Secretaries.-E. H. J. Leslie, C.M.G., M.V.O., A. Holman, M.C., and O. C. Harvey. Commercial Secretaries.-J. H. Henderson, O.B.E., and H. C. A. Carpenter. Naval Attaché.-Commander R. T. Down, C.V.O., D.S.O., R.N. Air Attaché.-Wing Commander J. N. Fletcher. Churchill (at Genoa), and G. B. Michell (at Milan). (at Naples), H. L. There are also Consular representatives at Brindisi, Cagliari, Florence, Venice, Bologna, Leghorn, Messina, Palermo, Spezia, Turin, and other towns. FOREIGN DEPENDENCIES. Colony of Eritrea. The dominion of Italy on the coast of the Red Sea extends from Cape Kasar (18° 2' N.) to Cape Dumeirah on the Strait of Bab-el-Mandeb (12° 30′ N.). The length of coast is about 670 miles. The total area is 45,754 square miles, and the whole population is estimated at 402,793, exclusive of 4,251 Europeans, of whom 3,901 are Italian (exclusive of the military forces) and 350 of other nationalities. Massawah has (1923) 2,275 inhabitants, of whom 137 are European, mainly Italian. The seat of the Government is Asmara, a modern town 7,765 feet above the sea-level, with 14,711 inhabitants (2,500 European). The religions of the native population are the Christian (Coptic rite) and the Mohammedan. There are some Roman Catholics and a few Pagans. Tigry and Tigré, two languages originating from the ancient Ghehz, and other languages are spoken in the plateau, and Arabic in the lowlands. The Italian possessions on the Red Sea are constituted as the Colony of Eritrea, with the management of its own finances and an autonomous administration in 8 commissariats, as follows: Military force 134 commissioned and non-commissioned officers and about 5,000 native troops, exclusive of the police force of the colony. In the Italian dependencies the central government is represented by a civil governor, who is nominated by the King and is under the direction of the Minister for the Colonies. Governor.-Dr. Jacopo Gasparini (1923), For the financial year 1924-25 the revenue and expenditure of the Colony of Eritrea are estimated at: Colonial revenue, 36,439,000 lire; expenditure, civil administration, 25,074,000 lire; military, 11,365,000 lire. For climatic and agricultural purposes the country must be divided into two zones, the lowlands along the sea coasts and the plains, where the climate is tropical and the rains fall in winter; and the uplands, where the climate is cool, and sometimes cold, and the rains fall in summer. Both in the lowlands and the uplands the annual rain is sufficient for the successful raising of the crops. Irrigation works are being carried on in the lower zone in order to facilitate intensive production by Italian farmers. Pasture is abundant, but the pastoral population is partly nomadic. In 1922 there were 553,311 cattle, 1,655 horses, 46,923 asses, 9,916 mules, 1,701,496 sheep and goats, 68,445 camels, and 265 pigs. Numerous wild animals are also found. Pearl-fishing is carried on at Massawah and the Dahlak archipelago to the value of 1,106,505 lire for pearls and 2,235,008 for mother-of-pearl (1923). A very promising trade is being carried out in palm nuts. The exportation of these nuts in 1923 was 1,655,095 lire. There are gold nines worked successfully in several localities of Hamasien. Other minerals have recently been found, including petroleum. At Massawah the imports by land and sea, the exports, and the tonnage entered were as follows: Through the land frontier the imports in 1923 amounted to 37,964,305 lire, and the exports to 29,472,192 lire. There are 75 miles of railway from Massawah to Asmara (end of 1912), and 65 miles from Asmara to Cheren (end of 1922); and now the line is being taken by Cheren to Agordat (54 miles). There are monthly sailings between Massawah and Genoa and Massawah and Trieste. There are 10 postoffices. There is a telegraph line of 416 miles in length with 11 public office There are 1,023 miles of telephone lines with 8 public offices. Four wirel telegraph stations have been opened at Massawah, Assab, Mersa Fat (Tiho) and Asmara. They communicate with the radiotelegraphic syst of Italian Somaliland and also with Italy (St. Paolo of Rome). There thus thorough wireless communication between Italy and Italian Somalilan via Massawah. The legal currency consists of Italian coins and Maria Theresa dollars. The Italian mint in 1918 issued a new silver coin, the Tallero d'Italia, the weight of which is 28 0668 grammes. Italian Somaliland. The Colony and Protectorates of Italian Somaliland have an area of about 154,000 sq. miles and a population of about 650,000 (750 Italians). They extend along the east coast of Africa from British Somaliland to Juba. The inland boundaries are determined under the Treaty of May 16, 1908, between Italy and Abyssinia, by a line (only partially demarcated) from the confluence of the Ganale with the Daua, thence to Bender Ziada (45th parallel) on the Gulf of Aden following an irregular line which runs at a mean distance of 170 miles from the coast through Jet, A Gorun, Bur Lelmis, Galati, Bur Durdubo, and Bur