After the abolition of the slave-trade in the 19th century palm oil formed the staple article of commerce, and the various streams which drain the Niger coast near the mouth of the great river became known as the "Oil Rivers." The opening up of the interior was in the meantime promoted, chiefly by the efforts of British travellers and merchants. Mungo Park traced the Niger from Segu to Bussa, where he lost his life in 1805. From Bussa to the sea the course of the river was first made known in 1830 by the brothers Richard and John Lander. Major Dixon Denham and Captain Hugh Clapperton entered the country now known as Northern Nigeria from the north in 1823, crossing the desert from Tripoli. Clapperton in 1826-until 1909'that the whole of the frontier between Nigeria and the 1827 made a second journey, approaching the same territory from the Guinea coast. Dr Barth, travelling under the auspices of the British government, entered the country from the north and made the journeys, lasting over two years between 1852 and 1855, of which he has left the record that still remains the principal standard work for the interior Macgregor Laird first organized in 1832 the navigation of the river Niger from its mouth to a point above the Benue confluence During the next twenty-five years expeditions were despatched into the interior, and a British consul was posted at Lokoja. Possession was also taken, in 1861, of Lagos island, with the object of checking the slave trade still being carried on in that region But the deadly climate discouraged the first efforts of the British government, and, after the parliamentary committee of 1865 had recommended a policy which would render possible the ultimate withdrawal of British official influence from the coast, the consulate of Lokoja was abandoned. of the Royal It was re-established a few years later to meet the still steadily growing requirements of British trade upon the river. In 1880 the influence of the international "scramble for Africa" made itself felt by the establishment under the recognized protection of the French government of two French firms which opened upwards of thirty trading stations on the Lower Niger. The establishment of these firms was admittedly a political move which coincided with the extension of French influence from Senegal into the interior. Nearly at the same time a young Englishman, George Goldie Taubman, afterwards better known as Sir George Goldie (q.v.), having some private interests on the Niger, conceived the idea of amalgamating all local British interests and creating a British province on the Niger. To effect this end the United African Company was formed in Formation 1879, and trade was pushed upon the river with an energy which convinced the French firms of the futility of their less united efforts. They yielded Niger the field and allowed themselves to be bought out Company. by the United African Company in 1884. At the Berlin Conference held in 1884-1885 the British representative was able to state that Great Britain alone possessed trading interests on the Lower Niger, and in June 1885 a British protectorate was notified over the coast lands known as the Oil Rivers. Germany had in the meantime established itself in Cameroon, and the new British protectorate extended along the Gulf of Guinea from the British colony of Lagos on the west to the new German colony on the east, where the Rio del Rey marked the frontier. In the following year, 1886, the United African Company received a royal charter under the title of the Royal Niger Company. The territories which were placed by the charter under the control of the company were those immediately bordering the Lower Niger in its course from the confluence at Lokoja to the sea. On the coast they extended from the Forcados to the Nun mouth of the river Beyond the confluence European trade had not at that time penetrated to the interior. The interior was held by powerful Mahommedan rulers who had imposed a military domination upon the indigenous races and were not prepared to open their territories to European intercourse. To secure British political influence, and to preserve a possible field for future development, the Niger Company had negotiated treaties with some of the most important of these rulers, and the nominal extension of the company's territories was carried over the whole sphere of influence thus secured. The movements of Germany from the south-east, and of France from the west and north, were thus held in check, and by securing international agreements the mutual limits of the three European powers concerned were definitely fixed. The principal treaties relating to the German frontiers were negotiated in 1886 and 1893: the Anglo-French treatics were more numerous, those of 1890 and 1898, which laid down the main lines of division between French and British possessions on the northern and western frontiers of Nigeria, having been supplemented by many lesser rectifications of frontier. (See AFRICA, § 5.) It was not French and German possessions had been definitely demarcated Thus, mainly by the action of the Royal Niger Company, a territory of vast extent, into which the chartered company itself was not able to carry either administrative or trading operations, was secured for Great Britain. In 1897, at a time when disputes with France upon the western frontier had reached a very active stage, the company entered upon a campaign against the Mahommedan sovereign of Nupe. This campaign would, no doubt, have led to important results had the company retained its administrative powers. In the expedition a force of 500 Hausa, drilled and trained by the company, and led by thirty white officers-of whom some were lent for the occasion by the War Office-decisively defeated a force of some thousands of native troops, led by the