The Sun.
London, England, 1859-01-28 00:00:00

THE AFRICAN SETTLEMENTS.

The population of the island of St. Helena, so
famous from its association with the name of Napo-
leon the Great, is not given in the blue book before
us, but it is stated that the births in the island in
1856 we-.-e'lol, the marriages 81, and the deaths
158. As the deaths had. considerably exceeded the
births foi- three years, it would seem to follow that
the island is being gradually depopulated. There
were 13 schools and 740 scholars. The public in-
come amounted to £18,035, and the public-expendi-
ture to £17,910. £11,177 accrued to the revenue
from Customs' dues and harbour dues, and £2.469
from tonnage duty. The Governor's establishment
cost £1,458 ;• the judicial department, £2,992 ;
public buildings and roads, £2,133; and education,
£495. 331 vessels, of 171,007 tons, entered in-
wards, and 49, of 17,980 tons, cleared outwards. ,
The imports of 1856 are valued at £101,562, and
the exports at £24,925 ; of the exports whalebone
figures for £BOO, oil for £21,795,-and wool for
£3BO. The island contained 1,625 horned cattle,
4,23 Q sheep, and 670 goats. Wheat flour cost £3
per barrel of 1961 b; wheaten bread, 4d per lb ;
horned cattle, £lO to £l5 each ; horses, £l5 to
£4O i sheep, £1 to L 2 ; swine (alive), Sd per lb ;
milk, 3d per quart ; fresh butter, 2s 6d per lb ;
cbcese, 2s per lb ; beef, is per lb ; mutton the same;
pork, Ithl per lb ; rice,- per lb ; coffee, is .per;
lb ; tea, 2s 6d per lb ; sugar, 8d per lb ; Cape wine,
6s per gallon ; brandy, 25s per gallon ; beer, is per
bottle ; and tobacco, is per lb. Domestic servants
earned £2 a month, predial 2s a day, and trades 5s
to Os Gd a day. We now turn to the Gold Coast
Settlement. Here there were 43 schools and 1,531
pupils. The revenue was £12,917, and the expendi-
ture £10,772, including the item of £1,102, as
"stipends" to native chiefs,and £7Ol as compensa-
tion to natives in riots. 105 vessels, of 27,152 tons,
entered inwards. There are no returns of those
that cleared outwards in the year 1856. The im-
ports are valued at £105,634, and the exports at
£120,999. The exports included gold dust,
£59,360; palm oil, L 54,471 ; ivory, L 1,984; gum,
£390 ; Guinea grains, £824 ; and ground nuts,
£2,420. The prices of various kinds of produce
were—lndian corn, ls per basket ; yams, id per lb ;
plantains, 2s per dozen; bananas, 3d per dozen;
palm wine, Id per bottle ; palm oil, 2s Gd per gal-
lon ; sugar cane, Id per stick; and pineapples, 1 d
each. The wages of domestic helps were 10s. per
month, predial the same, and trades 15s. per month.
At Sierra Leone there were 62 schools and 7,903
scholars. The re% enue was £35,601, and the ex-
penditure £34,457. 300 vessels, of 35,555 tons,
entered, and 321, of 38,672 tons, cleared.
The imports were valued at £151,907, and
the exports at £180,384. The exports included
55,0671 b of arrowroot, 9,0101 b of beeswax, 18,004
bushels of benneseed, 449 packs of cotton goods,
1,139,2551 b of ginger, 84,1721 b of gum copal, 226,349
bushels of ground nuts, 1,069,6581 b of hides, 10,8391 b
of ivory, 451,313 gallons of palm oil, and 2,562
loads of timber. The rate of wages was for domestic
servants 16s Sd per month, predial 9d per day, and
trades 2s Gd per day. Of Gambia the public income
was £17,375, and the expenditure £14,097. 221
vessels, of 31,938 tons, entered, and 224, of 33,189
tons, cleared. The imports were £108,852, and the
exports £176,577. Among the latter, ground nuts
figured for £130,497, and clean wax for £21,416.
The soil produces Indian corn, millet, beans, sweet
potatoes, pumpkins, ground nuts, cassada, and rice.
There were 180 horses, 360 horned beasts, 110 sheep,
and 200 goats. Domestic wages (in 185 t) were at
the rate of £1 12s per mouth, predial is per day,
and trades 3s 6d per day.