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ALVMNVS BOOK FVND

BIOLOGY

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*

PORTUGAL

A Survey of

Her Wealth

& Economic Possibilities

by
JOSE D'ALMADA

of the

Banco Nacional Ultramarino,
Lisbon.

With kind permission of the "Manchester Guardian
Commercial," in whose issue of 7th SEPT, 1922,
:: :: part of the Survey appeared :: ::

^.

PORTUGAL

THE geographical position of Portugal is a great economic
asset if it were utilised. , Portugal forms a rectangle on
the extreme west of the Iberian Peninsula. Its perimeter
measures 2,054 kilometres, 1,209 kilometres being land frontiers,
and 845 kilometres being sea coast. Its greatest length from north
to south is 561 kilometres and its greatest width is 218 kilo-
metres, the total area being 89,106 square kilometres, or
3,910,640 hectares.

Portugal is Spain's natural outlet to the Atlantic Ocean.
Lisbon is only 656 kilometres from Madrid, and Oporto< 616
kilometres. All the Mediterranean trade with England and
America is bound to pass opposite the Portuguese Coast,
as well as all South African and South American trade with the
Northern European markets.

This exceptional position is reinforced by the Portuguese
Islands of Madeira, the Acores, and Cape Verde, stretched all
along the Atlantic and dominating the commercial routes
connecting Europe with America and Africa.

Rivers.

The country is traversed by twelve rivers which, with their
tributaries, cover an area of 77,990 square kilometres. The
rivers Douro, Tagus, and Guadiana are navigable to a certain
extent. Their flow, however, has not been regularised, and
the waterways of Portugal are still to be adapted to a normal
traffic. The rainfall being irregular, the rivers' flow is torrential
with few exceptions.

Water-power.

The waterfalls are very numerous. Some of them are very
powerful, and might be harnessed with great economic advantage,
both for the country and the capital invested.

The mountain chains are all situated north of the Tagus —
the highest point is 1,991 metres, at Serra da Estrella.

Broadly speaking, Portugal forms an amphitheatre, the
open space of which lies south of the Tagus, gradually
steepening in the north. The Biver Douro is the most
important source of energy in the country. However, the

686746

;are within the international zone, and consequently
they could .only .be. 'exploited by arrangement with Spain. No
agreement having been reached, the river has not been
harnessed, and the energy to be derived from its waters is
being wasted. The permanent power of the Douro alone is
estimated at 102,000 horse-power, and that of the whole hydro-
graphical basin is calculated at 309,000 horse-power.

According to studies made, the tributaries of the Douro
would yield the following permanent energy: —

Coa 41,000 h.p.

Sabor 6,000 h.p.

Tamega and Tua 12,000 h.p.

Paiva 12,000 h.p.

Totalling 71,000 h.p.

which are outside the zone fixed by the Spanish Convention.
The Kiver Lima, at Lindoso, yields 3,500 h.p. It is the only
big dam already carried out in Portugal with Portuguese and
Spanish capital. The Kiver Cavado is reported to yield 38,000 h.p.
(permanent power).

The Vouga basin is supposed to yield 12,000 h.p., according
to the studies made.

The Eiver Mondego is estimated to yield 20,000 h.p. The
Tagus yields 40,000 h.p., and its tributary, the Zezere, yields
more than 20,000 h.p., according to the studies made.

The energy of the River Guadiana is estimated at 30,000 h.p.

The distribution of the water-power in Portugal is thus
centred in the north of the country.

The total permanent power available is estimated at 500,000
h.p. and the temporary power (during the rainy season) at
400,000 h.p.

The hydro- electric installations actually working number
18, totalling 16,900 h.p.

The number of schemes submitted to the competent depart-
ment exceeds 200, but, except for schemes, hitherto very little
capital has been invested in harnessing the rivers of Portugal.
No investment on a large scale could be more remunerative for
foreign capital. The cost of the works is estimated at 1,000-2,500
escudos per horse-power installed. Two-thirds of the works are
paid in Portuguese currency. Therefore, calculated in sterling,
most of the works would be cheap. But that is only one side
of the problem. The progress resulting for industries and
agriculture would immediately increase the purchasing power of
the country, and the reduction in the importation of coal, with
freight and insurance added to the high prices ruling, would

benefit the exchange, as the demand for approximately £3,500,000
{the coal bill) would cease or decrease, and be reduced to the
amount required for bunkering purposes.

Portugal is importing one-half of the coal she used to buy
in England, and she is paying over double the amount for it.

In a small exchange market like Portugal the falling off in
demand of an annual amount of £3,500,000 would be immediately
reflected in the agio. The financial benefits to be derived from
a broad water-power policy need not be explained at any length;
they are self-evident.

It may be argued that the power demand and consumption
of the country are small, but nowhere has electric pow^r been left
wasted, and the country's possibilities are still to be opened up.
In fact, Portugal's consumption of power is not ascertainable
with exactitude, as there are no statistics, and no data whatever
are supplied by the official departments concerned.

However, reliable private information shows that in 1914
the production of energy amounted to 138,000 h.p., of which only
-a small fraction was derived from water-power. But this figure
is relative to the power derived from water and coal and utilised
in industry. The power generated by the railways, by the
tramways, the power required for the electric light supply, the
power utilised in the generation of gas, and the power derived from
charcoal and wood, has to be estimated if a right idea of the
market is to be formed.

The power actually required for the railways is estimated
at 68,777 k.w.h. ; the power required for light is calculated at
£0,000 k.w.h. ; the power for the city tramways is estimated at
13,630 k.w.h., totalling 132,407 k.w.h.

The distribution of the energy is variable, but with the
exception of Oporto most of the centres of consumption are
situated in the centre and south of Portugal.

Electric power would change the face of Portugal within a
few years. The mining resources of the country are at a stand-
still awaiting cheap power. Agriculture is in a backward state,
lacking power and transport facilities. Most of the existing
industries are wanting an impetus and an adjustment of plant.
Chemical industries are practically non-existent although raw
materials are abundant.

Mines.

Copper deposits are mainly found in the South. The
S. Domingo Mine is the most important, and has been exploited
•since 1858. It belongs to an English firm, Messrs. Mason and
Barry. The output of the mine varies a good deal, but over

4

400,000 tons of ore have been recorded in a year and the exports
average at 300,000 tons of mineral. The number of miners and
employees in this mine is approximately 3,000. The cost of
production, under the present rate of exchange, is said not to
exceed £4 per ton. This is one of the numerous instances of the
advantage of foreign capital in a country with a depreciated
exchange.

There are nine copper mines working in the South of
Portugal, most of them run by English capital. There are a few
concessions exploited by Spanish and French companies,

The total export of copper mineral amounts to 350,000 tons-
per annum ; the number of miners and employees is approximately
5,000; the motive power generated in these mines is 2,036 h.p. and
819 k.w.

The treatment of the ore is not carried out in Portugal.
A good many chemical industries might possibly be started there,
the more so because salt is abundant on the coast of Portugal.

Tin is exploited as such by two French companies and a
few Portuguese firms, but a good deal of it is found in the wolfram
mines, and is being worked simultaneously with the latter. The
exports of tin amount to 200 tons per annum. The employees and
miners number 440; the motive power is 226 h.p. The average
percentage of tin is 60. The wolfram deposits of Portugal are
the most important in Europe. They are being exploited by
British and French capital. The most interesting group of mines
belongs to the Wolfram Mining and Smelting Company, Ltd.,
of London. The works carried out at Panasquiera, near Fundao,
represent a great capital outlay. Theore are a few thousand yards
of tunnels built, compressed air is canalised all over the mines
for the mechanical drillers; new plants are being erected for the
complete treatment of the ore; and hydro- electric schemes are
being comtemplated on the River Zezere for the supply of cheap
motive power. The installations are perfect, and the 500 miners
and employees work in the best harmony with the company.

The total production of wolfram averages 500 tons per annum,
but the percentage of tin, arsenic or lead varies according to the
reefs.

Silver and gold are being exploited on a very small scale,
and play no important part' in the economy of the country.

Uranium ores are found in the districts of Vizeu and Guarda.
The most important mine is the Urgeiriga, belonging to Messrs.
Burnay and Cie, of Lisbon. These valuable deposits would afford
the most interesting field for scientific investigation. The radio-
active properties of numerous natural springs and the possible
influence of these salts on the public health have not been studied.

The production of sulphur has increased a little, but the
home market is not self-supporting. Forty-thousand tons of
sulphur are produced every year hi the country, but a great deal
more has to be imported.

Iron is awaiting the development of hydraulic power in order
to expand. The output of iron ore is about 30,000 tons per annum.
The total amount of iron in Portugal is estimated at 75,000,000
tons. The average percentage of iron is 43 in the mines that
have been worked. The number of claims registered is 93 (July,
1922). The most important iron concessions of Portugal are
situated in the district of Braganqa, vvhere the French firm of
Schneider and Cie holds 22 concessions that have never been
worked. Messrs. Burnay and Cie, of Lisbon, are the only firm
exporting iron ores from the south of Portugal, and then- mines
are the only ones being exploited in the country.

The Braganc.a mines depend entirely on the development
of the hydro- electric schemes of the Douro.

Antimonium and lead are being worked on a very small
scale.

A few valuable coalfields have been discovered and are being
exploited at St. Pedro da Cova, at Cabo Mondego, Lena, near
the big cement factory of Maceira, and in other places. In 1914
the coal ouput was 30,000 tons, in 1921 it amounted to 210,000
tons, an increase of 700 per cent.

Minerals will be treated in Portugal as soon as there is
available electric power, and metals will in future be exported
instead of ores. It will represent a benefit to the exporters,
who will cease to pay the transport of useless loads and who will
pay salaries in depreciated money. A great number of subsidiary
chemical industries would find an open field for expansion.

