COLONIAL REPORTS—ANNUAL.

No. 1249.

G A M B I A .

Report for 1924. (For Report for 1923 see No. 1201)

LONDON:

PUINTKD AND P L B L L S f l L D HV HIS MA I K S T V ' S S T A T I O N K K Y O I T K H To l.o p u r c h a s e ! din»rfly from II.M. STATION 101 <Y Ol 'T ICK at Um following addresses :

Adastrrd llou^»' f Kingsway, London, W.C.2 ; 2H, Abingdon S t ree t , London. S . W . I ; York S h e e t , Manches te r ; 1. St , Andrew's O c w e n t , Cardiff;

or 120, George St ree t , Ed inburgh ; or through any Hooksellrr,

1 9 2 5 .

Price (r.l. vet.

2 COLONIAL REPORTS—ANNUAL.

N o . 1249.

G A M B I A .

A N N U A L G E N E R A L K E P O E T , 1 9 2 4 . *

Preface. T h e first (Inscriptive accoun t s o f the Gambia, E i v e r date from

the middle of the 1 5 t h c e n t u r y w h e n Cada M o s t o , a V e n e t i a n , visi ted the river in cha rge of an expedi t ion fitted out by P r i n c e H e n r y oi' P o r t u g a l . H e appears to have t ravel led some forty mi l e s from the m o u t h in 1 4 5 0 . T h e Por tuguese were ab le to m a i n t a i n a monopoly of the t rade for more than a c e n t u r y ; an E n g l i s h expedi t ion fitted out in 148.1 was prevented f rom sai l ing by the inf luence of K i n g J o h n I I u f P o r t u g a l . I n 1 5 8 8 , a P a t e n t from Queen E l i z a b e t h gave ce r t a in m e r c h a n t s o f D e v o n and L o n d o n a monopoly for ten yea r s o f the *' free and whole t raf ique t rade and feat o f m e r c h a n d i s e " to and within the S e n e g a l and G a m b i a r ivers . I t was s tated in the P a t e n t tha t one voyage had a l ready been per formed. T h e second voyage under the c h a r t e r wh ich was made in 1 5 9 1 is descr ibed in h a k l u y t . T h e F r e n c h , it appea r s , had then t raded in these pa r t s for above th i r ty yea r s , but the " F r e n c h m e n never used to go in to the river o f G a m b i a wh ich is ;t r iver o f secret t rade and r i ches concea l led by tb^ P o r t u g a l s . " T h e power of P o r t u g a l was t hen on the w a n e , a n d ear ly in the 17th c e n t u r y l h e Eng l i sh es tab l i shed t h e m s e l v e s in the G a m b i a and the F r e n c h in S e n e g a l to t i ie nor th . F o r the fol lowing two cen tu r i e s these coun t r i e s con­tended with varying for tunes for the mas t e rv of the two r ive rs , the coast ports b e t w e e n , and the t rade of the h in t e r l and .

In the bSfh c e n t u r y the1 Koyal African C o m p a n y control led the c o m m e r c e of the G a m b i a , and made large profits on the i r ca rgoes of s laves and gold and ivory and b e e s w a x .

Char te red C o m p a n y admin i s t r a t i on , however , was ruined by the Act o f JH07, which abol ished the slave t rade , and a l though an annua l subsidy o f t '^WMK) was paid *o the C o m p a n y , it was unable to make 1 a profit , and its a s se t s were t aken over by t he C r o w n . S i n c e I S K i the scat of G o v e r n m e n t has been at Hathurs t , which was founded by the Engl i sh m e r c h a n t s who left S e n e g a l and the Is land of G o r e e when those te r r i tor ies were restored to K ranee af ter I he Napoleonic wars . I t was named af ter the then S e e n ry of S t a t e for the Colonies .

* NOTE .—A sketch map will bo found in the Report for 1 9 1 4 , No. 86) [Cd. 7 6 2 2 - 5 3 ] .

GAMBIA, 1 9 2 4 . 3

L—Government Finance. T h e R e v e n u e and E x p e n d i t u r e for t h e las t five y e a r s have

been : — Excess of Assets

Year, Itevenue. Expenditure, over Liabilities. £ £ £

19i20 . . . 2 6 8 , 7 8 8 1 7 1 , 1 0 0 3 2 8 , 6 5 7 1 9 2 1 . . . 1 8 3 , 2 0 1 2 2 5 , 4 6 1 2 8 6 , 3 9 6 1 9 2 2 . . . 2 0 4 , 2 4 1 4 3 0 , 3 1 2 (a) 9 9 , 6 8 7 1 9 2 3 . . . 4 0 7 , 5 8 1 (b) 2 1 1 , 3 1 6 2 9 5 , 9 5 1 1924 . . . 2 0 8 , 6 1 3 2 0 3 , 0 3 5 3 0 0 , 9 2 9

(a) i nc ludes .£ '187,893 loss on demone t i za t i on of five f ranc p ieces . (b) i nc ludes £ 1 7 7 , 8 9 3 part of loan from W e s t Afr ican C u r r e n c y B o a r d .

