‘Those of Gedaref are not so thrifty, and are lazy; they do not cultivate so much or so well, but I hope for improvement.’
Transport and communications are indeed vastly better than they were in Egyptian days. The railway from Halfa to Khartoum makes an all-important difference. It has already given an immense stimulus to the export trade; without it there would have been quite another tale to tell of the last five years. But except in the province of Berber it does not tap any local resources. Great part of it lies in an uninhabited desert. Every train leaving Halfa has to carry with it 1,520 cubic feet of water. And there are 200 miles of river between Halfa and the outer world at Assouan, and then 700 miles more to the sea. Carriage of goods over such a mileage, with its necessary transhipments, is a long and costly business, nearly prohibitive for bulky articles. Coal, for example, is seldom less than £4 a ton at Khartoum, and often nearer £6. No one who had to build a railway in the Soudan for commercial purposes only would think of crossing the desert to Halfa; his first thought would be to connect Khartoum with the sea-board at Suakin.
There is also the railway from Halfa to Kerma, thirty miles from Dongola. But this, too, was laid down in haste for military purposes. It is laid so badly, with such sharp curves and such steep gradients, owing to the nature of the country, that no heavy trains can run on it, and with the present rolling-stock an engine has sometimes to make three or four starts before it can master an ascent. It is worked at a loss of about £20,000 a year, and it has become a serious problem whether the money so spent could not be employed much more advantageously elsewhere, so many are the claims on the Soudan Exchequer. It would be far better to take up the whole line, and relay it from Dongola to connect with the main-line at Abu Hamed. For not only is this a much easier country, but the southern part of the province, which is the richer, and inhabited by a more industrious and hard-working population, would be opened up. But at present no money is forthcoming either for this or for the complete repair of the existing line. So poor Dongola is in the tantalizing position of having a railway, and yet not being able to take full benefit of it. It is actually suffering from a surplus of foodstuffs, and is a year behindhand in its exports.
The province is famous for its dates; not only is it a great exporter of the ordinary fruit, but it also produces a golden date, which is said to be the best in the world, better, even, than the Algerine date, so well known in Europe. It has also abundance of irrigable land as good as Upper Egypt, which it very much resembles in general climatic conditions. As its numerous and interesting antiquities show, it once supported a very large population; but now a great deal of land is lying waste, and the population, though increasing very fast, is still not more than about 100,000. With better communications its prospects are very good. When Egypt becomes overcrowded, as it must in time if the present rate of increase is maintained, Dongola will offer a fair field to Egyptian immigration. The conditions of life are so similar to those in Egypt that it cannot fail to be the most attractive part of the Soudan. Even as things are, owing to the partial advantage afforded by the railway and facilities of transport by boat-carriage on the Nile, the trade of the province is increasing. Cotton goods and luxuries like tea, sugar, coffee, and perfumeries, are the principal imports, and cereals are exported as well as dates. The people are wealthier, and anxious to buy such goods as cutlery, crockery, soap, agricultural implements, and hardware, but well-to-do traders have not as yet exploited the field, as they would do if the railway difficulty were solved.
Once Khartoum is connected with the sea by railway, the principal obstacle in the way of trade will have been removed, and, fortunately, this is no longer a mere vision of hopeful men. Practically the railway has already been begun. It will strike across the desert to the Atbara, crossing the mountains near Sinkat, and then run along it to join the main-line near where it crosses that river. If the railway does not come to Berber itself, Berber will probably travel up the Nile to meet it. Arab towns are not very difficult to shift. The whole route has been carefully surveyed, and a good deal has been spent in improving the port of Suakin. Materials are being rapidly collected. This time careful preparations are being made; there will be none of those kaleidoscopic changes of policy which were so fatal in 1885. It may confidently be expected that in two or three years’ time there will be something to show very much more substantial than a tennis-court at Dover built of much-travelled material, the only result of our former exertions. For the construction of the line the Government will be its own contractor. The Soudan Railway Department has a very capable staff, and they will be able to do the work as efficiently as any outside contractor, and much more cheaply. It is hoped that as far as possible native labour may be made use of. It is a hopeful indication of a change of spirit among the Arabs that the local sheikhs have agreed to bring their tribesmen to work; the experiment is worth trying even if it fails. No such thing has ever happened in the Soudan before.