emir of Nupe himself The capital town of Bida was taken and the emir deposed. From Bida the expedition marched to Illorin, where again the whole district submitted to the authority of the company. In Ilorin the campaign had some lasting effect. In Nupe, on the northern side of the river, as the company was unable to occupy the territory conquered, things shortly reverted to their previous condition. When the company's troops were withdrawn the deposed emir returned and reoccupied the throne, leaving the situation to be dealt with after the territories of the company had been transferred to the crown The complications to which the pressure of foreign nations, and especially of France, on the frontiers of the territories gave rise, became at this period so acute that the Transfer of resources of a private company were manifestly authority inadequate to meet the possible necessities of the to the position. Relations with France on the western crown, border became so strained that in 1897 Mr Chamberlain, who was then secretary of state for the colonies, thought it necessary to raise a local force, afterwards known as the West African Frontier Force, for the special defence of the frontiers of the West African dependencies. In these circumstances it was judged advisable to place the territories of the Royal Niger Company, to which the general name of Nigeria had been given, under the direct control of the crown. It was therefore arranged that in consideration of compensation for private rights the company should surrender its charter and transfer all political rights in the territories to the Crown. The transfer took place on the 1st of January 1900, from which date the company, which dropped the name of “ royal," became a purely trading corporation. The southern portion of the territories was amalgamated with the Niger Coast Protectorate, the whole district taking the name of the Protectorate of Southern Nigeria, while the northern portion, extending from a line drawn slightly above 7° N to the frontier of the French possessions on the north and including the confluence of the Niger and the Benue at Lokoja, was proclaimed a protectorate under the name of Northern Nigeria. The company, during its tenure of administrative power under the charter, had organized its territories south of the confluence, into trading districts, over each of which there was placed a European agent. The executive powers in Africa were entrusted to an agent general with three provincial and twelve district superintendents. There was a small judicial staff directed by a chief justice, and there was a native constabulary of about 1000 men, trained and drilled by white officers. The company kept also upon the river a fleet of about thirty steamers. The entire direction of the proceedings of the company was, however, in the hands of the council in London, and the administrative control of the territories was practically from first to last vested in the person of Sir George Goldie. The local work of the representatives of the company was mainly commercial. When, on the surrender of the charter, Sir George Goldie withdrew from the company, the administrative element disappeared. No administrative records were handed over, and very little machinery remained. Two enactments, however, bore testimony to the legislation of the company. One, which by force of circumstances remained inoperative, was the abolition of the legal status of slavery, proclaimed in the year of Queen Victoria's jubilee (1897) The other, more practical, which has remained in operation to the present day, confirmed and enforced by the succeeding administration, was the absolute prohibition of the trade in spirits beyond the parallel of 7° N Southern Nigeria, 18851906. | natives, to find a more suitable site. This was selected on a branch of the Kaduna river in the south-western corner of the province of Zaria, at a place of which the native name of Zungeru was retained. The ruler of Zaria, while professing friendliness, was, however, unable or unwilling to restrain the rulers of Konta gora and Nupe from aggression. These two potentates raided for slaves to the borders of the rivers and openly threatened the British position on the Niger. The Ashanti War of 1900 claimed the despatch of a strong detachment of the West African Frontier Force, and it was not until the return of the troops in February 1901 that Nupe and Kontagora could be effectively dealt with. In that year both provinces were subdued, their emirs deposed, and letters of appointment given to new emirs, who undertook to rule in accordance with the requirements of humanity, to abolish slave-raiding and slave dealing, and to acknowledge the sovereignty of Great Britain. Illorin and Borgu with a portion of Kabba were already under British rule. The rulers of other neighbouring provinces offered their allegiance, and by the end of the year 1901 nine provinces, Illorin, Kabba, Middle Niger, Lower Benue, Upper Benue, Nupe, Kontagora, Borgu and Zaria had accepted the British occupation. These territories, with the exception of Zaria, were all in the more or less immediate neighbourhood of the valleys of the Niger and the Benue, and Zaria bordered upon the Kaduna. For all these territories an initial system of administration was organized, and British residents were appointed to each province. Seventeen legislative proclamations were enacted in the first year dealing with the immediate necessities of the position, and providing for the establishment of a supreme and provincial court of justice, for the legalization of native courts of justice, and dealing with questions of slavery, importation of liquor and firearms, land titles, &c. In the autumn of 1901 the emir of Yola, the extreme eastern corner of the territories bordering upon the Benue, was, in conséquence