640 GIBRALTAR CYPRUS 



in favour of agricultural development but labour is scarce and expensive. Copra continues 

 to be the principal export, 12,998 tons valued at 232,866 being sent away in 1910, About 

 one quarter of the total output is shipped to Europe, the balance going to Australia. The 

 Tongan Islands are now a place of call for a line of steamers running between Australia and 

 San Francisco. The shipping returns for 1910 consequently show a considerable increase. 

 In that year 59 vessels, with a tonnage of 104,403, entered. The Government College at 

 Nukualofa was advanced by the appointment of a technical instructor in carpentry and 

 the commencement of a Technical School. 



SOLOMON ISLANDS l 



The natives of the Protectorate are estimated to number 150,000. In March 1911 the 

 white and foreign population numbered 443, as against 251 in 1909. The number of in- 

 dentured labourers employed in the Protectorate at the end of March 1911 numbered 4500. 

 In 1909 the number was only 2284. The revenue for 1910-11 amounted to 14,130 and the 

 expenditure to 9493. The loan of 2000 made from the funds in the hands of the High 

 Commissioner for the Western Pacific for the purpose of extinguishing certain claims to 

 land preferred by German claimants in the islands ceded by Germany to Great Britain in 

 1900 was paid off in 1909-10 and the Protectorate is now free from debt. The imports for 

 1910-11 were 103,147 and the exports 88,890. Almost the whole of the import and 

 export trade is with New South Wales. The coconut plantations in the Protectorate are 

 developing rapidly. It is estimated that the area of these plantations, owned by white 

 men amounts to about 18,000 acres. The quantity of copra exported during 1910 amounted 

 to 4030 tons and seems likely to increase. Ivory nuts rank next in importance to copra 

 among the agricultural products. The nut is the fruit of a species of sago palm (Ceelococcus 

 solomonensis) , peculiar to the Solomon Islands. It grows naturally in swampy ground, 

 where it is also being cultivated. The nuts are used in the manufacture of buttons and 

 other similar articles. Bananas of high quality are now being produced and have lately 

 come upon the Sydney market, but this industry is only in infancy. Rubber, cotton and 

 other fibres are still in an experimental stage, but give promise of development. The ship- 

 ping returns show that the number of British and other foreign-going vessels entered and 

 cleared in the Protectorate during 1910-11 numbered 82, with a total tonnage of 63,257. 

 The total rainfall registered at Tulagi in 1910 was 133.40 inches. (A. BRUCE JACKSON.) 



Gibraltar 2 



The population on April 2, 1911, was 25,367 (14,145 males; 11,222 females), in addition 

 to 8,050 men on board H.M. ships in harbour. 



Revenue (1910) 80,929; (1911) 94-573- Expenditure (1910) 76,410; (1911) 73.39- 

 The shipping, entered and cleared, amounted in 1911 to 11,704,163, of which 7,143,083 

 tons were British. A scheme is in hand for the improvement of commercial facilities at 

 Waterport. In August 1911 the removal of coal hulks was considered as their presence, 

 as offering shelter to torpedo boats, was held to be dangerous in war; on the other hand, their 

 removal was viewed with concern by those interested in the coal traffic of the port. 



The naval establishment was inspected on June 6, 1912, by Mr. Asquith, Mr. Winston 

 Churchill, and Admiral H.S.H. Prince Louis of Battenberg. 



Cyprus 3 



The census of April 2, 1911, gave a total of 274.108, including the military popula- 

 tion; of this number 56,428 were Mahommedans and 217,680 non-Mahommedans. 

 There were 4658 males in excess of females. 



Agriculture. As the result of two bad harvests in succession the year 1910 was not a 

 prosperous one for Cyprus. There was a serious falling off in revenue and a trade depression 

 which reacted on every industry and activity in the island. Wheat was below the average 

 of the preceding five years; barley was a poor crop. The production of cotton on the other 

 hand was almost double that of the previous year and there was a substantial increase of 

 olives, carobs, grapes, pomegranates, oranges, lemons and silk. An exceptionally severe 

 winter, succeeding late rains, had a disastrous effect on the flocks; in the Famagusta dis- 

 trict there was a decrease of nearly 12,000 sheep and 1500 goats. The outlook for the wine 

 industry was gloomy; and the relief works were continued in the Limassol district for the 

 benefit of the vine growers. The crisis in the wine industry was suddenly relieved, how- 

 ever, by events in France and Italy which caused a brisk demand there for Cyprus wines. 

 The output of wine was good and satisfactory prices were obtained. 



In the seven nursery gardens in various parts of the island more attention is now given 

 to the production of fruit trees, vegetables and economic plants than to the cultivation, as 

 heretofore, of purely forest trees. In the experimental garden at Nicosia several thousand 



i See E. B. xxv, 364. * See E. B. xi, 938. * See E. B. vii, 695. 



