GRKAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND. 



867 



92 miles. The Seychelles group, Rodrigues, the 

 Chagos group, and other islands, are dcpenden- 

 <ir-.>[ Mauritius, and have a total area of 172 

 square miles. Garcia, the largest of the Chagos 

 u r roii|>, is r,' 1 . miles long by 14 miles wide, and 

 DM TuO inhabitants, mostly negroes. It is mi im- 

 portant coaling station, mid exports annually 50,- 

 000 gallons of cocoanut oil. 



St. Helena, in the south Pacific, has an area 

 of 47 square miles, and in I MM the population 

 was 4,110. The island is used as a recruiting 

 station for the West African squadron, and is 

 the headquarters of an American whale-fishing 

 fleet, the product of which in 1891 was 17,428. 

 The Governor is William Grey-Wilson. 



Ascension Island, northwest of St. Helena, 

 has an area of 35 square miles, and a population 

 of about 360. It is used as a coaling, victualing 

 and store depot for the West African squadron. 



The Falkland Islands, in the south Atlantic, 

 have an area of about 6,000 square miles, and 

 had 1,789 inhabitants in 1891. The Governor is 

 Sir Roger Tuckfield Goldsworthy, appointed in 

 1891. There is an Executive Council and a 

 Legislative Council. The revenue in 1891 was 

 11,551, and the expenditure 13,802. The im- 

 ports amounted to 67,877, and the exports to 

 130,752, including wool for 103,318, frozen 

 mutton for 9,138, and skins for 7,616. 



The Bermudas, a group of 360 small islands 

 in the north Atlantic, of which 18 or 20 are in- 

 habited, are situated 580 miles east of North 

 Carolina and 677 miles from New York. They 

 have an area of 20 square miles, of which 4,000 

 acres are under cultivation, and had in 1891 

 a population of 15,123. The colony is admin- 

 istered by Lieut.-Gen. Thomas Casey Lyons. 

 There is a Legislative Council, appointed by the 

 Crown, and a Representative Assembly of 86 

 members, chosen by 1,167 electors. The revenue 

 for 1891 was 33,531, the expenditure 32.029. 

 The imports amounted to 325,976. and the 

 exports to 129,803. They were as follow: 

 Onions, 81,556; potatoes, 27.360; lily bulbs, 

 12.612. On account of the mildness of the cli- 

 mate the colony is a winter resort for Americans. 



British Honduras is a Crown colony in Cen- 

 tral America. It has an area of 7,560 square 

 miles, and had in 1891 a population of 81,471. 

 The Governor is Sir C. Alfred Moloney. The 

 revenue in 1891 was $357,634, and the expendi- 

 ture $348,283. The imports amounted to $1,- 

 853,365, and the exports to $1,909,930. There 

 were exported 5,717,402 cubic feet of mahogany, 

 jjogwood, fruits, and sugar were also exported ; 

 as were also India rubber, coffee, and sarsapa- 

 rilla, mainly in transit. Banana culture is in- 

 creasing. The colony is suffering for want of 

 adequate internal communications, and from the 

 fact that the land is mainly owned by a few per- 

 sons who are nonresidents. 



British Guiana, in South America, has an area 

 of 109,000 square miles. The government is ad- 

 ministered by a Governor and an Executive 

 Council. In legislative business the Governor is 

 assisted by a Court of Policy of 7 official and 8 

 elective members, and a Combined Court con- 

 taining, besides the above, 6 financial representa- 

 tives elected by the registered voters, of whom 

 there are 2,046. The revenue in 1891-'92 was 

 560,^01, and the expenditure 531,099. The 



in 1891 amounted to 1,707,770. They 

 consisted mainly of flour, rice, pork, butter, mid 

 lumber. The exports amounted to 2,532,554, 

 the chief articles being sugar for 1.662,741, 

 molasses for 44,269, rum for 260.960, and 

 gold for 375,290. 



The Gold Const, Gambia, Sierra Leone, and 

 Lagos constitute the West African colonies. 

 The Gold Coast has a length of 850 miles along 

 the Gulf of Guinea, and an estimated area of 

 15,000 square miles. The population is esti- 

 mated at 1,905.000, of whom alxnit 150 are Kmo- 

 peans. The revenue in 1891 was 180,021, and 

 the expenditure 183,407. Thi imports amount- 

 ed to 650,192, and the exports to 084,305, of 

 which the principal articles were palm oil and 

 palm kernels. Gold is found in many parts of 

 the colony. The Governor is Sir W. B. Griffith, 

 who is assisted by an Executive and a Legisla- 

 tive Council. Gambia, at the mouth of the river 

 of that name, has an area of 2,700 square miles, 

 and a population of about 50,000. The settle- 

 ment proper had in 1891 a population of 14,206, 

 including 62 whites. The revenue in 1891 was 

 31,038, and the expenditure 27,697. The im- 

 ports amounted to 172,118, and the exports to 

 180,051. The chief products and exports are 

 groundnuts, hides, beeswax, India rubber, etc. 

 R. B. Llewelyn is Administrator of the colony, 

 aided by an Executive and Legislative Council, 

 both appointed. Sierra Leone, with the island 

 of Sherbro and the attached territory on the main- 

 land, has an area of about 15,000 square miles, 

 and a population of about 180,000. Sierra 

 Leone proper has an area of 400 square miles, 

 and the population in 1891 numbered 74,885, in- 

 cluding 224 whites. Freetown, the chief town, 

 had 30.033 inhabitants, and is the most impor- 

 tant seaport on the coast, and the headquarters 

 of the British forces in West Africa. Sir Fran- 

 cis Fleming is the Governor. In 1891 the reve- 

 nue of the colony was 80,869; the expenditure, 

 77,965. The imports amounted to 458,378, 

 and the exports to 477,656, of which 157,457 

 was for palm oil, 77,383 for rubber, and 43,- 

 004 for kola nuts. The kola tree grows freely, 

 and begins to bear seven years after planting. 

 Its nut, used largelv by the natives, possesses the 

 property of enabling one to endure long-sus- 

 tained effort, either physical or mental, even 

 without food : it also clears foul water very 

 quickly. Lagos, an island lying to the east of 

 tne Gold Coast, has, with the* protectorate on the 

 mainland, an area of 1,071 square miles, and a 

 population of about 100,000. Yoruba. with an 

 area of about 20,000 square miles, and a popula- 

 tion estimated at 8,000,000, is attached to Lagos. 

 The colony is administered by a Governor, as- 

 sisted by 2 appointed councils. 1 executive and 

 1 legislative. The revenue in 1891 was 78.625, 

 and the expenditure 06.888. The imports 

 amounted to 650,192, and the exports to 717.- 

 (i43. of which 841,340 was for palm kernels, 

 and 252,958 for palm oil. Early in 1898 the 

 Governor, Gilbert Thomas Carter, made an im- 

 portant treaty with the Egba chiefs whereby 

 they acknowledged friendship with the British 

 Government, and agreed to communicate direct- 

 ly with the Governor in case any difficulty 

 should arise. Entire freedom of trade was II!MI 

 agreed upon. Some trouble arose in the Yoruba 



