waterway
into the interior of Central Africa is not due to Portugal, but was the
discovery of an explorer in the interest of no one nationality; and
that the entry, 400 years ago, into the mouth of the Congo, by the
Portuguese, not having been followed up by actual and continued
occupation, can give that nation no territorial right to the river, or to
the countries upon its banks.
Resolved, That the recognition by the Government of the United
States of the flag of the International African Association, now extend-
ing over twenty-two settlements, in the heart of Africa, will be but an
acknowledgment of the fact that that organisation, under rights ceded
to it by African chiefs of independent territories, is exercising rule and
authority over a large part of Africa in the protection of life and pro-
perty, the extinguishment of the slave trade, the facilitating of com-
mercial intercourse, and other attributes of sovereignty; and that it
be recommended to the President to send an accredited agent of the
Government to the Congo, to confer with that association in the
adopting of such measures as may secure to American citizens free
commercial intercotirse along the course of that river, and through the
various settlements or stations established by the association.
A true copy.
Jas. M. Brown,
President.
George Wilson,
Secretary.
(From copy of correspondence of the Manchester Chamber of Com-
merce and the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.)
His Majesty the King of the Belgians has, during the last two years,
incurred considerable expense in an expedition to the Upper Congo
for the purposes of opening roads, establishing stations for trade, and
for communication with the vast tribes inhabiting the interior of
Africa. For the result of this expedition merchants are watching with
530 Story of the Congo Free State
interest, believing that this river will ultimately become one of the
great highways for trade in the heart of Africa.
It is, therefore, both manifest and notorious that the
African tribes who inhabit the coast-line claimed by Portugal, between
5° 12', and 8th degree south latitude, are in reality independent, and
that the right acquired by Portugal from priority of discovery at the
end of the fifteenth century has for a long time been suffered to lapse,
owing to the Portuguese Government not having occupied the country
so discovered. In the presence of these facts the undersigned must re-
peat the declaration of Her Majesty's Government that the interests of
commerce imperatively required it to maintain the right of unrestricted
intercourse with that part of the coast of Western Africa extending
between 5°, 12', and the 8th degree of south latitude.
I have the honour to be, my lord, your lordship's obedient, very
humble servant,
John Slagg,
President.
(From Earl Granville's reply to Lord Mount Temple in the House of
Lords, March 0, 1883.)
. The labours of men like Livingstone, Stanley, and others
have given us a knowledge of the physical character of Central Africa,
and of the populations which inhabit it, showing that there are great
capabilities for the development of trade, and of the civilising effects
which are the result of commerce. The work of the philanthropic
International Association, in which the King of the Belgians takes a
great interest, the mission of M. de Brazza, the increasing trade in
different degrees, of the English, the Portuguese, the French, the
Germans, the Dutch, and the Belgians, on the Congo and its banks,
are acting as a stimulus and afford grounds why no reasonable en-
deavours should be neglected to insure freedom of commerce and
navigation, and to anticipate possible jealousies, which so easily check
trade, and which, under the pretence of securing peculiar advantages
to some, are really injurious to all.
GENERAL ACT OF THE BERLIN CONFERENCE
In the name of Almighty God, —
His Majesty the German Emperor, King of Prussia; His Majesty
the Emperor of Austria, King of Bohemia, etc., and Apostolic King of
Hungary; His Majesty the King of the Belgians; His Majesty the
King of Denmark; His Majesty the King of Spain; the President of
the United States of America ; the President of the French Republic ;
Her Majesty the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Appendix 53^
Ireland, Empress of India; His Majesty the King of Italy; His Maj-
esty the King of the Netherlands, Grand Duke of Ltixembourg, etc. ;
His Majesty the King of Portugal and the Algarves, etc. ; His Majesty
the Emperor of All the Russias; His Majesty the King of Sweden and
Norway, etc. ; and His Majesty the Emperor of the Ottomans,
Wishing, in a spirit of good and mutual accord, to regulate the
conditions most favourable to the development of trade and civilisa-
tion in certain regions of Africa, and to assure to all nations the advan-
tages of free navigation on the two chief rivers of Africa flowing into
the Atlantic Ocean; being desirous, on the other hand, to obviate the
misunderstandings and disputes which might in future arise from new
acts of occupation (prises de possession) on the coast of Africa; and
concerned, at the same time, as to the means of furthering the moral
and material well-being of the native populations : Have resolved, on
the invitation addressed to them by the Imperial Government of Ger-
many, in agreement with the Government of the French Republic, to
meet for those purposes in Conference at Berlin, and have appointed
as their Plenipotentiaries, to wit: —
His Majesty the German Emperor, King of Prussia, Otho, Prince
von Bismarck, his President of the Prussian Council of Ministers,
Chancellor of the Empire; Paul, Count von Hatzfeldt, his Minister of
State and Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs; Auguste Busch, his
Acting Privy Councillor of Legation and Under-Secretary of State for
Foreign Affairs ; and Henri von Kusserow, Privy Councillor of Legation
in the Department for Foreign Affairs;
His Majesty the Emperor of Austria, King of Bohemia, etc., and
Apostolic King of Hungary, Emeric, Count Szechenyi de Sarvdri
Felso-Vidck, Chamberlain and Acting Privy Councillor, his Ambas-
sador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary at the Court of His Majesty
the German Emperor, King of Prussia;
His Majesty the King of the Belgians, Gabriel Auguste Count Van
dcr Straten Ponthoz, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipoten-
tiary at the Court of His Majesty the German Emperor, King of
Prussia; and Auguste, Baron Lambermont, Minister of State, Envoy
Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary;
His Majesty the King of Denmark, Emile de Vind, Chamberlain,
his Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary at the Court
of His Majesty the German Emperor, King of Prussia;
His Majesty the King of Spain, Don Francisco Merry y Colom, Count
Benomar, his Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary at
the Court of His Majesty the German Emperor, King of Prussia;
The President of the United States of America, John A. Kasson,
Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of the United
States of America at the Court of His Majesty the German Emperor,
King of Prussia; and Henry S. Sanford, ex-Minister;
532 Story of the Congo Free State
The President of the French Republic, Alphonse, Baron de Courcel,
Ambassador Extraordinary and- Plenipotentiary of France at the
Court of His Majesty the German Emperor, King of Prussia;
Her Majesty the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, Empress of India, Sir Edward Baldwin Malet, her Ambassador
Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary at the Court of His Majesty the
German Emperor, King of Prussia;
His Majesty the King of Italy, Edward, Count de Launay, his Am-
bassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary at the Court of His
Majesty the German Emperor, King of Prussia;
His Majesty the King of the Netherlands, Grand Duke of Luxem-
bourg, Frederic Philippe, Jonkheer Van der Hoeven, his Envoy Ex-
traordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary at the Court of His Majesty
the German Emperor, King of Prussia ;
His Majesty the King of Portugal and the Algarves, etc.. Da Serra
Gomes, Marquis de Penafiel, Peer of the Realm, his Envoy Extra-
ordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary at the Court of His Majest}' the
German Emperor, King of Prussia; and Antoine de Serpa Pimentel,
Councillor of State and Peer of the Realm;
His Majesty the Emperor of all the Russias, Pierre, Count Kapnist,
Privy Councillor, his Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipoten-
tiary at the Court of His Majesty the King of the Netherlands ;
His Majesty the King of Sweden and Norway, etc., Gillis, Baron
Bildt, Lieutenant-General, his Envoy Extraordinary and Minister
Plenipotentiary at the Court of His Majesty the German Emperor,
King of Prussia;
His Majesty the Emperor of the Ottomans, Mdhemed Said Pasha,
V^zir and High Dignitary, his Envoy Extraordinary and Plenipoten-
tiary at the Court of His Majesty the German Emperor, King of
Prussia ;
Who, being provided with full powers, which have been found in
good and due form, have successively discussed and adopted: —
1. A Declaration relative to freedom of trade in the basin of the
Congo, its embouchures and circumjacent regions, with other pro-
visions connected therewith.
2. A Declaration relative to the Slave Trade, and the operations by
sea or land which furnish slaves to that trade.
3. A Declaration relative to the neutrality of the territories com-
prised in the Conventional Basin of the Congo.
4. An Act of Navigation for the Congo, which, while having regard
to local circumstances, extends to this river, its affluents, and the
waters in its system {eaux qui leur sont assimilees) , the general prin-
ciples enunciated in Articles CVIII. and CXVI. of the Final Act of the
Congress of Vienna, and intended to regulate, as between the Signatory
Powers of that Act, the free navigation of the waterways separating or
Appendix 533
traversing several States — these said principles having since then been
applied by agreement to certain rivers of Europe and America, but
especially to the Danube, with the modifications stipulated by the
Treaties of Paris (1856), of Berlin (1878), and of London (of 1871 and
1883).
5. An Act of Navigation for the Niger, which, while likewise having
regard to local circumstances, extends to this river and its affluents
the same principles as set forth in Articles CVIII. and CXVI. of the
Final Act of the Congress of Vienna.
6. A Declaration introducing into international relations certain
uniform rules with reference to future occupations on the coasts of the
African Continent.
And deeming it expedient that all these several documents should
be combined into one single instrument, they (the Signatory Powers)
have collected them into one General Act, composed of the following
Articles :
Chapter I. — Declaration relative to Freedom of Trade in the Basin of
the Congo, its Mouths, and circutnjacent Regions, with other Provi-
sions connected therewith.
Article i. The trade of all nations shall enjoy complete freedom — ■
1 . In all the regions forming the basin of the Congo and its outlets.
This basin is bounded by the watersheds (or mountain ridges) of the
adjacent basins, namely, in particular, those of the Niara, the Ogowe,
the Schari, and the Nile, on the north; by the eastern watershed line
of the affluents of Lake Tanganyika, on the east; and by the water-
sheds of the basins of the Zambesi and the Loge, on the south. It
therefore comprises all the regions watered by the Congo and its
affluents, including Tanganyika, with its eastern tributaries.
2. In the maritime zone extending along the Atlantic Ocean from
the parallel situated in 2° 30' of south latitude to the mouth of the Loge.
The northern boundary will follow the parallel situated in 2° 30'
from the coast to the point where it meets the geographical basin of
the Congo, avoiding the basin of the Ogowe, to which the provisions of
the present Act do not apply.
The southern boundary will follow the course of the Loge to its
source, and thence pass eastwards till it joins the geographical basin
of the Congo.
3. In the zone stretching eastwards from the Congo Basin, as above
defined, to the Indian Ocean from the 5° of north latitude to the mouth
of the Zambesi in the south, from which point the line of demarcation
will ascend the Zambesi to five miles above its confluence with the
Shire, and then follow the watershed between the affluents of Lake
Nyassa and those of the Zambesi, till at last it reaches the watershed
between the waters of the Zambesi and the Congo.
534 Story of the Congo Free State
It is expressly recognised that in extending the principle of free
trade to this eastern zone the Conference Powers only undertake en-
gagements for themselves, and that in the territories belonging to an
independent Sovereign State this principle shall only be applicable in
so far as it is approved by stich State. But the Powers agree to use
their good offices with the Governments established on the African
shore of the Indian Ocean for the purpose of obtaining such approval,
and in any case of securing the most favourable conditions to the
transit (traffic) of all nations.
Article 2. All flags, without distinction of nationality, shall have
free access to the whole of the coast-line of the territories above enu-
merated, to the rivers there running into the sea, to all the waters of
the Congo and its affluents, including the lakes, and to all the ports
situate on the banks of these waters, as well as to all canals which may
in future be constructed with intent to unite the watercourses or lakes
within the entire area of the territories described in Article i. Those
trading under such flags may engage in all sorts of transport, and
carry on the coasting trade by sea and river, as well as boat traffic, on
the same footing as if they were subjects.
Article 3. Wares, of whatever origin, imported into those regions,
under whatsoever flag, by sea or river, or overland, shall be subject to
no other taxes than such as may be levied as fair compensation for
expenditure in the interest of trade, and which for this reason must be
equally borne by the subjects themselves and by foreigners of all na-
tionalities. All differential dues on vessels, as well as on merchandise,
are forbidden.
Article 4. Merchandise imported into those regions shall remain
free from import and transit dues.
The Powers reserve to themselves to determine after the lapse
of twenty years whether this freedom of import shall be retained
or not.
Article 5. No Power which exercises or shall exercise sovereign
rights in the above-mentioned regions shall be allowed to grant therein
a monopoly or favour of any kind in matters of trade.
Foreigners, without distinction, shall enjoy protection of their per-
sons and property, as well as the right of acqtiiring and transferring
movable and immovable possessions; and national rights and treat-
ment in the exercise of their professions.
Article 6. Provisions relative to Protection of the Natives, of Mis-
sionaries and Travellers, as well as relative to Religious Liberty. — All the
Powers exercising sovereign rights or influence in the aforesaid terri-
tories bind themselves to watch over the preservation of the native
tribes, and to care for the improvement of the conditions of their
moral and material well-being, and to help in suppressing slavery, and
especially the Slave Trade. They shall, without distinction of creed
Appendix- 535
or nation, protect and favour all religious, scientific, or charitable in-
stitutions, and undertakings created and organised for the above ends,
or which aim at instructing the natives and bringing home to them the
blessings of civilisation.
Christian missionaries, scientists, and explorers, with their followers,
property, and collections, shall likewise be the objects of especial pro-
tection.
Freedom of conscience and religious toleration are expressly guaran-
teed to the natives, no less than to subjects and to foreigners. The
free and public exercise of all forms of Divine worship, and the right to
build edifices for religious purposes, and to organise religious missions
belonging to all creeds, shall not be limited or fettered in any way
whatsoever.
Article 7. Postal Regime. — The Convention of the Universal
Postal Union, as revised at Paris the ist June, 1878, shall be applied
to the Conventional Basin of the Congo.
The Powers who therein do or shall exercise rights of sovereignty
or protectorate engage, as soon as circumstances permit them, to
take the measures necessary for the carrying out of the preceding pro-
vision.
Article 8. Right of Surveillance vested in the International Naviga-
tion Commission of the Congo. — In all parts of the territory had in view
by the present Declaration, where no Power shall exercise rights of
sovereignty or protectorate, the International Navigation Commission
of the Congo, instituted in virtue of Article 17, shall be charged with
supervising the application of the principles proclaimed and per-
petuated {consacres) by this Declaration.
In all cases of difference arising relative to the application of the
principles established by the present Declaration, the Governments
concerned may agree to appeal to the good offices of the International
Commission, by submitting to it an examination of the facts which
shall have occasioned these differences.
Chapter II. — Declaration relative to the Slave Trade
Article 9. Seeing that trading in slaves is forbidden in conformity
with the principles of international law as recognised by the Signatory
Powers, and seeing also that the operations which by sea or land fur-
nish slaves to trade ought likewise to be regarded as forbidden, the
Powers which do or shall exercise sovereign rights or influence in the
territories forming the Conventional Basin of the Congo declare that
these territories may not serve as a market or means of transit for the
trade in slaves, of whatever race they may be. Each of the Powers
binds itself to employ all the means at its disposal for putting an end
to this trade and for punishing those who engage in it,
53^ Story of the Congo Free State
'Chapter III. — Declaration relative to the Neutrality of the Territories
comprised in the Conventional Basin of the Congo
Article io. In order to give a new guarantee of security to trade
and industry, and to encourage, by the maintenance of peace, the de-
velopment of civihsation mentioned in Article i , and placed under the
free trade system, the High Signatory Parties to the present Act, and
those who shall hereafter adopt it, bind themselves to respect the neu-
trality of the territories, or portions of territories, belonging to the
said covintries, comprising therein the territorial waters, so long as the
Powers which exercise or shall exercise the rights of sovereignty or
protectorate over those territories, using their option of proclaiming
themselves neutral, shall fulfil the duties which neutrality requires.
Article ii. In case a Power exercising rights of sovereignty or
protectorate in the countries mentioned in Article i , and placed under
the free trade system, shall be involved in a war, then the High Sig-
natory Parties to the present Act, and those who shall hereafter adopt
it, bind themselves to lend their good offices in order that the terri-
tories belonging to this Power and comprised in the Conventional free
trade zone shall, by the common consent of this Power and of the
other belligerent or belligerents, be placed during the war under the
rule of neutrality, and considered as belonging to a non-belligerent
State, the belligerents thenceforth abstaining from extending hostilities
to the territories thus neutralised, and from using them as a base for
warlike operations.
Article 12. In case a serious disagreement originating on the sub-
ject of, or in the limits of, the territories mentioned in Article i and
placed under the free trade system, shall arise between any Signatory
Powers of the present Act, or the Powers which may become parties
to it, these Powers bind themselves, before appealing to arms, to have
recourse to the mediation of one or more of the friendly Powers.
In a similar case the same Powers reserve to themselves the option
of having recourse to arbitration.
Chapter IV. — Act of Navigation for the Congo
Article 13. The navigation of the Congo, without excepting any
of its branches or outlets, is, and shall remain, free for the merchant
ships of all nations equally, whether carrying cargo or ballast, for the
transport of goods or passengers. It shall be regulated by the pro-
visions of this Act of Navigation, and by the rules to be made in
pursuance thereof.
In the exercise of this navigation the subjects and flags of all nations
shall in all respects be treated on a footing of perfect equality, not
only for the direct navigation from the open sea to the inland ports of
Appendix 537
the Congo and vice versd, but also for the great and small coasting
trade, and for boat traffic on the course of the river.
Consequently, on all the course and mouths of the Congo there will
be no distinction made between the subjects of Riverain States and
those of non- Riverain States, and no exclusive privilege of navigation
will be conceded to companies, corporations, or private persons what-
soever.
These provisions are recognised by the Signatory Powers as becom-
ing henceforth a part of international law.
Article 14. The navigation of the Congo shall not be subject to
any restriction or obligation which is not expressly stipulated by the
present Act. It shall not be exposed to any landing dues, to any sta-
tion or depot tax, or to any charge for breaking bulk, or for compulsory
entry into port.
In all the extent of the Congo the ships and goods in process of
transit on the river shall be submitted to no transit dues, whatever
their starting-place or destination.
There shall be levied no maritime or river toll based on the mere fact
of navigation, nor any tax on goods aboard of ships. There shall only
be levied taxes or duties having the character of an equivalent for
services rendered to navigation itself, to wit:
1. Harbour dues on certain local establishments, such as wharves,
warehouses, etc., if actually used.
The tariff of such dues shall be framed according to the cost of con-
structing and maintaining the said local establishments; and it will be
applied without regard to whence vessels come or what they are loaded
with.
2. Pilot dues for those stretches of the river where it may be neces-
sary to establish properly qualified pilots.
The tariff of these dues shall be fixed and calculated in proportion to
the service rendered.
3. Charges raised to cover technical and administrative expenses
incurred in the general interest of navigation, including lighthouse,
beacon, and buoy duties.
The last-mentioned dues shall be based on the tonnage of vessels as
shown by the ship's papers, and in accordance with the rules adopted
on the Lower Danube.
The tariffs by which the various dues and taxes enumerated in the
three preceding paragraphs shall be levied shall not involve any differ-
ential treatment, and shall be officially published at each port.
The Powers reserve to themselves to consider, after the lapse of five
years, whether it may be necessary to revise, by common accord, the
above-mentioned tariffs.
Article 15. The affluents of the Congo shall in all respects be sub-
ject to the same rules as the river of which they arc tributaries.
538 Story of the Congo Free State
And the same rules shall apply to the streams and river as well as
the lakes and canals in the territories defined in paragraphs 2 and 3 of
Article i.
At the same time the powers of the International Commission o^ the
Congo will not extend to the said rivers, streams, lakes, and canals
unless with the assent of the States under whose sovereignty they are
placed. It is well understood, also, that with regard to the territories
mentioned in paragraph 3 of Article i, the consent of the Sovereign
States owning these territories is reserv^ed.
Article 16. The roads, railways, or lateral canals which may be
constructed with the special object of obviating the innavigability or
correcting the imperfection of the river route on certain sections of the
course of the Congo, its affluents, and other waterways placed under a
similar system, as laid down in Article 15, shall be considered, in their
quality of means of communication, as dependencies of this river, and
as equally open to the traffic of all nations.
And as on the river itself, so there shall be collected on these roads,
railways, and canals onh^ tolls calculated on the cost of construction,
maintenance, and management, and on the profits due to the promoters.
As regards the tariff of these tolls, strangers and the natives of the
respective territories shall be treated on a footing of perfect equality.
Article 17. There is instituted an International Commission,
charged with the execution of the provisions of the present Act of
Navigation.
The Signatory Powers of this Act, as well as those who may subse-
quently adhere to it, may always be represented on the said Commis-
sion, each by one Delegate. But no Delegate shall have more than
one vote at his disposal, even in the case of his representing several
Governments.
This Delegate will be directly paid by his Government. As for the
various agents and employees of the International Commission, their
remuneration shall be charged to the amount of the dues collected in
conformity with paragraphs 2 and 3 of Article 14.
The particulars of the said remuneration, as well as the number,
grade, and powers of the agents and employees, shall be entered in the
Returns to be sent yearly to the Governments represented on the In-
ternational Commission.
Article 18. The members of the International Commission, as well
as its appointed agents, are invested with the privileges of inviolability
in the exercise of their functions. The same guarantee shall apply to
the offices and archives of the Commission.
Article 19. The International Commission for the Navigation of
the Congo shall be constituted as soon as five of the Signatory Powers
of the present General Act shall have appointed their Delegates. And
pending the constitution of the Commission the nomination of these
Appendix 539
Delegates shall be notified to the Imperial Government of Germany,
which will see to it that the necessary steps are taken to summon the
meeting of the Commission.
The Commission will at once draw up Navigation, River Police, Pilot,
and Quarantine Rules.
These Rules, as well as the tariffs to be framed by the Commission,
shall, before coming into force, be submitted for approval to the
Powers represented on the Commission. The Powers interested will
have to communicate their views with as little delay as possible.
Any infringements of these Rules will be checked by the agents of
the International Commission wherever it exercises direct authority,
and elsewhere by the Riverain Power.
In the case of an abuse of power, or an act of injustice, on the part
of any agent or employee of the International Commission, the indi-
vidual who considers himself to be aggrieved in his person or rights
may apply to the Consular Agent of his country. The latter will
examine his complaint, and if he finds it primd facie reasonable,
he will then be entitled to bring it before the Commission. At his
instance then, the Commission, represented by at least three of its
members, shall in conjunction with him inquire into the conduct of its
agent or employee. Should the Consular Agent look upon the decision
of the Commission as raising questions of law (objections de droit),
he will report on the subject to his Government, which may then have
recourse to the Powers represented on the Commission, and invite
them to agree as to the instructions to be given to the Commission.
Article 20. The International Commission of the Congo, charged
in terms of Article 17 with the execution of the present Act of Navi-
gation, shall in particular have power —
1. To decide what works are necessary to assure the navigability of
the Congo in accordance with the needs of international trade.
On those sections of the river where no Power exercises sovereign
rights, the International Commission will itself take the necessary
measures for assuring the navigability of the river.
On those sections of the river held by a Sovereign Power, the Inter-
national Commission will concert its action (s'entendra) with the
riparian authorities.
2. To fix the pilot tariff and that of the general navigation dues as
provided for by paragraphs 2 and 3 of Article 14.
The tariffs mentioned in the first paragraph of Article 14 shall be
framed b}^ the territorial authorities within the limits prescribed in the
said Article.
The levying of the various dues shall be seen to by the international
or territorial authorities on whose behalf they are established.
3. To administer the revenue arising from the application of the
preceding paragraph (2).
540 Story of the Congo Free State
4. To superintend the quarantine establishment created in virtue of
Article 24.
5. To appoint officials for the general service of navigation, and also
its own proper employees.
It will be for the territorial authorities to appoint Sub-Inspectors on
sections of the river occupied by a Power, and for the International
Commission to do so on the other sections.
The Riverain Power will notify to the International Commission the
appointment of Sub- Inspectors, and this Power will undertake the
payment of their salaries.
In the exercise of its functions as above- defined and limited,
the International Commission will be independent of the territorial
authorities.
Article 21. In the accomplishment of its task the International
Commission may, if need be, have recourse to the war-vessels of the
Signatory Powers of this Act, and of those who may in future accede
to it, under reserve, however, of the instructions which may be given
to the Commanders of their vessels by their respective Governments.
Article 22. The war vessels of the Signatory Powers of this Act
that may enter the Congo are exempt from payment of the navigation
dues provided for in paragraph 3 of Article 14; but unless their inter-
vention has been called for by the International Commission or its
agents, in terms of the preceding Article, they shall be liable to the
payment of the pilot or harbour dues which may eventually be
established.
Article 23. With the view of providing for the technical and ad-
ministrative expenses which it may incur, the International Commis-
sion created by Article 17 may, in its own name, negotiate loans to
be exclusively guaranteed by the revenues raised by the said Com-
mission.
The decisions of the Commission dealing with the conclusion of a
loan must be come to by a majority of two thirds. It is understood
that the Governments represented on the Commission shall not in any
case be held as assuming any guarantee, or as contracting any en-
gagement or joint liability (solidarite) with respect to the said
loans, unless under special Conventions concluded by them to this
effect.
The revenue yielded by the dues specified in paragraph 3 of Article
14 shall bear, as a first charge, the payment of the interest and sinking
fund of the said loans, according to agreement with the lenders.
Article 24. At the mouth of the Congo there shall be founded,
either on the initiative of the Riverain Powers, or by the intervention
of the International Commission, a quarantine establishment for the
control of vessels passing out of as well as into the river.
Later on, the Powers will decide whether and on what conditions a
Appendix 54^
sanitary control shall be exercised over vessels engaged in the naviga-
tion of the river itself.
Article 25. The provisions of the present Act of Navigation shall
remain in force in time of war. Consequently all nations, whether
neutral or belligerent, shall always be free, for the purposes of trade,
to navigate the Congo, its branches, affluents, and mouths, as well as
the territorial waters fronting the embouchure of the river.
Traffic will similarly remain free, despite a state of war, on the roads,
railways, lakes, and canals mentioned in Articles 15 and 16.
There will be no exception to this principle except in so far as con-
cerns the transport of articles intended for a belligerent and, in virtue
of the law of nations, regarded as contraband of war.
All the works and establishments created in pursuance of the present
Act, especially the tax-collecting offices and their treasuries, as well as
the permanent service staff of these establishments, shall enjoy the
benefits of neutrality (places sous le regime de la neutralite) , and shall
therefore be respected and protected by belligerents.
Chapter V. — Act of Navigation for the Niger
Article 26. The navigation of the Niger, without excepting any
of its branches and outlets, is and shall remain entirely free for the
merchant-ships of all nations equally, whether with cargo or ballast,
for the transportation of goods and passengers. It shall be regulated
by the provisions of this Act of Navigation, and by the rules to be
made in pursuance of this Act.
In the exercise of this navigation the subjects and flags of all nations
shall be treated, in all circumstances, on a footing of perfect equality,
not only for the direct navigation from the open sea to the inland
ports of the Niger and vice versd, but for the great and small coasting
trade, and for boat trade on the course of the river.
Consequently, on all the course and mouths of the Niger there will
be no distinction made between the subjects of the Riverain States and
those of non-Riverain States; and no exclusive privilege of naviga-
tion will be conceded to companies, corporations, or private persons.
These provisions are recognised by the Signatory Powers as forming
licnceforth a part of international law.
Article 27. The navigation of the Niger shall not be subject to any
restriction or obligation based merely on the fact of navigation.
It shall not be exposed to any obligation in regard to landing, sta-
tion, or depot, or for breaking bulk, or for compulsory entry into port.
In all the extent of the Niger the ships and goods in process of
transit on the river shall be submitted to no transit dues, whatever
their starting-place or destination.
No maritime or river toll shall be levied based on the sole fact of
542 Story of the Congo Free State
navigation, nor any tax on goods on board of ships. There shall only
be collected taxes or duties which shall be an equivalent for services
rendered to navigation itself. The tariff of these taxes or duties shall
not warrant any differential treatment.
Article 28. The affluents of the Niger shall be in all respects sub-
ject to the same rules as the river of which they are tributaries.
Article 29. The roads, railways, or lateral canals which may be
constructed with the special object of obviating the innavigability or
correcting the imperfections of the river route on certain sections of
the course of the Niger, its affluents, branches, and outlets, shall be
considered, in their quality of means of communication, as depend-
encies of this river and as equally open to the traffic of all nations.
And as on the river itself, so there shall be collected on these roads,
railways, and canals only tolls calculated on the cost of construction,
maintenance, and management, and on the profits due to the promoters.
As regards the tariff of these tolls, strangers and the natives of the
respective territories shall be treated on a footing of perfect equality.
Article 30. Great Britain undertakes to apply the principles of
freedom of navigation enunciated in Articles 26, 27, 28, and 29, on so
much of the waters of the Niger, its affluents, branches, and outlets, as
are or may be under her sovereignty or protection.
The rules which she may establish for the safety and control of
navigation shall be drawn up in a way to facilitate, as far as possible,
the circulation of merchant-ships.
It is understood that nothing in these obligations shall be inter-
preted as hindering Great Britain from making any rules of navigation
whatever which shall not be contrary to the spirit of these engagements.
Great Britain undertakes to protect foreign merchants and all the
trading nationalities on all those portions of the Niger which are or
may be under her sovereignty or protection as if they were her own
subjects, provided always that such merchants conform to the rules
which are or shall be made in virtue of the foregoing.
Article 31. France accepts, under the same reservations, and
in identical terms, the obHgations undertaken in the preceding
Articles in respect of so much of the waters of the Niger, its affluents,
branches, and outlets, as are or may be under her sovereignty or pro-
tection.
Article 32. Each of the other Signatory Powers binds itself in the
same way, in case it should ever exercise in the future rights of sover-
eignty or protection over any portion of the waters of the Niger, its
affluents, branches, or outlets.
Article 33. The arrangements of the present Act of Navigation
will remain in force in time of war. Consequently, the navigation of
all neutral or belligerent nations will be in all times free for the usages
of commerce on the Niger, its branches, its affluents, its mouths, and
Appendix 543
outlets, as well as on the territorial waters opposite the mouths and
outlets of that river.
The traffic will remain equally free in spite of a state of war on the
roads, railways, and canals mentioned in Article 29.
There will be an exception to this principle only in that which re-
lates to the transport of articles destined for a belligerent and con-
sidered, in virtue of the law of nations, as articles of contraband of
war.
