COLONIAL REPORTS—ANNUAL.
No. 1160.
GAMBIA
xReport for 1922 (For Report for 1921 see No. 1121)
LONDON: PRINTED & PUBLISHED BY HIS MAJESTY'S STATIONERY OFFICE be purchased through any Bookseller or directly from J KM. STATIONERY OFFICE at he following addresses: Imperial House, Kingsway, London, W.C.2, and 28 Abingdon Street, London, S.W.I; York Street, Manchester; 1 St. Andrew's Oeseent, Cardiff; or 120 George Street, Edinburgh.
1923.
Price (hi. net. 2 COLONIAL REPORTS—ANNUAL.
No. 1160.
GAMBIA.
ANNUA.!, GENERAL "REPORT, 1922.*
ERE RACK
The Gambia is the smallest bwl. I he o! E a e- ih. no s( si' of England in Africa. Eor centurie •, -a it ha be- U tin ? e. ;>n of mariners, but it was not until Em/ale i ban -\.\v< th;o out see power enal)led us to j)lant outposts here.
The first book to arouse the interest of our ii'aioM in tin e;oa of the world was that entitled kk The Discover) of the River Gambra and tlie Golden Trade of the Ethiopians Also the commerce with a Great Black Merchant called HiaEai Sann and his report of the Houses covered with Gold and other St.range Observations for the Good of our Country. Set down as ihcv were collected in travelling part of the year 1G20 and l(rl\ by Richard Jobson, gent." This book was the outcome of the Charter granted by King James I to the " Company of Adven turers of London trading in Africa," which established .Fort James, our first settlement ashore on the Dark Continent. A century later the Royal African Company controlled the commerce of the Gambia, and made large profits on their cargoes of slaves and gold and ivory and beeswax.
Chartered company administration, however, was ruined by the Act of 1807, which abolished the slave trade, aivl although an annual subsidy of £23,000 was paid to the company, it was unable to make a profit, and its assets were taken over by the Crown. Since 1816 the seat of Government has been at Bathurst, which was founded by the hmglish merchants who left Senegal and the Island of Goree when those territories were restored to France after the Napoleonic wars. It \Vas named after the then Secretary of State for the Colonies.
NOTE.—A sketch map will he found in the Report for 1914, Mo. 861 [Cd. 7622-53]. LIBRAKY Of CONGRESS RECEIVED
D O C Li M K N T S I > I V f SIU j\' GAMBIA, 1922, 3
1.—DEMONETIZATION. The most important event in this Colony during 1922 was the demonetization of lhe five-franc piece, which the Order in Council of June the 10th, hslo? had fixed at 3
, sou end it wdl he some years boh TO the Colony can repew sl.u wen! of manv previous Annua1 Reports ti• o. in (he ( lambia ! E i I. -Go\ Ki-vNMMNT Finance. The LUWEIME and E:;oendi! ure for (lie last JIVE* years has been :— h\{ rcss of A ss( W Year. fi* n/n/> . j\\r/h: nrfilnrc. '>rrr TJ The duty on kola nuts was raised from 3(L to 4.7. a lb. in October, and the extra penny brought in £2,020 by the end of the year, the total increase over 1921 being £59,433. The duty on spirits, on the other hand, dropped to £(5,054, or £1,854 less than in the preceding year. The total expenditure of £430,812 for the year 1922 includes the Joss incurred by demonetization. The surplus of assets at the close of the year was correspondingly reduced, but in future years this liability will be omitted from the statement and a separate loan account opened. The surplus of assets on the 31st December can therefore be placed at a figure little short of the previous year instead of at £99,687, as shown above. The market value of the Government investments at the close of the year was £j 09,861, or £12,557 less than their cost price and £20,019 less than their face value. III.—TRADE AND AGRICULTURE. (a) Trade.