se six months' or even a years' pay. Offences against the
penal laws are of course punished by imprisonment.

An excellent institution in Boma is the _colonie scolaire_ where
foundlings are reared and educated. Orphans, deserted children,
half-castes, all are received and trained for some useful purpose, some
entering the army, some engaging on the plantations, some becoming
servants to the officials.

It is impossible to form any idea of the Congo native in Boma, for the
blacks are of very different nationalities. Natives from Lagos,
Sierra-Leone, Portuguese and French territory, all are attracted by the
high wages to be earned in the town. Indeed at present most of the
positions of responsibility, requiring a fair education, are held by
foreign blacks, for very few true Congolese can be trusted. The personal
servants we engaged were thus all foreigners in the State service. Two
rejoiced in the names of Chikaia and Jean, and acted as _boys_. _i.e._ as
valets, butlers and general servants while Luembo was cook, and Mavunga,
washerman. Each one had a formal contract of five articles signed by us,
by a delegate for the Governor General, and by the Judge of Premiere
Instance, whose duty it was to see the contract was not broken. The
State indeed, superintends everything even to the finding and engaging
of private servants for travellers. The wages earned by these boys are
very much higher than servants receive in India or China. The cook was
paid 35 francs and the others 25 francs per month and all found.

The Customs, the Post Office, and the Land Office, are all conveniently
situated in one building on the beach near to the landing pier. In the
latter, all the landowners in the State are registered, careful maps
being prepared showing the extent and position of each plot of land. The
land laws are very simple. The villages are the absolute freehold
property of the natives, and are registered in the names of the Chiefs.
Vacant lands as usual are the property of the State and the Chartered
Companies, Missionaries, and Traders, as a rule, are annual leaseholders
but the lease is always renewed if the conditions on which it is granted
are observed.

On Sunday we lunched with the Governor General, Mr. Gohr, the Director
of Justice--who at present is in the unenviable position of having many
critics in Europe, usually imperfectly informed of the details and
evidence laid before the judges--Mr. Vandamme, who knows everyone a