Chapter VI. — Declaration relative to the essential Conditions to be
observed in order that new Occupations on the Coasts of the
African Continent may he held to be effective
Article 34. Any Power which henceforth takes possession of a
tract of land on the coasts of the African Continent outside of its
present possessions, or which, being hitherto without such possessions,
shall acquire them, as well as the Power which assuines a protectorate
there, shall accompany the respective act with a notification thereof,
addressed to the other Signatory Powers of the present Act, in order
to enable them, if need be, to make good any claims of their own.
Article 35. The Signatory Powers of the present Act recognise the
obligation to ensure the establishment of authority in the regions occu-
pied by them on the coasts of the African Continent sufficient to
protect existing rights, and, as the case may be, freedom of trade and
of transit under the conditions agreed upon.
Chapter VII. — General Dispositions
Article 36. The Signatory Powers of the present General Act
reserve to themselves to introduce into it subsequently, and by com-
mon accord, such modifications and improvements as experience may
show to be expedient.
Article 37. The Powers who have not signed the present General
Act shall be free to adhere to its provisions by a separate instru-
ment.
The adhesion of each Power shall be notified in diplomatic form to
the Government of the German Empire, and by it in turn to all the
other Signatory or adhering Powers.
Such adhesion shall carry with it full acceptance of all the obliga-
tions as well as admission to all the advantages stipulated by the
present General Act.
Article 38. The present General Act shall be ratified with as little
delay as possible, the same in no case to exceed a year.
It will come into force for each Power from the date of its ratifica-
tion by that Power.
544 Story of the Congo Free State
Meanwhile, the Signatory Powers of the present General Act bind
themselves not to take any steps contrary to its provisions.
Each Power will address its ratification to the Government of the
German Empire, by which notice of the fact will be given to all the
other Signatory Powers of the present Act.
The ratifications of all the Powers will be deposited in the archives
of the Government of the German Empire. When all the ratitications
shall have been sent in, there will be drawn up a Deposit Act, in the
shape of a Protocol, to be signed by the Representatives of all the
Powers which have taken part in the Conference of Berlin, and of
which a certified copy will be sent to each of those Powers.
In testimony whereof the several Plenipotentiaries have signed the
present General Act and have affixed thereto their seals.
Done at Berlin the 26th day of February, 1885.
(Here follow the signatures of the Plenipotentiaries in
the order of their names in the preamble.)
THE TEXT OF THE DECLARATIONS AND TREATIES
BETWEEN THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION
OF THE CONGO AND ITS NEIGHBOURS, GER-
MANY, GREAT BRITAIN, FRANCE, AND POR-
TUGAL. ALSO ITS DECLARATION EXCHANGED
WITH BELGIUM.
On 8th November, 1884, a convention was con-
cluded between the German Empire and the Associa-
tion. The following are its terms :
Article i. The International Association of the Congo engages
not to levy any duty on articles or merchandise imported directly or
in transit into its present or future possessions in the basins of the
Congo and the Niadi-Kwilu, or into its possessions situated on the
Atlantic Ocean. This exemption from duties especially applies to
merchandise and articles of commerce which are carried by the roads
made round the cataracts of the Congo
Article 2. The subjects of the German Empire shall ha\-e the
right of sojourning and of establishing themselves on the territories
of the Association. They shall be treated on the same footing as the
subjects of the most favoured nation, including the inhabitants of the
country, so far as concerns the protection of their persons and posses-
sions, the free exercise of their religion, the recognition and defence of
their rights, as well as in matters of navigation, trade, or manufactures.
Appendix 545
Especially, they shall have the right of buying, selling, and leasing
lands and buildings situated in the territories of the Association, of
establishing commercial houses, and carrying on trade or the coasting
trade under the German flag.
Article 3. The Association engages never to grant any privileges
whatsoever to the subjects of any other nation without their being
immediately extended to German subjects.
Article 4. In the event of the cession of the present or future
territory of the Association, or of any part of it, the obligations con-
tracted by the Association towards the German Empire shall be trans-
ferred to the occupier. These obligations and the rights granted by
the Association to the German Empire and its subjects shall remain
in force after every cession as far as regards each new occupier.
Article 5. The German Empire recognises the flag of the Associa-
tion — a blue flag with a golden star in the centre — as that of a friendly
State.
Article 6. The German Empire is ready on its part to recognise
the frontiers of the territory of the Association and of the new State
which is to be created, as they are shown in the annexed Map.
Article 7. This Convention shall be ratified and the ratifications
shall be exchanged with the least possible delay.
This Convention shall come into force immediately after the ex-
change of the ratifications.
Done at Berlin the 8th November, 1884.
(Signed) Count v. Brandenbourg.
Strauch.
On 1 6th December, 1884, Great Britain and the
International Association of the Congo exchanged
declarations and concluded a Convention. The fol-
lowing is the declaration of the Association:
The International Association of the Congo, founded by His Majesty
the King of the Belgians for the purpose of promoting the civilisation
and commerce of Africa, and for other humane and benevolent pur-
poses, hereby declares as follows: —
Article i. That by Treaties with the legitimate Sovereigns in the
basins of the Congo and of the Niadi-Kwilu, and in adjacent territories
upon the Atlantic, there has been ceded to it territory for the use and
benefit of Free States established, and being established, in the said
basins and adjacent territories.
Article 2. That by virtue of the said Treaties, the administration
of the interests of the said Free States is vested in the Association,
54^ Story of the Congo Free State
Article 3. That the Association has adopted as its standard, and
that of the said Free States, a blue flag with a golden star in the centre.
Article 4. That with a view of enabling commerce to penetrate
into Equatorial Africa, the Association and the said Free States have
resolved to levy no customs duties upon goods or articles of merchan-
dise imported directly into their territories or brought by the route
which has been constructed around the cataracts of the Congo.
Article 5. That the Association and the said Free States guaran-
tee to foreigners established in their territories the free exercise of their
religion, the rights of navigation, commerce, and industry, and the
right of buying, selling, letting, and hiring lands, buildings, mines, and
forests, on the sole condition that they shall obey the laws.
Article 6. That the Association and the said free States will do
all in their power to prevent the Slave Trade and to suppress slavery.
Done at Berlin, the i6th December, 1884.
(On behalf of the Association),
(Signed) Strauch.
The declaration of the British Government was as
follows :
The Government of Her Britannic Majesty declare their sympathy
with, and approval of, the humane and benevolent purposes of the
Association, and hereby recognise the flag of the Association, and of
the Free States under its administration, as the flag of a friendly
Government.
(On behalf of Her Majesty's Government),
Edward B. Malet.
The Convention itself was couched in the following
terms:
Whereas the Government of Her Britannic Majesty have recognised
the flag of the International Association of the Congo, and of the Free
States under its administration, as the flag of a friendly Government;
And whereas it is expedient to regulate and define the rights of
British subjects in the territories of the said Free States, and to provide
for the exercise of civil and criminal jurisdiction over them, in manner
hereinafter mentioned, until sufficient provision shall have been made
by the Association for the administration of justice among foreigners;
It is hereby agreed as follows : —
Article i. The International Association of the Congo imdertakes
not to levy any duty, import or transit, on articles or merchandise
Appendix 547
imported by British subjects into the said territories, or into any
territory which may hereafter come under its government. This
freedom from custom-house duties shall extend to merchandise and
articles of commerce which shall be transported along the roads or
canals constructed, or to be constructed, around the cataracts of the
Congo.
Article 2. British subjects shall have at all times the right of
sojourning and of establishing themselves within the territories which
are or shall be under the Government of the said Association. They
shall enjoy the same protection which is accorded to the subjects or
citizens of the most favoured nation in all matters which regard their
persons, their property, the free exercise of their religion, and the
rights of navigation, commerce, and industry. Especially they shall
have the right of buying, of selling, of letting, and of hiring lands and
buildings, mines, and forests, situated within the said territories, and
of founding houses of commerce, and of carrying on commerce and a
coasting trade under the British flag.
Article 3. The Association engages itself not to accord any
advantages whatsoever to the subjects of any other nation without
the same advantages being extended to British subjects.
Article 4. Her Majesty the Queen of Great Britain and Ireland
may appoint Consuls or other Consular Officers to reside at ports or
stations within the said territories, and the Association engages itself
to protect them.
Article 5. Every British Consul or Consular Officer within the
said territories, who shall be thereunto duly authorised by Her Bri-
tannic Majesty's Government, may hold a Consular Court for the dis-
trict assigned to him, and shall exercise sole and exclusive jurisdiction,
both civil and criminal, over the persons and property of British sub-
jects within the same, in accordance with British law.
Article 6. Nothing in the last preceding Article contained shall
be deemed to relieve any British subject from the obligation to ob-
serve the laws of the said Free States applicable to foreigners, but any
infraction thereof by a British subject shall be justiciable only by a
British Consular Court.
Article 7. Inhabitants of the said territories who are subject to
the Government of the Association, if they shall commit any wrong
against the person or property of a British subject, shall be arrested
and punished by the authorities of the Association according to the
laws of the said Free States.
Justice shall be equitably and impartially administered on both
sides.
Article 8. A British subject, having reason to complain against
an inhaV)itant of the said territories, who is subject to the Government
of the Association, must proceed to the British Consulate, and there
548 Story of the Congo Free State
state his grievance. The Consul shall inquire into the merits of the
case, and do his utmost to arrange it amicably. In like manner, if
any such inhabitant of the said territories shall have reason to com-
plain against a British subject, the British Consul shall no less listen
to his complaint and endeavour to settle it in a friendly manner. If
disputes take place of such a nature that the Consul cannot arrange
them amicably, then he shall request the assistance of the authorities
of the Association to examine into the merits of the case and decide it
equitably.
Article 9. Should any inhabitant of the said territories, who is
subject to the Government of the Association, fail to discharge any
debt incurred to a British subject, the authorities of the Association
will do their utmost to bring him to justice, and to enforce recovery
of the said debt; and should any British subject fail to discharge a
debt incurred by him to any such inhabitant, the British authorities
will in like manner do their utmost to bring him to justice, and to
enforce recovery of the debt. No British Consul nor any authority
of the Association is to be held responsible for the payment of any
debt contracted either by a British subject or, by any inhabitant
of the said territories, who is subject to the Government of the Asso-
ciation.
Article 10. In case of the Association being desirous to cede any
portion of the territory now or hereafter under its Government, it
shall not cede it otherwise than as subject to all the engagements con-
tracted by the Association under this Convention. Those engage-
ments, and the rights thereby accorded to British subjects, shall con-
tinue to be in vigour after every cession made to any new occupant of
any portion of the said territory.
This Convention shall, be ratified, and the ratifications shall be ex-
changed with the least possible delay. It shall come into operation
immediately upon the exchange of ratifications.
Done at Berlin the i6th December, 1884.
(Signed) Edward B. Malet.
Strauch.
On 5th February, 1885, was concluded a Conven-
tion with the French Repubhc.
Article i. The International Association of the Congo hereby
declares that it extends to France the privileges it has conceded to
the United States of America, the German Empire, England, Italy,
Austria- Hungary, the Netherlands, and Spain, in virtue of the Con-
ventions which it concluded with those Powers respectively on the
22nd April, 8th November, i6th, 19th, 24th, and 29th December,
Appendix 549
1884, and 7th January, 1885, the text of which is annexed to the
present Convention.
Article 2. The Association engages moreover never to grant any
privileges whatever to the subjects of any other nation without their
being immediately extended to French citizens.
Article 3. The Government of the French Repviblic and the As-
sociation adopt as frontiers between their possessions : —
The River Chiloango from the ocean to its northernmost source;
The water-parting of the waters of the Niadi Quilloo and the Congo
as far as beyond the meridian of Manyanga;
A line to be settled, which, following as far as possible some natural
division of the land, shall end between the station of Manyanga and
the cataract of the Ntombo Mataka, at a point situated on the naviga-
ble portion of the river;
The Congo up to Stanley Pool;
The centre of Stanley Pool;
The Congo up to a point to be settled above- the River Licona-
Nkundja;
A line to be settled from that point to the 17th degree of longitude
east of Greenwich, following, as closelj^ as possible, the water-parting
of the basin of the Licona-Nkundja, which is part of the French pos-
sessions ;
The 17th degree of longitude east of Greenwich.
Article 4. A Commission, composed of an equal number on each
side of Representatives of the two parties, shall be intrusted with the
duty of marking out on the spot a frontier-line in conformity with the
preceding stipulations. In case of a difference of opinion, the question
shall be settled by Delegates, who shall be named by the International
Commission of the Congo.
Article 5. Subject to the arrangements to be made between the
International Association of the Congo and Portugal as to the terri-
tories situated to the south of the Chiloango, the Government of the
French Republic is disposed to recognise the neutrality of the posses-
sions of the International Association comprised within the frontiers
marked on the annexed Map, conditionally upon discussing and regu-
lating the conditions of such neutrality in common with the other
Powers represented at the Berlin Conference.
Article 6. The Government of the French Republic recognises
the flag of the International Association of the Congo — a blue flag
with a golden star in the centre — as the flag of a friendly Government.
In testimony whereof the respective Plenipotentiaries have signed
the present Convention and have affixed thereunto their seals.
Done at Paris the 5th February, 1885.
(L. S.) (Signed) Jules Ferry.
(L. S.) (Signed) Comte Paul de Borchgrave d'Altena.
550 Story of the Congo Free State
The Convention concluded with Portugal is dated
14th February, 1885.
Article i. The International Association of the Congo hereby
declares that it extends to Portugal the privileges it has conceded to
the United States of America, the German Empire, England, Italy,
Austria-Hungary, the Netherlands, Spain, France, and the United
Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway, in virtue of the Conventions which
it concluded with the Powers respectively on the 22nd April, 8th No-
vember, 1 6th, 19th, 24th, and 29th December, 1884, 7th January and
5th and loth February, 1885, certified copies of which the Association
engages to transmit to the Government of His Most Faithful Majesty.
Article 2. The International Association of the Congo engages
moreover never to grant any privileges whatsoever to the subjects
of any other nation without their being immediately extended to the
subjects of His Most Faithful Majesty.
Article 3. The International Association of the Congo and His
Most Faithful Majesty the King of Portugal and the Algarves adopt
the following frontiers between their possessions in West Africa,
namely : —
To the north of the River Congo (Zaire) the right frontier joining
the mouth of the river which empties itself into the Atlantic Ocean,
to the south of the Bay of Kabinda, near Ponta Vermelha, at Cabo-
Lombo ;
The parallel of this latter point prolonged till it intersects the
meridian of the junction of the Culacalla with the Luculla;
The meridian thus fixed until it meets the River Luculla;
The course of the Luculla to its junction with the Chiloango (Luango
Luce) ;
The course of the Congo (Zaire) from its mouth to its junction with
the little River Uango-Uango;
The meridian which passes by the mouth of the little River Uango-
Uango between the Dutch and Portuguese factories, so as to leave the
latter in Portuguese territory, till this meridian touches the parallel of
Nokki;
The parallel of Nokki till the point where it intersects the River
Kuango (Cuango) ;
From this point, in a southerly direction, the course of the Kuango
(Cuango).
Article 4. A Commission, composed of an equal number on each
side of Representatives of the two sides, shall be intrusted with the
duty of marking out on the spot a frontier-line in conformity with the
preceding stipulations. In case of a difference of opinion, the ques-
tion shall be settled by Delegates who shall be named by the Interna-
tional Commission of the Congo.
Appendix 551
Article 5. His Most Faithful Majesty the King of Portugal and
the Algarves is inclined to recognise the neutrality of the possessions
of the International Association of the Congo, conditionally upon dis-
cussing and regulating the conditions of such neutrality in common
with the other Powers represented at the Berlin Conference.
Article 6. His Most Faithful Majesty the King of Portugal and
the Algarves recognises the flag of the International Association of the
Congo — a blue flag with a golden star in the centre — as the flag of a
friendly Government.
Article 7. The present Convention shall be ratified, and the rati-
fications shall be exchanged at Paris within three months, or a shorter
time if possible.
In testimony of which the Plenipotentiaries of the two Contracting
Parties, as well as his Excellency Baron de Courcel, Ambassador
Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of France at Berlin, as represent-
ing the mediatory Power, have signed and affixed their seal to the
present Convention.
Done in triplicate at Berlin this 14th day of the month of February,
1885.
(Signed) Strauch.
Marquis de Penafiel.
Alph. de Courcel.
Declarations were exchanged between the Belgian
Government and the Association on 25th February,
1885.
The International Association of the Congo declares by these
presents that, by Treaties concluded with the legitimate Sovereigns in
the basin of the Congo and its tributaries, vast territories have been
ceded to it with all the rights of sovereignty, with a view to the crea-
tion of a free and independent State ; that Conventions mark off the
frontiers of the territories of the Association from those of France and
Portugal, and that the frontiers of the Association are shown on the
annexed Map;
That the said Association has adopted as the flag of the State ad-
ministered by it a blue flag with a golden star in the centre;
That the said Association has resolved not to levy any customs
duties on goods or products imported into its territories or carried by
the road which has been made round the cataracts of the Congo ; this
resolution has been adopted to assist commerce to penetrate into
Equatorial Africa;
That it insures foreigners who may establish themselves in its terri-
552 Story of the Congo Free State
tones the right of buying, selHng, or leasing lands and buildings therein
situated, of establishing commercial houses, and carrying on trade
under the sole condition of obeying tlje law. It engages, moreover,
never to grant the citizens of one nation any privilege whatever with-
out immediately extending it to the citizens of all other nations, and
to do all in its power to prevent the Slave Trade.
In testimony of which the President of the Association, acting in its
behalf, has hereunto affixed his seal and signature.
Berlin, the 23rd day of February, 1885.
(Signed) Strauch.
The Belgian Government takes note of the declarations of the
International Association of the Congo, and by these presents recog-
nises the Association within the limits indicated by it, and recognises
its flag as on an equality with that of a friendly State.
In testimony of which the Undersigned, being duly authorised
thereto, have hereunto affixed their seal and signature.
Berlin, the 23rd day of February, 1885.
(Signed) Comte Auguste van der Straten-Ponthoz.
Baron Lambermont.
DECLARATION OF THE GENERAL ACT OF THE
BRUSSELS CONFERENCE, JULY 2, 1890
The Powers assembled in Conference at Brussels, who have ratified
the General Act of Berlin of the 26th February, 1885, or who have
acceded thereto.
After having drawn up and signed in concert, in the General Act of
this day, a collection of measures intended to put an end to the Negro
Slave Trade by land as well as by sea, and to improve the moral and
material conditions of existence of the native races;
Taking into consideration that the execution of the provisions which
they have adopted with this object imposes on some of them who
have possessions or Protectorates in the conventional basin of the
Congo obligations which absolutely demand new resources to meet
them;
Have agreed to make the following Declaration: —
The Signatory or adhering Powers who have possessions or Pro-
tectorates in the said conventional basin of the Congo are authorised,
so far as they require any authority for the purpose, to establish
therein dvities upon imported goods, the scale of which shall not ex-
ceed a rate equivalent to 10 per cent, "ad valorem" at the port of
entry, always excepting spirituous liquors, which are regulated by the
provisions of Chapter VI. of the General Act of this day.
Appendix 553
After the signature of the said General Act, negotiations shall be
opened between the Powers who have ratified the General Act of
Berlin or who have adhered to it, in order to draw up, within the maxi-
mum limit of 10 per cent, "ad valorem" the conditions of the Customs
system to be established in the conventional basin of the Congo.
Nevertheless, it is understood: —
1. That no differential treatment or transit duty shall be estab-
lished ;
2. That in applying the Customs system which may be agreed
upon, each Power will undertake to simplify fonnalities as much as
possible, and to facilitate trade operations;
3. That the arrangement resulting from the proposed negotiations
shall remain in force for fifteen years from the signature of the present
Declaration.
At the expiration of this period, and failing a fresh Agreement, the
Contracting Powers shall return to the conditions provided for by
Article IV. of the General Act of Berlin, retaining the power of im-
posing duties up to a maximum of lo per cent, upon goods imported
into the conventional basin of the Congo.
The ratifications of the present Declaration shall be exchanged at
the same time as those of the General Act of this day.
In witness whereof the undersigned Plenipotentiaries have drawn
up the present Declaration, and have affixed thereto their seals.
Done at Brussels, the 2nd day of the month of July, 1890.
[L. S.] Vivian, John Kirk, Alvensleben, Gohring, R. Khevenhiiller,
Lambermont, E. Banning, Schack de Brockdorff , J. G. de Aguera, Edm.
van Eetvelde, A. van Malgeghem, A. Bouree, G. Cogordan, F. de Ren-
zis, T. Catalani, L. Gericke, Henrique de Macedo, Pereiro Coutinho,
L. Ouroussoff , Martens, Burenstam, Et Caratheodory.
TREATY OF AMITY, COMMERCE, AND NAVIGATION
His Majesty Leopold II., King of the Belgians, Sovereign of
THE Independent State of the Congo, and
The United States of America,
desiring to perpetuate, confirm and encourage the relations of com-
merce and of good understanding existing already between the two
respective countries, by the conclusion of a treaty of amity, com-
merce, navigation and extradition, have for this purpose named as
their respective Plenipotentiaries, viz. :
His Majesty Leopold II., King of the Belgians, Sovereign of
the Independent State of the Congo,
Edm. van Eetvelde, Administrator General of the Department of
Foreign Affairs, Otficcr of His Order of Leopold, and
554 Story of the Congo Free State
His Excellency the President of the United States op
America,
Edwin H. Terrell, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipoten-
tiary of the United States of America near His Majesty the King of
the Belgians, who, after having communicated to each other their full
powers, found in good and due form, have agreed upon the following
articles :
Article I. — There shall be full, entire and reciprocal liberty of com-
merce, establishment and navigation between the citizens and inhab-
itants of the two High contracting Parties.
The citizens and inhabitants of the Independent State of the Congo
in the United States of America and those of the United States of
America in the independent State of the Congo shall have reciprocally
the right, on conforming to the laws of the country, to enter, travel
and reside in all parts of their respective territories ; to carry on busi-
ness there; and they shall enjoy in this respect for the protection of
their persons and their property the same treatment and the same
rights as the natives, or the citizens and inhabitants of the most
favoured nation.
They can freely exercise their industry or their business, as well
wholesale as retail, in the whole extent of the territories, without
being subjected as to their persons or their property, or by reason of
their business, to any taxes, general or local, imposts or conditions
whatsoever other or more onerous than those which are imposed or
may be imposed upon the natives other than non-civilised aborigines,
or upon the citizens and inhabitants of the most favoured nation.
In like manner, they will enjoy reciprocally the treatment of the
most favoured nation in all that relates to rights, privileges, exemp-
tions and immunities whatsoever concerning their persons or their
property and in the matter of commerce, industry and navigation.
Article II. — In all that concerns the acquisition, succession, pos-
session and alienation of property, real and personal, the citizens and
inhabitants of each of the High contracting Parties shall enjoy in the
territories of the other all the rights which the respective laws accord
or shall accord in those territories to the citizens and inhabitants of
the most favoured nation.
Article III. — The citizens and inhabitants of each of the High
contracting Parties shall be exempt in the territories of the other
from all personal service in the army, navy, or militia, and from all
pecuniary contributions in lieu of such, as well as from all obligatory
oflficial functions whatever, except the obligation of sitting, within a
radius of one hundred kilometres from the place of their residence, as
a juror in judicial proceedings; furthermore, their property shall not
be taken for the public service without an ample and sufficient com-
pensation.
Appendix 555
They shall have free access to the courts of the other, on conforming
to the laws regulating the matter, as well for the prosecution as for the
defence of their rights, in all the degrees of jurisdiction established by
law. They can be represented by lawyers, and they shall enjoy, in
this respect, and in what concerns domiciliary visits to their houses,
manufactories, stores, warehouses, etc., the same rights and the same
advantages which are or shall be granted to the citizens and inhabit-
ants of the most favoured nation, or to natives.
Article IV. — The citizens and inhabitants of the two countries
shall enjoy, in the territory of the other, a full and entire liberty of
conscience. They shall be protected in the free exercise of their
worship; they shall have the right to erect religious edifices and to
organise and maintain missions.
Article V. — It will be lawful for the two High contracting Parties
to appoint and establish consuls, vice consuls, deputy consuls, consular
agents and commercial agents in the territories of the other; but none
of these agents can exercise his functions before having received the
necessary exequatur from the Government to which he is delegated.
The said agents of each of the two High contracting Parties shall
enjoy, in the territories of the other, upon the footing of a complete
reciprocity, all the privileges, immunities and rights which are actually
granted to those of the most favoured nation or which may be accorded
to them hereafter.
The said agents, citizens or inhabitants of the State by which they
are appointed shall not be subject to preliminary arrest, except in
the case of acts qualified as crimes by the local legislation and pun-
ished as such. They shall be exempt from military billeting and
from service in the army, navy, or militia, as well as from all direct
taxes, unless these should be due on account of real estate, or, unless
the said agents should exercise a profession or business of any kind.
The said agents can raise their national flag over their offices.
The consular offices shall be at all times inviolable. The local au-
thorities can not invade them under any pretext. They can not in
any case examine or seize the papers which shall be there deposited.
The consular offices can not, on the other hand, serve as place of
asylum, and if an agent of the consular service is engaged in business,
commercial or other, the papers relating to the consulate shall be kept
separate.
The said agents shall have the right to exercise all the functions
generally appertaining to consuls, especially in what concerns the
legalisation of private and public documents, of invoices and commer-
cial contracts, the taking of depositions and the right of authenticat-
ing legal acts and documents.
The said agents shall have the right to address the administrative
and judicial authorities of the country in which they exercise their
55^ Story of the Congo Free State
functions in order to complain of any infraction of the treaties or con-
ventions existing between the two Governments, and for the purpose
of protecting the rights and interests of the citizens and inhabitants
of their country. They shall have also the right to settle all differences
arising between the captains or the officers and the sailors of the sea-
vessels of their nation. The local authorities shall abstain from
interfering in these cases unless the maintenance of the public tran-
quillity requires it, or, unless their assistance should be asked by the
consular authority in order to assure the execution of its decisions.
The local authorities will give to the said agents and, on their de-
fault, to the captains or their casual representatives, all aid for the
search and arrest of sailor deserters, who shall be kept and guarded
in the prisons of the State upon the requisition and at the expense of
the consuls or of the captains, during a maximum delay of two
months.
Article VI. — The citizens and inhabitants of each of the High
contracting Parties shall have reciprocally, according to the same
rights and conditions and with the same privileges as those of the
most favoured nation, the right to enter with their vessels and cargoes
into all the ports and to navigate upon all the rivers and interior
waters of the other State.
The vessels of each of the contracting Parties and of its citizens or
inhabitants can freely navigate upon the waters of the territory of the
other, without being subject to any other tolls, charges or obligations
than those which the vessels belonging to the citizens or inhabitants
of the most favoured nation would have to bear.
There will not be imposed by either of the contracting Parties upon
the vessels belonging to the other or to the citizens or inhabitants of
the other, in the matter of tonnage, port charges, pilotage, lighthouse
and quarantine dues, salvage of vessels and other administrative ex-
penses whatsoever concerning navigation, any taxes or charges what-
ever, other or higher than those which are or shall be imposed upon
the public or private vessels of the most favoured nation.
It is agreed that every vessel belonging to one of the High contract-
ing Parties or to a citizen or inhabitant of one of them, having the
right to bear the flag of that country and having the right to its
protection, both according to the laws of that country, shall be con-
sidered as a vessel of that nationality.
Article VII. — In what concerns the freight and facilities of trans-
portation, and tolls, the merchandise belonging to the citizens or in-
habitants of one of the contracting States transported over the roads,
railroads and waterways of the other State, shall be treated on the
same footing as the merchandise belonging to the citizens or inhabit-
ants of the most favoured nation.
Article VIII. — In the territories of neither of the High contract-
Appendix 557
ing Parties shall there be established or enforced a prohibition against
the importation, exportation or transit of any article of legal com-
merce, produced or manufactured in the territories of the other, unless
this prohibition shall equally and at once be extended to all other
nations.
Article IX. — Relating to extraction was stricken out by the
Senate.
Article X. — The Republic of the United States of America, recog-
nising that it is just and necessary to facilitate to the Independent
State of the Congo the accomplishment of the obligations which it has
contracted by virtue of the General Act of Brussels of July 2nd, 1890,
admits, so far as it is concerned, that import duties may be collected
upon merchandise imported into the said State.
The tariff of these duties cannot go beyond 10 per cent, of the value
of the merchandise at the port of importation, during fifteen years to
date from July 2nd, 1890, except for spirits, which are regulated by
the provisions of Chapter VI. of the General Act of Brussels.
At the expiration of this term of fifteen years, and in default of a
new accord, the Independent State of the Congo will be placed as to
the United States of America in the situation which existed prior to
July 2nd, 1890; the right to impose import duties to a maximum of
10 per cent, upon merchandise imported into the said State remaining
acquired to it, on the conditions and within the limitations determined
in Articles XL and XII. of this treaty.
Article XI. — The United States shall enjoy in the Independent
State of the Congo, as to the import duties, all the advantages ac-
corded to the most favoured nation.
It has been agreed besides:
1. That no differential treatment nor transit duty can be estab-
lished ;
2. That in the application of the tariff regime which will be intro-
duced, the Congo State will apply itself to simplify, as far as possible,
the formalities and to facilitate the operations of commerce.
Article XII. — Considering the hict that in Article X. of the present
treaty, the United States of America have given their assent to the
establishment of import duties in the Independent State of the Congo
under certain conditions, it is well understood that the said Inde-
pendent State of the Congo assures to the flag, to the vessels, to
the commerce and to the citizens and inhabitants of the United
States of America, in all parts of the territories of that State, all
the rights, privileges and immunities concerning import and export
duties, tariff regime, interior taxes and charges and, in a general
manner, all commercial interests, which are or shall be accorded to
the Signatory Powers of the Act of Berlin, or to the most favoured
nation.
55^ Story of the Congo Free State
Article XIII. — In case a difference should arise between the two
High contracting Parties as to the validity, interpretation, application
or enforcement of any of the provisions contained in the present
treaty, and it could not be arranged amicably by diplomatic corre-
spondence between the two Governments, these last agree to submit
it to the judgment of an arbitration tribunal, the decision of which
they bind themselves to respect and execute loyally.
The tribunal will be composed of three members. Each of the two
High contracting Parties will designate one of them, selected out-
side of the citizens and the inhabitants of either of the contracting
States and of Belgiuin. The High contracting Parties will ask, by
common accord, a friendly Government to appoint the third arbi-
trator, to be selected equally outside of the two contracting States and
of Belgitmi.
