Page:Statesman's Year-Book 1913.djvu/960

 838 FRANCE : — FRENCH WEST AFRICA

Tlifi imports into French West Africa are mostly food substances, tissues, and beverages ; the exports from these colonies are chiefly fruits, oils and oil seeds.

The use of French weights and measures, and money, is compulsory throughout French West Africa.

The colony of Senegal consists of : —

1. The four municipal communes of St. Louis, the capital oi the Colony (population, 1910, 22,093, Europeajis, 995) ; Dakar, a fortified naval station, and the seat of the Government General of French West Africa (population, 24,914, Europians, 1,096) ; Ruf sque (population, 12,457, Europeans, 318) ; and Goree (population, 1,131, Europeans, 153). The total area is 438 square miles. The natives of these towns are French citizens, and have the right of vote.

2. The territories ol direct administration, in which the Government exercises absolute authority, which consist of : —

The district of Tivaouane and one kilometre on each side of the Dakar- St. Louis Railway.

A rectangle with a front of two kilometres and a depth of one kilometre around the posts of Richard Toll, Dagana, Podor, Saldd, Matam, and Bakel on the river Senegal ; Kaolack, Fatick, and the island of Foundiounge in the Sine-Saloum ; Sedhiou, Ziguinchor, and the island of Carabane on the river Casamance ; and Portudal, Nianing, and Joalon the sea coast east of Rufisque,

In these territories the natives are not French citizens, and are not electors.

The former Protectorate lias been restored to the Colony, but with a separate budget. The total population of Senegal in 1911 was put at 1,172,096 (including 4,875 Europeans), and the area 74,000 sq. miles.

The Colony is re[»resented in the French Parliament by a deputy, elected by the four communes. The budget of the directly administered territory provided for 1911, 3,124,000 francs ; the budget of the Protectorate 4,947,000 francs ; the budget of the port of Dakar, 310,000 francs.

Education is supervised by the Inspector of Education for French W^est Africa under the Decree of 1903, All towns having a sufficiently numerous Buropean or assimilated native population have urban schools giving the same instruction as the French primary schools, modified to suit local require- ments. At Dakar there is a superior technical school common to all the colonies. At St. Louis are a superior commercial primary school also com- mon to all the colonies, and a normal school for the training of native teachers, and of interpreters, kadis (native judges), and chiefs' sons. In 1908 there were in Senegal 35 public schools with 3,608 pupils and 4 private Catholic schools with 53 pupils. There is a Mussulman superior school at St. Louis with 20 pupils. A large hospital for natives is in construction at Dakar.

The natives cultivate ground-nuts, millet, maize, and some rice ; other products are castor beans, some coco-nuts, gum from the Sahara, and rubber from the Casamance river. Ground-nuts form the bulk of the exports.

Native industries comprise weaving, pottery, brick-making and jewellery.

The chief imports are cottons, foodstuffs, metal-work, coal. The chief exports are oil-seeds and rubber.

There are 1,360 miles of telegraph and about 100 miles of telephone lines, A submarine cable from Brest to Dakar was completed in April 1905, so that the French West African Colonies are now independent of foreign cables.

One railway connects Dakar, Rufisque and St. Louis (165 miles); another Kayes to the Niger (344 miles) ; a third, Thi4s to Kayes (83 miles) ; a fourth, Kayes to Ambidedi (27 miles).

There is a river service on the Senegal from St. Louis to Kayes, the former