Chapter 2

The Colony and Its Posts.

The British West African possession known as the Colony and Protectorate of the Gambia occupies a narrow strip of territory (averaging 12 miles in width) on both sides of the Gambia river. The territory comprises the settlement of St. Mary, where the capital--Bathurst--is situated, British Cambo, Albreda, M'Carthy's Island and the Ceded Mile, a protectorate over a narrow band of land extending from Cape St. Mary for over 250 miles along both banks of the river.

The Gambia river was discovered by a Portuguese navigator in 1447; under a charter of Queen Elizabeth a company was formed to trade with the Gambia in 1588. In the reign of James II. a fort was erected by British traders at the mouth of the river (1686), and for many years their only traffic was in slaves. The territory became recognised as a British possession under the Treaty of Versailles, and on the enforced liquidation of the chartered company it [page 12] was incorporated with the Crown as one of the West African settlements. Until 1843, when it was granted separate government, it was administered by the Governor of Sierra Leone. In 1868 it was again annexed to Sierra Leone, and not until twenty years later was it created a separate Crown Colony with a Governor and responsible government of its own. At present the staple trade of the Colony is ground nuts, but efforts are being made to induce the natives to take up other products.

Postally there is little to record prior to 1866, which is the date ascribed by Mr. F. Bisset Archer, Treasurer and Postmaster-General, to an alteration in the scale of postage, the half ounce weight for letters being introduced. The rate to Great Britain was, we believe, from that date 6d. per half ounce.

Mr. Archer also gives this year (1866) as the date when the first postage stamps of the Colony were issued. This date was for a time accepted in the stamp catalogues, but it is now generally believed to be an error, the earliest records in the stamp journals of the period shewing the date to be 1869.

The postal notices we have been able to trace are of but little interest, the following being all that bear on matters of interest to collectors:--

POST OFFICE NOTICE.

_Reduction of Postage, &c._

On and from the 1st April, 1892, the Postage to all parts of the World on Letters, Newspapers, Books, etc., will be as follows:--

For Letters, 2 1/2d. per 1/2 oz.

For Postcards, 1d. each.

For Reply Postcards, 2d. each.

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For Newspapers, books, printed papers, commercial papers, patterns and samples, 1/2d. per 2 oz., with the Postal Union proviso of a minimum payment of 2 1/2d. for a packet of commercial papers, and of 1d. for a packet of patterns or samples.

Fee for registration of any of the above named articles, 2d.

Fee for the acknowledgment of the delivery of a registered article, 2 1/2d.

By His Excellency's Command, (Signed) J. H. FINDEN, _Postmaster._

Post Office, Bathurst, Gambia, _3rd March, 1892._

POST OFFICE.

Ordinance No. 6 of 1897.

_March 11th, 1897._

1. This Ordinance may be cited as the Post Office Ordinance, 1897, Inland Postal Regulations.

13. From and after the commencement of this Ordinance, postal packets may be sent by post between such places in the Colony of the Gambia and the Protected Territories adjacent thereto as may be from time to time notified by the Administrator.

14. The Administrator-in-Council may from time to time make in relation to the inland post hereby established such regulations as he may think fit--

For prescribing and regulating the places, times, and modes of posting and delivery.

For fixing the rates of postage to be payable on inland letters and postal packets.

For prescribing payment of postage and regulating the mode thereof.

For regulating the affixing of postage stamps.

For prescribing and regulating the payment again of postage in case of redirection.

For regulating the dimensions and maximum weight of packet.

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For prohibiting or restricting the printing or writing of marks or communications or words.

For prohibiting enclosures.

For restricting the sending or conveyance of inland letters.

and such other regulations as the Administrator shall from time to time consider desirable for the more efficient working of such Inland Post.

And may affix a penalty not exceeding ten pounds, to be recovered summarily before the Chief Magistrate, or two Justices of the Peace, or, in default of payment, imprisonment not exceeding two weeks for a contravention of any such regulation.

15. Any revenue derived from the Inland Post herein established shall be paid into the Colonial Treasury at such times and in such a manner as the Administrator shall direct, and shall be applied to the general purposes of the Colony.

Insurance of and Compensation for loss and damage to Parcels.

11. Subject to the provisions of this Ordinance, if any article of pecuniary value enclosed in, or forming part of, a parcel be lost or damaged whilst in the course of transmission through the post, it shall be lawful for the Administrator to cause to be paid out of the public revenues of the Colony to any person or persons who may, in the opinion of the Postmaster, establish a reasonable claim to compensation (having regard to the nature of the article, the care with which it was packed, and other circumstances), the following rates of compensation--

(a) In respect of an uninsured parcel, such sum, not exceeding twenty shillings, as he may think just.

(b) In respect of an insured parcel the following scale shall apply--

To secure compensation up to L12 there shall be payable a fee of 5d " " " L24 " " " 7 1/2d " " " L36 " " " 10d " " " L48 " " " 1/0 1/2d " " " L50 " " " 1/3

We gather from the official handbook edited by Mr. Archer that a Government steamer maintains weekly [page 15] communication between the Capital, Bathurst, and M'Carthy's Island both for passengers and mails. There is no house-to-house delivery of mails at either place.

Gambia joined the Universal Postal Union on January 1st, 1879; the Imperial Penny Postage rate was adopted from December 25th, 1898; and the unit of weight for colonial and foreign letter postage was raised from half an ounce to one ounce on October 1st, 1907. The Cash on Delivery system was introduced on October 15th, 1908.

The following table gives an outline of the postal business, the large fluctuations in the revenue being chiefly due to the fluctuations in the demand for postage stamps from dealers and collectors:--

Year Revenue Expenditure Letters Parcels ----------------------------------------------------------------- 1895 L686 1896 1,506 1897 1,845 1898 2,140 1899 589 1900 459 66,612 782 1901 769 77,937 1151 1902 1,452 77,918 1340 1903 553 94,365 1532 1904 597 94,358 1677 1905 2,731 L808 0 0 91,768 1554 1906 1,317 712 15 10 98,379 1994

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