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COLONIAL REPORTS—ANNUAL.

No. 249;

GOLD COAST.

A M UAL REPORT FOR 1897.

(For Report for 1896, w N o « 220.)

^tmnmto tort) ftou*** of ^atlt amrn t <ttommanti of ftra&ajtrtfit

November > 1898.

LONDON JP R I N T E D FOB HER M A J E S T Y ' S S T A T I O N E R Y O F F I C E ,

Bt DARLING & SON, LTD., 1-8, GREAT ST. THOMAS APOSTLI, B.C.

And to be purchased, either directly or through any Bookseller, fromEYRE k SPOTTiSWOODE, EAST HARDING STREET, FLEET STREET, B.C.; and

82, ABINGDON STBEET, WESTMINSTER, S.W. j orJOHN M EN ZIES & Co., 12, HANOVER STREET, EDINBURGH, and

90, WEST NILE STREET. GLASGOW ? or

HODGES, FIGGIS, fc Co., LIMITED, 104, GBAJTTOJI STBEET, Dm** .

11898.

£0.—9046-17.] PriceZd,



COLONIAL REPORT*

The following, among other, report* relating to Her Majeety %Colonial Possessions have been issued, and may be obtained for afew pence from the sources indicated on the title page ;—

ANNUAL.

No. Colony. Year.

216 Cocos-Keeling and Christmas Islands ... 1897

217 FIJI . . . ••» »• • • » » • • • 1896218 Ceylon .. . ... ... .»» • * *

219 Lagos ... «»• ... ... ...

220 Gold Coast ... ... ...

221 Labuan .. . • • • • . ...

222223 British Guiana ...Rodrigues* • *

...

... ...

. • . 1896-971896

224 Basutoland H I • » « ... 1896-97225 Jamaica ... . •» . . . ...

226 Bechuanaland Protectorate ... ... ...

227 Leeward Islands ... » » • . . 1896228 Bermuda •.. ... . » . 1897229 Gambia ... i . . ... ... »

230 Turks and Caicos Islands . * < ... ...

231 Barbados ... . . ...

232 Lagos H I ... .**... ... ...

233 St. Vincent .. . ... ... . .

234 Sierra Leone ... • * * ...

235 Falkland Islands ... ... ...

236 Straits Settlements • < • .. . ... »237 British New Guinea ... ... ... 1896-97238 Bahamas ... ... ... 1897239 St. Lucia a . . . . a ... » ,240 St. Helena ... ... ...

241 Trinidad and Tobago ... ... ... ... »

242 British Honduras ... * * • ...

243 Malta ... .. . .. . ... ... ... »244 Fiji ... .. . ... . . . • • • ...

245 Hong Kong ... ... ... J J

246 Leeward Islands ... ... • a . »247 Grenada ... ... i • > ... if248 Gibraltar ... ... ... 9)

MISCELLANEOUS.

No. Colony. Subject.

1 Gold-Coast Economic Agriculture.2 Zululand Forests.a Sierra Leone Geology and Botany.4 Canada ... Emigration.5 Bahamas ... Sisal Industry.6 Hong Kong Bubonic Plague.7 Newfoundland Mineral Resources.8 Western Pacific .. . Solomon Islands.

9 Dominica ... Agriculture.10 Virgin Islands Condition during 1897.11 Grenada ... Agriculture in Carriacou.



COLONrAL REPORTS—ANNUAL. 8

No. 249.

G O L D C O A S T . a

%9

°r̂(For Report for 1896, tee No. 220.)

GOVERNOR HODGSON to M R . CHAMB ERLAIN.

Government House,

Accra,

July 2nd, 1898;SIR,

I HAVE the honour to transmit to you a Report by

Mr. Haddon Smith, Acting Colonial Secretary, upon the Blue

Book of the Gold Coast for the year 1897.

I have, &c,

F. M. HODGSON,

Governor.

R E P O R T ON T H E BL U E BOOK OF T H E

GOLD COAST FOR 1897.

REVENUE.

1. The Colony is at present in the position of having noPublic Debt. On 31st December 1897 the amount of surplusfunds invested was valued at £30,000. No sales or investmentswere made during the year under review, the stock being thesame as that reported on 31st December 1896.

753—75CMQ/9* Wt 21620 D & S—6 (B) A ?



3 C O L O N I A L R E P O R T S — A N N U A L .

GOLD COAST, 2. The revenue collected during the year was £237,857 being1 8 9 7

« £397 in excess of the previous year.

3. The subjoined statement shows the years in which the revenueexceeded the expenditure, and the amount of such excesses.

£1890 ... ... 38,549 \

1891 .. . 52,614

1892 24,970

v 1893 ' ... 22,848

4. The following table gives a comparison o£ the revenue forthe last two years classified under the principal heads :—

Items of Revenue, 1896. 1897. Increase. Decrease.

Wines, spirits, tobacco, guns,&c, (specific duties).

£162,849

£158,382

£ £4,467

General merchandise (advalorem duty).

42,126 42,606 480 —

Liquor licences 6,596 8,002 1,416 —

Stamps, (postal, telegraph,and revenue).

11,448 11,899 451 —

Other items 14,449 16,968 2,519 —

Total revenue .. . £ 237,458 237,857

*

4,866 4,467

EXPENDITURE.

5. The expenditure for the* year 1897 amounted to £406,369,being £124,091 in excess of the year 1896, and £85,200 in excessof the amount originally voted by the Legislature for the servicesof the year. The excess is, however, due to expenditure onaccount of the Ashanti Expedition of 1896 being brought intoaccount in 1897, amounting in all to £147,587.

6. The deposits for which the Colony was liable amounted to£155,470 as against £26,865 on 31st December 1896. The largeincrease of £128,605 is principally owing to the sum of £97,768,which is due to the Imperial Government on account of theAshanti Expedition of 1896, having been placed during the yearto the credit of the War Office in the books of the Colony.




