KING OF THE BELGIANS.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 689, 14 December 1909, Page 7

KING OF THE BELGIANS.

IN A CRITICAL CONDITION.; [, IDjr Telcgrnpli-Preas' 4esoclat|'.|n-Oawrlght.i ' (Hoc.-'December 13, 10 p.m.) ■'•••■■ ; ■ Brussels, 1 December 13. King Leopold of Boljjium is in a critical condition. ■ :' . '■.■';' . Ho is. suffering from'. intestinal strangulation. . Tho doctors agree, that-an operation ib necessary, ■■ ". , ■■:'■■ ■ -''.'..::-■ ■ - '•'■ ■'■■■■ ' '•' •His Majesty., received the Extreme Unction this morning. ■ . -.' . . V THE RULER OF THE CONGOi "';■ A GREAT TRAVELLER; a traveller.during,the,first".half of his .life, and- as the : Sovereign Ruler pf the distressful Congo State duriiig more'recent years,' the late, King Leoppld is best known.'- He was born iii 1835 at Brussels, his father being LeopoldT and his.mother Princess Louise, daughter of the. French King, Louis • Philippe. In 1846 he was created JJjike of Brabapt, and appointed a sub-lieutenant in the army, iii which he eeryed till his' accession, rising to the rank of.Jieutenant-ge'neral.v. On '.-. attaining, his majority he became'-a zealous member .of the senate, taking a.specially keen interest in all' questions which concerned the", trade' of: Belgium.■''■. In 1853 ■he married. Marie Henrietta/ daughter pf the late Archduke Joseph' of 'Austria, and after, visiting the'chief'towns of Belgium the young couple made" a 'prolonged tour In 1851-5 of Italy, 1 Austria, Egypt, Palestine, and Greece. In 1860 the Duko' visited-Constan-tinople, and two years later he went to Spain and Morocco; after-a brief visit to the South Coast of England. s Later on in ' the'y«ar he paid a second visit-to Egypt,'travelling by way Of Algiers and, Tunis. -He also visited the, 6acred Mount of Sinai.- The"'following'year found- him/ a traveller as far-as. China nnd India. ■Hβ .returned, in 1565 through . London, in order ,to accord; special thanks'; to Queen Victoria and the British Government for courtesies received during his travels in our Eastern possessions.- On his father's death he succeeded to the Grown in 1805.' By the death of hie ; only son the Crowp Prince Leopold ■in 1869,' the King's brother, Prince Philip of Flanders, became next in successioh. During the'SrancoPrussian war King "'Leopold, it has 'been said, •preserved, a striot and' honourable neutrality in a period'of umisual difficulty'and danger.' '~ ; ! ;i the Congo AaJßociT'iEs.;; ; . ■ . Tho opening up of the'yast Congo territory tvos apparently'an unibition-of the late. King Leopold froni an,'early, age. ■put -of his-.own pocket he paid for expedition's into the Congo .basin, employed German and '• English' cxpprers, ; and protested against tho bloody deeds of' Arab traders. Finally, assisted by maiiv geographical societies, he founded the International 'Associas hpn; to promote '"civilisation aiid trade"-'in Central Africa, and'elected, , th« "late H. HI. Stanler'in: this'Sorvicc.. In ■1884 i aii Interna l tiohol Cqnference at Berliii," representing fourKen Powers, decided to -make the. Congo basin_ an independent. State, with , equal' trau.ing..rights for. nil;the Powers/concerned, Leopold; was agreed 'upon' as''first; administrator, and later on he \ya6, allowed to assume the title f King of the Independent State of'iihe Congo. -, Under ; his administration freedom! of trado soon-ceased to esist, and no Power -Iji'tt Belgium ■•had any commercial footing. lii the early years-of the twentieth century, moreover, the most shocking outrages.towards 'natives be'" gan to bei alleged against, the Congo Govern, ment. Rubber and ivory .arc the chief • natural products , , of 'the-country. Tα -obtain these, which supplied,-, the revenue „of the State: and also: vast dividends to' shareholders iii Congo companies,,, barbarous". methods/. of, collection wero used. : Massacres ; and .mutilations. of ■ tho unhappy iiatiyps. were a .common prfictice. : In 1905 a commission appointed by King Leopold himself practically eslnbiisned siUvthp;charges' of: atrocities. '■ Tho 'evidence wiji : '.suppressed, but' an internaijpnal: piitcry'iblloweil , .which could, hardly be restrained in' Belgium' itself. The matter was brought .befpro the Powers by Great Britain and five of .the priginar signatory ies of tho Brussels Convention •expressed, their willingness, to consider oiScinllyi' the '.whole question.