er, Rabinek, was arrested and imprisoned for "illegal" trading in
rubber in the "Katanga Trust" country. Treated unfeelingly during his
removal down the country, he succumbed to fever. His effects were seized
and have not been restored to his heirs[479].

[Footnote 478: See the evidence in Parl. Papers, Africa. No. 8 (1896).]

[Footnote 479: Morel, _op. cit._ chaps. xxiii.-xxv.]

When such treatment is meted out to white men who pursued their trade in
reliance on the original constitution of the State, the natives may be
expected to fare badly. Their misfortunes thickened when the Government,
on the plea that natives must contribute towards the expenses of the
State, began to require them to collect and hand in a certain amount of
rubber. The evidence of Mr. Casement clearly shows that the natives
could not understand why this should suddenly be imposed on them; that
the amount claimed was often excessive; and that the punishment meted
out for failure to comply with the official demands led to many
barbarous actions on the part of officials and their native troops.
Thus, at Bolobo, he found large numbers of industrious workers in iron
who had fled from the "Domaine de la Couronne" (King Leopold's private
domain) because "they had endured such ill-treatment at the hands of the
Government officials and Government soldiers in their own country that
life had become intolerable, that nothing had remained for them at home
but to be killed for failure to bring in a certain amount of rubber, or
to die of starvation or exposure in their attempts to satisfy the
demands made upon them[480]."

[Footnote 480: Parl. Papers, Africa, No. I (1904), pp. 29, 60. A
missionary, Rev. J. White-head, wrote in July 1903: "During the past
seven years this 'domaine prive' of King Leopold has been a veritable
'hell on earth.'" (_Ibid_. p. 64).]

On the north side of Lake Mantumba Mr. Casement found that the
population had diminished by 60 or 70 per cent since the imposition of
the rubber tax in 1893--a fact, however, which may be partly assigned to
the sleeping sickness. The tax led to constant fighting, until at last
the officials gave up the effort and imposed a requisition of food or
gum-copal; the change seems to have been satisfactory there and in other
parts where it has been tried. In the former time the native soldiers
punished delinquents with mutilation: proofs on this subject here and in
several other places were indisputable. On th