E. D. MOREL

THE MAN AND HIS WORK

E. D. MOREL, 1918.

E. D. MOREL

THE MAN AND HIS WORK

BY

F. SEYMOUR COCKS

Author of "The Secret Treaties"

WITH AN INTRODUCTION

BY

COLONEL WEDGWOOD, D.S.O., M.P.

LONDON: GEORGE ALLEN & UNWIN LTD.
RUSKIN HOUSE, 40 MUSEUM STREET, W.C. i

published in

(All rights reserved)

TO

MRS. MOREL

AS A SLIGHT TOKEN

OF ADMIRATION

AND ESTEEM

There is all Africa and her prodigies in ws."

SIR THOMAS BROWNE.

INTRODUCTION

BY COLONEL WEDGWOOD, D.S.O., M.P.

A NOT inconsiderable part of this volume is taken up with
appreciations of the work of E. D. Morel, laudatory
appreciations coming from the heads of Church and
State and Commerce. They read curiously. Those who
made them think otherwise, now. The story of E. D.
Morel is like a play by one of the great Greek Tragedians,
and can only be fully brought out by the dramatic con-
trasts. In 1911 the Morning Post hardly got ahead of a
press and public pouring forth peans of praise ; and within
a few short years even his friends were glad to see Morel
safe in gaol, lest press and public should assassinate him !
The man himself never changed at all, neither his
4deals, nor his weapons, nor his enthusiasms, nor his
almost childlike faith in human nature. He is left at
the end a little puzzled and bewildered at the four prison
walls he found confining him. As he never knew of any
reason why truth and logic should not prevail in his own
case (for he never could " play the hypocrite amongst
you "), so he supposed that truth and logic should be
enough for all men always. It was on this supposition
that he had carried to a successful close the emancipation
of the Congo, perhaps the greatest single-handed fight
that any man has ever won. And then with the same
sword he went up against Armageddon, and the marvel

4 INTRODUCTION

is that the man is still alive. Perhaps this faith came
from underestimating the vested interests in the world
or from ignorance of psychology. Or perhaps there was
a grain of truth in the Address from the African Chiefs.
Morel is in some ways very like a little child ; and like
all little children he may have come " from God."

As the Africans have had presumably no reason to
suppose that Morel is paid by German gold (for they
do not know one exploiter from another), and as on
simple matters like liberty they may not have had their
minds changed by the war, their Address of thanks may
stand.

A fight against your own people for aliens, not even of the same
race, ... at the risk of losing the goodwill of your own brethren,
is humanly speaking unnatural. Hence we take it to be from God.
And we class you among the few whom He has at all times reserved
for Himself to carry out His purpose and maintain His honour among
the nations of the world.

E. D. Morel is not a saint. It is true that he does
not take life lightly or relax with ease. He sets a hard,
a very hard pace, in racing towards the stars. But
he does not wear his hair long, nor go bare-footed in
Tolstoyan smock. What people think of him matters.
He does like recognition, and his hard work is partly
to deserve that recognition. It did not please him to be
sent to prison " for the Cause." His smile is somewhat
sour when he is turned down by an Archbishop. This
goes to show that E. D. Morel is not all saint, nor all
fanatic. It indicates that the child may grow into a
man, in practical politics, — and a very formidable man
it will be. No one ever ridiculed Morel.

Few know the capacity of this man. When he touches
a subject he masters it, till there is nothing more to be
said. He knows how to get it into the press in the most

INTRODUCTION 5

palatable form. On his own subjects I class him with
Mr. Lloyd George or Mr. Devlin or Mr. Philip Snowden,
as a superb platform orator. And withal he has the
basic ideas of Liberty that move the spirit of England.
One day he discovered that to take their land from the
native cultivators was to enslave them, to establish
exploitation ; and in that sign he conquered, and swept
away the horrors of the Congo. A clerk in a Liverpool
shipping office, without money or connections, by sheer
force of character and ability, rose to the eminence of a
Wilberforce, and did his work in shorter time. Some day
he will discover that the age-long process of taking their
land from Englishmen has had the same results, and
then there will be more trouble, for others beside
himself.

The first phase in the life of Morel came to an end in
1911 and left him victorious, without a rival, without an
enemy who dared show his teeth. The second phase
is ending now. He turned his attention to Diplomacy,
showed it up, exposed the ignorance and arid priestcraft
of it, and held to the exposure through the war, that
apotheosis of diplomacy. It has left him against the
ropes, bloody, execrated, but not knocked out. The
third phase is still to come ; but it will be well to consider
more closely Morel in war, and the ferocious hatred to
which he gave rise in the governing and middle classes ; J
for the second phase must be understood.

Our foreign policy is conducted by a few governing
personages, not necessarily by the Cabinet, still less by
the sentiments of the governing Party. The powerful
ones, ensconced in the Foreign Office, use or cast out such
instruments as passing gusts of Party send to be their

1 He was never refused a hearing by a working-class audience.
That class seems to have a monopoly both of patience and tolera-
tion.

6 INTRODUCTION

nominal chiefs. Sir Edward Grey suited them. Morel
discovered this ; and he did not like their foreign policy.
No man was ever more intent on hunting down what he
did not like than Morel. War made no difference to him.
It merely proved the more completely to his satisfaction
that Grey and the policy were wrong. Everybody
else might say that it was a war made in Germany. Morel
knew better. It was Grey and the arch-priests of the
Foreign Office using Grey who had helped ; it must be
so. We all like to make our theories fit, and no man can
ladle out blacking quite impartially.

But in a war, the safety of the State makes it quite
vital that everyone should believe that the other side is
the aggressor. In no other way can the morale of a nation
be stiffened through the horrors of war. The Govern-
ment that fails to convince its people of this is destroyed,
and revolution supervenes. Morel must have glimpsed
this (though none of us saw it so clearly in 1914 as in
1919), and yet he went on adjusting the crime of the
origin of the war. But Morel saw also, and far more
clearly, that what he was doing was unpopular. He
saw what he believed to be the truth. He said to himself,
" I must either be a coward and swim with the tide in
silence or speak out. Ought a man to cease to speak the
truth, because it is unpopular ? No. Ought a man to
cease to speak the truth, because it is dangerous — to
himself ? No. -to the State ? (And here I think he
thought a long time and finally again said :) No. More-
over what I am urging is really in the interest of the com-
munity, for a policy built on lies and shams must eventually
be disastrous to the people."

Those of us who think, know full well that in ordinary
times at least, the safety of the State does not come
first in our rules of conduct. Justice comes first. We

INTRODUCTION

know instinctively that we ought to do Justice though
the heavens should fall ; we know that, in the long run,
that which is unjust can never be expedient for the State.
But ought we to tell a lie in the interests of the State ?
Or live a lie by not telling the truth ? Many moralists
will agree with Morel, that a man must just say what he
thinks right, be the result to the State what it may.
Otherwise we should have had no Christian Era, no
Protestant Reformation, no representative or responsible
government. The State would have remained stationary.

Are all these principles altered by war ? Most people
think"tKey are. Morel thought not. Does what you
believe to be the truth, or your country's victory, come
first ? If a man of Morel's standing and ability puts
truth first, what are those who are responsible for the
country's fate to do ? There was an E. D. Morel in Ger-
many, Maximilian Harden. He too refused to suppress
the trutfT! Does~anyone Uoubt that he did contribute to
the disillusionment of the Germans which brought about
their revolution, their collapse ? Looking back now
in calmer days, I think that both Morel was right, and
those who locked him up were right, according to their
lights. The excuse of the letter to Miss Sidgwick was
indeed puerile and degrading, the use of Courts of Justice
an hypocrisy ; but in war the herd instinct takes us all
back to prehistoric man, when brute fear rules alone.
If Christ had come preaching submission, we should have
locked Him up too. War is the : negatiojijQf Christianity
and Justice^

But now the third phase opens. The war is done with,
for a time. Morel is free. It is against war we must all
fight. His old enemies, the old diplomacy, are spinning
webs again, muddling again, pretending to construct
a new world, really reconstructing the old. Kings,

8 INTRODUCTION

Junkers, capitalists and serfs will soon be back at the
bidding of the bad old International. Morel and all his
colleagues, once~callecl " liberal,"" ~are united in the ranks
of the Independent Labour Party, the new International.
It is a fight to the finish between these two.

PREFACE

THIS book was finished on January 30, 1919. Certain
difficulties have delayed its publication for a year. In
the interval many things have happened. Peace has
been signed, although not precisely the Peace to end
War which we were promised. Europe has advanced
a further stage towards bankruptcy. And warfare is
still being waged in various parts of the world.

In the past twelve months, also, many eminent states-
men and commanders have written their reflections
and " apologias," and a considerable quantity of new
evidence bearing on the origin and conduct of the war
has been published. In view of these facts I considered
the question of adding a further chapter to this book.
But after due reflection I decided that there was no
need to alter a word of it. I have therefore left it as
it was originally written.

A few years ago Morel endured much praise from eminent
persons. Since 1914 he has endured much abuse from
persons, eminent and otherwise. A few of those who
abused him certainly knew what his views were, and
detested them. But the majority of those to whom he
was an object of obloquy never knew what his views were
at all.

The object of this book is to set out, without adornment,
the main facts of Morel's life and work. I believe that
his views have been misrepresented and misjudged,

10 PREFACE

and I have tried to describe them impartially. Perhaps
after reading this account some of his opponents may
modify the views they have formed as to his conduct.
In any event this book will give them the facts necessary
for arriving at a sound judgment upon the matter —
adverse or favourable as the case may be.

I take this opportunity of acknowledging my deep
sense of gratitude to the many friends who have helped
me with their advice. I thank Mr. Morel himself for
allowing me to examine his books, correspondence
and newspaper files. Without this permission this book
could not have been written. I am indebted to Mr.
Arthur Ponsonby for very kindly reading the manuscript,
and for making several valuable suggestions, to Mr.
Arthur F. Thorn for his assistance in correcting the
proofs, and to Miss Ada Ammon for her invaluable and
painstaking work in typing. I also thank Mrs. Huth
Jackson, Mr. George Tweedy and Mr. Harrison Barrow
for the valued help they have rendered in various ways,
and Colonel Wedgwood for contributing the Introduction.

F. S. C.
January 1920.

CONTENTS

PAGE

INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . 3

PREFACE . . 9

PART I

THE FOUNDATIONS

CHAPTER

I. WHO HE IS . . . . . . .15

II. THE JOURNALIST . . . . . .23

III. THE WEST AFRICAN EXPERT . . . .34

IV. A CHAMPION OF NATIVE RIGHTS . . . .39
V. THE FREE TRADER . . . . .50

PART II

THE FIGHT AGAINST SLAVERY

VI. THE CONGO FREE STATE . . . . .59

VII. FIRST SUSPICIONS .... .65

VIII. CERTAINTY . . . . . . .70

IX. THE CAMPAIGN OPENS . . . . .78

x. TWO YEARS' HARD FIGHTING . . . .86

XI. THE CONGO REFORM ASSOCIATION . . 99

XII. THE PEOPLE AND THE FOREIGN OFFICE . .119

XIII. THE FUTURE OF AFRICA . . . . .136

XIT. VICTORY . . . . . . 15g

11

12 CONTENTS

PART III
THE FIGHT AGAINST WAR

CHAPTER pAOE

XV. CO-OPERATION OB CONFLICT . . . .173

xvi. "MOROCCO IN DIPLOMACY" .... 178

XVII. LIBERAL CANDIDATE FOR BIRKENHEAD . . 200

XVIII. THE GATHERING STORM ..... 209

XIX. THE OUTBREAK OF THE WAR . . . .218

XX. AN ENQUIRY INTO ORIGINS .... 229

xxi. "TRUTH AND THE WAR" .... 244

XXII. PENTONVILLE — AND AFTER .... 254

INDEX . 269

PART I
THE FOUNDATIONS

CHAPTER I
WHO HE IS

His father — His mother — Ancestral associations with the Quakers —
A French household — Early affection for England — School-days at
Eastbourne and Bedford — Love of nature — Secures business appoint-
ment at Liverpool.

E. D. MOREL, like Hilaire Belloc, is the offspring of a
Franco-British alliance. His father was a Frenchman,
his mother an Englishwoman, and in his own person
he unites French fire, exactitude, acuteness and logical
expression with British tenacity, stubbornness, impa-
tience, courage, and scorn of consequences : altogether
a most formidable combination of the characteristic
qualities of the two races, and a fitting equipment for
the man who baffled and defeated the policy of a
king, and who aspires to help in overthrowing the giant
evils of Militarism and Secret Diplomacy, which hold
the modern world in thrall.

His Father.

Edmund Dene Morel, or, to give him his full baptismal
name, Georges Edmond Morel-de-Ville, was born in Paris
in a picturesque old mansion, since pulled down, in the
Avenue D'Eylau, on July 10, 1873.

His father, Edmond Morel-de-Ville, was a man of con-
siderable ability but little ambition. He spoke five or
six languages, was a brilliant chess-player, and possessed

15

16 THE FOUNDATIONS

so fine a tenor voice that several tempting offers were
made to him to sing at the famous Paris Opera. But he
always declined these offers, not merely because he was
unambitious, but also because he possessed to a marked
degree that sense of the special duty owed by a son to his
parents which is so familiar a feature of French social life,
and which, although in many respects attractive, frequently,
it must be confessed, has a tendency to cramp initiative
and to limit development. In Morel-de-Ville's case the
parent was a widowed mother, to whom he was devoted.
It is true that his position in the Ministry of Finance
was only a modest one, but at least it enabled him to live
with his mother, to see her daily and to minister to her
many wants. Had he thrown up his position in order
to enter upon a more crowded and responsible life, he
would probably have had to leave her side. Therefore
he deliberately chose to remain as he was, and was quite
content so to do.

This mother of Morel-de-Ville's was a strong-minded
old lady. In her youth she had been a celebrated beauty,
and her portrait, painted at that time by Paul de la
Roche, indicates that in addition to great personal attrac-
tions x she possessed a decided will of her own, and if
the truth were known, her son probably stood in a good
deal of awe of her. At any rate, to the end of his days
he refused to leave her, and she even continued to live
with him after his marriage, dying at an advanced
age.

In 1870 came the Franco-Prussian War and the siege
of Paris. Morel's father took part in the defence of the

? In Morel's home, Cherry Croft, King's Langley, there hangs a
striking portrait of this lady, his grandmother, painted by Hyacinthe,
a pupil of de la Roche. Morel also possesses photographs of the
de la Roche portrait, and of portraite of his great-grandmother and
of his great-great- grandmother. All three, it is evident, were remarkably
handsome women.

WHO HE IS 17

city, and whilst thus serving against the Prussian invader,
standing knee-deep in snow, night after night, upon the
ramparts, he contracted a terrible disease affecting the
marrow of the spine, which eventually — six years later —
led to his death.2

With the restoration of peace there came a great influx
of visitors to Paris and amongst them was his fiancee,
an Englishwoman, Emmeline de Home, who, whilst on
a previous visit to France, had become engaged to him.
Now that peace was proclaimed she returned, and the
two were married, Edmond Morel-de-Ville being at that
time forty-eight years of age and the lady twelve years
his junior.

The sole offspring of this union was the subject of this
biography.

His Mother.

Emmeline de Home, the daughter of Abraham de
Home, of Peckham, came from a well-known East Anglian
family, which had been settled in Essex for over three
hundred years. The de Homes trace their ancestry in
unbroken line from one Oliver Home, or de Home, who,
with his wife, Jocaminca, migrated to England in the
reign of Queen Elizabeth, from Nova Kirk, near Ypres,
" to avoid," as the old chronicle puts it, " the persecution
of the Duke of Alva," and settled in Norwich. 3

2 Morel, who thus lost his father through the effects of war, has there-
fore a hereditary reason for detesting this irrational method of settling
international differences. In this connection it is interesting to note
that his well-known book Truth and the War (1916) is dedicated " To my
Sons, in the hope that they may help to free Humanity from the curse
of Militarism and War."

3 " But not liking a strange country, and hearing of the cessation of
the persecution in Flanders, after his wife was delivered of a son, whom
he called Abraham, the first in the register of that Congregation there
(the Dutch at Norwich), leaving his small family to God's Almighty pro-
tection, he shipte himself for Flanders, to seeke a settlement there again,
but in his returne was taken sick of the Plague, and dies on ship bord."

18 THE FOUNDATIONS

Their son, Abraham, born in 1571, married Mercy
Rush, niece of the sometime rector of Bere Church, alias
West Dornilands, Essex. The couple had several children,
but only one survived to marry, viz. George de Home,
who died of plague at Colchester in 1665. Colchester
became the home of the family and remained so until
towards the close of the nineteenth century. Thus we
read of an Abraham de Home, " free burgess " of that
town in 1741 4 and of a George de Home purchasing
Stanway Hall in 1765. Stanway Hall remained the family
seat for more than a century. It stands on an eminence
overlooking the road from Colchester to Maiden, and was
raised from the ruins of the old mansion built by Sir John
Swinnerton, Lord Mayor of London, in 1612. The property
contains the interesting ruins of Great Stanmore Church.

The de Homes appear to have become members of the
Society of Friends at a very early period, 5 and several
of them suffered persecution for their faith.6 The Friends
Burial Ground at Colchester contains numerous monu-
ments to departed members of the family. The de
Homes married into other families of the same religious
persuasion. Thus Morel's mother and the first Lord
Monkswell (formerly the Right Hon. Sir Robert Porrat
Collier) had a common ancestor in Dorothy Fox, daughter
of Francis Fox, of St. German's, Cornwall, who married
Joseph Collier, of Plymouth, their son Benjamin's only
daughter, Mary, marrying Abraham de Home in 1786.7

4 Vol. xii. Huguenot Society's Publications.

5 In the register of the births for the quarterly meeting at Essex we
find the first entry of the de Homes to be that of George de Home, 1662,
and the last that of Richard, 1701. See also the " Register of Baptisms
in the Dutch Church at Colchester," 1645-1728 in vol. xii. of the publi-
cations of the Huguenot Society of London.

6 Morel, therefore, has in his veins the blood of ancestors who suffered,
as he has done, as the result of holding opinions temporarily unpopular
with the majority.

7 Owing to the personal attacks made upon Morel since 1914, it is
necessary to relate in some detail these facts concerning his ancestry.

WHO HE IS Id

It is an interesting coincidence that the late Lord Monks-
well became President of the Congo Reform Association
(founded by Morel) in 1906, in a succession to the first
President, Earl Beauchamp, who retired from the position
on accepting a seat in the Cabinet.

A French Household.

The household in the Avenue d'Eylau to which Edmond
Morel-de-Ville brought his bride consisted of the impe-
rious old lady already mentioned, of his married sister
and her husband with their two children, and of himself
and his wife. The place was managed on communal
lines, the two married couples occupying two different
parts of the house, but all having their meals in common.
Such an arrangement must have seemed very strange
to an Englishwoman, and was perhaps a somewhat trying
one. But however that may be, she was not to have
a very long experience of it, for in 1877, after only six
years of married life, her husband, following upon a
severe operation rendered necessary by the disease he
had contracted, as already mentioned, during the defence
of Paris, died from the shock, leaving her with a small
boy, barely four years old.

There followed a bad time. Some legal dispute with
the husband's family led to an estrangement, and the
widow left the communal roof and took a small flat for
herself and her child. Morel's mother was a remarkable
woman, proud, independent, spirited and resolute. Already
possessing some professional connections of her own, she
supplemented the income from these by giving lessons
in English, and too proud to seek help from her relatives
in England, she set herself with infinite pluck and resource
to make a life of her own, and to put by sufficient money
to give her son a good English education. From the
first she made up her mind that the boy should be

20 THE FOUNDATIONS

educated in England as an Englishman. This was her
firm resolve, and, without any help from outside sources,
she carried it through.

England.

In 1881 she sent her son to a private school
at Eastbourne, and there the boy spent five happy
years, returning to Paris for his holidays. The
school was called Madras House, and Morel, in some
as yet unpublished reminiscences, has painted a charm-
ing picture of those early days, which shows how
the beauty of his mother's land — the beauty of England
— gripped and held and enthralled him from the very
first.

" Great memories some of these ! Memories of luxurious swims
from the sands of Berling Gap, of elastic turf, and golden scented
gorse, long swelling downs, spinneys redolent in spring with sweet
violets. Memories of palpitating excitement at the discovery
of a fragment of alleged * Roman ' pottery on one of the numerous
tumuli, desperate adventures in rifling birds' nests on forbidden
ground ; awesome glimpses from the summit of Beachy Head,
and fossil hunts in the soft chalk at its base ; excursions to Pevensey ,
renowned for its crumbling castle and rusty cannon 4 on which
Queen Elizabeth sat,' but better loved by me for its woods of
primroses and kingcups, with occasional lurking adder and harmless
water-snake. Ah ! That virginal joy of realization that God's
world at least is fair — can anything ever exceed it in after life ?
To the delicate, weedy, passionate, and abnormally sensitive boy,
with an instinctive love of the beautiful, the sight and feel of the
summer sea, the rush of the perfumed breeze over great open spaces,
the picture of a wood primrose-carpeted — these things were a delight
unspeakable. And later the zest of them was to be keener still,
for the time came when the down-side contained yet fuller joys,
because of the bee-orchis and butterfly-orchis which diligent
seeking might discover ; the chalk cliffs fruitful in interest because
the horned poppy raised its yellow blossoms in cracks and crevices
difficult of access, and because on sunny days a chalk-hill blue
flashed wings of amethyst and topaz athwart the dazzling whitenesi
of their surface,"

WHO HE IS 21

This love of nature has always been a strong influence
in Morel's life. It was stimulated by one of his father's
relatives, an uncle, M. de Lucy de Fossarieu, who, being
amongst other things an ardent naturalist, opened the
boy's eyes to the fascinating worlds of insect lore, of
butterflies and moths and beetles, of birds and of flowers,
so that when in France on his holidays it was not the lure
and lights of Paris which attracted him, but the cool
and shady woods of St. Cloud, Meudon, and Versailles.

Bedford Modern School.

In 1886 the boy Morel left Madras House and entered
Bedford Modern School, where he boarded at the house
of the Rev. H. W. Evans. His days there passed without
any particular incident worth recording. He avers that
he gained no distinction whatever in the scholastic line,
although his perfect command of French must have
won him many advantages. Games — with the exception
of cricket — he rather scamped for entomology, which
absorbed his spare time " and whatever the period of
the year, there was always something to be done." When-
ever he could, he roamed the countryside and river-banks.
His house master was indulgent and gave him many
liberties, even allowing him to keep caterpillars and
pupae in his school-box.

At Bedford he stayed for two and a half years, when
his mother's increasing ill-health cut short — all too early—
his school-days, and caused him to return to Paris.8 His
mother had secured for him a position in the Paris branch
of the American banking house of Drexel, Morgan & Co.
Here he worked for a year, until gradually the knowledge

8 His last school report is dated April 1889, and contains the following
particulars : Age fifteen years nine months : Form Lower 5th : House
and Form Master, Rev. H. W. Evans. House Master's comment : " Very
sorry to lose him."

22 THE FOUNDATIONS

dawned upon him that the continued exile in Paris was
slowly killing his mother. She longed for England,
and for home — and in that longing he shared. Many
avenues were tried, and eventually he secured the offer
of a pursership on a liner trading between Antwerp and
the Congo, and owned by a Liverpool firm. But his
mother had a horror of the Congo. Her brother-in-law,
Major Phillips, had been one of the adventurous band
of Englishmen who died out there in the days of Sir
Francis de Winton, its first and only English Governor.
She wrote asking whether another post in the firm could
not be found. In reply there came an offer of a clerkship
in the Liverpool office at a salary of £60 a year. This
was accepted. The two sailed for England. They rented
a small house at Blundellsands (one of the suburbs of
Liverpool), and young Morel entered upon his new duties
as a clerk in the firm of Messrs. Elder Dempster & Co.,
Liverpool.

CHAPTER II
THE JOURNALIST

The Romance of African trade — Ignorance of public on African affairs —
A critic of Germany — A champion of the natives — Contributor to
Pall Mall Gazette and Daily Chronicle — Thanked by War Office —
Journalistic coups — Works to improve Franco - British relations
— A " Pro-Frenchman " — Exposes plot to murder Clemenceau —
Famous editor's tribute — Name, naturalization, and marriage.

IT was in 1890 that young Morel, now a lad of seventeen,
entered on his duties as a clerk in the office of Messrs.
Elder Dempster & Co., only a few months before the
promulgation by King Leopold of the notorious secret
decrees which deprived the natives of the Congo of the
produce of their land and condemned them to a state
of slavery. But of this more anon.

These early days were days of straitened circumstances,
and the young clerk endeavoured to add to his slender
income by teaching French in the evenings. This he did
with some success, but it was drudging work and very
distasteful. He looked about for some more profitable
method of utilizing his spare time. One evening his
mother suggested that he had a gift for writing which
might be put to some use. At the time this struck him
as unlikely. However, the idea stuck in his mind, as
ideas will, and in the end he determined to try his luck
with his pen, should anything interesting enough to
write about ever come his way. He had not long to wait.
Liverpool was full of interest, and his work brought

24 THE FOUNDATIONS

him into daily contact with strange and fascinating
things. To quote again from his unpublished reminis-
cences : —

" The office I was employed in was the centre of West African
interests in Liverpool — indeed in England; and West Africa,
I was not long in apprehending, seemed likely to occupy a great
deal of public attention. There was something very huge and
mysterious about the whole subject which exercised an increasing
fascination over my mind. Liverpool was full of West African
traditions — mostly evil ones. It had been Bristol's rival in the
slave trade. The office was always full of black men — stokers and
others — coming up for their pay : anglicized native merchants,
very wealthy some of them ; occasionally a striking figure in hand-
some flowing native garments. To watch a steamer unload her
endless barrels of palm-oil, bags of kernels, bags and casks of
rubber, elephant tusks, huge mahogany logs and so on, always sent
a thrill of excitement down my back. Everything that came from
West Africa seemed impregnated with a wonderful pungent smell.
The captains were full of weird yarns about wonderful happenings,
horrible native customs and such-like. Then, too, one was always
hearing vague political talk — of the French trying to steal our
4 hinterland,' of trouble with the Portuguese or with the Niger Com-
pany, of a supine Governor who would not build railways into the
interior. I plunged into old West African literature : learned the
geography of the coast, section by section, with the help of maps
and steamer charts ; studied its history, its trade and its peoples
and customs, its flora and fauna, laid myself out to read up every-
thing I could find about the current problems in the newspapers —
our own and also the Continental prints — French especially. . . .
The more I read the more interested I grew : the more clearly
it seemed to me, first that international rivalries and administrative
problems were forcing West Africa to the front rank of national
interest, and secondly that the newspapers seemed extraordinarily
ignorant of the whole subject."

Early Press Work.

Having thus acquired an extensive knowledge of the
subject of West Africa — a knowledge which was con-
tinually being added to in the course of business — Morel
proceeded to use this knowledge for the enlightenment

THE JOURNALIST 25

of the general public. As one who was afterwards asso-
ciated with him on the African Mail writes : —

" Morel was one of the first to find a market for articles about
the Coast. He did it thoroughly, no * eye-wash,' no scissors and
paste : the walls of his study were lined with African and tropical
books, in every language under the sun. He became the recognized
expert on the subject."

His first article appeared in the Pall Mall Gazette in
December 1893 — when just over twenty years of age.
It dealt with the subject of French colonial policy in
West Africa, and urged the need for more extensive
railway construction in the British Protectorates and
Crown Colonies, in which respect we were far behind
not only the French but even the Portuguese.

From that date onwards a continual stream of articles
from his pen, signed and unsigned, appeared in the Press,
and as these were always marked by that meticulous
accuracy which distinguishes Morel's work, editors in a
very short time became most ready to accept them.1

Criticizes German Colonial Officials.

In view of subsequent events it is particularly inter-
esting to note that one of Morel's first contributions to
the Press (Pall Mall Gazette, May 23, 1894) contained
a vigorous onslaught on the action of certain German
officials in the Cameroons, who had been accused of
cruelty towards the natives. And this was not a solitary
instance of its kind.2

1 "When I took charge of my paper, there was a tradition and a rule
in the office that Mr. Morel's * copy * was regarded as a sacred institution,"
said Mr. Robert Donald, editor of the Daily Chronicle, speaking at the final
meeting of the Congo Reform Association in 1913 (see Chapter XIV).

2 Glancing through Morel's Press cutting books one notices many
instances in which he protested against German action in various parts
of the world. For example, he was opposed to the idea that Germany
should acquire Delagoa Bay (January 1897) and he protested against
her action in the Cretan trouble.

26 THE FOUNDATIONS

Thus early — he was not quite twenty-one — did Mr.
Morel come forward to champion the natives of Africa
against all — of whatever nation — who would oppress,
enslave and exploit them.

Further, in order to show that Mr. Morel entered upon
his African work without any preconceived dislike of
the administration of the Belgian Congo, it may be as
well to mention a Pall Mall Gazette article (Feb. 22,
1894) in which he warmly praised the Belgians for their
"commendable energy in grappling with the difficulties
which beset them."

A Great Journalist.

And Morel went on writing. Despite the growing
importance and responsibilities of his work with Messrs.
Elder Dempster & Co., he found time to write more
than ever. His literary activities became amazing. He
must have used every minute of his days, and sat up
far into the nights. His subsequent public activities
in connection with the Congo Reform Association and
international politics have obscured the fact that Morel was
once a great journalist. He was undoubtedly that. Not
only was he one of the leading authorities on West Africa,
but he was one of the few English writers who possessed
an intimate knowledge of French politics and of the
various personalities whose interests, ambitions, rivalries,
jealousies and intrigues play so large, and often so obscure,
a part in the bewildering political life of the French capital.
On these two subjects Morel wrote incessantly, attacking
political and administrative injustices with equal vigour
and information, hitting at vested interests, and inspiring
the views of great newspapers. He wrote for the Pall
Mall Gazette, the Daily Chronicle, the Manchester Guardian,
the Speaker (now the Nation), the Liverpool Daily Post,
the Liverpool Journal of Commerce and numerous other

THE JOURNALIST 27

journals. This period of journalistic activity lasted for
about ten years — from 1893 to 1903 ; and long before
he had reached the age of thirty this young man was
earning a considerable income from his journalistic writings
alone.

Thanked by the War Office.

And once he was thanked by the War Office ! An
article of his in the Daily Chronicle (May 6, 1898) on
Rabah, the celebrated Arab chieftain, formerly an associate
of the famous Zubeir Pasha, who was threatening Northern
Nigeria, brought him a letter, through the editor, from
the Intelligence Department of the War Office, asking
a number of questions in connection with this important
subject. Morel gave the Department all the information
at his disposal, and, in acknowledging this, the repre-
sentative of the War Office said : —

" I cannot thank you sufficiently for your very interesting letter
about Rabah. Your information will be of great use to us . . . your
kindness in putting your knowledge at my disposal may impel me
to apply to you again."

He was applied to again, and yet again, and gave
what help he could.

Another valuable piece of journalistic work accom-
plished by Morel was his announcement in the Daily
Chronicle (June 16, August 8, September 13, September
17, November 14, 1898) of the arrival of Major Marchand
at Fashoda, of the despatch of expeditions reinforcing
him from Pauillac (Bordeaux) " with an extraordinary
amount of secrecy," of their arrival at the Congo, and
of their passage through Congo State territory.

In those days, relations between Britain and France
were not at all cordial : Lord Salisbury had spoken of
the Gallic cock " scratching in the sands of the Sahara " ;

28 THE FOUNDATIONS

Mr. Joseph Chamberlain, on one celebrated occasion, had
seen fit to advise the French " to mend their manners " ;
sensational threats " to roll France in mud and blood,"
and to give her colonies to Germany, had appeared in
the Daily Mail ; and at one moment during the Fashoda
incident it looked very much as though war might
break out between the two nations.

All through this period Morel worked steadily, as far
as the situation in West Africa was concerned, for the
improvement of Franco-British relations. That situation
was a delicate one, and taxed the diplomatic resources
of both countries to the uttermost. French territorial
expansion in West Africa had caused great jealousy
and alarm. " British and French officers, with excitable
native troops under their command, remained facing
one another in the far interior — a few hundred yards
distance — for weeks at a time, awaiting instructions
from their respective Governments." 3 Whilst others were
doing their worst to inflame the situation, Morel used
all the influence he could to prevent a rupture. He did
his best to get the British public to recognize the enter-
prise, efficiency and capacity of the French Colonial
Administrators, and to disabuse them of the foolish
notion that " the ideals of French colonial management
in West Africa " could only be represented " in the light
of a custom-house official and a soldier," 4 whilst at the
same time he helped to the extent of his power to create
an informed public opinion on the whole question such
as would give to the British Government the backing
required to secure from France a non-differential treat-
ment of British trade in the French West African Colonies ;

3 Affairs oj West Africa, by E. D. Morel (Heinemann, 1902), p. 246.

4 Ibid. p. 265. It is amusing to note that at that time Morel, owing
to his efforts to show that the wrongs of the dispute were not wholly
on the side of France, was taunted in certain quarters with being " pro-
French."

THE JOURNALIST 29

and this was happily brought to pass by the Anglo-
French Convention of June 1898.5

Whilst in this way giving the fullest possible credit
to the French for the valuable work they had accom-
plished in West Africa, Morel strongly disapproved of
the French advance under Marchand into the'Nile Valley.
He looked upon this as a piece of pure aggression, and
supported the attitude of the British Government through-
out in that affair.

Exposes Plot to Murder Clemenceau.

Perhaps the greatest of all Morel's journalistic exploits
was his exposure of a plot to murder Clemenceau, Trarieux,
Pressense, and other prominent defenders of Captain
Dreyfus.

This appeared in the Daily Chronicle on November 8,
1898, and was editorially presented as follows : —

A PARIS PLOT.
ALARMING STORY OF PROJECTED MURDER.

REMARKABLE CONFIRMATION OF OUR NEWS.

" We received on Sunday evening from a correspondent well
known to us, and who has furnished us on many occasions with
news of much importance and invariable accuracy, an astounding
narrative of alleged preparations for violence, and even assassina-
tion, against the principal supporters of ex-Captain Dreyfus in
Paris."

(Morel's story followed.)

The Daily Chronicle editorially continued : —

" In accordance with our invariable custom, we did not publish
the above until we had obtained sufficient confirmation to warrant
the printing of so alarming a narrative. We immediately tele-
graphed to our Paris correspondent as follows : —

" * Have conversation instantly with Pressense. Ask if he has

5 See also Chapter III.

80 THE FOUNDATIONS

received any official warning of personal danger. Ditto, if possible,
Clemenceau, Trarieux.' "

The Paris correspondent's story, after seeing these
three gentlemen, followed, and the editorial comment
closed thus : —

" It will be seen that in certain important particulars our cor-
respondent, knowing nothing of our information, confirms it literally.
He confirms it in another particular which we withhold for the
present."

It is possible that this timely exposure prevented a
concerted and planned attempt upon these men's lives
from taking place. It was certainly a remarkable triumph
for a young journalist of twenty-five.

Famous Editor's Tribute.

Morel's chief work for the Daily Chronicle was done
between the years 1896 and 1899, when that journal
was under the joint-editorship of H. W. Massingham
and Sir Henry Norman. Mr. Massingham resigned his
editorship in 1899 on the question of the Boer War, and
in a letter to Morel at that time (December 8, 1899),
the famous editor paid a handsome tribute to the work
of his young contributor :—

44 It has always been a pleasure to me," he wrote, " to be asso-
ciated with you on the Daily Chronicle and to mark the admirable
and energetic work that you have done for the paper."

Amongst the many well-known editors and journalists
with whom Morel has been associated in his literary
work may be mentioned, in addition to the foregoing,
Sir Douglas Straight and Mr. H. N. Cust of the Pall Mall
Gazette ; the late Sir James Knowles of the Nineteenth
Century ; Sir Percy Bunting of the Contemporary Review ;
Mr. J. L. Hammond of the Speaker (now the Nation) ;

THE JOURNALIST^ 81

Mr. C. P. Scott of the Manchester Guardian ; Sir Edward
Russell of the Liverpool Daily Post; the late Mr. W. T.
Stead ; Mr. Robert Donald of the Daily Chronicle ; Mr.
A. G. Gardiner of the Daily News and Leader ; Mr. J. S. R.
Phillips of the Yorkshire Post; Mr. J. Nicol Dunn and
Mr. Fabian Ware, successive editors of the Morning
Post ; Sir Valentine Chirol, for many years foreign editor
of the Times, and Mr. Grieg, for some time colonial editor
of the same journal ; M. de Pressense, for many years
foreign editor, and M. Pierre Mille, colonial editor of
Le Temps ; M. Charles Peaix-Seailles, editor of the Courier
Europein ; and many others.

Founded the " African Mail."

In 1903 Morel, who, three years previously had severed
his connection with Messrs. Elder Dempster & Co.,6
founded the African Mail9 a weekly journal devoted to
the administrative and economic development of British
West Africa, which he edited until the close of 1915.
During his editorship the paper acquired great influence,
was widely read amongst those who were concerned with
West Africa, and was distinguished for its championship
of native rights, its descriptions of native laws and
customs, and its fearless criticism of abuses. Many
distinguished authorities contributed to its columns,
and its first issue (April 3, 1903) contained letters of
encouragement from Sir Charles Dilke, Sir Harry John-
ston, Sir George Denton (then Governor of Gambia),
Sir Edward Russell, Mr. Alfred (afterwards Lord) Emmott,
Mrs. John Richard Green, Prof. Ronald Ross, Mr. W. T.
Stead and others, not to mention Mr. Winston Churchill.
It appeared as the official organ of the British Cotton
Growing Association and the Liverpool School of Tropical
Medicine.

* See p. 76.

32 THE FOUNDATIONS

" All who are interested and perplexed for the future of tropical
Africa," said the Manchester Guardian, " will welcome Mr. Morel's
new weekly paper. . . . The consolidation and strengthening of
native institutions, under which the natural attributes of the race
can alone attain development, high-minded justice, the willing
co-operation of the natives — these are some of the heads of the
policy advocated by Mr. Morel."

Through many vicissitudes the African Mail never
fell below the high standard set for it by its editor.

From 1904 to 1912 Morel also edited the monthly
44 Official Organ " of the Congo Reform Association.

Change of Name.

In the early nineties, when writing for the Press, Morel,
partly at the suggestion of a well-known novelist, decided
to drop, for literary purposes, the second half of his
surname and to use the first half only. He began by
signing his contributions " M." A little later he took
to using the familiar initials " E. D. M." and the signature
E. D. Morel. In course of time he became so well known
publicly by the abbreviation that he retained it for all
purposes and dropped the " de-Ville " altogether. The
full family names of " Morel's " parents have been printed
in Who's Who ever since he himself has figured in that
work of reference.

In 1893, being a French subject, Morel came under
the operations of the French conscription laws. Despite
his extraordinary energy, he was a delicate youth, and
after a medical examination he was exempted from
service of all kinds. Three years later, on becoming
engaged, he was naturalized and became by law, what
he already was by education and upbringing, an English-
man. In 1896 he married Mary Florence Richardson,
daughter of John W. Richardson of Liverpool and of
Anna Carwithen, a member of a well-known Devonshire
family. " In all his endeavours," says Maurice Whitlow,

MOREL AT THE AGE OF 20.

THE JOURNALIST 33

writing in 1909,7 " he has been helped and encouraged
at every turn by the counsel and comradeship of a good
woman."

Those who had the privilege of knowing Mrs. Morel
during the sad months of 1917 know that she is a brave
woman as well, and realize to some extent how precious
that " counsel and comradeship " must have been.8
Morel's book, Great Britain and the Congo (1909), bears
the following touching dedication :—

TO HER

WHOSE STEADFAST COURAGE

AND UNSWERVING FAITH HAVE

MADE IT POSSIBLE.

The Morels have five children, four sons and one
daughter.

7 In the Mitigate Monthly, November 1909.

8 M. Rene Claparede, in a recent pamphlet, relates the following inci-
dent : " Morel and I were walking up and down the railway platform
at Dijon. Suddenly he said to me, ' I should never have done what I
have without my wife's help. I was often discouraged. It was she
who invariably made me strong again by saying to me, " Go on " ' "
(Deux Journalistes, J . Condurier et E. D. Morel, by Rene Claparede,
Lausanne 1918).

3

CHAPTER III
THE WEST AFRICAN EXPERT

Relations with the Congo — Chief of Congo Department of Messrs. Elder
Dempster & Co. — Sir Alfred Jones's right-hand man — Campaign
to avert war with France — An opponent of Jingoism — Reason, not
force — Advocates Free Trade and the Open Door — First success.

WE must now turn to 1890 and to the junior clerk in
the offices of Messrs. Elder Dempster & Co. at Liverpool.
These offices, as already stated, were the centre of West
African interests in England, and it is a curious coinci-
dence that only a few days after Morel's arrival the firm
secured a contract which enabled them to inaugurate
an occasional service of steamers between Antwerp and
the Congo.

At first gradually, but afterwards rapidly, the relations
of the firm with the Congo developed. The irregular
service became a monthly one, and then a three-weekly
one. Morel's knowledge of French was found extremely
useful, and, as may be imagined, a young man of his
industry, knowledge and ability was not destined to
remain a junior clerk for long. His duties increased,
a special department known as the Congo Department
was created, he was placed in charge of it, and 1895
found him making frequent journeys to Brussels and
Antwerp, to interview the authorities of the Congo Free
State, to discuss affairs with the Company's agents, and
to witness the departure of the steamers. It was in

84

THE WEST AFRICAN EXPERT 85

the course of these visits, but at a later date, that Morel's
suspicions were first aroused as to the true character
of the Congo Free State and of its methods of adminis-
tration— suspicions which afterwards, on being confirmed,
led to the most astounding exposure, and most wonderful
public campaign, of modern times.

In the meantime, as related in the preceding chapter,
Morel was acquiring an extraordinarily thorough and
extensive knowledge of African affairs generally, was
studying the whole vast subject in all its multitudinous
details, was soaking himself in its history and literature,
was assimilating the nature of its economic problems,
and was rapidly becoming one of the leading authori-
ties, if not the leading authority, on West Africa in the
country.

Sir Alfred Jones.

The head of the firm of Elder Dempster & Co. was
Mr. (afterwards Sir) Alfred Jones, a man of great enter-
prise and energy, tremendous personal force, and the
Chairman of the African Section of the Liverpool Chamber
of Commerce. To such a man, Morel was invaluable.
Was it necessary to push on with railway construction
in the West African colonies or to institute necessary
reforms in administration or policy, there was Morel
with all the essential facts at his finger-ends — facts which
Mr. Alfred Jones was able to place before the Secretary
of State in a forceful and convincing way. And there
was Morel, too, to advocate these same proposals and
reforms in the public Press, and to enlighten public
opinion upon matters vital to the interests of West Africa,
but upon which the readers of the newspapers, and even
the newspapers themselves, were largely ignorant. The
services which Morel has been able to render to the cause
of civilization in West Africa, in this unobtrusive way,

36 THE FOUNDATIONS

are incalculable. They certainly deserve the gratitude
of his countrymen. One instance will suffice before we
pass on to other matters.

Working for Peace with France.

In 1898, as indicated in Chapter II,1 great concern
was felt in this country at the rapid extension of French
territory in West Africa. It was feared that the British
colonies in that region would be isolated, cut off by a
high protective tariff from the markets of the interior,
and commercially ruined. The feeling between the two
countries was becoming exacerbated, and, as usual,
there were plenty of people on both sides of the Channel
who were only too glad of the opportunity to create
bad blood between France and Britain, and even to go
to the length of threatening war.

Against this method of unfastening the Gordian knot
by severing it with the sword Morel set his face like
flint. It is true that he strongly disapproved of the
high protective tariffs advocated by the extreme French
colonial school. High protection, he was certain, would
be ruinous to West Africa, and would generate bitter
feeling between Britain and France. He was convinced
of the merits of Free Trade. He believed that a policy
of Free Trade and the Open Door was essential to the
welfare of West Africa. He believed also, with Cobden,
that such a policy would help to bind nations together
and would remove one of the causes of war. But he did
not believe that the yells, shouts, and insults of ignorant
rage were efficacious methods of convincing an opponent,
or of securing concessions from another nation. He did
not believe in maddening the people by the frenzied
rhetoric of Yellow Journalism. He did not believe in
trying to force France to abandon her tariff policy by

* See p. 28.

THE WEST AFRICAN EXPERT 37

threats of war. A war between France and England,
he was convinced, would be fatal to the prosperity of
West Africa and to the future welfare of the world.
The problem was certainly a difficult one, but it could
be solved by patience, understanding, and mutual for-
bearance. And so he threw himself into the task of
persuading the people chiefly concerned that this special
difficulty in West Africa could be settled much more
expeditiously and satisfactorily by methods of Reason
and Conciliation than by those of Militarism and Force.
He did his utmost, too, to remove from the public mind
those misapprehensions .as to the true nature of the
problem which, if allowed to remain and to develop,
might easily lead to a futile and disastrous conflict.

*' It is essential," he wrote at a later date, " that Englishmen
and Frenchmen, in order to work harmoniously together in the
future, should thoroughly understand one another's points of view
in this connection. ... A policy of Free Trade is one which in
West Africa spells commercial success to the nation which adopts
it. ... A natural community of interests exists between British
and French merchants in West Africa . . . every action calculated to
bring them into closer relationship is a step in the right direction." a

Advocates the Open Door.

In pursuit of this object Morel, acting through
Messrs. Elder Dempster & Co., organized a campaign
amongst the British Chambers of Commerce, in order
to induce them to take collective action in urging upon
" the Foreign Office the necessity of securing the Open
Door for British trade in French West Africa." This
campaign was a great success. Petitions rained upon
the Foreign Office from all parts of the country ; and in
response to this agitation Lord Salisbury succeeded by
peaceful methods in obtaining from the French Govern-
ment an agreement that no differential tariffs should be

* Affairs of West Africa, pp. 246, 247, 248.

38 THE FOUNDATIONS

placed upon British goods for thirty years in most of
the French West African possessions.

"The Franco-English Convention of June, 1898," said M.
Bohn, head of the leading firm of French West African merchants,
addressing the Marseilles Geographical Society, in September,
1898, " by abolishing for a period of thirty years all differential
duties in the Ivory Coast and Dahomey, has assured for that period
the commercial prosperity of these colonies."

This was Morel's first important success. He succeeded
because he had already grasped one great truth — a truth
which still seems to elude so many people — the truth
that a policy of Free Trade and the Open Door not only
would make for the prosperity of West Africa but would
help to draw into closer and ever closer relationship
the real interests of all the countries concerned.

But by this time he had also grasped the truth of
another great principle — a principle the application of
which was destined to bring about a great change in
African affairs, and to affect profoundly the course of
Morel's own career. So important is this principle that
we must reserve the discussion of it for the next chapter.

CHAPTER IV
A CHAMPION OF NATIVE RIGHTS

Native rights versus capitalistic exploitation — The treasure-house of the
tropics — Native ownership in land — A subtle form of slavery —
Opposition of vested interests — Sir Harry Johnston and " Morelism "
— African land tenure — A hardworking and industrious people.

THE ordinary member of the public who thinks of
Morel in relation to Africa probably looks upon
him as " the man who put an end to the Congo
atrocities."

This is a very inadequate and superficial summary of
his work. It is true that, in the course of his activities
in connection with the Congo Reform Association, Morel
succeeded in putting a stop to a very cruel, barbarous, .
and atrocious regime. But his chief title to fame is
based on a very much wider and more permanent founda-
tion than this. ^ It is based on the fact that he was the *
great champion of " native rights " as opposed to " capital-
istic exploitation " in tropical Africa. And he was the
champion of those rights not only in the interests of the
natives — although it was this humane motive that was
the driving force in his mind — but in the interests of the
whole of Africa and of the future of civilization. His
point of view was not only that of a humanitarian
(although it was that as well, and perhaps primarily
that), it was the point of view of (in the best sense of
the term) a world-statesman, f

39

40 THE FOUNDATIONS

The Tropical Treasure-house.

Tropical Africa is a country of immensely valuable
natural resources. It is a veritable storehouse of the
raw materials urgently needed by modern industry.
Amongst its chief products are palm-oil and kernels,
rubber, ivory, gum arabic, gum copal, shea-butter, kola-
nuts, gutta-percha, fibres (such as those used in musical
instruments and in brush-making), coco-nuts, bananas,
castor-oil, red pepper, indigo, cotton, ground-nuts, coffee,
cocoa, cereals, ebony, mahogany and other valuable
woods. Its soil, in many parts, is of surpassing richness.
Its population, in some regions, is very dense ; and
generally speaking, it is not suitable, and never can be,
as a home for Europeans. How is such a country to be
treated ?

There are two methods. One is to dispossess the
native of his rights in the land, to declare that the whole
territory and its products is the property of some European
state or states, or of financial groups within those states,
and to exploit the country in the interests of European
capitalism, using the native either as a slave or as a hired
labourer. This method leads to the degradation of the
native, and eventually, in Morel's opinion, to the ruin
of the country. The other method is to preserve the
rights of the native in the land, to recognize him as a
free man — as a human being and not as a mere tool of
industry — and to help him, by means of administrative
assistance and supervision, to develop the natural re-
sources of his own country. This method, says Morel,
will guard the native against exploitation, and will lead
to the continued and progressive prosperity of tropical
Africa. It is, therefore, the method which Morel, ever
since he became an authority on West Africa, has per-
sistently and courageously advocated in the teeth of the
bitterest and most malignant opposition.

A CHAMPION OF NATIVE RIGHTS 41

The Two Policies.

The key to the whole problem is the question of native
land tenure — the preservation of native rights in the
land.

S.

"Native ownership in land,"1 says Morel, "must needs be the
foundation-stone of all normal European rule in the African
tropics, because the economic object of normal European rule is
the development of commercial relations, and because any com-
mercial relationship between the European and the native is
impossible, unless the native has articles to sell with which to
purchase manufactured goods."

In other words, as long as the native has free access
to the soil, he will develop his land, he will put forth
every effort to increase its productive value, he will ex-
change its produce with manufactured goods sent from
Europe, a normal commercial relationship will be set
up, imports and exports will expand, the prosperity of
the whole country will increase, and, incidentally, the
workers of Britain or France or Belgium will benefit,
first by the employment created by the manufacture
of the goods exported to West Africa, secondly by the
increased supply of valuable foodstuffs and raw materials.

On the other hand, if the native is dispossessed of
his rights, the land and its products become the property
of European capitalists and concessionaires. But there
is nobody to develop that land but the native. He must
therefore be used as a wage-slave or a serf. Deprived
of his rights, he puts no effort into his work. S^con-
stituted is he that, cut off from land and liberty, he often
dies of sheer unhappiness.3 If force is used to make
him work, we have a regime of atrocities such as existed
in the Congo. Possessing no property of his own, he

1 Great Britain and the Congo, by E. D. Morel (Smith, Elder & Co.,
1909), p. 86.
a See Great Britain and the Congo, chapter ix.

42 THE FOUNDATIONS

has nothing with which to purchase manufactured goods.
Consequently imports fall, to the detriment of the workers
in Europe, whilst a handful of concessionaires pile up
enormous fortunes out of the products they have appro-
priated by a stroke of the pen. Eventually, after
perhaps several native risings, sternly suppressed by
machine-guns and aeroplanes, the country becomes
largely depopulated,3 its trade dwindles, the cost of
securing any products at all increases, and the conces-
sionaires, having obtained all they can get from it, throw
the ruined and bankrupt colony, with its history of untold
suffering and unspeakable cruelty, upon the backs of the
tax-payers at home.

These, then, are the two policies which can be applied
to tropical Africa, as Morel saw them twenty years ago,
and as indeed they exist to-day. He found himself
confronted by a public which knew nothing whatsoever
about the problem, and which was therefore indifferent
to its implications. He determined to arouse it from
this indifference. Despite fierce opposition from vested
interests, opposition which has grown in bitterness,
ferocity and unscrupulousness without a break up to
the present time, he threw himself into the fight for
an enlightened policy in tropical Africa, and for the
defence of the rights of the natives as against the demands
of the exploiters. In article after article, pamphlet
after pamphlet, and book after book, he championed
the rights of those natives with a wealth of argument,
and a knowledge of native customs, astonishing in one
who had never at that time set foot in West Africa ;
and gradually he had the satisfaction of seeing the
formation in this country, in France, in Belgium, in
Switzerland, in Italy, and to some extent in Germany,

3 The population of the Congo Free State dwindled from about
20,000,000 in 1881 to 8,500,000 in 1911.

A CHAMPION OF NATIVE RIGHTS 43

of a body of able and influential men and women, vigilant
to see that the principles of " Morelism," as Sir Harry
Johnston has described the policy advocated by Morel,
were applied to all problems of West African adminis-
tration.

Native Rights in Land.

The first point Morel had to drive home to the know-
ledge of his readers was the fact that a system of native
rights to the land in West Africa really existed, and had
existed, as far as could be ascertained, from time im-
memorial, and that this system was just, and adapted
to the needs of the country.

This fortunately he had no difficulty in doing, as all
the competent authorities and explorers were agreed
upon the point.

