OF BAÍlawaÍ WASH^CTON, D. C, AFRICA. No. 2 (1892). PAPERS BESPUCTING PEOPOSP]D EAILWAY 7 PROM MOMBASA TO LAKE VICTORIA NTANZA. Presented to both Houses of Parliament by Command of Her Majesty, February 1892. LONDON: * PRINTED FOR HER MAJESTY'S STATIONERY OFFICE BY HARRISON AND SONS, ST. MARTIN'S LANE, printers in ordinary to her majesty. And to be purchased, either directly or through any Bookseller, from EYRE and SPOTTISWOODE, East Harding Street, Fleet Street, E.G., and 32, Abingdon Street, Westminster, S.W.; or JOHN MENZIES & Co., 12, Hanover Street, Edinburgh, and 90, West Nile Street, Glasgow; or HODGES, FIGGIS, & Co., 104, Gbaeton Stebbt, Dublin. i [C.—6560.] Price 2d, Ar" Í;.-Aîfe.; TABLE OE CONTENTS. No. Name Date. 1 To Treasure a • a • Dec. 20, 1890 f; *> 79 a • a « Feb. 9, 1891 ' 3 Treasury a a a a 10, 4 » • a a « July 20, a a a « Aug. 26, 6 Dec. 4, 7 Imperial British East Africa 24, Company 8 71 Feb. 9, 1S92 9 Treasury - • .. 00 10 Imperial British East Africa oo Company Subject. Page Propose that Government, in view of the obligations undertaken at the lirnssels Conference, should assist the Imperial British East Africa Company in building a railway to the Victoria Nyanza Refers to above. Arguments in favour of Her Majestv's Government carrying out obligations of Brussels Conference rather by means of assisting in the construction of a railway than by any other method .. Answers Nos. 1 and 2. Concurs generallj', subject to Parliamentary sanction .. Informs of arrangements come to with Imperial British East Africa Company , . Informs of appointment of Captain Tvlacdonald to conduct survey .. .. .. ,, Copy of instructions given to Captain Macdonald .. Incloses telegram from Captain Macdonald, stating that work began on the 7lh December . Incloses telegraphic Report from Captain Macdonald as to relative merits of alternative routes Incloses Report from Captain Macdonald Reports from Cajitain Macdonald. Junction of the tv o jiarlics. Results of surveys of optional routes .. 2 3 4 7 8 10 Papers respecting proposed Jvaihvay iVorn !\iombasa to Lake Victoria Nyaiiza. •/ No. 1. Foreign Office to Treasury. Sir, Foreign Office, December 20, 1890. I AM directed by the Marquis of Salisbury to request the attentive consideration of the Lords Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury to the following observations. Under the Agreement between Great Britain and Germany of 1885 a territory was assigned to the-British sphere of influence, which has been further defined and considerably extended by the Agreement of the present year. The Imperial British East Africa Company has undertaken the work of opening up this region. It would hardly be just to describe it as a purely commercial body, for it is notorious that the majority of, if not all, the subscribers are actuated rather by philanthropic motives than by the expectation of receiving any adequate return for their outlay. Acting under the concession of administrative rights from the Sultan of Zanzibar as regards the portion of his coast which it occupies, and under the Charter granted by Her Majestv's Government as regards the remainder of the sphere, it has hitherto devoted itself mainly to the organizatioa of government, and to the maintenance of peace and orderj^ while^paving the way for gradually civilizing the interior. Its career has been more successful than that of the neighbouring German Company, which has been compelled to seek the direct intervention of its Government, involving heavy expenditure out of Imperial funds. Its revenue is said hitherto to have sufficed only to cover the annual payments to the Sultan. In consequence of the operations of the Company Her Majesty's Government have hitherto escaped any direct responsibility as regards the sphere, but the position is altered in this respect by the Slave Trade Conference, the General Act of which is inclosed herewith. Great Britain, as a party to this Act, has engaged to co-operate actively, as far as her powers go, in the suppression, on land as well as on the sea, of the Traffic in Slaves. The general idea as to the measures to be adopted is recorded in the 1st Article ; it includes the establishment of stations, the construction of roads, and, more especially, of railways. The obligation to apply these measures is accepted by the third Article. The territories in which tlie influence of Great Britain is paramount, and respecting which, consequently, she binds herself as a party to the Act, are, in addition to her Colonies lying within the so-called Slave Trade zone, the Niger and Oil River Protec¬ torates, the districts south of the Zambesi within the limits of the Charter of the South Africa Company, the Nyassaland Protectorate, and the East African sphere of influence. As regards the West Coast territories, no special measures need be taken at present; the extinction of the sea-borne Slave Trade in that quarter, and the existence of navigable waterways into the heart of the interior, obviate the immediate necessity of combating the Traffic where it exists by the means indicated in the 1st Article. To the south of the Zambesi the task will be rendered easy by the proximity of the White populations. In Nyassaland the conditions are exceptional, as Portugal