of the aggressions upon a trading station established by the Niger Company, dealt with in the same manner as the emirs of Nupe and Kontagora, and a new emir was appointed under British rule. In 1902 Bauchi and Bornu were brought under British rule. In Bauchi the emir was deposed and a new emir was appointed. In Bornu the extension of British authority was very willingly accepted as a guarantee against other European encroachments, and the legitimate Shehu was restored to the throne under British protection. Military stations were established in Bornu and in Bauchi, and both While the development of the Royal Niger Company's territories was proceeding in the manner described, the regions under direct British control were also being opened up Progress and law and order introduced. In 1893, when the title in Oil Rivers Protectorate was changed to that of Niger Coast Protectorate, a regular administration was established (subject to the Foreign Office in London) under Sir Claude Macdonald, who was succeeded as commissioner and consul-general in 1896 by Sir Ralph Moor (1860-1909). Under these officials peace was gradually established between various tribes, trade routes opened and progress made in civilization. The work was one of extreme difficulty, largely because there was no central native authority with which to deal Small military expeditions had constantly to be employed to break up slave-raiding gangs or reduce to order tribes which blocked trade routes or made war on other tribes living peaceably under British protection. The most serious military operations were against the Beni, a peaceful mission to the king of Benin having been massacred in the bush in January 1897 The operations were completely successful and the Benin country was added to the protectorate (see BENIN). In 1900, as stated, the southern portion of the Niger Company's territories was added to the protectorate, the change in administration being effected without difficulty of any kind. Sir Ralph Moor continued until 1994 to govern the country under the style of high commissioner. The efforts of the administration to better the condition of the natives without undue interference with customary law met with encouraging results, and the sub-provinces were included in the system of British administration. mission of the Aros to the government in 1902 brought to an end the system of tribal warfare for the purpose of making slaves, while the enforcement of a proclamation of 1901 prohibiting the buying, pawning or selling of slaves had a salutary effect. Trade steadily developed, and owing to the large sums paid as duty on imported spirits, the revenue of the protectorate was sufficient to cover the expenditure. In Northern Nigeria in 1900 the establishment of British authority remained still to be effected. The man selected for the post of first high commissioner was Colonel-afterwards better known as Sir Frederick-Lugard, who had conducted one of the Royal Niger company's most successful expeditions into the western portion of the interior and had already been employed by the British government to raise and organize the West African Frontier Force. Northern Nigeria brought under control. The transference of influence from the company to the government was officially effected on the 1st of January 1900, on which day the Union Jack was hoisted at Lokoja, and the formation of a local administration was entered upon. The number of civilians in the employ of the government was very small, and the administrative machinery had to be evolved under the pressure of a somewhat acute military situation. The headquarters of the West African Frontier Force had been at Jebba, not far from the point at which Mungo Park had lost his life upon the river. Neither Jebba nor Lokoja was considered suitable for the permanent capital of the protectorate, and survey parties were sent out, with strict orders to avoid conflict with the nominally friendly Later in the same year an act of treachery culminating in the murder of a British resident, Captain Moloney, in the province of Nassarawa, led to the military subjugation of that province. The murderer fled northwards through Zaria to Kano, which was still an independent Mahommedan state. The emir of Zaria was found to be in treasonable correspondence with the emir of Kano. It was thought desirable to arrest and dethrone him, and his prime minister was temporarily appointed to administer the province under British protection. To all these provinces British residents were appointed, and British legislative enactments became applicable to them all. By the end of the year 1902 British administration had been extended to the whole of the provinces in the south, east and west of the protectorate. The important Mahommedan states of Sokoto, Gando, Kano and Katsena remained independent. These states were regarded as the stronghold of Fula supremacy. The emir of Sokoto held the position of religious as well as political head of all the lesser states of Northern Nigeria, and in response to friendly overtures on the part of the British administration had declared that between Sokoto and Great Britain there could be nothing but war. Katsena was the centre of local learning, while Kano was at once the commercial and the military centre of power. By the end of 1902 it had become evident that a trial of strength between the Mahommedan powers and the new British administration was inevitable. The Mahommedan rulers were themselves of comparatively recent date. In fighting them there was no question of fighting the whole country. On the contrary it was presumed with justice that their overthrow would be hailed with satisfaction by many of the subject peoples. Every attempt was made to settle the question at issue by conciliatory methods, but these having failed, a campaign