" If there is one thing more than another upon which the most
competent students of West Africa are agreed," says Morel, "it is
the tenaciousness of the West African negro to his landed rights.
Land tenure in West Africa has been properly described as a ' cult.'
The most experienced English, French and German observers have
noted this characteristic. Wherever it has been adequately studied,
the system of native land tenure, in its tribal, family, individual
and commercial aspects, is found to be at once simple in its broad
lines, elaborate in its details and approaching in many respects
to the most advanced democratic conceptions of Western Europe." 4

" The system of native land tenure is essentially just, thoroughly
adapted to the needs of the country and its people . . . there can
be no justification whatever for the break-up of land tenure, or for
the alienation of native property, under any pretext. It is morally
indefensible, and what is morally indefensible is seldom politically
wise." 5

" In the coast-wise districts of West Africa . . . it may be accepted
as a rule (whatever differentiation may exist in the system of land
tenure in widely removed districts) . . . that every square yard of

4 Affairs of West Africa (Heinemann, 1902), p. 169.

5 Ibid. p. 173.

44 THE FOUNDATIONS

the country is owned. Sarbah for the Gold Coast, Clozel and Dela-
fosse for the Ivory Coast, Ellis for Yoruba, Mary Kingsley for the
Rivers, Bolin for French Guinea, Fabre for Dahomey, have borne
witness in their respective fields of observation to this fact — that
there is no land without an owner." 6

" In all inhabited districts land is never without an owner,
whose claims, whether tribal or family, are as sacred in native
unwritten law as they would be if duly set forth in a legal docu-
ment, in accordance with the full requirements of European
jurisprudence." 7

" Wherever their forms have been examined, native laws of land
tenure have been found to repose upon just principles, to be
thoroughly well understood, recognized and adhered to by the
people of the land." 8

" Speaking generally, throughout tropical Africa there is no such
thing as unowned land, where there is population. The public
writings of the most authorized exponents of Native Customary
Law in tropical Africa — Ellis, Sarbah, Mary Kingsley, Ballay,
De Brazza, Clozel, Binger, Vilamur, Delafosse, Rayner, Healy,
Dareste, Bohn, Blyden, Zimmerman : the universal experience
(much of it recorded) of African administrators, missionaries and
merchants — are conclusive, and cover virtually the whole of
Western Africa from the Senegal to the Congo." 9

" And what form does this native land tenure . . . actually take ?
Here, again, the evidence is voluminous and conclusive. With
few exceptions, native tenure takes the form of communal owner-
ship of the land and its fruits ; a form proper to the condition of
native society where the whole social structure is patriarchal and
communistic, outcome of inherent usage, immemorial custom and
racial necessities. In certain regions, a feudalism has developed,
and the land is owned by the King and nobles ; but this is the
exception. In certain regions, too, individual tenure is found exist-
ing side by side with communal ownership ; but this also is the
exception. In Mohammedan Northern Nigeria communism has
developed into nationalization. This native ownership in land,
which is admitted and recognized, is, then, communal in form." I0

6 Affairs of West Africa (Heinemann, 1902), p. 173.

7 Ibid.

8 King Leopold's Rule in Africa (Heinemann, 1904).

9 Great Britain and the Congo (Smith, Elder & Co., 1909), pp. 87-8.

10 Ibid. p. 88. In a memorandum written for the Colonial Office in
1912 Morel described the native system of land tenure in more detail,

A CHAMPION OF NATIVE RIGHTS 45

Will the Native Work ?

Morel's second point was one which he had more
difficulty in getting the British public to accept. This
was the fact that the West African native, when treated
as a free man, and allowed to retain his rights in the
land, was hard-working and industrious, and capable,
with a little administrative encouragement and assistance,
of developing his country to a high level of commercial
prosperity. Advocates of the concessionaire system
naturally did their best to spread the impression that
the native, when left to himself, was lazy and incom-
petent, and would only work under compulsion.11 There-
fore, they argued, if the country was to be developed
at all, the system of land tenure would have to be changed,
and the native would have to be set to work either as
a hired labourer or under some form of forcible control.
As this argument accorded with the general view of the
" man in the street " that all " natives " and " niggers "
and dark-skinned people generally were a " set of worth-
less, lazy beggars," it naturally found ready credence,
and Morel was confronted with a hard task in trying
to counteract it. But this he eventually did, and it is
to his success in this direction that Sir Harry Johnston
more particularly refers when he says of Morel's writings
that " they have influenced Governments and actually
contributed to an historical change in the outlook of
the European."

That the African native is a " useless and dangerous
brute," says Morel, " is one of the many fictions which

and pointed out that the word " communal," although roughly descriptive,
perhaps did not define the system with sufficient exactitude (see
Chapter XIII).

11 During this period the arguments of the concessionaires were
naturally supported, for similar reasons, by the South African Rand
Lords, their defenders in the Press, and the advocates of Chinese labour
for the Transvaal.

46 THE FOUNDATIONS

pass for truths about Africa." I2 It is true that in the
more inaccessible regions, when the wants and desires
of the native have not increased and expanded as the
result of contact with white civilization, the native is
not inclined to wear himself to death with hard work.
But then there is no need for him to do so. The " soil is
so fertile . . . that it produces with little trouble every-
thing which the native requires," *3 whilst the climate,
being hot, " militates against great physical energy."

But when his desires are stimulated by trade and
increased facilities for locomotion, the native, working
for himself and his family on his own tribal ground, is
as industrious as any one could wish. Take the palm-
oil and palm- kernel industry alone. It " permanently
employs hundreds of thousands of negroes — men, women
and children." J4 The oil, " shipped in hundreds of
thousands of gallons from West Africa, is brought down
to the coast bit, by bit, in small receptacles, often from
considerable distances inland, on the heads " of these
so-called lazy people ; the kernels are " each ... ex-
tracted with infinite trouble from an extremely hard
shell," and it takes " four hundred of them to make
a single pound of kernels, and . . . the market value in
Southern Nigeria of those four hundred kernels, to the
native, is the maximum sum of one penny." J5 There
is " abundant and cumulative evidence of his willingness
to trade, to learn, to take on new industries, to follow
up everywhere his natural profession of agriculture . . .
of his enterprise and producing capacity in the . . . oil-
palm, ground-nut, mahogany and rubber industries." l6
In the Upper Nile Valley " he works in iron, moulds
pottery, has in many cases a highly developed, artistic

« Affairs of West Africa, p. 181.

'3 Ibid. p. 180. '4 Ibid. p. 76. '5 Ibid. p. 77.

'* Ibid. p. 174.

A CHAMPION OF NATIVE RIGHTS 47

instinct, manufactures cloth and ingenious and elaborate
weapons of offence." J7 In the Congo he " sustains
himself by agriculture, fishing and hunting. In various
parts of the Congo he cultivates manioca, millet, rice,
maize, bananas, sweet potatoes, sugar-cane, serame,
sorghum, ground-nuts (for food), etc." l8 In a memo-
randum drawn up for the Foreign Office in 1909 on " Native
rights in the land and its fruits in the Congo," J9 Morel
quotes a great number of authorities testifying to the
industry of that unhappy region in the days before King
Leopold began what he termed its " moral and material
regeneration." " Forests over an enormous distance are
cleared for sowing of maize and the insertion of banana
cuttings " (Dr. Vedy). " The natives of the cataracts
region have immense plantations of palm-trees, manioca,
sweet potatoes, ground-nuts " (Laurent). " The forest
was cultivated for one to one and a half hours' march,
and the plantations often as well cared for as those of
Flanders " (Laurent). " The abundance of food supplies
testifies to the hard work done by the race " (Laurent).
'' There are great plantations of maize, manioca, castor-
oil, sugar-cane and ground-nuts " (Dr. Deken). The
natives are " keen, enterprising, high spirited "...
" possess commercial knowledge " . . . " are devoted to
trade " (Sir H. M. Stanley). " Possess truly remarkable
trading and labour capacities " (Laurent). And, of a
primitive people, " wherever they settle, the jungle
around them is soon converted into fruitful fields, yielding
sweet potatoes, or various forms of corn " (Dr. Ansorge).
" Every year," says Morel, " the voluntary labour of
the West African negro supplies Europe with nearly
four millions sterling of palm-oil and kernel alone, re-

J7 Affairs in West Africa, p. 181.

18 Great Britain and the Congo, p. 108.

X9 Afterwards published in Great Britain and the Congo.

48 THE FOUNDATIONS

quiring infinite time, infinite toil, and infinite trouble
in their preparation . . . the voluntary labour of the
natives of ... Senegal and . . . Gambia supplies Europe
every year with ground-nuts to the tune of over one
million sterling. . . . From West Africa the negro sends
us every year thousands of tons of precious cabinet woods
involving the expenditure of an enormous amount of
physical labour in felling and squaring the logs and
floating them down the rivers and creeks to the sea." 20
Voluntary native labour supplies Europe with tons of
" cocoa " and " mahogany," and an increasing quantity
of cotton. Of the life of the native agriculturists of
Nigeria he says : —

" What a busy intensive life it is ! From sunrise to sunset, save
for a couple of hours in the heat of the day, every one appears to
have his hands full. . . . The men driving the animals to pasture,
or hoeing in the fields, or busy at the forge or dye-pit or loom ;
or making ready to sally forth to the nearest market with the
products of the local industry. The women cooking their break-
fasts, or picking or spinning cotton, or attending to the younger
children, or pounding corn ... or separating on flat slabs of
stone the seed from the cotton lint. . . . The sowing or reap-
ing, and the intermediate seasons, bring with them their several
tasks. The ground must be cleared and hoed, and the sowing of
the staple crops concluded before the early rains in May, which
will cover the land with the sheet of tender green shoots of guinea
corn, maize and millet, and, more rarely, wheat. When these
crops have ripened, the heads of the grain will be cut off, the bulk
of them either marketed or stored. . . . The stalks . . . will be
carefully gathered and stacked for fencing purposes. Nothing . . .
is wasted in this country. . . . The bees receive particular attention
for their honey and their wax. . . . Before harvest-time has dawned
. . . the secondary crops come in for attention. Cassava and cotton,
indigo and sugar-cane, sweet potatoes and tobacco, onions and
ground-nuts, beans and pepper, jams and rice, according to locality
and suitability of the soil. . . .

" It is a revelation to see the cotton- fields, the plants in raised
rows three feet apart, the land having in many cases been precedently

30 King Leopold's Rule in Africa (Heinemann, 1904), p. 100. These
figures, of course, had enormously increased by 1913.

A CHAMPION OF NATIVE RIGHTS 49

enriched by a catch-crop of beans. . . . The fields themselves are
protected ... by tall neat fencing of guinea-corn stalks, or reeds,
kept in place by native rope of uncommon strength. . . . Equally
astonishing are the irrigated farms ... on the banks of the water-
courses. The plots are marked out with the mathematical precision
of squares on a chessboard, divided by ridges with frequent gaps
permitting of a free influx of water from the central channel." 2I

Of the Northern Nigeria farmer he writes :—

" Rotation of crops and green manuring is thoroughly under-
stood . . . every scrap of fertilizing substance is husbanded by
this expert and industrious agricultural people." «

Writing of the industrial life of the same districts, he
says : —

" Iron-stone is common in many parts of the country and is
extensively worked. . . . Hoe-handles, mortars, pestles, beds, doors,
gins, spindles, bobbins, looms, shuttles, saddles, riding-boots,
slippers, bridles, scissors, razors, rope, fishing-nets, earthenware,
cooking-pots, lamps, water-bottles, pipes, are among the innumer-
able articles turned out by the artisan in Northern Nigeria. Indigo
dye-pits are to be found in many towns. . . . The great tanning
centre is Kano. . . . The completed skins, dyed deep red or orange
with native dyes . . . are as soft to the touch as Russian leather.
They are greatly appreciated in the Western world, and the trade
is a rapidly increasing one." 23

Thus with argument, illustration and quotation, Morel
drove his second point home. The natives had a David
to champion them at last — a David who was determined
to assure to them their rights in their own lands 24 and to
prove to the world the falsity of the maliciously motived
slander that they would never work unless and until
they were compelled.

=' Nigeria (Smith, Elder & Co., 1911), pp. 112-115.

« Ibid. p. 115. 23 Ibid. p. 120-122.

24 Mr. Morel's labours in relation to this special piece of work received
official recognition in his appointment in 1911 to serve on the West
African Lands Committee, which was still sitting at the Colonial Office
when the war broke out (see Chapter XIII).

CHAPTER V
THE FREE TRADER

Legitimate commerce and exploitation — The evils of the concessionaire
system — A practical policy — Enlisting the Free Traders — Attitude
at first misunderstood — Sir Charles Dilke convinced — Tributes from
eminent French and Belgian authorities — Mr. Brailsford's view —
The Chambers of Commerce assist the Humanitarians.

FOR a movement to become successful, it must embrace
many issues, and rally many forces to its support.

The wrongs and sufferings of the natives, great as they
were, might not of themselves have aroused sufficient
practical indignation in this country to bring the move-
ment for the defence of native rights to swift and over-
whelming success. People might have argued, and with
some justice, that others, nearer home, were suffering
also, and enduring cruel wrongs — the denizens of the
slums, the victims of landlordism and of our competitive
capitalistic system — and that their sufferings must be
alleviated^ and the system which oppressed them over-
thrown, before they could spare the time to go crusading
on behalf of the remote West African. And although
thousands would undoubtedly have been stirred and
shocked by Morel's revelations of the abominable atro-
cities perpetrated in the Congo (just as they were " stirred
and shocked " by Mr. Gladstone's revelations of the
atrocities perpetrated on the Bulgarians and Armenians),
the movement to put these cruelties to an end might
have dragged on many weary years without result but

50

THE FREE TRADER 51

for the fact that this great advocate, by pressing forward,
in addition to the two points described in the previous
chapter, a third and very important argument, was able
to rally to its support certain powerful trading and com-
mercial interests, legitimately concerned in the main-
tenance of the principle of Free Trade and the Open
Door, a principle in which, as we have already seen I
Morel was a profound believer.

Morel's Third Point.

This point was as follows : As long as the native
retained his rights in the land, and was a free man, he
was able to trade. British merchants sent their goods
to West Africa, and there exchanged them by the free
process of barter with the products produced by the
natives. This was legitimate trading, and benefited both
parties. The native secured his cotton and woollen
cloths, muslins, silk yarn, paper, salt, copper, brass and
iron rods, sugar, tea, agricultural implements, and beads
and other ornaments for his womenkind, and the merchant
obtained in exchange palm-oil, rubber and such other
products as are mentioned in the previous chapter ; and
during the preceding one hundred years or so an in-
creasingly profitable trade had sprung up between Britain
and West Africa.

But under the concessionaire system the native
was deprived of all his land, and " of all its products."
The land and all it produced became the property of
the state or, for a term of years, of the concessionaire.
At once trade with the native ceased. The native could
no longer, for instance, offer the merchant any rubber,
because the rubber was not his to offer ; it belonged
to the concessionaire, and to trade with it was to
trade in stolen property. As for the native, he was

* See Chapter III.

52 THE FOUNDATIONS

merely a landless and propertyless slave — one of the
dispossessed.

Not only did the interests of the legitimate trader
suffer, but in the regions where this system was estab-
lished they were absolutely extinguished.

Attitude at first Misunderstood.

Morel saw at once the great advantage of rallying
these interests to his side in his campaign for native
rights ; and this he proceeded to do, taking at the same
time the risk that his motives might be misinterpreted.
This they certainly were.

The henchmen of King Leopold, for example, declared
that these " Free Trade " arguments of Morel showed
that the whole Congo Reform agitation arose from British
commercial jealousy, and accused their exponent of being
merely an " agent " of British commercialism. And in
this country also Morel's attitude was not at first wholly
understood — especially by those who supported the
Reform movement mainly upon humanitarian grounds.
But despite the abuse of his opponents and the doubts —
much harder to bear — of his friends, Morel never swerved
an inch from the line he had decided to follow, and in
course of time this contention of his was recognized by
almost every one as the key to the whole position.

44 Your own chief contribution to the movement of which you
are now properly the head," wrote the late Sir Charles Dilke in
a published letter, dated February 6, 1908, 4i was that you brought,
to those of us who had originally raised the matter, a firm grasp
of a great principle. . . .

44 You showed us that all depended upon the right of the original
black inhabitants of the soil to own their property and to carry on
trade. . . . There always lay a danger in our public becoming wearied
and accepting an imperfect solution which would, in fact, give up
all that we had been fighting for. Your energy has preserved us
from that risk, and as long as you are there to fight I have no
fear,"

THE FREE TRADER 53

French and Belgian Tributes.

This central truth was brought out very strikingly in
some of the speeches at the public presentation to Morel
in 191 1.2 Emil Vandervelde's tribute to the wisdom of
Morel's attitude could not, for example, have been more
complete : —

" It was Morel who opened my eyes . . . ," he said. " It was he
who made me understand that the system established on the Congo
by King Leopold II was not the fatal result, at the same time as
the necessary consequence, of the developments of the tropical
regions of the world, but a monstrous anomaly — monstrous as much
for its economic, as from the human, standpoint. It was he who
showed me that it was essential that the system itself should dis-
appear, by recognizing to the natives their rights in the land, the
freedom of their labour, and their social freedom."

M. Pierre Mille, the well-known French traveller and
author, and the chairman of the French Congo League,
was equally emphatic : —

" I am very proud publicly to state that if I was the first in France
to denounce the crimes which were being committed in the Leo-
poldian Congo, it was because Morel converted me : and, I admit it
to my shame, he did not at first succeed. It took him more than a
year of incessant letters, of irrefutable proofs communicated to me,
to convince me of what, after all, was as clear as daylight, viz.
that the daily crimes of the Congo were the result, not of individual
madness, but the inevitable consequence of a system whose starting-
point was the negation of the most elementary principles of law
and humanity. I had not the common sense at first to recognize . . .
that to refuse to allow the natives to dispose fully of the produce
of the soil conferred upon them by nature was to reduce them to
slavery, because, without profit to themselves, they would refuse
to work, and would therefore be compelled to do so by violence
by their taskmasters."

An interesting statement was made on the same occa-
sion by M. Felicien Challaye. M. Challaye had been a

» See Chapter XIV.

54 THE FOUNDATIONS

member of the mission of enquiry under de Brazza,
which the French Government had despatched to the
French Congo to investigate the working of the con-
cessionaire system there. 3 Addressing the assembled
guests, he explained how, when actually in the French
Congo engaged in the enquiry, he had " read for the
first time the writings of Mr. Morel," and how " as I read
them a strong light seemed to electrify my mind. It
suddenly came over me by what powerful links, progress,
happiness and even the preservation of the native races,
are intimately bound up with freedom of commerce."

Mr. Brailsford's Judgment.

The whole position has also been described very clearly
by Mr. H. N. Brailsford in The War of Steel and Gold.*

" The originators of this movement," says Mr. Brailsford, "and
its supporters in the Churches and in Parliament, were, of course,
entirely disinterested. They would undoubtedly have worked
with exactly the same self-sacrificing zeal if no question of traders'
rights had been involved. They were thinking solely of the miseries
of the natives, whom King Leopold and his financiers exploit. . . .
But this movement would never have attained the success which
was won, nor would it have impressed itself to such a degree upon
the Foreign Office, had it confined itself to humanitarian arguments.
Its devoted originator, Mr. E. D. Morel, was wise enough to lay
stress on the commercial argument, and to seek the support of the
Chambers of Commerce. It secured the attention of the Foreign
Office, partly because its programme included a demand for better
facilities for British trade. The whole Congo affair is a perfect
illustration of the main thesis of Liberal Foreign Policy — that free
trade in goods is an interest consistent with humanity. The begin-
ning and end of Congo misrule consisted in this — that a group of
Belgian financiers, with King Leopold at its head, carved out this
vast territory with domains and concession areas. In each of
these the King or the companies enjoyed a monopoly. They did
not trade, for there was no exchange of goods. They spent a

3 See Chapter IX.

4 The War of Steel and Gold, by H. N. Brailsford (G. Bell & Sons),
second edition, pp. 69-71.

THE FREE TRADER 55

certain capital upon river gunboats, the building of stations and
railways, and the arming of the savage native levies. In return,
they claimed as their own the land and its produce (that is to say,
the rubber), and, under the guise of a labour tax, set the natives
to gather it. This was not trade ; it was high Imperialist finance
in a peculiarly brutal form. Incidentally, they excluded from their
monopoly areas all foreign traders, and indeed there was no possi-
bility of trade, since nothing was left for the natives to sell. The
only thing they could have sold was the rubber, and this was appro-
priated by the financiers in Belgium. The standpoint of the Liver-
pool merchant was an entirely proper one. He is a trader and a
shipper. He wanted to do business with the Congo natives as he
does with the natives of the Gold Coast. He would have exported
cottons in return for rubber. The Belgian monopoly stood in his
way, and he argued fairly enough (1) that the monopoly was a
breach of treaty rights, and (2) that its consequences were hideous
to the natives themselves. One need not enquire what was the
relative importance of the two issues to the Foreign Office and to
Liverpool. The point to note is that in pursuing a traditional Free
Trade Policy, and in backing British trading interests, the Foreign
Office was really serving the cause of the natives. They could not
become prosperous or free until they were delivered from this
monopoly ; incidentally, their prosperity and freedom would benefit
our West African trade. Here the essential antagonism between
the financier who uses his capital to exploit native labour and the
trader who uses his capital to develop a system of exchange between
natives and Europeans stands clearly revealed. Neither the trader
nor the financier is disinterested. But the interests of the one
are as consistent with those of the native as the interests of the
other are inimical to them."

And so Morel, by his clear, far-seeing, business-like
arguments, brought to the support of the Humanitarians
the powerful influence of the Chambers of Commerce.
With this double aid, he fought the great political and
financial interests which were opposed to him, he forced
the reluctant hands of an apathetic Foreign Office, and,
in face of public indifference, private hostility, and official
hesitation and circumlocution, he carried the banner of
Free Trade, Equal Commercial Opportunity and Native
Rights, to victory.

PART II
THE FIGHT AGAINST SLAVERY

CHAPTER VI
THE CONGO FREE STATE

The Brussels Conference of 1876 — Stanley discovers the Congo — The
International Congo Association — The Berlin Conference of 1884-5
— Free Trade the Charter of the Free State — The natives deprived
of their lands — King Leopold's infamous edicts — Slavery under a
new guise.

IT is now necessary to give in a summarized form a short
history of the Congo Free State and an account of those
conditions, created by the policy of the late King Leopold,
which led to Morel taking the action he subsequently
did. In doing this, Morel's own words will be used as
far as possible.1

On September 12, 1876, Leopold II, King of the Belgians,
invited an International Conference to Brussels " to
consider the best means which could be devised in order
to open up Central Africa to European civilization." *
Delegates were sent to this Conference by Belgium, Great
Britain, France, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy, and
Russia, and the King i4 was careful to assure the assembled
explorers and scientists ... of the absolute disinterest-
edness of his intentions. The upshot of the Conference

1 For the historical side of the question the following works may be
consulted : The Life of Lord Granville, 1815-91, by Lord Edmond Fitz-
maurice (Longman & Co.) ; The Life of Sir Charles Dilke, by Stephen
Curzon and Gertrude Tuckwell (John Murray) ; The Colonization o
Africa, by Sir Harry Johnston (Cambridge Historic Series) ; La Belgique
et le Congo, by Emile Vandervelde (Paris, Felix Alcan).

» Affairs of West Africa, p. 314.

59

60 THE FIGHT AGAINST SLAVERY

was the creation of an ' International Association for
the Exploration and Civilization of Africa,' of which
King Leopold naturally assumed the presidency." 3

A year or so later, the famous American explorer,
H. M. Stanley, having travelled across the Dark Continent,
suddenly emerged at the mouth of the Congo, first " re-
vealing to the world the existence and course of that
mighty river." 4 " King Leopold, realizing the immense
importance of the discovery, . . . hastened to get in
touch with the great explorer, whose services he succeeded
in enlisting." 5 Stanley went out on behalf of the Associa-
tion in 1879, and again in 1882, founding posts and
making treaties with the native chiefs " all along the
banks of the river and its affluents." 6

On April 22, 1884,7 the United States of America
recognized the Association, the title of which had now
been changed to that of the " International Congo
Association," as an " independent state," but certain
complications having arisen with France, Portugal, and
Great Britain, Prince Bismarck suggested " a Conference
of the Powers, in order to set at rest the rivalries which
had arisen in the Congo Basin," 8 and, indeed, "to consider
the future of the African continent." 9

The Berlin Conference.

This important Conference met at Berlin on November
15, 1884, and concluded its sittings on February 26, 1885.
It elaborated a series of principles for regulating European

3 King Leopold's Rule in Africa, p. 9.

4 Ibid.

5 Ibid.

6 Africa and the Peace of Europe (National Labour Press, 1917), p. 31.
For the nature of these treaties see Great Britain and the Congo.

7 Great Britain and the Congo, p. 40.

8 Affairs of West Africa, p. 317.

9 Africa and the Peace of Europe, p. 32.

THE CONGO FREE STATE 61

policy generally in tropical Africa. From it " there
blossomed the Congo Free State," I0 and one of the results
of its deliberations was the " General Act of the Confer-
ence of Berlin," which was signed by the Powers collec-
tively and " became the charter of the new State's
existence." "

The two vital clauses of this Act were Articles 1
and 5.12 Article 1 declared : —

" The trade of all nations shall enjoy complete freedom."
Article 5 laid it down that —

" No Power which exercises, or shall exercise, sovereign rights
in the above-mentioned regions shall be allowed to grant therein
a monopoly or favour of any kind in matters of trade.

" Foreigners without distinction shall enjoy protection of their
persons and property, as well as the right of acquiring and trans-
ferring movable and immovable possessions, and national rights
and treatment in the exercise of their professions." J3

" Taken together," says Morel, " the two articles
provided a double guarantee of the most solemn and

Dispossessing the Native.

On August 1, 1885, King Leopold notified the Powers
that the International Congo Association, which had been
described in an " Exchange of Declarations " between
the Association and the British Government in the
previous December as having been " founded by His

10 Africa and the Peace of Europe, p. 32.

11 King Leopold's Rule in Africa, p. 12.

IS Article 7 is also important. It runs as follows : " All the Powers
exercising sovereign rights or influence in the aforesaid territories bind
themselves to watch over the preservation of the native tribes and to
care for the improvement of the conditions of their moral well-being,
and to help in suppressing slavery, and especially the slave trade " (see
King Leopold's Rule in Africa, p. 6).

*3 The British Case in French Congo, pp. 29-40.

'4 Ibid. p. 41.

62 THE FIGHT AGAINST SLAVERY

Majesty the King of the Belgians for the purpose of pro-
moting the civilization and commerce of Africa, and for
other humane and benevolent purposes," J5 would hence-
forth be known as the Congo Free State, with himself
as Sovereign of that State. In this manner the King
became " the ruler of a million square miles of territory
in Central Africa." l6 A month previously, however
(i.e. in July 1885), King Leopold " issued a decree whereby
the State asserted rights of proprietorship over all vacant
lands throughout the Congo territory. It was intended
that the term " vacant lands " should apply in the broadest
sense to lands not actually occupied by the natives. . . .
By successive decrees, promulgated in 1886, 1887, and
1888, the King reduced the rights of the natives to their
lands to the narrowest limits, with the result that the
whole of the odd 1,000,000 square miles assigned to the
Congo State, except such infinitesimal proportions thereof
as were covered by native villages or native farms,
became terres domaniales." X7

In the meantime enormous export duties were imposed
on trade from the Congo, these duties aggregating
as much as £50,000 in a year's export trade of
£175,000.^

Although the Berlin Act had not forbidden the imposi-
tion of export duties, it had laid it down that no import
duties should be established in the mouth of the Congo
for twenty years.

" But in 1890 King Leopold, alleging the heavy expenses
to which he had been put by the campaign against the
Arabs in the Upper Congo, applied for permission to levy
import duties." J9

JS King Leopold's Rule in Africa, p. 12.
'6 Affairs of West Africa, p. 318.
*7 Ibid. p. 323.

18 King Leopold's Rule in Africa, p. 18.
'9 Affairs of West Africa, p. 318.

THE CONGO FREE STATE 63

The Edicts of 1891 and 1892.

As a result of this request, representatives of the
Powers met at Brussels and granted the King the
permission he desired, "merely reserving to themselves
the right to revert to the original arrangement in
fifteen years." 20

The international position of the Congo Free State
being thus greatly strengthened, Leopold went a step
farther. He issued a series of decrees or edicts

" by which the produce of the land was declared to be the property
of the Government ; the natives who collected it for sale to the
white man, denounced as poachers upon the property of others ;
the white man who bought it, denounced as a receiver of stolen
goods and threatened with condign punishment." ai

Thus, with a stroke of the pen, King Leopold abolished
the rights of the natives to the land and its products ;
thus he swept away their liberty, and the liberty of others,
to trade in rubber and ivory ; thus he reduced a popula-
tion of millions of free men and women to virtual slavery ;
thus he arrogated to himself and his friends the absolute
ownership of the vast wealth of the whole of the Congo
basin — with the exception of a very small portion, known
as the Lower Congo, around the mouth of the river.

And having thus acquired this immense territory,
henceforward to be known as the Domaine Prive, the
King proceeded to divide it into a number of districts,
which were farmed out to various trusts and Concession-

2° Affairs of West Africa, p. 318.

31 Great Britain and the Congo, p. 78. One circular issued by the officials
of the Congo (February 14, 1892) forbade the natives to collect either
ivory or rubber unless they brought the articles to the State's officers,
and added that " merchants purchasing such articles from the natives,
whose right to collect them the State only recognized provided that
they were brought to it, would be looked upon as receivers of stolen
goods, and denounced to the judicial authorities " (Affairs of West
Africa, pp. 324-5).

64 THE FIGHT AGAINST SLAVERY

aire Companies. The most important of these districts
were " the Domaine de la Couronne," which was adminis-
tered as a Royal preserve, the Katanga Trust, the Mongalla
Trust, the Lopori-Maringa Trust, and the Kasai Trust,
and these were misgoverned and exploited in the manner
afterwards exposed, to the horror of the civilized world,
by the Congo Reform Association and E. D. Morel.

CHAPTER VII
FIRST SUSPICIONS

Journeys to Antwerp and Brussels — Rumours of " atrocities " in Congo
— Studying the evidence — Gruesome stories — Curzon defends the
Free State Administration — Morel looks into the trade statistics.

WE left Morel, at the end of Chapter III, the chief of the
Congo Department of Messrs. Elder Dempster & Co.,
a leading authority on West Africa, a voluminous writer
for the Press, with connections with many important
newspapers, an ardent worker for better relations between
France and Britain, a convinced and enthusiastic sup-
porter of Free Trade, the Open Door, and Native Rights,
and Sir Alfred Jones's right-hand man on the political
side of all West African affairs.

This was in 1898, six or seven years after the promulga-
tion of the Leopoldian edicts recorded in the previous
chapter, and Morel, still little more than a youth, was
twenty-five years of age.

During his frequent visits to Antwerp and Brussels
on the company's business, Morel naturally had many
opportunities of discussing Congolese affairs, and was
constantly thrown into contact with people connected
with the Congo Free State administration ; and, gradually,
from words dropped casually in business conversations,
snatches of talk overhead on the quays and in Government
offices, and direct tales of " atrocities " told by men who
had formerly traded with the Congo, he began to wonder

5 66

66 THE FIGHT AGAINST SLAVERY

whether it could be possible that " something was wrong "
somewhere, and whether matters were not being concealed
which ought to be disclosed.

Studying the Evidence.

Anyhow, the Congo was a West African subject, and
ought to be studied. He began to study it ; and first
he turned to what British publications he could find on
the matter. In 1896 the Aborigines Protection Society
had made an appeal to the British Government on behalf
of the natives of the Congo — an appeal which fell on deaf
ears — and in the spring of 1897 Sir Charles Dilke had
brought the question before the House of Commons,
and had suggested that the Government should take
steps to convene an International Conference " with a
view to the adoption and enforcement of further measures
for securing equitable treatment of the natives of Africa.1
The suggestion having been declined by the Government,
the debate was followed by a public meeting, convened
by the Aborigines Protection Society, at which speeches
were delivered by Mr. John Morley, Mr. Leonard Courtney,
and Sir Charles Dilke ; and a Swedish missionary, named
Sjoblom, made certain startling accusations against Con-
golese officials, charging them with committing atrocities
upon the natives and forcing the latter to collect vast
quantities of rubber on pain of death.

" If the rubber does not reach the full amount required," said
the missionary, " the sentinels attack the natives ; they kill some and
bring the hands to the commissary. . . . Two or three days after
a fight a dead mother was found with two of her children. The
mother was shot and the right hand taken off. On one side was
the elder child, also shot, and the right hand also taken off. On
the other side was the younger child, with the right hand cut off,

1 Amongst those who generally supported Sir Charles Dilke in the
debate were Mr. Sydney Buxton (now Lord Buxton), Mr. John Burns,
Mr. McKenna, and Sir George Baden-Powell.

FIRST SUSPICIONS 67

but the child, still living, was resting against the dead mother's
breast. ... A sentinel passed our mission station, and a woman
accompanied him, carrying a basket of hands. We counted eighteen
right hands smoked . . . they belonged to men, women, and even
children. . . . One of the soldiers told me, . . . 4 The commissary
has promised us if we bring plenty of hands he will shorten our
service. I have brought in plenty of hands already, and I expect
my time of service will soon be finished.' " 3

All these speeches Morel read. He also read the stories
of abominations committed in the Congo detailed by two
American missionaries, Murphy 3 and Morrison.4 He
read the book entitled The Fall on the Congo Arabs, by
Captain Hinde, a British officer, temporarily in King
Leopold's service, which contained the appalling allegation
that European officers commanding Leopold's levies in
the campaign against the Arabs of the Upper Congo had,
in fact, commanded an army " fed for long periods by
organized cannibalism," 5 a condition of things which
Sir Charles Dilke had brought to the attention of a startled
House of Commons. He read the writings of Mr. H. R,
Fox-Bourne, the secretary of the Aborigines Protection
Society ; the diary of Mr. E. J. Glave, a well-known
traveller, once associated with Stanley, published in 1896
after his death, in the Century Magazine ; and the White
Book on the Stokes Affair.6 And these speeches and

2 See King Leopold's Rule in Africa, pp. 111-112.

3 The Rev. J. B. Murphy of the American Baptist Union, who, in a
statement which appeared in The Times (November 18, 1895) gave an
instance of " hands of men, women and children " being " placed in rows "
" before a commissary," who counted them to see that the soldiers had
not wasted cartridges.

4 The Rev. W. M. Morrison.

5 See The Life of Sir Charles Dilke.

6 C8276 (Africa, No. 8, 1896). In 1896 Henry Stokes, a British trader
in the Congo, was arrested and shot without trial by order of Major
Lothaire, a Belgian officer in the employ of King Leopold. Stokes was
accused of selling guns to the Arabs with whom the Congo State was at
war (see above). But " this," say the authors of The Life of Sir Charles
Dilke, " true or not, does not affect the initial outrage, that though he
was entitled to a proper trial, he was trapped and summarily executed

68 THE FIGHT AGAINST SLAVERY

statements certainly indicated to Morel that there was
a considerable body of evidence in existence which pointed
to the fact that there was something gravely wrong with
the administration (at least on its African side) of the
Congo Free State, and that gruesome atrocities were
being perpetrated on an extensive scale in the mysterious
interior of Central Africa. On the other hand, the Congo
Government at Brussels had vehemently denied that there
was the slightest scintilla of truth in these stories at all,
and the British Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs,
Mr. George Nathaniel Curzon (the present Earl Curzon),
had defended the administration of the State in the House
of Commons against the attack of Sir Charles Dilke.
The evidence up to that moment was clearly insufficient.

The Trade Statistics.

And then Morel turned to the line of investigation
which he subsequently pursued with such extraordinary
effect. He examined the trade statistics of the Congo.
No one who had criticized the Free State for its treatment
of the natives had apparently thought of doing this before.
No one before Morel had seen any connection between
the exports and imports of the Congo and the question
of the natives. No one had conceived that the two things

without trial of any kind." Speaking at the Pembroke Chapel, Liverpool,
on April 12, 1906, Morel said of this case : —

(Stokes) "... was arrested by a commandant of the Congo Forces,
upon whom had been conferred judicial power. He was arrested
as he entered the tent of that Congolese Commandant as an invited
guest. He was tried in the evening, without counsel, without
assistance — a mock trial; and in the morning, before dawn, he
was taken out and hanged. Speaking eighteen months ago, in the
House of Commons, Lord Fitzmaurice, now Under -Secretary of
State for Foreign Affairs, said that Stokes was 'murdered,' and
used these words : * His blood still cries out from the ground.'
Such was the fate of an Englishman who came to loggerheads with
the Congo State." (See also the Rabinek Case, p. 88 and seq.)

FIRST SUSPICIONS 69

could have any bearing on each other. But Morel, as
a business man, an economist, and a Free Trader, knew
that there was a profound connection between the
two. He knew that legitimate trade meant an exchange
of goods, that exports must be paid for by imports. He
knew that if the statistics showed that there was no such
exchange of goods, that valuable commodities were being
exported from the Congo and nothing sent in exchange,
then the natives were certainly being robbed and ex-
ploited. It was from this practical business side that
Morel approached the matter. He looked into the figures,
and these figures absolutely appalled him ; for they
showed him, beyond a shadow of doubt, that a gigantic
wrong was being committed.

CHAPTER VIII
CERTAINTY

Imports and exports — Morel's great discovery — An irresistible argument
— Robbing the natives — Concealed cargoes — Profiteering in excelsis
— Rule by ball-cartridge — The Sultan of Central Africa — Twenty
million slaves — Attitude of Sir Alfred Jones — Phantom reforms — The
Anversoise scandals — Morel's articles in the Speaker — Letter from
Sir Charles Dilke — Severs connection with Messrs. Elder Dempster's
— Testimonial from colleagues — A malicious falsehood.

BROADLY speaking, the trade statistics of an undeveloped,
or partially developed, tropical African colony should
show an excess of imports over exports.

The reason for this is as follows : —

Certain products of the colony are exported to Europe.
These are paid for by " trade goods " imported. Over
a term of years, therefore, these two sets of figures should
roughly balance.

But, in addition to the goods imported to pay for the
goods exported, there is usually a considerable importation
of material and stores for the administrative staff, the
military forces, and for public works ; and this, of course,
should cause the figures of the imports to overtop those
of the exports.

Morel's Discovery.

Now in the Congo there was a considerable adminis-
trative staff. There was an army of nearly 20,000 regular
troops, and many thousands of irregular levies as well.
There were two lines of railway, and a third under

70

CERTAINTY

71

construction, all requiring large importations of material.
There was a fleet of more than forty steamboats on the
river, also constantly requiring material for repairs, spare
parts, chains, and so on. And there was an enormous
number of military and other stations, for which material
was constantly required.1 Therefore the imports into
the Congo should have been vastly greater than the
exports from that State. But on looking into the figures
Morel found that the position was just the reverse.2 Not
only did the exports greatly exceed the imports, but
something like 80 per cent, of the latter consisted of goods
which had nothing to do with trade purposes. Thus,
although the Congo was exporting vast and increasing

1 See King Leopold's Rule in Africa, p. 63.

» In King Leopold's Rule in Africa Morel prints some interesting
statistics of the imports and exports of British and French West African
Colonies, comparing them with the trade returns of the Free State.
From these we extract the following, which will serve to illustrate the
point : —

Imports (1899-1902).

Exports.

Sierra Leone (British)

Gold Coast (British)
Senegal (French)

£2,024,526
(less Special Colonial
Stores)
£5,594,366
(less Specie)
199,144,302 francs

£1,127,395

£3,176,527
120,246,709 francs

Dahomey (French)
Congo Free State

60,413,425 francs
£3,529,317

49,623,215 francs
£7,360,130

These figures in themselves were sufficiently striking. But Morel pointed
out that they were even more striking than they looked ; for out of
the £3,529,317 worth of imports into the Congo he calculated that
£2,636,000 worth consisted of goods imported for administrative needs
and for the purpose of paying the soldiers and hired native labour.
Deducting this sum, it appeared that £7,360,130 worth of exports
(£6,146,973 worth representing rubber alone) were "paid for" by
£893,317 worth of imports !

72 THE FIGHT AGAINST SLAVERY

quantities of rubber and ivory, the natives in return were
getting practically nothing, either for their products, or
for their labour in collecting them. This meant—

" Firstly, that the natives were being robbed. Secondly, as they
certainly couldn't be expected to work for nothing voluntarily,
that they were being enslaved."

This, stated in a few words and in its simplest form, was
the great discovery made by Morel. The argument was
irresistible. There was no escape from it. Supported
as it was by direct evidence of the most varied nature,
it carried conviction to Morel's own mind ; and in the
course of the next few years it was, in spite of fierce and
enraged opposition from the threatened interests, to
carry conviction to the world.3

Immense Profits.

Pursuing his investigations farther, Morel made several
other important discoveries.

He found, on examining the ships' manifests, that
large quantities of rubber and ivory shipped from the
Congo in the Elder Dempster liners were not included
in the statistics issued by the Congo Government at all.
More was being exported than was included in the returns.
The State Government and the concessionaires were
getting far more out of the Congo than they allowed the
public to know.

He found also that some of the companies which were
controlling vast areas of Congo territory were making
immense profits — so immense, in fact, that shares which
were nominally worth about £20 apiece were changing
hands at anything from £800 to £1,000 per share, whilst
shareholders were receiving dividends bringing in from

3 See Sir Charles Dilke's letter, p. 52.

CERTAINTY 78

300 to 800 per cent, on their investments. Many of
these companies, too, through their directorates, were
apparently intimately connected with King Leopold and
high officials of his Court. 4

Rule by Ball-cartridge.

Thirdly, throwing a lurid and sinister light on the
methods by which the natives were being forced to work
for nothing, he discovered that the steamers trading
with the Congo were regularly shipping to Africa extra-
ordinary quantities of ball-cartridge and thousands of
rifles and other lethal weapons.

And fourthly, after studying the official documents
bearing on the matter, he found that under the so-called
Constitution of the Free State the millions of natives
inhabiting the Congo had no legal rights or position at
all. So far as the Congo was concerned King Leopold
was an absolute monarch. No Tsar, no Roman Emperor,
perhaps no Oriental Despot even, ever held powers so
unlimited and so unrestrained. All executive and
legislative functions centred in his hands. There was
not even a Council of Ministers or a Grand Vizier to
guide him. He made his own decisions, and from these
decisions there was no appeal, and no redress. The
Belgian Parliament had no control over the administra-
tion of the Congo. The King had supreme and
autocratic power. With a flourish of his arm he
could, if he so wished, decide the destiny and dispose
of the lives of twenty millions of natives, inhabiting
a territory about as large as the whole of Europe minus
Russia, over which he ruled unchecked.

4 Thus half of the shares of the " Society Anversoise du Commerce
au Congo were owned by the King, its President was nominated by
the King, and one of its three administrators was one of the King's
aides-de-camp (see Affairs of West Africa, pp. 331-2).

74 THE FIGHT AGAINST SLAVERY

" To me," said Mr. Richard Harding Davis, writing at a later
date, 5 " the fact of greatest interest about the Congo is that it is
owned, and the twenty million of people who inhabit it are owned,
by one man. The land and its peoples are his private property.
I am not trying to say that he governs the Congo. He does govern
it, but that in itself would not be of interest. His claim is that he
owns it. It does not sound like anything we have heard since the
days of the Pharaohs. And the most remarkable feature of it is,
that the man who makes this claim was placed over the Congo as
a Guardian"

The " Speaker " Articles.

Having made these astounding discoveries, Morel's first
action, naturally, was to lay their main outlines before
his employer, in the hope that the latter might use his
influence with King Leopold to redress these evils. Sir
Alfred Jones was a strong man and an important one.
Even if he failed to alter the system from within, as was
indeed only too probable, he was a big enough man to
have come out boldly against it — even at a temporary
though heavy sacrifice of business interests 6 — and to
have headed a successful agitation against the abomina-

5 The Congo and Coasts of Africa, by Richard Harding Davis (Scribner's).
Mr. Harding Davis visited the Congo for Collier's Weekly. In his book
he paid the following tribute to Morel : —

" Mr. Morel," he wrote, " has many enemies. So, early in the
nineteenth century, had the English abolitionists Wilberforce and
Granville Sharp. After they were dead they were buried in the
Abbey and their portraits were placed in the National Gallery.
People who wish to assist in freeing twenty millions of human beings
should to-day support Mr. Morel. It will be of better service than,
after he is dead, burying him in Westminster Abbey."

6 The contract with the Congo Free State held by Messrs. Elder
Dempster & Co. was an extremely lucrative one, and might have been
withdrawn by King Leopold. In fact, at a subsequent date the King
did threaten to withdraw the contract unless the growing agitation could
be damped down. Great pressure was brought to bear on Morel from
various quarters to induce him to stop his campaign. But Morel was
not amenable to pressure, and this naturally intensified the animosity
of the powerful interests he had challenged and which were gathering
against him.

CERTAINTY 75

tions which prevailed in the Congo. But it was not to
be. On his return from a visit to Brussels he told Morel
that the King had promised reforms and must be given
time. But these promises, although doubtlessly made,
were never carried out. Subsequent events showed that
there had never been any intention of carrying them out.
To plead for delay — whilst promising reform — has ever
been a favourite weapon of those who would perpetuate
abuses. So it was in this case. The abuses continued,
the reforms never materialized. In fact, from the very
nature of the case, they could not. The only possible
reform was the abolition of the whole system. And it
was upon the maintenance of the system that the King
and his financiers depended for their colossal profits.?
These scandals, with their shocking revelations of murder,
mutilation, and profiteering, determined Morel. He could
wait no longer. He sat down and penned a series of
vigorous articles for the Speaker* These articles were
entitled " The Congo Scandal." They were unsigned,
and created a considerable sensation. Amongst others,
they attracted the attention of the late Sir Charles Dilke,
who communicated, through the editor, with their author,
and thus started a connection between himself and Morel
which only ceased with the former's death in 1911. An

7 The Societe Anversoise du Commerce au Congo possessed a capital
of 1,700,000 francs, divided into 3,400 shares of 500 francs. Of these
shares, one half belonged to the Congo State, i.e. to the King. The net
profits of the Company for the four years 1897-1900 were 7,275,838
francs. In March 1900 the 500-franc shares of the Company stood as high
as 13,730 francs, which meant that the King's holding was worth over
23,000,000 francs, or roughly £933,000. King Leopold had conferred
upon this Company some 12,000 square miles of Congo territory, and in
the year of which we are speaking "one or two of its agents," said
Morel, had " confessed to killing, by order, 150 natives, cutting off 60
hands, crucifying women and children, and impaling the sexual remains
of slaughtered males on the stockade of the villages whose inhabitants
were slow in gathering rubber." These scandals were first revealed to
the world in the Belgian Press (see Affairs of West Africa, pp. 331-33).

8 Now the Nation.

76 THE FIGHT AGAINST SLAVERY

interesting reference is made to these articles in the
Life of Sir Charles Dilke, by Stephen Curzon and Gertrude
Tuck well. Dealing with Dilke's action on the Congo
question, the authors say : —

" So well was the secret of those dark places kept that even he,
with his widespread net of acquaintance in many capitals, found
facts hard to gather ; and he was naturally attracted by the appear-
ance in 1900 of a series of anonymous articles in the Speaker which
dealt with the system set up in the Congo, and its inevitable results.
These articles displayed an unusual knowledge of the whole
complicated subject, and revealed aspects of it which had previously
baffled enquiry. The writer proved to be Mr. E. D. Morel. So
began a co-operation whose influence upon the administration of
African races was destined to be far-reaching."

Leaves Elder Dempster's.

But it was now clearly impossible for Morel to remain
any longer at Messrs. Elder Dempster's. Owing to his
views on the Congo, his visits to Antwerp had for some
time been discouraged, and the whole situation had gradu-
ally grown more and more strained and difficult. He
determined, therefore, to leave, and having received a
journalistic appointment, sent in his resignation, which
was accepted with many expressions of regret and esteem. 9

9 As it has been alleged by some of Morel's opponents that he was
" dismissed " from the employment of Messrs. Elder Dempster & Co.,
or that he left that firm " suddenly " — the suggestion being that there
was something discreditable about his departure — it is necessary
to state that on leaving, in the circumstances related above, he was
presented by his colleagues with a handsome testimony of their goodwill,
the gift being accompanied by a testimonial, signed by the manager,
Mr. John Craig, which read as follows : —

" May 1, 1901.

" On behalf of your old colleagues and staff of Messrs. Elder
Dempster & Co., I beg you to accept the accompanying presents
as a souvenir and mark of the high appreciation they have always
had for you during the time they have had the pleasure of being
associated with you in the office, and I take this opportunity to tender
you their heartiest good wishes for your future welfare and success."

Some years later in view of the foregoing allegations, Morel took the
precaution of getting letters both from Sir Alfred Jones and Mr. John

CERTAINTY 77

And so Morel, having severed a ten years' connection
with the famous Liverpool shipping firm, went out, like
some modern Giant-killer, to destroy the evil which was
overshadowing the lives of millions of natives, and
making the vast Congo Basin " Darkest Africa " indeed.

Craig (who had by then become a partner in the firm) denying the state-
ment that he had been " dismissed." Mr. Craig in his letter expressed
"much regret to hear you have been caused any annoyance by such
a rumour as that you mention," whilst Sir Alfred Jones wrote to say
" it is not right for any one to say that you were dismissed. You were
not." These letters, which Morel still possesses, are dated respectively
December 23, and December 30, 1907.

CHAPTER IX
THE CAMPAIGN OPENS

Hawarden days — The Sierra Leone Hut Tax Disturbances — The position
in the French Congo — Forty -four Concessionaire Companies — British
trading rights affected — A Heaven-sent opportunity — Mr. John Holt
of Liverpool — Chambers of Commerce petition — Lord Lansdowne —
— Trading Monopolies in West Africa — Morel on Free Trade and
Native Rights — How a Slave State is created — The root of the evil
— A " blood-stained " structure — Belgium must control the Congo —
Call for an International Conference — A campaign in two languages
— French and Belgian support.

IN 1901 Morel had taken a small house at Hawarden, a
village on the Welsh borders imperishably associated
with the name of William Ewart Gladstone ; and it was
there, amidst pleasantly rural surroundings, that for the
next few years he worked, only coming up to London
on important occasions, and mainly conducting his cam-
paign— and this is one of the most astonishing points
about it — by correspondence. Indeed, it is this habit
of seclusion, practised by him for so long, his distaste for
what is called Society, and his reluctance, owing to his
retiring disposition and his strong affection for country
life, to come out into the limelight and to move in person
amongst the well-known figures of contemporary life,
which has enabled some of his opponents to picture him
as " a man of mystery " and a " sinister figure lurking
in the background," and to invest this downright,
somewhat unaccommodating man with the attributes of
a Machiavelli or a Drury Lane conspirator.

78

THE CAMPAIGN OPENS 79

A friend of Morel's, Captain Hazzeldine, who was
associated with him on the African Mail, has given an
interesting glimpse of these Ha warden days : —

" He (Morel) had just got back from work to the bosom of his
family in the village home in Cheshire.1 His small boy and girl
were playing in the garden under Mrs. Morel's eye. There was
also a baby donkey — a live one. This little big-headed creature,
standing about as high as they did, was tumbling the children about
on the grass. I said, 4 What do you have that for ? Won't
it hurt them ? ' He said, * No, it will do them good. It will give
the kid pluck. It will get him used to animals, so that he won't
be afraid of them.' "

In 1900 Morel had published a small pamphlet — which
won the approval of the Manchester Guardian and the
Liverpool Journal of Commerce — in which he condemned
the enforcement of the hut tax upon the natives of
Sierra Leone,2 and in the following year he opened in real
earnest his campaign against the concessionaire system
in tropical Africa.

By this time this pernicious system had spread over
the borders of the Congo Free State into the French Congo,
and great trouble had resulted.

The Position in the French Congo.

This colony had been acquired by France largely owing
to the efforts of Savorgnan de Brazza, one of the greatest
colonial statesmen that France had ever produced, and
a man who had won the confidence and affection of the
natives to a very remarkable degree. The territory,
however, had been somewhat neglected by the French,
and its trade was almost entirely in British hands.

But in 1898 the enormous profits secured by the Rubber
Companies in the Congo Free State had aroused the

1 This was in 1904.

3 The Sierra Leone Hut Tax Disturbances : a Reply to Mr. Stephen,
by E. D. M. (John Richardson & Sons, Liverpool).

80 THE FIGHT AGAINST SLAVERY

cupidity of a certain group of French colonial politicians
and financiers, and King Leopold on his part had not
been slow to realize that his own position would be
enormously strengthened if the system prevalent in
the Congo were buttressed by the introduction of a
similar state of affairs into a colony administered by
France.

And so in this year the French Congo was split up
amongst forty-four Concessionaire Companies " with
nominal French heads, but with Belgians on the board
of administration, a majority of Belgian shareholders
behind, with Belgian capital either openly, or in disguised
form, the controlling factor." 3

The natural results followed. Disputes took place
between the concessionaires and the British merchants
who had for years been trading peacefully with the natives.
The concessionaires claimed that the produce of the soil
was their own property, and that therefore the merchants
had no right to trade with the natives at all. In this
claim they were established on March 20, 1901, by a
decree, issued through the Governor of the French Congo,
which declared that " the products of the soil belonged
to the concessionaires, who alone had the right to dispose
of them, the natives not being entitled to sell them to
any one but the concessionaires." 4

This decree evoked from de Brazza, then in retirement,
a strong and dignified protest in Le Temps. It was
also opposed by other eminent Frenchmen. Nevertheless
it was persisted in. British merchants were forcibly
prevented from trading. British goods were seized on
the public roads. British factories were broken opeii.
British native agents were flogged. British subjects
were expelled. And, as a consequence, trading stations
were deserted, and a profitable commerce which had been

3 Affairs of West Africa, p. 288, 4 Ibid. p. 292.

THE CAMPAIGN OPENS 81

gradually built up during twenty years and more was
being rapidly destroyed.

Morel saw in this situation a Heaven-sent opportunity
of opening a formidable attack upon the whole Leopoldian
system and the evils which logically sprang from it.
Getting in touch with Mr. John Holt, of Messrs. John
Holt & Co. — one of the two important British firms which
were mainly affected 5 — he persuaded him to bring the
matter officially before the Liverpool Chambers of Com-
merce.6 As a result, an influential joint memorial from
nine Chambers of Commerce (including those of London,
Glasgow, Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham, Cardiff,
and Bristol) was despatched on September 30, 1901, to
Lord Lansdowne, His Majesty's Secretary of State for
Foreign Affairs, the memorialists taking their stand on
the Free Trade provisions of the Berlin Act of 1885, which
forbade the granting of any trade monopoly in the basin
of the Congo. 7

" Trading Monopolies in West Africa."

