TRANSPORT. 329 



line, is much more expensive; the extra cost of the 

 Lakes Koute is only about £402,150 as against 

 £2,227,323. Or, if one prefers to put it in another 

 way, the difference between the amount required 

 to develop East Africa by the Mombassa railway 

 and British Central Africa by the two additional 

 lines now required comes to — 



Mombasa railway 2,227,323 



Shire railway ... 351,600 



Stevenson Road line * 786,240 



£3,265,163 



As contrasted with £1,545,990 



This is probably the best manner in which to 

 compare the two, for British Central Africa will 

 inevitably have a railway, quite apart from the 

 prospects of its being utilised for through traffic. 

 Preliminary steps have already been taken with 

 this object. 



Now let us consider the prospects of interest on 

 the capital expended. 



As to the Mombasa railway, there can be abso- 

 lutely no data on which one can rely. There is 

 only one article of export — that is, ivory ; and 

 probably three trucks in the year would carry all 

 that is at hand to the coast. There is not, I 

 think, a single plantation — that is to say, of 

 coffee or wheat — grown for export. There are, 

 I think, two Europeans at Kibwezi, one at Mat- 