If an arbitrator should be unable to sit by reason of death, resigna-
tion, or for any other cause, he shall be replaced by a new arbitrator
whose appointment shall be made in the same manner as that of the
arbitrator whose place he takes.
The majority of arbitrators can act in case of the intentional ab-
sence or formal withdrawal of the minority. The decision of the
majority of the arbitrators will be conclusive upon all questions to be
determined.
The general expenses of the arbitration procedure will be borne, in
equal parts, by the two High contracting Parties; but the expenses
made by either of the parties for preparing and setting forth its case
will be at the cost of that party.
Article XIV. — It is well understood that if the declaration on the
subject of the import duties, signed July 2nd, 1890, by the Signatory
Powers of the Act of Berlin, should not enter into force, in that case,
the present treaty would be absolutely null and without effect.
Article XV. — The present treaty shall be subject to the approval
and the ratification, on the one hand, of His Majesty the King of the
Belgians, Sovereign of the Independent State of the Congo, and on
the other hand, of His Excellency the President of the United States,
acting by the advice and with the consent of the Senate.
The ratifications of the present treaty shall be exchanged at the
same time as those of the General Act of Brussels of July 2nd, 1890,
and it will enter into force at the same date as the latter.
In faith of which the respective Plenipotentiaries of the High con-
tracting Parties have signed the present treaty, in duplicate, in French
and in English, and have attached thereto their seals.
Done at Brussels, the twenty-fourth day of the month of January
of the year eighteen hundred and ninety-one.
[S.] Edm. van Eetvelde. [S.] Edwin H. Terrell.
Appendix 559
RATIFICATION BY THE UNITED STATES
And whereas the said Treaty has been duly ratified on both parts,
and the ratifications of the two Governments were exchanged in the
city of Brussels, on the 2nd day of February, 1892,
Now, therefore, be it known that I, Benjamin Harrison, President
of the United States of America, have caused the said Treaty to be
made public as amended, to the end that the same and every article
and clause thereof may be observed and fulfilled with good faith by
the United States and the citizens thereof.
In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the
seal of the United States to be affixed.
Done at the city of Washington this second day of April in the year
of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and ninety-two, and of the
Independence of the United States the one hundred and sixteenth.
[seal] Benj. Harrison.
By the President.
James G. Blaine,
Secretary of State.
PROTOCOL RECORDING THE RATIFICATION BY THE
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA OF THE GENERAL
ACT OF BRUSSELS OF JULY 2, 1890— SIGNED AT
BRUSSELS, FEBRUARY 2, 1892
On the 2nd February, 1892, in conformity with Article XCIX. of
the General Act of the 2nd July, 1890, and with the imanimous de-
cision of the Signatory Powers prolonging till the 2nd February, 1892,
in favour of the United States, the period fixed by the said Article
XCIX., the Undersigned, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipo-
tentiary of the United States of America, deposited in the hands of
the Belgian Minister for Foreign Affairs the Ratification by the Presi-
dent of the United States of the said General Act.
At His Excellency's request the following Resolution whereby the
Senate of the United States consented to the Ratification of the
President, was inserted in the present Protocol: —
"Resolved (two- thirds of the Senators present concurring therein),
"That the Senate advise and consent to the ratification of the
General Act signed at Brussels on the 2nd July, 1890, by the Plenipo-
tentiaries of the United States and other Powers, for the suppression
of the African Slave Trade, and for other purposes.
''Resolved further: That the Senate advise and consent to the ac-
ceptance of the partial ratification of the said General Act on the part
560 Story of the Congo Free State
of the French RcpubUc, and to the stipulations relative thereto, as set
forth in the Protocol signed at Brussels on the 2nd February, 1892.
"Resolved further, as a part of this act of ratification. That the
United States of America, having neither Possessions nor Protectorates
in Africa, hereby disclaims any intention, in ratifying this Treaty, to
indicate any interest whatsoever in the Possessions or Protectorates
established or claimed on that Continent by the other Powers, or any
approval of the wisdom, expediency, or lawfulness thereof, and does
not join in any expressions in the said General Act which might be
construed as such a declaration or acknowledgment; and, for this
reason, that it is desirable that a copy of this Resolution be inserted
in the Protocol to be drawn up at the time of the exchange of the
ratifications of this Treaty on the part of the United States."
The above Resolution of the Senate of the United States having
been textually communicated in advance by the Government of
Belgium to all the Signatory Powers of the General Act, the latter
have assented to its insertion in the present Protocol which shall
remain annexed to the Protocol of the 2nd February, 1892.
An official notification to this effect was made to the United States
Minister.
The Ratification of the President of the United States having been
found in good and due form, notification of its deposit was made to
his Excellency Mr. Edwin H. Terrell. It will be retained in the
archives of the Belgian Foreign Office.
On proceeding to the signature of the present Protocol the Minister
for Foreign Affairs of His Majesty the King of the Belgians announced
that the Representative of Russia, in his note expressing the assent
of his Government, expressed the opinion that it was desirable that,
in the Protocol, a French translation should accompany the English
text of the Resolution of the Senate of the United States of America,
and that, in any case, the absence of such translation should not form
a precedent.
A certified copy of the present Protocol will be sent by the Belgian
Government to the Signatory Powers of the General Act.
Done at Brussels the 2nd February, 1892.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs,
(Signed) Prince de Chimay.
The Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of the
United States of America,
- (Signed) Edwin H. Terrell.
Appendix 561
DISPATCH FROM HIS MAJESTY'S MINISTER AT
BRUSSELS RESPECTING THE COMMISSION FOR
THE PROTECTION OF THE NATIVES, INSTI-
TUTED BY THE GOVERNMENT OF THE INDE-
PENDENT CONGO STATE UNDER THE DECREE
OF SEPTEMBER 18, 1896
Sir C. Phipps to the Marquess of Lansdowne. — (Received May 19.)
(Extract.)
Brussels, May 18, 1903.
M. De Cuvelier handed to me this morning the documents here-
with inclosed on the subject of the working of the Commission for the
Protection of the Natives, instituted by the Congo State Government
under the Decree of the i8th September, 1896, which had been col-
lected and prepared for me in consequence of my request made to
that effect the day before yesterday.
Your Lordship will observe that the Congo Government pxaces at
my disposal, without concealment, the whole correspondence whic);!
has passed in regard to the Commission under discussion, including
dispatches not intended for publication. It undoubtedly leads to the
conclusion that, if the operation of the Commission has not been so
effective as might have been anticipated, the fault has rather been due
to the great extent of territory which it had the duty to watch, and to
the considerable distances by which its members were separated, and
not to any deficiency of conception or absence of energy on the part
of the Central Government.
SETTLEMENTS FOR NATIVE CHILDREN
Leopold IL, King of the Belgians, Sovereign of the Independent
State of the Congo,
To all present and to come, greeting:
Whereas it is expedient to make provision for the protection of
those children who have been victims of the Slave Trade ; and
Whereas it is the general duty of the State to assume the guardian-
ship of abandoned children, or of those whose parents do not fulfil
their duties ;
Now, therefore, on the proposal of our Administrator-General of the
Foreign Department, we have decreed and do hereby decree : —
Article i. The State shall assume the guardianship of children
liberated in consequence of the arrest and dispersal of a convoy of
slaves; of fugitive slaves who demand such protection, of children
forsaken, abandoned, or orphans, and of those whose parents do not
fulfil their duty with regard to maintaining and educating them.
5^2 Story of the Congo Free State
They shall be provided with the means of livelihood and a practical
education, and established in life.
Art. 2. With this object agricultural and professional settlements
shall be established, which shall admit not only such children as come
under the definitions of Article i, but, as far as may be, those children
who shall ask to be admitted.
Art. 3. From the day of their admission the children shall be placed
exclusively under the guardianship of the State, to which they shall
remain subject, and shall be liable to work, at the discretion of the
Governor-General, up to the expiration of their twenty-fifth year in
return for maintenance, food, lodging, and free medical attendance.
Art. 4. Rules of administration prescribed by our Governor-
General shall decide the mode and conditions of admission to the
settlements, the composition of the directing staflE, the programme of
manual and intellectijal work, the details of supervision, disciplinary
penalties and their -application, and the public services to which the
children shall be attached.
Art<<'-^. The administration of the guardianship of the children
. .diuitted tp the settlements shall, as far as their personal rights and
property are concerned, be regulated by the Civil Code.
Art. 6. Our Administrators- General of the Foreign and Home De-
partments are charged, each in so far as it concerns him, with the
execution of this Decree.
Done at Brussels this 12th day of July, 1890.
(Signed) Leopold.
By the King-Sovereign:
The Administrator-General of the Foreign
Department,
(Signed) Edm. van Eetvelde.
INSTITUTION OF A COMMISSION FOR THE PRO-
TECTION OF NATIVES
Leopold IL, King of the Belgians, Sovereign of the Independent
State of the Congo, to all present and to come, greeting:
On the motion of our Secretary of State,
We have decreed and do hereby decree:
A permanent Commission is instituted to watch over the protection
of the natives throughout the territories of the State.
The members of this Commission are nominated by the King-
Sovereign for a period of two years from among the representatives of
philanthropic and religious Associations.
Are named in the first instance:
Mgr. van Ronsle, Bishop of Thymbrium, Vicar Apostolic of the
Congo Independent State, President;
Appendix 563
Father van Hencxthoven, J., Superior of the Jesuit Mission at
Leopold ville-,
Father de Cleene, of the Congregation of Scheut;
WilUam Holman Bentley, of the Baptist Missionary Society Cor-
poration ;
Dr. A. Sims, of the American Baptist Missionary Union;
George Grenfell, of the Baptist Missionary Society Corporation,
Secreta^3^
The members of the Commission are to inform the Judicial au-
thorities of any acts of violence of which the natives may be the
victims.
Each of the members, individually, may exercise this right of pro-
tection, and communicate directly with the Governor-General.
The Commission shall further indicate to the Government the
measures to be taken to prevent slave-trading, to render mor^ effective
the prohibition or restriction of the trade in spirituous liquors, and
gradually to bring about the abolition of barbarous customs, such as
cannibalism, human sacrifices, ordeal by poison, etc.
Our Secretary of State is charged with the execution of the present
Decree.
Done at Brussels, the i8th September, 1896. \
(Signed) Leopold, v
By the King- Sovereign :
The Secretary of State,
(Signed) Edm. van Eetvelde.
LETTER OF INSTRUCTION FROM THE SECRETARY
OF STATE TO THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL AT
BOMA IN RE PROTECTION OF NATIVES
Brussels, October i, 1896.
Sir,
I have the honour to transmit to you herewith a certified copy of a
Decree, dated the i8th September, appointing a Commission for the
protection of natives.
It has seemed advisable that selected and impartial men, without
oflTicial or administrative connection, should be placed in a position to
form a perfectly independent opinion in regard to any acts of violence
of which the natives may have to complain. Such is the object of the
new Commission which has been appointed to watch over the protec-
tion of natives throughout the country.
Its members are nominated by the King-Sovereign, for a period of
two years, from among the representatives of philanthropic and re-
ligious Associations.
By this expression the Decree pointed specially to the missionaries,
5^4 Story of the Congo Free State
who were, indeed, marked out for nomination in virtue of their office.
The first members nominated are: Mgr. van Ronsle, Fathers van
Hencxthoven and De Cleene, the Protestant missionaries William
Holman Bentley, Dr. A. Sims, and G. Grenfell. The last mentioned is
appointed Secretary; Mgr. van Ronsle is nominated President.
I have to request you to inform them individually of their selection
by the King-Sovereign; the Government are confident that they will
not be appealing in vain to the devotion of these gentlemen in re-
questing the assistance of their services in a work of humanity and
protection. One of the authenticated copies of the Decree hereto
annexed is intended for each, and will serve as a letter of appointment.
The Decree specifies the duty intrusted to them as being that of
notifying to the judicial authorities acts of violence of which the
natives m9,y be the victims. This right of initiative belongs to each
member individually, that is to say, that he can act separately without
any co-operation on the part of the other members of the Commission.
Each iTiember may of his own accord address direct communications
to the Governor-General with regard to any matters which come
within the scope of his mission.
It is the express desire of the Government that the authorities
should act upon the information thus given by the members of the
Commission, and open an inquiry and institute proceedings either ad-
ministrative or, in cases of infractions of the law, judicial, in accordance
with the general instructions given to the Department of Criminal
Justice {le Parquet).
It will hardly be necessary to call the attention of the members of
the Commission to the fact that, by reason of the great attention
which will be paid to any complaint which they may make, it will
behove them to act with circumspection, and to give the authority
of their support only to those facts of which they may have personal
knowledge, and which are based on trustworthy evidence.
The Decree lastly provides that the Commission may, through the
medium of its Secretary, indicate to the Government the measures to
be taken to prevent slave-trading, to render more effective the pro-
hibition or restriction of the trade in spirituous liquors, and gradually
to bring about the disappearance of inhuman practices. The simplest
mode of procedure will be for the Secretary of the Commission — and
I am sure that Mr. G. Grenfell will be willing to accept the duty— to
forward to the Governor-General a half-yearly report on these ques-
tions, containing the observations and proposals of the members of
the Commission on the subject. This half-yearly report would also
deal with the working of the Commission, the acts of violence de-
finitely established by the members, the complaints made, and the
results achieved.
Appendix 565
I have to request you to keep me informed of tlie manner in which
the new Decree is carried out, and to acquaint me with the definite
constitution of the Commission.
The terms of the Decree seem calculated to afford the natives a
real guarantee. In order to strengthen this still more, the Government
have decided that all offences against the persons of natives, and all
attempts against their liberties committed by Europeans, shall be re-
mitted exclusively to the Court of First Instance at Boma, that is to
say, before a Court sitting under the fullest conditions of publicity and
control. I therefore request that you will instruct the Public Prose-
cutors (Parquet) to bring offences of the kind before that Court,
instead of sending them to the territorial Courts, reserving of course
the special jurisdiction which the law gives to military Courts (Con-
seils de Guerre) in the case of soldiers.
Believe, etc.,
The Secretary of State,
(Signed) Edm. van Eetvelde.
BoLOBO, December 26, 1896.
Reverend Sir,
I have the honour to transmit to you herewith a certified copy of
the Decree of the i8th December last appointing a Commission for the
protection of natives, and nominating you to fulfil the duties of
Secretary to the said Commission. This authenticated copy will
serve you as your letter of appointment to the important functions
for the performance of which the King-Sov'ereign has selected you.
The Government are confident that their appeal for your assistance
in a work of humanity and protection will not be in vain.
Owing to the powers devolving upon you as a member of the Com-
mission, you will be in a position to form a perfectly independent
opinion in regard to any acts of violence of which the natives may
have to complain, and it \vill be your duty to notify to the jtidicial
authorities any improper proceedings of which the natives in question
may be the victims. This right of initiative belongs to you mdi\'idu-
ally, that is to say, you may act separately, without any co-operation
on the part of the other members of the Commission. On your in-
formation the authorities will open an inquiry, and will institute pro-
ceedings, either administrative or, in cases of infractions of the law,
judicial.
In view of the action which will be taken on any complaint emanat-
ing from you or from the Commission, it is scarcely necessary to re-
mind you that circumspection is called for, and that you should give
the authority of your support only to those facts of which you may
have a personal knowledge, and which are based on trustworthy
evidence.
566 Story of the Congo Free State
The Commissioif will also have the duty of drawing the attention
of the Government to the measures to be taken to prevent slave-
trading, to render more effective the prohibition or restriction of the
trade in spirituous liquors, and gradually to bring about the disappear-
ance of inhuman practices. The simplest mode of procedure in this
matter would be, in the opinion of the Government, that you, in your
capacity as Secretary^and the Government is convinced that you
will be willing to accept this duty — -should send in a half-yearly report
on these questions, containing the observations and proposals of the
members of the Commission on the subject. This half-yearly report
might also deal with the working of the Commission, the acts of vio-
lence definitely established by its members, the complaints made, and
the results achieved.
But in this matter, as in everything which relates to the working of
the Commission, the Government give it full discretion.
In forwarding to each of the members a copy of the new Decree, and
in announcing his nomination to each individually, I am informing
them of your appointment as Secretary. You will be good enough
to place yourself in communication with them in order, if possible, in
spite of distance, to arrange, at Leopoldville, for instance, a meeting
of all the members of the Commission, or of a certain number of them,
or definitely to constitute the Commission by correspondence, and to
settle such measures as should be taken for the execution of the
Decree.
Believe, etc.,
The Governor-General,
(Signed) Wahis.
To
The Reverend George Grenfell,
Baptist Missionary Society, Bolobo.
CIRCULAR TO ALL THE DISTRICT COMMISSIONERS,
HEADS OF ZONES AND OF POSTS, WITH REGARD
TO BARBAROUS CUSTOMS PREVAILING AMONG
THE NATIVE TRIBES.
Brussels, February 27, 1897.
Gentlemen,
As you are aware, the Government have had constantly under their
consideration the barbarous practices, such as cannibalism, ordeal by
poison, and human sacrifices, which prevail among the native tribes,
and the best means of bringing about their disappearance.
In this matter, as in all questions in which allowance must to some
extent be made for long-established custom and social conditions
which it would be impolitic to attack too directly, the Government
Appendix 567
have thought it advisable to act at first with prudence and circum-
spection, without, however, remaining inactive.
For this reason the first instruction issued to officers did not, in all
cases, prescribe repression by force ; they enjoined the exercise of their
influence and authority with a view to deterring the natives by per-
suasion from indulging in these inhimaan practices. A fiirther ad-
vance has been made: the moment the authority of the State was
sufficiently established in the neighbourhood of its posts and stations,
the toleration of such customs was formally prohibited within a certain
distance round the State stations or European establishments, and
the Penal Law made their repression in these places possible by its
provisions respecting acts of violence against the person. Outside
this limit it lay with the officers of the Department of Criminal Jus-
tice {Ministere Public) to prosecute or not, according as the situa-
tion of the district and the forces at the disposal of the authorities
permitted.
These measures have not been without result. Not only have cases
of cannibaUsm become less frequent in the centres occupied by the
officers of the State, but the native himself has learnt, and now knows,
the horror felt by Europeans for cannibalism, and is no longer ignorant
of the fact that by giving way to it he renders himself liable to punish-
ment. As a general rule, indeed, it is only in secret, and ovit of sight
of Europeans, that he still indulges in the odious custom, for he has
become convinced that, save in exceptional cases in which the white
man is powerless to do otherwise, he will not let him go tinptmished.
The Government considers that an even more decisive step should
be taken in the direction of repression. As the State's occupation of
these districts becomes more and more complete, as its posts are mul-
tiplied all along the Upper Congo, and as regular Courts are gaining
a footing in the interior, the moment seems to have come to endeavour
to reach the evil once for all, and to seek to extirpate it everywhere
where our authority is sufficiently established to enable us to enforce
absolute respect for the Penal Law.
It was with this view that the Decree of the i8th December, 1896,
was drawn up, by which more particularly cases of cannibalism and
ordeal by poison were made special offences. It is the Government's
intention that these provisions shall be strictly enforced, and it is the
aim of the present Circular to direct all our officers to bring to justice
any oflfences of this kind which may come to their knowledge. It will
be the duty of the officers of the Department of Criminal Justice
{Ministtre Pitblic) to institute proceedmgs against the delinquents,
and in these special cases they will not be at liberty to apply Article
84 of the Decree of the 27th April, 1889, and to hand them over to the
jurisdiction of the local Chief to be dealt with by native custom. It
is, mdeed, evident that such a course is out of the question in dealing
568 Story of the Congo Free State
with a class of offences which are contrary to the principles of our
civilisation, and which are the outcome of customs which we are
seeking to abolish.
The Government count on general assistance, with a view to insuring
the prompt and certain repression of these offences, and they believe
that a few severe examples will have a powerful effect in inducing the
native to put an end to these reprehensible practices. The District
Commissioners and Heads of Stations are in this connection expected
to police the territories under their administration, and to take the
necessary measures to obtain exact information.
The Director of Justice will forward to the Government every
quarter a Report on the practice of cannibalism, on the cases prose-
cuted, and, if necessary, on the new measures which should be taken
in order to check and extirpate this custom.
MISSIONARY GRENFELL ON ADMINISTRATION OF
JUSTICE
Baptist Missionary Society, Bolobo, July 13, 1897.
Sir,
I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your letter dated
the 17th May, together with the enclosure, relative to cannibalism,
proof by poison, and human sacrifices, dated Brussels, the 27th
February, 1897.
I need hardly say, M. le Gouverneur, that I sympathise most sin-
cerely with the Government in its desire to eradicate the evils referred
to ; and you may rely upon my best efforts in the long and arduous
struggle involved in combating them.
I am glad to recognise the gradual extension of the zone where
justice is administered by regularly constituted Judges, for there is
no doubt that where the administration of the State has been suf-
ficiently advanced to allow of this, the evils referred to are very
markedly on the decrease. It is not possible, of course, to complete
at a stroke the organisation of distant territory, or at once to appoint
Judges in new districts, but the fact that the State is persistently
pushing the regular administration of justice towards the interior en-
courages one in confidently looking forward to the reducing of the
cases of cannibalism, proof by poison, and human sacrifices in those
parts of the Colony that as yet have not benefited by the ameliorat-
ing influences that have done so much for its western section.
I have, etc.,
(Signed) George Grenfell.
M. le Gouvemeur-G6n6ral,
Boma.
Appendix 569
CO-ORDINATED TEXT OF VARIOUS INSTRUCTIONS
RESPECTING RELATIONS BETWEEN CONGO
STATE OFFICIALS AND NATIVES
It will be the especial care of Heads of Expeditions and of District
Commissioners to see that their subordinates, of whatever degree,
act, in their dealings with the natives, with the tact which is necessary
to avoid such conflict as might arise from misunderstandings or from
proceedings which run too sharply counter to native habits and
customs.
They will recommend their officers to proceed slowly in reforming
the native, and will draw their serious attention to the danger of
trying to obtain too rapid results. Before using force, they will try
to enter into negotiations with the natives, and they must remember
that it is better to obtain redress for harm done to the State by pacific
means rather than by force of arms.
The Government are aware that energetic measures of repression
are sometimes necessary, but they consider that such measures should
be used only in exceptional cases, and after every means of concilia-
tion has been exhausted.
In many cases negotiations skilfully conducted and prolonged will
avoid direct hostilities.
It is, for instance, obviously advisable, with a view to avoid blood-
shed, to make use of such Chiefs as are at once devoted to the State
and in friendly relations with the tribes in conflict with the authorities.
In this way the natives, and especially those who are not in con-
tinuous relations with Europeans, will not misunderstand the inten-
tions and sentiments of the State towards them, a misunderstanding
which would certainly arise from a too hasty recourse to extreme
measures.
In any case, whenever resort to force has become inevitable, the
Government must receive exact and complete information in regard
to the motives which have led to its employment, and operations must,
as far as possible, be so carried out that only the guilty suffer.
No officer is to engage in hostilities with the natives, unless in self-
defence, or duly authorised by the Commissioner of his district or
the Head of his expedition.
Moreover, the regular and auxiliary troops engaged in warlike
operations must always be commanded by a European. No excep-
tion to this rule will be admitted, and officers who transgress it will
render themselves liable to dismissal as well as to any judicial pro-
ceedings it may be thought advisable to institute against them.
In case of hostilities, the property of natives is not to be destroyed,
and under no pretext may villages be burnt as a means of repression.
The European commissioned and non-commissioned officers will take
570 Story of the Congo Free State
especial care that the operations shall be conducted in such a manner
as to avoid all cruelty. Wounded rebels are to receive careful at-
tention, and the bodies of the dead must be respected. The barbar-
ous mutilation of dead bodies, as often practised by the natives among
themselves, is to be absolutely forbidden by the Europeans.
All Europeans at the head of troops engaged in warfare will be held
personally responsible for all such cruelties as they may tolerate; all
guilty persons will be brought before a military Court and dealt with
according to law.
Prisoners of war and hostages are to be treated humanely, and their
ill-usage is strictly forbidden.
Any women and children found among them shall be placed under
the immediate protection of the officer in command of the operations.
Officers of the State must remember that the disciplinary penalties
provided by the Military Regulations are only applicable to such as
are military recruits, and then only for offences against discipline and
in accordance with the special provisions of the said Regulations.
The said penalties can, under no pretence, be put into force against
non-military servants of the State or against the natives, whether
rebels or not.
Those among them who are accused of offences or crimes must be
remitted to the competent Tribunals and tried according to law.
Should officers of the State infringe the Rules laid down respecting
the relations which they are to have with the natives, or tolerate
mutilations and cruelties on the part of their soldiers, they will, in
case of a specified offence, be remitted to a Court of Justice. They
would, in any case, be subjected to disciplinary punishment. More-
over, the guilty officers, if already decorated with the Service Star,
will lose their right to wear it.
It is equally indispensable that officers should act justly, and in
accordance with the instructions in force, in their dealings with the
servants of the State. They are forbidden to act illegally, i. e., to
inflict punishments other than those provided for breaches of disci-
pline or to disregard legal forms for the purpose of repressing offences
of which the servants of the State, and notably soldiers, may be
guilty. When sentences have been passed, they must be undergone
in accordance with the specified legal conditions.
Any officer departing from these Rules would be guilty of abuse of
authority, and render himself liable to dismissal.
District Commissioners and Heads of expeditions must exercise the
most vigilant control over such detachments of black soldiers as they
may be obliged to place among the natives. These detachments must
on no account be provided with improved fire-arms. Their task is
exclusively one of protection and supervision.
They are never to intervene in quarrels between natives. They
Appendix 571
inust confine themselves to informing the nearest station commanded
by an European.
It is the duty of the European officers to make frequent inspections
of such detachments, and to see that they do not in any way transgress
the limits imposed upon them by their orders. They are to summon
the neighbouring native Chiefs on the occasion of these inspections,
and will receive their complaints, should they have any to make.
The Negro officers of the stations are strictly forbidden themselves
to take any measures of repression against the natives; the duty of
taking measures, when occasion arises, devolves upon the European
officers alone.
The arrangements to be made with the villages must be concluded by
a European.
Any Chief of a Negro station levying exactions on the natives, or
ill-treating them, or in any way abusing his authority over them, mustbe
prosecuted according to law, and immediately suspended from his duties.
The Heads of expeditions and Commissioners of Districts are per-
sonally responsible for the conduct of any Negro posts under their
orders. They would be guilty of a very serious offence if they gave
these detachments any duties other than those defined above, and if
they did not constantly supervise them and immediately repress all
abuses coming under their notice.
REPORT OF THE FIRST MEETING OF THE COM-
MISSION FOR THE PROTECTION OF NATIVES,
HELD AT LEOPOLDVILLE ON MAY 17, 1897.
PRESENT, THE REVEREND FATHER VAN
HENCXTHOVEN, DR. SIMS, AND THE SECRE-
TARY, MR. GRENFELL
In the absence of Mgr. van Ronsl6, the Rev. Father van Hencx-
thoven was elected President for the sitting.
Seeing that the members of the Commission live far apart, and in
view of the difficulty of all the members meeting, it was decided that
three members should form a quorum.
The members of the Commission found that from the date of the
constitution of the Commission, so far as their personal experience
went, the laws of the State had been duly administered with a view
to the protection of life and property, as well as to the well-being of
the community. They found, fvirther, that every case of injustice
brought to the notice of the authorities had been immediately followed
by measures of the most energetic description.
In the absence of Mr. Bentley, his Report was communicated to
the Secretary. He writes that the Judge of tlie district where he re-
572 Story of the Congo Free State
sides, had, in each case notified to him, at once taken measures to punish
the guilty, some cases having been settled satisfactorily, and the others
being before the Court. The Judge informed Mr. Bentley that he
would always be ready, on receiving a week's notice, to go to Lutete,
and try any case.
The members of the Commission, recalling the days of native rule,
take this opportunity of recording their sincere appreciation of, and
their gratitude for, the law and order introduced by the Independ-
ent State into the districts where they reside.
The members of the Commission also record with the deepest
satisfaction their opinion that, as far as they know, the laws for-
bidding the introduction of alcoholic liquor for natives to the east of
the River N'Kissi have been satisfactorily enforced. They consider
the restriction of the zone up to the west of the River Kwilu as a
really judicious and beneficent measure, and they trust that the
Government will be as successful within the new limit as heretofore
within the old.
The members of the Commission deeply regret that ordeal by poison
is still practised over so great an extent of the country, and that its
suppression is so difficult In those districts which are more com-
pletely administered, ordeal by poison is practised in secret, owing
to the penalties of the law, and the members hope that the same
measures of repression will be taken in the interior districts as soon
as the organisation of the Government allows of it.
The Commission desire to call the attention of the Government to
the fact that all its members are chosen from the Stanley Pool dis-
trict and below, and that no one has been chosen from the immense
districts which are supposed to furnish the reason for the existence
of the Commission for the protection of the natives.
The members of the Commission, also, seeing that it is only possible
for them to act within the very narrow scope of their personal experi-
ence, ventttre to hope that the Inspector specially nominated by His
Majesty the King-Sovereign, will soon arrive, seeing that his powers
of observation would be infinitely greater than our own.
(Signed) George Grenfell, Secretary.
Leopoldville, May 17, 1897.
PROTECTION OF NATIVES— COMMISSION
Leopold II., King of the Belgians, Sovereign of the Independent
State of the Congo, to all present and to come, greeting:
On reconsideration of our Decree of the i8th September, 1896,
appointing a Commission for the protection of natives :
On the suggestion of our Secretary of State,
We have decreed and do hereby decree :
Appendix 573
Article i. The following are appointed members of this Commis-
sion, for the period of two years mentioned by the said Decree:
Mgr. van Ronsle, Bishop of Thymbrium, Vicar Apostolic of the
Vicariat of Belgian Congo, President.
The Reverend Father van Hencxthoven, J., of the Society of
Jesus.
The Reverend Father Cambier, of the Congregation of Scheut.
Mr. William Holman Bentley, of the Baptist Missionary Society
Corporation.
Dr. A. Sims, of the American Baptist Missionary Union.
Mr. George Grenfell, of the Baptist Missionary Society Corporation,
Secretary.
Art. 2. The members of the Commission shall carry out their
mandate in accordance with the terms of the above-mentioned Decree
of the 1 8th September, 1896.
Art. 3. Our Secretary of State is intrusted with the execution of
the present Decree.
Done at Brussels, March 23, 1901.
(Signed) Leopold.
By the King-Sovereign:
In the name of the Secretary of State,
The Secretaries-General,
(Signed) Chevalier de Cuvelier,
H. Droogmans,
LlEBRECHTS.
