§ Sir CLEMENT KINLOCH-COOKEasked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he can give the House some explanation with regard to the fall in the revenue of the northern territories of the Gold Coast from £10,938 12s. 9d. in 1908 to £1,689 10s. 1d. in 1909, and as to the increased expenditure of £52,056 19s. 11d. compared with £50,261 17s. 10d. for the same periods?
§ The UNDER-SECRETARY of STATE for the COLONIES (Colonel Seely)The decrease in revenue to which the hon. Member refers was caused by the abolition of tolls on caravans entering the Northern Territories. The reason for the abolition was that the tolls tended to restrict trade and even to divert it from the Northern Territories. The loss to the Gold Coast revenue, in which the revenue of the Northern Territories is merged, was met by an increase in Customs dues. 348 The increase in expenditure is mainly due to the cost of extending the telegraph line from the headquarters of the Northern Territories to Gambaga, a station in the extreme north-east.