may engage in all sorts of transport, and carry on the coasting trade by sea and river, as well as boat traffic, on the same footing as if they were subjects.

ART. 3. Wares, of whatever origin, imported into these regions, under whatsoever flag, by sea or river, or overland, shall be subject to no other taxes than such as may be levied as fair compensation for expenditure in the interests of trade, and which for this reason must be equally borne by the subjects themselves and by foreigners of all nationalities. All differential dues on vessels, as well as on merchandise, are forbidden.

ART. 4. Merchandise imported into these regions shall remain free from import and transit dues.19

The powers reserve to themselves to determine after the lapse of 20 years whether this freedom of import shall be retained or not.

ART. 5. No power which exercises or shall exercise sovereign rights in the abovementioned regions shall be allowed to grant therein a monopoly or favor of any kind in matters of trade.

Foreigners, without distinction, shall enjoy protection of their persons and property, as well as the right of acquiring and transferring movable and immovable possessions, and national rights and treatment in the exercise of their professions.

(Provisions relative to protection of the natives, of missionaries and travellers, as well as relative to religious liberty * * *.)

ART. 6. Freedom of conscience and religious toleration are expressly guaranteed to the natives, no less than to subjects and to foreigners. The free and public exercise of all forms of divine worship, and the right to build edifices for religious purposes, and to organize religious missions belonging to all creeds, shall not be limited or fettered in any way whatsoever.

* * *

CHAPTER IV.-ACT OF NAVIGATION FOR THE CONGO.

ART. 13. The navigation of the Congo, without excepting any of its branches or outlets, is, and shall remain, free for the merchant ships of all nations equally, whether carrying cargo or ballast, for the transport of goods or passengers. It shall be regulated by the provisions of this act of navigation, and by the rules to be made in pursuance thereof.

In the exercise of this navigation the subjects and flags of all nations shall in all respects be treated on a footing of perfect equality, not only for the direct navigation from the open sea to the inland ports of the Congo, and vice versa, but also for the great and small coasting trade, and for boat traffic on the course of the river.

Consequently, on all the course and mouths of the Congo there will be no distinction made between the subjects of Riverain States and those of non-Riverain States, and no exclusive privilege of navigation will be conceded to companies, corporations, or private persons whatsoever.

These provisions are recognized by the signatory powers as becoming henceforth a part of international law.

ART. 14. The navigation of the Congo shall not be subject to any restriction or obligation which is not expressly stipulated by the present act. It shall not be exposed to any landing dues, to any station or depot tax, or to any charge for breaking bulk, or for compulsory entry into port.

In all the extent of the Congo the ships and goods in process of transit on the river shall be submitted to no transit dues, whatever their starting place or destination. There shall be levied no maritime or river toll based on the mere fact of navigation, nor any tax on goods aboard of ships. There shall only be levied taxes or duties having the character of an equivalent for services rendered to navigation itself, to wit:

1. Harbour dues on certain local establishments, such as wharves, warehouses, etc., if actually used.

The tariff of such dues shall be framed according to the cost of constructing and maintaining the said local establishments, and it will be applied without regard to whence vessels come or what they are loaded with.

2. Pilot dues for those stretches of the river where it may be necessary to establish properly qualified pilots.

The tariff of these dues shall be fixed and calculated in proportion to the services rendered.

3. Charges raised to cover technical and administrative expenses incurred in the general interest of navigation, including lighthouse, beacon, and buoy duties.

The last-mentioned dues shall be based on the tonnage of vessels as shown by the ship's papers, and in accordance with the rules adopted on the lower Danube.

19 Modified for import duties in 1890. See p. 87.

The tariffs by which the various dues and taxes enumerated in the three preceding paragraphs shall be levied shall not involve any differential treatment, and shall be officially published at each port.

The powers reserve to themselves to consider, after the lapse of five years, whether it may be necessary to revise, by common accord, the above-mentioned tariffs.

ART. 15. The affluents of the Congo shall in all respects be subject to the same rules as the river of which they are tributaries.

And the same rules shall apply to the streams and river as well as the lakes and canals in the territories defined in paragraphs 2 and 3 of article 1.

*

*

ART. 16. The roads, railways, or lateral canals which may be constructed with the special object of obviating the innavigability or correcting the imperfection of the river route on certain sections of the course of the Congo, its affluents, and other waterways placed under a similar system, as laid down in article 15, shall be considered, in their quality of means of communication, as dependencies of this river, and as equally open to the traffic of all nations.

