SURVEYS AND MAPS 39 



AFRICANS 



In some territories much of the routine field work, such as plane- 

 tabling and drawing, is generally done by highly paid European 

 officials, though it could be done efficiently by suitably trained 

 Africans. In West Africa natives are employed much more for 

 these purposes than in the East, and it is worth recording the num- 

 ber of staff for purposes of comparison. In the Gold Coast the 

 European staff consists of fifteen, the duties of five of whom are 

 mainly administrative; two work on the triangulation framework, 

 one is in charge of topography and three are on cadastral survey. 

 There are forty-five African surveyors who do all the field work, 

 with the exception of the main triangulation and the observation 

 of astro-radio points, and require very little supervision. In the 

 drawing, com.puting, and printing offices of the department, each 

 of which is in charge of a European, forty-six Africans are per- 

 manently at work. These offices prepare all the diagrams and 

 drawings required by other government departments, and also 

 print maps for Sierra Leone, which started its own topographical 

 work in 1927. To train this large African staff a special survey 

 course of three years was organized by the department and ten 

 pupils per annum were passed out as surveyors. The school was 

 closed down in 1930 as a result of economy cuts, but was reopened 

 in October 1937. Any boys passing out of the survey school could 

 sit for the licensed surveyors' examination and undertake individual 

 property work for mining concessions, etc. A large number did 

 so, and there are now only three European licensed surveyors still 

 at work in the Gold Coast. The department of Nigeria is roughly 

 the same size as that of the Gold Coast, there being forty-three 

 African surveyors, including two on staff appointments on a par 

 with Europeans, forty draughtsmen and seven lithographers. The 

 department likewise has its own drawing and printing offices and 

 had until recently its own survey school. 



In East Africa, courses in surveying are given in Uganda and 

 Tanganyika, where students from Zanzibar are also taken; but 

 shortage of skilled African personnel is acutely felt. The Director 

 of Lands and Mines in Tanganyika recommends the centralization 

 of a training establishment at Makerere, whence the East African 

 group of territories could obtain recruits. His colleague in Uganda, 



