British Guiana

BRITISH GUIANA The only British possession in South America was formally ceded in 1814-1815. Three colonies were in 1831 consolidated into one, divided into three counties, Berbice from Corentyn river to Abary creek, Dernerara from Abary to Boerasirie creek, Essequibo from the Boerasirie to the Venezuelan frontier. This boundary-line with Venezuela long remained in dispute. The Dutch, while British Guiana was theirs, claimed the whole water shed of the Essequibo river, while the Venezuelans said the Spanish province of Guayana had extended to the Essequibo. In 1840 Sir Robert Schomburgk suggested the "Schomburgk line"; and later, though no agreement was arrived at, modifica tions were made. In 1886 Great Britain located outposts at points along "the modified Schomburgk line" and for some years Guiana police and Venezuelan soldiers faced one another across Amacura creek in the Orinoco mouth and at Yuruan up the Cuyuni river. After a presidential message to the Congress of the U.S.A. (1897) an international commission made its award at Paris in 1899 (see VENEZUELA). Neither party gained its extreme claim, the line laid down differing but little from the original Schomburgk line. Demarcation by a joint commission (Venezuela and British Guiana) was completed in 1904. Owing to the impassability of the country, the commissioners suggested a deviation to follow the watersheds of the Caroni, Cuyuni and Mazaruni rivers and the two governments agreed. In 1902 the delimitation of the boundary between British Guiana and Brazil was referred to the arbitration of the king of Italy, who in June 1904, awarded most of the area in dispute to British Guiana. The demarcation has since been carried out. The present area is 89,48o sq. miles.

Inhabitants and Towns.

Population (1925) 297,691, in cluding 120,000 negroes, 124,00o East Indians, 4,300 Europeans, other than Portuguese, estimated at about 11,60o, and some 30,000 of mixed race. The aborigines—Arawaks, Caribs, Wapisianas, Warraws, etc.—are estimated at about 6,5oo. In 1933 the esti mated total population was 321,26o of whom 135,114 were East In dians. The capital is Georgetown, at the mouth of the Demerara river, right bank. Pop. (1933) 64,207. New Amsterdam is on the right bank of the Berbice river. Pop. about 8,000. Each possesses a mayor and town council, with statutory powers to impose rates. There are nineteen incorporated villages, and ten other locally governed areas known as country districts, controlled by village councils and country authorities respectively.

Physical Geography.

The seaboard is flat and below the level of high-water ; the forest belt is swampy along the rivers but rising between them ; the savannahs lie inland of the forest belt, the high table-lands are grass-covered and practically tree less, and rise to mountain ranges. A rough inclined plain, starting at some goof t. above sea-level at the source of the Takutu in the south-west, but only some 400f t. at that of the Corentyn in the south-east, slopes down gradually to the alluvial flats. The eastern part is forested ; the western is level savannah, with woodlands along the rivers. The coastal fluviomarine deposits extend inland 25m. to 3om., ending against beds of sandy clay which form an extensive undulating region stretching back to the forest-covered hills. Roughly parallel to the coast-line are the dunes, indicating the lines of a former coast, and still farther back are the higher "sand hills" of granite or diabase with thick coarse white sand.

West to east are the Pacaraima and Merume Mts., and the lesser Kanuku Mts. (2,000f t. ), while the Acarahy Mts., densely wooded (2,5ooft.), form the southern boundary and the water shed between the Essequibo and Amazon. The mountains rise in terraces and broad plateaus, with steep sandstone scarps. They are mostly flat-topped, and their average height is about 3,5ooft. The Pacaraima Mts. reach 8,635ft. at Roraima, which springs as a wall of red rock i,5ooft. high out of forest-clad slopes; in December 1884 Messrs. im Thurn and Perkins found a ledge by which to reach the summit, a table-land some i 2sq.m. Mt. Kukenaam, of similar structure rises above 8,5ooft. Other conspicuous summits (about 7,000ft.) are Iwalkarima, Eluwarima, Ilutipu and Waiakapiapu. The southern part of the Pacaraima range comprises rugged hills and rock-strdwn valleys, but to the north where the sandstone assumes the table-shaped form there are dense forests, and waterfalls may descend nearly 2,000f t. sheer, as at Roraima and Kukenaam. Long ranges of hills 2,000 up to 3,000f t., traversing the gneissose plains are either old intrusions of diabase and gabbro or later ones of dolerite. The rocks of these ranges are the main source of gold in British Guiana.

