Page:Statesman's Year-Book 1921.djvu/300

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THE BRITISH EMPIRE:— GOLD COAST

Principal items of revenue in 1918: Customs, 96,862?.; Licences, 1,8927. ; Fees of Courts or Office, &c, 6,9687. ; Rent of Government Property, 513?.; Interest, 5,478?. ; Protectorate, 19,036?. ; Miscellaneous, 6787.

Chief imports, 1919: specie, 70,681?. ; bags, empty, 56,175?. ; cottons (piece goods and other cotton manufactures), 335,570?. ; flour, 13,603?. ; hardware, 47,765?. ; kola nuts, 156,993?. : provisions, 12,269?. ; rice, 104,101?. ; spirits, 12,295?. ; sugar, 12,988? ; tobacco, 53,710?. Chief exports: ground nuts, 1,172,843?. ; hides, 8,419/. ; palm kernels, 15,324?. ; specie, 323,600?.

Imports from United Kingdom in 1919, 725,508?. ; exports to United Kingdom, 1,124,674?.

The tonnage of vessels entered and cleared in the foreign trade is given as follows :

Total. British only

1913 (pre-war)

Tons

625,132 371,419

Tons

530,024 317,399

1917

1919

Tons

371,670 242,706

Tons 398,524 290,288

Tons 282,060

262,274

Tons 441.S60 354,837

There is a fortnightly mail-service between Liverpool and Bathurst. Internal communication is maintained by steamers or laun< lies. There are two post offices. Postal packets and parcels dealt with in 1919, 151,749. Bathurst is connected with St. Vincent (Cape de Virde) and with Siena Leone by cable, but there are no local telegraphs or railways. TheCamlia savings bank had 493 depositors in 1919. A special West African silver currency was introduced in 1913 (nee, under Nigeria, p. 246). West African currency notes in circulation June 30, 1919 amounted to 110,300?. The French five franc piece is legal tender at 3s. 10^t?., and was very largely used, but its circulation diminished after the outbreak of war in 1914, owing to export restrictions from France. There are two banks in the Colony, the Bank of Biitish West Africa and the Colonial Bank.

GOLD COAST.

The Gold Coast stretches for 334 miles along the Gulf of Guinea, letweei the French Ivory Coast and Togoland. The Colony is administered by a Governor with an Executive and a Legislative Council, both nominated, with nine unofficial members in latter. The area of the Colony, Ashanti. and Protectorate is about 80,000 square miles ; population, census 1911, 1.503,386 ; Europeans, 1915, 2,206. Chief towns : Accra, 19,585 ; Seccondee, 7,725 ; Cape Coast Castle, 11,364 ; Quittah, Saltpond, Winnebah, Axiro, and Akuse. There were in 1919 19 Government schools, and 194 assisted schools which are under the control of the Scottish, Wesleyan, Roman Catholic, Church of England (S. P.G.), and African Methodist Episcopal Zionist Missions; the Dormer Bremen Mission Schools are at present temporarily under the control of the Education Department ; average attend- ance of primary and secondary schools, 21,938 (1919); enrolled, 27,31S ; Government estimated expenditure on education in 1919. 57,7167. There are also a large number of aon-aasisted primary schools supported by the various religious bodies. The strength of the police (1919), 21 European officers and 1,365 of other ranks. This includes 2 European officers and 193 other ranks in Ashanti. The constabulary (Northern Territories) consists of 2 officers and about 320 of other ranks. Summary convictions in 1919, 8,978 ; convictions in Supreme Courts, 104. Staple products and exports, palm oil, kola nuts, palm kernels, cocoa, indiarubber