And, as on the river itself, so there shall be collected on these roads, railways, and canals only tolls calculated on the cost of construction, maintenance, and manage. ment, and on the profits due to the promoters.

As regards the tariff of these tolls, strangers and the natives of the respective territories shall be treated on a footing of perfect equality. *

*

* 20

DECLARATION OF BRUSSELS ANTISLAVERY CONFERENCE, JULY 2, 1890.

The next important document in the tariff history of the Congo is the treaty of Brussels, together with the declaration affixed to that treaty, of July 2, 1890. The treaty itself included provisions regarding the taxation of liquors and the importation of arms (see p. 89); the additional declaration reads in part:

The signatory or adhering powers who have possessions or protectorates in the said conventional basin of the Congo are authorized, so far as they require any authority for the purpose, to establish therein duties upon imported goods, the scale of which shall not exceed a rate equivalent to 10 per cent "ad valorem" at the port of entry, always excepting spirituous liquors, which are regulated by the provisions of Chapter VI of the general act of this day.

After the signature of the said general act, negotiations shall be opened between the powers who have ratified the general act of Berlin or who have adhered to it, in order to draw up, within the maximum limit of 10 per cent "ad valorem," the conditions of the customs system to be established in the conventional basin of the Congo. Nevertheless, it is understood:

1. That no differential treatment or transit duty shall be established.

2. That in applying the customs system which may be agreed upon, each power will undertake to simplify formalities as much as possible, and to facilitate trade operations.

3. That the arrangement resulting from the proposed negotiations shall remain in force for 15 years from the signature of the present declaration.

At the expiration of this period, and failing a fresh agreement, the contracting powers shall return to the conditions provided for by Article IV of the general act of Berlin, retaining the power of imposing duties up to a maximum of 10 per cent upon goods imported into the conventional basin of the Congo.

The ratifications of the present declaration shall be exchanged at the same time as those of the general act of this day."1

21

Since the 15 years 22 mentioned in the declaration has expired and since certain writers have carelessly assumed that the whole treaty had thereby expired, attention may be called to the clearness with which the treaty of 1885 (art. 4) and the additional act of 1890 restrict the prospective revision and the revision actually made to the sole point of the rate of the import duties and carefully leave untouched the obligations in respect to freedom of transit, freedom of

20 Hertslet's Commercial Treaties, vol. 17, p. 62.

a Ibid., vol. 19, p. 304.

22 The number was evidently selected in order to coincide with the 20 years mentioned in Article IV of the general act of Berlin, 1885.

access to and navigation on the inland waterways, and freedom from discriminatory charges of whatever sort.23

TREATY WITH THE UNITED STATES, JANUARY 24, 1891.

Since the United States had not ratified the act of Berlin, and since the United States and the Congo State had a special treaty guaranteeing entry to American goods without import duties, it was necessary that a separate treaty be made, the United States therein consenting to the 10 per cent import duty. Such a treaty was signed January 24, 1891, but as its obligation was contingent upon the ratification of the general act of Brussels, and, as the ratification of that act was delayed by the Dutch, this treaty was not proclaimed in force until April 2, 1892. Articles X and XI of this treaty contain the substance of the Brussels declaration of July 2, 1890, and bring out clearly that the time limit of 15 years did not relate to the guarantee that no differential duty would be introduced.

ART. X. The Republic of the United States of America, recognizing that it is just and necessary to facilitate to the Independent State of the Congo the accomplishment of the obligations which it has contracted by virtue of the general act of Brussels of July 2, 1890, admits, so far as it is concerned, that import duties may be collected upon merchandise imported into the said State.

The tariff of these duties can not go beyond 10 per cent of the value of the merchandise at the port of importation, during 15 years to date from July 2, 1890, except for spirits, which are regulated by the provisions of Chapter VI of the general act of Brussels.

At the expiration of this term of 15 years, and in default of a new accord, the United States of America will be replaced, as to the Independent State of the Congo, in the situation which existed prior to July 2, 1890; the right to impose import duties to a maximum of 10 per cent upon merchandise imported into the said State remaining acquired to it, on the conditions and within the limitations determined in Articles XI and XII of this treaty.

