HL Deb 08 July 1925 vol 61 cc1123-38

LORD HINDLIP rose to ask his Majesty's Government what steps they propose to take to relieve the very serious state of traffic congestion on the Uganda Railway at the Port of Kilindini and Lake Ports in Kenya and Uganda; and to move for Papers. The noble Lord said: My Lords, it is some time since I drew your Lordships' attention to matters appertaining either to East Africa or to Uganda, and I take up the time of your Lordships this afternoon only to draw your attention to the state of congestion on the lines of railway operated by the railway administration of those territories, and the congestion at the various steamer ports. There exists to-day a state of things which is extremely serious, and which, if the situation is not relieved very quickly, may have far-reaching and disastrous results both in those countries and here. It is a state of affairs which is causing considerable loss to all sections of the community in Africa, both black and white, and to all sections of the community in this country who are interested, either directly or indirectly, in the trade of those countries.

It is, I am afraid, rather more than twenty years since I first became connected with those two countries, and at various intervals, almost in cycles, we have been confronted by this kind of thing in increasing volume, and these crises and congestions are usually due either to Government action or inaction, or inaction after action. They encourage large production, or they encourage an influx of settlers, or make provision to build a branch line. They then fold their hands and go to sleep, and placidly let someone else watch the trend of events. Suddenly their plans come to fruition. Settlers arrive, production increases suddenly, or railway material for building of the line arrives. The administration is caught napping, and chaos results. Sudden demands are made for engines, rolling stock, trains, and provisions of all sorts and kinds. Panic measures, both locally and at home, are resorted to, and much money is wasted. Everyone is discouraged, and trade falls.

I notice in the report of the general manager of the Uganda Railway for the year ending December, 1924, that he says:— It appears to be almost forgotten that less than two years ago the production and trade of the two territories did not warrant, and in ally case the financial position did not permit of, commitments to large capital betterments, renewals of lines, rolling stock, etc. I do not know what profit the railway made in 1922, but in 1923 it made a profit of £400,000, and in 1924 of £700,000. I think they are rather difficult to please. That statement, in my view, gives the whole case away. It is an example of the mentality of officials. They ignore cause and effect altogether. One of the causes of our troubles in East Africa and Uganda after the War was Mr. Chamberlain's Budget in this country, and the terrific taxation at the same time imposed by the local administration, both in Kenya and Uganda. The buying power in this country was killed, and also the buying power of the natives in Kenya and Uganda. I remember calling attention to this in this House some years ago, and I remember telling how, in consequence of the taxation, those who would otherwise have bought Manchester goods had reverted to the wearing of skins. The result of the taxation was that production fell very badly. Then the taxation was reduced and encouragement given to production. Production increased very rapidly and very largely and, as exports increased, so imports increased too. This never seems to have occurred to the official mind, which never thinks ahead. They never seem to have realised what the effect of very high taxation would be nor what the reduction of taxation would bring about.

Following upon the statement of the general manager of the Uganda Railway, let me refer very shortly to what we think will happen in the future. The congestion to-day is apparent, but what that congestion will be if remedies are not quickly applied I would hardly like to say. Let me take four staple products of the country. There are 60,000 acres of coffee planted, but only 20,000 acres in bearing. If no more coffee trees are planted, in three or four years' time the crop ought to be trebled. In 1924 the crop of sisal was 11,000 tons. In four years' time it is expected to be 33,000 tons. Maize in 1924 was 52,000 tons, and in 1925, 75,000 tons. By 1927 it is expected that 100,000 tons will be produced. As to cotton from Uganda, where the congestion is worse than anywhere else, the crop in 1923 was 00,000 bales, in 1924 137,000 bales, in 1925 165,000 bales, valued at nearly £5,000,000, and in 1930, according to official or semiofficial figures, the crop is expected to be 250,000 bales. With regard to these figures the Administration or the Colonial Office have no excuse for saying, "We did not know what to expect." If you take the cotton crop in Uganda, the whole thing is arranged by the Government themselves. They make the arrangements and give out the cotton seed. They know perfectly well how many acres of sisal are planted, and how many acres of coffee, and it is very easy for them to arrive at an intelligent anticipation as to the amount that will be produced, and which they will have to move next year.