Galambaladi to Bender Ziada. As a result of the Treaty of 1915 and the Colonial rearrangements consequent on the war, Britain has granted Italy territories on the right bank of the Juba with the port of Kismayu. This district is called Transjuba, and has an area of 33,000 sq. miles and a population officially estimated at 12,000. [See map in this volume.] Italian Somaliland comprises (I.) The Protectorates, viz. -(1) The Sultanate of the Mijertins (Sultan Osman Mahmud), from Bender Ziade, the most northerly point belonging to Italy on the Gulf of Aden, to Cape Gabbee on the Indian Ocean (8° 13′ N. lat.), with an Italian Commissioner, resident at Alula (the capital of the Sultanate is Bergal); (2) the territory of the Nogal, from Cape Gabbee to Cape Garad (6° 47′ N. lat.), formerly occupied by the Mad Mullah; (3) the Sultanate of Obbia (Sultan Ali Jusuf), from Cape Garad to the northern boundary of the colony of Benadir, determined by a line which ends at the sea near the wells of El Gabobe (about 4° 30′ N. lat. ), with an Italian Commissioner resident at Obbia, capital of the Sultanate. (II.) The Colony formerly called 'Benadir' but now officially known as 'Southern Italian Somaliland,' which extends from 4° 30' N. lat. to the mouth of the Juba, and comprises the following three administrative divisions:(1) the frontier region, with a Commissioner resident at Oddur (2,000 inhabitants), who deals with all questions concerning the frontier, (2) the Juba region, with Brava (8,000) as capital, and (3) Webi Shebeli, with Mahaddei (2,000) as capital. Mogadiscio (population 20,700), capital of the Colony, with its territory, has been placed under the direct dependence of the Governor. : The Colony is administered by a civil governor who resides at Mogadiscio. He is assisted by a Secretary-General for civil and political affairs. The currency is the Italian rupee (silver coins and currency notes issued by the Banca d'Italia) of the value of 15 rupees to the 17. sterling. The principal occupations of the people are cattle-rearing and agriculture. In Southern Somaliland the whole country near the banks of the Webi Shebele is inhabited and cultivated by the natives, particularly in the districts of Gheledi, Mobilen and Bur Acaba. In Northern Somaliland agriculture is almost unknown; the Mijertins rear camels and sheep. Exports (1923) were 2,235,806 lire; imports, 52,957,922 lire. Imports are cottons, sugar, rice, tea, coffee, yarn, timber; exports, dura, sesame, gum, hides, butter, cotton. Length of roads 1,135 miles; steamship service on the Juba River from Kismayu to Bardera. In 1923, 131 steamers and 388 sailing vessels entered and cleared the ports of the colony. Military force, 56 (Italian) officers and 2,500 (coloured) men. A detachment of the Flying Corps has recently been added. Governor.-Cesare de Vecchi (1923). The budget of Italian Somaliland for the year 1924-25 is as follows: Revenue proper of the colony, 2,857,000 lire; State contribution, 8,949,000 lire; extraordinary revenue, 12,500,000 lire; total, 24,306,000 lire. Civil expenditure, 8,010,301 lire; military, 3,395,250 lire; extraordinary expenditure, 12,900,448 lire; total, 24,306,000 lire. Thirteen wireless telegraph stations are working in the Colony connecting the principal coast and inland towns. The wireless station at Mogadiscio communicates with Italy, via Massawah. There are in the Colony 5 principal post offices (Mogadiscio, Merca, Brava, Baidoa, and Mahaddei), and 19 local post offices. A railway runs from Mogadiscio to Afgoi (18 miles). The construction of the railway line from foi to Baidoa has been started. Tripolitania and Cyrenaica. Italian Libia lies along the north coast of Africa between Tunis on the west and Egypt on the east, in longitude from about 9° to 25° east. The extreme northerly point of Libia is at about the parallel of latitude 33° north; the southernmost point is unknown, as the territory runs into the unmapped Sahara indefinitely. According to an arrangement with France (September 12, 1919) as a result of the Treaty of 1915, the western frontier extends in a curve from west of Ghadames to south of Tummo including Ghat. On the Egyptian frontier Italy has obtained Jaraboob from Britain. Tripoli fell under Turkish domination in the sixteenth century, and though, in 1714, the Arab population secured some measure of independence, the country was in 1835 proclaimed a Turkish vilayet. In September, 1911, a quarrel broke out between Turkey and Italy, and the latter invaded Tripoli and established an army there. On November 5, 1911, a decree was issued annexing Tripoli, and on February 23, 1912, the Italian Chamber passed the Bill which ratified the decree of annexation. The war, nevertheless, continued until October 18, 1912, when the Treaty of Ouchy was signed, by which the sovereignty of Italy in Tripoli was established. This has been recognised by the Great Powers. For administrative and military purposes the country is divided (decree of May 17, 1919) into two independent districts, Tripolitania and Cyrenaica, with their respective capitals at Tripoli and Bengazi, both under the jurisdiction of the Italian Minister of Colonies. TRIPOLITANIA. Governor.