7. The following table shows the years in which the expenditure <*OLD COAST,

has been in excess of revenue

1887

1888

1889

1894

1895

18961897

1897.

£... 17,092

. .. 35,660

. . . 13,614

. . . 8,670

. .. 35,213

... 44,817... 168,512

The expenditure in 1897 included £147,587 paid on account ofthe Ashanti Expedition.

GOVERNMENT SAVINGS BANK.

8. The deposits show a decrease of £3,575 as compared withthose of 1896. The deposits for the year under review were

£3,674 as compared with £7,249 for the year 1896, while thewithdrawals (including interest) were £5,637 as compared with£7,286 for the previous year, leaving an excess of withdrawalsover deposits of £1,963. Interest taken out of the generalrevenue of the Colony and credited to depositors amounted to£106. The total amount credited, including interest, during thevear was therefore £3,780 and the withdrawals £5,637. Thelargest decrease has been at Accra, the capital of the Colony.r

l his is not surprising, owing to the establishment of the Bank of

West Africa during the year 1897. At the same time,* thoughthe number of depositors has increased at the outstations, tneamount of deposits has considerably fallen off at most stations,especially at the two important trading stations of Cape Coastand Axim.

9. The total amount at the credit of the Savings Bank in thebooks of the Colony on the 31st December 1897 was £3,812, ascompared with £5,668 at the same period in the previous year.The whole of the £3,812 has been invested.

IMPORTS AND EXPORTS.•

10. There has been an increase of the trade of the Colony forthe year under review, although the country beyond Ashanti hasbeen in anything but a settled state. The total value of importsin 1897 was £784,188, and the value of the exports £857,793,thus making the total value of the trade of the Colony for theyear £1,641,981, an increase of £71,861 on the year 1896.



6 COLONIAL REPORTS—ANNtJAt.

Year.

IMPORTS.

EXPORTS. Total.Year.

Paying duty. Admitted free.

EXPORTS. Total.

£ £1891 464,188 201,593 684,304 1,350,086

1892 422,026 175,068 665,064 1,262,1581893 475,346 243,006 722,106 1,440,460

1894 518,163 170,303 850,343 1,538,809

1895 563,290 231,691 877,803 1,672,784 V

1896 552,968 225,041 792,111 1,570,120

1897 562,418 221,770 857,793 1,641,981

Notwithstanding the disturbed state of the country as alluded

to above, it will be seen from the above table that the value oftrade in 1 8 9 7 has only been exceeded by that of the trade in theyear 1895 .

12. The principal articles of trade are :—

Imports.—Cotton, woollen and silk goods, spirits, hardware,rice, flour, provisions, tobacco, building materials, and wearing-apparel.

Exports.—Palm oil, palm kernels, rubber, gold dust, timber,

and minbr industries, such as coffee, cocoa, monkey skins, andkola nuts.

13. The following comparative tables shew that the greaterproportion of the trade is with the United Kingdom :—

Imports.

Year.From

the UnitedKingdom.

FromBritish

Colonies.

FromForeign

Countries.Totals.

£ £ £ £1892 407,038 9,925 180,132 597,095

1893 524,037 8,719 185,597 718,353

1894 504,255 12,068 172,143 688,466

1895 539,718 81,897 173,366 794,981

1896 569,828 282,520 179,661 778,009

1897 526,411 60,787 196,990 784,188

GOLD PPAST, 1 1 . The following table shows the state of the trade of theColony for the last seven years :—



COtOtflAL REPORTS—AlhfUAL. f t

Year.To

the UnitedKingdom.

ToBritish

Colonies.

ToForeign

Oountnes.Totals.

£ £ £ £

1892 471,219 2,054 191,791 665,064

1893 530,300 27,016 164,790 722,107

1894 608,258 29,765 212,320 850,343

1895 586,415 38,211 253,177 877,803

1896 536,106 37,471 218,534 792,111

1897 581,904 35,667 240,222 857,793

14. The Customs receipts during the year at the principalports of the Colony were as follows :—

Port.

7m ports,exclusive of

Spirits,Gunpowder,and Guns.

Spirits.Gun-

powder.Guns. Totals.

£ £ £ £ £

Axim .. . ... ... 6,330 9,&44 233 108 16,615

Cape Coast ... 18,819 21,717 1,926 440 42,902

Saltpond ... 6,519 16,586 1,731 207 25,043

Winneba ... 2,363 ' 13,688 258 53 16,362

Accra ... ... . •« 14,436 27,969 1,428 214 44,047

Adda ... .. . ... 3,483 8,524 57 67 12,131

Quittah... . .. . ... 2,998 8,997 1,252 103 13,350

Other stations ... ... 4,193 24,675 448 41 29,357

Totals ... £ 59,141 132,100 7,333 1,233 199,807

Exports. GOLD COAST,1 1897.



8 COLONIAL BfcPOfctS—ANNUAL.

Imports.

Value in Sterling

Articles.Of imports in detail,excluding expenses.

Total value,excluding expenses.

I.—Live animals, food, drink,and narcotics.

II.—Raw materials :—

£ £193,029

(a) Textile .. . —(b) Metal .. . .. . .. . 2,911

(c) Other 15,513' 18,424

lit.—Manufactured articles :—' 18,424

(a) Textile .. . . .. . 281,790

(b) Metal ... 55,077

(c) Other 140,456477,323477,323

IV.—Coin and bullion — 95,412

• Total ... £ 784,188

Exports.

Articles.

Value in Sterling

Articles. Produce andManufacture

of the Colony.

Britishand Foreign

and otherColonial

Produce andManufacture.

Totals.

