Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1903-05-14


Iferent from that of the governing
country. and located IN the tropics, are
divided into three great groups East
Indian, West Indian and Africa The
East Indian, or oriental group, includes
1.-THE British colony of India Ceylon, the
Malay Peninsula, Fiji and Borneo; the
Dutch colonies Of Java and Sumatra,
and the French colony of Indo- China
all located comparatively near the
Philippines and having a population,
climate and other conditions somewhat
similar to those of the Philippines.
The second group. the West Indian i'll
cludes colonies governed by the Brit
Iish, French, Dutch and Danish govern
Iments; the third group, Africa and adj
jacent islands, includes territory gov.
erned by Great Britain, France, Ger
many, Italy, Portugal and Belgium
The population of the British col
onies is in round numbers $50, 900 900;
that of French colonies $4,000 900
Netherlands colonies, 35,O00,OO0, Bel
gian colonies, 15,000,O0O; ortuguese
colonies, 100000, and Spanish colo
MES, 5000, while the noncontiguous
territory governed by the United States
II has a population of about 10000 900.
1Of the population of 350,000,000 thus
governed by Great Britain nearly 300,-
100000 are in the East Indian group,
l35, 100000 in Africa and less than g.
100000 in the West Indies. of the
Dutch colonies 35,000,000 are in the
East Indian group, and $4,000 in the
West Indies OF the French colonies
o,.r i,,t no Il
group, 25,000,000 in Africa, and 100000
in the West Indies.
The report shows that the commerce
of the colonies amounts to about three
billions of dollars, of which about one
half is imports, and large proportion
drawn from the governing country;
while, in turn, the colonies supply, a
large proportion of the tropical and
Isub-tropical products required by the
countries which administer their gov
eminent.
On the question of the government
of colonies, to which the study is es-
pecially devoted, the report shows that
in the colonies composed of people OF
the governing county or their de.
scendants, the administration of gov.
eminent is left almost exclusively to
the people of the colonies themselves
In the colonies whose population is
chiefly of race. customs and climatic
conditions differing from those of the
home country the governor and other
| executive officers are usually appoint
ed by the home government, and these
with the aid of natives USUALLY in the
form of a legislative body, one branch
of which is elected by the people,
frame the laws and regulations which
are administered by the officers ap
pointed by the home government Lo
cal and municipal legislation and ad
ministration are left to the natives
wherever practicable and they are en-
couraged to assume the duties of ad
ministering law and improving and de
veloping the community commercially
and otherwise. The construction OF
roads, railways. telegraphs and other
methods of communication by which
the natural products of the colony can
be sent to the markets of the world is
encouraged by the home government
and in most casessthe cost is borne by
the colony itself, and the development
| of the colony is usually coincident witt
| the development of facilities of trans
portation and communication. Funds
for the conduct Of the colonial govern
ment are raised in practically all cases
in the colony itself and by methods
usually adopted in other parts of the
world, though in the newer colonies
customs duties are the chief reliance
for this purpose.
The commercial relations between
the colonies and their governing coun
tries are also discussed at consider
able lengthable length, showing thai
the colonies in practically all cases
take larger proportion of their i'm
ports from the governing country thar
| from other parts of the world and thai
the demands of the governing country
! Qocated as they are in the temperate
zones) for the products of the colonies
| Qocated as they are in the tropics)
are constantly increasing, and thus
commerce between the colony and the
governing country rapidly growing.