GAMBIA. ANNUAL REPORT FOR 1896.

Transcription

1 COLONIAL EEPOMS. ANNUA! No GAMBIA. ANNUAL REPORT FOR (For Report for 1895, sec No. 105.) July PRINTED FOR IIKR MAJESTY'S STATIONERY BY EYRE ANT) St OTT^JTOODIC, rjuntkks TO TIIK QL^iiN'b «.u«r 'KCF^LKNT MAJESTY. OFFICE, And in tc purchased, cither directly or through smy.bookseller, from ExRE AND SPOTTlSWOODIv EAST llauwjm STREET, I'LEKT SiKKKr, E.C.. and [C,~~8279.-i9.] L 0 N 1) 0 N : 32, AJMNHDON STREET, WKCTMIIVSTHR, SAW, or JOHN MEN/IKS & Co., 12. HANOVER SruEr.T, EDINBURGH, and 5)0, WEST NILE STREET, GLASCiOW; or STREET, Dunus. 1IODGES, IIGGIS, & Co., LIMITED, iol-, GBAFTON Price \cl 1897.

2 COLONIAL REPORTS. Ths following, among other, Reports relating to Her Majesty's Colonial Possessions have been issued, and may be obtained for a few pence from the sources indicated on the title page: ANNUAL. No. Colony. Year. 166 Bermuda Leeward Islands British New Guinea Zululand Sierra Leone 171 Gibraltar » 5* 174 Turks and Caicos Islands Malta Barbados Falkland Islands ) 176 St. Helena Bahamas 178 Hong Kong Windward Islands Labuan Trinidad and Tobago Seychelles Mauritius and Rodrigues and British Honduras Lagos 51 18(5 Basutoland Ceylon British Guiana Gold Coast Jamaica Canada Bermuda - 189G 193 Bahamas - ft 194 A*UlUtaiM MISCELLANEOUS. No. Colony. Subject. 1 Gold Const Economic Agriculture, 2 Zululand Forests. 3 Sierra- Leone Geology and Botany. 4 6 Canada - Bahamas - Emigration, Sisal Industry. 6 Hong Kong Bubonic Plague. 7 Newfoundland Mineral Resources* 8 Western Pacific - Solomon Islands*

3 COLONIAL REPORTS. ANNUAL* 3 No a «St GAMBIA. (For Report for 1895, see No. J 65 of this Series,) Administrator LLEWELYN to Mr. CHAMBERLAIN. Government House, Bathurst, Gambia, SIR, May 14, I HAVE the honoiu- to forward the Blue Book of this Colony for the year 1896, together with my Report on the same. I have, &c. R. B, LLEWELYN, Administrator. BLUE BOOK REPORT, There was a slight improvement in the trade of the Colony during the year owing to a considerable business being done in the export of rubber, but, on the other hand, the crop of ground nuts did not come up to the expectation of the merchants, and it was consequently found necessary in May to increase some of the import duties so as to raise sufficient revenue to carry on the ordinary working expenses of the public service. 2. Fortunately there was a revival of trade after the rainy season had passed, and this caused the receipts to increase so that at the end of the year the deficit of 1,600Z. which existed on the 1st of January was reduced to about 700/. 3. I believe that although the total export of ground nuts waa only 12,000 tons, yet the price obtained wao rather better than it had been for some time, and the ar for the commercial houses was not without some profit. 4. The most gratifying itc venue was that collected in the Protectorate from the hut tax. Without any penal clause in the Ordinance, and without the presence of even a constable in the territory, the Commissioners were paid in cash voluntarily by the people their tax of Is. per hut. This amounted to 970/., and with traders licenses 482/., and miscellaneous receipts 264/., 0 9S009. \Vt A 2