£ £ £1.—Live animals, food, drink, 17 1,016 1,033

•and narcotics.1,016 1,033

•

II.—Raw materials :—

(a) Textile .. . — 464 464

(6) Metal ... 84,867 14 84,881

(c) Other ... .. . .. . 738,754 143 738,897

Carried forward 823,638 1,637 825,275

• • - • I

GOLD COAST, 15. The following statement shows the general classification1 8 9 7

' of all imports and exports :—



COLONIAL SfiPOfi tS—ANNUAL. 9-

Value in Sterling.

Articles. Produce andManufacture

of the Colony.

Britishand Foreignand otherColonial

Produce andManufacture.

Totals.

Brought forward £

823,638 £

1,637 £

825,276

[II.—Manufactured articles

(a) Textile 44 2,313 2,357

(b) Metal — 628 628

(c) Other 47 5,556 5,603

IV.—Coin and bullion — 23,922 23,922

Total... ... £ 823,729 34,056 857,785

16. The supply of the staple articles, palm kernels and palmoil, has not been satisfactory, but the export of rubber shows a

considerable improvement.

The following figures show the trade in the three importantexports for the last three years :—

Year.

Palm Oil. Palm Kernels. Bubter.

Year.

Gallons. Value. Tons.

• • •

Value. lbs. Value.

1895

•

4,338,627*

£

231,415 15,559

£

93,384 4,022,385

£

322,070

1896 2,394,563

•

126,857Ii .

13,046 85,349 3,735,439 313,817

1897

:

2,021,716

;

i

i

1 107,737

i

10,836 69,818 4,957,016

. . . • . . i

419,813

E>rfc~continued. G <™ C

,0 A 9 T



COLONIAL REPORTS—AtttfUA'L.

GotiD COAST, 17. The following statement shows the quantity and valu£ of

W7* rubber exported from the Colony to the undermentioned countriesduring 1897 :—

Countries. Quantity. Value.

United Kingdom

lbs.

4,595,696 391,106

Germany 361,031

''

28,691

v.

In 1896 the shipments to the United Kingdom amounted to3,307,685 lbs. valued at £283,044, and to Germany 424,093 lbs.valued at £30,398.

18. Rubber is becoming one of the prime necessities of civilisation. The last few years the use of pneumatic tyres for cycles andsolid rubber tyres for carriages, has considerably increased thedemand for rubber. It is believed that, if the output of rubbercould be doubled in one year, so many new applications of thematerial would arise that the supply would not be sufficient, andconsequently rubber would still retain its price. In any of theswampy regions of this Colony, where vegetation grows rank andsappy, there are certain to be found the trees or vines which

produce rubber. Rubber is one of the chief sources of wealth inthis Colony. No cultivation is needed, very little skill, and notmuch work.

19. The great fear as regards this industry is the destruction ofthe trees by the natives ; they are not satisfied only with tapping,but the trees are cut down so that they may obtain as much milkas possible. To ensure the preservation of the trees it maybecome necessary for the Government to intervene and preserve

the forests by requiring natives to tak£ out licences for workingthe rubber trees. The Germans in tHe neighbouring Colpny ofTogoland have such a system in force.

«

20. Another disadvantage that the rubber trade has to contendwith is that the regions which produce rubber are precisely theregions most deadly to Europeans, and, again, when the rubber iscollected it has to be brought to the port of exportation on theheads of carriers, which so increases the cost of transport that itoften does not pg,y to export this special product.

21. The export of timber is steadily increasing; the port ofAxim in the Western District is practically the only port of



shipment, the logs being floated down the river Ancobra. The GOLD COAST,

following statement will serve to show the trade of this industryfor the last six years —

<*»

> Year. Quantity. Value.. i'

Feet.

1892 2,130,216 36,394

1893 3,407/226*•

50,428 "*

1894 5,012,670 69,345

1895 3,587,337 28,245

1896 6,033,381 52,234

1897 15,236,216 90,569

22. Shippers and buyers should beware of the defective timberwhich is often thrown upon the market. The defective woodsare stated to be the following, which are enumerated under the

following technical headings :—" Hollow portion," " Shakes "" Star Shakes " " Wormed."

The dimensions of mahogany logs most in demand are 16 to 30feet in length and 24 to 36 inches square.

23. The cultivation of coffee and cocoa is still on the increase,though the shipment of the former has decreased during the year1897 as compared with 1896 j at the same time a number of newplantations, especially in the Akwapim district, have been started.Coffee cultivation in this Colony is greatly handicapped. Thosewho have plantations near the coast have great difficulty inobtaining a sufficient supply of fresh water, while those whoseplantations are far removed from the port of shipment have thecost of transport to contend with.



24. The following table shows the shipment of cocoa, coffee, and other products for the last five years :—

Cocoa. Coffee. Copra. Guinea Grain. Kola nuts.

Year.Year.

lbs. Value. lbs. Yalue. lbs. Yalue. lbs. Valuo. Packages. Yalue.

1893 ... 3,460£93 21,437

£630 248,304

£831 183,224

£621 979

£25,116

1894 ... 20,312 546 41,488 1,265 649,600 1,940 174,412 1,186 1,202 28,511

1895 ... 28,906 470 51,755 1,753 482,608 1,712 154,693 580 2,352 30,565

1896 ... 86,754-

2,275 141,836 4,065 273,840 852 26,594 193 3,156 33,278

1897 ... 156,672 3,196 102,146•

3,068 272,272 803 22,873 229 4,278 37,870

25. The number of monkey skins shipped in 1897 amounted to 14,438, valued at £81 1. This trade hasconsiderably fallen off and can no longer be considered as one of the important exports of the Colony. In 1894,

168,405 skins, valued at £41,001, were exported, whereas in 1896 the number of skins fell to 67,660, valued at£8,6S2, and in the year under review the decrease again is very marked. This no doubt is owing to the distancehunters have to go to procure their victims.