DISPATCH TO CERTAIN OF HIS MAJESTY'S REPRE-
SENTATIVES ABROAD IN REGARD TO ALLEGED
CASES OF ILL-TREATMENT OF NATIVES AND TO
THE EXISTENCE OF TRADE MONOPOLIES IN
THE INDEPENDENT STATE OF THE CONGO
The Marquess of Lansdownc to His Majesty's Representatives at Parts,
Berlin, Rome, St. Petersburg, Vienna, Madrid, Constantinople,
Brussels, Lisbon, the Hague, Copenhagen, and Stockholm.
Foreign Office, August 8, 1903.
Sir.
The attention of His Majesty's Government has during recent years
been repeatedly called to alleged cases of ill-treatment of natives and
to the existence of trade monopolies in the Independent State of the
Congo. Representations to this effect are to be found in memorials
from philanthropic societies, in communications from commercial
bodies, in the public press, and in dispatches from His Majesty's
Consuls.
574 Story of the Congo Free State
The same matters formed the subject of a debate in the House of
Commons on the 20th ultimo, when the House passed the Resolution,
a copy of which is inclosed.
In the course of the debate, the official record of which is also in-
closed, it was alleged that the object of the Administration was not
so much the care and government of the natives as the collection of
revenue ; that this object was pvu-sued by means of a system of forced
labour, differing only in name from slavery; that the demands upon
each village were exacted with a strictness which constantly degen-
erated into great cruelty; and that the men composing the armed
force of the State were in many cases recruited from the most warlike
and savage tribes, who not infrequently terrorised over their own
officers and maltreated the natives without regard to discipline or
fear of punishment.
As regards the ill-treatment of natives, a distinction may be drawn
between isolated acts of cruelty committed by individuals, whether in
the service of the State or not, and a system of administration involv-
ing and accompanied by systematic cruelty or oppression.
The fact that many individual instances of cruelty have taken place
in the Congo State is proved beyond possibility of contradiction by
the occurrence of cases in which white officials have been convicted of
outrages on natives. These white officials must, however, in view of
the vast extent of the territory under their administration, in most
cases be of necessity isolated the one from the other, with the result
that detection becomes additionally difficult. It is therefore not
unfair to asstmie that the number of convictions falls considerably
short of the number of actual offences committed.
It is, however, with regard to the system of administration that the
most serious allegations are brought against the Independent State.
It is reported that no efforts are made to fit the native by training
for industrial pursiiits; that the method of obtaining men for labour
or for military service is often but little different from that formerly
employed to obtain slaves; and that force is now as much required
to take the native to the place of service as it used to be to convey
the captured slave. It is also reported that constant compulsion has
to be exercised in order to exact the collection of the amount of forest
produce allotted to each village as the equivalent of the number of
days' labour due from the inhabitants, and that this compulsion is
often exercised by irresponsible native soldiers uncontrolled by any
European officer.
His Majesty's Government do not know^ precisely to what extent
these accusations may be true ; but they have been so repeatedly made,
and have received such wide credence, that it is no longer possible to
ignore them, and the question has now arisen whether the Congo
State can be considered to have fulfilled the special pledges, given
Appendix 575
under the Berlin Act, to watch over the preservation of the native
tribes, and to care for their moral and material advancement.
The graver charges against the State relate almost exclusively to
the upper valleys of the Congo and of its affluents. The lands forming
these vast territories are held either by the State itself or by Com-
panies closely connected with the State, under a system which, what-
ever its object, has effectually kept out the independent trader, as
opposed to the owner or to the occupier of the soil, and has conse-
quently made it difficult to obtain independent testimony.
His Majesty's Government have further laboured tinder the disad-
vantage that British interests have not justified the maintenance of a
large Consular staff in the Congo territories. It is true that in 1901
His Majesty's Government decided to appoint a Consul of wide African
experience to reside permanently in the State, but his time has been
principally occupied in the investigation of complaints preferred by
British subjects, and he has as yet been unable to travel into the
interior and to acquire, by personal inspection, knowledge of the
condition of the enormous territory forming his district.
His reports on the cases of British subjects, which have formed the
basis of representations to the Government of the Independent State,
afford, however, examples of grave maladministration and ill-treat-
ment. These cases do not concern natives of the Congo State, and
are therefore in themselves alien to the subject of this dispatch; but
as they occurred in the immediate vicinity of Boma, the seat of the
central staff, and in regard to British subjects, most of whom were
under formal engagements, they undoubtedly lead to the belief that
the natives, who have no one in the position of a Constd to whom they
can appeal and have no formal engagements, receive even less con-
sideration at the hands of the officers of the Government.
Moreover, information which has reached His Majesty's Govern-
ment from British officers in territory adjacent to that of the State
tends to show that, notwithstanding the obligations accepted under
Article VI. of the Berlin Act, no attempt at any administration of the
natives is made, and that the officers of the Government do not ap-
parently concern themselves with such work, but devote all their
energy to the collection of revenue. The natives are left entirely to
themselves, so far as any assistance in their government or in their
affairs is concerned. The Congo stations are shunned, the only
natives seen being soldiers, prisoners, and men who are brought in to
work. The neighbourhood of stations which are known to have been
populous a few years ago is now uninhabited, and emigration on a
large scale takes place to the territory of neighbouring States, the
natives usually averring that they are driven away from their homes
by the tyranny and exaction of the soldiers.
The sentiments which undoubtedly animated the founders of the
57^ Story of the Congo Free State
Congo State and the representatives of the Powers at Berlin were
such as to deserve the cordial sympathy of the British Government,
who have been loath to believe either that the beneficent intentions
with which the Congo State was constituted, and of which it gave so
solemn a pledge at Berlin, have in any way been abandoned, or that
every effort has not been made to realise them.
But the fact remains that there is a feeling of grave suspicion,
widely prevalent among the people of this country, in regard to the
condition of affairs in the Congo State, and there is a deep conviction
that the many charges brought against the State's administration
must be founded on a basis of truth.
In these circumstances, His Majesty's Government are of opinion
that it is incumbent upon the Powers parties to the Berlin Act to
confer together and to consider whether the obligations undertaken
by the Congo State in regard to the natives have been fulfilled; and,
if not, whether the Signatory Powers are not bound to make such
representations as may secure the due observance of the provisions
contained in the Act.
As indicated at the beginning of this dispatch. His Majesty's Gov-
ernment also wish to bring to the notice of the Powers the question
which has arisen in regard to rights of trade in the basin of the Congo.
Article I. of the Berlin Act provides that the trade of all nations
shall enjoy complete freedom in the basin of the Congo; and Article
V. provides that no Power which exercises sovereign rights in the basin
shall be allowed to^grant therein a monopoly or favour of any kind in
matters of trade.
In the opinion of His Majesty's Government, the system of trade
now existing in the Independent State of the Congo is not in harmony
with these provisions.
With the exception of a relatively small area on the Lower Congo,
and with the further exception of the small plots actually occupied
by the huts and cultivation patches of the natives, the whole territory
is claimed as the private property either of the State or of holders of
land concessions. Within these regions the State or, as the case may
be, the concession-holder alone may trade in the natural produce of
the soil. The fruits gathered by the natives are accounted the prop-
erty of the State, or of the concession-holder, and may not be acquired
by others. In such circumstances. His Majesty's Government are
unable to see that there exists the complete freedom of trade or ab-
sence of monopoly in trade which is required by the Berlin Act. On
the contrary, no one other than the agents of the State or of the
concession-holder has the opportunity to enter into trade relations
with the natives; or, if he does succeed in reaching the natives, he
finds that the only material which the natives can give in exchange
for his trade goods or his money is claimed as having been the prop-
Appendix 577
erty of the State or of the concession-holder from the moment it was
gathered by the native.
His Majesty's Government in no way deny either that the State
has the right to partition the State lands among bona- fide occupants,
or that the natives will, as the land is so divided out among bona-fide
occupiers, lose their right of roaming over it and collecting the natural
fruits which it produces. But His Majesty's Government maintain
Ihat until unoccupied land is reduced into individual occupation, and
so long as the produce can only be collected by the native, the native
should be free to dispose of that produce as he pleases.
In these circumstances. His Majesty's Government consider that
the time has come when the Powers parties to the Berlin Act should
consider whether the system of trade now prevailing in the Inde-
pendent State is in harmony with the provisions of the Act; and, in
particular, whether the system of making grants of vast areas of
territory is permissible under the Act if the effect of stich grants is in
jjractice to create a monopoly of trade by excluding all pei^sons other
than the concession-holder from trading with the natives in that
area. Such a result is inevitable if the grants are made in favour of
persons or Companies who cannot themselves use the land or collect
its produce, bvit must depend for obtaining it upon the natives, who
are allowed to deal only with the grantees.
His Majesty's Government will be glad to receive any suggestions
which the Governments of the Signatory Powers may be disposed to
make in reference to this important question, which might perhaps
constitute, wholly or in part, the subject of a reference to the Tribunal
at the Hague.
I request that you will read this dispatch to the Minister for Foreign
Affairs, and leave a copy of it with his Excellency.
I am, etc.,
(Signed) Lansdowne.
REPLY OF THE CONGO STATE GOVERNMENT TO
THE BRITISH DISPATCH OF AUGUST Stii, TO
THE POWERS SIGNATORY TO THE BERLIN ACT
Brussels, September 17, 1903.
The Government of the Independent State of the Congo have
examined the dispatch from the Foreign Office, dated the 8th August
last, which was communicated to the Signatory Powers of the Berlin
Act, and declare themselves in agreement with His Majesty's Govern-
ment on two fundamental points, viz., that natives ought to be treated
with humanity and gradually led into the paths of civilisation, and
that freedom of commerce in the Conventional Basin of the Congo
ought to be entire and complete.
57^ Story of the Congo Free State
They deny, however, that the manner in which the State is ad-
ministered involves a systematic regime "of cruelty or oppression,"
and that the principle of commercial freedom would introduce modi-
fications in the rights of property as universally understood, seeing
that there is not a word to this effect in the Berlin Act. The Congo
State observes that there is in that Act no provision which would
sanction restrictions of any kind on the exercise of the rights of prop-
erty, or give to one Signatory Power the right of intervention in the
interior administration of another. It desires faithfully to observe
the Berlin Act, that great International Act which binds all Signatory
or Adhering Powers, according to the clear grammatical sense of the
text, which none has power either to take from or add to.
The English note observes that it is within the last few years that a
definite shape has been assumed by the campaign conducted in Eng-
land against the Congo State, on the two-fold pretext of the ill-treat-
ment of natives and the existence of commercial monopolies.
It is indeed worthy of remark that this campaign dates from the
time when the prosperity of the State became assured. The State
had been founded for years, and administered in the same way as it
is now; its principles in regard to the State-ownership of vacant lands,
and the manner in which its armed forces were organised and recruited,
were known to the public, without any interest in the matter being
shown by the philanthropists and traders to whose opinion the note
begins by referring. This was the period during which the State
Budget could only be balanced by means of the King-Sovereign's
subsidies and Belgian loans, and when the commerce of the Congo
did not attract attention. The term "Congo atrocities" was at that
time only used in connection with "the alleged ill-treatment of African
natives by English and other adventurers in the Congo Free State."'
After 1895 the trade of the Congo State developed remarkably, and
the amount of its exports shows a progressive increase from ten millions
in 1895 to fifty millions in 1902. It is also about this time that the anti-
Congo movement took shape. As the State gave increased proof
of vitality and progress, the campaign became more active, reliance
being placed on a few individual and isolated cases with a view to
using the interests of humanity as a pretext and concealing the real
object of a covetousness which, in its impatience, has betrayed itself
in the writings of pamphleteers and in the speeches of members of the
House of Commons, in which the abolition and partition of the Congo
State has been clearly put forward.
Such being the object in view, it became necessary to bring a whole
series of charges against the State. So far as the humanitarian side of
the question is concerned, the alleged cases of violence offered to
natives have once more been brought forward and re-edited ad infini-
' Transactions of the Aborigines Protection Society, 1890-1896, p. 155.
Appendix 579
turn. For in all the meetings, writings, and speeches which have
latterly been directed against the State, it is always the same facts
which are brought up, and the same evidence which is produced.
With regard to the economic side of the question, the State has been
accused of having violated the Act of Berlin, notwithstanding the
legal opinions of such lawyers as are most qualified to speak to the
point, which afford ample legal justification both for its commercial
and for its land system. With regard to the political side, a heresy
in international law has been imagined, viz., that a State, the inde-
pendence and sovereignty of which are absolute, should, at the same
time, owe its position to the intervention of Foreign Powers.
With regard to the cases of ill-treatment of natives, we attach
special importance to those which, according to the note, have been
reported in the dispatches of His Majesty's Consular Agents. At the
sitting of the House of Commons on the nth March, 1903, Lord Cran-
bome referred to these official documents, and we have requested
through his Excellency Sir C. Phipps that the British Government
will make known to us the facts alluded to. We repeat the request.
The Government of the State have, however, never denied that
crimes and offences are committed in the Congo, as in every other
country or colony. The note itself recognises that these offences
have been brought before the Tribunals, and that the criminals have
been ptmished. The conclusion to be drawn from this is that the
State fulfils its mission; the conclusion actually drawn is that "many
individual instances of cruelty have taken place in the Congo State,"
and that "the number of convictions falls considerably short of the
number of offences actually committed." This deduction does not
appear necessarily to follow. It would seem more logical to say that
the severe sentences inflicted will serve as a wholesome example, and
that a decrease of crime may on that account be looked for. If some
offences have indeed, in the extensive territories of the State, escaped
the vigilance of the judicial authorities, this is a circumstance which
is not peculiar to the Congo State.
The English note proceeds chiefly on hypotheses and suppositions:
"It was alleged . . . It is reported . . . It is also reported ..."
and it even says that "His Majesty's Government do not know pre-
cisely to what extent these accusations may be true." This is an
acknowledgment that, in the eyes of the British Government them-
selves, the accusations in question are neither established nor proved.
And, indeed, the violence, the passion, and the improbability of many
of these accusations must raise doubt in an impartial mind as to their
genuineness. To give but one example : — a great deal has been made
of the statement that, in a train coming down from Leopoldville to
Matadi, three carriages were full of slaves, a dozen of whom were in
chains and guarded by soldiers. The Governor-General was asked
580 Story of the Congo Free State
for a report on the case. He replied: "The individuals represented
as composing a convoy of slaves were, the great majority of them
(125), levies proceeding from the district of Lualaba-Kassai, Lake
Leopold IL, and the Bangalas to the camp in the Lower Congo.
Annexed you will find lists of these persons. As regards the men in
chains, they were certain individuals on whom sentence had been
passed by the territorial Tribunal at Basoko, and who were on their
way to undergo their sentence at the central prison at Boma. They
are Nos. 3642 to 3649 on the prison register at Boma."
In the same way, quite a recent "interview," in which the usual
accusations of cruelty were reproduced, is due to a person formerly
in the employ of the State, who was "declared unfit for service," and
who has failed to persuade the State to accept his proposal to write
for the press articles favourable to the Administration.
The note ignores the replies, contradictions, and corrections which
the attacks on the agents of the State have occasioned at the various
times when they have taken place. It ignores the official declara-
tions publicly made by the Government of the State in June last,
after the debate in the House of Commons on the 20th May, the
report of which is annexed to the note. We also annex the text of
these declarations which dealt, by anticipation, with the considera-
tions set forth in the dispatch of the 8th August.
The only fresh cause of complaint which the note brings forward —
doubtless with the object of explaining the not unimportant fact that
the English Consul, who has resided in the Congo since 1901, does not
appear to support, by his personal authority, the accusations of
private individuals — is that this agent has been "principally occu-
pied in the investigation of complaints preferred by British subjects."
The impression which one would derive from this is that such com-
plaints have been exceptionally numerous. No doubt the Consul has,
on different occasions, communicated with the Administration at
Boma in the interests of his countrymen, but the subjects of his
representations, if one may judge by such of their number as the
English Legation has had to bring to the notice of the Central Govern-
ment at Brussels, do not appear, either in number or importance, to
have been more than matters of everyday administrative routine:
some cases in particular concerned the regulation of the succession to
property in the Congo left by deceased English subjects; the object
in others was to repair errors of judicial procedure, such as occur else-
where, and it is not even alleged that the proper action has not been
taken upon these representations. The same Consul, who was ap-
pointed in 1898, wrote to the Governor-General on the 2nd July,
1 90 1, as follows:
"I pray believe me when I express now, not only for myself, but
for my fellow-countrymen in this part of Africa, our very sincere ap-
Appendix 581
preciation of your eflForts on behalf of the general community — eflEorts
to promote goodwill among all and to bring together the various ele-
ments of our local life."
Nor do the predecessors of Mr. R. Casement — for English Consuls
with jurisdiction in the Congo were appointed by His Majesty's
Government as long ago as 1888 — appear to have been absorbed in
the examination of innumerable complaints; at all events, that is
not the view taken in the Report (the only one published) by Consul
Pickersgill, who, by the mere fact of giving an account of his journey
into the interior of the Congo as far as Stanley Falls, disproves the
alleged impossibility for the English consular agents to form an
opinion de visu in regard to every part of their district.
With regard to the charges against the administrative system of
the State, the note deals with taxes, public armed forces, and what is
termed forced labour.
It is, at bottom, the contributions made by the Congo natives to the
public charges which are criticised, as if there existed a single country
or colony in which the inhabitants do not, under one form or another,
bear a part in such charges. A State without resources is inconceiv-
able. On what legitimate grounds could the exemption of natives
from all taxes be based, seeing that they are the first to benefit by
the material and moral advantages introduced into Africa? As they
have no inoney, a contribution in the shape of labour is required from
them. It has been said that, if Africa is ever to be redeemed from
barbarism, it must be by getting the Negro to understand the meaning
of work by the obligation of paying taxes.
"It is a question [of native labour] which has engaged my most
careful attention in connection with West Africa and other Colonies.
To listen to the right honourable gentlemen, you would almost think
that it would be a good thing for the native to be idle. I think it is
a good thing for him to be industrious; and by every means in
our power we must teach him to work. . . . No people ever
have lived in the world's history who would not work. In the
interests of the natives all over Africa, we have to teach them to
work."
Such was the language used by Mr. Chamberlain in the House of
Commons on the 6th August, 1901; and still more recently he ex-
pressed himself as follows:
"We are all of us taxed, and taxed heavily. Is that a system of
forced labour? . . To say that because we put a tax on the
native therefore he is reduced to a condition of servitude and of forced
labour is, to my mind, absolutely ridiculous. . . It is perfectly
fair to my mind that the native should contribute something towards
the cost of administering the country." — (House of Commons, 9th
March, 1903.)
582 Story of the Congo Free State
" If that really is the last word of civilisation, if we arc to proceed on
the assumption that the nearer the native or any human being comes
to a pig the more desirable is his condition, of course I have nothing
to say. ... I must continue to believe that, at all events, the
progress of the native in civilisation will not be secured until he has
been convinced of the necessity and the dignity of labour. Therefore,
I think that anything we reasonably can do to induce the native to
labour is a desirable thing."
And he defended the principle of taxing the native on the ground
that "the existence of the tax is an inducement to him to work." —
(House of Commons, 24th March, 1903.)
Moreover, it is to be observed that in nearly every part of Africa the
natives are taxed. In the Transvaal every native pays a "head tax"
oi £2; in the Orange River Colony he is subject to a "poll tax"; in
Southern Rhodesia, Bechuanaland, Basutoland, Uganda, and Natal
a "hut-tax" is levied; in Cape Colony we find a "hut-tax" and a
"labour tax"; in German East Africa also a tax is levied on huts,
payable either in money, in kind, or in labour. This species of tax
has also been applied in the Sierra Leone Protectorate, where payment
could be made "in kind by rice or palm nuts," and it has been sug-
gested that work on roads and useful works should be accepted in lieu
of payment in money or produce.
The legality of a tax is, therefore, not affected by the mode of its
payment, whether in money or in kind, so long as the amount is not
excessive. It is certainly not so in the Congo, where the work done by
the native does not represent more than forty hours' work a inonth.
Such work, moreover, is paid for, and the tax in kind thus gives the
native as it were some return for his labour.
Payment of taxes is obligatory everywhere; and non-payment in-
volves measures of compulsion. The regulations under which the
hut- tax is levied impose on the native, for non-payment, such penalties
as imprisonment and forced labour. Nor in the Congo is payment
of taxes optional. Repressive measures have occasionally been ren-
dered necessary elsewhere by the refusal of natives to conform to the
law, c. g., the disturbances at Sierra Leone, in connection with which
an English publicist, speaking of the police force, states:
"Between July, 1894, and February, 1896, no fewer than sixty-two
convictions, admittedly representing a small proportion of offences
actually committed, were recorded against them for flogging, plunder-
ing, and generally maltreating the natives."
Further instances might be recalled of the opposition encountered
among native populations to the institution of governmental regula-
tions. Civilisation necessarily comes into collision with their savage
instincts and barbarous customs and habits ; and it can be understood
that they submit but impatiently to, and even try to escape from, a
Appendix 583
state of society which seems to them to be restrictive of their licence
and excesses. It frequently happens in Africa that an exodus of
natives takes place from one territory to another, in the hope of
finding beyond the frontier a government less well established or less
strong, and of thus freeing themselves from all obligations and re-
straints. Natives of the State may quite well, under the influence
of considerations of this kind, have crossed into neighbouring terri-
tories, although no kind of emigration on a large scale, such as is
referred to in the English note, has ever been reported by the com-
mandants of the frontier provinces. On the contrary, it is a fact that
natives in the Upper Nile region who had settled in British territory
have returned to the left bank in consequence of the imposition of new
taxes by the English authorities. Besides, if it is these territories
which are alluded to, the information contained in the note would
seem to be in contradiction with other particulars furnished, for in-
stance, by Sir Harry Johnston.
"This much I can speak of with certainty and emphasis, that from
the British frontier near Fort George to the limit of my journeys
into the Mbuba country of the Congo Free State, up and down the
Semliki, the natives appear to be prosperous and happy. . . . The
extent to which they were building their villages and cultivating their
plantations within the precincts of Fort Mbeni showed that they had
no fear of the Belgians."
Major H. H. Gibbons, who was for several months on the Upper
Nile, writes:
"Having had occasion to know many officers, and to visit their
stations in the Congo State, I am convinced that their behaviour has
been much misunderstood by the press. I have quoted as a proof my
experience, which is at variance with an article recently published in
the English press, in which they are accused of great cruelties."
The declaration of last June, of which a copy is enclosed, has dis-
posed of the criticisms directed against the public forces of the State,
by pointing out that recruitment for them is regulated by law, and
that it is only one man in every 10,000 who is affected. To say that
"the method of obtaining men for military service is often but little
different from that formerly employed to obtain slaves" is to mis-
understand the' carefully drawn regulations which have, on the con-
trary, been issued to check abuses. Levies take place in each
district ; the District Commissioners settle the mode of conscription in
agreement with the native chiefs. Voluntary enlistment, and numer-
ous re-enlistments, easily fill up the ranks, which only reach, all told,
the moderate total of 15,000 men.
Those who allege, as the note says, that "the men composing the
armed force of the State were in many cases recruited from the most
warlike and savage tribes" must be unaware that the public forces
584 Story of the Congo Free State
are recruited from every province, and from the whole population.
It is inconceivable that the authorities of a State, with due regard to
its interests, should form an army out of undisciplined and savage
elements, and instances are to be found — such as the excesses said to
have been perpetrated by irregular levies in Uganda, and the revolts
which formerly occurred in the Congo — which, on the contrary, ren-
der it necessary that special care should be exercised in raising armed
forces. The European establishment, consisting of Belgian, Italian,
Swedish, Norwegian, and Danish officers, maintains strict discipline,
and it would be vain to seek the actual facts alluded to in the assertion
that the soldiers "not infrequently terrorised over their own officers."
Such an assertion is as unfounded as the one "that compulsion is
often exercised by irresponsible native soldiers uncontrolled by any
European officer." For a long time past the authorities have been
alive to the danger arising from the existence of stations of Negro
soldiers, who inevitably abuse their authority, as recognised in the
Report of Sir D. Chalmers on the insurrection in Sierra Leone. In the
Congo such stations have been gradually abolished.
Those who do not refuse to accept patent facts will recognise that, of
the reproaches levelled at the State, the most unjust is the statement
"that no attempt at any administration for the natives is made, and
that the officers of the Government do not apparently concern them-
selves with such work."
It is astonishing to come across such an assertion in a dispatch
from a government, one of whose members. Lord Cranborne, Under-
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, stated on the 20th May
last:
"There was no doubt that the administration of the Congo Govem-
inent had been marked by a very high degree of a certain kind of ad-
ministrative development. There were railways, there were steamers
upon the river, hospitals had been established, and all the machinery
of elaborate judicial and police systems had been set up."
Another member of the House of Commons acknowledged :
"That the Congo State had done good work in excluding alcoholic
liquor from the greater part of their domain ; that they had estab-
lished a certain number of hospitals, had diminished smallpox by
means of vaccination, and had suppressed the Arab Slave Trade."
However limited these admissions, still they contradict the assertion
now made that "the natives are left entirely to themselves, so far as
any assistance in their government or in their affairs is concerned."
Such does not seem to have been the conclusion at which Mr. Pick-
ersgill, the English Consul, had arrived as long ago as 1898.
"Has the welfare of the African," he asks, "been duly cared for
in the Congo State?" He answers: "The State has restricted the
liquor trade. ... It is scarcely possible to overestimate the
Appendix 585
service which is being rendered by the Congo Government to its sub-
jects in this inatter. . . . Intertribal wars have been suppressed
over a wide area, and the imposition of European authority being
steadily pursued, the boundaries of peace are constantly extending.
The State must be congratulated upon the security it has
created for all who live within the shelter of its flag and abide by its
laws and regulations. . . . Credit is also due to the Congo Gov-
ernment in respect of the diminution of cannibalism. . . . The
yoke of the notorious Arab slave-traders has been broken, and traffic
in human beings amongst the natives themselves has been diminished
to a considerable degree."
This Report also showed that the labour of the native was remu-
nerated, and gave due credit to the State for its efforts to instruct the
young natives, and to open schools.
Since 1898 the general condition of the native has been still further
improved. The system of carriers {le portage a dos d'homme), the
hardships of which, so far as the native was concerned, were speciallv
pointed out by Mr. Pickersgill, has disappeared from those parts of
the country where it was most practised, in consequence of the open-
ing of railways. Elsewhere motor cars are used as means of trans-
port. The "sentry," the station of Negro soldiers which the Consul
criticised, not without reason, no longer exists. Cattle have been
introduced into every district. Sanitary commissions have been in-
stituted. Schools and workshops have multiplied.
"The native," says the enclosed document,' "is better housed,
Ijetter clad, and better fed; he is replacing his huts by better built and
healthier dwelling-places; thanks to existing transport facilities, he
is able to obtain the produce necessary to satisfy his new wants;
workshops have been opened for him, where he learns handicrafts,
such as those of the blacksmith, carpenter, mechanic, and mason; he
extends his plantations and, taking example by the white man, learns
rational modes of agriculture; he is always able to obtain medical
assistance ; he sends his children to the State school-colonies and to
the missionary schools."
As stated in the House of Commons, it is only right to recognise
that the material and moral regeneration of Central Africa cannot be
the work of a day. The results so far obtained have been considerable,
and these we shall try to consolidate and develop, in spite of the way
in which an effort is being made to hamper the action of the State,
which in the real interests of civilisation should rather be promoted.
The English note does not show that the economic system of the
State is in opposition to the Berlin Act. It does not meet the points
of law and fact by means of which the State has demonstrated the
conformity of its system of land tenure and concessions with the pro-
'See Annex No. I.
586 Story of the Congo Free State
visions of that Act. It does not explain either how or why freedom
of trade — a term used at the Conference of BerUn in its usual, gram-
matical, and economic sense — is incomplete in the Congo State be-
cause there are landowners there.
The note confuses the utilisation of his property by the owner with
trade. The native who collects on behalf of the owner does not be-
come the owner of what is so collected, and naturally cannot dispose
of it to a third party, any more than a miner can rob the proprietor
of the produce of the mine and dispose of it himself. These rules
are in accordance with the principles of justice and are explained in
numerous doctunents, such as legal opinions and judicial decisions,
some of which are annexed. His Majesty's Government do not deny
that the State is justified in allotting domain lands to bona-fide occu-
pants, or that the native has no longer any right to the produce of the
soil as soon as the "land is reduced into individual occupation." The
distinction is without legal foundation. If the State can part with
land, it is because the native is not the owner; by what title could he
then retain a right to the produce of property which has been lawfully
acquired by others? Could it be contended, for instance, that the
Lower Congo Railway Company, or the South Cameroons Company,
or the Italian Colonial Trading Company are, on the ground that
they are not at present in occupation, bound to allow the native
to plunder the territories allotted to them? As a matter of fact,
moreover, in the Congo State the appropriation of lands worked on
Government account or by the Concessionary companies is an ac-
complished fact. The State and the companies have devoted large
stmis, amounting to many millions of francs, to the development of the
lands in question, and more especially to that of the forests. There
can, therefore, be no doubt that throughout the territories of the Congo
the State really and completely works its property, just as the com-
panies really and completely work their concessions.
The state of affairs then which actually exists, and is established in
the Independent State, is such that there is really no need, as far as the
State itself is concerned, to dwell longer on the theory set forth in the
note which deals in turn with the rights of the State, with those of
bona-fide occupiers, and those of the natives.
Still this theory calls for the attention of the Powers in view of the
serious difficulties which would arise were it to be implicitly accepted.
The note lays down the three following propositions:
"The State has the right to partition the State lands among bona-
fide occupants."
" The natives will, as the land is so divided out amongst bona-fide
occupiers, lose their right of roaming over it and collecting the natural
fruits which it produces."
"Until unoccupied land is reduced into individual occupation, and
Appendix 587
so long as the produce can only be collected by the native, the native
should be free to dispose of that produce as he pleases."
There is no single one of these propositions but apparently excludes
the other two, and, as a matter of fact, such contradictions amount
to a denial of the right to grant concessions.
If bona-fide occupiers ever existed they have become proprietors;
occupation, where it can be exercised is, under all legislative codes,
one of the methods by which property can be acqmred, and in the
Congo State titles of ownership deriving from it have been legally
registered. If the land has never been legally occupied, it is without
an owner, or, rather the State is the owner; the State can allot it to a
third party, for whom such allotment is a complete and absolute title.
In either case it is hard to see how the fruits of the soil can be reserved
for any but the owner on the pretext that the latter is not able to
collect the produce of his property.