In the autumn of the same year, Morel contributed a
series of articles to the weekly journal West Africa.
These articles, five in number, were reprinted in pamphlet
form under the title of Trading Monopolies in West Africa,*
were widely reviewed both in this country and on the

5 The other firm was Messrs. Hatton & Cookson.

6 Mr. John Holt had at first been reluctant to take this action, firstly
owing to a personal dislike of publicity, and secondly because he pre-
ferred to rely mainly on private negotiations through the Foreign Office.
Morel, however, with his eye on the still greater iniquity of the Congo
?ree State, persuaded him that, in the wider interests of humanity,
it was necessary to arouse public opinion on the whole question, and to
mobilize the interests of legitimate commerce in support of the general
Humanitarian movement.

7 See Chapter V.

8 Trading Monopolies in West Africa : a Protest against Territorial
Concessions, by E. D. M. (John Richardson & Sons, Liverpool).

6

82 THE FIGHT AGAINST SLAVERY

Continent, and gave rise to a considerable amount of
controversy, especially in Belgium.

In this pamphlet Morel developed at some length his
well-known views on the subject of Free Trade, Native
Rights, and Forced Labour. " Free Trade For All," he
proclaimed, was his ideal.

" Free Trade in West Africa, free trade for all ; free trade
for the Englishmen in a French colony, and in a German colony ;
free trade for the Frenchmen in the colonies of his neighbours ;
an assimilation of tariffs ; mutual co-operation in promoting legiti-
mate trade, the greatest of all civilizing agents ; mutual co-operation
in curtailing the liquor traffic, which is opposed to the interests of
the European Governments, of the merchants, of the natives. There
is plenty of room for the free, unfettered commerce of all the Powers
of Europe in the Western Continent of Africa, and the greater the
attractions given to the trade in an individual colony, whether it be
French or German or English, the sounder its financial position,
the more pronounced its ability to construct useful public works,
the more certain the contentment and the producing power of its
inhabitants." 9

How a Slave State is Created.

Of the concessionaire system he wrote : —

" With a stroke of the pen it debars the natives from hereditary
and tribal ownership of land ; it ignores the native law of land
tenure and the native form of family property. It confers on a
group of Europeans the absolute ownership of tribal lands in Africa,
and grants them the sole rights of proprietorship over the raw
products of the soil. . . . The native is no longer asked to exchange
his vegetable riches for imported goods, because his possession
of those vegetable riches is no longer recognized. They are not his :
they belong to the monopolist association, and he is expected to
collect and bring them to the association of whom he has become
the de facto serf, the association paying him for his labour on its own
terms.

" The basis of such a regime can only be force, and to be even
temporarily successful must everywhere necessitate the enrolling
and arming, on a large scale, of mercenaries. Each association is
therefore bound in time to become a Slave State, relying upon armed

9 Trading Monopolies in West Africa, p. 35.

THE CAMPAIGN OPENS S3

force to compel its subjects to work. That is the only logical
outcome of the system, and we see it in the Domaine Privd of the
Congo State."10

The Root of the Evil.

The last dozen words were characteristic. Never for
a moment did Morel lose sight of his main object. Starting
off with an examination of the conditions prevailing in
the French Congo, he quickly developed his theme until
it covered the Congo Free State as well. Here, as he
clearly showed, was the root of the evil, of which the
situation in the French colony was only an offshoot.
For the Leopoldian regime he reserved his fiercest invec-
tive. " The rubber shipped home by the Congo com-
panies ... is stained with the blood of hundreds of
negroes." " This hideous structure of sordid wickedness,"
he called it. " Blood is smeared all over the Congo State,
its history is blood-stained, its deeds are bloody, the
edifice it has reared is cemented with blood — the blood
of unfortunate negroes, spilled freely with the most
sordid of all motives, monetary gain : blood which
calls aloud to Heaven for retribution upon the shedders
of it."

" The system must be changed," he declared, " and the
only way to change it is the abolition of the Domaine
PrivS and the substitution of Belgian parliamentary
supervision for the despotism of the man who has brought
all these horrors upon Central Africa." "

Finally, he called for an International Conference to
enquire into " the whole problem of the relationship
between the peoples of Europe and the peoples of
Africa." »

10 Trading Monopolies in West Africa, pp. 9-10.
» Ibid. p. 58.

13 For writing this pamphlet Morel subsequently received a letter
of thanks from the Liverpool Chamber of Commerce.

84 THE FIGHT AGAINST SLAVERY

French and Belgian Support.

Morel has the good fortune to be bi-lingual. He can
speak and write French as well as he can speak English.
So he made use of this advantage by following up his
pamphlet with a detailed exposure of the whole con-
cessionaire system in the French review Question
diplomatiques et Coloniales, which attracted considerable
attention across the Channel. And here it may be men-
tioned that Morel, in the attitude he was taking, was
receiving, and continued to receive, strong support from
well-known writers and politicians, not only in France,
but also in Belgium.

Amongst those who took a similar line to his own were
de Brazza himself,^ whose protest has already been noted ;
the powerful Compagnie Francaise de VAfrique Occidentale ;
M. Ballay, Governor-General of French West Africa, who
threatened to resign his office if the concessionaire system
were extended to the other French West African colonies,
and who declared that such a system required " a, ..soldier
behind_eye.ry_ producer " ; M. Jean Hess, the well-known
explorer ; M. Serge Barret ; M. Albert Cousin, " member of
the Superior Council of the Colonies" ; M. Pierre Mille ;
and in Belgium M. Lorand, leader of the Radical section
of the Liberal Party, and a number of other deputies.

In presenting Morel with a copy of his book on Native
Policy in the French Colonies (Paris : Bureaux de la France
d' outre mer. 1912, " published with approval of the

X3 Many years later, in 1911, the Comtesse de Brazza, widow of this
great African explorer and administrator, sent the following message
to those who were making arrangements for the presentation of a public
testimonial to Morel : "I admire greatly the perseverance, courage
and energy with which Mr. E. D. Morel has pursued his work on behalf
of the black race against European cruelty and oppression in Africa,
and I shall be happy to join those of his friends who are about to give
him a public testimonial as a tribute of appreciation for his noble work
on behalf of the Congo natives. I am sorry to be detained in Algeria,
and not to be able to be present on this occasion."

THE CAMPAIGN OPENS 85

Ministry of the Colonies "), M. Henri Bobichon, a high
official of the French Congo, who subsequently helped
in the work of removing evil consequences resulting from
the introduction of the Leopoldian system into that
territory, inscribed the following words upon its title-
page :—

" To him who has struggled so courageously on behalf of the Congo
natives, Mr. E. D. Morel, with the sympathetic homage and devo-
tion of an old Colonial."

CHAPTER X
TWO YEARS' HARD FIGHTING

First public speech — The Rabinek case — Affairs of West Africa — Sir
Charles Dilke's opinion — Translated by French Colonial Office —
Morel's second book — The British Case in French Congo — Commerce
or exploitation ? — A grave warning — Public support increasing —
The first Parliamentary debate — British official action — Starts the
African Mail — The Congo Slave State — An appeal to America.

EARLY in 1902 Morel was invited, through his work as
a writer on West African questions, to become a member
of the committee of the West African Section of the
Liverpool Chamber of Commerce,1 and in May of the same
year he made his first public speech at a meeting held at
the Mansion House, under the auspices of the Aborigines
Protection Society, with Mr. Alfred E. Pease, M.P., in the
chair, supported by Sir Charles Dilke, M.P., Mr. James
Round, M.P., Sir T. Fowell Buxton, Sir Alfred Lyall,
Mr. H. R. Fox-Bourne, Mrs. J. R. Green, Mrs. Brad-
laugh Bonner, and others. The following is an extract
from Morel's speech on this occasion : —

" The Congo Free State has invented a form of slavery more
degrading and more atrocious than any slavery which has existed
before. They might disguise it as they liked ; they might wrap
it up in as many sonorous platitudes and misleading sophistries
as they chose. The fact remained that a State which by successive
strokes of the pen alienated native ownership in land, declared a
monopoly over the products of the soil, forebade the natives to
dispose freely of those products, compelled the natives to bring

1 He resigned this position two years later.
86

TWO YEARS' HARD FIGHTING 87

those products to itself as tribute, and was able to enforce these
monstrous edicts by the only way in which, in tropical Africa, it
was possible to enforce such a conception, namely by overwhelming
military force, was guilty of having established slavery. ... I do
not think the position is one as to the number of specific acts
of cruelty and oppression — the real question is as to the cause of
which these atrocities are the effects. It is the cause itself which
must be removed. . . . The Congo Free State, which claimed to
be a philanthropic institution, has a regular army of 15,000 regular
levees. The number is official. ... It is of little or no consequence
how many or how few records exist as to the specific acts of cruelty
committed. What I contend is that the system itself infallibly
necessitates and renders inevitable such acts, and it is upon a
complete reversal of the system itself that efforts should be concen-
trated. Justice and humanity, reason and common sense, demand
that the system which is eating into the vitals of Africa should
be put a stop to. To ensure that result international enquiry is
essential."

At this meeting resolutions were passed expressing the
opinion that the provisions of the Berlin Conference " as
regards the protection of native populations " had been
violated " by proceedings ruinous to those native popula-
tions," and calling upon His Majesty's Government to
confer with the signatory Powers to the Act to take
steps " with a view to fulfilment of their joint obligations."
It is perhaps worthy of note that the Congo State com-
missioned two of its friends to attend this meeting,
and that these were responsible for several abortive
interruptions.

In the March issue of the Contemporary Review there
appeared an article by Morel entitled " The Belgian Curse
in Africa," and a little later, largely through the influence
of Mrs. John Richard Green, a short article entitled
'' The Congo State and the Domaine Prive " was inserted
in the official journal of the African Society and attracted
the favourable attention of high officials of the Foreign
Office, one of whom was the late Sir Martin Gosselin.
Both of these articles were subsequently reprinted as

88 THE FIGHT AGAINST SLAVERY

pamphlets, for Morel, amongst his other qualities, is an
indefatigable pamphleteer.

The Rabinek Case.

The publication of the first of these articles had a
remarkable sequel. Quite by accident a copy of the
Contemporary Review in which it appeared fell into the
hands of a European trader in the wilds of Central Africa,
and through him Morel was furnished with the first
particulars of the famous Rabinek Case, which he subse-
quently used with such startling effect. The facts of this
case, which were not fully made known until the following
year, were briefly as follows 2 : —

Gustave Maria Rabinek was an Austrian merchant of
high integrity and unblemished character, trading in
rubber and ivory in the Katanga region of the Congo
Free State. He was well known to English explorers
and merchants in Central Africa, and possessed a trading
licence issued by two Congo State officials and by the
Katanga Company, the latter agreement being signed
on September 23, 1900. But on the previous June a
convention had been signed in Brussels, by which the
Katanga Company was converted from a more or less
private trading concern into a State institution on
the lines of the other trusts of the Domaine Prive.i
The news of this arrangement did not reach the African
manager of the Katanga Company until November 7th,
six weeks after the licence had been granted to
Rabinek.

Upon being informed of the agreement which had
been made with Rabinek, the European directors of the
Katanga Company immediately repudiated it, and the

* The particulars of this case are taken from King Leopold's RuU in
Africa, pp. 259-96 (cf. the previous case of Stokes, Chapter VII).
3 See Chapter VI.

TWO YEARS5 HARD FIGHTING 89

letter conveying their decision reached Africa on April 11,
1901, and was communicated to Rabinek nine days later.
Rabinek, however, declined to admit the validity of this
repudiation. He had his agreement, and he meant to
stick to it.

In the meantime (as far back as December 17, 1900)
a warrant for Rabinek' s arrest had been issued on the
charge of violating the decree of October 30, 1892,4 by
which trading in rubber by private individuals was pro-
hibited in the Katanga region " on pain of a fine of
10 to 1,000 francs, and to imprisonment of one day to
a month."

" Had Rabinek been indicted on this charge alone," says Morel 5
" he could have got out of the clutches of the State, and made himself
uncommonly unpleasant afterwards on the strength : first, of the
Free Trade Clauses of the Berlin Act ; second, of the official licences
granted him, for which he had paid ; and third, of the licence granted
him by the Katanga Company, to benefit by which he opened a
large credit with European firms."

So a secret charge of gun-running, which was never
communicated to Rabinek, and for which there was no
tittle of evidence, was apparently made against him as
well!

On May 14, 1901, Rabinek was arrested on board the
British steamer Scotia, anchored on Lake Muera, forty
yards from the Congo State port of Mpueto. The warrant
was read to him by an officer of the Free State, and
Rabinek accompanied him ashore.

He was then removed to Mtowa, 150 miles away, and
there on June 14th was summarily condemned by court-
martial to one year's imprisonment and a fine of 1,000
francs for " illegal " trading in rubber — an absolutely
illegal sentence from any point of view, even under the
law under which he was charged, and one against which

4 See p. 63. 5 King Leopold's Rule in Africa, p. 280.

90 THE FIGHT AGAINST SLAVERY

a judicial officer of the State, who attended the court-
martial, himself protested.

Against this sentence Rabinek appealed, and was sent
away, " a prisoner " under native escort, to Boma,
a distance of 2,000 miles. " Such a journey," said
M. Leveque, a high official of the Katanga Company,
when he heard of it, " certainly means death." It meant
death in this case ; for on September 1st Rabinek died
on the journey and was hastily buried on the river-bank,
the body not even being taken to Leopoldville, two hours'
steaming farther on. In the meantime all his effects,
to the estimated value of £12,000, had been seized by the
agents of the Katanga Company.

" In an abandoned clearing," wrote Morel, " where once stood
a Government wooding-post, at the mouth of Stanley Pool, lies
all that is left of Gustav Maria Rabinek. A grave hastily dug and
roughly closed, the body flung there like a dog, with not even a
stone to mark its resting-place — only the grim African forest
mounting guard." 6

Such was the famous Rabinek Case, which in the follow-
ing year made such a stir throughout Europe, and the
particulars of which Morel was instrumental in putting
before the public.

" Affairs of West Africa."

Towards the close of the year Morel issued his first
important book, Affairs of West Africa (Heinemann,
1902), a volume of nearly four hundred pages, profusely
illustrated with excellent photographs and maps.

This book contained a detailed and exhaustive descrip-
tion of West Africa, its history, its inhabitants, its flora
and fauna, its physical characteristics, its industries, its
trade and its finances, and revealed an amazing range

6 King Leopold's Rule in Africa, p. 295.

TWO YEARS' HARD FIGHTING 91

of knowledge of the country for one who had at that
time never even visited its shores. The greater part of
the book dealt with Nigeria and other British West
African possessions, but the concluding chapters con-
tained a strong and measured attack upon the Leopoldian
system in the Congo Free State, and upon the same
system as applied in the French Congo, which was
contrasted with the brilliant achievements and ad-
mirable administrative successes of the French in their
other West African dependencies. Morel also, as stated
in Chapters II and III, devoted several pages to a
valuable plea for closer sympathy and understanding
between the French and British peoples on the subject
of West Africa.

The book was well reviewed. Sir Charles Dilke said
that it constituted " the best reflection on the conditions
of Africa " which had been produced " since that curious
volume the Dark Continent" Sir Harry Johnston,
writing in the Daily Chronicle, said of the Congo part
that " Mr. Morel's indictment is one of the most
terrible things ever written, if true." The Times, after
saying,

"It is with great satisfaction that the public will welcome a
contribution to our general knowledge on the subject, at once so
intelligent and so informing, as Mr. E. D. Morel's,"

went on to remark that —

" The sufferings of which the picture was given to the world
in Uncle Tom's Cabin are as nothing to those which Mr. Morel
represents to be the habitual accompaniments of the acquisition
of rubber and ivory by the Belgian companies " ;

whilst the Morning Post characterized the book as being
" a terrible indictment of the Congo State."
But the most flattering tribute to the book was that

92 THE FIGHT AGAINST SLAVERY

paid to it by the French Government. Containing, as
it did, the first serious study of French administrative
work in West Africa which had appeared in this country,
it was translated into French by the Head of the African
Department of the French Colonial Office, M. Alfred
Duchene, printed in serial form in the Official Journal
of that Department and afterwards published in book
form by Challomel.7

To this edition M. Duchene contributed an interesting
introduction : —

" When a few months ago," he wrote, " the work of Mr. Morel
appeared in England, the few Frenchmen who became acquainted
with it were at once astonished, charmed, saddened. . . . This
conscientious writer had produced a most enlightened study of
West Africa. His liberal mind had steered him away from prejudice ;
whether the problem had to do with Mohammedanism, slavery,
the qualities and defects of the negro race, he approached it in the
light of facts. . . . For many Englishmen what Mr. Morel said in his
volume upon the success of France in West Africa must have been
a revelation, and more than one reader will rejoice to see an English-
man speak highly of the meritorious efforts of our fellow-country-
men. . . . But if the author refers in favourable terms to our work
in West Africa proper, he is very severe upon our proceedings in
the French Congo since 1899. Have we deserved these criticisms ?
Mr. Morel is convinced of it, for he sees in the grant of large concessions
in the French Congo and the economic system arising from them,
a system which has been adopted from the Congo Free State whose
methods he utterly condemns. . . . He does not admit that one
is entitled to remain neutral in the face of doctrines which one
blames and policies which one considers odious or arbitrary. . . . The
object we have had has been, by translating the volume of Mr.
Morel's, to present to the French public a book in which the ability
and scientific treatment of his subject by the author equals his
unquestionable competence."

Morel's second book, The British Case in French Congo
(Heinemann), appeared a few months later, in the spring
of 1903. In this work, as the title indicated, he reverted

7 Probl&mes de VOuest Africain. Translated from the English bj
A. Duchene, chief of the African Staff at the Ministry of the Colonies.
(Paris : Augusten Challomel, 1904.)

TWO YEARS' HARD FIGHTING 03

to the state of affairs in the French Congo, and dealt with
it very fully and with great lucidity. At the same time
he again made it quite clear that in his opinion the root
of the whole evil lay in the Congo Free State, and that
he still retained a very real respect and admiration for
French administration in Africa generally. The book
was dedicated

" To all far-seeing Englishmen, and fair-minded Frenchmen,"
and in his Introduction Morel remarked :

44 1 am an earnest and sincere admirer of the splendid work
accomplished by France in West Africa proper, and the magnifi-
cent labours of the de Brazza school in French Congo." 8

Commerce or Exploitation ?

The distinction between legitimate commerce and
exploitation was clearly drawn : —

" The difference between commerce and exploitation — which
is a polite way of describing robbery aggravated by violence — is
the difference between approaching the owner of an article and
offering to buy it from him, and putting a pistol to the owner's head,
bidding him hand over his goo Is on pain of death or punishment
of various kinds. The one is based upon consent ; the other upon
compulsion. The one recognizes that the negro is (1) a man,
(2) a landowner, whether as a unit in a tribal community or family
organization, or as an individual. The other looks upon the negro
as (1) a brute ; (2) denies his rights as a landowner ; (3) claims that
the mountains, valleys, forests and plains, and everything of economic
value they contain, whether animal, vegetable or mineral — except
the actual spot upon which the native has built his hut, or where
he cultivates his patch of maize millet or other foodstuffs — belongs,
not to the native, but to the white man." 9

He concluded with a grave warning : —

44 Slavery, relying upon the rifles of thousands of native levies,
or commerce, based upon the recognition that the negro has the

8 The, British Case in French Congo (Heinemann), p. 1.

9 Ibid. pp. 4-5.

94 THE FIGHT AGAINST SLAVERY

rights of a man to his freedom and his property — that is what
European statesmen will shortly be called upon to decide. And
as they decide, so the structure which the white people are endeavour-
ing once more to raise up in the land of the negroes will remain,
or the great black wave — inscrutable, mysterious, enduring — will
once more roll suddenly forward even unto the ocean, obliterating
every trace of a civilization which, professing to act in the name of
the Most High God, has permitted the violation of every law, human
and Divine." I0

This book also was well received, the Morning Post in
particular being loud in its praise.

During this period the Congo Government and its
agents were not idle, and Morel, being recognized as a new
and formidable opponent of the Leopoldian system, was
the recipient of attacks from many quarters, actions for
libel — which never materialized — were threatened, and he
was even accused of being the agent of an " International
Syndicate working in the interests of France." On his
part Morel was not letting the grass grow under his feet,
and in pamphlet after pamphlet, and in innumerable
articles and published letters, he pressed forward his case
against the Congo with characteristic vigour and zeal.
In particular he was now making known, through the
Press, the facts — already related — he had laboriously
pieced together concerning the notorious Rabinek Case.
This case was taken up most vigorously by the Morning
Post, to which journal Morel contributed several articles.
Morel also placed these facts before the Foreign Office,
with the result that Lord Lansdowne took certain official
action on the matter.

Increasing Public Support.

Public support was now rallying in considerable strength
to the cause of the Congo Reformers. A book entitled
Civilization in Congo-land, published in January 1903 by

*° The British Case in French Congo (Heinemann), p. 11.

TWO YEARS' HARD FIGHTING 95

Mr. H. R. Fox-Bourne, secretary of the Aborigines Protec-
tion Society, reinforced, especially from the Humanitarian
side, the case which Morel was presenting ; resolutions
censuring the methods of the Congo State were passed
in succession by the Associated Chambers of Commerce,
the Free Church Council, and the London Branch of the
late Mr. W. T. Stead's " International Union " ; and on
May 5th an important meeting was held at the United
Services Institute, at which the Rev. W. M. Morrison,
an American missionary who had spent four years in the
Congo, delivered an account of his experiences there,
and of the infamous deeds he had witnessed. Dr. Clifford
was the chairman of this meeting, and he was supported
by Mr. Herbert Samuel, M.P., Mr. Alfred Emmott, M.P.,
Mr. T. R. Buchanan, M.P., Mr. C. McArthur, M.P., Mr.
Frederic Harrison, Mr. John Holt, and others. The
resolution, appealing to the Government to take action,
was moved by Sir Charles Dilke, M.P., and seconded by
Morel.

The First Parliamentary Debate.

And then, on May 20, 1903, the matter came before the
House of Commons. At the suggestion of Sir Charles
Dilke, Morel drew up a resolution to be submitted to the
House. It ran as follows : —

" That the Government of the Congo Free State, having, at its
inception, guaranteed to the Powers that its native subjects should
be governed with humanity, and that no trading monopoly or
privilege should be permitted within its dominions (and both
these guarantees having been constantly violated),11 this House
requests His Majesty's Government to confer with the other Powers
signatory to the Berlin General Act, by virtue of which the Congo
Free State exists, in order that measures may be adopted to abate
the evils prevalent in that State."

" The words in parentheses were omitted, at the request of Mr. Balfour,
from the resolution as carried by the House.

»« THE FIGHT AGAINST SLAVERY

This resolution was moved by Mr. Herbert Samuel,
supported by Sir Charles Dilke, Mr. Alfred Emmott, Sir
John Gorst, and Lord Edmond Fitzmaurice, and carried
unanimously, Mr. Balfour, then Prime Minister, admitting
that the Government

*' could not, of course, in any case, resist the motion, because it
indicated a policy the Government desired to follow.'*

In the course of this debate Morel's name was referred
to by Sir Charles Dilke, Mr. Herbert Samuel, and Mr.
Emmott in the highest terms, and the references were
warmly cheered. He was described as the man who knew
more about the subject than any one else, and to whom
great gratitude was due.

British Official Action.

As a result of the adoption of this resolution the British
Government despatched a circular Note to the Great
Powers, suggesting another Conference. This Note was
presented in August, and, amongst other matters, stated
that—

*' the Congo stations are shunned, the only natives seen being
soldiers, prisoners, and men who are brought in to work. The
neighbourhood of stations which are known to have been populous
a few years ago is now uninhabited, and emigration on a large scale
takes place to the territory of neighbouring states, the natives usually
averring that they are driven away from their homes by the tyranny
and exaction of the soldiers."

Meanwhile, on July 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, an important
debate had taken place in the Belgian House of Repre-
sentatives, when strong speeches against the system in
force in the Free State were made by M. Vandervelde,
M. Lorand, M. Janson, and other deputies.

TWO YEARS' HARD FIGHTING 97

In April of the same year — as stated in Chapter II —
Morel, with the aid of some friends, launched the first
issue of a weekly journal entitled the African Mail,
a periodical mainly devoted to the administrative and
economic development of British West Africa, and which
he edited for the next dozen years. The editing of this
journal, in addition to carrying on his other controversial
work, entailed a life of long and laborious days, and all
through this time Morel was kept hard at work replying,
in the column of his paper and in the public Press, to the
innumerable books, pamphlets, and newspaper articles
which were now being outpoured in an ever-increasing
stream, and in all languages — British, French, German,
Italian — by the agents and friends of King Leopold.
The circulation of the journal was necessarily limited,
but Morel thought of the plan of sending round " advance
pulls " of his articles to the various newspapers, and by
this means he secured a good deal of valuable publicity
for his views.

' The Congo Slave State."

Later in the year Morel brought out a large pamphlet
(112 pages) entitled The Congo Slave State.

This pamphlet was perhaps the strongest and fiercest
indictment of Congo State rule he had yet published. It
contained a full and detailed description of the Leopoldian
system as carried on in the Domain de la Couronne,
and in each of the subsidiary concessions into which the
Congo was divided, illustrated by maps of the various
territories under discussion. It dealt with the Rabinek
Case at length, and described many of the abominable
atrocities which had taken place in the Congo. It also
contained a report of the debate in the House of Commons
on Mr. Herbert Samuel's resolution.

98 THE FIGHT AGAINST SLAVERY

Through the generosity of one of his supporters,1*
who presented him with £100 for the purpose, Morel was
able — this was before the days of high paper prices ! —
to distribute this pamphlet free of charge. Copies were
sent to members of both Houses of Parliament, to the
principal newspapers, and to America. It was widely
reviewed, and caused considerable sensation.

An Appeal to America.

To this King Leopold retorted by getting himself inter-
viewed by the Paris editor of the New York Herald (to
which interview Morel duly replied in the same journal),
and by sending one of his henchmen on a lecturing tour
through America. Why America ? Because Morel in
this pamphlet had made a special appeal to the United
States.

44 America," he said, 4' has a peculiar and very clear responsibility
in the matter, inasmuch as the American Government was the
first to recognize the status of the International Association (which
subsequently became the Congo State) and thereby paved the
way for similar action on the part of the European Governments.
America was deceived, as Europe was deceived, by the professions
of philanthropy and high moral purpose so lavishly scattered by
the Sovereign of the Congo State. It is to be hoped that President
Roosevelt and the American people may help to undo the grievous
wrong which was thereby unknowingly inflicted upon the natives
inhabiting the Congo territories.'*

'» Mr. Herbert Ward.

CHAPTER XI
THE CONGO REFORM ASSOCIATION

A Herculean task — The Casement report — Formation of Congo Reform
Association — The Congo Commission — Debate in the House — King
Leopold's Rule in Africa — Visit to America — Mark Twain's Soliloquy
— Received by President Roosevelt and Secretary Hay — Speech at
Boston — Letter from Sir F. C. Selous — Serious reports from Congo
— Sir Edward Grey becomes Foreign Secretary — Morel's advice —
King Leopold's defiance — Public indignation — Red Rubber — A char-
acteristic quotation — The Daily Mail's high praise — Belgium must
annex the Congo.

IT is difficult to realize, even at this short distance of
time, the Herculean difficulty of the task to which Morel
had now set himself and the colossal strength of the
opposition he had to face and overcome. Opposed to
him was the ablest monarch in the world, a man of great
intellectual power, shrewd, skilled in the ways of diplo-
macy, of infinite resource, as crafty as he was unscrupulous,
the controller of immense wealth, related to half the Royal
Families of Europe, and able to exercise immense influence
through a thousand social, economic, and political channels.
This man was the centre of a vast capitalistic conspiracy,
with ramifications in every financial centre of Europe,
influencing the Press, and even, in some cases, the religious
organizations of a dozen countries, with an obedient
Publicity Bureau working at high pressure, pouring out
misrepresentations in the form of books, pamphlets, and
special articjes in a never-ceasing stream, and " every-
where rallying to its side the latent forces of moral reaction,
infusing into them renewed energy and power, playing

100 THE FIGHT AGAINST SLAVERY

for high stakes." J Opposed to this conspiracy was a
small band of men and women energetic indeed, and
able, devoted to the cause of Humanity, but possessed of
very little wealth and with practically no financial backing,
having behind them at that time but limited public support,
and endeavouring to set in motion the ponderous machinery
of a cautious and reluctant Diplomacy — a diplomacy with
its thoughts elsewhere, a diplomacy always ready, if
allowed, especially in view of the crowd1' g complica-
tions of the International System, to tc ^e the least
difficult and inconvenient course, and to " let sleeping
dogs lie " !

And yet, in spite of these difficulties and of almost
incredibly unscrupulous opposition, Morel and his friends
" won through," as the following pages will show.

The Casement Report.

In February 1904 there was published the most damning
exposure of capitalistic exploitation in tropical Africa
that has ever startled and shocked an easygoing world.
This was the official report of the British Consul in the
Congo State, Mr. Roger Casement, who at the request
of the Foreign Office had been conducting a personal
investigation into the situation on the Upper Congo.
The account of his experiences was embodied in a docu-
ment of thirty-nine pages, with an appendix of twenty-
three further pages packed with specific facts, and with
detailed and minute observations. It was a record of
unrelieved horror, and with its appalling evidence of
fiendish cruelty, torture, mutilation, flogging, burning,
bestiality, and massacre, perpetrate 1 systematically over
a long period of years upon the unfortunate natives —
men, women, and children — of Central Africa, in the
interests of rubber-getting, by the agents of the Congo

1 Great Britain and the Congo, p. 25.

THE CONGO REFORM ASSOCIATION 101

Free State and the Concessionaire Companies, it proved
to the hilt the charges which Morel and his friends had
for years been making against the Leopoldian regime.
This is not the place to describe the Consul's evidence
in detail. It is sufficient to say that it was published,
together with certain scathing observations by Lord
Cromer — who had visited the Congo State's administra-
tive stations on the Upper Nile — by the British Government
and communicated by the latter to the Powers.2
*f

Formation of the Congo Reform Association.

The publication of this report, says Morel, " infused
fresh fire into the movement for Congo Reform." It
brought in new helpers and a great increase in popular
sympathy, and Morel determined to seize the opportunity
to direct this help and sympathy into an organization
which would be able to assist the work of Congo Reform,
in a more systematized way, and on a larger scale, than
had hitherto been possible. He accordingly set to work
to organize such a society. In this he was greatly helped
by the co-operation of Sir Charles Dilke, Mr. Alfred
Emmott, M.P., and others, and on March 23, 1904, at a
demonstration at the Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool, he
was able to announce the formation of the Congo Reform
Association.

The aims of this Association was the restoration to the
natives of the Congo of the rights guaranteed to them by
the Berlin and Brussels Acts. " The Congo evil," declared

a This was the first report from a consular officer on the Congo pub-
lished by the British Government. In the years that followed many
other consular reports on^he same subject were published, and these
continued to throw a flood of light upon the dark places of the Leopoldian
domain. Amongst the offic als whose reports were published by the
Government were Consul-General Cromie, Consul Nightingale, Consul
Thesiger, Consul Lamont and Vice -Consuls Armstrong, Beak, Campbell
and Mitchell. The principal White Books bearing on the subject are
C.D. 2333, 3450, 3880, 4079, 4466, 5860, 6145 and 6606.

102 THE FIGHT AGAINST SLAVERY

the Association, in its first public manifesto, " has grown
to colossal dimensions, and it can only be put an end to
by an organized public opinion which shall insist upon
the rulers of civilized mankind terminating a wrong
which has been allowed to reach its present state in private,
but which to-day constitutes a public affront to humanity."
The Presidency of the Association was accepted by Earl
Beauchamp, K.G., and its supporters soon numbered a
great many members of both Houses of Parliament, the
principal leaders of the Churches, and many other distin-
guished men and women. Amongst those who supported
the Association in those early days may be mentioned
the names of Mr. John Morley (now Viscount Morley of
Blackburn), Lords Aberdeen, Brassey, Tweedmouth, Kin-
naird, and Denman, the Bishops of Liverpool, Durham,
Rochester, and St. Asaph, Sir Charles Dilke, M.P., Sir
John Kennaway, M.P., Sir Gilbert Parker, M.P., Mr.
John Burns, M.P., the Rev. Stephen Gladstone, Professor
Bosworth-Smith, Mr. W. R. Cadbury, and Mr. St. Loe
Strachey.

King Leopold's Tactics.

In view of the widespread horror and indignation caused
by the Consular Report, King Leopold saw that it was
time to take some action which might allay the public
anger. His first step was to instruct his local officials
to hold a " judicial enquiry " into the charges made in
the report. This they made some show of doing, but it
was an extremely superficial performance, and as such
was contemptuously brushed aside by Lord Lansdowne.
His next step was to appoint a Commission of Enquiry,
composed of a Belgian State official, an official of the
Congo, and a Swiss jurist, which proceeded to the Congo
to examine into the charges. To this Commission the
Foreign Office handed over the report containing the

THE CONGO REFORM ASSOCIATION 103

names, dates, and places which had been suppressed in
the published copy. The Government also suggested
that a British representative should attend the sittings
of the Commission. This suggestion was flatly refused.
" No precedent," declared King Leopold's mouthpiece,
" could be discovered, wrhich could justify the official
presence of a person deputed by a Foreign Government
to attend a Commission of this character." This refusal
was communicated to the Foreign Office on September
7th, and was accepted. The upshot of this was — as
Morel predicted at the time — that the Congo Government
suppressed the whole of the evidence taken by the Com-
mission, and subsequently issued a report, signed by
three Commissioners, " which sought ... to attenuate
the admissions as to atrocity and general misrule they
had no option but to admit." 3

But in the meantime Morel, foreseeing this result,
had written to the missionaries in the Congo, with whom
he was in correspondence, urging them to leave no stone
unturned to see that the truth was placed before the
Commissioners, and to be sure to send him a copy of the
depositions made before the Commission. This they did,
with the result that the Congo Reform Association was
able ultimately to publish the evidence suppressed by
the Commission.

At every point visited by the Commission^ where British
or American missionaries were resident, evidence of the
most appalling character was produced. As the Rev.
J. H. Harris and his devoted wife, who subsequently
returned to Europe to take an active and important part

3 Great Britain and the Congo, pp. 131-2.

4 Although the area of the Congo Free State was almost 1,000,000
miles, the Commission only spent three months on the Upper Congo,
and not more than six weeks in the rubber districts. It returned to
Europe in March 1905, and its report was issued in the following
November (see p. 111).

104 THE FIGHT AGAINST SLAVERY

in the work of the Congo Reform Association, reported
at the time —

" The Commission endeavours to get through this slough of
iniquity and river of blood, but finding it hopeless, asks how much
longer I can go on. I tell them that I can go on until they are
satisfied that hundreds of murders have been committed by the

in this district alone — murders of chiefs, men, women

and little children — and that multitudes of witnesses only await
my signal to appear by the thousand."

On June 9, 1904, a second debate took place in the
House of Commons. 5 Vigorous speeches were delivered.
Lord Edmond Fitzmaurice complained of the " insolent
and insulting tone " of the Congo Government's dispatches ;
Sir Edward Grey declared that the story of the Congo
was " an intolerable one to hear about in relation to
contemporary history." Further steps must be taken.
" We must run the risk of exciting jealousy and suspicion."
He suggested the appointment of consuls " with consular
jurisdiction." For the Government, Lord Percy replied
that he earnestly hoped that the Congo Government
would address itself to the enquiry which it has publicly
and solemnly announced."

" King Leopold's Rule in Africa."

Meanwhile Morel had been writing hard. No fewer
than five pamphlets on the Congo appeared from his
pen during the year, viz. The Congo Horrors (reprint of
articles from the Hastings and St. Leonards Weekly Mail
and Times), The Scandal of the Congo (Richardson), The
Treatment of Women and Children in the Congo (Richardson)
— which was subsequently republished in an American
edition — The Commercial Aspects of the Congo Question

5 These debates were henceforward to occur periodically until 1912.

THE CONGO REFORM ASSOCIATION 105

(reprint from the African Society's Journal), and The
New African Slavery (International Union, London).

And then came his third important work, King
Leopold's Rule in Africa (Heinemann).

This book constituted the most complete indictment
of Leopoldian rule which had appeared up to that time.
It was, as the Morning Post remarked, " An amazing
book to be written in the dawn of the twentieth century
of the Christian era."

44 1 have thought," said Morel in his Introduction, " that an
effort should be made to explain with some fullness the inward
causes leading to those outward effects of which the Congo terri-
tories are, and have been for a considerable period, the scene.
This I have endeavoured to do by defining the radical distinction
between the development of tropical Africa by trade, which in-
volves the recognition of native rights in land and forest produce,
and the exploitation of tropical Africa through the methods intro-
duced, legalized, and upheld by King Leopold, the sole arbiter of
and legislator for the destinies of the Congo natives.

" I have tried to show that a humane, common-sense and just
treatment of the native races of tropical Africa by the European
Powers reposes upon certain fundamental principles, which, if
set aside, must inevitably lead to the adoption of an alternate
policy profoundly immoral in itself, maintainable by force alone,
and bound in the long run to prove economically and politically
disastrous." 6

The book (466 pages) was divided into five parts. In
the first part, which was purely historical, Morel dealt
with the Berlin Act and its sequel ; in the second he showed
how the Congo State had destroyed legitimate trade on
the Congo, and how the system in vogue had led to
" Militarism, Murder, Mutilation, and the Traffic in
Arms " ; in the third he gave a detailed account of the
system as it affected the natives in the various conces-
sionaire districts ; in the fourth he dealt with the system
as affecting international commercial interests ; in the

6 See also Chapters IV and V.

106 THE FIGHT AGAINST SLAVERY

fifth he printed a full account of the debate in the Belgian
Chamber in the previous year ; 7 and in the sixth he answered
some of the attempts which had been made by the
defenders of King Leopold to discredit the Casement
Report. Not the least striking feature of the book was
the inclusion of actual photographs of natives (including
children) who had been mutilated by Congo soldiery.

Over and over again in this book did Morel hammer
in the argument that the solution of the whole difficulty
in tropical Africa was the preservation of native rights in
the land.

" The one bulwark of the negro in tropical Africa," he said,
" against the worst excesses of European civilization, is the deter-
mination of Europe to conserve his rights on his land and on his
property. In helping him to develop his property on scientific
lines ; in granting him internal peace ; in proving to him that he
is regarded not as a brute but as a partner in a great undertaking
from which Europe and Africa will derive lasting benefit, Europe
will be adopting the only just, right, and practical policy." 8

He concluded with the following eloquent appeal :—

" In the name of humanity, of common decency and pity, for
honour's sake, if for no other cause, will not the Anglo-Saxon race
— the Governments and the peoples of Great Britain and the United
States, who between them are primarily responsible for the creation
of the Congo State — make up their minds to handle this monstrous
outrage resolutely, and so point the way, and set an example which
others would then be compelled to follow ?

" In that hope, with an ever-present consciousness of inadequacy
to portray the greatness of the evil and the greatness of the
responsibility, the author submits this volume to the public." 9

Visit to America.

In August of the same year Morel received an invitation
to address the International Peace Congress at Boston

7 See p. 96. 8 King Leopold's Rule in Africa, p. 101.

9 Ibid. p. 372.

THE CONGO REFORM ASSOCIATION 107

on the subject of the Congo. He was also deputed by
the Congo Reform Association, the British and Foreign
Anti-Slavery Society, the Aborigines Protection Society,
and the International Arbitration and Peace Association
to take the opportunity of presenting on their behalf a
memorial to President Roosevelt. To America Morel
accordingly went — and several emissaries of King Leopold
went there also.

Unfortunately for the King, however, the New York
American discovered the purpose of these latter gentlemen,
and published in its columns the particulars of an amazing
plot which had been set on foot with the object of deceiving
the American public. King Leopold, it appeared, had
been actually financing a great " lobbying " campaign
in Washington for the purpose of hoodwinking both the
President and Congress. The King had also paid authors
to write grandiloquent descriptions of the great " philan-
thropic " work in which the Congo State was engaged, and
had handed over to one Californian lawyer alone the
sum of 45,000 dollars for " work done " in this connection.
Further, by entertaining influential American millionaires
at his Court and by granting certain concessions to an
American Company, he had endeavoured — and with some
success — to influence the big moneyed interests of the
States in his favour.

Mark Twain's " Soliloquy."

On the other hand, Morel succeeded in enlisting on his
side the powerful influence of Mark Twain, who published
a most bitter and scathing satire on the subject. His
book was entitled King Leopold's Soliloquy, and in it he
represented the King as complaining bitterly of the accu-
sations made against him by Morel and the missionaries.

" They remind the world," says Leopold, " that from the earliest
days my house has been chapel and brothel combined, and both

108 THE FIGHT AGAINST SLAVERY

industries working full time ; that I practised cruelties upon my
queen and my daughters, and supplemented them with daily shame
and humiliations ; that when my queen lay in the happy refuge of
her coffin, and a daughter implored me on her knees to let her look
for the last time upon her mother's face, I refused ; and that,
not being satisfied with the stolen spoils of a whole alien nation,
I robbed my own child of her property and appeared by proxy
in court, a spectacle to the civilized world, to defend the act and
complete the crime. They remark that * if the innocent blood
shed in the Congo State by King Leopold were put in buckets placed
side by side, the line would stretch 2,000 miles ; if the skeletons of
his ten millions of starved and butchered dead could rise up and
march in single file, it would take them seven months and four
days to pass a given point.' They go shuddering around, brood-
ing over the reduction of that Congo population from 25,000,000
to 15,000,000 in the twenty years of my administration ; then they
burst out and call me * the king with ten million murders on
his soul.' "

Received by President Roosevelt.

Morel arrived in New York on September 29th, and
considerable space was at once given to his mission by
the American newspapers. On the following day the
New York Evening Post devoted two columns to the
subject, and had in its headlines : " At the same time a
lecturer arrives who, it is announced, is in the pay of
Leopold of the Belgians." The lecturer referred to
was apparently a gentleman who, a few days later,
delivered an address at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel entitled
" A Bright Chapter in the History of Darkest Africa :
The Congo State." Of this lecture the New York Press
said : " The entire expense is borne by Leopold, this
being probably the first instance on record of a king
appealing through the lecture platform to a free people."
The day following his arrival in the States, Morel was
received at the White House by President Roosevelt,
to whom he presented the memorial of which he was the
bearer. The interview lasted for fifteen minutes, and was
of a private nature. A fortnight later Morel had an

THE CONGO REFORM ASSOCIATION 109

interview with the Secretary of State, concerning which
the following communication was issued to the Press : —

" Mr. E. D. Morel was received by Secretary Hay, with whom
he had twenty -five minutes' conversation. Mr. Morel was authorized
to state that the memorial recently handed to the President had
made a very favourable impression as regards its strength, its
moderation, and the representative nature of its signatures. The
subject was being carefully considered by the President and his
Cabinet. No doubt existed in the mind of the American Govern-
ment as to the motives of the signatories, which were recognized
to be of an unselfish and humanitarian character."

Speech at Boston.

On October 7th Morel addressed the International
Peace Congress at Boston, some two thousand persons
being present.

" The errand," he said, " which has brought me to the United
States is a very simple one. It is to appeal to you on behalf of
the oppressed and persecuted peoples of the Congo, for whose present
unhappy condition you, in America, and we, in England, have a
great moral responsibility, from which we cannot escape and from
which in honour we should not attempt to escape. . . .

"It is my privilege to ask you who are met here in the cause of
peace whether you will not lend a helping hand in staying the cruel
and destructive wars — if the murder of helpless men and women
can be dignified by such a name — which for ten years have been
decimating the Congo people ; whether you will or not give us
your assistance in our effort to stop a system of oppression and
extortion under which the Congo people are groaning and dying —
a system through which the great heart of Africa is being laid
waste, and beside whose dire results the exploits of so-called Arab
slave- dealers pale into insignificance. . . .

" In appealing to you on behalf of those millions of helpless
Africans, I am appealing to those who primarily — and, of course,
unwittingly — riveted the chains around them. It is a great re-
sponsibility that you have. If our duty is clear, surely yours is
also clear. The African slave trade has been revived, and is in full
swing in the Congo to-day. I ask you to help us to root it up and
fling it out of Africa, and just as I have no doubt of the greatness
and loftiness of your ideals, so I have no doubt of what your answer
will be."

110 THE FIGHT AGAINST SLAVERY

He concluded his address with the following fine quota-
tion from Lincoln : " Let us have faith that the right
makes might, and in that faith let us to the end dare to
do our duty, as we understand it."

Letter from Sir F. C. Selous.

The following letter from the late Sir Frederick Selous,
the famous African traveller and big-game hunter (who lost
his life in East Africa during the Great War), which was
received by Morel about this time, is worth reproducing : —

" DEAR MR. MOREL,

" I have just reached this place on my way home from the
wilds of Yukon territory. Certainly you may add my name to the
signatories of the * Memorial to President Roosevelt, President
of the United States of America, concerning affairs in the Congo
State,' if you wish to do so. Having read most of the articles
which you wrote on the subject of the misgovernment of the Congo
State in the paper which you kindly used to send me, and having
also carefully studied Consul Casement's Report, and having read
a great deal that has been written on the other side in defence of
King Leopold's administration, I am convinced that the natives
of the Congo valley have been more infamously treated during the
last fifteen years than ever they were by Arab slave-raiders in earlier
times. I trust that you may succeed in enlisting the active sym-
pathy of so strong, just and humane a man as President Roosevelt,
in your noble efforts to free the black populations of the Congo
from a most cruel and iniquitous system of misgovernment. With
best wishes for the success of the campaign of mercy on which you
are now embarked,

" Believe me,

"Yours very truly,

" F. C. SELOUS."

Morel remained in America for three weeks, leaving for
England on October 21st, thoroughly satisfied with the
success of his brief but eventful mission.

Serious Reports from the Congo.

In March 1905 King Leopold's Commission returned
from the Congo. Its report, however, was not issued

THE CONGO REFORM ASSOCIATION 111

for some months, and in the meantime the condition of
affairs in the Congo rapidly grew worse. " The back of
the Commissioners," said Morel, " had hardly been turned,
when the rubber saraband, the dance of death, broke
out with renewed vigour." I0 Native witnesses who had
testified before the Commission against the conduct of
the State Government were maltreated, persecuted and
imprisoned, and " died like flies." " The reports received
from the Congo, said Lord Percy in the House of Commons
on August 4th, " all said that the state of affairs was
not better — possibly it was worse than before the Com-
mission arrived." " There was outrage against the
natives," he added, " the lives of the missionaries
themselves were in danger, while in several cases there
had been attempts to intimidate or to punish those who
gave evidence against the Commission."

Meanwhile the Congo Reform Association was actively
organizing meetings in support of its policy, one of the
most notable being one which Morel addressed at the
Holborn Town Hall on June 7th, when Sir Harry John-
ston presided, and the platform included Lord Aberdeen,
Lord Beauchamp, Sir Charles Dilke, M.P., Mr. John
Burns, M.P., Mr. Herbert Samuel, M.P., and many other
distinguished personages. At this meeting Morel made
a striking speech, and a resolution was carried which,
after condemning the " system of personal rule " estab-
lished in the Congo, went on to say that " this meeting
desires to dissociate its condemnation " of that rule
" from any aspersion on the Belgian people," and " invites
the Belgian people to take up the administration of the
Congo Independent State as a national task, respecting
the legitimate rights of the natives to the soil and throwing
open the whole of the basin of the Congo to international
commerce without undue restrictions."

10 Great Britain and the Congo, p. 140. " Ibid.

112 THE FIGHT AGAINST SLAVERY

In November (the month in which the report of King
Leopold's Commission was issued) a memorial, signed
by a large number of citizens, was presented to Lord
Lansdowne when on a visit to Liverpool. In this year,
too, Morel read a paper before the Geographical Section
of the British Association, on " The Development of
Tropical Africa by the White Races : Two Divergent
Policies," which paper was subsequently issued as a
pamphlet.

Sir Edward Grey becomes Foreign Minister.

With 1906 there came the change of Government in
this country, and Sir Edward Grey succeeded Lord Lans-
downe at the Foreign Office. Morel took the opportunity
of addressing a letter to the new Secretary of State,

" to suggest that pressure should be brought to bear upon the
Congo Government to give full publicity to the evidence laid before
its own Commission."

Sir Edward Grey took this line, and repeatedly pressed
the Congo Government to publish this evidence. He was
met, however, with a point-blank refusal, the last excuse
given being that " Mr. Morel had, perhaps, suggested
this course (i.e. the publication of the evidence) in the
hope that he might discover . . . fresh elements of
propaganda against the officials of the Independent
State." Ia Thereupon the Foreign Office gave the
matter up.

On February 20th a five days' debate on the Congo
question began in the Belgian Chamber, the Congo admin-
istration being fiercely assailed by M. Vandervelde, M.
Janson (titular Liberal leader), M. Georges Lorand
(Liberal), Herr Daens (Flemish Independent), and M.

» Sir A. Hardinge to Sir E. Grey, April 6, 1906,

THE CONGO REFORM ASSOCIATION 113

Coifs (Catholic), the latter stating that " From 1895 on-
wards the conspiracy against truth has been organized
from top to bottom under well-nigh unbelievable conditions,
in order to hide the crimes committed on the Congo."

A Belgian Tribute to Morel.

In the course of this debate M. Lorand referred to
Morel as follows : —

" Mr. Morel has been represented as the Liverpool merchants'
man, the licensed calumniator of the Congo State, and whom our
Jingo Press has treated with the same harshness as was exhibited
in France towards the defenders of Captain Dreyfus. The informa-
tion which I have been able to gather about him, from a large number
of prominent colonials, agrees in representing him as a thoroughly
honest man and absolutely sincere. This information has convinced
me that the Secretary of the Congo Reform Association is truly
inspired by humanitarianism, earnest and enlightened principles,
guided by a desire for the salvation of the natives, and for the
freedom of their commerce, whom he has seen handed over to the
horrors of forced labour."

The Congo administration was defended by the Belgian
Government, the work of the Congo Reform Association
being especially denounced. This important debate was
translated verbatim by Morel and published in book form
in May. And as the Congo Government had declined
to publish the evidence taken by the Congo Commission,
the Congo Reform Association, as already recorded, did
the next best thing and published the testimony given
by the missionaries and of many native witnesses called
by the latter. This was published in pamphlet form,
and four large editions were sold. It was also translated
into French by Morel, published in Belgium, and sent
to every member of the Belgian House and to every
Belgian newspaper.

Leopold's Defence.

In June the Congo Government, which had set up a
so-called " Committee of Reform," issued a number of

8

114 THE FIGHT AGAINST SLAVERY

new decrees, accompanied by a manifesto from King
Leopold, in which the latter declared : —

" The Congo . . . could only be, and has been, a personal enter-
prise. Now there is no more legitimate or respectable right than
the right of the author to his own work, fruits of his labour. . . . My
rights on the Congo are indivisible. They are the products of
My toil, and My expense. . . . The interference which seeks to
diminish his (the sovereign's) rights partakes of the character of
a veritable usurpation, to use no harsher term. ..."

This insolent utterance was received with great indig-
nation by the British public. The Congo Reform Move-
ment was now making remarkable headway, thanks
very largely to the energy and enthusiasm of Morel, who
in this year alone produced no fewer than eight new
pamphlets on various aspects of the question, and began
to appear regularly on the public platform. '' The wave
of indignation," he said, " was sweeping through the
country ; great meetings were being held in city after
city, town after town." Z3

" In January 1906 the Lord Mayor of Liverpool summoned a
citizens' meeting. The Town Hall was crowded to excess, and on the
motion of Dr. Chavasse, Bishop of Liverpool, ... a resolution was
passed, condemning the system of rule existing in the Congo as
' a revival under worse forms of the African slave trade.' The
initiative of the civic authorities of Liverpool was followed by similar
action on the part of the civic authorities of our largest cities, and
of many towns and boroughs all over the country." M

Citizens' meetings were held,

" presided over by the Chief Magistrates and supported by influential
residents belonging to varying political camps and religious denomi-
nations— Church dignitaries sitting cheek-by-jowl with Noncon-
formist ministers at a period of bitter sectarian strife ; Tory squires
and Radical politicians met together in a common determination." '5

" The national sentiment was reflected in the Houses of Parlia-
ment. Lord Lansdowne . . . gave rein to his indignation. . . .

13 Great Britain and the Congo, p. 156. M Ibid. p. 12.

15 Ibid, p. 13.

THE CONGO REFORM ASSOCIATION 115

He denounced the Congo system ... as l bondage tinder the most
barbarous and inhuman conditions, maintained for mercenary
motives of the most selfish character.' . . . He spoke firmly in favour
of consular jurisdiction. The Archbishop of Canterbury declared
that the situation was ' as extraordinary in its character as it is
melancholy in its incidents.' In the Commons, fierce denunciation
came from all sides. Sir Charles Dilke agreed with Lord Lansdowne
in urging consular jurisdiction. . . . Sir Gilbert Parker stigmatized
the royal manifesto as ' an extraordinary challenge to Europe and
to all civilized peoples/ . . . Earl Percy shared the general ex-
asperation." l6

To all this Sir Edward Grey and Lord Fitzmaurice
replied that consular jurisdiction would certainly have
a " beneficial " effect. The British Government would
wait, but could not " wait for ever."

" Red Rubber."

In November 1906 Morel published the book which
attained the widest circulation of any of his larger works
on the Congo question (it ran into five editions between
1906 and 1908)— his famous Red Rubber (T. Fisher
Unwin), a book which has been described as " one of
the most passionate indictments of injustice and appeal
for human liberty " ever written in the English tongue.
It opens with the following quotation from William
Lloyd Garrison : —

" I will be as harsh as truth and as uncompromising as justice.
I am in earnest,
I will not equivocate ;
I will not excuse ;
I will not retreat a single inch ;
And I will be heard.
Posterity will bear testimony that I was right."