against Kano and Sokoto was entered upon in January 1903. It was entirely successful. The capital of Kano, a walled and fortified town of great extent and formidable strength, fell to a British assault in February of 1903. Sokoto submitted after a battle which took place on the 17th of May. The sultan fled, and on the 21st of May a new sultan, chosen by the council of elders, was installed by the British high commissioner, after he had publicly accepted the conditions imposed by the British government. These conditions were that all rights of conquest acquired by the Fulani throughout Northern Nigeria passed to Great Britain, that for the future every sultan and emir and principal officer of state should be appointed by Great Britain, that the emirs and chiefs so appointed should obey the laws of the British government, that they should no longer buy and sell slaves, nor enslave people, that they should import no firearms, except flint-locks, that they should enforce no sentences in their courts of law which were contrary to humanity, and that the British government should in future hold rights in land and taxation. When these conditions were accepted by the Fulani chiefs the supremacy of Great Britain was established over the entire country. Katsena and Gando followed the example set to them by Kano and Sokoto. Throughout Northern Nigeria all chiefs, Mahommedan and Pagan, now hold their appointments under the British crown and take the oath of allegiance to the British sovereign. It remained to organize the territories for British rule, to institute a reformed system of taxation, to establish courts of justice, and to open the country to civilized occupation. The following account of the legislation carried into force up to 1907 shows in effect what was done in that direction. After the conquest of the Hausa States in 1902-1903 the king's writ ran-with the exception of a few districts inhabited by primitive savages-through the whole area known as Northern Nigeria. The temporary enactments of the earlier days were then superseded by laws based upon a more accurate knowledge of local conditions and rendered possible by the effective administration which had been set up throughout the country. Courts of Law and Administration of Justice.-A superior court was set up with jurisdiction over all non-natives and government employés. Its jurisdiction over natives was limited to the two centres of administration named "cantonments," and to such neighbouring territories as might be included by regulation within a feasible distance of those centres. It could, however, try any case in any province by special warrant of the high commissioner. The whole country was divided into seventeen provinces, in each of which there was a provincial court presided over by the resident in charge, whose assistants were commissioners of the court. They submitted their lists of criminal trials to the high commissioner, who, advised by the attorney-general, acted as a court of appeal, and no sentence exceeding six months could take effect without his confirmation. Cases could be referred by him for re-trial in the superior court if he so decided. A criminal code was drawn up, together with a criminal procedure proclamation. Native courts were established by warrant at all the chief native towns with varying powers. They were of two classes, the "Alkalis' Court," presided over by trained Mahommedan jurists, and "Judicial Councils," under the leading chiefs and natives presided over by the emir or other native ruler. In these courts native law and customs (principally the Mahommedan law) were administered with the proviso that no penalty could be enforced which was contrary to the laws of humanity or opposed to any specific proclamation of the protectorate. With the exception of two or three of the most enlightened courts, the criminal powers of these courts were restricted, but in civil actions they had full scope. No native court could carry a sentence of death into execution without the concurrence of the resident. Cantonment courts were also set up in the two chief government centres (Zungeru and Lokoja), chiefly for the purpose of enforcing sanitary and municipal regulations. These were affiliated to the superior courts. Lands and Minerals-These constitute the main asset of the government. In the first instance, as following upon conquest or potential conquest, the Fulani emirs who were appointed by government to each of the great native states were installed under a fetter of appointment in which (in addition to rights of legislation, taxation and other powers inherent in suzerainty) the ultimate title to all land was transferred from the Fulani dynasty and vested in the British. Private ownership was not interfered with, but all waste lands became the property of the crown, and no non-native could acquire title except as from the government. Similarly the sole title to minerals (subject to the share of profits assigned to the Niger Company by the deed of transfer) was vested in the govern ment, and the terms upon which licences to prospect or mine could be acquired, together with full regulations regarding mining, were enacted by law. The right of natives to smelt iron and the question of compensation for any other existing mining industry or for surface disturbance was left to the discretion of government. Slavery.