PUBLIC
RECORD OFFICE
mmimmim
Reference :-
C.O.885
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
18 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
Govern-
ment
appoint- ments for which successful cadets will de eligible.
Ciril employ-
ment,
Agrer.
ments.
43
Works, Roads, Railways, and Marine Departments; and to form an efficient corps of draughtsmen for any department requiring them.
It is not proposed to replace all the European surveyors by natives, for, for many years to come, certain important survey works must be actually executed by the former, such as the main triangulation or traverse work of the Colony surveys, the main base-work of the town surveys, and astronomical check-work.
European surveyors must also be retained for the general supervision of the concession and town surveys.
There are, however, many branches of survey that can be advantageously entrusted to the native, not only on account of his being accustomed to climatic conditions, but also on account of the financial saving effected by the reduced salaries and transport required for the latter.
It is not therefore proposed normally to educate the native in the highest branches of survey work, but to give him a sound training in practical surveying and draughting, including in such training merely sufficient theory for the efficient execution of field-work.
In order, however, not to waste promising material, it is proposed to give the most successful and reliable cadets an opportunity, at the end of their course of instruction, of volunteering for a special course of tuition in the more advanced branches of survey, including practical astronomy. This special course will qualify a native for certain higher appointments in the Government service than those for which he would be eligible after the completion of his ordinary course only, and will also fit him for obtaining a licensed surveyor's certificate after the requisite examination. One of the points of difference between the ordinary and special courses will be that, whereas in the former a cadet will receive a living wage from the Government, in the latter not only will he receive no salary, but he will be required to pay fees for his higher education. I fully believe that for the first five years of the School's existence Government employment can easily and advantageously be found for all the surveyors and draughtsmen turned out by the School, in the various departments of the Colony. I reckon that in this time about 35 surveyors and 14 draughtsmen will be trained.
It is also fairly certain to rely on the fact that before five years have passed other Colonies will be in need of surveyors and draughtsmen, so that there need be no fear but that the School will have a successful life of from 10 to 12 years on its proposed organisation. If at any time the demand should fall off, the school establishment can be reduced.
In order to render the School completely successful it will be necessary for all departments to employ draughtsmen and surveyors who have passed through the School in preference to applicants who have not.
2. Cadets who have successfully undergone the course of instruction at the Native Survey School will be eligible for appointment to existing vacancies in Government Departments as follows:-
Surveyor. Salary £200 per annum, advancing by annual increments of £10 to £250 these appointments are very limited in number and are only open to Special Course Cadets.
1st Class Assistant Surveyor and 1st Class Assistant Draughtsman.-From
£150 per annum by annual increments of £5 to £180.
2nd Class Assistant Surveyor and 2nd Class Assistant Draughtsman.-From
£120 per annum by annual increments of £5 to £150.
3rd Class Assistant Surveyor and 3rd Class Assistant Draughtsman.-From
£60 per annum by annual increments of £5 to £90.
All the above appointments will come under the usual pension rules.
3. In the event of vacancies not existing in Government Departments, the various Governments will assist cadets in all ways lying in their power to obtain civil employment, though not holding themselves responsible for the obtaining of such employment. A cadet with a certificate from the Survey School should find no difficulty in obtaining employment from town councils and mining and timber companies, and it is always open to anyone to present himself for examination with a view to obtaining a licensed surveyor's certificate.
4. In view not only of the future thus opened to a Survey cadet, but also of the fact that he will receive a salary during his course of instruction, both of which favours are granted by the Government, it follows that the Government requires something from him in return.
49
A cadet or his parents before the former's appointment to the School will therefore be required to sign an agreement by which he will be bound to stand by the rules of the School as hereafter given, and also pledging himself to serve the Government for a minimum period of three years after the completion of his education, provided always that the post to which he is appointed is one of those to which he is entitled by the certificate he has gained in the School (see para- graph 20). Should he be required to fill an appointment of inferior grade to that which he is entitled by his certificate, he will be given the option of refusing it, and of waiting for a vacancy or accepting civil employment.
5. A cadet will be on probation for his first three months, at the end of which Probation time he will be discharged should the Chief Instructor consider that he is not and educa likely to become an efficient surveyor or draughtsman.
All candidates must have a certificate of education corresponding to the standard in the Government Schools, and a certificate of character before being admitted as cadets.
tional
require- ments.
6. The question as to whether the School should be established at Lagos or at Locality of Accra divides itself into three main sub-heads, viz., buildings, nature of country, school. and amount of survey work.
Buildings. The present headquarters of the Gold Coast Survey at Accra is an ideal spot for the School; more buildings would have to be handed over from the regiment to provide additional class-rooms and cadets' quarters, the latter necessary owing to the distance of cantonments from Accra; these buildings would easily be spared, viz., the remainder of the officers' mess (now occupied by one Colour- Sergeant) and the line of clerks' quarters. The Governor of Southern Nigeria has shown me the building which he proposes to hand over to the School by the 1st January next-this building would also be very suitable, and, lying in the town, cadets' quarters need not be provided.
On the whole neither place possesses any particular advantage in the building line.
Nature of country. The country around Accra is more hilly than at Lagos, which is certainly an advantage in hill-work. On the whole there is very little advantage attached to either place.
Amount of Survey Work-Although survey work on the Gold Coast is as yet by no means completed, and a demand for concession surveys on a large scale may arise at any time, yet there is undoubtedly a far larger amount of work to be done in Southern Nigeria. In this connection the possibility of the future survey of Northern Nigeria must not be lost sight of. Colonies in the burden of the cost of the School gives Southern Nigeria a right to The proportion to be borne by the two have more of its natives educated there, so it certainly seems sounder to establish the School in Lagos.
There are several further points in which Lagos may be said to be superior to Accra, such as water-supply, electric lighting, steam trams, cheapness of food, and conditions of living generally, so it is strongly recommended that the School be established at Lagos.
7. The School should be under the direct management of a Chief Instructor, Manage- who should not only be an expert in his profession and a sound, practical surveyor, ment of but should, if possible, be a man who has had experience in tropical Africa.
As the success of the School largely depends on the Chief Instructor, the very greatest care should be taken in his selection.
The general organisation of the School, including the curriculum, should be in the hands of a Committee consisting of the Colonial Survey Committee, supple- mented by the heads of the Survey Departments belonging to those Colonies that are participating in the expenses of the School.
To this Committee the Chief Instructor is entirely responsible for the conduct of the School, and he should correspond direct with the Secretary on any technical matters. With regard to the personnel of the School, the Chief Instructor should correspond direct with the local Colonial Secretary, and the accounts should go through the hands of the local Treasurer.
The Chief Instructor and his staff would of course be under the Governor of the Colony in which the School is established, but the latter should have no control over the technical training.
The Chief Instructor should on no account be under the authority of the local Director of Surveys, unless the Committee expressly authorise the adoption of this
course.
29431
the school.
G