Page:EB1922 - Volume 31.djvu/718

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KENYA COLONY

than 4,000 were wounded, 300 remaining in hospitals in 1920. Camp Zachary Taylor at Louisville was one of the national cantonments for infantry, while artillerymen were trained at West Point in Jefferson county and at Camp Knox. Total sub- scriptions to the Liberty and Victory loans were $190,846,510.

(E. T.*)

KENYA COLONY (see 4.601). The East Africa Protectorate, commonly known as British East Africa, was annexed to the British Crown in July 1920 and renamed Kenya Colony after Mt. Kenya, the most commanding natural feature of the country. The coast lands included in the protectorate which formed part of the Sultanate of Zanzibar were, however, not annexed; these became the Kenya Protectorate. The present article deals with the country as a whole after 1910, before and after the change in the form of government.

Census returns for 1911 gave the white pop. as 3,175 and the Asiatic (mainly British Indians) at 11,886. In 1920 the whites numbered about 5,570, Asiatics 17,427, Arabs (i.e. those long settled in E. Africa and not classed as Asiatics) about 8,000. The native pop. was estimated at 2,620,000. Mombasa, the chief seaport, had 32,000 inhabitants (350 Europeans); Nairobi, the capital, 15,274, of whom 2,020 were Europeans and about 5,000 Indians. The town has handsome public and private buildings, and nearly all the conveniences of a European city.

The period 1904-14 witnessed a great development in the high- lands. The area suited to white colonization proved less than had been supposed and does not greatly exceed 12,000 sq. miles. Nearly all of this area had been alienated by 1921. In addition considerable areas along the sea-coast and adjoining Victoria Nyanza were developed by whites as " jungle " plantations, and a beginning made in exploiting the mineral deposits. Unlike the Baganda and other tribes of the Uganda Protectorate the natives produced comparative- ly little on their own account for export, except sim-sim, which is in demand for its oil, and is grown extensively by the natives of the Nyanza province. Somalis conduct a large trade in cattle. The white settlers in the highlands grow maize, wheat, barley, coffee, potatoes and other vegetables, fruits, flax, etc. ; in the lowlands coco-nut, sisal, rubber, cotton and tobacco are the chief products. There are extensive grazing grounds in the highlands with large stocks of cattle and sheep. There are a few ostrich farms. By 1920 over 500,000 ac. had been granted for timber exploitation.

The Uganda railway was taxed to its greatest capacity to carry the rapid increase in goods. This growth of traffic was largely due to exports from the Uganda Protectorate and the north-west part of German East Africa. A branch line, 93 m. long, starting from the Uganda railway 282 m. from Mombasa (i.e. S. of Nairobi), was built in 19112 to the Magadi soda lake. Owned by the company which exploits the soda, it is worked by the Government. Another railway (30 m. long) was built from Nairobi to the Thika river (towards Mt. Kenya), opening up a rich highland region. In 1915-6, for military purposes, a railway was built from Voi (103 m. from Mombasa) via Taveta to Kahe, on the Usambara railway, German East Africa. But lack of adequate means of communication was a great hindrance to the opening up of the country.

Between 190910 and 19134 revenue increased from 503,000 to 1,123,000 and expenditure from 669,000 to 1,1 15,000. In 1912 the protectorate became self-supporting. . Railway receipts, licences, taxes and customs are the chief sources of revenue.

The value of imports (excluding railway material, administration stores and specie) rose from 775,000 in 1909-10 to 2,147,000 in 1913-4. In the same period exports increased from 590,000 to 1,482,000. In the last-named year tonnage entering Mombasa and Kilindini harbours was 1,791,000. In the same year the net revenue from the customs reached 197,000, the highest recorded. Of the exports goods to the value of 443,000 were the produce of the protectorate; Uganda exported goods worth 564,000 and goods worth 448,000 reached Mombasa from German East Africa. The principal exports from the protectorate itself were hides and skins (147,000), grain (118,000), copra (35,000), coffee (18,000) and fibre (16,000). Tobacco figured in that year (1913-4) for the first time in the exports. Over 60% of the trade was with the United Kingdom or India; the rest went chiefly to the United States, France and Germany. The German East African steamship line had however a large share in the shipping (over 600,000 tons in 1913-4) both to Europe and Bombay.

