Annual Report of the Colonies. Gambia 1909
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COLONIAL REPORTS—ANNUAL. No. 641. GAMBI A. REPORT FOR 1909. (For Report for 1908, we No. 609.) Vwtntrt to botf) fcouaea of yacltamrnt ftp Command of $10 iWajeBtj?. /wfy, 1910. LONDON: PRINTED FOR HIS MAJESTY'S STATIONERY OFFICE, BY DARLING ft SON, LTD., 84-40, BACON STREET, E. And to be purchased, either directly or throng!* any Bookseller, from WYMAN AND SONS, LTD., FETTER LANE, E.C., and 83, ABINGDON STREET, WKSTMINHTRR, 8.W.; or OLIVER A BOYD, TWEEDDALE COURT, EDINBURGH; or E. PONSONBY, LTD., 116, GRAFTON STREET, DUBLIN. 1910. [Cd. 4964-ir,.] Price CONTENTS. FINANCIAL TRADE ••• ••• •t* *t« *•» AGRICULTURAL INETISTRIES * *• LEGISLATION ••• ••• ••# ••• EDUCATION • *• ••t GOVERNMENT INSTITUTIONS ••0 • ••• JUDICIAL STATISTICS ... tO VITAL STATISTICS ••• *•• ••• MAIL, POSTAL, TELEORAPH, AND TELEPHONE SERVICES MILITARY FORCES ••• ••• ••• it* GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ••V ••• ••• ••• COLONIAL REPORTS—ANNUAL. 3 No. 641. GAMBIA. (For Report for 1908, *e* No. 609.) THE GOVERNOR TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE. Government House, Bathurst, Gambia, 23rd May, 1910. MY LOUD, I ifAVE the honour to transmit the Blue Book for 1909, together with an interesting report on it which has been prepared by Lieutenant-Colonel O'Brien, CM.G., the Colonial Secretary. I have, &c, GEORGE C. DENTON, Governor. The Right Honourable The vSecretary of State for the Colonies, 0«8&9—2,) Wt. 27349—887. 1126 * 85. 7/10. D k 8 4 COLONIAL BBPOBT8—IVVVAL. REPORT ON THE BLUE BOOK FOR 1909. FINANCIAL. The revenue, the largest yet recorded in this Colony, amounted to £72,675 11*. 10<2., and exceeded that o! 1907 (the next largest) by £6,783, and that of 1908 by £14,77" 11*. 9d. The estimated revenue for the year was £59,614 and the actual revenue received exceeded this by £13,101 11*. lOd. This large increase is due to the exceptionally good ground-nut season. The increase is accounted for chiefly under the following heads:— " Customs," £9,795, due to the larger importation of spirits and tobacco and to the larger exportation of ground-nuts, on which there is a duty of 6a. 8d. per ton. " Post Office," £1,585, is owing to the sale of the new issue of stamps. "Miscellaneous," £440, almost entirely due to the profit on the supply of rice to the natives in the Protectorate during 1907¬ 1908 paid for in 1909. " Protectorate," £668, caused by the greater influx of farmers and by more pasturage fees and rents being paid. " Land Sales," £564, due to the transfer of " Premiums on leases" to this head from that of "Protectorate." There is a decrease of £94 under " Fees " due to over-esti mating, and one of £126 under " Government Vessels " due to the Colonial steamer, " Mansah Kilah," having been laid up lor some time for repairs, her earnings being less in consequence. The amount of revenue received under "Customs" was: — import duty, £37,420; export duty, £17,881; making a total of £65,301. Thft following return shows the amount collected under the several Customs headings for the years 1908 and 1909 with their respective increases and decreases: — ! Heada of Receipts. 1908. 1909. Increase. Decrease. £ £ £ £ 5per cent. Ad valorem duty 5,820 5,943 123 wine ••• 1,070 1,002 Spirits MI ••• 5,348 6,573 ll26 Malt Liquor 107 120 13 Tobacco ... tt9 Ml 3,297 6,977 3,680 Oil and Turps, &c 727 671 56 Sugar ... 2,572 2,919 Kola Nuts • 11,312 9,986 347 1,327 Rice •«» MI ••• 1,960 1,711 249 Guns and Pistols 270 271 Powder ... ... ... 115 109 1 Sttlt ... ... 407 582 . ~175 ~~ 6 Kerosene ... ... .., 397 546 149 Coffee, RAW 8 3 "~ 5 Total ... ... ,,, 38,410 37,4)2 5,713 1,711 Export*— Ground-nata 10,654 17,881 7,227 44,064 55,293 12,940 1,711 GAMBIA, 1909. 6 The expenditure for the year amounted to £56,237 8*. 6<J., being £1,327 11*. Qd. less than the Estimates. The principal increases are accounted for as follows: — Governor (£124), due to underestimate of (1) the allowance drawn by the Deputy-Governor and A.D.C. and Private Secretary to the Acting Governor, and (2) travelling allowances. Government Vessels (£264), due to special repairs in dry dock at Dakar (French Senegal) to the Government steamer " Mansah Kilah," and excess on the coal vote. Agriculture (£281), due to purchase of two Ayrshire bulls and salary of attendants, forage, &c. The principal decreases are as under: — Colonial Secretary (£182), due to salary saved during vacancy in this appointment. Protectorate (£833), due to over-estimatiug under several sub heads. Education (£206), due to a vacancy in one appointment, and to overestimating the earnings of the schools. Frontier Force (£241), due to most items being over-estimated. Public Works Recurrent (£297), due to certain works not having been fully completed in the year. Public Works Extraordinary (£443), due to the inclusion of the tramline loan, it having been placed in the Estimates under this vote and subsequently adjusted. The actual expenditure (omitting the tramline amount of £750) was in excess of the Estimates, owing to the extra cost of the Kai Hai works. The following return shows the revenue and expenditure for the past ten years: — Year. Revenue. Expenditure. £ £ 1900 49,161 29,818 1901 43,726 48,518 1902 51,016 51,536 1903 55,564 67,504 1904 54,179 52,300 1905 ... 51,868 72,297 1906 65,430 56,988 1907 65,892 57,729 1908 57,898 6i,097 1909 72,675 56,237 No additional taxatiou was introduced during the year. The amount standing to the credit of the Colony on the 31st December, 1909, was £58,276 1*. 8rf., as compared with £39,574 14*. bd., being an increase of £18,701 7*. U. If from this sum the value of Public Works Department stores on si^ck on 31st December, 1909, included ns an asset for the first time, is deducted, viz.: £2,263 3*. lid., the actual cash increase in the year 1909 amounted to £16,438 3.*. W. COLONIAL ftEPOfctS—ANNUAL. The surplus funds are invested in Government securities, and on 31st December, 1909, amounted to £29,110 5*. 3c/., the actual cost having been £28,375 6*. 9d. The Colony Jjas no public debt. The legal tender and usual currency is British, but a great number of five-franc pieces are in circulation the estimated value of which is £150,000; and these are received at an exchange value of 3*. 10\d. B^nk of England notes are not legal tender but are accepted at the Bank of British West Africa, the only bank in Bat hurst. The circulation is small. There is also a little French gold in the Colony. The average rate of exchange for bills drawn on London during the year was one per cent. There are two Municipal Boards in the Colony, namely, the Board of Health (which consists of the Senior Medical Officer as Chairman, and the Colonial Engineer (both ex-officio), and six members appointed by the Governor) and the McCarthy Square Board. The revenue of "the Board of Health is derived from rates levied on the annual value of house property in the town at 3 per cent., and from fees collected from the slaughter-house, and a #rant-in-fcid from Government. The following was the revenue received in 1909:—Local rates, £556; slaughter-house fees, £89; grant-in-aid, £400: miscella neous, £2; total, £1,047. The expenditure under all heads, including scavengering and lighting, amouuted to £1,181. The market is under the supervision of an inspector and is visited daily by a medical officer. It is in every way suitable to the requirements and the climate. The slaughter-house is an iron structure built out into the river and approached by a pier. McCarthy Square is situated in the centre of the town and is used as a parade ground by the West African Frontier Force and as a recreation ground for the public. Its upkeep is provided for by a grant from Government. TRADE. The total value ol the trade of the Colony, inwards and out wards, for the year 1909 amounted to i'882,624, against £704,878 in 1908, an increase of £117,040. The total value of all imports was £404,500, against £300,740 in 1908, being an increase of £13,820. The following table shows the imports classified so as to distin guish commercial from Government imports and specie for the five years 1905-1909: — GAMBIA, 1909. 7 Return of Imports, 1905-1909. Free Import*. Specific. Ad valorem. Total. Grand Year. 8pecio. Total s if *j i ft * £ JS £ ! £ £ lit 1 £ 1 IS A 1905 8,118 287 73,488 906 1 99465 2,767 178,463 8480 ! 198,460 1 306,18'. 1903 5,080 1488 109497 980 1149489 15430 968458 1*486 , 167,166 1907 8433 2,188 140,7** 469 144409 4,4j» 988441 7460 149488 m 1008 809 810 101460 409 1S8J90 6,186 386416 7,106 146.200 890,740 1909 152388 1J08 112,081 206 188,100 4,061 908,164 1 6,999 I 146490 561,170 Increases.—The principal heads showing an increase were: — cotton goods (£10,157), tobacco (£6,496), kola nuts (£5,615), and sugar (£1,000). Cotton Goods.—The total import was valued at £79,028, of which £74,409 came from Great Britain, £2,749 from France, and £1,516 from Germany. The increase in cotton goods from Great Britain was £17,147, while there was a decrease from France of £6,912, an increase from Germany of £682 and from " Other Countries 99 a decrease of £760.