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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

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Reference :-

miminamic.0.885

9 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

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Kampala is outside the sleeping sickness zone, and so far as can be judged is likely to remain so. It has its share of malaria, but drainage of the swamps and the usual anti-malarial precautions can be regarded as practicable measures for the remedy of that fault.

DESCRIPTION OF ENTEBBE.

Entebbe was selected for the site of administrative headquarters by a subsequent Commissioner in 1893, as being superior in beauty and strategical qualities to Kampala. I believe also its distance from the engrossing local details always associated with Kampala was also regarded as an advantage, one I am disposed myself to value, seeing that after all the Uganda Kingdom, though of paramount importance, is yet only one section of the Uganda Protectorate.

It is distant 23 miles from Kampala, and is situated on the shore line of a small peninsula in the Victoria Lake.

There are few resident natives, the surface soil as a rule being of too little depth to be productive for their subsistence; moreover, for some sentimental reason, the peninsula itself is disliked by the people.

The Government has possession of about three square miles of land on which, I am informed, some £65,000 have been expended; this, allowing for depreciation and the advantages of existing improved and cheaper facilities of transport, can be estimated at a present value of perhaps £40,000 or £45,000.

Its climate is a subject of controversy; my own experience places it on a lower plane than that of Kampala, even with its sanitary improvements.

It has never succeeded with the natives in attracting to itself from Kampala the slightest political influence, and can be regarded purely as an isolated settlement for the transaction of headquarters' business. This circumstance, however, has brought with it the establishment of a few commercial head offices, perhaps half a dozen, and a number of shops for the supply of commodities to the Europeans.

The beauty and order of the town are remarkable, and it is becoming an attractive resort for tourists making short stays; already hotel proprietors are contemplating establishing themselves in view of that prospect.

But Entebbe is within the sleeping sickness zone, and as its configuration gives it a maximum of shore line, with much wood and swamp, it will be very difficult and costly to effectively keep it clear of the epidemic. The same conditions apply to malaria; the extent of shore line within easy distance of the town will militate greatly against the success of anti-malarial measures.

CONCERNING SLEEPING SICKNESS.

As the subject under observation is vitally affected by the sleeping sickness disease, it is expedient to now devote space to mention of the conditions in that epidemic which have particular bearing upon it.

In the Uganda Kingdom, the disease is confined to the lake shore, that being infested by the peculiar tsetse-fly which carries and transmits the disease. The fly so far as is known lives in the vicinity of the shaded water of the shore, and it has been proved that by clearing the shore line and some small area inland, the fly disappears from the belt so cleared. But the clearing must be well done and con- stantly sustained. It cannot be denied that a great length of shore, such as obtains in Entebbe, must be a source of constant danger.

During the six or seven years which have elapsed since the advent of sleeping sickness into the Victoria Lake regions, it has not penetrated inland into the Uganda Kingdom.

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS.

Having so far described Kampala and Entebbe, and having mentioned the principal circumstances of the epidemic which affect the question of choice of site for a capital, I will now proceed at the cost of some reiteration to enumerate the arguments which can be brought forward for and against a transfer of the seat of government from Entebbe to Kampala,

In Favour of Kampala.

These

1. Independently of the considerations arising out of sleeping sickness, the removal to Kampala has been under discussion since 1897, the period of the defection of the Kabaka, Mwanga, and of the Protectorate's Soudanese troops. momentous events demanded an instant decision as to the relative political and strategic values of the two localities and resulted in the recognition of Kampala's

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undoubted advantages; for to cope with these crises, the headquarters were promptly removed from Entebbe to Kampala. On the re-establishment of peace, the seat of Government was re-transferred to Entebbe, but all the work of restoring order in the country was carried on in Kampala until it was definitely accomplished in 1899. At that time nothing of value in the shape of public or municipal works existed

in Entebbe.

2. Kampala (as Mengo) is the natural capital of the Uganda Kingdom, and, from the fact of the ancient and present ascendancy of that Kingdom, is for all practical purposes the political nerve centre of the whole Uganda Protectorate.

3. Having in its immediate vicinity the presence of the Kabaka and his Regents, and being, as native capital, the meeting place of all the local authorities, it has within its influence the mainspring of all native activity.

4. Having in itself so large a population, and being surrounded by well peopled districts, it commands a good and constant labour supply. Entebbe, on the other hand, is practically unpeopled, and being unpopular is able to only artificially attract a labour supply which is transitory and somewhat precarious, and which has to be sustained from time to time by increased rates of pay, a practice tending to become most costly.

5. From the fact of its dominance in the native mind; from its large population, aud from the fact of all roads converging on it and so bringing through it a great passing traffic, all constructive works, as likewise most Government actions, should engender a very useful and public moral influence, which is entirely lacking in Entebbe. In my mind I regard this as a circumstance prone to be much under- valued; such influences are often more effective than actual physical force.

6. The easy accessibility of the lake waterway reduces land transport, as compared with that to Entebbe, by from 15 to 19 miles, and so makes commercial progress more easy.

7. Kampala's natural advantages in situation are already making themselves manifest in a commercial advance which already exceeds that of Entebbe, and that notwithstanding the special fostering which has been extended to the latter.

8. Trade is already demanding that a port should be established for Kampala business. This, as is the case with any harbourage in the sphere concerned, must lie within the fly-area, but as in the event of the removal to Kampala being accomplished, operations on the shore would be confined to simple port necessities, the area to be cleared for the dispersal of the fly need only be limited, and so the cost of maintenance of that clearing should reach a small proportion only of that required for the Entebbe Peninsula.

The port could be reached by a canal three miles, or a railway seven miles or thereabout, in length.

9. Kampala is at least as wholesome as Entebbe, and, given the municipal improvements incidental to its becoming the capital, it would be hygienically superior. It is also outside the sleeping sickness zone, and with certain swamp drainage works its freedom from malaria could be practically managed. It has also ample room for wholesome expansion.

On the other hand, the wooded and swampy shore of the Entebbe Peninsula has proved to be a congenial habitat for the tsetse-fly, which carries and transmits the disease. It so happens, in fact, that excepting only at one central point wherein lie the European official and residential quarters the tsetse-fly has opportunity to invade the whole area of the peninsula, and is known to do so at one time or another. It also is the case that any expansion from the said limited centre must be towards the infected areas, and it is even now found impossible with collections of large numbers of irresponsible natives in the capital to effectively restrict their communi- cation with such easily accessible areas. malarial mosquito finds its best home in the same sphere, the sleeping sickness zone As in addition to the tsetse-fly the as a rule includes also that of malaria. Therefore a grave responsibility lies in the perpetuation of a capital in a locality which is likely to spread disease among natives who are drawn to it every month by thousands by its demand for labour and other attractions incidental to a great centre.

In Favour of Entebbe.

Against these paragraphs to the disfavour of the retention of Entebbe we have, in Entebbe :-

10. The indisputable fact of a well ordered administrative headquarters on the