Vol. VIII. No. 89. 
IMPERIAL INSTITUTE JOURNAL. 
[May, 1902.] 129 
resources of the various colonies which are there displayed. Mr. Wallace pointed out that 
the subject of the course merited examination and attention, as we inhabited an Empire and 
not an island, and it was, therefore, to our interest to become well acquainted with Britain- 
beyond - the- Seas. 
The imports of Great Britain last year were stated to have exceeded the exports by abou 
^240,000,000. It was contended that, so long as this adverse balance remained within the 
Empire there was not so much cause for complaint ; but actually such was not the case, and 
the question, therefore, of where it went to was of importance, especially as most foreign 
nations were now deliberately trying to make themselves self-supporting and independent of 
one another and of the British Empire. 
Under the circumstances we ought, therefore, to do two things : (1) study and under- 
stand the capacity of our own colonies and possessions ; and (2) seek to open up new 
markets both inside and outside the Empire. In this connection we had much to learn from 
Germany. For instance, the German Colonial Society’s Intelligence Bureau, now supported 
by the Slate, attempted to give the fullest information to would-be emigrants, and thus 
to attract emigration to their own colonies, in order that the German Empire might 
benefit thereby to the greatest possible extent. To further assist in the development of 
her colonies, Germany was frequently sending scientific experts to examine and report as 
to how such countries could be turned to the best account, the result being that, when the 
German Government had obtained this information, it was prepared to expend capital to 
develop ascertained resources, and to attract private investors. 
Mr. Wallace stated that in our Crown Colonies and Protectorates little had as yet been 
done by the Government to ascertain and develop their resources, and he instanced the 
Report of Sir Charles Eliot on the East African Protectorate, in which application had been 
made to the Home Government for experts to make investigations, in order to find out 
what timber the country contained, w'hat kind of indiarubber the natives gathered, what 
species of plant produced it, and what commercial tropical plants could be profitably grown. 
The Treasury, in response to this application, sent only one expert, and that a geologist. 
All the experts asked for would, Mr. Hedger Wallace contended, have been sent by Germany 
had the colony been a German possession. In sending a geologist, Mr. Wallace pointed out 
that the Government were following the precedent of the self-governing colonies, where the 
mineral resources were regarded as the chief attraction, and where it was generally considered 
that, if the mining industries were primarily assisted, the subsidiary agricultural resources 
would, as a matter of course, develop themselves without any such help. The agricultural 
development of a tropical country like the East African Protectorate could, however, be 
undertaken more quickly, more extensively, and more profitably than that of the mineral 
resources; for the metallic ores and coalfields of a district were usually more sparsely 
distributed than the land capable of cultivation, and were at first too expensive to work, in 
the absence of railways and good and cheap transit. 
The British Colonies and Dependencies altogether occupied an area of about 1 1,600,000 
square miles, but the area of island-groups of the Crown Colonies — the subject of his 
lectures — was only 245,000 square miles. These island -colonies differed in their forms of 
Government ; some were entirely 7 controlled by the Home Government ; others possessed 
representative institutions, and the Crown had merely a vote on legislation and the control of 
public officers ; others again were dependencies, subordinate, either to a colony with 
representative institutions, or to one with responsible Government, and administered by 
functionaries of that Government. Some were internally independent hut subject to British 
control, and the Government of others was in the hands of chartered companies. 
With a few exceptions, all the island-groups of the Crown Colonies were situated 
between the two tropics, and had been developed by daring and ambitious men who were 
either adventurous traders or cultivators. In these colonies, however, what were termed 
the subject-races predominated, although some of them could be regarded as self-governing 
politically, but this was through the small white population they contained. 
These insular Crown Colonies eould be divided into (1) continental islands, which were 
either, like Borneo, detached fragments from the adjacent continent, and separated from it 
by submerged or shallow banks, and where the fauna resembled that of the’ mainland ; or, 
like the Madagascar group, ancient continental islands, now divided off by deep sea and 
with a more or less distinct fauna ; and (2) oceanic islands, of either coral or volcanic forma- 
tion, far away from a continent and surrounded by deep sea, Bermuda was an example of 
such a coral island, and St. Helena of a volcanic one, while in the Pacific group are to be 
found many examples of coral atolls. 
Conclusions with regard to climate, etc., arrived at from the consideration of geographical 
position alone, were however generally erroneous, although, from a study of the flora of an 
area, a botanist could usually form some idea of the climatic conditions prevalent in 
that area. 
