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PUBLIC RECORD

OFFICE

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Reference :-

............... C.O. 885

22 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC-

COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH—NOT TO

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ermanent mines arvey section that can carry on mining surveys on the conclusion of the work of No. 1 party about September, 1915. (b) It may seem premature to look so far ahead, but it is so important that the right class of men should be secured, and the training and experi ence they will receive under Captain Giles will be so valuable, that I have provided in the Estimate for the inclusion of three civilian surveyors, who, with Mr. Bennett at present employed, will form the nucleus mentioned. Even if the demand for mining surveys continues to be as great in 1915 as in the preceding years, and necessitates the further employment of a large Royal Engineer party, no disadvantages will accrue from the employment of these civilians.

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(c) The demand on the corps of Royal Engineers for colonial surveys has been so great in recent years that it is becoming yearly more difficult to obtain a sufficient number of fully trained non-commissioned officers of A non-commissioned officer the right stamp for dealing with natives.

also, being only temporarily employed, has no opportunity for learning The advan- the language and acquiring experience in native customs.

tage of possessing a staff the nucleus of which, at any rate, is per- manent, and is versed in the language and customs of the natives, is, I submit, of great importance.

(d) I suggest that the Director-General of the Ordnance Survey be consulted with a view to the elaboration of some scheme by which university undergraduates could receive sufficient preliminary training at Southampton or elsewhere to fit them for employment in the mines survey section, where their further training would be carried out under the eye of Royal Engineer officers during the execution of the field work. Prospects for a future career should be held out to candidates for the post, such as eligibility to rise to the higher paid appointments in the Survey Departments of Nigeria or other Colonies and Protec-

torates.

(e) To obtain fully trained civilian surveyors would involve the payment of salaries of which the rate would be too high to meet with the approval of the Administration. On the other hand, to obtain the men young to carry out the greater part of their training in the Department, and to allow them gradually to rise to higher salaries, is, I submit, a recommendation tending both to economy and efficiency.

(f) The date of formation of the new No. 1 party is far ahead (about August, 1915), but if recommendation is approved, the time is by no means too long for the formation and training of the suggested survey class of undergraduates.

No. 9.

MINUTES OF MEETING OF COLONIAL SURVEY COMMITTEE OF JANUARY 16TH, 1914.

Mr. READ

PRESENT:

Colonel CLOSE and

Colonel HEDLEY; and

Mr. BOTTOMLEY (Secretary).

Mr. A. J. HARDING, of the Colonial Office, also attended the meeting.

Surveys in Northern Nigeria.

The Committee considered a memorandum* prepared by Mr. Harding sum- marising the recent correspondence and the history of survey work in Northern Nigeria, and also Sir F. Lugard's despatch of the 24th of December,† which had been received since the memorandum was completed.

1. Control of Nigerian Surreys.-The Committee attached the greatest impor- tance to the creation of one Survey Department for Nigeria under one officer of

• No. 8.

† File 2338: not printed.

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approved qualifications and experience who would have full executive power in both Northern and Southern Nigeria. They considered that no scheme by which the Surveyor-General would have a limited or merely advisory position in Northern Nigeria could be satisfactory. They recommended, therefore, that there should be a Surveyor-General for Nigeria who would be Director of Surveys in Northern Nigeria and in Southern Nigeria, and under him three Deputy Directors, for Northern Nigeria, for Southern Nigeria, and for trigonometrical and topographical work in both parts.

2. Future work in Northern Nigeria.-Attention was drawn to the importance of ensuring that the surveys of Nigeria are carried out on a systematic basis, and in accordance with a prearranged scheme, and also to the absence of any detailed information as to the lines on which the work was being carried on in Northern Nigeria, and it was strongly urged that Major Guggisberg, as Surveyor-General, should be called upon to prepare a scheme, illustrated by diagrams, dealing with the following points :-

1. A summary of the various surveys, their objects, and the order in which

they should be executed.

Areas to be dealt with, and the scales of the surveys.

Junction of the surveys with those of Southern Nigeria, and the con-

tinuity of the main framework.

2.

3.

4.

6.

Interchangeability of personnel.

Adoption of the same set of rules for the different surveys.

5. General co-ordination of the surveys.

7. Future of the survey school at Kano and the use of native surveyors.

8. The inter-relation of revenue and survey work.

9. A special chapter on the minefields survey.

10. Finance,

3. Staff-The Committee considered that it would be necessary to establish

a permanent civilian staff and that the only satisfactory course would be for Nigeria to accept, for both Southern and Northern Nigeria, the Survey Probationer scheme already adopted in Ceylon, the Malay States and Uganda. University men are already becoming available in increasing numbers for these probationerships, and any University men who were available for Nigeria would be of the same type and would require the same training.

It was agreed, however, that non-commissioned officers of the Royal Engineers would be needed for immediate requirements, and Colonel Close agreed that no further objection need be raised to the employment of the men who had been asked for. He wished, however, to emphasize the fact that it had always been held to be desirable that non-commissioned officers should work under army officers. They do well, in these conditions, both in Southern Nigeria and the Gold Coast. With regard to the five non-commissioned officers whom Major Guggisberg has asked for for March, the Committee considered that they might be selected at once-that is, that two officers and ten non-commissioned officers in all should be sent out without wait- ing till March. It would be more convenient to both the War Office and the Ordnance Survey if they were engaged for two tours instead of one.

4. Er-non-commissioned officers now serving. The Committee recommended that the Governor-General should be informed that Colonel Close could speak with personal knowledge of the qualifications of the three men sent out; that they were by no means--as might appear from some of the correspondence-an inferior type of Ordnance Surveyor, but the best that could have been chosen. They were selected with great care and they represent, not, of course, the university type, but the best class of subordinates. Most large surveys have this type of official. The men selected are thoroughly reliable and have considerable experience of survey work at It home and in Africa. Properly employed they should be of the greatest value. was suggested that much of the difficulty which had arisen might be due to the fact of their being subordinates sent out on first class terms.

5. Re-engagement of the First Party. The Committee considered that the Governor-General should be given a lead in favour of the proposed re-engagement of Captain Giles and five non-commissioned officers for a further tour in September next.

6. Position of Mr. C ́ollard.—It was pointed out that Mr. Collard, though he was believed to be a good railway engineer, had no general qualifications as a surveyor.

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