The Sun.
London, England, 1844-02-06 00:00:00

SIERRA LEONE and the GAMBIA.
Two important papers relative to these interesting
settlements, ordered by the House of Commons, one,
printed on the 24th of August last, have just reached
our hands. The first (on the motion of Mr. Hume)
is " a Return of the total income of the two Settlements
in each of the years 1839, 1840, and 1841, and how
expended; stating the several and separate heads of
income and expenditure, with the particulars thereof,
uncler each head." The second (moved by Sir Harry
Inglis) purports to be " a Return of the Public Ex-
penditure in the Settlement of Sierra Leone from
1825 to 1842, both inclusive ; distinguishing that
from Colonial Funds, and that from Parliamentary
Grants; and distinguishing the expenditure in each
year from each source."
The " income " of Sierra Leone is classified under
the following heads, viz. (1) Customs dues, (2)
Li:enses' dues, issued under Colonial Acts or Ordi-
nances (for retailing spirituous liquors, for auc-
tioneers, hawkers, pilots, &c., for marriage licenses;
also market dues, taxes on horses, carriages, and
Dogs. (3) Fines, forfeitures and fees, from sessional
and police courts, copies of public office documents,
&c. (4) Rents and sales of lends. (5) Special, and
miscellaneous (chiefly proceeds, in 1839, of sales of
goods abandoned for duty, 721/., (the minor items
under this head ranging from 201. to 861.) The
" Customs" which yielded 11,005/. in the year 1839,
and 12,609/. in 1840, in 1841 fell to 7,4801. The
spirit selling licences in like manner produced in
the same years, successively and respectively 1,116/. ;
1,0181., 8711., and market dues, 841/., 8561., and
4711. "Fines, &c." declined, in like manner from 1521.
and 229/, in 1839 and 1840 to 391. only in 1841.
Rent of factories brought in the two former years
31/. and 1351.; in the last only 11/. In short, the
only heads on which we find an increase in 1841 are
(characteristically enough) in passports (from Sierra
Leone we presume), which in 1839 produced but 551.,
in 1841 2121.; auctioneers' licences, which advanced
in same interval from 91/. to 103/., and miscella-
neous, which rose from 421. in the first to 86/. in the
third year of this term. The total income and ex-
penditure results as follows :
Income. Expenditure.
In 1839
1840 15,302 10,165
1841 9,379 14,243
The principal heads of increased expenditure, which
went to make up the excess over income in 1841,
were to salaries paid by agents in London, contin-
gencies of the colonies, revenue salaries, pensions in
London, pay of militia, contingencies of ditto, rents
and customs to native chiefs (91/. in 1839, and 1,3701.
in 1841), presents for ditto, and missions to and from
ditto. Thus it will be seen that there was
In 1839 a surplus of income of £2,093
1540 ditto 5,137

.£7,230
1841 as excess of expenditure... 4,864

£2,366

It appears that, allowing for the surplus income of
1839 and 1840, amounting in all to 7,2391., the ex-
cess of expenditure in 1841, 4,8641., there was still a
balance of income on the three years of 2,366/. Un-
der the heads pensions in colony, expenses of tak-
ing the colonial census, maintenance of distressed
seamen, and ecclesiastical contingencies (co-
lony), the items are stationary, or very nearly
so, throughout the whole period; whilst, on the
charges for contingencies (London); ecclesiastical sa-
laries (colony); contingencies (ditto), medical sala-
ries, and contingencies (ditto) ; clothing and contin-
gencies (London) ; and buildings and repairs (colony),
there was a considerable aggregate decrease in 1841
from the aggregate of 1839.
In the return for Gambia, the chief items of in-
creased expenditure in 1841 are civil salaries paid in
the colony ; judicial salaries and contingencies, ditto;
pay of militia; repairs and buildings (colony) ; presents
to, and missions to and from native chiefs. But the
excess of all these together, as compared with their
amount in 1839, is but 1,464/. ; whereas, in the other
prominent heads of expenditure, the decrease in 1841,
as compared with the two preceding years, is about
2,100/. There is, however, an additional item of ex-
pense, a 500/. repayment of a 500/. fine in 1841, by
order of the Secretary of State. The truth is, the
revenue of Gambia has lamentably declined in the
same interval. The Customs yielded in 1839, 7,1171. ;
in 1841, only 4,532/. The other items of revenue in
1839 and 1841, scarcely exceeded a total of 2001. ' • in
1840, of 7741. The excess of expenditure, therefore,
over income for three years is very considerable, as
may be shown by this statement :
GAMBIA.
Income. Expenditure.
1839. . . £7,381 £5,126
1840 4,953 8,284 •
1841 4,840 6,413