C u s t o m s rece ip t s , which represen t 6 4 per c en t , o f the tota l revenue o f the Colony , b rought in £ 1 3 3 , 4 2 5 agains t £ 1 6 1 , 8 7 7 the y e a r before . Out of this sum the four c h i e f i t ems showed the fol lowing reduc t ions on 1 9 2 3 re tu rns : —

1 9 2 4 . 1 9 2 3 . il £

G r o u n d n u t s 5 7 , 5 7 2 6 0 , 6 2 2 K o l a nu t s 2 9 , 2 3 1 3 7 , 3 0 1 Ad valorem dut ies 1 8 , 8 6 7 3 6 , 5 1 5 T o b a c c o 1 1 , 1 7 2 1 5 , 3 0 8

T h e large decrease of £ 1 7 , 6 4 8 in ad valorem dut ies is accoun ted for, as to £ 1 5 , 0 2 2 by a reduc t ion in the impor ta t ion of co t ton goods owing to large s tocks b e i n g held at the b e g i n n i n g of t he y e a r ; as to the b a l a n c e by the new classif icat ion of ce r t a in i t e m s fo rmer ly on an ad valorem bas i s , now dut iable at a specific r a t e .

L i g h t dues at the ra te of a shi l l ing a Ion have been cha rged on all vesse l* laden with cargo lor .Hathurst s ince the b<\<>innin<r of the y e a r and with 'Buovage and W h a r f a g e dues have yielded . i '3 .9 .14.

, £ 2 2 , 0 0 0 was paid as part redempt ion of the loan from the W e s t Afr ican C u r r e n c y .Hoard. T h e or ig ina l debt has now been reduced to . i ' J 2 5 . 8 9 3 . '

n. -Trade and Agriculture. (a) TRADK.

T h e fol lowing tab le shows the b a l a n c e o f trade exc lus ive of specif 1 dur ing the last th ree years

Balance of Exports Year. Imports. Exports. over Imports.

£ £ £ 1922 . . . 0 5 3 . . I 2 I 807 ,8 :14 1 5 4 , 4 2 3 1923 ... 7 9 0 , 0 1 3 8 8 4 , 3 0 9 1)4,296 1921 . . . (>(>!.),700 8 9 3 , 3 5 9 2 2 3 , 6 5 9

(18:123) Wt.70«S,.SnS 1000 7/2S Harrow C. 94

4 COLONIAL REPORTS—ANNUAL.

] HI ports. T h e difference in t h e value of impor t s b e t w e e n 1 9 2 1 and 1923

is m a i n l y due to co t ton p iece-goods , o f wh ich only 2 ,947 ,529 ya rds , valued at £ 1 0 4 , 8 9 3 , were impor t ed , as against 8 , 4 7 6 , 2 1 9 yards valued at £ 2 3 2 , 7 7 0 in 1 9 2 3 .

I n spi te o f the c rops grown local ly in the r iver s w a m p s , a large q u a n t i t y of impor ted rice was c o n s u m e d in 1 9 2 4 a m o u n t i n g to 7 , 4 9 0 tons , valued at i ' 1 2 0 , 9 8 2 , compared wi th 4,(500 tons the previous y e a r .

T h e U n i t e d S t a t e s con t inue to supply mos t of the non-edib le o i l s , o f wh ich near ly 3 0 , 0 0 0 ga l lons m o r e than last y e a r were b rought in .

87*70 per cen t , of wines c a m e from F r a n c e as well as mos t o f the b i s c u i t s , Hour, sugar and soap.

T h e B r i t i s h share o f the impor t t r ade , 54*31 per c e n t . , was 1 5 1 0 per c e n t , less t h a n tha t of 1 9 2 3 , F r a n c e c o m i n g second with 10*97 per c e n t , and ( i e r m a n y third with 15'75 per c e n t .

Exports. O f t h e tota l value o f expo r t s , g r o u n d n u t s accoun t for 90*48

per c e n t . ; 54*12 per c e n t , went to E n g l a n d , and 33*79 per c e n t , to F r a n c e . T h e low pr ice of £ 1 0 a ton or 2s. Gd. a. bushel offered to t he f a rmer s by the m e r c h a n t s in J a n u a r y at t he c o m ­m e n c e m e n t o f the buy ing season , w h e n more a t t r a c t i ve pr ices were offered by the i r F r e n c h compe t i t o r s in S e n e g a l , was pe rhaps the m a i n fac tor in the crop be ing s m a l l e r than usual . L i v e r p o o l quo ta t ions v G a m b i a g roundnu t s averaged 4s. 3<7. a bushe l .

(6 ) AGRICULTURE.

