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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

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In numbers, the King's African Rifles thus consisted of three battalions, It will now consist of thirteen battalions, approximately 2,000 in all, before the War. the total strength at present being between 10,000 and 11,000.

The whole question of the expansion of the King's African Rifles and of the raising of the new battalions has throughout been under the control of the General Officer Commanding in-Chief, who is responsible to the Army Council and not to the Colonial Office.

The possibilities of local recruiting for the corps are being exhausted, and attempts have been made to complete the numbers by recruitment elsewhere, e.g., Portuguese East Africa and Abyssinia. Three hundred recruits have been obtained from Somaliland. Recruiting in the Belgian Congo was proposed by General Smuts, but refused by the Belgian Government.

The King's African Rifles battalions, as soon as they are completely formed and trained, are being employed in the operations in German East Africa, and it is intended on the conclusion of those operations that they should be used to garrison the Any number that may conquered territory and the three British protectorates.

be available in excess of these requirements could perhaps be used elsewhere.

In addition to the King's African Rifles, Police Service battalions have been formed in conjunction with the existing civil police forces in the East Africa Protecto- rate and Uganda. Some irregular troops (Nandi Scouts, &c.) were raised in the East Africa Protectorate and Uganda for local operations.

Zanzibar.

Zanzibar, which was formerly dependent on the East Africa Protectorate for its garrison, has now raised a defence force of its own, and provides for its own defence.

Somaliland.

The Camel Constabulary has been brought up to the full strength authorised, and additional tribal posts have been created to protect the grazing grounds within the sphere of our administration. As has already been stated above, 300 recruits for the King's African Rifles were obtained in this protectorate.

II.-LABOUR.

The East Africa Protectorate, Zanzibar, Uganda, and Nyasaland have supplied General Smuts and General Northey with a very large number of carriers for the local operations against German East Africa. It was stated eight or nine months ago that over 30,000 porters had been recruited in the East Africa Protectorate and we know from a telegram which has just been received from the Governor of Uganda that 8,750 porters were recruited there for the Congo Carrier Corps, in addition to 45,000 for the combined Belgian and British operations south of Lake Victoria. Porters have also been recruited from Rhodesia, and it may be assumed that the supply from East Africa itself has been nearly exhausted, since General Smuts has found it necessary to apply for additional labour from Seychelles, Madagascar, and from the Belgian sphere of It seems clear that, for the present at any rate, administration in German East Africa. all East African labour that is available will be required in East Africa itself.

WEST AFRICA.

I-NATIVE TROOPS.

The military forces raised in the West African Colonies are:-

1. The West African Frontier Force.

2. The West African Regiment.

1. The West African Frontier Force is composed of the military forces maintained

by the various Colonial Governments, the various units being as follows:-

Nigeria Regiment, normal establishment: 5,000. Gold Coast Regiment, normal establishment: 1,450. Sierra Leone Battalion, normal establishment: 700. Gambia Company, normal establishment: 130.

2. The West African Regiment is an Imperial battalion, raised in Sierra Leone to assist in the defence of the Imperial coaling station at Freetown. It is paid from Imperial funds, and managed by the War Office.

With the exception of one Inlian' battalion, the foregoing supplied nearly the whole of the rank and file of the British force operating in the Cameroons.

The following contingents have been sent from the above to join the forces in East Africa :-

Nigeria: 2,600 combatants + about 1,000 carriers and other non-

combatants.

Gold Coast: 1,385 combatants + upwards of 600 carriers, &c. (200

from Sierra Leone).

Endeavours are being made to supply reinforcements at the rate of 360 per month from Nigeria and 135 per month from the Gold Coast (all combatants), and this effort, combined with the necessity for not allowing the garrisons left in the country to be reduced to a dangerous extent, involves a cousiderable expansion of the normal recruiting activities in Nigeria and the Gold Coast.

No Colonial troops have been taken from Sierra Leone for service in East Africa. The Sierra Leone battalion, West African Frontier Force, and the West African Regiment were tried in the Cameroons, but were not a success; and the General Officer Commanding the Nigerian Overseas Contingent advised that their employment in East Africa was undesirable.

The Gambia is too small to be regarded seriously as a recruiting ground.

In consultation with this Department, the War Office have recently sent out Major (temporary Colonel) Haywood, Royal Artillery, lately commanding a battalion of the Nigeria Regiment in the Cameroons-an officer of very considerable experience in West African military affairs-as "Assistant Director of Recruiting, West African Frontier Force." Colonel Ilaywood has been instructed to proceed to the Gold Coast and thence to Nigeria to take charge of the measures necessary to raise considerably increased native forces for service overseas. He is now en route; and in a despatch, of which a copy is attached, the Colonial Governments have had urgently impressed upon them the importance of affording Colonel Haywood all possible assistance.

