A debate on the affairs of the Congo Free State
took place in the House of Lords on Monday. Lord Cromer, in a speech which has attracted widespread comment and approval for its force and statesmanship, declared that never in his experience had he seen or heard of misrule comparable to the abuses which had grown up in the Congo State. There were three principles essential to good administration in such countries : that the duties of administration and the com- mercial development of the country should not be vested in the same persons ; that the amount which .was placed by a List at the peraonal disposal of the ruler of the State should be fixed, and that the revenue from the country should be applied by responsible authorities to objects in which the subjects of the State, as distinct from the ruler, had an interest; and that the Crown domains should be settled and administered by responsible qualified authorities in the general interest of the community. All these three principles were systematically violated in the Congo.
Previous page