Mineral Waters.

Mineral waters are very abundant all over the country and
many are being exploited with great success.

Agriculture.

Sixty per cent, of the inhabitants are occupied in agriculture,
but 38 per cent, of the total surface of the land might stilt
be utilised. The percentage of land that is not utilisable (rocky,
towns, &c.) is 4.65 of the total area. The land is not self-
supporting, notwithstanding the fertility of its soil and the
mildness of its climate. The agricultural implements and
machines do not correspond to the present needs, and hand
labour absorbs a large percentage of the cost of production. The

6

methods of husbandry are in some cases perfect, but in the
majority of cases the soil is not scientifically exploited.
Education as regards agriculture has just recently been given
an impetus, but a great deal is still to be done in showing
experimentally the advantage of the rotation of crops, of manuring,
of selecting seeds, of using modern implements, &c. The size
of the holdings varies a great deal. The larger ones are situated
in the Alemtejo, Extremadura, and Beira Baixa. The banks of
the Tagus (Eibatejo) are the richest tract of land in Portugal
and the most adequate for mechanical agriculture. In Minho and
Traz-os-Montes land is so divided that sometimes a tree belongs
to 20 or more owners.

The cereal crops occupy 751,321 hectares approximately.
The yield of wheat per hectare averages at 300-420 kilos. The
production of the districts of Portalegre, Evora, and Beja is more
than half of the total produced in the whole country. At Aveiro
and Porto the average production is 720 kilos per hectare, and
in some places one ton and more have been recorded per hectare.
The yields vary with the rainfall and the manure. The imports
of manures (phosphorites, super- phosphates, &c.) average
70,000 tons per annum. Fish guano is the manure of the district
of Aveiro. A good deal more might be produced in the numerous
fishing centres of the coast and in the rich coasts of West Africa.
Stable manures are estimated at 10,000 tons per annum, but in
most cases they are inadequately prepared. The cereal crop in
1921 was approximately the following: —

Wheat. Eye. Oats. Barley.

Litres. Litres. Litres. Litres.

247,420,226 ... 120,263,060 ... 164,998,832 ... 57,135,197

The imports of wheat bear a great influence on the exchange.
The highest figures under this heading were 82,538 tons in 1879,
81,869 tons in 1899, 184,200 tons in 1916. The highest crop of
wheat was recorded in 1911, viz., 322,000 tons, the average being
"230,000 tons. The average consumption of wheat in the country
is increasing*. Wheat bread is replacing maize and other inferior
qualities of flour. The cultivation of wheat has been encouraged
by the agrarian policy of the Government, that is, the grant of a
remunerative price for the crops and the restriction of the import of
wheat and flour to the amount strictly required for seed and for the
consumption over and above the land production.

In addition to wheat, Portugal produces 500,000 tons of
maize (the average during the war declined to 274,000 tons per

* In 1911 the w^neat consumption amounted to 293,939 tons, and
in 1920 to 364,272 tons.

annum and is returning to the pre-war position.), 110,000 tons
of rye (during the war the average was 78,000 tons), 15,000 tons
of rice (23,000 tons in 1920), and 125,000 tons of oats and barley.
Beans of different qualities are estimated at 59,000 tons, potatoes
average at 240,000 tons (during the war the average was 156,000
tons). The average production of fruit and vegetables is 200,000
tons per annum.

Whether Portugal, with her 8,000,000 hectares of land, is
able or not to be self-supporting is a matter of scientific
controversy. At any rate it is hard to believe that 6,000,000
inhabitants cannot produce sufficient food in the country to
meet their requirements. The amount of bread consumed per
inhabitant is estimated at 400 grammes per day, or 104 kilo-
grammes per annum.

Irrigation works in the Alemtejo are being contemplated.
A canal ought to be opened near the River Sorraia (a tributary
of the Tagus) and it would irrigate 40,000 hectares of the best
land in the Alemtejo.

The cultivation of vines is typical of Portugal. The area
of the vineyards is 320,000 hectares; the annual output of wine
being 5,000,000 hectolitres. The highest figure recorded is
6,870,000 hectolitres in 1908. The average yield per hectare is
23 hectolitres (in France the yield is 39 hectolitres). The number
of labourers employed in the vineyards is put at 100,000.

The variety of wines and grapes is considerable. The qualities
are influenced by the soil, the sun, the rainfall, the climate. The
famous port brands are circumscribed by the Douro banks,
extending to Traz-os-Montes. Begoa is one of the most interesting
centres of this branch of agriculture. Apart from the ports,
the light northern table wines are a little sour and have special
markets in the country, in the Portuguese colonies, and in Brazil.
The southern table wines are the best. Grapes and raisins are
exported in increasing scale.

Tartar is in great demand for the United States. The wine
exported to England in 1913 was 3,669,411 gallons, valued aJt
£946,000; in 1919 it was 12,458,220 gallons, estimated at
£7,940,000; and in 1920 5,941,575 gallons. As regards port wine,
England absorbs 59 per cent, of the production, Brazil 16.4 per
cent., and Germany (pre-war average) 6.6 per cent. Brazil buys
59 per cent, of the exports of light table wines (686,596 hectolitres
average of the period 1904-13), and the Portuguese colonies are
proving to be a good outlet (25.5 per cent.) for the light wines.
France is occasionally a great buyer (21,053 hectolitres in 1920)
when she wants to meet her home deficiencies. England buys
only 2.7 per cent, of the light table wines.

Olive Trees. .

The cultivation of olive-trees is very popular and covers an
area of 330,000 hectares, each hectare containing 120 trees.
The average yield per tree is 6 kilogrammes of olives per annum,
with 18 per cent, of oil. The crops depend on the season and
on the manures. Yields of 15 kilogrammes per tree have been
recorded, and higher percentages of oil (36 per cent.) are not
uncommon. The total annual production of olive oil averages
500,000 hectolitres. During the war period the production
decreased and touched 350,000 hectolitres. The consumption of
olive oil and of olives is considerable in the country. The fisheries
absorb large quantities of oil in the sardine and tunny preserving
industry. The number of olive-oil factories in Portugal is 5,263,
most of them small and inadequately organised. The olive-oil
markets are in the African colonies and in Brazil, but with the
expansion of the fish-preserving industries the amount of olive
oil available for the export trade is declining every year. The
value of this crop is at present 160,000,000 escudos.

Almond Trees.

The area under almond-trees, fig-trees, and carob-trees is
131,221 hectares. The value of the crops is estimated at £600,000
per annum.

Flax and Hemp.

Flax is cultivated in the Northern provinces. The area under
flax is decreasing, and it is estimated that not even 90,000 hectares
are being exploited of the 200,000 hectares of the middle of the
nineteenth century. The yield per hectare is 400 kilos of textile
material and 7 hectolitres of seed, but the plant never grows more
than 72 centimetres. The linen manufactured in the country was,
approximately, 4,000 tons in 1900; but no reliable figures are
available since that date.

Hemp was cultivated in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries
for the manufacture of ropes ; but there is no appreciable planta-
tion at present.

Palm Trees.

Certain varieties of palm trees are cultivated in the Algarve,
where their fibres are utilised for brooms or mats.

Tobacco.

Tobacco is cultivated in the Douro district, under special
laws. Its cultivation is restricted to certain areas according to

9

the monopoly granted to a private company. The imports of
tobacco from abroad average at 2,000 tons, and the amount of
manufactured tobacco sold in Portugal is 4,000 tons per annum.
The sub-products of tobacco are not being exploited.

Cork.

The area under cork-trees is 330,862 hectares, yielding 50 to
75,000 tons of cork per annum, valued at approximately
£1,000,000. Evergreen oaks are planted near the cork-trees
and occupy an area of 363,940 hectares.

The acorns are used to feed pigs and the wood is utilised for
charcoal.

Live Stock.

The numbers of live stock kept have not been readjusted, and
consequently all figures are approximate. It is estimated that
there are about 85,914 horses, 50,455 mules, 137,950 donkeys,
624,568 cattle, 2,977,454 sheep, 936,899 goats, 971,085 pigs;
totalling 5,784,322 head, weighing 418,000 tons, or 64 heads and
Kg. 4, 714 per square kilometre. The consumption of meat is
estimated at 5 kilos per inhabitant (in Lisbon and Oporto the
averages are 38 and 35 kilos respectively). The amount of meat
produced in the country is estimated to weigh 30,000 tons per
annum, the deficiency being met from abroad.

Dairy Produce.

Milk is estimated at 120,000,000 litres per annum, cheese
at 6,000 tons, butter at 730 tons, eggs at 324,000,000, wool at
3,000 tons, manures 10,000 tons. The weight of the domestic
fowls is estimated at 19,689 tons.

Possibilities.

There is still a great deal to be done cone em ing the selection
and feeding of animals. Horses, cattle, and pigs have been the
object of special care. The horses of Alter do Chao are a very
fine race, which unfortunately is decreasing in number. The
Eoyal horse of Alter was instituted by John V. and continued by
Joseph I.

Bullocks of the best fighting races are bred in Portugal and
exported to Spain, where they fetch high prices.

Pigs have been selected at Alemtejo and form a distinct
breed which stands tropical climates very well.

30

Woodlands.

Woodlands produce four million metric tons of wood for
the export trade, but they do not meet the ht>me market demand.
The import of staves from the United States, for instance,
averages 37,728,000 pieces, and the quantity of pitch-pine wood
for building purposes is 3,000 cubic metres.