The quotation is characteristic of Morel. It aptly
describes his attitude on everything. Some of his friends

16 Great Britain and the Congo, p. 156.

116 THE FIGHT AGAINST SLAVERY

may perhaps shake their heads a little sadly when they
read it to-day, reflecting that there have been occasions
when, if Morel's temperament had been a little more
pliable, a little more diplomatic, he might have stood
better in the world's eyes ; he certainly would have been
spared much pain. But that is Morel all over. Con-
vinced himself of the justice of his case, he hurls his defiance
at his opponents — if necessary, at the whole world. Here
lies at once his strength, and the defects of his strength ;
an uncompromising courage which makes him ready, in
the pursuit of what he believes to be right, to brave storms
of unpopularity and abuse, and an impatience of oppo-
sition (and this, too, is so very British !) which sometimes
causes him to overlook the necessity of dealing tenderly
with the prejudices of other Englishmen, who may per-
haps be persuaded, but who can never be bludgeoned —
even by facts — into changing their opinions.

Praised by the " Daily Mail."

Red Rubber created an enormous sensation. " The
most appalling indictment of personal rapacity, cruelty,
expropriation of life and labour, maladministration and
tyrannical atrocity," said the Daily Mail, " ever recorded
on irrefutable proof against any one man in any country
or in any age. Contention as to facts has disappeared.
The truth in all its international dangers — the horror of
it all — stands out naked " — a very generous tribute
from the journal whose anti-French policy, as recorded
in Chapter III, had been opposed so vigorously by Morel
ten years before. " Mr. Morel's gallantry in flinging
himself into the fight," wrote Sir Charles Dilke in the
Evening News, " will never be forgotten as long as history
records the misdeeds of the Congo State." " If there are
any who are not yet believers in the reality of the Congo
Government's misdeeds," said the Spectator, " Mr. Morel's

THE CONGO REFORM ASSOCIATION 117

new book may be recommended as a certain means of
conviction. To the author more than to any man alive,
is due the ventilation of this crime against civilization.
He has fought a long, uphill battle against apathy, mis-
representation and the power of an unscrupulous purse.
And he has been successful. He has made Congo Reform
a part of the sworn creed of many of our chief public
men." The Evening Standard took the same view.
" Mr. Morel," said this journal, " has done more than any
man living to expose the foul blot on the reputation of
certain Belgian financiers. . . . For every shift and wile,
for every specious argument, he is ready with facts and
proofs. His new volume, in fact, is a perfect armoury
of weapons for the use of English St. Georges in smiting
this Leopold Africanus."

The comment of Le Peuple of Brussels is also interesting.
" Mr. Morel," said the Belgian newspaper, " understands
clearly the difficult position in which Belgium finds herself
in her relations with the Congo State. Annexation by
Belgium appears to him the best solution, because, as
he says, it would free Belgium from an intolerable moral
situation."

Belgium Must Annex the Congo.

By this time the British Foreign Office had come to
the conclusion that, as Morel had pointed out in Red
Rubber, the best way of solving the problem of the
Congo would be for the whole territory to be trans-
ferred to the Belgian Government, a proposal which had
already been taken up by the Belgian Chamber (March 2,
1906). This was the view expressed by Sir Edward
Grey to an influential deputation which waited upon
him on November 20th, introduced by Lord Monkswell,
who had succeeded Lord Beauchamp as President of the
Congo Reform Association. Belgian annexation would,

118 THE FIGHT AGAINST SLAVERY

said the Foreign Minister, " produce, not a list of
reforms for the Congo, but an entire change in the
system of government of the country." With this
declaration the Congo Reform Movement entered upon
a new stage, which will be dealt with in the next
chapter.

CHAPTER XII
THE PEOPLE AND THE FOREIGN OFFICE

The question of Belgian annexation — Would the system be changed ?
— Popular agitation — Enthusiastic scenes — " Wait and see " —
The Treaty of Transfer — Queen's Hall demonstration — Foreign
Office hesitates — Public pressure intensified — Sir E. Grey takes
firmer line — A manifesto to the nation — Thanked by Foreign Office
— The Belgian scheme of reform — The Albert Hall meeting — The
Archbishop of Canterbury takes the chair — Great Britain and the
Congo — An important book — Morel's growing distrust of diplomacy.

THE proposal that the territory hitherto administered by
the Congo Free State should be annexed by Belgium
now held the field. If such annexation would really,
in the words of Sir Edward Grey, bring about " an entire
change in the system," well and good. No one would
then criticize the proposal. But there were grave doubts
as to whether annexation would produce such a " change."
Belgian Ministers had repeatedly defended the Congo
State against the attacks of M. Vandervelde and his
friends. They had stated that the " glorious work of
the Congo Administration " was " above all attack," x
and had characterized the criticisms which had been
passed upon it as calumnies. These Ministers still
remained in office. It was therefore uncertain, to say
the very least, whether any scheme of transfer devised by
these Ministers would really " change " the system. The
fear was lest " annexation " might merely perpetuate
the old vicious Leopoldian policy under another name.

1 Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs, February-March 1906.

119

120 THE FIGHT AGAINST SLAVERY

" What you wish," said M. Vandervelde, addressing the
Belgian Ministers in the course of a debate, " is the
perpetuation in the future of the system at present
existing." 2

To this point Morel and the Congo Reform Association
now addressed themselves. Their object was that the
British Government should exercise its influence to see
that " annexation " should involve " a radical, thorough,
comprehensive change of regime " ; the restoration to
the natives of their elementary human rights, the re-
establishment of legitimate trade, the disappearance of
the reign of slavery, shame, and terror." 3 And through
their influence resolutions in support of this object poured
into the Foreign Office from all parts of the country.

Public Agitation.

Early in 1907 the Congo Reform Association issued
an Appeal to Parliament :—

" The pressing need," so ran the appeal, " of the present situation
is a declaration on the part of Great Britain that annexation, if
it is to take place, must be in conformity with the Act of Berlin ;
in other words, that it must entail a total reversion of the system
which for fifteen years had plunged the Congo peoples in unutter-
able misery." 4

This appeal was warmly backed by the Press, especially
by the Times and the Morning Post, which latter journal,
all through the campaign, rendered yeoman service to
the cause of Congo Reform, and was one of Morel's
staunchest supporters. Public meetings were held all
over the country to advocate this policy. A memorable
scene was that which was witnessed in the Coliseum

* Great Britain and the Congo, pp. 177-178.

3 Ibid. p. 172.

4 The Trade of the Congo : an Appeal to Parliament, by E. D. Morel
Richardson).

THE PEOPLE AND THE FOREIGN OFFICE 121

at Leeds on March 6th, " when four thousand Free
Church delegates, at the conclusion of an appeal by the
Rev. F. B. Meyer, rising in their seats, solemnly pledged
Nonconformity to leave no stone unturned to end the
reign of oppression in the Congo." 5 The resolution adopted
by the Free Church Council on this occasion was pre-
sented to Sir Edward Grey on June 19th by an influential
deputation, which included amongst its members Mr. (after-
wards Sir Joseph) Compton Rickett, M.P., Dr. Rendel
Harris, Dr. Horton, Dr. Clifford, the Rev. J. Scott Lidgett,
and Mr. Robert Whyte. In the same month, a memorial
was presented to the Prime Minister, Sir Henry Campbell-
Bannerman, at Plymouth, signed by the Mayors of that
town, of Devonport, and of Exeter, by Lord Clifford of
Chudleigh, the Bishop of Exeter, and others, praying
that H.M. Government would give their assent to no
scheme of Belgian annexation which did not provide
" guarantees of a definite and explicit character for a
total reversion of the existing system." At a meeting
at Hull, says Morel, " held on June 20th, where three
thousand people congregated, the citizens of the city of
Wilberforce, led by their Mayor and Sheriff, rose to their
feet to acclaim the speakers. Such scenes have been
witnessed in many places by those who have been privi-
leged to participate in this great national movement." 6
Northern Convocation passed in both Houses a series
of resolutions on the subject on February 28th, the
speakers being the Archbishop of York, the Bishops of
Wakefield, Durham, Liverpool, and Sodor and Man,
Archdeacon Madden, and Canon Smethwick ; and Southern
Convocation followed suit on May 3rd, when the Arch-
bishop of Canterbury and the Bishops of London, Bir-
mingham, and Southwark spoke ; whilst " in November
of the same year a striking * Appeal to the Nation ' was

5 Great Britain and the Congo, p. 15. 6 Ibid. p. 13.

122 THE FIGHT AGAINST SLAVERY

issued to the Press, signed inter alia by the Archbishop
of Canterbury, the President of the Free Church Council,
the Presidents of the National Liberal Association, of
the Church Missionary Society, the Lord Mayors of our
principal cities, and Sir Harry Johnston." 7

It was difficult, however, to move the Foreign Office,
Sir Edward Grey, anticipating a celebrated phrase of
Mr. Asquith's, stating (House of Commons, May 15th)
that he intended to " wait and see what the conditions
and scheme of annexation " would be. This did not
satisfy the Reformers. " In the last debate in the House
of Commons," said the Archbishop of Canterbury (House
of Lords, July 29th), " Sir Edward Grey spoke of the
gruesome unanimity with which we all regarded it. Well,
that is a unanimity which ought to lead to something
more than grumbling and complaining, than acquiescing
in delay." However, on August 1st, in the House of
Commons, Sir Edward Grey again declined to " press
the matter forward " until he knew " the actual con-
ditions " of annexation.

The Treaty of Transfer.

He was soon to know them. On December 3, 1907,
the Treaty of Transfer was published, " which proclaimed
before all the world the fixed determination of the Belgian
Government to identify Belgium with the African policy
of her King," 8 a treaty, too, which had been signed and
sealed by the Belgian Government and by the Congo
Government, and which could only be rejected or accepted
— but not altered — by the Chamber.

The publication of this treaty was greeted with an
outburst of public indignation. In January an appeal,
signed, amongst others, by the Bishop of London, the
Bishop of Kensington, Dr. Clifford, and the Rev. J. Monro

7 Great Britain and the Congo, p. 17. 8 Ibid. p. 196.

THE PEOPLE AND THE FOREIGN OFFICE 123

Gibson, was sent out from London House to all the
clergy and ministers of Nonconformity. " The year 1908
opens," so ran the passage in this appeal, " with the
prospect of the continued oppression of the Congo races
and the prolongation of this systematic outrage, a prospect
which must be intolerable to every British subject who
realizes the preponderating part played by the British
people in the foundation of the Congo Free State." In
the following month (February 21st) a great demonstra-
tion was held in the Queen's Hall, which building, said
the Daily Chronicle, " was packed from floor to topmost
ceiling, and the scene outside before the doors opened
was one that is witnessed only on some great national
occasion." The Lord Mayor of London, in his robes of
office, presided, supported by his Sheriffs, by the Lord
Provost of Edinburgh, the Mayor and Sheriff of Hull,
some forty members of Parliament, and leading repre-
sentatives of the Churches, of literature, and of the
professions, and a resolution, moved by Sir John Kennaway,
M.P. (Unionist), and supported by Mr. Ramsay Macdonald,
M.P. (Labour), and Sir George White, M.P. (Liberal),
was passed, declaring that " no scheme of annexation
which does not restore to the native population its rights
and liberties, and which does not immediately reintroduce
freedom of commercial intercourse . . . can be accept-
able to the people of Great Britain." " Public opinion
in this country," said Lord Lansdowne in the House of
Lords (February 24th), " has been more moved over this
question than by almost any question of the kind which
I can remember." This was admitted by Sir Edward
Grey in the House of Commons two days later, when he
observed that "it is not, I think, too much to say that
no external question for at least thirty years has moved
the country so strongly and so vehemently as this, in
regard to the Congo." Indeed it almost seemed, as though

124 THE FIGHT AGAINST SLAVERY

this public opinion had succeeded in shaking the Foreign
Office out of its habitual lethargy, for the Foreign Secre-
tary went on to make the following declaration : —

" We agree that it must be a condition precedent to any transfer
of the Congo to another authority, that that authority should take
it over on terms which will place it in a position to give assurances,
and to guarantee that those assurances shall be carried out, and
treaty obligations fulfilled."

Vacillating Policy of the Foreign Office.

It might have been thought from this that the Foreign
Office had at last made up its mind to take definite and
determined action, and to inform the Belgian Government
that any annexation which took place must " give the
Belgian people a free hand ... to inaugurate drastic
reforms." 9 Many Belgians desired that such action
should be taken. But it was not to be. After this slight
show of vigour the Foreign Office again resumed the feeble
and vacillating policy it had pursued throughout, and,
in spite of all that had happened, and of the unmistakable
proofs it had repeatedly received of King Leopold's bad
faith, it contented itself with making representations to
the Belgian Government as to the reforms it considered
advisable, accompanying these with the apologetic state-
ment : " H.M. Government merely submit these views for
the friendly consideration of the Belgian Government."10

" That dispatch," said Morel, " sealed the failure of Foreign
Office policy. A Belgian annexation of the Congo on terms per-
petuating the old system was henceforth inevitable. The British
Government might refuse to recognize annexation when the treaty
was voted, but the accomplished fact would have taken place." «

Yet, in the words of the Times (April 1908), " it would

9 Great Britain and the Congo, p. 204.

10 Sir E. Grey to Sir A. Hardinge, March 27, 1908.

11 Great Britain and the Congo, p. 207.

THE PEOPLE AND THE FOREIGN OFFICE 125

perhaps be better that Belgium should not annex the
Congo at all than she should agree to annexation on
conditions which would prove a fruitful source of fresh
complications."

In April the third anniversary of the foundations of
the Congo Reform Association was celebrated by a great
meeting in the Central Hall, Liverpool, the building,
with a seating accommodation of nearly three thousand
persons, being inadequate to contain the crowd, which
overflowed into two adjoining halls. The Lord Mayor
of Liverpool presided, and messages of support were
received from the Chief Magistrates of a score of towns,
and from ninety-two Members of Parliament. In the
same month the President of the Free Church Council
issued a circular urging the celebration of a special Congo
Sunday, which was held in a large number of Noncon-
formist churches throughout the country, and towards
the end of the year, on the initiative of the Bishop of
Liverpool, a " Congo Sunday " was observed throughout
the Liverpool district, this example being followed in
several other important towns, including Newcastle and
Hull.

Public Pressure Intensified.

The Treaty of Transfer passed through the Belgian
Chamber on August 20, 1908, but, as the " entire change
in the system of government " required by the Foreign
Office was not yet forthcoming, Sir Edward Grey declined
to give official recognition to the annexation, a refusal
which, says Morel, was " treated with absolute indiffer-
ence." ia All this delay was, of course, extremely galling
to the Reformers, who, after years of public agitation,
saw the same abominable system being perpetuated in
the Congo, the same barbarities still being practised upon

13 Great Britain and the Congo, p. 20.

126 THE FIGHT AGAINST SLAVERY

the helpless natives. The only thing open to them was to
intensify the pressure, and this was done in a remarkable
series of public meetings held in all parts of the
country.

Citizens' meetings, presided over by the Mayors of the
towns in question, were held in great number. " Of
other meetings, not officially summoned by the Chief
Magistrate . . . there have been thousands of all kinds,
great and small, held in the largest available public
building ; held in the open air — as at the vast gathering
of ten thousand Methodists at Mow Cop, whence, from
every platform, a resolution was voted and forwarded
to the Foreign Office ; held in the humble Baptist chapel.
I have spoken to an audience of 1,500 — nearly all men
— in a covered market-place rigged up with benches for
the occasion. There have been meetings composed
almost entirely of working men. There have been meet-
ings where men prominent in social standing, in politics,
and in administration have been gathered together. . . .
I have seen the Sun Hall in Liverpool, which accommodates
four thousand, packed from floor to ceiling." J3 In fact,
between 1907 and 1909 Morel himself addressed something
like fifty large gatherings in various parts of the country,
in addition to his work of directing the organization of
the whole movement, editing a weekly journal, inditing
numerous public dispatches to the Foreign Office, and
carrying on a vigorous campaign in the Press, dealing
with this point and with that, rebutting the arguments
contained in the Leopoldian literature, which continued
to pour out in a constant flood all over Europe, and helping
generally to keep the agitation alive and vigorous in two
continents — for American interest had been by this time
thoroughly awakened and the Government of the United
States had despatched its own consular representatives

J3 Great Britain and the Congo, p. 14.

THE PEOPLE AND THE FOREIGN OFFICE 127

to the Congo, and had joined its official protests to
those of Great Britain. The effort was colossal, and must
have involved an enormous strain even upon the untiring
energies of the Secretary of the Congo Reform Association.

A National Manifesto.

All this had its effect, and in November 1908 the
Foreign Office sent a dispatch to the Belgian Government,
endorsing for the first time the policy consistently advocated
by Morel, and asking for " an immediate amelioration "
in the lot of the natives. This dispatch was welcomed
by the publication of a national manifesto almost unique
in our annals for the character and weight of the signatures
attached to it, a document which the Times described as
a " spontaneous manifestation of a very unusual kind."
This document bore the signatures of Lord Cromer, three
other Peers, nineteen Bishops, the best-known leaders
of Nonconformity, seventy-six Members of Parliament,
seven Lord Mayors, thirty-two Mayors, the Presidents
of seven Chambers of Commerce, " thirteen newspaper
and magazine editors, representing such divergencies of
opinion as can be imagined, for example, between Mr.
St. Leo Strachey, Mr. W. T. Stead, and Mr. J. S. R.
Phillips " ; the President of the National Liberal Federa-
tion, and of men famous in the world of letters, medicine,
philanthropy, philosophy, and commerce.

" Welcoming a Belgian annexation of the Congo," so ran this
letter, " we have nevertheless, contended that . . . the special
responsibilities incurred by the people of Great Britain . . . make
it incumbent upon them to ensure that no settlement for the future
government of the Congo shall receive the sanction of this country
which does not place the freedom and the just rights of the native
population upon a footing of permanent security."

Shortly after this Morel sent a long memorandum to

128 THE FIGHT AGAINST SLAVERY

the Foreign Office, for which he was officially thanked
by Sir Edward Grey in the following words : —

" Sir E. Grey feels that the exhaustive and closely reasoned memor-
andum enclosed . . . will be of great assistance to His Majesty's
Government in their efforts to secure the restoration to the natives
of their rights."

A New " Peter the Hermit."

In the spring of 1909 Morel paid a special visit to
France and Switzerland for the purpose of making the
motives of the Congo Reform Movement in Great Britain
more clearly understood in those countries.^

After conferring with him, the Council of the Inter-
national League and of the French League for the defence
of the natives of the Congo Basin decided to agree upon
a common definition of their aims ; the importance of
this, as the Morning Leader remarked at the time, being
that for the first time the International League and the
French branch of that League were brought into line
with the British and American movements.

On February 25th Morel was received by M. Clemenceau,
then Prime Minister, with whom he had a long interview,
and on February 27th the Times printed the follow-
ing dispatch, dated the previous day, from its Paris
correspondent : —

" Mr. E. D. Morel was entertained at lunch to-day by a number of
distinguished Frenchmen in the political, colonial and literary world.
The guests included M. Anatole France, M. Joseph Chailley, Deputy
for La Vendee and Chairman of the French Colonial Union ; M.
Vigouroux, Deputy of the Haute Loire ; MM. Mersimy and Steeg,
Deputies ; M. Paul Bourde, Pierre Mille and Felicien Challaye.
M. Chailley, in giving the health of Mr. Morel, referred to him

J4 The charge had been made on the Continent that the Congo Reformers
were trying to work up an agitation under cover of which Great Britain
was to annex the Congo, and that Morel was a sort of literary Jameson
preparing public opinion with his pen for such a raid.

THE PEOPLE AND THE FOREIGN OFFICE 129

as defending the ideas of human liberty . . . dear to France. . . .
So far as it was possible to support his efforts, they desired to do
so. M. Chaill ey then referred to the state of affairs in the French
Congo. Mr. Morel, in a improvised reply, said that the British
and American movements against Congo misrule were national
movements wholly uninspired by Government. It was unthink-
able, in his view, that France should dissociate herself from a
liberating movement seeking to suppress a detestable policy, foreign
to French sentiments. He was well aware of the French Congo
difficulty touched upon by M. Chailley. All that he, as an English-
man, could say on the matter was to express regret that France,
whose magnificent work in her West African possessions proper was
understood and appreciated in England, should have been lured
into adopting a different standard in the French Congo. Mr.
Morel's speech was warmly applauded and the general discussions
which ensued showed that the unhappy condition of the French
Congo was fully acknowledged in French Parliamentary and Colonial
circles, and that the legal difficulties connected with the position
of the concessionaires appeared to many present — M. Anatole
France, however, vigorously dissenting — too great to be overcome.
. . . Mr. Morel, accompanied by M. Mille, afterwards went to the
Ministry of the Colonies, and had an interview which lasted an hour
and a half with the Colonial Minister. Mr. Morel does not feel at
liberty to make any public statement on the subject.

" The impression made by Mr. Morel's speech at to-day's luncheon
was well summed up by M. Anatole France, who remarked : ' C'est
de Part sans le faire expres : on ne voit pas comment c'est
fait.' It appears, moreover, that Mr. Morel really succeeded in dissi-
pating the doubts cherished in French Colonial circles as to the reasons
and motives of British opinion with regard to the methods employed
in the Congo."

Speaks at the Sorbonne.

On February 27th Morel spoke at the Sorbonne, his
address on this occasion being fully reported in the British
Press. The Times (March 1st) closed its report with
these words : —

44 The effect of Mr. Morel's words may be estimated by the fact
that at the conclusion of his address a resolution was voted
acknowledging the disinterestedness of the English movement,
and expressing the hope ' that the French Government would
take its stand with the British and American Governments.' "

9

130 THE FIGHT AGAINST SLAVERY

From Paris Morel went on to Geneva, where he addressed
a distinguished audience at the University (March 4th).
M. Rene Claparede presided, and Morel's speech, said
the Times 9 made " a great impression."

" The martyrdom of the Congo races," he said, " exceeds all that
the most fertile imagination could conceive as possible in the dawning
years of the twentieth century. It is a world-crime, and all civilized
peoples must take cognizance of it and arrest it. Switzerland, the
country of the Red Cross, has heard the cry of anguish rising from
these distant and gloomy forests. She has produced men of courage
to proclaim that so colossal an infamy is an outrage upon the human
conscience everywhere, and that small countries as well as powerful
ones have the right and the duty to protest. I am not sure that
the smaller states are not quite specially entitled to make their
voices heard, because successful wrong-doing in any part of the world
threatens them particularly, encouraging as it does, and must do,
lawlessness in Europe. The voice of Switzerland has always been
listened to in the councils of the nations. The more earnest Swiss
action in this matter, the more efficacious will Swiss influence prove
to be. And a crime against Humanity knows no frontiers.'"''

Further meetings were addressed by Morel at Neuchatel
and Chaux-de-Fonds.

A Modern Knighi>errant.

Shortly after this Continental tour the Spectator (March
27th) published an article in which Morel and the famous
war correspondent, Mr. H. W. Nevinson, were coupled
together under the title of " Our modern Knights-errant."

" Neither," so ran the article, " has ever been a member of Parlia-
ment, and neither has the help of riches or an accidentally great
position. For all we know, they both stumbled unintentionally
across what provoked their indignation. But once the needed
reform had been set before them as a goal to be reached, they did
not fail or falter on the journey. They had the constancy of vision
of a Shaftesbury. Mr. Morel, as every one knows, founded the
Congo Reform Association, which has been a rallying point for
years for all who felt the burden of responsibility assumed by
Britain when the Congo Free State was created. ..."

THE PEOPLE AND THE FOREIGN OFFICE 131

And here it may be mentioned that on several occasions
at the height of the Congo agitation Morel went over
to Brussels to confer with the Belgian Reformers as to
the particular action which the situation at the moment
demanded. Whilst in the Belgian capital he was invari-
ably shadowed by police spies, and he tells an amusing
story of how, calling one day upon a well-known Belgian
scientist, he was met at the hall door by the distinguished
man, who, after glancing nervously up and down the
street, hurried him inside, exclaiming in agitated tones,
" Have you a revolver ? " On receiving a reply in the
negative the scientist shook his head ominously. It
is a fact that Morel more than once was the recipient
of letters from Belgians threatening him with death.

On one occasion, when he was being more than usually
attacked in the Belgian Press, M. Vandervelde suggested
that he should speak at a great Socialist demonstration,
offering him an escort of Socialists from the station to
the meeting-place. Morel privately consulted the Foreign
Office on the matter, not desiring to embarrass the Govern-
ment in any way, and, in deference to their unofficially
expressed wishes, declined the invitation.

It must not be thought that the entire Belgian Press
was hostile to the cause of the Congo Reformers. During
the whole campaign Morel's views were warmly cham-
pioned by Le Peuple, the organ of the Belgian Social
Democracy, a journal which had the largest circulation
of any Belgian newspaper ; by Le Patriots of Brussels,
the great lay Catholic journal ; and, from the time of
its foundation, by La Derniere Heure, a newspaper of
Liberal views.

The Belgian Government's Scheme of Reform.

In June 1909 Sir Edward Grey issued a further dispatch,
in which he described the state of affairs then existing

132 THE FIGHT AGAINST SLAVERY

in the Congo as " indistinguishable from slavery," and
in the following October the Belgian Government at last
produced its scheme of reform. This scheme in some
respects was unsatisfactory, for although it provided for
the abolition of forced labour and the restoration of
native rights as from July 1910 in one half of the Congo
territory, yet it further prolonged the old system until
July 1911 in one section of the remainder, until July 1912
in another section, and for an indefinite period in a third.
The British Government making no protest, the scheme
was forced through the Belgian Chamber as it stood,
despite the protests of many Belgian Liberals and
of the whole of the Belgian Socialist party, led by
M. Vandervelde.

Although imperfect in these respects, this scheme
certainly constituted a great advance along the path to
better things, and this success naturally aroused the
Reformers to still greater activities. They accordingly
organized a giant demonstration at the Albert Hall, at
which the Archbishop of Canterbury presided and paid
a notable tribute to the Secretary of the Congo Reform
Association.

" To Mr. Morel," he said, " this country, and tens of thousands
outside this country, owe a debt of gratitude larger than they can
ever repay, for strenuous years of devotion and self-sacrifice on behalf
of what is righteous and just and true."

This demonstration was followed up by a series of citizens'
meetings, addressed by Morel and Sir Arthur Conan
Doyle, at Edinburgh, Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle,
Hull, and Plymouth. In April 1910 an important
memorial was presented to Mr. Asquith, then Prime
Minister, urging the Government to insist upon

"the total abolition of forced labour for purposes of revenue,
coupled with legislation recognizing the rights of native tribes and

THE PEOPLE AND THE FOREIGN OFFICE 133

communities in their land, and the throwing open of the whole of
the Congo to normal commercial relations between its inhabitants
and the outer world."

This memorial was signed by 162 members of Parliament,
and amongst these it is interesting to note the names
of Mr. G. H. Roberts, Mr. Charles Bathurst, Mr. William
Brace, Sir William Bull, Sir Henry Dalziel, Mr. Arthur
Henderson, and, of course, Sir Charles Dilke.

" Great Britain and the Congo."

In the autumn of 1909, just before the publication of
the Belgian reform proposals, Morel published his fifth
book, Great Britain and the Congo (Smith, Elder & Co.),
with an Introduction by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

In his Introduction Sir Arthur Conan Doyle paid a
fine tribute to Morel.

" Neither Wilberforce," said he, " nor any of those men whose
names we honour as the protagonists in the fight against the slave
trade have been actuated by nobler motives, or have fought harder
for the faith that was in them. . . . How heavy already is our respon-
sibility can only be appreciated by those who listen to Mr. Morel.
Had Governments listened to him in the past, the world would have
been better."

Great Britain and the Congo was, in more ways than
one, a very interesting book. In the first place it was
very clearly written and arranged, and, taken in conjunc-
tion with King Leopold's Rule in Africa, it formed, in
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's opinion, " the most terrific
indictment against a man and against a system which
has ever been drawn up."

Secondly, it appeared at a very important moment in
the history of Congo reform.

" The time has come," said Morel, " when the British nation must
decide whether it is in earnest over this Congo question. . . .

134 THE FIGHT AGAINST SLAVERY

" The nation is faced with a crisis in its moral history. For
four years, from ... its leaders in all that makes for the greatness
of the nation have poured forth condemnation and denunciation
of a legalized iniquity, a system . . . based upon robbery, slavery,
and spoliation . . . trampling every principle of freedom, justice
and liberty underfoot . . . proclaiming aloud the right of its bene-
ficiaries to pile up untold riches from the slave labour of millions
of men.

" The nation has challenged that monstrous claim ... it has com-
mitted itself too deeply ... to draw back without dishonour. . . .
The nation . . . should be made to understand that the task to
which it has set its hand is not completed ; that although the ' Congo
Free State ' has passed away, the system of misrule elaborated and
enforced by its sovereign is still flourishing. . . .

"There are people to-day who are giving dangerous and dis-
honourable advice to the nation. . . . The false prophets of the creed
which waves the flag of international complications when a great
wrong requires redress, while justifying war for a coaling station
or a goldmine, a sphere of influence or a 10 per cent, interest, are
busily and subterraneously at work, with their everlasting appeal
to selfish interests, their dismissal of great moral issues as ' sentiment,'
their contemptuous depreciation of all that is noble and sound in
a nation ; thrusting aside the forces of national consciousness as
necessarily irresponsible, uncalculating, unwise, fanatical.

" But no nation really great . . . thrice armed with the justice
of the cause . . . will draw back." J5

And after describing in clear and vivid detail the
diplomatic history of the relations between the Foreign
Office and the Congo from 1896 to July 1909, he concluded
with these words : —

" My colleagues and I have done our utmost. We have given of
our best. We have appealed to Governments and to statesmen.

"It is only left for us to appeal to the public opinion which
creates Governments and invests statesmen with executive
authority."

Thirdly, this book marked an important transitional
stage in the development of Morel's mind and career.
More than any book he had previously written did it

J5 Great Britain and the Congo, pp. 4-7.

THE PEOPLE AND THE FOREIGN OFFICE 135

deal with questions of diplomacy. The Congo Reform
Movement and his association with such men as Dilke
had brought him in close contact with the Foreign Office
and the wider field of international relationships. Over
and over again in this book did he show his impatience
with " the deadly compromises of diplomacy and the para-
lysing influences of indifference and moral flabbiness,"16
with the " dry-rot in British diplomacy " X7 and its
" inconsistent and tortuous " character,18 with the
" errors " *9 of the Foreign Office, its " monumental
torpidity " 20 and its " lack of accurate information on
the side of the bureaucratic machinery of the depart-
ment," 2I with the lack of " clearness of vision " 22 on
the part of British policy, with the undemocratic character
and evil influence of secret diplomacy. 23 In a way, there-
fore, this book was the direct forbear of his Ten Years
of Secret Diplomacy, published three years later under
the title of Morocco in Diplomacy. It was a link between
Morel the opponent of slavery and Morel the opponent
of secret diplomacy.

16 Great Britain and the Congo, p. xviii. J7 Ibid. p. 255.

'8 Ibid. p. 244. '9 Ibib. p. 196. *° Ibid. p. 254.

« Ibid. p. 197. « Ibid. p. 238. *3 Ibid. p. 244.

CHAPTER XIII
THE FUTURE OF AFRICA

Visit to Nigeria — Special Correspondent of the Times — Nigeria : its Peoples
and its Problems — Thanked by British officials — Warm praise of
the British administration — A tribute from the Outlook — Gratitude
of the natives — Appointed to West African Lands Com-
mittee— Work at the Colonial Office — Lectures to Royal Society
of Arts — Sir Percy Girouard's praise — " The Treatment of Coloured
Races " — Address at Church Congress — The Great War and Africa —
The Empire Resources Development Committee — Africa and the
Peace of Europe — Proposed neutralization of non-colonizable Africa.

THE position towards the close of the summer of 1910
was roughly as follows : Forced labour had been abolished
and freedom of trade restored in one half of the Congo,
whilst in the other half the old system was to continue
for varying periods, the British Government in the mean-
time taking up a position of " passive resistance " by
continuing its refusal to recognize the annexation. In
these circumstances the Congo Reform Association
decided to make use of any opportunity which occurred
to accelerate the process of reform, to test the genuineness
of the changes by pressing for the production of consular
Reports, and to support the Government in resisting
any demand for " premature recognition." Beyond this,
however, it felt it could not go — especially as King
Leopold, the fons et origo of the whole evil business, no
longer lived I and had been succeeded by a sovereign of
high character, amiable instincts, and transparent sin-

' He had died that year (1910).

136

THE FUTURE OF AFRICA 137

cerity. This meant a period of relative inactivity for
the work, and Morel decided to make use of this welcome
interval by paying his first and long-promised visit to
Nigeria.

Visit to Nigeria.

Nigeria, our largest African protectorate, covering an
area equal to that of Germany, Italy, and Holland com-
bined, was then in a state of transition. The question
of amalgamating Northern and Southern Nigeria — at
that time separate protectorates — was being discussed,
and behind this lay much larger problems of native
policy. Two schools of thought were at issue. One
favoured direct, the other indirect, rule. The first believed
in investing British officials with direct powers of inter-
fering with the internal administration of the native
communities ; the second preferred the course of strength-
ening and perfecting the rule of the native authorities
themselves, with the European official acting as " guide,
philosopher, and friend." Then there was the question
of land tenure. Should native customary law be pre-
served, or should British law be gradually introduced to
replace the native system ? All these questions were
under debate, and on the right solutions being reached
depended very largely the future welfare of the
country.

Now on all these questions Morel had thought and
studied deeply. He had been writing on them for years.
He was recognized as one of the greatest living authorities
on these subjects, and for sometime those British officials
(and there were a great many of them) who favoured the
adoption of a liberal and progressive policy towards the
natives had been urging him to pay the protectorate
a visit and to give the right lead at this important
moment.

138 THE FIGHT AGAINST SLAVERY

Special Correspondent of the " Times."

Armed, therefore, with a commission as Special Corre-
spondent of the Times and the Manchester Guardian,
Morel started on a journey which was to produce valuable
fruit. " I know," wrote Mr. Walter, then proprietor of
the Times, " that you will take an independent and im-
partial line in the articles which you propose to write.
We shall read them with great interest." And here it
may be said that, on the subsequent appearance of these
articles, the Times gave continuous support in its editorial
columns to the views Morel had formulated on Nigeria
and its problems.

These articles attracted wide attention, and were
subsequently republished in book form (Nigeria : its
Peoples and its Problems, Smith, Elder & Co.). Never,
in a sense, had Morel found a subject more congenial.
Here was a land of which he had written for years — yet
had never before seen. Its history he had studied as few
living men had done. Its flora and fauna, its products
and industries, its native tribes and customs, its scenery
— through wide reading, and countless conversations
with officials, natives, and travellers — were almost as
familiar to him as those of Britain. Yet until then a
personal visit to see these things himself had been denied
him. And on coming to this land, so familiar yet so
new, he found — and this was the finest thing of all — men
there who for years had been pursuing on the spot the
very policy for which he had been labouring with pen
and voice in Europe. So naturally he put his whole
strength into the task of making the work of these men,
and the aims they cherished, as widely known and appreci-
ated by the public at home as possible. The result was
one of the best books on Africa — certainly the best on
Nigeria — ever published, and one which won for Morel
the gratitude of the men who were labouring throughout

THE FUTURE OF AFRICA 139

that great territory for the welfare and prosperity of
Nigeria. Amongst Morel's most cherished possessions
are letters written to him by many of these British officials
thanking him for writing this book. The following are
a few typical extracts : —

" I cannot tell you what a great help your articles have been to
all those who are endeavouring to secure the interests and welfare
of the natives."

" We can't thank you enough. You are well remembered here.
When I spoke of you, and asked the Mallams (Mohammedan chiefs)
if they remembered you, they at once said, 4 Oh yes ! Bature mai-
iou sossiai ' (i.e. the white man with the straight eye)."

44 All of us owe you a debt of gratitude."

" Your book is a joy to read and re-read."

44 Your book stands alone as a weighty and reasoned statement
of the problems we have to grapple with."

44 Your valuable and sympathetic support is most helpful, and
urges us to greater efforts."

44 1 have just got back home, and have been reading your articles.
May I tender my sincere congratulations on them, and their, at
present, hardly estimable benefit to this country ? "

44 1 had the great pleasure the other day of reading your book.
I must add my speck to the mass of gratitude and appreciation
you must have received. I have been envying you the chance and
the power of speaking out fearlessly about the things that we have
to skate cautiously round, and you have made such splendid use
of that opportunity."

The book was equally well received by the Press. " Of
distinctive value to the student and administrator,"
said the Times ; "a study in applied anthropology —
a most fascinating study which we heartily recommend
to all who are interested in the problems of Empire "
(Morning Post) ; " will undoubtedly be valued by the
officials of all civilized Governments dealing . . . largely
with the opening up of tropical Africa " (Sir Harry
Johnston in the Daily Chronicle) ; " will . . . rank as
a standard authority on tropical administration " (the
Economist) ; " though humanitarian in principle, the book

140 THE FIGHT AGAINST SLAVERY

is free from that detestable narrowness of outlook which
renders many humanitarian proposals incompatible with
colonial progress " (the Academy). Thus ran the reviews.
Those readers who have heard Morel accused of possessing
an anti-British bias will be surprised to read the following
quotation from that highly patriotic weekly, the Outlook :—

" Mr. Morel's book is especially valuable. It is a searching in-
vestigation from which the British rulers of Nigeria emerge with
honours so thick upon them that we fear some who know what Mr.
Morel has said of, and done in, another part of Africa will think he
is a mere creature of patriotic prejudice."

In this book Morel pursued his familiar line of argument
regarding the African native. He attacked the school
" whose doctrine it is that in the economic development
of the country the profits should be the exclusive appanage
of the white race, the native's role being that of labourer
and wage-earner for all time," 2 and the school which,
with the best intentions in the world, desired to " Euro-
peanize " and " denationalize " the West African, to
bestow upon him " European culture, law, religion, and
dress," and to unmake him as an African. " In the form it
at present takes," said Morel, " this is not a kindness,
but a cruel wrong." 3

44 Between the two schools of thought," he continued, " there is
room for a third — one which, taking note to-day that the West
African is a landowner, desires that he shall continue to be one under
British rule, and not with decreasing but with increasing security
of tenure . . . which sees in the preservation of the West African's
land for him and his descendants ; in a system of education which
shall not anglicize ; in technical instruction ; in assisting and
encouraging agriculture, local industries and scientific forestry ;
in introducing labour-saving appliances, and in strengthening all
that is best, materially and spiritually, in aboriginal institutions,
the highest duties of our Imperial rule : a school of thought whose
aim it is to see Nigeria, at least become in time, the home of highly

» Nigeria, p. xviii. 3 Ibid. p. xix.

THE FUTURE OF AFRICA 141

trained African peoples, protected in their property and in their
rights by the paramount Power, proud of their institutions, proud of
their race, proud of their own fertile and beautiful land." 4

" Mr Morel," said Truth, " has, I think, thoroughly made out his
case for the civilization of the negro races on their own lines of
development, as against the two schools of thought — the 4 damned
nigger ' school, which would make him a hewer of wood and a drawer
of water for all time, and those who would make him in a moment
a twentieth- century European Christian. Indeed, I have never
read a book which puts the point of view of the inarticulate negro
races themselves so adequately, temperately, and conclusively."

Morel received many proofs during his journey of the
grateful way in which the articulate African regarded him
for his work on behalf of the natives. On his return from
Northern to Southern Nigeria he was entertained at a
banquet by the native community in Lagos, this function
being preceded by a meeting presided over by the senior
native member of the Legislative Council and attended
by all the leading men of the community. Some of the
tributes he received were as unexpected as they were
touching. Thus, at Abeokuta, the capital of the Egba
country (Southern Nigeria), on visiting the Roman
Catholic schools in company with the French Father who
directed them, Morel was the recipient of addresses read
to him respectively by the head boy and the head girl
of the class. At Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone,
on his return journey, arrangements had been made for
a demonstration in his honour in the Wilberforce Hall,
over which the Mayor of Freetown was to have presided.
Owing, however, to the short period the steamer remained
in harbour, this ceremony did not take place, but Morel
had time to confront, in the residence of that venerable
negro scholar, the late Dr. Blyden, some forty Mohammedan
chiefs, in gorgeous apparel, some of whom had travelled
considerable distances to see him, and who had waited

4 Nigeria, pp. xxi-xxii.

142 THE FIGHT AGAINST SLAVERY

for days in Freetown for his arrival. By these also he
was presented with addresses, to which he had to make
a suitable reply.

Here is an extract from one of these addresses, which
is interesting as showing the African point of view :—

" Your labour, Sir, is unique. A fight against your own people
for aliens, not even of the same race, inhabiting countries thousands
of miles away from you, and that at the risk of losing the goodwill
and interest and esteem of your own brethren, is humanly speaking,
unnatural. Hence we take it to be from God. And we class you
among the few whom He has at all times reserved for Himself
to carry out His purpose and maintain His honour among the
nations of the world."

Member of West African Lands Committee.

In 1911 Morel was invited by the Secretary of State
for the Colonies (the Right. Hon. Lewis Harcourt, M.P.)
to become a member of the West African Lands Committee,
appointed, under the chairmanship of Sir Kenelm Digby,
to examine and report upon the system of land tenure
prevailing among the native races of our tropical African
Protectorates.

The events preceding the appointment of this Committee,
and Morel's part in them, need a word or so of explanation
here.

In their legislation affecting " native rights in land "
in the Gold Coast Protectorate the British Government,
although laying no claim to the land themselves, had done
nothing to prevent the native chiefs alienating it to
individual Europeans. Up to 1910 the danger to the
welfare of the natives involved by this attitude had not
been an appreciable one, as the attraction of the Gold
Coast for Europeans had been its gold deposits, and,
in leasing to them the right to exploit the mineral wealth
of the country, the native chiefs had not parted with the
rights of their people to the land itself. Moreover, a

THE FUTURE OF AFRICA 143

Concessions Court regulated these transactions and ensured
native participation in the profits.

But in 1910 events took place which gave an entirely
different complexion to this matter. As a result of the
great rubber boom and the increasing demand for vege-
table oils, a swarm of speculators descended upon the
country, and upon other parts of British West Africa,
and, acting more often than not through the medium of
certain educated natives in the coast towns, induced the
chiefs, in some cases for considerable, in others for insignifi-
cant, sums, to barter away the rights of the present and
future generations of their peoples over immense surfaces,
the chiefs acting in this way sometimes from short-sighted
cupidity, but more often than not in entire ignorance of
what they were doing.

Morel's Vigorous Action.

On becoming acquainted with these facts Morel acted
with vigour. In various issues of the African Mail he
repeatedly drew the attention of his readers to what was
going on, he got into communication with certain enlight-
ened African acquaintances, he contrived to get questions
asked in Parliament upon the matter, and finally wrote
to Lord Crewe, then Secretary of State for the Colonies.

44 1 cannot believe," he said, 44 that His Majesty's Government,
who have given so many proofs of their desire to pursue a just and
wise policy towards the native races of West Africa, can be consenting
parties to the process whereby the economic future and consequently
the social rights of the natives of the Gold Coast are being seriously
jeopardized. Nor, I venture to suggest, can a system which, under
the spurious plan of 4 development,' tends to reduce the native of
the Gold Coast from a trader and agriculturist in his own right
to the dead level of the hired labourer at one-and-threepence a
day, make for the public interest of the dependency or the success
of the British administration. ' Development ' of this character
may enrich a handful of British company-promoters and share-
holders. It must impoverish the protected subject races of Great

144 THE FIGHT AGAINST SLAVERY

Britain in West Africa by paralysing native initiative, progress
and production ; lay the basis in this region for economic servitude
instead of free expression ; react adversely upon the British indus-
tries concerned in supplying the requirements of the West African,
and, eventually, threaten the prosperity of the British dependencies."

To this communication the Colonial Secretary replied
that he was alive to the danger, and was requesting the
Governor of the Gold Coast to furnish him with a report.

In the meantime the evil rapidly developed, and with
its development Morel redoubled his activity, bombarding
the Press with letters and the Colonial Office with incessant
representations, and inspiring question after question in
Parliament, until at last Mr. Harcourt, who had succeeded
Lord Crewe as Colonial Secretary, despatched a special
Commission to the Gold Coast to make enquiries. The
report of this Commission testified to the accuracy of
Morel's warnings and wholly justified his action.

Work on the Committee.

By this time Parliamentary interest in the matter had
been thoroughly aroused, amongst those taking up the
question being Mr. (now Colonel) J. C. Wedgwood, M.P.,
and, following upon a private deputation to Mr. Harcourt,
the Colonial Secretary, as already stated, appointed the
West African Lands Committee, Morel and Mr. Wedg-
wood being specially invited to serve upon it. In addition
to Sir Kenelm Digby, its chairman, the Committee
included several high authorities on Colonial Law and
Administration, amongst them being Sir Walter Napier,
formerly Attorney- General of the Straits Settlements,
Sir Frederick Hodgson, an ex-Governor of the Gold Coast,
and Sir William Taylor, formerly Resident General of
the Federated Malay States.

The Committee was appointed on June 20, 1912, and
was still sitting when the war broke out. By that time

THE FUTURE OF AFRICA 145

the Draft Report had been almost completed, and a Sub-
Committ.ee, consisting of Sir Walter Napier, Sir Frederick
Hodgson, and Morel, which had been appointed to revise
Part II, sat on for six months longer and completed the
whole document, which bears their joint signatures. It
has not yet been presented to Parliament, but the labours
of the Committee have been recorded " for use of the
Colonial Office " in four bulky foolscap volumes, two of
which, containing the evidence given before the Committee
by a large number of witnesses — African chiefs from
Nigeria, the Gold Coast, Sierra Leone, and the Gambia ;
officials, merchants, concessionaires, and so on — have
been placed in the library of the House of Commons.
It is to be hoped that one day the British Government
will rescue this report from the obscurity to which it
was consigned during the war, for not only does it consti-
tute what is virtually a charter of native rights for the
tropical regions of Africa, but the memorandum by Morel
on " the occupation of land by native communities in
West Africa " is considered by high authorities to whom
it has been shown to be one of the most valuable theses
on the administrative policy appropriate to those regions
that has ever been penned.

"The conception," he wrote in this memorandum, 5 "which
underlies native policy in British West Africa, and probably through-
out the whole of tropical Africa, is that the land is the common
inheritance of the whole people, but that the individual is entitled
to benefit from his improvements, and enjoys fixity of tenure unless
he offends against the State or community. The name which
may be most fittingly used in the English tongue to describe this
conception of the part which land plays in the sociology of African
peoples is comparatively unimportant. What is important to bear
in mind is this governing principle of native ideas, viz. that the
land is God-given like air and water, and that every human being
is entitled to a share of it in order to sustain life. This is really
what is meant when we are told that there is no land without * an

5 See also pp. 43 and 44.
10

146 THE FIGHT AGAINST SLAVERY

owner.' It is a symbolism. ... A rigidity is apt to be given to
the terms 4 communal ownership ' and ' individual ownership '
which is absent from the native conception of land tenure. It
is too readily assumed that what we describe as ' individual owner-
ship ' is something wholly foreign to the native idea, because
individual ownership involves in our eyes the right of the individual
to part with his land for ever. But this is to misconceive funda-
mentally the real character of native tenure. Short of a right of
irrevocable alienation from the community — which native custom
absolutely forbids, which is, indeed, inconceivable in native eyes —
the native system of tenure recognizes the existence of private
property in land in this sense, that it fully admits perpetuity of
tenure vested in groups of individuals — families — and in the indi-
vidual as a member of the family, subject to the authority of the
head of the family. It is not a communal system of tenure in our
interpretation of the term. Individuals forming part of Family A
cannot farm the lands of Family B at their own sweet will and
pleasure, which under a system of strict communalism they would
be able to do. Just as soon as uncultivated land comes into cultiva-
tion it ceases, under the native system, to be communal as we use
the word. It becomes to all intents and purposes the property
of the human group cultivating it, whose interests under the patri-
archal system of society, which is the foundation of the native
social structure, are supervised by the head of the group. The
latter can only turn an individual out of the plot he is cultivating
for an offence against the community. That he can do so proves
the ultimate retention of the land in the community. In one sense,
therefore, every individual in the family is the possessor of land ;
and to that extent there is individual ownership. But the land is
not his to dispose of, and merges, at his death, in the family of which
he is a unit. In that sense the land is communal, the ' family '
being a section of the wider community. When land is uncultivated
the community as a whole is the owner of it, and never ceases to
be the owner of it, in the ultimate resort, when sections of it are
cultivated by 4 families ' ; but the families and the individuals
composing each family benefit by their cultivation and are undis-
turbed in their tenure unless they offend against the laws of the
community. The native system, in fine, is the system towards which
people of Western Europe are gravitating with halting footsteps.
I can imagine nothing less defendable morally than a policy directed
or tolerated by a European administration in Africa which would
shatter this native system where it happily exists."

As will be gathered from a perusal of previous chapters,
Morel's view was that the basic principle for the guidance

THE FUTURE OF AFRICA 147

of European administrations in tropical Africa should
be the recognition that the land of the country belonged
to the people of the country, i.e. to the native population,
and that the primary object of such administration should
be the preservation and strengthening of that conception,
the prevention of the permanent alienation of the land
to Europeans or European syndicates, and the taking of
such measures as might be necessary to make it impossible
for individual nations, under the influence of imported
European conceptions of land tenure, to violate their
own system by starting the practice of buying and selling
land. Such a practice, he contended, would lead to

" wholesale mortgaging, the grip of the money-lender, the creation
of a landless class (which he believes to be the curse of European
civilization), with resultant poverty — now unknown — the inevitable
decay of native industries, the conversion of a land-possessing popu-
lation into labourers, the crumbling of the native social structure
with all its long legacy of misery and chaos. . . . The native system
of tenure allows of private property in land, minus the power of
sale, and under the native system an arboricultural tropical industry
has grown up unparalleled in the world." 6

Whilst Morel was engaged on this important work certain
rumours were circulated by some of his opponents to
the effect that he was using his influence on the Committee
in support of a policy which was the exact antithesis of
that for which he was, as a fact, strenuously contending.
Morel was precluded by his official position from issuing
a formal denial of the truth of these rumours, but a way
out of the difficulty was found by means of a public
exchange of correspondence with Viscount Harcourt.

In a letter to Morel, dated October 23, 1915, the
Secretary of State wrote : —

" No proposal to transfer the ownership of the land from the
native communities to the Crown has ever been made to me by

6 Memorandum written for the Colonial Office in 1912.

148 THE FIGHT AGAINST SLAVERY

you ; and I may add that I find it difficult to believe that any one
familiar with your record of work in defence of native rights could
entertain for a moment the notion that such suggestions could have
come from you."

Opposition Aroused.

Morel, by his activities in connection with this question,
naturally incurred the opposition of powerful vested
interests. There was the oil and soap interest, for example,
which desired to acquire the virtual ownership of the
oil-palm districts of the Gold Coast in order to obtain
their raw materials at about one-tenth of their cost under
the free-trading system by which the natives worked
their own forests and sold their produce to competing
European merchants, and there were the City interests
which had watched with interested and speculative eyes
the spectacle of the natives of Ashanti and the Gold Coast
converting, by their own unaided activity, great areas of
" bush " into cocoa farms, disposing of the fruits of their
industry as free men and growing, as a consequence,
rapidly wealthier. (The Gold Coast cocoa industry is,
indeed, one of the romances of modern times, and a
standing illustration of what the African native can
accomplish under his indigenous system of land ownership
and collective labour. Under this system the Gold Coast
has become one of the finest cocoa-producing countries
of the world, and this without the aid of European capital
with its accompaniments of company-promoting and
stock- jobbing in Europe and indentured labour in Africa ;
without, in fact, any aid at all, save that provided by
the Agricultural Department of the Gold Coast Govern-
ment and such model farms as those which Messrs.
Cadbury in recent years have established in one or two
parts of the country.) To transform this thriving native
industry into one controlled and managed by European
capitalists and to transform the free native cultivator

THE FUTURE OF AFRICA 149

into a wage-slave — that was the plan. Governmental
apathy, the covetousness and ignorance of native chiefs,
the intrigues of a number of educated natives in the
coast towns, the absence of any law prohibiting individual
native farmers from parting with their land, and thus
breaking up the system of collective ownership which
was the basis of native society and its safeguard from
disintegration — these constituted the avenues through
which the vested interests at home hoped to attain their
ends. But even the best laid plans of capitalists and
financiers " gang aft agley," and when these gentlemen
attempted to carry out their schemes they found their
path blocked, to their extreme annoyance, by the same
obstinate individual who had faced and outfought
Leopold II.

For this annoyance they had some cause, for, shortly
after the Committee had begun its sittings, the process
of allowing " concessions " of the character described
was entirely stopped, whereat one of the financiers con-
cerned, apparently confident of his ability to remove the
obstruction, sought a personal interview with Morel—
to whose malign influence he attributed the " blocking
process " which he and his friends were experiencing.
But alas, even wealth has its limitations, and after a
lengthy conversation, in which he completely failed to
soften the hard heart of his " persecutor," the financier
—a prominent politician — departed in high dudgeon.
Should Morel ever be induced to tell the inner story of
the West African Lands Committee it might make curious
and instructive reading !

Sir Percy Girouard's Tribute.

In May 1912 Morel delivered a lecture on " Nigeria "
before the Royal Society of Arts, for which he was
subsequently awarded the Society's Silver Medal. The

150 THE FIGHT AGAINST SLAVERY

chairman of the meeting was Sir Percy Girouard, for two
years Governor of Northern Nigeria. In introducing the
lecturer, Sir Percy said (Journal of the Royal Society of
Arts, May 10, 1912) that Morel " needed no introduction
to a British or indeed any audience. His devotion to
African interests, his single-mindedness in contest, and
his achievements for African advancement were very
well known to all. As a result of his visit to Nigeria a
series of brilliant articles appeared in the public Press
bearing upon the progress, the past and the future of
the two Nigerias. These articles were expanded into a
book which certainly was to-day almost a standard
treatise upon the mental, moral, and manual work, which
had been accomplished in Nigeria, particularly within
the last ten years."

The Treatment of Coloured Races.

