8631
16
No. 12.
SOUTHERN NIGERIA.
THE ACTING GOVERNOR to THE SECRETARY OF STATE.
'(Confidential.)
(Received 10 March, 1909.)
Government House, Lagos, Southern Nigeria, MY LORD,
19 February, 1909. In reply to your Lordship's despatch, Confidential, of 31st December, having reference to Sheet 73 J of the map of the Western Province, I have the honour to inform your Lordship that the map was submitted to Sir W. Egerton by Mr. Cotton, together with a memorandum in explanation, on the 1st October. Sir Walter Egerton made certain comments thereon, expressing doubts as to the accuracy of the contour lines and the description of the country, and the map was then returned to Mr. Cotton for packing and transmission to England, on the 19th November, but, by an oversight, the papers containing Mr. Cotton's memorandum were not transmitted, with the result that the map reached England without any covering despatch from Sir Walter Egerton, who shortly afterward proceeded on leave.
2. I now enclose the memorandum in question.
3. With regard to the appointment of a Senior Surveyor, referred to in paragraph 5 of your Lordship's despatch, Mr. James cabled as follows on the 22nd January† :—
"With reference to your Confidential despatch of 31st December, Survey,
see Governor's despatch of 25th December, 878."
In that despatch I asked that the appointment should be filled from home.
I have, &c.,
J. J. THORBURN,
Acting Governor.
Enclosure in No. 12.
SIR,
Survey Department, 28 September, 1908. HEREWITH is forwarded the first completed degree sheet of maps of the Western Province, which I presume will, after inspection, be forwarded to the Colonial Office, in terms of the Secretary of State's instructions.
These
2. It may be seen that all possible topographic information has been added and that contours have been carefully projected in 25-feet elevations. contours, whose datum is mean sea level, have been located from about 3,200 points, determined by instrumental levelling and barometric and aneroid heights.
3. The barometric stations were determined by a series of simultaneous read- ings, taken about 15 miles apart (a number of the heights so determined are shown on plan in red figures).
4. The aneroid heights, after being corrected for temperature and diurnal wave, were adjusted to the previously determined barometric stations.
5. The barometric closes on the railway and mean sea level exposed a probable error of less than ± 10 feet.
6. Two barometers were used throughout, and a third was stationed in a central position for each "surround," in charge of a trained and trustworthy native observer; this barometer was read at half-hour intervals during the whole of the operations and, at the termination of each "surround," the index errors of the two travelling barometers were carefully compared with the stationary barometer. It was thus possible to detect any atmospheric changes, and at the same time to deter- mine the diurnal curve, which gave an almost constant range of about 100 feet.
7. Although the diurnal wave does not affect simultaneous observations, its determination was necessary for the calculation of independent observations and for the proper adjustment of aneroid readings.
8. The forestry features have been determined from a complete expansion of our field-books, and from a series of notes and sketches taken during surveying operations for the above-mentioned purpose.
No. 149 in Miscellaneous No. 210.
† 2623 not printed.
1626/09: not printed.
17
.
9. A fairly careful census of about 2,800 towns and villages has been taken and compiled in suitable form; this was forwarded to you under cover of my letter of the 14th of August last, No. 156/142/1908. As the Secretary of State has requested that this be forwarded, I would suggest that a copy of the schedule accompany plan.
10. The formation of the terrain under consideration is of a very irregular nature; generally speaking, it is gently undulating and rising gradually in a northerly direction. There is no hill or ridge system of any importance.
11. I propose to write up the geology of the Western Province and incorporate it in the completed map. Although I have some knowledge of that science, I do not feel competent to undertake it personally, especially as Mr. Kitson has kindly promised to render any assistance he could; therefore propose to consult him on his return to the Colony.
12. I would suggest that the whole of the Western Province be projected in one sheet, to a scale of 1/250,000, and for the following reasons I would recom- mend that the work be not undertaken until I proceed on leave: (a) several political boundaries are as yet in dispute, and it is essential that they should be permanently settled before they are incorporated into the completed map; (b) the general geolo- gical description cannot be dealt with in small sections in a satisfactory manner; (c) telegraph lines, which are now in a somewhat transitory state, may by then have been decided upon; (d) several important railway deviations may have by then been surveyed; and (e) because I believe the best results will be attained if, in conjunc- tion with the Topographical Division of the War Office, I supervise the work.
13. It may possibly be asked why this and other sheets were not issued in complete form last year. The chief reasons are as follows: (a) the time from the handing in of the maps in England till their issue was over three months, and the method of reproduction was that of direct photography. If these maps had been re-drawn and brought out in colours, as will be the case with the completed edition, it can be estimated how much time would have been required; (b) the great demand for these sheets even in their incomplete form shows how urgently they were re- quired; (c) it would have been impossible to have permanently fixed the political boundaries before they had appeared on a provisional map for final adjustment (vide Mr. Speed's recent settlement of the Ibadan-Oyo boundary); (d) the tele- graph line from Ibadan to Ilesha would have been wrongly placed, and the important deviations in the railway from Ebute Metta to Ibadan could not have been shown; (e) it would have been quite impossible to have carried out the contour levelling, in a satisfactory manner, if it had been attempted in conjunction with the horizontal 14. In conclusion, I may state that we hope to accomplish a complete survey of the whole of the Western Province by the end of May, 1909, and, if you agree to the proposal that I should supervise the projection of the new map, I am of opinion that it should issue during my next leave of absence.
surveys.
15. If you approve of my suggestion that the plan be projected in one sheet, I hope it will be feasible to carry over the balance of the sum set apart for the reproduction of plans-about £100-to next year's vote.
16. I trust you may be good enough to forward a copy of this letter to the Colonial Office, for which reason I am transmitting it in triplicate.
8627
No. 13.
I have, &c.,
E. P. COTTON,
Director of Surveys.
SOUTHERN NIGERIA.
THE ACTING GOVERNOR to THE SECRETARY OF STATE. (Received 10 March, 1909.)
(No. 98.)
MY LORD,
Government House, Lagos, Southern Nigeria,
20 February, 1909.
In continuation of my despatch, No. 848, of the 16th December last, I have the honour to forward a report by the Instructor of the Survey School for the latter
Not reproduced.
28518
No. 1.
B
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :-
C.O. 885
20 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
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