346 



GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND. 



he would put forth all his military strength to 

 prevent the access of Christians, even in the guise 

 of traders, to his dominions. The people changed 

 their attitude as soon as the envoys were dis- 

 missed, and the expedition took a circuitous 

 route back and narrowly escaped injury. The 

 six powerful Mohammedan states in the Western 

 and Central Soudan, with a population of 28,- 

 000,000 of the most civilized and warlike races 

 of Africa, are not likely to part with any portion 

 of their independence without a struggle. The 

 Sultan of Bornu maintains an army of 100$000 

 men. The Oil Rivers territory stands in a pe- 

 culiar relation to other British possessions. For 

 a hundred years or more British merchants have 

 been settled there, and have governed themselves 

 without interference from the Government, which 

 disclaimed authority over the territory until the 

 Niger Company began its operations. A sepa- 

 rate protectorate was declared over the Oil Rivers, 

 because the merchants there were unwilling to 

 accept the domination of the company. It be- 

 came necessary for the Imperial Government to 

 impose its authority upon them, because the 

 principal article that' they dealt in was gin. which 

 the British Government, by signing the enact- 

 ments of the Brussels Conference, had engaged 

 to exclude from this part of Africa. Major 

 Claude M. Macdonald was appointed commis- 

 sioner and consul-general for the protectorate 

 and consul for Fernando Po. When he arrived 

 with a large staff the merchants put various 

 obstacles in the way of his mission. At first 

 they refused to place houses at the disposal of 

 the consul-general and vice-consuls, who were 

 left ignominiously without shelter in the most 

 unhealthful part of Africa. Major Macdonald 

 was instructed to introduce a standard currency 

 in the place of Hamburg spirits, which serve as 

 the medium of exchange ; to establish courts for 

 the administration of justice to Europeans; to 

 induce the natives to abandon inhuman practices 

 and abolish slavery ; to suppress comey or the 

 transit duties collected for the native chiefs, 

 replacing them with a tariff similar to that im- 

 posed on the colony of Lagos and the German 

 colony of Cameroons, the chiefs being indemni- 

 fied by a regular subsidy from the revenue. 

 Major Macdonald established his headquarters 

 at Old Calabar. He enlisted a police force of 

 Haussas, but proceeded very cautiously in in- 

 augurating the new regime, which was objection- 

 able alike to the merchants and the native chiefs. 

 After his arrival a disturbance broke out near 

 Opobo, at Aqueta, where the acting consul and 

 some of the police were wounded. An arrange- 

 ment was made for defining the frontier be- 

 tween Oil Rivers and the Niger protectorate. 



The Falkland Islands, near the southern ex- 

 tremity of South America, have an area of 6,500 

 square miles and about 2,000 inhabitants, who 

 form a prosperous pastoral community, exporting 

 wool and other sheep products of a total value 

 of 116,102 in 1889, representing 60 per capita. 

 The exports of frozen mutton to England col- 

 lapsed in 1888 after two years of trial. Live 

 sheep have been shipped to Chili, and in March, 

 1889, the first cargo was sent to England. The 

 imports in 1889 were 55,716 in value. The 

 revenue collected was 8,628, and the expendi- 

 ture was 9,720. 



The Bermudas are a group of 860 small isl- 

 ands, of which 18 or 20 are inhabited, 580 miles 

 east of North Carolina. The total area is 24 

 square miles. The population in 1890 was esti- 

 mated at 15,748 persons, of whom 6,248 are 

 white. The revenue in 1889 was 29,938, and 

 the expenditure 30,089. The imports amounted 

 to 272,603, and the exports to 64,976. The 

 large excess of imports is owing to the number 

 of invalids and winter visitors who come to the 

 islands from the United States, and to the neces- 

 sity of importing nearly all food supplies. In 

 1890 the exports rose to 137,526. They con- 

 sist entirely of onions, arrowroot, potatoes, to- 

 matoes, beets, and lily bulbs. The Jittle pockets 

 of earth scattered among the rocks that form 

 the islands and cover about one third of the sur- 

 face are planted mainly with onions of a variety 

 first grown in Teneriffe. The quantity exported 

 in 1889 was 227.000 bushels; in 1890, 252,000 

 bushels; in 1891, 261,000 bushels. The price 

 fell in 1891, partly as a result of the new tariff 

 law of the United States, which is the market 

 for all Bermudian agricultural produce. The 

 only manufactures for export are palmetto and 

 straw hats. In July. 1890. a cable was laid con- 

 necting the Bermudas with Halifax, Nova Scotia. 

 (JAMAICA, BARBADOES. BAHAMAS, LEEWARD and 

 WINDWARD ISLANDS, and TRINIDAD see under 

 WEST INDIES). 



On the American Continent, in addition to 

 the Dominion of Canada and Newfoundland, 

 Great Britain possesses the Crown colony of 

 British Honduras and British Guiana, which is 

 governed on the representative system estab- 

 lished by the Dutch. British Honduras is 7,562 

 square miles in extent, and has 27,452 inhab- 

 itants, mostly negroes, who are employed in nut- 

 ting mahogany and logwood, and latterly in 

 growing bananas and cocoa-nuts for the Ameri- 

 can market. Coffee is planted in some parts and 

 cattle are raised on the hills. There is a transit 

 trade in sarsaparilia, coffee, and India-rubber 

 with the Indians of Yucatan. The revenue in 

 1889 was 50,523; expenditure, 45,487: debt. 

 16,032. The value of the imports was 260,- 

 089, and of the exports 300,879. Sir Alfred 

 Moloney succeeded R. T. Goldsworthy as Gov- 

 ernor in the autumn of 1891. The colonists are 

 agitating for a return to the representative sys- 

 tem, of government that existed prior to 1870. 

 In April, 1890, the five non-official members of 

 the Legislative Council voted against paying an 

 indemnity to C. T. Hunter, awarded by a court 

 of arbitration in London for breach of contract 

 in connection with harbor a*nd sanitary improve- 

 ments that had been suspended at Belize. The 

 Governor declared the resolution to pay the 

 award carried, claiming the right to cast two 

 votes, one as a member of the Council and a cast- 

 ing vote as president, upon which the non-offi- 

 cial members resigned. No colonists could be 

 found to take their places, and their resignations 

 were not accepted till the lapse of twelve months, 

 when the Governor made up what was called a 

 " bogus Legislative Council " by appointing the 

 colonial surgeon, the colonial engineer, and two 

 district magistrates. The colonists contended 

 that, being salaried officials, these men could not 

 act as unofficial members, and the Supreme 

 Court decided that the council thus composed 



