276 THE CONGO FREE STATE 



I have to some extent compared the conditions of 

 labour and taxation in the Congo with those which 

 obtain in Uganda, because the two countries are so 

 close together geographically, but it must not be 

 forgotten how fundamentally they differ from each 

 other in the nature of their peoples. In Uganda 

 we found a docile people, already with a certain 

 civilization of their own, who were ripe for the 

 introduction of European methods of government. 

 In the Congo the Belgians found an immense 

 population consisting of a great number of different 

 tribes, most of whom were cannibals and most of 

 them at war with their neighbours. The signal 

 success which has crowned their efforts in unifying 

 these very antagonistic elements and in opening 

 up an immense country must be recognized by 

 any unprejudiced observer. It is no part of my 

 purpose to enter into the vexed question of the 

 appropriation by the State of the fruits of the 

 soil ; that is a subject which may be as legitimately 

 discussed by people who have never been within 

 a thousand miles of the Congo as by people who 

 have visited the country. 



In conclusion, I would say that I have not lightly 

 nor without deliberation appeared to range myself 

 on the side of what very many people consider to 

 be a criminal regime. I recognize most fully the 

 honesty of the motives of the people who wish 

 to redress evil, and I recognize most fully the 

 existence of many evils in the Congo Free State. 



