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 otherwise trade—between the native population and white men. Where such trade was non-existent no vocal objection by third parties to the cardinal feature of the system would arise, since there were no third parties to raise it. It was otherwise where such trade had long existed, i.e., in the lower Congo, the portion of the territory nearest the Coast-line. Some of the Europeans engaged in it compounded with the Concessionaires and cleared out of the country. To their infinite credit, the British firms declined to do so. Their respective heads were prominent men in the civic and commercial life of Liverpool. One of them, Mr. John Holt, was one of the foremost living authorities on West Africa, and a man of very great personality and force of character. If he had followed the dictates of his business interests he would have allowed his firm to be bought out. But he realised that something over and above material interests was concerned; that a vital principle affecting his country's Treaty rights, the interests of a helpless population, and the sanctity of international law was in question. Thanks to his influence, the British firms made a firm stand. The moral strength of their position was unassailable. They had been in the country for a quarter of a century. Their enterprise furnished the local Administration with a substantial portion of its revenue—in the seven years preceding the introduction of the system they had paid £112,000 in custom dues, patents, and licences. They had always been on excellent terms with the French officials, with whom they had co-operated in exploring and opening up the country. They had received no communication of any kind from the French Government suggesting that their presence in the dependency was no longer desired. They took their stand upon the rights of law-abiding Englishmen to equitable treatment, and upon the clauses of an international Act—to which their Government was a signatory. The struggle they sustained for several years in the local Courts of the dependency, and, subsequently, by public action in which they were supported by all the important Chambers of Commerce in the country, was of immeasurable value in helping the wider public to understand the basic iniquities of the Congo System. The wrong inflicted upon them was ultimately acknowledged, and substantial compensation was paid them by the French Government. But the British Foreign Office could not be induced to