“At the present time in the Northern Provinces almost every district has a salaried Alkali’s Court with considerable but limited powers. Minutes of every case tried in the district Courts are submitted monthly to the chief native Judges at the various Capitals of the Province. Serious cases are referred to the Courts in the Capitals of the Emirates.... Crimes of violence and robbery, which in the early years of the Protectorate were so regrettably numerous, have almost disappeared since the native Courts, with their corollary, native police (dogari), have been given a free hand.” In Kano Province last year the Alkalis’ Courts tried 20,740 cases, of which 1,267 were criminal indictments and 19,473 civil actions. I grieve to think that the last category includes no less than 9,020 instances of the disturbance of connubial bliss under the heading of “Matrimonial.” It is pleasant to learn that few of the assault cases were of a serious kind and still more gratifying to know that violence to women forms a small proportion. An analysis shows that only ·07 of the population committed acts which brought the perpetrators within the law, whilst grave crime is so small in quantity that there is not a European nation which would gain by comparison with Kano Province, Northern Nigeria. CHAPTER VIII KANO PROVINCE AND CITY—BRITISH TRADE PROSPECTS Town and country—Officials and traders—Belgravia and Bermondsey—A housekeeping budget—European stores—Buying and selling—A Syrian in the fold. The Province of Kano extends 28,600 square miles and has a population of 3,500,000 souls. Kano City and the settlement near it are, however, spoken of as Kano. Kano City accommodates a native population of more than 30,000 inhabitants. Outside the city there are an English official quarter and a few European stores. The latter are, roughly, two miles from the native city, and the official quarter is a corresponding stretch further on. Each centre is separate, distinct, isolated. Between the stores and the native city there is, however, constant communication, much coming and going for business purposes. Between the official quarter and the stores there is scarcely anything more than the most limited exchange of messages, verbal or written, stiff, formal and frigid. There is not so much difference in London between Belgravia and Bermondsey as there is in Kano between the official and the traders’ quarter. In London efforts are made to minimise and soften the extremes of existence, while at Kano, if there are extremes, the policy pursued has the effect of hardening, accentuating, emphasising them. Why this spirit should be necessary in Kano I do not know. It does not exist in Lagos or Zungeru.