-Practical effect was given to the abolition of the legal status of slavery, in so far as all British courts were concerned. This decree had been promulgated before the transfer of the adthereby assert his freedom if he desired to do so, but it was not made ministration, but had existed merely on paper. Every slave could illegal for a native to own a slave, and no penalty attached to mere possession in such a case. Slave-dealing and transactions of every kind in slaves were now made illegal. Civil questions arising from the institution of domestic slavery remained justiciable by the native courts; which in this matter were very carefully supervised by the British administration. Taxation. In the earlier years of the administration the tolls upon trade in transit, which had existed from time immemorial and had become the means of much extortion, were made a monopoly of the government, and were reorganized on an equitable and popular basis. To these were added certain licences (e.g. on canoes, &c.). In 1905 a complete reorganization of the direct taxation of the country was introduced. The innumerable taxes upon agriculture and industry of all kinds were consolidated into two principal taxes, viz. jangali or cattle tax upon nomad herdsmen. The imposition of this the land and general tax-in its nature an income tax-and the tax involved a rough and ready assessment of every village in the protectorate. Under this system the oppression and extortion practised under native rule gave place to a carefully regulated method of assessment. At its initiation the proceeds were divided in approximately equal shares between the central government and the native administration, and a means was thus found of creating a legitimate revenue for the native chiefs to supersede the proceeds of slave-raiding and slave-dealing, and of oppression and extortion, by which they had hitherto supplied their needs. As in India, the village with its lands and cultivation was constituted the unit of assessment, and the provinces were divided into districts under native headmen responsible for the collection of the tax, and its payment to the paramount chief, who in turn rendered the assigned share to district and village chiefs, to the officers of state recognized by government and to the government itself. The administrative officers were entrusted with the assessment and acted as arbitrators and referees in case of illegal exactions. In the Pagan districts where no native machinery existed and no previous taxation had been in force, a nominal impost was levied and collected by the officers of the government through the agency of the village chiefs. The taxation of the great cities formed a separate and very difficult problem. The law laid down the method to be employed in this case, but pending the completion of the rural taxation this detailed application of the system was allowed to remain in suspense. It was hoped that so soon as the scheme could be effectively put into opera tion the taxes on trade in transit could be largely if not completely abolished, and the traders and merchants-the wealthiest class of the community-would be assessed in their city domiciles. By these means a large and rapidly increasing revenue is being secured to government; while the condition of the peasantry and people is being greatly ameliorated, an adequate but not excessive income is being secured to the native rulers; and the class of middlemen who lived by extortion and absorbed a great part of the wealth of the country is being abolished. Native Rulers.-By the operation of the native courts proclamation, the taxation proclamation, and finally by the enforcement of native authority proclamations, the status of the native rulers, their powers and authority, were defined and legalized. They receive the support of the government within the limits of their recognized sphere of The great chiefs are appointed by the government in consultation with the principal men, and in accordance with native customs and laws of succession. Minor chiefs are nominated by their paramount chiefs, subject to the approval of the high commissioner. action. Military and Police.-The defensive force-the Northern Nigeria Regiment of the West African Frontier Force-is constituted by law, and the proclamation contains a military code based on the Army Act with modifications necessary in local circumstances. A police force is similarly organized and controlled by a second enactment. The military force is divided into three, regiments and two batteries of artillery under the supreme command of a commandant. The distribution of the garrisons is under the direc tion of the high commissioner. The police, on the other hand, are more or less equally divided between the provinces (including the establishment at each cantonment), and while their interior economy and organization rests in the hands of a commissioner, they are for purposes of duty under the control of the resident of the province. A district superintendent is appointed to each province. Miscellaneous Enactments.-A variety of other enactments deals with minor matters of administration. Commissions of inquiry may he appointed by the high commissioner to investigate the conduct of an individual or department and take evidence on oath. Discipline on board of steamers is prescribed by the Marine Discipline Act. The preservation of wild animals and birds in accordance with international agreements is enforced by law. The importation or possession of arms of precision is forbidden, except by permits in conformity with the Brussels Act, and in further application of that act the importation of spirits for sale to natives is wholly prohibited. The cantonments are regulated by a municipal ordinance, establishing rates and laying down various regulations for order and sanitation. In order to prevent hydrophobia dogs may only be kept under certain restrictions. Patents, marriages (of non-natives), &c., &c., form the subject of other laws. Administrative Divisions. For administrative purposes the territories were at first divided into seventeen provinces: Sokoto, Gando, Kano, Katsena, Bornu East, Bornu West, Zaria, Bauchi, Borgu, Kontagora, Nassarawa, Muri, Yola, Bassa, Kabba, Illorin, Nupe. Of these Sokoto and Gando, Kano and