By a curious contradiction it is observed in the note that, as a
consequence of the allotment of lands by the State, the natives "lose
their right of collecting the natural fruits," and, on the other hand,
that they retain the right of disposing of these fruits "until unoccu-
pied land is reduced into [sic] individual occupation." It is difficult to
understand what is meant by a right which belongs to the natives or
not according to the action of a third party. Either they lost their
rights on the lands being allotted, and in that case they have lost them
entirely and completely, or else they have retained them, and are
entitled to retain them, although the "land is reduced into [sic] indi-
vidual occupation."
Again, what are we to understand by the expressions "bona-fide"
occupiers and ' ' individual occupation ? " Who is to determine whether
the occupier has brought his lands into a state of individual occupa-
tion, whether he is able to collect their produce, or whether it is still
for the native to do so? In any case, such a question is essentially
one to be settled by municipal law.
The note is, moreover, incomplete in another respect. It states
that where the land has not yet been worked by those who have a
right to it, the option of working should belong to the native. Rights
would thus be given to the natives to the prejudice of the Government
or of white concessionaires, but the note does not explain how nor by
whom the wrong thus caused would be repaired or made good. Though
the system thus advocated cannot be applied in the Congo State, as
there are no longer any unappropriated lands there, attention should
be called to the statement in the interest of white men established in
the Conventional Basin. If it is right to treat the Negro well, it is
none the less just not to despoil the white man, who, in the interest of
all, must remain the dominant race.
From an economic point of view, it would be very regrettable if, in
588 Story of the Congo Free State
spite of the rights regularly acqmred by white men, the domain lands
were, even temporarily, handed over to the natives. Such a course
would involve a return to their former condition of abandonment,
when the natives left them unproductive ; for the collection of rubber,
the plantation of coffee, cocoa, tobacco, etc., date from the day when
the State itself took the initiative : the export trade was insignificant
before the impetus it received from Government enterprise. Such a
course would furthermore certainly involve the neglect of rational
methods of work, of planting and of replanting — measures which the
State and the Concessionary companies have assumed as an obligation
with a view to securing the preservation of the natural riches of the
country.
Never in the Congo, so far as we know, have requests to buy natural
produce been addressed to the rightful owners. Up to now the only
attempts made have been to buy the produce which has been stolen,
and the State, as was its duty, has had those guilty of these unlawful
attempts prosecuted.
It is not true, as has been asserted, that the policy of the State has
killed trade; it has, on the contrary, created the materials which
trade deals in and keeps up the supply ; it is thanks to the State that,
on the Antwerp market — and soon even in the Congo where the possi-
biUty of establishing trade depots is being considered — 5000 tons of
rubber collected in the Congo can be annually put on sale to all and
sundry without privilege or monopoly, while formerly, in 1887, for
instance, the rubber export amounted to hardly 30 tons. It is the
State which, after having created, at its own expense, the material of
trade, carefully preserves the source of it by means of planting and
replanting.
It must not be forgotten either that the Congo State has been
obliged to rely on its own resources. It was forced to utilise its
domain in the public interest. All the receipts of the domain go into
the Treasury, as also the dividends of the shares which the State holds
in exchange for concessions granted. It has only been by utilising
its domain lands, and pledging the greater part of their revenues, that
it has been able to raise loans, and encourage the construction of rail-
ways by guarantees of interest, thus realising one of the means most
advocated by the Brussels Conference for promoting civilisation in
Central Africa. Nor has it hesitated to mortgage its domain lands
with this object.
The Berlin Act is not opposed to such a course, for it never pre-
scribed the rights of property as there is now an ex post facto attempt
to make out, an attempt tending, consciously or not, to the ruin of the
whole Conventional Basin of the Congo.
It will not escape the notice of the Powers that the English note,
by suggesting a reference to the Court at the Hague, tends to bring
Appendix 589
into consideration as cases for arbitration questions of sovereigntv
and internal administration as questions for arbitration which, ac-
cording to prevailing doctrines, are excluded from arbitral decisions.
As far as the present case is concerned, it must be assumed that the
suggestion of referring the matter to the Court at the Hague has a
general meaning, if it is true that, in the opinion of the English
Chambers of Commerce, "the principles and practice introduced into
the administration of the affairs of the French Congo, the Congo Free
State, and other areas in the Conventional Basin of the Congo being
[sic] in direct opposition to the Articles of the Act of Berlin, 1885."
The Government of the Congo State have never ceased advocating
arbitration as a mode of settling questions which are of an interna-
tional nature, and can thus be suitably treated, as, for instance, the
divergencies of opinion which have arisen in connection with the lease
of the territories of the Bahr-el-Ghazal.
The Government of the Congo State, after careful examination of
the English note, remain convinced that, in view of its vagueness, and
the complete lack of evidence, which is implicitly admitted, there
is no tribunal in the world, supposing there were one possessing
competent jurisdiction, which could, far from pronouncing a con-
demnation, take any decision other than to refuse action on mere
supposition.
If the Congo State is attacked, England may admit that she, more
than any other nation, has been the object of attacks and accusations
o{ every kind, and the list would be long of the campaigns which have
at various times, and ev'^en quite recently, been directed against her
colonial administration. She has certainly not escaped criticism in
regard to her numerous and bloody wars against native populations,
nor the reproach of oppressing natives and invading their liberty.
Has she not been blamed in regard to the long insurrections in Sierra
Leone; to the disturbed state of Nigeria, where quite recently, accord-
ing to the English newspapers, military measures of repression cost,
on one single occasion, the lives of 700 natives, of most of their Chiefs,
and of the Sultan; and to the conflict in Somaliland, which is being
carried on at the cost of many lives, without, however, exciting ex-
pressions of regret in the House of Commons, except on the score of
the heavy expense?
Seeing that these attacks have left England indifferent, it is some
what surprising to find her now attaching such importance to those
made on the Congo State.
There is, however, reason to think that the natives of the Congo
State prefer the Government of a small and pacific nation, whose aims
remain as peaceful as its creation, which was founded on treaties con-
cluded with the natives.
(Signed) Chr. de Cuvelier.
590 Story of the Congo Free State
Annexes ^
I. Bulletin Officiel de VEtat Independant du Congo, Juin, 1903.
II. Judgments delivered by the Tribunals of French Congo.
III. Opinions of Messrs. van Maldeghem and de Paepe, Van Ber-
chem, Barboux, and Nys.
OFFICIAL CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN THE CONGO
FREE STATE AND GREAT BRITAIN
The Congo Rejoinder to Charges Contained in the
Report of Consul Casement
The Appendices on pages 591 to 611 are taken from the
official correspondence ^ sent by Sir Constantino Phipps, his
Britannic Majesty's Minister at Brussels, to the Marquess of
Lansdovi^ne, His Britannic Majesty's Foreign Secretary, en-
closing the reply of the Government of the Congo Free State
to the Report of Mr. Roger Casement, British Consul at Boma.
Having regard to the voluminous nature of Consul Casement's
report, and the fact that the Congo State's Note (reply) cites
its principal charges against that Government, it is not printed
herewith, to expand a volume already extended beyond prac-
tical dimensions.
No. I
Sir C. Phipps to the Marquess of Lansdowne. — {Received March 14)
Brussels, March 13, 1904.
My Lord,
I have the honour to enclose the rejoinder on the part of the Congo
Government to the Report of His Majesty's Consul at Boma on the
condition of the Congo.
In handing these "Notes" to me this afternoon M. de Cuvelier was
instructed to call my attention to the passage where his Government
expresses a desire to be placed in possession of the fttll Report, in-
cluding names, dates, and places referred to. The "Notes" will be
communicated to-morrow to the Representatives of the other Powers.
I have, etc.,
(Signed) Constantine Phipps.
^ Copies have been sent to the Library of each House of Parliament.
^See Africa, No. 7, 1904, presented to both Houses of Parliament,
Jime, 1904.
Appendix 591
Enclosure in No. i
NOTES BY THE GOVERNMENT OF THE CONGO FREE
STATE ON THE REPORT OF MR. CASEMENT,
CONSUL OF HIS BRITANNIC MAJESTY, OF THE
iiTH DECEMBER, 1903. •
(Translation)
During the sitting of the House of Commons of the nth March,
1903, Lord Cranborne observed:
"We have no reason to think that slavery is recognised by the
authorities of the Congo Free State, but reports of acts of cruelty and
oppression have reached us. Such reports have been received from
our Consvdar Officers."
The Government of the Congo State addressed a letter on the 14th
March, 1903, to Sir C. Phipps, requesting him to be good enoi:gh to
communicate the facts which had formed the subject of any reports
from British Consuls.
No reply was received to this application.
Lord Lansdowne's dispatch of the 8th August, 1903, contained the
following passage:
"Representations to this effect [alleged cases of ill-treatment of
natives and existence of trade monopolies] are to be found .
in dispatches from His Majesty's Consuls."
The impression was thus created that at that date His Majesty's
Government were in possession of conclusive evidence furnished by
their Consuls; but none the less it seemed clearly necessary that
Consul Casement should undertake a journey in the Upper Congo.
It would appear, therefore, as if the conclusions contained in the note
of the 8th August were at least premature; it equally follows that,
contrary to what was said in that note, the British Consul was at
liberty to undertake any journey in the interior that he thought fit.
In any case it is to be observed that, in spite of the repeated appli-
cations of the Congo State, the White Paper [Africa, No. i (1904)]
recently presented to Parliament does not contain any of these former
Consular Reports, which nevertheless would have been the more in-
teresting as dating from a time when the present campaign had not
yet been initiated.
The present Report draws attention to the fact that in certain places
visited by the Consul the population is decreasing. Mr. Casement does
not give the facts on which he bases his comparative figures for 1887
and 1903. The question arises how, during the course of his rapid and
hasty visits, he was able to get his figures for this latter year. On
what facts, for instance, does he found his assertion that the riverain
592 Story of the Congo Free State
population of Lake Mantumba seems to have diminished from 60 to
70 per cent, in the course of the last ten years? He states that at a
certain place designated as F the population of all the villages to-
gether does not at present amount to more than 500 souls; a few lines
farther on these same villages are spoken of as only containing 240
inhabitants altogether. These are only details, but they show at
once what a lack of precision there is in certain of the deductions
made by the Consul. It is, no doubt, unfortunately only too true
that the population has diminished ; but the diminution is due to
other causes than to the exercise on the native population of a too
exacting or oppressive Administration. It is owing chiefly to the
sleeping-sickness, which is decimating the population throughout
Equatorial Africa. The Report itself observes that "a prominent
place must be assigned to this malady," ' and that this malady is
"probably one of the principal factors" in the diminution of the
population. 2 It is only necessary to read the Rev. John Whitehead's
letter, quoted by the Consul (Annex II. to the Report), to obtain an
idea of the ravages of the malady, to which this missionary attributes
half of the deaths which take place in the riverain parts of the district.
In a recent interview Mgr. Van Ronsle, Vicar Apostolic of the Belgian
Congo, who speaks with the authority of one who has had a large ex-
perience of African matters, and has resided for long periods in many
different localities in the Congo, explained the development of this
scourge and the inevitable decay of the population it attacks, what-
ever the conditions of their social existence ; mentioning among other
cases the terrible loss of life caused by this disease in Uganda. If to
this principal cause of the depopulation of the Congo are added small-
pox epidemics, the inability of the tribes at the present moment to
keep up their numbers by the purchase of slaves, and the ease with
which the natives can migrate, it can be explained how the Consul
and the missionaries may have been struck with the diminution of
the number of inhabitants in certain centres without that diminution
necessarily being the result of a system of oppression. Annex I. con-
tains the declarations on the subject made by Mgr. Van Ronsle. His
remarks as to the effect of the suppression of slavery on the numbers
of the population are printed elsewhere :
"The people [slave] are for the most part originally prisoners of
war. Since the Decree of emancipation they have simply returned
to their own distant homes, knowing their owners have no power to
recapture them. This is one reason why some think the population is
decreasing, and another reason is the vast exodus up and down river." 3
"So long as the Slave Trade flourished the Bobangi flourished, but
^ Report, p. 21. ^ Idem, p. 26.
3M. Boudot, missionary of the Congo Balolo Mission. Regions
Beyond, December, 1901, p. 337.
Appendix 593
with its abolition they are tending to disappear, for their towns were
replenished by slaves." '
The Consvil mentions cases, the causes of which, however, are un-
known to him, of an exodus of natives of the Congo to the French
bank. It is not quite clear on what grounds he attaches blame to the
State on their account, to judge at least from the motives by which
some of them have been determined — for instance, the examples of
such emigration which are given and explained by the Rev. W.
H. Bentley, an English missionary. One relates to the station at
Lukolela :
"The main difficiilty has been the shifting of the population. It
appears that the popvdation, when the station was founded in 1886,
was between 5,000 and 6,000 in the riverain colonies. About two
years later the Chief Mpuki did not agree with his neighbours or they
with him. When the tension became acute, Mpuki crossed over with
his people to the opposite [French] side of the river. This exodus
took away a large number of people. In 1890 or 1891 a chief from
one of the lower towns was compelled by the majority of his people
to leave the State side, and several went with him. About 1893 the
rest of the people at the lower towns either went across to the same
place as the deposed chief or took up their residence inland. Towards
the end of 1894 a soldier, who had been sent to cut firewood for the
State steamers on an island off the towns, left his work to make an
evil request in one of the towns. He shot the man who refused him.
The rascal of a soldier was properly dealt with by the State officer in
charge ; but this outrage combined with other smaller difficulties to
produce a panic, and nearly all the people left for the French side, or
hid away inland. So the fine township has broken up." ^
The other refers to the station at Bolobo:
"It is rare indeed for Bolobo, with its 30,000 or 40,000 people,
divided into some dozen clans, to be at peace for any length of time
together. The loss of life from these petty wars, the number of those
killed for witchcraft, and of those who are buried alive with the dead,
involve, even within our narrow limits here at Bolobo, an almost daily
drain upon the vitality of the country, and an incalculable amount of
sorrow and suflFering. . . . The Government was not indifferent
to these murderous ways. . . . In 1890, the District Commissioner
called the people together, and warned them against the burying of
slaves alive in the graves of free people, and the reckless killing of
slaves which then obtained. The natives did not like the rising power
of the State. . . Our own settlement among them was not un-
attended with difficulty. . . . There was a feeling against white
men generally, and especially so against the State. The people
' W. H. Bentley, Pioneering on the Congo, ii., p. 229.
^Idcm, p. 243.
594 Story of the Congo Free State
became insolent and haughty. . . . Just at this time ... as
a force of soldiers steamed past the Moye towns, the steamers were
fired upon. The soldiers landed and burnt and looted the towns.
The nativ^es ran away into the grass, and great numbers crossed to
the French side of the river. They awoke to the fact that Bula Ma-
tadi, the State, was not the helpless thing they had so long thought.
This happened early in 1891." '
It will be seen that these examples do not attribute the emigration
of the natives to any such causes as
"The methods employed to obtain labour from them by local
officials and the exactions levied on them." ^
The Report dwells at length on the existence of native taxes. It
shows how the natives are subject to forced labour of various kinds,
in one district having to furnish the Government posts with "chik-
wangues," or fresh provisions, in another being obliged to assist in
works of public utility, such as the construction of a jetty at Balolo,
or the upkeep of the telegraph line at F ; elsewhere being obliged
to collect the produce of the domain lands. We maintain that such
imposts on the natives are legitimate, in agreement on this point with
His Majesty's Government, who, in the Memorandum of the nth
February last, declare that the industry and development of the Brit-
ish Colonies and Protectorates in Africa show that His Majesty's Gov-
ernment have always admitted the necessity of making the natives
contribute to the public charges and of inducing them to work. We
also agree with His Majesty's Government that, if abuses occur in
this connection — and undoubtedly some have occurred in all colonies
— such abuses call for reform, and that it is the duty of the authorities
to put an end to them, and to reconcile as far as may be the require-
ments of the Government with the real interests of the natives.
But in this matter the Congo State intends to exercise freely its
rights of sovereignty — as, for instance. His Majesty's Government
explain in their last Memorandum that they themselves did at Sierra
Leone — without regard to external pressure or foreign interference,
which would be an encroachment upon its essential rights.
The Consul, in his Report, obviously endeavours to create the im-
pression that taxes in the Congo are collected in a violent, inhuman,
and cruel manner, and we are anxious before all to rebut the accusa-
tion, which has so often been brought against the State, that such
collection gives rise to odious acts of mutilation. On this point a
superficial perusal of the Report is calculated to impress by its easy
accumulation not of facts, simple, precise, and verified, but of the
declarations and affirmations of natives.
^ Pioneering on the Congo, by the Rev. W. Holman Bentley, ii,
pp. 235-236.
'^ Report, p. 29.
Appendix 505
There is a preliminary remark to be made in regard to the conditions
in which the Consul made his journey.
Whether such was his intention or not, the British Consul appeared
to the inhabitants as the redresser of the wrongs, real or imaginary, of
the natives, and his presence at La Lulonga, coinciding with the cam-
paign which was being directed against the Congo State, in a region
where the influence of the Protestant missionaries has long been ex-
ercised, necessarily had for the natives a significance which did not
escape them. The Consul made his investigations quite independently
of the Government officials, quite independently of any action and of
any co-operation on the part of the regular authorities ; he was assisted
in his proceedings by English Protestant missionaries; he made his
inspection on a steamer belonging to a Protestant Mission; he was
entertained for the most part in the Protestant Missions; and, in
these circumstances, it was inevitable that he should be considered
by the native as the antagonist of the established authorities.
Other proof is not required than the characteristic fact that while
the Consul was at Bonginda, the natives crowded down to the bank,
as some agents of the La Lulonga Company were going by in a canoe,
and cried out: "Your violence is over, it is passing away; only the
English remain; may you others die!" There is also this significant
admission on the part of a Protestant missionary, who, in alluding to
this incident, remarked:
"The Consul was here at the time, and the people were much ex-
cited and evidently thought themselves on top. . . . The people
have got this idea [that the rubber work was finished] into their heads
of themselves, consequent, I suppose, upon the Consul's visit."
In these circumstances, in view of the state of mind which they show
to exist among the natives, in view of their impressionable character
and of their natural desire to escape taxation, it could not be doubted
that the conclusions at which the Consul would arrive would not be
other than those set forth in his Report.
To bring out this point, and to show how little value is to be at-
tached to his investigations, it will be sufficient to examine one case,
that on which Mr. Casement principally relies ; we allude to the Epondo
case. It is that of the child II., mentioned on pp. 56, 58, and 78 of the
Report.
It is indispensable to enter somewhat at length into the details of
this case, which are significant.
On the 4th September, 1903, the Consul was at the Bonginda sta-
tion of the Congo Balolo Mission, having returned from a journey on
the Lopori, during the course of which he had not come across any of
those acts of mutilation which it is the custom to attribute to officials
in the Congo.
At Bonginda, the natives of a neighbouring village (Bossunguma)
59^ Story of the Congo Free State
came to him and informed him, amongst other things, that a "sentry "
of the La Lulonga Company, named Kalengo,' had, at Bossunguma,
cut ofif the hand of a native called Epondo, whose wounds were still
scarcely healed. The Consul proceeded to Bossunguma, accompanied
by the Rev. W. D. Armstrong and the Rev. D. J. Danielson, and had
the mutilated native brought before him, who, "in answer to the Con-
sul's question, charged a sentry named ' Kalengo ' (placed in the town by
the local agent of the La Lulonga Society to see that the people work
rubber)" with having done it. Such are the Consul's own words: it
was necessary to establish a relation of cause and effect between the
collection of india-rubber and this alleged case of cruelty.
The Consul proceeded to question the chief and some of the natives
of the village. They replied by accusing Kalengo; most of them
asserted that they were eye-witnesses of the deed. The Consul in-
quired through his interpreters if there were other witnesses who saw
the crime committed and accused Kalengo of it. "Nearly all those
present, about forty persons, shouted out with one voice that it was
'Kalengo' who did it."
In order to understand the violence with which the natives accused
Kalengo, and the unanimous manner in which the denials of the ac-
cused were rejected by his accusers, it is necessary to read the whole of
the report of this inquiry, as drawn up by the Consul himself in a kind
of proces-verbaux, dated the 7th, 8th, and gth September (Annex IL).
From all quarters accusers appeared, and the excited crowd gave vent
to all sorts of accusations: he had cut off Epondo 's hand, chained up
women, stolen ducks and a dog! The Constil did not allow his sus-
picions to be aroused by the passionate character of these accvisations ;
without any further guarantee of their sincerity or further examina-
tion into their truth, he looked upon his inquiry as conclusive, and as
he had taken upon himself the duties of the Public Prosecutor in making
preliminary inquiries into the matter, so he anticipated the decision
of the responsible authorities by declaring to the assembled people
that "Kalengo deserved severe punishment for his illegal and cruel
acts." He proceeded to dramatise the incident by carrying off the
pretended victim, and exhibiting him on the loth September to the
official in command of the station at Coquilhatville, to whom he handed
a copy of the record of his inquiry, and on the 1 2th September he ad-
dressed a letter to the Governor-General which he marked as " per-
sonal and private," and in which he makes the incident in question
among others a text for an attack on "the system of general exploita-
tion of an entire population which can only be rendered successful by
the employment of arbitrary and illegal force." His inquiry ter-
minated, he immediately started on his return journey to the Lower
Congo.
* K. K. in Africa, No. i (1904).
Appendix 597
Even if the circumstances had been correctly reported, the dispro-
portion would still have been striking between them and the conclu-
sions which the Consul draws when emphasising his general criticisms of
the Congo State. But the facts themselves are incorrectly represented.
As a matter of fact, no sooner did the Consul's denunciation reach
the Public Prosecutor's Department than M. Gennaro Bosco, Acting
Public Prosecutor, proceeded to the spot and held a judicial inquiry
under the usual conditions, free from all outside influences. This in-
quiry showed that His Britannic Majesty's Consul had been the
object of a plot contrived by the natives, who, in the hope of no longer
being obliged to work, had agreed among themselves to represent
Epondo as the victim of the inhuman conduct of one of the capitas
of a commercial company. In reality, Epondo had been the victim
of an accident while out hunting, and had been bitten in the hand by
a wild boar; gangrene had set in and caused the loss of the member,
and this fact had been cleverly turned to account by the natives when
before the Consul. We append (Annex No. III.) extracts from the in-
quiry conducted by the Acting Public Prosecutor into the Epondo
case. The evidence is typical, uniform, and without discrepancies.
It leaves no doubt as to the cause of the accident, makes it clear that
the natives lied to the Consul, and reveals the object which actuated
them, namely, the hope that the Consul's intervention would relieve
them from the necessity of paying taxes. The inquiry shows how
Epondo, at last brought to account, retracted what he had in the
first instance said to the Consul, and confessed that he had been in-
fluenced by the people of his village. He was questioned as follows:
Q. ' ' Do you persist in accusing Kalengo of having cut off your left
hand? "
A. " No. I told a lie."
Q. "State, then, how and when you lost your hand."
A. "I was a slave of Monkckola's at Malele, in the Bangala district.
One day I went out boar-hunting with him. He wounded one with
a spear, and thereupon the animal, enraged, turned on me. I tried
to run off with the others, but falling down, the boar was on me in a
moment and tore off my left hand and [wotmded me] in the stomach
and left thigh."
[The witness exhibits the scars he carries at the places mentioned,
and lying down of his own accord shows the position he was in when
the boar attacked and wounded him.]
Q. " How long ago did this accident happen? "
A. "I don't remember. It was a long time ago."
Q. "Why did you accuse Kalengo?"
A. "Because Momaketa, one of the Bossunguma Chiefs, told me
to, and afterwards all the inhabitants of my village did so too."
59^ Story of the Congo Free State
Q. ' ' Did the English photograph you ? ' '
A. "Yes, at Bonginda and Lulonga. They told me to put the
stump well forward. There were Nenele, Mongongolo, Torongo, and
other whites whose names I don't know. They were whites from
Lulonga. Mongongolo took away six photographs."'
Epondo of his own accord repeated his declarations and retractions
to a Protestant missionary, Mr. Paris, who lives at Bolengi. This
gentleman has sent the Commissary-General at Coquilhatville the
following written declaration :
"I, E. E. Paris, missionary, residing at Bolengi, Upper Congo, de-
clare that I questioned the boy Epondo, of the village of Bosongoma,
who was at my house on the loth September, 1903, with Mr. Case-
ment, the British Consul, and whom, in accordance with the request
made to me by Commandant Stevens, of Coquilhatville, I took to the
mission station at Bolengi on the i6th October, 1903; and that the
said boy has this day, the 17th October, 1903, told me that he lost his
hand through the bite of a wild boar.
"He told me at the same time that he infonned Mr. Casement that
his hand was cut off either by a soldier or, perhaps, by one of those
working for the white men {travailleurs de blanc), who have been
making war in his village with a view to the collection of rubber, but
he asserts that the account which he has given me to-day is the truth.
"(Signed) E. E. Paris.
"Bolengi, October 17, 1903."
The inquiry resulted in the discharge of the prisoner, which, so far
as it concerned the Epondo question, was in the following terms:
" We, Acting Public Prosecutor of the Court of Coquilhatville:
" Having regard to the notes made by His Britannic Majesty's Con-
sul, on the occasion of his visit to the villages of Ikandja and Bossun-
guma in the territory of the Ngombe, from which it would appear that
a certain Kalengo, a forest guard in the ser\-ice of the La Lulonga
Company,
" (o) Cut off the left hand of a certain Epondo;
"(ft) . - . .;
"W . . . .;
" Having regard to the inquiry instituted by Lieutenant Braeck-
man, which partly confirms the restilt of the inquiry instituted by His
Britannic Majesty's Consul, but also partly contradicts it, and to the
charges already brought against Kalengo adds that of having killed a
native of the name of Baluwa;
"Having regard to the conclusions arrived at by the police employee
in question, which tend to raise grave doubts as to the truth of all
these charges;
» See Annex No. IIL
Appendix 599
" In view of the fact that all the natives who brought these charges
against Kalengo, whether before His Britannic Majesty's Consul or
Lieutenant Braeckman, on being summoned by us, the Acting Public
Prosecutor, took to flight, and all efforts to find them have been
fruitless ; that this flight obviously throws doubt on the truth of their
allegations ;
" That all the witnesses whom we have questioned during the course
of our inquiry declare . . . that Epondo lost his left hand from
the bite of a wild boar;
" That Epondo confirms these statements, and admits that he told
a lie at the instigation of the natives of Bossunguma and Ikondja
who hoped to escape collecting rubber through the intervention of
His Britannic Majesty's Consul, whom they considered to be very
powerful ;
" That the witnesses, almost all inhabitants of the accusing villages,
admit that such was the object of their lie ;
" That this version, apart from the unanimous declaration of the wit-
nesses and the injured parties, is also the most plausible, seeing that
every one knows that the natives dislike work in general and having
to collect rubber, and are, moreover, ready to He and accuse people
falsely ;
" That it is confirmed by the clearly stated opinion of the English
missionary Armstrong, who considers the natives to be "capable of
any plot to escape work, and especially the labour of collecting rubber " ;
" That the innocence of Kalengo having been thoroughly estab-
lished, there is no reason for proceeding against him;
" On the above-mentioned grounds, we, the Acting Public Prosecu-
tor, declare that there are no grounds for proceeding against Kalengo, a
forest guard in the service of the La Lulonga Company, for the offences
mentioned in Articles 2, 5, 11, and 19 of the Penal Code.
" (Signed) Bosco,
" Acting Public Prosecutor.
" Mampoko, October 9, 1903."
We have dealt at length with the above case because it is considered
by the Consul himself as being one of the utmost importance, and be-
cause he relies upon this single case for accepting as accurate all the
other declarations made to him by natives.
"In the one case I could alone personally investigate," he says,*
"that of the boy II., I found this accusation proved on .the spot with-
out seemingly a shadow of doubt existing as to the guilt of the accused
sentry."
And further on :
"I had not time to do more than visit the one village of R , and
' Report, p. 58.
6oo Story of the Congo Free State
in that village I had only time to investigate the charge brought by
II." '
And elsewhere :
"It was obviously impossible that I should . . . verify on the
spot, as in the case of the boy, the statements they made. In that
one case the truth of the charges preferred was amply demonstrated." ^
It is also to this case that he alludes in his letter of the 12th Sep-
tember, 1903, to the Governoi'-General, where he says:
"When speaking to M. le Commandant Stevens at Coquilhatville
on the 10th instant, when the mutilated boy Epondo stood before us as
an evidence of the deplorable state of affairs I reprobated, I said, 'I do
not accuse an individual, I accuse a system.'"
It is only nattiral to conclude that if the rest of the evidence in the
Consul's Report is of the same value as that furnished to him in this
particular, it cannot possibly be regarded as conclusive. And it is
obvious that in those cases in which the Consul, as he himself admits,
did not attempt to verify the assertions of the natives, these assertions
are worth, if possible, still less.
It is doubtless true that the Consul deliberately incurred the certain
risk of being misled owing to the manner in which he interrogated the
natives, which he did, as a matter of fact, through two interpreters —
"through Vinda, speaking in Bobangi, and Bateko, repeating his
utterances ... in the local dialect 3 ; so that the Consul was at
the mercy not only of the truthfulness of the native who was being
questioned, but depended also on the correctness of the translations
of two other natives, one of whom was a servant of his own, and the
other apparently the missionaries' interpreter.4 But any one who has
ever been in contact with the native knows how much he is given to
lying; the Rev. C. H. Harvey s states that:
"The natives of the Congo who surrounded us were contemptible,
perfidious, and cruel, impudent liars, dishonest, and vile."
It is also important, if one wishes to get a correct idea of the value
of this evidence, to note that while Mr. Casement was questioning
the natives, he was accompanied by two local Protestant English mis-
sionaries, whose presence must alone have necessarily affected the
evidence. 6
I Report, p. 58. ^ Idem, p. 56.
3 See Annex No. II. (enclosure No. 6 in III.).
4 Regions Beyond, 1900, p. 198.
5 Idem., January-February, 1903, p. 53.
6 See Annex No. II. "Present: Rev. W. D. Armstrong and Rev.
D. J. Danielson of the Congo Balolo Mission of Bonginda, Vinda
Bidilou (Consul's head man) and Bateko as interpreters, and His
Britannic Majesty's Consul." This passage is omitted in Annex No. 6
of the Consul's Report (p. 78).
Appendix 6oi
We should ourselves be going too far if from all this we were to con-
clude that the whole of the native statements reported by the Consul
ought to be rejected. But it is clearly shown that his proofs are in-
sufficient as a basis for a deliberate judgment, and that the particulars
in question require to be carefully and impartially tested.