—The year 1922 showed an improvement over 1921, the total value of the Colony's trade inwards and outwards (exclusive of specie) being £1,461,265, an increase of £120,710 over the year 1921, notwithstanding the decline in price of many articles of commerce. Over five and a third million yards of cotton piece goods were imported, as against less than half that quantity in the previous year, practically the whole of it coming from Great Britain. Kola nuts amounted to 22,807 ewts., and in spite of the raising of the duty from 3d. to 4d. a lb., the supply exceeded that of the year 1921 by over 5,000 cwts. Only 4,881 gallons of spirits were imported, the figures for the three years before being 14,111 gallons in 1919, 9,740 in 1920 and 7,563 m 1921. France is recapturing the trade in sugar which slu lost to America during the War, supplying T3 per cent, of the total sugar consumed in the Colony in the year 1922. Exclusive of specie the value of imports was £653,421, and of exports £807,844. The total exportation of groundnuts amounted to 64,800 tons, 5,625 tons more that the year before, but slightly below the average of the past ten years. Prices f.o.b. were declared at an average of £12 a ton, the Liverpool market ranging from £17 in February to £20 5.v. in April. The trade diverted from France to England during the War is gradually returning to its old course. In 1919 90 per cent, of the total amount exported was consigned to the United Kingdom, but in 1922 the proportion was only 47*38 per cent. The trade in palm kernels was not affected by the removal of the duty of £2 a ton on consignments to foreign countries, as the hulk of the nuts has always gone to England. GAMBIA, 1922, 5 (b) Agriculture.—Provision was made for the establishment of an Agricultural Department, and the Director of Agriculture arrived in October. Pi is investigations have already shown the need for better methods of cultivation and the use of seed nuts specially selected to improve the inferior quality of the staple product of the Colony. Much of the groundnut crop is grown by the " strange farmers " from Senegal, who came over during the period under review to the number of about 20,000. The employment of Produce Inspectors has reduced the per cent age of sand and foreign matter at the transit stations. The native's methods are capable of considerable improvement. The ground is never properly cleaned of roots. Weeds are allowed to grow unchecked, and the principle of manuring is not understood. The native has always been backward in adopting improved methods of cultivation. Sixty years ago the Governor of the day wrote to the Secretary of State : 4i At MacCarthy Island I saw in store the decayed remains of farming implements supplied by a philanthropic society in England, and the same evening I witnessed a native preparing his land, not with anything half so ci i zed as a hoe, but with the iron hoop of a cask which that morning he had received from the steward of the 1 Dover ' in exchange for his fowls." The cereal crop was good, except in the case of the large * koos " (Basso). More maize is now being grown and it is hoped that this food will become more popular when the domestic* uses of corn-meal have-been better realized. Bice, which is entirely grown by women, was not sufficient for local demands, and over 3,500 tons were brought into the Colony from abroad. Much damage to the crops is done each year by hippopotamus, monkey and worthog. Cotton is planted on a fairly large scale and is utilized by the natives in making yarn. This is woven into narrow strips, called " pagns," by means of a primitive hand-loom. Indigo supplies the dve in wtiic,1 the cloth is soaked, the leaves being beaten to a pulp and mixed with water. Cattle disease carried off much stock, and the symptoms indi cated contagious pleuro-pneumonia, which ravaged the Protecto rate in 1917. It was found that beasts which survived that year escaped attack m 1922. Two herds belonging to Fulas, in the North Bank Province, bolted at the first death, and it was not until some weeks later that they were traced to the Central Niumi Bush, where they were all found in splendid condition. In the Upper River Province alone over 2,000 died. The services of a veterinary expert are required, together with an efficient staff to carry out his instructions. IV.—LAND AND CLIMATE. Land in the Protectorate may be said to be held communally, but the areas known as public lands are leased in small parcels by the Government for terms not exceeding 4\,enly-orie years. GAMBIA, 1922. 