468 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[September 1, 1911. 



for him. He can buy crown lands to settle on, and if the amount 

 of land he desires docs not e.\ceed 10 hectares (25 acres) in area, 

 he can obtain it on the spot, by putting in his demand together 

 with a rough sketch outlining the tract. The Governor General, 

 in strong circular letters, urges the local boards to favor such 

 applications for land, to hasten their inspection, to simplify the 

 formalities, to receive, inform and encourage the trader or the 

 cultivator who wishes to settle. 



If he does not wish to acquire the piece of land immediately — 

 if he wishes to investigate the resources of the district and his 

 chances of success before settling — he can take the land on a 

 fifteen years' lease, with the soK- proviso that he occupies it him- 

 self, or by his proxy, and that he carries on effectively his trade 

 or industry. 



The price of land is generally 20 cents per square yard within 

 the town limits ; outside, the price is $200 per hectare (2j4 

 acres) for land intended for trading posts, and from $2 to $5 per 

 hectare, according to location for agricultural lands. The rent is 

 5 per cent, of the value of the ground. 



The native, although free to harvest, is no longer obliged to 

 do so. The tax paid in produce is abolished, as well as that paid 

 in food. The government buys for cash all the produce required. 

 The agents are no longer revictualled ; they receive a food in- 

 demnity, and they mu,st pay in cash for the foodstuffs which th. 

 natives bring them freely. There is. therefore, no more forced 

 collection of rubber, nor forced supply of food; and there is no 



i\All\L \\ J I H (iK.\.-is RuBilhK Kt«JI:5. 



more enforced toil fur even the most urgent public works. Since 

 the annexation, all the laborers in the railway yards have been 

 freed and are now engaged of their own. free will for a three 

 years' term. They receive their pay in cash. 



The tax is now paid in cash. The local government boards 

 are strictly forbidden to accept payment of the tax in rubber, 

 even when it is oITered by the native. As for the districts where 

 money has not yet been introduced, the collection of the tax is 



suspended ; but money is spreading more rapidly and easily than 

 one would have thought. The government, since the annexation, 

 has introduced over $2,000,000 in money. Private individuals, 

 certain companies, and the banks which have been established, 

 have also introduced large amounts, and the natives have soon 

 learned to use it. The new tax, therefore, is easily paid. The 

 old direct and personal taxes have been replaced by one prin- 

 cipal tax, which is from one-third to one-half what it formerly 

 was, varying from $1 to $2.40. according to the districts, and 



Native Decorticati.xg Grass Rubber Roots. 



which is only imposed on full grown and able, male natives. A 

 light supplementary tax is laid on more than ordinary wfealth, 

 as indicated by the possession of several wives which, in Africa, 

 is the surest sign of prosperity. 



The colonial charter authorizes appropriate reduction of and 

 exemption from taxes, and both are practised to a large extent. 



What, now, are the taxes and fiscal obligations to which a 

 European or other foreign trader in rubber is subjected? 



Under the old regime he had to pay a license of $1,000, and he 

 was also under the costly obligation to replant rubber bearing 

 species. Today he only has to take out a collecting permit, which 

 costs him $50, and is available for a year. He pays an export 

 duty of 6 cents per lb., and a replantation duty and tax which are 

 respectively 7}/2 cents, and 4 cents per lb. of rubber gathered from 

 trees or vines, and 5 cents and 2 cents per lb. of "grass rubber. ' 

 These are the only charges pertaining to this special trade. 



As to the general taxes, they are certainly not excessive. The 

 traveling merchant pays a license of $100. The merchant, or the 

 farmer who has a settled establishment in the colony, pays on 

 his buildings a tax of 15 cents per square yard, w-hich is reduced 

 to 5 cents for such buildings as are used to house the native 

 staff. He pays $2 per servant, $1 per workman, and from 40 cents 

 10 $1 per ton for the ships he uses, according to the class they 

 belong to. 



Let us mention here that the farmer who wishes to establish 

 rubber plantations in the Congo receives certain favors which do 

 not affect one who only collects wild rubber. These are : reduc- 

 tion of the tax on each native laborer employed to 20 cents, in- 

 stead of $1 ; remission of tax of 7j^ cents per lb. of harvested 

 rubber, and remission of all tax on the buildings for farming or 

 cattle growing. 



The colony also busies herself with the establishment of large 

 plantations, a special fund maintained by the replantation tax 

 previously mentioned being devoted to this purpose. 



So much for the system of government, the equity and niodera- 