Morel further set forth his viewrs on the treatment of
coloured races in a paper read at the Church Congress
at Southampton on October 2, 1913. In this paper
he urged, as many times before, that the true way of
governing tropical peoples was to help those peoples
to govern themselves. We should not destroy customs
and institutions, which, although differing from our own,
might be far more suitable to the genius of the peoples
concerned. There was " no moral justification " and,
ultimately, " no utilitarian advantage," " in depriving a
primitive people of its natural sources of commercial
wealth on the plea that it is not at a given moment
sufficiently instructed in mechanical devices to extract
the fullest use therefrom for the world's benefit." Nor
must we force loans upon the rulers of these peoples
" in the interest of cosmopolitan finance, and for the
greater profit of armament firms." The " exploitation
of the coloured peoples " was " not merely immoral,

THE FUTURE OF AFRICA 151

but anti-economic." Both the " damned nigger school "
and the school which indicted " every form of European
commercial enterprise in the tropics as necessarily " fatal
to the liberties of the natives were in error. The native
should be " a free man, freely utilizing his land and its
resources in common with the white man ; his incentive,
not coercion, but trade." Further, the old unquestioning
ascendancy of the white over the coloured races was
disappearing, and the day was approaching when the
basis of white rule must rest as greatly " upon consent
as upon force."

Africa and the War.

Twelve months later came the Great War, and it will
be convenient in this chapter to refer to Morel's views
on the African problems arising out of the conflict.
These views were set forth in a small book entitled Africa
and the Peace of Europe (National Labour Press), published
in the spring of 1917, and in a speech delivered at the
National Liberal Club on April 24th of the same year. Both
in the book and in the speech he alluded to the danger that
European politicians, in an effort to reduce the financial
burden of the war, might " succumb to the temptation
of exploiting the labour of the coloured races," and he
vigorously attacked the proposal put forward by the
Empire Resources Development Committee " to vest in
the State the land and the products of the land of British-
protected Africa, both of which belong ... to the Afri-
can communities concerned ; and to utilize, through the
media of large joint- stock corporations, African labour
for the relief of the British tax-payer." 7

" Here," he said, " we have a direct appeal for the
appropriation by the British State of the land belonging
to African peoples, for whom the British State is

7 Preface to Africa and the Peace of Europe.

152 THE FIGHT AGAINST SLAVERY

trustee, and for the exploitation of its resources by the
British State in order to reduce the War Debt . . .
and, incidentally, to secure handsome returns for capital
invested. Particular stress is laid upon the natural
wealth of British West Africa in the produce of the oil-
palms, of which it is said that they are our property, and
an asset to be worked for the Empire." 8

" It is a proposal," he exclaimed, " to set the clock
back three hundred years. ... It is the suggested
application to British tropical Africa of the identical
principles which formed the juridical basis of the policy
inaugurated by Leopold II on the Congo." 9 And again :
" For the British State to step in and claim the whole
of the land of British West Africa and what it produces
would be an act of expropriation comparable only in
recent years to the Leopoldian regime. . . . This scheme
comes before us backed by immense vested interests." I0
And he warned his hearers that they were " up against
the biggest thing " they had ever tackled. " Mr. Morel's
attacks," said Sir Harry Johnston, writing in War and
Peace, " are justified on the insidious projects recently
circulated by which, through victory in the war, negro
Africa virtually becomes enthralled by small or secret
bodies of men in Britain, France, Belgium, and Portugal,
and the commerce of the world outside those Powers has
little or no chance of fair treatment in one of the most
productive areas of the world's surface."

To any one such as Morel, deeply interested in the
welfare of the African native and in problems of colonial
administration, one of the most heartbreaking sides of
the European war, and one which naturally was little
known to the general public, was the introduction of the
world-conflict into tropical Africa.

* Africa and the Peace of Europe. 9 Ibid.

10 Speech at the Anti -Slavery Society meeting.

THE FUTURE OF AFRICA 153

" Native tribes," said Morel, " have been dragooned and suborned
into taking sides with this or that belligerent, and helped with
modern rifles. Inter-tribal warfare, with all its crude horrors, has
been revived on a far more comprehensive scale. . . . The resources
of entire districts have been ruthlessly destroyed, to prevent the
enemy obtaining supplies. . . . Devastation, massacre and ruin have
characterized the importation of European animosities into primitive
Africa. The work of years has been undone. And it is with feelings
bordering upon anguish that officials whose conception of the white
man's duties to the African, and the value of the white man's moral
example in dealing with these primitive and semi-primitive peoples,
was a high one, contemplate the wreckage of their earnest labours.
As for the psychological effect upon the African's mind ... of the
killing of white men (those semi-supernatural beings) by Africans
in Africa, at the instigation of other white men, and with weapons
furnished them for the purpose — prowesses which henceforth will
be the theme of African camp-fires and chronicled in the message
of African drums — well, ask any experienced African administrator,
and if he is disposed to speak his mind freely to you, you will appre-
ciate perhaps the sort of ingredients stirring in the devil's cauldron
which the folly of Europe has brewed in Africa." Ix

Proposed Neutralization of Non-Colonizable Africa.

In Africa and the Peace of Europe Morel put forward
certain proposals which he believed would " lay the
foundation of such an international treatment of the
African problem as will eliminate one of the active causes
of European unrest " and at the same time spare the
African natives from any repetition of the scenes referred
to in the preceding paragraph.

" The means to this end," he said, " are plainly indicated. They
would consist in neutralizing the greater part of Africa, and in
internationalizing commercial activites within the neutralized area.

" By neutralization I mean the removal of the greater part of
Africa, by mutual consent, from the operations of European war.

" By the internationalization of commercial activities I mean that,
irrespective of the distribution of sovereign rights, the nationals
of all European states shall be entitled to compete on equal terms
in every form of commercial activity throughout the neutralized

11 Africa and the Peace of Europe, p. 69. *» Ibid. p. 70.

154 THE FIGHT AGAINST SLAVERY

Roughly speaking, the territory Morel proposed to
neutralize covered the whole of non-colonizable Africa.
In fact it covered the whole of Africa with the exception
of Egypt, Tripoli and Tunis, Algeria, Morocco and the
Spanish Soudan (Mauretania) in the north, Abyssinia
in the east, and the Union of South Africa and German
South-West Africa in the south. And, besides being
neutralized, Morel proposed that the whole of this vast
area should be a Free Trade zone, that, as far as commercial
activities were concerned, every nation should have equal
access to it. Such an arrangement, he suggested, should
be secured by a " collective guarantee, in which the
United States and all the European Powers, belligerent
and neutral, should participate." " And if the South
American Powers," he added, " and the great independent
Asiatic Powers — Japan and China — were brought in
also, it would be all to the good." J3

" Of this I am profoundly convinced," he said, " a
solution of the African problem on some such lines . . .
is an essential ingredient in the mortar required to lay
the structural foundations of a lasting peace in Europe " ; J4
and he further urged that a Charter of Native Rights
should be drawn up, which " could be subscribed to by
all the Powers," and which would help to safeguard the
interests of the native races of Africa.

J3 Africa and the Peace of Europe, p. 72.

M Ibid. p. 96. Morel's views expressed in this book on the future
of the German African colonies are more properly dealt with in
Chapter XXI.

CHAPTER XIV
VICTORY

Public presentation — A representative gathering — The Bishop of Win-
chester's letter — Tributes from Lord Cromer, M. Vandervelde,
M. Pierre Mille, M. Felicien Challaye, Sir Arthur Coiian Doyle,
and others — Morel's reply — A strangely significant utterance —
Reforms conceded — " We have won, gentlemen " — Triumph of the
Reform Movement — The native freed — Final meeting of the Asso-
ciation— Glowing tributes to Morel — The Archbishop of York —
Lord Aberdeen — Sir Valentine Chirol — Sir Gilbert Parker — The
Bishop of Winchester — Dr. Clifford — Sir Harry Johnston — The
Rev. Scott Lidgett — The Earl of Mayo — " Invaluable services to
the British people " — Robert Donald of the Daily Chronicle — The
Morning Post — The Daily News — The Evening Standard — Compared
to Wilberforce — Morel's three motives : Native Rights, Freedom of
Trade, Peace — " A great peace crusade " — An impressive speech.

IN July 1910 a letter signed by Lord Cromer appeared
in the Press announcing the formation of a Committee
— consisting of Dr. Talbot (then Bishop of Southwark,
now Bishop of Winchester), the Rev. Silvester Home,
M.P., Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Sir William Crossley,
M.P., and Lady Frederick Cavendish — for the purpose
of organizing a public presentation to Morel in recognition
of his efforts in the cause of humanity.

The appeal was warmly supported by Press and public,
and the presentation was made at a public luncheon in
the Whitehall Rooms on May 29, 1911.

It was a remarkable gathering. In the absence, owing
to illness, of the Bishop of Winchester, Lord Cromer
presided over an assembly which, as the Daily News

155

156 THE FIGHT AGAINST SLAVERY

remarked the next day, " was strikingly representative
— non-party, unsectarian, international."

44 Its representative character," said another journal,1 was what
struck one most about the meeting. It was a gathering not only
of all parties and all creeds in the country, but of many nations.
Wherever one turned one saw some face well known in public
life. Literature was represented by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, . . .
Sir Gilbert Parker, M.P., Mrs. John Richard Green, Sir Percy
Bunting, Mr. St. Loe Strachey, Anthony Hope Hawkins, Mr.
Stead and Silas Hocking. The Mayor of Birkenhead was resplen-
dent in his chain of office. The Churches added their tribute through
Bishop Taylor Smith, Canon Barnett, the Rev. Silvester Home, M.P.,
Dr. Scott Lidgett, and many others too numerous to mention.
Politics, the Press, Commerce, were all well represented. Other
countries sent distinguished guests. Belgium sent the eloquent
Labour leader Emile Vandervelde ; France sent Pierre Mille,
President of the International Congo League, and Felicien Challaye,
of the French Congo League. Germany, Switzerland and the United
States were all present in their representatives. Africa joined in
the demonstration, four or five ebony faces adding a picturesque
touch of colour to the occasion. ..."

A Hero's Work.

Prevented by illness from presiding at the luncheon,
the Bishop of Winchester sent an eloquent letter :—

44 1 should have counted it," he writes, 44 as one of the most genuine
honours of my life to fill that chair. I do not expect ever to have
a second quite like it. ...

44 1 believe Mr. Morel to have done a hero's work, with a hero's
motive and a hero's courage, and across difficulties which make
a hero's task never more difficult than in our complex modern
day. ... I am not ashamed to believe and say that for a great
moral emergency the providence of God gave us the man.

44 With unswerving zeal Mr. Morel followed up and tracked out
the facts. With incredible patience and unblundering thoroughness
and skill, without shrinking from the weariness of constant insistence
and repetition, with untiring use of a pen which cut like steel through
pretences and evasions and falsehoods, he compelled us to hear
and understand and judge, he fought his way through to the
attention of the slow but honest conscience of the nation.

1 The Baptist Times, June 2, 1911.

VICTORY 157

" In doing this, he ran tremendous risks : risks of life and of the
means of living, risks of reputation and position, far greater than
are publicly known or can be publicly said. He had against him
enormous material forces, and forces whose moral unscrupulousness
has become a byword. He had against him, too, all the weight
of inertia, preoccupation and indifference, international and
other.

" We ourselves, who applaud him to-day, were watching him
carefully for the signs of the fanatic or the intriguer. These signs
we never found. . . . We perceived that he not merely described
atrocities, or denounced crimes, but that he kept steadily before
him an ideal sound, practical, truly commercial, but above all
really just, of European conduct to the races of Africa. We saw
that his antagonism was not to this or that abuse, but to a system
which was in every respect the defiant opposite of what his conscience
and reason taught him to regard as alone possible and tolerable for
the civilized action of Europe to-day. . . .

" His was a great achievement. ... It was, as I believe, one of
those achievements which become part of our permanent moral
capital. The world's battle against slavery is not yet fought out
. . . the forces of cruel and selfish exploitation will not easily
be curbed or trodden under. God grant us Morels from time to
time to fight them, as this one has been fought, ... by the friend
to whom I desire to join you and our welcome guests from abroad
in toasting with affection and honour."

Lord Cromer's Tribute.

44 Mr. Morel," said Lord Cromer in the opening speech,
44 has stormed the citadel, not only of British but of
European opinion. Without his indomitable energy,
without his perseverance, without his disinterestedness
and his unbounded enthusiasm, it is perhaps open to
considerable doubt whether the reform of the Congo
would have been taken in hand at all."

But perhaps the most noteworthy of the tributes to
Morel's work on this occasion were those paid by M. Emile
Vandervelde, the leader of the Belgian Socialist party,
and two Frenchmen, M. Pierre Mille, President for
France of the International League for the Defence of the
Natives of the Congo Basin, and M. Felicien Challaye,

158 THE FIGHT AGAINST SLAVERY

President of the French League for the Defence of the
Natives of the Congo Basin.

The speeches of these three distinguished visitors, so
far as they relate to Morel's central contention in his long
campaign against the concessionaire system in tropical
Africa, have already been referred to.* The following
extracts, which are of a more personal nature, have not,
however, been given before : —

" It is with all my heart," declared M. Vandervelde, " that I
associate myself with you to render homage to E. D. Morel, in the
name of my country, which is beginning to do him justice, and in
the name of the natives of the Congo also. . . .

" It will perhaps be the best and most honourable remembrance
of my life to have been at his side, to have shared with him in some
part the attacks, the outrageous charges, the calumnies with which
he has been deluged. . . .

" If I have done anything, it has been through following his
advice and being inspired by his example. . . .

" To-day we salute Morel as the organizer of victory, the pioneer
workman ; he who was already striving while others slept, he who
compelled the blind to see, the deaf to hear, he who has saved
the peoples of the Congo by appealing incessantly, indefatigably to
the conscience of the civilized world. Thanks, Morel, in the name
of Belgium ! Thanks in the name of the natives ! "

" There are friendships," said M. Pierre Mille, " which include
both respect and admiration. The friendship I have for Morel
is of that kind. ... I have admired his great heart, his generosity,
his disinterestedness, his magnificent energy ; and I have admired,
also, the country to which he belongs. In England, when a man
stands up against injustice and crime, you do not meet with individuals
who, acting for I do not know what vile personal interests, accuse
him of being venal. You find still less in this country idiots to believe
in it. . . .1 salute Morel because he has been the heroic promoter
of a great human work. I salute England. ... I console myself a
little with the thought that in the veins of Morel there flows some
French blood."

A most eloquent tribute was that paid to Morel by
M. Felicien Challaye : —

" I am happy to bring to him," he said, " the homage of France,
of the better France. The qualities which he has shown in this

* See Chapter V.

VICTORY 159

struggle are amongst those which are most calculated to impress
the French spirit, such as the centuries have formed it. The
France of St. Louis can salute this apostle of the latest of the crusades ;
the France of Corneille can exalt his heroism, classic in its nature ;
the France of the Revolution can acclaim this great revolutionary
who succeeded in suppressing from the map of the world a State,
a tyranny, a despotism — the most odious of tyrannies, the most
abject of despotisms ; Napoleonic France can applaud the courage
which he showed in this struggle and in this labour ; the France of
the twentieth century must admire in him the harmony of the
qualities which appeal to us to-day as the highest of human virtues,
the love of truth, and the passion for justice."

A Significant Speech.

Following upon speeches by Mr. Alfred Emmott, M.P.
(now Lord Emmott), the Rev. Silvester Home, Mr.
Fabian Ware, editor of the Morning Post — who said of
Morel : " I have never seen such a fighter. . . . There
is no position in diplomacy that Mr. Morel could not
fill with distinction " — M. Rene Claparede, and Herr
Ludwig Dueus, Presidents respectively of the Swiss and
German Leagues for the Defence of the Natives of the
Congo Basin, and Mr. Robert Whyte, of the American
Presbyterian Missionary Society, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
presented Morel with a cheque for 4,000 guineas and a
bronze statuette of a Congo chief by Mr. Herbert Ward,
and Mrs. Morel with a jewel and a portrait of her husband
by Mr. William Rothenstein.

In returning thanks Morel used words which later
events have touched with a strange significance : —

" We are all watching to-day," he said, " the advance — the
astounding advance if we cast our minds back but a few years —
of a great ideal which seeks to substitute something more Christian
and more rational than the sword as the arbiter of disputes between
various sections of the white race — beginning with the two great
sister nations. Some may think its eventual realization impossible.
Others will feel that its progress is swaying vast and, for the most
part, silent masses of men as perhaps they have never been swayed
before, with a common hope and a common longing. None will

160 THE FIGHT AGAINST SLAVERY

deny that the subject has now become one of world-wide discus-
sion, not among idealists or enthusiasts only, but among practical
statesmen.

" That in itself is a very wonderful thing, and if this wonderful
thing has come about, is it not possible, I would ask, for an actual
understanding to be reached affecting many millions of another race
for whose destinies the white race is responsible, and presenting
infinitely fewer difficulties to realize ? "

The Future of Tropical Africa.

Turning to the future of tropical Africa, Morel
said : —

" Between the White Nile and Zanzibar, between Zanzibar and
Senegal, between the Sahara and the Gulf of Guinea, lies that
vast belt of Equatorial Africa which must emphatically be considered
the black man's country.

" This enormous region, as large as Europe, has two peculi-
arities. . . .

" It is one of the greatest, if not the greatest, storehouses of vege-
table riches in the world. Its people are on the whole . . . the
most helpless in the world in the face of modern engines of
coercion.

" Victims for several centuries of the oversea slave trade, they
are to-day threatened by the same evil in inverted form . The modern
agency . . . aims at their enslavement in their own homes, starting
from a basis of confiscation of their land, proceeding to claim the
products of that land, and concluding by a claim to dispose of the
labour of the country.

" We have seen these agencies, pushed to the full length of their
logical sequence, at work in the Congo. . . . The Congo became a
forcing house for the propagation of poisonous seeds, seeds which
the wind carried hither and thither. . . .

" For the time being the evil has been checked, its most revolting
excesses, I hope, altogether destroyed. But it is not killed, and
may be expected to work more subtly in the future. I do not
think ... we can fail to detect a revival — among much material
prosperity, perhaps on account of it — of the slave spirit in dealing
with the coloured races. . . .

" I suggest that the time has come when public opinion should . . .
bring organized pressure to bear upon those Governments who be-
tween them control the destinies of tropical Africa, with the object
of securing that certain broad lines of policy be laid down for the

VICTORY 161

government of these vast regions. I suggest that ... a Charter of
Rights for the unrepresented millions of the African tropics should
be drawn up. . . ."

In Morel's view the peoples of Europe should take the
lead in bringing about an International Conference

" based, not upon pious resolutions hiding political ambitions,
but upon practical common sense, upon a sentiment of responsi-
bility, with the acquired knowledge of what constitutes for these
African peoples, socially, economically and humanly, the just and
the indispensable. . . .

" If this thought . . . found an echo in the minds of the many
men of eminence and influence here to-day, the cause of human
peace, happiness and progress might be extended to a field where
its pressure in constructive form is very greatly needed."

" We have Won, Gentlemen."

Gradually the incessant agitation of years was doing
its work. One by one the reforms demanded by Morel
and his devoted co-workers were being conceded. One
by one the evils which had oppressed the Congo for so
long were crumbling away. By May 1913 3 very little
was left to be done. The entire Leopoldian policy had
been completely abandoned. The atrocities had ceased.
The Concessionaire Companies had either vanished or
had been reduced to impotence, and with their disappear-
ance the swarms of irregular levies which had terrorized
the countryside had also gone. A responsible Govern-
ment had replaced an irresponsible despotism. The
rubber tax had been abolished. Freedom of trade over
the greater part of the territory had been restored, and
the right of the natives to free access to the land for the
purpose of gathering its natural products had been con-
ceded. One or two further points were yet to be secured,

3 In this month Morel was invited to give an address on the govern-
ment of tropical Africa at the New University, Brussels, and did so.
M. Vandervelde presided.

11

162 THE FIGHT AGAINST SLAVERY

and an influentially signed memorial was sent to Sir
Edward Grey urging that the natives should also be
entitled to free access to the land for the purpose of
cultivating products such as

" cocoa, rubber, cotton, ground-nuts, maize and other tropical
produce."

A few more months of work, a little more diplomatic
correspondence with the Foreign Office, and the further
matters at issue were conceded, so that, on April 25, 1913,
Morel was able to declare that " in view of the immense
and steady improvement " which had taken place, the
Congo Reform Association would no longer be justified,
in his opinion, in opposing the official recognition by the
British Government of the annexation.

" We have won, gentlemen," said he, addressing the
Executive Committee of his Association. " We have
won a victory which, in my humble opinion, has saved
the African tropics from a permanent yoke of slavery,
greatly improved for good the administration of all
responsible Governments in that part of the world, and
rescued generations yet unborn from a cruel and de-
structive fate."

" We have achieved what we started out to accomplish,"
said Sir Gilbert Parker at the same meeting. " WTe have
got at least decent government on the whole for the natives
of the Congo ; we have got freedom from slavery and
from a tyranny which one may not improperly call a
bloody and a cruel tyranny, and in that view ... I
strongly support Mr. Morel's suggestion and advice that
we do no longer withhold our approval of the recognition
of the annexation."

Following this the British Government decided to
recognize officially the Congo as a Belgian colony, and
in announcing this decision to the House of Commons

VICTORY 163

(May 29, 1913) Sir Edward Grey said : " In making the
announcement ... we are happily in a position of doing
what is morally right and justifiable, as well as politically
expedient. It is not always that these two things go
together, but I have always hoped that this long chapter
of complaint and trouble in connection with the Congo
would be closed in some such way as it has been closed
to-day."

The Final Meeting.

On July 16, 1913, at the Westminster Palace Hotel,
the final meeting of the Congo Reform Association was held.

Sir Gilbert Parker, M.P., presided over a notable
assembly, which included the Archbishop of Canterbury,
the Bishop of Winchester, and Lord Cromer, whilst mes-
sages of congratulation were received from many of the
most distinguished men in Britain, France, and Belgium.
Of these the following four may be quoted : —

The Archbishop of York. — " I cannot allow the opportunity
to pass without sending a word of deep gratitude to you for your
courageous and persistent advocacy of the claims of the natives
of the Congo. ... It will be a lifelong satisfaction to you to know
that it was given to you to do a work so remarkable on behalf of
justice and humanity."

The Earl of Aberdeen, Lord- Lieutenant of Ireland. — " The fare-
well proceedings of the Association will surely and rightly consist
largely in an offer of a tribute of homage to the man who above
all has been the stimulating and guiding force in the movement.
He has thus earned a notable place in the true roll of fame, and
the name of E. D. Morel will be held in grateful admiration and
esteem with the permanence that no titular distinction could
secure."

Sir Valentine Chirol of the " Times." — " I shall always feel
proud to have been able to lend a helping hand, in however small
a way, to the admirable work which you undertook with much
unselfish devotion, and carried to a successful issue with such
conspicuous ability and untiring energy."

164 THE FIGHT AGAINST SLAVERY

Sir Edward Russell of the Liverpool " Daily Post" — " There is
no one who has a higher idea of your work, or of the heroism and
power with which you have pursued it to a successful result. ... I
hope the meeting will be a most triumphant memorial of what has
been a magnificent victory over extraordinary and peculiar powers
of darkness."

Tributes to Morel.

It is difficult in such a book as this to convey at all
adequately to the reader the remarkable nature of the
tributes which were paid to Morel on this occasion by the
distinguished speakers. One can but quote a few of
them without comment.

Sir Gilbert Parker, M.P. — " I believe that through the movement
fostered and controlled by this Association, with a sanity that is
not always displayed in such movements, there has been revealed
to the consciences of the nations of the world a new and vivid
sense of the duty of civilized Governments to native races whom
they force or invite into the paths of civilization. . . . But the
sanity of the method which has produced this result had its origin
in the -work of our friend, and the friend of humanity, Mr. E. D.
Morel."

The Bishop of Winchester. — " We have learned . . . that there
is in the conscience of humanity, and may I hope and believe more
especially in the conscience of British humanity, an immense
latent force for zeal, and for truth and humanity, and justice, that
wants focusing and precipitating.

" And to do that, what is wanted is the action of a leader of men,
who will bring to it devotion, unswerving diligence and industry,
the great power of patiently and vividly interpreting to his fellow-
men what the real issues are, and who will hold on his way in
spite of calumny, in spite of resistance when the cause seems to
gain nothing, as well as when the cause has hopes of winning.
We have found such a man in this cause. We believe that God
raises up such men from time to time. Such men are needed, and
we found him for this agitation, this reform, this movement which
has been brought to a conclusion. In thanking God for that,
we thank the man to whom, I believe, under God, we owe it —
E. D. Morel.'*

Dr. Clifford. — " Eternal vigilance is the price of human progress,
and it is only as we raise men, or rather, shall I say, as God raises

VICTORY 165

men like Mr. Morel, heroic in temper, persistent in industry, saga-
cious in planning, persuasive in advocacy, indomitable in pluck,
that it is possible for the evils that afflict humanity to be removed.'*

Sir Harry Johnston. — " The great value of his work has not only
been the soul that he put into it, and the passionate declamation
that he made in speech and writing, but the great accuracy of his
statistics. . . . What this David beat down this Goliath with was
the unanswerable accuracy of the facts that he collected to prove
his case. . . . Mr. Morel, among other services he has rendered, has
brought home to us as a matter of African policy that the best and
most profitable way of developing all these regions is to develop
them through the races that naturally inhabit them."

The Rev. Scott Lidgett. — " It has been great for this man to arrest
the British public . . . and to arouse its conscience, and to secure
that welding together of churches and parties and of all those who
love the well-being of humanity, in a way that has been unprecedented,
I think, since perhaps the time when Wilberforce embodied the con-
science of England generations ago. . . . We thank God for such
a gift to the twentieth century as Mr. Morel. We trust in God's
providence that there is some yet greater work, if it be possible,
for him to do to keep alive this great fire which he has kindled and
to win upon new fields of service the endless gratitude of those who,
but for the tenderness of his heart and the chivalry of his character,
were ready to perish."

The Earl of Mayo. — " Mr. Morel is a fine speaker, a good fellow
and a hard worker. I must say that if I was in a tight corner any-
where I should like to have a man like Mr. Morel alongside me. ... I
hope to meet him in some other sphere, and that he will turn his hand
to bettering the condition of some other peoples throughout the
world in the same way that he has benefited the Congo natives."

Mr. T. L. Gilmour of the " Morning Post" — " The first great
London daily paper which took up this Congo question was the
Morning Post. ... It was my good fortune ... to bring together
Mr. Morel and the man who at that time was in control of the
policy of that paper, Mr. Oliver Borthwick, the only son of Lord
Glenesk. . . . After Mr. Morel had left, I naturally had a conversa-
tion on the subject with Mr. Borthwick, and . . . what he said
was this : 4 Here is a big sane man with a good case, and we must
support him.' . . . How is it that Mr. Morel was able ... to obtain
the support of a paper which ... is not, I think, . . . influenced by
sentimental considerations ? It was because ... he was so particular
in always seeing that his facts were accurate. He did not approach
this question from the sentimental point of view, but from the point

166 THE FIGHT AGAINST SLAVERY

of view of statesmanship, and I venture to think that the real
service which Mr. Morel has rendered to the British people is not
limited by his services in connection with the Congo, but extends
to a much wider field."

Mr. Robert Donald, editor of the " Daily Chronicle"—" I think
that one of his (Mr. Morel's) greatest achievements was when he
created enthusiasm for his cause in newspaper offices, which are
generally full of cynics. ... As far as the Press of this country
is concerned, it had never a better leader or a nobler cause."

The Rev. C. Wilson, secretary of the Baptist Missionary Society. —
" I think I may venture on behalf of the missionaries to say that it
is not a vain hope that as enlightenment spreads in the Congo
the people of Africa may come to realize that in the history of their
land God raised up a great friend of Africa, the man to whom in
this resolution we express our thanks."

Morel's " Invaluable Services ... to the British
People."

Thus amidst the plaudits of distinguished men and
women was Morel in July 1913 thanked for his " invaluable
services . . . not only to the natives of the Congo, but
to the British people " ; thus, amidst well-nigh universal
praise from Press and public, was " one of the most
remarkable movements that has ever been witnessed in
this country " — to quote the Morning Post — brought
to a triumphant conclusion.

" The Congo Reform Movement," continued the Morning Post,
" was concerned with a very grave and far-reaching issue. What
was really at stake was the whole relationship between the govern-
ing nations of Europe and the subject races committed to their
charge. Had the system set up by the Congo Free State been
allowed to survive, it must in the end have infected with its taint
the colonial policy of every Great Power. Sooner or later the
example of the ruthless exploitation of the natives of the Congo
Basin, in the interests of their foreign rulers, would have been
imitated elsewhere, and there would even have been a lowering of
the standards of those nations which did not succumb to the worst
temptations. It is no exaggeration to say, then, that the Congo
Reform Association has done a great work in upholding the

VICTORY 167

ideals of civilization and in rousing the conscience of Europe to
realize the duties which every colonizing Power owes to its subject
races."

Compared to Wilberforce.

From the numerous editorial tributes which were paid
to Morel by the Press, we extract two which seem to be
of especial interest. This is from the Daily News and
Leader : —

" The history of [the Congo Reform Association] is largely the
history of the courage and determination of one man. ... It was Mr.
E. D. Morel, who will be remembered as having roused the conscience
of Europe on the subject, and destroyed the most hideous traffic
of modern times. . . . For a long time he fought the battle against
Leopold almost single handed. He founded the Congo Reform
Association, and through that instrument he forced the subject
on the attention of Europe, compelled Leopold to yield, brought
about the annexation of the Congo region by Belgium, and succeeded
in abolishing the system of forced labour with all its horrors of
blood and misery. It is an achievement which will give him an
enduring place among the great deliverers of mankind. But it will be
asked with some bitterness why it was left to a private citizen to
right a gigantic wrong, which was known to every Foreign Minister
in Europe."

And here is the authentic voice of the Evening Standard : —

" Every single word spoken in praise of Mr. Morel at the last
meeting of the Congo Reform Association, which he founded, was
thoroughly deserved. By his untiring pertinacity in face of a
solid wall of obstruction he has made life tolerable, and even happy,
for scores of thousands of Congolese who were living in a Gehenna. . . .
Thanks to him, natives are no longer torn from their villages and
dragged off to labour on the railway, and in the gold-mines. For
the crime of not getting enough rubber they are no longer lashed
with the chicotte of raw hippo hide, with edges like knife blades,
or packed into rooms like the Black Hole of Calcutta, till their
friends bring in enough rubber. Women are no longer forced to
walk forty or fifty miles immediately after childbirth, and their
husbands do not have their hands lopped off for the same * crime.'
Mr. E. D. Morel, by stirring up the public conscience, has altered
all that, and HIS NAME SHOULD GO DOWN TO POSTERITY WITH THAT
OF WILBERFORCE."

168 THE FIGHT AGAINST SLAVERY

It was indeed " roses, roses all the way " for Morel in
July 1913. One wonders whether, as he sat and listened
to the praises showered upon him, any thought of Brown-
ing's poem, and its moral, ever passed across his mind.
There is no indication of it in the expressive speech which
he made on this occasion, a speech which shows clearly
the three main motives which animated him — Native
Rights, Freedom of Trade, Peace.

" The native of the Congo," said he, " is once more a free man.
His elementary human rights have been restored to him. He
is free once more to gather the natural products of his soil, and to
dispose of them in legitimate trade. He is free to cultivate his land,
both for his own sustenance and for the planting of products of
economic value for his enrichment. The rubber tax — ' the blood
tax ' — has been abolished. . . .

" Freedom of trade has been reintroduced throughout the Congo
and thousands of natives who have fled to the recesses of the forest
to escape their tormentors are flocking back to their old settlements
on the river bank."

A Great Peace Crusade.

And just as in his speech at the public presentation
two years before he had spoken of the coming of the
great ideal which sought to " substitute something more
Christian and more rational " for the arbitrament of
the sword, so on this final occasion he closed with these
solemn and significant words : —

" And so the curtain rings down on our endeavours. In one
sense this crusade, waged amid the strife of pens and the clamour
of voices . . . has been a great peace crusade. We have fought
war — dreadful war — war which invaded every village in the Congo
and affected every home in every village, and every human unit
in every home : war against men, women and little children. Per-
manent war. War not waged to vindicate the prestige of the white
race, war not waged to restore order or to punish crime, but war
waged as a system primarily for the enrichment of a handful of
individuals. War which filled the sombre equatorial forest with
daily and unspeakable tragedies. And, I would add, war which

VICTORY 16d

was known, which had long been known, the purpose of which had long
been known, in every Foreign Office in Europe before we knew of it.
Yes, it is true, and it should be said to-day that what all Europe
should have taken in hand, what it was the duty of all Europe
to have taken in hand, and what Europe did not even attempt
to take in hand, this Association, rising as a small cloud on the horizon
of a tyrant's will, and gathering the force of a tornado which swept
him from his African throne — this Association has been, in a large
measure, able itself to accomplish.

44 And now that our work as an Association is done, I think we
can take leave of one another as we part to-day, not again to re-
assemble, with the consciousness that each one of us has done his
best to play his allotted part ; with the consciousness that we have
all worked together for a common purpose, with unselfishness of
aim ; that during this our long companionship in arms we have
garnered into the chambers of our hearts some precious seeds of
charity, of inspiration and of hope, and that, under the providence
of God, we have struck a blow for human justice that cannot and
will not pass away."

PART HI
THE FIGHT AGAINST WAR

CHAPTER XV
CO-OPERATION OR CONFLICT

Belief in international co-operation — Opposes war with France in 1898 —
Always anti- Jingo — But dubbed a pro -Frenchman — And praised
as a super-patriot — Growing distrust of secret diplomacy — Criticizes
Foreign Office methods — A dangerous bureaucracy — The shadow
of war — Was an Anglo -German conflict inevitable ? — Morocco in
Diplomacy.

As we have seen, in perusing the earlier chapters of this
book, Morel has always been imbued with a firm belief in
the virtues of international co-operation, and therefore,
as a natural consequence, with a profound detestation of
war as a method of " settling " national differences. As
far back as 1898, when a young man of twenty-five, he
opposed with all his strength the forces which were seeking
to drive Britain and France into armed conflict on the subject
of West Africa.1 When the Daily Mail was threatening
to " roll France in mud and blood " Morel stood out against
the clamour, and, whilst admitting, and indeed demonstrat-
ing, the general nature of the grievances under which British
interests were labouring as the result of French policy in
West Africa, he, at the risk of being dubbed a " pro-French-
man," pleaded for a calm consideration of these matters
and pointed out that the difficulties in question could more
easily be removed by the exercise of a little reason and
moderation on both sides. " Quite so," some of his opponents
may remark, " always against Britain. The friend of
every country but his own ! " Not at all. For at the very

1 See Chapter III.
173

174 THE FIGHT AGAINST WAR

time that he was opposing the Jingoes in this country who
were clamouring for war with France over West Africa
he was also opposing the French Jingoes or Chauvinists
who were instrumental in sending Major Marchand to Fashoda
— an act, in Morel's opinion, of pure aggression. And, as has
been mentioned, so highly did he, in his book on Nigeria,
praise the work of the British administrators there, that
the Outlook was actually concerned lest some people should
think him " a mere creature of patriotic prejudice." No,
to Morel, as to others, a just and honourable peace has
ever been one of the " highest of British interests " ; indeed,
he would probably extend this statement and say that
it is one of the highest interests of civilization. So it is
not strange that on the triumph of his twelve years' labour
in the cause of Congo Reform he should have chosen
the very moment of victory to declare, in the presence
of many of the highest in the land, that that campaign,
in his opinion, was " a great peace crusade."

Growing Distrust of Secret Diplomacy.

In the course of his work for a greater international
co-operation in the business of the world, and in particular
through his labours for Congo Reform, Morel naturally
came into " close contact with the methods of international
diplomacy, and with the proceedings of diplomats."

" The experience," he said, " of pursuing a specific aim and
steering a single course, in season and out of season, for eleven years
on end, through the tortuosities of diplomatic shuffling, of removing
one obstacle only to find another in its place, of personal intercourse
with diplomatists here and elsewhere, with journalists in their
councils and obedient to their will, with permanent officials, Ministers
and politicians, and with the flotsam and jetsam which crowd the
diplomatic corridors — this experience gave me an insight into the
workings of what is called 4 diplomacy ' granted, I think, to few
men outside the ring and not to all within it." 3

* Personal Foreword to Truth and the War, p. 37.

CO-OPERATION OR CONFLICT 175

And we have seen, as the Congo Reform Movement
developed, and as Morel was brought at so many points
into intimate relations with the Foreign Office, how he
became more and more deeply dissatisfied with the spirit
by which that great department of the State was animated,
and with the methods by which it conducted its work.
That is why his book Great Britain and the Congo is
of such special interest to all who wish to understand the
secret and the consistency of Morel's career. He had seen
at close quarters the workings of secret diplomacy, and
the sight appalled him. He saw how divorced the Foreign
Office was from the great sincerities of existence.

In a striking passage he held up to scorn the official picture
" of anxious Ministers, holding innumerable and mysterious
strings of the greatest delicacy ; of a Government depart-
ment harassed, but steeped in wisdom, searching with saga-
cious eye the by-ways of world-politics, bending a penetrating
gaze upon the mystic recesses of dark intrigue, moving
only when assured of absolute success, loftily indifferent, in
the profundity and all-embracing sweep of its trained outlook,
to these rash and clamorous voices from outside, beyond
the pale of official sapiency." 3 He made it clear that,
in his opinion, this picture was false in every detail, and
that secret diplomacy, instead of being steeped in wisdom,
straightforward, and incapable of error, was in reality,
narrow, ill-informed, tortuous in its methods, and continually
making the most fatuous and humiliating mistakes. Such
was the opinion, right or wrong, he had already, in 1909,
formed of secret diplomacy.

" It was given me to see behind the veil," he wrote six years
later, " and to realize how utterly at the mercy of a bureaucracy
working in darkness and in secrecy were the peoples, not of Africa
only, but of Europe ; a bureaucracy rooted in obsolete traditions,
badly informed, out of touch with and supremely indifferent to

3 Great Britain and the Congo, p. 245.

170 THE FIGHT AGAINST WAR

the human pulse, cynically and openly contemptuous of moral
conduct, deeming the finest of arts the art successfully to lie, living
in a world walled round by narrow prejudices, and absorbed in the
prosecution of rivalries for the attainment of objects bearing not
the remotest relation to the well-being or fundamental needs of
the masses, whose destinies that bureaucracy held in the hollow
of its hands." 4

The Shadow of War.

Further, as public feeling in support of Congo Reform
deepened and grew in volume, Morel became aware that
the reluctance of the Foreign Office to move in the direction
towards which public opinion was urging it was due in
some considerable measure to the fear lest action on its
part should disturb, with disastrous consequences, the
delicate balance of international relationships. " If this
question," said Sir Edward Grey (May 27, 1909), "were
rashly handled it might make a European question compared
to which those which we have had to deal with in the last
few months might be child's play."s Across the fair land-
scape of the Continent there lay a great shadow— the shadow
of impending conflict between the two great armed alliances
into which Europe was then divided — a shadow which seemed
to be growing slowly deeper. Already, in 1909, there were
people who declared that war between England and Germany
was, sooner or later, " inevitable." Morel recognized the
existence of the forces which were making for an international
conflict, and determined to combat them. The prospect
of such an outbreak appalled him. It would, as he clearly
saw, set back the clock of civilization for a century. " I
believe," said he, writing on February 29, 1912, "that
no greater disaster could befall both peoples, and all that
is most worthy of preservation in modern civilization,
than a war between them." 6 But was such a war " inevit-

4 Personal Foreword to Truth and the War, p. xxxvii.

5 Quoted in Great Britain and the Congo, p. 238.

6 Introduction to Morocco in Diplomacy.

CO-OPERATION OR CONFLICT 177

able " ? What were the forces which were making for
international enmity in Europe ? From what situation
did they arise, and could their course be diverted ? These
were some of the questions which Morel, as soon as his
Congo work was accomplished, set himself to answer. The
first outcome of his investigations was a series of important
articles in British and French newspapers and magazines
(including five articles entitled " How Wars are Made "
in the Daily News, October 1911), and following upon these
there came his book, Morocco in Diplomacy (Smith, Elder &
Co.), which appeared in the spring of 1912.

12

CHAPTER XVI
MOROCCO IN DIPLOMACY

An attempt to avert war — The Moroccan question — The secret clauses
of 1904 — The crisis of 1905 — The Kaiser's visit to Tangier — Press
agitation — The fall of Delcasse — The Act of Algeciras and its
sequel — Fez and Agadir — The crisis of 1911 — The Mansion House
speech — Public opinion at fever-heat — Morel criticizes Foreign Office —
" A satire upon civilization " — Embittered feeling in Germany —
** Is there a way out ? " — Morel's three suggestions — No secret
commitments — The position of Germany — " The only sound policy "
— An unheeded warning.

Morocco in Diplomacy was written in the hope of
averting a European war.

In 1911, over the question of Morocco, the Great Powers
had been brought to the edge of the abyss. They had
caught a glimpse of its infernal depths, and, shivering,
had drawn back for a little space.

But the peril remained. The forces which had driven
the nations so far on the road to destruction were still
active. Presently, if something were not done to
counteract them, they would succeed and the war
would ensue.

This, at any rate, was Morel's view, and for this reason
he wrote his book. It was written, he said, three years
later (December 1914),

" in the hopes of helping to avert a catastrophe such as has now
overwhelmed us. It was a chapter of the mistaken policy which
already in 1911 had made the present European war a threatening

178

MOROCCO IN DIPLOMACY 179

possibility. It was a passionate and hopeless appeal to get that
policy abandoned while it was still time." *

And in another place he wrote : —

44 The investigation " (of the Morocco question) 4; conveyed the
certainty, at any rate to the investigator, that after the words that
had been uttered and the facts that had transpired, a European war
in the near future, a war which would involve the British people,
was virtually inevitable unless certain things occurred. The
only possible way to save the situation, so it seemed to me, was by
making the true facts known to the British public, in the hope that
the publication of them might lead to a revulsion of feeling, and to
a clearer comprehension of the German case, and thereby provok-
ing a full and frank discussion in Parliament as to the real character
of our official relations with France, and therefore, contingently
with Russia, to whose Government official France was bound in
a military and political alliance. To these ends ... I published
. . . Morocco in Diplomacy . . . and in writing it I believed that
I was performing a useful and patriotic if somewhat painful task.
My objects were not misjudged at the time, even by those who
disagreed with the deductions I drew from the marshalling of facts,
which to this day remain absolutely unchallenged." 2

And the book itself was dedicated

To Those

Who Believe the Establishment of
Friendlier Relations between

France and Germany

To be essential to the Prosperity and Welfare

Of the British and German peoples and to the

Maintenance of the World's Peace

And to

Those who are persuaded that the acceptance of
national liabilities towards Foreign Powers by
Secret Commitments withheld from the British
People, is both a menance to the security of the
State and a betrayal of the National trust.

1 Preface to the first edition of a reprint of Morocco in Diplomacy,
published under the title of Ten Years of Secret Diplomacy : an Unheeded
Warning (Nat. Lab. Press, Ltd. 1915).

» Personal Foreword to Truth and the TFar(Nat. Lab. Press, Ltd. 1916).

180 THE FIGHT AGAINST WAR

The Morocco Question.

It is, of course, impossible in the course of a short chapter
to give anything like an adequate summary of the facts
and conclusions put forward, in a highly detailed and elaborate
form, in this important book. It is necessary, however,
in order to make Morel's position intelligible to those who
have not studied his writings, and who perhaps are not in
agreement with his present political attitude, to say some-
thing about the Morocco question as viewed by him in
Morocco and Diplomacy, giving the salient facts there
presented as far as possible in his own words.

The story of this question begins in the year 1880, when
an International Conference, in which Britain, France,
Spain and Germany took part, was held at Madrid, and
it was decided that all nations should in future enjoy equality
of treatment in Morocco. Years went by, and then, in
1901, some tension, owing to frontier difficulties, having
arisen between France and Morocco, the Sultan of Morocco
sent a mission to Paris, and an agreement was drawn up
between the two countries, based upon " respect for the
integrity of the Shereefian Empire on the one hand and,
on the other, an improvement in the situation affecting
the close neighbourhood between them." 3

In spite of this agreement, however, the French Foreign
Minister (M. Delcasse), in the very same year secretly pro-
posed to Spain that the two countries should divide Morocco
between them, but the British Government, getting to hear
of this, put pressure upon Spain, and the negotiations were
broken off. 4

The Secret Clauses.

In 1904, the relations between Britain and France having
improved and deepened into the entente cordiale, the two

3 Quoted in Ten Years of Secret Diplomacy, p. 15.

4 These facts were not revealed until 1911, ten years later.

MOROCCO IN DIPLOMACY 181

Powers made a joint public declaration on the subject
of Morocco and Egypt, the first two articles of which con-
tained the following sentences :—

" His Britannic Majesty's Government declare that they have
no intention of altering the political status of Egypt."

44 The Government of the French Republic declare that they have
no intention of altering the political status of Morocco."

But there was also a secret article which ran : —

44 In the event of either Government finding itself constrained
by the force of circumstances to modify the policy in respect to
Egypt and Morocco the engagements which they have undertaken
(in other articles) remain intact."

This was in April. In the following October another
public declaration was made, this time by France and
Spain. This was to the effect that both Powers

44 remain firmly attached to the integrity of the Moorish Empire
under the sovereignty of the Sultan."

But on the very same occasion the two Powers entered
into a secret convention (of which the British Government
was cognizant) arranging for the future partition of Morocco

44 in case the continuance of the political status of Morocco and
the Shereefian Government should become impossible or if, owing
to the weakness of that Government and to its continued inability
to uphold law and order, or to any other cause, the existence of which
is acknowledged by both parties, the status quo can no longer be
maintained." 5

For some reason or other M. Delcasse neglected to give
official notification to Germany of these two public declara-
tions,6 and he then " suddenly pitched a veritable cargo

5 Quoted in Ten Years of Secret Diplomacy, p. 60.

6 The secret clauses, of course, were not notified to any one. They were
first published to the world, in Le Temps and Le Matin, in November
1911, seven years later !

182 THE FIGHT AGAINST WAR

of reforms at the head of the Sultan, and peremptorily
demanded immediate compliance." 7

The Crisis of 1905.

In the meantime Germany's suspicions had been
aroused, partly owing to indiscretions in the Paris
Press hinting at the existence of the " secret articles,"
and, on March 31, 1905, the Kaiser visited Tangier, and
in a speech to the Sultan's representatives made the
following declaration : —

" I am determined to do all that is in my power to safeguard
efficaciously the interests of Germany in Morocco. I look upon
the Sultan as an absolutely independent sovereign." 8

" At the same time," 9 says Morel, " the Sultan, doubtless
at Germany's suggestion, issued a Note to all the signatory
Powers of the Madrid Convention, suggesting a further
International Conference upon the affairs of his country
and Europe's connection therewith. This the German
Government promptly accepted." I0

Now the British public knew nothing about the above-
mentioned secret clauses. They therefore looked upon the
Kaiser's declaration as an attempt " to break up the Anglo-
French Entente" " The newspapers — the Times in par-
ticular— worked up a violent agitation, " incited," said
Morel, " both in England and France, by the ' diplomatic
machine ' concerned in working for the execution the secret
arrangements of 1914." I2 " M. Delcasse was represented
as the unhappy victim of German resentment for the leading
part he had played in concluding the Anglo-French general
settlement." J3 " Germany's right to a say in the Moroccan
settlement is scornfully denied. The idea of a Conference

7 Truth and the War, p. 77. 8 See Ten Years of Secret Diplomacy, p. 75.
9 As a fact on May 30th. 10 Truth and the War, p. 77.

» Ten Years of Secret Diplomacy, p. 77. ia Ibid. p. 76. J3 Ibid. p. 78,

MOROCCO IN DIPLOMACY 183

is violently opposed." X4 " Its object," said a Paris dispatch
in the Times (May 2nd), " could only be to revise or stultify
the agreement recently concluded by France, and to give
Germany a voice in matters with which she had nothing
to do." 15

Eventually, on June 7, M. Delcasse, who had been resisting
the idea of a Conference, was overruled by his colleagues
in the French Cabinet, and resigned, his fall being erroneously
attributed, in the British Press, to a German ultimatum —
and " the Sultan's suggestion for a Conference, advised
by the Germans, was accepted, first by Italy, then by Austria,
then by the other Powers in succession, and, finally, by
France and Britain." l6

The Act of Algeciras.

The Conference met at Algeciras in February lOOC,1? and
eventually, after protracted discussions, an Act was drawn
up " in the name of God Almighty," based " upon the three-
fold principle of the sovereignty and independence of His
Majesty the Sultan, the integrity of his dominions, and
economic liberty without any inequality," l8 conferring
" certain strictly limited police powers upon France and
Spain " Z9 and providing " for the international capitalization
of certain European enterprises in Morocco." 20 This Act
of Algeciras was finally ratified on June 18, 1906. " The
integrity of Morocco," said Morel, " and the independence

J4 Ten Years of Secret Diplomacy, p. 78.

X5 Quoted in Ten Years of Secret Diplomacy, p. 79.

'6 Ibid. p. 90.

J7 It was at this time, as revealed to the House of Commons on August 3,
1914, that Sir Edward Grey was approached by the French Ambassador
in London and consented to the initiation of the famous secret " con-
versations " between France and England. But this fact, of course,
was not known to Morel at the time he wrote Morocco in Diplomacy.

18 Quoted in Ten Years of Secret Diplomacy, p. 27.

*9 Truth and the War, p. 79.

>« Ibid.

184 THE FIGHT AGAINST WAR

of its Government had been solemnly proclaimed by the
Powers." 2I

The story of the succeeding five years, as related by Morel
in Morocco in Diplomacy, is complicated by a vast mass
of detail, most interesting indeed to those who wish to
study the history of the Morocco crisis, but impossible
to compress within a short compass. Morel's view was
that, during these years, " the French Imperialists treated
the Algeciras Act like waste paper," and that " they proceeded
systematically to conquer and absorb Morocco by direct
military action and piecemeal occupation,22 by fomenting
internal discord, and by financial combinations which
strangled the revenues of the Moorish Government " 23
whilst " every step they took was applauded, and every
criticism thereon in Germany was denounced, by the offi-
cially inspired British Press." 24 And this view he supported
with an amazing body of evidence, pieced together with
great care from various sources and fully " documented,"
as the French would say, by references in every case to the
authorities from which his facts and quotations were taken.
It is this habit of his of carefully verifying his quotations
and painstakingly giving in every instance the sources
of his information, that helps to make Morel so impressive
a controversialist and his books of such value even to those
who may not follow him in all his conclusions.

Fez and Agadir.

In the meantime, as a result of the treatment recorded

*r Ten Years of Secret Diplomacy, p. 33.

« In 1907 French troops occupied Udja, Casablanca, Rabat and other
Moorish districts. (See Ten Years of Secret Diplomacy, pp. 38-39.)

»3 By 1910 the Sultan owed £6,530,000 to an International Syndicate,
secured upon the whole of the Moorish customs. The greater part of
this loan was literally forced upon the Sultan, and the agreement was
only accepted by him after an ultimatum from France. (See Ten Years
of Secret Diplomacy, p. 40.)

»4 Truth and the War, p. 80.

MOROCCO IN DIPLOMACY 185

above, the condition of affairs in Morocco was rapidly grow-
ing worse. " With resources mortgaged to international
finance . . . ; rent by internal disturbances and civil war ;
its territory violated ; its coffers empty ; its subjects ground
with taxation ; compelled to perpetrate abuses in order to
sustain itself and feed its troops ; intrigued against by the
French on every hand ; harassed with incessant demands
for apologies and reforms and compensations ; its prestige
irrevocably impaired ; with French expeditionary columns
foraging in every direction from their base in the Shawiya ;
the Moorish Government fell to pieces, while the country
itself sunk into bloody chaos." *5 In 1919 the blow fell.
Fez, the capital, was reported to be besieged by the insurgents.
The familiar cry, " Women and children are in danger "
(as in Johannesburg in 1895), went up ! At all costs they
must be saved. Thereupon a French army, 30,000 strong,
marched upon the city (with the publicly expressed approval
of Sir Edward Grey), met with little or no opposition en
route, entered Fez, and there — despite promises to withdraw
" after succouring the menaced Europeans " — remained.
And then it was discovered, as afterwards related by the
well-known French publicist, M. Francis de Pressense,
that there were no women or children in danger at all, and
that "at no moment had the safety of Fez and its inhabi-
tants been seriously menaced." *6 The whole story was
a farce ! But a farce bringing tragedy in its train. For
in Fez the French army remained and further French troops
were poured into the country. Spain, too, " getting increas-
ingly uneasy at the prolongation of the French military
occupation " 27 sent strong military forces into Moorish
territory, and on July 3rd, the German gunboat Panther
cast anchor in the roadstead of Agadir.

3 5 Ten Years of Secret Diplomacy, p. 104.

26 Quoted in Ten Years of Secret Diplomacy, pp. 107-8.

*7 Ibid. p. 105.

186 THE FIGHT AGAINST WAR

The Crisis of 1911.

In despatching the Panther to Agadir, the German Govern-
ment informed the signatory Powers of the Act of Algeciras
that the ship had been sent to protect " German interests
in the territory in question." The announcement went
on to say that " as soon as the state of affairs in Morocco
has resumed its former quiet aspect the ship charged with
this protective mission shall leave the port of Agadir."
In France it " was regarded," said M. Marcel Sembat,
" by a large portion of the Press as expressing, not any
hostile feeling or desire, but a wish to talk matters over." a8
But in this country it provoked an immediate crisis. It
was even widely stated and believed that it was an attempt
on the part of Germany to seize a naval base on the Atlantic
coast of Morocco, although in Morel's opinion there was not
the slightest evidence to show that that country ever had
any such intention. The Times was particularly hostile.
Sir Edward Grey sent for the German Ambassador and
told him that " a new situation had been created " and
that the British Government " could not recognize any
new arrangement that might be come to without it." 29
And Mr. Asquith, in the House of Commons, after expressing
himself confident that " diplomatic discussion " would find
a solution of the question, went on to say that " in the
part we shall take in it we shall have due regard to the
protection of those interests and to the fulfilment of our
treaty obligations to France, which are well known to the
House." so

A few days later negotiations on the subject were opened
between France and Germany.