The wood for charcoal and burning purposes is estimated
at 5,000,000 cubic metres per annum produced and consumed in
the country. Joinery wood and resins, dyewoods and turpentine
oils are imported each year from abroad ; but the resins and
turpentine produced in the country in 1920 were valued by the
Chambers of Industry at over £1,000,000. The home production
is, however, 20 per cent, of the to*al consumption. Only one- third
of the pine forests are being tapped. A peculiar branch of the
wood industry consists in the manufacturing of toothpicks,
'occupying 4,298 labourers and consuming 1,462 tons of wood of
Populus Alba, a kind of beech. The woodlands cover an area
of 1,500,000 hectares, of which 85,000 h. are chestnut trees,
68,000 h. are oak trees, and 780,000 h. are pine trees, the
remainder being planted with evergreen oaks and cork trees.
This branch of agriculture is far from having reached a progressive
stage of development. It is estimated that 5,000 h. of land are
planted with trees per annum. The slopes of Serra da Estrella,
for instance, are still denuded to a great extent. The State gives
some assistance to forests.

Chamber of Agriculture.

An impetus has been given recently to> co-operative societies
and farmers' unions. The number of such unions is already 200,
and the amount of credit granted is daily increasing.

Education has been reformed and a few agricultural colleges
have been created. There are experimental gardens spread about
the country, and it may be expected that new methods of food
husbandry will be introduced. However, the amount spent in
agricultural education is not even one-fifth of the total budget
of the Ministry of Public Instruction.

Tractors are very few. It is reported that only about 60
are in working, the majority being kept idle for some reason
or other.

Fisheries.

With 900 kilometres of sea coast it is only natural that part of
the Portuguese population should be engaged in fishing. Accord-
ing to the last figures published the number of fishers is 50,000,

11

and the number of boats employed by them is 10,100. The big
fishing nets (seines) number 130. The catch is valued at approxi-
mately 30,000,000 escudos per annum. The quantities are not
given, excepkfor sardines (44,858 tons), tunny fish (1-2,000 tons),
and cod-fish (1-3,000 tons).

There is a great variety of fish and sea products, but the
fish canning industries are especially concerned with sardines and
tunny fish. The exports under these headings amount to very
nearly £1,000,000. Brazil, the United States, the African Colonies,
Greece, Turkey, and France are among the best markets.

The fish canning industry requires some 20,000 tons of tin-
plate per annum for the tin boxes. Tinplate costs over £500,000
per annum (average).

Codfish is still imported from Newfoundland and Norway in
quantities of 30,000 tons per annum, valued at £1,000,000. The
catch of Portuguese vessels is 2,000 tons only per annum.

Oysters have not had the l attention of capital as much as
they ought to. Portugal exports only 800,000 oysters to France
and Belgium. The London market, consuming 1,000,000,000
oysters, has been neglected.

The sub-products of the fishing industry are not being
exploited to a great extent. Oils, skins, bones, guanos are not
being efficiently treated. They represent a source of riches still to
be utilised.

Salt.

Salt is very abundant. The output is 400,000 tons, and the
exports average at 100,000 tons per annum. The salt production
is unlimited considering that the crystallisation is estimated
at the rate of 500 tons per hectare of salt-pan or salt-pond. The
best known salt industries are situated in Aveiro, on the banks
of the Tagus, near Lisbon, at Setubal, Alcacer to Sal, and in
Algarve (Almargen, Tavira, Faro). There are salt rocks in the
country, but hitherto they have not been exploited. As chemical
industries are still in a backward state, the uses of salt are
restricted to food preserving and for table purposes.

Wool Factories.

The wool output of Portugal varies between 3,000 and 5,000
tons per annum. The quantity of wool imported from foreign
countries averages 2,500 tons per annum.

The textile industry is centred on the slopes of the Serra da
Estrella mountains. Covilha is the chief woollen textile town
of the country with 103 wool factories. There are a few modern

12

looms, but the majority axe old and most of them are driven by
old wooden Pelton wheels of the eighteenth century.

Cotton.

The> number of labourers employed in the cotton factories of
the country is estimated at 60,000. This branch of the textile
industry owes its development to a high Protectionist tariff both
at home and in Portuguese West Africa. Unfortunately capital has
paid no* attention to cotton-growing in the African colonies, and
the industry is entirely dependent on foreign imports, amounting
to very nearly 20,000 tons per annum. The Portuguese colonies
contribute only some 3,000 tons. The United States supplies
Portugal with more than 12,000 bales of cotton per annum. Brazil
supplies about 4,000 tons. The number of looms is 400,000, but
only 100,000 are working.

Cotton-growing in Angola, Mozambique, and Portuguese
Guinea is an imperative necessity of Portugal's economy. .

Linen.

.Flax is practically a domestic industry. In the 16th century
this industry occupied a very important rank. The imports of
foreign linen amount to 2,000 tons per annum. Considering the,
great possibilities of this industry, the high prices fetched by
linen, thanks to the Russian market's depression, and the vast
African highlands where linen might be grown, it is hardly
credible that this most useful industry is being entirely neglected.
The island of Madeira imports the finest linens from Ireland for
the embroideries, valued at approximately $2,500,000 U.S. per
annum.

Glass and Earthenware.

The glass industry experienced a great impetus in the 18th
century, when Pombal engaged specialists for the factories he
caused to be erected. According to the latest statistics there were
13 glass factories in the country, but few have the necessary
plant and the products are not perfect. Raw material is excellent,
and Portugal being a wine-producing country and so rich in mineral
waters, bottle-making ought to be a paying industry.

The country offers a great variety of argils and a few factories
are producing porcelains. In this branch there is an undertaking
worthy of notice for its organisation and quality of its producte—
"A Electro-Ceramica, " of Villa Nova de Gaya, near Porto,
specialising in electric fittings.

Tiles are being manufactured by 1,107 factories.

13

Cement Factories.

There is a first-class cement factory near Leiria, in a place
called Maceira, -which has been inaugurated in 1923. The
plant is of the best, and the raw material is reported as the finest
known in the Peninsula, The actual output is reckoned at 35,000
tons per annum, but the capacity of the plant is for an output of
'70,000 tons. The capital invested is exclusively Portuguese.

Fruit Preserving

industries are expanding. The convent traditions relative to
fruit preserving are still alive in places like Elvas, famous for its
plums and olives.

Candle, Soap, and Oil Factories.

The best factory of this kind in the Peninsula is undoubtedly
the Uniao Fabril, near Lisbon.

Sugar Refineries.

The sugar imported from the Portuguese colonies (30,000
tons) is refined in Lisbon, where two big factories have been
greeted.

Transport.

The total extension of railways in Portugal is 3,045 kilo-
metres, of which 1,805 km. are owned by private companies and
1,240 km. by the Government.

The number of locomotives is 380, and the number of freight
cars is 6,229.

According to the available data the Portuguese railways
show a traffic of 2,000,000 tons in the main lines and 700,000 tons
in the narrow gauge lines.

Private capital invested in the railways aggregates
112,092,000 escudos and 4,000,000 francs. The State lines
represent a capital of 15,946,000 escudos.

The paying lines are the small ones in the north of Portugal.
The other companies pay no dividends, notwithstanding the grow-
ing volume of traffic. The -State lines are run at a deficit.

There are in Portugal 17,000 kilometres of macadamised
roads. Motor-cars and motor- lorries are very popular and there
is' a growing consumption of petrol.

The utilisation of the water courses would be of great
advantage for agriculture.

H

S&a transport is assured by a merchant fleet ^.timbering 57
steamers (including the ex-German fleet) totalling 200,000 tons.
Only a very small fraction of the State-owned steamers is being-
utilised.

There are two colonial shipping companies, with 54,000 tons
and 18,000 tons respectively.

The aggregate capital of the shipping companies is estimated
at 20,000,0(50 escudos.

Economic and Financial.

There are no statistics of industrial production, and even
those relating to agriculture are not always complete. But the-
increase of wealth in the country is visible.

The passenger traffic in the trains compares most
favourably with the pre-war period. The number of letters,
telegrams, and telephone messages shows a large increase. Loco-
motives and trucks are being imported in order to increase the
transport facilities of the railways.

The consumption of sugar, cocoa, coffee, tobacco, cotton,,
and foodstuffs is increasing.

The imports of luxuries from abro*ad, such as velvets, silks,
Parisian confectionery, &c., have attained a very high record.

The deposits in the banks have increased. The State Savings
Bank, for instance, recorded in 1914/15 19,116,000 escudos of
voluntary deposits, comparing with 199,271,101 escudos hi
1921-22.

The deposits in the Bank of Portugal in 1922 amounted to
58,918,974 escudos. The deposits in the Banco Nacional
Ultramarino in 1922 totalled 279,246,612 escudos.

The velocity of circulation in some banks is most interesting,
as it coincides with certain definite periods of the country's
economic life. Cheques are not in general use as in England,
although they would greatly facilitate the task of the banks
and alleviate the position as regards the fiduciary issue.

The State Savings Bank, however, paid in 1921-22, 173,898
cheques, totalling 251,700,342 escudos, comparing with 90,153
cheques and 140,488,261 escudos in 1920-21.

In 1919 the number of new companies floated was 926,
representing a nominal capital of 156,805,000 escudos. In 1918
the new companies numbered 705, and the capital represented
amounted to 125,180,000 escudos. This capital has been invested
much more in banking and insurance business than in any other
branch. General trade accounts for 36,000,000 escudos in 1919
and industrial undertakings represent 30,000,000 escudos.

Thirty-five applications for the privilege of introducing new

15

industries were entered in the registers of the Department con-
cerned. Twenty new industries have been introduced in Portugal
in the last few years. One of the most important consists in the
production of copper sulphate. The .concession was granted under
the condition that a minimum oiitput of 1,000 tons should be
guaranteed per annum.

Trade.