May I come now to the various seats of trouble which I have mentioned in my Question? I propose to deal very shortly with the port of Kilindini, because I feel quite confident that the Colonial Office will shelter itself behind a body in London called the Joint East African Board, to whom the question of the working of the port was referred many months ago, and I do not think that the board have yet sent in a report on the subject. The present conditions are very bad. These is no proper control. The wharves belong to the Government and two lighterage companies are allowed to use them and make whatever charges they like, and in fact I have been given a letter this afternoon by a gentleman who has just returned from East Africa and who told me that the lighterage charged for a few hundred yards is as much as 50 per cent. of the entire freight from England.

As regards the congestion al the port of Kilindini probably the most exasper- ated man who has anything to do with it is the manager of the Uganda Railway who, I gather, is fairly powerless in the matter and is rather between the devil and the deep sea. I believe that, according to his report last year, he has put forward some very sensible proposals himself, and I trust that the Government will quickly come to a very definite conclusion as to how to deal with matters at Kilindini. The general manager says in the report that it is quite impossible to deal adequately with the traffic at this port until the deep sea piers are finished. I think that is perfectly correct. As regards the Uganda main line itself, in this ease the general manager is master of his own house and I do not think that I can comment very much on this part of the line, as things are fairly satisfactory Incidentally, however, the general manager alludes to the shortage of trucks: and to engines and trucks that have to be used for carting materials for branch lines and coal, and are thus diverted from their proper use. He says also:— We are very short of marine officers, pier masters, works inspectors, locomotive firemen and other grades, and particularly short of engine drivers. If the general manager confesses that he is short of all these men one can imagine that there is probably some congestion on the Uganda Railway.

I will leave East Africa now and come to Uganda, where the congestion is worse and probably more felt than anywhere else. You might hardly credit it, but in the old days before the Uganda Railway was built it used to take a caravan of porters, walking with loads on their heads, some four and a-half months to walk from the ocean port of Kilindini to Uganda. The railway has now been built a good many years and steamers are on the lakes, but I can produce instances where goods coming from Kilindini have taken from four to five months to reach their destinations, or a greater time than they did when they were carried on the heads of porters in the days when no railway was ever thought of. The congestion in Uganda is so bad that, unless something is quickly done, the whole future of this country must be jeopardised, and we shall be very lucky if we escape without some disaster.

I find it very difficult to credit a fact, which I believe is a fact, that there is no traffic manager in Uganda at all, and no senior railway official. On Lake Chioga, where most of the extremely valuable cotton crop originates, there is not, I believe, a single European railway official. There are none but Asiatics. There is an Asiatic clerk who is in turn station master, pier master, booking clerk, and general clerk, and, in addition to that, has to superintend all the native labour round the pier, the railway station, and the wharf. Your Lordships can imagine the chaos that exists under those conditions. I dare say this is due to economy. Your Lordships would be the last persons to dispute the need for economy and the first persons to welcome any sigin of economy from this or any other Government, but here is a case where economy has run mad and loss to every section of the community is being piled up through it. The case for the Administration is the alleged shortage of labour, but I am assured from all sides by private individuals and by correspondence from over there that it is not so much shortage of labour as the inefficient way in which the available labour is handled.

I would like to deal now with the question of facilities in Uganda at terminals and lake ports where the cotton crops have to come. The railway, as I have said, is already in a prosperous condition, and in the last two years made over £1,000,000 profit. They provide practically no terminal facilities for these goods and cotton frequently has to lie about, as the general manager admits, in mud or dust, exposed to all weathers, and in some places not even protected by tarpaulins. In addition to that, ports have been suddenly closed to traffic with practically no warning, and cotton which may have come 100 miles by road to be loaded on the steamer has to remain in the mud or to be taken back home. Tororo coffee from the Tororo district has to conic over 200 miles. That is hardly the way for a Government, that in every ministerial speech talks about exploring new markets, to treat those who make markets.