" The basis," said Morel, " was that Germany and France
would negotiate direct without the intervention of third
parties, as they had done in February, 1909, and as France

28 Quoted in Ten Years of Secret Diplomacy, p. 128.
=9 Ibid. p. 128. so Ibid. p. 123.

MOROCCO IN DIPLOMACY 187

had negotiated in 1904 direct with Britain and then with
Spain : that Germany would recognize an unqualified
French Protectorate over Morocco, subject to (a) binding
guarantees as to the permanance of the open door for trade
coupled with securities for open tenders in the construction
of public works, (b) territorial compensation in the French
Congo with reciprocal exchange of German West African
territory." 3*

The Mansion House Speech.

Suddenly, on July 20, in the midst of the negotiations,
the Times declared, in a violent leader, that the German
demands for territorial " compensation " were outrageous.
" German statesmen," it said, " must know perfectly well
that no French Government could for a moment entertain
them. They must know equally well that no British Govern-
ment could consent to suffer so great a change to be made
in the distribution of power in Africa, even were a French
Government to be found feeble enough to sanction it." 32
It was also suggested in a dispatch from its Paris corre-
spondent, that a Franco-German reconciliation might be
in the air, and " that the political consequence of a settle-
ment on this scale would be too far-reaching, and that,
quite apart from the question of Anglo-French relations,
it would mean the death-blow to the Russian Alliance." 33
The next day Sir Edward Grey sent for the German Ambas-
sador, said that he had been " made anxious by the news
which appeared the day before as to the demands which
the German Government had made on the French Govern-
ment," and hinted that it might be necessary to " take
some steps to protect British interests." 34 The interview
was a somewhat heated one, the German Ambassador

31 Ten Years of Secret Diplomacy, p. 131.

32 Quoted in Ten Years of Secret Diplomacy, p. 142.

33 Ibid. p. 140. 34 Ibid. p. 142.

188 THE FIGHT AGAINST WAR

protesting that Sir Edward Grey " seemed to be applying
two standards," one for France and another for Germany ,35
and that evening Mr. Lloyd George went down to the
Mansion House and made the famous speech in which he
said : —

" I believe it is essential in the highest interests, not merely of
this country but of the world, that Britain should at all hazards
maintain her place and her prestige amongst the Great Powers
of the world. ... I would make great sacrifices to preserve peace. . . .
But if a situation were to be forced upon us in which peace could
only be preserved by the surrender of the great and beneficent
position Britain has won by centuries of heroism and achievement,
by allowing Britain to be treated as if she were of no account in
the Cabinet of Nations, then I say emphatically that peace at that
price would be a humiliation intolerable for a great country like
ours to endure." 36

This speech aroused the greatest excitement. It was
interpreted on all sides as amounting to a threat of hostilities.
The Times on the following day compared Germany to
44 Dick Turpin." A furious Press campaign followed.
" Public opinion in all three countries," said Morel, " reached
fever-heat, and for a few days war seemed imminent." 37
44 In France it subsided as soon as it arose, French diplomacy
having secured its end. But it raged in England for three
months, German resentment and bitterness growing as it
progressed — not against France, but against Britain, and
concentrating upon the obvious torch which set light to
the edifice, viz. the attitude of the British Foreign Office as
crystallized in the speech of the Chancellor of the Exchequer,
who, of course, was merely used by Sir Edward Grey as
the latter's mouthpiece." 3»

35 Quoted in Ten Years of Secret Diplomacy, p. 143.

36 This speech was made after consultation with the Prime Minister
and Sir E. Grey, but not with the other members of the Cabinet. (See
Ten Years of Secret Diplomacy, p. 143.)

37 Truth and the War, p. 84.

38 Ten Years of Secret Diplomacy, p. 146.

MOROCCO IN DIPLOMACY

Morel Criticizes Foreign Office.

In Morocco in Diplomacy Morel severely criticized
the attitude of the British Foreign Office in this matter.
He argued that Germany had made no " demands " in the
sense used by the Foreign Secretary. What had happened,
he said, was this : certain negotiations were taking place
between Germany and France " whereby Germany had
undertaken to recognize a French Protectorate over Morocco,
subject to economic guarantees," 39 and as a return for this
she had asked for, not demanded,*0 certain territorial com-
pensations in the French Congo. In exchange for this
latter territory she had also expressed her willingness to
cede Togoland and a part of the Cameroons to France. 41
In spite of this, said Morel, Sir Edward Grey, on July 21st,
" adopted a course of action which in the ultimate resort
very nearly brought about a rupture with Germany —
which would have meant a European war." 4* The result
of Mr. Lloyd George's speech was that

" an exceedingly stiff interview took place between Sir Edward
Grey and the German Ambassador on the 24th . . . both countries
stood on their ' dignity ' — the word is Sir Edward Grey's, not mine.
In view of the Lloyd George speech, which the German Govern-
ment looked upon as a threat, that Government declared it could
not authorize Sir Edward Grey to make public use of the pledge
given on the 12th to the effect that Germany had no territorial
designs on Morocco. German public opinion, the German Govern-
ment argued, would look upon such a declaration at that moment
as a retreat before a British menace. Sir Edward Grey, for his
part, could not, in view of the very stiff tone adopted by the German
Ambassador, condescend to give any public explanation as to Mr.
Lloyd George's speech. Such an explanation would not have been
compatible with the dignity of Great Britain." 43

39 Ten Years of Secret Diplomacy, p. 149.

4° The phrase used was " Voici ce que nous demandons," which, said
Morel, " does not mean ' this is what we demand,' but 'this is what we
ask: " (See Ten Years of Secret Diplomacy, p. 149.)

4» See Ten Years of Secret Diplomacy, p. 149.

4* Ibid. p. 154. 43 Ibid. pp. 157-8.

190 THE FIGHT AGAINST WAR

44 Both Governments . . . stood on their dignity," commented Morel,
" and millions of men and women who knew nothing of the whole
miserable business, the vast majority of whom could certainly not
have pointed out Morocco on the map, were on the verge of being
precipitated into all the horrors, all the miseries and privations
and losses, of a great war as a result thereof. Could there be a
more scathing satire upon * civilization ' ? Could there be a greater
travesty of human government ? Do not all the proposals for
preventing such a state of affairs, such as greater publicity on
foreign questions, greater public control of the diplomats, the break-
up of the caste system in diplomacy, and so forth, immature, and
incomplete, and unthought-out as they may be, appear the very
embodiment of common sense as compared with that state of affairs
itself? "44

Embittered Feeling in Germany.

Eventually, as every one knows, war, on this occasion,
was averted. It was averted, in Morel's view, by the pacific
elements in the French Government, the British Government
and the German Government, headed respectively by M.
Caillaux (then Premier), Lord Morley, and the Kaiser. 45
The negotiations between France and Germany continued,
and reached a solution in November, when a convention
was drawn up by which Germany recognized a French
Protectorate over Morocco ; France agreed to preserve
the open door for trade and capital investments in that
country ; Germany received a considerable portion of
the French Congo and France received a small portion of
the German Cameroons.46

But although war was averted great mischief had been
done.

" The whole of Germany," said Morel, " without distinction of
party or class, was rocking and seething with indignation at what
it regarded as an insulting and unwarrantable interference on the
part of Great Britain in the negotiations with France, as an arrogant
British embargo upon Germany acquiring territory in Equatorial

44 See Ten Years of Secret Diplomacy, p. 157.

45 See Truth and the War, p. 84.

46 See Ten Years of Secret Diplomacy, chapter xxiv.

MOROCCO IN DIPLOMACY 191

Africa, as proof that Britain was determined to block and hamper
Germany's expansion ; that, in short, Germany had been deliberately
and wantonly provoked. Far from dying down, this feeling gathered
intensity with the weeks, and there is not, unhappily, the slightest
doubt that the German Foreign Secretary interpreted with absolute
accuracy the popular sentiment held by the entire German nation
when he said, 4 If the English Government had intended to compli-
cate and embroil the political situation and to bring about a violent
explosion, they would certainly have chosen no better means than
the speech of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, which took so little
into account for us the dignity and position of a Great Power which
was claimed by him for England.' " 47

" Is there a Way Out ? "

This embittered feeling in Germany was intensified in
November when the secret clauses of the Morocco Agree-
ments of 1904 were published in the Paris Press 48 and
by the statements made by Capt. Faber, M.P., and others
to the effect that the British Government had been prepared
to lend military and naval aid to France in the event of
a Franco-German rupture.

44 To-day," wrote Morel in 1912, " we are confronted with this
situation.

44 The German nation firmly believes, not only that it is threatened
by Great Britain, but that Great Britain intends to take the first
opportunity to force a war.

44 The British nation knows itself to be absolutely innocent of
any such desire or intention.

44 Is there a way out of the impasse ? Only, it seems to me,
if British public opinion will think out the problem for itself, face
the issues squarely and resolutely, and decline any longer to tolerate
being in the position of finding itself involved in war without any
real knowledge of the why and the wherefore." 49

Such is the story of the Morocco affair, as detailed by
Morel in the first twenty-four chapters of Morocco in
Diplomacy (now Ten Years of Secret Diplomacy), and

47 Ten Years of Secret Diplomacy, p. 159. 48 See p. 181,

49 Ten Years of Secret Diplomacy, p. 159.

192 THE FIGHT AGAINST WAR

even those who are most opposed to his views and con-
clusions will not deny that he put forward a powerful case.
In his final chapter, which was entitled " An Appeal
from Prejudice to Reason," Morel made certain important
suggestions which, if adopted, he believed (this was in
1912) might relieve the international situation, and
enable the world to pass from the shadow of impend-
ing war into the sunlight of international amity and
peace.

" There are three keys," he said, " with which to unlock the door
to a permanent improvement in Anglo-German relations if the
British people desire it, as I firmly believe they do. The first
is the honest admission that in the one case where a quarrel has
occurred over a specific issue — Morocco — we have not treated Ger-
many fairly, and that Germany has a legitimate grievance against
us on that score. This I have tried to show from an analysis of the
facts, not because it was a pleasant thing to do, . . . but because
to any one who believes an understanding with Germany " (Morel
made it clear in a foot-note that it was an " understanding " that
he advocated and not an "alliance") "to be a supreme British
national concern, the national interest demanded that it should be
attempted. If the thinking public after reading this book share that
view, a public force will have been created to prevent the recurrence
of a similar episode. . . . There is no need to clothe ourselves in a
white sheet for the world's sneers. But we shall be no weaker ; we
shall be stronger if we allow ourselves that we have been misled,
quietly make up our minds to take the fact into account in our
future dealings with Germany, and imitate our French friends to
the extent of insisting upon a final close to the era of secret treaty
making. . . ."

No Secret Commitments.

Morel then turned to our relations with France.

" The second key," he said, *' is the indispensable duty that
devolves upon the House of Commons to ascertain the real nature
of our relations with France, and if, as the public are assured, there
are no positive commitments," 5° to insist that British Foreign

5° This, of course, was written two years before the disclosure by Sir
E. Grey on August 3, 1914, of the secret arrangement with France.

MOROCCO IN DIPLOMACY 193

Policy shall not " be directed as though such positive commitments
existed.

44 Not to make a firm and unambiguous stand now," he declared,
" would mean for the British people an unending vista of prospective
and unknown liabilities, with which they would be absolutely insane
to permit themselves to be saddled. If the House of Commons
does not pronounce unmistakably on the matter, it will be
betraying its trust to the nation. A means must be found for
curtailing the virtually unlimited discretion of the executive in
Foreign Affairs"

The " disorganized condition " of the Foreign Office,
he contended, its " personal rivalries," and its " extraor-
dinarily faulty intelligence system " were bad enough
without the British national interest being tied up with
similar vagaries prevailing in France. Neither the British
nor the French peoples should be fettered or " committed
by their Governments to a definite course of action in
advance." " Such commitments played into the hands "
of " the enemies of peace " in Germany, in France and
in Britain, that peace " which is ... the paramount
interest both of the creative elements and of the working
masses in each country." 51

44 There is such a section in Germany, which, seeing, or affecting
to see, in Great Britain the implacable foe of Germany's national
and inevitable expansion in commerce, industry and power, urges
war."

There were similar war parties in Britain and in France.

44 The task of the peoples concerned is to find statesmen who will
shake themselves free from these influences."

Or alternatively,

44 statesmen . . . must shake themselves free of them by taking the
people more and more into their confidence and appealing more
and more to the national interest of the vast mass of the popula-

S1 Except, he said, " the manufacturers of war material."

13

194 THE FIGHT AGAINST WAR

tion to counteract these influences. In other words, foreign policy
must be democratized, which does not mean in the least . . . that
diplomatists should carry on their conversations in the public
squares . . . any more than the shipowner informs the neighbourhood
of his negotiations over a charter party."

Further, " those who would stand to suffer most in an
Anglo-French-German war would — the chances are ninety-
nine to one — not be ourselves, nor the Germans, but the
French," the " peace-loving, laborious, thrifty masses of
the French nation."

Therefore " Britain's true role, the one responding
alike to her real interests and to the professions of her
public men, is to use her influence, not to impede, but,
should she be required to use it at all one way or the
other, to facilitate a thorough reconciliation between
France and Germany."

The Position of Germany.

Morel's " third key " was more controversial. It
was, he said, "to be sought in a serious effort at com-
prehension both of the difficulties and the necessities
which confront German statesmen and the German
people." " Germany's supreme need to-day " was " not
military conquest, but trade . . . markets.'

5 J

" A fair and open commercial field in every undeveloped area
of the world's surface is a vital national necessity for Germany.
The closing of potential markets to her trade in Africa, in Asia,
in South America, Germany is bound to regard as a blow aimed
straight to her heart. . . . Either she must find work at home to do
for her rapidly increasing population, or she must be content to see
that population emigrating en masse to foreign lands overseas.
To find her people in work, she not only requires expanding markets
in which to sell her goods, but she requires the raw material of the
tropics and sub- tropics to sustain her industries and manufactures.
. . . The guiding motive of German Foreign Policy to-day is to secure
for the German people unfettered access to markets overseas, as
large a share as possible in the development of those markets, and

MOROCCO IN DIPLOMACY 195

a voice in the acquisition of oversea territories which may fall,
through the course of events, into the international melting-pot.
It is not land hunger, but trade hunger which inspires her. . . ."

Moreover, it must be remembered that although Germany
itself was a Protectionist country, yet in her overseas
possessions, unlike other nations, she pursued the same
commercial policy as did Britain, namely, the policy
of " the open door." Therefore the national interest
of Great Britain did not lie in the direction of " hampering
her oversea expansion in the undeveloped tropical and
sub- tropical regions of the world," " assuming, of course,
that our rulers mean what they say when they tell us
that, save here and there, we have got enough exotic
territory on our hands already."

Considering the lessons of the present war, the revolu-
tionary changes it has occasioned, the confident prophecies
it has exploded, the beliefs it has shown to be illusory,
it is a remarkable thing that the great bulk of Morel's
writings requires so little modification in the light of present-
day events. On one point only in this book does Morel
put forward an argument with which, in the present
writer's opinion, he would find very few of his country-
men in agreement, and that is the suggestion that, seeing
that Germany had acquired a considerable Colonial
Empire, it was unreasonable for the Foreign Office to
oppose for ever her " acquisition of coaling stations on
the high seas." As long as the international situation
remains a war situation — that is to say, as long as war
remains a by no means remote possibility — the British
Government must be held justified, from motives of
self-preservation, in opposing the acquisition by a for-
midable naval rival of harbours and coaling stations
which might be utilized as bases for submarine warfare
and commerce-destruction. That this attitude may not
appear particularly agreeable to the eyes of a Continental

196 THE FIGHT AGAINST WAR

Power is of course true, and it is quite possible that from
time to time it may give rise to international friction.
Nevertheless, it is one of the facts arising from our island
existence which cannot be ignored. With the spread
of the international idea, the establishment of a League
of Nations and the inauguration of an era of disarmament
the difficulty will automatically disappear. In this lies
the great hope of the future. But whilst the possibility
of war remains, and so long as the nations, armed to the
teeth, glare at each other across tariff-fenced frontiers, this
difficulty, and other difficulties, will always be present.

It must not be thought, however, from the foregoing,
that Morel was ever for one moment oblivious of the
peculiar position of Britain as an island-Empire. The
possibilities of submarine warfare had not in 1912 been
realized by any public man — and in view of these possi-
bilities Morel would perhaps now modify the passage
to which allusion has been made — but in Morocco in
Diplomacy he took care to point out quite clearly and
definitely that the effort which he suggested should be
made to bring about a better understanding with Germany

" is surely not incompatible with a fixed and unvarying determination
that, come what may, no decrease of the British fleet below the
level of safety can for one moment be entertained." s*

" The Only Sound Policy."

An alliance with neither France nor Germany was
Morel's conclusion.

" Let us ... keep our hands free, unfettered by alliances or under-
standings of a compromising character . . . and let us come back
to the only sound ideal of policy for Great Britain at the opening
of the twentieth century, i.e. to play our own part in the Concert
of Europe when necessity arises ; to uphold, if necessary by our
whole strength, international treaties when violated to the detriment
either of our honour or of our interests ... to use our moral influence,

V Ten Years of Secret Diplomacy, p. 178.

MOROCCO IN DIPLOMACY 197

which is enormous, ... in favour of a just policy towards weaker
peoples and coloured races which in the ultimate resort is wise as
well as right ^ to draw nearer by some well-thought-out scheme of
Imperial partnerships in matters of defence and foreign policy to
our great self-governing dependencies. . . .

" Let us, . . . made wiser, perchance, by this Morocco affair,
persist in demanding . . . some measure of effective national control
over our own foreign policy. Let us hold out the hand of friendship
to Germany, not ostentatiously, not by sacrificing in the remotest
degree our self-respect, not by offering her absurd 4 concessions,'
but in a spirit of frank recognition that between our two nations
there is neither sense, nor dignity, nor justice, in petty jealousy
and unworthy recrimination. In a spirit of frank recognition that
Germany's industrial progress does but demonstrate the need for
renewed activities of our own in a field of honourable economic rivalry.
... In a spirit of determination that we shall allow no influences
on our side ... to prevent a gradual but sure advance towards the
re-establishment of those harmonious relations which are alone
worthy of two great peoples . . . whose respective prosperity and
progress are indispensable to each other's welfare, and whose
reconciliation would remove the mists of apprehension and
uncertainty which weigh like a nightmare upon the world." 53

An Unheeded Warning.

Many may disagree with the views expressed so
eloquently by Morel in the above passage. Many
undoubtedly will. But no fair-minded reader can detect
in them the slightest suspicion of want of patriotism.
Morocco in Diplomacy was a plea — at almost the last
moment, as one now sees — for peace. In view of what has
occurred since, it is possible that it came too late. But
clearly it was an honest effort to avert a coming world-
catastrophe, and as such it was regarded at the time.
The Times, for example, although vigorously attacked
in the book, said, in reviewing it : —

" Mr. Morel has never lacked courage in denouncing abuses,
and the columns of the Times bear witness to the sympathy with
which we have often supported his efforts. It is with all the more
regret, therefore, while we highly approve the general object with which

53 Ten Years of Secret Diplomacy, pp. 283-4.

198 THE FIGHT AGAINST WAR

this book is written — namely, the promotion of better relations
between this country and Germany — we find ourselves unable
to accept his main contention . . . " ;

whilst the Academy wrote :—

" Events are piling up in a way which . . . makes it desirable
that this book should be well and widely read. We may not agree
with all its author's conclusions, but the mass of facts which he
presents clearly and concisely will assist in forming the opinion
that, after all, the Moroccan crisis was not ALL Germany's fault."

The Spectator made an interesting admission : —

" We learn," it said, " that there are three ' keys ' with which to
unlock the door that separates us from Germany. . . . The second
key is 4 the indispensable duty that devolves upon the House of
Commons to understand the real nature of our relations with France.'
Here we are faced by the old difficulty. The disclosure which Mr.
Morel asks for would be fatal to the object for which the understanding
between the two Powers was entered into."

The Daily News was enthusiastic :—

" This book should be in the hands of every member of Parliament,
every journalist whose duty it is to instruct public opinion, and
every citizen who desires to form an independent judgment upon
a very critical passage in the life of the English State. It is written
with the lucidity and force of one of the most skilful publicists in
the country ; it is the fruit of extensive and thorough investi-
gation ; and it presents a reading which is not the official and vulgar
reading."

On the whole, in spite of its strong criticisms of British
Foreign Policy, the book was favourably reviewed. The
French official Press was, of course, hostile, but that
there were many in France who agreed with Morel is
shown by the following extract from La Revue du
Mois : —

" It is necessary to state," said this journal, " that the spirit
which inspires Mr. Morel's book is neither anti-French nor pro-
German — as has been said by some French newspapers — but simply
pacifist, and, in the true sense of the term, internationalist. He is

MOROCCO IN DIPLOMACY 199

not campaigning against the entente cordiale — of which he was
one of the firmest partisans when to be so required some courage
in the Fashoda days — but he protests against the transformation
of this friendly understanding into a warlike alliance directed
against Germany. He desires that the friendly feeling between
France and England should duplicate itself by the .establishment
of a friendly feeling between England and Germany, and that English
diplomacy, instead of working against an improvement in Franco-
German relations, should, on the contrary, endeavour to assist a
Franco-German reconciliation. That would, indeed, be serving
the interests of the British, French and German peoples against
unscrupulous minorities and, especially, against the armament
rings. All apostles of peace and of international justice must thank
Mr. Morel for what he has written."

Morocco in Diplomacy had an interesting history.
First published in 1912 by Smith, Elder & Co.,54 it
had only a limited circulation — the British public had
not then awakened to the importance of studying Foreign
Affairs — and consequently it made no appreciable effect
on public opinion, although Morel had reason to believe
that it exercised some considerable influence in official
circles. But shortly after the outbreak of the war it
was republished by the National Labour Press under
the title of Ten Years of Secret Diplomacy : An Un-
heeded Warning, and between March 1915 and July 1918
it ran into five large editions.

54 " Another great effort in the cause of humanity," was the comment
of the late Mr. Reginald Smith, K.C., the publisher, in a letter written
to Morel after perusing the MS.

CHAPTER XVII
LIBERAL CANDIDATE FOR BIRKENHEAD

Invitation to Birkenhead — Views on election expenses — No mere party
man — The late Mr. W. G. C. Gladstone's message — " You can trust
Morel " — Morel and Liberalism — His "adoption speech " — Democracy
and foreign policy — Foreign policy and social reform — The outbreak
of the war — Candidature resigned — Not at first accepted — The
Morning Post's attack — Morel's letter to the Birkenhead Liberal
Association — " I cannot play the hypocrite among you " — A candi-
date no longer.

IN October 1912 Morel was invited by the Birkenhead
Liberal Association to become their candidate for Parlia-
ment at the next General Election.

The invitation was a pressing one, and Morel, although
not at that time particularly eager to plunge into Parlia-
mentary life, did not feel that he ought to refuse. He
warned the local officials, however, that in view of his
outspoken and continued opposition to the Foreign
Policy of the Government his candidature would probably
be looked upon with disfavour by the central organization.
" Never mind," replied the local officials in effect, " official
support or no official support, if you will agree to stand,
we will recommend you to the Association." So Morel
agreed, and official support came as well, for the Chief
Whip (Mr. Illingworth) wrote, highly commending the
choice of the Birkenhead Liberals, and saying that the
seat ought certainly to be won, " with a candidate of
Mr. Morel's reputation and platform ability."

200

CANDIDATE FOR PARLIAMENT 201

It was not only with respect to Foreign Affairs that
Morel took up a decided stand. His attitude was
equally positive on the question of election expenses.
Whatever financial arrangements were arrived at between
the Party organization and the local Association, he
could assent, he declared, to no restrictions upon his com-
plete freedom of judgment. " I hold very strongly,"
he wrote to his Chairman, " the view that a member
of Parliament can be of no real service to his constituency
if he is fettered in any way — apart from his own self-
respect." If Birkenhead Liberals were looking for a
candidate of pliant and flexible views they made a sad
mistake when they chose the man they did.

No Mere Party Man.

The prospective candidature was announced on Novem-
ber 1st. The announcement, declared the Birkenhead
News, " will, we are certain, give the utmost satisfaction
to all Liberals in the constituency," whilst the Chester
Chronicle gave utterance to the feeling in Hawarden,
whence for so many years Morel had directed his campaign
for Congo Reform.

" There has not been a resident in Hawarden," it said, " not
excepting the great Mr. Gladstone himself, who is more highly
esteemed than Mr. Morel. . . . The contest, when it comes off, will
be watched with interest by his many friends and well-wishers in
Hawarden "

Later on, when the prospective candidature had been
" enthusiastically endorsed " by the Liberal Four Hundred,
the Birkenhead Liberal Association issued a pamphlet
containing a short record of Morel's career. To this
record were attached a number of " opinions " of the
candidate contributed by men and women of various
political views. Mr. W. G. C. Gladstone, grandson of the

202 THE FIGHT AGAINST WAR

" G. O. M." (since killed in action), sent the brief message,
' You can trust Morel." Mr. Runciman, then President
of the Board of Agriculture, wrote : " In Mr. Morel you
have a man of international reputation, one who by his
own force of character and singleness of aim has done
great things in more than one part of the world." " He
is not a mere party man, but first and foremost a man
of heart, mind, and courage all his own," was the verdict
of Mr. George^ M. Trevelyan ; whilst Nonconformity,
in the person of Dr. Clifford, added : " His outlook is wide,
his fidelity to principle invincible, and his courage and
patience inexhaustible." So, even though, during the
period of the war, Morel has been perhaps the most
bitterly attacked man in Britain, it must be admitted
that in his time he has also had his share of praise.

Morel and "Liberalism."

" Morel," wrote Mr. Robert Donald, editor of the
Daily Chronicle, in the above-mentioned pamphlet, " is
an able exponent of progressive Liberalism." As up
to this time he had taken practically no part in domestic
politics, it will be useful at this point to consider what
Morel's views on parties and politics were, and what
" Liberalism " meant to him.

At a later date Morel, then in a position of seclusion,1
had the opportunity of reading Lord Morley's Recol-
lections, and he says that the definition there given of
" the mighty word in its large, far-spreading Continental
sense," as standing for " respect for the dignity and worth
of the individual, for pursuit of social good against class
interest or dynastic interest," and as being " in its fullest
and profoundest sense " the " point-blank opposite of
militarism," expresses just the light in which he regarded

1 The book was sent to him whilst in prison in 1917 by the late Lord
Courtney of Penwith. (See p. 265.)

CANDIDATE FOR PARLIAMENT 203

the Liberalism with which, in 1912, he formally identified
himself in British politics. We shall see how he applied
these principles to the political contest which lay before
him, and how he interpreted them when the crisis came
which put them and him to the test.

In his " adoption speech " Morel gave the first place
to what he termed the " vital problem of social in-
equalities."

" To my mind," he said, " of all the problems which confront our
national life, and go right down to the root of our racial power
and prosperity, the gravest ... is the problem which presents itself
through the terrible inequalities in well-being and opportunity
which divide various classes of our population. It is not so much
the problem of the positively destitute. ... It is the problem rather
of those millions of men and women who, without being absolutely
destitute, are yet for ever on the verge of extreme poverty through
no fault of their own. It is the problem of those other millions of
men and women who cannot, despite all their efforts, attain to a
measure of comfort and decent living to which they are honourably
and humanly entitled in any society, which ventures to call itself
Christian, and who are ever haunted by an anxiety from which they
ought to be free. . .. It is, as I conceive it, the very essence and
marrow of Liberalism that, while it should deal with other and
important problems as they arise, it should consecrate itself
calmly, deliberately and resolutely to remove this blot upon our
national escutcheon, this handicap to our race, and that it should
deal with it at the foundations from which these inequalities
arise.

What, after all, is the social phenomenon of our age ? Wealth,
piling up more and more every year, more and more concentrated ;
luxury more and more pronounced ; and, beside that wealth and
luxury, a vast, increasing, unchartered desert of human discomfort
and distress. A more equitable distribution — gradually brought
about — of socially produced wealth should be, and must be, the
ultimate, constant, perpetual aim of Liberalism, if it is to retain
its virility, maintain its hold upon the masses, justify its
existence, and safeguard the State from violent and perhaps fatal
disturbance."

Dealing with Foreign Affairs, Morel referred to the
alleged lack of interest in these subjects displayed by the

204 THE FIGHT AGAINST WAR

British Democracy. He had been told, he said, that
a candidate who spoke to his prospective constituents
on Foreign Policy would probably be deemed a bore.
This he could not help. " You simply cannot afford,"
he declared, " to disinterest yourselves from Foreign
Affairs." A democratizing process had been taking
place in our public departments. The Foreign Office
alone remained untouched by this fertilizing stream.
Wealth and aristocratic connections were still regarded
as indispensable to those who wished to enter the diplo-
matic career. It was a career " closed to men of brains,
education and intelligence who did not possess these
attributes." Parliamentary, and therefore national,
control of Foreign Policy had sunk to vanishing point.
Dealing with the international situation he referred to
Anglo-German relations. One of the paramount interests
of the British and German peoples was that the existing
friction should be solved by an honourable understanding
and reconciliation.

" If I should ever be entrusted with your confidence," he said,
" I should leave no stone unturned to help, so far as one man can
help, to bring about that change. In so doing I consider I should
be serving your interests more than in any other direction."

These remarks were greeted with applause.

For two years Morel continued to visit Birkenhead
periodically, gaining steadily in local esteem. The views
outlined in his " adoption speech " were consistently
maintained and expanded in a series of subsequent
addresses, several of which were published in pamphlet
form, whilst his speeches on Foreign Affairs and Colonial
Problems secured much more than local publicity, being fre-
quently reported almost verbatim in such papers as the
Manchester Guardian and the Liverpool Daily Post. He
sought constantly to instruct the electorate upon matters

CANDIDATE FOR PARLIAMENT 205

of Foreign Policy and upon the vast responsibilities
assumed by the nation towards the coloured races of the
Empire, whilst, keeping company with Mr. Lloyd George,
he laid especial stress upon the intimate connection
between foreign policy and social reform.

" You cannot dissociate your social problems from the question
of your growing armaments," said he on December 9, 1913, " or
from the question of your foreign policy, of which your armaments
are in large measure the expression. These problems are usually
treated as though they were distinct from the social problem, whereas
they are indissolubly intertwined with it, and react upon it all
along the line."

And later on in the same speech he spoke of the horror
and the folly of Europe, " after two thousand years of
Christianity,"

" spending annually £400,000,000 and training five millions of the
flower of her manhood, not to improve society, not to ensure a
more equitable distribution of socially-earned wealth, not to fight
poverty and preventable disease, but to kill men and to break the
hearts of women."

Again and again, during this two years' campaign,
did Morel point out that conscription must inevitably
be the consequence of a foreign policy of unavowed com-
mitments to Continental Powers, and he did not conceal
from the electors that he believed such commitments
to exist. He familiarized them also with the history
of the secret Morocco Agreements, and with the bearing
of the Anglo-Franco-German disputes regarding them,
upon the international situation, and in the most
weighty words at his command he warned his hearers
of the exceeding gravity of the situation, a gravity which
comparatively few people in this country had realized
at that time. The views thus vigorously put forward
by Morel rapidly spread in the constituency. They

206 THE FIGHT AGAINST WAR

were shared, he found, by those Liberals in Birkenhead
with whom he was in closest personal touch. He held
them with conviction, and when the time came he stood
by them. And then the war came and blew his work
and his supporters away.

The Candidature Resigned.

On August 4, 1914, the night of the British ultimatum
to Germany, Morel sat down and wrote a letter to the
Chairman of the Birkenhead Liberal Association. In
this letter he recalled the numerous warnings he had
given as to the character of the Foreign Policy pursued
by the Liberal Cabinet, went on to formulate a severe
indictment of the secret diplomacy revealed to the House
of Commons on the preceding night by Sir Edward Grey,
and finished up by placing himself unreservedly in the
hands of the Executive and authorizing them to publish
his letter.

This course was not adopted. Morel was urged —
almost implored — not to take any overt action. Hopes
were entertained that in course of time he might modify
his views and come into line with the general feeling.
Morel gave no encouragement to these hopes. More,
he made it plain that his views were unalterable and that
he would certainly give expression to them whenever
circumstances, in his judgment, dictated. The crisis
came with the publication in the Morning Post — accom-
panied by a violent attack — of a circular letter signed
by J. Ramsay Macdonald, Charles Trevelyan, Norman
Angell and E. D. Morel, inviting the formation of the
association which subsequently became known as the
Union of Democratic Control. This led to a public
exchange of correspondence between Morel and the Liberal
Executive. The Executive wrote to Morel that it was
" their painful duty " to let him know that his attitude

CANDIDATE FOR PARLIAMENT 207

was at variance with Liberalism in Birkenhead, and that
his prospect of being returned as member for the borough
was seriously jeopardized. The letter closed as follows : —

44 The officers desire to express their deep appreciation of the
great services you have rendered to the Liberal cause, and the
affectionate esteem in which you are held by every one in Birkenhead
with whom you have come into contact."

Morel's reply aroused considerable interest and a good
deal of controversy. So great was the demand for it
that it had to be reprinted in pamphlet form, and ten
thousand copies were sold in a few days. It subse-
quently reappeared as the first chapter of Truth and
the War.

" I cannot play the hypocrite among you." With these
words Morel closed one of the concluding passages in
the above-mentioned letter. It is one of the keynotes
of his whole career. Whether his views are right or wrong,
popular or unpopular, Morel never makes the slightest
attempt to conceal them, and there can be no doubt
that they are sincerely held. In the case of the Birkenhead
candidature Morel received many proofs that the consis-
tency of his attitude was recognized even by many who
did not share his views. In conveying the resolution
passed by the Executive accepting Morel's resignation,
the Chairman wrote : —

44 Without exception one and all the speakers expressed the grief
they felt personally at the turn events had taken. Tribute after
tribute was paid to your ability, sincerity and high moral standards."

44 Your action has been from first to last thoroughly straight-
forward," wrote afterwards a prominent member of the Executive,
44 and nothing has happened, or can happen, to dimmish the regard
and honour in which you are held."

In Morel's view the Liberal party managers in Birkenhead
had no option but to act as they did. " It was a square

208 THE FIGHT AGAINST WAR

issue," he wrote to a correspondent, " between the Govern-
ment's Foreign Policy and the man who arraigned it.
They could not retain me without endorsing my con-
demnation of the Government."

In a leading article on Morel's resignation the Birkenhead
News said : —

" We, in common with all his friends, very sincerely regret the
fact that circumstances should have deprived the party of the
services of a man who is held in high honour wherever the English
language is spoken. Mr. Morel is a great humanitarian. He is a
humanitarian first, last and all the time. He is also a man of the
most absolute integrity of character, and Birkenhead Liberals will
always look back with pleasure upon his association with the
town, now unhappily broken."

After all, taking everything into consideration, including
the tempest of passion raised by the war, Morel had no
reason to regret his first experience of British party
politics.

CHAPTER XVIII
THE GATHERING STORM

The coining struggle — Efforts to avert it — The danger of secret com-
mitments— Need for open diplomacy — The obscurity of British
Foreign Policy — " What are our relations with France ? " — Letters
to the Press — Support for Morel in France — And in the Liberal
Press — Speech at Caxton Hall — Mr. Asquith denies the existence of
secret commitments — Morel satisfied — Discontinues his Press cam-
paign— His work on the Colonial Office Committee.

IN Chapter XVI this narrative was brought down to March
1912, the date of the appearance of Morocco in Diplomacy.
As has been said, this book was a last desperate appeal
to the democracies of Europe to avert the world-war
which Morel saw was impending. The appeal was un-
heeded, and it failed. Most people now will be of the
opinion that it never had the slightest chance of succeeding.
Great elemental forces were in motion. The accumulated
animosities, rivalries and ambitions of years had taken
concrete forms, and, touched with a monstrous life of
their own, were slowly and stealthily approaching each
other in armed opposition. It was probably beyond
the power of any mortal man to avert the almost inevitable
collision. But Morel, not realizing the grim humour
of the situation — no David in combat with Goliath can
afford a sense of perspective — did his manful best. And
as this book is a record of his work and opinions, it is
necessary here to summarize the situation as he then
saw it.

14 309

210 THE FIGHT AGAINST WAR

The Policy of the Foreign Office.

As we have seen in the earlier part of this book, Morel,
in the course of his Congo Reform campaign had acquired
a profound distrust of the methods of secret diplomacy
and of the principles which animated the whole Foreign
Office system.

His study of the Morocco affair had confirmed him
in this distrust and had aroused him to the imminent
peril of the situation.

In some way or other the British Foreign Office, in
Morel's opinion, had unduly subordinated the policy
of this country to the interests of certain chauvinistic
elements which were becoming increasingly dominant
in French Government circles — and France, as all the
world knew, was committed to Russia by the secret
clauses of the Franco-Russian Alliance.

Now if Britain were committed to France, either by
secret engagements or by less definite assurances,1 then,
France being allied to Russia, it followed that Britain
would be liable to be dragged with France into any quarrel
in which the Government of the Tsar might be involved,
and such a situation would certainly render any real
rapprochement between Britain and Germany exceedingly
difficult, if not impossible, of accomplishment.

At the same time Governmental spokesmen were re-
repeat edly declaring that no such entanglements as had
been suggested existed at all, and that British relations
with Germany were of the most cordial character ; and
these asseverations had the effect of hampering, on the
one hand, those who were agitating for " universal military
training " as a means of preparing for the struggle they
thought inevitable, and, on the other hand, those who
were seeking, through a free and full discussion of Foreign

1 As we now know, the celebrated naval and military " conversations "
between France and Britain were authorized by Sir E. Grey in 1906.

THE GATHERING STORM 211

Policy, to discover the causes of the international unrest,
as a preliminary to removing them altogether.

All the time the feeling was prevalent amongst students
of Foreign Policy that our relations with Germany were
not as cordial as the Government pretended, and that,
despite the protestations of Ministers, something or other
was going on with France, the precise nature of which
it was difficult to discover. A storm was brewing. There
was electricity in the air. The weather-wise felt the
tingling in their nerves. But to the general public the
atmosphere seemed clear. The sun was shining, and
there was nothing to disturb them in their cricket, their
football, and the general work and play of their world.

The Necessity of Open Diplomacy.

But Morel was one of the weather-wise, and in his
view the first essential — if peace were to be preserved —
was that British Foreign Policy should be honest, above-
board and free from ambiguity.

If this were secured, two courses would then be open
to the nation :

Firstly, Britain might enter into an open defensive
alliance with France, making it clear at the same time
that she did not intend to be involved in any entangle-
ments due to aggressive designs on the part of Russia.

Secondly, she might decide to remain unfettered,
unhampered and free.

If the first course were adopted, it would provide a
salutary check both to German and to Russian Imperialism.
It would make it clear to the first that an unjust attack
upon France wrould at once bring Britain to the latter's
assistance, and to the second that we had no intention
of being dragged into a war arising out of the intrigues
and ambitions of T§ar^gni.

If the second course were adopted, then Britain, free

212 THE FIGHT AGAINST WAR

from all Continental entanglements, would be able to
exercise her full influence in the cause of peace, and could
be appealed to by both disputants as an impartial and
unbiassed authority.

In Morel's opinion, either of these courses — he himself
strongly favoured the second of them — would ease the
international situation and perhaps avert the conflict
altogether. In any case the primary necessity was that
Parliament and the public should insist upon clearing up
the obscurities which veiled our relations with France
on the one hand and with Germany on the other. To
this task Morel now addressed himself, and in a series
of communications to the Press he again and again called
attention to the gravity of the position and to the
nature of the remedy. The following extracts from
some of his writings will serve to show the line he
pursued : —

" Until our Foreign Department is, in some measure, demo-
cratized the nation will continue to be in the position of finding
itself suddenly involved in war." — Letter to " Daily News,"
April 9, 1912.

" What are our relations with France ? A singular confusion
appears to prevail on the subject. . . . One authority talks of an
* Alliance ' and is rebuked by another who speaks of an * under-
standing of an intimate character ' ; another speaks of an ' arrange-
ment ' and of 4 engagements.' Where does the truth lie ? ... The
nature of our relations with France is the pivot upon which our
whole Foreign Policy turns. Are not the people of this country
entitled to know the facts ? Is Parliament doing its duty so long
as any doubts as to the facts prevail ? " — Letter to " Daily News,"
May 2, 1912.*

** The Anglo-French Convention of 1904 and the diplomatic support
we gave to France in 1905 and 1911 on the strength of it have
served their purpose . . . with the proclamation of a French Pro-
tectorate " (over Morocco). " What 4 engagements * remain on

2 The occasion for this letter was the statement by Lord Midleton
in the House of Lords that the Government, in 1911, had contemplated
the dispatch of six divisions to the Continent.

THE GATHERING STORM 213

our part towards France, and under what diplomatic instrument
are they to be studied?" — Letter to " Westminister Gazette'" May
16, 1912.3

In a letter to the Times on May 23rd, Morel pointed
out that the case he was arguing was, " of course, un-
popular," but that it had been

" advanced quite as strongly in France from a similar point of
view ; for example, in the writings of M. Hanotaux and M.
Felicien Challaye and in the speeches of Baron d'Estournelles de
Constant and M. Jajires."

What are our Secret Commitments ?

In the meantime in the international sphere several
significant incidents were occurring. Certain Unionist
newspapers had started a campaign in favour of converting
the entente into an alliance. A £10,000,000 Anglo-
French loan for Russian naval construction, " superin-
tended by Messrs. Vickers," had been contracted, whilst
in September the French fleet was moved from Brest
to Toulon, and it was stated in high French and Russian
naval circles that this transfer was the result of a specific
naval convention with Britain.

These events brought forth a further letter from
Morel :-

" What is the nature of our relations with France ?" he asked.
*' To what extent are we tied by the Poincare combination ? 4
To what degree are we involved in supporting any particular policy
in the Mediterranean or elsewhere. . . . The public need to be don-
stantly reminded that the increasing secrecy in which our Foreign

3 Written in reply to a leading article in the Westminster Gazette which
had stated that " our engagements to France are known and we shall be
true to them." In an editorial foot-note to Morel's letter the Westminster
Gazette declared, " We can assure him (Morel) that we are not thinking
of any secret treaties or unavowed obligations."

4 M. Poincare1 had just negotiated at St. Petersburg a naval under-
standing with Russia.

214 THE FIGHT AGAINST WAR

Policy of late years has been cloaked is not even justified by proved
efficiency. ... It brought us twelve months ago within measurable
distance of actual war in consequence of secret commitments
revealed to us ... by foreign newspapers." — Letter to " Daily News"
September 1, 1912.

It may be mentioned that the views thus expressed
by Morel were strongly supported at that time by the
Liberal Press, in particular by the Daily News, the Star,
and the Manchester Guardian. In France the same
questions were being asked in UHumanite by M. Jaujres
and, a few months previously, Morel contributed an
article, on much the same lines, to the well-known Paris
review IS Action National, which journal, in introducing
Morel to its readers, said : —

" Mr. Morel is not only one of the most competent writers on
international affairs among his countrymen, he is one of the
oldest partisans of the entente cordiale, and dared to be pro-
French at a period when there was some merit in being so. 5

Towards the close of the year Morel, in company with
Professor L. T. Hobhouse, Mr. Gordon Harvey, M.P.,
and Mr. Arthur Ponsonby, M.P., spoke at a meeting
at the Caxton Hall, arranged by the Foreign Policy
Committee, Lord Courtney of Penwith presiding. A
French Yellow Book on the Moroccan question had
just appeared, and in his speech Morel exposed from
this official publication the falsity of the celebrated
Times telegram of July 1911 6 which had been the
means of causing so much ill-feeling towards Ger-
many in this country, and which, it was commonly
supposed, had inspired Mr. Lloyd George's Mansion
House declaration.?

Morel's speech on this occasion — the date was November

5 For Morel's early attitude toward France see Chapters II and III.

6 See page 187. 7 See page 188.

THE GATHERING STORM 215

27, 1912 8 — made, said the Liverpool Daily Post, " a great
impression," and it was warmly praised by the Nation
and the Manchester Guardian. Upon Morel's disclosure
the latter journal commented as follows : —

44 A conversation between the French and German representa-
tives which caused no offence to either was distorted in the London
Press into a peremptory demand on the part of Germany for a cession
of territory which, if it had been made, would have greatly injured
the position of France. On the theory — for which there was no
solid foundation — that such a demand had been made, much of
British policy at that time was built up. Not only were we more
French than the French, but we altered the facts to suit our own
conceptions of what French policy ought to be. That kind of
thing will always happen so long as a policy of friendship is used to
serve the purposes of hatred."

With the opening of 1913 there was a great renewal
of the agitation in favour of National Service in this country,
and on February 21st the Daily News published a long
letter from Morel entitled " The Conscriptionist Agitation :
What lies behind it ? " In this letter Morel, after referring
to the introduction of the " Three Years' Military Service
Law " in France, to the increase in Russia's military
effectives and to the corresponding increase in German
military expenditure, said : —

" Once again I urge, as I have been doing in your columns for
the past eighteen months, that the key to the whole position is
the future of our relations with France. Are we or are we not
pledged to give military assistance to France in the event of a
Continental war ? Are we free from entanglements ? "

The Government's Denial.

As though in answer to these questions, there came

8 It is interesting to note that five days previously (that is, on Novem-
ber 22nd), as we now know, Sir E. Grey had written the " unofficial "
letter to the French Ambassador in which he stated that the naval and
military consulations between Britain and France did not " restrict the
freedom of eitner Government to decide at any future time whether or
not to assist the other by armed force."

216 THE FIGHT AGAINST WAR

on March 10th, Mr. Asquith's famous denial, in reply to
Lord Hugh Cecil, that the country was under any obliga-
tions to send an expeditionary force out of the country,
this denial being repeated in various forms both by the
Prime Minister and by Sir Edward Grey on March 24,
1913, April 28, 1914, and June 11, 1914. 9

So explicit and categorical were these denials that
they even satisfied Morel. They certainly silenced him.
It was impossible, he felt, to doubt the solemn word
of a British Prime Minister. And this conviction was
strengthened by a statement made by a Cabinet Minister
(Mr. W. Runciman) at a meeting at Birkenhead held
in support of Morel's candidature. Standing by Morel's
side, Mr. Runciman repeated the Premier's assurances.
" Let me say in the most categorical way," he observed,
" we have no secret understanding with any Foreign
Powers which would involve us in a European war."

9 The following are the most important of these declarations : —
On March 10, 1913, in the course of a debate on the address, Lord
Hugh Cecil said : —

"The Right Hon. Gentleman and his colleagues are generally
believed ... to have entered into an arrangement, or, to speak
more accurately, to have given assurances, which in the conting-
ency of a great European war would involve heavy military
obligations on this country. . . .

MB. ASQUITH. — Will the noble lord define a little more distinctly
what he means ? . . .

LORD H. CECIL. — There is a very general belief that this country
is under an obligation, not a treaty obligation, but an obligation
arising owing to an assurance given by the Ministry in the course
of diplomatic associations, to send a very large armed force out of
this country to operate in Europe. . . .

MR. ASQUITH. — I ought to say that it is not true."

On March 24, 1913, in reply to Sir William Byles and Mr. Joseph
King, Mr. Asquith said : "As has been repeatedly stated, this country
is not under any obligation not public and known to Parliament which
compels it to take part in any war. In other words, if war arises between
European Powers there are no unpublished agreements which will restrict
or hamper the freedom of the Government or of Parliament to decide
whether or not Great Britain shall participate in a war."

THE GATHERING STORM 217

That was enough : Morel was convinced. He no longer
enfiladed the Press with questions concerning alleged
secret understandings. Assurances had been given by
the highest authorities that no such entanglements existed.
Britain's hands were free. And with a sigh of relief
Morel turned to his important labours on the West African
Lands Committee at the Colonial Office, busied himself
with a projected history of the Congo Reform Movement,
and confined his incursions into public politics to an
occasional speech to the electors of Birkenhead, in which
he constantly referred to the necessity of Democratic
Control of Foreign Policy as one of the keys to Inter-
national Peace.

CHAPTER XIX
THE OUTBREAK OF THE WAR

July 1914 — Holiday at Dieppe — The assassination of Jaures — Hasty
return to England — Parliament — Sir E. Grey's speech — The secret
out — Manchester Guardian's criticisms — The Westminster group —
The Union of Democratic Control — Its policy — Popular hostility —
Special anger against Morel.

JULY 1914 found Morel at Dieppe, where he was spending
a brief holiday. In a private memorandum he has described
his experiences during the few days preceding the outbreak
of the war : —

44 In the last days of July the West African Lands Committee,
on which I was working at the Colonial Office, broke up for the
holidays. We said good-bye — some of us for the last time as it
turned out — and spoke of whither we were respectively bound.
I mentioned that I was crossing to Dieppe for a few days with my
daughter. The Secretary of the Committee, who was also private
secretary to the Secretary of State for the Colonies, took me aside,
and endeavoured earnestly to dissuade me. I asked him why.
His answer was to the effect that the international situation was
very serious — more serious than the public was aware. This was
on Wednesday, July 26th. We crossed on the Thursday. The
storm-clouds were gathering fast, but somehow it seemed impossible
they could burst. On the Saturday morning I was swimming in
the sea before breakfast and heard a Frenchman shout to his neigh-
bour that Jaures had been assassinated, 4 Enfin, on lui a fait son
affaire.' I hurried back to the hotel. The news was only too
true. On Sunday morning the walls were covered with the General
Mobilization Order, and there were many heartrending scenes
in the narrow streets of the old town."

218

THE OUTBREAK OF THE WAR 219

Of these scenes at Dieppe on that fatal Sunday
(August 2nd) and the thoughts that arose in his mind as
he witnessed them, he has written in another place J : —

(The) " irregular, ill-paved streets were full of men and women
and children, mostly weeping ; though the younger children only
wondered. At every door stood little groups of people with faces
drawn and pitiful. Reservists uttering their last farewells, putting
gently aside encircling arms, taking the last pledge from quivering
lips. Above all, permeating all, a consciousness of some invisible,
irresistible presence, inhuman, pitiless ; some monstrous, unseen
hand stretched out, tearing son from mother, husband from wife,
father from children. And one realized with an icy chill at one's
heart that the inevitable had really happened ; that because one
of the great ones of the earth had fallen beneath the hand of the
assassins in a far distant country, because the other great ones of
the earth had quarrelled as the result of that crime, because the
rulers of Christian Europe had for years been squandering the
substance of their peoples in piling up weapons destructive of human
life until all Europe was one vast arsenal, and had planned and
schemed against one another through their appointed agents ;
that because of such things, these humble folk in this small town
in which I moved were stricken down, their lives rent and shattered."

Morel saw that the long-threatened war had come at
last. There in France the imminent peril of the crisis
was more quickly realized than it was in Britain. With
an entire absence of military frenzy, with dread foreboding
but with high seriousness and grim resolution, France
prepared for war. The memorandum continued : —

" We decided to leave by the one o'clock boat, which was crammed.
It was a horrible feeling waiting for the gangway to be lowered —
the anxious crowd, the confusion, the sense of impending disaster ;
and all the while one's brain throbbed with the knowledge that
the calamity so long feared, so long predicted, had fallen at last.
The Paris train came in, packed to overflowing. Hundreds had to
be left behind, for the boat was more than full before the train steamed
in along the quay. We had an awful crossing. There was no
room to move on deck, and the seas came over, drenching us.

1 Truth and the War, pp. 44-45.

220 THE FIGHT AGAINST WAR

44 At home I found letters from Trevelyan speaking of some
contemplated effort on the part of Radical and Labour members
for peace and asking my help. I called on him early on Monday.
At a few minutes to three he and I and his brother walked through
the empty House of Commons. I recalled Brjght's phrase : —

1 " 4 The angel of death has been abroad throughout the land ;
\ you may almost hear the beating of his wings.'

44 One seemed to feel an unseen presence. The brooding silence
was full of terrific portents. We waited in Trevelyan's room while
the fate of millions was being decided above us. Every now and
again a dull roar surged in from the crowds outside cheering some
Minister or other on his way to the House. Later, Trevelyan came
down and reported the character of Grey's speech. And again,
when it was all over, 4 It means war,' he said. We passed out
as men in a dream. I read Grey's speech. So the truth was out
at last. We had been bound all along to France, and therefore,
necessarily to Russia, to the Tsar ! 2 . . . No wonder Morley and
Burns were resigning."

The " Secret Obligations."

This was the speech in which Sir Edward Grey, for the
first time, revealed the nature of the obligations to France
— obligations of honour— which the Foreign Office had
incurred, but the existence of which had previously been
denied. Like many others, Morel felt that the country
had been misled and betrayed. That he was by no means
alone in this opinion is shown by this extract from the
Manchester Guardian of the following day : —

44 Sir Edward Grey's speech last night . . . was not fair, either
to the House of Commons or to the country. It showed that for
years he has been keeping back the whole truth. . . . This long course
of disloyalty to popular rights ... is not atoned for by the death-
bed confession of last night. It is a mockery to throw on the House
of Commons the responsibility of deciding at a moment's notice,
and in circumstances of great excitement, on a policy that has been
maturing for years. ... A minority did protest, and nobly, against
the incompetence and secretiveness of the conduct of our foreign
affairs which now threatens to wreck the moral and material progress

a Cf. Lord Loreburn : " We went to war unprepared in a Russian
quarrel because we were tied to France in the dark" — How the War Came
(Methuen, 1919).