holds the coast, and claims the territories through which run the routes of the slave-gangs; there are already British gun-boats on the Shire ; and it is possible that an adequate check may be imposed on the Traffic by the eventual addition of an armed steamer on the lake, and by the influence of British officials, missionaries, and settlers. But as regards the Equatorial sphere of influence, it will be hardly possible to avoid the adoption of some active measures. The coast is the outlet of the sea-borne Slave Traffic ; the interior is the source from which it springs. The ivory and other produce is carried to the coast by captured slaves, who, notwithstanding the activity of the British [ISá] B 2 2 cruizers, are shipped in dhows and conveyed in considerable numbers to the markets of slave-owning countries. Experience has shown, as is proved conclusively by the evidence recorded in the Protocols of the Conference, that no ships, no coast police, can effectually stop the Traffic ; and that the remedy is that pointed out in the 1st Article, the establish¬ ment of interior stations, and the construction of roads, and especially of railways, which will provide cheap and safe transport. I am to observe that the necessity of working in this direction is increased by the fact that the activity of the German Government, employing Imperial resources, in the neighbouring territory, will probably, if this country is inactive, have the effect of turning the slave-traders into the British sphere ; this would be a grave scandal, and, were it to occur, tier Majesty's Government could hardly fail to be reproached for a neglect of the engagements of the Act, and of the duty of a country which has always taken tlie lead in he suppression of the Slave Trade. It is true that in accordance with the I Vth Article the execution of the work may be intrusted to a Chartered Company, and, in the present case, it uuw safely be intrusted to the British Company; but it would be unreasonable that Her Majesty's Government should, by throwing the whole responsibility on the shoulders of a few private individuals, claim to have relieved themselves of all responsibility. It is believed that there is only one mode of action which would bave a practical effect— the construction of a railway from Mombasa to Lake Victoria Nyanza. The Company is prepared to make this railway, but the expenditure is far beyond its means. As the railway will pass through a sterile region, and have, in a great part of its course, no lateral feeders, the hope of its becoming eventually remunerative can only rest on the prospect of the gradual civilization of the dense populations suiTounding the lake districts. On the plea that the work would be in a great measure national, Lord Salisbury is disposed to think that a case is made out for the grant of an annual subsidy. The grant would represent the contribution of this country to the execution of its obligations under the Brussels Act. Their Lordships should take into consider¿ition the important fact that if the sea-borne Trade is extinguished through being attacked at its source, the expenditure on the ceaseless \ynrk of g SCjuadron watching its outlet would no longer be required, so that economy might, from this point of view, be the eventual result of the grant of the subsidy. I am, &c. (Signed) P. CURRIE. No. 2. Foreign Office to Treasury, (Extract.) Foreign Office, February 9, 1891. WITH reference to my letter of the 20th December last in regard to the construction by the Imperial East Africa Company of a line of railway from Mombasa to the Victoria Nyanza, I am directed by the Marquis of Salisbury to submit to the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury the following further observations :— The consideration of the 1st Article of the Act that has just been signed at Brussels will lead to the conclusion that the construction of a railway is the most economical, as well as the most effective, method in which this country can fulfil its obligations under that Article. There are practically six methods indicated, for the 1st sub-section is merely general. The 7th sub-section, which deals with the exclusion of fire-arms, can be carried at once into effect without much difficulty. Of the remaining five. Nos. 3 and 5 will be satisfied by the construction of the railway ; and 4, which indicates the establishment of steam-boats on the lakes, can only be usefully executed after the railway is in existence. The alternative to a railway lies in the other two, Nos. 2 and 6—the establishment of military stations, and the organization of flying columns starting from them. It is evident that the Article, therefore, resolves itself into one of the two alternatives ; either the construction of a railway or the establishment of military posts and flying columns. It is needless to say that the proposed payment for a railway will not be in excess of the cost of establishing military posts with flying columns; 25,000/. a-year would certainly not support more than 500 men, probably not much more than 300, and they would be none too many for the work that would be assigned to them. On the other hand, the advantage of the establishment of these posts and columns would be limited to their effect