• Mr. Stanley, in an interview with a reporter of
the Pall Mall Gazette, dwells upon the fact that Stokes was arrested in com- pany with "Kilaonge, the greatest slave-raider in Africa." It was Xibonge who murdered Engin. and desolated the great forest by his man-hunts. Mr. Stanley evidently thinks that Major Lothaire was in a very difficult position if, as alleged, he caught Stokes red-handed in an infringement of the Berlin Act. He could not send him seven hundred miles through the forest, for he could not spare the necessary escort. Still less could he have released him. Nevertheless, says Mr. Stanley, "anything might have done but hanging, and that is the reason I am sorry for both Lothaire and Stokes." Not a very satisfactory verdict, and yet it is difficult, if the facts are as stated, to know what else to say. It must also be noted that the Belgian Press give conflicting accounts of the incident. Le Soir says that there was no proper trial, and that Dr. Michaux, who was attached to the expedition; was so dis- gusted that he at once resigned and returned to Stanley Pool as a protest. On the other hand, the _gtoile Beige declares that Stokes had a perfectly fair trial.
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