Page:Statesman's Year-Book 1921.djvu/939

 106,906 M.MI

190,491

481." 166,366

1. 300,000 1,390.000 1,500,000 2,090,0"O S.500,000

FRENCH EQUATORIAL AFKICA

Colony. Are* in square u. Population.

Gabun

Middle Congo Ubangi-Suari Chad Cameroon

Total .... 1,037,131 8,870,000

The Colonies have each a Lieutenant-Governor ; they all have financial and administrative autonomy, and each has an administrative council ; the Lieutenant-Governors are under the Governor-General of French Equatorial Africa, having his headquarters at Brazzaville, who is assisted by a Secretary-General and a Council of Government. There is a general budget for the whole of French Equatorial Africa, and also separate budgets for the colonies. Local revenues accrue chiefly from customs duties ; there are native poll taxes. The sale of alcohol to natives is restricted. For 1920 the budgets showed the following figures : General budget, 7,600,000 francs ; the colonial budgets were as follows : Gabun, 3,316,000 francs ; Middle- Congo, 3,930,000 francs; Ubangi-Shari, 3,400,000 francs; Chad Colony, 3,130,000 francs; Cameroon, 10,283,000 francs. In the colony there are (1916) 45 mission schools for boys and 10 for girls, with about 3,600 pupils (724 being girls), and 94 public schools with about 3,900 pupils.

The resources of French Equatorial Africa are quite undeveloped. There are about 30,000 square miles of tropical forest extending to the Gabun coast, containing many species of industrial value. Wild caoutchouc is the most im- portant export, 2, 770 tons in 1917. Palm oil is also produced tn some extent, 7,770 tons were exported in 1917. Coffee is also cultivated. In the Chad Military Territory large numbers of cattle, sheep, asses, camels, horses, and ostriches are raised, but there are no facilities for export. Copper, zinc, and lead are found. In 1913 the total exports amounted to 36,865,000 francs ; and imports, 21,182,000 francs ; in 1917, exports, 27,732,410 francs ; imports, 9,575,000 francs.

There is considerable shipping at Port Gentil and Libreville, the chief I>orts; but at Loango steamers must anchor about three miles off the coast. All three ports are visited by the vessels of the Chargeurs Reunis, and the steamers of the Elder Dempster Line. Whale fishing commenced in 1912. The military force of the colony (1914) consisted of 7,145 men, of whom 530 are Europeans.

The Central African telegraph line connects Brazzaville with Loango, and is in communication with the English Atlantic cable. Wireless telegraphy connects Brazzaville and the head of the Southern Railway in the Loango Region, a distance of 300 miles, and also Brazzaville and Leopoldville. In the Chad region there are several stations connecting Fort Laniy, Ati, Faya, and Mao. A line has been laid to connect Brazzaville with Bangui, and another to connect Bangui with Fort Lamy. The total length of line in operation is about 2,366 miles.

On the north-east of Lake Chad is the state of Kanem, which was com pletely subjected to France in 1903, and is now only a district of the Shari territory with Mad for its capital. Wadai, to the east of Kanem, with an area of about 170,000 square miles, and a semi-civilised population of about 1,000,000, accepted the French Protectorate in the summer of 1903. In