Henry Wellington Wack
The Story of the Congo Free State
New York & London : Putnam 1905



Missionary Grenfell on Administration of Justice, July 13, 1897 (p.568)


.............................................. Baptist Missionary Society, Bolobo, July 13, 1897 Sir,
I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your letter dated the 17th May, together with the enclosure, relative to cannibalism, proof by poison, and human sacrifices, dated Brussels, the 27th February, 1897.
I need hardly say, M. le Gouverneur, that I sympathise most sincerely with the Government in it's desire to eradicate the evils referred to; and you may rely upon my best efforts in the long and arduous struggle involved in combating them.
I am glad to recognise the gradual extension of the zone where justice is administered by regularly constituted Judges, for there is no doubt that where the administration of the State has been sufficiently advanced to allow of this, the evils referred to are very markedly on the decrease. It is not possible, of course, to complete at a stroke the organisation of distant territory, or at once to appoint Judges in new districts, but the fact that the State is persistently pushing the regular administration of justice towards the interior encourages one in confidently looking forward to the reducing of the cases of cannibalism, proof by poison, and human sacrifices in those parts of the Colony that as yet have not benefited by the ameliorating influences that have done so much for it's western section.
................. I have, etc.
(signed) .. George Grenfell
(addressed) ........... M. le Gouverneur-General, Boma








This page is part of World History at KMLA
Last revised on February 14th 2002

Click here to go Home
Click here to go to Information about KMLA, WHKMLA, the author and webmaster
Click here to go to Statistics