too [April, 1902.] 
IMPERIAL INSTITUTE JOURNAL. 
Vol. VIII. No. 88. 
investigations into the subject of Malaria on the West Coast of Africa, and was now engaged 
in carrying through important sanitary operations, besides educational work. Dr. Idarford- 
Battersby also referred to the instruction that was being given at Livingstone College to 
missionaries in questions of tropical hygiene, and to the facilities afforded by the “Travellers 5 
Health Bureau,” mainly by means of the quarterly journal Climate , to those who might 
desire information with regard to what precautions should be taken in entering a tropical 
climate. Reference was also made to the Colonial Nursing Association, which supplied 
nurses for hospitals in the tropics ; and also, in various parts of the lecture, to Mr. Chamberlain, 
who in many ways, notably with regard to improved means of transport, regulating the liquor 
traffic, and the health question, had done so much for the benefit of West Africa. In con- 
clusion, the lecturer hoped that the Governments of the different colonies would take up, in 
real earnest, the sanitary measures necessary to carry into practical effect the important dis- 
coveries that had been made by scientific experts. 
Sir John Hay, in proposing the customary vote of thanks, for what he himself had found 
an extremely interesting lecture, said, in referring to his own experience in West Africa, that 
he could look back to the time when the Hinterland was unknown. He wondered that the 
pest that had been so instrumental in spreading malaria should have remained undiscovered 
for so long, and commented upon the useful work the Colonial Nursing Association was 
doing in sending out nurses to the tropics. He made eulogistic reference to Mr. Chamber- 
lain Iwlio, in spite of the great responsibilities and anxieties of the South African war, had 
found time to take such useful action with regard to diminishing the evils of the gin traffic. 
The Livingstone College must, said Sir John in conclusion, be happy in having such a 
Principal as Dr. Harford-Battersby. 
“BRITISH COLUMBIA.” 
(By the Hon. J. H. Turner.J 
The Hon. J. II. Turner, Agent-General for British Columbia, delivered a lecture at 
the Institute on the 24th February, on British Columbia. The chairman, Mr. WATERLOW, in 
his introductory remarks, mentioned that Mr. Turner had first gone to British Columbia 
some 40 years ago, had served the province in various capacities, had entered the first 
Volunteer British Columbia Regiment in 1864, had been Mayor of Victoria, Minister of 
Finance and Premier of the Province. 
It would be a mistake, said Mr. Turner, to consider the scenery and climate of the 
province other than as part of its resources ; in fact they were both very important resources, 
and the beautiful scenery and healthy climate of the province had not only induced large 
numbers of travellers to visit the country, but had also proved of material consideration and 
benefit to the lumberman, miner, fisherman, farmer and sportsman. Any stranger visiting 
British Columbia could not fail to be impressed with the appearance of the children, their 
beauty, healthiness, vigour and splendid intelligence. 
The forests were a great store of wealth to the province ; for while the timber supply, 
generally, of the North American Continent was rapidly disappearing, that of British 
Columbia had, as yet, been hardly touched. The forest lands of the province were estimated 
to cover 160,000,000 acres, most of the timber being suitable for pulp-making. So far, 
however, but two companies had embarked in this industry ; the demand for the product 
however, was daily increasing throughout the world, as the material was now being put to 
many other uses than that of paper-making. 
Pulp-mills required very great power to run them in order to grind up the heavy timber ; 
but in British Columbia this power could be obtained in abundance from the numerous 
mountain torrents and rivers of the country, although up to the present but limited use had 
been made of it. Some of the streams, however, had already been harnessed for supplying 
electrical power to run street cars, work compressors and drills in the mines, and light in the 
streets and houses, with the result that already these conveniences and comforts of modern 
life were to be found, not only in the towns but also -in the villages and even in isolated 
houses. 
Mr. Turner believed that this abundant energy for the production of electricity found in 
British Columbia would have a wonderful effect upon the development of the mines and 
other industries of the province. The mines were probably the most important resource of 
the country, but they had been even less developed in proportion than the timber. 
An interesting account was given of the mines that were already at work, and of the 
discoveries that had been made of the occurrence of gold, silver, and copper in the various 
parts of the country. Mention was made of the hydraulic mines in the Cariboo district, and 
also of river dredging, a method of collecting gold which had not hitherto been successful, 
although the river beds were known to be highly auriferous. The cause of this non-success 
had been attributed to errors in the construction of the dredgers ; however, the kind that had 
been so successful in New Zealand was about to be adopted. On the coast of Vancouver 
Island considerable deposits of auriferous black sand had been found, and a large number oi 
“ placer J5 miners commenced to work on these last year, with very good results to themselves. 
The low price of copper was proving prejudical to the inferior grades of copper mines, 
but with improved electrical or oil-process appliances, cheapening the charges for reduction, 
these mines would, Mr. Turner considered, in the near future be able to be worked profitably. 