T h e work of lay ing out the new Agr icu l tura l and J botanical S t a t i o n at ( ' ape S t . M a r y , began on J s t J a n u a r y and , by the end of J u n e , .10 ac re s o f bush land had been hand-ploughed or forked.

P l a n t nurser ies have been es tab l i shed „nd two large g lass houses have been built lor ra is ing special e c o n o m i c p lan t s . A sec t ion of land has been divided in to ten quar te r -acre plots for a s c e r t a i n i n g the m a m m a l r e q u i r e m e n t s o f the g roundnu t .

Z a r i a . Phi l ippine Ked , Dixie* G r a n t , Senega l and local var ie t ies of nuts are be ing sown for e x p e r i m e n t . A fumiga tor ium has been built on the s ta t ion for the purpose of deal ing with all impor ted p lan t s and seeds .

Agr icu l tura l cond i t ions in the G a m b i a differ main ly from those of o t h e r W e s t Afr ican Colonies owing to tin 1 absence o f h in te r ­land. P rac t i ca l ly t he whole of i he I Yotec ioraf c lands consist of a narrow str ip of low-lying land, six and a quar te r mi les broad, fol lowing the G a m b i a River along its course on e i ther bank for a distance* of 2 5 0 m i l e s .

T h e populat ion, which is uneven ly distribute d in the Pro­t e c t o r a t e , is 2 1 0 , 5 3 0 , or 51 to the square mi l J .

GAMBIA, 1 9 2 4 . 5

Ef fec t ive labour is to a large e x t e n t mig ra to ry and is d iminish-l ing as the fol lowing re turn o f " S t r a n g e F a r m e r s " for the last

five yea r s shows : —

Year. StrangFarmers. 1 9 2 0 . . . 2 4 , 1 5 0

1 9 2 1 2 2 , 0 5 8 1 9 2 2 . . . . . . 2 0 , 5 6 6 1 9 2 8 1 7 , 8 8 3 1 9 2 4 1 4 , 1 8 8

( )ne cause of the decrease was a t t r ibuted to the unsat i s fac tory sys tem of produce inspec t ion wh ich has now been d i scont inued , but it is an undoubted fact tha t r a i lway const ruct ion in S e n e g a l , which will even tua l ly enc lose the P ro t ec to r a t e , has much to do with the dwindl ing n u m b e r s of " St range 1 F a r m e r s " w h o en t e r the P ro t ec to r a t e (Mich yea r to cu l t iva te g roundnu t s and return to the i r h o m e s with the proceeds of the i r labours . I n s t e a d of the sys tem of inspect ion compul so ry sc reen ing o f nuts has been es tab l i shed wi th mos t sa t i s fac tory resu l t s .

S i x t y - t h r e e buy ing s t a t ions have carr ied on bus iness , as agains t seventy-f ive in the previous season.

I t is hoped that wi th careful se lect ion of seed the crops in future yea r s will surpass in q u a n t i t y , as they already do in qua l i ty , those o f the pas t .

T h e tonnage and values o f the last five yea r s have been ; —

Year. Tonnayc. Va'ue.

1 9 2 0 R.J ,037 2 . 3 2 2 . 0 3 2 1 9 2 1 5 9 . 1 7 5 02>s.901. 1 9 2 2 0 1 , 8 0 0 780 .889

1 9 2 3 0 1 , 1 7 * 8 0 1 . 8 8 5

1921 0 0 , 0 2 2 8 0 1 . 9 2 5

in ke rne l s have given b e t t e r resul ts than last yea tons of a value of 1 '10,571 having been e x p o r t e d , as against 8 9 2 tons of a value o f 1*5,040 in 1 9 2 8 . T h e oil palm is be ing des­troyed by bush fires and the m a t u r e pa lms are be ing e x t e r m i n a t e d by over - tapping for palm wine , I ' n l e s s prompt act ion is t aken palm ke rne l s wi l l , as in (he case of rubber , cease to appear in the expo r t s , but the difficulty of enforc ing the prohibi t ion of lapping the pa lms is obvious .

The , ime t ree is found g rowing under semi-wild condi t ions in the 1 Volec lo ra fe and e x p e r i m e n t s are be ing made* at Cape S t . Mary with a v iew to the e s t a b l i s h m e n t o f an industry in th i s fruit in the G a m b i a .

6 COLONIAL R E P O R T S — A N N U A L .

HI —Land and Climate.

(a) LAND.

O w n e r s h i p is hered i ta ry in the P r o t e c t o r a t e . W h e r e land is n >t held or c l a imed by a native*, it can he ren ted from the G o v e r n ­ment for a t e r m , hut freehold r igh ts are not g iven . T h e land belongs to the people and each farmer is rea l ly the owner , so long as he con t inues to cu l t iva te it.

F o r e - N are non-exis ten t and there are no E u r o p e a n plantat ions.

A survey was made at Ghargi in the S o u t h "Bank P r o v i n c e in connect ion with a f ront ier d ispute , and the l ine was del imi ted by iron p icke t s for la ter inves t iga t ion by a "Boundary C o m m i s s i o n .