The volume of the total external sea trade averages at
4,000,000 tons, including colonial, re-exports, and international
traffic. The turnover of the Lisbon harbour in 1920 amounted to
over 10,000,000 tons, of which only 3,000,000 tons belong to the
international trade. Eecent trade statistics are not available,
therefore one has to adopt the accepted averages.
The main imports consist of: —

Kaw Cotton 20,000 tons.

Coal 1,500,000 ,,

Iron 68,000 ..

Manures 150,000 ,,

Maize 200,000 .,

Wheat 150,000 ,,

Kice 30,000 ,,

Sugar 40,000 ,,

Codfish 35,000 ,,

The chief exports consist of: —

Eaw and manufactured cork ... 93,000 tons.

Pit timber 349,000 ,,

Mineral ores (copper, tin, wol-
fram, iron) 500,000 ,,

Wines 100,000 ,,

Preserved and canned fish ... 90,000 ,,

Fruit and vegetables 100,000 ,,

The re-exports are mainly: —

Cocoa 35,000 tons.

Coffee 4,000 ,,

Oil seeds 3,000 ,,

Wax 500 ,,

Eubber 1,000 ,,

The Portuguese shipping capacity measures 319,978 cubic
metres, and the cargo space is estimated at 239,979 cubic metres.
The share of the Portuguese flag in the external trade was
approximately one- third, but this figure is obsolete. Since 1916
a change has been operated, as ex-German steamers have been
surrendered to the Portuguese Government and utilised in the
external trade.

16

Most of the merchandise, however, such as cotton, coals,
iron, codfish, &c., is carried in foreign bottoms, and the bill paid
to foreign shipping and insurance companies is estimated at
very nearly £3,000,000. Excepting Angola, most of the trade
with the Portuguese colonies is carried in foreign bottom's at
present.

Trade with Great Britain is approximately one-third of
the total foreign trade. England is the best market for port
and Madeira wines, absorbing 59 per cent, of the production.
She is also the best market for fresh and dried fruit, purchasing
75 per cent, of the figs, almonds, and carob of the Algarve; she
buys most of the cork and of the mineral ores of the country.

Beeiprocally Portugal buys all the coal she requires in
England, all the tinplates, the copper, and the iron. It is through
the intermediary of England that Portugal buys cotton, wheat,
and codfish in America. The volume of trade with England may
be estimated at 1,000,000 to 2,000,000 tons per annum.

Trade with the United States is declining on account of the
exchange. But the United States supplies tobacco, cotton,
gasoline, petroleum, staves, and sometimes wheat. Agricultural
machines and light motor-cars are also in great demand. In
return Portugal sells to the United States canned fish, figs and
almonds, carob, cork, and goat skins.

The volume of trade with Brazil is estimated at 100,000
tons, and represents about 8 per cent, of the total value. There is
a Portuguese colony numbering some 2,500,000. The number of
Portuguese emigrants going to Brazil each year may be reckoned
at 35,000. This colony and the affinity of race and language
determine a commercial intercourse sui generis.

Portuguese products enjoy a sentimental preference in Brazil.
Cheese, butter, fruit, vegetables, olive oil, canned fish, building
stones, tiles, light wines find in Brazil an excellent market.

Brazil is selling sugar, cotton, coffee, timber, and rice,
but the growing competition of the Portuguese colonies is likely
to reduce the amount of Brazilian goods imported for consumption
in Portugal.

Trade with Spain represents about 10 per cent, of the total.
Portugal buys rice, calico, carburet (7,000 tons), wool, and
animals, and sells animals, fish, salt, manures, and a little fruit.
The volume of trade is estimated at 300,000 tons.

The trade with Germany was in 1913 about 15 per cent, of
the total, representing a volume of 248,901 tons.

Germany was the outlet of all colonial produce; a good
nmrket for cork, skins, fruit, light wines, grapes, raisins, &c.
In return Portugal bought in Germany machines, manufactured
iron, chemicals, and manv other necessaries.

17

The volume of trade with Italy declined from 82,585 tons in
1912 to 19,903 tons in 1918 (the last statistics). It represented
1.54 per cent, of the total.

Italy exported to Portugal beans, sulphur, and silks, and
imported from Portugal canned fish and little else.

Trade with France consists in the import of confectionaries,
luxury articles (velvets, silks, &c.), automobile®, machines,
perfumes, &c., and France buys wines, dye-woods, and a few
colonial products.

Trade Prospects.

The prospects of Portuguese trade, generally speaking, are
vast, provided no one-sided protectionist tariff wall is erected.
Trade reciprocity is imperative. There is no buying where selling
is impossible.

The co-operation of British capital in assisting the recon-
struction of Portugal would largely contribute to strengthen the
old and traditional ties between the two countries. British capital
might take a large share in harnessing the waterfalls of Portugal,
with the advantage of securing a new field of operations in
substitution of the market for coal that is sure to disappear sooner
or later. Portugal might supply England with much more fruit,
vegetables, eggs, cheese, cork manufactures, fish, oysters, light
wines, mineral table waters, flowers, &c. The southern districts
of Portugal are a fortnight in advance of the northern, and a few
weeks in advance of Northern Spain and France,

Trade with Spain would easily increase if a sound under-
standing between both countries was established. The Douro
waterfalls could only be utilised in Portugal by means of a
Spanish Convention, but unfortunately no agreement has been
arrived at and an immense power supply in Europe is going to
waste.

The water that might be harnessed at Bodam, on the Tagus,
would only be fully utilisable if the Spanish Government agreed
to the reservoirs that ought to be built in Spain. An intimate
co-operation between both peoples would be reciprocally
advantageous. Colonial goods that find such a big market in
Spain are seldom imported from Portugal, notwithstanding the
proximity and transport facilities. A number of Spanish
industries might find in Portugal a ready outlet.

A high speed electric railway between Madrid and Lisbon
would intensifv commercial intercourse.

France, with her colonial empire, with her wines and table
waters, is not exactly a natural purchaser of Portuguese goods.
The Portuguese light wines imported into France lose their
nationality and are absorbed by the Bordeaux brands. But the

18

influence of France in Portugal is such, that if it were properly
utilised great benefits might result for the trade of both countries.
The trade with the Portuguese colonies is protected by a
protectionist tariff, the object of which is to concentrate in Lisbon
the colonial produce of West Africa, and to grant the freight
monopoly to Portuguese steamers. Mozambique (East Africa)
and Portuguese Guinea are not under this regime, and their direct
trade with foreign countries is progressing by leaps and bounds.
Angola (West Africa) has just adopted provisions aiming at
facilitating direct trade with foreign countries. Since the war
many foodstuffs which used to be imported from foreign countries
are being imported from the colonies, such as sugar, maize, rice,
but notwithstanding, much is still to be done in that direction.

The Finances.

The State finances do not correspond to the economic state
of the country. In the Budget for 1922-23

Escudos.

The ordinary receipts are estimated at ... 226,501,000
The extra ordinary at 35,051,000

Total 261,552,000

The estimated expenditure is, ordinary ... 353,420,000
Extraordinary 235,487,000

Total 588,907,000

The deficit is 327,000,000 escudos.

The budget for the current year contains a very curious
comparative table of the income and expenditure calculated in
sterling. It may be inferred therefrom that whilst the expenses
remain constant the receipts decline and are reduced to one-third
of their amount in 1910, owing to the depreciation of the escudo.
The following are the figures given: —

Beceipts. Expenditure.

& £

1910-11 13,660,367 ... 13,936,405

1916-17 9,161,039 ... 9,389,032

1917-18 8,749,691 ... 9,916,118

1922-23 ... ... 4,879,848 ... 11,452,886

The increase of expenditure resulting from the rate of
exchange is estimated at 121,597.000 escudos for the payments
to be made in gold, but in addition to this there are items of
110,400,000 escudos for the cost of materials to be purchased
abroad and 151,636,000 escudos for the grants to civil servants.

19

The total for the differences of exchange is 383,633,000 escudos, or
67 per cent, of the total expenditure.

The number of civil servants increased by 5,000 since 1914, to
19,123, excluding the Post Office, the harbour, and the State
railways. The strength of the army and navy has not yet been
reduced to its pre-war figures, and the number of recruits for the
army is still 45,000, comparing with 30,000 in 1913-14. The State
railways show a deficit of 12,000,000 escudos; the harbour of
Lisbon brings in no appreciable income; the Post Office shows a
considerable deficit; the State merchant shipping has proved a
failure. To redress these evils and to readjust all these services is
a task in which the present Government is engaged.

The debt interest and funding services amount to 153,000,000
escudos, but deducting the bonds held by the Treasury this
amount is reduced to 133,876,000 escudos, representing 23 per
cent, of the State expenditure and 55 per cent, of the anticipated
income.

The receipts budgeted for 1922-23, compared with those of
1921-22, are the following: —

Escudos. Escudos.

1922-23. 1921-22.

Direct taxes 54,073,000 ... 49,907,000

Stamps and registration 39,780,00t) ... 33,630,000

Indirect taxes 62,241,000 ... 54,127,000

Monopolies 22,759,000 ... 15,130,000

State-owned properties 3,292,000 ... 2,492,000

Dividends of shares held by the

Treasury ... 23,282,000 ... 21,619,000

lieimbursements 3, 477, OCX) ... 3,270,000

Self-governing services 17,593,000 ... 13,726,000

Other items 35,055,000 ... 37,095,000

Total 261,552,000 ... 230,996,000

The only note-issuing bank for Portugal and the Islands
of Madeira and the Azores is the Banco de Portugal. In the
colonies the note-issuing bank is the Banco Nacional Ultra-
marino. The State is granted certain advantages in proportion
to the notes in circulation. The Grresham law has found a full
demonstration, and there are no coins in circulation. The amount
of gold in circulation was estimated at £20,000,000 some years
ago.