ART. XI. The United States shall enjoy in the Independent State of the Congo, as to the import duties, all the advantages accorded to the most-favored nation. It has been agreed besides:

1. That no differential treatment nor transit duty can be established;

2. That, in the application of the tariff régime which will be introduced, the Congo State will apply itself to simplify as far as possible the formalities and to facilitate the operations of commerce.25

The 12 other articles of the treaty reaffirm in detail the privileges to be enjoyed by American citizens in the Congo State. But except in Article IV (which granted the right "to erect religious edifices and to organize and maintain missions"), the various articles provided only most-favored-nation treatment and some of the sections contained saving clauses in regard to the laws of the land. Article VIII may be taken as illustrative:

In the territories of neither of the high contracting parties, shall there be established or enforced a prohibition against the importation, exportation, or transit of any article of legal commerce, produced or manufactured in the territories of the other, unless this prohibition shall equally and at once be extended to all other nations.25

PROTOCOL OF LISBON, APRIL 8, 1892.

The Brussels treaty was followed, according to the suggestion which it contained, by treaties between France, Portugal, and the Congo State, and between Great Britain, Germany, and Italy, dealing

23 For reference to revision of the treaties in 1919, see p. 120.

24 Malloy: Op. cit., Vol. I, p. 328.

25 Ibid., p. 331.

with their possessions, respectively, in the western and in the eastern parts of the conventional basin of the Congo.27 By the protocol of Lisbon, April 8, 1892, the Congo Free State agreed with its western neighbors to limit import duties to 6 per cent on all articles except arms and ammunition and salt, which were to pay 10 per cent, and alcohol, for which special provision had already been made in the Brussels treaty. Ships and boats, steam engines and similar machinery, and tools for industry and agriculture were to pay 3 per cent after a lapse of four years. Railway materials and equipment of all kinds were to pay 3 per cent after the completion of the railway in question. Scientific instruments, religious paraphernalia, and the baggage of travelers and colonists were to enter free. Export duties were agreed upon at the rate of 10 per cent on rubber and ivory and of 5 per cent on the other common products of the region. Valuations were also established, subject to change annually, though in practice few changes were made. This agreement was valid for 10 years, and when it was renewed the general import rate was increased from 6 to 10 per cent. The only other important alteration was the raising of the valuation of rubber in 1907. The agreement remained in force for some years after the Congo Free State had become the Belgian Congo.

TRAFFIC IN ALCOHOL AND ARMS.

ALCOHOL.

The importation of alcohol into the Congo Free State (as part of the territory included between 20° N. and 22° S.) was regulated by three treaties. The general act of the Brussels antislavery conference (which was signed July 2, 1890, and finally came into force in 1892) prohibited the importation or manufacture of distilled liquors "in the districts where it shall be ascertained that, either on account of religious belief or from some other causes, the use of distilled liquors does not exist or has not been developed." In other districts, where alcoholic liquors were imported free or paid a duty of less than 15 francs per hectoliter (10.957 cents per gallon) of alcohol of 50 degrees centesimal strength, the imposition of a duty of this amount was required, and after three years this duty might be increased to 25 francs. In 1899 the rate was raised to 70 francs and in 1906 to 100 francs (73 cents per gallon), and it was specifically provided that liquors of greater strengths were to pay higher rates in proportion to their alcoholic content. All three of these treaties also provided that any liquors produced locally should pay an excise not lower than the customs duty.28

Prior to 1892, when the additional declaration of July 2, 1890, became effective, no import duty could be imposed by the Congo State. But the treaty of Brussels, signed July 2, 1890, contemplated the entire prohibition of the sale of distilled liquor to natives in regions in which they had not yet become accustomed to its use. On July 16, 1890, such a prohibition was decreed for all of the Upper Congo and that part of the Lower Congo beyond the River Inkissi.

See p. 401 for the treaty dealing with the eastern part of the basin.

The texts of these treaties are given in Malloy, op. cit., Vol. II, pp. 1964, 1993, and 2205. For certain exceptions to their provisions, see sections of this report dealing with Dahomey, Eritrea, and Angola, pp., 217, 380, and 498 fn. For the promulgation of these provisions in the Congo, see decrees of July 12, 1900, and Nov. 12, 1907. This last agreement came into force Dec. 2, 1907. The treaties of 1899 and 1906 specifically permitted a proportionately lower duty on liquors of a less strength than 50 degrees.

