Part 23
What it is important to discover from the immense number of questions touched on by the Consul, and the multiplicity of minor facts which he has collected, is whether the sort of picture he has drawn of the wretched existence led by the natives corresponds to the actual state of affairs. We will take, for instance, the district of the Lulanga and the Lopori, as the head-stations of the missions of the “Congo Balolo Mission” have been established there for years past. These missionaries are established in the most distant places in the interior, at Lulonga, Bonginda, Ikau, Bongandanga, and Baringa, all of which are situated in the scene of operations of the La Lulonga and A.B.I.R. Companies. They are in constant communication with the native populations, and a special monthly review, called “Regions Beyond,” regularly publishes their letters, notes, and reports. An examination of a set of these publications reveals no trace, at any time previous to April 1903--by that date, it is true, Mr. Herbert Samuel’s motion had been brought before Parliament--of anything either to point out or to reveal that the general situation of the native populations was such as ought to be denounced to the civilized world. The missionaries congratulate themselves on the active sympathy shown them by the various official and commercial agents,[115] on the progress of their work of evangelization,[116] on the facilities afforded them by the construction of roads,[117] on the manner in which the natives are becoming civilized, “owing to the mere presence of white men in their midst, both missionaries and traders,”[118] on the disappearance of slavery,[119] on the density of the population,[120] on the growing number of their pupils, “especially since the State has issued orders for all children within reach to attend the mission schools,”[121] on the gradual disappearance of the primitive customs of the natives,[122] and lastly, on the contrast between the present and the past.[123] Will it be admitted that these Christian English missionaries, who, during their journeys, visited the various factories, and witnessed markets of rubber being held, would, by keeping silence, make themselves the accomplices of an inhuman or wrongful system of government? Among the conclusions of one of the Annual Reports of the Congo Balolo Mission is to be found the following: “On the whole, the retrospect is encouraging. If there has been no great advance, there has been no heavy falling off, and no definite opposition to the work.... There has been much famine and sickness among the natives, especially at Bonginda.... Apart from this, there has been no serious hindrance to progress....”[124] And speaking incidentally of the beneficial effect produced by work on the social condition of the natives, a missionary writes: “The greatest obstacle to conversion is polygamy. Many evils have been put down, _e.g._, idleness, thanks to the State having compelled the men to work; and fighting, through their not having time enough to fight.”[125] These opinions of missionaries appear to us to be more precise than those expressed in a Report on every page of which it may be said one finds such expressions as: “I was told,” “it was said,” “I was informed,” “I was assured,” “they said,” “it was alleged,” “I had no means of verifying,” “it was impossible for me to verify,” “I have no means of ascertaining,” &c. Within a space of ten lines, indeed, occur four times the expressions, “appears,” “would seem,” “would seem,” “do not seem.”[126]
The Consul does not appear to have realized that native taxes in the Congo are levied in the shape of labour, and that this form of tax is justified as much by the moral effect which it produces, as by the impossibility of taxing the native in any other way, seeing that, as the Consul admits, the native has no money. It is to this consideration that is due the fact, to give another example, that out of 56,700 huts which are taxed in North-Eastern Rhodesia 19,653 pay that tax “in labour,” while 4,938 pay it “in produce.”[127] Whether such labour is furnished direct to the State or to some private undertaking, and whether it is given in aid of this or that work as local necessities may dictate, one ground of justification is always to be found in what the Memorandum of the 11th February last recognizes is the “necessity of the natives being induced to work.” The Consul shows much anxiety as to how this forced labour should be described; he is surprised that if it be a tax it is sometimes paid and recovered by commercial agents. Strictly speaking, of course, it cannot be denied that the idea of remunerating a person for paying his taxes is contrary to ordinary notions of finance; but the difficulty disappears if it is considered that the object in view has been to get the natives to acquire the habit of labour, from which they have always shown a great aversion. And if this notion of work can more easily be inculcated on the natives under the form of commercial transactions between them and private persons, is it necessary to condemn such a mode of procedure, especially in those parts where the organization of the Administration is not yet complete? But it is essential that in the relations of this nature which they have with the natives, commercial agents, no less than those of the State, should be kind and humane. In so far as it bears on this point the Consul’s Report will receive the most careful consideration, and if the result of investigation be to show that there are real abuses and that reforms are called for, the heads of the Administration will act as the circumstances may require.
