import in 1912 were cotton goods (155,000l.) and rice (139,3897.). Exact figures are not available as to how much of the cotton goods imported from India is of Indian manufacture. The imports of rice increased by 10,000l. in value, but declined by 2,000 tons in weight, and if the decrease in the amount of Indian rice imported viâ Zanzibar be taken into account the weight of the imports fell by 4,208 tons. Other Indian imports were :

The remaining articles imported from India-sugar, glass, hardware, umbrellas and silk-belong chiefly to the entrepôt trade.

Trade with rest of Africa. The figures under this heading are concerned almost entirely with the trade viâ the Uganda Railway and Mombasa, as the figures for the trade with the Congo, which consists of goods in transit, are omitted. The imports were about 220,000l. and the exports about 300,000l. The latter find their way principally to America (hides and skins), Germany (coffee, cotton, groundnuts and simsim) and France (groundnuts and skins). The imports come from Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, America and Italy.

Trade with other countries. The United Kingdom.—The trade with countries other than Germany, India, Africa and Zanzibar rose from 400,000l. in 1911 to 670,000l. in 1912 (imports, 376,500l.; exports, 294,000l.).

The value of the direct trade with the United Kingdom was 290,000l. (imports 125,000l., and exports 165,0001.). The values of the principal articles are given below:

IMPORTS from the United Kingdom (Direct) during the Year 1912.

EXPORTS to the United Kingdom (Direct) during the Year 1912.

Practically the whole of the exports of sisal (17,079 tons) were taken by Germany (16,224 tons) and America (595 tons). In 1911 sisal was exported to the value of 4,6491. to the United Kingdom.

Of the Other countries " may be mentioned the Netherlands, from which were imported cotton goods, tobacco and iron goods (of British and German origin); Norway, from which came timber; France, from which came wine and olive oil; Italy, from which were imported wine, cotton goods and umbrellas; Russia and America, from which petroleum was imported.

Japanese competition.-Japanese ready-made shirts were imported in 1912 for the first time direct from Kobe and found a good sale. Japanese beads imported viâ India have also met with a good reception. A large number of patterns of cotton cloths (shawls, bhurra and subaya) were sent to German East Africa by a Japanese firm, and it is not impossible that they will compete with those already in the market. The connection with Japan is favourable, as there is a direct service between Kobe and Aden maintained by the Austrian Lloyd steamers.

Distribution of trade. (a) Coast ports.-The principal ports on the coast are the capital, Dar-es-Salaam, and Tanga.

The value of the trade of Dar-es-Salaam was 1,615,000l. in 1912 against 1,360,000l. in the previous year. Imports amounted to 1,345,000l. and exports to 265,000l. The exports increased by no less than 45.2 per cent., but it must be borne in mind that the figures include the trade of the Island of Mafia and the Rufiji district (Customs Salale).

The business of discharging cargo was carried out by Messrs. Hansing and Co. at the rate of 5 marks per ton. For loading cargo there was no fixed rate, and it was carried out partly by individual firms owning lighters. A wharfage fee was fixed on January 1, 1913, of 40 hellers per ton or cubic metre. From April 1, 1914, the collection of this fee will be undertaken by Messrs. Hansing and Co. and in cases where the services of this firm are not employed in loading or discharging cargo a higher rate will be charged. Messrs. Hansing will thus apparently be given a practical monopoly of the lighterage at the port.

There are electric cranes at Dar-es-Salaam for transferring cargo direct from lighter to custom-house, and in view of the expected increase in traffic from the completion of the Tanganyika Railway considerable extensions of the customs sheds and the wharfage front are planned for 1914.

The figures given above do not include the goods in transit to and from the Congo (50,000l. approximately) nor the entrepôt trade goods (75,000l.).

The trade of the port of Tanga showed a very satisfactory increase in 1912, the exports exceeding the imports for the first time. The imports were valued at 600,000l. against 560,000l. in 1911, and the exports amounted to 666,3417. against 427,4891. The fact that the exports from Tanga are more than double those of the next most important port, Dar-es-Salaam, is due to the existence of the majority

of European plantations in the hinterland of the former town. The discharging of cargo was carried out by the agents of the Deutsch Ost-Afrikanische Linie at the rate of 7 marks per ton.

The trade of the other ports on the coast was as follows:

The trade of Lindi, Mikindani and Pangani showed a satisfactory increase. Bagamoyo has steadily declined in recent years, as the caravan traffic has now been entirely replaced by the Central Railway. The trade of Sadani and Kilwa is not important. There are also ports at Salale on the Rufiji River, whence mangrove wood and cotton are exported, and at Kilindoni on the Island of Mafia, which exports copra. There are three European plantations on the island.

(b) Inland ports.-The trade of the ports on Lake Victoria Nyanza showed good development. Complaints were heard in 1912 that neither the steamers on the lake nor the Uganda Railway were able to cope with the volume of the traffic.

The imports viâ Muanza showed a decline from 152,000l. in 1911 to 121,5007. in 1912. The export trade, on the other hand, rose from 140,500l. to 147,000l. The decline in the imports does not indicate any decline in the importance of Muanza or its immediate hinterland. It is accounted for by the fact that in 1911 the importation of goods for the Tabora district by way of Muanza was finally abandoned in favour of the route Dar-es-Salaam and the Central · Railway. This trade amounted to about 115,000l., so that the above figures indicate a marked growth in the trade of the Muanza district. The exports, which rose in value by 6,2001., consisted of the following :

Of this trade, 140,000l. fell to the share of European firms, 105,000l. to Indian firms and 20,000l. to missions, private persons and natives.