Little attention had, as yet, been paid to the abundant supplies of iron ore that the 
province possessed. Altogether, although the mining industry of British Columbia was only 
just beginning to run, Mr. Turner felt confident as to its ultimate prosperity. 
Very important resources of the province were its agricultural and grazing lands, 
eminently suited for fruit-growing, mixed farming, and dairying. The fruit grown in British 
Columbia was equal to any in the world, and, although the industry had only been started a 
few years, it was proving very successful, and a considerable quantity of fruit was being 
exported to the North-West and Manitoba. With regard to cattle, the country was now 
practically supplying its own wants and was beginning to export ; although sheep, pigs and 
poultry were still imported, a condition of things which would soon be remedied as settle- 
ment on the farm lands increased. 
The great wants of the country were capital and population. The population was now 
nearly double what it had been ten years ago, and would increase at a much greater rate if 
only more capital were forthcoming to develop the timber, mineral, and other resources of the 
province. The development of so vast a country was, however, a matter of considerable 
difficulty, and great expenditure was required for making roads, trails, and bridges, for 
surveys and for building school-houses ; as by such works only could the country be fairly 
opened up. A great deal, however, was now Ijeing done every year by these means. 
Thousands of miles of roads and trails had been built. Laws had been passed to grant 
bonuses to railways, and about a thousand miles of new lines had been so provided for, and 
these, if they were constructed, would greatly increase the prosperity of the province. 
Standing as it did at the gateway of the Empire to the Western oceans, and possessing 
such enormous supplies of the resources of modern life, and having so healthy a climate, the 
future of British Columbia was, Mr. Turner maintained, to become the Britain of the 
Pacific . 
A very interesting portion of the lecture was that devoted to the advantages the country 
afforded as a tourist resort. Many thousands of pounds were spent yearly by the British 
people among foreigners in visiting the Continent of Europe, or Egypt, or Palestine, and still 
more remote countries, on journeys costing as much or more than a round trip to the Pacific 
and back ; a trip which could now be made in the most luxurious manner, owing to the 
comforts of the Atlantic boats and the railways across the Dominion. Mr. Turner was most 
enthusiastic as to the scenery of Canada generally, and more particularly of British Columbia, 
especially round Vancouver, where a journey could be made in still water up the coast among 
islands, fiords, and inlets, which formed such a remarkable feature of the western seaboard of 
Canada. In support of this contention Mr. Turner quoted from the recent reports of the 
late Royal Tour as to the comforts of Canadian travelling and the beauty of the scenery, 
and he showed a number of views, notably those of the fine mountain and forest scenery. 
In proposing a vote of thanks, Mr. Waterlow expressed himself confident with regard to 
the future of British Columbia. The mineral resources of the province were being more and 
more exploited, though little was known in this country about them, owing to the principal 
mines of copper, gold, silver, and silver lead having been exploited by American 
and Canadian capital. The progress of the country, during the last few years, had been very 
great, and it was astonishing how little was known about its vast resources in London and 
throughout Great Britain. 
“TWO ANGLO-RUSSIAN PHILANTHROPISTS.” 
(By Miss Venning , ) 
(ANGLO-RUSSIAN LITERARY SOCIETY). 
At a meeting on March 5, Mr. E. A. Cazalet in the chair, Miss Venning read an 
interesting paper entitled “Two Anglo-Russian Philanthropists.” 
In introducing the lecturer Mr. Cazalet said that the paper which the Society was about 
to hear, owed a double interest to the fact that John and Walter Venning, the two English 
philanthropists "who had done so much for Russian prison reform, were both great-uncles of 
Miss Venning. The chairman had seen the monument erected at Kherson in memory of 
John Howard, and the Smolensky cemetery at St. Petersburg, where Walter Venning was 
buried, and he rejoiced to hear that a memorial in marble, executed by Miss Kathleen Shaw 
(who was present at the meeting), was shortly to be placed at Totnes, Devon, to the memory 
of the Venning brothers. He had heard of the enthusiastic way in which Prince Galitzine, 
who represented the Emperor at Walter Venning’s funeral, had spoken of the disinterested 
and useful work done by John Howard and the Vennings. 
The lecturer said that it was in 1793, just three years affer the death of Howard, that 
John Venning first went to St. Petersburg, at the age of seventeen, as a member of an import- 
ant Russian firm. In speaking of Howard, Miss Venning reminded the Society of the 
admirable monograph written by its president, Mr. Cazalet, in 1S90 for the Prison Congress 
of St. Petersburg. The medal then conferred on him was the only distinction of the kind 
ever conferred on an Englishman for literary, work in the Russian language. 