Practically all the island-groups of the Crown Colonies were situated in three generally 
recognised belts. The first, the equatorial, or great evergreen forest region, extended from 
12 degrees or 15 degrees on either side of the equator, and had the highest mean temperature 
and the heaviest rainfall, there being two areas in this belt, one with a perpetual rainfall and 
another with two seasons of intermittent rain. In this hot, damp climate, with little change 
of season, flowers bloomed throughout the entire year and fruits followed in quick succession. 
The second belt, the tropical or great jungle- and bush-region, extended from 15 degrees to 
25 degrees north and south of the equator, and had a single rainy season, there being one 
long period of rain followed by another period of continuous dry weather. An interesting 
point was that, as a rule, the further from the equator a colony, in this belt, was situated, the 
greater was the day temperature, being in some cases even higher than that of places in the 
equatorial belt. The night temperature was, however, proportionately lower. The third, or 
sub-tropical, belt extended from 25 degrees to 34 degrees north and south of the equator, with 
a temperature ranging from 72 to 64 degrees. Very few of the island-groups of Crown 
Colonies were situated in this belt. 
One fact to be remembered with regard to the climates of the various colonies within the 
tropics was that there was very little variation in their mean annual temperature. Those of 
Kingston, Jamaica, Zanzibar, and Bua, Fiji, for example, did not vary two degrees through- 
out the year. 
Again, when a colony ran east and west, its isothermal lines did not usually vary, and 
its produce would be practically the same throughout its whole area ; but, when a country 
ran north and south, with parts perhaps in the warm temperate and parts in the equatorial 
belts, the products differed accordingly and the conditions of life and labour in the island 
would be very varied. 
In estimating the suitability of a colony for varied agricultural purposes, the most 
important factors to be taken into consideration, besides the soil and the climate, were 
good government, abundant suitable and cheap labour, and regular markets, easy of access 
and capable of expansion. Good government gave security, attracted capital and ensured 
steadiness to labour. In our Crown Colonies, Mr. ITedger Wallace stated that the officials 
were, perhaps, so over-anxious not to be unjust to foreign traders that an Englishman 
sometimes got no advantage from being under his own flag. The action of the French 
official (as in Madagascar and Algiers), was, in this respect, very different ; in these countries 
the interests of the foreigner were always regarded as secondary. In many of the Crown 
Colonies the labour question was acute. Climate affected the manager or director of labour, 
who represented capital and intelligence, both in respect to health and energy, and, as a 
rule, quick returns and yields were looked for in a colony within the tropics, i he requisite 
62.-36/7° 
manual labour, in many cases, could often be obtained from the indigenous races, but the 
conditions of life were often so easy that the native could satisfy his wants with working 
but very short time. Formerly, when he felt hungry he went on the war-path and 
plundered, and now, when necessity made him willing to work, he was often not anxious 
to do so for as long as his employer would be willing to pay him. This, again, opened 
up the vexed question of imported labour. 
Mr. Hedger Wallace dealt fully with many other interesting points, and described at 
length the resources of the various colonies included under the term island-groups of the 
Crown Colonies, while, in the galleries of the Institute, after each lecture, he pointed out 
the leading products of each colony, explaining how they were grown or obtained, and the 
purposes to which they were commercially put. 
“RUSSIA AND THE RUSSIANS.” 
[By Mr. Alexander Kixloch.) 
(ANGLO-R U SSI AN LITERARY SOCIETY.) 
At the monthly meeting of this Society, Colonel Lambert in the chair, a lecture on 
“Russia and the Russians” was delivered on April 1, by Mr. Alexander Kinloch, hon, 
secretary, who remarked that, whilst Russia and. England are the two largest and the two 
greatest Empires in the world, they each possess to a remarkable degree what the other 
lacks. For which reason, seeing that the two nations are slowly but surely drifting with 
their frontiers into a contiguous line of proximity in Asia, it is eminently desirable that a 
wider and sounder commercial intercourse than heretofore should he established between 
them. 
Mr. Kinloch gave a rapid sketch of the origin and the racial characteristics of the 
Russians from the period of the Slav migration into Europe, of the introduction of 
Christianity, the Tartar invasion, the struggle for supremacy with Poland, the transformation 
of Russia from an Asiatic into a European nation by the far-seeing policy of Peter the Great, 
the emancipation of the serfs ; and concluded with a general survey of the present social, 
political and religious condition of the people. According to the lecturer, the progress of 
Russia, in general civilization, in art, commerce and education has been greater during the 
last 40 years than in the whole of the preceding two centuries (see Russia , its Industries and 
Trade,” Glasgow International Exhibition, 1901). The lecturer dwelt in particular on the 
home-rule aspect of the Mir , the Village Commune, in which woman as head of a household, 
has a vote on a par with men. 