On examining the Consul's voluminous Report for other cases which
he has seen, and which he sets down as cases of mutilation, it will be
observed that he mentions two as having occurred on Lake Man-
tumba ' "some years ago."^ He mentions several others, in regard
to the number of which the particulars given in the Report do not
seem to agree, -5 as having taken place in the neighbourhood of Bon-
ginda,4 precisely in the country of the Epondo inquiry, where, as has
been seen, the general feeling was excited and prejudiced. It is these
cases which, he says, he had not time to inquire into fully, s and which,
according to the natives, were due to agents of the La Lulonga Com-
pany. Were these instances of victims of the practice of native cus-
toms which the natives would have been careful not to admit? Were
the injuries which the Consul saw due to some conflict between neigh-
bouring villages or tribes? Or were they really due to the black
subordinates of the Company? This cannot be determined by a
perusal of the Report, as the natives in this instance, as in every other,
were the sole source of the Consul's information, and he, for his part,
confined himself to taking rapid notes of their numerous statements
for a few hours in the morning of the 5th September, being pressed
for time, in order to reach K (Bossunguma) at a reasonable hour.6
Notwithstanding the weight which he attached to the "air of
frankness" and the "air of conviction and sincerity"/ on the part of
the natives, his own experience shows clearly the necessity for caution,
and renders rash his assertion "that it was clear that these men were
stating either what they had actually seen with their eyes or firmly
believed in their hearts." *
Now, however, that the Consul has drawn attention to these few
cases — whether cases of cruelty or not, and they are all that, as a
matter of fact, he has inquired into personally, and even so without
being able to prove sufficiently their real cause — the authorities will
of course look into the matter and cause inquiries to be made. It is
to be regretted that, this being so, all mention of date, place, and
name has been systematically omitted in the copy of the Report
communicated to the Government of the Independent State of the
Congo. It is impossible not to see that these suppressions will place
great difficulties in the way of the magistrates who will have to
* Report, p. 34. 2 Idem, pp. 76 and 77.
3Cf. Idem, pp. 54 and 55 and p. 58.
4 Idem, pyj. 54, 55. s Idem, p. 56.
^ Idem, p. 56. 7 Idem, p. 62. ^ Idem, p. 57.
6o2 Story of the Congo Free State
inquire into the facts, and the Government of the Congo trust that,
in the interests of truth, they may be placed in possession of the
complete text of the Consul's Report.
It is not to be wondered at if the Government of the Congo State
take this opportunity of protesting against the proceedings of their
detractors who have thought fit to submit to the public reproductions
of photographs of mutilated natives, and have started the odious story
of hands being cut off with the knowledge and even at the instiga-
tion of Belgians in Africa. The photograph of Epondo, for instance,
mutilated in the manner shown, and who has "twice been photo-
graphed," is probably one of those which the English pamphlets are
circulating as proof of the execrable administration of the Belgians in
Africa. One English review reproduced the photograph of a " cannibal
surrounded with the skulls of his victims," and underneath was
written: "In the original photograph the cannibal was naked. The
artist has made him decent by . . . covering his breast with the
star of the Congo State. It is now a suggestive emblem of the Chris-
tian-veneered cannibalism on the Congo."' At this rate it would
suffice to throw discredit on the Uganda Administration if the plates
were published illustrating the mutilations which, in a letter dated
Uganda, i6th December, 1902, Dr. Castellani says he saw in the
neighbourhood of Entebbe itself: "It is not difficult to find there
natives without noses or ears, etc." ^
The truth is, that in Uganda, as in the Congo, the natives still give
way to their savage instincts. This objection has been anticipated
by Mr. Casement, who remarks:
' ' It was not a native custom prior to the coming of the white man ;
it was not the outcome of the primitive instincts of savages in their
fights between village and village; it was the deliberate act of the
soldiers of a European Administration, and these men themselves
never made any concealment that in committing these acts they were
but obeying the positive orders of their superiors." 3
That Mr. Casement should formulate so serious a charge without
at the same time supporting it by absolute proof would seem to justify
those who consider that his previous employment has not altogether
been such as to qualify him for the duties of a Consul. Mr. Casement
remained seventeen days on Lake Mantumba, a lake said to be 25 to
30 miles long and 12 to 15 broad, surroiuided by a dense forest. 4 He
scarcely left its shores at all. In these circumstances it is difficult to
see how he could have made any useful researches into the former
habits and customs of the inhabitants. On the contrary, from the
fact that the tribes in question are still very savage, and addicted to
^ Review of Reviews, February 14, 1903.
2 The Tribuna of Rome.
3 Report, Annex No. IV., p. 77. ^ Idem, p. 30.
Appendix 603
cannibalism,* it would seem that they have not abandoned the prac-
tice of those cruelties which throughout Africa were the usual accom-
paniments of barbarous habits and anthropophagy. In one portion
of the districts which the Constil visited, the evidence of the English
missionaries on this point is most instructive. The Rev. McKittrick,
in describing the sanguinary contests between the natives, mentions
the efforts to pacify the country which he formerly made through the
chiefs: ". . . . We told them that for the future we should not
let any man carrying spears or knives pass through our station. Our
God was a God of peace, and we, His children, could not bear to see
(mr black brothers cutting and stabbing each other." 2 "While I was
jjoing up and down the river," says another missionarj', "they pointed
out to me the King's beaches, whence they used to despatch their
lighting men to capture canoes and men. It was heartrending to
hear them describe the awful massacres that used to take place at a
great chief's death. A deep hole was dug in the ground, into which
scores of slaves were thrown after having their heads cut off ; and upon
that horrible pile they laid the chief's dead body to crown the inde-
scribable human carnage." 3 And the missionaries speak of the
facility with which even nowadays the natives return to their old
customs. It would seem, too, the statement made in the Report, 4
that the natives now fly on the approach of a steamer as they never
used to do, is hardly in accordance with the reports of travellers and
explorers.
Be this as it may, it is to be observed that nowhere in the territory
which is the scene of the operations of the A. B. I. R. Company did the
Consul discover any evidence of acts of cruelty for which the commer-
cial agents might have been considered responsible. The coincidence
is remarkable, since it so happens that the A. B. I. R. Company is a
concessionary company, and that it is the system of concessions to
which are constantly attributed the most disastrous consequences
for the natives.
What it is important to discover from the immense number of
questions touched on by the Consul, and the multiplicity of minor
facts which he has collected, is whether the sort of picture he has
drawn of the wretched existence led by the natives corresponds to
the actual state of affairs. We will take, for instance, the district
of the Lulonga and the Lopori, as the head-stations of the missions
of the Congo Balolo Mission have been established there for
years past. These missions are established in the most distant places
^Report. Annex No. IV., p. 30.
2 "Ten Years at Bonginda." D. McKittrick, Regions Beyond, 1900,
p. 21.
3 "Congo Contrasts." M. Boudot, Regions Beyond, 1900, p. 197.
4 Report, p. 34.
6o4 Story of the Congo Free State
in the interior, at Lulonga, Bonginda, Ikau, Bongandanga, and
Baringa, all of which are situated in the scene of operations of the La
Lulonga and A. B. L R. Companies. They are in constant com-
munication with the native populations, and a special monthly review,
called Regions Beyond, regularly publishes their letters, notes, and
reports. An examination of a set of these publications reveals no
trace, at any time previous to April, 1903 — by that date, it is true,
Mr. Herbert Samuel's motion had been brought before Parliament — -
of anything either to point out or to reveal that the general situation
of the native populations was such as ought to be denounced to the
civilised world. The missionaries congratulate themselves on the
active sympathy shown them by the various official and commercial
agents,' on the progress of their work of evangelisation,^ on the facili-
ties afforded them by the construction of roads, ^ on the manner in
which the natives are becoming civilised, "owing to the mere presence
of white men in their midst, both missionaries and traders," 4 on the
disappearance of slavery, s on the density of the population ,6 on the
growing number of their pupils, "especially since the State has issued
orders for all children within reach to attend the mission schools," 7
on the gradual disappearance of the primitive customs of the natives,^
and lastly, on the contrast between the present and the past.^ Will
it be admitted that these Christian English missionaries, who, during
their journeys, visited the various factories, and witnessed markets
of rubber being held, would, by keeping silence, make themselves
the accomplices of an inhuman or wrongful system of government?
Among the conclusions of one of the Annual Reports of the. Congo
Balolo Mission is to be found the following: "On the whole, the re-
trospect is encouraging. If there has been no great advance, there
has been no heavy falling off, and no definite opposition to the work.
. There has been much famine and sickness among the
natives, especially at Bonginda. . . . Apart from this, there has
been no serious hindrance to progress. . . ."'° And speaking in-
cidentally of the beneficial effect produced by work on the social cond-
tion of the natives, a missionary writes: "The greatest obstacle to
conversion is polygamy. Many evils have been put down, e. g., idle-
ness, thanks to the State having compelled the men to work; and
fighting, through their not having time enough to fight." " These
opinions of missionaries appear to us to be more precise than those
expressed in a Report on every page of which it may be said one finds
such expressions as: "I was told," "it was said," "I was informed,"
^ Regions Beyond, 1900, p. 150; 1902, p. 209.
^ Idem, passim. ^ Idem, 1900, p. 150. * Idem,, 1901, p. 27.
5 Idem, 1900, p. 199. ^ Idem, 1900, pp. 243, 297, 306.
7 Idem, 1901, p. 40; 1902. p. 315. ^ Idem, 1901, p. 40.
9 Idem., 1900, p. 196. ^° Idem, loor, p. 43. ^^ Idem, 1901, p. 60.
Appendix 605
"I was assured," "they said," "it was alleged," "I had no means of
verifying," "it was impossible for me to verify," "I have no means of
ascertaining," etc. Within a space of ten lines, indeed, occur four
times the expressions, "appears," "would seem," "do not seem." '
The Consul does not appear to have realised that native taxes in
the Congo are levied in the shape of labour, and that this form of tax
is justified as much by the moral effect which it produces, as by the
impossibility of taxing the native in any other way, seeing that, as
the Consul admits, the native has no money. It is to this consideration
that is due the fact, to give another example, that out of 56,700 huts
which are taxed in North-Eastern Rhodesia 19,653 pay that tax "in
labour," while 4938 pay it "in produce." ^ Whether such labour is
furnished direct to the State or to some private undertaking, and
whether it is given in aid of this or that work as local necessities may
dictate, one ground of justification is always to be found in what the
Memorandum of the nth February last recognises is the "necessity
of the natives being induced to work." The Consul shows much
anxiety as to how this forced labour should be described; he is sur-
prised that if it be a tax it is sometimes paid and recovered by com-
mercial agents. Strictly speaking, of course, it cannot be denied that
the idea of remunerating a person for paying his taxes is contrary
to the ordinary notions of finance; but the difficulty disappears if it
is considered that the object in view has been to get the natives
to acquire the habit of labour, for which they have always shown a
great aversion. And if this notion of work can more easily be incul-
cated on the natives under the form of commercial transactions be-
tween them and private persons, is it necessary to condemn such a
mode of procedure, especially in those parts where the organisation
of the Administration is not yet complete? But it is essential that in
the relations of this nature which they have with the natives, com-
mercial agents, no less than those of the State, should be kind and
humane. In so far as it bears on this point the Consul's Report will
receive the most careful consideration, and if the result of investigation
be to show that there are real aVjuses and that reforms are called for, the
heads of the Administration will act as the circumstances may require.
But no one has ever imagined that the fiscal system in the Congo
attained perfection at once, especially in regard to such matters as
the assessment of taxes and the means for recovering them. The
system of "chieftaincies," which is recommended by the fact that it
enables the authorities and the native to communicate through the
latter's natural chief, was based on an idea carried into practice
elsewhere :
"The more important Chiefs who helped the Administration have
' Report, p. 28.
'Reports on the Administration 0} Rhodesia, 1900-1902, p. 408.
6o6 Story of the Congo Free State
been paid a certain percentage of the taxes collected in their districts,
and I think that if this policy is adhered to each year, the results will
continue to be satisfactory and will encourage the Chiefs to work in
harmony with the Administration." '
The Decree on the subject of these Chieftaincies - laid down the
principle of a tax, and its levy in accordance with "a table of contribu-
tions to be made every year by each village in produce, forced labour,
labourers, or soldiers." The application of this Decree has been pro-
vided for by deeds of investiture, tables of statistics, and particulars
of contributions, forms of which will be found in Annex IV. In spite
of what is stated in the Report, this Decree has been carried out so far
as has been found compatible with the social condition of the various
tribes; numerous deeds of investiture have been drawn up, and
efforts have been made to draw up an equitable assessment of the
contributions. The Consul might have found this out at the Com-
missioners' offices, especially in the Stanley Pool and Equator districts
which he passed through ; but he neglected as a rule all official sources
of information. No doubt the application of the Decree was at first
necessarily limited, and it is possible that the result has been that for
a certain time only such villages as were within a short distance from
stations have been required to pay taxes; but this state of things has
little by little altered for the better in proportion as the more distant
regions have become included in the areas of influence of the Govern-
ment posts, the niunber of villages subject to taxation has gradually
increased, and it has been found possible to levy taxes on a greater
number of persons. The Government aim at making progress in
this direction continuous, that is to say, that taxation should be
more eqviitably distributed, and should as much as possible be
personal ; it was with this object that the Decree of the i8th No-
vember, 1903, provided for drawing up "lists of native contributions"
in such a way that the obligations of every native should be strictly
defined.
"Article 28 of this Decree lays down that within the limits of Article
2 of the present regulations (that is to say, within the limit of forty
hours' work per month per native) the District Commissioners shall
draw up annual lists of the taxes to be paid, in kind or duration of
labour, by each of the natives resident in the territories of their re-
spective districts. And Article 55 punishes 'whoever, being charged
with the levy of taxes, shall have required of the natives, whether in
kind or labour, contributions which shall exceed in value those pre-
scribed in the tables of taxes. ' ' '
It is matter of common notoriety that the collection of taxes is
occasionally met by opposition, and even refusal to pay. The proofs
^ Reports on the Administrntion of Rhodesia, 1Q00-1902, p. 408.
2 Decree of the 6th October, 1891 {Bulletin Officiel, 1891, p. 259).
Appendix 607
of this, which are to be fotind in the Report of the Consul for the
Congo, are borne out by what has happened, for instance, in Rhodesia:
"The Ba-Unga (Awemba district), inhabitants of the swamps in
the Zambesi delta, gave some trouble on being summoned to pay
taxes." ^
"Although in many cases whole villages retired into the swamps on
being called upon for the hut-tax, the general result was satisfactory
for the first year (Luapula district)." ^
"Milala's people have succeeded in evading taxes." 3
"A few natives bordering on the Portuguese territory, who, owing
to the great distance they reside from the native Commissioners'
Stations, are not under the direct supervision of the Native Com-
missioners, have so far evaded paying hut-tax, and refused to submit
themselves to the authority of the Government. The rebel Chief,
Mapondera, has upon three occasions successfully eluded punitive expe-
ditions sent against him. Captain Gilson, of the British South Africa
Police, was successful in coming upon him and a large following of
natives, and inflicting heavy losses upon them. His kraal and all his
crops were destroyed. He is now reported to be in Portuguese terri-
tory. Siji M'Kota, another powerful Chief, living in the northern
parts of the M'toko district, bordering on Portuguese territory, has
also been successful in evading the payment of hut -tax, and generally
pursuing the adoption of an attitude which is not acceptable to the
Government. I am pleased to report that a patrol is at present on
its way to these parts to deal with this Chief, and to endeavour to
obtain his submission. It will be noted that the above remarks relate
solely to those natives who reside along the borders of our territories,
and whose defiant attitude is materially assisted by reason of this
proximity to the Portuguese border, across which they are well able
to proceed whenever they consider that any meeting or contact with
the Native Commissioner will interfere in any way with their indolent
and lazy life. They possess no movable property which might be
attached with a view of the recovery of hut-tax unpaid for many
years, and travel backwards and forwards with considerable freedom,
always placing themselves totally beyond the reach of the Native
Commissioner." ■*
The above is an instance of those "punitive expeditions" to which
the authorities are occasionally obliged to resort, as also of the native
custom, which is not peculiar to the natives of the Congo, of moving
into a neighbouring territory when they are seeking to evade the
operation of the law. Whether in the process of collecting native taxes
there have been cases in the Congo, amongst those mentioned by the
' Reports on the Administration of Rhodesia, 1900-1902, p. 409.
* Idem, p. 410. 3 Idem, p. 410.
'^ Idem, 1900-1902, pp. 145, 146.
6o8 Story of the Congo Free State
Consul, in which the limits of a just and reasonable severity have been
overstepped is a question of fact which investigation on the spot can
alone ascertain, and instructions to this effect will be given to the
authorities at Boma.
We are also unable to accept, on the information at present before
us, the conclusions of the Report in regard to the conduct of the
forest guards in the employ of the A. B. I. R. and La Lulonga Com-
panies. These subordinate officers are represented by the Consul as
being exclusively employed in "compelling by force the collection of
india-rubber or the supplies which each factory needed. " ' It is true
that another explanation has been given — though not, indeed, by a
native — according to which the business of these same forest guards
is to see that the india-rubber is harvested after a reasonable fashion,
and especially to prevent the natives from cutting the plants.- It is,
indeed, well known that the law has made rigorous provision for pre-
serving the rubber zones, has regulated the manner in which they are
to be worked, and has made planting and replanting obligatory, with a
view to avoiding the complete exhaustion of the rubber plant, which
has occvured, for instance, in North-Eastem and Western Rhodesia. 3
A heavy responsibility in this direction lies on the companies and
private persons engaged in developing the country, and it is obvious
that they are bound to exercise the most careful superintendence over
the way in which the harvest is collected. The object for which these
forest guards are employed, therefore, may well be quite different
from that alleged by the Consul; in any case, the complaints which
have been made on this head will form a subject for inquiry in the
Congo, as also the other remark of the Report that the manner in
which these forest guards are armed is excessive, and liable to abuse.
It is here to be observed that in calculating the number of these forest
giiards the Consul is obliged to rely on hypothesis,^ and that he him-
self admits "I have no means of ascertaining the number of this
class of armed men employed by the A. B. I. R. Company." 5 He
mentions that the gun of one of these men was marked on the butt
"Depot 2 2IO." But it is evident that such a mark can only have the
significance which the Consul would like to see in it in so far as it can
be proved that it refers to the numbering of the arms used in the Con-
cession, and such is not the case, since this particular mark "Depot"
is not used either by the officials of the State or those of the Company,
and it would seem that it is an old manufactory or store mark. In
regard to the manner of arming the capitas, the Consul can hardly be
ignorant that the higher authorities have always given great attention
to the matter, which is, indeed, one surrounded with difficulties,
' Report, p. 44. ^ Annex III., p. 26.
3 Reports on the Administration of Rhodesia, 1900-1902, pp. 397, etc.
4 Report, p. 57. s Idem, p. 42.
Appendix 609
seeing that while on the one hand it is necessary to consider the ques-
tion of the personal protection of the capita, on the other the possi-
bility of the arms in question being used for improper purposes must
not be lost sight of. It is not only in the Circular of the 20th October,
1900, which the Consul has reprinted, that this question is dealt with;
there is a whole collection of Circulars on the subject, among which
may be mentioned those of the 12th March, 1897, 31st May and 28th
November, 1900, and 30th April, 1901. Copies of them are annexed
as proof of the fixed determination of the Government to see that the
law relating to this question is strictly enforced (Annex V.). Yet, in
spite of all these precautions, the Consul has ascertained that several
capitas were not provided with permits (perhaps they might have
been found at the head office), and that two of them were furnished
with arms of precision. ^ But these few infractions of the rule are
obviously not enough to prove the existence of a sort of vast armed
organisation destined to strike terror into the natives. On the con-
trary, the Circular of the 7th September, 1903, printed in Annex VII.
of the Consul's Report, is a proof of the care taken by the Government
that the regular black troops should always be under the control of
European officers. ^
Such are the preliminary remarks suggested by Mr. Casement's
Report, and we reserve to ourselves the right of dealing with it more
in detail as soon as the Government shall be in possession of the
results of the inquiry which the local authorities are about to make.
It will be observed that the Government, in its desire not to seem to
wish to avoid the discussion, has not raised a question in regard to
the manner, surely unusual, in which His Britannic Majesty's Consul
has acted in a foreign country. It is obviously altogether outside the
duties of a Consul to take upon himself, as Mr. Casement has done,
to institute inquiries, to summon natives, to submit them to interro-
gatories as if duly authorised thereto, and to deliver what may be
styled judgments in regard to the guilt of the accused. The reserva-
tions called for by this mode of procedure must be all the more formal,
as the Consul was thus intervening in matters which only concerned
subjects of the Congo State, and which were within the exclusive
jurisdiction of the territorial authorities. Mr. Casement, indeed,,
made it his business himself to point out how little authorised he was
to interfere when on the 4th September, 1903, he wrote to the Gov-
ernor-General: "I have no right of representation to your Excellency
^ Report, p. 43.
2 The Circular of the 7th September, 1903, has reference to the
" prohibition " to despatch armed soldiers in charge of black non-com-
missioned officers, and not, as would appear from the incorrect copy
produced by the Consul, to the "instruction." — (Annex VII. of the
Report, p. 80.)
6io Story of the Congo Free State
save where the persons or interests of British subjects dwelling in this
country are aflfected." It is thus obvious that he was aware that he
was exceeding his duties by investigating facts which concerned only
the internal administration, and so, contrary to all laws of Consular
jurisdiction, encroaching on the province of the territorial authorities.
"The grievances of the natives have been made known in this
country by , who brought over a petition addressed to the King,
praying for rehef from the excessive taxation and oppressive legisla-
tion of which they complain."
These lines are extracted from the Report for 1903 of the British
and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society, and the natives referred to are the
natives of the Fiji Isles. The Report goes on :
"The case has been brought before the House of Commons. The
grievances include forced labour on the roads, and restrictions which
practically amount to slavery; natives have been flogged without
trial by magistrate's orders, and are constantly subject to imprison-
ment for frivolous causes. Petitions lodged with the local Colonial
Secretary have been disregarded. Mr. Chamberlain, in reply to the
questions asked in Parliament, threw doubt upon the information
received, but stated that the recentl}^ appointed Governor is con-
ducting an inquiry into the whole situation in the Fiji Islands, in the
course of which the matter will be fully investigated."
Such are also our conclusions in regard to Mr. Casement's Report.
Chr. de Cuvelier.
Brussels, March 12, 1904.
Memorandi{'m
Lord Lansdowne's dispatch of the 19th April, 1904, a copy of
which was handed to the Congo Government on the 27th April by his
Excellency Sir Constantine Phipps, calls for certain remarks.
With regard to the opinion to which this dispatch takes exception,
"that the interests of humanity have been used in this country as a
pretext to conceal designs for the abolition of the Congo State," it
will be well to remember that a Member of the House of Commons
declared that he would prefer "to see the Valley of the Congo pass into
the hands of a foreign Power," and that some pamphlets described
the "disruption of the Congo Free State," the "partition of the
Congo Free State among the Powers," as absolute and immediate
necessities, and even went so far as to suggest the bases of such a
partition ; while the organs of the English press contemplated one of
two alternatives, either that "advocated by the more thorough-going
critics of the present Administration, namely, the disruption of the
Congo Free State," or "the partition of the Congo territory among
the great Powers whose possessions in Africa border those of the
Congo Free State," or declared that "what Europe ought to do, under
Appendix 6ii
the leadership of Great Britain, is summarily to sweep the Congo Free
State out of existence." The Congo State Note of the 17th Septem-
ber has called attention to these suggestions, of which we merely
point out the tenor in this instance, and which all aimed at despoiUng
the Sovereign- King, and at dispossessing him of the State which was
his own creation — suggestions which are entirely incompatible with
respect for rights and treaties, and with the motives of a purely hu-
manitarian and philanthropic nature by which the enemies of the
State allege themselves to be exclusively animated in the passionate
campaign which they are conducting against it.
In reply to the objections raised by His Majesty's Government
against the communication of the entire text of Mr. Casement's Re-
port, the Government of the Congo State points out that it has asked
for the complete Report precisely with a view to transmitting it to
the competent judicial and administrative authorities, without which
this communication would be purportless. The anxiety to obtain an
impartial inquiry and the rights of the defence render it an imperative
necessity that the men accused should be informed, in a precise and
fully detailed manner, of the acts laid to their charge; the fear that
the persons accused might be able, by means of the knowledge they
would have of the details, to influence or suppress evidence, does not
appear to be justified by the mere fact that the natives, who, in the
Epondo case, had given mendacious information to the Consul, sub-
sequently avoided presenting themselves before the Magistrate pre-
siding over the inquiry; the flight of these witnesses is explained
more naturally by the fact that they were conscious of the grave
fault they had committed in wittingly deceiving the English Consul.
If the Congo Government be permitted to give an assurance, which it
does willingly, that any case of suborning witnesses, or any attempt to
do so, would form the subject of a prosecution, it is evidently not
within its power to prejudice or quash such legal measures as per-
sons who might find themselves wrongfully accused might consider
it necessary to take, either in the interests of their honour or their
dignity.
The Government of the Congo State regrets that His Majesty's
Government does not deem it necessary to communicate to it the
other previous Consular Reports to which Lord Lansdowne's dispatch
of the 8th August, 1903, alluded. As was stated in the notes of the
12th March last, these reports possessed the interest of having been
written at a date anterior to the inception of the present discussion.
A copy of this Memorandum will be addressed to the Powers to
whom copies of Lord Lansdowne's dispatch of the 19th April last
was transmitted.
Administration, Congo Free State, Brussels,
May 14, 1904.
6i2 Story of the Congo Free State
FEATURES OF THE LAND SYSTEM IN THE AFRI-
CAN COLONIES OF GERMANY, GREAT BRITAIN.
FRANCE, AND PORTUGAL
The foUo^v'ing notes are taken from the Bulletin Ofjiciel of June,
1903, reporting to the Sovereign the accounts of the Congo Free State
for the nineteenth year of its existence. The apt comparisons and
pointed remarks upon the land system of the State are the work of M.
le Chevalier de Cuvelier, Secretary of State for the Congo Free State,
an official of great executive ability, to whose tremendous energy is
due much of the later prosperity and progress which the Congo State
enjoys to the chagrin of its detractors. Chevalier de Cuvelier has been
engaged twenty years in the work of creating and developing the State.
His official utterances have the quality of long experience behind
them.
"During the twenty years that the rule of the State possession of
vacant lands has been inscribed in the laws of the Congo State, not
one of the Powers Signatory of the Berlin Act has pointed it out as
being contrary to that International Act, either at the time of the
publication in the Official Bulletin of the regulation of 1885, or on the
occasion of any of the public applications made by the State on suc-
cessive occasions either in exploiting en regie certain lands of the
Domain with the object of assuring to the Treasury indispensable re-
sources, or in granting concessions to certain societies for the purpose
of carrying out works of general utility and contributing towards the
public expenses.
"It can be said on the contrary that the Powers which, together
with the Congo State, are in possession of territory in the zone of com-
mercial liberty — France, Germany, Great Britain, Portugal — have
followed the same principles, and considered, like it, that the Berlin
Act no more excluded the right of property on the part of the State
than it excluded that of private individuals.
"In German East Africa the regulation of ist September, 1891,
says:
" ' Article i. — The Government alone has the right to take posses-
sion of vacant lands in the limits of the German sphere of influence in
East Africa fixed by the Anglo-German Convention of ist July, 1890,
excepting for the length of the coast strip which was formerly part
of the Zanzibar sultanate, and in the provinces of Usambara, Nguru,
Usegua, Ukami, and the island of Mafia.'
"By the prior arrangement of 20th November, 1890, between the
Imperial Government and the Deutsch Ostafrikanische Gesellschaft, the
vacant lands of these latter regions were already fotmd to be assigned
Appendix 613
to that Company. The produce of the exploitation of the forests
throughout these territories, in the terms of Article 4 of the contract
of 5th February, 1894, was to be shared in equal halves between the
[German] Government and the Company.
"The [German] regulation of the 26th November, 1895, readmits
the principle :
"'Article i. — Under reserve of the rights of property, or of other
real rights that individuals or judicial persons, native chiefs or vil-
lages, may advance, as well as rights of occupation by third parties re-
sulting from contracts effected with the Imperial Government, all
vacant land in German East Africa belongs to the Crown.'
"The circular of the Imperial Governor von Liebert, dated 29th
April, 1900, explains that:
"'By the transference to the Empire of the sovereignty, all preten-
sions to landed property derived from the sovereign rights, real or
apparent, of chiefs, sultans, etc., have passed to the Empire. All
land which has not been proved to be the private property of an indi-
vidual, or of a community, is to be considered as the property of the
Crown.'
"Under the powers of the regulations of 1895, concessions have been
granted in the terms taken, for example, from the acts of the con-
cession for the Urangi Society (1896) and the Gold Syndicate of
Usinja (1899) :
' ' ' The Society receives the right to acquire under the prescriptions
of the land regulation of 26th November, 1895, a superficies of 100
square kilometres, either by contract with the natives, or by taking
provisional possession of vacant lands.'
"In the Cameroons, the south-east portion of which forms part of
the zone of liberty of commerce, there exists a regulation of the German
Emperor of 15th June, 1896, the first article of which is identical with
the first article of the regulation of 26th November, 1895, for German
East Africa.
"The Society of the South Cameroons has obtained there, i6th
January, 1899, a charter of concession which grants it the property of
the domain lands situated between the 12th degree of West longitude,
the 4th degree of North latitude, and the political frontiers of the
Cameroons to the South and to the East.
"In the French Congo, Article 19 of the order of the Government
Commissioner General of 26th September, 1891, decrees:
"'Waste lands and abandoned lands, to the ownership of which
no one can legitimately lay claim, will be considered as belonging to the
State and will form part of the colonial domain. They can under that
head be alienated or conceded in the terms of the 5th and follou-ing
articles. Lands considered waste are those which are neither legally
occupied nor utilised in reality by any one.'
6i4 Story of the Congo Free State
"Decrees passed in 1899 granted a totality of some forty conces-
sions embracing almost the whole of the French territory.
"In British East Africa, the powers given by the Royal Charter,
3d September, 1888, to the Imperial British East Africa Company,
whilst Article 16 forbids it to grant any commercial monopoly, confer
upon it the right to 'concede all lands for a period or in perpetuity,
by right of pledging them or otherwise.'
"After the British Protectorate was substituted for the Company,
the question of vacant lands was regulated in the following manner,
in accordance with the terms of the report of Mr. (now Sir) H. H.
