In 1890 the shipping in the ports of Banana and Boma amounted to only 166,028 entries, and 163,716 departures. The present tonnage into and out of these ports is over 500,000. On the Upper Congo a large flotilla carries on an excellent service. The State operates thirty-two of these vessels and the companies about forty-five, besides which there is a considerable number of smaller craft belonging to private individuals and to missions. The tonnage of the Upper Congo flotilla is 1675 tons. The marine service numbers 166 whites and 1300 blacks. [Illustration: Zappo-Zapp Musicians, Luluabourg.] The first steamers launched on the Upper Congo were of only five tons, their component parts having been carried on men’s backs along caravan routes long before the construction of the railway of the Cataracts. Even before the completion of the railway from Matadi to Stanley Pool the State had launched twelve five-ton boats on the Upper Congo, each of which had a capacity of nearly 50,000 pounds. Besides these, the Government launched one steamer of twenty-three tons and four of forty tons burden. With the completion of the railway, the necessity for considering the weight of the loads ceased, and a new type of craft, the stern-wheel, was chosen. Its system of propulsion offered greater advantages against the variable conditions of navigability with which the vessels had to contend. The ports and landings are in a state of complete organisation at numerous points on the river, and cargoes are now moved with great facility. At regular intervals along the watercourse, posts at which Government workmen gather wood, supply the steamers with this form of fuel. In order that the forests along the banks may not be denuded, a State law enforces the replanting of trees as fast as they are cut down. In 1896 the Government established a regular fortnightly steamship service between Leopoldville and Stanley Falls. The three steamers, _Brabant_, _Hainaut_, and _Flandre_, have been assigned to this service. The dates of their departure from Stanley Pool have been fixed to correspond with the dates of arrival of European ships. In order to ensure service on the navigable stretches beyond the Falls, steamers have been launched on the rivers Lualaba, Itimbiri, and Ubanghi. A sailing vessel has been launched on Lake Tanganyika and a steamer on the Nile. Native rowing crews have been organised in many regions, and their services are often of great value. All in all, the 102 steamers plying the Congo River in the governmental and private service, the efficient port facilities, the means of transport up the navigable affluents, and the hydrographic surveys constantly going on constitute a condition of colonial development which truly merits the commendation of Herr Von Puttkamer, Governor of the Cameroons, in which, amongst other things, he says: “The energy and practical sense displayed here deserve the greatest admiration.”