CONGO FREE STATE. THE Congo Free State was constituted and defined by the General Act of the International Congo Conference, signed at Berlin February 26, 1885, by which it was declared neutral and free to the trade of all nations, in conjunction with the rest of the basin of the River Congo. The Powers reserve to themselves, until the end of a period of twenty years, the right of deciding if freedom of entry shall be maintained or not. The navigation of the Congo is placed under the care of an International Commission representing all the Powers signing the Act. By vote of the Belgian Legislature, April 28 and 30, the Congo Free State was placed under the sovereignty of King Leopold II., individually, the Belgian Government and Belgium as a State having no power or responsibility in relation to the Congo State. Governor-General.-M. C. Janssen. The Central Government at Brussels consists of the King of the Belgians, and three heads of departments, Foreign Affairs and Justice, Finance, and the Interior. There is a local Government, consisting of the GovernorGeneral, Vice-Governor-General, State Inspector, General Secretary, Director of Justice, Director of Finance, and Commander of the Forces. The precise boundaries of the Free State were defined by convention between the International Association of the Congo and Germany, November 8, 1884; Great Britain, December 16, 1884; the Netherlands, Decem. ber 27, 1884; France, February 5, 1885; and Portugal, February 14, 1885. The State includes a small section on the north bank of the river from its mouth to Manyanga; French territory intervening between this last station and the mouth of the Likona, whence the State extends northwards to 4° N. lat., eastwards to 30° E. long., southwards to Lake Bangweolo (12° S.), westwards to 24° E., northwards to 6° S., then westwards to the S. bank at Nokki. By Mr. H. M. Stanley the area of the Free State is estimated at 1,056,200 square miles, with a population of 27,000,000. The capital is at Boma, on the Lower river. The Congo is navigable for 450 miles from its mouth to Vivi. Above this, for over 200 miles, are numerous rapids, which render the river unnavigable as far as Stanley Pool (Leopoldville). Above this there are about 1,000 miles of navigable water, as far as Stanley Falls, while several of the great tributaries are navigable over a considerable extent of their course. In 1888 a survey, with a view to the construction of a railway 250 miles long, was completed between Vivi and Leopoldville at an average distance of 30 miles S. of the river. The budget of expenditure of the Free State is estimated at 120,000%; the revenue is derived from a subsidy granted by the King of the Belgians. The principal articles for export are stated to be palm-oil, rubber, ivory, orchilla weed, gum copal, ground nuts, cam-wood. The chief imports are textiles, guns, powder, spirits, tobacco. According to official reports the exportation and importation (including all that passes through the State) are valued at about 15 million francs, about one-half being exports. The chief articles exported in 1888 were coffee, 863,436 francs; ivory, 2,034,920 francs; nuts, 1,194,608 francs; palm-oil, 799,808 francs; rubber, 2,078,132 francs; copal, 142,374 francs; wax, 77,588 francs. In 1888, 958 vessels entered the ports of the State. Under the governor are a large number of white subordinates, chiefs of provinces which extend as far as Stanley Falls, and other officials. There are eleven administrative divisions or provinces-Banana, Boma, Matadi, the Falls, Stanley Pool, Kassai, Equator, Ubanji, Stanley Falls, AruwimiWellé, and Lualaba. The following are the principal stations occupied :Banana, Boma, Matadi, Lukunga, Leopoldville, Equator, Bangala, Stanley Falls, and Lualaba. There is an armed force of 3,000 native Africans, commanded by white officers, 9 captains and 20 lieutenants. There are five vessels in the Lower and seven in the Upper Congo. There is a regular steamer service with Europe, and the State is included in the postal union. Books of Reference concerning the Congo State. 