Page:Statesman's Year-Book 1913.djvu/351

 SOUTHERN NIGERTA 229

3,538 (145 girls) ; in the assisted schools 14,216 pupils (2,478 girls), average attendance of 10,414 (1,700 girls). The number of children attending non- assisted schools is estimated at not less than 13,000. Government grant (1911), 8,048Z. Total expenditure, 27,159Z.

Four British Protestant Societies and tAvo French Roman Catholic Societies are established, each with several stations.

Revenue, 1911, 1,956,176^. (mainly from Customs dues, 1,439,386^.; railways and tramways, 307,912Z. ; and Court fees, &c., 93,940Z.) Expen- diture, 1,717,259Z. (the chief items being railways, 175,229Z. ; marine, 120,141Z. ; debt charge, 228,042Z.; West African Frontier Force, 91,803/.; works and buildings, 106,412Z.). Total debt, March 31, 1912,6,471,288/. (For further statistics of finance, and also statistics of trade and shipping, see pages 233-6. )

The principal ports are Lagos, Warri, Burutu, Forcados, Sapele, Brass, Degema, Bonny, Opobo, and Calabar. Numerous rivers and creeks form the chief routes for transport, and there are many well-made roads driven through the country. At Lagos, Calabar, and Forcados, there are engi- neering and repairing workshops and slip-ways for the repair of hulls.

At Lagos a mole is being constructed and a deep channel is being made over the Bar to admit ocean steamers entering the harbour.

The chief products are palm oil and kernels, rubber, cotton, cocoa, coffee, gum, copal, ivory, hides, maize, yams, cassava, plantains, earth nuts and fruits. There are nurseries for rubber seedlings, and botanical stations at Calabar, Onitsha, Oloke-Meji near Lagos, and Agege. Mahogany is exported in large quantities, Arab caravan traders are being attracted from the northern territories, who deal largely in leather and skins.

There are deposits in Southern Nigeria of manganese ore, argentiferous lead ore (galena), tin ore (cassiterite), lignite, and monazite (which contains thorium). Laterite is abundantly used for making roads. The only manufactures are the weaving of native cloths and mats, boat and canoe building, and brickmaking. The cotton industry is rapidly growing both in extent and value.

There is a railway from Lagos to Jebba (306^ miles), in Northern Nigeria, and is extended to Zungeru and Kano. Routes for other railways have been surveyed. There is a steam tramway from Lagos to Iddo, the southern terminus.

There were at the end of 1911, 1,829 miles of telegraph lines, and 4,169 miles of wire, connecting important towns and Northern Nigeria. There were 374 miles (wire mileage) of telephone.

In 1911, 3,732,325 letters, postcards, newspapers and book-packets, and 114,973 parcels passed through the post-office. The savings bank, on December 31st, 1911, had 4,368 depositors with 38,437Z. to their credit.

A nickel coinage (penny and tenth of a penny) has been introduced.

The Bank of British West Africa, Ltd., has branches at Lagos, Calabar, Burutu, and Onitsha.

Western Province. — This province includes that part of Southern Nigeria known as the "Colony." Its area is approximately 28,600 square miles, while that of the Colony alone is 4,006 square miles. The population (1911) is 2,152,848. The coastline is about 128 miles. Northwards the terri- tory extends over Yorubaland to the confines of Northern Nigeria. The population of Lagos Town including Ebiite-Metta, the headquarters of the railway, is 73,000, and includes roughly 500 Europeans. The largest town is Ibadan, population 175,000, where there is a British Resident. District