PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :-
TILL CO. 885
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC-N COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
22 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
30
(which, inter alia, will upset Major Guggisberg's calculations), the Governor says he prefers that these five men should be civilians or retired officers of the Army or Navy, but that if five such men cannot be found in time he would take two non- commissioned officers of Royal Engineers in place of two of the five civilians or retired officers. He endorses Major Guggisberg's recommendation* that Lieutenant Kentish, of the Southern Nigeria Survey, who is due in England about February 10th, should be allowed to select these five men, so that if his proposals were all adopted we should have both Mr. Waters and Lieutenant Kentish scouring the country as recruiting officers for eligible civilians or retired officers.
Sir F. Lugard says nothing about the re-engagement for another tour of Captain Giles and the five non-commissioned officers of No. 1 party.
In the correspondence regarding the amalgamation of Northern and Southern Nigeria Sir F. Lugard wrotet :-
Surveys. Southern Nigeria is fortunate in having at the head of the Survey Department a highly skilled officer. It is probable that later on there may be no need to have a common head-the two departments working together, and the Governor, if need be, calling upon either of them to furnish any special report which may be required. For the present, however, I recommend that they should be associated under a single head, under the The Survey title of Surveyor-General on a salary of £900-£25-£1,000. Department of Northern Nigeria is hardly as yet created, and the Survey School has not taken shape. Southern Nigeria possesses a well-organised though somewhat costly system, and can afford much assistance to Northern Nigeria, while the necessity of measuring bases for a common map, and of uniformity in all details in both Protectorates, is of paramount necessity [sie importance]. The pay of the Surveyor-General and the cost of the London office will be shared by the two Administrations, as in similar cases.” The Secretary of State replied on 2nd September, 1913 -
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I approve the proposal that the Survey Department should be amalga- mated under Major Guggisberg, who will have the title of Surveyor-General, the emoluments of the appointment being salary, £900-£25-£1,000 a year and duty allowance £180."
The 1914 Estimates recently received, and not yet sanctioned, do not treat the Survey Department as a central department, but provide for separate departments for Northern and Southern Nigeria-their only link being Major Guggisberg as Surveyor-General-part (£231) of whose salary is provided for on the Northern Nigeria Estimate. The title of the post held by Mr. Collard is altered to Director Provision is made for three surveyors (one as computer) and one of Surveys. Instructor, Survey School, on £400-£20-£500 and duty allowance £80, seven assistant surveyors and one Superintendent of Drawing Office on £300-£15-£400, and five non-commissioned officers of Royal Engineers.
7th January, 1914.
Appendix 1.
A. J. H.
31
and they practically have to be taught the work we want them to do on arrival in this country, and not only have we to teach them surveying, but they have to be instructed in what might be termed the mathematical side of surveying, which is tedious and expensive; what is more, they are undoubtedly not the class of men to send away on isolated jobs, such as checking mines, areas, &c. The salary paid to non-commis- sioned officers is not high, but they receive other allowances, which bring the total cost up considerably. The officers who are not Royal Engineer officers are undoubtedly expensive. Their pay is £525, they draw a field allowance of £100, and an outfit allowance of £30, making a total of £855. Yet their training is sometimes limited to short courses at Chatham and Southampton, before which they had little more experience than the average regimental officer. But, in addition to other things, one of the principal disadvantages of the soldier surveyor is that he is always liable to return to his British corps or regiment, and the expense of training the men is lost; and, further, the higher rates of pay of the officers tend to make civilian officers discontented.
2. Provided a man has a really good education and a mathematical tendency there is no difficulty in teaching him the practical side of surveying. I would prefer to have young university men of the same class as are now being sent out as Assistant Residents, even if they did not have any surveying experience, provided that they had the mathematical qualifications and ability. The men, of course, that we want are young B.E's from the various modern universities and A.M.I.C.E's, the same class as the Indian Public Works Department now take. If a proper scheme were drawn up showing good prospects, and it were well circulated amongst the universities and societies, I do not think we shall have much difficulty in getting the men; a combined scheme might be possible to embrace engineers for the Public Works Department, but possibly we might have to raise the rates of pay somewhat, or give better allowances.
3. For the moment I would suggest that in order to obtain suitable men, the Crown Agents be instructed to advertise for men who have a B.E., B.Sc., or B.A. degree, or have passed the examinations of either the Institute of Civil Engineers, the Surveyors' Institute, or Junior Engineers' Institute, or have had a university or other high class education, with a special mathematical degree or certificate, and that although surveying experience is an advantage, it is not necessary. The terms offered should be for periods of two tours, with possibilities of promotion and absorp- tion into the permanent staff of the Protectorate. The appointments should be made as attractive as possible, well advertised in the professional papers, and all the universities and societies circularised.
4. My object would be to get young officers that could be trained into our own methods and form a permanent staff. It would then be possible to institute a special survey Hausa examination, and insist on the man passing it. This would greatly improve the efficiency of the surveyors, and will be really necessary in the case of the revenue surveyors.
5. I may mention that in Egypt all the staff they now engage are university men, and that they do not insist on surveying qualifications. Although the Director- General was a Royal Engineer he filled up all his vacancies and new appointments with civilians, and now they only have one retired Royal Engineer in the Department, and he is in charge of the photography.
6. In conclusion, I would ask that these suggestions be considered in making any appointment under the various schemes proposed.
SIR,
From the CHIEF SURVEYOR, Zungeru, to the CHIEF SECREtary, Zungeru.
Chief Surveyor's Office, Zungeru,
Survey Staff.
28th June, 1913.
I SHOULD like to place before His Excellency my views with regard to the The time has arrived, I think, to form appointment of survey officers in the future.
a proper survey service. Surveying is not only the carrying out of field work, the computation and checking of work, but requires great skill and a high mathematical knowledge. The Royal Engineer non-commissioned officer is an excellent fellow,. and he is well suited for certain work where he is working as part of a machine, as they do in the Ordnance Survey Department. We do not, however, get the best men, Apparently Major Guggisberg's recommendation was that Lieutenant Kentish should look after the selection of the Non-commissioned Officers of Royal Engineers.
No. 18 in African No. 1005,
+ Pages 31-2 of African No. 1005.
The wording was intentional. See marginal minute on draft on 20942/13.
I have, &c.,
A. SYDNEY COLLARD,
Chief Surveyor.
Appendix 2.
EXTRACT from a letter from MAJOR Guggisberg to the CHIEF SECRETARY, Zungeru,
dated Ibadan 13th May, 1913.
9.
Probable Future Requirements in the Mining Surveys in Northern Nigeria, (a) In drawing up the details of the estimate for No. 1 party, I have kept in view future requirements in the survey of mining licences and leases in Northern Nigeria generally. I submit that it is advisable during the operations of the future No. 1 party to form the nucleus of a small