THE OUTBREAK OF THE WAR 221

of half a century. . . . We are told by the conspirators that honoui
bids us go to war. Whose honour ? Not that of the Government
for if what the war party says were true, then what Mr. Asquith
and Sir E. Grey said was false. . . . Whose honour, then ? The honoui
of those who have led France to hope that we would undertake!
responsibilities which all the time they were anxious to conceal]
from Englishmen ? If any have been guilty of that double perfidy 1
to England and to France, not all the blood of every English soldier
and sailor, not all the tears of widows and orphans, would restore to'
them the honour which they have so shamelessly lost." 3

Thus the great Manchester journal, which undoubtedly
voiced the views held at that time by many thousands
of men and women both within and without the Liberal
and Radical ranks.

War Declared.

Morel's memorandum concluded as follows : —

" The next day came the news about Belgium — a foregone con-
clusion, of course. But what madness ! So it would be a war
for Belgium, and the Tsar and the revanche would be well hidden
in the smoke from the Liege forts. And the people would be taken
in, naturally. That evening I sent my views in writing to the
Chairman of the Birkenhead Liberal Association, leaving myself
in the Association's hands."

The final words of this letter of Morel's to his political
friends at Birkenhead are well worth quoting here :—

" These are the chief reasons," he wrote, " which have led me to
the convictions expressed in this letter. For years the people of this
country have had it dinned into their ears by those to whom they
have looked for guidance that the system of diplomatic 4 groupings,'
and Britain's co-operation with one of those groups, was the sure
means of preserving peace. They now see the results. Soon these
results will eat their way into every home. Their first effect is to
shatter for a generation all the schemes of social betterment upon
which the masses were at last beginning to build high hopes. May
the realization of the fallacies for which the workers must now

3 Manchester Guardian* August 4, 1914.

222 THE FIGHT AGAINST WAR

pay in blood and tears, may the sufferings they must presently
endure, burn into their hearts and souls the passionate determination
that, to live, democracy must rid itself of the machinery by which, in
darkness and in secrecy, its destinies are made the sport of men
whose actions it cannot control."

By this time the die was cast. Lord Morley, Mr. John
Burns, and Mr. Charles Trevelyan had, on the previous
day, left the Government^ and Britain entered upon
the greatest war in all her long and warlike history.

The Westminster Group.

During these critical days, and for some time afterwards,
a small group of men, of whom Morel was one, had been
meeting at the house of Mr. Charles Trevelyan, 5 Great
College Street, Westminster.

" For years, " said Morel, " they had shared a common conviction
that Europe's statesmen were drifting to a catastrophe. ... In their
several ways they had endeavoured to rouse public opinion to the
terrible gravity of the situation ; and they had failed. . . . Was any-
thing left for this small group of men to do ? Should they attempt
to involve some constructive programme : ... to provide some
rallying centre for future political action — national in its inception,
international in its ultimate aims — around which men and women
holding, it might be, diverse and even contradictory views as to the
origins of the war, could, nevertheless, gather, restore their shattered
faiths, and strive to lay the foundations of a more enduring edifice ?
When discussion reached the point of decision, just five individuals
felt that the effort must be made." 5

These five individuals were Mr. Charles Trevelyan, M.P.,
late Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education,
eldest son of the Right Hon. Sir George Otto Trevelyan,
Bart., and grand-nephew of Lord Macaulay ; Mr. J.
Ramsay Macdonald, M.P., chairman, up to the outbreak

4 It is said that several other members of the Government also
tendered their resignations to the Prime Minister, but withdrew them
when Germany violated the neutrality of Belgium.

5 Contemporary Review, July 1915.

THE OUTBREAK OF THE WAR 223

of the war, of the Labour Party in Parliament, Mr. Arthur
Ponsonby, M.P., formerly private secretary to Sir Henry
Campbell-Bannerman, and one of the leading advocates
of Democratic Control of Foreign Affairs in Parliament ;
Mr. Norman Angell, the author of the celebrated book
The Great Illusion ; and E. D. Morel. Together these
five men, to whom others were subsequently added,
looking forward to the hour when the war should end —
which very few, if any, at that time realized would be
so long deferred — set to work to devise a policy which
they considered, if adopted at the settlement, would lead
to a permanent peace. The policy thus devised was
subsequently adopted a few weeks later by a society
of which Morel became the secretary and to which was
given the name of the Union of Democratic Control.

The purpose of this book is not to relate the history
of the Union of Democratic Control nor to give anything
like a connected narrative of the work of what may be
called the " Pacifist Movement " in Britain during the
period of the war. But as Morel has been so closely iden-
tified, as its secretary and one of its founders, with the
Union, it is necessary to say something here of the objects
of that Society.

The Union of Democratic Control.

Strange as it may seem to the ordinary reader, the Union
of Democratic Control was never what is ordinarily called
a Stop-the-War or Peace Society. It is true, as will
presently be mentioned, that as the years went by the
Union began to urge that an attempt should be made
to shorten the period of destruction by reinforcing the
military arm with the weapon of diplomacy, but in its
inception, and in fact throughout its whole existence,
the main object of the Society was to advocate that at
the close of the war a settlement should be adopted which,

224 THE FIGHT AGAINST WAR

instead of sowing the seeds of future conflicts, should
lead to a durable and a democratic peace.

The leaders of this movement looked back at the history
of previous wars. They saw that nearly every war in
the past had been followed, not by a democratic peace,
but by an armed truce leading to future hostilities ; and
in order to prevent such a thing occurring again they con-
sidered that a real scientific effort should be made, during
the war itself, to familiarize the people with the principles
which made for stability in international relationships,
and which, if applied to the settlement at the close of
the conflict, might lead to a lasting peace. Only if this
were done, they thought, could the great World- War,
which began in August 1914, actually be a war which
would bring all wars to an end. The nature of the prin-
ciples thus advocated by Morel and his colleagues can
be gathered from the following official statement of policy
issued towards the close of 1914 : —

WHAT THE UNION STANDS FOR.

The Union has been created to formulate and organize support
for such a policy as shall lead to the establishment and maintenance
of an enduring peace. For this purpose the Union advocates the
following points and takes any other action which the Council of
the Union may, from time to time, declare to be in furtherance
of such policy : —

1. No province shall be transferred from one Government to
another without the consent by plebiscite or otherwise of the popula-
tion of such province.

2. No treaty, arrangement or undertaking shall be entered
upon in the name of Great Britain without the sanction of Parlia-
ment. Adequate machinery for ensuring democratic control of
foreign policy shall be created.

3. The foreign policy of Great Britain shall not be aimed at
creating alliances for the purpose of maintaining the balance of
power, but shall be dictated to concerted action between the Powers,
and the setting up of an International Council, whose deliberations
and discussions shall be public, with such machinery for securing
international agreement as shall be the guarantee of an abiding peace.

THE OUTBREAK OF THE WAR 225

4. Great Britain shall propose, as part of the peace settlement,
a plan for the drastic reduction, by consent, of the armaments of
all the belligerent Powers, and to facilitate that policy shall attempt
to secure the general nationalization of the manufacture of arma-
ments and the control of the export of armaments by one country
to another.

A year later, when the first campaign was started by
Mr. W. M. Hughes and others in favour of continuing
the war, after the peace, by means of an economic boycott
and tariff war — proposals, which in the opinion of the
leaders of the Union, would, if carried out, lead inevitably
to another military conflict, the following fifth point
was added to the above programme : —

5. The European conflict shall not be continued by economic
war after the military operations have ceased. British policy shall
be directed towards promoting free commercial intercourse between
all nations and the preservation and extension of the principle of
the open door.

Reason in War-time.

It is difficult to understand to-day why such a policy as
the foregoing — which was practically the same in principle
as that advocated in 1918 by President Wilson 6 and

6 The following points which President Wilson declared should form
a basis of a permanent peace will be found to be precisely the same
in principle as those embodied in the five points, quoted above, of the
Union of Democratic Control : —

1. " The peoples and provinces are not to be bartered about
from sovereignty to sovereignty as if they were chattels and pawns
in a game." — February 11, 1918.

" The settlement of every question, whether of territory or of
sovereignty, or economic arrangement, or of political relationship,
upon the basis of the free acceptance of that settlement by the
people immediately concerned."— -July 4, 1918.

2. " Open covenants of peace openly arrived at, after which
there shall be no private international understandings of any kind,
but diplomacy shall proceed always frankly and in public view."
— July 8, 1918.

3. "A general association of nations must be formed under
specific covenants for the purpose of affording mutual guarantees

15

226 THE FIGHT AGAINST WAR

since accepted, in theory at any rate, by all the belligerent
Governments, should have excited such hostility when
first put forward in 1914, and why such violent attacks
should have been levelled at Morel in particular, as being
the secretary of the organization which advocated it. But
those who take the trouble to turn up the files of the news-
papers and magazines of 1914 and 1915 will be surprised —
so short are human memories ! — to find that any one who
in those days ventured to advocate such principles as
those which were afterwards associated for a time with
the name of President Wilson was certain to incur the
most furious and implacable hostility. It has always been
so in war-time and probably always will be so as long as
wars continue.

" It is no use to argue," said Cobden in 1862, " as to what is the
origin of the war, and no use whatever to advise the disputants.
From the moment the first shot is fired, or the first blow is struck in
a dispute, then farewell to all reason and argument ; you might
as well reason with mad dogs as with men when they have begun
to spill each other's blood in mortal combat. I was so convinced
of the fact during the American War ; I was so convinced of the
utter uselessness of raising one's voice in opposition to war when
it has once begun, that I made up my mind that so long as I was
in political life, should a war again break out between England and
a great Power, I would never open my mouth upon the subject
from the time the first gun was fired until the peace was made." 7

of political independence and territorial integrity to great and small
States alike." — January 8, 1918.

" There can be no leagues or alliances or special covenants and
understandings within the general and common family of the League
of Nations."— September 27, 1918.

4. " Adequate guarantees given and taken that national arma-
ments will be reduced to the lowest point consistent with domestic
safety." — January 8, 1918.

5. " The removal, so far as possible, of all economic barriers, and
the establishment of an equality of trade conditions among all the
nations consenting to the peace and associating themselves for its
maintenance." — July 8, 1918.

Morel and his friends can therefore claim the distinction of having
enunciated in 1914 the very principles which (four years later) were pro-
claimed to the world by the President of the Unites States of America.

7 Morley's Life of Cobden, chapter xxiv.

THE OUTBREAK OF THE WAR 227

And those who, during such times of popular passion,
take it upon themselves to advocate, for the sake of
the future of humanity, reasonable terms of peace, will
assuredly be accused of advocating such terms, not for
the sake of the future of all, but solely for the purpose
of befriending the enemy. One example of this will
suffice. It is a commonplace of modern enlightened
statesmanship that to follow up a victorious war by
annexing a part of the territory of the enemy- state
against the wishes of those who inhabit that territory
will almost certainly lead to another war in the future,
and it is generally accepted that the annexation of
Alsace-Lorraine by Prussia in 1871, in this manner,
was one of the principal causes of European unrest
between 1871 and 1914.

Realizing the truth of this, Morel and his colleagues
laid great stress — in supporting the first principle of their
Union's programme — upon this point. They urged that
the Allies should not seek at the close of the war to " divide
up " the territories of the Central Powers amongst them-
selves. To pursue such a policy, they contended, would
merely result in the creation of new " Alsace-Lorraines "
to breed fresh wars. To the majority of people nowadays
such a contention will appear to be the clearest common
sense. But it was not so in 1914. In those feverish
days the wildest schemes were advocated and applauded.
According to one plan, Hanover, with the ports of Hamburg
and Bremen, was to be annexed by Britain ; the whole
of the Baltic seaboard of Prussia was to be given to the
Tsar ; France was to have the whole of Germany up
to the Rhine ; and Germany itself was to be disintegrated
and destroyed. " Germany must cease to exist ..."
said the New Statesman on May 15, 1915. "It is the State
that must be destroyed. . . . Not only can we not
grant such a State an honourable peace, we cannot

228 THE FIGHT AGAINST WAR

grant it peace at all." And when Morel and his friends
pointed out that such a policy, if carried out, would
lead inevitably to further wars they were told that they
were obviously working in the interests of the enemy
and that their only motive was to save Germany from
the consequences of her crimes.

Indeed, those who agree with Lord Morley that it is
possible for the public in war-time to work itself into
a mood in which " the most solid reasoning, the most
careful tenderness of prejudice, the most unanswerable
expostulations " are " all alike unavailing," may fairly
hold that a certain amount of Morel's unpopularity during
that period was due to the very reasonableness of
the policy advocated by the Society of which he was the
secretary. But this alone does not account for the
peculiar ferocity of the attacks which were made upon
him personally, and which were far more intense than
anything which his colleagues had to endure. The reasons
for this concentration of hate upon the person of Morel
demand a chapter to themselves.

CHAPTER XX
AN ENQUIRY INTO "ORIGINS"

The origin of the war — Typical British view : Germany solely respon-
sible— Morel disagrees — A " distributed " responsibility — Cause of
Morel's unpopularity — A question of " background " — Morel's atti-
tude misrepresented — Pro-German — Morel's motives — A permanent
peace — Cutting at the roots — Destroy secret diplomacy and mili-
tarism— Truth and tactics — Controversial methods — Convincing proof
of integrity.

THE principal cause of Morel's extreme unpopularity
during the period of the war lay in the special attitude
adopted by him towards the " origins " of this world-
catastrophe.

This statement requires some elaboration.

Soon after the war began the typical British attitude
towards its origin might be summarized in the following
words : —

" The German Government (some people said * the whole of
Germany ') prepared for this war for forty years. Having carefully
laid their plans, they deliberately chose the moment most convenient
to themselves to launch their armies upon their unoffending and
only half-prepared neighbours. From the very first the war was
deliberately premeditated, planned and provoked by the rulers of
Germany (or 4 by Germany herself) as a part of a great scheme
of world-domination. . . . Upon them (or ' upon the whole of the
German people ') rested the sole responsibility of this colossal
crime."

Morel did not agree with this somewhat crude presen-
tation of the case. For years, as we have seen, he had

230 THE FIGHT AGAINST WAR

been studying the nature of the forces which were making,
in his opinion, for a European conflict, and he had come
to certain conclusions upon the matter which he had
expressed in various speeches and writings. Without
setting forth these conclusions in detail we may say
that Morel's main contention was that although the
German Government, and especially the German military
party, was largely responsible for the outbreak, yet it
was not solely responsible. " The sole responsibility for
the war," he said in a Personal Foreword to his much-
discussed book Truth and the War, " cannot, in justice,
be wholly imputed to " Germany. In a word, he considered
that the responsibility for the war was a " distributed "
responsibility, and that the awful conflict which was
convulsing Europe was the outcome of a long series of
diplomatic intrigues, contending imperialistic ambitions,
economic rivalries, militaristic activities, and even personal
jealousies, in which many Governments (especially that
of Russia) had played a part, and for participation in
which no one country — except Belgium — was entirely free
from blame.

" I have neither consciously suppressed," he said,1 " nor con-
sciously minimized any acts contributed by Germany before the war
to the general unrest. I have endeavoured to establish a sense of
perspective between the acts of the German Government and the
acts of other Governments. I have condemned German diplomacy
and German Jingoes of the pen and of the sword ; I have condemned
the invasion of Belgium. But I have also condemned the diplomacy
and the Jingoism of other Governments, and I have refused to
admit that the invasion of Belgium, wrong as it was — is without
historical parallel and places Germany outside the pale of civilized
States."

A Question of Background.

The fact that Morel held these views does not entirely
account for his extreme unpopularity, for similar views

1 Preface to Truth and the War (National Labour Press), 1916.

AN ENQUIRY INTO "ORIGINS" 231

were held by many eminent persons, President Wilson
amongst them.* They were certainly unpopular views,
for in war-time the instinct of every nation and the policy
of every Government is to put the whole blame for the
conflict upon the enemy. But he might have held them
without incurring the enmity he did. The trouble was
that he not only held them but expressed them, expressed
them with vigour, and expressed them, perhaps, in a
way which gave his opponents a better opportunity of
misrepresenting his whole position than they otherwise
might have had. For example, he so incessantly pressed
these unpopular views upon the unwilling attention of
the public, and, in speech after speech, and article after
article, so developed this view and so emphasized this
argument, that sometimes, in the crowded and detailed
pictures he painted of general diplomatic weakness and
wickedness, the special iniquities of which the German
Government had been guilty may not have stood out
in sufficiently startling relief. For a black silhouette
a white background is needed to bring out the sharpness
of the outline. The official Press pictured Germany as
a black figure upon a background of almost immaculate
purity. Morel did not accept this view of the European
background : he pictured the German Government as
black indeed, but upon a background, not of white but
of grey, a grey which in some cases, notably in that of
Russia, shaded into a blackness scarcely less deep than
that of Germany herself ; and by his insistence upon
the greyness of this background Morel, as has been said,
gave to his opponents opportunity after opportunity of
misrepresenting his general attitude. Of these oppor-

* " 'Have you heard what started the present war ? It was mutual
suspicion, an interlacing of alliances, a complete web of intrigue and
spying,' said President Wilson at Cincinnatti " (Daily News, December
28, 1916).

232 THE FIGHT AGAINST WAR

tunities they availed themselves to the full, and, by a
recourse, in numerous instances, to methods the nature
of which it is difficult to characterize in polite language,
they were able to present him to the general public —
which naturally did not read his writings for themselves —
not only as an apologist for Germany, but actually as
a " pro-German." And when once great masses of people
get the legend firmly fixed in their minds that a certain
person is " pro-enemy," that particular individual's
opportunities for persuading them to listen to anything
he has to say at all are, to say the least, very greatly
restricted. This, of course, is just what his opponents
desire.

Morel's Motives.

Now, why did Morel take this particular line, a line
which aroused so much prejudice against him, even
amongst some of those who agreed with the constructive
policy of the Union of Democratic Control ? It was
a line which he took deliberately, and, amongst other
reasons, for the following purpose :—

Rightly or wrongly, Morel believed that if the theory
that Germany was solely responsible for the war once
secured a firm hold upon the public mind, then it would
be impossible to hope for such a settlement at the end
of the war as would lead to a lasting peace. He felt
that this theory, strongly and sincerely held, would breed
such a hatred of Germany in this country as would drive
all ideas of reason and justice out of the heads of those
who were convinced by it, and that the people would
then insist — and he could understand them doing so —
upon imposing such harsh and shattering terms upon
the enemy — terms even involving the dismemberment
and enslavement of the Central Powers — as would lead
inevitably to another war.

AN ENQUIRY INTO "ORIGINS" 233

" The more deeply rooted becomes the belief," he said, " that
Germany is the sole responsible author of the war . . . the more will
public opinion gravitate towards the * unconditional surrender '
policy ; and that policy means an indefinite prolongation of the
war and, consequently, an immense additional loss of life . . . (and)
is a policy which means a bad settlement, a settlement which
would settle nothing, . . . which would pave the way for fresh
convulsions, and which, both in its external and internal implica-
tions, would, in the ultimate resort, bring disaster upon the British
Commonwealth." 3

On the other hand, Morel felt that if the people
could only be brought to realize that the responsi-
bility for the war was a " distributed " one, they
would more readily develop a willingness to agree
to such a settlement, based upon the principles of
Democracy and International Co-operation, as would
bind up the bleeding wounds of Europe and lead to
an abiding peace.

Cutting at the Roots.

Further, he felt that it would only be when the people
thus realized the widely spreading and deeply rooted
character of the causes of European unrest that they would
direct the whole current of their energies to removing
the evils of secret diplomacy and militarism which,
if allowed to survive in any country after the war,
would certainly, sooner or later, bring about another
conflict.

3 Truth and the War, p. 53. First printed in the Labour Leader,
March 25, 1915. It is characteristic of Morel that he gave this practical
reason for arguing against the theory of the " sole " responsibility of
Germany as his second reason. TELis first was simply that " it is not true."
To Morel the pursuit of Truth, regardless of consequences, is always
the first essential, forgetful of the fact that Truth, as Rudyard Kipling
mentions somewhere, is a naked lady, and that it is not always desirable,
especially in war-time, that she should be revealed to the public in all
her nudity. A man with such ideas as these is certain to prove a nuisance
to orthodox politicians and to Governments.

234 THE FIGHT AGAINST WAR

" If it can be demonstrated," he said,4 " that this charge against
Germany " (i.e. that the German Government deliberately brought
about the war for the purpose of world-domination) " is untrue . . .
this war is seen to be the outcome, not of the inherent wickedness
of one particular ruler, or group, or nation, but of a system of state-
craft common to all Governments, a system of official intercourse
between Governments in which all the peoples have helplessly
acquiesced and for which all Governments are directly, and all
peoples indirectly, responsible. And it is only when, and if, all
Governments and all peoples have realized that the truth lies
here that these systems can be overthrown and the conception of
a real union between the nations can evolve. So long as one parti-
cular nation is credited with special and peculiar vices by another,
so long will the others remain blind to the part played by their
own rulers in producing the situation out of which the war arose,
and so long will every practical effort at the re-establishment of public
law in Europe be doomed to death in birth. We must build a new
structure and we must use new material. We cannot build a new
structure in Europe without Germany. If, therefore, we do not
build upon a foundation of truth, the Europe which emerges from
the war will even be more unstable than the Europe produced by
the Treaty of Vienna a century ago."

These briefly were the reasons which impelled Morel
to take the course — this decidedly unpopular course —
he did, and to devote so much of his attention and
argumentative skill to the question of " origins."

Truth and Tactics.

It is possible that many of Morel's friends may have
felt that in pursuing this particular path he was scarcely
taking the wisest course. They may have felt with
Cobden that whilst a nation is at war "it is no use to
argue as to what is the origin of the war." They may
have felt, too, that the principles which made for a per-
manent peace, and which were laid down in the programme
of the Union of Democratic Control, were so essentially
and obviously just and reasonable in themselves that

4 Truth and the War, pp. 120-7. First published in Labour Leader,
May 13, 1915.

AN ENQUIRY INTO "ORIGINS" 235

they could be argued upon their own merits without
insistent and reiterated references to specific " origins,"
and would be certain, when the moment came, to rally
behind them sufficient public support to secure their
adoption by the Governments concerned.

And as the war began to lengthen into years and the
memories of the critical days of 1914 and of the negotiations
preceding the conflict grew faint in people's minds, some
of them may have felt still more strongly that the
question whether Germany was more responsible than
Russia, or whether Germany was alone responsible, or
whether all the nations were responsible in varying degrees,
did not matter one breath of wind in comparison with
the great issue of the character of the Peace Settlement,
and that Morel would stand a better chance of influencing
public opinion in the desired direction by concentrating
more especially upon the future and leaving the past
to be taken care of by the historian.

But Morel did not see the matter in this light. As
has been pointed out previously, 5 his mind is essentially
a challenging one, and in public controversy he is
not apt to be over-careful of the prejudices of others.
He is inclined to be impatient of what he would probably
call " round-about methods." In the high pursuit of
truth he probably feels that he does not wish to be troubled
with questions of minor tactics — they savour too much
of the diplomacy which he loathes and which he knows
has been responsible for so much public evil and so much
private deadening of the mind. His natural instinct
is to go straight for his object — no matter what obstacles
lie across the direct path — and when he meets with those
who prefer on occasion to go a round-about way, carefully
skirting some thicket of prejudice in front of them in
order to get to the same goal by a devious route, he

5 See Chaper XI.

236 THE FIGHT AGAINST WAR

may not be above admiring their agility but he finds it
very difficult to follow their example. And to those
who say to him,

" What you say is true, but now is not the fitting time to say it "
his instinct is to reply :—

" If the thing is true, now is the fitting time to say it. Truth
is always timely. I will not wait for a time which, after all, may
never arrive, to proclaim the truth that I see. I will do it now."6

A Conclusive Proof of Integrity.

This, of course, is all very well, Some, however — not
without knowledge of the characteristics of the British
temperament — may feel inclined to shake their heads
at such a declaration. They know that in the altogether
abnormal atmosphere which exists in war-time, when
public feelings are stirred to their depths and public
passions are running mountains high, when nerves are
racked and tense to breaking-point, when souls are torn
and rendered desolate, when minds are reeling between
anxiety for loved ones and a frenzied hate, born of fear,
of the enemy, when the voice of reason is all but silent,
when knowledge is censored and the wildest legends pass
as the current coin of belief, when for the vast majority
but to consider for a moment is to be " full of sorrow
and leaden-ey'd despairs," and men and women turn
away from thought lest they should lose their reason,
criticism of what is believed to be the national cause
cannot in its methods be too conciliatory, and a diplomatic
care not to irritate prejudices can hardly be carried to

6 It might be argued in reply, and with some justice, that in war-time
a certain economy in truth is as necessary as economy in other matters.
Truth, like many essential articles, may have to be restricted when the
State is at war. Those who do not like these restrictions must first do
away with war itself.

AN ENQUIRY INTO "ORIGINS" 237

too extreme a length. And many of Morel's warmest
friends and admirers felt that in adopting the particular
methods he did he was raising against himself an
unyielding wall of prejudice and passion and incurring a
storm of unpopularity the extreme violence of which he
might perhaps have mitigated had he taken a more
discreet and diplomatic course.

This criticism of some of Morel's methods during the
war is one which can be honestly made, and he himself,
although perhaps not agreeing with it, would be the first
to admit that reasonable grounds exist for such a judgment.
But at least this can be said, that the very methods adopted
by Morel throughout the war prove more convincingly
than any protestations as to his motives which he himself
might have made the absolute honesty, fearless sincerity
and rigid integrity of the man. If he has a fault as a
controversialist it is in the very rigour of this integrity.

Morel is certainly rigid, in his views as in his contro-
versial methods. He is not a pliable man. He is a man
of stubborn and rooted convictions, and once he has
persuaded himself of the Tightness of certain views it is
almost impossible to induce him to modify them. And
for this reason, because his convictions mean so much
to him, and because he holds them so strongly, he is apt
to take too little account of the weaknesses of others
and to be impatient and even intolerant of opposition.
Ignorance he can neither suffer nor understand. His
own views have been formed as the result of deep reading
and patient research, and he is able to bring such an array
of facts to support his contentions that it it not unnatural
that he should consider them to be unassailable. He
is peculiarly blind to the fact that other people may
not be so well informed as he is himself. This leads
him on occasion to attribute wrong motives to
opponents who are merely misinformed. And perhaps

238 THE FIGHT AGAINST WAR

he is sometimes apt to forget, in his ardent search for
reality, that truth has many facets and that Pilate's
question has never yet been answered. As has been
indicated, these characteristics are reflected in his contro-
versial style. It is a rhetorical style, extremely forcible,
betraying evidence of wide information — with every
statement well documented — and sometimes rising to
heights of noble passion, but it would be absurd to say
that it is characterized by undue suavity. His smashing
argumentative hammer-blows often seem rather to stun
than to persuade. 7 These are undoubted faults. They
have possibly hampered Morel in his work and lost him
the support of many who, with a little persuasion, might
have been of help to him. All this can be admitted. But
it is certain beyond all question that " no tool of the
Kaiser," no advocate " in German pay " (such were
some of the ridiculous charges made against him), would
ever have taken the line he did. A genuine agent of
Germany would have concealed his intentions in violent
protestations of patriotism, and have endeavoured, under
that cover, to carry out in secret such work as would
be helpful to German Governmental policy.8 Not so
Morel. " You think you are living in a palace of truth,"
he proclaimed to a public convinced of the absolute
righteousness of the case presented to them by the poli-
ticians and the Press. " You are not ; you and the people
of Germany also, and the peoples of all the countries
concerned, are imprisoned in a dungeon of lies, and the
truth is kept from you all. It shall be my task to show
you the truth as I have been able to discover it, however

7 This does not apply, curiously enough, to his writings on Africa
either before or since 1914. When he touches upon Africa, and par-
ticularly when he is dealing with questions of native rights and on trade
in the tropics, his style becomes singularly persuasive and convincing.

8 The Bolo Case was^an example of this.

AN ENQUIRY INTO "ORIGINS" 239

unpalatable and however surprising it may be." This
he did his best to do, and in the end paid the penalty
which is exacted from all who appear to claim — however
modest they actually may be — that they are wiser than
their fellows.

Unfair Attacks.

But when all is said and done, when every doubt as
to the wisdom of some of Morel's controversial methods
has been expressed, when the last " candid friend " has
fired off his last unpleasant criticism, the fact still remains
that the torrent of calumny and abuse with which Morel
was deluged by the Press during four and a half years
passed far beyond the bounds even of that most elastic
excuse " there's a war on," and submerged him for a
time in a frothing and bitter sea of unpopularity which
neither his methods nor his spoken or written opinions
in the very least deserved. Almost from the beginning
of the war people's minds were poisoned against him
by articles in widely circulated journals in which the
usual methods of misrepresentation — garbled extracts
from his writings, extracts given without their context
and what appeared to be deliberate misrenderings of his
opinions — were of course employed. Charges made against
him in one journal would be repeated in half a hundred
others, the charges growing (after the fashion of legends)
with each repetition, and whilst the journal in which
the charge first appeared might perhaps consent to insert
Morel's reply or denial (and this was by no means the
usual practice), such reply or denial would not be reprinted
by the other forty-nine. The result was that whilst
Morel might refute some allegation in one place, it was
certain to spring up in another, and by the time he had
followed it there, behold ! it had passed into current
history and had become an article of popular belief.

240 THE FIGHT AGAINST WAR

One or two instances will be sufficient to show the sort
of thing that happened.

One fine day a certain leading London newspaper
which, on the whole, is fairly and honestly conducted,
propounded the theory that Germany had desired to
promote ill-will between Britain and Belgium, and therefore
that Morel had been the dupe of the German Government
in the matter of the Congo. This was taken up by other
journals. From a dupe Morel became a conscious tool
of Germany ; then the person who had painted an exagger-
ated picture of Congo misrule, and finally doubts were
expressed as to whether the " Congo atrocities " had
ever taken place at all. Most of them, if not all, were
probably invented by Morel !

Another allegation related to Morel's book on Morocco.
The circumstances in which this book was written will
be remembered. 9 The menace of coming war over-
shadowed the Continent. The Morocco embroglio had
shown the world the danger. Morel wrote his book
in a desperate attempt to avert the conflict. Although
severe on Anglo-French diplomacy, the book was judged
fairly at the time, even by those who disagreed with its
conclusions. Several years later, when war had actually
broken out, some one invented the phrase that Morel
tried " to secure Morocco for Germany," and this was
believed by thousands.

The Anglo-German Friendship Society.

A third accusation — and one frequently repeated—
was that Morel had founded the Anglo-German (after-
wards the British-German) Friendship Society. The
facts relating to this accusation and its origin are worth
chronicling as a sample of the kind of attack to which
Morel was subjected.

9 See Chapter XVI.

AN ENQUIRY INTO " ORIGINS " 241

On July 30, 1915, Sir George Makgill, secretary of the
An ti- German Union, writing in the Morning Post, said : —

" I am informed that while Councillor Kuhlmann was at the
German Embassy in London one of his associates named Schubert
used to go about enlisting members and collecting subscriptions
for Mr. Morel's Anglo-German Friendship Society.

" From this it would appear that Mr. Morel was working with
the sanction and approval of the German Embassy. We know
now that Germany was then feverishly preparing for war, and we
are justified in concluding that Mr. Morel's labours were, wittingly
or not, part of that preparation." I0

Such was the allegation. Now for the facts.

The chief promoters of the Anglo-German Friendship
Society were Sir Frank Lascelles, for many years British
ambassador at Berlin, chairman ; Lord Avebury, presi-
dent ; and the Duke of Argyll, vice-president. Its
vice-presidents included the Archbishop of Canterbury,
the Archbishop of York, the Cardinal Archbishop of West-
minster, the Lord Mayor of London, all the Lord Mayors
of England, the Lord Provosts of Aberdeen, Glasgow,
and Dundee, the Moderator of the Scottish Churches, the
President of the Free Church Council, Lord Brassey
and Lord Lonsdale. Its General Council and Executive
Committee included a host of peers and baronets, members
of Parliament, Church dignitaries, business men, officers
of both services, civic authorities of the most important
cities in the United Kingdom, and a number of head
masters of public schools. Amongst the two hundred
distinguished names figuring on its General Council and
Executive Committee it is interesting to note those of—

Field-Marshal Lord (then Gen. Gen. Sir H. Smith-Dorien.

Sir Douglas) Haig. Gen. Sir R. Pole-Carew.

Field-Marshal Lord Grenfell. Admiral Lord Beresford.

Field-Marshal Lord Methuen. Admiral Sir Cyprian Bridge.

10 To this Morel replied, but the Morning Post refused to insert his
letter.

16

242 THE FIGHT AGAINST WAR

Admiral Sir Charles Holtham. The Duke of Sutherland.

Admiral Sir James Bruce. Lord Strathcona.

Sir Edward Carson. Lord Loreburn.

Sir Rufus Isaacs (now Lord The Marquis of Downshire.

Reading). The Earl of Aberdeen.

The Hon. Sir Eric Barrington. The Earl of Dunraven.

The Duke of Abercorn. Lord Weardale.

The Duke of Devonshire. j Lord Justice Kennedy.

and many others.

This was the Society, described by Sir George Makgill
as " Mr. Morel's," collecting subscriptions through Baron
Kuhlmann (of whom Mr. Morel was apparently the tool)
and assisting Germany in her " feverish preparations
for war " ! The extent of Morel's connection with it
is thus described by Sir Frank Lascelles :—

" 14, CHESTER SQUARE, S.W.

"March 8, 1916.
" DEAR MR. MOREL,

" In reply to your letter forwarded to me by Mr. Trevelyan,
I have no hesitation in saying that the British-German Friendship
Society was instituted without any assistance from you.11 Indeed,
it was only after it had been instituted that a resolution was passed,
on the proposal of Mr. Noel Buxton, on October 27, 1911, that you
should be asked to join the Executive Committee, and although
your name appears on the list of that Committee in the report
for the year ending April 30, 1914, I can find no record of your ever
having attended any of the meetings of the Committee.
" Yours truly,

" (Signed) FRANK C. LASCELLES."

Morel's own comments complete the story. " I was
pressed to give my name to the Society some months
after it had come into existence," he writes. " I did so
because I sympathized with its objects. But its methods
seemed to me impracticable. Banquets and amiable
speeches could not achieve the results aimed at by the
Society. So long as the nettle was not grasped, such

« The inaugural meeting of the Society was held at the Mansion House,
Sir Vezey Strong, Lord Mayor of London, in the chair, on May 15, 1911.

AN ENQUIRY INTO " ORIGINS " 248

improvement in Anglo-German relations as these well-
meant efforts on both sides of the North Sea aimed at
could only be of a surface kind. The whole situation
was vitiated by the obscurity which shrouded our relations
with France, and therefore, contingently with Tsardom.
. . . Unless Parliament . . . insisted upon ascertaining
whether our commitments to France . . . still survived,
... no permanent improvement in our relations with
Germany was possible, in my view. . . . But the members
of the Society who discussed the position with me were
disinclined to come to close quarters with what to me
was the vital issue if war were to be avoided. . . . Knowing
this to be their attitude, and desiring to avoid friction,
I kept away from the Committee meetings : so that,
apart from giving my name, / played absolutely no part
in the Society's labours whatever"

So much for the allegation that Morel had founded
a society which he did not join for some months after
its foundation, whose meetings he had never attended,
and for whose methods he had displayed little or no
enthusiasm. One of the most interesting books which
could ever be written would be one upon Truth in War-
time.

CHAPTER XXI
TRUTH AND THE WAR

Letter to the Birkenhead Liberal Association — Condemnation of " Prus
sianism " — Truth and the War — Morel's views on secret diplomacy —
On free trade and international co-operation — On the open door and
the future of the tropics — " Internationalization of commercial activi-
ties " — Treatment of native races — Neutralization of Africa — An
appeal for the future — Reception of the book.

THE charge of u pro- Germanism " which has been levelled
at Morel can be sufficiently disposed of by an extract
from one of his very first contributions to the literature
of the war. the letter which he wrote to the Executive
of the Birkenhead Liberal Association, published in
the Birkenhead papers on October 14, 1914, and after-
wards reproduced as a pamphlet under the title of The
Outbreak of War.*

" I would wish to preface my remarks, . . . " he said, " by saying
that I detest as heartily as any one can do the odious and immoral
doctrines preached by the politico-militarist school of Prussia
and inculcated by the philosophy of Nietzsche and Treitschke . . . ;
that I condemn as vigorously as any one can do the blundering
brutality of German diplomatic methods ; that I abhor as intensely
as any one can do the violation of Belgian territory and the ruthless
treatment meted out to the Belgian population and to certain
Belgian towns by the German armies ; . . . and I am wholly in accord
with the view that future conditions of peace should include heavy
compensation to Belgium for the material damage inflicted upon
her and for the wrongs she has suffered."

1 It afterwards formed the first chapter of Truth and the War.

244

TRUTH AND THE WAR 245

This letter, with an appendix,2 went on to explain
certain of its author's views on the origins of the war,
and in particular Morel's contention that our secret
obligations to France had rendered any attempt, on the
part of British statesmanship, either to avert the war
or to preserve the neutrality of Belgium, hopeless from
the first.

Speaking of his determination to help in the work of
abolishing secret diplomacy, Morel concluded his letter
with the following words : —

" I believe I arn doing a greater service to those who suffer from
its effects, and with whom I had hoped to be associated later on in
the accomplishment of that purpose, by speaking now than by
remaining silent, even at the price of forfeiting your and their good-
will. I cannot play the hypocrite among you.

44 At any rate, that is the message which seems to come to me
from those dreadful fields of senseless carnage where millions expiate
the sins, the faults, and the follies of the few."

" Truth and the War."

On October 8, 1914, Morel began to contribute a series
of articles to the Labour Leader which, continued at
intervals during the following year, were in July 1916
republished in book form, with a great deal of additional
matter, under the title of Truth and the War.

We do not propose to discuss this book at any length
here. Not only would such an attempt involve an elabo-
rate description of numerous controversial matters which
are still capable of arousing the most passionate feelings
and which are by no means yet decided, but the general
nature of the work, and the line of argument pursued
by its author, will be gathered from previous chapters
of this book.

Remembering, however, how in the years preceding
the war Morel stood for the principles of Free Trade, Open

2 Afterwards chapter ii. of Truth and the War.

246 THE FIGHT AGAINST WAR

Diplomacy and International Co-operation as the factors
which made for the peace and progress of the world,
and how he opposed the contrary policy of Tariffs, Secret
Diplomacy, National Self-sufficiency and Imperialism,
it will be interesting to quote some of his views on these
subjects, as expressed in this book, and to note the con-
sistency of his attitude towards them throughout the
whole of his public life.

On Secret Diplomacy.

" The virtual withdrawal of foreign affairs from national debate
. . . cannot continue in a community such as ours without the gravest
danger to the British Commonwealth. A democracy upon whose
shoulders reposes . . . the burden of sustaining the greatest Empire
the world has ever known cannot be kept in perpetual ignorance
of its Government's . . . foreign policy. . . . The war has been
the inevitable outcome of a universal system ; . . . one of the
most potential factors in that system is a statecraft which, in
ail lands, in this land as in others, carries on its evolutions behind
the people's backs and pursues ends remote from the ' things that
really matter ' to the lives of the people." — July 1915.

" A secret and autocratic diplomacy stands between the peoples
and the mutual comprehension of each other's needs. It is the
greatest obstacle to the emancipation of the peoples from the shackles
of militarism and war. . . . The British people have led the way
in many of the reforms which have powerfully contributed to
enlarge the boundaries of human freedom. If they have the will
they can lead the world in the greatest of all reforms which lies
open to human endeavour to-day." — May 1915.

On Free Trade and International Co-operation.

" The essential problems . . . which confronted the nations in
their international relationships before the war will confront them
at the settlement, and after the settlement. The war will not solve
them. ... A new mechanism must be created. . . . The starting
point . . . must be a firm grasp of the first principle in the life of
the modern State, viz. the common interests which united the
people of each belligerent state to its neighbours. When that
principle is clearly apprehended war is seen in its true perspective
— an outrage perpetrated upon the community by a restricted
section thereof. . . . Commercial intercourse ... is at once the

TRUTH AND THE WAR 247

most visible test of those common interests . . . and the most powerful
medium to heal the wounds and bitterness engendered by war."
—October 1915.

44 A 4 trade war ' is, intrinsically, as great an outrage upon the
peoples as a war of armaments and a war of men, of which latter
it is, indeed, often the forerunner and contributor. ... It seeks to
interfere violently with the first principle of international relation-
ship, the common interest between peoples. The influences which
would inspire this new form of warfare upon humanity . . . are
the most dangerous enemies of the peoples. . . . The exclusion of
sixty-five millions of people from active commercial intercourse
with their neighbours means a penalization, not of them alone,
but of their neighbours too." — October 1915.

44 Every restriction placed upon the free circulation of produce
and manufactures, even in normal times, is really an invasion of
the rights of mankind in the interests of private individuals con-
nected with some particular branch of production or manufacture.
The interest of the overwhelming mass of peoples in the freedom of
commercial intercourse is common and universal. It holds good
in the case of the relationship between civilized (so-called) peoples
and between uncivilized (so called)." — October 1915.

44 Communities do not buy from other communities for love,
but because they desire the goods those other communities produce.
This element in international intercourse must survive the war as
it has survived other wars, and must render nugatory any artificial
efforts to restrain its influence." — November 1915.

44 German trade competition is not in itself an evil, because the
greater the purchasing powers of the German people, the greater
the volume of business our people can transact with them. The
mass of the people in both countries are partners in one another's
prosperity and in one another's misfortunes. When German com-
petition hits particular British manufacturers, the remedy is to be
sought, not in the elimination of the competitor, but in an increase
in efficiency ; in maintaining a higher and more universal standard
of technical knowledge, in perfecting educationary systems, in
revising methods, in cultivating foreign markets with greater
assiduity, in creating machinery for the co-ordination and classifi-
cation of effort, in converting consular functions into intelligence
bureaux." — November 1915.

44 What is the irritant we observe everywhere at work poisoning
the relationship between nations ? The Tariff. . . . The closer
the intercommunication between the peoples, the greater the
facilities for the exchange of commodities, the nearer the peoples

248 THE FIGHT AGAINST WAR

are drawn to one another by mutual needs. How singular is it
to reflect that while the operation of natural forces tends more and
more to the abolition of frontiers as obstacles to human intercourse
and to a fusing and commingling of human interests, a restricted
section of every community is permitted by the Governments
to interpose artificial barriers thereto, and how grimly ironic that the
very influences which ought to make for increasingly harmonious
relations become charged, owing to these artificial barriers, with
matter making for bitterness, jealousy and discord." — December
1915.

" Unhampered commercial intercourse, the right of all peoples
to exchange their produce and their merchandise on a basis of
mutual equality — this still remains the greatest of all reforms to
be accomplished in the relationship of states." — December 1915.

The Open Door and the Future of the Tropics.

With his immense knowledge of tropical Africa, Morel's
views as to the future treatment of the tropical and
sub-tropical dependencies of the Powers are of special
interest.

" An arrangement," he says, " for the internationalization of
commercial activity in the extra-European dependencies of the
. . . Powers and for the neutralization of the dependencies them-
selves would remove three-fifths, possibly four-fifths, of the cause
of potential conflicts between states. . . . And if the European
Governments could be induced to go thus far, it would be compara-
tively easy to extend the principle to China, Persia, and other parts
of Asia and Africa. ... If agreement were possible in regard to the
dependencies, there could be agreement to refrain from pursuing
exclusive commercial or political advantages (which are usually
a cloak to cover the former) in independent Asiatic and African
territories. There is nothing Utopian or visionary in these sugges-
tions. . . . Their execution would involve no domination of com-
mercial activity and business enterprise on the part of the nationals
of any European state. But all would compete on equal terms.
Acumen, applicability to local conditions, up-to-date methods,
hard work — these would be the criterions of success." — January
1916.

Morel made it clear that by the expression " inter-
nationalization of commercial activities " in the Depen-

TRUTH AND THE WAR 249

dencies of the Powers he meant that " the nationals of all
European states shall compete on an equal footing in
the colonial dependencies of each, whether in commerce,
industry, banking, mining, shipping, or any other form of
legitimate enterprise."

44 1 mean," he said, " that a Frenchman, an Italian, a Russian,
a Dutchman, a German, a Belgian, an Englishman shall carry on
his business on equal terms in a French, British, German, Italian,
Russian, Dutch, or Belgian dependency as the case may be. I
mean that representatives of all nationalities that care to do so
shall have equal rights of tendering for the construction of public
works, and a share, if they desire it, in enterprises necessitating large
capital outlay in the dependencies of the various Powers." 3

He did not mean, of course, that the local administration
should not impose taxes on European enterprises for
revenue purposes, but that such taxes " should be imposed
without differentiation." And he did not suggest that
the administration itself should be internationalized,

44 although the creation of International Boards for the discussion
and adjustment of local difficulties, upon which commercial re-
presentatives of the natives interested would sit, might suggest
itself as a feasible development in course of time."

Treatment of Native Races.

This subject, he pointed out, had another side to it,
the treatment of the native races.

44 If economic rivalry between the colonizing Powers in the un-
developed or partly developed areas of the world's surface could
be done away with, the rights and the wrongs of the native races
would receive closer and more sympathetic consideration by the
Governments."

At present the native races were callously sacrificed
to rivalries between the Governments, and this affected

3 Truth and the War, p. 262.

250 THE FIGHT AGAINST WAR

in the most detrimental fashion those very economic
interests for which these Governments intrigued and
agitated. 4

" So long as the European Governments look upon these vast
African and Asiatic territories as areas for the pursuit of privileges
and monopolies, carried on behind closed doors, in favour of a
microscopic fraction of their respective nationals, so long will
these territories continue to be one of the prime causes of European
unrest and European armaments, and so long will their inhabitants
be sacrificed — and sacrificed not only immorally but stupidly,
without the slightest advantage to the European peoples, and for
the sake of purely ephemeral and exclusively selfish interests."

The Neutralization of Africa.

Morel went on to make a plea for the " neutralization "
of these dependencies, by which he meant " the removal
of these oversea areas from the operations of war."
This, he said, so far as a considerable part of Africa was
concerned, was intended by the Berlin and Brussels
Acts. 5 " The war has produced many weighty argu-
ments in favour of the neutralization of African and
Asiatic Dependencies."

" When passions have cooled down and a sense of perspective
reasserts itself, I do not suppose the British or French Governments
will feel particularly proud, or particularly easy in their minds as
to ultimate effects of their action at having imported Asiatics and
Africans to fight their battles upon the plains of Europe. Experience
will suggest to them the doubtful wisdom of consecrating that
policy.

" The neutralization of the overseas dependencies of all Powers,"
he continued, " offers a just and feasible way of escape from the
accumulation of fresh hatreds and of fresh rivalries ; and from a
position which, ultimately, must in the very nature of things become
impracticable to sustain."

Morel further developed this argument for " neutraliza-
tion " and for the " internationalization of commercial

4 See Chapters IV, V, and XIII. 5 See Chapter VI.

TRUTH AND THE WAR 251

activities" — as far as it concerned Africa — in his book
Africa and the Peace of Europe, which appeared in the
following year (1917) and which has already been dis-
cussed.6 Both in this latter book and in Truth and the
War Morel argued strongly against the proposal to exclude
Germany altogether from the possession of African soil
after the war.

An Appeal for the Future.

In the final chapter of Truth and the War Morel, in
a fine passage, which foreshadowed in many respects
the great utterances of President Wilson two years later,
pointed out the path which he would have the people
follow.

" The goal at the end of it," he said, " is an Internationalism
which, while asking no people to part with their institutions and
the body of tradition which have made them one ; while asking no
people to surrender one iota of their pride in the land of their birth,
in the social customs, the ideals and associations clinging about
it ... will demand of every people, in the interests of all peoples,
some sacrifice of accepted sentiment, 7 some surrender of national
vanity, some abandonment of a philosophy largely rooted in arro-
gance and largely founded upon phrases meaning very little in
themselves, but which long familiarity has invested with an
artificial significance. That Internationalism will be directed to
ensuring the interests of all States, not merely the most powerful
in size, in the number of their inhabitants, and in their financial
resources.

" It will be directed to the preservation of the welfare of the
peoples, not the white peoples alone, but the non-white peoples
whose evolution has not yet reached the point where they can
stand alone and confront, single-handed, the powerful economic
and financial forces of modern civilization.

" It will be creative of the spirit by which alone the motive
inspiring the relationship of nations shall respond to the real needs

6 See Chapter XIII.

7 Cf. Lord Robert Cecil (November 5, 1918) :" If it so be that a just
and lasting settlement requires from any one of the combatants self-control
and even renunciation, we must be ready to face it."

252 THE FIGHT AGAINST WAR

and aspirations of humanity, and through whose operating force
the monstrous doctrine of offensive and defensive armaments shall
be extirpated finally and for all time.

44 That Internationalization must embrace all States : none must
be excluded from its beneficial operations. It must be directed by
a Council to whose judgment in inter-State disputes all States
must give allegiance, and whose deliberations and decisions shall
be public.8

" Behind its sanction every State must feel secure. Every
State must feel that there is advantage to itself on entering it.
And for the false conception of the word ' State,' which rulers
and small privileged castes, politicians, and militarists have imposed
upon the world to its undoing, must be substituted the true
conception which shall enable the people at last to come into
their own and to be the conscious, controlling guides of their
destiny."

No admirer of " Prussianism " could have penned these
lines.

Reception of the Book.

As may be imagined, the reception given to Truth and
the War was very different from that which Morel's former
books had secured. The vast majority of journals
ignored it. Of those which noticed it the greater number
covered its author with abuse. Only a very few advanced
periodicals — mostly Labour and Socialist organs -
ventured to say a word in its praise. The book was
practically unobtainable through the ordinary bookselling
channels. Nevertheless it secured a large sale, especially
amongst members of the Labour Party. In three months
ten thousand copies were sold ; a second edition of five
thousand was speedily called for, and then in the

8 Cf. President Wilson at Mount Vernon (July 4, 1918): " The estab-
lishment of an organization of peace which shall make it certain that
the combined power of the free nations will check every invasion of right
and serve to make peace and justice the more secure by affording a
definite tribunal of opinion to which all must submit and by which every
international readjustment that cannot be amicably agreed upon by
the peoples directly concerned shall be sanctioned."

TRUTH AND THE WAR 253

beginning of 1918 (whilst Morel was still in prison) a third
edition was issued, with a preface by Mrs. Morel. The
book bore the following inscription : —

To MY SONS
this volume is

DEDICATED

in the hope that they may help to free Humanity
from the curse of Militarism and War.

CHAPTER XXII
PENTONVILLE— AND AFTER

Public meetings — Tsardom's Part in the War — An unfortunate corre-
spondence— Prosecution of Morel — Trial at Bow Street — Bail
refused — Conduct of prosecution — The facts concerning the plea
of guilty — Six months' imprisonment ! — Colonel Wedgwood's pro-
test— Lord Courtney's opinion — Days and nights in Pentonville
— Romain Holland's tribute — Release and public tributes — Joins
the I.L.P. — Morel and the future.

DURING the whole of this period Morel was acting as
secretary of the Union of Democratic Control, attending
to the large correspondence arising from the activities
of the numerous branches and affiliated bodies of that
organization, contributing regularly to the Labour Leader
and other periodicals, editing the Union's monthly journal
— first issued in November 1916 I — and expounding his
views on the war to large and crowded meetings in Scotland,
Wales and the provinces. And here it may be mentioned
that on no occasion — with the single exception of a meeting
which was to have been addressed by him and others
at the Memorial Hall, Farringdon Street, London, on
November 29, 1915, and which was broken up by an
organized body of opponents before the speakers appeared
on the platform — not even at the time when the war-
spirit was at its highest, did Morel ever have any of his

1 At the end of 1915 Morel resigned — principally on account of his
views on the war — his editorship of the African Mailt which he had
founded twelve years previously. (See Chapter II.)

254

PENTONVILLE— AND AFTER 255

meetings seriously disturbed, or experience at them any-
thing more formidable than an occasional interruption.
Seeing that throughout these years Morel was being held
up to execration as a man working in the interests of
the Kaiser, and even as a paid agent of the German
Government, this is a somewhat remarkable fact, and as
such is worth recording.

"Tsardom's Part in the War."

As already stated, Truth and the War appeared in July
1916, and Africa and the Peace of Europe — containing, inter
alia, an attack upon the policy of the Empire Resources
Development Committee, which, suggested Morel, was
proposing to apply " to British tropical Africa . . . the
identical principles which formed the juridical basis of
the policy inaugurated by Leopold II on the Congo " 2
—in April 1917.

For some time past Morel had been urging upon his
countrymen the desirability of ascertaining whether a
satisfactory settlement of the war could not be reached by
methods of negotiation, and in August 1917 a pamphlet
of his entitled Tsardom's Part in the War, in which he
argued that the former Russian Imperial Government
was largely to blame for the outbreak, and concluded with
a vigorous appeal for a conference of the belligerents to
discuss methods of ending the slaughter, secured a large
circulation, ten thousand copies being disposed of in five
days and successive editions of ten thousand each being
rapidly called for.

The publication of this pamphlet had an unfortunate
personal sequel for Morel.

Whilst engaged in writing it he received one day a

a Africa and the Peace of Europe, p. 23. See also Chapter VIII of this
book.

256 THE FIGHT AGAINST WAR

French pamphlet entitled " Who dragged France into
the War ? " (Qui a entrame la France dans la Guerre .?),
published by the Committee for the Resumption of Inter-
national Relations (Comile pour la Reprise des Relations
Internationales] and bearing the address 33 Rue de la
Grange-aux-Belles, Paris. This pamphlet, whilst asserting
that Germany's responsibility for the war was a heavy
one, imputed the chief blame for the outbreak to the
Government of the Tsar. As this view corresponded more
or less with the opinion held by Morel, he was naturally
interested in the pamphlet, but as he knew nothing about
the Committee which had published it, he wrote to some
friends in Paris to enquire whether they could tell him
anything about its status and composition. In reply
he was referred to a lady then personally unknown to
him, Miss Ethel Sidgwick, the daughter of a well-known
Cambridge scholar and a connection by marriage of Mr.
Arthur Balfour, the Foreign Secretary. This lady, he
was told, frequently travelled between London and Paris
and was in touch with the French Labour world. He
wrote to her, and she replied as follows : —

"DEAK MR. MOREL, 14, 1917.