Let me quote two cables received from Uganda recently, from persons I do not know, and with whom I have nothing to do: June 15. Booking from Lake Chioga ports, Busoga Railway, Jinga Pier has been suspended indefinitely. Steamer sailing from Kilindini has not been filled owing to congested state of Uganda Railway. Fifty per cent, of labour wasted owing to absence of supervision. June 27. Lake Chioga ports again closed. Namasagali port choked, bales cotton in transit unprotected. This is a letter from the general manager of the same company on May 19: Kampala Station is a sight calculated to make one weep, if they had goods lying there. Bales of lint and bags of cotton seed are lying all mixed up, thousands of them all unprotected in the open on grass. At Port Bell there are thousands of bales there in the open but very good dunnage is provided, and I believe an effort is being made to get the stuff moved.

I must apologise for all this detail but it is necessary to give these examples in order to show your Lordships what has happened. I want to give your Lordships one more example of what happens there. It was obviously evident to the general manager of the Uganda Railway in the early part of 1923 that considerably snore steamer facilities would be necessary on Lake Chioga in the present year, 1925. In his report last year I find this: On April 6, 1923, the local Administration asked for a new steamer for Lake Chioga. The order was not placed' by the Crown Agents till January 16, 1924, after nine months of deep thought and cogitation— then the contractors took twelve months to make and ship the hull, and this steamer will not be ready to take the water till two years and three months after the purchase was asked for. I am sure your Lordships will not require me to make any comment upon that.

I could go on, but I have taken up a sufficient amount of your Lordships' time. I hope I have given your Lordships enough incidents and details to show what the state of congestion is at the moment and what a very serious consideration it is for the future. I hope that the Government will take steps, and take them very quickly, not only to relieve the congestion which exists now, but to provide for the very much more serious congestion which will arise next year and the year after unless they exercise a very great deal more forethought and have a great deal more vision than they have shown for many years. I beg to move.

LORD BUCKMASTER

My Lords, I desire to say but few words in support of the request of the noble Lord that steps should be taken to improve these transport facilities. I think it was Burke who said that the first instrument of civilisation was the plough. Had he lived to-day I think he would have said that it was the railway. One thing at any rate is certain—that you cannot properly develop the almost illimitable resources of these large areas that we hold in Africa unless an efficient transport service is established and maintained. In this case the railway is already there. The complaint of the noble Lord is that owing to the clumsiness or inefficiency of the people in control of that railway it is being inadequately worked. That really is a very grave reproach upon those who are in any way responsible for the management of this railway system.

When the question of Kenya was last before your Lordships' House I called attention to the fact that there was a large and, I thought, a very serious diminution in the native products', and I was very anxious indeed that the Government should give me an assurance that no steps were being taken to hinder the development of native industries. It appeared to me that the real way to develop a country such as the countries we hold there is to encourage the natives in their work by all the means in our power, and not necessarily to subjugate them for the purpose of developing our own industries. The matters to which the noble Lord has called attention this afternoon may throw some light upon the facts and figures to which I then referred, and this diminution of native products may at any rate be largely associated with this apparent failure of the systems of transport for bringing them down to the port. And, if only for that reason, I would earnestly urge the Government to do all in their power to remove this hindrance to the free development of proper trade in these areas, end by that means not only help to establish the prosperity of the country, but to do what I think is our duty—take the most important of all steps for the development of the civilisation of the native races.

LORD ASKWITH

My Lords, the noble Lord, Lord Hindlip, has brought some very important matters before your Lordships' House, and in view of the number of letters and reports that I have received I should like to make a few remarks upon the subject. It is more than a generation since the late Sir William Harcourt rather reluctantly consented to the provision of funds for the building of the Uganda Railway, which lie afterwards enthusiastically supported. That railway has been the means of moving towards a solution of the great problem in these tropical countries of how to move raw products from the interior to the coast, and how to bring from the coast into the interior the manufactured articles required there. It is obvious from the instances of man-carriage given by my noble friend that man-carriage cannot be really useful in a large country. It has been estimated that it requires forty men to carry a ton of produce and that it would require 2,000 men to convey 100 tons per month for 100 miles. Apart from the difficulty of collecting-these men, the difficulty of the marches and even of having to carry their wages with them, it is obvious that no great country could develop on those lines, and that Uganda owes all its prosperity to the fact that a railway was constructed for it.

