The Express.
London, England, 1846-12-12 00:00:00

THE

fathers. Great nations thought it sufficient rem-
meat tee costly and exhaustive wars if, at the dose,
tug, were allowed to retain possession of the sugar
Minds they bad filched Tram their neighbours
during the struggle. Sugar islands, like Potosi, have
found their level in the sobered judgments of modern
statesmen and men of business. Mill, productive
eoger 'shade, judiciously managed, are comfortable'
properbes ; and it is, therefore, with considerable sa-
iisticilion that we have arrived at the conclusion that
our Wlist India colouies are not to be necessarily aed
irretrievably ruined by the alteration in the sugar i
duties.
Perhaps the islands of Cuba and Trinidad are, of
the whole Antilles, those between which a parallel
may, with most propriety, be instituted. Cuba
commands the northern and Trinidad the southern
extremity of the great Caribbean Gulf. Cuba
is within an easy distance of the Florida", Haiti,
Jamaica, and Yucatan ; Trinidad is favourably
situated for intimate relations with the delta-land of
the Orinoco and the settlements along the souther*
coast of the Caribbean Gulf. The time sle
9uired for making the run to either of these
islands from Europe is about the same, Trinidad
being of the safer and easier access. In
of natural fertility, the advantage is on the Zgle feco
Trinidad. HUMBOLDT estimates the produce of ave-
rage lands in Cuba at one hogshead (of 15001 be.) per
acre, or from two to two-and-a-half hogsheads on
land which can be irrigated when a crop of tuberous
roots has preceded the canes. In the Naparimas and
Cedrooe districts of Trinidad there are extensive
tracts which yield three hogsheads to the acre, many
of the canes being ratoons of twenty years' etanding.
The actual population of Cuba, compared with its
extent, gives 276 souls to the square league, that of
Trinidad about 500. Cuba enjoys this advantage,
that, situated near the extreme verge of the
tropics, its climate is almost as well adapted
to the European as to the African constitution.
In 1817, of a total population of 592,000, about
257,000 were whites. From this review it appears i
that these two islands, in respect of natural capabili-
ties, are much upon apart if one has the advantage'
in some respects, the other has it in others.
Trinidad cannot be taken as a fair specimen of the
extent to which the productiveness of our Wart
India islands has been diminished, or the expense of
production increased by the immediate consequences
of emancipation. These evils have been felt more there
than in Barbadoes and other densely-peopled islands„l
but much less than either in Jamaica or Guiana.
Still Trinidad has been affected. The value of the
exported produce of the island, which in 1841 was
510,000!., declined in 1842, to 393,000/. ; remained sta-
tionary in 1843 at 394,0001.; and had only remounted
to 417,000/. in 1845. The exports of Cuba,
on the contrary, remained stationary, in point
of value, in 1841,1842, 1843, and 1844, and were only
affected unfavourably by the short crop of 1845.
With this disadvantage, however, the annual exports
of Trinidad, with its 75,000 inhabitants, have, during
the last five years, averaged in value two millions
of dollars, while those of Cuba, with its 1,000,000
inhabitants, have, during the same period, averaged
twenty millions. The average productiveness of Cuba
has been twenty dollars for every inhabitant ; the
average productiveness of Trinidad has been twenty-
seven dollars for every inhabitant, or 35 per cent.