But no one has ever imagined that the fiscal system in the Congo attained perfection at once, especially in regard to such matters as the assessment of taxes and the means for recovering them. The system of “Chieftaincies,” which is recommended by the fact that it enables the authorities and the native to communicate through the latter’s natural Chief, was based on an idea carried into practice elsewhere:--
“The more important Chiefs who helped the Administration have been paid a certain percentage of the taxes collected in their districts, and I think that if this policy is adhered to each year, the results will continue to be satisfactory and will encourage the Chiefs to work in harmony with the Administration.”[128]
The Decree on the subject of these Chieftaincies[129] laid down the principle of a tax, and its levy in accordance with “a table of contributions to be made every year by each village in produce, forced labour, labourers, or soldiers.” The application of this Decree has been provided for by deeds of investiture, tables of statistics, and particulars of contributions, forms of which will be found in Annex IV. In spite of what is stated in the Report, this Decree has been carried out so far as has been found compatible with the social condition of the various tribes; numerous deeds of investiture have been drawn up, and efforts have been made to draw up an equitable assessment of the contributions. The Consul might have found this out at the Commissioners’ offices, especially in the Stanley Pool and Equator districts, which he passed through; but he neglected as a rule all official sources of information. No doubt the application of the Decree was at first necessarily limited, and it is possible that the result has been that for a certain time only such villages as were within a short distance from stations have been required to pay taxes; but this state of things has little by little altered for the better in proportion as the more distant regions have become included in the areas of influence of the Government posts, the number of villages subject to taxation has gradually increased, and it has been found possible to levy taxes on a greater number of persons. The Government aim at making progress in this direction continuous, that is to say, that taxation should be more equitably distributed, and should as much as possible be personal; it was with this object that the Decree of the 18th November, 1903, provided for drawing up “lists of native contributions” in such a way that the obligations of every native should be strictly defined.
“Article 28 of this Decree lays down that within the limits of Article 2 of the present regulations (that is to say, within the limit of forty hours’ work per month per native) the District Commissioners shall draw up annual lists of the taxes to be paid, in land or duration of labour, by each of the natives resident in the territories of their respective districts. And Article 55 punishes ‘whoever, being charged with the levy of taxes, shall have required of the natives, whether in kind or labour, contributions which shall exceed in value those prescribed in the tables of taxes.’”
It in matter of common notoriety that the collection of taxes is occasionally met by opposition, and even refusal to pay. The proofs of this, which are to be found in the Report of the Consul for the Congo, are borne out by what has happened, for instance, in Rhodesia:--
“The Ba-Unga (Awemba district), inhabitants of the swamps in the Zambezi delta, gave some trouble on being summoned to pay taxes.”[130]
“Although in many cases whole villages retired into the swamps on being called upon for the hut-tax, the general result was satisfactory for the first year (Luapula district).”[131]
“Milala’s people have succeeded in evading taxes.”[132]
“A few natives bordering on the Portuguese territory, who, owing to the great distance they reside from the Native Commissioners’ Stations, are not under the direct supervision of the Native Commissioners, have so far evaded paying hut tax, and refused to submit themselves to the authority of the Government. The rebel Chief, Mapondera, has upon three occasions successfully eluded punitive expeditions sent against him. Captain Gilson, of the British South Africa Police, was successful in coming upon him and a large following of natives, and inflicting heavy losses upon them. His kraal and all his crops were destroyed. He is now reported to be in Portuguese territory. Siji M’Kota, another powerful Chief, living in the northern parts of the M’toko district, bordering on Portuguese territory, has also been successful in evading the payment of hut tax, and generally pursuing the adoption of an attitude which is not acceptable to the Government. I am pleased to report that a patrol is at present on its way to these parts to deal with this Chief, and to endeavour to obtain his submission. It will be noted that the above remarks relate solely to those natives who reside along the borders of our territories, and whose defiant attitude is materially assisted by reason of this proximity to the Portuguese border, across which they are well able to proceed whenever they consider that any meeting or contact with the Native Commissioner will interfere in any way with their indolent and lazy life. They possess no movable property which might be attached with a view of the recovery of hut tax unpaid for many years, and travel backwards and forwards with considerable freedom, always placing themselves totally beyond the reach of the Native Commissioner.”[133]
The above is an instance of those “punitive expeditions” to which the authorities are occasionally obliged to resort, as also of the native custom, which is not peculiar to the natives of the Congo, of moving into a neighbouring territory when they are seeking to evade the operation of the law. Whether in the process of collecting native taxes there have been cases in the Congo, amongst those mentioned by the Consul, in which the limits of a just and reasonable severity have been overstepped is a question of fact which investigation on the spot can alone ascertain, and instructions to this effect will be given to the authorities at Boma.