The World War rendered the trade returns of 1914-9 abnormal, imports largely increasing to meet the needs of the army and exports fluctuating greatly, while shipping dropped. More than half the white settlers joined the military forces and agriculture and stock- raising suffered in consequence. The revenue and trade figures for 1918-9 were: revenue, 1,548,000; expenditure, 1,570,000; imports, 3,397, ; exports, 2,498,000; tonnage, 455,000; customs receipts, 257,000. In 1919-20 a period of depression set in, and while

expenditure was 2,170,000 revenue was only 1,726,000. In 1920-1 (year ending March 31) revenue and expenditure was estimated to balance at 3,192,000. The increase was nominal rather than real, for the basis of calculation had been changed from rupees at 15 to the to florins at lo to the , the rupee being given the value of a florin (see below). Despite efforts at economy the year closed with a deficit of 166,000. From 1920 the Uganda railway surpluses which had up to then gone into the general revenue account were devoted to railway developments. In 1917 the customs departments of the protectorate and of Uganda were amalgamated.

History; In July 1909 Sir Percy Girouard became governor in succession to Sir J. Hayes Sadler. The white community, then numbering some 3,000, was chafing under long delays in obtaining land grants and other grievances. Sir P. Girouard achieved the difficult task of working harmoniously with the settlers, who were largely recruited from the upper and middle classes of England, though they included some hundreds of Boer families. The settlers were mostly men of capital, and in 10 years after the first settler (Lord Delamere, the 3rd baron) had made the highlands his home that region was provided with churches, schools, hospitals, newspapers, substantial farm- houses and fenced farms and race and golf courses. The climate had been shown to suit the European constitution, though even at an altitude of 5,000 to 6,000 ft. manual labour under the Equa- tor was not possible to many white men. The bulk of the farm work was done by the Kikuyu, a race with an aptitude for agri- culture. Nevertheless much of the labour was of an indifferent character. Normally relations between the whites and the natives were satisfactory, but thore were exceptions. In Sept. 1911 the indignation of the white community was roused by the deportation of Mr. Galbraith Cole, a pioneer settler, by order of the British colonial secretary. Mr. Cole, after vainly seeking protection from stock thieves, shot dead, while he was trying to escape, a Kikuyu caught sheep-stealing. Tried at Nairobi for murder the jury had acquitted Mr. Cole without leaving the box. One result of this episode was the taking of measures by the administration to afford the white settlers better protection, while the Kikuyu and other tribes were given reserves in which they were secure from interference by the settlers. The problem of obtaining adequate labour was serious, and an ordinance compelled the natives to give 60 days paid labour a year on public works. A circular issued in Oct. 1920 was so worded that it aroused the suspicion that the administration was favouring compulsory labour for private persons (i.e. the white farmers) and caused many protests in Great Britain. In July 1920 Lord Milner (then colonial secretary) made it clear that no such com- pulsion would be allowed. In general the good master had little difficulty in getting sufficient native help. In 1921 some 100,000 natives were working for Europeans.

In July 1912 the resignation was announced of Sir Percy Girouard, who had accepted an offer to join the engineering firm of Armstrong, Whitworth & Co. in England. Mr. (afterwards Sir) H. C. Bclfield, the new governor, who had served 25 years in the Malay States, reached East Africa in Oct. 1912.

In June 1913 a missionary conference was held at the settle- ment of Kikuyu (some ism. from Nairobi) which was the sub- ject of wide-spread and acute controversy. The missionary societies, as in many other parts of Africa, carried on the greater part of the work not only of Christianizing, but of civilizing the natives, giving them industrial as well as literary education. Their influence is great and nearly always beneficent. The Kikuyu conference was called to consider the matters of com- mon interest to all Protestant missions. At the close of the con- ference the Bishop of Mombasa (Dr. W. G. Peel) officiated in a Presbyterian church-"-at a communion service in which Angli- cans, Wesleyans, Presbyterians, Congregationalists and others took part; a service not unusual in the mission field. But this service was strongly denounced by the Bishop of Zanzibar (Dr. Frank Weston), who sought to have Dr. Peel's action con- demned. This the Archbishop of Canterbury (Dr. Randall Davidson) refused to do. The aim of the Church, he declared, was to create, out of the labours of all, a native Alrican Church, not a part of the Church organization of England transplanted to Africa. The harmony among the various missionary bodies at