Yet now the condition of affairs, of which my noble friend has given certain instances, is as bad as it can be. Here is an instance which was sent 'by Lloyd's Agent at Kampala. One thousand brass lamps, each packed in a cardboard container, the latter being again packed in wooden cases, were despatched by the railway from the port of Kilindini on February 24 and arrived at Kampala on May 13, the time occupied in transit, being 78 days. On being handed over by the railway department to the consignees at Kampala, the cases were found to be soaked with water, the cardboard containers were wet and mouldy and 868 lamps out of 1,000 were rusted through and permanently damaged to the extent of more than two-thirds of their value. Lloyd's Agent reports that this damage has been caused by the long delay in transit and by exposure at intermediate points unprotected from the weather. How can trade continue to be carried on in such conditions as those or in the uncertainty that arises under such bad management?

Although this is so important in the case of ordinary merchandise what I am particularly interested in is cotton, to which, had he been able to be here to-day, my noble friend Lord Emmott would have referred. Lancashire wants cheap cotton as badly as it can want it, and the production of cotton in Uganda has been increasing to a very large extent. Some of it is sent to India and some to Japan, but most of it comes to this country. The noble Lord mentioned that the quantity had risen from 90,000 hales in 1922 to 165,000 bales in 1924, worth £5,000,000. This year it will be still more. That cotton is picked in April, it is ginned and baled by June, but it is estimated that it cannot be got out of the country until January or February next. Consider, my Lords, what an enormous expense that entails. There is the interest upon the money which is locked up in the cotton; there is the warehousing and the insurance, and, worse than that, the market has been lost. That, as my noble friend Lord Buckmaster very appositely remarked, ultimately falls back upon the native and he is not encouraged to grow next year, or to take an interest in cotton when he cannot make a proper profit out of it.

That is endorsed in an extraordinary way by a message received only a few days ago from the Chairman of the Uganda Company, in which he states that up to date his company have been able to ship only 500 bales out of the 7,500 which they bought from the natives this season. He adds that some thousands of his company's bales are in the hands of the lake and railway authorities, theoretically in transit, but that losses by damage and delay are piling up in a most horrible degree. I would suggest for the consideration of the Government that they should send out more officers, men who were called in the old days on the railways "traffic hustlers," men of some skill who could manage to get this traffic through. These men, in the second place, should be selected with much greater speed than has usually been the custom, by the Crown Agents for the Colonies. Thirdly, at Kilindini, consideration should be given to the question whether there could not be created deep sea wharves in order to prevent this dreadful cost for lighterage. It seems almost like roguery to make charges for carrying goods a few hundred yards which are 50 per cent, of the actual carriage the whole way from East Africa to London. Surely this waste could be put down to a certain extent. In view of the fact that recommendations have been made by many speakers throughout the country lately, and in particular by Sir Alfred Mond and Mr. J. H. Thomas, that credits should be given for railway and transport assistance in the oversea Dominions, my noble friend's Motion might well be agreed to, and any Papers he moves for supplied. I trust that the Government will accede to the suggestions that he has made.

THE EARL OF CLARENDON

My Lords, in reply to the Question raised by my noble friend, it is quite true that various complaints have been received in regard to the congestion on the Uganda Railway system, but the Secretary of State has refrained from burdening the general manager of the railway at a time of admitted pressure with interrogations on this question. He has, however, confined himself to making it quite clear to the general manager of the railway that he is at liberty to make all arrangements which he considers necessary in order to relieve the pressure of traffic within the next working year. The position is, or has been, the subject of investigation by three different bodies, the Inter-Colonial Railway Council in Kenya and Uganda, the Uganda Traffic Control Board, and a sub-committee appointed by the Government of Uganda. The Secretary of State will see that he is furnished at the earliest possible opportunity with reports of these investigations, and when he has received them, together with any comments that may be made by the general manager of the railway, he will see whether it is possible to lay Papers. I should like to request my noble friend not to press this afternoon his Motion for Papers for the simple reason that my right hon. friend the Secretary of State has not only not seen these Papers, but his information, or such information as he has, is yet totally incomplete with regard to Kilindini.