C O LO N IA L B E P O B T 8 — A N N U A L . 1 3

26. The gold mining industry is carried on chiefly in the Gow> COAST,

Western District—in Wasgaw and Appolonia. Three or four l

**7

'

companies are doing steady work. The gold reefs of the mining

district have been declared by experts to be similar to those ofJohannesburg, and there is no reason why gold mining in thisColony in a very short space of time should not prove a decidedsuccess. The industry up to the present has, been hamperedowing to the serious difficulty of transporting the necessarymachinery from the coast to the mines j but the Government isconstructing a railway from the coast to the mining districts inthe neighbourhood of Tarquah, and, when this is completed, it isconfidently anticipated that the gold industry will receive animpetus which will result in the larger investment of capital forthe development of existing mines and the opening of new ones.On the other hand, it cannot be expected that investors will risktheir money in this part of Africa unless they are assured thatthey will have proper security as regards the land which has beenconceded, and the Government has under consideration a LandsBn% one of the objects of which is to afford such security.

27. The following table shows the weight and value of goldexported from the Colony during each of the last five years.

Year. Weight. Value.

1893Oz.

21,972£

79,099

1894 21,332 76,795

1895 25,416 91,497

1896

1

231,941 86,186

i

1897 23,555;84,797

28. Considering the large extent of country that has beenopened up during the last two years, the increase of spirits imported into the Colony is very small. The figures do not seemto shew that the demand for spirituous liquors is spreading amongthe native population,

.'••'). .i \



1 4 C O L O N I A L R E P O R T S — A N N U A L .

GpiiD COAST, 2 9 . The following table gives a comparison of the importations1 8 9 7

» of wines and spirits into the Colony during the years 1 8 96 and1897 : —

Description of

Liquor.

Quantity Imported.

Rum ...

Gin and Geneva

Whisky

Brandy

Wines

Ale and Porter

Liqueurs

• • • . • •

... ...•.. • •.

• • • •!.

..• ...

Totals

Old Wine

Gallons.833,135

330,804

11,432

822

22,177

26,220

2,189

1,226,779

Old Wine

Gallons.878,052

335,163

12,987

760

18,969

23,388

1,297

Increase. Decrease.

Old Wino

Gallons.44,917

4,359

1,555

Old Wine

Gallons.

62

3,208

2,832

892

1,270,616 50,831 6,994

SHIPPING.

30. There is little change in the number or tonnage of vesselsto record during the year under review. The figures for the

years 1 8 9 6 and 1 8 97 are as follows ;—

Sailing Vessels. Steamers.

Nationality of 1896. 1897. 1896. 1897.

Vessels.

No.Ton

No.Ton-

No.Ton

No.Ton

No.nage.

No.nage.

No.nage.

No.nage.

United Kingdom... 1 s 105 3 315 254 366,857 247 361,742

Germany ... 4 1,540 3 1,385 87 108,168 90 108,029

France ... ... — —. — — 50 65,870 70 92,449

United States 9 4,670 10 4,882 — — —

Other Nations 2 559 — , —• 9 19,199 8 18,059

\ Totals 16 6,874 16 6,582 400 553,794 415 580,277




3 1 . The mail service with England remains the same, the GOLD COAST,

voyage taking, on an average, from Liverpool to Accra, a distanceof 3 , 9 2 0 miles, 2 1 days. The mail service from the Colony toEngland still continues most irregular, and there is no competition.

LEGISLATION.

32. During the year 1897, the Legislative' Council passed 23Ordinances, of which the following are the most important:—

Ordinance No. 3 amends the Spirit Licence Ordinance 1887.It raises the half yearly and yearly licences from £2 10$. and£5 respectively, to £5 and £10 respectively, for every storesituated in a place to which the Ordinance of 1887 originallyapplied. It prescribes the duties of £2 10s. for half yearlylicences, and £5 for yearly, payable for every store situate in aplace to which the Ordinance of 1887 has been applied, or shallby section 3 thereof by the Governor by proclamation bedeclared to apply. It imposes on every chief of a particular

locality the duty of reporting every breach of the Ordinancein that locality that comes to his knowledge to the DistrictCommissioner within whose jurisdiction the locality is situated.

Ordinance No. 4 increases the summary criminal jurisdiction ofDistrict Commissioners. Every District Commissioner is given

jurisdiction to hear and determine besides the offences underBook II of the Criminal Code, misdemeanours and certainfelonies under Book II I of the Code, also attempts to commit,and conspiracies in respect of, any of the said offences. He

is, however, restricted as regards the punishment he can inflict.He cannot impose a fine exceeding £50, or a term of imprisonment exceeding 6 months, except where under the Code or anyother law a larger fine or a longer term of imprisonment isgiven.

No. 6, " The Peace Preservation Ordinance, 1897," suppressesthe assembling together of armed men for unlawful purpose ;and, for the preservation of the peace, empowers the Governorin Council by proclamation published in the Gazette to declare it

unlawful to carry arms or ammunition within any specified partof the Colony, but reserving the right to impose conditions andregulations under which the carrying of arms and ammunitionmay be licensed, and to make provision for the persons who maygrant licences to have or carry arms or ammunition. Provisionis made for a District Commissioner himself to search or to directa search warrant to any person to enter and search any house,buildings, or places in the proclaimed district for any arms orammunition suspected to be there in contravention of the

Ordinance. Power is given to the Governor in Council to fine,not exceeding £ 5 0 0 , under certain circumstances, any chief in a



C O L O N I A L B B P O R T S — A N N U A I

GOLD COAST, proclaimed district, and provision is made, where additional' con-stabulary or police has been sent to a proclaimed district, for thecosts thereof to be paid by the inhabitants.

