CHAPTER VII 



TO LAKE ALBERT EDWARD 



Our sojourn in a land like the Congo State which forms a 

 centre of international interest, and into the administration of 

 which we were privileged to obtain a glimpse, naturally calls for 

 a review of some sort, or at least a comparison with the conditions 

 and institutions of other African territories which are under 

 foreign rule. The reader might expect that at the beginning of 

 the chapter which deals with our stay in the Congo State the 

 questions of greatest interest, such as the administration of the 

 country, the exploitation of its products, or the native question, 

 would be fully entered into. I crave his indulgence if I do not 

 fulfil his anticipations. Firstly, any attempt to deal with such 

 questions would far exceed the limits of a simple narrative of 

 travel, and, secondly, I would not presume, after a stay of only 

 seven months in a country, which it would take years to know 

 well, to form any conclusive judgment concerning it. 



One idea that has become general, however, I will most firmly 

 oppose, namely, that the policy of the Congo State is only con- 

 cerned in depriving the population of its rights and depleting it 

 for sordid mercenary gain. It is true that there have been 

 isolated instances of cruelty, and cases where officials lacking in 

 understanding have misused the powers confided to them by 

 excess of zeal, or in an attack of "tropical frenzy," and this is 

 not denied by the Belgians ; but these are things which happen 

 in the colonies of every nation. It is impossible to prevent their 

 occurrence in countries where the indolence and the behaviour of 

 the people necessitates the strictest discipline to promote the 

 development of the countries' great wealth. The natives of the 



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