It is quite true there has been occasional congestion. There is undoubtedly a lack of space for dealing with the traffic, and the delay in building two new deep water berths has, at the moment of increasing traffic, necessarily made the position one of some anxiety. There has been a great strain both on the existing Government wharf and also on the private port at a place which I think is called M'baraki, but the wharfage companies and the railway seem, so far as we can judge, to have handled what I might call an astonishing amount of traffic with a considerable; amount of success. It appears that in May the position gave cause for considerable anxiety to the shipping companies, and the general manager undertook a trip to the coast in order to arrange emergency measures. It was not, however, necessary to put into effect those emergency measures, and at a later date, when the manager again visited the coast, he found the position at the port was satisfactory. I might inform your Lordships at this stage that the new Government wharf will, it is anticipated, be partly available next month.

With regard to the congestion in Uganda, there seems to be very little doubt, in view of the fact that there was a large buying capacity amongst the natives of Uganda, that the various import houses rushed goods up country on a scale which was entirely without precedent, and without apparently, so far as we know, any consideration being given to the immediate capacity of Uganda for absorbing the goods themselves. Fortunately, not all the goods imported were despatched to Uganda, but the amount that was sent was sufficient to overtax the handling facilities at the port of Kisumu on Lake Victoria, and, after the warehouses were filled, it became impossible even to unload the trucks as they arrived. This in its turn naturally created an artificial scarcity of trucks, and has contributed, amongst other things, to delay the speedy despatch of the downward traffic when the cotton season opened. At the same time, although this congestion was almost entirely due to a temporary scarcity of labour at the Port of Kisumu, the fact remains that in the early months of the year the import traffic was 45 per cent, in excess of that carried in the same period of last year, while up to the middle of May the amount of cotton carried to the coast was 30 per cent. in excess of last year's figure. The railway has made every possible effort to accept cotton offered for shipment from the Uganda stations and the ports, and it is notable that the amount of cotton which left Uganda in the first quarter of this year was actually 50 per cent. more than the amount in the highest previous first quarter.

It is, therefore, necessary to look, as in the case of the import traffic, for some special reason to account for the fact that, while the railway has been doing much more work than ever before, there should still be cause for complaint that the cotton is not handled promptly. As I have already said, it is impossible to form any judgment upon this matter until the reports to which I have referred, and which the Secretary of State is intending to ask for, have been received, bat it is evident that the conditions are not accounted for by the increased volume in the cotton crop of this year. That increase is roughly some 25 per cent., and however satisfactory that may be, it does not account for the fact that a 50 per cent, increase in the cotton carried has been inadequate.

One suggestion that has been made is that cotton ginners, who do not possess sufficient reserve funds, found it necessary to raise sums of money at the earliest possible moment, and in order to do this they rushed their goods down to the railway in order to obtain consignment notes which they were able to negotiate at the banks. It is obvious that demands of this kind could very easily be extended, and if this practice is resorted to the railways might be asked to carry in a very limited time the whole of the year's cotton crop. It is obvious that it would be impossible to run the railway on these lines. Normally the presentation of cotton for transport continues throughout the entire year. In 1924 it is known that certain ginneries were actually working full time, even in the month of October. It would also appear that the rush has been due to the favourable prices which prevailed upon the Liverpool market, and there is some indication that ginners who normally ship their goods to India, and have no special reasons for requiring early transport, are among those who complain of the delay they have experienced in getting their goods to Liverpool.

So far as any detailed representations of delay are concerned they appear to relate, first, to file congestion at the Kampala station and its port on Lake Victoria, and, secondly, to a temporary limitation of traffic on the Busoga Rail- way. As regards the former case it appears to have been short lived, and there never was any serious breakdown. But the matter seems to have been somewhat exaggerated in communications which have been made to this country, particularly with regard to the allegations in respect of the damage which the cotton has suffered through exposure to the weather. It appears that the cotton which has so suffered is largely, or entirely, cotton of which the railway has not accepted delivery, and that any damage was due to the exporters sending their cotton to the station or port without any previous knowledge that the railway was in a position to accept it and deal with it.

In this connection the only practicable suggestion which has been made to the Secretary of State for the immediate improvement of this position is that where shedding acommodation is not available the railway should provide proper dunnage and tarpaulins. This suggestion has been laid before the general manager of the railway, and he has replied that cotton in the hands of the railway, with very few exceptions, has been properly stacked and effectively dunnaged. This is not the case with cotton which is not yet in the hands of the railway. He states that apart from accidental fires, which occurred in the month of March, cotton this season has suffered very little damage while in the possession of the railway authorities themselves. The general manager adds that during the last eighteen months the railway has spent a sum of £6,200 in the provision of tarpaulins, and he does not consider that extended facilities should be provided, as in his opinion they would only encourage the bad features of handling conditions in Uganda, such as the failure of many ginning companies to provide adequate protection for the valuable cotton which is in their hands.