An exhaustive analysis of the Budget would mean a
description of political and economical events, and would exceed
the space assigned to this survey.

20

The Finances : — Supplementary.
Budget for 1923-4.

1. The following figures are quoted from the budget
estimates for 1923-4:-

RECEIPTS :

Escudos.

Ordinary 540,524,713

Extraordinary 133,551,450

Total 674,076,163

(£9,257,076)

EXPENDITURE :

Escudos.

Ordinai'y 452,969,908

Extraordinary 360,445,964

Total 813,415,872

(£11,143,550)

Escudos.
FORESEEN DEFICIT 139,339,709

Comparing these figures with those of the last budget
there is an increase of 412,524,000 escudos under the heading
of receipts and an increase of 224,508,000 escudos in
expenditure.

The foreseen deficit is 187,661,000 escudos less than that
of last year.

New taxes have been enforced and are expected to yield
a great revenue.

The following are the estimated receipts for 1923-4 : —

Escudos

Direct taxes 140,145,985

Stamps and registration ... 58,730,000

Indirect taxes 209,951,230

Monopolies, &c. ... ... 25,077,523

State- owned properties ... 4,593,024
Dividends of shares held by

the Treasury 47,629,339

Reimbursements 3,649,831

Self-governing services ... 50,747,778

Total 540,524,713

21

The foreseen ordinary and extraordinary expenditure
is the following: —

Ordinary. Extraordinary.

Escudos. Escudos.

Public Debt ... 216,137,836 ...

Gen. Expenditure 5,195,741 ...

Finance Office ... 18,557,819 ... 61,804,329

Home Office ... 29,118,773 ... 34,724,398

Justice Office ... 3,027,912 ... 8,035,000

War Office ... 80,545,715 ... 58,741,500

Navy Office ... 31,869,892 ... 35,775,684

Foreign Office ... 22,595,515 ... 5,059,400
Commerce Office &

Communications 20,113,034 ... 21,476,501

Colonial Office ... 3,089,798 ... 7,927,533

Education Office... 17,106,958 ... 72,633,500

Works Office ... 1,888,265 ... 32,222,879

Agriculture Office 3,722,644 ... 22,045,240

Total ... 452,969,908 ... 360,445,964

The increase shown in the ordinary expenditure is
about 100,000,000 and in the extraordinary about 125,000,000
escudos.

The charges of the debt show an increase of *44,956,123
escudos, owing to the rate of exchange.

The Army absorbs 21,618,895 escudos more in the
ordinary budget and 30,172,500 escudos more in the extra-
ordinary. The strength has not been reduced. The Navy
shares an increase of 8,550,176 escudos in the ordinary
estimates and of 21,717,206 escudos in the extraordinary.
Its strength has not been reduced.

The military budgets total 206,932,791 escudos, or 25 per
cent, of the ordinary and extraordinary budgets totalling
813,415,872 escudos.

There are other military expenditures included in the
Home Office (Republic Guard), in the Finance Office (Custom
House Police), and in the Colonial Office.

According to the budget for 1923-4 the public debt totals
2,509,950,810 escudos (nominal value) and bears interest
amounting to 55,432,045 escudos and a sinking fund of
4,016,704 escudos.

The total external debt is 216,366,330 escudos.

In addition to this there is the floating debt, the debt to
the Bank of Portugal, the debt to the Caixa Geral dos
Depositos, the War Debt to Great Britain.

22

The most important points of the budget, in addition to
the military and naval expenditure, are the civil servants
list, the bread or flour subsidies, the floating debt, the State
industries, the State railways, the harbours managed by the
State, the Post Office, representing productive and unproduc-
tive expenditure.

Revenues.

A constructive policy is sure to re-establish the confidence
ol the public in the internal possibilities, which are very far from
even being realised by the great majority. As soon as tne sterling
values are negotiated normally in the Portuguese markets the
exchange will ameliorate, the cost of living will decrease, and the
Government finances will progress. Taxation to a certain extent
must be enforced, but the psychological factors ol connaence and
of the will to invest money within the country are perhaps more
effective still. The amount of paper money in circulation, the
floating debt, and the loans to the Treasury are such that the
only possible policy would be to transform an unreal paper value
into a payable asset. Such works as hydro- electric installations
and irrigation schemes, would, within five years, change the face
of public finances. Facilities granted to big hotel companies in
order to attract foreigners to the watering places and to the winter
stations of the country would result in a rapid affluence of gold
into Portugal. It would be false to infer from the Budget that
the state of aifairs is hopeless, in 1920, for instance, the gross
revenue of agriculture, excluding dairy produce and stock
breeding, was estimated, according to official data, at 572, 500,000
escudos, or, at the then rate of exchange, £18,892,000. Admitting
that 50 per cent, was absorbed by the cost of production (which is
far too much), the net income would be £9, 446, 000.

The industrial revenues represent a few millions.

The remittances from Brazil amount to £3,000,000 (very often
much more) per annum. The remittances from other places
where Portuguese colonies exist (San Francisco, New Bedford,
Haiti, British Guiana, &c.) are estimated at £1,000,000.

The expenditure of foreign steamers in the Portuguese
harbours is estimated at £500,000. Money spent by foreign
travellers in Portugal may be estimated at £200,000 — an item that
might be considerably increased. In addition to this, there is the
revenue from Madeira, and the Azores, where foreign shipping and
foreigners are estimated to spend approximately £2,000,000 per
annum.

The colonial trade is another sterling asset of considerable
importance. The cocoa islands of San Thome and Principe export

23

values estimated at £2,000,000. Admitting for the sake of
argument that 50 per cent, is absorbed by the cost of production,
£1,000,000 remains as net income for the remuneration of some
millions of escudos capital invested there.

Portuguese Guinea is the lands of oil seeds, of which 20,000
tons are being exported per annum, yielding about 100 per cent,
of the capital invested there. Angola's exports are valued at
£620,000 for 1921. Mozambique's exports are estimated at
£1,000,000. All this money is brought into the country yearly,
and the disequilibrium which is noted in the State finances will
gradually disappear as the development of the colonial resources
takes place. The Portuguese debt would be crushing were it not
that £20,000,000 have been spent by the mother country in the
colonies within the last 70 years. In addition to the colonies, the
debt is represented by 17,000 kilometres of roads; by numerous
bridges; by harbours, such as Lisbon, Leixoes, San Miguel,
Lourenco Marques; by 1,200 kilometres of railways with equip-
ment; by thousands of schools, three universities, and an excellent
School of Engineering, &c.

The Adjacent Islands

of Madeira and the Azores play a very important part in the
Portuguese economy.

Madeira.

Madeira, well-known for her variety of climates, is the calling
port for all ships going to and returning from South Africa and
South America. One hundred thousand passengers are reported
to call at Fimch al per annum. The chief exports consist of wines
(£400,000) and embroideries ($2,000,000).

Very little has been done to attract foreigners to Madeira.
The sea passages are much too high, accommodation is good in
some hotels of Funchal but does not exist in the hinterland,
touring facilities are non-existent, sports are limited to practically
nothing, daily telegraphic news from abroad is relatively scarce,
transport is very awkward and most expensive. There are about
100 kilmetres of motor roads which have not yet been properly
metalled. Electric tramways in the main roads, linking the
magnificent landscapes of the North orn coast of the Island with
Funchal would undoubtedly attract a good many visitors, who,
during the short stay of the steamers in the harbour, are confined
a,t present to a very small area.

The interior of the island, which would be easily reached
in a very short time, is one of the most beautiful sights in the
world.

24

Madeira produces wine (some 5,000 pipes of 420 litres) of
different varieties. The old brands are disappearing. They were
introduced by the first Portuguese explorers, who brought them
from the Greek Archipelago and the Mediterranean Islands.
What Madeira might yield in grapes and raisins for the London
market has not yet been realised by the agriculturists.

Sugar cane is being grown in a very small area (2,000
hectares), comprising the best soil on the sea side. The sugar
percentage is very high and some 5,000 tons of sugar are produced
annually by a big English factory. As a branch of agriculture
it seems artificially maintained by a series of protectionist
measures. Sugar growing in Madeira is very expensive, compared
with Africa for instance. White labour is dearer than coloured,
and in Madeira agricultural machinery has not yet been
introduced. Whether it is economic or suitable is a matter for
scientific investigation and this has not yet been earned out.

Banana growing is very remunerative', but the banana is not
being thoroughly exploited.

Fruit growing is neglected. Strawberries, for instance, ought
to be exported all the year round.

Tomatoes have found a very good market in England but their
production is still comparatively small. Early vegetables and
beans are cultivated on a small scale,

Agriculture has been confined to the vineyards and to sugar-
cane and has neglected the very interesting field that might be
exploited in the way of early fruit and vegetable exports for the
European markets, where flowers would probably fetch remunera-
tive prices.

There are more than one thousand varieties of plants in the
Island. Some of the native woods are valuable.

The harnessing of waterfalls might change the face of the
Islands in a short period.

At present, owing to lack of transport, life is absurdly
expensive, and communications practically restricted to> alpinists.

Stock breeding is conducted on a very small scale and nothing
has beten done to improve the grazing lands.

The production of milk is small (6-12 litres per day each
cow) ; the amount of butter is estimated at 500 tons per annum.

The embroidery industry is foremost in Madeira. It occupies
50,000 women out of a total population of 200,000.

The exports to the United States were valued at $2,500,000
U.S. in 1920.

The wicker basket industry is valued at 7,800,000 escudos
per annum.

The Madeira people emigrate to the United States, to thp
Sandwich Islands, and to South Africa. The average rate of

25

emigration before the war was 3,400 per annum. The remittances
from the emigrants are considerable and money is invested in
landed property.