4 GAMBIA, 4 COLONIAL REPORTS. ANNUAL. brought the total receipts in the Protectorate up to 1,666/. ; which 18U6, f or a fj rg ; attempt must be considered as very satisfactory. ' Writing this report in May, 1897, I am glad to be able to state that up to date this year 1,800/. Las been collected from the same sources without the slightest difficulty. 5. The total revenue of the Colony amounted to 26,171/. and the. expenditure, which was kept as low as possible, to 25,300/. This included extraordinary expenditure of 518/. for repairs to Oyster Creek Bridge, 490/, for an iron residence for the curator at the Botanical Station, and 414/. for the expenses of the Anglo- French Boundary Survey. 6. By legislation those parts of the old Colony known as the " Ceded Mile" and McCarthy Island, were, for administrative purposes, included within the Protectorate. This has been done wiib the object of putting these outlying places under the Travelling Commissioner and on the same footing as the adjoining Protectorate. An important measure was passed placing the management of the public lands in the Colony and Protectorate in the hand of the Government in cases where no legitimate owners could be found. This measure, it is hoped, will encourage capitalists to take up tracts of land for agricultural purposes, as the Government is now able to issue a land certificates" to persons who bond Jide intend to cultivate the land. There are large tracts of land on the banks of this river suitable for the growing of rice, and that and the cultivation of indigo and cotton have long: been carried on by the natives according to their primitive fashion. With the peace and order now existing in the Protectorate there should be a good field here for the safe investment of capital, which is much to be desired, as up to the present time the only capital in the country has been in trade and the people themselves have managed to scrape out of the ground an article of export worth 120,000/. a year. Surely with capital and intelligence this might be largely increased. 7. The criminal statistics for the year show a most appreciable diminution in crime, the offences being 44 less than in the previous year and the smallest number reported in any one year during the last decade, and, in fact, I think I may add that at present there is a perfect calm here. In further proof of this, I am happy to report that the daily average number of prisoners in the jail here during 189G was only 17, just half the number, 34, that it was for the previous 10 years; and it must be borne in mind that offenders in the Protectorate are now sent to Bathurst to undergo imprisonment in the jail there. N. The vital statistics are not so encouraging to study as those relating to the diminution in crime. The returns are not to be implicitly relied upon, as it is difficult for the registrar to get perfect information relating to births and deaths. Apparently the birth-rate is 25 per thousand, and the death-rate 26 per thousand. Out of 381 children born 174 died during babyhood, which is a lamentable fact, but I cannot see what steps can be taken to

5 COLONIAL REPORTS. ANNUAL. 5 enforce mothers to take more care of their infants. There were GAMBIA > four deaths amongst the Europeans, including that of Mr. Bascom, the Collector of Customs. 9. The unhealthiness of Bathurst, owing to its low-lying position, during the rainy season, July to October, is well known. During those four months the climate is, perhaps, the most trying on the west coast of Africa, and in the dry season the great diurnal variations in temperature are equally trying to some constitutions. In the first months of the year the thermometer not unfrequently stands at 68 at sunrise and over 100 at 3 in the afternoon. This, with a strong breeze, is very apt to produce a chill and bring out the latent malarial fever. I am afraid that there is no chance of entirely stamping out malarial fever in a town built on a mud bank with the mangroves right up to its outskirts. I append a comparative table of the meteorological statistics. The rainfal. 51 inches was below the average, but it is about the quantity that is required fco ensure a good harvest, if it falls at the right periods. 10. The education of the children of Bathurst does not progress as satisfactorily as could be desired. The bulk of the parents are quite indifferent to it; and the number of children on the rolls is under 900, when it ought to be 1,500. Many of the children have parents who only speak Jolloff or Mandingo, and it is very difficult for these to be instructed in English a few hours every day, as when with their family at home they never hear it spoken. _ There are also many Mahomedans in Bathurst. and they are most reluctant to send their children to school at all. In the Protectorate, up to the present, all efforts have failed to induce the people to let their children attend an English school. Time alone can bring this about, and it will only be done by perseverance and great patience. The managers of the schools do their best, but when it is remembered the extent to which Mahomedanism prevails, and the openly expressed views of the people that they do not wish to be improved, the difficulties of advancing the education of the masses, except by compulsion, are apparent, and at present I do not think this step could be taken. Protectorate. 11. Great strides have been made in the management of the Protectorate, and it is hardly possible to realise the change that has occurred within the last three or four years in the territories adjacent to Bathurst. 12. The tyrannical rule of the native chiefs is now supplanted by the establishment of native courts, which during the year heard and settled 38 cases. As far as it is possible to judge at present, thcec courts will be of great service hereafter in maintaining peace and order. No regular police force is stationed anywhere in the Protectorate, but in each town there are a certain number of