1. OFFICIAL. Bulletin officiel de l'Etat Indépendant du Congo. Convention between Her Majesty and the King of the Belgians in the name of the International Association of the Congo. London, 1885. Correspondence with Her Majesty's Ambassador at Berlin respecting West African Conference, London, 1885. Protocols and General Act of the West African Conference, London, 1885. 2. UNOFFICIAL. Aleris (M. G.), Le Congo Belge. Brussels, 1888. Bentley (Rev. W. H.), Life on the Congo. London, 1887. Dupont (E.), Le Congo. Brussels, 1889. Jeannent, Quatre années au Congo. Brussels, 1889. Le Mouvement Géographique. Brussels, 1889. Pechul-Loesche (Dr.), Kongoland. Jena, 1887. Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society, 1885-89. Report on the Congo Country, by Mr. W. P. Tisdel, in Reports of Consuls of the United States Nos. 54 and 55. Washington, 1885. Stanley (H. M.), The Congo and the Founding of its Free State. 2 vols. London, 1885. Stanley (H. M.), Through the Dark Continent. 2 vols. London, 1878. Thys (Capt.), Au Congo et au Kassai. Brussels, 1888. Van Moesel, Etude sur la législature de l'Etat Indépendant du Congo. Wauters (A. J.), Le Congo. Brussels, 1885. Wissmann (H.), Im Innern Afrikas. Berlin, 1888. COREA. (CH'AO-HSIEN, OR KAOLE.) Government. THE reigning monarch, named Li-Hi in Chinese, succeeded King Shoal Shing 1864, and is the twenty-ninth in succession since the founding of the present dynasty in 1392. His only son is 17 years of age. The Monarchy is hereditary and of an absolute type, modelled on that of China, as is also the penal code. There is an hereditary aristocracy. There is a standing army of about 2,000 men, armed principally with breechloading rifles, constituting a royal guard and police force for the city of Seoul. Besides which there is a numerous military class, of ancient origin, whose members, uniformed after a peculiar fashion, and armed, upon occasion, with matchlocks or spears, are attached as retainers to the various official establishments throughout the land. Since the seventeenth century Corea has acknowledged the suzerainty of China by sending an annual embassy, and announcing the succession of a new sovereign, and the dependent relation is plainly recognised and clearly stated in the Chinese-Corean Frontier Trade Regulations. The influence of China is paramount in the kingdom, and no important step in the relations of Corea with other countries is taken without China's consent. The government is carried on through the Ministers of the Nei Wu Fu, or Home Office. There are besides six Departments of Ceremonies, War, Civil Affairs, Justice, Public Works, and Finance, and a Foreign Office. The revenue is principally paid in grain, and depends upon the state of the harvests. There are besides the proceeds of the ginseng monopoly, of gold-mining privileges, of various irregular and ill-defined taxation, and the customs revenue. The last-named amounted in 1888 to 267,214 dollars. A military school, under the charge of four ex-army officers of the United States, has recently been established by the Government. Area and Population. Estimated area, 82,000 square miles; population estimated at from 8,000,000 to 16,000,000. Recent statistics give 2,356,267 families, and 10,528,937 inhabitants-5,312,323 males and 5,216,614 females. The capital, Seoul, has about 250,000 inhabitants. Besides Japanese (Japanese, 4,800 in 1889) and Chinese (650 in 1888), there were about 100 foreign residents in Corea in 1888, mainly German, American, British, French, and Russian. The language of the people is intermediate between MongoloTartar and Japanese, and an alphabetical system of writing is used to some extent; but in all official writing, and in the correspondence of the upper classes, the Chinese characters are used exclusively. Religion. The worship of ancestors is observed with as much punctiliousness as in China, but, aside from this, religion holds a low place in the kingdom. Neither temples nor priests are allowed in the city of Seoul; but in the country, and especially in the many hills which cover the length and breadth of the land, are numerous monasteries of the Buddhists and Taoists. Confucianism is held in highest esteem by the upper classes, and a knowledge of the classics of China is the all-important