- '.King Leopold -made desperate efforts to .allow tho "popular -rpspntbrpilti' and ■ air action for libel was brought against one'of his accusers; Mr. Edgar Stannard,,missiDnat'y. In the . absence of i important tvidonce.:Mr!, Starinard was convicted, and fined.-,,','At a , ; Cabinet Council in> Brussels'at -which the Congo crisis was taken up King. Leoppld listened speech-, lesslytp characterisations of himself as a tiger born with an insatiable'. ltist fpr.humnn hlood, as possessor of a conscience ■'■indurated against evidence,, ngainst'shame,; against the terrors bf an immortality of bad ; . renown." '*■■'>.: ':'■. ' M ./: '■'-■;- K|[NG LEOPOLD'S'DEFENCE.'; ■■-: : :; In tho course of a characteristic interview in Dcconibor, 190 C, with the lirussels cqrrespoiident of'(;ho American .Publishers , ' Press- Association, Kinu.Leopold.said ;—;'.'" . r ; '!:■•,' -.!■'. "It is curious' what satisfaction', class of people get inspending'their ljyes'libelling pCiers. .1 suppose thoi'o is'no; brie in Europe, who has- ijech -paiute'd : a, monster;, in such blackness as I. Words : have heen'used in pipturing my 4 . netfiUy, that; cannot ; .be repeated in pohto society, tlero, it hijs been-sillu, was 1 a. saint compared . with -pio, ,F. ai)i;-. an. ogre, whose chief delight is to. order'.the , ; torture of telplass African u.egrbes." The King thea congratulated tho correspondent on, his OBUrage in coming to see him'without trembliug'.--. "Let,ma. s,ee whether you have a revolver ja your.-pocket' tci.protect yourself,":he said. "flove'ybu t a suit of armour under your coat? No? .Weill I am surprispd.', Do you'.think it wise to;,risk.you; , life in this, foolish' manner : -;■.;■;:-■ _''Tlicns it is not tr'u'o : that atrocious conditions exist .on the Congph".;.the: cnrrespond.eut asked.':' ■ .''■? ' ..'■• ■•' "'"",', : ; -■"'•'• .■'■',■■■,2 ;: -'. '.:'-"'-.:-\ :'..-'''Of.'-qqjirse not, as n' system' of - Rovernment, , ; said'his Majesty, "Pepple' should give., us ' credit for having Borne comiupn ; sense, bven'.if they will npt.aHpvf humanity \o ei:st, : outside, theii own' country.^.lt would, be absurd, for' us toilltreat-.the'-black'-pf'the 'Fi*'e : State, ■'because, no State, can.- prosper , ... without' v its population being "happy. and' : "iucrcaslrig. America kno>vs, perhaps better than,an.V.other, country, how true this is. The charges .about Congo cruelty h_avo' been so often'-repeated-that I really believp con's'tant .reiteration has led those spreading false facia: to beljeve at I last in their'triith.V '' '' ""'V ;: - ,; -', ■■'; ■'■'I do not deny;'that there have been-'cases of misjudgnient. in the, past on the! part of I Congo officials,, and. most likely\ and even-orimes. , There have been aVnuinber'of proseputiona and condemnations'.'■ before 'the Congo tribunals for thes? offences/ ■'• But I: do deny that every effort,' as, far. as possible,;has not been, made in-the past; tq;'stop ill-treat-ment'of the natives, not only, by the whites, but also by tho natives themselves, >vlip ■ for thousands of years did nothing' but destroy, eat, or sell ono anotlmv There is'no. GoVernment in : th* world that has remedied all the grievances existing within its own jurisdiction, nnd a ouriobs fact that when a cons try Seeks to produce lbcally a' niillcnnitjm it. af- , V'o.vs seizes on territory belonging to someone clge . fqr the experiment. •'; Tljp parable in. the ■ Siiripturej about the beam, and the mota has nsiiiuch significance to-day,as it.had centutieb ago. ' : '■, ! .' ' --•;.- ■■■ ■■ .[ ■ '■ IMPORTANT ■ "Wo have been fortunate in being able, to red,i)ce the- dreadful, effects, of. in Central Africa by'the intrpduotipn bf vaccine; Vβ have Stamped put the slave : trado on the Congo; we have put steamers on the riyeysj we have built, and nre :buildinj rallwn.ysj. we hnve introduced, the telegraph; wa, have-sent out motor-<iars; and all this is p only.': a besinning. By bur .work, and by the;'coricessions we have given wo have reduced ajmost to nothing the territory of barbarism. Npw, wb must fight thnt dreadful disease, sleeping SiokHess, which has (lopopulated not on[y the Congo, but also Uganda. We Dope,;with the help of tlie Almighty, tp he 'successful iii stamping out this scourso of Africqi■■:,- ', : ■ "In dealing with n rnco; that has been com-po.c-ed of cannibals for thousands of years ft,is "neefsjarv , to uso methods, that best can shake their idleness and '-inake them realise; the sanctity ;of work." '■.-. '■ ; A .'' - : '-'.■'