Johnston, Her Britannic Majesty's Special Commissioner, dated 27th
April, 1900:
" 'The land question may now be considered as partially solved over
the greater part of the Uganda Protectorate. Over all the more
thickly-inhabited countries the waste or vmoccupied lands belong to
Her Majesty the Queen, having been transferred to the Crown, in most
cases by agreement with the chiefs, after payment of indemnities ; in
some other cases, as in Unyoro, as the result of conquest. . . . By
Proclamation it has been forbidden to any foreigner to acquire land
from the natives in any part of the Uganda Protectorate without the
prior assent of the Uganda Administration. ... A large area
of the Kingdom of Uganda is guaranteed to the possession of its native
occupants. The rest of the land, including the forests, has now been
transferred by agreement to the Crown on behalf of, and in trust for,
the administration of the Uganda Protectorate.'
"Finally the land regime in the Portuguese Colonies, especially in
Angola, is regulated by the decree of 9th May, 1901, the first article
of which stipulates :
"'The State domain in the countries beyond the sea are all lands
which at the date of the publication of this law do not constitute a
private property, acquired according to the terms of Portuguese
legislation. '
"The Congolese law protects the natives in the enjoyment of the
lands that they occupy, and in fact not only are they not disturbed in
that enjoyment, but it even extends their cultivation and their planta-
tions in proportion with their necessities. Manifold are the measures
taken by the Congo State in order to safeguard the natives against all
spoliation :
"'No one has the right to dispossess the natives of the lands which
they occupy.' (Order of ist July, 1885, Article 2.)
"'The lands occupied by native populations under the authority of
their chiefs shall continue to be governed by local customs and uses.'
(Decree of 14th September, 1886, Article 2.)
"'AH acts or conventions which would tend to expel the natives
from the lands that they occupy, or to deprive them, directly or
Appendix 615
indirectly, of their liberty, or of their means of existence are forbidden.*
(Decree of 14th September, 1886, Article 2.)
"'When native villages are surrotinded by alienated or leased lands,
the natives shall be able, as soon as the official measurement has been
effected, to extend their cultivation without the consent of the pro-
prietor, or the lessee, over the vacant lands which surround their vil-
lages.* (Decree of 9th April, 1893, Article 6.)
"'The members of the Commission of Lands will specially examine
whether the lands asked for should not be reserved either for require-
ments of public utility, or in \'iew of permitting the development of
native cultivation.' (Decree of 2nd February, 1898, Article 2.)
"The other Powers have not understood otherwise than the Congo
State the obligations which are imposed upon them in this require in
favovir of the natives. So the decrees of concessions in the French
Congo contain in the loth Article the clause that:
'"The Society having the concession cannot exercise the rights of
enjoyment and exploitation which are accorded to it except outside
villages occupied by natives, and the lands reserved to them for pur-
poses of cultivation, pasturage, or as forest. The surroundings of
these lands shall be fixed by the decisions of the Governor of the
Colony, which shall equally determine the lands over which the
natives shall preserve the rights of hunting and fishing.'
"In German East Africa, the regulation of the 27th November,
1895, Article 2, stipulates:
'"Article 2. — If on fixed lands, chiefs, villages, or other native com-
munities assert rights based upon a pretended sovereignty, or if these
rights belong to them, it will be necessary to take them into account
so far as possible, and to endeavour before anything to arrive at a
friendly arrangement in virtue of which the territory necessary for
the existence of the community shall be reserved, and the remainder
placed at the disposal of the Government.
"'If this arrangement is not brought about, the Governor decides.'
"Commenting upon this arrangement, the circular of 29th April,
1900, of the Imperial Governor von Liebert [Germany] gives the
following instructions :
"'In principle there should only be left to the natives the lands of
which they have absolute need for their system of exchange, and for
the existence of their village communities. Nevertheless, in order not
to give rise to political complications, care will be taken provisionally,
in the practical execution of this rule, not to show too much rigour,
and especially is it recommended not to extend the taking possession
of property without an owner except in regions which are under a
strong administration.'
"The Portuguese decree of 9th May, 1901, says:
" 'Article 2. — The right of natives to lands habitually cultivated by
6i6 Story of the Congo Free State
them, which are comprised in the sphere of the concessions, is recog-
nised; a certain extent of land shall be reserved for the habitation and
the agricultural work of those residing there.' "
CONCESSIONAIRES, PRIVATE FIRMS, AND COMMER-
CIAL TRADING COMPANIES IN THE
CONGO FREE STATE
There are at present over four htmdred commercial establishments
canyrng on trade in the Belgian Congo, among which are the following:
Societe Anonyme Beige pour le Commerce du Haut-Congo, 31
establishments; Abir, 28; Nieuwe Afrikaansche Handels Vennoot-
schap, 28; Societe Anversoise du Commerce au Congo, 22; Comite
Special du Katanga, 21 ; Hatton & Cookson [Liverpool], 16; Comptoir
Commercial Congolais, 13; Valle & Azevedo, 12; Magasins Gener-
aux, 12; Compagnie du Congo Portugais, 10; Compagnie du Lomami,
9; Freitas & Barreira, 9; Produits Vegetaux du Haut-Kasai, 8;
Plantations de la Lukula, 7 ; Credit Commercial Congolais, 7 ; L'Enter-
prise Africaine, 7 ; Societe Isangi, 7 ; La Helgika, 6; Shanu, 6; L'Equa-
toriale Congolaise, 5; La Congolia, 4; La Loanje, 4; Produits du
Mayumbe, 4; La Lulonga, 4; Comptoirs Congolais Velde, 4; Les
Produits du Congo, 4 ; Samuel, 4; Shanusi Agbabiaka, 4; Les Planta-
tions Lacourt, 3 ; Societe Forestiere et Commerciale du Haut-Congo,
3 ; Plantations du Lubefu, 3 ; Ferreira Viegas, 3 ; La Djuma, 3 ; Syn-
dicat Commercial et Agricole du Maytmibe, 3 ; Mouture et Panification,
2; Ikelemba, 2; Societe d Agriculture et de Plantations au Congo, 2;
Compagnie Agricole du Mayumbe, 2; Ferreira Freres, 2; Traffic Con-
golais, 2; Societe Africa, 2; Societe Test du Kwango, 2; Dana Ber-
nabe, 2 ; Carrico Freres, 2 ; Ribiero, 2 ; Ferreira & Figueiredo, 2 ;
Vicoso & Martins, 2 ; A. N. Figueiredo, 2 ; Plantations Coloniales la
Luki, I ; Compagnie Sucriere Europeene et Coloniale, i ; La Mayum-
bienne, i; L'Urselia, i; La Kassaienne, i; Citas, i; Compagnie Fran-
faise du Haut-Congo, i ; Compagnie Brvixelloise pour le Commerce du
Haut-Congo, i ; La Centrale Africaine, i ; Harms & Marcus, i ; D'Hey-
gere, i ; Lemos et Irmoo, i ; Compagnie Franco-Beige, i ; Rocha
Santos et Cie., i; Agme, i; Docteur Villa, i; Messageries Fluviales,
I ; Folgosa, i ; Joao da Fonseca, i ; Rebello Ltiiz, i ; Felgueiras, i ;
Branca da Giovanni, i ; Gomez, i ; Nogueira, i ; Shanu, i ; Sabai
Smith, I ; Thomas, i ; Disu Aremu, i ; Smithe, i ; Adiolo Balawao,
I ; John Andrew, i ; Mana, i ; Somano Fayamo, i ; Radji Ibadan, i ;
Davidson Williams, i ; Macole, i ; Georges Southey, i ; Lania, i ;
Abondu Ramano, i ; Mamadu Adejene, i ; Moses Williams, i ; John
Appendix
617
Sani, I ; J. W. Da\'is, i ; John David, i ; John Uriah, i ; Toki, i ;
Adekule, i; Mabadu Vango, i; N'chiama Lello, i; Choko Malo, i ;
Mafonda N'Baka, i; Simpson, i; Sacra Mancoga, i; Latete Bako,
I ; Peto N'Foa, i ; Malenda Longo, i ; Chioma Motindoungou, i ; Sacra
Shimbanda, i; Hall Chamberlain, i.
PRINCIPAL CONGO OFFICIALS IN BRUSSELS,
CENTRAL ADMINISTRATION
Ministers of State:
Treasurer-General:
Secretaries-General :
Directors:
Chief of Division:
Baron van Eetvelde, Chevalier Descamps.
M. H. POCHEZ.
M. le Chevalier A. de Cuvelier, Department of
Foreign Affairs and Justice; M. H. Droogmans,
Department of Finances; Commandant C. H.
LiEBRECHTS, Department of the Interior.
M. A. Baerts, Chef de Cabinet; M. N. Arnold,
Auditor; M. Ed. Kervyn, Director of the De-
partment of Foreign Affairs; M. de Keuzer,
Director of the Department of Finances; Le
Major Lombard, and Commandant F. Lebrun,
Directors of the Department of the Interior.
M. G. Olyff, Chief of Division of the Department
of Foreign Affairs.
OFFICIALS OF THE LOCAL ADMINISTRATION OF
THE CONGO FREE STATE
Governor-General:
Vice-Governors-General:
Secretary-General:
Directors:
Court of Appeal:
Court of First Instance:
Prosecuting Attorney:
Magistrates {Territorial
General Baron Wahis.
FucHS, Wangermee, Costermans.
Van Damme.
Of Justice: A. Gohr.
Of Finance: Delhaye.
Of Agriculture: Brohee.
Of Public Works: Itten.
President, Interior Administration : Baron G.
Nisco.
Judges: Horstmans, A. Gohr.
Judge: T. Beeckman.
F. Waleffe.
Judges and Substitutes): See Chapter XXII.
6i8 Story of the Congo Free State
Public Force: Commander-in-Chief: Major Warnant.
Chief of the District of Boma, Costermans.
Banana, Dr. Casse.
Matadi, Derache.
The Cataracts, Delhaye.
Stanley Pool, Mahieu.
Lake Leopold IL, Storms.
The Equateur, Stevens.
The Bangalas, Gerard.
The Ubanghi, Bertrand,
The Uelle, Wacquez.
Chief of the Zone: Rubi Uelle, Pourbaix.
Uere Bomu, Holm.
Bomokandi, Sarolea.
Gurba Dungu, Samaes.
Enclave of Lado, Seresche.
Chief of the District of the Aruwimi, Pimpurniaux.
Lualaba, Chexot.
Kwango, Duvivier.
Oriental Prov., De Meulemeester,
Chief of the Zone of Haut-Ituri, Exgh.
Ponthierville, Cordella.
Manyema, Verdick.
Stanley Falls, Federspiel.
Ruzizi-Kivu, Tombeur.
THE BELGIAN MINISTER TO THE UNITED STATES
Baron Ludovic Moncheur, Belgian Legation, Washington, D. C.
Baron Moncheur graduated at the University of Louvain (Belgium)
in philosophy, letters, and law, with the highest honours. He en-
tered the diplomatic service of Belgium at the age of twenty-five,
and was successively Attache to the Belgian Legation at The Hague
in 1883; Second Secretary, Belgian Legation at Vienna, 1885; First
Secretary, Belgian Legation at Berlin, 1887; Counsellor of the Belgian
Legation at Rome, 1892; Charge d 'Affaires at Luxembourg, 1897;
Minister Resident of Belgium to Mexico, 1898; Envoy Extraordinary
and Minister Plenipotentiary of Belgium to the United States, 1901.
He is a member of the Geographical Society of Antwerp, and author
of La Terre chaude Mexicaine and Front Tampico to the Pacific.
The Baroness Moncheur is a daughter of the Hon. Powell Clayton,
United States Minister to Mexico.
INDEX
A. B. I. R., 608
Aborigines' Protection Society,
369, 374; damaging estimate
of its work and methods, note,
376 et seq., 451 et seq., 456, 478
Africa, formerly called the "Dark
Continent," 2; its value un-
recognised, ibid.; diamonds in,
ibid.; its climate once thought
to be fatal to Europeans, ibid.;
portioned by Europe in eight-
eenth century to facilitate
slave trade, 129
Africa, Central, slavery in, 5 ;
creation of International As-
sociation for its exploration
and ciNdlisation, 12; its health-
fulness insisted upon by Liv-
ingstone and Stanley, 1 7 ; large
sections claimed by England,
France, Portugal, and Ger-
many, ibid.; review of, 64 et
seq.; nomadic habits of its
people, 223; their superstition,
tbia.; its consequences, 224; the
iron horse in, 252; its real
curse, 289
African Exploration Fund, 29;
London Geographical Society
contributes ^(^250, t6jd.; Belgian
Committee collects 500,000
francs, ibid.
African explorers, Gladstone's
opinion of, 4
Albert Edward, Lake, 56, 208
Albert Nyanza, Lake, 52, 56
Albert ville, 58
Alcohol, in Congo Free State, 138;
its prohibition, 273; in Lagos,
note, 289, 311
Alvensleben, Count Von, 136;
speech at second Brussels Con-
ference, 143
American Baptist Missionary
Union, 299, 300; fifteen grants
of land to, 387
American Congo Mission, two
grants of land to, 387
American Indians, Wheaton on
their political status, 71
American Secretary of State (Mr.
Fish) on political status of
savages, 72
Amity, Commerce, and Naviga-
tion, treaty of, 553 et seq.; its
ratification by United States,
559
Anglo- Portuguese Convention,
21 ; it is quashed, ibid.
Anti-slavery meeting at Cologne,
131
Anti-Slavery Society, of Belgium,
founded by Cardinal La\'igerie,
91
Arab slave-traders, 5
Armstrong, Rev. W. D. See
Epondo.
Amot, Mr. Frederick Stanley, on
native punishments, 426
Amtz, Prof. Egide, 105 ; argument
by, 516
Aruwimi, 52, 179
Ascenso, Signor, Italian phy-
sician, remarks on Congo Free
State, 428 c< seq.
Askaris, a Congolese tribe em-
ployed by Stanley as carriers,
39
Atrocities, Congo, 578, 595 et seq.
Austria-Hungary, 68
Avakubi, 219, 220, 221
Azandes, 158
B
Bacon on progress of States, 18
Bacteriological Institute, 268
Bahr-Djur, 213
619
620
Index
Bahr-el-Ghazal, France objects to
Great Britain leasing it to
Congo Free State, 208, 210;
British scheme to break lease,
210, 211, 213; vast mineral
wealth discovered there, 214
Baker, Sir Samuel, employed by
Khedive of Egypt, 4; dis-
covers Lake Albert, ibid.
Bakumu, cannibal tribe, 46;
Stanley's encounters with, ibid.
Balolo, the "men of iron," 46
Bangala, 74
Bankes, Mr. J. Eldon, K. C,
341.
Banning, M. Emile, 136
Bantu race, 309
Banzyville, 53
Baoilis, 153
Baptist Missionary Society of
London, 299, 300
Baraka, 59
Barbour, Rev. Thomas S., pre-
sents memorial to Congress,
387 et seq., 396
Baron A. Descamps. See Des-
camps, Baron A.
Baron de Courcel. See Courcel.
Baron Dhanis. See Dhanis.
Baron Gericke d'Hera'ijen. See
D'Herwijen.
Baron Lambermont. See Lam-
bermont. Baron.
Baron Nisco. See Nisco, Baron.
Baron Van Eetvelde. See Eet-
velde. Baron Van.
Batetelas, 52; their grievance,
216, 218, 220, 221, 222; their
revolt crushed, 222
Baudouinville, 58, 59
Beemaert, M., Belgian Minister
of Finance, speech b3^ 97
Belgian and French boundary,
46
Belgian Anti-Slavery Society,
raises volunteer corps to pro-
tect individual liberty, 200;
despatches three missionary ex-
peditions to Congo, ibid.
Belgian Society of the Upper
Congo, 178
Belgique, La, twin-screw steamer
employed by Stanley, 39
Bena Kalunga, 194
Benedetti, M. Antoine, 373; ap-
pointed chief commissary of
Congo State, 376; pretends he
is opposed to Congo Govern-
ment, 377
Bergamoyo, ^^
Berlin Conference, 23, 26, 94, 308,
309 ; the General Act of, its fvill
text, 530 ei 5^17.
Bernard, Montague, on de jure
and de facto governments, 69
Besche, De, 218
Bia, Lieutenant, 47
Big^vood, Mr., 353
Bird, Strode & Bird, Messrs.,
solicitors, 341
Bishop Taylor Self-Supporting
Mission, 300; seven grants of
land to, 387
Bismarck, Prince, convenes In-
ternational Conference at Ber-
lin to regulate "African Ques-
tion," 23; speech, ibid.; speech,
26; speech at close of Berlin
Conference, 94
Black and White comments upon
Lord Lansdowne's dispatch of
August 8, 1903, 459
Blood-brotherhood, 160
Blue Mountains, 52, 53
Bluntschli, M., on the rights of
new States, 527
Bokala, 50
Boma, a native fort, 187, 188,
note; description of, by Dr.
Hinde, 191
Bosco, M. Gennaro, public prose-
cutor. See Epondo.
Bosoko, 179
Boston Peace Conference, 389
Boula Matari, native name for
Stanley, 235
Boulger, Mr. Demetrius C, 165,
note, 188
Bouree, M., 136
Bourne, Mr. Fox, Secretary Abor-
igines' Protection Society, 372,
373. 386
Bowara, 54
Brabant, Duke of {see Leopold
II.), 4, 65
Brassem, Lieut , 47
Brazza, De, 262
Britain, Great, recognises Portu-
gal's claims to Congo River,
20; declines to aid Stanley, 65;
appeals to King Leopold to
call conference at Brussels to
Index
621
Britain — Continued
concert measures for suppres-
sion of slavery on East Coast
of Africa, 132; land system
of its African colonies, 612 et
seq.
British and Foreign Anti-Slavery
Society, 610
British Baptist Society Corpora-
tion, fifteen grants of land to,
387
British colonies, crown lands in,
329; system of government at-
tacked, 589
British expedition to Congo, 43
Brussels, International Confer-
ence of Geographers (1876) at,
7, 134; Brussels Second Con-
ference (1889-90), declaration
of General Act of, 552 et seq.;
ratification by United States,
SS9 et seq.
Bruyn, De, 181, 183
Bryon, M., 34
Bull, John, paints the map red,
19; some of his traits, 366 et
seq.; his missionaries at work
for his merchants, 3 88
Burdo, M., 36
Burrows, Captain Guy, is charged
by Belgian officers with libel, 340
et seq.; claims to have silenced
Captain Salusbury, 348; is an-
nounced to contribute series of
articles on Congo Free State to
Wide World Magazine, 351;
agrees with R. A. Everett &
Co. as to publication of book
about Congo, ibid.; his agree-
ment with Mr. John George
Leigh, 353
Burton, Sir Richard, discovers
Lake Tanganyika, 4, 58
Busira-Momboya River, 335
Cambier, Lieut., 32; assumes
command of Belgian expedi-
tion, 33; reaches Mirambo's
territory, ibid.; becomes
"blood-brother" of Mirambo,
ibid.; founds station on Lake
Tanganyika, 34; learns of death
of Wautier, ibid.; hands over
command to Captain Ram-
aeckers, 36, 253, 256
Cameron, Commander Lovett, on
native punishments, 425
Campbell, Mr. John, M.P., de-
rides anti-Congo agitation, 370
Canada, British, concessions in,
328
Canisius, M., 349
Cannibalism, 161; State circular
on repression of, 566 et seq.
Caoutchouc. See Rubber.
Cape-to-Cairo Railway, 208
Cardinal Lavigerie, 90
Carl34e, Thomas, his philosophy.
Carriers, their insubordination, 34
Casement, Mr. Roger, his Brit-
annic Majesty's consul, 175,
234; Congo Government's reply
to his report refused publica-
tion by London editors, 369;
suppression of parts of his re-
port favourable to Congo Free
State, 371, 465, 475 et seq., 477;
notes by Congo Administration
on his report, sgi et seq.
Cassart, Lieut., 185
Cataracts of Mokoangi, 54
Cataracts Railway, 252; cost of
travelling upon, 255
Cataracts of Zongo, 54
Catholic Herald, 371 et seq.
Cattle, 269
Central Africa. See Africa, Cen-
tral.
Chaltin, Commandant, 190;
strikes sev^ere blow at Der-
vishes, 201, 219; his action for
libel against Captain Guy Bur-
rows, 340 et seq.
Charing Cross Hospital, London,
267
Chieftaincies, native, 239
Chige, battle at, 182, 183
Chimay, Prince de, 135
Christian and Missionary Alliance,
300
Christy, Dr., English physician,
remarks on Congo Free State,
430 et seq.
Chronique, 461
Cicatrisation, 156
Cinnamon, 268
Clarke, Sir Edward, K. C, 341;
his speech in case against Cap-
622
Index
Clarke, Sir Edward — Continued
tain Guy Burrows and Messrs.
R. A. Everett & Co., 342 et
seq., 363. 364
Cloves, 269
Coal, discovery of, 291
Cocoa, 268; State reward for na-
tive cultivation of, 269
Coffee, 53, 268; State reward for
native cultivation of, 269
Cologne, anti-slavery meeting at,
131
Colonel Strauch. See Strauch.
Comite d' Etudes du Haut-Congo
formed at Brussels, 29; its
name changed to International
Association of the Congo, 39;
Stanley enters its service, ibid.
Commerce, Chamber of, of Man-
chester (England), correspond-
ence with British Secretary for
Foreign Affairs re Upper Congo,
S2g et seq.
Commerce, Chamber of, of State
of New York, resolution of, 528
et seq.
Concessionary companies, 116;
their contracts with the State
and their operations, ^22 et seq.
Congo Bololo Mission, 299; seven
grants of land to, 387
Congo, Conventional Basin of
the, its limits, 206
Congo Free State, its evolution,
2 ; conceived by King of the
Belgians and Stanley, 22; its
flag, 26; extent, 44; boiindary
with North-eastern Rhodesia,
47 ; its natural wealth, 5 1 ;
early legislation in, 66; a prop-
erly organised government pre-
vious to General Act of Berlin
Congress, 67; recognised as
such by Powers previous to
that Act, ibid.; declaration
concerning, by General San-
ford, 79; recognised as a
friendly government by Amer-
ican Secretary of State Freling-
huysen, 80 ; makes treaties with
United States iii 1884 and
1885, 92; freedom of trade es-
tablished in, by General Act of
Berlin Conference, ibid.; treat-
ies with varioiis powers, 93;
attacked by Sir Charles Dilke
in British Parliament, 96; de-
velops land, 115; concessionaire
companies in, 116; alcohol in,
138; import duties, 140; cost
of founding the State, 145;
bequeathed by Sovereign to
Belgiuin, 149; population, 151;
origin of races, 152 et seq.;
Public Force, 164; prohibits
trade in firearms, gunpowder,
and other explosives, 200;
regulates contracts of service,
ibid.; creates voltmteer corps
to protect individual Uberty,
ibid.; delimitation of its terri-
tory, 206; its enemies, 223;
displacement of population,
225; internal administration,
228; nationality of its servants,
230; Department of Justice, 23 1,
intrigues against, 235 ; its means
of communication with Eu-
rope, 249; scientific stations in,
264; climate, 265; influx of
Europeans and Americans,
ibid.; trade and revenue, 277;
receives from King Leopold
annual subsidy of 1,000,000
francs, 278; exports and im-
ports, 280-286; Herr Eberhard
Von Schkopp on trade of, 287;
declining trade with England,
290; discoveries of gold, coal,
and copper in, 291; revenue,
292; expenditure, 294 et seq.;
monetary system, ibid.; mis-
sions in, 299; schools, 301;
origin of land system, 313;
unappropriated lands declared
property of, 314; dealings with
foreign sqiiatters upon lands in
Congo Basin, 316; adopts Tor-
rens Act system of transferring
land titles, 317; appoints Land
Commission, 318; authorises
natives to work mines on
own account, 319; recognises
certain local customs as valid,
320; its various land tenures,
322 ; traders' alleged grievances
against, 330 et seq.; domain of
the crown, its extent, 335 et
seq.; its forests finest in the
world, 336; its mining laws,
ibid, et seq.; campaign against,
begun in America, 387 ; its
Index
62
Congo Free State — Continued
value generally recognised, 447 ;
replies to Lord Lansdowne's
dispatch of August 8, 1903,
458 ; reception of reply by
British press, 460; instructions
respecting officials and natives,
569; text of reply to British
dispatch of August 8, 1903, 577
et seq.; official correspondence
with Great Britain, 590; notes
on Mr. Casement's report, 591
et seq.; concessionaires, private
firms, and trading companies
therein, 616 et seq.; principal
officials in Brussels, 617; prin-
cipal local officials, ibid.
Congo, Lower, 201; charted by
buoys, 250, 252
Congo, Middle, 46, 201
Congo Question, 3
Congo Reform Association (of
Liverpool), its specious argu-
ments, 315; letter to, from
editor of Catholic Herald, note,
371, 374, 452; establishes its
American headquarters at Bos-
ton, 467
Congo Reform Association, Sec-
retary of, 372; enters into
correspondence with Mr. Bene-
detti, and requests interna ew
with him, 378, 379; intro-
duces Mr. Benedetti to Mr. John
Holt, 380; his agreement with
Mr. Benedetti, 381 et seq.; re-
ceives letter from Mr. Bene-
detti, 383, 384, 386; presents
memorial to President Roose-
velt, asking for American in-
tervention in affairs of Congo
Free State, 388; abuses King
Leopold at Boston Peace Con-
gress, 395; is estimated by
Major James Harrison, 409 et
seq.; publishes book attacking
government of French Congo,
447 et seq.; ceases hostility to
French Congo, ibid.; the Congo
coroner, 468; specimen of his
vituperative fanfaronade, 470
et seq.
Congo River, its source, 45; dis-
covered by Lixdngstone, ibid.;
its harbours and shipping, 250;
Sir Travers Tmss on free navi-
gation of, 502; navigation of,
as provided for in General Act
of Berlin Conference, 536 et
seq.
Congo, Upper, 44, 187; slavery
finally extinguished on, 201,
252
Copal, 272
Copper, discovery of, 291
Coquilhat, Captain, 165
Carrier c Toscano, 463
Coimt Van der Straeten Ponthoz.
See Ponthoz.
Courcel, Baron de, speech at In-
ternational Conference, Berlin,
27
Cranbome, Viscount. See Salis-
bury, Marquess of.
Crespel, Captain, commands first
Belgian expedition, 32; arrives
at Zanzibar, ibid.; his death,
ibid.
Crispe, Mr., K. C, 341, 357
Cromer, Lord, reports upon mi-
gratory habit of Soudan popu-
lation, 226; 454
Crystal Mountains, 47
Curse of Central Africa, The, title
of book by Captain Guy Bur-
rows, 353
Curzon, Viscount, Viceroy and
Governor-General of India, his
opinion of the Congo Free State
Government, 422
Cuvelier, Chevalier de. Secretary
of State of Congo Free State,
293
Daily Chronicle, letter to, from
Sir Harry Johnston, 401 et seq.
Daily News, 369, 371, 372, 373,
374
Daily Telegraph (London), Stan-
ley's letters to, 38
D'Arenberg, Prince F., 453
Davis, Mr. Alexander, his opinion
of the Congo Free State Gov-
ernment, extracted from his
book. The Native Problem in
South Africa, 418 et seq.
Defence of Congo Free State, 577
et seq.
Dekere, 54
624
Index
De Kcyser, Captain Henri Joseph
Leon, his action for libel against
Captain Guy Burrows, 340 et
seq.; is awarded £500 damages
and costs, 363
Delcommune, Lieut., 47, 55, 184,
185
Delecourt, Lieut., 220
Derscheid, Lieut., 47
Descamps, Baron A., his work en-
titled New Africa, 74; exposi-
tion of international law, 81;
on Government Civilisation in
New Countries, no; 257, 293;
exposition of early Congolese
policy, 309; analysis of theory
of State ownership of vacant
lands, 315
Dhanis, Lieut, (afterwards Bar-
on), 179, 180, 181, 182, 183,
184, 185, 186, 187, note 188,
189, 190, 191, 192, 193, 194;
his final report on Arab cam-
paign, 195; 219, 220, 221, 222
D'Herwijnen, Baron Gericke, 141
Diego Cam, discoverer of the
Congo, 42
Dilke, Sir Charles, attacks Congo
Free State in British Parlia-
ment, 96, 370, 447, 455
Dirfi, 220
Doorme, Lieut., 187
Doumergue, M. Gaston (French
Colonial Minister), decree con-
solidating legislation for French
West Africa, 338 ei seq.
Droeven, 218
Dubreucq, Commandant, his ac-
tion for libel against Captain
Guy Burrows, 340 et seq.
Duchesne, Lieut., 182
Dufile, railroad to Redjaf, 256
Dufoumy, A., President of the
Federation for the Defence of
Belgian Interests Abroad, 395
Dupont, Professor, assistant at
Court of Inquiry, 476
Dutalis, Lieut., 35
Dutrieux, Dr., 33
E
Edward, King of England, visits
Paris, 448
Eetvelde, Baron Van, 136; report
on conscription, 168; report on
civilisation of native races, 202;
reviews complete work of Congo
Free State, 203
Egypt, Khedive of, employs Sir
Samuel Baker, 4; is coerced
by Europe to suppress slave-
trading on the Upper Nile, 6;
employs Sir Samuel Baker and
General Gordon to govern the
Soudan, ibid.
Ekongo, King of, 42; his conver-
sion to Christianity, ibid.; old
kingdom of, 43
Elephants, Indian, experiment
with, 35; abundant in Kivu
forest, 57, 272
Emin Pasha, 53, 60, 188
Employees, dismissed, misrepre-
sentations by, 580
En Avant, steamer employed by
Stanley, 39
England, claims large sections of
Africa, 17; decreasing trade
with Congo Free State, 290;
its cause, ibid.
Epondo case, 595 ^^ seq.
Equateurville, 46, 50
Etienne, M. Eugene, dissertation
on the French Congo and
Congo Free State, 324 et seq.
Etoile Beige, 346, 355
Evening Transcript, 463 et seq.
Everett, Messrs. R. A. & Co.,
London publishers, legal action
against for libel, 340 et seq.;
letter from, to Secretary of
State of Congo Free State, 351
et seq.
