uganda protectorate - Palgrave Connect

10.1057/9780230270305 - The Statesman's Year-Book, Edited by John Scott-Keltie
RHODESIA 210
Other minerals have been discovered, silver, copper, blende, tin, antimony,
arsenic, lead, and especially coal. A company has recently been formed 1o.
mine for coal throughout an area of 400 square miles, or 256,000 acres of
coal-fields at Wankies, about 190 miles north-west of Bulawayo.
There are townships at Salisbury (the capital of Southern Rhodesia),
Victoria, Umtali, Bulawayo, Gwelo, Enkeldoorn, JVlelsctter, and llusape, and
the demand for building sites is increasing. New townships are being
formed at Gwanda and in the Selukvve and Belingwe mining districts. The
Surveyor-General ireports that the extent of land surveyed in Southern
Rhodesia from 1891 to March 31, 1899, as per diagrams furnished to his
office is
In Matabeleland . . 4,932,321 acres.
In Mashonaland . . 4,926,693
This does not represent the total amount of surveyed land, as many farms have
been surveyed by direction of private owners, the diagrams of which have
not yet been sent in.
At Salisbury, Bulawayo, and Umtali, there are Government offices,
banks, churches, hotels, schools, and public libraries. Municipalities
have been established at Bulawayo and Salisbury, and good government
throughout the country provided for. Several newspapers are published at
Salisbury and llulawayo. There are hospitals at Salisbury, Bulawayo, Umbali,
Victoria, and. Gwelo. District surgeoncies have been established and cottage
hospitals built in the districts of Hartley, Enkeldoorn, Sebakwo, Selukwe,
Belingwe, and Gwanda.
In southern Rhodesia there are 2,734 miles of roads, post routes, &c, the
maintenance of which in the year 1899-1900 cost 17,650/. There are, besides,
500 miles of cross-roads in mining districts.
The Rhodesian Railway line from Vryburg to Bulawayo, worked by the
Cape Railway Department, has been open for traffic since November 4, 1897,
and in the year ended October 31, 1898, the net earnings amounted to
99,290/., exclusive of subsidies of 20,000/. from the Imperial Government
and 10,000/. from the British South Africa Company now paid to the
Railway Company. From Bulawayo the line will be continued to the
Wankie coil-fields and the Victoria Falls of«tho Zambesi, and thence across
North-Western and North-Eastern Rhodesia to Lake Tanganyika. Provision
has been made by the British South Africa Company for a branch line
from Bulawayo to Gwanda, about 80 miles to the south, to be ultimately
extended to Tuli. The railway from Beira to Umtali has been extended by
the Mashonaland Railway Company to Salisbury, the extension having been
open for traffic since May 1, 1899. Salisbury is now being connected with
Bulawayo vid Hartley and Gwelo. The Beira railway 2ft. gauge has been
widened to 3ft. 6in., the width of the South African lines, so that traffic
may not be interrupted by transference of goods.
On March 31, 1900, there were 54 post offices. The postal arrangements,
comprise the carriage of letters, &c, by train, coaches, carts, bicycles, and
runners. In 1899-1900, 610,510 letters and post-cards were despatched toplaces
in South Africa, and 223,847 to places over sea. The total number of
newspapers, books, and parcels despatched was 207,982, and registered
articles 29,340. The postal revenue was 18,167/., and the expenditure
26,122/.
On March 31, 1900, the Rhodesia telegraph system, including police
telephone lines and the African Transcontinental Telegraph Company's line,
consisted of 3,451 miles of telegraph line. There were 71 telegraph offices.
The working of the African Transcontinental telegraph line to Blantyre and
the north is in the hands of the Rhodesian Telegraph Department; there is
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