The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1890-06-02
a NEW BRITISH COLONY.

The chances are that there is some truth
in the story that England is about to buy,
or has bought, the Congo State. The chief
hacker of that commonwealth has been
King Leopold of Belgium, who went into
the enterprise to solve geographical prob
lens, and who found himself sadded
with the support of State embracing
a territory of million square miles and
containing from 30,000,000 TO 10000, 900
souls. Up to 1884 he had spent $1,000. 600
in the venture, which was more than be
could conveniently afford At the close of
that year he summoned an international
congress to meet at Brussels, for the pur-
pose of organizing the territory into an in
dependent republic, under the protection OF
the powers, and as an inducement, he
offered to guarantee to the new State an in
come of .S250,000 year out OF his privy
purse The arrangement was consummate
on these terms in February. 1885; the new
nation was baptized by the name of Congo
State; the leading nations, including the
United States, agreed to recognize it, and
King Leopold believed that the burden was
off his shoulders, and that Congo State
would not need to draw upon him for the
annual subsidy he had promised.
OulOTLuUdlelyt he Udu UullIbSu " plUNlOO
an income for this State from taxation.
By the Constitution adopted at Brussels it
was provided that no duties should be
levied on imports for a period of twenty
years. Direct taxation in a savage country
was not to be thought of, and the System Of
tolls on river traffic, on which Leopold had
counted, failed from the Interruptions to
river navigation. From ViVi to Isangila.
a distance of ffty-twO miles, the Congo is
impossible, in consequence of the Living
stone Cataracts; and further up the river,
from Manvaga to Stanley Pool, a stretch of
niuety-ive miles, navigation is impossible
from the same reason. The Kings calcula-
tion was that these gaps would be filed by
railroads. Unfortunately, the necessary
capital was not forthcoming, there was no
outlet for the interior products, the river
traffic did not increase, and there was no
revenue to support the Government. Under
these circumstances, Leopold did the only
thing he could do. He sold out to England.
which thus becomes subrogated in his
place, and acquires a new colony twice as
large as France and Germany combined,
without the loss of 4 drop of blood, and for
bagatelle of S50,0OO,000
That the purchase will be a feather in
Lord Salisbury's cap goes without saying.
1t is a much finer operation than Disraelfs
purchase of the Suez canal. The English
will lose no time in building the two short
pieces of railroad required to secure direct
intercourse between the mouth of the Congo
and Lake Tanganyika; this done, every
thing that is grown on the banks of the
mighty river and its affiuents will iud its
way TO the markets where it Is needed.
There is no limit to the variety of the pro-
ducts of Central Africa. They comprise
ivory, palm-oil, india-rubber, coffee, all
manner Of spices and gums every kind Of
tropical fruit, and a large variety of valu-
able timber; the bottoms grow rice and
grain in large quantities. An ample supply
of labor is on the ground, and if the viii
lagos were guaranteed against periodical
raids by slaye-traders there is no doubt the
natives would work their fields diligently.
To exploit this fine country nothing more is
necessary than the establishment at stra-
tegic points Of English garrisons strong
enough TO put an end to slave-trading To-
rays. This done. moderate impOsts on in
ternal and foreign commerce would defray
the cost of the scheme. without drawing a
dollar out of the British treasury.
The limits Of Congo State have not yet
been traced with accuracy. and no one can
tell how near it stretches toward the lakes
and the sources of the Nile But it will
probably be found convenient to make it
coterminous with the Soudan, so that Eng
lands sway may reach from the South At
lantic 10 the Eastern Mediterranean.