Although Howard had done much towards bettering the state of Russian prisons, the 
shocking abuses which still existed aroused John Venning’s indignation, It was impossible 
to gain any real improvement during the reign of the Czar Paul, but a new order came in 
with the kind and generous Alexander I. While John Venning’s sympathy and interest for 
prison work was thus being aroused in Russia, his younger brother Walter became the friend 
and co-worker of Elizabeth Fry, William Allen and Samuel Ploare, as a member of the 
Prison Society of London, founded m 18x5. Fie soon joined his brother in St. Petersburg, 
where he succeeded in establishing a Russian Society on similar lines. The Emperor 
appointed Prince Galitzine as its president, while the Metropolitan Philaret, the Archbishop 
of Tver, and Count Lieven, were among its vice-presidents. And the ladies’ committee 
formed to visit the women prisoners consisted of representative members of Russian Society 
and the foreign colony. 
It was sad to learn that, while still comparatively young, Walter Venning’s useful work was 
cut short by his death from typhus, caught while visiting a prison. John Venning continued 
his brother’s good work, but when Galitzine was replaced by the reactionary Arakcheeff, the 
Emperor’s mind was poisoned against the Society and he was induced to withdraw his 
patronage, which rendered progress difficult. It was Doctor Leighton, the Czar’s physician, 
father of Lord Leighton, who later on presented an appeal to Nicholas I. for permission to 
continue the work. The request was granted and the Emperor, moreover, himself became 
its patron. 
Mr, Davidson, who had lived for some time in Russia, said that he was glad to think 
that the labours of Howard and the Vennings had borne fruit. Immense improvements had 
been made in the conditions of prisoners since the days of these philanthropists. When the 
serfs were liberated and open courts of law established, corporeal punishment was also 
abolished, except in the villages where the commune system existed and the inhabitants 
elected their own peasant elders. He hoped that the present Emperor’s new “Ukaz,” 
abolishing banishment to Siberia, would also prove a great stride in the same direction. 
Mrs. Archibald Little, said that she had quite recently travelled in Russia and 
Siberia and had seen whole gangs of prisoners on their way to exile, although she had under- 
stood that the new “ Ukaz” was supposed to be in force. 
Mr. HAWES, who had but just returned from Siberia, said that he had also seen 
prisoners on their way from Russia. They might possibly have been convicted before the 
“ Ukaz ” had come into full force, or they might have been on their way to the penal settle- 
ment at Saghalien. The speaker had understood, however, that considerable latitude was 
to he allowed judges and other authorities in interpreting the meaning of the Act and in 
adapting it to special cases. 
Mr. Kinloch, while expressing his great appreciation of the admirable paper just 
read, reminded his hearers that the deplorable state of Russian prisons, so vividly described 
by Miss Venning, was not peculiar to that country. Howard, it should be remembered, 
had found just as much fault with our own prisons as with those of Russia. He also pointed 
out that the Emperor’s new “ Ukaz ” was issued mostly out of consideration for the 
inhabitants of Siberia, in order to save them from the influx of convicts who contaminated 
the country. 
A hearty vote of thanks to Miss Venning was passed. 
It may be of general interest to state that the Anglo-Russian Literary Society has the 
following lectures in prospect, on the first Tuesday of every month, at three o’clock : — 
April 1 — “ Russia and the Russians,” with lime-light, by ALEXANDER Kinloch, 
May 6 — “Life and Legend in Russian Pictures,” by Mrs. Rosa Newmarch. 
June 3 — “ A Journalist’s Scamper through Siberia and Manchuria, with lime-light, by 
John Foster Fraser. 
July 1 — Mereshkowsky’s “ Resurrection of the Gods,” by Miss PIelen II. CoLVlLL 
(Katharine Wylde). 

The Condition of Samoa. — Last year was not a prosperous one for Samoa, owing chiefly 
to a decline in the yield of copra and a consequent fall in the sales of goods by the local 
merchants. The total exports amounted to ^35, 760, against about ^50,000 in 1900, while the 
imports were ,£69,655, against about _£8o,ooo. Copra is at present the sole export. Cacao 
cultivation is still in its infancy, and the export of this article cannot attain any importance for 
another five years. The native population of German Samoa is 32,000, and of American Samoa 
6,000, while there are about 400 foreigners and 400 half-castes. The drawback to planting at 
present is that the German authorities only allow leases for ten years ; but, in the opinion of the 
British Vice-Consul at Apia, if the term is extended to 40 years, or if purchase from the Samoans 
be allowed, a large field will be opened for the profitable employment of capital. Nearly all the 
imports are from Australia, New Zealand, and San Francisco, except soft goods, which are 
largely of German origin. The natives both in German and American Samoa seem to be 
satisfied with the new order of things ; there is no good opening at present for either planting or 
trading, although much money is being spent by the authorities on public works. British 
shipping forms about six-sevenths of the whole tonnage trading to the islands. 