7 It is most unfortunate that no technical instruction is given in the Colony with the exception of such training as may he obtained in the Public Works Department or in the engineering shops of the firms. Until the people realize that no stigma attaches to manual labour and that a clerical post is not the only goal towards which the youth of Bathurst should aim, little can be done. Their attitude is all the more to be deplored because the African shows considerable aptitude m the handling of tools and machinery. Hygiene classes were held by the Medical Officers of Health, I)ut the examination was disappointing. It is hoped to obtain better results when the lectures are given in the vernacular, instead of in English. Physical training might be introduced with advantage, but the playground accommodation is limited to two schools. The geographical conditions of Bathurst prevent the acquisition of further land for recreation. Competition between the schools culminated on Empire Day, when the Wesieyans were successful in retaining the flag pre sented by the town of Bathurst, Australia, for the best school in field events. The .Roman Catholics once more carried off the prize for the first place at the annual examinations. The Boy Scout movement lias taken root in Bathurst. During the year forty-eight boys were enrolled. The influence of such character training cannot be overrated, and a Company of Girl Guides is also being formed. VI.—CURRENCY. Alloy coinage of the West African Currency Board to the value of about £400,000 is in circulation. Paper money to the amount of £100,000 has been issued in notes ranging from Is. to .£5. French paper money finds its way into the Protectorate although its export from Senegal is prohibited by French .Law. During the trade season the five-franc note is more or less stabilized and is popular with the " strange farmers/' who prefer being paid in notes which they can take back with them to their homes. VII.—C O M M UNICATIONS. (a) Shipping.—The total number of vessels entered and cleared during the year in ocean trade was 430, of 820,694 tons aggregate, of which 200 vessels (551,172 tons^ were British. The Woermann Pine and associated companies show con siderably increased tonnage, the first passenger boat of tin's line to call at Bathurst since June, 191/P being the s.s. if Winfried," in October. During the year the Messagerios Africamcs instituted an inter colonial mail service between Dakar, Bathurst and Ziquincl.or. Ships of the Roma Roriefa di \avignzione, from Tt;;ly to Che Wo-a Cna^i . <",)]] ;>t Bathurst when inducement olTeys. Me^rs. 6 COLONIAL REPORTS—ANNUAL One hundred and sixteen grants were issued dur ng the year, and the total rental received tor land and wharf licences was T3,834. In the Protectorate water frontauw- are heing taken up at convenient points on the riser hank's, hut the main business is done at Passe, Eattoto and Kuntaur. At the two former towns, in the ("pper River Province, the markets, have been moved to the outskirts, and tho ground vacated has been laid out in allot moils, oei) of which have been taken op a! I^oso and 210 at Falloio. Yards also have been built for cattle, which are brought in for sale in large numbers. The meteorological returns for Pathtirst and Georgetown were as follows :—- Average A v e r a g e Average max. bade. min. shade. moan. IJainfall. Bathursl ... »-2-?°F. 03" 1 F. 77's°F. 45*71 in. Georgetown ... 10()"0° *>35 in. The highest maximum shade temperature was 111°F.. in the month of AI:ay, at Georgetown, and the heaviest rainfall recorded in one month was 18,* in., in August, at Bat hurst. V.—EDUCATION. The development of education in the Colony lias been retarded again this year by the need for retrenchment in every branch of the Public Service. Though a- new code JIMS been drafted it cannot be put into force until a Director of Education is appointed. All the schools in the Gambia have trouble with their inefficient teaching stafl's. Owing to the absence of a training institution or even of training classes for teachers it will always oe difficult to procure competent teachers unless properly educated persons are introduced from other Colonies. There are 1.88s children on the rolls of the affiliated elementary schools. The schools are in the hands of the various religious bodies and are controlled by a P>oard of Education, on which the Police Magis trate sits as Government Inspector. A small grant is made to the European Superintendents of the 'Roman Catholic, Anglican and Wesleyan denominations, whilst a school committee com posed entirely of Mohammedans looks after the 121G Mohammedan pupils. There are secondary schools maintained by the Weslcyans for 104 bovs and trirls and a Roman Catholic Convent school with 30 girls. The Mohammedan school has a few children from the Pro tectorate. The advantages of education are beginning to attract the more advanced natives, who are anxious that their .sons should he able to compete on level terms with the traders. One scholar ship has been granted io a Gambia siudent for Eourah Bay (1ollo^v, Sierra I wone. 8 COLONIAL REPORTS—ANNUAL. Elder, Dempster and Company have reduced their first-class passenger rates from .