This document was created by the Digital Content Creation Unit University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 2010 COLONIAL REPORTS—ANN UAL. No. 427. LAGOS. REPORT FOR 1903. (For Report for 1902, see No. 400.) Jreatnttb to both gjouse* of Jadiamtnt bg (Sommano of Jftsjestg. September, 1904. LONDON: PRINTED FOR HIS MAJESTY'S STATIONERY OFFICE, Br DABL1NG & SON. LTD., 34-40, BAOOV STOUT, B. And to be purchased, either directly or through any Bookseller, froxr EYRE A SPOTTISWOODE, EAST HARDING SFHERT, FLEET STUMP, E.O., and 32, ABUTODON STRUT, WMTMIXSTIA, 8.W.; or OLIVEB A BOYD, Eoawmau; or E. FONSONBY, 116, GaAnrox 8TUXT, DTTBLXM. 1904. CONTENTS. I. FINANCIAL »•• ••• ••• IL TRADE, AARICULTURK, INDUSTRIE?, ANO SHIPPING III. LEGISLATION »## X^T« B[oSPIT^-JL3 ••• V. GENERAL OBSERVATIONS COI.OSIAL BEPOBTS—ANSUAL. S No. 427. LAGOS. (For Report for 1902 net No. 400.) St* WM. MACGBEGOS to Ma. LYTTELTOX. London, August 19th 1904. SLB, I HATS the honour to forward herewith a Report I have prepared on the Lagos Blue Book for 1903, and I would wish to direct your special attention to a few of the more im­ portant questions dealt with in that Report. 2. Tables of revenue and expenditure have been made to em­ brace a sufficient number of years to enable one to form a clear opinion as to the progressive fiscal capabilities of the Colony; and the figures given will suffice to prove that the financial condition is eminently satisfactory. It appears that the com­ bined surpluses of the last four fiscal years amount to £201,112, a result that could have been obtained only by the practice of economy in a country that was peaceful ard prosperous. 3. The tables o* malarial cafes and of mortality, prepared by Dr. Strachan, C.M.G., and included in this report, are of importance, and should give much encouragement to the con­ tinuation of the work of sanitation carried on at Lagod. There can be no reasonable doubt that Lagos can be made a fairly healthy town within a few years from this, if the hygienic measures in use there now are persevered in; and if these are supplemented by the execution of the scheme submitted to you, with the full approval of the consulting engineers, for furnishing the inhabitants with a sufficient supply of good water. 4. It has been customary in the Blue Book Returns to include specie in the totals of imports and exports. The quantities of coin imported in connection with railway construction, and the large sums exported in consequence of the completion of that work, and to meet the varying conditions of trade, were sufficient S7S Wt33370 S/04 0*8 ft 18975 AS 4 ' COLONIAL BBPOBTS—-ANNUAL. to serioudv disturb deductions that might be drawn fror. a hasty consideration of total imports and exports. A table of specie imports and exports has been given for the last seven years; and where necessary, specie has been excluded from totals in dealing with imports and exports in this report. 5. As it was not clearly understood by many people in Great Britain that the exports of Lagos are largely dependent on the amount of rain that falls there each year, and the cause of the shrinkage in exports since 1902 was not manifest, a table of rainfall and of the palm produce exported is given from 1888 to 1903, which shows unmistakably the correlation between heavy rainfall and large exports. 6. The export of timber is not on a satisfactory basis. It is still too common a practice to cut down immature trees unfit for the market. Regulations against this, common to all the provinces of the territory, are required, with more expensive supervision of the timber-cutters. 7. It should be specifically brought to your notice that by far the most important export from Lagos is the palm kernel, ; and that some 90 per cent, of this product is exported to Ger­ many, and only about 10 per cent, is shipped to this country. A greater proportion of the ptlm oil comes to Englrud, but Germany has now three-fourths of the whole export of palm produce, oil and kernel?, in her hands. 8. English merchants have a practical monopoly of the valuable trade in cottons; while Germany has a monopoly of the spirit imports. Germany receives 65 per cent, of the total exports of the Colony, and England only 30 per cent. 9. The strict official order and arrangement of a Blue Book Report has not in this case been followed, but attention- has been chiefly concentrated on those financial and trade questions which appeared at this particular time to merit more extended notice, while many minor details of administration have been omitted, a course which, it is hoped, may meet with your approval. I have, Ac., WM. MACGBEGOE LAGOS, 1961 t REPORT ON THE LAGOS BLUE BOOK FOR THE TEAR 1903. i L L FINANCIAL. 