ent (that is, King Leopold)
had appealed, not to the Great Powers, but to the Belgian Government,
and had sought to facilitate the grant of the desired loan by the
prospect of the ultimate transfer of his sovereign rights to Belgium.

Unquestionably the King had acted very generously in the past toward the
Congo Association and State. It has even been affirmed that his loans
often amounted to the sum of 40,000,000 francs a year; but, even so,
that did not confer the right to will away to any one State the results
of an international enterprise. As a matter of fact, however, the Congo
State was at that time nearly bankrupt; and in this circumstance,
doubtless, may be found an explanation of the apathy of the Powers in
presence of an infraction of the terms of the Berlin Act of 1885.

We are now in a position to understand more clearly the meaning of the
Convention of July 3, 1890, between the Congo Free State and the Belgian
Government. By its terms the latter pledged itself to advance a loan of
25,000,000 francs to the Congo State in the course of ten years, without
interest, on condition that at the close of six months after the
expiration of that time Belgium should have the right of annexing the
Free State with all its possessions and liabilities.

Into the heated discussions which took place in the Belgian Parliament
in the spring and summer of 1901 respecting the Convention of July 3,
1890, we cannot enter. The King interfered so as to prevent the
acceptance of a reasonable compromise proposed by the Belgian Prime
Minister, M. Beernaert; and ultimately matters were arranged by a decree
of August 7, 1901, which will probably lead to the transference of King
Leopold's sovereign rights to Belgium at his death. In the meantime, the
entire executive and legislative control is vested in him, and in a
Colonial Minister and Council of four members, who are responsible
solely to him, though the Minister has a seat in the Belgian
Parliament[467]. To King Leopold, therefore, belongs the ultimate
responsibility for all that is done in the Congo Free State. As M.
Cattier phrased it in the year 1898: "Belgium has no more right to
intervene in the internal affairs of the Congo than the Congo State has
to intervene in Belgian affairs. As regards the Congo Government,
Belgium has no right either of intervention, direction, or
control[468]."

[Footnote 467: H.R. Fox-Bourne, _Civilisation in Congoland_ p. 277.]

[Footnote 468: M