Rivers.

The rivers are practically the only highways inland from the coast. The Essequibo rises in the Acarahy Mts., and flows north for about 600m. to an estuary nearly 15m. wide. Craft drawing loft. may go up 5o miles; beyond this point are cataracts. Some 7m. below the first series of rapids it is joined by the Mazaruni, itself joined by the Cuyuni some 4m. farther up. By the Awaricura, which joins the Rupununi tributary of the Essequibo, the Pirara, a tributary of the Amazon, may be reached, —an example of the interesting series of itabos connecting nearly all South American rivers with one another. On the Potaro branch is the famed Kaieteur fall, which drops from a tableland of sand stone and conglomerate into a deep valley 8 2 2 f t. below. For the first 741 ft. the water falls as a perpendicular column, thence as a sloping cataract. The river above the fall is about 40o ft. wide, while the actual waterway of the fall itself varies from I2oft. in dry weather to nearly 400f t. in rainy seasons. The Kaieteur can now be reached on the fifth day from Georgetown. The Demerara's source is known only to Indians, but is near 5° N. The last 7o of the river's 200m. are navigable to vessels which can get over the bar (i 9f t. draught) . The Berbice river rises in about 3° 4o' N., and in 3° 53' N. is within 9m. of the Essequibo. Its mouth is 2km. wide; vessels of I2ft. draught can go up io5, those of 7ft. draught, 175 miles, above which are cataracts. The Corentyn which rises in a divide 400ft. high in parts has cataracts in upper reaches only less fine than Kaieteur its lower i 5om. are navigable and beautiful and its estuary is 14m. wide. The Abary, Mahaicony and Mahaica, between Berbice and Demerara, and the Boerasirie be tween Demerara and Essequibo are large streams or creeks which fall into the Atlantic direct. Forest rivers are dark brown from humus, savannah streams milky white.

Climate.

Malaria is common but preventible; and phthisis is prevalent, not because of climate but through ignorance of rules of health. Strong gales are unknown ; a tidal wave is an impossibility; and the soil of the coast renders earthquakes practically harmless. The North-east trades bring rains mid-April to mid-August and temperature averages about 8o° F. The trades die away in August and dry heat ensues. They begin again in Octo ber and temperature falls to 8o° F. average. Rain follows in De cember and January and dry weather in February and March. Rainfall (8oin. on the coast) varies much from place to place and very wet or dry abnormal seasons may occur.

Government and Administration.—Executive power is vested in a governor advised by an executive council. Legisla tive authority was until July 18, 1928 vested in the Court of , Policy consisting of the governor who presided and without whose permission no legislation could be initiated, seven other official members and eight elected members. This body had, however, no financial authority, all taxation and expenditure being dealt with by the Combined Court, consisting of the Court of Policy with six financial representatives. In 1927 a Parliamentary corn mission was appointed to report on the economic condition of the colony and recommended certain constitutional changes. These recommendations were subsequently adopted by the Home Government and promulgated by an order in council which super seded the old Court of Policy and the Combined Court by a Legislative Council consisting of the governor as president, ten official members and 19 unofficial members. The (male) franchise is based upon certain small property qualifications. The Roman Dutch law, modified by orders-in-council and local statutes, gov erns actions in the civil courts, but the criminal law is founded on that of England. The Church of England and the Church of Scotland are both established, and grants-in-aid are also given to the Roman Catholic and Wesleyan Churches and to several other denominations. The revenue and expenditure now each amount annually to an average of a little over LI,000,000. About one-half of the revenue is produced by import duties, and about one-fifth by excise. The public debt on December 31, 1926, stood at L2,70I,126.

Education.—The system of primary education is denomina tional and is mainly supported from the general revenue. Sec ondary education is privately provided in Georgetown and Berbice, aided by government grants, and given for boys at Queen's college, an undenominational government institution where the course of instruction is the same as at a public school in England. The Guiana scholarship, open to boys and girls, carries a university or professional training in England.

