SIR,
(No. 13. Africa.)
12
Enclosure. in No. 27.
Foreign Office, March 17th, 1911. I transmit to you herewith a copy of a letter* from the Colonial Office requesting that steps may be taken to ascertain whether the German, Italian, Belgian, and Soudanese Governments would be willing to co-operate with His Majesty's Govern- ment in raising the limit of weight at which elephant tusks may be traded in or exported from Africa to twenty-five or thirty pounds.
The letter enclosed by the Colonial Office shows that the extermination of the elephant is probable unless measures are taken to prevent it, and I request that you will take the necessary steps to carry out Mr. Secretary Harcourt's wishes.
Sir E. Gorst, K.C.B.,
&c.,
*
&c.,
&c.
8215
No. 28.
+
I am, &c., (for the Secretary of State),
W. LANGLEY.
43
2. The object of this Ordinance is to give the Governor in Council power to make rules to prescribe the weight under which elephant's tusks may not be dealt in, bought, sold, bartered or exported, and to provide for the confiscation of the tusks if the rules are not observed.
3. In explanation, I beg to say that, when in England last, I saw Mr. Rhys Williams, honorary Secretary of the Society for the Preservation of the Wild Fauna of the Empire, who informed me that the Gambia is the only British possession in Africa where there is not a limit of weight fixed in regard to the ivory exported from He also went on to point out to me, that it is the object of his society to approach all the nations concerned, and invite them to join in the protection of elephants, and this it was difficult to do whilst there remained any British possession which did not prohibit the exportation of tusks below a certain weight.
it.
4. Recognising the force of his arguments, I took the matter up on my return to the Colony, but found that, in the opinion of the Legal Assistant, the powers possessed by the Governor in Council under Section III. of Ordinance No. 1, of 1901, were not sufficient to enable effect to be given to Mr. Rhys Williams's wishes. This being so, I caused the Ordinance now forwarded to be prepared and submitted to Council, by whom it was unanimously passed.
5. In the opinion of the Legal Assistant, whose report is attached, this Ordin- ance may properly receive the Royal Assent.
6. Three authenticated and twelve unauthenticated copies of the enactment form enclosures to this despatch.
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
C.O.
Reference :-
885
20 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
COLONIAL OFFICE to THE ROYAL SOCIETY.
[Answered by No. 29.]
[Printed, with the exception of paragraph 5, as No. 23 in [Cd. 5775] July, 1911.] Downing Street, 31 March, 1911.
5. It has been suggested to him that the Society for the Preservation of the Fauna of the Empire, which may be regarded as representing those in this country who are interested in the big game question, should be asked to supply a member, preferably a naturalist, to the Commission.
12137
No. 29.
THE ROYAL SOCIETY to COLONIAL OFFICE. (Received 15 April, 1911.)
[Printed, with the exception of paragraph 4, ns No. 26 in [Cd. 5775] July, 1911.] Burlington House, London, W., 14th April, 1911.
4. The work of the proposed Commission being purely scientific ín character, there does not seem to the Committee to be occasion for the appointment upon it of a representative of the Society for the Preservation of the Fauna of the Empire; but having regard to the general relation of the enquiry to wild game, they recom- mend that one, at least, of the members of the Commission above enumerated should be a competent naturalist.
13224
(No. 52.) SIR,
No. 30. GAMBIA.
THE GOVERNOR to THE SECRETARY OF STATE.
(Received 24 April, 1911.)
[Capy to Foreign Office, 3 August, 1911. L.F.] [Answered by No. 34.]
Government House, Bathurst, Gambia, 28th March, 1911.
I HAVE the honour to transmit for His Majesty's gracious confirmation and approval an Ordinance (No. 6, of 1911), entitled "An Ordinance to amend the Wild Animals, Birds and Fish Preservation Ordinance, 1901."
• No. 25,
No. 6
I have, &c.,
GEORGE
Enclosure 1 in No. 30.
GAMBIA.
DENTON,
Governor.
IN THE FIRST YEAR OF THE REIGN OF HIS MAJESTY KING GEORGE V. Sir GEORGE CHARDIN DENTON, K.C.M.G., Governor. [27TH MARCH, 1911.]
1911.
At a Legislative Council held on the Twenty-seventh day of March, in the year of our Lord One thousand nine hundred and eleven.
AN ORDINANCE to amend the Wild Animals, Birds, and Fish Preservation Ordinance, Title.
1901.
Be it enacted by the Governor of the Colony of the Gambia, with the advice and Enacting consent of the Legislative Council thereof, as follows, viz.:-
class.
and con.
I. This Ordinance may be cited for all purposes as " The Wild Animals, Birds Short title "' and shall be read and con- struction. and Fish Preservation (Amendment) Ordinance, 1911, strued along with the Wild Animals, Birds and Fish Preservation Ordinance, 1901 (hereinafter referred to as the principal Ordinance).
II. Section three of the principal Ordinance is hereby amended by adding at Beation 3 of
the end of sub-section (k.) thereof the following words, viz.:-
2
No. 1 of 1301 amended.
weight for
'And prescribe a weight under which elephant's tusks may not be dealt To prescribe in, bought, sold, bartered or exported, or attempted to be dealt in, bought, minimum sold, bartered or exported, and provide for the confiscation of tusks dealt in, purchase or bought, sold, bartered or exported or attempted to be dealt in, bought, sold, sale of tusks. bartered or exported of less than the prescribed weight."
III. This Ordinance shall come into force on the first day of August, 1911.
Passed in the Legislative Council this Twenty-seventh day of March, in the year
of our Lord One thousand nine hundred and eleven.
This printed impression has been carefully compared by me with the Bill which has passed the Legislative Council, and found by me to be a true and correct copy of the said Bill.
E. H. KIRKPATRICK, Captain,
Clerk of Legislative Council.
4
29746
F1