greater.
But, with a view to the future, we mast take into
account the change in the relativevalues of Cuban and
Trinidad produce, which the alteration of the sugar
duties is likely to produce. Sugar and its adjuncts
(rum and molasses) constitute about nine-tenths (in
value) of the total exportable produce of Trinidad,
and seven-tenths of that of Cuba. We w ill assume
the advance in the prices of Cuba sugars, rums and
molasses, in consequence of the alteration in
the sugar duties, to be 25 per cent., which is certainly
a sufficiently liberal allowance. At this rate the an-
nual average value of exported sugars from
Cuba would be seventeen and a half instead
of fourteen millions of dollars, raising the average
productiveness of the island to 231 dollars per head.
On the other hand, allowing that the price of Trinidad
sugar falls to 4 dollars the hundredweight (and lower
the best informed residents do not expect it to fall), and
assuming that the crop of 1847, now that labour has
become steadier, is to yield (what that of 1816 would
have yielded but for the drought and fires), 25,000
hogsheads of sugar, with the corresponding amount
of rum and molasses—this, taking all other articles of
produce 88 before, would give within 42,000 dollars of
th average annul value of the last four years. The
productiveness of Cuba would remain within a few
cents of the actual estimate of 27 dollars per head, or
about 15 per cent. greater than that of Cuba.
The question still remains, however, as to the cost
at which this greater value of produce per head is
obtained. The expense of labour is lower in Cuba
than in Trinidad. On the other hand, the ma-
chinery of Trinidad is better, and its efficacy being
taken into account, cheaper than that of Cuba. The
gross annual revenue of Cuba derived from customs
duties is seven millions of dollars, or seven dollars for
each inhabitant; the gross annual revenue of Trini-
dad, derived from customs duties, is 350,000 dollars,
or five dollars for each inhabitant. The import duties
of Cuba average 24 per cent. on every article im-
ported; two-thirds of the whole imports of Trinidad
pay only three and a half per cent. Cuba and Trini-
dad are both mainly dependent upon foreign supplies
for their food : in this respect they are on a par.
Taking into consideration the superior natural fer-
tility of Trinidad, and setting off the heavier customs
duties of Cuba and the greater impediments they
offer to commerce against its cheaper labour, though
the cost of production will still remain higher in
Trinidad, it cannot be so much higher, even at pre-
sent, as to render competition under the new
sugar duties arrangement impossible. It is not
so much that the cost of production in Tri-
nidad will be higher than in Cuba, as that a
greater proportion of the difference between
the cost of production and the selling price will go to
the labourer in the former colony. This tells un-
favourably for one class of capitalists—the land-
owners or planters ; but, on the other hand, it tells
favourably for the capitalists engaged in trade. If
the labourers earn higher wages, they also spend
more. And in all colonies the line of demarcation is
lees sharply drawn between the landowner and the
merchant than in old settled countries. Taking every-
thing into account, there appears little reason to doubt
the ability of Trinidad to enter immediately into suc-
cessful competition with Cuba under our new fiscal

- - -
arrangements.
While we note this fact for the encouragement of
all connected with that colony, we would not be un-
derstood to overlook the difficulties which surround the
new career upon which Trinidad is starting. But look-
ing for the adoption of measures by government to
remove existing impediments in the way of the im-
migration of fie? labourers, looking for the abolition
of all fiscal obstructions to the extension of its com-
merce with foreign nations, looking for liberal con-
cessions to the projected railway as a means of colo-
nising the island, we augur well of the future for that
colony. However, as we said at the outset, this remark
applies to Trininad alone, not to the whole of our
West India colonies. While seine of them are still
more favourably circumstanced, others are much
worse.

We are very sorry indeed to read in the Constitu-
tionnel an account of a very stupid difference between
the English Admiral in the Mauritius and the French
Consul at that place. Admiral DACRES sent round
invitations to a ball—amongst others, to the French
Consul ; but two hours before the ball he sent to
recall the invitation to the Consul, giving as a reason,
that the latter had not returned his visit.
Now it appears to us, that the Admiral ought, be-
fore he sent round invitations, to have been certain of
the terms on which he stood with the representative
of France. And, at any rate, having once sent the
invitation, he should have abided by the consequences,
and received the French Consul, instead of inflicting
the outrage of exclusion. If the French Consul had
been so impolitic and uncourteous as to refrain on
purpose from returning the Admiral's visit, which we
cannot believe, such a temper would soon have
prompted him to some overt act of impertinence that
might be taken notice of. If the omission was mere
negligence, it was much too harshly treated.
The swelling of this local and ceremonious squabble
into a cause of international rivalry, by the demand
of the Consul's recall, is also to be deplored. Although
France and England may find their entente cordiale
disturbed in matters of high policy, an entente or
understanding of good sive and good temper ought
to be permanent, and be sufficient to brush away such
trifles as these.