6 6 COLONIAL BBPORTtf. ANNUAL. GAMBIA. " messengers/ 1 selected from the inhabitants, who, when the head ' man issues to them a badge (an enamelled Union Jack) worn by a cord round the neck, have all the power, authority, and protection of a regular police officer. They are remunerated at a fixed rate per day for their services when so employed, and the system seems to be working very satisfactorily. 18. Domestic slavery the only form that now exists is moribund, as the slaves all know their position, and without any violent measures being resorted to by the Government, the whole fabric of slavery is gradually and rapidly crumbling to pieces. In considering this, it is remarkable that the crop of ground nuts has not largely decreased. But the establishment of peace within the Protectorate has induced settlers to come within it, and many of the free-born who formerly would not work are now compelled to. 14. Another change, too, haa arisen out of the establishment of the Protectorate, and that is the end of the old system of trading by barter. Formerly it was not safe for the merchants in Bathurst to send traders with cash up the river, but now this can be done, and has been carried out this year. 15. This will lead to the establishment of stores or factories up the river, where the natives will in a few years 1 time be able to purchase their supplies with their cash at prices very little in advance of those charged in Bathurst. 16. The system of only allowing persons with licences to trade in the Protectorate has had the effect of securing a much more reliable body of men engaged in this pursuit, and the natives are not now subjected to the troubles that formerly frequently arose between them and the traders. The establishment of confidence and friendship between the trader and the native planter is a great advantage to all classes. 17. By the aid of the Government steamer " Mansah Kilah" Queen's Messenger I have been able to induce many chiefs and others to visit Bathurst, and had a general meeting there of all the head chiefs in April. This little steamer has now been running for over two years, and is indispensable in carrying out the administration of the Protectorate. 18. Many improvements have been made in the laying out of the towns with wide streets in blocks and squares instead of the old style of circular village with narrow paths going round and round within the stockade, like the maze at Hampton Court. 19. Roads, bamboo bridges, and embankments of mud across swamps have all received attention, but it is needless to add that much remains to be done for many years in a Protectorate of 3,609 square miies, which was practically unknown until within the last three or four years. 20. With the knowledge that has been gained and the interest which the people see is now being taken to protect and assist them, I have no doubt that the Mandingo man spoke truly when he said " that the English Government had nothing more to fear

7 COLONIAL REPORTS. ANNUAL. 7 " from native chiefs and their warboys, es they had felt the 1*96. ic benefits of the white man's government and would themselves " put down any would-be chief," and I think I may conclude by adding that the year 1896 was one of unparalleled peace and quiet at the Gambia. It. B. LLF-W-LYN. 14th May Comparative Rainfall, Colony of the Gambia. -~ January - 02 February- March - April , May June ' July _. 14* ' ? August - 22' G3 17'30 September 4' October - 4* *95 4'96 November IS 6i 2*03 December * * Average R. M. FOKDE, Colonial Surgeon.

8 COtONIAl BftVORTS. AiffiUAL. GAMBIA Meteorological Observations, Average for Month at 7 a.m. Maiimum in Shade at 3 p.m. Minimum in Shade at 7 a.m. ltainfall in Inches. Months. Dry Bulb, j *3 H Dew- point, j Highest, i i i Lowest. Average. ' Highest. 1 Lowest. Average, j Total. Maximum. 6 +* January - 68' '2 89*5 77' 83'7 09* 00*5 00*3 February 67*8 GO' *5 73* 83 '0 69*5 61*5 65*5 March 69 cro 56'3 97* 74* 84*4 71' il 60*4 April *9 fll'2 102* 77*5 87*7 74* ea's 08*4 May - 76*3 70*7 CO "7 9G* 70 86* 77*5 07* 73*5 0*24 0* Juno 80* i'0 92* *5 72* 76* 3*09 0* July * 75*4 72*9 90*5 81* 8G*2 80* G7*5 74*G 12*97 4' August ' '5 78*5 85*3 78*5 70*5 74*3 17 *S0 5* September 79*1 75*9 74'1 90* 81*5 8G*5 78* 70*5 74*5 11*96 4* October *01 91*5 83 * 87*5 SO* 69*5 *4'8 4*96 1* November 76*4 70*6 GG'4 93* 84* 88*8 78* 64* 73*06. December *2 53*3 90* 73* * 00*5 66*2 0*06 0* Total rainfall for 189C = 51* 18 inches. R. M. IORDE, Colonial Surgeon.