This document was created by the Digital Content Creation Unit University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 2010 COLONIAL REPORTS—ANNUAL. No. 537. BRITISH CENTRAL AFRICA PROTECTORATE. REPORT FOR 1906-7. (For Report [or 1909-6, att No. 499.) Jlreatnttb to both Donate oi parliament bjj (Eommanb ot Die Jttaj eetfi. September, 1907. LONDON: PRINTED FOR HIS MAJESTY'S STATIONERY OFFICE, BT DARLING & SON, LTD., 3440, BACON STOW, & And to be purchased, either directly or through any Bookseller, from WYMIN AND SONS, LTD., FETTER I ANB, E.O., and 32, AMNGDON STOUT, WMTMINSTWI, S.W. $ or OLIVER & BOYD, EDIKBTTBOH ; or E. PONSONBY, 116, GBAFTON STBMST, DUBLIN. 1907. tod. 3729-1.] Price 3$d. CONTENTS. I. FINANCE • ••• • • • » • • • 4 II. TRADE «•„ ... ... • • • ... • •• 5 III. SHIPPING AND TRANSPORT ••• ... • • • »•• • t t 7 • • t 9 iv. AGRICULTURE .«• • •• • It! AFFORESTATION ... •*• ... ... I •« t • • 18 VI. NATIVE AFFAIRS ... ... ••0 ••• • •• • • t 19 VII. LIVE STOCK ... »«• ••• ... ... ... 27 VIII. VITAL STATISTIC* • • • ... ... ... • •• 29 IX. LEGISLATION ••i ... • •• .»• » • • 31 X. POSTAL ... ... ... ... • «. 31 XI. PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT ... • •• • •• ... 34 XIX RAILWAY ... ... ... ... • • • ... • •• 89 XIII. MILITARY ... ••. • •. ... ... 39 XIV. GAME •«• *• * ••• • • t ... ... 41 ANNEXES. L TRADE STATISTICS ... ... 44 II. MEDICAL REPORT ••• 47 III. REPORT ON COTTON CULTIVATION 65 IV. GAME RETURN • 67 COLONIAL BBPOBT8—ANNUAL. a: No. 637. BRITISH CENTRAL AFRICA PROTECTORATE. (For Report for 1905-6 we No. 499.) THE COMMISSIONER TO THE SECRETARY OP STATE. Government Offices, Zomba, British Central Africa, 20th June, 1907. MY LOBS, T HAVE the honour to transmit my report on the British Central Africa (Nyasaland) Protectorate for the year 1906-7. I have, &o., F. B. PEABCE, Acting Commissioner. The Right Honourable The Secretary of State for the Colonies. USB Wt 84288 0/07 D fc-8 6 29193 4 COLONIAL BEPOBT8—-ANNUAL. REPORT FOR THE YEAR 1906-7. I.—FINANCE. REVENUE. 1. The Revenue of the Protectorate for the year 1906-7 was £82,107, being £8,332 above the estimate and £5,369 more than during the preceding financial year. The chief increases were " Hut Tax " £4,545 and u Customs " £2,212. The increase in the amount of Hut Tax collected is consider­ able as may be gathered from the following table:— Hut Tax. Number of taxes Year. oollected. Amount. £ 1895-6 (ao record). 4,704 • • • eee 1896-7 7,201 tit • •• w 1897-8 eee • •• • •• i> 8,083 1898-9 12,646 eee • •• eee it 1899-1900 13,466 0 eee • •• it 1900-1 16,766 eee ».ee tee 1901-2 21,235 eee eee ••• 1902-3 • •• tee 161,386 26,146 1903-4 167,224 26,276 • •• tee 1904-5 184,076 29,024 eee eee 1906-6 197,363 31,074 ••• eee 1906-7 226,560 35,619 eee • •• • •• EXPENDITUBE. 2. The total expenditure for the year 1906-7 was £111,564, being £5,660 less than estimated and £2,872 more than in 1905-6. Of this total civil expenditure {including police) accounted for £75,922, the balance—£35,642—being military expenditure. The following is a statement of revenue and expenditure for the past five years: — Year. Revenue. Expenditure. £ £ 1902-3 tie 67,477 107,257 1903-4 eee 76,895 102,527 1904-5 eee 67,553 122,771 1905-6 eee 76,738 108,682 1906-7 eee 82,078 111,535 BBITI8H CENTRAL APBICA PBOTBCTOBATB, 1906-7. 5 II.—TRADE. GENERAL. 3. The general external trade of the Protectorate, not in­ cluding goods in transit to and from surrounding territories, amounted, in value, to £293,182, which exceeds the previous year's total by £13,823. Custom* revenue amounted to £26,916 3*. M., which exceeds the revenue of the previous year by £1,972 16*. 0d,} and of the year 19C4-5 by £6,998. A sum of £418 12*. U. which is not classed as customs revenue was also collected by the depart­ ment, so that the gross receipt amounted to £27,334 16*. Od. The estimated revenue was £22,360. IMPORTS. 4. The revenue-yielding imports show an increase of £14,773 and the total imports for home consumption a net increase of £20,354.' The principal increase is in soft goods, i.e., calico, printed cottons, etc., for native trade, which is £32,250. There is a decrease in the import of provisions, hardware and " free goods," the latter principally consisting of railway material. (See alto Annex I., tables I. A II) EXPORTS. 