Totals |20,896,331.02|23,933,375.02 ———————————————————————————————————+—————————————+————————————— COMPARISON OF IMPORTS FOR 1903 WITH THOSE OF PRECEDING YEARS ———————————————————————————————————————+——————————————+—————————————— | VALUES YEARS +——————————————+—————————————— | Special | General | Commerce | Commerce ———————————————————————————————————————+——————————————+—————————————— | _Frs._ _Cs._| _Frs._ _Cs._ From May 9th to December 31st, 1892[31]| 4,984,455.15| 5,679,195.16 Year 1893 | 9,175,103.34| 10,148,418.26 ” 1894 | 11,194,722.96| 11,854,021.72 ” 1895 | 10,685,847.99| 11,836,033.76 ” 1896 | 15,227,776.44| 16,040,370.80 ” 1897 | 22,181,462.49| 23,427,197.83 ” 1898 | 23,084,446.65| 25,185,138.66 ” 1899 | 22,325,846.71| 27,102,581.18 ” 1900 | 24,724,108.91| 31,803,213.96 ” 1901 | 23,102,064.07| 26,793,079.37 ” 1902 | 18,080,909.25| 20,699,723.98 ” 1903 | 20,896,331.02| 23,933,375.02 ———————————————————————————————————————+——————————————+—————————————— [Illustration: Church and Rectory, Matadi.] These tables show what has provided the enemies of the Congo Free State with a great deal of puerile prattle—an excess of exports over imports which is more apparent than real. One of the bitter critics who write from Liverpool repeats the charge in the press that the Sovereign of the Free State is denuding the Congo of its natural resources by exporting more than he imports. In this respect a German writer in _Der Tag_, Berlin, September, 26, 1904, not at all friendly to the Congo State (because it is diverting the Zanzibar trade of the Fatherland), has some pertinent things to say of the excess of exports over imports in the British colonies of South Nigeria and Lagos. Herr Eberhard von Schkopp discusses the Congolese, British, French, and German trade statistics in the following concise manner: In 1901 the Congo State importations reached twenty-three million francs whilst the exports attained fifty millions, and the transit trade seven millions. This excess of exports over imports has been turned to account to support the attacks—justified besides—upon the Congo State’s system of government.