1. The total revenue received $>r the financial jear, ending 31st March, 1903, was £359,960. The total expenditure for the lame period was £254,331. This leaves a balance on the year's transactions of £105,629 in favour of the treasury. These results compare, as under, with, the nine preceding years: — Tear. Revenue. Expenditure. Balance. £ £ £ 1898 ••• ••• ... ... 115,317 101,251 + 14,066 ^894 ••• ••• ••• ••« 137,017 124,829 + 12,188 1895 ... ... ... ... 142,049 144,483 — 2,434 1898 ... ••• ... ... 179,745 168,444 + 11,301 189T ... ... ... ... 177,953 182,668 — 4,715 1898 ••• ... ... ... 206,444 203,802 4- 2,642 1,899 ••• ... ... ... 192,791 223,289 — 30,498 !900—l ... ... ... ... 211,467 187,124 + 24,344 ioni o (Ordinary 257,124 213,855 + 43,269 iww j Railway 17,898 21,640 — 3,742 275,022 235,495 + 39,527 Total, 1901-02 ... 313,999 220,536 + 93,463 45,961 33,795 + 12,166 359,960 254,331 +105,629 Total, 1902-03 ... In the revenue for 1898, as given above, there is included a parliamentary grant of £10,000, without which there would have been a deficit of £7,358. The excess of expenditure over revenue, which occurred in three different years, as above, amounted to £37,647, which leaves on the transactions of the ten years an excess of revenue over expenditure of £172,050. But this sum has to be re­ duced by £16,774, the deficit on the intercalary quarter ending 31st March, 1900, which was provided for as a separate entity in order to make the fiscal year synchronous with that of the United Kingdom. The actual excess of revenue over expenditure for the ten and a quarter years ending 31st March, 1903, was, therefore, £155,276. 6 v COLONIAL BBPOKT8—ANNUAL. The unaudited figures for the year ending 31st March,1004, are:— — Revenue. .Expenditure. Balance. £ £ £ Ordinary 283,623 256,621 + 27,002 Railway •«# 61,072 46,464 + 4,608 Total 334,695 303,085 + 31,610 REVENUE. 2. It will be eeen from these figures that the general revenue of the Colony for 1902-3, exclusive of railway receipts, ex- oeeded that of the previous year by £56,875, although this latter year surpassed its predecessor by £15,657. The expan­ sion of the revenue on ordinary receipts was therefore during the two last financial years, 1901-2 and 1902-3, £102,532. The total increase in the ordinary revenue during the five fiscal years, ending 31st March, 1904, was, exclusive of railway receipts, £90,832; inclusive of railway receipts, £141,904. The increase on ordinary revenue in the ten years ending 31st March, 1903, waa £198,692. Several changes have been made in taxation during the last five years, the principal of which will be noticed further on in this report Omitting receipts and expenditure connected with the rail­ way,, the revenue has increased during the ten years ending with March, 1903, in the proportion of 1 to 2*81; the expen­ diture in the ratio of 1 tc 2*13. The several heads of revenue for the year under review com­ pare with those of the previous four years as below: — Bead of Revenue. 1898. 1899. 1900-1. 1901-2. 1902-3. £ £ £ £ £ Customs 179792 175,697 193,924 233,049 287,510 Harbour and Light Dues ... 645 706 784 789 1,041 licenses and Internal 6,448 6,744 6,696 7,199 8,740 Revenue. Fees of Court or Office ... 3,362 3,854 4,731 4,862 10,171 Postal Revenue 1,865 1,518 1,574 1,991 2,356 425 463 405 448 582 Interest on Investments ... 2,126 2,178 2,211 2,198 2,236 Land Sales 296 402 185 209 222 Miscellaneous 1,485 1,230 957 6,379 1,141 Total — 257,124 313,999 Railway Receipts ... 17,898 45,961 Grand Total 196,444 192,792 211,467 275,022 359,960 LAGOS, 1003. 7 3. It may be said that in round numbers nine-tenths of the ordinary revenue is derived from customs dues. No other head of revenue shews any considerable power of expansion. The percentage of customs receipts to the whole of the ordinary revenue has for the last five years remained almost invariable at 91. Customs dues are collected on imports only. 4. Duty on spirits forms the principal source of revenue from customs. During the year ending with March, 1903, spirit dues yielded £182,690, as against £104,819 collected on all other articles liable to duty. In other word*, the duty collected on spirits in 1902-3 amounted to 63 per cent, of the total of customs revenue, and to 68 per cent, of the whole of the ordinary revenue of the Colony.