As regards cotton going to Lake Victoria over the Busoga Railway, the general manager has temporarily limited the quantity of cotton to be held at the pier at Jinja, where the stacks were becoming so unwieldy as to delay steamers and create labour troubles. He reports that good results have been obtained from this course. I do not think it is necessary to state that the general manager is constantly giving the most careful consideration he can to any measures that can be adopted for improving the conditions, and I should like to make it clear that my right hon. friend the Secretary of State has entire confidence in the general manager's administration of the railway and has every hope that, apart from the largely artificial conditions which have prevailed during the last few months, the future handling of the Uganda cotton will give no reasonable grounds for complaint, especially when the arrangements now in progress for increasing the available facilities are complete. Trucks have been, and are being, poured into East Africa at a rate which is only limited by the facilities existing at the railway workshops at Nairobi where these trucks are assembled and erected, and this will continue for some time to come. The facilities on Lake Victoria are being increased by the provision of a new tug and lighters, which will shortly be at work, and it is hoped that by making every effort the rails of the new extension of the Uasin Gishu Railway into Uganda will reach Tororo on the Kenya-Uganda border by January next. The extension to the River Nile is not to be contemplated until a year later, but the relief to the cotton traffic will begin as soon as the line is open up to Tororo. In view of what I have said we anticipate that there should be no difficulty in handling the Uganda traffic in future years, although the fact does remain, and I must lay stress upon it, that if the amount of traffic offered to the railway during any given period is in quantities which no previous experience gives them reason to expect in that period, it is obvious that there will be temporary difficulties in handling it.

Before I conclude there is one matter which my noble friend mentioned at the conclusion of his speech upon which I must say a word or two. I refer to the ship, the building and construction of which occupied twenty-seven months. The interval from the time when the Colony's exact requirements were known to the due date of delivery in this country was eight months. The delays after the contract was placed were beyond the control of the Government. The difficulties to which I have referred were the following; a railway strike, a shipyard lockout, the failure of a cylinder cast- ing, the contractors' trouble with their joiners and trouble with a boiler. The Crown Agents made every endeavour to expedite delivery, but the vessel was not ready for shipment in sections until January, 1925.

If I understood the noble Lord's argument aright, I think he claimed that, if this particular ship had been operating where it was meant to operate, the congestion of traffic would have been largely ameliorated, but my information is that this steamer, if it had been ready, would have been operating on Lake Chioga, and therefore, in view of what I stated in answer to his question with regard to the Busoga Railway and the closing a the Port of Jinja, I fear that the traffic situation, insteal of being ameliorated, would have been one of greater congestion than ever. In conclusion, I am afraid that I have no further information to give your Lordships, nor have I any information upon the point which my noble friend Lord Askwith raised with regard to the consignment of brass lamps, but I will bring both this question and the other points raised by my noble friend Lord Hindlip to the consideration of my right hon. friend the Secretary of State for the Colonies at the earliest possible moment.

LORD HINDLIP

My Lords, I have every reason, I think, to be very grateful to my noble friend for the reply which he has given me this afternoon, and I certainly have no wish to press for Papers. I wish only to say in reply, speaking both personally and for those with whom I am connected, that we have as much confidence in the general manager of the Uganda Railway as has the Secretary of State for the Colonies. We have every possible confidence in this gentleman. With regard to the remark of the noble Earl regarding rushing goods into Uganda, I believe that they are perfectly true, but I understand that they were unfortunately German goods. With regard to the noble Earl's remark concerning cotton, I am afraid we shall not be able to satisfy him. We do not keep cotton to look at. The ginners naturally want to get their cotton to London or Liverpool as quickly as they can, especially before the next American crop comes in. Perhaps the Colonial Office have not quite appreciated that point. The noble Earl referred to the steamer. I do not know where the general manager intended to put it, but he stated in his report that this vessel, which had so long been urgently required to deal with the cotton traffic, would not be ready.

Motion for Papers, by leave, withdrawn.