n each wrist and forearm over the white sleeve of his coat and
affixed on this are a number of gold bands. A captain of a river
steamer, perhaps has three or four bands, a Chef de Poste, four or five,
a Commissaire of a Zone or District, seven or eight, an Inspecteur
d'Etat, nine or ten, and the Governor General, eleven. In order however,
to economise space and perhaps to facilitate counting, when more than
three stripes are worn, a broad strip is substituted which corresponds
to the original three. Thus an official with five stripes wears one
broad and two narrow ones, while the Governor General wears three broad
stripes and two narrow ones. The chief decoration, the order of the
Lion, can only be gained by Belgians, but the Congo Star is given to all
after a certain term of service. Those who hold purely civil
appointments such at Judges, Secretaries and Directors of Transport,
wear no stripes at all.

At 2.30 p.m. a bugle sounded and a chattering throng of natives hurried
past the Inspector's house towards the beach to resume work, which is
always interrupted for three hours at 11.30 a.m. during the heat of the
day. In order to feed these people and the soldiers of the Force
Publique at Leopoldville, about a ton and a half of kwanga is prepared
every day from the manioc grown in the villages around, and every able
bodied native has to contribute his or her quota of work. Each person
indeed is supposed to work for at least forty hours each month, and
whether engaged on roads, buildings, or other public work, or in
collecting rubber, wood for the steamers, or kwanga for food, is paid at
the current rate. The principle of the system of Government, although
entirely novel, is undoubtedly sound and suited to the country and the
condition of the native. The whole territory is divided into two great
parts, the lands of the native chiefs and the vacant lands called here
the Domaine Prive. The Government has however, disposed of part of these
to Concessionary Companies in this sense, that the Companies have the
right to exploit all the products of the forest in these areas. Other
portions have been leased to Missions, to Commercial Houses and to
private people. The Government collects the rubber, ivory, food stuffs,
and other produce from the Domain Lands and with the proceeds,
constructs roads, navigates the rivers, maintains the Government and
army and generally develops the country and civilises the natives.

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