Annual Report of the Colonies. Gambia 1912
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COLONIAL REPORTS—ANNUAL. No. 767. GAMBIA. REPORT FOR 1912. (For Report for 1911, see No. 718.) IJuwntrtr to ootfj ftoum of parliament ug OTommantj of $10 finamtp.. September, 1913. LONDON: PRINTED UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF HIS MAJESTY'S STATIONERY OFFICE By DARLING AND SON, LTD., BACON STREET, E. To be purchased, either directly or through any Bookseller, from WYMAN AND SONS, LIMITED, FETTER LANE, E.G., and 32, ABINGDON STREET, S.W., and 54, ST. MARY STREET, CARDIFF; or H.M. STATIONERY OFFICE (SCOTTISH BRANCH), 23, FORTH STREET, EDINBURGH; or E. PONSONBY, LIMITED, 116, GRAFTON STREET, DUBLIN; or from the Agencies in the British Colonies and Dependencies, tho United States of America, the Continent of Europe and Abroad of T. FISHER UNWIN, LONDON, W.C. 1913. [Od. 70.r>0-8.'J Price l\d CONTENTS. FINANCIAL •#» «*• ••• TRADE, AGRICULTURE AND INDUSTRIES LEGISLATION EDUCATION GOVERNMENT INSTITUTIONS ... JUDICIAL STATISTICS VITAL STATISTICS POSTAL, TELEORAPII AND TELEPHONE SERVICES... MILITARY FORCES GENERAL OBSERVATIONS COLONIAL REPORTS—ANNUAL, 3 No. 767. GAM BI A. (For Report for 1911, see No. 718 ) TEE GOVERNOR TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE. Government House, Bathurst, Gambia, 16th July, 1913, SIR, I HAVE the honour to transmit herewith the Blue Book of the Colony for the year 1912, together with a report thereon, 2. I regret the delay which has occurred in sending these docu ments forward. Mr. Campbell, however, only arrived in the Colony late in January, and for the first three months after arrival he acted as Deputy Governor whilst 1 was on tour in the Protectorate, during which period pressure of work prevented him from making a start in compiling his Report. Further, unavoidable delay occurred in completing the Blue Book returns owing to the Secretariat native staff being two men short for several months. I have, &c, H, L. GAL WAY, Governor and Commander-in-Chief. The Right Honourable The Secretary of State for the Colonies, Downing Street, London. (31442—2.) Wt. 35104—688. 1125 k 90. 9/18. D&S 4 COLONIAL BKPOBTS—-ANNUAL. REPORT ON THE BLUE BOOK FOR 1912. I.—FINANCIAL. 1. Revenue.—The total revenue for the year amounted to £96,221 13*. lid., as compared with £86,454 Os. dd. in 1911 and £82,880 7$. 4d. in 1910, the two previous record years. 2. The estimated revenue for the year was £71,261, or £24,960 less than was actually received. 3. The amounts collected under the various heads of revenue for the years 1911 and 1912, with the several increases or decreases, were: — Heads of Revenue. 1911. 1912. Increase. Decrease. £ £ £ £ CastoniB ... ... ... ... 68,319 72,852 4,533 Port Dues 1,102 1,311 209 Licences, Excise, &c 1,832 2,064 232 Fees of Court 1,790 1,746 44 Post Office ... ... ... 1,812 4,624 2,812 Rent of Government Property 364 400 36 Government Vessels 123 1 122 Interest ... 2,310 3,167 857 Protectorate 7,616 8,910 1,294 Miscellaneous Receipts 704 634 70 Land Sales ... ... 482 512 30 Total 86,454 96,221 10,003 236 4. The principal increases were in (1) Customs, (2) Post Office, (3) Interest, and (4) Protectorate, and are accounted for by (1) the gathering of a record crop of ground-nuts, the export duty on which amounted to £21,390, representing a total export value of over £500,000. The distribution of this sum increased the spending power of the natives, and resulted in a greater demand for imported articles, (2) a new issue of postage stamps (Georgian), (3) additional investments, and (4) to additional revenue from hut-taxes and trading licences being collected in the Protectorate, due to immigration and the extension of trade. 5, The decreases were of no importance. The greatest loss, amounting to only £122, under the head of " Government Vessels " was owing to the sale of the " Mansa Kila M and the consequent loss of receipts for the carriage of passengers and freight. 0. Expenditure, —The expenditure for the year was £81,340, or £9,950 more than that for 1911. The estimated expenditure was £99,851, or £18,511 more than was actually expended. 7. The following return, giving revenue and expenditure 1908-12-™ GAMBIA^ 1912. 5 Year. Revenue. Expenditure. £ £ 1908 ... ... ... 57,898 61,097 1909 ... 72,675 56,237 1910 82,880 63,301 1911 ... ... ... 86,454 71,390 1912 ... ... ... 96,221 81,340 shows a regular annual increase in revenue during the last five years, and that the revenue in 1912 nearly doubled that for 1908. 