We are also unable to accept, on the information at present before us, the conclusions of the Report in regard to the conduct of the forest guards in the employ of the A.B.I.R. and La Lulonga Companies. These subordinate officers are represented by the Consul as being exclusively employed in “compelling by force the collection of india-rubber or the supplies which each factory needed.”[134] It is true that another explanation has been given--though not, indeed, by a native--according to which the business of these same forest guards is to see that the india-rubber is harvested after a reasonable fashion, and especially to prevent the natives from cutting the plants.[135] It is, indeed, well known that the law has made rigorous provision for preserving the rubber zones, has regulated the manner in which they are to be worked, and has made planting and replanting obligatory, with a view to avoiding the complete exhaustion of the rubber plant which has occurred, for instance, in North-eastern and Western Rhodesia.[136] A heavy responsibility in this direction lies on the Companies and private persons engaged in developing the country, and it is obvious that they are bound to exercise the most careful superintendence over the way in which the harvest is collected. The object for which these forest guards are employed, therefore, may well be quite different from that alleged by the Consul; in any case, the complaints which have been made on this head will form a subject for inquiry in the Congo, as also the other remark of the Report that the manner in which these forest guards are armed is excessive, and liable to abuse. It is to be here observed that in calculating the number of these forest guards the Consul is obliged to rely on hypothesis,[137] and that he himself admits: “I have no means of ascertaining the number of this class of armed men employed by the A.B.I.R. Company.”[138] He mentions that the gun of one of these men was marked on the butt “Depôt 2210.” But it is evident that such a mark can only have the significance which the Consul would like to see in it, in so far as it can be proved that it refers to the numbering of the arms used in the Concession, and such is not the case, since this particular mark “Depôt” is not used either by the officials of the State or those of the Company, and it would seem that it is an old manufactory or store mark. In regard to the manner of arming the capitas, the Consul can hardly be ignorant that the higher authorities have always given great attention to the matter, which is, indeed, one surrounded with difficulties, seeing that while on the one hand it is necessary to consider the question of the personal protection of the capita, on the other the possibility of the arms in question being used for improper purposes must not be lost sight of. It is not only in the Circular of the 20th October, 1900, which the Consul has reprinted, that this question is dealt with; there is a whole collection of Circulars on the subject, among which may be mentioned those of the 12th March, 1897, 31st May and 28th November, 1900, and 30th April, 1901. Copies of them are annexed as proof of the fixed determination of the Government to see that the law relating to this question is strictly enforced (Annex V). Yet, in spite of all these precautions, the Consul has ascertained that several capitas were not provided with permits (perhaps they might have been found at the head office), and that two of them were furnished with arms of precision.[139] But these few infractions of the rule are obviously not enough to prove the existence of a sort of vast armed organization destined to strike terror into the natives. On the contrary, the Circular of the 7th September, 1903, printed in Annex VII of the Consul’s Report, is a proof of the care taken by the Government that the regular black troops should always be under the control of European officers.[140]
Such are the preliminary remarks suggested by Mr. Casement’s Report, and we reserve to ourselves the right of dealing with it more in detail as soon as the Government shall be in possession of the results of the inquiry which the local authorities are about to make. It will be observed that the Government, in its desire not to seem to wish to avoid the discussion, has not raised a question in regard to the manner, surely unusual, in which His Britannic Majesty’s Consul has acted in a foreign country. It is obviously altogether outside the duties of a Consul to take upon himself, as Mr. Casement has done, to institute inquiries, to summon natives, to submit them to interrogatories as if duly authorized thereto, and to deliver what may be styled judgments in regard to the guilt of the accused. The reservations called for by this mode of procedure must be all the more formal, as the Consul was thus intervening in matters which only concerned subjects of the Congo State, and which were within the exclusive jurisdiction of the territorial authorities. Mr. Casement, indeed, made it his business himself to point out how little authorized he was to interfere when on the 4th September, 1903, he wrote to the Governor-General: “I have no right of representation to your Excellency save where the persons or interests of British subjects dwelling in this country are affected.” It is thus obvious that he was aware that he was exceeding his duties by investigating facts which concerned only the internal administration, and so, contrary to all laws of Consular jurisdiction, encroaching on the province of the territorial authorities.
“The grievances of the natives have been made known in this country by----, who brought over a petition addressed to the King, praying for relief from the excessive taxation and oppressive legislation of which they complain.”
These lines are extracted from the Report for 1903 of the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society, and the natives referred to are the natives of the Fiji Isles. The Report goes on:--
“The case has been brought before the House of Commons. The grievances include forced labour on the roads, and restrictions which practically amount to slavery; natives have been flogged without trial by magistrate’s orders, and are constantly subject to imprisonment for frivolous causes. Petitions lodged with the local Colonial Secretary have been disregarded. Mr. Chamberlain, in reply to the questions asked in Parliament, threw doubt upon the information received, but stated that the recently appointed Governor is conducting an inquiry into the whole situation in the Fiji Islands, in the course of which the matter will be fully investigated.”
Such are also our conclusions in regard to Mr. Casement’s Report.
_Brussels, March 12, 1904._
Annexe 1.
