CO885-9 — Page 322

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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

C.O

Reference :-

885

9 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

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

(4.) At the same time, I consider that, as far as possible, the districts in which Glossina palpalis exists should be evacuated. To a very great extent this has already been effected through the ravages of the disease itself, for on the islands and along the immediate shores of the lake quite 90 per cent. of the population have dis- appeared. To a small extent this has been caused by migration through fear of the disease, but by far the larger proportion of the people have actually died from it. My own impression is that before many years have passed, the problem of the evacuation of the infected areas will have solved itself. This, however, only applies to those parts which are not subject to contrary influences, and it is in this connection that the question of Entebbe must be considered.

(5.) The station is in the fly-area, and though the risk to Europeans is not great, it is certainly appreciable.

As regards the natives, the demand for labour, and other facilities for making money, will always attract a population, even though it may be a more or less floating one, and undoubtedly sleeping sickness will continue to claim its victims in the neighbourhood of Entebbe long after it has stamped out human life in other infected areas. Even at the present time I. believe that there is more of the disease at Entebbe than at any other place in Uganda, owing to the fact that fresh people are continually coming in to take the place of those who have left or died.

(6.) Such being the case, it would certainly be desirable if the population of Entebbe could be reduced to the very lowest possible minimum both of whites and blacks, and this can only be done by abandoning the township as a residential quarter, and retaining it merely as a forwarding station. Two or three Europeans and a few natives would then be sufficient for the needs of the place, and special measures could be taken to ensure their comparative security.

(7.) Such a move, however, would necessitate a light railway from Entebbe to the new station, in order to do away with all other means of transport requiring the presence of men and animals.

(8.) It is only right to point out some objections to these views.

In the first place it is by no means certain that the present distribution of the fly will remain a constant one, and thus a railway running from an infected area might be a source of danger to the new station. It is well known that tsetse-flies can be carried from place to place in carriages and other conveyances, and where there is no great difference of climate between one part and another, it is quite conceivable that a railway might assist the distribution of the fly.

(9.) Secondly, any scheme involving even the partial removal of Entebbe must necessarily entail a large monetary loss, and it is open to question whether, before taking such an important step, something more might not be attempted in reducing or exterminating the fly. Personally, I do not believe that it will ever be possible to do this on a large scale, but something might be done over small areas in the vicinity of stations. Hitherto the question has not received the attention it deserves, although much time and money have been expended on purely academic and scientific problems with no practical bearing.

(10.) It is true that a certain amount of money has been spent in clearing the bush and forest in the neighbourhood of Entebbe, with the hope that this would diminish the prevalence of the fly, but these operations have been carried on in an unmethodical and unscientific manner, and in consequence the results have been uncertain and unsatisfactory.

(11.) If His Majesty's Government are prepared to spend more money in this direction, I certainly think the question of the removal of Entebbe might be allowed to stand over for another year or two, for if the operations and investigations were properly and carefully carried out, much more reliable information might be avail- able, and there would be less difficulty in forming a definite and correct opinion on the subject.

(12.) I should point out that all that has been said with regard to Entebbe applies with equal force to the station at Jinja.

I have, &c.,

R. N. MOFFAT.

30005

SIR,

No. 65.

MR. G. WILSON to COLONIAL OFFICE.

(Received August 14, 1906.)

44, Ebury Street, S.W., August 9, 1906. I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of Mr. Antrobus's letter No. 26196/1906, of 2nd instant,* requiring of me observations for Lord Elgin's information in respect to the question asked in the House of Commons as to the suitability of Entebbe as the capital of Uganda, and, in view of the presence there of sleeping sickness, the desirability of removing the seat of government from Entebbe to Kampala.

This subject is one which has recently been exercising also the minds of the local Administration and others interested in the Uganda Kingdom, and it is generally acknowledged there that it teems with perplexities upon the solution of which may rest for some years the progress of that part of the Uganda Protectorate.

This being so I am venturing to be somewhat prolix in submitting my observa- tions, and in order that they may be as comprehensive as I can make them at this distance from much of the detailed local data which would have been useful to me, I will introduce them with a brief description of the two localities concerned. It would perhaps be well at the same time to allude to a distinction which is to be observed between the Uganda Kingdom and the Uganda Protectorate; Entebbe is at present the capital of the Protectorate, while Mengo, which includes Kampala, is the capital of the Uganda Kingdom.

DESCRIPTION OF KAMPALA,

Kampala is the name of the administrative station established in 1892 by Captain (now General Sir Frederick) Lugard, in the interests of the Imperial British East Africa Chartered Company, on his occupying Uganda under the terms of the treaty he negotiated with the Kabaka, or King, of that country. Kampala is within the confines of Mengo, the native capital, where are established the seat of native government, a Government administrative station, and the headquarters of the Anglican and two Roman Catholic missions.

So strong and wide-spreading has been the influence of Kampala that its name is superseding that of Mengo, especially in outlying countries, and it will be simpler for the purposes of this paper to retain it throughout as referring to the native capital as a whole.

Its native population numbers 60,000; within easy distance there is another settlement of like dimensions.

It is situated on the mainland, from four to eight miles, according to route, from the shore of the Murchison Gulf, that being an inlet of the Victoria Lake. All the main roads converge on it. It is hilly, with adequate space for building sites, and the climate is very fair for the Tropics, the altitude being about 4,000 feet; at least it as as wholesome as that of Entebbe.

Its complete ascendancy in importance over all other centres, due to its being a long-established capital of the dominant tribe, is accepted by the natives of the Protectorate without dispute, and its affairs are matters of universal interest; most of the surrounding tribes are, through their leading chiefs, in direct communication with its native council.

The soil is rich and characteristic of that of 'ganda generally, and produces large food supplies.

The town is intersected by swamps which have been proved to be easily capable of drainage without injury to the water supplies, these being chiefly derived from numerous springs.

The Government holds ten miles of land on which no very heavy expenditure has been incurred.

There is good harbourage in the gulf at four and eight miles distances, but the many swampy papyrus beds along the gulf shore will require extensive clearing work for the establishment of a port.

* 26196: not printed.