The Hawaiian gazette., 1902-07-01

Affifl. which la a. ~ followed NF The
reupsning ~ the greatest raid pfoduU.
Inc mines 90 the world ana pretuuahIy
ns ErnNfui revival ui business Ia tHHr
Greatest consuming section ~ Africa
ltuus especial interest 10 "a MONOGRAPH
entitled Commercial Africa Oh igIi '
iust issued by the Treasury Bureau uf
Statistics
The commerce 81 Africa. acoordlnr 10
this publication ~ the Bureau &C sta
tistlcs. amounts 20 over s1OObDo 600 of
which 40 millions represented tha Vul-
ue Of the Imports. Necessarily Boo rp
large an area with So many tribes and
peoples who keep no records of their
transactions. "a considerable amount uf
commerce must pass without bc.ng rec
corded IN any way. The total Imports
at the ports where records are kept
amounted in the lateft available year
To- $40, 4Gl.0O0 and the exports to $263,-
900 900. OF the exports. "A large share.
especially those from the south. rs gold
and diamonds In the tropical region,
ivory. rubber palm nuts and gums,
and i'm the north fair share of the cN-
ports are products Of agriculture, cot
ton. coffee, caoao, spices, dates, etc.
The export figures of recent years are
less than those of former years, ow-
ing to the hostilities I'm South Africa.
which have both reduced production
and increased local consumption.
About three-fourths of the Imports
of Africa are through the ports OF the
extreme north and south OF the CONT
nent those at the north being for the
consumption of the more densely pop
ulated regions bordering on the Medit-
erranean, and considerable quantities
going to the interior by caraNans-a
large part across the Sahara TO the
iensely populated regions OF the Sudan.
At the south. a large share of the Inn
ports Is, under normal conditions. for
use at the gold and diamond mines,
which lie few hundred miles north Of
the Cape, and are reached by railway
lines from Cape Colony and Natal at
the south and from ports of Portuguese
East Africa on the southeast. The
class of imports in the south differs
materially from that at the north, the
demand of the mining region being for
machinery, mining tools. dynamite.
powder. flour, meats, and clothing;
while at the north cotton goods, tobac-
CO. spirits, clocks. and trinkets form
larger share of the imports. as is also
the case on the coast of the tropical
regions.
A very large proportion of the trade
of Africa is with England. There are
numerous reasons for this the most
important, however. being that her
colonies-Cape Colony and Natal-on
the south are the avenues through
which pass most of the goods for That
section, and that a very large share OF
the growing trade Is also carried by
British vessels. while the bulk OF the
mining. as well as the stock raising ana
general development of that section, is
In the hands of British colonlsts or
capitalists. In the north large snare
of the trade of Egypt Is given to Great
la. ia. In ma 81
agement of Egyptian affairs is well rec
ognized, while in Algeria, which has
large trade. very large proportion is
with France, the governing country
The total recorded imports into Afri-
ca, aggregating in the latest available
year 1929. 461 900, were distributed as
follows: Into British territory, sl51,-
$4,000. French territory, s92,0O4OOO;
Turkish territory, SIT 1877 900; Portu-
guese territory. $40. 100000; German ter
ritory, ss,336,O00: and into the kongo
Free State, 81. 1925. 900. OF this importa-
ton of $429. 461 600. about per cent was
| furnished by the United States. the to-
tai for 1901 being $255i2.6ls. our total
exports to Africa have grown from So
77s42 In 1895 to $lS,59i,424 in 1899, ana
S25, 542, 6lS in 1901. This rapid increase
| is largely due to the fact that orders
| sent TO the United States for mining
machinery and other supplies so much
| in demand in South Africa are prompt
" filed with goods of the latest pat
tern and most acceptable character.
Africa occupies fourth place in the
| list of the grand divisions of the world
| in its consuming power in relation TO
| International commerce, the imports OF
| the grand divisions according to the
latest available figures being as fol-
| lows: Europe, $500, 100000 North
America. 81 900, 000, 900; Asia, 5000, 900. 900;
| Africa, $3.50 900. 600; South America,
| 1876, 900, 900; and Oceania, 1925 ,OOO, 900,
| OF this total of 81 $50 900, 900 the United
States supplies per cent in the case OF
| Africa, 10 per cent of the imports OF
South America, 10 per cent of those OF
Asia and Oceanic, IA per cent OF the
! imports of Europe. and 40 per cent OF
the imports of North America, eXciu-
sive of the United States.
Railroad development In Africa has
been rapid in the past few years ana
seems but the beginning of great sys-
TEN which must contribute to the RAPID
development. civilization, ana enhght-
eminent of the Dark Continent. Already
railroads run northwardly from cape
Colony about 1900 miles and southwark
| ly from Cairo about 1900 miles. thus
completing 200 miles of the proposed
Cape to Cairo" railroad, while the
intermediate distance is about 1000
miles. At the north terminus lines
skirt the Mediterranean coast, espe-
cially in the French territory of Alge-
| ria and in Tunis. aggregating about
$500 miles; while the Egyptian railroads
are. including those under construction,
about 1900 miles in length, Those OF
Cape Colony are over 5000 miles in
length, and those of Portuguese East
Africa and the Transvaal are another
| thousand miles in length. Including all
| OF the railroads now constructed or UNI
| der actual construction, the total
| length of African railways is nearly
| ~. 500 miles or half the distance around
the earth. A large proportion OF the
railways thus far constructed are own
| ed by the several colonies or States
which they traverse. about 1000 miles
OF the Cape Colony system and nearly
all of that of Egypt belonging to the
| State.
That the gold and diamond mines of