WEST AFRICAN COLONIES
217
Revenue
1893
1894
1895
£
142,049
230,076
97,851
20,561
1896
£
179,745
237,460
96,109
26,172
1897
Lagos .... Gold Coast . Sierra Leone . Gambia ....
£ 115,317
201,783 92,769 31,899
£
137,017
218,261
98,838
23,798
£
177,421
237,857
106,008
39,415
Total .
441,768
477,914
491,537 j 539,486 1 560,701
Leading item of revenue (1897) : Customs, Lagos, 159,819Z. ; Gold Coast, 199,807Z. ; Sierra Leone, 87,093Z. ; Gambia, 31,463Z.
The luiblic debt of Sierra Leone (1897), consists of a loan originally of 50,000Z., of which 25,000Z. is outstanding. The others have no public debt.
Imports
1893
1894 1895
1806
1897
£ 770,511 910,540 457,389 176,328
Lagos Gold Coast Sierra Leone . Gambia .
Total .
£
749,027 718,353 417,466 166,509
£ 744,561 812,830 478,025 130,349
£
815,815
931,537
427,337
97,399
£ 901,475 910,211 ^.94,688 110,324
2,051,355
2,165,765 |2, 272, 088 ,2,416,698
2,314,768
The chief imports (1897) of Lagos were : cotton goods, 302,477/. ; spirits, 63,870Z.; tobacco, 17,356/. Gold Coast : cottons, 237,766/. ; spirits, 87,657/. ; tobacco, 16,870/. Sierra Leone : cottons, 147,950/. ; spirits, 16,985/. ; tobacco, 21,350/. Gambia: cotton goods, 56,983/.; spirits, 2,344/.; tobacco, hardware. According to the Board of Trade returns, the total imports into the United Kingdom in 1897 from the West African colonies amounted to 1,801,795/. ; and the exports of British produce and manufactures to these colonies amounted to 1,258,299/.
Exports
1893
1894
1895
1896
1897
Lagos Gold Coast Sierra Leone . Gambia .
Total .
£ 836,295 722,107 398,664 204,721
£
821,682 850,343 426,499 149,143
£
985,595
877,804
452,604
93,537
£ 975,263 792,111 449,033 116,981
£
810,975
857,793 400,748 165,894
2,161,787 2,247,667 |2, 409,540
2,333,388
2,235,410
Chief exports (1897) from Lagos: palm kernels, 306,834/.; palm-oil, 97,591/.; rubber, 283,184/. Gold Coast : rubber, 419,813/.; palm-oil,