" I have just returned and received your enquiry about
the Comite pour la Reprise des Relations Internationales. I
brought over the brochure among things, but I have no direct
information about the Society. I have written at once, however,
to the Secretary of the Ligue pour une Societe des Nations and of
the ' Societe Documentaire ' (M. Morabot's) at the Sorbonne, since
the pamphlet was circulated at the meetings of the latter Society.
You know, of course, that the 4 Societe Documentaire sur les Origines
de la Guerre ' is the title which protects an influential Society working
on parallel lines with the U.D.C. They are bound to have informa-
tion on any point as to which the U.D.C. is curious. I believe
you have met my sister, so I venture to address you personally.
My intimate friends, Romain Rolland and his sister, have a pro-
found admiration for your books and international work, so that
I constantly hear your name in France."

PENTONVILLE— AND AFTER 257

To this letter Morel, who was himself a great admirer of
Holland and his famous works Jean Christophe and Above
the Battle, replied as follows, enclosing with his letter an
autograph copy of his book Africa and the Peace of

Europe 3 : —

"August 13, 1917.
" DEAR Miss SIDGWICK,

" Many thanks for your kind letter. I got to-day from
Paris the printed circular of the Comite, so that is all right. Yes,
we are in touch with the Societe Documentaire, though whether
our publications ever reach them I do not know. Do you know,
what you told me about Remain Holland interests me so much.
He is a noble soul. Do you know which book he refers to — Ten
Years, etc., or Truth and the War ? I sent him both, and wondered
if he ever got them. Does he get things which are sent to him ?
Do you know of any sure means of getting things over to him ?
In case you do, I send you under separate cover a copy of my last
book, and should be grateful if you could forward it to him. I
also send you herewith our last publication.
" With many thanks,

" Yours sincerely,

" E. D. MOREL.

" PS. — I should be very glad to know if our French friends get
our stuff."

It is quite clear that in this letter Morel definitely
asked his correspondent to send a copy of his book Africa
and the Peace Settlement to M. Romain Holland, which
request, M. Holland being in Switzerland, was an offence
under the Defence of the Realm Act. Morel, however, has

3 It must be noted, in view of the subsequent proceedings, that it
was not an offence at that time to transmit printed matter, whether
by post or otherwise, to France or any other allied country. The
authorities, of course, had the right to stop in the post any matter which
they thought ought not to be sent, but it was not an offence for an
individual to send that matter through the post or to attempt to get it
through — even to " smuggle it" through — by hand. But on August 8th —
five days before Morel's letter — it was made an offence to incite any
person to transmit any such matter to any neutral or enemy country.
M. Romain Holland, although a French citizen, was, as it subsequently
appeared, then living in Switzerland (i.e. a neutral country), but this,
Morel states, he did not know on August 13th.

17

258 THE FIGHT AGAINST WAR

stated that he had no idea that M. Holland was in Switzer-
land. " It never occurred to me," he said, " to suppose
that Holland was anywhere but in France "4 If he had
been in France no offence would have been committed.
Morel's letter brought the following reply : —

" August 17, 1917.
" DEAR MR. MOREL,

" Many thanks for your letter and literature. Alas ! it is
only too probable that none of your books or U.D.C. pamphlets
have reached M. Holland in Switzerland. At least I have never
heard of his receiving one, and I hear most of his news through his
sister. I will ask for definite information, though, since you give
the details. She and I manage to exchange news, and she is with
him at the moment at Hotel Baron, Ville Neuve, Vaud. The only
sure method is to carry things, and in this both she and I have done
all we could. Truth and the War and Mr. Russell's reconstruction
book both came to me safely in Paris, and I sent them on in her
hands to Switzerland at Easter. This is the period and the book
to which my letter refers. He cannot read English at all easily
without his sister's help, and depends upon her for the interpreta-
tion of anything difficult, which is sad for him, as he is especially
anxious to keep track of the work of the U.D.C., I.L.P., etc. Ten
Years I myself tried to get hold of in Paris in vain. I suppose
it was stopped. When I cross in October I will carry your book
on Africa and anything else to interest the French fraternity
that I can find. The U.D.C. paper and pamphlets I shall attempt
to send to Switzerland at once, concealed in other journals. For
the moment I can give you, I fear, no address in Paris that will
be of any use as a halfway stage, since all these communications
are either already in Switzerland or otherwise scattered. But
the best chance is always to send the letter to Paris and get some
one there to forward it or confine it. I offer myself gladly to you
in this capacity while in residence ."5

Now if Morel had previously known that M. Holland
was living in Switzerland and, knowing this, had asked

4 Speech at Glasgow, June 22, 1918. Published under the title of
The Persecution of E. D. Morel (Reformers' Book Stall, Glasgow).

5 This letter, as subsequently transpired in the course of Morel's
trial, was opened and photographed by the authorities, reclosed and
put back into the post. (See Rex v. Morel, published by the Union of

D emocratic Control.)

PENTONVILLE— AND AFTER 259

his correspondent to forward books and pamphlets to
that country, this letter would have been a very damaging
one, and as it was it produced an exceedingly damaging
effect. But Morel had not been thinking of Switzerland
at all ; in the course of his brief correspondence with Miss
Sidgwick he had been thinking of France and of France
alone, and apparently he had not noticed that any general
acceptance of his correspondent's offer would naturally
be interpreted as indicating an obvious desire on his part
that she should act as a forwarding agent of literature
not merely to France but to Switzerland as well. For
it was to Switzerland that she especially referred.

" I did not notice this at the time," said Morel.6 " Indeed, I
paid very little attention to the letter. I was very busy, and my
correspondence was very large. Switzerland was not in my mind
at all. I forgot about the letter for several days. Then in the
clearing-up process which precedes a holiday, it came to light again.

" Now if I had bestowed upon it a modicum of ... thought . . .
I should have made it clear in my reply that I was not in the least
interested in supplying the Swiss with gratis literature, and that
the sole subject of our correspondence had been the bona fides of
a French Committee and the personal feeling entertained towards
myself of a distinguished French author. I should also have
suggested that as Holland was in Switzerland it was better not
to risk sending him my book. If I had been a prig I might have
ventured to remonstrate with my correspondent on the impropriety
of attempting to send printed matter to friends in Switzerland.

" As a matter of fact, I did none of these things. I wrote a hurried
acknowledgment, composed of exactly three sentences, accepting
and thanking my correspondent for her offer, and enclosing four
copies of my just-issued pamphlet, Tsardom's Part in the War,
in which I had given a summary of the French Committee's publica-
tion, and which I wanted that Committee to become possessed of
— using the word 4 smuggle ' in jocular allusion thereto."

The text of this letter (which, taken in conjunction
with the other letters, made Morel technically guilty,
in the opinion at least of the prosecution and of the

6 Speech at Glasgow, June 22, 1918.

260 THE FIGHT AGAINST WAR

magistrate, of " inciting " his correspondent to commit
a breach of the regulations and of " an act preparatory "
to such breach) was as follows : —

"August 21, 1917.
" DEAR Miss SIDGWICK,

" Many thanks for yours. Perhaps you can smuggle
some of these across. I should be only too grateful to make use
of you in October.

" Yours sincerely,

"E. D. MOREL."

Arrest and Trial.

On Friday, August 31, 1917, Morel was arrested at a
friend's house near Eastbourne and charged at Bow Street

" that in violation of the Defence of the Realm Act he did un-
lawfully solicit and incite Ethel Sidgwick to commit an act prohibited
by the Defence of the Realm Regulations, to wit, to unlawfully and
wilfully, without permit from the Admiralty or Army Council, con-
vey and transmit from the United Kingdom to a neutral country
(Switzerland) a pamphlet, contrary to the said regulations."

He was refused bail by the magistrate (Mr. E. W.
Garrett), and was conveyed in the prison van — the un-
speakable " Black Maria " — to Brixton gaol. He was
brought up again the next day, when the following
additional charge was preferred against him :—

" That he did, on August 21, 1917, in the Metropolitan Police
District unlawfully do an act preparatory to the commission of an
act contrary to or prohibited by the Defence of the Realm Regula-
tions (Consolidated), to wit, an act preparatory to the transmission
and exportation otherwise than through the post and to the con-
veyance from the United Kingdom to a neutral country in Europe
of printed matter without a permit issued by or under the authority
of the Admiralty or Army Council, contrary to Regulation 24 and
Regulation 48 of the said Regulations."

After hearing the evidence offered by the prosecution,
the magistrate again curtly refused bail, and Morel spent
Saturday, Sunday and Monday in prison without legal

PENTONVILLE— AND AFTER 261

assistance, the solicitor retained for his defence, being
placed in the interval " in the position of either retiring
from the case or running the risk of sacrificing considerable
and legitimate business interests," 7 having adopted the
former course. This left Morel in the unfortunate position
of only being able to see his counsel, for the first and
last time, for a few minutes before the final proceedings
opened on the Tuesday.

44 To this," said Morel,8 " I attribute the fact that he entered
a plea of guilty on my behalf. I was astounded, but perfectly
helpless, when I heard my counsel open his defence with a
plea of guilty. In saying this I make no imputation against my
counsel or any one else. It may partly have been due to my
own failure to appreciate the niceties of the legal procedure in-
volved, or it may have been due to my counsel assuming that in
authorizing him, as I willingly did — to give an undertaking that
I would not commit the offence with which I was charged with
having committed, I was in a technical sense authorizing him
to plead guilty. ... I am quite sure that he acted in what he
considered my best interests, and thought himself entitled to act
as he did. . . . But I repeat that it was not my plea. And if it
had been put to me that in giving a undertaking that I would
not commit an offence which I had not in any conscious sense
committed at all, I was thereby necessitating a plea of guilty,
nothing would have induced me to give it."

What this really amounted to was that from beginning
to end Morel consistently contended that at no time had
he intended any breach of the law. And this was
confirmed by the speech his counsel made in entering a
plea of guilty.

44 He (Morel)," said counsel, 44asks me to say, now that the matter
has been brought to his attention, that it was not his intention to
commit any such breach of the law, knowing it to be a breach of
the law ; and he is prepared to give an undertaking that not only
will he not commit any such breach of the law, but that he will

7 Speech at Glasgow, June 22, 1918. "I do not blame him in the
east for retiring," added Morel. * Ibid.

262 THE FIGHT AGAINST WAR

use any endeavour he can to see that no such breach of the law
is committed under his control, and that he will not personally
commit or be responsible, or assist in any way anybody else to
commit, any such breach of the law in the future. . . ."

Counsel then referred to Morel's past work and services,
and concluded : —

" Having regard to his distinguished record in the cause of
humanity, and the obvious sincerity with which he holds his cause,
and having regard to the undertaking which he offers through me . . .
I ask you to take the view that this is a very much less serious
matter than it might have appeared to you at first sight.'*

Six Months' Imprisonment.

The appeal fell on deaf ears ; the magistrate, convicting
on both charges, sentenced Morel to a term of six months'
imprisonment in the second division ; and the " criminal "
was taken off as a common felon to Pentonville " in the
company," as he said, " of housebreakers, receivers of
stolen goods, forgers and so on. The occupant of the
cell on my right was a thief, on my left a man who had
raped a child of tender years." 9

" Before the story of his imprisonment," wrote Sir Daniel Steven-
son, ex-Lord Provost of Glasgow, " I stated as chairman of the
meeting ... at which Mr. Morel was presented with an album
containing an illuminated address and the signatures of sympathizers,
that I did not think that in all the annals of our criminal juris-
prudence there was any record of such a mean thing as the con-
demning of Mr. Morel to six months' ' imprisonment as a common
felon ' for sending pamphlets to a distinguished Frenchmen in
Switzerland who could have got these without danger to Mr. Morel
by making a journey of ten miles to the French frontier. Even
admitting that an offence was committed, it was obviously purely
technical, and not such as to justify the vindictive sentence pro-
nounced."

The trial and sentence of Morel evoked the greatest
indignation amongst his friends, colleagues and admirers

9 Speech at Glasgow.

PENTONVILLE— AND AFTER 263

— including many who did not at all approve of his views
on the war — and was the subject of a passionate protest
in the House of Commons by Colonel Wedgwood, D.S.O.,
M.P., on October 21, 1917.

"It is a real national disgrace that we have put Mr. Morel into
prison," thundered the member of Newcastle-under-Lyme. . . . "That
man, without any means, without any support, gradually worked
up this country and Belgium and the United States of America
into making a sufficient protest against the inhuman treatment
of the natives of the Congo, so that in the end, after twelve years
of loyalty, of devoted and unselfish work for the blacks in the Congo
State, he finally broke the rule of King Leopold. . . .

44 It was one of the most marvellous occurrences, I think, of the
twentieth century. I do not remember any similar case in our
history of one man creating such an enormous change in the govern-
ment of a great number of people in this world, a man with no
advantages whatever. . . .

44 It was in 1911 that all the dignitaries of the churches and the
members of every political party . . . came together ... to thank
E. D. Morel for his wonderful services to humanity. Where are
those friends now ? E. D. Morel has become unpopular. But
because he is unpopular I think it would be a disgrace to our country
for all those who supported him when he was triumphant to
forget, like the magistrate who sent him to prison, or Bodkin
who prosecuted him, the debt of gratitude which the world owes
to this man. Morel was the last person who should be treated
with the indignity that has been thrown upon him by the British
Government. ..."

After referring to the methods pursued by the prose-
cutor in the case, the opening of Morel's letters and so on,
Colonel Wedgwood concluded : —

*4 Of all the cases supported by the most monstrous conduct,
I think this is undoubtedly pre-eminent in British history. That
we should punish as a crime an act of that sort supported by such
evidence, and with six months' imprisonment, that we should punish
so a man to whom we owe the greatest debt of gratitude, is a blot
upon English traditions. ... I am proud of my country and her
traditions and history, but the imprisonment of E. D. Morel will
go down to succeeding generations as one of the most serious blots
on the history of this country."

264 THE FIGHT AGAINST WAR

In a letter to Mrs. Morel, written shortly after the
trial, the late Lord Courtney of Penwith, a man not given
to hasty judgments, remarked : —

" The motive of the trial was the suppression of opinion, and
it became evident that the prosecution not only wanted to suppress
opinion, but to lock up in silence any one who could form an opinion
they would like to suppress." I0

Amongst the very large number of letters written at
this time to Morel or his wife two others may be mentioned.

The first was from a brilliant young soldier, the late
Lieut.-Col. Maitland Hardyman, D.S.O., M.C., himself a
member of the Union of Democratic Control, who, after
rising in two years from the rank of subaltern to the
command of a battalion, and being wounded on several
occasions, was subsequently killed in action.

Writing from France on hearing the news of Morel's
arrest, Maitland Hardyman (he was then a Major) said : —

" STH SOMERSET LIGHT INFANTRY, B.E.F.

" 3.8.17.

" DEAR MR. MOREL,

" Just a line to tell you how anxiously I and many of my
friends are awaiting results. I think most of us feel a double
pang, first for the Union, second for you personally. As you know,
if I can help you, or it, at any time, I am only too delighted. Don't
let things worry you, and keep fit and unembittered. If you get
a compulsory rest now, you should be all the more redoubtable a

warrior later. But let us hope

" MAITLAND HARDYMAN."

10 A few days after the trial the author of this book was asked to
call at the War Office. He did so, and whilst there was told by a high
official of the Intelligence Department that the real reason for the
prosecution was that Morel was trying to bring about strikes which
would deprive the Army of its supply of munitions, and that, although
the authorities possessed evidence to that effect, this evidence was not
sufficient to ensure a conviction in a Court of Law. To any one who
possesses the slightest knowledge of the world of Labour the sheer
Absurdity of this suggestion will be at once apparent.

PENTONVILLE— AND AFTER 265

The second (to Mrs. Morel) was from a Frenchwoman,
and ran as follows : —

" Though I am quite unknown to you, will you allow me to
express the sympathy I feel towards you in this time of great trial ?
My old father and mother are both in invaded France. My five
brothers are fighting in the French trenches and your husband is
in gaol for having tried to save them."

Some of the most eminent men and women in the
country, including statesmen and authors whose names
are honoured throughout the world, endeavoured to
induce the Home Office to take certain steps to lighten
Morel's lot whilst in Pentonville, and a few slight privileges
— such as the permission to receive certain books sent
into the prison for his use ll — were thus secured, but
that was all. Morel lost weight whilst in prison and
felt the cold intensely ; that, and the insufficiency of food
and the confinement (he is essentially an open-air man),
certainly told upon him, but it is to be hoped that he
suffered no permanent injury to his health. Perhaps
his imprisonment may have at least the one good result
of enrolling Morel as a member of that growing band of
Prison Reformers who are determined to alter drastically
that penal system which has so long been a standing
disgrace to British civilization.

Romain Holland's Tribute.

The following letter from M. Romain Rolland, addressed
to the Editor of the Revue Mensuelle of Geneva, is perhaps

11 Amongst the books read by Morel whilst in Pentonville were : —
Morley's Burke, his Cobden and his Recollections ; the Life of Sir Charles
Dilke ; Lecky's History of the Rise of Rationalism in Europe and his
History of England in the Eighteenth Century ; Sir G. O. Trevelyan's
War of Independence ; Carlyle's French Revolution ; Drummond's Natural
Law in the Spiritual World ; Lux Mundi ; the Life of H. T. Hodgkin ;
several books on Russia kindly sent by Mr. H. W. Nevinson, and a
number of historical works — about sixty volumes altogether.

266 THE FIGHT AGAINST WAR

the most fitting comment that can be made upon what
has been described as " the most miserable political
prosecution attempted in any court of law for the past
half-century."

" MY DEAR EDITOR AND FRIEND,

44 You ask me what I think of the arrest of Mr. E. D.
Morel. Personally I do not know Mr. Morel. I am told that during
the war he has sent me from time to time various publications.
I have never received any of them and I was not aware that he had
done so. But from everything that I know about him, from his
activities previous to the war, from his apostolic struggle against
the crimes of civilization in Africa, from his articles (unfortunately
too rare) reproduced or summarized in magazines, I regard him
as a man of fine courage and splendid faith. Everywhere and
at all times he has dared to serve Truth, to serve her and her alone,
without thought of danger, or of the animosity he was rousing
against himself, and, what is much more rare and much more difficult,
he has dared to serve her without heed of his sympathies, of his
friendships, or even of his country, when Truth seemed to him in
disagreement with that country's actions.

" By this attitude he proves that he is of the line of Great Believers,
of the great Christians of early days, of the great reformers of the
centuries of struggle, of the free thinkers of the heroic ages ; of all
those, in a word, who have put above and before all else their
belief in Truth under whatever form (divine or secular, but for
them always consecrated) she has appeared to them.

" I maintain that a man like Mr. E. D. Morel is a great citizen,
even when, or rather I should say especially when, he points out
to his country the errors which she seems to him to be committing.
It is those who would throw a veil over those errors who are the
faithless servants, whether they are incapable of understanding
the facts or are mere flatterers and sycophants. Every man of
courage, every man of veracity, honours his country by the mere
fact of his courage and of his veracity.

" The State which claims to represent his country may strike
him down as a State struck down Socrates, as States have struck
down so many others to whose memory later on they have raised
useless statues. But the State is not the country. It is only the
steward of the country, good or bad as the case may be, but always
only the steward and always fallible. It has the power, and it
uses it, but since man is man that power has always made shipwreck
on the rock of the soul which is free."

" ROMAIN HOLLAND."

PENTONVILLE— AND AFTER 267

The Future.

Morel was released in the spring of 1918, and, after a
short rest, resumed his duties as secretary of the Union
of Democratic Control. He was subsequently the recipient
of many letters of sympathy and condolence from men
and women of all stations in life — miners and artisans,
soldiers and sailors, statesmen grey in their country's
service and writers and thinkers of European reputation.
These letters were a source of comfort to him, assuring
him, as they did, that his term of imprisonment, so far
from diminishing, had, if possible, deepened the respect
and regard in which he was held by those whose opinions
he valued.

In March 1918 Morel became a member of the Inde-
pendent Labour Party, his decision to take this step
being announced at a great meeting held to welcome him
at Bradford. This example has since been followed by
many other former members of the Radical Party, including
his friends and colleagues Arthur Ponsonby and Charles
Trevelyan. As for the future — who can foresee it ? It
is on the knees of the Gods. The war which has devastated
Europe for four and a half years is over, and millions
have perished, but the heathen deities of Militarism and
Secret Diplomacy which exacted the sacrifices have
still to be slain. In the work of destroying these evil
powers and of building up throughout the world a fairer
and a finer civilization, those who know Morel, and who
have followed closely his career, are confident that he
will play a valiant and a distinguished part.

INDEX

Abercorn, the Duke of : 242

Aberdeen, the Earl of : 102, 111, 163,
242

Aborigines Protection Society, the :
66, 86

Academy, the : 140, 198

Action National, U : 214

Affairs of West Africa: 90 et seq.

Africa : Resources of, 40 ; native
rights in, 40 ct seq. ; native
land tenure in, 4:1 et seq. ; capi-
talistic exploitation in, 41, 249 ;
industry of natives of, 45 et seq. ;
future of, 136 et seq., 160, 349 ;
Empire Resources Development
Commission and, 151 ; the War
and, 152 ; suggested neutraliza-
tion of, 153, 250; the Open
Door and, 248. See also Con-
cessionaire System, the ; Congo,
the ; Congo Reform Association,
the ; Leopold II ; Morel, E. D.

Africa and the Peace of Europe : 151,
251, 255, 257

African Mail, the : founded by Morel,
31, 97 ; policy of, 31 ; Man-
chester Guardian on, 32 ; Morel
resigns editorship of, 254 n

Agadir Crisis, the : 185 et seq.

Albert Hall, the : Congo demonstra-
tion at, 132

Algeciras, the Act of: 183, 186

Alsace-Lorraine : 227

Angell, Norman : 206, 223

Anglo-French Convention (1898), the :
38

Anglo -German Friendship Society :
240 et seq.

Anti-German Union, the : 241

" Appeal to Parliament " : Congo
Reform Association issues, 120

" Appeal to Press " : Congo Reform
Association issues, 121

Argyll, the Duke of : 241

Armaments : Morel on, 205

Asquith, the Rt. Hon. H. H. : 132,
186, 216, 216 n, 221

Atrocities, Congo : 65 et seq., Ill ;
Casement, Report on, 100 ; King
Leopold's Commission and, 103;
Rev. J. H. Harris on, 104. See
also Leopold II ; Congo, the
Belgian; Morel, E. D.

Avebury, Lord : 241

Baden-Powell, Sir George : 66 n

Balfour, the Rt. Hon. A. J. : 96, 256

Ballay, M. : 84

Baptist Times, the : 156

Barnett, Canon : 156

Barrett, Serge : 84

Barrington, Hon. Sir Eric : 242

Bathurst, Charles: 133

Beauchamp, Earl: 19, 102, 111, 117

Bedford Modern School : Morel's
school-days at, 20

Belgium : Morel commends enter-
prise of, 26 ; support for Morel
in, 53, 84, 131 ; the War and,
221, 222 n, 230, 245. See also
Leopold II ; Congo, the Belgian ;
Congo Reform Association, the ;
Morel, E. D.

Beresford, Lord : 241

Berlin, the Conference (1884) of : 60,
61, 81, 87

270

INDEX

Birkenhead : Morel's Parliamentaiy
candidature for, 200 tt aeq.,
221, 222, 244

Birkenhead News, the : 201, 208
Birmingham, the Bishop of : 121
Blyden, Dr. : 141
Bobichon, Henri : 85
Bohn, M. : on Anglo-French Con-
vention of 1898, 53
Bonner, Mrs. Bradlaugh : 86
Borthwick, Oliver: 165
Borton : Morel's speech at, 109
Bosworth-Smith, Professor: 102
Brace, William : 133
Brailsford, H. N. : on Congo Reform

Movement, 54
Brassey, Lord : 102, 241
Brazza, Savorgnan de : 79, 80, 84
Brazza, the Comtesse de : 84 n
Bridge, Sir Cyprian: 241
British Ca#e in French Congo, the :

93 et seq.

British Government and Congo : 96
Bruce, Sir James : 242
Brussels, International Conference

(1876) of: 59
Buchanan, T. R. : 95
Bull, Sir William : 133
Bunting, Sir Percy : 31, 156
Burns, the Rt. Hon. John : 66 n, 102,

111, 222

Buxton, Lord: 66 n.
Buxton, Noel: 242
Buxton, Sir T. Fowell : 86
Byles, Sir William: 216n

Cadbury, W. R. : 102
Caillaux, Joseph M. : 190
Cameroons : Morel criticizes German

officials in, 25 ; Agadir crisis

and, 190
Campbell-Bannerman, the Rt. Hon.

Sir Henry: 121

Cannibalism in Upper Congo : 67
Canterbury, the Archbishop of : 115,

121, 122, 132, 163, 241
Capitalism : in Africa, 41 et seq.,

140, 142 et aeq. ; in Morocco,

183 et aeq.
Carson, Sir Edward : 242

Casement Report, the : 100
Cavendish, Lady Frederick : 165
Cecil, Lord Hugh : 216, 216 n
Cecil, Lord Robert : 251 n
Chailley, Joseph : 128, 129
Challaye, Felicien : 53, 128, 156, 157,

158, 213
Chamberlain, the Rt. Hon. Joseph :

on French policy, 28
Chester Chronicle, the : 201
Chirol, Sir Valentine : 31, 163
Church Congress : Morel's address

at, 150
Churchill, the Rt. Hon. Winston:

32

Civilization in Congo-land : 94
Claparede, Rend: 33 n, 130, 159
Clemenceau, G. : Morel exposes plot

to murder, 29, 128
Clifford, Dr. John: 121, 122, 164,

202

Clifford of Chudleigh, Lord : 121
Coaling Stations : Morel on, 195
Cobden, Richard: 226
Coifs, M. : 113
Comit6 pour la Reprise des Relations

Internationales : 256
Commission of Enquiry (into Congo):
Leopold II appoints, 102 ; sup-
pression of evidence of, 103 ;
Report of, 103 ; return of,
110

Commitments, Secret : with France,
183 n, 192, 193 nt 205, 210, 212,
213, 215, 216, 220, 245
Compton-Rickett, Sir Joseph : 121
Concessionaire System, the : in Africa,
51 et seq. ; in Congo Free State,
64 ; in French Congo, 82 ; Case-
ment Report and, 100 ; aban-
doned in Congo, 161 ; immense
profits of Concessionaire Com-
panies, 72

Congo, the Belgian : Morel's business
relations with, 34 ; History of
Congo Free State, 59 et seq. ;
trade statistics of, 70 et seq. ;
British Circular Note and, 96;
Casement Report and, 100 ; Leo-
pold IT's Commission of En-

INDEX

271

quiry and, 102 ; agitation for
transference to Belgian Govern-
ment of, 117, 119 et seq. ; regime
defended by Belgian Ministers,
119 ; the Treaty of Transfer and,
122 ; National Manifesto on,
127 ; Belgian Government's Re-
form Scheme and, 1 32 ; Leo-
poldian system abandoned in,
161; recognized as Belgian Colony,
162 ; future of, 160 ; Belgian
House of Representatives and,
96, 112, 117, 132; House of
Commons and, 95, 104 ; Foreign
Office and, 112, 117, 124, 125,
127 ; Sir Edward Grey and, 112,
117, 123, 125, 131, 162; Lord
Lansdowne and, 114, 123 ; Morel
on, 75, 83, 86 ; pamphlets on,
104 ; Convocation on, 121. See
also Congo Reform Association
the ; Leopold II ; Morel, E. D.

Congo, the French : M. Felicien
Challaye and, 53 ; Concessionaire
System in, 79 et seq., 82 ; dis-
putes with British traders in,
80 ; Free Trade in, 82 ; and
Moroccan question, 189, 190 ;
Morel on, 92 et seq., 129

Congo Reform Association, the : For-
mation of, 101 ; King Leopold's
Commission and, 103 ; organizes
meetings, 111 ; Belgian Govern-
ment and, 113 ; progress of, 114 ;
organizes deputation to Sir E.
Grey, 117; on proposals to trans-
fer Congo to Belgian Govern-
ment, 120 ; issues appeal to
Parliament, 120 ; public agita-
tion organized by, 120 et seq. ;
issues appeal to the Press, 122 ;
and the Treaty of Transfer,
122 et seq. ; Third Anniversary
of, 125 ; and National Manifesto,
127 ; Albert Hall Demonstration,
132 ; memorial to Mr. Asquith,
132 ; Public Testimonial to Morel,
155 et seq. ; and Recognition of
Belgian Annexation of Congo,
162 ; final meeting of, 163. See

also Congo, the Belgian ; L«o-
pold II ; Morel, E. D.

Congo Reform Movement : H. N.
Brailsford's views on, 54 ; public
support for, 94 ; discussed in
House of Commons, 95. See
also Congo Reform Association,
the ; Leopold II ; Morel, E. D.

Congo Slave State, the : 97

Constant, Baron d'Estournelles de :
213

Contemporary Review, the : 87

Convocation : on the Congo question,
121

Courtney of Penwith, Lord : 66,
202 n, 214, 264

Cousin, Albert : 84

Craig, John : 76 n

Crewe, the Marquess of : 143, 144

Cromer,the Earl of : 101, 127, 155, 167

Crossley, Sir William : 155

Curzon of Kedleston, Earl : 68

Cust, H. N. : 31

Daens, Herr: 113

Daily Chronicle, the : 25 n, 26, 27,

29, 122, 139
Daily Mail, the: 28, 116
Daily News, the : 155, 167, 177,

198, 212, 214, 215
Dalziel, Sir Henry : 133
Davis, Richard Harding : 74
Defence of the Realm Act, the : Morel

and, 257
Delagoa Bay : Morel opposed to

acquisition by Germany of, 25 n
Delcasse', M. : 180, 181, 182, 183
Denman, Lord : 102
Denton, Sir George : 31
Dernier e Heure, La: 131
Devonshire, the Duke of : 242
Dieppe : Mobilization scenes at, 218,

219

Digby, Sir Kenelm : 142, 144
Dilke, Sir Charles : tribute to Morel

by, 52 ; on treatment of African

natives, 66, 67 ; attracted by

Morel's articles in the Speaker,

15; also 31, 86, 91, 95, 96, 101,

102, 111, 115, 116, 133

272

INDEX

Diplomacy, Secret : Morel on, 174
et seq., 245, 246 ; and Moroccan
question, 180 et seq. ; and France,
210 et seq. ; and the War, 220
et seq., 231, 245

Domaine Prive, the : 64, 83

Donald, Robert : 25 n, 166, 202

Downshire, the Marquis of : 242

Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan : 132, 133,
155, 156, 159

Duchene, Alfred : 92

Dueus, Ludwig : 159

Dunn, J. Nicol : 31

Dunraven, Lord : 242

Durham, the Bishop of : 102, 121

Eastbourne : Morel's early school-
days at, 20 ; his arrest at, 260

Economist, the : 139

Egypt : and Morocco, 181

Elder Dempster & Co., [Messrs. :
Morel's clerkship at, 22 ; centre
of West African interests, 24 ;
Morel leaves employment of, 76

Emmott, Lord : 31, 95, 96, 101,
159

Empire Resources Development Com-
mittee : 151 et seq., 255

Evans, Rev. H. W. : 21

Evening News, the : 116

Evening Standard, the : 167

Faber, Capt. : 191
Fez, the French Expedition to : 185
Fitzmaurice, Lord : 68 n, 96, 104, 115
Foreign Office, the : and the Congo,
102, 103, 112, 117, 122, 125,
134, 135 ; and Agadir, 189 ; and
France, 192 et seq., 210 et seq. ;
Morel on, 174 et seq., 192 et seq.,
204

Fossarieu, M. de Lucy de : 21
Fox-Bourne, H. R. : 67, 86, 95
France : and Fashoda crisis, 28 ;
strained relations with Britain,
28, 36 ; Morel praises colonial
administrators of, 28 ; commercial
policy in West Africa of, 36 ;
Morel's visits to, 128 ; pre-war
Foreign Policy of, 209 et *eq. ;

Three Years' Military Service
Law in, 215 ; at outbreak of
war, 218 ; and Morocco, 180
et seq. ; and Russia, 210 et seq.

France, Anatole : 128, 129

Freetown, Morel at : 141

Free Trade : the Berlin Conference
(1884) and, 60; in Congo Free
State, 70 et seq. ; in the French
Congo, 82 ; in Morocco, 190 ;
and the War, 225 ; in Africa,
248 ; Morel on, 36, 50 et seq.,
82, 246, 247, 248

Gardiner, A. G. : 31

Garrett, E. W. : 260

Geneva, Morel's speech at, 130

Germany : Morel criticizes colonial
officials of, 25 ; opposes Foreign
Policy of, 25n; on "inevitability"
of war with, 176 ; on the Moroc-
can question and, 178 et seq. ;
on improving British relations
with, 192 et seq., 196 et seq., 204,
210 et seq. ; proposals to dis-
integrate, 227 ; and the War,
229 et seq.

Gibson, Rev. J. Monro : 122

Gilmour, T. L. : 165

Girouard, Sir Percy : 150

Gladstone, Rev. Stephen : 102

Gladstone, W. G. C. : 202

Glave, E. J. : 67

Gold Coast Protectorate, the : 142,
148

Gorst, Sir John : 96

Gosselin, Sir Martin : 87

Great Britain and the Congo : 133
et seq., 175

Green, Mrs. J. R. : 31, 86, 87, 156

Grenfell, Lord: 241

Grey of Falloden, Lord : and the
Congo, 104, 112, 115, 117, 121,
122, 123, 125, 128, 131, 162,
176; and Germany, 183 n, 186,
187, 188, 189, 193 n, 206; and
France, 183 n, 193 n, 210 n, 215 n,
216, 220 ; and the expedition to
Fez, 185 ; and the outbreak of
war, 220

INDEX

273

Haig, Field -Marshal Lord : 241
Hammond, J. L. : 31
Hanotaux, Gabriel : 213
Harcourt, Viscount : 142, 144, 147
Hardyman, Lt.-Col. Maitland : 264
Harris, Rev. J. H. : 103
Harris, Dr. Rendel : 121
Harrison, Frederic : 95
Harvey, A. Gordon : 214
Hawkins, Anthony Hope : 156
Hazzeldine, Capt. : 79
Henderson, Rt. Hon. Arthur : 133
Hess, Jean : 84
Hinde, Capt. : 67
Hocking, Rev. Silas : 156
Hobhouse, L. T. : 214
Hodgson, Sir Frederick : 144, 145
Holt, John: 81, 95
Holtham, Sir Charles : 242
Home, Emmeline de : 17, 19
Home, Rev. Silvester : 155, 156,

159

Horton, Dr. : 121

House of Commons : see Parliament
" How Wars are Made " : 177
Hughes, the Rt. Hon. W. M. : 225
Humanite, V : 214
Hut Tax Disturbances in Sierra

Leone : 79

Illingworth, Mr. : 200
Independent Labour Party, the : 267
International Association for the

Exploration of Africa, the : 60
International Co-operation : Morel

and, 173, 251

Janson, M. : 96, 112

Jaures, M. : 213, 214, 213

Johnston, Sir Harry: 31, 91, 111,
122, 139, 152, 165 ; on " Morel-
ism," 43

Jones, Sir Alfred : 35, 74, 77 n

Kaiser, the : at Tangier, 182 ; and

Agadir crisis, 190
Katanga Company : and Rabinek

case, 88 et seq.

Kennaway, Sir John : 102, 123
Kennedy, Lord Justice : 242

King, Joseph : 216 n

King Leopold's Rule in Africa : 105

Kinnaird, Lord : 102

Knowles, Sir James : 31

Labour Leader, the : 245, 254

Lagos : 141

Lansdowne, the Marquess of : 81,

94, 102, 112, 114, 123
Lascelles, Sir Frank: 241, 242
Leopold II, King of the Belgians :
Proposes International Confer-
ence (1876) at Brussels, 59; be-
comes President of International
Association for the Explora-
tion and Civilization of Africa,
60 ; enlists services of Sir H. M.
Stanley, 60 ; and the Berlin
Conference (1884), 60 ; becomes
Sovereign of Congo Free State,
62 ; promulgates decrees restrict-
ing rights of natives to their
lands, 62 ; levies export duties
on Congo trade, 63 ; issues
edicts of 1891 and 1892, 63;
abolishes rights of natives to
the land and its products, 63 ;
introduces Concessionaire sys-
tem into Congo, 64 ; as autocrat
of the Congo, 73 ; Richard
Harding Davis on, 74 ; inter-
viewed in New York Herald, 98 ;
power and influence of, 99 ; ap-
points Commission of Enquiry,
102 ; institutes campaign in
America, 107 ; Mark Twain on,
107; issues manifesto, 114;
death of, 136. See also Africa ;
Congo, the Belgian ; Congo Re-
form Association, the ; Morel,
E. D.

Leveque, M. : and Rabinek case, 90
Liberalism : Morel and, 202
Lidgett, Rev. J. Scott : 121, 156,

165
Liverpool, the Bishop of : 102, 114,

121

Liverpool Daily Post, the : 205, 215
Lloyd George, the Rt. Hon. D. :
188, 205, 214

18

274

INDEX

London, the Bishop of : 12
Lonsdale, Lord : 241
Lorand, M. : 84, 96, 112
Loreburn, Lord : 220 n, 242
Lyall, Sir Alfred : 86

Macdonald, J. Ramsay : 123, 206,
222

Madrid Conference, (1880) of : 180

Makgill, Sir George : 241, 242

Manchester Guardian, the : 32,
138, 205, 214, 215, 220

Mansion House, Mr. Lloyd George's
speech (1911) at the : 188, 214

Marchand Expedition : announced
by Morel, 27 ; Morel's views
on, 29

Massingham, H. W. : 30

Matin, Le : 181 n

Mayo, the Earl of : 165

McArthur, C. : 95

McKenna, the Rt. Hon. R. : 66 n

Memorial Hall Meeting, breaking up
of: 254

Methuen, Lord: 241

Meyer, Rev. F. B. : 121

Midleton, Lord : 212

Mille, Pierre: 31, 53, 84, 128,
129, 156, 157, 158

Mohammedan Chiefs' address to
Morel: 142

Monkswell, Lord: 19, 117

Morel, E. D. : Birth and parentage,
15 et seq. ; ancestral associa-
tions with Quakers, 18 ; death
of father, 19 ; school-days, 20,
21 ; love of nature, 21 ; in
business in Paris, 21 ; clerk at
Liverpool, 22 ; studies West
African subjects, 24 ; early
Press work, 25 ; criticizes
German colonial officials, 25;
opposes German Foreign Policy,
25 n ; commends Belgian enter-
prise, 26 ; an authority on
West Africa and France, 26;
thanked by the War Office,
announces Marchand expe-
dition, 27; works to improve
Franco-British relations, 28,36 ;

praises French colonial admin-
istrators, 28 ; taunted with
being " pro-French," 28 n ;
condemns French advance on
Fashoda, 29 ; exposes plot to
murder Clemenceau, 29 ; H. W.
Massingham's tribute, 30 ;
founds African Mail, 31, 97;
change of name, 32 ; exemp-
tion from French military
service, 32 ; naturalization and
marriage, 32 ; business rela-
tions with Congo, 34 ; relations
with Sir Alfred Jones, 35 ; on
French Colonial Tariff Policy,
36 ; advocates the Open Door
in West Africa, 37 ; campaign
amongst Chambers of Com-
merce, 37 ; and Anglo-French
Convention (1898), 38; cham-
pion of Native Rights in Africa,
39 et seq. ; on capitalistic
exploitation in Africa, 41 ; on
industrious character of natives,
45 et seq. ; on Concessionaire
system, 51 ; accused of being
agent of British co mmercialism,
52 ; Sir Charles Dilke's tribute,
52 ; tributes from M. Emil
Vandervelde and M. Pierre
Mille, 53 ; and from M. Felicien
Challaye, 54 ; H. N. Brailsford
on the Congo Reform Move-
ment, 54 ; Morel on the Berlin
Conference (1884), 61 ; studies
evidence of Congo adminis-
tration, 66 ; suspicions aroused,
66 ; examines trade statistics
of Congo, 68 ; on Stokes
case, 68 n ; discovers that
Congo natives were being
robbed and enslaved, 70 et seq. ;
Richard Harding Davis on,
74 n ; and the Speaker articles,
75 ; attracts notice of Sir
Charles Dilke, 75 ; leaves
Messrs. Elder Dempster & Co.,
76 ; the " dismissal " legend,
76 n ; letter from Sir Alfred
Jones, 77 n; family life at

INDEX

275

Hawarden, 78 et seq. ; first
pamphlet, 79 ; attacks Con-
cessionaire system in French
Congo, 81 et seq. ; Trading
Monopolies in West Africa, 81 ;
calls for International Confer-
ence on Africa, 83 ; thanked by
Liverpool Chamber of Com-
merce, 83 ; French and Belgian
support for, 84, 85, 113; first
public speech, 86 ; article in
Contemporary Review, 87 ; and
Rabinek case, 88 et seq. ;
Affairs of West Africa, 90 ; The
British Case in French Congo,
92 et seq. ; accused of being
French agent, 94 ; meeting at
United Services Institute, 95 ;
mentioned in House of Com-
mons, 96 ; The Congo Slave
State, 97 ; appeal to America,
98 ; difficulty of his task, 99 ;
and Casement Report, 100;
founds the Congo Reform
Association, 101 ; and King
Leopold's Congo Commission,
103 ; pamphlets on Congo
question, 104 ; King Leopold's
Rule in Africa, 105 ; visits
America, 106 ; enlists support
of Mark Twain, 107 ; received
by President Roosevelt, 108 ;
speech at Boston, 109 ; letter
from Sir F. C. Selous to, 110 ;
speech at Holborn Town Hall,

111 ; at British Association,

112 ; Red Rubber, 115 et seq. ;
on Foreign Office and Congo,
124 ; thanked by Foreign
Office, 128 ; visits France and
Switzerland, 128 ; received by
M. Clemenceau, 128 ; speaks at
Sorbonne, 129 ; at Geneva,
130 ; the Spectator on, 130 ;
visits Belgium, 131 ; the Arch-
bishop of Canterbury on, 132 ;
Great Britain and the Congo,
133 ; Sir A. Conan Doyle on,
133 ; visits Nigeria, 137 ;
special correspondent of the

Times, 138 ; Nigeria : its
Peoples and its Problems, 138 ;
thanked by British officials,
139 ; the Outlook on, 140 ;
native tributes to, 141 ; mem-
ber of West African Lands
Committee, 142 ; lectures be-
fore Royal Society of Arts,
149 ; Sir Percy Girouard on,
150 ; Public Presentation to,
155 et seq. ; final meeting of
Congo Reform Association,
163 ; on success of Congo
Campaign, 168 ; distrust of
Secret Diplomacy, 174 ; and
the shadow of impending war,

176 ; " How Wars are Made,"

177 ; Morocco in Diplomacy,
177, 178 et seq. ; criticizes
Foreign Office policy in Mo-
rocco, 189 ; on embittered,
feeling in Germany, 190 et seq. ;
on relieving the international
situation, 191 ; Parliamentary
Candidate for Birkenhead, 200
et seq. ; resigns candidature,
206, 221 ; and outbreak of war,
218 et seq. ; on Sir Edward
Grey's speech, 220 ; and Union
of Democratic Control, 206,
223 ; violent attacks on, 226,
239; unpopularity of, 229 et
seq. ; and " Origins " of the
War, 229 et seq. ; accused of
" pro -Germanism," 322 ; mo-
tives of action of, 232, 233 ;
and Anglo -German Friendship
Society, 240 et seq. ; The
Outbreak of the War, 244 ; Truth
and the War, 245 et seq. ; Africa
and the Peace of Europe, 251 ;
addresses meetings during war,
254 ; advocates Peace by
Negotiation, 255 ; Tsardom's
Part in the War, 253; corre-
spondence with Miss Sidgwick,
256 et seq. ; arrest, trial and
sentence of, 260 et seq. ; Col.
Wedgwood's protest, 263 ; Lord
Courtney's opinion of trial, 264 ;

276

INDEX

Remain Holland's tribute, 265 ;
joins Independent Labour
Party, 267; and the Future,
267
on Free Trade, 36, 50 et seq., 82,

246, 247
on Native Ownership in Land,

41, 43, 44, 140, 145 et seq.
on Foreign Office and Secret
Diplomacy, 124, 134, 135, 169,
174, 175, 189, 194, 197, 204,
210, 211, 214, 216, 246.
on Treatment of Coloured Races,

150, 249

on Future of Africa, 151, 160, 248
on Effect of War on Africa, 153
on Neutralization of Africa, 153,

250

on Empire Resources Develop-
ment Committee, 151
on War, 173
on Anglo-German Relations, 192,

196, 204, 210 et seq.
on Anglo-French Relations, 28,

36

on Naval Security, 196
on Armaments, 205
on Conscription, 215
on Origins of the War, 229 et seq.
on Internationalism, 251, 252
on Duties of a Member of Parlia-
ment, 201
on Liberalism, 202
on Social Problems, 203
Personal characteristics of : 21,
78, 115, 184, 201, 207, 209,
233 n, 235, 236, 237, 238
Work of Morel as seen by Lord
Aberdeen, 163 ; Henri Bobi-
chon, 85 ; the Comtesse de
Brazza, 84 n ; Felicien Challaye,
64, 158 ; the Archbishop of
Canterbury, 132 ; LordCromer,
157 ; Sir Valentine Chirol, 163 ;
Dr. John Clifford, 164, 202;
Lord Courtney, 264 ; Robert
Donald, 166 ; Sir Arthur Conan
Doyle, 133 ; Richard Harding
Davis, 74 n ; Sir Charles Dilke,
52; Sir Percy Girouard, 150

T. L. Gilmour, 165 ; W. G. C.

Gladstone, 202 ; Sir Harry

Johnston, 165 ; Rev. J. Scott

Lidgett, 165 ; the Earl of Mayo,

165 ; Pierre Mille, 53, 158 ;

H. W. Massingham, 30 ; Sir

Gilbert Parker, 164 ; Sir

Edward Russell, 164; W.

Runciman, 202 ; Romain

Rolland, 265 ; Sir F. C. Selous ;

110; G. M. Trevelyan, 202 ;

Emile Vandervelde, 53, 158;

Col. Wedgwood, 263 ; Fabian

Ware, 159; the Bishop of

Winchester, 156, 164 ; Rev. C.

Wilson, 166 ; the Archbishop

of York, 163 ; the Daily News,

167 ; the Evening Standard,

117, 167; the Morning Post,

166 ; the Outlook, 140 ; the

Spectator, 116, 130 ; the Times,

91

Accusations against Morel:
Of being pro-British, 52, 128 n
Of being pro-French, 28 n, 94
Of being pro-German, 232
Morel, Mrs. : 32, 33, 158, 253, 264
Morel-de-Ville, Edmond : 15, 16,

17, 19
Morley of Blackburn, Viscount : 66,

102, 190, 202, 222, 228
Morning Post, the : 91, 94, 120, 139,

165, 166

Moroccan Question, the : 178 et seq.
Morocco in Diplomacy : 177, 178

et seq., 209, 245
Morrison, Rev. W. M. : 67, 95
Murphy, Rev. J. B. : 67

Napier, Sir Walter : 144, 145

Nation, the : 215

National Manifesto on Congo : 127

National Psychology and War :
226 et seq., 236 et seq.

National Service Movement, Morel
and: 215

Native Rights in Africa : 39 et
aeq., 249 et aeq. ; and land
tenure, 41, 145 et seq. ; and
industrious character of na-

INDEX

277

tives, 45 et seq. ; effect of
King Leopold's decrees, 62 and
63 ; in French Congo, 93 ;
discussed in King Leopold's
Rule in Africa, 106 ; Congo
Reform Association and, 120;
in Gold Coast Protectorate,
142 et seq. ; suggested Charter
of, 154, 160

Naval Construction, Russian : 213

Naval Movements in 1912, French :
213

Navy, British, Morel on : 196

Nevinson, H. W. : 130, 265 n

New Statesman, the : 227

New York Herald: Leopold II
interviewed in, 98

Nigeria : industrial life of, 49 ; land
tenure in, 137 et seq. ; two
schools of thought regarding,
137 et seq. ; Morel's visit to,
137 et seq.

Nigeria : its Peoples and its Prob-
lems : 138 et seq.

Norman, Sir Henry : 30

Open Door, the : see Free Trade.
Outbreak of the War, the : 244
Outlook, the : 140, 174

Pall Mall Gazette, the : 25, 26
Panther, the : at Agadir, 185 et seq.
Parker, Sir Gilbert : 115, 163, 164
Parliament and Congo : 95, 97, 104,

115, 123

Patriote, Le : 131
Peace Settlement, the : Union of

Democratic Control and the

principles of, 223 et seq. ;

President Wilson and, 225 n
Peaix-Seailles, Charles : 31
Pease, Alfred E. : 86
Pentonville : Morel sent to, 262 et

seq.

Percy, Lord: 104, 111, 115
Peuple, Le: 117, 131
Phillips, J. S. R. : 31, 127
Poincare", President: 213, 213 n
Ponsonby, Arthur: 214, 223, 267
Pressense", Francis de : 29, 31, 185

Rabah, Arab Chieftain : and Morel,

27

Rabinek Case : 88 et seq.
Reading, Lord : 242
Red Rubber: 115, 116 et seq.
Revue du Mois, La: 198
Rickett, Sir J. Compton : 242
Rochester, the Bishop of : 10
Rolland, Romain : 257, 258, 259,

265

Roosevelt, President : 108
Ross, Professor Ronald : 31
Rothenstein, William : 159
Round, James : 86
Royal Society of Arts : Morel lectures

before: 149

Runciman, Rt. Hon. W. : 202, 216
Russell, Sir Edward : 31, 164
Russia: 210, 211, 213, 221, 231,

235, 255, 256

Salisbury, the Marquis of : 27, 38
Samuel, Rt. Hon. Herbert : 95, 96,

111

Scott, C. P. : 31
Selous, Sir F. C. : 110
Sembat, Marcel : 186 ||
Sidgwick, Miss Ethel : ' 256 et seq.
Sierra Leone, Hut Tax Disturbances

in: 79

Smethwick, Canon : 121
Smith, Reginald : 199 n
Smith-Dorrien, Sir H. : 241
Social Inequalities, Morel and : 203
Sodor and Man, Bishop of : 121
Sorbonne, the : Morel speaks at, 129
Southwark, Bishop of : 121
Spain and Morocco : 180 et seq.
Speaker, the : Morel's articles in,

75

Spectator, the: 116, 130, 198
Stanley, Sir H. M. : 60, 67
Star, the : 214
St. Asaph, Bishop of : 102
Stead, W. T. : 31, 95, 127
Stokes Affair, the : 67 n
Strachey, J. St. Loe : 102, 127, 156
Straight, Sir Douglas : 31
Strathcona, Lord : 242
Sutherland, the Duke of : 242

INDEX

Talbot, Dr. : see Winchester, Bishop

of

Tangier, the Kaiser at : 182
Taylor, Sir William : 144
Temps, Le : 80, 181 n
Ten Years of Secret Diplomacy : 199
Times, the : 91, 120, 124, 127, 128,

129, 138, 139, 182, 183, 186,

187, 188, 197, 213, 214
Trarieux, M. : 29
Treatment of Coloured Races,

Morel's paper on : 150
Treaty of Transfer, the : 122, 125,

245 et seq., 251, 252, 255, 257,

258
Trevelyan, Charles : 206, 220, 222,

242, 267

Trevelyan, George M. : 202
Trial of E. D. Morel, the : 254 et seq.
Truth : 141
Truth and the War : 230, 233.. 245

et seq., 251, 252, 255, 258
Tsardom's Part in the War : 255,

259

Twain, Mark : 107
Tweedmouth, Lord : 102

Union of Democratic Control : 206,
223 et seq., 232, 254, 266

United Services Institute, Meeting
at: 95

United States of America : recog-
nizes " International Congo
Association," 60 ; Morel's
appeal to, 98 ; his visit to,
106

Vandervelde, Emil : 53, 96, 112, 119,
120, 131, 132, 156, 157, 158,
161 n

Vickers, Messrs. : 213

Wakefield, Bishop of : 121

War : Morel and, 36, 159, 168, 173 ;

Cobden and, 226; National

Psychology and, 226 et seq.,

236 et seq.
War, the Great : Moroccan question

and, 178 et seq. ; alleged

"inevitability^ of, 176, 179,
191 et seq., 209 ; Morel's efforts
to avert, 176, 178 et seq., 205,
209 et seq. ; British Ultimatum
to Germany, 206 ; outbreak
of, 218 et seq. ; Sir E. Grey's
speech, 220 ; Manchester
Guardian and, 220 ; resig-
nations of Ministers, 222 ;
Union of Democratic Control
and, 222 et seq. ; President
Wilson's points anticipated,
•224 ; economic boycott and,
227 ; " Prussianism " and, 227 et
seq. ; and Morel's unpopularity,
228, 229 et seq. ; " Origins " of,
229 et seq. : and Africa, 153

War Office, Morel thanked by the :
27

Ward, Herbert : 98 n, 159

Ware, Fabian : 31, 159

Weardale, Lord : 242

Wedgwood, Colonel : 144, 263

West Africa : Morel attracted by,

24 ; French Colonial Policy in,

25 ; 36 et seq., See also Africa ;
Concessionaire System, the ;
Congo, the Belgian ; Congo,
the French ; Congo Reform
Association, The ; Leopold II ;
Morel, E. D. ; Native Rights
in Africa; Nigeria; Sierra
Leone.

West African Lands Committee :
142 et seq. ; Report of, 145 et seq.

Westminster, the Cardinal Arch-
bishop of : 241

Westminster Gazette, the : 213

White, Sir George : 123

Whyte, Robert: 121, 159

Wilberforce, Morel compared to :
166

Wilson, Rev. C. : 166

Wilson, President: 225, 226, 231,
251, 252 n

Winchester, Bishop jof : 155, 156,
163, 164

York, Archbishop of : 121, 163

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