aim of the Corean literati and aspirants for official station. Commerce. In 1876 Corea concluded a treaty with Japan; in 1882 China (Trade and Frontier Regulations) and the United States; in 1883 Germany and Great Britain; in 1884 Italy and Russia; and in 1886 France. An overland Trade Convention has recently been concluded with Russia, whose frontier is separated from that of Corea by the Tuman River. In these treaties Corea was treated with as an independent State. By virtue of these treaties the three ports of Jenchuan, Fusan, and Yuensan are open to foreign commerce. The total value of foreign imports at the three ports was in 1884 963,408 dollars; in 1885, 1,651,562 dollars; in 1886, 2,474,185 dollars; in 1887, 2,815,441 dollars; in 1888, 3,046,443 dollars; of exports of native goods to foreign countries in 1884, 444,629 dollars; in 1885, 388,023 dollars; in 1886, 504,225 dollars; in 1887, 804,996 dollars; in 1888, 867,058 dollars. The imports in 1888 were cotton goods, chiefly grey shirtings and muslins, value 1,925,086 dollars; metals, value 213,981 dollars; woollen goods, value 22,645 dollars; miscellaneous piece goods, 2,517 dollars; silk goods, 216,873 dollars, including rice, timber, silk, oil, matches, &c. Beans and oil-cake, cowhides, feathers, and ginseng formed the chief articles of export. Cowhides were exported to the value of 210,631 dollars; beans, 473,541 dollars; rice, 21,010 dollars; seaweed, 17,898 dollars. These trade statistics refer only to the three open ports, at which a customs service has been established conducted by foreigners detached from the Chinese customs service. Government has a monopoly of the important product ginseng, which is farmed out to a company and exported overland to China to the value of about 40,000l. annually. The principal customer of Corea is Japan, which exported 2,178,606 dollars worth to Corea in 1888, and imported from Corea 785,238 dollars worth. The remainder was divided between Russia and China, though, as a fact, Manchester goods are largely imported through Japan. Gold is found in considerable quantities in the country, but is not well worked; in 1888 it was exported to the value of 1,373,965 dollars, not included in the above returns. The number of vessels entering from foreign countries in 1888 was 1,004 (mostly junks) of 196,041 tons. The shipping is nearly all in Japanese hands; no British vessels called at any of the ports in 1888, while 28 German vessels of 10,000 tons entered. Transport in the interior is by horses and oxen. A telegraph line runs from Seoul north to the Chinese frontier, connecting with the line to Tientsin, and another line runs south to Fusan, connecting with the cable to Japan. Much of the country is mountainous, and there is a great deal of uncultivated land. The principal crops are rice, millet, beans, and jute, while coal is found in several parts. British Consul General at Seoul.-Walter C. Hillier (Acting). Books of Reference concerning Corea. Annual Reports and Returns on the Trade in Foreign Vessels. Shanghai, 1889. Dallet, Histoire de l'église de Corée. Paris, 1874. [This work contains much accurate information concerning the political and social life, geography, and language of Corea, with the history and progress of the introduction of Roman Catholicism into Corea, with its progress from 1784 to 1866.] Dictionnaire Coréen-Français, par les missionaires de Corée de la Société des Missions Etrangères de Paris. Yokohama, 1880. Grammaire Coréenne (by the same). Yokohama, 1881. [These two books contain much useful information concerning Corea. They treat of the language, geography (natural and political), administration, system of weights and measures, time measurement, royal genealogy, &c.] Griffis (W. E.), Corea: the Hermit Nation. London, 1882. Hall (J. C.), A Visit to Corea in 1882, in Proceedings of Royal Geographical Society, 1883. Lowell (Perceval), Chosön, the Land of the Morning Calm. A Sketch of Korea. London, 1883. Oppert (Ernst), Corca: a Forbidden Land. Report for the Year 1888 on the Trade and Commerce of Corea, in 'Diplomatic and Consular Reports.' London, 1889. Reports by Vice-Consul Carles on Journeys in Corea. London, 1885. |