The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-09-24
BRITISH GAMBIA.
Prosperous Country Which offers An
Opening to American Manufacturers.

Prosperous Country Which Offers An
Opening to American Manufacturers.
At time when NO many parts OF the world send
news OF little but turmoil and unrest. IL is pleas
ant 10 read Of country where peace and plenty
reign and the people are seemingly contented.
Its area Is small and the population only some
fifteen thousand, yet it raised revenue las, year
of S2lS, 5S5. OF which it spent but sl45, l76 and
had at the beginning Of this year, with a balance
left from the end Of 1897, an available surplus
In hand Of Sl4b 600 That happy country with
out debt is the British Gambia settlement in
West Africa. II is governed by an administrator
assisted by four officials and two unofficial mem
bers nominated by the crown Its export trade
is large the staples being groundnuts. better
known with us as peanuts. and India rubber
The value Of the exports Of the fomeT last year
was 81, OO1 do and OF the latter S153, 240 or
the imports the largest item cotton cloth
for s303, 935, all from Manchester As regards
the patterns Of the cloth the English manufac-
turers appear TO be ruuIng themselves for they
now closely initiating the native patterns
and consulting the native taste The native
cloths, however. are the more lasting.
Rice and sugar are also largely imported: so
are salt fish and cornmeal II is interesting to
know that considerable import trade is done
from further down the coast In kOla nuts These
are consumed entirely by the natives. especially
the Mohammedans, who offer them 10 friends
calling Just as a European or American host
might offer cigars or some kind Of rrtreshment
The Administrator reporting on the social con
dition OF his little State, gives some interesting
details One is that Mohammedanism is increas-
ing and with ii temperance and dcCency. The
women, he says are growing averse TO marrying
drinking men, and the suitors become Moham-
medans To gain their wives. He further says that
riatia ,i
trior. and that al Bathurst the apital OF the col
ony at the mouth of the river Gambia 1t is station
ary. fully half the population being Mohammedan.
| The late Sir Richard Burton when travelling in
| that part OF Africa more than twenty Ave years
! ago. made the same observations. Whatever tho
reason, Christianity has made but little progress
among the negro populations Of that part Of Al
RIGA, probably owing in some degree TO the survv
ing traditions of the days when the white Christian
| was only known 10 the then pagan natives az
| slave trader
As regards the Gambia trade there certainly
appears TO be an opening for the manufactures Of
this country, particularly in cottons There
should be no difficulty in procuring some of the
more popular patterns Of the native cloths, art
| giving the river traders goods Of high quality ant
nearly durable as those Of the strong and coaIs,
native make Corumeal too, OF the color ant
| grades most suited 10 tho market could be fur
nishcd in any quantity; and II little trouble wert
taken to find out the patterns and quality of thc
tools and implements used by the natives in the
agriculture and ordinary industries brisk trad
| might be created for them, not only in that par
tcular part Of the West Coast but through II, will
the Interior When 30 small population and ter
| ritory that OF the Gambia settlement is founc
capable Of developing large a trade as shown II
last year report, it seems well worth making al
| -
come with the growth of population and the spreac
| Of civilization into the interior Of that particula
part of Africa where the people are industrious an,
| horn traders