Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-10-19 00:00:00

WEST INDIES.

Jamaica, as wall as the other West India islands, had
been visited with very heavy rains, accompanied with much
thunder and lightning. The effects of this rain has been
most severely telt, business of every kind being for a time
suspended. We are happy to state, however, that at the
time of the homeward mail leaving there was every appear-
ance of the weather changing for the better. The piment)
crops were fortunately all in, or nearly so, prior to the
rains setting in, otherwise the losses of the planters would,
we fear, have been heavy. We are sorry to have to record
the total loss of the British brig Mary, boand from Porto
Rico to Kingston, in the Anegodo Passage. The crew
happily escaped without lose of 10e. The island was com-
paratively healthy.
We take the following interesting items from the packet
summary of the Colonial Standard (Kingston) :—' The
rainy season has set is with considerable severity, al hough
some weeks in anticipation of the usual period. For some
days previous to Monday, 21st instant, heavy rains had
been experienced towards the afternoons, bat on the
evening of Monday the rains com.tenced in earnest, and
continued with little intermission until Friday mornieg
during which period an immense quantity must
have fallen. A great deal of sickness, we regret to
say, has prevailed, and several fatal cases have
occurred in connection with the army. Among
the latter we regret to announce the death of Mrs Stood-
ley, the wife of John Staodley, Esq., H.M Purveyor; and
of Lieut. Oldfleld, 2nd West India Regiment, aged only
2J years. A subs ription has been set. on foot for the
purpose of obtaining the necessary preliminary surrey,
preparatory to agptiog measures to erect a Patent Slip
machinery in this harbour, capable of taking up the largest
class of steamers employed in the mail service. Although
the sum required to effect this au vey does not exceed two
hundred pounds, so gener 1 has been the feeling is favour
of the measure that subscriptions have beenlowarded to
the, promoters of the scheme to nearly double that
amount. It is estimated. that the cost of the actual
t machinery, inoltaing ateaolginfine and the royalty

to patentees, will --not much exceed £lO,OOO, and
that this and all other expellees will be me
by a subscribed capital of £25,000. The entire cost,
however, might be greatly reduced if the Colonial Govern-
ment were to ccneede to the Company the gift of squared
stone from the public quarry at Rock Fort, and the convict
lab= nece.sary to lay it down. As yet, of course, no
application h s been made for these clncessions ; but, as
the erection of such a work in this island would be in the
highest degree important to the trade of the colony, and
would thus greatly benefit the public revenue, we cannot
entertain a doubt that,whenever made, such an application
would meet with the most favourable consideration from
the local G)vernntent."

The " labour question" has produced some public
discussion in th's island, in c )nsequence of aletter quoted
by Lord Brougham, in the lio.use of Lords, dnring one of
his peculiar speeches on the subject of African emigration,
said to have been written by a Mr. Clark, a twenty years
resident in Jamaica. Some strong observations, pub-
lished in these columns, has induced an avowal from
the Rev. John Clark, of Brown's Town, in the
parish of St. Ann, a Baptist missionary, that he was
the writer of the letter Lead by Lord Brougham, and he
still insists that the wages of plantation labour are in
fact only ninepence and a shilling a day. We have taken
exception to this statement as being in fact both the
sugg,stio faisi and the auppressio veri. There is, in fact,
no such thing as a day's wages on. sugar p'antations in
Jamaica, all field work and most boiling house work being
done by the jib or task. It is found that, generally speak-
ing, a shilling task is performed by any labourer of common
industry between the hours of aeven in the marni g and
on 3 in the afternoon.. Any lab; irer who chose to work
from six .to six might earn the .wages of two tasks
with ease, but such is the independence of the labouring
.lass that they are satisfied to earn a shilling a day for four
days in the week, whilst if they worked, as they might do,
for tbe six days they could earn with ease from twelve to
sixteen shillings. It is clew., therefore, that the sum they
now earn is simply the measure cf their industry ; and by
no means a criterion of the wages which an industrious man
might earn, if he hero willing to give an equivalent of labour.
All the other Islands have suffered more or less from
heavy rains. The planters were, however, sanguine of
having their orange crops.
Yellow fever has entirely disappeared from the Is'and
of St. Thomas. The town was however, the scene of
an insurrection on the 27th and 28-h of September, owii g
to a party feeling prevailing on the oper iog of the
Catholic Chapel, which had been closed for two years, the
most bitter fee!ings were evidently entertained by the mob
against the priest who officiate 3, and even the
.p esence of
the governor failed to have.the desired effect of stilling the
mob, and it was not until the military were c tiled out, and
the town placed under mardal law, that any degree of
peace could be obtained.