138 CONFEDERATE VETERANS. 



There are four standing committees, each consist - 

 ing of one delegate from each division, viz. : The 

 Historical Committee, the Relief Committee, the 

 Monumental Committee, and the Finance Com- 

 mittee. The association is supported by member- 

 ship fees, each camp by annual dues from its mem- 

 bers, tin- several divisions, departments, and general 

 association by an annual per capita tax upon the 

 camps. There is no general "charity fund," yet 

 much has been done for the relief of "comrades in 

 distress, and for other charitable purposes, by pri- 

 vate subscription. The association has taken an 

 active part in promoting the erection of monuments 

 to deceased comrades, and is now raising a subscrip- 

 tion to complete the establishment of the Confed- 

 erate Memorial Association on the plan suggested 

 by Charles Broadway Rouss, of New York, aided by 

 his munificent donation. The publications consist 

 of the official orders and addresses of the command- 

 ing general, the reports of the department and staff 

 officers, the reports of the several committees, the 

 proceedings of the annual reunions, and the con- 

 stitution and by-laws. Among the most important 

 of these reports are : The report of Surg.-Gen. 

 Joseph Jones, concerning the medical depart- 

 ment of the Confederate army and navy, giving 

 statistics of the number of troops and the losses of 

 the individual Southern States during the civil 

 war; the report of Adjt.-Gen. Moorman, made at 

 the reunion at Richmond, Va., in 1896, showing 

 the growth and condition of the association, its 

 membership, the distribution of camps, etc. ; the 

 three reports of the Committee on History, submit- 

 ted by the chairman, Lieut.-Gen. Stephen D. Lee, 

 at Birmingham in 1894, at Houston in 1895, and 

 at Richmond in 1896. These reports of the Com- 

 mittee on History, being unanimously adopted by 

 the association, may be regarded as expressing the 

 sentiments of the surviving Confederate soldiers, 

 which is concisely stated in the following extract 

 from the report made at Richmond in 1896, refer- 

 ring to the Confederate soldier: "He returned to 

 the Union as an equal, and he has remained in the 

 Union as a friend. With no humble apologies, no 

 unmanly servility, no petty spite, no sullen treach- 

 ery, he is a cheerful, frank citizen of the United 

 States, accepting the present, trusting the future, 

 and proud of the past." In the language of Adjt.- 

 Gen. Moorman, "The U. C. V's have adopted no 

 flag. Our halls and reunion wigwams are deco- 

 rated with our old tattered and worn battle flags, 

 retained simply as mementoes of a glorious history 

 and of all connected with the past, with the flag 

 of our country, and the shields of all the States.'' 

 The regulation badge or button, adopted at Jack- 

 son. Miss., June 2, 1891, is a square of red, crossed 

 by two diagonal bands in blue, on which are thir- 

 teen white stars. 



Connected with the United Confederate Veterans 

 are two auxiliary associations, known respectively 

 as Sons of Confederate Veterans " and " Daughters 

 of the Confederacy." Each of these associations is 

 organized on a plan similar to the United Confed- 

 erate Veterans, and is permitted to wear the asso- 

 ciation badge. The general headquarters are per- 

 manently fixed at New Orleans, and the Memorial 

 Hall of that city is the depository of all records, 

 papers, and relics of the association. The annual 

 reunion is the feature that gives the association its 

 chief interest and influence. This is a great mass 

 meeting of old comrades, who. with their families 

 and friends, assemble annually for social inter- 

 course, and to renew old ties of friendship. The 

 general mass meeting is entertained by popular 

 addresses and exercises, and usually close* with a 

 parade The reunion generally remains in session 

 about three days, a portion of" the time being de- 



CONGO. 



voted to business meetings, in which only delegates 

 from the various camps and divisions participate. 

 These reunions have been held as follows : At Chat- 

 tanooga, Tenn., July 3, 1890; at Jackson, Miss., 

 June 2, 1891 ; at New Orleans, La., April 8, 9, 1892; 

 at Birmingham. Ala.. April 25, 20, 1894 ; at Hous- 

 ton, Texas, May 22, 23. 24, 1895 ; at Richmond, Va., 

 June 30, July 1, 2, 1896. The next will be held at 

 Nashville, Tenn.. in 1897 At the reunion at Rich- 

 mond, the association took part in laying the cor- 

 ner stone of the Jefferson Davis monument, July 2, 

 1896. 



CONGO, INDEPENDENT STATE OF THE, 

 a sovereign monarchical state in Central Africa, 

 created with the consent of the European powers 

 and declared perpetually neutral in conformity 

 with the general act of the Congo, signed at Berlin 

 on Feb. 26, 1885. The International African Asso- 

 ciation, of which Leopold II, King of the Belgians, 

 was the head and patron, sent Henry M. Stanley to 

 the Congo in 1879 to establish a government, build 

 stations, and distribute his officers and men 

 throughout Central Africa in such manner as to 

 have the best effect upon the savage tribes who had 

 never been brought in contact with the whites. 

 Leopold II was named sovereign of the Congo Free 

 State when this was recognized as an independent 

 government. By his will, made on Aug. 2. 1889, he 

 ceded his sovereign rights to Belgium. By a con- 

 vention made on July 3, 1890, Belgium acquired the 

 right to annex the State after a period of ten 

 years. A codicil of the will, dated July 21, 1890, 

 declares the territories of the State to be inalien- 

 able. The convention was ratified by the Belgian 

 Chambers on July 25, 1890. The Central Govern- 

 ment, with its seat at Brussels, is under the direc- 

 tion of a Secretary of State. This chief of the 

 Government is at present Edmond von Eetvelde. 

 The Governor General, who is the head of the local 

 government at Boma, is Theodore Wahis. 



Area and Population. Conventions made by 

 the International Association of the Congo with 

 Germany, Great Britain, and the Netherlands in 

 1894, and with France and Portugal in 1885, defined 

 the boundaries of the Free State, which were de- 

 scribed also in the declaration of neutrality made in 

 August of that year and precisely indicated in 

 treaties concluded by the Free State with Great 

 Britain on May 12, 1894, and France on Aug. 4, 

 1894. The area is estimated at 870.000 square 

 miles. Estimates of population vary between 14,- 

 000.000 and 30.000,000. There were 1,096 Euro- 

 peans in 1895, of whom 691 were Belgians, 75 Eng- 

 lishmen, 75 Portuguese, 75 Swedes and Norwegians, 

 50 Frenchmen, 28 Americans, 21 Italians. 14 Danes, 

 16 Dutchmen, 12 Germans, 4 Spaniards, and 1 

 Austrian. 



Finances. The revenue is derived from an an- 

 nual donation of 1,100.000 francs given by the King 

 of the Belgians, an advance of 2,000,000 francs a 

 year voted for ten years by the Belgian Chamber 

 in 1890, and duties, taxes, and the sale and leasing 

 of public lands. The revenue of 1896 was esti- 

 mated at 7,002,735 francs and the expenditure at 

 8,236,000 francs. In the budget of 1895 the local 

 receipts are estimated at 3,004,764 francs, of which 

 1,195,304 francs are derived from customs duties, 

 30,353 francs from sales and leases of land, 1,250,000 

 from domains, tribute, and taxes paid in kind, and 

 529,107 francs from various sources. The expendi- 

 tures for 1895 footed up 7,370,939 francs. The 

 chief item was 3.556,672 francs for the public 

 forces. The armed force of native Africans, di- 

 vided into 16 companies, with 4 camps of instruc- 

 tion, is commanded by 143 European commissioned 

 officers with 146 sergeants. The strength for 1895 

 was fixed at 6,120 men, of whom 4,000 are recruited 