About 5 0 survevs for issue of t i t le were made during the yea r and 101 t i t les were e n t e r e d , cons i s t ing of 42 g r an t s in fee s imple U l o f t hem in Ba thur s t on old land app l i ca t i ons ) , 104 leases and 15 w h a r f l i c ences .

T h e rent roll of the G o v e r n m e n t in 1 0 2 1 was £ 5 , 1 4 0 .

( 6 ) CLIMATE.

Me teo ro log ica l re tu rns for B a t h u r s t and G e o r g e t o w n are as follows : —

Average1 Average Rainfall max. shade, min. shade. Range. Mean. in inches.

Bathurst . . . 92 -5 63-7 20 78-1 5 6 - 4 6 Georgetown . . . 100-6 6 6 - 6 34 83 -6 47-01

T h e h ighes t m a x i m u m shade t e m p e r a t u r e was 1 1 0 ° F . in April at G e o r g e t o w n .

T h e heavies t rainfal l in one mon th was 2 0 T 4 i nches in Augus t at B a t h u r s t .

T h e average of rainfal l in B a t h u r s t dur ing the last 4 0 \o\\r> has been : —

1 8 8 1 - 1 8 9 4 5 P 5 0 inches . 1 8 9 5 - 1 9 0 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 0 97 „ 1 9 0 5 - 1 9 1 4 44-47 1915 1924 45*35 ,,

'Though cons iderab ly above the average of the last 4 0 y e a r s , the total ra infa l l in 1 9 2 4 was n ine inches less than in 1 9 2 3 . T h e figures for the last five yea r s be ing : —

1 9 2 0 ' 34*29 inches . 1921 . . . . . . . . . 35 -12 1922 45-71 1 9 2 3 . . . 05*38 1924 . . . . . . . . . 5 0 - 4 0

GAMBIA, 1 9 2 4 . 7

V.—Communications.

(a) S m i M M X o .

T h e total of B r i t i s h , F r e n c h , A m e r i c a n , and G e r m a n tonnage dur ing the last four yea r s has been : —

Year. JlriUsh. French. American. German, Total. 1 9 2 1 . . . 1 4 0 , 5 2 2 5 5 , 0 0 3 0 0 , 8 9 6 1 6 , 0 4 8 0 8 8 , 7 4 0 1922 .. . 5 5 0 , 2 8 3 8 1 , 3 5 8 2 2 , 8 0 5 6 7 , 9 9 8 8 3 5 , 6 6 8 1923 . . . 5 9 3 , 7 7 2 1 0 0 , 1 8 0 0 0 , 1 2 6 1 6 5 , 8 0 4 1 , 0 5 2 , 8 9 2 1921 . . . 6 1 3 , 7 9 6 9 2 , 8 6 9 9 3 , 4 1 6 1 5 8 , 0 0 0 1 , 1 0 0 , 7 2 9

(/;) MARINE DKPAUTMENT.

T h e s t eamer M P r i n c e of W a l e s / ' which was purchased by the G o v e r n m e n t in 1 9 2 2 , made 25 tr ips up the river during the

IV—Education. During the yea r 1 9 2 4 there were 1 ,088 chi ldren on the regis ter

of the e l e m e n t a r y schools of the G a m b i a , 2 1 8 of whom at tended the M o h a m m e d a n school and 8 2 the schools a t G e o r g e t o w n .

T h e r e are secondary schools a l so , m a i n t a i n e d by the W e s l e y a n s , and a R o m a n Ca tho l i c school for g i r l s . T h e G a m b i a ch i ldren are not less in te l l igen t t h a n thei r b ro the r s and s is ters in o ther Colonies , but indifferent t each ing prevents m o s t of them from a t t a in ing a sa t i s fac to ry s tandard , apart from the fact that pa ren t s too of ten t ake the i r sons and daughters up r iver with t h e m during the t rad ing season and often r emove t h e m from school at an ear ly age to work in the h o m e .

T h e school a t t e n d a n c e was again bad th is year m a i n l y owing to s ickness and the inc lemen t wea the r exper ienced during the ra ins .

T w o medical inspec t ions were carr ied out and physica l exer ­c i ses have been t aken up with keen in te res t .

A football compe t i t i on has caused i m m e n s e en thus ia sm amongs t the scho la r s , but none of the schools have adequa te play­grounds . It is unfor tuna te tha t when they were buil t years ago sufficient space was not al lowed for recrea t ion purposes .

It is hoped tha t the r ec l ama t ion s c h e m e will provide a r emedy .

T h e resul t s of the annua l e x a m i n a t i o n s were not as good as last yea r , espec ia l ly so in hyg i ene .

At the t e a c h e r s ' e x a m i n a t i o n the re was only one successful cand ida te out of 1 2 .