Katsena, Bornu East and Bornu West have been carried a step further in organization and now form three double provinces, each under the charge of a first-class resident. Illorin, Nupe and Kabba have been formed into one province called the Niger province, and also placed under the charge of a first-class resident, and it is intended to continue this process so as to make finally eight first-class provinces of the whole territory. The first-class residents of the double provinces are assisted by about twelve residents and assistant residents of subordinate rank. In the Mahommedan states the native system of administration remains intact, and is carried on under British supervision by native emirs and officials. In the Pagan states there is no organized system of native administration, and the British residents are responsible for good government. Amalgamation of Lagos and Southern Nigeria.-The political reasons which had resulted in the Nigerian territories being divided into three distinct administrations no longer existing, it was decided to unite them under one government, and as a first step in that direction Sir Walter (then Mr) Egerton was in 1904 appointed both governor of Lagos and high commissioner of Southern Nigeria. This was followed in February 1906 by the amalgamation of the two administrations under the style of "the Colony and Protectorate of Southern Nigeria," with headquarters at Lagos town. The former colony and protectorate of Lagos (q.v.) became the western or Lagos province of the new administration. In the year the amalgamation was effected the revenue reached a record figure, the amount collected being £1,088,000, to which Lagos province contributed £424,000. Over 80% of the revenue was derived from customs. In the same year the expenditure from revenue was £1,056,000. Northern Nigeria Railway.-In Northern Nigeria, which continued for the time to be a separate protectorate, Sir Frederick Lugard was, at the beginning of 1907, succeeded as high commissioner by Sir Percy Girouard. In August of that year the British government, on administrative, strategic and commercial grounds, came to a decision to build a railway which should place the important cities of Zaria and Kano in direct communication with the perennially navigable waters of the Lower Niger. In view of the approaching unification of Southern and Northern Nigeria, the money needed, about £1,250,000, was raised as a loan by Southern Nigeria. The route chosen for the line was that advocated by Sir Frederick Lugard. This important work, essential for the welfare of the northern territories, was begun under the superintendence of Sir Percy Girouard, the builder of the Wadi Halfa-Khartum railway. At the same time the decision was taken to continue the Lagos railway till it effected a junction with the Kano line near Zungeru, the Niger being bridged at Jebba. Land Tenure.-Sir Percy Girouard devoted much attention to land tenure, probably the most important of the questions concerning imperial policy in West Africa. He adopted the land policy of Sir F. D. Lugard, and recommended "a declaration in favour of the nationalization of the lands of the Protectorate." This was in accord with native laws-that the land is the property of the people, held in trust for them by their chiefs, who have not the power of alienation. Thereafter the secretary for the colonies appointed a strong committee, which, after hearing much evidence, issued a report in April 1910 in substantial agreement with the governor's recommendations. This policy In 1909 Sir Percy Girouard was succeeded by Sir H. H. J. Bell. The title High Commissioner had meantime been changed to that of Governor. was adopted by the Colonial Office. By this means the natives of Nigeria were secured in the possession of their land-the government imposing land taxes, which are the equivalent of rent. This exclusion of the European land speculator and denial of the right to buy and sell land and of freehold tenure was held by all the authorities to be essential for the moral and material welfare of the inhabitants of a land where the duty of the white man is mainly that of administration and his material advantages lie in trade. (See an article on "Land Tenure in West Africa " in The Times, May 24, 1910.) H. Barth's Travels and Discoveries in North and Central Africa AUTHORITIES. Of early books dealing with large areas of Nigeria, (London, 1857-1858) is a standard authority. See also Lady Lugard, A Tropical Dependency (London, 1905); Boyd Alexander, From the Niger to the Nile (London, 1907); C. Larymore, A Resident's Wife in Nigeria (London, 1908); the annual Reports on Southern and of West Africa (London, 1902); C. H. Robinson, Hausaland (London, Northern Nigeria issued by the Colonial Office; E. D. Morel, Affairs 1896); S. Vandeleur, Campaigning on the Upper Nile and Niger (London, 1898), with introduction by Sir George Goldie; Major C. Partridge, The Cross River Natives (London, 1905); E. Dayrell, A. G. Leonard, The Lower Niger and its Tribes (London, 1906); Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria (London, 1910). Maps of the country on the scale of and loo are published by the War Office. The Blue Books, Cd. 2325 (1904), 2787 (1905) and 4523 (1909), deal with railway construction, harbours and river navigation. (F. L. L.) use NIGHT, that part of the natural day of twenty-four hours during which the sun is below the horizon, the dark part of the day from sunset to sunrise (see DAY). The word in O. Eng. takes two forms, neaht and night, the latter form apparently being established by about the 10th century. The word is common in varying forms to Indo-European languages. The root is usually taken to be nak-, to perish, the word meaning the time when the light fails (cf. Gr. vékos, Lat. nex, death, nocere, to hurt). It