CONGO FREE STATE. 



163 



leader of the Sanford exploring expedition. He 

 returned to the Congovin March, accompanied 

 by the second director, Caraille Delcommune, 

 who has likewise had six years' experience on 

 the Congo. The primary object of the com- 

 pany is to establish new factories along the 

 river and to augment the flotilla of small steam- 

 boats, so that ivory, palm oil, and caoutchouc 

 can be exported on a much larger scale. Al- 

 ready regular auction sales of ivory are held in 

 Antwerp. An expedition of seven Europeans, 

 under the direction of Alexander Delcommune, 

 set out from Belgium in July, 1890, for the pur- 

 pose of ascending the Congo and its tributary, 

 the Lomaini, in a steamer to the head of naviga- 

 tion, nearly opposite Nyangwe, and journeying 

 thence on foot, protected by an escort of 150 na- 

 tive soldiers, through the region of the sources 

 of the Congo, visiting the Lualaba and the chain 

 of little lakes through which it passes ; the Lua- 

 pala, which traverses Lakes Bangweolo and Moe- 

 ro; the Lukuga, which issues from Lake Tan- 

 ganyika ; and the Lanji Lake, in which all three 

 streams unite, according to the accounts of natives 

 and Arabs. They intended to explore the mineral 

 regions west of Lake Tanganyika that lie within 

 the agreed boundaries of the Congo State, but 

 which the English desire and are likely to claim 

 on the ground of the discoveries of Livingstone 

 if they can establish prior interests in that re- 

 gion. The Congo Railroad Company, with a cap- 

 ital of 25.000,000 francs, which has undertaken 

 to build a railroad from the lower Congo to 

 Stanley Pool, besides a grant of lands, which it 

 will work, lease, or sell through the intermedia- 

 tion of special companies, has received the ex- 

 clusive privilege of constructing new railroads, 

 tramways and roads, docks, bridges, and other 

 works designed to facilitate transportation, and 

 has the right to establish a navigation service to 

 the Congo or on the Congo. The railroad is ex- 

 pected to be completed by 1892. The Compagni 

 des Produits de Congo, on Feb. 8, 1890, resolved 

 to increase its capital from 300,000 francs to 1,- 

 200,000 francs in order to raise cattle on the is- 

 land of Mateba, where the serpents have been ex- 

 terminated by swine, and eventually to engagealso 

 in planting on a large scale. A French company 

 has been founded to establish means of commu- 

 nication between Brazzaville, on the Congo, and 

 the coast by utilizing the Niari-Quilliou. The 

 scheme embraces a canal and a road which can 

 be transformed into a narrow-gauge railroad. 

 The colony of Gaboon and the French Congo, in 

 addition to a grant of land, exempts the com- 

 pany from all taxes and guarantees 5 per cent, 

 interest on the capital, pledging 20 per cent of 

 the local receipts for the purpose, while the 

 company on its part agrees to pay to the colony 

 4 per cent, of its profits whenever they exceed 

 11 per cent, per annum. A French syndicate 

 has acquired considerable interest in the Congo 

 Railroad and other enterprises in the Congo 

 State. On April 16, 1890, the King of tne Bel- 

 gians opened at Brussels an exhibition of prod- 

 ucts and manufactures of the Congo region. 



The Convention with Belgium. In July, 

 1890, a convention was entered into between the 

 Congo State and the Belgian Government for 

 the eventual annexation of the territories of the 

 Free State to Belgium. The Belgian Chamber 



approved the arrangement, with only one dis- 

 senting vote. By the terms of this convention 

 Belgium will make a loan to the Congo State of 

 25,000,000 francs, of which sum 5,000,000 francs 

 are to be advanced at once, and subsequently 2,- 

 000,000 francs a year for the next ten years. 

 During these ten years the loan will bear no in- 

 terest. Six months after the expiration of this 

 term of ten years Belgium will be at liberty to 

 annex the Congo State with all its properties 

 and rights, in conformity with the act signed at 

 Berlin on Feb. 26, 1885, and the act signed at 

 Brussels on July 2, 1890, Belgium assuming all 

 the obligations of the State toward other parties. 

 King Leopold will at the same time renounce all 

 claims for indemnity for the sacrifices which he 

 has made. The Belgian Government will, ac- 

 cording to the convention, henceforward receive 

 direct all communications regarding the State, 

 notably on matters connected with the budget 

 and the customs receipts. At the same time Bel- 

 gium will in no way interfere in the administra- 

 tion of the Congo State, which, on its part, en- 

 gages to make no fresh loans without the assent 

 of the Belgian Government. If after the term 

 of ten years Belgium should not desire to annex 

 the State, the loan of 25,000,000 francs will bear 

 interest at 3 per cent., and its repayment can be 

 demanded after the expiration of a further term 

 of ten years. From the outset all money received 

 for land and mining concessions must be ap- 

 plied to this purpose of repaying the loan. The 

 preamble of the bill is followed by a testamentary 

 declaration by King Leopold, stating that he be- 

 queaths to Belgium all his sovereign rights over 

 the Congo State unless the country should think 

 fit during his lifetime to establish closer rela- 

 tions with the State. The King intends to pay 

 an annual subsidy to the Congo State from his 

 personal resources till 1900. He said, in reply to 

 an address of the Chamber, that it was always 

 his intention to bequeath the Congo State to 

 Belgium, and felt confident that Belgium would 

 not diminish the extent or importance of the 

 new provinces. France raised no objection to 

 the proposed cession. The bill in approval of 

 the convention declares that the sovereignty will 

 continue to be exercised by three administrators 

 and a governor-general. Out of the first 5,000,- 

 000 francs of the loan the debts, which are in- 

 considerable, will be paid. 



Financial Measures. The expenditure of 

 the State amounted in 1889 to 3,400,000 francs, 

 and there was a deficit of 1,500,000 francs. 

 The expenditures will increase if the State exe- 

 cutes the measures prescribed by the Brussels 

 Anti-Slavery Conference for the suppression of 

 slavery. The act signed at the conference modi- 

 fies the free-trade stipulation of the general act 

 of the Berlin Conference by empowering the 

 State to levy import duties not to exceed 10 per 

 cent, ad valorem. But this permission remains 

 in abeyance, owing to the refusal of the Nether- 

 lands "to sign the act. The competence of the 

 conference to amend the Berlin act was first 

 called in question by the delegate of the United 

 States. The United States Government, which 

 was not a party to either act, subsequently signed 

 a declaration relinquishing the right to the free 

 entry of American merchandise on the conditions 

 and "within the limits specified in the Brus- 