upon the Slave Trade. They would have no additional influence in the support of commerce and industry, which would he the mam result of the establishment of a railway. The railway would also be the most effective of the two. The cordon of posts, so long as they were active and successful, would prevent the slave-caravans from breaking through it ; but the railway would wither up the machinery by which the slave-caravans are kept in action. At present caravans are the sole means of communication between the interior and the coast, because the tsetse fly forbids the use of oxen or horses. The cost of carrying articles of traffic is at least one hundred times as great as it would be upon a railway, probably a good deal more. Directly, therefore, a railway was established, it would cayse the method of exportation or importation by caravan to cease, not only over the country within 100 miles of the terminus of the railway, or 100 miles on either side of the line as it passes through, but also for that distance from all the shores of the vast- Victoria Nyanza Lake, which is as large as Scotland. From all the points that have been indicated to the coast, the superiority of the railway in cheapness would be so great that the competition of caravans could not possibly live. But if the caravans for the purpose of legitimate commerce were to cease, as under the influence of the railway they must necessarily do, slave-caravans could not possibly continue. In the first place, the occupation of those who accompany caravans, and of those who feed them on the road, would be so greatly destroyed by the disappearance of the legitimate traffic, that they would not remain in existence in quantities sufficient to maintain the Slave Traffic. The Slave Traffic by itself, hampered and hindered, always uncertain of success, and liable to the greatest risks, would not be a sufficient occupation to maintain the numbers whose co-operation would be necessary, though, now, it may operate to give additional chances of profit to those who maintain the ordinary traffic. From the information received by Her Majesty's Government it appears that slaves do not come down in large caravans devoted to that purpose only, but that in caravans organized for other purposes there are some slaves brought with them. But the railway would have a still more effective operation, in that it would make the use of a caravan at all so suspicious as to carry with it in every case the condemnation of slave-trading. A man could use a caravan for no purpose except for slave-trading, and, thcrciare, the krit3T>-'cdgc -that* he used it would expose him to punishment and would still more expose to punishment the merchants by whose aid alone such things could be organized. Conducting, taking part in, aiding, organizing, or supplying a caravan would all become synonymous with slave-trading. No. 3. Treasury to Foreign Office.—(Received February 10.) (Extract.) Treasury Chambers, February 10, 1893. THE Lords Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury have had under consideration your letter of the 20th December last, in which the Marquis of Salisbury draws their attention to the obligations incurred by Her Majesty's Government under Article I of the General Act of the Brussels Conference, dated the 2nd July, 1890, in regard to the suppression of the Slave Trade in the interior of Africa, and to their consequent responsi¬ bility for the fulfilment of those obligations in the territory administered by the British East Africa Company. They also have before them your letter of the 9th instant, embodying his Lordship's views as to the manner of fulfilling those obligations. The Secretary of State shows, with much clearness and force, that the geographical and political conditions of this territory, distinguishing it from other parts of Africa under British influence, point to the construction of a railway from the coast to the Victoria Nyanza as the cheapest and most effectual means of stopping the Slave Traffic of the interior, upon which the sea traffic depends. His Lordship also explains how it is that the British East Africa Company cannot be expected to find the capital for this undertaking- without aid. He accordingly recommends that either a subsidy or a guarantee of annual interest should be granted to the Company as a means of securing, through their agency, in the territory under their administration, the fulfilment of the obligations of this country under the Brussels Act. My Lords are informed that five cruizers, of an aggregate burthen of 4,985 tons, are at present engaged in patrolling the East African Coast for the suppression of the Slave 4 Trade. The coast of maintaining this squadron may be estimated at about 100,000?. per annum, apart from the 8,000?. to 10,000?. per annum paid in bounties. It is obvious that this presents a field for saving which would justify a considerable outlay in arresting the Slave Trade before it reaches the coast. Looking, therefore, on the one hand, to the new Treaty obligations incurred by Her Majesty's Government for the suppression of the Slave Trade, and, on the other, to the economy that may result in other branches of expenditure for the same end, my Lords concur, generally, in the proposal submitted by the Marquis of Salisbury, but, as his Lordship is aware, special Parliamentary powers will have to be obtained for carrying it into effect. No. 4. Treasury to Foreign Office.