Schoo l l ibrar ies have been s tar ted so that the older chi ldren now have the c h a n c e of reading s tandard au thors .

T w o boys at present hold scholarsh ips from the G o v e r n m e n t and are be ing educa ted at F o u r a h "Bay Col lege , S i e r r a L e o n e .

8 COLONIAL R E P O R T S — A N N U A L .

y e a r , cover ing a d i s t ance o f 1 2 / 7 6 0 m i l e s . T h e " P r i n c e of W a l e s " and ' V a m p i r e " run a regu la r se rv ice , t he l a t t e r having m a d e 2 3 tr ips wi th a total d i s t ance run o f 1 1 , 5 3 0 m i l e s .

B o t h vessels a re well pa t ronised for pas senge r traffic and f re ight .

B e p a i r s o f any i m p o r t a n c e have to he done a t D a k a r , bu t , w h e n the s l ipway a t B a t h u r s t ha s been bui l t , it will be possible to a c c o m m o d a t e sh ips up to 4 0 0 ions .

T h e M a r i n e W o r k s h o p and S t o r e , (dose to t he si te of the s l ipway , was finished towards t h e end of the y e a r and the m a c h i n e r y ins ta l led . T h e D e p a r t m e n t is now t ra in ing its own appren t i ce e n g i n e e r s , both afloat and in the workshop .

T h e l ighted buoys at the e n t r a n c e o f the r iver have worked well and are b rough t in every s ix m o n t h s for t e s t i ng and overhaul .

(c) POSTS AND TKLKORAPHS DKP.WITMKXT.

T h e cor respondence dealt with during the past year show - a gradual r ise .

Number of Arliclcs Year. (letters,

postcard,;, etc.) 1921 1 9 2 , 0 4 9 1 9 2 2 2 0 8 , 9 3 8 192:* 2 1 9 , 1 0 1 1 9 2 4 2 2 9 , 9 3 8

(5,081. pan-els \v '•re received and de:-patr!)ed.

N e w steel ca l ! boxes have been provided at the B a t h u r s t P o s t Office and are a g rea t i m p r o v e m e n t on the old wooden type .

M o n e y orders to the a m o u n t o f .-£'15,079 and postal orders to the amoun t o f £ 0 , 8 7 1 were issued from the four land offices and the two t rave l l ing post offices on the ' 4 P r i n c e o f W a l e s " and

v a m p i r e .

T h e S a v i n g s B a n k deposi ts have fallen to £ 1 , 5 0 0 , the lowest figure recorded in the past 2 5 y e a r s .

W i r e l e s s c o m m u n i c a t i o n with G e o r g e t o w n has been carr ied on throughout the yea r . T h e s ta t ion at B a s s e w a s closed down during the r a in s . 2 /231 m e s s a g e s in all were s en t .

T h e new Cen t r a l B a t t e r y T e l e p h o n e sys tem is now in good working order and 75 t e l ephones have been ins ta l l ed .

VI—The Protectorate. F o r m e r l y it was said that one farm of nu ts bought two of

co rn , but to-day the value of corn is propor t ionate ly so much h igher that more corn and less nu t s have been g rown in some par t s of the P r o v i n c e s ,

GAMBIA, 1 9 2 4 . 9

I n the Nor th B a n k P r o v i n c e , vil lage seed-nut s tores have been buil t wi th good resu l t s . E v e r y fa rmer at harvest t ime puts in th ree measu re s and just before the ra ins he receives b a c k two for p l an t ing . T h e third be longs to the vil lage and is d is t r ibuted by t he H e a d m a n .

In K o m b o nuts are now bought by weight instead of by the bushe l . T h e innovat ion has proved unpopular as the ma jo r i t y of f a rmers only unders tand the bushel measures and are qui te ignorant o f the use of sca les . Now tha t B a t h u r s t m e r c h a n t s send lorr ies to t ranspor t the nuts , m a n y donkeys have4 been sold in to F r e n c h coun t ry . T h e y , as well as the .Kombo c a t t l e , have again been gradual ly inc reas ing in n u m b e r s , but if will be m a n y yea r s before the herds approach in size those which were seen before the plague in 1 0 1 7 .

At M c C a r t h y Is land the main land groundnut trade from G e o r g e t o w n has a lmost ceased on account of l ighters and c u t t e r s be ing no longer employed by the m e r c h a n t s to t ranspor t nu ts from the ma in land vi l lages of the Sou th Hank Province to that town.

A cha in ferry at Bo raba is under cons idera t ion , as b e t t e r pr ices are ob ta inab le at George town than in the ne ighbour ing d i s t r i c t .

T h e impor tance of George town has been ecl ipsed of r ecen t y e a r s by K u n t a u r , which is the pr incipal up-river sh ipping port. T h e depth of the s t r e a m here a l lows ocean-go ing s t e a m e r s to c o m e right a longside the wharves . T h e p lace , which c o n t a i n s only a lew hundred people at o the r t i m e s , swells in to a town of several thousand i n h a b i t a n t s during the t rading season and p resen t s a problem in regard to san i ta t ion which the au thor i t i e s are t ak ing s teps to solve .

