Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-04-05
RULE OF THE CONGO
REPLY TO CHARGES RECENTLY
MADE BY THE BRITISH CONSUL.
Only Case Which Was Thoroughly In
vestigated and Thought to Be Proved
Falls to the Ground.

| In view of the recent charges made
| against the administration of the Congo
| Free States the Associated Press cabled to
| King Leopold asking for his side of the
case. In reply a number of official docu-
| ments have been forwarded by mail and in
| addition the Congo States has cabled au-
| thority to Mr.. James Gustavus whiteley to
| give the following resume of the Brussels
| note. which has been issued in reply to the
charges made in the recent report of the
British consul:
The Brussels note. after taking up one
| or two minor details of the British consurs
| report, proceeds to consider the main point
| of criticism which is the treatment of the
| native population by the Congo authorities.
| The consuls report contains a number of
| stories of cruel treatment told him by the
natives which for the most part are value
! less as evidence on account of the fact that
| he did not investigate them nor obtain cor
roboratiye testimony. Although his charges
are of most serious nature in the ma
| Jority of cases he has failed to give the
| names or places. This seems an unfair
mode of attack. as it gives the Congo State
| no opportunity to disprove the assertions.
One case, however. which the. consul in
/ yest1gated and which he gives as a most
| Migrant example was brought to the knowl-
! edge of the Congo authorities and was in
| vestigated ~ them. This Is the case of
1 the boy EpOn 10, VINO Claimed tnat MS lefC
| hand had been cut off by native sentry
| In the service of La Lulonga Rubber Com
pany.
Epondo's False Charge.
"The consul, accompanied by two mis-
! sionaries. went to the village of Bossungu-
| ma and proceeded to hold an impromptu
| court of inquiry. The injured boy accused
the sentry Kelengo to his face. The con-
| sui then questioned the chief and num-
I Der of the headmen. They replied by accus-
| Ing the sentry. Most of them declared that
| they had been eye-witnesses of the deed.
The consul asked whether there were any
more witnesses and nearly all those pres
ent, about 40 persons, shouted out with one
voice that 1t was Kelengo who did it, The
accused sentry denied the charge. Other
natives came forward with various charges
or ROBBERY and wrongdoing against the sem
try, and finally the consul, considering the
evidence conclusive anr ounced to the assem-
bled multitude that 'Kelengo deserved Sc
we're punishment for his Illegal and cruel
acts and, taking with him the manned
BOY laid the case before the state authori-
ties, saying dramatically that he de-
nouneed not an individual, but system
1T would be unwarrantable to draw such
sweeping conclusion from a single case
even If the case were we'll founded but as
a matter of fact the accusations of Epondo
against the sentry were shown to be with
out any foundation whatever. When the
proper state authorities came to investigate
| the case the boys evidence broke down He
, admitted that he had lied and explained that
he had lost his hand in boar hunt When
asked why he had falsely accused the SEN
try he said that he had done it at the insti-
CATION of the natives of the district who
hcped thus to secure the intervention of the
British consul and release from the ne
cessity of gathering rubber. Most of the
natives who had accused the sentry before
the consul took to the woods. Those who
were caught admitted that they had given
false testimony. Other witnesses were
called who corroborated the boys confess
sion that his hand had been lost in a boar
hunt. AS Mr.. Armstrong, one of the mis-
sioDarieS who accompanied the British con-
sui, concisely put it, the natives are capa-
BILE of any plot to avoid work and especially
to avoid the gathering or rubber.
1.-The case of Epondo is treated at great
length in the Brussels note on account of
the fact that the British consul, trusting in
the statements de by the natives, and
not waiting for the judicial inquiry. has put
forward this case most damning proof
against the Congo State. 1t is the one case
which he thought he had investigated thor
oughly. His confidence in his judgment Is
shown in his report where he says:
In the one case could alone personally
investigate Chat of the boy Epondo) found
this accusation proved on the spot, without
seemir gly a shadow of doubt existing as to
the guilt of the accused sentry and in an
other place he says:
ct was obviously impossible that l
should verify on the spot, as in the case OF
i the boy Epondo. the statements they made
| In that one case the truth of the charge
preferred amply demonstra ted. The
| brussels note gives all the details of the
| evidence in this case and the testimony OF
| the witnesses. ,
"The British consul's chief case, invest-
gated by himself and supported by cloud
| of witnesses. having thus fallen through.
there is little reason to place confidence In
the simple declarations of natives unsup-
ported by corroborative evidence ana unin-
| vestigated There is no doubt that the con-
sui was looked upon by the natives as the
| representative of a mighty power Wmcn
! would relieve them from work, and MS
| presence excited the people to make extraV-
| agant representations and false charges
Photographs Of Alleged Victims.
TT appears that the boy Epondo was
| twice photographed by the English and
was told to put his stump well In the
| foreground, which recalls the fact that the
| adversaries of the Congo have recently
| circulated number of photographs CT
mutilated natives who have been held Up
| as victims of the administration. This is
| great injustice. Almost anywhere in
| Africa one may find natives who have been
| mutilated by their fellow barbarians in
| inherit tribal wars. as. for example, in the
British possession of Uganda. where, ac-
| cording to recent testimony. natives may
| frequently be seen without either ears or
noses.
I'm response to the British consuls crti
cism on the work required of the natives
| by way of tax the Brussels note points out
| that it is a necessary tax, which compeis
| the native to contribute something to the
| support of the state and which also teaches
| him habits of industry. Even the British
! government demands such a tax in labor
| or in kind In it's African possessions.
| ''If there are any defects in the admin
| istration of the system. as may happen in
! any colony 1t should be corrected in The
| interest of both the government and the
| people. but such redress of grievances will
| be made by the government without inter-
yeution of foreign powers as Great Britain
| did in the recent case of the Sierra Leona
| insurrecton.
| The labor required of the native in the
| Congo is only forty hours per Tsonth. 1t is
| q moralizing force Az well legal tax
| and constitutes a system which is also in