The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-05-16

Congo. would be most gladly and free+ ly rendered. ~
 "on the financial side, I doubt very much whether M. Rochedieu's proposals are practicable, even if they should be thought desirable. We succeed in rais- ing funds because. in appealing for support, We are able to point to the work we are doing. If we were not ourselves directly engaged in that work. the money would not be forth coming, and M. Rochedieu's scheme would therefore fall to the ground in so far as he would be relying on us to continue to bear half the cost Of Protestant missionary enterprise in the Congo after ws had withdrawn From the work" ~
 "Do you agree with M. Rochedieu's assumption that the relations between the Congo government and the Pro- testcnt missionaries Ion the Congo
 must continue to be marked by mu- tual suspicion?' By no means. We are strongly nverse from movements. and if the | Belgian government carries out its in- | tention, of sweeping away the abuses of the old administrative systems see no reason why cordial relations should not be established between the mis- sionaries and the Congo authorities.
 Lately. indeed. the latter have given practical evidence of their friendli- ness fh more ways than one. M. Rem kin. the Belgian Minister for the Col onies. has started on visit to the Con- go with the object of making himself personally acquainted with the condi- tIons there. None will be more pleased to welcome him than the Protestant missionaries whose stations he may be able to visit, and the evidence he Will there see of the work we are doing will, it may be hoped. convince him that our presence in the Congo. so far l from being pretudicial to the work of the government, deserves to be re- garded with sympathy and approval . Have you received any information l lately from the Congo showing wheth- CT the transter of the State to Bell gium has brought about any change in the condition of the natives?'
 What change there has been cer- tainly seems to be for the better. There is.~of course. still much that we | should like to see altered. The old system, under which the natives are deprived of their rights in the land and in the produce of the soil. stin remains in force, but in Some districts. more particularly where <the supplies of rubber have been largely exhaust ed under the old regime. there seems to have been some relaxation in the application of the system, and efforts are apparently being made to prevent | the worst of the abuses
 "Only this week. have had a letter from one of the best-known of our | missionaries, the Rev. s. Gilchrist, in l which he states that he and his col- leagues have been pleasantly surprised l by the present treatment of the na- ] tiyes by the government in the former Abir territory.
 with one or two exceptions. due probably to the temperament of indi- vidual officials. there seems to be a consistent endeavor to treat the peo- pie leniently. Throughout the terri tory the tax has now been fixed at six kilogramInes of rubber per man per year. or one and a half kilogrammes every three months. In most places the natives regard their condition as one of comparative bliss after the treatment to which they were subject ed under the regime of the old Abir Company"