5. Under thu heading there is a decrease of 511,981 lbs. in weight and £6,531 in value, chiefly in coffee and cotton. There is an increase of 214,321 lbs. in the quantity of tobacco ex­ ported. The partial failure of the cotton crop in the Shire Valley accounts in a great measure for the decrease in that product, the quantity exported from one plantation falling from 109 tons in 1905-6 to 60 bales of 400 lbs. each hi 1906-7. The low prices now ruling in the European markets have caused the cultivation of coffee to be neglected, and the output has been declining for some years. The supply of wild rubber has also been falling off, and cultivated rubber has not yet been put upon the market, except in small quantities. The quantity of cultivated rubber exported during the year was 972 lbs. Ground-nuts and oil sesds are not specially cultivated for ex­ port, and the trade in these articles is in the hands of Indians, as is also the trade in beeswax. (See Tables I. & III. of Annex I.) TRANSIT IMPOBTS. 6. There is a decrease of £10,949 in the value of imported goods passing through the Protectorate in transit to surround­ ing territories. Since the opening up of alternative routes into German Nyasaland, the Congo Free State, and North Eastern Rhodesia, the transit trade through the Protectorate had been variable. The diversion of this trade into other channels has 6 . : ; OOLOMIAL REPORTS—ANNUAL. been accelerated by the difficulty experienced in navigating the Shire river during the greater part of each year, since 1903, and consequent delays. The bulk of the trade now consists of goods sent by firms, who have their headquarters in the Pro­ tectorate, to trading branches in the surrounding countries, chiefly Rhodesia. TRANSIT EXPORTS. 7. This trade is chiefly in rubber and ivory, of which the supply is rapidly becoming exhausted and is very irregular. In the total trade there is an increase of £13,707. Gold dust value £17,310 and weighing 4,317 ounces, from the Congo Free State, is included in (he total. Statistics with regard to the transit trade will be found in Tables IV. and VI. of Annex I. TRADE PROSPECTS. 8. Large stocks of Manchester soft goods fere at present in the country, and it is possible that the import of these goods may show a decrease. The native trade has declined to some extent owing to a large number of natives employed on railway construction last year being now without work or employed on plantations or other less remunerative labour. The prospects as regards exports are more hopeful; the cotton, coffee, and tobacco crops show signs of improvement, while some attention is given to fibres. An extensive trade can be done in ground­ nuts, beans, and maize, when cheaper communication with the coast is provided. 9. The vague and geographically incorrect name of this country still tends to cause mistakes; and as pointed out in a petition from the local Chamber of Commerce during the past year, it also tends to adversly affect business transactions, owing to the confusion which evidently exists regarding the exact identity of this country. Three instatr es of the manner in which business and other communications are directed to this country may not be without significance: — The first emanated from South Africa; the other two were forwarded by firms in Fleet Street, who might reasonably be supposed to have been in possession of up-to-date works of reference. 1. "The Commissioner, Fort Johnstone, Victoria Nyanza, British East Africa." 2. "The British Governor, Zomba, Natal, South Africa." 3. "The Governor of Blantyre, Zomba, North Eastern Rhodesia." BRITISH CENTRAL AFRICA PROTECTORATE, 1906-7. 7 All these were received within the last month. Of course it is impossible to say how many letters go astray from being incorrectly addressed. III.—SHIPPING AND TRANSPORT, 10. There are 141 vessels on the Chiromo Register of Shipping, viz.: 18 stern-wheeler steamers, 1 paddle steamer, and 1 stern- wheel oil motor boat, 98 barges and 23 locally-built wooden boats. There is also a large fleet of dug-out canoes trading on the Shire river, mostly owned by Indians. Two steamers under the Portuguese flag and one under the German flag ply between Chinde and the Protectorate, making a total of 23 steamers engaged in that trade. These vessels carried inwards during the year a total of 6,615 tons of cargo, and 294 European passengers, and outwards 986 tons of cargo and 199 European passengers. One company owning five steamers, discontinued the general trade as common carriers at the end of the financial year. 11. The Government steamer %* Guendolen " plying on Lake Nyasa has carried out all the requisite traffic as regards cargo, baggage, and passengers during the year, making the usual monthly trip round the lake calling at all ports, and six extra trips to Kota Kota, Fort Maguire, and Saidi Mzungu, during the rice season. The ship has been running well and appears to be in a satis­ factory condition throughout. The weather on Lake Nyasa during the year has been much the same as usual: strong southerly winds from April to Sep­ tember, easterly winds from October to December and vari­ able from January to March.