Ordinance No. 20, " an Ordinance to amend the CustomsOrdinance," besides amending certain sections of OrdinanceNo. 10 of 1876, prevents any master, without the consent of theComptroller or other proper officer of Customs, from dischargingor permitting to be discharged, unless included in the declarationor being intermediate goods are declared to on transire, (1) anycargo, or (2) any articles or things comprised in the Victualling

Bills made under sections 126 of the Customs Consolidation Act,.1876, or (3) any ship's stores wherever taken on board, or (4) anyother article or thing, by whomsoever taken on board or shippedthat is likely to contribute to general average. It vests in theGovernor in Council the power to make, vary, and revoke rulesto determine the fees payable under section 14 of OrdinanceNo. 10 of 1876, the duties of the Comptroller as Shipping Master,and to declare in respect of such duties the persons by whom feesshall be paid, and the deductions, if any, which may be made fromwages by the master in respect thereof.

Ordinance No. 21, "an Ordinance to amend the Firearms?Ammunition, and Gunpowder Ordinance, 1892," provides for thedepositing of flint guns with unrifled barrels in private warehousesat seaports and their removal therefrom, and for the issuing bythe Comptroller at Accra and a District Commissioner at out-stations licences for such private warehouses.

PUBLIC HEALTH.

33. The general health of the Colony shows a slight improvement on the two previous years, though the death-rate stillremains exceptionally high. It must be remembered that theEuropeans in the Colony are for the most part men in the primeof life, as there are no European children in the Colony and aman of 50 years of age is an exception. The following tableshows the death-rate among Europeans for the year under review,also the number who have been invalided from the Colony :—

d

i

P o p u l a t i o

D i e d .

I n v a l i d e d .

D e a t h - r a t

p e r 1 , 0

0 C

P e r

1 , ( X

X

I n v a l i d e d

Government officials ... 160 6 31 37-5 137-50

Non-officials ... 362 34 47 93*92 129*83

In the year 1896 there were 41 deaths among the Europeansand 58 were invalided,



COLONIAL BEP0BT8—ANNUAL. 17

34. The health of the officers employed in Ashanti and the G o L ^Northern Territories is far better than that of those employedon the Coast, and, considering the hard life that many of thesehave to lead and that they are often away from the usual comfortsof life, the conclusion to be drawn is that the climate of the" hinterland " is far healthier than that of the Coast.

36. It will be noticed from the foregoing table that the death-rate among the official class is less than that among the mercantilecommunity. This may perhaps be attributed to the leavearrangements of the Government service whereby all Europeanofficials are permitted to proceed to Europe on leave after twelvemonths residential service on the Coast, and to the housesoccupied by Government officials being away from the thicklypopulated part of the town. This is no trivial matter, for climaticconditions are such that what is at most an inconvenience in moretemperate climates is a* veritable calamity to the Europeanresident in West Africa. Much of the comfort of life dependson attention to its minutise, and this is pre-eminently so in acountry such as the Gold Coast.

36. Facilities for hospital treatment at Accra have muchimproved, and the arrangements in the Colonial hospital are ascomplete as possible. Tne introduction of European nurses hasproved a great boon, and no doubt the extra nursing has savedmany lives during the past year.

•

RAINFALL,

37. The following table shows the rainfall for the differentmonths of the year at the most important towns of the GoldCoast Colony j —

Stations.

Month. !

Accra, j Aburi. Axim.

I

AdJa.

!

Cap 3

Coast.Quittah.

January 083 0-45 o-ob 0-00 0-78 000

February 0*52 5-93 2-82 0-11 0*91 0-76

March 1-39 2-88 8-25 0-71 6-58 1-33

April 3-13 3-89 4-88 4-75 4-37 1-87

May 11-63 9-46 21-31 10-84 18-61 7-34

June ... ... 3-65 3-38 15-51 2-95 9-40 2-59

Carried forward 21-15 25-99 52-77 19-36 40*65 13-89

7*3—6 B



18 C O L O N I A L R E P O R T S — - A N N U A L .

GOLD COAST, RAINFALL—continued.1897.

Stations.

Month.

Accra. Aburi. Axim. Adda.Cape

Coast.Quittah.

Brought forward 2M5 25*99 52*77 19*36 40-65 13*89

July 0-14 3*60 1-06 063 2-45 0-00

August 031 0*87 1*40 0-14 0-85 0*12

September 1-54 5*29 0*25 12*03 1*14 1*67

October 319 8*46 7*17 * 2-96 5-96 5-84

November 0'34 3*10 4-85 100 0-34 000

December 0-64 1*55 000 o-oi 000 0-72

Totals 27*31 48*86 67-50 36-13 51*39 2224

PUBLIC WORKS.

38. The fort at Kumassi has been completed, also a number ofminor works, such as officers' quarters, offices, magazines, & c

The most important works undertaken have been the construction of roads from chief coast centres to the interior. The

following roads have been undertaken :—From Accra to the Akim district, 25 miles.

From Tinkranku to Kpong, total length 190 miles. Workstarted in July, 25 miles completed up to 31st December,1897.

From Axim to River Ankobra, 3 miles; work almostcompleted.

From Bonsa to Tarkwa, total 12 miles; 2 miles completed :work exceptionally heavy.

From Danoe to Dogplata, total length 23 miles, workcompleted.

The main roads, the bridges, and the public buildings throughout the Colony have been maintained in good order, and manyimprovements have been effected.

EXPERIMENTS FOR WATER SUPPLY.

39. A sum of money was specially set aside for carrying oninvestigations in the vafi$y immediately behind Accra, witn a view



COLONIAL Rfi^ORt8—ANNUAL. Id

RAILWAYS.

40. Two railway surveys which were commenced in 1896 werecompleted in 1897 ; one from Accra to Kumassi via Insuaim, andthe other from Takoradi Bay to Tarquah. Arrangements havebeen made for the construction of a line from Sekondi to Tarquah. This line will go through the mining and timber districts,and work was commenced early in 1898.

POST OFFICE.

