THE SCANDAL OF THE CONGO

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXVIII, Issue 8156, 16 April 1903, Page 4

THE SCANDAL OF THE CONGO

(By 8.F.R., in the London Daily Express.) There was published recently, under the title of'"The Curse of Central Africa,"-a book which can hardly be paralleled in its records of crime, lust, and brutality. - If the statements contained therein are true—and the facts adduced seem to stamp thenauthenticity;—the civilisation of"' Europe will stand "disgraced until some widespread reforms are instituted. About the Congo Free State, which is a gigantic wedge driven into- the heart of Central Africa from the western side, there have been for many years past the most unpleasant rumors. The King of the Belgians and the chiefs of the various departments under him which govern this iterritory from Brussels, have always taken steps to deny the truth of the sinister stories circulated by traders and explorers of various nationalities. But the evidence has been growing against them, and mow we have direct charges brought by two members of .the Congo Free State service—fcfie one, Captain Guy Burrows, late of the 7th Fusiliers, the other Edgar Canisius, an American. In addition to the long list, of abominations of which they themselves have personal knowledge, they have photographs of tortures and floggings which seem impossible to explain away. In the appendix w«s have charges of a similar nature brought by Captain G. Andrews-Jonies, who commanded a steamer on the Congo, and the n.anager of the plantations at Losange, in the Congo Free State. The case against the authorities at Brussels is shortly as follows : "That they have for many years . past been aware of the serious nature of the crimes perpetrated in the country which they were supposed to govern. "That they have .taken every means in their power to avoid publication of facts damaging to themselves, and even went so far in 1898 as to circularise their officials tliat they must use their greatest discretion in writing to their friends as to Congo affairs.

"That they failed to punish the higher officials who instigated these offences, and that the subordinates, who were occasionally tried and convicted, were eventually suffered to escape. "That the administration of the- Congo State has endeavored to protest itself from criticism by obtaining a local injunction against the publication of the present volume,- claiming that pending this injunction no adverse reference to its misdeeds should be permitted in England." These are very serious charges, and it will be interesting to see if the authorities at Brussels will endeavor to contradict' them. On every page of the book, which is'of considerable length, we find fresh instances which go to show that certain of the officials on the spot, either through natural depravity or through the enervating effects of the climate and the want of proper control, have sunk to the lowest depths. The soldiers, who are collected in a very hapliazard fashion, are without supervision and lack all discipline. Yery often in punitive expeditions squads of men are sent out under black corporals to conduct.war after their own hideous fashion, while the white, officers sit playing cards in the villages. We read of absolutely wanton murder practised on women and children; of cannil: alism among the soldiers themselves, and of looting which goes absolutely un-clK-cked. -Mr Grogan in his book "From the Cape to Cairo" speaks warmly on the subject of these Congo troops, and it is startling to find that his account of them doss not seriously differ from that of Captain Burrows arid Mr Edgar Canisius. The companies who have obtained rubber concessions are also severely criticised, 'i hey have practically a free hand, and use it to employ forced labor and to punish in the severest fashion any natives who object to their methods of trading. The slave system among the chiefs, as might indeed be expected, continues almost unchecked. "It would be such a pity to interfere with native customs," says the Belgians, with a wink of amusement. As the authors of the book conclude, the Belgians are laying up for themselves a storm which when it breaks will be likely ti> involve them in a most terrible disaster. And not only the Belgians will suffer, for the hatred- of millions of blacks towards all white men will hamper the steps of the siccessors to the Belgians, however different they may be in breed and morality and power of good government. In conclusion we will give a few typical instances of Belgian misrule .which the authors state are absolutely authentic:

"Of the many cruelties practised l or permitted by the notorious Major Lothaire, instances could be given without number. A few will suffice, isome of which can be substantiated by photographs. On October 7, 1895, at Lusuna,, Lothaire, then in command of an expeditionary column against the revolted Bataolas, detained some 400 men, women, and children who came in with the interition of themselves under his protection. "Of this number four chiefs and twentysix men were selected and foully murdered. Two of the chiefs were tortured in a fashion so cruelly diabolical that it is scarcely possible to believe that it could have been the outcome of a white man's brain. To a cross pole, run along three upright posts put in the ground, the wretched victims were suspended by cords attached to the neck, the middle, and the feet. A doctor, in, the presence of Lothaire and the other Europeans accompanying the expedition, then proceeded to remove the scalps of the tortured men."

A fortnight later, while the expedition was in camp near N'gandu, on the I/omaini River, a dozen men and women were captured by the soldiers and brought before Tothaire, who said, -curtly enough., "Take them' away." - 7 Phey were; then removed by the soldiers about fifty yards outside the camp, and butchered with small knives. The. wretched people offered no resistance to the murderers, but stretched themselves on the ground and awaited the thrust of the knives with fixed stolidity. At Stanley Falls,-on August _ 28, 1895, two men were arrested a short distance beyond the station on suspicion of having; indulged in cannibalism. ' A corpse had been found in the bush, but without any trccr-s of violence upon it. On the strength of this fact, the Belgian officer commanding the post ordered the prisoners ,to be put in chains, and a leg cut from the corpse to be tied round each man's neck. The men were then exposed to the fierce rays of the sun in the centre of the station, without either food or water.