£4*2 to £34 in consequence of foreign com petition. A new Government steamer, the " Prince of Wales/' arrived in the Colony towards the end of the year. In 1920 the Associa tion of West African Merchants had urged on the Imperial Shipping Committee the *ioed for public river services on all West African rivers. On the Gambia the small Government steamer " 'vampire " was not considered adequate and tne " Prince cf Wales " was accordingly ordered. Sailings from Bathurst are now maintained by the " Prince of Wales " and 11 Vampire " every alternate week. The dimensions of the " Prince of Wales " are 150 ft, length, 28 ft. 6 in. beam and 6 ft. draft. She is a tw7in screw steamer, fitted for both oil and coal, with a speed of 10 knots, and is equipped with a powerful winch for lifting the new lighted buoys. The " Mansa Kila Ba/' which has rendered exce^ent service the last ten years, is 40 ft. shorter and is fitted with triple screw Thorneycroft engines. (b) Posts and Telegraphs Department.—This Department has been reorganized and is now responsible for the telegraph and telephone system and the Treasury Savings Bank. A travelling post office serves the wharf towns from Basse to Fattoto and there are four land post offices. Letter postage to the United Kingdom was reduced from 2d. to on 1st September. A new issue of stamps of pictorial design and bearing the King's portrait was introduced at the same time. The series includes a new value of 10 VIII.—THK PROTECTORATE. Normal conditions ar-3 gradually returning, but the people ar<> still carrying the burden of debt incurred during the boom year 1920. Little credit has been given out by the traders this year and none by the Government, which has stopped the distribution of rice and seed nuts entirely. About £50,000 is still due to the Government and each year it becomes more difficult to collect it. The towns are full of business during the trading season, w Inch has now been hunt ed io i he five mod hhe* weou \ )ocemh ir GAMBIA, 1922. 9 The inroads of dog-faced monkeys and hippopotami on the farms and the occasional disappearance of some native seized by a crocodile are reported. Efforts have been directed towards the improvement of the larger towns, which have been remarkably free from either epidemics or fires in 1922. Smallpox claimed a few natives, but vaccination has now become popular and infected persons are isolated promptly. Much attention has been devoted to road improvement and a new Causeway has been built at Kuntaur, where labour is plentiful. The Chiefs are elected, not hereditary. They govern with the assistance of Headmen. Merit and service are rewarded by the presentation by the Government of silver medallions and chains, which are gveatly appreciated. At a recent meeting it was noticed that those Chiefs present wrho were not eligible wTere barely able to conceal their chagrin when their colleagues were decorated. The Government gifts of guns and ammunition for the pro tection of crops are also valued, though the weapons are of little use for dealing with the lions which have begun to reappear in the South Bank Province. A scheme for the reorganization of the Protectorate uas beer approved, but has had to be deferred. It is intended to build permanent bungalows at the headquarters station of each Travel ling Commissioner, from whence each Province will be adminis tered during the rains. IX.