41. There is not much change in the working of this department as compared with previous years. The gross revenue ofthe department for the year under review amounted to£4,009 4$. 6d. as against £4,285 lis. 5d. in 1896, showing adecrease of £276 6s. lid.; the falling off is attributable to themoney order transactions and the decrease in the sale of stamps.The establishment of a bank at Accra has undoubtedly curtailedthe progress of the money order business. Money orders of the

value of £12,974 7s. 3rf. were issued during the year, as comparedwith £34,207 5s. lid. issued during the year 1896.

Year.No. of

Letters, &c.posted.

No. ofRegistered

Articlesdealt with

Total amountof

Money Ordertransactions.

Total amountof

Postal Ordertransactions,

No. ofParcels.

1893 335,112 15,956 £ «. d.

13,313 4 9 £ 8. d.

1,231 3 6 2,762

1894 386,028 18,068 13,271 8 3 2,021 7 6 3,224

1895 390,502 17,474 17,076 14 11 2,150 13 6 3,518

1896 545,824 19,324 34,207 5 11 2,489 9 6 3,563

1897 584,216 23,942 12,974 7 3 2,549 15 6 3,907

to collecting water under ground into a well or wells to be pumped GOLD COAST,

up into a reservoir on the high land adjacent. Special officers 1 8 9 7

«were sent out to make the necessary surveys, and to do thenecessary borings and sinking of pits; but up to the end ofthe year the results were unsatisfactory, as the bulk of the waterencountered was saline. The investigations are still beingcontinued.




GOLD COAST, 42. 4,311 bags were brought to the Colony, and 3,673 bags*ff*7« Were despatched from the various Post Offices in the Colony

during the year, as against 3,890 received and 3,678 despatchedduring the year 1896.

TELEGRAPHS.

43. During the year 1897 the permanent telegraph line to

Kumassi was completed. On this line hardly any poles are used,the wire being supported by trees. A line was put up betweenKumassi and Kintampo a distance of 100 miles. This line shouldwork satisfactorily as it is beyond the forest range. Owing tothe increase of traffic it has been found necessary to erect aduplicate line between Accra and Cape Coast; this extra linewas nearing completion at the close of the year.

There are 26 Government telegraph stations in the Colony :17 on the coast line, and 9 in the interior.

44. The total number of messages dealt with during the yearunder review was 84,580 compared with 79,901 messages, showingan increase of 4,679 over the previous year. Out of the totalnumber 84,580, Government messages amounted to 41,757, leavingthe revenue to profit by 42,833 messages which brought inrevenue amounting to £2,322 8s. 9rf., being a decrease on theyear 1896 of £206 ±s.

45. The following table shows the number of messages sent,

also cash received for the last five years :—

Year.No. ofOffices.

Miles ofLine.

No. of "Messages.

Cash receipt.

1893 18 368 60,031 1822

1894 20 375 73,776 2,293

1895 21 415 81,681 2,509

1896 24 512 79,901 2,538

1897 26 626 84,580 2,333

46. Interruptions have not been so frequent during the year1897 as in previous years. Cases of theft of telegraph wire



C O L O N I A L R E P O R T S — A N N U A L ,

or the destruction of telegraph property have considerably GOLD COAST.

decreased. This is no doubt owing to the legislation which placed 1 8 9 7

»the responsibility for the maintenance of the line on the Chiefthrough whose district it passed.

EDUCATION.

47. Fair progress has been made in the cause of educationduring the year 1897.; though not at the same rate as in the preceding year. The total number of schools inspected during theyear 1897 was 117, an increase of two. There is, however, avery considerable increase of new and as yet unassisted schools.This is owing to the pioneer, work mainly done by the BaselMission in the Ashanti district, and many of these schools willbe shortly on the assisted list. Some of the Roman CatholicMission Schools have been closed, and this accounts for a smallernumber of scholars in average attendance.

48. As.ye t little has been done for the higher or secondaryeducation of the Colony except the establishment of Governmentscholarships awarded on the result of the.Cambridge senior localexamination held in December of each year. Up to the presentno candidate from this Colony has succeeded in satisfying theexaminers. The Basel Mission, however, and the WesleyanMission have established high schools with some satisfactoryresults. The higher education is in some measure confined to the

training of teachers, and the Basel Mission, as well as theGovernment schools at Accra and Cape Coast, have startedgiving suitable instruction to their pupilteachers.

49. Industrial Instruction.—Owing to the action of the Government in the matter of grants in aid for this subject, industrialwork is receiving great attention at the hands of the managers ofassisted schools. JNearly all the schools of any size are startingplantations for coffee, cocoa, and other products of the soil, and

most of those with very fair success. Besides these, there arenearly forty schools to which are attached departments forcarpentry, smith work, and book-binding. The most notablemove in this direction is the building and furnishing of technicaldepartments at the Government schools at Accra and CapeCoast. These will be completed early in the New Year, when acourse in carpentering, & c will be started.

50. The elementary subjects, reading, writing, and arithmetic,are taught in all schools, and the older scholars in most of theschools learn geography, history, book-keeping, shorthand, andneedlework.



2 2 COLONIAL ft££OfcTS-«rAN#tJAL.

GOLD COAST, 51. The following tabulated statements will show the presentl 8 9 7

- state of elementary education in this Colony :—

A.— Totals Jor the year 1897.

Schools.No. onBooks.

Averageattendance.

Teachersexamined.

Grantearned.

> •

119 11,638 8,798 100 £3,600

> —

Since 1896 six new schools have been opened.

B,— Classification of the Scholars.

Denomination.

I

St.

VII

St.

VI.

1• ' • •

St.

V.

St.

iv. !

I

i

St,

III.

St.

I

fI

...

•

SS.

II.

SS.

I.Infants.

Basel Mission...