8. There was no important change in taxation during the year. 9. On the 31st December, 1911, assets exceeded liabilities by £92,893 17*. 2d. Twelve months later the excess amounted to £107,731 10*., an increase of £14,837 12*. lOd. 10. Investments in Government securities amounted on the 31st December, 1912, to £94,775 10*. 9d.y the cost price of which was £90,375. There was also a sum of £13,000 on deposit with the London County and Westminster Bank. The Colony remains in its former position of frsedom from a public debt. 11. English coinage is current in the Colony. Silver coins, from the florin downwards, are generally used. Silver is legal tender to any amount. There are a number of French five-franc pieces in circulation. Their exchange value is 3*. lQ^d. The Bank of British West Africa is the only one in the Colony. The average rate of exchange during 1912 for bills drawn on London was 1 per cent. 12. The only Municipal Board in the "Colony is the Board of Health, which is composed of official and non-official members, and is presided over by the Senior Medical Officer. 13. The revenue of the Board of Health is derived from a three-per cent, rate levied on the value of lots, annually assessed in the town of Bathurst, from slaughter-house fees and from a Government grant-in-aid. The receipts in 1911 were—local rates, £695 15*.; market and slaughter-house fees, £89 11*. Gd.; grant-in-aid, £1,819; miscellaneous, £263 10*. Id.; total, £2,867 16*. Id., as compared with £2,237 in 1911. 14. The expenditure, which includes personal emoluments, ;cavenging, lighting, upkeep of horses and carts, &c, amounted to £2,588 13*. 3d., as against £2,237 in 1911. 15. The revenue and expenditure of the Board of Health during the last five years is shown on the following statement: — Year. Revenue. Expenditure. £ £ 1908 1,147 1,073 1909 ... 1,047 1,181 1910 1.286 1,443 1911 ... ... ... 2,237 2,199 1912 2,807 2,588 16. MacCarthy Square, situated in the centre of the town and used as a parade ground by the West African Frontier Force, and as a general recreation ground, is under a Board similarly constituted as the Board of Health. The upkeep of the Square is provided for by a grant—£118 in 1912—from the Government. 6 COLONIAL REPOBTS—ANNUAL. II.—TRADE, AGRICULTURE AND INDUSTRIES. 17. Trade.—The trade of the Colony flourished during 1912, which was a record year. For the first time in the history of the Gambia the total value of commerce—excluding specie— amounted to over a million pounds. 18. Imports.—The total value of all imports was £756,853, against £807,118 in 1911. Specie.—Bullion and specie were imported during 1912 to the value of £285,223, as against £384,784 in 1911. 19. The following table shows the chief articles imported and the value thereof during 1911 and 1912: — Articles. 1911. 1912. £ £ Cotton goods 130,324 124,345 Hardware 12,204 23,021 Kola-nuts 72,598 86,111 Rice 02,459 85,763 Spirits 8,513 10,959 Sugar 12,611 5,785 Salt 1,553 2,589 Tobacco 8,250 9,011 Wine 3,267 2,685 20. Increases.—The increases were in -—(1) Hardware, £10,817. The increased importations came from Great Britain, France, and other countries, to the value of £6,453, £4,342, and £105, respeeti, y. (2) Kola-nuts, £13,513. This increase was in value only. The actual importation, from Sierra Leone, amounted to 81,747 lbs. less than that of 1911. (3) Rice; £23,304; Great Britain, France, and Germany supplied 121, 7,252, 10,673 cwt., respectively, more than in 1911, while im portations from other countries decreased by 5,150 cwt, (4) Spirits, £2,446, There was an increase of 72 gallons only from Great Britain. The importations from France showed an increase of 444 gallons, while those from Holland increased by 49,997 gallons. (5) Salt, £1,036. This commodity was almost wholly imported from the Cape Verde Islands. (6) Tobacco, £761. Importations from Great Britain, France, and Germany were less than in 1911. The supply from the United States of America increased by 97,796 lbs. 21. Decreases.—These were in; — £ Cotton goods ... ... ... 5,979 Sugar 6,826 Wines ... 582 22. Excluding specie, the percentages of imports from the various countries in 1911 and 1912 were as follows: — GAMBIA, 1912. 7 1911. 1912. Great Britain 444 42 British Possessions 176 18 G2 — 00 France and French Possessions 20-4 22 Germany 13-4 13 Other countries 4-2 5 23. The growth of the import trade during the last five years is shown in the following table: — 1908. 1909. 1910. 1911. 1912. Specie 145,290 14(5,620 208,544 u«4,784 285,223 Other articles 245,450 257,940 370,439 422,334 471,630 Total ... 390,740 404,560 578,983 807.118 756,853 24.