—{Received July 21.) Sir, Treasury Chambers, July 20, 1891, I AM directed by the Lords Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury to transmit to you, for the information of the Marquis of Salisbury, a copy of a Treasury Minute of the 17th instant recording the result of the personal communications between the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Financial Secretary to the Treasury, and the British East Africa Company respecting the details of the arrangement relative to the grant of a subsidy for the construction of a railway from the East Coast of Africa to the Victoria Nyanza. I am also to inclose a copy of a Report from Sir Guildford Molesworth, alluded to in the Treasury Minute. I am, &c. (Signed) R. E. WELBY. Inclosure 1 in No. 4. Minute. THE Chancellor of the Exchequer states to the Board that Her Majesty's Govern¬ ment have had under consideration proposals for the construction of a railway from Mombasa, on the East Coast of Africa, to a point within the British sphere of influence on Lake Victoria Nyanza. It is pointed out that by the General Act of the Brussels Conference of the 2nd July, 1890, to which this country is a party, it was declared that amongst the most effective means for counteracting the Slave Trade in the interior of Africa is the construction of roads, and in particular railways, connecting the advanced stations with the coast and permitting easy access to the island waters ; and this country, with the other Powers parties to the General Act, undertook to proceed gradually for the repression of the Slave Trade, It was suggested that tlie construction of the proposed railway, chiefly by means of aid from the Exchequer, would be the best means of giving effect to the above-mentioned declaration and undertaking, and to diminish the labour now undergone by the naval forces of this country and the cost incurred in repressing the Slave Trade on the East Coast of Africa. Information of various kinds respecting the country to be traversed by the railway was brought to the notice of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, together with a Report from Sir John Fowler as to the probable cost. The Chancellor, however, felt that the information before him was not sufficient to enable Her Majesty's Government to come to a decision upon the general question, and he came to the conclusion that it was necessary that a preliminary survey or reconnaissance by experts of the proposed route should be made in the first instance. It was at first considered that a sum of 10,000?., to be voted in the current year, would probably be sufficient, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer authorized the Financial Secretary to communicate with the British East Africa Company on this basis. Before seeing the representatives of the Company the Financial Secretary had the advantage of the advice of Sir Alexander Rendel, Consulting Engineer to the Indian Government, and he also took the opinion of Sir Guilford Molesworth, who nas had much experience in carrying out surveys for railways in India. Later on, the Financial Secretary had an interview with Sir William Mackinnon, the Chairman of the Company, who represented very strongly that the experience of the Com¬ pany as to the cost of caravans in East Africa tended to show that 10,000/. would be quite insufficient for the work, and that probably 25,000/. would be required. The Financial Secretary communicated this information to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who thereupon authorized him to propose to the Company that some part of the expenses of the survey should be borne by it, and to submit the following proposal :— 1. That in the event of the expedition costing 25,000/., the sum named by Sir W. Mackinnon, tiie Government should bear 20,000/., and the Company 5,000/. 2. That in the event of the expedition costing 20,000/., the Government should pay 15,000/., and the Company 5,000/. It was understood that the Government will appoint the engineers charged with the survey, and that the Company would be responsible for making all necessary arrangements to enable the engineers to carry out their work. As time was pressing, the Financial Secretary communicated privately with Sir William Mackinnon in these terms, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer now lays before the Board the reply of the Company, undertaking the responsibility for the expenditure of 5,000/. Send copy of the above Minute, and of the opinion of Sir G. Molesworth, to the Foreign Office, for the information of the Secretary of State, and state that an estimate for 20,000/. in aid of the cost of the preliminary survey has been laid before Parliament as one of the Supplemental Estimates, July 17, 1891. Sir G. Molesworth to Treasury. Sir, 17, Victoria Street, Westminster, .Tuly 17, 1891. IN accordance with the instructions received during my interview with you on the the 14th instant, I placed myself in communication with the Chairman and Directors of the Imperial IBritish East África Company, with the view of obtaining from them the local information necessary to guide me in forming an estimate of the probable cost of a preliminary reconnaissance, the object of such a reconnaissance being to enable an engineer to form a rough estimate of the cost of constructing a line of railway of an inexpensive character from the East Coast to Victoria Nyanza. The cost of such a reconnaissance must be influenced mainly by two factors, viz. :— (a.) The retinue necessary. (&.) The length of time occupied in the reconnaissance. 