*

•

36 47 55 61 147 163 208 283 310 776

Wesleyan 38 96 184 279 380 454 516 480 545 1,730

R. Catholic 3 19 42 93 101 124 163 163 223 636

Government ... 9 40 43 59 83 80 110 143 116 371

Totals ... 86 202 824 492 711 827 1,067 1,067 1,194 3,513

This gives a decrease of 202 scholars as compared with 1896.The decrease is mainly to be observed in the sub-standard andinfants. '

BOTANICAL.

52. A quantity of Indian jute (corchorus capsiolaris) has been

f

rown, and allowed to seed, and 112 packets of seeds have been

istributed to the Missionaries and Chiefs with instructions as to



COLONIAL REPORTS—ANNUAL. 23

sowing, &o. The results are at present unknown. Jute growing OOLP COAST,

is not popular with the natives, the mode of extracting the fibre 1 8 9 7

-necessitating hard work.

Theobroma cacao.—About 3,000 trees have been planted in theGovernment gardens. During the year 9 bags containing 1 cwt.each were shipped to England and obtained a very fair price.

Arabian coffee does not do well in this Colony, but Liberiancoffee gives every satisfaction; in the year under review therewere 3,400 trees in the Government gardens, and out of this

number 2,300 were bearing fruit.Cintiamomum ze'ylanicum.—The experiment of growing this

cinnamon has not been successful, but further trials are to bemade.

A quantity of the best white Egyptian cotton has been"planted;the fibre obtained is rough and strong but dull in colour, owing tothe moist atmosphere.

A large quantity of arrowroot (maranta arundinacea) which

was planted in 189fi was'taken up in 1897 ; though this plantgrows well, it will never pay, owing to the high wages for labour,to grow it either for local consumption or for exportation.

Samples of fibres have been prepared from fnrcrcea gigantea,agave riyida, var. sisalana, and jute. The two former produce agood strong fibre from 5 to 7 feet long ; the latter is very poor,only being about 30 inches in length and is of a very dull colourand without any gloss.

53. The great curse in the agricultural districts of this Colonyis a small insect commonly known as " the borer." To whichclass of beetles it belongs is uncertain, but it has been ascribedto the genus herpetophygas of which the only species hithertoknown is said to have been found in Kaffraria; it enters near thebottom and makes a hole rootwards, thereby doing fatal injury tothe tree. Every effort has been made to try and exterminatethis pest. The soil all over the garden has been loosened to adepth of 8 or 10 inches, trees infested have been tarred, and apiece of steel wire pointed and barbed at one end has beeninserted into the holes caused by the borer so as to kill them inthe young stage.

GENERAL REMARKS.

54. The year under review, in which Her Majesty the Queencompleted the 60th year of Her reign, was an eventral one in thehistory of this Colony. The Ashanti Expedition of 1895-96

having opened up the way into the interior, there devolved upon



2 4 C O L O N IA L R E P O R T S — A N N U A L .

GOLD CoASt, the Government the duty of taking steps to establish British

*

8 8 7

' authority in the countries beyond Kumassi in which treaties hadalready been made with the various Chiefs during the years 1892and 1894.

55. Captain Donald Stewart was accordingly despatched bythe Governor of the Gold Coast from Coomassie on the 27th ofNovember, 1896, to occupy Gambaga, and Lieutenant F. B.Henderson, R . N w a s sent to occupy Bona and Wa.

56. The French had previously sent from the Senegal anexpedition under Lieutenant Voulet, who occupied Wagadugu

in September 1896 and then made a treaty in the Gurunsicountry with a Chief named Amrahia : while the Germansunder Dr. Griiner had made their way through Salaga andYendi in the Neutral Zone to Sansanne Mango.

57. Captain Stewart reached Gambaga on the 24th ofDecember 1896, and hoisted the British flag. On the 3rd ofJanuary 1897 a.German officer, Baron von Massow, arrived atGambaga, and wished to hoist the German flag by the side ofthe British one ; but Captain Stewart refused to allow it, and

Baron von Massow returned to Sansanne Mango.

58. Captain Stewart then proceeded on his way to Wagadugu,leaving a detachment to hold Gambaga. At Tenkrugu, half-waybetween Gambaga and Wagadugu, he was met by messengersfrom the King of Mossi, who had been driven out of Wagaduguby the French and appealed to him for protection in virtue ofthe treaty concluded with Mr. Ferguson in 1894. On the 7thof February 1897 Lieutenant Voulet also arrived at Tenkrugu.In order to avoid a conflict, Captain Stewart arranged withLieutenant Voulet that the British mission should retire withinthe boundaries of Mamprusi, and the French mission should atthe same time retire beyond the boundaries of Tenkrugu, andthis arrangement was carried out.

59. Meanwhile, Lieutenant Henderson, proceeding to the westward, had, on the 2nd of January 1897, arrived at Buale, wherehe found the Sofas in great force. The attitude of the Sofaswas not unfriendly, but they would not let him go to Bona. Theyhad occupied Bona and killed the king, and had establishedcommunication across the Gold Coast "Hinterland" with theGermans at Kraki. Wa was also held by the Sofas \ butMr. Henderson pushed on and hoisted the British flag thereon the 9th of January, the Sofas retiring when he came.Samory himself was at Jimini in French territory. FromWa, Mr. Henderson went in February into the Gurunsi country,where he saw Amrahia, with whom the French had made atreaty, and ascertained that there was no King of Gurunsi,but that the country was split up into small portions,

with five of which Mr, Henderson concluded treaties, On



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

returning to Wa, he received a deputation from Bona and GOLD COAST,

Lobi, who reminded him that they had made a treaty with 1 8 9 7

«Mr. Ferguson, and asked for protection against the Sofas. Bona

had already been raided by the Sofas, but Lobi was still un

touched. Mr. Henderson, therefore, went to Dawkita, or Dokta,

an important town in Lobi, about 20 miles north of Bona, and

there on the 16th of March made a treaty with the new King

(Kampa) of Bona, which was also signed by Danwa-Massa, Chief

of Bona and Governor of Lobi.