-Giuseppe Volpi (1921). Area and Population.-The area of the territory is estimated at about 350,000 square miles. According to a census taken on December 1, 1921, there were about 550,000 natives. This census gave the European population of Tripolitania as 20,716 (18,093 Italians). It is estimated that of the total population of Italian Libya, 30 per cent. are Arabs, 40 per cent. Negroes 23 per cent. Jews, and about 7 per cent. Europeans. Arabic is general spoken, and both Italian and Arabic are the official languages. The princi towns of Tripolitania are on the coast: Tripoli with 60,000 inhabita Misurata with 14,000, and Homs with 4,000; inland are the cara halting places, Ghadames, Murzûk, and Ghat. Justice.-In both districts justice, in so far as personal status or famil or succession matters are concerned, is administered by Mahommedan or rabbinic tribunals for native Mahommedans or Jews according to their own religious law, and by regional tribunals according to Italian law in civil and commercial matters, whether the parties concerned be Italians, strangers or natives. Criminal cases are tried by the regional tribunals with the assistance of two assessors, one of whom must be a Mussulman when the accused is a native Mussulman. More serious penal cases are tried by the Court of As-ize, consisting of the President of the Court of Appeal with four assessors, two of whom must be Mahommedans when the accused belong to that religion. Appeals in both the districts, whether in civil or in criminal cases, are heard by the Court of Appeal for Libia, which was instituted in December, 1912, with its seat at Tripoli. There is a final appeal to the Supreme Court of Cassation at Rome. Finance. For the financial year 1924-25 the revenue and expenditure were estimated at Colonial revenue, 146,841,000 lire; civil expenditure, 34,477,500 lire; military expenditure, 112,364,600 lire. Defence. The military force in Tripolitania consists of 498 officers and 16,363 men (12,027 natives and 4,336 Italians). Production and Industry.-Tripolitania has four zones, the first of which, along the sea, is covered with palm, olive, lemon, and fruit trees. The second is formed by the highlands of Gebel and Tarhuna; the former has olive groves and palm and fig trees, while cereals and saffron are also grown. The country, however, is rather barren. The Tarhuna land is rich in esparto grass. The rest of the second zone, which includes the hills of Mesellata and Kussabat, as well as numerous valleys, is most fertile, and olive trees are abundant. The third zone consists chiefly of oases and is rich in palms. The oases (of which Ghadames, Socna, Sebka, and Murzuk are the most important) are some distance apart, and are covered with palms, figs, vines, and almonds. Commerce. There is a considerable caravan trade between Tripoli and Central Sudan when the routes are free from raiders. An important article of trade is ostrich feathers, which are brought overland from Central Africa, and exported to Paris and London from Tripoli to the value of 40,000l. to 50,000l. annually. The trade of Tripolitania was: Imports, 1921, 105,927,979 lire; 1922, 92,608,000 lire; exports, 1921, 17,571,852 lire; 1922, 13,654,417 lire. In 1923 Tripolitania exported 93,4867. to the United Kingdom, and imported 114,8937. Sponge-fishing was started in 1885. In good years the returns from the industry amount to some 2,000,000 lire (80,0007) out of a total of 10,000,000 lire (400,000) for the whole Mediterranean. The two fishing seasons in Libia are from November to February, and from March to October, the latter being the more important. During the summer season, 1922, 5 boats engaged in fishing from Tripolitania; the sponges collected totalled 6,218 kilos; 543,227 kilos of tunny fish were also caught in 1922. Communications.-The principal means of communication inland are the caravans which follow long-frequented routes. Tripoli (town) is connected by telegraph cable with Malta, and by land lines with Bengardane (Tunis). In 1912 an Italian cable was laid between Syracuse and Tripoli. Total length of railways, 140 miles. The principal lines in Tripolitania are a line 75 miles long, along the coast, from Tripoli to Zuara; one 12 miles long, from Tripoli to Tagiura; and one 31 miles long, from Tripoli to Azizia. There are fortnightly steamship sailings from Tripoli to Naples, from Tripoli to Syracuse, and from Tripoli along the coast. In Tripolitania, during the year ending June 30, 1924, 207,122 registered letters were received and 222,829 despatched; 9,612 insured letters received and 9,561 despatched; 41,021 parcels received and 41,367 despatched. Deposits in savings bank, 8,050,437 lire; number of telegrams despatched, 147,998; number received, 131,826. Banking and Currency.-The Banca d'Italia, the Banco di Sicilia, e Banco di Napoli, the Banco di Roma and other banks carry on financial |