By later decrees, in 1896 and 1898, this boundary was moved westward to the Kwilu and then to the Pozo River.29 By a decree of October 15, 1898, the importation of absinthe and its sale either to whites or blacks were prohibited throughout the State.30

31

ARMS.

It was further provided in the Brussels antislavery convention of 1890 that in the region between 20° north and 22° south no modern rifles should be sold to the natives and that in those parts of this region in which the slave trade persisted no arms of any sort should be sold to the natives. The Governments might issue individual permits authorizing the possession of improved arms, but it was stipulated that the arms should be marked and registered and that the individuals should give guarantees that they would not transfer the arms to third parties. The sale of trade guns, with flintlocks and unrifled barrels, and of common gunpowder was restricted by the requirement that all importations be consigned to public or other authorized warehouses and that no arms should be withdrawn from these warehouses without licenses specifying the regions in which they might be sold. The signatory powers were to take all such measures as they deemed necessary to prevent the entry or exit of arms by their inland frontiers, and the signatory powers who had possessions in Africa in contact with the zone of operation of the treaty bound themselves to prevent the introduction of firearms across their inland boundaries, "at least that of improved arms and cartridges.'

IV. THE "OPEN DOOR" IN THE CONGO IN PRACTICE.

What was known for many years as "the Congo question" centered on the charges of "atrocities practiced on the native inhabitants by agents of the State and of the concession companies." 32 In this

État Indépendant du Congo, Bulletin Officiel, 1890, p. 106; 1896, p. 14: 1898, pp. 140, 185. (Hereafter the bulletin will be cited as B. O.) The three rivers named are southern tributaries of the Congo between Matadi and Leopoldville. The Pozo enters the Congo practically at Matadi, and the two other rivers divide the distance to Leopoldville roughly into thirds. In the districts where the sale of liquors to natives was illegal their manufacture also was prohibited. In the same districts whites were restricted to a ration of 3 liters a month by an ordinance of Dec. 11, 1899. (Keith, A. B.: The Belgian Congo and the Berlin Act, 1919, p. 216.) The authorities generally agree that the Congo officials tried to enforce these prohibitions, but of course the difficulties were enormous.

B. O., 1898, p. 254.

31 General act for the suppression of the African slave trade, July 2, 1890, arts. 8-14; Malloy, op. cit., Voi. II, p. 1970.

That the Congo was badly ruled is no longer a debatable point. Affirmations and testimony to this effect were made by upward of 50 missionaries of many nationalities and denominations, among whom an American Baptist, the Reverend Sjoeblom, was one of the earliest, and a Jesuit father, Arthur Vermeersch, one of the most painstaking witnesses. Officials of the State such as M. S. Lefranc, judge of first instance at Boma, earnestly demanded reforms. One governor general resigned rather than put in force certain decrees. Italy withdrew the permission previously granted to her army officers to take service under the Congo State, and the Governments of Great Britain and the United States made representations and suggested official investigations. Finally, even a moderate report of the official commission of inquiry disclosed serious abuses and at the time that Belgium took over the Congo the necessity of far-reaching reform was almost universally recognized. That it took more than a decade to reach this result was due to various factors: The great extent of the Congo and the inaccessibility of the greater part of it; the difficulty of gaining the confidence of the natives and obtaining knowledge of their situation without residing permanently among them; the confusion caused by the conflicting testimony of those who merely traveled in the Congo or who resided in the well-governed districts; and the division among missionaries on the question whether they could be of greater service to the natives by denouncing the misrule or by continuing their work without incurring the hostility of the State. The State was vigorous in its own defense, attacking the character and motives of those who criticised it, emphasizing the untrustworthiness of native evidence and citing in its behalf the text of its laws and the testimony of its officials. See, for instance, the Bulletin Officiel, 1907, p. 240-258, and the works of Wack, Boulger, Castelein, Descamps, and MacDonnell, cited in the bibliography. The agitation which these charges provoked was quieted when certain reforms were instituted toward the close of the Leopoldian régime and has been terminated by the much more thorough-going reforms which have been carried out since Belgium took over the administration of the Congo in November, 1908. The English Congo Reform Association disbanded in 1913, considering that its work had been finished. (Harris, N. D.: Intervention and Colonization in Africa, 1914, p. 62.)