68 [No. 98 ECONOMIC CONDITIONS although railways elsewhere have frequently induced the desert to blossom and bear, any ambitious schemes for a central or northern system are for the present effectively barred by the prohibitive cost, the lack of capital , and the absence of a first-class harbour north ofMombasa. It therefore seems probable that expan sion will proceed from the existing railway system ,and that congestion will be avoided by the provision of a large number of new and powerful engines and of freight and passenger vehicles, by additional crossing stations, and by the development of the terminus port of Kilindini (see pp . 69 , 71 ) .

(d) Posts, Telegraphs, Telephones The post and telegraph services of the two Protec torates include 111 telegraph offices and 127 post offices and agencies, of which 40are alsomoney order offices. The postal system not only embraces all railway, steamer, and motor routes, but also reaches out by relays of runners to the more remote district stations. Tele graph lines similarly escort and outstrip the railway. In Uganda in 1915 there were 1,045 miles of telegraph line, and in East Africa 3,043 miles . Telephone ex changes are established at Nairobi. Mombasa, Kisumu, Entebbe, Kampala , and Jinja , with over 750 miles of wire.

(2 ) EXTERNAL (a) Ports Accommodation, &c .—The barrier of reefs and narrow islands which extends along the coast of the East Africa Protectorate is cut at manypoints by gaps opening into sheltered bays and creeks,where the smaller coasting vessels may lie in safety. There are some 34 recorded anchorages; but these, with few exceptions , are unsuitable for ocean-going ships, and incapable of large development. Kismayu Bay,the port of the Juba River, which enters the sea a few miles further north , is accessible at all seasons, is provided with an iron work pier 325 ft . long , and has anchorage in 31 -.