Industries and Trade.—The principal exports are sugar, rum, molasses, molascuit—a cattle food made from molasses— rice, timber, coconuts, balata, bannik, diamonds and gold. The value of the total exports was L3,130,706 in 1925 of which three fourths went to Great Britain and British possessions. The cultiva tion of rice has made great strides in recent years. In 1873, 32,000,000 lb. of rice were imported, whereas in 1925, 15,496,205 lb. were exported, principally to the British West Indies. The cul tivation of the sugar-cane and its manufacture into sugar and its by-products still remains, in spite of numerous fluctuations the principal industry. Production has been greatly economized by the grouping of exports about central factories. Most of the sugar exported now goes to Canada, most of the rum to England and most of the molasses to Holland and Portuguese possessions. The lands on the coast and on the river banks up to the sand hills are of great fertility. The problem of agricultural develop ment, however, is one of great difficulty. Much of the privately owned land is not beneficially occupied, and though there are vast tracts of uncultivated Crown land where a farm can be easily and cheaply acquired, the difficulties involved in clearing, draining and in some cases protecting it by dams are almost prohibitive.

Prospecting for gold began in 188o, and from 1884 to 1893 1894 the output, chiefly from alluvial workings, increased from 25o oz. to nearly 140,000 oz. annually. It has now fallen to about 6,000 oz. Diamonds to the value of L686,900 were exported in 1926. Bauxite (aluminium ore) £170,850.

Timber (export value 1925, L31,608) is cut, and balata (L113, 112) and rubber collected from Crown lands by licences issued from the department of lands and mines. An efficient forest department newly created is making a survey of the forest re sources. The value of imports was L2,908,434 in 1925, of which nearly three-fourths were from Great Britain and British pos sessions. Of the vessels trading with the colony, most are under the British flag, the remainder being principally American and Norwegian.

The money of account is dollars and cents, but, with the ex ception of the notes of the two local banks, the currency is British sterling. The unit of land measure is the Rhynland rood, roughly equal to 12 feet 4 inches. A Rhynland acre contains 300 square roods.

Inland Communication.

The public roads extend along the coast from the Corentyn river to some 2om. N. of the Essequibo mouth on the Aroabisci coast, and for a short distance up each of the principal rivers and creeks entering the sea between these points. A line of railway 602m. in length runs from Georgetown to Rosignol on the left bank of the Berbice river opposite New Amsterdam ; and another line 15m. long starts from Vreed-en hoop, on the left bank of the Demerara river opposite George town, and runs to Greenwich Park on the right bank of the Esse quibo river some 3m. from its mouth. A light railway, metre gauge, 182m. in length, connects Wismar (on the left bank of the Demerara river some Tom. from its mouth) with Rockstone (on the right bank of the Essequibo, and above the first series of cataracts in that river). Steamers run daily to and from Georgetown and Wismar, and launches to and from Rockstone and Tumatumari Fall on the Potaro, and all expeditions for the gold fields of the Essequibo and its tributaries above Rockstone travel by this route. Another steamer goes twice a week to Bartica at the confluence of the Essequibo and Mazaruni, and another weekly to Mt. Everard on the Barima, from which termini expeditions start to the other gold and diamond fields. Steamers also run from Georgetown to New Amsterdam and up the Berbice river for about Loom. Above the termini of these steamer routes all travelling is done in keelless bateaux, propelled by paddlers and steered when coming through the rapids at both bow and stern by certificated bowmen and steersmen. Owing to the extreme dangers of this inland travelling, stringent regulations have been framed as to the loading of boats, supply of ropes and qualifica tions of men in charge, and the shooting of certain falls is pro hibited. Ocean communications are maintained with Britain, Canada, the United States, France and Holland. (X.; 0.) BIBLIOGRAPHY.—J. B. Harrison and F. A. Stockdale, Rubber and Bibliography.—J. B. Harrison and F. A. Stockdale, Rubber and Balata in British Guiana (1911) ; W. Beebe, G. I. Hartley and P. G. Howes, Tropical Life in British Guiana (1917) ; Blue Book of the Col ony, and Colonial Report (Annual) ; A. Aspinall, Handbook of the British West Indies, British Guiana, and British Honduras (1926) .