—VITAL STATISTICS AND SANITATION. The population of Bathurst is 9,39o, with 205 Europeans. The death-rate was 46*62 per thousand, the average rate since 19(6 being 42. There were 295 births and 437 deaths during the year, the heaviest mortality being in October, and the chief causes of death, pneumonia and tetanus. The sanitary improvement of Bathurst is a difficult matter because of its unusual situation. The most pressing problem is the disposal of night-soil. Trenching, incineration and biologic treatment fun all been considered and rejected on the ground of cost or difficulty of adoption. The drains also require much repair and regrading, as they remain in almost the same state as when the town was first built. Accurate statistics from the Pvotoetorate are not obtainable, but a careful return from the North Hank Province for 1922 gives 1,028 births and 905 deaths. In this Province an outbreak of bubonic plague occurred in September. It was traced to a focus in French Senegal. Thiu-y-four cases were counted and only four of them recovered. \olive measures were taken to isolate the infected villages, and control stations wore established on the P. io i >a! bmxt. It was only be vi<>iianre and a strict enlVnve- 10 COLONIAL REPORTS—ANNUAL. X.—JUDICIAL. (a) Supreme Court,—Forty-four out of the fifty-six trials in the Supreme Court during the year were for iarceny. The preva lence of theft in Bathurst is ascribed not so much to the vagrants who come down the river at the end of every season as to the activities of a gang of receivers who carry on a lucrative business by disposing of their gains down the coast. In the Police Court, !«)•) om of a to*al of 711 trials were for the same crime, but in the Protectorate, where the Travelling Commissioners and Native Tribunals administer justice, there is less stealing in proportion. The number of actions commenced on the civil side of the Supreme Court was 87, as compared with 28 in 1921. The most interesting decision was that in a suit in which a debtor preferred one creditor to another, and it was held that, owing to the absence of any bankruptcy legislation in the Colony, the preference was not illegal. (b) Legislation.—Amongst tl j 81 Ordinances enacted during the year were tho.se dealing with, destitute immigrants, the regis tration and licensing of domestic servants, the restriction of rent profiteering in Bathurst, pensions and gratuities, the safeguarding of farmers in selling their crops, and the provision of a Post Office Savings Bank, Regulations under the Adulteration of Produce Ordinance fixed a charge, of Gd. a ton on all produce exported and a standard of purity allowing not more than 2 per cent, of extraneous matter in all shipments. Proelamatim No. 1 of 1922, already referred to, displaced the five-franc piece as legal tender from the Colony and Protectorate. (c) Police.—The Force was not maintained at its authorized strength during the year on account of the increasing difficulty o^ enlisting literate recruits. A reorganization is under considera tion which is expected to attract men of the right type. In addition to their ordinary routine at Headquarters and at the three Protectorate police posts, 17 men were detached for warder duty and P5 for the band. The cost of upkeep has hv en reduced by the cutting out of house allowance, made possible by the men occupying the old lines of the Frontier Force at Box Bar. By this measure increased cohesion and better discipline, as well as rapid mobiliza tion in case of emergency, wiP be achieved. A most creditable musketry course was carried out at the Cape, the figure of merit being 67 out of a possible 87. Eleven fire calls were attended during the year. Some better form of fire protection than at present exists must be provided in the near future. The most feasible would be a stationary pumping set at the Public Works Department with a fresh water supply tank. (d) l^risnns.— 82ft prisoners wore admitted in 1922, ihe daily average of gaol inmaios being 98. The accommodation has been GAMBIA, 1922. 