The national institution of public baths, the weekly use of which is religiously observed 
by every Russian, was a contradiction of the foreign opinion that the Russians w ere a dirty 
people. The strong religious sentiment of orthodox unity and the almost fanatical 
loyalty to batushka, the tsar, so deeply 7 rooted in the peasantry, will always serve in the 
opinion of the lecturer as a powerful deterrent to the spread of any serious revolutionary 
movement in Russia. 
The lecture was illustrated by admirable lime-light views especially prepared and 
presented by the Kodak Co.’s agent at Moscow', and by Capt, Daunt, I.C.S. Among the 
former were new' and hitherto unpublished portraits of Tolstoi and Gorki. 
In the absence of the president the hon. secretary, before beginning his lecture, 
commented in sympathetic terms on the painful loss the Society had sustained in the death, 
on 29th March, of Sir Sidney Shippard, a highly esteemed member of its committee. 
♦ 
PROCEEDINGS OF INSTITUTIONS. 
ROYAL AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY OF ENGLAND. 
The usual monthly 7 meeting of the Council w 7 asheld on the 9th ult., Prince Christian 
(president) in the chair. The Earl of Radnor was elected a governor of the Society, and 30 
new members were elected. Mr. Bo wen- Jones, in presenting the report of the Chemical and 
Woburn Committee, said that the British Oil and Cake Mills (Limited), an organization 
comprising and controlling about one-half of the principal firms of cake manufacturers in 
different parts of the country, had now decided that, so far as the branches under their 
control were concerned, they would give up the use of the “95 per cent.” guarantee, and 
conform to the recommendations given by the Royal Agricultural Society of England, which 
•were to the effect that linseed cake should be sold as “ pure and in good condition.” 
The Hon. C. T. Parker presented a report made to the Veterinary Committee by 
Professor McFadyean, which stated that during the last four weeks for which returns had 
been issued there had been 55 outbreaks of anthrax with 113 animals attacked, as against 
*52 and 59 respectively for the corresponding period of last year. The number of outbreaks 
of glanders for the same four w'eeks was 95, and the number of animals attacked 169, as 
against 97 outbreaks and 145 animals attacked last year. Four cases of rabies, all in dogs, 
had been notified during the last four weeks in the counties of Pembroke and Cardigan, 
making a total of seven since the beginning of the year. The recent returns indicated a 
considerable decline in the prevalence of swine fever ; the total number of outbreaks reported 
during the last four weeks was 109, as against 2S6 in the same period of last year. It w as 
greatly to be regretted that foot-and-mouth disease had again appeared, an outbreak having 
been discovered near Canterbury 7 in the last w r eek in March. 
Mr. Sanday reported from the Implement Committee that 10,702 feet of total shedding 
had been allotted in 338 stands in the implement department of the society’s forthcoming 
meeting at Carlisle from July 5 to 7 next, and that the entries of new implements 
numbered 53. 
Lord Moreton reported from the Education Committee that a total of 69 entries had 
been received for the examination for the national diploma in agriculture to be held jointly 7 
by the Royal Agricultural Society of England and the Highland and Agricultural Society 
of Scotland at the Yorkshire College, Leeds, from May 5 to S next. 
Mr. Crutchley said that there was every reason to hope that the show' of 1903 would be 
held on the new permanent site at the usual time — -namely, the week after Ascot. 
Other business having been transacted, the Council adjourned until Wednesday, May 7 
next. 
THE LONDON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. 
The monthly dinner of the London Chamber of Commerce held on the 9th ult., was 
followed by a discussion on West Africa. Sir George Taobman Goldie presided and, 
in opening the discussion, said that 20 years ago our West African territories consisted only of 
two or three scattered strips of coast line, but to-day we possessed a West African Empire, 
covering an area many times as large as the British Isles. With regard to internal settle- 
ment, a good deal remained to be done, but the completion of the work w r as only a question 
of time, because it w f as no longer imperilled by foreign interference or foreign intrigue. 
Political supporters and opponents of Mr. Chamberlain must alike admire the vitality and 
vigour which he had imported into West African affairs since he took office in 1S95. Nor 
would this benefit altogether cease with Mr. Chamberlain’s tenure of office, for we might feel 
sure that the seals of the Colonial Office would never again be entrusted to any but the most 
able Ministers of the Crown. Dealing with the labour question, he said he believed that in 
the Ilausa race there was a reservoir of labour which would not only supply all the require- 
