148 



OONOo. IN DBNT STATF. OF 'IMF. 



deoided to adjourn the debate in.lrnnii.-lv. M. 

 de Merode, who was re*|* 



that wa made in view of immedm 



't**ned hb post a IWgian Minister 

 of PorHfn Affair*. Arrangements were made 



wbo bad d * anoed S.OOO.OUU f ran.-* to the Congo 

 Slal*. whorrby the |myment of the loan was de- 

 ferral mi I thr tm. I of Unii BOftfMSd, fr the 

 loan remained in the possession of 



.,( iilidrawalof thr lull. 



inoVflnttfly postponing annexation after three 

 moti th* of agitated discussion, was aUn I >u( e<l i.. 

 the King, who hd found I ln opposition Mronger 

 than w* mUu ijwited. and would not be a parly 

 to saddling Belgium with - momentous a re- 

 sponsibUHr b? a majority of only six ,, r seven 

 VOtSS. The f ham NT 



by Baron d'Anethnn and M. I l:in..|;iux. In the 



tirle thr i MTimu-nt rei-. 



that From i-mptimi OV6I n 



f 



subsequently authorize*! 

 a loan of 5J6?,415 francs out ,.f the treasury to 

 par off the debt to M. de Browne, a further ad- 



of 1.500.000 francs to cover the budgetary 

 ijsinitinrr. and a subsidy of 10.000.000 francs to 

 Ute Congo Railway Corapam I n April the com- 

 pany had borrowed 5.000,000 francs from Bel- 

 gian banker*, in addition to 2,500,000 francs ad- 

 vanced by them in thr previous September. 



These advances were to be repaid out of the sub- 

 francs the comj>any 

 expected to carry the lino !."> kilometres beyond 



tidy. With the 1 0.000.000 francs the comj>an: 



Lufu. the tonnihu.H. in N*<VCMI|MT. 1894, when 

 the length constructed was 80 kilometres. The 

 promise of the Belgian Government t furnish 

 this sum was acoompanie<l with the reservation 

 of a right to purchase the railroad within five 

 Tears. By June, 1805. the line wns laid for 102 

 kilometre*, and . .lafed that Kini[>esse, 



160 kilometres from Matadi, would be reached 

 in May, 18Q& 



franco -Belgian Agrfeit After the 

 tgning of the treaty of Jan. 9 the French Gov- 

 ernment made reservation* as to the right of 

 preemption of the same nature as the reserva- 

 vations that M. KiU.t insisted upon in 1890, 

 which induced active ne*r hat had no 



definite outcome. Toe riui.t of pr.-.-mpti..n 

 nfahnrrl by France WM first formulated in a let- 

 ter of Col. President of the Int.-nm- 

 tional Association of the Congo, dated April 28, 

 1884, and Jule Ferry's reply. On May 31, 1884, 

 M. Ferry, the French Minister of Foreign Af- 

 fairs, notified the powers of this agreement in a 

 circular letter. Aft-r the Independent State of 

 the Oonco succeeded to the possessions of the 

 Congo Association there was an exchange of 

 views in April, 1887. in regard to th 

 of the agreement When King Leopold ei 

 into the convention of 18 U.kin^ 

 annexation of the Congo M. Kilx.t. 

 Minister of Foreign Affairs, called for an expla- 

 natlon acknowledging that the(VmgoSut<- would 

 not be able to cede its possessions to Belgium 

 without imposing upon the latter the obli 

 to reeocniie France's n. 

 After M. BotireV. Fn-t.r -h miniver in Brussels, 

 had renewwl the reservations of his (i 

 M. d'Anethan. thr IHginn minister in Paris. 

 wrote on Jan. 18. 1805. that the obligations of 

 the International Association had passed to the 

 Congo State, and in pit^inc to Belgium would 

 acquire still further guarantees. 



On Feb 5. 1805, a treaty was signed at Paris 



possessions on tl B of llirir 



JI..II. I'V Mil- I liole or II, 



exchange of ierriton ..i placing 

 <>f t.-i .1 : i^n state or 



a foreign eompaiiy n. h rights 



ereignty prelim n i.in.'H with theGov- 



ernment of tin- l-'r.-m )i ll.-pul.lic must taki- phu-e. 

 In the second arliele the l'.-l.i;iaii ( i-,\ ernmeni 

 es that there .shall never begratuitous ees- 

 -i. -n of any territory. ThethiM .plains 



that these" arratigeinenis a|.jly to the whol.- of 



up-. Added to 



i jrerliiflll ' .it ion ilrtin- 



inir the iMiundary line in Stanley Pool, which is 

 the median line "except at t lie i-land of I'aniii. 

 which shall U-lon^ t<. l-'rancr. ..n condition that 

 no military e.stalili.-hinent shall be created there. 

 r\|>an-ion of the Stale. I lie n-ut of the 

 Aral.- -a\e fn-e scope to the Coiip State to ex- 

 tend Its Influence to ii> n-moie>t front ier>. Not 

 only have the Arab rulers in the Manyema coun- 

 try been overthrown. lut the iers on 



the northern frontier and throughout the \\ elle 

 districts have been driven out. Katanga also 

 has been occuj tied. The native populations have 

 improved in their manners at a rapid rate wher- 

 ever the rule of the Free State ha- I.een estab- 

 lished, and in return for the benefits of civili/a- 

 tion and commerce they are being gradually 

 brought to participate in the costs of civili/ed 

 rule oy the establishment of taxes and the for- 

 mation of military coiitinp-ii'-. ]',y creating a 

 native militia the" State can sav the heavy ex- 

 pense of maintaining a mercenary soldiery en 

 listed in West Africa. The camps of Kassongo 

 and houanpi have been fortified and garrisoned 

 with trained native soldiers at small exp- n- . 

 The same material is used largely in the defen- 

 sive occupation of the northeastern provinces, 

 which was deemed necessary in view of the in- 

 cursions of the Mah. lists. Late in 1804 the for- 

 tified post of Mundu, commanded by ('apt. de 

 Langhe, was attacked by 4,000 Mahdistfl ami 

 their auxiliaries, but it was successfully defend- 

 ed and the assailants were repeatedly repelled 

 by the small disciplined force, and finally routed 

 and driven from their camp at Egaru, although 

 some had the newest rifles. Capt. ( hristiaens 

 wa- killed. The Congo officials have made allies 

 of the strongest sultans in the \Velle district, 



who miiM now depend upon the < 



lone to obtain arms to defend them* 

 marauding bands from the north. In the spring 

 of 1895 the Mahdists attacked another p 



the Akkadi-triet. and in a desperate fight killed 

 Lieut, ('assart and 19 men. The auth- ; 

 the Congo State, however, was so firmly 



that only isolated posts wen- In dang**, 

 Charles Stokes, a British trader who was on<-e a 

 missionary, for a long time supplied the nhels 

 against the authority of the Congo State and all 

 the slave-raiders of the upper Congo with arms 

 and ammunition, in which traflic he amassed 

 great wealth. Commandant Lot haire. arriving 

 unexpectedly at Kilunga, in the region of the 

 upper Congo, found arms that Stokes had brought 

 and a letter to the chief Kibange, in which the 

 trader announced that he would come to aid in 



