The_Open_Door_deel1

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Treasury and an unfavourable economic climate. Like Roye, Barclay
resorted to foreign financing and in 1906 he concluded in England
a six percent £ 100,000 Loan ($ 500,000).
The 1906 Loan was secured from a British consortium headed by the
banker Erlanger through the intermediary of Sir Harry Johnston,
the Chairman of the Liberian Development Company, Ltd, President
Barclay had granted this company a concession with unprecedented
rights and privileges for reasons of promoting internal economic
development and as well as in order to obtain a guarantee
enabling the Liberian Government to secure the English Loan. The
Liberian Development Company Ltd. was granted a monopoly with
respect to the prospecting for minerals and gold/diamonds in the
counties of Montserrado and Maryland. Furthermore, the company
had acquired a near-monopoly for the construction of a
transportation and communication network in the country, the
establishing of a National Bank, the importation of equipment and
machinery for the construction industry and the exploitation of
natural resources, for all industrial enterprises, for the
leasing of land, for fisheries, as well as the guaranteeing of
loans in general. Significantly, the English company was also
allowed the establishing of a Police Force which was to protect
its properties (103). The latter privilege followed logically
from the company's scope of operations - virtually covering all
aspects of economic development - whereas the region involved
covered the whole of the Republic's territory over which the
Liberian Government claimed jurisdiction but which it did not
control effectively. Also the Liberian Government had no control
over the Liberian Development Company Ltd, which had no
obligations towards the Government (104).
The conditions of the 1906 Loan were very prejudicial to the
interests of Liberia too. An amount of £ 30,000 had to be paid
annually as interest until the entire loan was repaid.
Furthermore, two Englishmen were put in charge of the customs
revenues of the Republic as a security to the British financers,
thus endangering the Republic's sovereignty.
The absence of any improvement in the country's public finances,
economic development, and/or infrastructural facilities only
contributed to leading the Negro Republic further downhill. The
payment of the domestic debt took $ 150,000 whereas an amount of
nearly $ 200,000 was transferred to the Liberian Development
Company Ltd, An amount of $ 35,000 was given as a loan to -the
company by the Liberian Government (!) whereas the rest, an
amount of about $ 160,000 was to be spent on the construction of
roads by the company. Eventually, the company constructed 15
miles of automobile roads in the Careysburg District, placed a
small launch on the St. Paul River and bought two cars. Then it
announced that the funds were exhausted (105).
Contrary to its objectives the 1906 Loan increased Liberia's
political and economic-financial dependence. In 1911 the Public
Debt had soared to almost $ 1,400,000 (106). The vicious circle
was continued by President Arthur Barclay by negotiating another
loan. In 1911, the last year of his Administration, he obtained