The exports from Shirati increased from 16,1007. in 1911 to 25,250l. in 1912. Imports amounted to 11,950l. and the total trade to 37,000l. The trade is not influenced by the Central Railway. Exports consisted of groundnuts, hides and skins, simsim, samli and cotton.

The trade of Bukoba rose in value from 193,000l. in 1911 to

271,000l. in 1912. Imports amounted to 129,500l. and exports to 141,000l. This considerable increase is to be attributed to the increased activity of the natives and to the opening up of Ruanda and Urundi, which countries, with their dense population and vast herds of cattle, promise rich developments of trade in the future. Practically the entire trade of these districts is carried on by way of Bukoba at present. The drawbacks of the caravan trade give rise to numerous complaints and often serious losses. Loads often take months to reach their destination and sometimes are lost en route. The proposed railway will afford the required relief and will probably affect the trade of Bukoba to some extent, as a certain amount of the Urundi and Ruanda trade will travel viâ the UsumburaKigoma-Dar-es-Salaam route. The principal imports viâ Bukoba were cotton goods, and the chief exports hides and skins, coffee, groundnuts, rubber, wax and ivory.

The trade with the Congo is carried on by way of Ujiji, Kissendji, Usumbura and Bismarckburg. It is limited to the transit of local products, cotton goods and provisions. With the arrival of the Central Railway at Kigoma on Tanganyika that port will become the entrepôt station for the trade of the Eastern Congo, North-East Rhodesia and the German coast lands on Tanganyika. The harbour and custom-house are in process of construction, and it is hoped to have one large steamer ready about the end of 1914, while the building of another is contemplated. At present the trade between the above ports is carried on by the small steamer "Hedwig von Wissmann,' which maintains the postal connection with Albertville.

The trade of the Lake Nyassa district is still quite unimportant, and will probably remain so until the country is connected with some main artery of traffic by a branch railway line. Both the existing. routes are unfavourable to commerce. For the route Kilossa to Langenburg there are no available bearers, and the route through British Nyassaland is not reliable and requires too much time, as the River Shire can only be made use of during the rainy season. Bearers are also difficult to obtain in Blantyre.

Moschi (Kilimandjaro district) will in the future be omitted from the German official statistics as a port of entry. The trade of this district passes almost entirely viâ Tanga. The traffic viâ Taveta (Voi) and Mombasa has now practically ceased, as the planters near the British border, who would be glad to send their products by the very much cheaper Uganda Railway, are under the necessity of first sending the goods to the custom-house at New Moschi, there being no customs office on the border of the two Protectorates. The expense of this procedure counterbalances the saving that would be effected by using the British line, and the traffic is thus forced into the Moschi-Tanga route.

Openings for British trade.-The remarks made on this subject in the last consular report on German East Africa (No. 5171 of this series) still hold good for the most part. The European population increases but slowly and is largely composed of Germans. It is therefore to be expected that the imports of goods for Europe.in

consumption will not increase very rapidly, and that they will be for the most part of German origin to suit local tastes. But the trade in articles for the native market is capable of enormous expansion, and there seems no reason why imports of British goods should not increase very considerably.

It may be pointed out in this connection that it is a waste of money to send catalogues printed in English with English weights and measures and prices to the Vice-Consulate at Dar-es-Salaam for distribution. Catalogues should be in the German language, with weights, measures, &c., given according to the metric system. A list of the principal business houses and tradespeople, as well as the chief British Indian firms, can be obtained from the Commercial Intelligence Branch of the Board of Trade, 73, Basinghall Street, E.C., where a copy of the import tariff can also be seen. The best method to develop trade would be to send a commercial traveller acquainted with the German language to examine local conditions and appoint a reliable agent in Dar-es-Salaam and in Tanga. There is still no British merchant in any of the coast towns, and this lack of enterprise appears the more remarkable when one considers the number of German firms in Zanzibar and British East Africa. Many of the German firms in this country handle British goods.

Any firm opening a branch here now would have to face most serious competition and to be satisfied at first with very small profits. Suitable premises are difficult to obtain, rents are high and clerical labour is expensive. Another difficulty lies in the fact that most of the Indians through whom business would have to be conducted are financially dependent on the existing firms. It may be of interest, however, to note that two Austro-Hungarian firms have recently opened branches in Dar-es-Salaam.

Cotton goods.-The figures in the statistical tables at the end of this report are misleading and give no correct idea of the shares of the various countries in the trade. The imports from Germany are valued at 175,350l., but it is probable that only a small portion of these goods are of German origin. The figures mean that goods to that value were shipped in German ports. The share attributed to the United Kingdom rose from 25,2017. in 1910 to 42,1737. in 1911 and 71,1127. in 1912 (an increase of over 68 per cent. in the last year), but this does not take into account all the goods of British origin which were imported viâ Germany, rest of Africa, &c. Other countries of origin are America, the Netherlands and India. Italy has appeared as a competitor in recent years in the americani trade. Her trade has been assisted by the establishment of the tarif douanier autonome in Somalia Italiana (Benadir coast), which has afforded a sure outlet for her products, and enabled the cheap americani from the factories in Lombardy to drive the American goods out of that market. AustriaHungary and Belgium are also making efforts to obtain a share in the cotton goods trade, but the latter has met with little success as yet. Austro-Hungarian cottons are doing well.

When considering the possibilities of this trade it must be remembered that cotton clothing of European or Indian manufacture