_Déclaration de Mgr. Van Ronslé, Évêque de Thymbrium, Vicaire Apostolique du Congo Belge._
Dans son numéro du 23 Octobre, le “West African Mail” publie une série de lettres du Révérend J. W. Weeks, missionnaire Anglais, établi à Monsembe, district de Bangala. Ces lettres, émanant d’un auteur qui a habité la contrée de longues années et qui proteste d’ailleurs de sa parfaite sincérité et de sa bonne foi, m’offraient un intérêt particulier, ayant moi-même parcouru et habité la contrée depuis quatorze ans, et en étant revenu récemment.
Mr. Weeks fait preuve de prudence en limitant ses considérations à ce qu’il a vu sur les deux rives du Congo, entre Bokongo et Ikunungu, dans les villages Bangala, avoisinant Nouvelle-Anvers; mais il se hasarde un peu plus, en étendant ses affirmations à la plus grande partie du Congo navigable, c’est-à-dire, du Stanley-Pool à Bopoto.
Sa thèse est que, sur cet immense espace, les rives se dépeuplent et que les tribus dégénèrent sous l’oppression de l’Etat, au moyen d’un système d’impositions, de déportations, et d’amendes.
Nous le reconnaissons, l’auteur ne formule pas positivement cette thèse ainsi généralisée; mais après l’avoir formulée spécialement pour Nouvelle-Anvers, il continue à décrire la situation générale de manière à faire croire que les populations riveraines sont toutes décimées parce que toutes sont également opprimées par le Gouvernement. Le lecteur ne peut pas tirer d’autres conclusions de ses lettres, ni interpréter autrement certaines propositions qui les résument.
Le souci de la vérité nous engage à mettre le public en garde contre des conclusions aussi hâtives.
L’auteur sait que parmi les tribus _Bobangi_ (citées sous les noms de Bwembe, Bolobo, Lukolela), qui sont un _unfortunate dying people_ (un peuple qui dépérit), le Gouvernement n’a jamais fait de recrutement de soldats ni de travailleurs, et que les impositions qui ont été exigées de leurs nombreux villages, établis le long du fleuve sur un parcours de 100 lieues, consistent à ravitailler trois postes, dont celui de Yumbi seul est important, et à entretenir (depuis deux ans) la route de la ligne téléphonique--impositions réellement insignifiantes pour ceux qui y mettent quelque peu de bonne volonté.
C’est un fait, en outre, que ces populations subissaient de grandes pertes dès 1890, époque à laquelle les impositions étaient nulles; et c’est un autre fait que leurs voisins de la rive Française, qui ne sont pas imposés, se meurent également, notamment ceux qui sont établis dans les environs de la Mission Catholique des Révérends Pères Français: Saint-Louis de Liranga. On pourrait d’ailleurs citer d’autres exemples de populations qui s’éteignent quoique à l’abri d’oppression.
Nous voilà donc en présence de dépeuplements qui ne sont certainement pas causés par l’oppression, et auxquels il faut chercher d’autres causes. Si donc les lettres de Mr. Weeks induisent en erreur pour la généralité des cas, il est dès lors permis de douter qu’elles nous exposent la situation véritable pour Nouvelle-Anvers. N’existe-t-il pas là, aussi des causes autres que l’oppression?
A notre avis, ces causes existent réellement. Il y en a deux qui tendent non seulement au dépeuplement des rives, mais à l’extinction même des tribus de Nouvelle-Anvers. Elles ne sont pas spéciales à cette région, mais communes à tous les villages riverains du fleuve. Elles suffisent à elles seules à expliquer une diminution extraordinaire de la population.
La première et la principale, c’est l’épidémie qu’on nomme communément la maladie du sommeil. Que cette maladie a enlevé beaucoup de monde, Mr. Weeks en convient; mais il ajoute qu’il pense que le progrès de la maladie a été activé par l’oppression et que sans celle-ci le mal n’aurait pas été si tenace. Mr. Weeks a trop d’expérience de l’Afrique pour ne pas s’apercevoir qu’il avance ici une inexactitude et une erreur.
Il le pense, mais il n’en donne pas la preuve. Il est un fait avéré et reconnu par les médecins et par tous ceux qui ont observé la maladie du sommeil, c’est que ce fléau, une fois introduit dans une région, en abat lentement mais sûrement tous les habitants et reste, quoi qu’on fasse, maître du terrain; une fois que ce mal a pris pied dans une population, il la détruit sans merci, quelles que soient les conditions de bien-être, de paix, et de tranquillité de cette population.
A l’appui de ceci, nous donnerons deux exemples de dépérissement que l’on ne pourra pas attribuer à l’oppression.
Notre Mission de Berghe-Sainte-Marie, contaminée par le contact des tribus Bobangi parmi lesquelles elle était située, a vu disparaître tous ses habitants jusqu’au dernier. Les 100 familles qui s’y étaient formées vivaient heureuses, dans des conditions presque idéales.