was customary to reckon periods of time by nights, and we still fortnight" (O. Eng. feowertyne niht, fourteen nights), but "se'n-night" (seven nights) has been displaced by "week" (q.v.). NIGHTINGALE, FLORENCE (1820-1910), younger daughter of William Edward Nightingale of Embley Park, Hampshire, and Lea Hurst, Derbyshire, was born at Florence on the 15th of May 1820, and named after that city, but her childhood was spent in England, chiefly in Derbyshire. From her earliest years her strong love of nature and animals manifested itself. Her games, too, were characteristic, for her great delight was to nurse and bandage her dolls. Her first living patient was a shepherd's dog. From tending animals she passed to human beings, and wherever there was sorrow or suffering she was sure to be found. Her most ardent desire was to use her talents for the benefit of humanity. She had a natural shrinking from society; and though her social position necessitated her presentation at Court, her first season in town was spent in examining into the working of hospitals, reformatories and other charitable institutions. This was followed by a tour of inspection of foreign hospitals. At that time England was sadly behind-hand in matters of nursing and sanitation, and Miss Nightingale, who desired to obtain the best possible teaching for herself, went through a course of training in the Institute of Protestant Deaconesses at Kaiserswerth. She remained there six months, learning every detail of hospital management with a thoroughness rarely equalled. Miss Nightingale neglected nothing that could make her proficient in her self-chosen task. From Kaiserswerth she went to Paris, where she studied the system of nursing and management in the hospitals under the charge of the sisters of St Vincent de Paul. After her return to England she devoted herself to reorganizing the Governesses' Sanatorium in Harley Street (now the Home for Gentlewomen during Temporary Illness), which was at that time badly managed and in great need of funds. Miss Nightingale grudged neither time nor money to this work, and she had the satisfaction of placing it on a thoroughly satisfactory basis. In the year 1854 England was stirred to its depths by the report of the sufferings of the sick and wounded in the Crimea. There was an utter absence of the commonest preparations to carry out the first and simplest demands in a place set apart The range of the European nightingale, Daulias luscinia, is peculiar. In Great Britain it is abundant in suitable localities to the south-east of a line stretching from the valley of the Exe, in Devonshire, to York, but it does not visit Ireland, its occurrence in Wales is doubtful or intermittent, and it is extremely improbable that it has ever reached Scotland. On the continent of Europe it does not occur north of a line stretching irregularly from Copenhagen to the northern Urals, and it is absent in Brittany; over south Europe otherwise it is abundant. It reaches Persia, and is a winter visitor to Arabia, Nubia, Abyssinia, Algeria and as far south as the Gold Coast. The larger eastern D. philomela, sometimes called the thrush-nightingale or Sprosser of German bird-catchers, is russet-brown in both sexes, and is a native of eastern Europe. D. hafizi of Persia, a true nightingale, is probably the Perso-Arabic bulbul of poets. to receive the sick and wounded of a large army. The condition | the cock alone sings, and there is no reason to suppose that the of the large barrack-hospital at Scutari was deplorable. A royal cause and intent of his song differ in any respect from those of commission of inquiry was appointed, a patriotic fund opened, other birds' songs (see SONG). In great contrast to the nightinand money flowed in fast. To Miss Nightingale this proved the gale's pre-eminent voice is the inconspicuous coloration of its trumpet-call of duty. She wrote to Sidney Herbert, secretary plumage, which is alike in both sexes, and is of a reddish-brown at war, and offered her services. Her letter crossed with one above and dull greyish-white beneath, the breast being rather from him inviting her to proceed to the Crimea. She set out on darker, and the rufous tail showing the only bright tint. the 24th October with a staff of thirty-seven nurses, partly volunteers, partly professionals trained in hospitals. They reached Scutari on the 4th of November, in time to receive the Balaklava wounded. A day or two later these were joined by 600 from Inkerman. The story of Miss Nightingale's labours at Scutari is one of the brightest pages in English annals. She gave herself, body and soul, to the work. She would stand for twenty hours at a stretch to see the wounded accommodated. She regularly took her place in the operation-room, to hearten the sufferers by her presence and sympathy, and at night she would make her solitary round of the wards, lamp in hand, stopping here and there to speak a kindly word to some patient. Soon she had 10,000 men under her charge, and the general superintendence of all the hospitals on the Bosporus. Gradually the effects of the measures adopted were seen in a lowered death-rate. In February 1855 it was as high as 42%, before many months it had sunk to 2. For a time Miss Nightingale was herself prostrated with fever, but she refused to leave her post, and remained at Scutari till Turkey was evacuated by the British in July 1856. The enthusiasm aroused in England by Miss Nightingale's labours was indescribable. A man-of-war was ordered to bring her home, and London prepared to give her a triumphant reception; but she returned quietly in a French ship, crossed to England, and escaped to her country home before the news of her return could leak out. The experiences of those terrible months permanently affected Miss Nightingale's health, but the quiet