11 increased by a building along the Cape Boad, where 40 men are housed. The health of the prisoners is better there than in Bathurst and no ease of beri-beri has occurred at the gaol extension. Bathurst gaol is as oid as Bathurst, and for many years a rumour bats been current that treasure was buried inside under a slab in the pavement of the main building. It was decided to raise the, slab and discover what was below. To the disappoint ment of the spectators nothing was found but the sand on which the town is built. XL—GENERAL. On the King's Birthday the usual ceremonial was carried out. The Governor's announcement that the King had conferred the Companionship of St. Michael and St. George on Dr. Hopkinson, D.S.O., the Senior Commissioner, after twenty years' service in the Gambia, was received with acclamation. On Armistice Day the new marble Cenotaph, of similar design to the Whitehall memorial, was unveiled in MaeOarthy Square. In Bathurst the West African Frontier Force barracks have been converted into Government offices. The soldiers are now quartered in permanent lines at Cape St. Mary, where spacious cantonments have been built facing the sea. There are four blocks of barracks for the men, each private having a separate room, and the officers' mess was completed towards the end of the year. The Government has provided a reading and recreation room, for the African community, in the centre of the town, and two cement tennis courts have been finished during the year. In June a Commissioners' Conference was held as in 1921, and it has now become an annual event. Committees were engaged towards the end of the year on the revision of the Standing Orders and the regrading of the clerical staff. C. B. M. WORKMAN. Colonial Secretary. Balhitrst, nth May, 1923. 12 COLONIAL REPORTS- -ANNUAL. The following Appendices are printed :— (1) List of principal firms trading in the Gambia. (2) List of Barristers, Solicitors and Patent Agents. Publications on the Gambia. " The Gambia ColonyF. B. Archer (St. Bride's Press). 1905. APPENDIX I. Principal Firms, etc* The following are the principal firms crrrying on a general import and export trade :— Name, Address. Address in Europe (if any). •African and Eastern Trade Wellington Street Boyal Liver Building,. Corporation, Ltd. Liverpool. •Barthes and Lesieur 8, Cours de Courque, Bordeaux. •Bathurst Trading Co. 34. Leaden hail Street, Ltd. London, E.G. •Oompagnie Francaiso de 32, Cours Pierre Puget, PAfriquo Occidentals Marseilles. •Etablissomente Maurol ot 18, Tli 10 Porto Dijeaux, Prom. Bordeaux. Buckle Street 23, Water Street, •Gambia Trading Co., Ltd. Liverpool. Wellington Street 6, Quai Louis XVIII, •Maurol Fr6res Bordeaux. 83 Cours do Verdun, •Louis Vozia & Cie. Bordeaux. Moorgate Hall, Finsbury •Palmino, Ltd. Pavement, London, K.C, Anton Blain ^Members of the Bathurst Chamber of Commerce. APPENDIX II. Lim ,/ Barristers and Solicitors. liarrutorn are entitled to practise as Solicitors and vice-versa. •S. J. Foster, M.A., B.C.L.(Oxon)., Barristor-ut-Law, Wellington Street. •I. J. Roberts, 0, Buckle .Slroet. M. J. It. Pratt. M.A., B.C.L. (Durham),, Barristor-atd>a\v, Allen Street. fO. X. Roberts, 6, Buckio Street. • Patent and Trade Mark Agent. fTrado Mark Agent. COLONIAL REPORTS, ETC. The following recent reports, etc., relating to His Majesty's Colonial Possessions have been issued, and may be obtained from the sources indicated on the title page:— ANNUAL, No. Colony, etc. Year. 1123 British Guiana 1921 1124 Grenada 1125 Zanzibar 1126 Northern Territories ol the Gold Coast 1127 Gibraltar 1128 St. Vincent 1129 St. Helena 1130 Fiji 1131 Basutoland 1921-1922 1132 Bermuda 1921 1133 Bechuanaland Protectorate 1921-1922 1134 Barbados 1135 Trinidad and Tobago . . 1921 113(5 British Honduras 1137 Ceylon 1138 Swaziland. . 1139 Hongkong 1140 Straits Settlements 1141 St. Lucia 1142 Ashanti 1143 Jamaica 1144 Falkland Islands 1920 1145 Bahamas 1921-1922 114(S Seychelles 1921 1147 Turks and Caicos Islands 1148 British Solomon Islands Protectorate 1921-1922 1149 Mauritius 1921 1150 Sierra Leone 1151 Uganda 1152 Sornaliland 1153 Kenya Colony and Protectorate (April-December) 1154 Gold Coast 1155 Nigeria 1922 115K Nyasaland 1921 1157 Falkland Islands 1158 Weihaiwei 1922 1159 Cyprus MISCFL NFOUS. No. Colony, etc. Subject. 83 Southern Nigeria Mineral Survey, 1910. 84 West Indies Preservation of Ancient Monu ments, etc. 85 Southern Nigeria , . Mineral Survey, 1911. 8(> Southern Nigeria Mineral Survey, 1912. 87 Ceylon Mineral Survey. 88 Imperial A*»stitute Oil-seeds, Oils, etc. 89 Southern Nigeria Mineral Survey, i913. 00 St. Vincent Roads and Land Settlement. 91 Fast Africa Protectorate Geology and Geography of the northern part of the Protec torate. 92 Colonies- General. . Fishes of the Colonies 93 I 'iteairn Island . . Visit, to the Island by the High Commissioner lor the West ern I 'acilie.