Whatever may be the results of Colonel Haywood's mission, there will undoubtedly be great difficulty in providing a sufficient number of suitable officers and non- commissioned officers. All authorities agree in the opinion that the employment of West African soldiers will not give good results unless they are led by men whom they know and trust. The number of officers and non-commissioned officers who have bad experience with West African troops is limited, and practically all those available are already being employed either in West Africa or with the West African contingents in East Africa. The War Office have done their best to meet us in this matter, even to the extent of getting officers released from the Expeditionary Forte in France; but the demand is mainly for company commanders and subalterns; and officers who held those posts in the West African Frontier Force two years ago are now in many cases commanding battalions or holding important appointments and it is not practicable to order them back.

II.-LABOUR.

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The first suggestion that reached us from the War Office to get labour from West Africa was in September 1915, and contemplated the recruitment of a small corps (not exceeding 100 in number) of native miners for employment in France W.O. and the Mediterranean. The Governor of the Gold Coast and the Governor-General 2952/15. of Nigeria were consulted. The former replied that the expense would be great, the quality of the labourers doubtful, and that the local mining industry would be dislocated. The latter said that there were no underground miners in Nigeria, and that it was extremely doubtful whether any men who could be obtained would be suitable Both Sir Hugh Clifford and Sir F. Lugard deprecated the employment of West Africans in Europe during the cold months of the year. The Secretary of State informed the War Office that, in view of these opinions, he was not prepared to ask the West African Governments to afford facilities in the matter and the War Office W.0./ abandoned the proposal.

In April 1916 it was suggested that Kroo boys might be recruited for dock work in France. Sierra Leone, which is the great market for Kroo labour, was asked, and replied that 500 and possibly, at a later date, as many as 1,000 could be obtained;

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the rates of pay would be high, 3s. a day being the lowest. It was decided that, in view of the small numbers available, the idea should be dropped.

Towards the end of August the War Office asked whether it would be possible to

The. raise about 1,500 men for work on inland water transport in Mesopotamia. Governors of the West African Colonies (except the Gambia) were consulted by telegraph. The replies were as follows:-

Nigeria. Only 150 men of the type required could be obtained. Balance could possibly be enlisted in Liberia.

Gold Coast." Regret most emphatically report this Government cannot assist." The reasons given were: (1) The labour supply in the Gold Coast is already inadequate; (2) the medical authorities strongly deprecated the proposal.

Sierra Leone.-Ordinary carriers could be got for the pay offered (18. 2d. per diem), but not Kroo boys, who were presumably the class required.

These replies were communicated to the War Office, who enquired whether there was any objection to their sending out officers to recruit natives. This was agreed to, and a Royal Engineer officer was sent out to Sierra Leone, where he is at present.

Two other officers have been sent by the War Offico to Nigeria (on the 24th of October) for the purpose of recruiting native marine ratings for service in Mesopotamia. Colonel Haywood, in addition to recruiting combatants, has also been instructed to bear in mind the possibilities of obtaining labour from West Africa.

The present position as to the recruitment of labour in West Africa is therefore that three officers are on the spot recruiting for inland water transport and marine ratings, and a fourth (Colonel Haywood) is on his way, whose primary object is to recruit native combatants, but who is also to look into the question of the recruitment of labourers for service overseas.

EASTERN COLONIES.

I.-NATIVE TROOPS.

After discussion with the War Office it was decided to consult Ceylon, Straits Settlements, and Hong Kong as to the possibility of raising native troops, and a telegram asking for the Governors' suggestions was sent on the 21st November.

Hong Kong.Before a reply could be received it was found necessary to ask the Governor to suspend action, in view of the risk that any proposal for raising a military force would completely wreck the scheme for obtaining Chinese labour battalions.

Ceylon replied that it was impracticable to raise in the Colony a unit of any military value, and made proposals for the release of the Indian regiment there, and for the sending home of recruits. This is under the consideration of the War Office.

Straits Settlements and Federated Malay States.-The Governor and High Commissioner, after consulting the General Officer Commanding, found himself unable to put forward any proposals for raising native troops.

Mauritius.-A proposal was made to raise a contingent from Mauritius. Numbers W.0./45011 would in any case have been small, and the proposal had to be dropped as impracticable, largely on the ground of the extreme acuteness of the colour question in this Colony. The War Office agreed to drop it. This was in October.

and con- nected papers.