60. The effect of Mr. Henderson's occupation of Dokta was

to prevent the Sofas from raiding Lobi, and it appears to havebeen owing to their being otherwise unable to obtain food that

thev attacked him at Dokta on the 29th of March. A iter holding

Dokta for four days with only 43 men against a force of Sofas

estimated at 7,000, Mr. Henderson was compelled to retreat to

Wa. This he did with a loss of two men killed and eight

wounded, while the Sofa loss was estimated at 400 men.

61. The Sofas followed Mr. Henderson to Wa, where he was

joined by a detachment of the Gold Coast Constabulary under

Captain Cramer and for three days successfully resisted theattempts of the Sofas to drive him out; but, owing to the

» cowardice or treachery of the King of Wa, the British force ran

short of water, and Mr. Henderson decided that the place must

be evacuated. Before leaving, however, he attempted to parley

with the Sofa leader, and went alone into the Sofa camp for that

purpose. There he was detained by the Sofas, who said that he

must go to Jimini to see Samory. Before leaving he arranged

that, if he was detained, the British force should leave W a the

same night. Captain Cramer accordingly, after unsuccessfullyattempting to obtain Mr. Henderson's release, and receiving a

note from him to the effect that he did not think that the Sofas

would do anything to him beyond keeping him a prisoner, left

Wa on the 5th of April. The column was thrown into confusion

by a panic among the carriers, but ultimately, after falling in

with a French party under Captain Seal, Captain Cramer

succeeded in joining Captain Stewart at Yariba on the 20th of

April. In the course of the retreat Mr. Ferguson, who had been

previously wounded, was abandoned by his carriers and was killed

by a party of Sofas. Mr. Henderson was taken by the Sofas toJimini. There he saw Samory, who appears to have been, on the

whole, friendly, although intensely suspicious. With regard to

the attack on the British force, Samory would only say that it

came from God. After being detained for a few days at Jimini,

Mr. Henderson was sent back to the coast, and arrived at Accra

on the 14th of June.

62. Before this, the French under C.ptain Seal, having

espoused the cause of Amrahia, against Barbatu, another Gurunsi

raider, enabled Amrahia to defeat Barbatu, who took refuge with



26 COLONIAL REPORTS—ANNUAL.

GpiiDlCoAsi, Captain Stewart at Yariba. Captain Stewart refused to give

* °9 7 , Barbatu up to the French ; and on the 22nd of April he made

' with Captain Seal a " provisional agreement to preventany conflicts or collisions between the French and Englishsubjects in territories that are in dispute." A temporaryboundary was agreed upon, which left Mamprusi and Dagartiin British occupation, and Gurunsi and Mossi in the occupa-.tion of the French. >

63. Shortly afterwards another French expedition underCaptain Hugot arrived on the scene from the north, and, uponthe excuse that Barbatu, for whose conduct Captain Stewart hadmade himself responsible, had raided across the provisionalboundary, proceeded to occupy Wa, which had been evacuatedby the Sofas after the capture of Mr. Henderson.

64/ The commencement of the rainy season made furtheroperations difficult at this time, and it was arranged, on therecommendation of Sir W. Maxwell, that an officer should besent out specially to take the command of the Colonial forces

in the " hinterland *'

as soon as the rains were over.. MajorH. P. Northcott was selected for this duty, and leftEngland on the 16th of October to take up the command,with the title of Commissioner arid Commandant in the •Northern Territories.

65. Pending Major Northeott's arrival, Major Jenkinson wasin command of the Colonial forces; and in November, hearingthat Bona had been evacuated by the Sofas, Major Jenkinsonpushed on with great promptitude and effected the occupation of

the town on the 17th of that month.

66. While these events were taking place on the noith andwest, reports kept coming in regarding the activity of Germanofficials in the Neutral Zone, and on the 2nd of July the GermanGovernment were asked by Her Majesty's Government for anassurance that they would abstain from any operations againstYendi, to which a German expedition was said to be thenadvancing. It was pointed out to the German Government thatthe terms of the agreement of 1888 could not be disregarded by

one of the parties to it without giving the other the right tosecure its interests in such way as it might consider best, irrespective of that agreement. No answer was received from theGerman Government, and on the 2nd of August the Governor of

the Gold Coast was ordered to occupy Salaga, which was doneon the 21st of that month. At the close of the year, the Britishforces were still in occupation of Salaga. But, subsequently,assurances were received from the German Government that theyhad given orders for the withdrawal of any German troops whicnmight be in the Neutral Zone, and Her Majesty's Governmentagreed to withdraw the British troops from the Zone with the



COLONIAL REPOR TS—AN NUAL. * 27

reservation that any infringement of the agreement by either GOLD COAST,

party in the future would give the other the right to sena troops 1 8 9 7 ,

again into the Neutral territory.

67. On the 14th of December 1897 the Colony suffered asevere loss by the lamented death at sea, on his way to England,of His Excellency Sir William Maxwell, K.C.M.G., theGovernor of the Gold Coast. The illness to which he succumbedwas induced by the hardships he had undergone in the " hinterland," where he had been engaged during the unhealthiest seasonof the year in dealing with the various difficult questions thathad arisen in connection with the movements of the French andthe Sofas. To quote from the despatch of the Acting-Governorto the Secretary of State when reporting the late Governor'sdeath, " His whole life was centred and absorbed, in the workwhich his position cast upon him," and his death occurred at avery critical time in the history of the Colony, when the energyand devotion to duty which he displayed could ill be spared.

G . B . HADDON SMITH,

Acting Colonial Secretary.

Colonial Secretary's Office,

Accra, Gold Coast,

12th June, 1898.

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