VII.-—Vital Statistics and Sanitation.

(a) STATISTICS.

In Ba thurs t there are 21H E u r o p e a n s and 0 ,741 Af r i cans and S y r i a n s . 201 b i r ths were recorded during the yea r and 5 1 3 dea th s , g iving a bir th and death rah* of 30*00 and 52*60 per thousand respec t ive ly .

T h e infant mor ta l i ty rate was 171 per thousand , as against 108 in 1 9 2 3 .

(b) I T n u c I IKALTH.

F i v e cases of sma l lpox occurred , but none of plague in any part of the Colony or "Protectorate.

Throughou t the yea r an intensive campa ign against ra ts was carr ied on in B a t h u r s t . P a t infes ta t ion of all p remises is now eompulsor i l} ' not i f iable .

10 COLONIAL R E P O R T S — A N N U A L .

S a n d filing opera t ions at the C e m e t e r y have provided a large area of n e w buryin< r ground and have also obl i te ra ted mosqu i to breeding p laces which have con t r ibu ted largely to ma la r i a in B a t h u r s t .

(c) MEDICAL.

I n - p a t i e n t s at the Colonia l Hosp i t a l numbered 0 0 5 , out­pa t i en t s 1 3 , 0 0 9 .

A M e d i c a l Officer and a D i s p e n s e r are s ta t ioned at G e o r g e ­town and a D i spense r at the W e s t African F r o n t i e r 'Force* can ton ­m e n t s ; t he rest of the medica l staff are at headquar te r s .

S i n c e t he correc t ion of t h e d ie ta ry at t he G a o l , no ca ses of ber i -ber i have occurred , so tha t it is just i f iable to c la im that the " nu t r i t iona l " theory is sound.

A ser ious outbreak of e p i d e m i c , diagnosed as re lapsing fever , broke out in three vi l lages in the Nor th B a n k P r o v i n c e , c aus ing the dea th s o f 0 8 5 people out of a total o f 2 , 7 0 0 .

Vm—Judicial.

(a) CRIMINAL STATISTICS.

T h e S u p r e m e Court disposed of 33 c a s e s , as aga ins t 3 8 in 1 9 2 3 .

T w e n t y - f i v e of them were for offences aga ins t proper ty , n ine of which were t raders ' ca ses under the Cr imina l L a w Ord inance of 1 8 5 5 . An unusual cha rge was tha t against a woman who was convic ted of forging a c h e q u e .

I n t h e Po l i ce Court the re was a cons iderab le increase in the n u m b e r o f persons brought up. L a r c e n y and cogna t e offences still figure far too p rominen t l y . T h e n u m b e r of s u m m o n s e s for default in paymen t of local ra tes was chiefly due to t rade depress ion,

In the P r o t e c t o r a t e T r i b u n a l s the c o m m o n e s t offences are assau l t s , pe t ty larceny and ca t t l e thef t s .

F i n e s , as usual, con t inue to be the genera l form of p e n a l t y infl icted.

(b) LEGISLATION.

T w e n t y - o n e Ord inances were passed in 1 9 2 1 .

T h e mos t impor tant were those deal ing with C u s t o m s , the Adul te ra t ion of P r o d u c e , and the R e p a t r i a t i o n of Al iens . T h e Adul te ra t ion of Produce Ord inance deals wi th compulsory sc reen­ing of n u t s .

R e g u l a t i o n s conce rn ing public hea l th , the pol ice, and moto r traffic were made by the G o v e r n o r in Counc i l .

GAMBIA, 1 9 2 4 . 11

(a) POLICE.

F o u r sub- inspec to r s , appointed ear ly in the yea r , have added to the efficiency o f the F o r c e , wh ich has been m a i n t a i n e d at the au thor i sed s t r eng th of 2 Officers, 8 W a r r a n t Officers and I4G N . O . O . s and m e n .

S i x boys were t aken on as band appren t i ce s . T h e y have been t augh t mus ic by the B a n d m a s t e r and , cons ider ing t he t ime they have been under tu i t ion , they play ex t rao rd ina r i ly we l l .

A sec t ion o f cons t ab l e s are t ra ined as f i remen, but no fires o f a serious na tu re occurred dur ing the 12 m o n t h s under rev iew.

No case o f d runkenness was repor ted in any of the 17 p r emi se s l icensed for the sale o f l iquor .

T h e D o m e s t i c S e r v a n t s R e g i s t r a t i o n O r d i n a n c e , which has been in force s ince 1 9 2 2 , is car r ied out by the P o l i c e and has had benefic ia l r esu l t s .

Dur ing the whole of 1924 on ly one case of thef t was brought against a regis tered servant by his mas t e r out of ;>0S on the books .