1. As to the retinue— Mr. Stanley's advice to Mr. Thomson, before starting on the expedition in 1883, was "Take a thousand men, or make your will." There was doubtless much exaggeration in this advice, but M. Fischer, with a combined caravan of 600, was compelled to figiit, Mr. Thomson, however, started with only 150 men rank and file. Of these, only ten were soldiers, but, being threatened by a large body of Masai, he thought it prudent to retire, and was only able to proceed by joining a large caravan of traders. Subsequently he made a short excursion away from the main body of the caravan with only thirty followers, but he appears to have owed his safety to his reputation as a " medicine man." Finally, he passed through the region between Elegeye and Victoria Nyanza vvith only 100 men, although he states that the three caravans which had previously entered that region each lost more than 100 men. It is probable, however, that fighting might have been avoided, or at all events that the losses of these caravans would have been far less, if they had been led by Europeans and properly organized soldiers or armed police. The expedition of Messrs. Jackson and Gedge in 1889, consisting of 4 Europeans, 51 soldiers, and 480 followers, passed through this district without any serious fighting; but i he expedition conducted by Dr. Karl Peters, which eventually led to the fruitless 6 slaughter of a large number of the Masai, has excited such strong hostility against Europeans that any expedition that may be organized must have an escort sufficiently strong to resist any attack of the natives. The Directors of the Imperial British East Africa Company are of opinion that an expedition having an escort of 100 soldiers or armed police might safely traverse the country. An expedition for a reconnaissance should be commanded by an engineer, experienced in railway work in a hilly country ; and to provide against contingencies, accident, of illness, he should be accompanied by another engineer, who could, if required, take up his work. It would be necessary also to have a surgeon, two European transport officers, who might probably be lent by the Imperial British East Africa Company, and an European officer in command of the fighting men. If the soldiers or police were furnished with magazine rifles, supplemented by a couple of machine-guns, eighty of such men would be more than equivalent to 100 men without such advantages in warfare against the Masai. These men should be recruited from India. Probably Sikhs would be the best suited for this purpose. About 250 porters from the coast, supplemented by fifty donkeys, would probably be necessary for the conveyance of the supplies, tents, ammunition, instruments, &c., or the goods that may be taken to barter for supplies. 2. The length of time which would be required for a reconnaissance must depend on the rate of travel and the need of deviation from the proposed line of reconnaissance. The maximum rate of progress, excluding necessary halts, may be taken at 10 miles a-day, and the distance to be travelled, including the return journey, would be about 1,100 miles, or 110 days. To this should be added 20 days for necessary halts, 30 days for special examinations, and 20 days for contingencies, making in all 180 days, or 6 months. This would represent the minimum time in which a reconnaissance could be effected if everything went right and the line proposed for first reconnaissance should prove to be feasible. The physical configuration of the country appears to indicate a probability that the line which I have marked in the accompanying Map will be fixed by certain obligatory features^ which will narrow f^own wiiffin^cempsfativpjy cli}se_Umits the selection of the ¿febest routes for a railway, and obviate the necessity for any very considerable deviation from it. The valley of the Athie River, rising gradually to the escarpment of Kinango, indicates that valley as the most favourable I'oute for a railway, to the depression in which is situated the chain of lakes of Nawasha, Elmeteita, Nakwo, and Baringo. Then, again, the depression above mentioned gives promise of the most favourable line for a railway so far as its general direction admits of its utilization for that purpose ; and, thirdly, the desirability of avoiding the cross drainage which runs north and south of the watershed to the west of this depression renders it probable that the great treeless grassy plain of the Guas J^gishu plateau, will afford the greatest facilities for an inexpensive line of railway. The Maps and other data from which I have derived this information, on which I have based this conclusion, may, however, prove to be deceptive, and on examination it may be foun