BELGIUM’S HUGE COLONY

Greymouth Evening Star, 13 June 1940, Page 11

BELGIUM’S HUGE COLONY

WEALTH OF CONGO. Since the surrender to the Germans of King Leopold of the Belgians, interest attaches to the future of Belgium’s extensive and wealthy colonial possession, the Belgian Congo. - The Belgian Government has disowned the King’s action and that Government is recognised by the Allies, so it is reasonable to assume that the valuable products of this territory will go to swell the stream of British and French imports and to help their war-effort in alliance with the Belgian Government. Situated in the centre of Africa, with the Equator passing through it in the north, the Belgian Congo has common frontiers with French, British and Portuguese territory. A motor road connecting the Congo River with the Nile is of great strategic importance.

The Congo was explored by Stanley in 1877. King Leopold 11. of Belgium, roused by Stanley’s discoveries and realising the economic importance of the country, formed and largely financed an association for its development, and sent Stanley back there in 1879 to find out more about it. The territory was formally ceded to Belgium by treaty in 1907. Belgian Congo has an area of 902,082 square miles and a native population of more- than 10,000,000, plus 23,000 whites, mostly Belgians. The military protection of this State is entrusted to 60,500 native troops and 4000 officers, most of whom are Europeans. Equatorial French Africa lies on the north and west and Portuguese Angola to the south. To the north the Congo also touches the Soudan. Vast, sunless and well-nigh impenetrable forests fill the upper reaches of the Congo River, covering about 25,000 square miles. The wealth of this huge colony lies mainly in its minerals. The chief industry is the mining of copper from a belt 250 miles long by from 25 to 50 miles wide.,,,, The territory ranks third to the United States and Chile in copper production and the export value of this, metal in 1938 was £8,500,000 in New Zealand money. Then the diamond fields in the southwestern part of the colony are very rich and produce more than 4,000,000 carats a year, next largest output to the South African fields.

Other minerals exported in large quantities are silver, manganese, tin, uranium and pitchblende. The uranium ore is of high grade and the refinery at Oolen, Belgium, in normal times produces from supplies from the Congo a very large percentage of the world’s radium. Tin, discovered in 1910, has been exploited since 1918. Gold worth nearly £4,000,000 was exported in 1938. - PALM OIL AND NUTS. Principal products apart from minerals are palm oil, cotton, palm nuts, coffee, cocoa, rubber, sugar and ivory. ■ Oil extracted from the palm kernels is used in the manufacture of soa,p, and in 1938 the sale of palm oil abroad brought £1,830,000 and kernels £1,440,000. All told, the export value of the territory’s products is nearly £25,000,000 a year. > Hitherto the colony’s principal trade has naturally been with Belgium,. so it constitutes a vast reservoii - for the Allies to tap, specially as Germany used to be the next largest trader and now, of course, has no choice but to abandon that trade. Japan and trie United States also have extensive commerce with Belgian. Congo, and it imports from Japan more than from any other country except Belgium. Though it is well off the beaten path for tourists, it has

nevertheless great attractions to oi> fer, and the Government has during the last 50 years instituted three national parks containing highly interesting animal life and flora. Apart from the Congo, the districts of Ruanda and Urandi, formerly in German East Africa, are administered by Belgium under a League of Nations mandate. The total area of these is 20,535 square miles and the population about 3,500,000, of whom a few more than 1000 are Europeans. Both districts are united administratively with Belgian Congo. The Ruanda plateau is one of Africa’s best cattle countries and 1 several peaks of the Birunga Range reach an altitude of 14,000 feet.