Madeira has to import wheat, maize, and other foodstuffs.
Property is changing hands. New methods have to be introduced
in order to meet new social conditions.

Azores Islands

are quite different from Madeira. Agriculture has been much
more developed there. Sugar beet is grown at S. Miguel, where
4,000 tons of sugar are manufactured each year.

Cattle fattening has been encouraged by the beetroot residues,
and 3,000 head of cattle are being exported to Lisbon per annum.
The production of butter amounts to 500 tons.

Pineapples are being exported at an average of one million
per annum, and millions of oranges constitute one of the main
exports. But the orange groves were destroyed by different insects
and great trouble has been caused in that branch of agriculture.

Imports of beans from Italy into Portugal, amounting to
£200,000 per annum before the war, are now being supplied by
the Acores Islands.

Tea was introduced in the middle of the 19th century and
has proved a success. The Lisbon and Porto markets consume
220 tons of tea, of which 90 tons are from the Azores.

Tobacco growing is very popular in some lands and the annual
yield is/ 300 tons.

Paper pulp and fibres are being produced in small quantities.
The Phormium tenax, introduced from New Zealand, has proved
well at St. Miguel and 300 tons of fibres have been exported to
the United States.

Two thousand tons of chalk are exported per annum, and
700 h.p. generated by a waterfall is supplied to the industries
every year. An electric tramway line is being contemplated.
The number of emigrants to America averaged 5,000 per annum
in the pre-war years. Recently it has been compensated by an
immigration of approximately 8,000 per annum, showing the
prosperity of the people. The remittances from the emigrants
play a considerable part in the development of these Islands.

There is a good artificial harbour at Ponta Delgada, where
more than 1,000 steamers call every year, carrying 70,000
passengers.

Communications with the United States have directed trade
to America.

Table waters, sulphur, fisheries might still expand with great
advantage for the economy of the Islands.

26

The Cape Yerde Archipelago

has a foremost strategical importance.

Their production is negligible. The population is periodically
starved by terrible famines. The possibilities, notwithstanding,
are very numerous. All tropical and European fruits and
vegetables grow there. But capital and technical management
have not been available, Coffee is excellent, sugar cane is
abundant, certain varieties of tobacco do well, the fatropha curcas
grows wild. Orange trees grow beautifully, but hitherto no
attention has been paid to agriculture in these Islands.

Salt and fisheries might well prove remunerative for any
capital that should be invested.

The Cape Verde Islands are living on the bunker coal supplies
amounting to 250,000 tons per annum. The number of steamers
caUing at St. Vincent in 1913 was 3,822 of 5,747,336 tons
displacement.

Portuguese Guinea

is one of the richest tracts of land in West Africa, Very little
capital has been invested there. Exports are growing. The main
branch of trade consists in oil seeds. Direct trade with the
United States is progressing. There is no differential tariff. Eice
has been cultivated, and not only does the' home production
meet the market requirements, but a few hundred tons have
already been exported. Skins are offered in substantial quantities.
Cotton-growing, sugar, palm and seed oils, fruits, maize, potatoes
might be developed there with great advantage, as the colony
is only five days distant from Lisbon.

The Islands of San Thom6 and Principe

are the most productive of the Portuguese colonies. The
annual output of cocoa averages 35,000 tons. The coffee and
palm oil exported defray the costs of cocoa production. Great
benefits would be derived from the establishment of a free harbour
in the Gulf of Guinea, where certain colonial products would be
concentrated and distributed to the numerous markets of the
West Coast of Africa.

Some of the estates are models of administration and of
cultivation, such as the Companhia Agricola do Principe, with its
model plantation of Agua Ize at S. Thome. If a native population
could be settled in these islands and water power could be utilised
in the agriculture, the future of these islands would be prosperous.

In addition to cocoa and coffee, some estates export some
200 tons of cinchona bark (quinine) per annum. There are

27

valuable building woods in the mountains, but transport is
prohibitive. There is only a light railway under State management,
measuring 14 kilometres long, and the roads are inadequate for
motor- transport.

These islands were developed exclusively with Portuguese
capital, estimated at 20,000 contos, or £4,000,000 at the par rate
of exchange. The high prices of cocoa and coffee, as well as the
depreciation of the Portuguese currency, have given a strong
impetus to the prosperity of San Thome and Principe, where
capital has found a highly remunerative investment.

Angola

covers an area of 1,250,000 square kilometres in the West African
coast. It is a country of vast possibilities and of enormous riches
— diamonds, oil wells, wolfram and tin, copper and iron, have been
prospected, and some of the deposits are being exploited by
foreign and Portuguese capital. The agricultural possibilities are
unlimited, as almost all climates are found. Building and 'joinery
woods, dye-woods, gums, resins, palm-oil are abundant in some
places. The coast belt is sterile, except near the rivers or where
there is a subterranean water-course.

Capital is required for big undertakings, such as the exploita-
tion of oil-palm forests, the building of hotels on the sea coasts,
and many other undertakings. But a modest capital would find
a good remuneration in stock-breeding provided the right area is
selected for the purpose. Sugar, maize, beans, oil seeds, and
diamonds are being exported.

According to the official statistics the total imports and
exports in 1921 were 63,592,000 escudos, of which 39,995,000
escudos represent imports, and 23,597,000 escudos represent
exports.

The volume of trade was 52,967 tons, the imports amounting
to 9,425 tons and the exports to 43,542 tons.

There are only 1,220 kilometres of railways, namely, the
Loanda Malange line measuring 500 kilometres, the Lobito
Chinguar line with 520 kilometres and the Mossamedes railway
with 185 Kilometres.

The hauling capacity of these railways would be quite unable
to meet the requirements of the land, were it properly developed.

The Angola minerals were prospected first by the Benguella
Railway Company within a tract of land 10 kilometres wide on
each side of the line. Since 1912 the Companhia de Pesquizas
Mineiras de Angola was organized by several Portuguese and
Belgian financiers and the whole land was prospected from North
to South

28

As an affiliated company, the Companhia de Diamantes de
Angola was floated in 1918 by Portuguese, Belgian and .American
capitalists, the object being the exploitation of the rich diamond
fields of the Lunda district and others. Over three hundred
thousand carats have been already recorded, and great hopes are
entertained as to the possibilities of this company. It is one of the
striking instances of what can be done with a depreciated currency,
improperly applied. This company -was organized with less than
one million escudos and, within a few years, its capital has been
increased to two million pounds sterling, the sharers being quoted
above par.

Another affiliated company is the Companhia de Petroleo de
Angola, which was organized with the object of exploiting oil in
Angola, It is reported that important wells have been struck in
several places. As a matter of fact 18 wells have been sounded and,
in the Bengo banks, important wrorks are being carried on by
the Sinclair Oil Syndicate, of New York, with the assistance of
Belgian and Portuguese capital. A minimum of 50,000 tons of
-oil is expected to be produced each year.

North of the Benguella railway mineral prospecting has been
reserved for these companies, but to the South there have been
several .expeditions, the results of which are not yet known.

Angola is rich in iron, hydrocarbons, manganese ores, copper,
salt rocks, &c., but, up to the present, only the diamond and
oil fields have been developed.

A very interesting organisation has been created by the
Banco Nacional Ultramarino and Messrs. Burnay & Co., in order
to study the agricultural and economic possibilities of Angola.
As there are no official investigations and consequently no scientific
data for a modern company,. the Fomento Geral de Angola (such
is the name of the company) has contracted for experts on different
branches of tropical agriculture to investigate the possibilities.

, TOBACCO GROWING has been started in tracts of land by the
Fomento Geral de Angola, under the supervision of a well-known
expert on the matter. Two suitable! districts have been carefully
selected and the prospects are brilliant. A big Portuguese com-
pany will be floated in order to exploit tobacco in Angola.

PALM TREES have not been scientifically exploited in Angola.
According to the studies of the Fomento Geral de Angola, there are
very encouraging prospects in this branch. Concessions have been
granted to the Fomento Geral de Angola covering dense palm-
tree forests. The most common palm tree is the demdem or
Elaesis Guineesis. Transport is one of the most vital problems
to be considered in the case of a new undertaking. The water

29

courses have to be utilised. There are dense forests at long
distances from the coast on the borders of some rivers. Production
according to the Fomento Geral de Angola,1 averages 25 kilos
of fruit per annum yielding 15 bunches per tree, or 8 kg. of oil
and 8 iig. of palm kernels per tree growing wild. Experiments are
being made: with another kind of palm tree discovered by the
Fomento Geral.de Angola in the Congo district.

Palm oil mills will have to be erected in Angola, and the
exports will have to be organized scientifically.

COFFEE is very abundant all along the Loanda Melange rail-
way. Both sides of the line, there are thick forests of coffee
trees, growing perfectly wild. Golungo Alto, 14 kilometres north
of Canhoca, is one of the important markets of wild coffee. The
selection of coffee is not properly carried out and great
opportunities are still awaiting initiative .

. At present the exports of coffee amount to 5,000 tons.
Coffee is also grown in the Amboim district and exported through
Novo Redondo, and further south through Benguella and Lobito.
The best Angola coffee is grown in the Chella Mountains, 100
kilometres from Mossamedes, but this variety is not offered in
the market.

COTTON is being cultivated in some districts of Angola.
Production is small. Only irrigated lands yield sufficient fibre.
The Fomento Geral de Angola has caused this branch of
agriculture to be thoroughly investigated. Native cotton is
attacked by pests of every description and the lint is small and
too thin. New plantations are being started on the banks of the
Quanza river and in several other places under technical advice.
2,000 tons of cotton is the maximum export under this heading,
but Portugal consumes about 20,000 tons, most of which is
imported from the United States and Brazil.

