CO885-(18-19) — Page 302

سليسا

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

Reference:

C.O.885

18 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH—NOT TO

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126

No. 79.

EAST AFRICA PROTECTORATE.

THE GOVERNOR to THE SECRETARY OF STATE.

(No. 311.) MY LORD,

(Received August 16, 1907.)

Governor's Office, Nairobi, July 24, 1907.

I HAVE the honour to report that acting on the suggestions made in paragraph 3 of your Lordship's despatch, No. 749, of the 26th November last,* I have caused the Reverend S. A. Martin, Principal of the Buxton High School, Mombasa, to be approached with a view to his instituting a special class or classes for the training of natives as surveyors, and I am happy to say that he has consented to do so on the condition of receiving this year a sum of £60, viz., £20 for initial expenses and £40 as a grant-in-aid.

2. This sum I propose to provide out of the educational grant for the current year, and I also propose to insert in the estimates for next year a sum of £110, of which £60 would constitute a grant-in-aid, and £50 would be devoted to the extension of the present building.

3. I cannot venture at this stage to express an opinion as to the probable success of the experiment, but I understand that Mr. Martin hopes to have one or two pupils sufficiently advanced to start work in the Survey Department by the end of the year.

4. I trust that my action will meet with your Lordship's approval.

30248

No. 80.

I have, &c.,

J. HAYES SADLER.

SOUTHERN NIGERIA.

THE ACTING GOVERNOR to THE SECRETARY OF STATE.

(Confidential.) MY LORD,

(Received August 23, 1907.)

Government House, Lagos, Southern Nigeria, August 5, 1907. WITH reference to Your Lordship's telegram of 27th July, and my Con- fidential despatch of the 24th June,† I have the honour to enclose copy of a letter from the Director of Surveys detailing the progress made with the preparation of the plans required and the methods adopted to secure accuracy.

(No. 147/110/1907.)

SIR,

I have, &c.,

J. J. THORBURN,

Acting Governor.

Enclosure in No. 80.

Department of Surveys, August 2, 1907. WITH regard to the cablegram, dated the 27th ultimo, from the Secretary of State, replying to your Confidential despatch of the 24th of June, I beg to point out that the plan asked for will certainly be ready for despatch by the end of this month and probably before that date.

2. The plan will be forwarded in finished form and quite up to the standard

of the work usually turned out at Southampton.

3. It was found more expeditious to prepare a finished plan and then photo- graph it, then to trace, for office purposes, a copy.

No. 130 in African No. 777.

Nos. 71 and 63.

127

4. By the former method, we will be able to supply copies for local use at once: 5. Of course, practically the whole labour in preparing this plan was confined to calculating "closes," plotting field notes, calculating astronomical positions, and projecting the plan; the drafting is a mere bagatelle. Hence the benefit of finishing the plan and then photographing it should, I think, be evident. This will, perhaps, be more apparent when it is pointed out that the original sheets were plotted on a scale of 40 chains to one inch; a one-degree sheet on this scale gives an arca of about 144 square feet to copy this would involve more time than we can at present spare.

6. Absolutely no information has been taken from outside sources. Governed by former knowledge of work forwarded to this Department, I instructed the Surveyors to make a complete survey of the sections allotted to them, and to take nothing for granted. Comparisons of various outside surveys with our plan have fully convinced me that an entirely proper course has been adopted.

7. It was even found necessary to survey the railway from Lagos to Ibadan, as also the extension. The latter, while being fairly accurate in distance, was hopeless in azimuth.

8. Heights of hills have been determined by barometer and hypsometer. The barometer was read synchronically with the barometer in Lagos Observatory, or, to be more precise, the barometer at Lagos Observatory was read hourly during the day, for the whole time during which I was taking barometric heights in the hinterland.

9. Where it was possible to reach the summits, heights have frequently been obtained by triangulation in the vicinity of the base; the result thus obtained being added to the barometric height obtained at the point of observation.

10. The map has been developed by conical projection. The skeleton has been derived from theodolite closes, accurate telegraphic exchanges for longitude (greatest probable error being 2/10 of a second) and refined latitudes (greatest probable error equals 2", deflection of plumb-bob being neglected).

11. Measurements have been made with a three-chain steel band carefully standardised, and all angular work has been thoroughly checked by solar and stellar observations. 12.

The filling in was done by prismatic compass work; all lines, however short, were chained and their bearings recorded.

13. It was found that the linear error of this class of work was generally very small, and that the azimuthal discrepancies, after adjustment for declination, were not, as a rule, large.

14.

The terminals of these surveys were always connected with a permanent mark on the theodolite surround; the errors were adjusted eidographically.

15. The country has been carefully inspected, even where surveys have not been considered necessary, and all necessary descriptive information has been written on the plan. This will be much more comprehensively dealt with in my report, which will accompany the completed year's work, and which will embrace practically the whole of the western province.

16. I propose to prepare this report on my voyage home, and expect to com- plete it during the early part of my leave.

:

17. The map, now that the greater part of it has been pencilled in, very greatly exceeds my most sanguine expectations. It is exceedingly complete and rigorously accurate I hope to have the pleasure of presenting you with a copy within three weeks' time; this applies to the sheets asked for by the Secretary of State: the others should follow in quick succession, as nearly all the preliminary plotting is now completed. I expect to take all these sheets in complete form home with me when I go on leave.

The degree sheet asked for by the Secretary of State will be ready for despatch considerably before the time stipulated; the carrying out of the Secretary of State's imperative instructions has, however, somewhat disorganised the general scheme, which aimed at developing all the sheets together, and which was really the most economical procedure.

18. Although it was my intention to send home the sheets in instalments had sufficient draftsmen been available, it was very unfortunate for me that definite instructions had not been issued to this effect when the work was started.

I was quite of opinion that Sir Walter Egerton did not expect the map till the end of the year (ride his letter of 28th of April, 1907, Enclosure No. 1, to my letter No. 127/110/7, addressed to His Excellency the Acting Governor under date