((/) PRISON.

T h r e e hundred pr isoners were a d m i t t e d , wi th a daily average of 1 0 2 T h e i r hea l th has been m u c h improved by the use o f unpol ished r ice and vege tab les from the prison ga rden .

A female prison has been added and quar te r s for the m a t r o n .

T h e pr isoners are employed on publ ic works , wood cu t t ing and sp l i t t ing , ga rden ing , and c l ean ing of G o v e r n m e n t bui ld ings and grounds .

IX.—Public Works. T h e four large s c h e m e s for "Bathurs t , n a m e l y , D r a i n a g e , F i r e

P r o t e c t i o n , E l e c t r i c L i g h t , and S l i p w a y , have progressed so s lowly that the cons t ruc t ion s t age will not be r eached unti l nex t y e a r .

T h e dra inage s c h e m e inc ludes the purchase of a dredger and the raising of low-lying areas about 2 feet above low-tide level . T h e s e areas have a lways been sub jec t to flooding during the r a iny season and it is proposed to r emove the i n h a b i t a n t s of the t idal s w a m p areas and to provide a c c o m m o d a t i o n for t h e m in the rec la imed area o f some 25 ac res at H a l f D i e .

T h e protec t ion of B a t h u r s t aga ins t fire has been a m a t t e r o f u rgency for long past . It has now been decided to raise t he pressure in the B a t h u r s t wa te r m a i n s by the use of p u m p s . T h e normal pressure in, and c a p a c i t y of , the m a i n s is inadequate for th is purpose. A cont inuous supply of water will he ensured by the provision of a t ank o f 1 5 0 , 0 0 0 ga l lons capac i t y .

12 COLONIAL REPORTS—ANNUAL,

T h e ins ta l la t ion of an e l ec t r i c light and power plant c apab l e of m e e t i n g the public and private demands for e l ec t r i c i t y in B a t h u r s t has been prepared for by the convers ion of the Gao l in to a cen t r a l power-house to hold two a l t e rna to r s o f 1 0 0 k i l o w a t t s and one a l t e rna to r of 5 0 k i lowat t s , the m a c h i n e s be ing coupled direct to semi-1 )icsei oil e n g i n e s . Dis t r ibut ion wiil be bv over­head ne twork supplying current at 2 2 0 vol ts with 4 4 0 vol ts be tween ou te r wires .

T h e S l i p w a y at H a l f I ) ie is designed to deal with ships up to 1 5 0 feet in length and o f 400 tons dead weight . T h e a t t e m p t to bnilu a s l ipway in 1 9 1 4 was rendered abor t ive by the insecur i ty of the foundat ions . Careful inves t iga t ions and bor ings have therefore been made dur ing the vear to ensure the safe tv of the supers t ruc tu re .

T h e supply of labour , both skilled and unski l led , has been adequa te , there be ing no large works in the Colony to c a u s e a shor t age .

T h e ra te of wages o f unski l led labour r ema ined c o n s t a n t , whi le that o f skilled labour fell s l igh t ly . W h e n e v e r possible , work has been done by piece work or pe t ty c o n t r a c t , ra ther than by day wage labour .

T h i s sys tem has been adopted in the m a k i n g of furni ture from 4 4 Con!a " wood specia l ly imported from S ie r r a L e o n e , the re be ing l i t t le su i table wood in the G a m b i a . I t was feared t ha t good cab ine t work would be ra ther beyond the abi l i ty of the local na t ive ca rpen t e r , but the result has proved o therwise and it is an t i c ipa ted that the furni ture made in the P u b l i c W o r k s D e p a r t ­m e n t wi?i s tand the c l i m a t e be t t e r than the inferior and more expens ive imported oak and pine sui tes .

X — GereraL

T h r e e ca l l s were made during the yea r by the g u n b o a t s 4 1 T h i s t l e " and 4 1 D w a r f / ' and a short visit was paid by the F r e n c h man-of -war 4 4 C a s s i o p e e . "

A successful ce lebra t ion o | Kmpire Day included an a s s e m b l y in M c C a r t h y S q u a r e of tin* chi ldren a t t end ing the various schools in B a t h u r s t , toge the r with the Boy S c o u t s , Gir l G u i d e s , and B r o w n i e s . Ath le t i c sports o f a more ambi t ious na ture than formerly were 1 held in the a f te rnoon. T h e W e s l e y a n s once more obta ined the major i ty of pr izes and the C h a m p i o n s h i p flag.

T h e B e a d i n g and "Recreation Room for the African C o m m u n i t y in the cen t r e of tin* town , opened by (lie* Gove rnmen t in 1922 , was closed as it was hardly ever used by those for whom it was in tended. T h e premises have* been handed over to the Pub l ic H e a l t h D e p a r t m e n t , and thei r offices in B u c k l e S t ree t an? now used as the headquar te rs of the Boy S c o u t s and Gir l G u i d e s .