; OTHER FIBRES are reported by the Fomento Geral de Angola
to afford great opportunities. In one special case, with a small
capital of 300,000 escudos, the rights to a concession of 55,000
hectares might be purchased. This land has over one million
sizal plants in full growth, yielding 3 per cent, of fibre per kilo.-
Each plant bears 15 new leaves per annum with an average
weight of 3 kilos per leaf. The duration of each plant is 15-20
years. It is reported that 500 tons of fibre mi^ht be exported
per" "annum out of this tract of land, representing a value of
£40,000. The capital required fo-r the installation of light railways
and other plant is pstimat^d at £20.000

30

SUGAR CANE has been cultivated with success, in many parts
of Angola, and there are several modern sugar mills. The exports
of sugar to Portugal average 10,000 tons per annum. The yield
per hectare, is, in some places, abnormally high. Power alcohol
is being manufactured in two factories already.

RUBBER has declined so much that it plays no important part
in the trade of this country. There are no European rubber
plantations.

OIL SEEDS are very abundant, but the exports are dependent
on the cost of transport.

STOCK BREEDING has been thoroughly investigated by the-
Fomento Greral de Angola. Not all apparently favourable tracts,
of land are suitable for this purpose.

Pigs do very well and weigh 1-200 kilos in 11 months.

The Angola Estates, in which the Bovril Company is.
interested, are carrying on a big stock-breeding undertaking north
of the Benguella railway, some 350 kilometres off the coast,
1,500 metres above the sea level. There are 600 head of cattle.

Sheep, mohair goats, and horses have not been tried.

The tse t&e fly is a great nuisance, as it affects cattle exactly
where the grazing conditions would be more favourable. And
not all herbages are good. Many are poisonous.

Stock breeding is a modern industry and, as such, requires
the most suitable cross-breds and appropriate conditions. Experi-
ments have been carried out in several places simultaneously and
a scientific analysis of the results has to be made prior to any-
conclusion being arrived at.

It seems, however, that the Malange and Amboim districts
may prove to be successful.

RICE yields as much as 3 tons per hectare in some places.

As labour is becoming dear and difficult to obtain, there are
no prospects of expanding any branch of agriculture where
mechanical cultivation is made impossible and where 'transport
facilities are not available. The High Commissioner has caused
20,000 kilometres of excellent motor roads to be cut through
the lands which are considered suitable for white colonisation,
and it is thus possible to travel through Angola in light motor- cars
at high speed.

FISHERIES are exploited in the southern coast, in the district
of Mossamedes. Some 8,000 tons of dried fish is exported every
year from this area. Oil, guano, hides, and other sub-products
of the industry have not been utilised.

31

A thorough investigation of the fisheries and their possibilities
has been caused to be made by the Fomento Geral de Angola
through its affiliated Company, the Cia de Pescarias de Angola.

There are very few white colonists in Angola. The native
population numbers 5,000,000 and the number of whites does
not reach 25,000. Capital has not been attracted to Angola, but
now that diamonds and oil have been found and are being
exploited by powerful capitalists, an impetus in this direction
may be given shortly.

Communications with Europe are facilitated by wireless posts
in the chief towns of the coast and in the hinterland. A regular
shipping service is carried on by Portuguese and German steamers.
The trip from Lisbon to Loanda lasts a fortnight.

Hunting and shooting afford very good opportunities, but
there is no hotel accommodation, even in the sea-ports, notwith-
standing the attractive facilities granted to capital invested in
hotel building and exploiting.

Mozambique

in East Africa, is being exploited by powerful companies. It is
a land of great resources. Its contact with South Africa and
with British Central Africa has contributed to its development.
The country has been opened up to a certain extent. Sugar
production attains already a figure of 50,000 tons, which is
nve times as big as. Angola's maximum. The valley of the
Zambesi is a land of promise where millions of cocopalm-trees are
bearing fruit. The area under the chartered Mozambique Com-
pany contains riches which are not yet known. Oil wells and
palm trees are reported in the Nyassa districts. Precious woods
and coffee trees are abundant in the district of Mozambique.
The Inhambane district is well known for its fruits and oil bearing
-seeds and plants.

Communications have improved in the last few years. Rail-
ways have been built and are being built in order to transport
the products of some rich districts.

More attention has been paid to the transport of goods from
the neighbouring colonies than to the development and colonisa-
tion of some districts of Mozambique. There are only two
•efficient lines connecting the sea with the frontier : —

1. The LourenQo-Marques Ressano Garcia railway under

the State Administration, measuring 88 kilometres,
connecting Lourenco-Marques with Transvaal.

2. The Beira railway connecting Rhodesia with the sea.

This line is under the management of the Mozambique
Company.

32

There are no other lines linking the Portuguese Coast with
the bordering States. It is self-evident that the Quelimane rail-
way ought to be divided into two branches, one serving Lake
Shire, and the other penetrating through Tete in the direction of
Elisabethville. A railway ought to penetrate- the district of
Mozambique to Lake Nyassa, and another line ought to be con-
structed between Lake Nyassa and Porto Amelia, serving the
large tracts of lands managed by the Nyassa Company.

All these railways would be of international importance as they
would serve the neighbouring States. The Portuguese Govern-
ment has completed the line from Lourenco-Marques to Swazi-
land (69 kilometres) on the understanding that the line would
be continued by the South African Railway Adminstration to
Breyton or Pietrett, but hitherto no steps have been taken in
fulfilment of the promise.

There are short lines between Lourenco-Marques and
Xinavane on the river Incomati (142 kilometres), Lourenco-
Marques and Polana line (3 kilometres), LourenQo-Marques and
Marracuene line. This side line is 32 kilometres long and of
narrow gauge.

The Inhambane Inharrime railway measures 90 kilometres;
the Quelimane-Nha.macurra-Mocuba railway measures 150 kilo-
metres; the Lumbo (Bay of Mossuril) Mconta railway, on the
direction of the Nyassaland, measures 66 kilometres.

The total length of railway lines under State management
is 550 kilometres.

The Beira Mashonaland railway covers 339 kilometres in
Portuguese territory.

The Trans-Zanibezia railway line initiated its works in 1920,
and has already covered 159 miles from Beira. The bridge on the
Zambesi and some 20 miles of rails are still to be built. It is
undoubtedly the most important achievement in East Africa since
the war. The total length of line in Portuguese territory will
measure 300 kilometres.

The line starts 30 kilometres from Beira in the Dondo
junction, thence up to the Zambezi, opposite Chindio, at Vila
Fontes, following then the course of the river up to Mutarara
(60 kilometres) turning northwards to Port Herald. This under-
taking is seconded by the British Government and has very
interesting financial connections.

The position as regards railways in Mozambique is that the
main lines are fed by the foreign territories.

The Lourenpo-Marques railway shows a traffic of 200,000
passengers and 900.000 tons of goods per annum. The total

33

• passenger traffic on "the State lines averages 330,000, and the

• volume of goods transported on the State lines is 1,000,000 tons.

This position is not quite satisfactory. The country produces

; too little, notwithstanding its immense resources. Cotton,

tobacco and oil seeds represent a negligible amount of the exports.

Tobacco is grown in circumscribed areas and very little capital

has been invested in its development.

North of the River Save, the colony has attracted more
capital in agriculture, There are plantations of coco-palm trees
in the territories of the Companhia do Boror numbering one million
trees. Copra and fibres are being regularly exported abroad from
these rich tracts of land.

The famous Sena Sugar Estates lie on the Zambezi with
their sugar factories and their model European installations.

The Chartered Company of Mozambique has encouraged and
seconded all initiatives, protecting and advising European settlers,
promoting sugar plantations, tannin bark exploitations, maize,
beans and other branches of agriculture. Stock breeding JE
becoming an important asset in those lands.

Tete is being prospected, and great hopes are entertained
concerning coal and other minerals.

The Mozambique district affords good farming opportunities.
The woodlands are reported to be extremely rich. The Nyassa
Company's concession is still awaiting a good opportunity. South
of the Save the Inharnbane district is practically undeveloped.
The Limpopo Valley in the Lourenco-Marques district is one of
the richest tracts of land. It would be suitable for all tropical
plantations provided the required irrigation works were carried out.

There are suitable climates for European settlers in this
colony, but railways will have to be completed prior to any serious
movement being undertaken in that direction.

There are approximately 200,000 native labourers in the
fields, and the number of native indentured labourers on the
Band averages 50,000 per annum.

The emigration to the Rand has been financially advan-
tageous for the colony, but from economic and political stand-
points it presents several drawbacks.

The number of Europeans in Mozambique is reported at
15,000, comparing with four million natives.

The industries of the colony are, with few exceptions, centred
in Lourenco-Marques, such as the tobacco factories, match
factories, soap and vegetable oil factories, paper pulp, cement,
cordage and rope industries, etc. There are about ten industries
enjoying monopolies. The sugar and tannin factories are the most
important in the colony.

34

The main exports consist of 50,000 tons of sugar, part of
which has to be forwarded to Portugal; of 500,000 bags of
maize; of coconuts, oilseeds, jute, and timber, but the commercial
intercourse between Portugal and Mozambique is smaller than
with West Africa.

Very interesting problems of a political and economic nature
are being debated respecting the relations with the neighbouring
States, the better employment of native labour, the building of
railways and harbours, the exploitation of the agricultural and
mineral riches of this colony, the settlement of Portuguese
colonists, the most adequate customs tariffs, the opening of new
markets, the encouragement of foreign capital and industry.

The possibilities of this country are numerous, the most
striking being the cultivation of cotton, jute, fibres, sugar, oil
seeds, the exploitation of fruit, vegetables, and other foodstuffs,
stock breeding, the exploitation of coal, copper, tin, gold and
other minerals, the exploitation of fisheries and salt, etc.