Expedition, British, to Congo, 43
Exports from Congo Free State,
1903 (statistics of), 280; value
of, ibid.; comparison with pre-
vious years, 281
Fashoda, 212, 213
Favereau, Baron de, 478
Federation for the Defence of
Belgian Interests Abroad, 389;
address to President Roosevelt,
390, 479
Fetish doctor, 223, 224, 225
Fiji Islands, 610
f Force Publique, 216
Foreign Christian Missionary So-
ciety, 300
Index
625
Forfeit, Mr. William, remarks on
Congo Free State, 427 ei seq.
Flanders, Count of, becomes
President of National Commit-
tee of International Association
for the Exploration and Civil-
isation of Central Africa, 13
France, war with Germany, 4;
claims large sections of Africa,
1 7 ; sets up her flag at Brazza-
ville, 19; denounces Anglo-
Portuguese Convention, 21;
recognises International Asso-
ciation as a friendly Govern-
ment, 22; land system of its
African colonies, 612 et seq.
Franciscans, 301
Francqui, Lieut., 47, 59, 184
Fraud, A gross, 157
Frelinghuysen, F. F., American
Secretary of State, recognises
Congo Free State as a friendly
Government, 80
French and Belgian boundary, 46
French Sheldon, Mrs., on atroci-
ties in Congo Free State, 445
Frere, Sir Bartle, becomes Gov-
ernor of the Cape, 12 ; letter to,
from Mr. H. Nixon, on baneftd
influence of Aborigines' Pro-
tection Society, 377
Fuchs, M., reports on Public
Force, 170; suggests (in his
capacity of Vice - Governor-
General) plan to control migra-
tion of natives, 226; report of
July, 1904, 229; report on
routes for motor cars, 263
Gandu, 181, 217, 218
Garenganze Evangelical Mission,
300
General Anzeiger, 461
Germaine, Mr., K. C, 341
Germany, war with France, 4;
claims large sections of Africa,
17; wants part of East Africa,
19; denounces Anglo- Portu-
guese Convention, 21; recog-
nises International Association
as a friendly Government, 22;
invites Powers to confer in
Berlin, ibid.; land system of
its African colonies, 612 et seq.
Ghent, Sisters of Charity, 301
Gibbons, Cardinal, 438; letter to
Secretary Congo Reform Asso-
ciation, 439 et seq.
Gibbons, Major H. H., opinion of
Congo State, 583
Gillain, Commandant, 187, 194,
217, 218
Ginger, 268
Gladstone, his opinion of African
explorers, 4
Globe, The, letter from Lord
Mountmorres to, 441 et seq.
Gois Kapopa, 184
Gold, discovery of, 291
Goldsmid, Sir Frederic, his report
on Portuguese claims, 21
Gongo Lutete. See Lutete.
Gongo MachofEe, 219
Goodwill, English Baptist mission
steamer, 300
Gordon, General, is employed by
Khedive of Egypt to govern
Soudan, 6; appointed by King
Leopold to chief command on
the Congo, 41 ; British Govern-
ment claim his ser\'ices, ibid.
Gortchakoff, Prince, 68
Grant discovers sources of the
Nile and Lake Victoria, 4
Granville, Lord, 20 ; on develop-
ment of trade in Central
Africa, 530
Great Britain. See Britain, Great.
Gregoire, M., assistant at Court
of Inqmry, 476
Grenfell, Mr. George, English
missionary, remarks on Congo
Free State, 427; on adminis-
tration of justice in, 568 et
seq.
Grey, Mr., English ci\'il engineer,
remarks on Congo Free State,
435 ('t seq.
Grison, Rev. Father, missionary
in charge of St. Gabriel's,
Stanley Falls, 301 ; extracts
from his diary, 302; his strenu-
ous life, 306, 307
Guinness, Dr. H. Grattan, lec-
tures in Scotland on atrocities
in Congo Free State, 424 et seq.;
Gmnness, Mrs. H. Grattan, her
testimony different from that
of her husband, 425
626
Index
H
Hamhurgischc Borsen Halle, Neue,
its estimate of British opinion
of Congo Free State, ;i^^ et seq.
Hamed-ben-Mohamed, note, 179
Hanssens, Captain, 40
Harbey, Rev. C. H., testifies as to
lying proclivities of natives,
600. See Epondo.
Harrison, Major James, 369, 374;
letter to London Times, 404 et
seq.; remarks upon side issue
raised by Secretary of Congo
Reform Association, 409 et seq.
Head, Mr. George, M.A., de-
molishes arguments of Secre-
tary of Congo Reform Associa-
.tion at Boston Peace Congress,
Head tax, m British colonies, 582
Health committees, 268
Heffter, his theory of the exist-
ence of a State, 528
Henderson, Mr. John, his com-
ments on Consul Casement's
report, 466 et seq.
Henry, Commandant, 220, 221,
222
Heusch, De, Lieut., 194; is killed
in battle, ibid.
Heuval, Dr. Van den, 35
Heymans, Captain, 54
Hinde, Dr. Sidney, 179, 183,
note, 188; his description of a
boma, note, 191
Hodister, 178
Holland, Queen of, 143
Holt, Mr. John, Liverpool mer-
chant, 373; pays Mr. Benedetti
;/£4o, 383, 384; his trading com-
pany loses its case against the
Compagnie Frangaise du Congo
Occidental before the Council of
Appeal at Libreville, 450
Horses, 269
Hospital for Natives, Boma, 268
Humanitarianism, pretext of, 578
Hut tax, in British colonies, 582,
605
Hygienic Commission, Boma, 265
I
Import duties, 140
Imports into Congo Free State,
1903, 282, 283, 284, 286; com-
pared with imports of previous
years, 286
Independance Beige, 352, 353; 374
Influenza, 187
International Association for the
Exploration and Civilisation of
Central Africa, creation of, 12;
General Sanford (United States
Minister at Brussels) becomes
member, 1 3 ; receives influen-
tial support, ibid.; receives re-
port of Commission of Eight,
25; founds station on Lake
Tanganyika, 34; stations cre-
ated by, 491 ; its recognition by
United States as a friendly
Government recommended by
Senator Morgan, 492; treaties
with Germany, Great Britain,
France, and Portugal, 544 et
seq. ; declaration exchanged
with Belgium, ibid.
International Missionary Alliance,
300; eleven grants of land to,
387
Irebu, 56
Itembo, 52
Itimbiri, 251
Ituri, forest of, 52
Ivory, tax on, 178, 272; export
duty on, 278
Janssen, M. Camille, 165
Janssens, M., president of Com-
mittee of Inquiry, 476
Japan, domainal system of, 334
Jesuits, 301
Johnston, Sir Harry, G. C. M. G.,
152; quotation from his book.
The Uganda Protectorate, 400 et
seq.
Juan II., King of Portugal, 42
Junker, Dr., German explorer, 53;
on native punishments, 425
Jiirgens, 218
K
Kabambari, 191
Kabinda, 43 ; attacked by Bate-
telas, 217, 218
Kabindas, a Congolese tribe em-
ployed by Stanley as carriers,
39
Index
627
Kakongos, 153
Kalengvo. See Epondo.
Karema, 34
Kassai, 50
Kassali, Lake, 48
Kasson, Mr., United States Pleni-
potentiary, 107
Kassongo, 47, 181, 182, 187, 188,
189, 191, 193, 221
Katanga, 48; copper deposits in,
ibid.; soon to be reached by
railroad, 48; 184
Katue, 221
Khartoum, 214
Khedive of Egypt employs Sir
Samuel Baker, 4
Kibala Mountains, the African
Switzerland, 48
Kiranga-cha-gungo, largest in-
land volcano in world, 57
Kirk, Sir John, 136, 426
Kipango, 186
Kivu, Lake of, 57
Kleine Journal, 462
Konings, 218
Kwango, 50
La Liberie, 460
La Lul on ga Society. Se^ Epondo;
608
Labour, question of native, 581
Labudi, 47
Lado, Enclave of, 210
Lado territory, 219
Laeken, Brussels, King Leopold's
palace, 248
Lagos, British colony of, its
revenue, 1898-1901, note, 289;
sixty-five per cent, of revenue
derived from alcoholic liquor,
311; wasteful methods of deal-
ing with rubber and timber,
323; decline of prosperity in,
tbid., 374, 468; its revenue re-
viewed by the Lagos Standard,
469 et seq.
Lake Albert Edward, 56
Lake Albert Nyanza, 52, 56
Lake Kassali, 48
Lake Kivu, 57
Lake Leopold IL, discovered by
Stanley, 56
Lake Matumba, 46, 53
Lake Moero, 49
Lake Tanganyika. See Tangan-
yika.
Lambermont, Baron, attends
Brussels Conference (1876), 8;
reports upon safeguards for
native races, 26; drafts final
act of International Conference,
ibid.; on slavery, 89; his defini-
tion of free trade, m ; presides
over Second Brussels Confer-
ence, 136
Land system, features of the, in
the African colonies of Ger-
many, Great Britain, France,
and Portugal, 612 et seq. {See
Congo Free State; 586)
Lange, De, Belgian officer, 192
Lansdowne, Marquess of, 450; his
dispatch to the Powers Signa-
tory to the Berlin Act, 457 et
seq.; its reception by British
press, 460, 465 ; dispatch to the
Powers Signatory of the Gen-
eral Act of Berlin respecting
alleged cases of ill-treatment of
natives and the existence of
trade monopolies in Congo
State, 573 ^< seq.
Launay, Count de, 298
Laveleye, M. Emile, 105
Lavigerie, Cardinal, 90; fotinds
Belgian Anti-Slavery Society,
91; visits Belgium, 134, 426
Lawrence, William Beach, on
what constitutes a State, 528
Le Marinel, Lieut., 178, 179
Leigh, Mr. John George, his
agreement with Captain Guy
Burrows, 353
Leopold n. (King of the Belgians
and Sovereign of the Congo
Free State), his accession to
Belgian throne, 2 ; believes
Africa promising outlet for sur-
plus European population, 3 ; his
magnificent physique and per-
sonal accomplishments, ibid.;
perceives opportunity to civi-
lise Central Africans and found
Belgian colony, ibid.; his scheme
disregarded, ibid.; speech be-
fore Belgian Senate in i860, 4;
his philanthropy, 6 ; considers
how the slave trade in Africa
can be abolished, ibid.; con-
venes an international confer-
628
Index
Leopold II. — Continued
encc of geographers in Brus-
sels (1876) to discuss the sub-
ject, 7 ; his circular letter, ibid.;
his speech, 8 ; becomes Presi-
dent of International Associa-
tion for the Exploration and
Civilisation of Central Africa,
1 2 ; speech before National
Committee, 14; his desire for
new markets for Belgian manu-
factures, 17; his prescience,
ibid.; spends largely of his pri-
vate fortime to suppress sla-
very, 18 ; appeal to British Gov-
ernment, 21; recognised by
Powers as Sovereign ruler of
Congo Free State, 28; becomes
honorary President of the Com-
ite d' Etudes du Haut-Congo,
29; invites Stanley to Brus-
sels, 39; induces him to enter
service of International Asso-
ciation of the Congo (new name
of the Comite d' Etudes du Haut-
Congo), ibid.; plans campaign
of exploration, 60 ; a true friend
to Stanley, 65 ; his early de-
claration, ibid.; letter to his
ministers, 99; authorised by
Belgian Chamber to assume
sovereignty of Congo Free
State, loi ; his acknowledg-
ment, ibid.; receives congratu-
lations and is visited by Lord
Mayor of London, 10 1, 102; is
appealed to by British Govern-
ment to call conference at
Brussels to concert measures
for suppression of slavery on
East Coast of Africa, 132;
letter to M. Beemaert, 147 ; be-
queaths sovereignty of Congo
Free State to Belgium, 149;
note, 179; confers title of
Baron on Captain Dhanis, 195;
his plans to suppress slavery
excite little interest, 197; de-
pletes his fortune to achieve his
object, 198; receives scant
support outside Belgium, ibid.;
his Majesty's mandate, ibid.;
his first object realised, 205 ; his
political foresight, 210; his
energy and industry, 248;
Laeken, his palace at Brussels,
ibid.; his chalet at Ostend,
ibid.; his immense expenditure
on Congo State, 276; impossible
to recover, 277; grants annual
subsidy of 1,000,000 francs to
Congo State, 278; his. early
declarations consistently car-
ried out, 320; Captain Guy
Burrows dedicates book to, 347 ;
is abused by Secretary of Congo
Reform Association at Boston
Peace Congress, 395; Congo
Free State likely to fulfil his
expectations, 447
Leopoldville, 46; fortnightly com-
munication with Stanley Falls,
251 ; treaty of, 489
Lcroi, Captain, 219, 220
Leslie, Rev. W. H., of American
Baptist Missionary Union, 411;
contributes article on Congo to
Missionary Review of the World,
414
Liebrechts, Mr., Secretary-General
of Congo Free State, letters to
fromCaptain Burrows, 347 etseq.
Lindi, 221
Lindt, Van, Lieut., 189
Lippens, 181, 183
Livingstone, Dr., enters Congo
region, i860, and discovers lakes
Moero and Bangweolo, 4;
found by Stanley in 187 1, ibid.;
says white man can live in Cen-
tral Africa, 17, 197
Livingstone Inland Mission, 299
Lomami, 49, 50, 51, 181, 182, 183,
217, 218
Lopori, 49
Lothaire, Commandant, 194, 217,
218, 219
Lua, 54
Luahilimta, 57
Lualaba, 47, 177, 186, 251
Lualaba-Kassai, 201
Luapula, 47
Lubefu, 50, 335
Lubuga, 57
Lubukine, 194
Lufila, 47
Lufupa, 47
Lukenie River, 335
Lulongo, 49, 50
Luluabourg, 74, 201; outbreak of
Batetelas at, 216, 218
Index
629
Lumber, 272
Lunda country, 74
Lusambo, 179, 201, 217
Lusana, 183
Lutete, Gongo, 179 ; his per-
sonality, 180, 181, 182, 184; is
court-martialled and shot, 190;
disastrous consequences of that
event, 191, 216
M
Mabode, 52
Maes, Dr., 32; his death, ibid.
Maguire, Dr., English missionary,
remarks on Congo Free State,
^2g et seq.
Mahagi, 212
Malet, Sir Edward, attends In-
ternational Conference at Ber-
lin, 24; speech, 27
Maloney, Mr. J. A., on native pun-
ishments, 426
Malumba, Batetela mutineer,
murdered by one of his follow-
ers, 221
Manning, Cardinal, 131
Miinycma, collectors of ivory, 59,
1S2; country of, 191, 218, 221
Mares, M. Roland de, 384
Mamo, M., 32
Marriage, Christian, among na-
tives, 273
Martens, Prof., 136
Martin of Bohemia, cosmo-
grapher 42
Matadi, 47, 252, 253; trains from,
255
Matumba, Lake, 46, 53, 56
Mayomb^s, 153
Mayumbe Railway, 256
Mbomu, 54, 208, 209, 210
Meshra-er-Rck, 213
Mfini, 56
Mgonda-Mkali, 33
Michaux, Captain, 182, 183, 184,
218
Middle Congo, 46, 48
Mirambo, 33; his conflict with
Simba, 36
Missionaries, 299, 300, 301, 385,
387, 411, 424, 425, 427, 429;
deceived by native witnesses,
233
Missions, Protestant, 299
Modes et Robes d. la Congo, 154
Moero, Lake, 49 ; south-eastern
boundary between British ter-
ritory and Congo Free State,
59
Moharra, Munie, 181, 184, 185,
186
Mohun, Mr., formerly United
States Consul at Boma, 411;
his opinion of Congo Free State
Government, 415 et seq.
Mokoangi, Cataracts of, 54
Molieka, 52
Moltke, Von, 180
Moncheur, Baron, Belgian Minis-
ter to United States, 389;
career, 618
Mongalla, 52
Moore, English naturalist, 57;
discovers zoological remains of
a dead sea, 59
Morgan, Senator, of Alabama,,
presents memorial to Congress,
38S ; submits Report from Com-
mittee on Foreign Relations
recommending United States
to recognise International Af-
rican Association as friendly
government, 492
Morning Advertiser, comments
upon Lord Lansdowne's dis-
patch of August 8, 1903, 458 et
seq.; betrays some British de-
sires, 459
Morning Post, 369; letter to
from Major James Harrison,
409; from Mr. Grey, 435 et
seq.
Morrison, Rev. Mr. W. M., of
Lexington, Va., 385; fails to
obtain land concessions and
special privileges, 386; his
statements compared with
facts, 387, 388, 396, 456
Mountains, Blue, 52, 53
Mountains, Crystal, 47
Mountiiins, Kibala, 48
Mountains, Pallaballa, 252, 253
Mountnaorres, Lord, 374; starts
on journey through Congo Free
State, 440; letter from, to Lon-
don Globe, 441 et seq.
Mpala, 37
Msiri, 48
Miinster Westphal, 462
Musseronges, 153
Mwadi, 184
6.^o
Index
Mwana Mkwanga, Arab camp at,
191
N
Natives, Commission for Protec-
tion of, report of first meeting,
572 et seq.; alleged to be ill-
treated, $12, et seq.
Nerincx, Professor A., coadjutor
of Baron Moncheur, 389
Netherlands, Prince Henry of,
becomes President of the Na-
tional Committee of the Inter-
national Association for the
Exploration and Civilisation of
Central Africa, 13
New York Herald, Stanley's let-
ters to, 38
New York Press, 464
Neyn, M. De, assistant at Court
of Inquiry, 476
Niadi Kwilu Basin explored, 73
Niadi, treaty with King of, 490
Niam-Niam, tribe inhabiting
Bahr-el-Ghazal country, 214
Niangara, 53
Niger, navigation of the, as pro-
vided for in General Act of
Berlin Conference, 541 et seq.
Nisco, Baron, President of Court
of Appeal, 232; member of
Court of Inquiry, 476
N6tre Dame, Sisters of, 301
Nutmegs, 269
Nyangwe, 45, 52, 59, 181, 182,
186, 187, 188, 217, 221
Nys, M. Ernest, 77
Nzilo, 47
O
Obi, 220
Omdurman, battle of, 213
Ordeal by poison, 159; State Cir-
cular on repression of, 566 et
seq.
Ostend, King Leopold's chalet at,
248
Our Lady of Perpetual Help,
Roman Catholic Mission
steamer, 300
Ourroussof, Prince, 136
Padrao Foreland, 42
Pallaballa Mountains, 252, 253
Palmerston, Lord, on recognition
of States by British Govern-
ment, 528
Panga Falls, 53
Parliament, British, debate in
580
Partition of Congo State, 578 ^«
seq.; 610
Peace, English Baptist Mission
steamer, 300
Pepper, 268
Petit Bleu, interview with Stanley
published in, 397
Phare de la Loire, 461
Philippeville, SS., 477
Phipps, Sir Constantine, his Brit-
annic Majesty's minister at
Brussels, dispatch on protec-
tion of natives, 561 et seq.
Photographs, faking of, 371 et
seq.; 602 et seq.
Pigmies, 156
Poison, ordeal by, 159
Polidori, Signor, Italian phy-
sician, remarks on Congo Free
State, 428 ei seq.
Poll tax, in British colonies, 582
Polygamy, 163, 273
Ponthier, Captain, 190, 191, 193
Ponthoz, Count Van der Straeten,
on safeguarding native races, 26
Pope Leo XIII., encyclical on
abolition of slavery in Brazil,
90; receives Central African
Christian Negroes, ibid.; his
speech, ibid.
Popelin, Captain, commands sec-
ond Belgian expedition, 35;
death of, 37
Population, displacement of, 225;
diminution of, 591 et seq.
Portugal, claims large sections of
Africa, 17; claims Congo River,
19; land system of its African
colonies, 612 et seq.
Postal Service, 244
Premontr^ Fathers, 301
Prestation, natives' contribution
/of labour towards support of
/ State, 294
I'TubHc Force, 164
Public Ledger, 465
Puttkamer, Herr Von, Governor
of the Cameroons, his opinion
of the navigation of the Congo
River, 252
Index
631
Q
Queen of Holland, 143
R
Ramaeckers, Captain, commands
fourth Belgian expedition, 36;
joins his colleagues at Tangan-
yika, ibid.; takes over com-
mand from Cambier, ibid.;
death of, 37
Rashid, 179, 189, 190, 194
Redemptionists, 301
Redjaf, 201; railroad to Dufile,
256
Reed, Henri, American Baptist
Mission "steamer, 300
Rejoinder of Congo State to
charges in Consul Casement's
Report, 590 et seq.
Reply of Congo State to British
Dispatch, Aug. 8, 1903, deny-
ing that Administration in-
volves systematic cruelty to
natives, 577 ^i seq.
Revenue, various sources of, 279
Rhodes, Cecil, 208; prophetic ut-
terance by, 454
Rhodesia, North-eastern, and
Congo Free State boundary,
47; taxes in, 605 et seq.
Riba Riba, 178
Ridley, Mr. Justice, tries suit for
libel brought by Belgian officers
against Messrs. R. A. Everett
& Co. and Captain Guy Bur-
rows, in London, 340 et seq.; his
charge to jury, 358
Roger, M., 36
Roman Catholic Mission, forty-
four grants of land to, 387
Roosevelt, President, 388, 389
Royal, steamer employed by
Stanley, 39
Rubber (caoutchouc), its cultiva-
tion and collection, 270; its
varieties, 272; export duty on,
278; decrease in export of,
from eight British colonies, 324
et seq.
Rubi, 52
Rudolph, Archduke, of Austria,
becomes President of National
Committee of International As-
sociation for the Exploration
and Civilisation of Central
Africa, 13
Ruki, 50
Rumeliza, chief of Ujiji, 191, 193,
194
Rusisi, 57
S
Sacred Heart of Mary, Sisters of
the, 301
Sacred Heart, Priests of the, 301
Salisbury, Marquess of, his opinion
of the Congo Free State Gov-
ernment, 423, 456, 584
Salisbury, Marquess of (the late),
his opinion of the Congo Free
State Government, 423
Salusbury, Captain, his allega-
tions against Congo Free State
denied by Captain Guy Bur-
rows, 346
Sambas Plateau, 50
Sanford, General (United States
Minister at Brussels), becomes
member of International Soci-
ety for the Exploration and
Civilisation of Central Africa,
13; declaration by, 79; founds,
with M. Georges Brugmann,
Exploring Expedition, 276
Sankuru, 50, 179, 336
Sannaes, Lieut., 221
San Salvador, 43
Scherlink, Lieut., 183
Scheut Fathers, 301
Schkopp, Hcrr Eberhard Von, his
remarks upon Congolese trade,
287
School of Tropical Medicine, Liv-
erpool, 267
Schumacher, Dr. Dc, member of
Court of Inquiry, 476, 478
Scott, Mr. G. A., 341
Scfu, 179, 181, 183, 184, 185, 186,
187, 189, 190
Semlika, boundary between Brit-
ish and Belgian possessions, 56
Scmliki, 221
Seyyid Burghash, Sultan, 32
Shanu, British subject of Lagos,
tries to induce Mr. Bencdetti
to join anti-Congo campaign,
37y et seq.
Sierra Leone, convictions for mal-
treatment of natives in, 582
6.^2
Index
Simba, his conflict with Mirambo,
36
Sir Bartle Frere. See Frere, Sir
Bartle.
Sir Charles Dilke. See Dilke, Sir
Charles.
Sir Frederic Goldsmid. See Gold-
smid, Sir Frederic.
Sir Harry Johnston. See John-
ston, Sir Harry.
Sir John Kirk. See Kirk, Sir
John.
Sir Travers Twiss. See Twiss,
Sir Travers.
Slavery in Central Africa, 5;
slavery defined, 83 ; antiquity
of, ibid.; Christ the first libera-
tionist, 84; first awakening to
infamy of slavery, ibid.; Eng-
land's traffic in slaves, ibid.;
her retribution, 85 ; America's
civil war to abolish, ibid.; still
extant in some countries, ibid.;
England's efforts to suppress,
86; horrors of, 87; Baron Lam-
bermont on, 89; Pope Leo
XIII. 's encyclical on, 90; its
strange uses before the found-
ing of Congo Free State, 274;
Congo State accused of, 294;
declaration concerning, in Gen-
eral Act of Berlin Conference,
535 ^i seq.
Sleeping sickness, 225; no known
cure for, 266
Smallpox, 187, 221, 225, 266
Smet de Naeyer, Coimt de,
478
Soudan, migratory habit of its
population, 226
South Africa, British punitive ex-
peditions in, for collection of
taxes from natives, 607
Spain, King of, becomes Presi-
dent of National Committee of
International Association for
the Exploration and Civilisa-
tion of Central Africa, 13
Speke, Captain, discovers Lake
Tanganyika, and sources of
the Nile and Lake Victoria, 4,
58
St. Paul de Loanda, 43
Standard, The, comments upon
Lord Lansdowne's dispatch of
August 8, 1903, 459
Stanley Falls, 46, 52, 179, 181,
194, 220, 221; fortnightly com-
munication with Leopoldville,
251
Stanley, Henry Morton, Sir, dis-
covers Dr. Livingstone, 4; says
white man can live in Central
Africa , 17; visits Congo in in-
terest of King Leopold, 20;
demonstrates importance of
Congo River in letters to New
York Herald and London Daily
Telegraph, 39 ; founds and forti-
fies station at Vivi, 40; con-
structs road from Vivi to Isan-
ghila, ibid.; founds a station at
Manyanga, ibid.;, learns of
French founding Brazzaville,
and replies by founding Leo-
poldville, ibid.; goes to Brussels
to report progress, ibid.; re-
turns to Central Africa, Febru-
ary, 1883 ; his achievements im-
possible without King Leo-
pold's aid, 65, 197; Boula Ma-
tari, native name for, note, 235;
insists upon necessity of rail-
road round the thirty-two cata-
racts, 253, 262, 274, 275; on a
common measure of civilisa-
tion, 277; writes introduction
to book by Captain Guy Bur-
rows, 347; the true motive of
the anti-Congo campaign, 370;
his opinion of Congo Free State
Government, 397 et seq.; Congo
Free State hkely to fulfil his
expectations, 447
Stanley Pool, 50, 252
Stanleyville, railroad from, to
Great Lakes, 256
Stephanie ville, treaty of, 490
Stokes, executed for selling arms
to State's enemies in time of
war, originally Protestant mis-
sionary, 307, 373, 452
Storm, Lieut., fotinds station at
Mpala, 37
Strauch, Colonel, President of the
Contite d' Etudes du Haiit-Congo,
29, 67
Sugar, S3, 272
Svensson, 218
S wanton, Mr., 341
Sv.'edish Missionary Society, 300;
nine grants of land to, 387
Index
633
Tanganyika, Lake, effort to foiind
station at, 34; the first station
of the International Associa-
tion for the Exploration and
Civilisation of Central Africa,
ibid.; partitioned equally be-
tween Congo Free State and
German East Africa, 58; dis-
covered in 1858 by Burton and
Speke, ibid.; first circumnavi-
gated by Stanley, ibid.; 191,
194, 200, 208
Taxation, Mr. Joseph Chamber-
lain ridicules native exonera-
tion from, 581 ct seq.; defends
theory of, 582
Taxation of natives, 114; their
migration to avoid, 224; per-
sonal, the bases of, 293 ; reduc-
tion of direct, ibid.
Telegraph, 59
Telegraph service, 245
Telephone, 59
Telephone service, 245
Terrell, Mr., 136
Tcrvueren, Brussels, Museum,
containing objects illustrating
Central African life, 265
Thomas, Mr. Lewis, 341
Thys, Lieut., 256
Times, The, 373, 384; letter from
Major James Harrison, 404 et
seq.; 459; French criticism of,
460
Tippo Tip, 59, note, 179, 180, 181,
183, 189, 194
Tobacco, 53, 272
Tobback, M., resident for Congo
Free State at Stanley Falls, 189
To-Day, 466
Trappistines, 301
Trappists, 301
Tuckey, James Kingston, British
explorer, 43
Twiss, Sir Travers, 105; on free
navigation of the Congo, 502
U
Ubanghi, 53, 208, 251
Uelle, 53, 177, 201, 208, 209
Uelle Railway, proposed exten-
sion, 54
Uganda Protectorate. See Har-
rison, Major.
Ujiji, 191
United States, particulars of their
origin recorded, i ; recognises
International Association as
a friendly Government, 22;
makes treaties with Congo Free
State in 1884 and 1885, 92, 199
Upper Congo, 44 ; Belgian Society
of the, 178
Uranga, 49
Usamba Plateau, 49
Van Dorpe, Captain, 165
Van Gele, 53
Vanilla, 269
Vattel on manner of acquiring
sovereignty of free country, 527
Vivi, first station foianded by
Stanley, 40 ; road from, to Isan-
ghila made by Stanley, ibid.;
treaty of, 487
Vivian, Lord, 136; speech at Sec-
ond Brussels Conference, 142
Vohsen, Consul, 453
Von Bomhaupt, Herr, 453
Von Gotzen, Count, discoverer of
volcano Kiranga-cha-gungo, 57
Von Moltke. See Moltke, Von.
W
Waddas, 53
Wagenia. a riverain tribe, 186,
187
Wahis, Colonel (afterwards Gen-
eral Baron Wahis), 253; speech
describing Congolese conditions
twenty years ago, 479 et seq.
Washington, Mr. Booker, 424
Wauters, A. J., note, 188
Wautier, Lieut., 33; his death, 34
West Africa, journal of the Liver-
pool Chamber of Commerce,
450 et seq.
Wheaton, on recognition uf
States, 69; on political stacus
of American Indians, 71
White Fathers, 301
Whiteley, Mr. James Gustavus,
of Baltimore, his opinion of the
Congo Free State Government,
411 et seq.
Widows, strangling, icS
Wingate, Sir Regmald, 454
634
Index
Winton, Sir Francis de (Governor-
General of Congo during ab-
sence of Sta.iley), formulates
land system, 3^3
Wissmann, 262
Wissmann Falls, 50
Wolf, Eugene, admonition from,
462
Wouters, De, Lieut., 185 -""
193, 194; his death, 195
Wulfers, Rev. Father, c
Romee Mission, Yanongh
extracts
305
from his diary, 303-
Yambuya, 52
Young Africa, one-screw bargt
employed by Stanley, 39
•, Englishmen murderec
^ands at, 35
ataracts of, 54
lioslioiiia s IS ^
BORMAY 4 CO. , N.Y.
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY
Los Angeles
This book is DUE on the last date stam(^ed below.
#as^^ .
•RECOLD-Um.
1 mYo7m&
DEC 2 7 1985
QL JUN 181973
loum.
^ APR 9 1S86
B|iLp4«8 2«'9'
4
JUNI 41974
Fcinn Lli-Si'i-i.-.s 444
x1^-
3 1158 00273 7178
DT
Wlls
A 000 537 457