GAMBIA, 1 9 2 4 . 13

P a r t of t he old S e c r e t a r i a t has been turned in to a C lub . I t s p rox imi ty to t he t enn i s cour t s m a k e s it a convenien t social c e n t r e for the t own . A c c o m m o d a t i o n for the s ta l l has been inc reased by t h e pu rchase of an old s tone res idence in L e m a n S t r e e t .

An inc iden t wor thy of m e n t i o n is the r e t i r e m e n t in perfec t hea l th of M o n s i e u r B o u r q u i n af ter forty y e a r s ' service in B a t h u r s t with the firm of M a u r e l F r e r e s .

C. B . M . WORKMAN, Colonial Secretary.

Hat hurst, Gambia, 26 / / / May, 1 9 2 5 .

T h e following Appendices are printed ; —

(1.) W o r k conduc ted at the I m o e r i a l I n s t i t u t e during thv, vear 1 9 2 4 for the Colony of the G a m b i a .

( 2 ) List of principal firms trading in tlu» G a m b i a .

(.*'}> List of B a r r i s t e r s , So l i c i t o r s and P a t e n t Agen t s .

I V I N . K W T f o N S ON Ti l l - ' . G A M J U A .

T h e G a m b i a O o l o n v / ' b \ B , Aivhor ( S t . I-lride's P ress ) . 1 9 0 5 .

" T h e G a m b i a , " I I . Peeve ( S m i t h , K lde r ) . 1 9 1 2 .

Annual 'Trade4 Beport of the Colony , I92M, ob ta inab le from the ( T o w n Agent>.

1 4 COLONIAL REPORTS—ANNUAL.

Appendix I. W O R K CONDUCTED AT THE IMPERIAL INSTITUTE DURING THE YEAR 1 9 2 4

FOR THE GAMBIA.

Economic 1 nvtxt iyationx and h nquiries. During 1924 the following investigations and enquir ies were

car r ied out for the Government of the G a m b i a : - -" OysUrs n from Hintany (Jrah. — In cont inuat ion of the previous

enquiry re la t ing to the " o y s t e r s " occurring at the Bin tang Creek on the Gambia River , two further sets of specimens were oee ived during 1924. These " o y s t e r s / ' after being called and dried, are sold in the Ba thu r s t market, but enquiries made by the Imper ia l Inst i tute in 1921 showed that they would not \v\ saleable in the United Kingdom. I t was, however, of interest to establish their identity, and on referring the first specimens to the Natural History Museum it was ascertained that they were not. oysters but probably belonged to the group to which the ark-shells (Arcidw) are referred. Fur the r specimens were therefore requested, and three further sets s i tve received from B i n tang Creek h:aTe each been identified at the Museum as a species of oyster (Ostrca parasitica, Gmel in ) . Another set of specimens obtained from the Gambia River , about a raik above McCarthy Is land, were identified at the Museum as a species of Aetheria (probably A. illtpticu), a fresh-water genus which is widely distr ibuted in Afr ica .

d' round nut*.—In connection with efforts of the Agr icu l tu ra l Department to improve the qua l i ty of the groundnut crop, an enquiry was received from f ne Depar tment regarding the high pe v -centage of free fa t ty acids in cer ta in consignments imported into the United Kingdom. The high average of 4*75 per cent, in last year ' s crop was probably due to the causes mentioned by the Depart­ment, viz., the except ional ly heavy ra infa l l and the prevalence of the fungus (Jercospom prrsonata. The unusually high figure of 12.1 per cent, reported in the case of certain shipments was, however, probably due mainly to the presence of unsound nuts, consist ing of rotten nuts, which were 'said to have been mixed with the sound nuts, and nuts which had suffered from being stored under mois t , warm conditions. At the suggestion of the Ins t i tu te a number of represen­tative samples of Gambia groundnuts were subsequently forwarded in connection with this enquiry and were under examinat ion at the close of the year.

Elephant Grass. In view ot the fact that elephant grans is abundant, in the Gambia , an enquiry was received from the Director of tine Agr icul tura l Department regarding its ut i l isat ion for paper-making. In reply, information was supplied regarding investiga­tions caried out at the Ins t i tu te with elephant grass from other par t s of Afr ica which indicated that the stems are quite sat isfactory for paper-making but that they could not be exported profitably for the purpose. If, however, a pulp-mill were established in the country of origin for the preparat ion o* paper-pulp from the grass i t should be possible to market the* pulp in Europe in competit ion with wood-pulp.

Other enquiries dealt with related to the general condit ions of life in the Colony.

Jin fish Empire Exhibition. The Imperial Inst i tute was allotted space in H.M. Government

Pavi l ion at Wembley for an exhibit to i l lustrate its work in promot­ing the uti l isat i n of the raw mater ia ls of the Empi re . The nature and scope of the investigations carr ied out were indicated by selected examples from each of the pr incipal groups of raw materials . A