life she afterwards led was full of usefulness. With the £50,000 raised in recognition of her services she founded the Nightingale Home for training nurses at St Thomas's and King's College Hospitals. She also turned her attention to the question of army sanitary reform and army hospitals, and to the work of the Army Medical College at Chatham. In 1858 she published her Notes on Nursing, which gave an enormous stimulus to the study of this subject in England. According to Miss Nightingale nursing ought to signify the proper use of fresh air, light, warmth, cleanliness, quiet, and the selection and administration of dietall at the least expense of vital force to the patient. Miss Nightingale followed with interest all the later improve ments in sanitation, and was frequently consulted about hospital plans both at home and abroad. With the help of the County Council Technical Instruction Committee she organized in 1892 a health crusade in Buckinghamshire. Teachers were sent round among the cottagers to give practical advice on such points as ventilation, drainage, disinfectants, cleanliness, &c., a plan which, if widely carried out, would bring the most valuable knowledge to every home in England. She is understood to have drawn up a confidential report for the government on the working of the Army Medical Corps in the Crimea, and to have been officially consulted during the American Civil War and the Franco-German War. In 1907 she received the Order of Merit from King Edward VII. She died in London on the 13th of August 1910. She is the subject of a beautiful poem by Longfellow," Santa Filomena," and the popular estimate of her character and mission was summed up in a particularly felicitous anagram, Flit on, cheering angel. NIGHTINGALE (O. Eng. Nihtegale, literally "singer of the night "), the bird celebrated beyond all others by European writers for the admirable vocal powers which, during some weeks after its return from its winter-quarters in the south, it exercises at all hours of the day and night. The song itself is indescribable, though several attempts, from the time of Aristophanes to the present, have been made to express in syllables the sound of its Poets have descanted on the bird (which they many notes. nearly always make of the feminine gender) leaning its breast against a thorn and pouring forth its melody in anguish. But The nightingale reaches its English home about the middle of April,' the males (as is usual among migratory birds) arriving some days before the females. On the cocks being joined by their partners, the work for which the long and hazardous journey of both has been undertaken is speedily begun, and before long the nest is completed. This is of a rather uncommon kind, being placed on or near the ground, the outworks consisting chiefly of a great number of dead leaves ingeniously applied together so that the plane of each is mostly vertical. In the midst of the mass is wrought a deep cup-like hollow, neatly lined with fibrous roots, but the whole is so loosely constructed, and depends for lateral support so much on the stems of the plants, among which it is generally built, that a very slight touch disturbs its beautiful arrangement. Herein from four to six eggs of a deep olive colour are duly laid, and the young hatched. The nestling plumage of the nightingale differs much from that of the adult, the feathers above being tipped with a buff spot, just as in the young of the redbreast, hedge-sparrow and redstart, thereby showing the natural affinity of all these forms. Towards the end of summer the nightingale disappears to its African winter haunts. The name nightingale has been vaguely applied to several other birds. The so-called " Virginian nightingale" is a species of grosbeak (q.v.); the "Pekin nightingale" or Japanese nightingale is a small babbler (Liothrix luteus) inhabiting the Himalayas and China, not Japan at all. The nightingale holds a place in classical mythology. Procne and Philomela were the daughters of Pandion, king of Attica, who in return for warlike aid rendered him by Tereus, king of Daulis in Thrace, gave him the first-named in marriage. Tereus, however, being enamoured of her sister, feigned that his wife was dead, and induced Philomela to take her place. On her discovering the truth he cut out her tongue to hinder her from revealing his deceit; but she depicted her sad story on a robe which she sent to Procne; and the two sisters then contrived a horrible revenge for the infidelity of Tercus, by killing and serving to him at table his son Itys. Thereupon the gods interposed, changing Tereus into a hoopoe, Procne into a swallow, and Philomela into a nightingale, while Itys was restored to life as a pheasant, and Pandion (who had died of grief at his daughters' dishonour) as a bird of prey (see OSPREY). The fable has several variants. Ovid's version may be seen in the 6th book of his Metamorphoses (lines 412-676). (A. N.) NIGHTSHADE, a general term for the genus of plants known to botanists as Solanum. The species to which the name of nightshade is commonly given in England is Solanum Dulcamara which is also called bittersweet or woody nightshade (see fig. 1). It is a common plant in damp bedgebanks and thickets, scrambling over underwood and hedges. It has slender slightly woody stems, with alternate lanceolate leaves more or less heart-shaped and auriculate at the base. The flowers are arranged in drooping clusters and resemble those of the potato in shape, although Poets and novelists are apt to command at will the song of this regarded, it is dangerous to introduce a nightingale as singing in bird, irrespective of season. If the appearance of truth is to be England before the 15th of April or after the 15th of June. "early nightingale " of newspaper paragraphs is generally a thrush. The |