Portuguese India

is a relic of the big Empire of the 16th century. The land 13
undeveloped. The chief exports consist of coconuts. Rice, cotton,
rope-making, fisheries, salt, might be the object of commercial
undertakings. Mormugao is the best natural harbour of the
western coast of India and is being exploited by a British
company.

Macao

is the Portuguese entrepot of the East, established in the sixteenth
century. As a trade centre it might be most valuable.

Timor

is the Portuguese possession of the Pacific. Half of the island
belongs to Holland. The soil is fertile and it is reported that oil
wells exist there. Sandal wood and coffee are the most valuable
articles of export.

British Capital Invested in the Colonies.

The amount of British capital invested in the Portuguese
colonies is estimated at £20,000,000. The Lobito railway is the
most important British undertaking in Angola. At Mozambique
numerous companies were floated with the strong assistance of
British capital, such as the Mozambique Company, the Nyassa

So

Company, and many others. The Mormugao harbour and rail-
way are being exploited by a British company, as already stated.

Conclusion.

Such a variety of economic resources and such a potentiality
of wealth offer to capital the best guarantee that could be required
"to develop the riches of Portugal and her colonies.

What the Banco Nacional Ultramarine has done for the
Development of the Portuguese Colonies.

The trade between Portugal and the African colonies, in the
•early centuries, and up to the 19th century, was limited to ivory
-and slaves. Brazil was the colony par excellence when India wa&
lost to the Portuguese (17th century). All capital and attention
were drawn to Brazil, whose riches remunerated all the efforts of
the Portuguese.

The abolition of slavery, the independence of Brazil, and
the weakness of the position in India influenced Portugal, in the
19th century, to pay some attention to her African colonies. The
•experience of some Brazilian farmers, as well as the; growth of the
tropical plants that had been introduced into Africa, either from
Brazil or from the East, attracted a few colonists to San Thome,
to the Coast of Angola, and to the Zambesi banks, where farms
were established and tropical agriculture and trade with the
natives were exploited. It is a feature of agriculture in Portuguese
.Africa that trade with the natives must accompany all under-
takings. The natives like to have a shop at the place where they
are working. In Mozambique the trade with the natives is
-carried on by Asiatics.

It is noteworthy that all along the old slave routes of Angola
there are beautiful palm trees and other plants such as cotton,
•cinnamon, chinchona (quinine), fruit trees. It is self-evident that
these plants were introduced by the slave traders, who came from

36

Brazil in order to fetch labour for their plantations. The old
slave routes are still discernible in that there is a kind of village
or oasis at distances of 20 kilometres, and there very often one
sees plants and herbs that were evidently brought from abroad.
The river courses were the usual route followed by the slave traders
to the interior.

In the hinterland of Angola, some 300 kilometres from
Loanda, in the zone of the Malange railway, on the banks of the
numerous rivers traversing the country (Quanza, Bengo, Lucalla,
&c.) one sees still, very distinctly the stone buildings (some of
them magnificent) of the early colonists, who first settled in those
lonely districts.

in the middle of the 19th century the merchants of Loanda
suggested the necessity of a bank, in order to facilitate their
transactions.

In 1867 the exports of Angola amounted to 274 tons of cotton,
716 tons of beeswax, 179 tons of indigo, 912 tons of coffee, 276 tons
of palm-nuts, the value of which totalled 1,247 contos.

The Banco Nacional Ultramarino was founded in 1864, and
in 1865 the head office at Lisbon and the offices in the colonies
had discounted 3,684 drafts, amounting to 5,717 contos, 434 contos
had been advanced on securities, and 2,789 contos had been trans-
ferred to and from the colonies. The deposits at sight showed a
balance of 300 contos and the other deposits 159 contos, the
movement of the deposits aggregating 6,783 contos.

The office of the Bank at Loanda was opened in 1868, and
the trade of the colony was so small that only 126 drafts were
discounted, their amount being 121 contos; the number of
advances on securities was 124, totalling 56 contos; the amount
of transfers was 153 contos; the cash returns amounted to 490
contos. The notes in circulation in Angola amounted to 41
contos.

In 1867 the Bank established an office at S. Thome and have
supported, since that date, all the agricultural undertakings of
the richest colony of Portuguese West Africa.

In the same year a loan was made to the Governor of the
district of Mossamedes (South Angola) with the object of opening
the roads of Capangombe, Huila and Bibala, the most suitable
districts for white settlement in that zone.

The vicissitudes of the incipient tropical plantations reflected
themselves on the Bank, and the first years of experience were
far from successful.

In 1871 the agricultural loans in S. Thome, Loanda, and
Cape Verde were already 5,600 contos.

37

The agricultural production of. the Cazengo and Golungo
districts was estimated at 1,000 cantos per annum. The transport
problems were already calling for the attention of the Bank, as
the volume of trade hi creased.

In 1872 S. Thome exported 1,099 tons of coffee and 78 tons
of cocoa; but the labour question was a drawback. The island
had not enough native population for the supply of the
agriculture.

In 1872 there were 375 contos of notes in circulation at
Loanda, 353 contos at S. Thome, and 26 contos at Cape Verde.

In 1873, the freedom granted to criminals who were deported
to Angola, caused the Bank to make strong representations to
the Government, showing how inconvenient and dangerous it
was and how it affected the free colonisation of Angola by a better
class of settlers. The current of emigration was thus encouraged
to Brazil to the detriment of Angola, where the mortality of the
Europeans was lower. The Bank, that year, caused samples
of products from S. Thome and Angola to be exhibited at
Vienna.

The abolition of slavery caused a slow readjustment of
the economic conditions of the colonies, and credits had to be
restricted accordingly.

Plagues, revolts, epidemics, and other events troubled the
normal development of West Africa. The Bank, however,
advanced money for the completion of the most urgent works,
such as harbours, jetties, &c., and forwarded plants from one
colony to the other.

In 1876, the offices of the Bank were opened at Lourenco-
Marques. But trade with East Africa was in a critical position.
Ivory was becoming very scarce. The riches of Mozambique were
lying idle, as there were no white settlers to promote them.

In 1879, Angola showed very good prospects and a regular
shipping line was established, giving a strong impetus to the
trade. Cocoa, coffee, cinnamon, chinchona, vanilla were
cultivated hi the northern districts of Angola and in some estates-
of S. Thome. In 1881 the Bank was supporting the sugar planta-
tions in Angola and suggesting tobacco plantations in that colony.
The coffee cultivation, to which most of the agriculturists devoted
their activity, was exposed to a strong competition from Brazil,
and consequently, the Bank in 1882 tried to show to its clients
the advantages of other tropical plantations. The 100 chinchona
trees (quinine) introduced in 1869 in S. Thome* had been the
object of the special attention of agriculturists, and 32,800 trees
were recorded in 1884.

The quality of the quinine is of the best, and numerous
informations were given by the bank to the agriculturists relative
to this branch of agriculture. In 1886 there were 600,000
chinchona trees a.t S. Thome.

Vanilla was introduced there in 1879 and cocoa approximately
at the same time.

In 1888 the Report of the Bank deals with the problems of
India, with the railway, the salt industry, the races, the religions
and the money in circulation.

In 1898, a strong impetus given to the trade of Angola,
railways and river transports and production, intensified the trade
of Loanda. The colony had 500 contos in circulation. The Bank
insisted on the necessity of encouraging white settlers to
immigrate to Angola and devote themselves to tropical agriculture,
facilitating the required credits.

In 1894, the Companhia da Una do Principe was organised
Tvith a capital of 500 contos and created at S. Thome the model
farms it holds there with the support of the Bank.

The Report of the Bank for that year recommends the associa-
tion of capital for the development of the colonies and shows the
-advantages of co-operation. Thanks to the initiative of the
founders of the Banco Nacional Ultramarine the Portuguese
•colonies were opened up and sources of revenue were created in
West Africa to the advantage of the Metropolis.

The capital of the Bank was in

1865 936 contos.

1901 5,400 ,,

1919 24,000

The reserves were :

1865 ... ... 5 contos.

1901 260 „

1919 24,000 ,,

1922 30,200

The note circulation in the colonies was in

1866 41 contos.

1902 2,693

1919 19,590 ,,

1922 54,077 ,,

The number of offices iri the Portuguese colonies was in

1864 1 (at Loanda)

1901 8

1919 24

1922 28

One-fourth of the total imports of the country is carried on
through the Bank, and three-fourths of the exports are negotiated
through its intermediary. Consequently, offices had to be opened
abroad, in all centres of Portuguese trade, and at home in the
chief markets.

In the last few years the Bank has seconded the formation of
new companies with the object of developing the riches of the
colonies.

The Companhia de Pesquizas Mineiras de Angola, with the
object of prospecting north of the Lobito railway, has made the
most interesting investigations as regards the mineralogical
prospects of the country.

The Companhia de Diamantes de Angola is an affiliated
company organised with the object of exploiting the rich diamond
fields of the Lunda district, yielding thousands of carats of
diamonds per annum.

The Companhia df> Petroleo de Angola is another affiliated
company studying the oil fields of Angola, the exploitation of
which will take place soon.

The agricultural possibilities of Angola have been investi-
gated by the Fomento Geral de Angola, in which the Bank is
interested. The studies have encouraged numerous capitalists
to invest in the fisheries of the southern coast of West Africa, in
the tobacco plantations of some districts of Angola, in the trade
and cultivation of cereals, in the fibre and cotton cultivation, and
in the palm oil exploitation. For the first time in the history of
Angola there is a scientific basis for the undertakings which are,
under the auspices of powerful Portuguese institutions, in
co-operation with foreign capitalists

686746

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