The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1907-02-15

cultivation The Commissioners con.
tirue Cd. 10 sea.):
As the greater part OF the land II
the Congo has never been under cul.
ovation. this Interpretation gives Il
the State a proprietary right. absolute
and exclr stve. TO almost all the land
and as consequence 1t can grant te
itself all the product OF the soil and
prosecute as robbers those who gathe.
the smallest fruit and as accomplices
those who buy the same. . - It thus
happens sometimes that not only have
| the natives been prohibited from moy-
ing their villages, but they have been
refused permission to go. even for a
/ time. to a neighboring village without
a special permit.
| Though the Commissioners hasten Ia
add that agents have not rigidly en-
forced the law, they acknowledge that
| II IS the incontrovertibIe law" and
they point out elsewhere Opp. q and
"a that it practically prevents the ma
tives from profting by the natural re-
sources Of the country, and from en-
gaging in any trade
The third point in the letter is The
employment under the authority OF the
government as sentries Of cruel, bru-
tish blacks, chosen from hostile tribes.
who murder, pillage and rape the peo-
pie for whose protection the govern
nlent is avowedIy established
These words Of the Commissioners
are sufficient To indicate the conditions
Of which the details would be too re-
voting 10 include even in their report
q. ~:
According to these witnesses, these
au1iliaTies, especially those who are
detailed To the villages, abuse the au-
thority committed TO them, transform
themselves into despots. demanding
wives. food not only for themselves
but also for q retinne OF parasites and
Migrants who, drawn by love for
rapine, become their associates and
form a sort OF bodyguard. they kill
without pity those who make the least
show OF resistance to complying with
their demands or caprice. , It Ii
not possible for rs TO say. even ap-
proximately. how many abuses these
seutries have committed. Several chiefs
in the Baringa region brought to Us a
bunch Of sticks, each one CT which was
said to represent q subject killed by
the capitas 1.-THE less offensive Of the
two classes of senEriesl. One of them
declared that in his village one hun
dred and twenty had been killed dur
ing the past year. . None Of the
agents who testified before the Com
mission, or were present at the SEES
sions, made any attempt to refute the
charges against the sentries.'
The fourth point in the letter is The
abuse Of the natives by white repre-
sentafives Of officially recognized COM
panies.
These are some OF the things the
Commissioners have TO say on the sub
ject 1pp. s., S.. s.. 144-5, no.:
In the absence Of a specific law and
precise instruction upon the subject.
the agents charged with the exercise OF
coercion. applying the principle Of soli-
darity which exists among those who
are the subjects OF the same chief.
often trouble themselves but little 60
seek cut the real cuIprit- The pres
tations were due from the village as
a whole; when they were not fortheom-
ing the chiefs were arrested and some
OF the inhabitants taken at random.
often the women were held a. hostages
At the different posts in the Abr
which we visited it was never denied
that the imprisonment Of women as
hostages. the imposition Of servile work
on chiefs, the administration of the
lash 10 deiinQuents, and the abuse OF
authority by the black overseers, weres
as a rule habi1ual The punish
menr most frequently used IS the lash
{chicoftee. The regulations Tx
fifty strokes az the maximum, and the
convict cannot receive more than
twenty-five in any one day. Pri-
waite parties, and notably the agents
OF the commercial companies, are not
permitted TO use the lash On their black
employees In spite Of the restrictions
imposed by Law upon the use OF the
chicotte, il is often abused. either N
resorting too frequently for slight Of
lenses or in exceeding the limits pre-
scribed - Still it is undeniable that
the chiefs of stations are led to violate
the provisions by the desire 10 inf1icf
a punishment that VIII serve as an ex-
ample. . . These companies have Gone
nothing in the interests OF the natives
nor improved the conditions in the re-
gions occupied"
The fifth point IN the letter is The
binding Of little children TO years OF
labor at uncertain wages By contracts
they do not understand and even
more serious, maItreatment OF children
supposedly under the immediate care
Of the government"
This is a part OF what the CoHlnls-
sioners say on this subject fpp- IL.
14a):
The unfortunate features OF long
engag emenfs are especially noticeable
in the case OF children II happens that
the District Commissioners employ.
particularly for the fields, children OF
seven and eight years by contract
whose provisions they probably do not
understand. The aver
age life Of the native is much shorter
than that of the white man. 50 Enat
the term. which at the time OF making
the contract IS not fully appreciated
will consume the greater part OF MS
life . . Il often happens that after
= very short time the intrinsic valae
Of. the wage specified IN the CONTRACT
Is not the same"
The Commissioners also r. lZ-1 eau
attention 10 the fact that the State /
Itself often takes the children fro2a
heir relatives-their natural protectors