See W.O./ 56076/15.

Seychelles is very small, and can only be regarded as hopeless from a military "the least point of view. The population is described by the Governor (a colonel) as warlike race he ever saw.'

""

Wei haiei. Apart from questions of the neutrality of China, the argument in the case of Hong Kong applies here. An attempt to raise combatauts would of course wreck the labour scheme.

Thus the net result of the attempt to see if native combatant troops could be raised in Eastern Colonies may be summed up as nil, unless the War Office will accept coloured recruits from Ceylon.

II. LABOUR.

By far the most important attempt to raise a coloured force of any kind in the Eastern Colonies has been the project of the War Office to raise 10,000 (or possibly 50,000) Northern Chinese, who were actually to be obtained in China, but nominally

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recruited in Weihaiwei in order to avoid international difficulties. This matter has been in the hands of His Majesty's Minister in Peking and the officers despatched to China by the War Office for the purpose. The scheme has been a complete failure to date, owing partly to the machinations of German agents, but chiefly to over-emphasis of the military side of the matter. The Chinese Government are suspicious and unfriendly, and the scheme is in a state of suspended animation, only 100 coolies having been obtained to date. Meanwhile, so long as there is any hope of obtaining this important body of men, it is necessary to avoid any attempt to raise a military force in Weihaiwei or Hong Kong. A military contingent from either Colony would intensify the suspicions of the Chinese Government, and War Office and Foreign Office have jointly requested the Colonial Office to take no steps to raise any Chinese force for fear of prejudicing the larger scheme.

Hong Kong. Although it was decided to work the British scheme from Weihai- wei, the district near Hong Kong is not being neglected.

On the 27th November Foreign Office informed the Colonial Office that the French 57028. were about to begin recruiting in the Cantou district, and Hong Kong was promised O.A.G./ every assistance in the shipment of the coolies from the Colony. Any attempt to raise 58321. a labour contingent in Hong Kong would therefore interfere with French efforts.

The Colonial Office was informed by the Governor on the 9th October that the 48462. Naval authorities there had recently engaged unskilled dockyard labour for Basra.

Straits. At the request of the Naval authorities, the General Officer Commanding F.0./48010. sent an agent to Amoy to recruit 861 coolies for Mesopotamia. Foreign Office and the Colonial Office only heard of this through the Consul at Amoy. The number was subsequently increased to 1,900.

The same difficulties as have been experienced over the Weihaiwei scheme appear to have arisen. Obstruction by the Chinese authorities and German Consul followed, but it is not known at the War Office whether this has now been removed.

Federated Malay States.-Eu Tong Sen (member of the Federal Council) has Gov./60220. offered to pay the passage of 200 Chinese skilled workmen for munitions (wages 118. 8d. per day inclusive). The Colonial Office is consulting War Office, Ministry of Munitions, and Ministry of Labour.

Mauritius. It is hoped to raise a labour force for service in one of the tropical theatres of war, but the Governor has not yet definitely reported what can be done.

Seychelles.-750 labourers are being (or have been) supplied to General Sinuts for work at ports in ex-German East Africa.

WEST INDIES.

I-NATIVE TROOPS.

The contribution of the West Indies in coloured troops consists of (1) the West India Regiment, a force of two battalions, raised before the war by the War Office, and (2) the British West Indies Regiment, a regiment of the "New Army," raised since the war by the Colonial Governments on behalf of the War Office. It has been employed in France upon artillery supply duties and labour duties, in Egypt, in Mesopotamia upon river transport, and in East Africa with the West India Regiment. The men are partially trained in the West Indies, and ordinarily complete their training in Egypt.

Hitherto the supply of recruits for the new regiment has exceeded the available transport. By the end of 1915, 2,446 had arrived. At the present date 6,073 have arrived, 1,000 await embarkation, and 3,000 more are being raised. This makes a total of a trifle over 10,000. There have been 167 deaths and 612 invalidings. The requirements of the War Office have been fully met, and the possibilities of further recruiting are not inconsiderable.

The Colonial Office is now in correspondence with the War Office as to a proposal to raise 500 to 1,000 sailors and firemen for service with the river transport in Mesopotamia. From the Colonial Office point of view, there is no reason to anticipate any great difficulty in giving effect to this proposal. But it is understood

It is now understood that the number of coolies has increased, and that a transport has been asked for, but ligures are not available (30th December, 1916).