Meantime Suakin is looking eagerly forward. Its inhabitants have naturally suffered by the complete diversion of trade to the Nile Valley route. Very few of them can even afford to repair their houses, and the town shows signs of decay. Most of the people are unemployed, and labour is very cheap. There was formerly a good deal of trade with India and the Red Sea ports, but most of this has fallen away, and nearly all the Indian merchants who formerly had their headquarters there have left. But now that the desert which shuts off the Soudan from the sea is really to be bridged over, there will be a great change. The one seaport of these immense territories cannot fail to be a busy and prosperous place.
Once the new line is completed, the distance from Khartoum to the sea will be reduced by about two-thirds, to some 450 miles, with a proportionate reduction in expense of carriage, and it will then be possible to think of building other feeder lines in various parts of the Soudan. A branch line to Kassala and on to Gedaref and Gallabat along the Abyssinian frontier will tap a very rich district and open up the Abyssinian trade. Possibly in the distant future such a line may be continued southwards so as to connect with Uganda. In the recent agreement with Abyssinia, powers have been taken to build in Abyssinian territory for this purpose. But this is still a long way outside practical politics. Of far more importance for the immediate development of the country would be a light railway from Omdurman or Duem to El Obeid, or across the rich Ghezireh from Duem to Wad Medani on the Blue Nile, or, again, from near Wad Medani to Gedaref. Easy communication with the sea will render it possible to bring the necessary plant into the country at a reasonable cost, and the experience gained as to material and labour in building the Suakin line will also be invaluable.
Meanwhile the provincial Governors are doing all they can to improve the caravan routes and roads. In great part of the Soudan this is simply a question of increasing the number of wells; metalled roads are scarcely necessary as yet, outside a few towns. Wheel traffic is almost non-existent; the camel and the ass are the great public carriers. It is rather strange that the camel has not been more used for pulling wheel transport than he has. One camel can pull three or four times as much as he can carry. All the heavy machinery of the Nile Valley Gold Mining Company, working in Nubia, has been transported in this way from the river, a distance of sixty miles. Rarely a camel may be seen hauling a plough in Egypt. But there are limits to the use of camels. They cannot breed successfully south of parallel 13°, and in all the country south of this the serut fly makes it almost impossible for either them or horses to live at certain seasons of the year.
Above all, access to the sea will greatly stimulate the use made of water carriage within the country. In the Nile and its tributaries the Soudan possesses a system of natural trade-routes unequalled in Africa for internal commerce. The river traffic, though already growing, is merely in its infancy. The Government has a considerable fleet of steam and sailing vessels between Wadi Halfa and Assouan, and also on the Blue and White Niles. They are also encouraging an English company which has placed some steamers and steam-barges on both rivers. On the Blue Nile there is regular steamer communication with Rosaires, 426 miles from Khartoum, during high Nile, about six months in the year, and even in low Nile most of the river is navigable by native boats. On the White Nile, now that the sudd has been cleared, steamers and native boats can ply the whole year round up to Gondokoro. In time the Sobat may prove a very good route for trade with Abyssinia. And the Bahr el Ghazal, with its network of waters, is in this respect the most fortunate of all the provinces. Many of its waterways are still blocked by sudd, but every year the navigation is improving. A serviceable channel is now available on the Jur River as far as Wau, and large steamers will eventually be able to get up even much further than this. The other rivers will in time be opened up. In a country where at present everything has to be carried on men’s heads, this will be an extraordinary benefit from every point of view, and if the province answers at all to its old reputation as one of the most fertile spots of Africa, it will do very well, in spite of mosquitoes, serut flies, malaria, guinea worm, and all its other plagues.
As for the lack of capital both for private enterprise and public works, that, like the lack of population, can only be cured by time. Overhasty development could only do harm, even if it were possible. As trade improves and agriculture develops, the people will become more wealthy, and the two will react upon each other. That large sums will be invested by private capitalists or firms is not to be expected for years to come. But even now an Englishman is erecting flour-mills at Wad Medani, and if his venture succeeds it may be followed by others. The Government is doing all in its power to encourage agriculture by small loans for the purchase of seeds, water-wheels, and cattle to work them. Perhaps some form of State-supported Agricultural Bank will be established.