CONGO ATROCITIES.

Press, Volume LXI, Issue 11916, 10 June 1904, Page 5

CONGO ATROCITIES.

REPLY OF THE FREE STATE. United Press Aasoci-tion—By Electric Telegraph-Copyright. (Received June 9th, 10.33 p.m.) LONDON, June 9. A Blue Book has been issued, which contains the Congo Government's preliminary reply to Mr Roger Casement's allegations. Lord Lansdowne on June 6th describes the Congo Ministry's memorandum as unsatisfactory. It imthat if the full text of Mr Casement's report were communicated as asked it would be accessible to persons whose conduct was impugned. He adds that no measure was taken to shield witnesses from improper pressure. Strict impartiality is not attaching to an investigation made solely by officers of tlie State or agents of concessionary companies. He proposes a special Commission composed of men of reputation unoonaected with the Congo State. Mr Roger Casement, the British Consul at Roma, made a tour of the Congo State last year, and made such a seething report on the " unspeakable atrocities and nameless mutilations" inflicted by officials and armed expeditions on the natives, that Lord Lansdowne felt justified in placing the matter officially before the other Powers. The commonplace of Mr Casement's report is the levy from tlie villages of so-called "taxes" in food, wood-fuel for the river steamers, indiarubber, gum-copal, and other merchantable arUcles. In return for there taxes, singular to relate, payment is made, the rate of which may be gathered from a particular instance in which gum-copal to the value of some £14 was received in return for a piece of blue drill worth lljf. It would seem that the fact that the population has been decimated in recent years is not taken into account in the exaction of contributions, wliich, of course, weigh with tenfold heaviness on the small number of inhabitants remaining. Failure to comply with tho demands of tho officials is met by fines, which are enforced by imprisonment, and in order to pay which' the natives are sometimes reduced to selling their wives and daughters into slavery. Armed expeditions are also used to extort the'sums due, and they are apparently accompanied by an absolute disregard of human life.