The Sun.
London, England, 1807-08-20 00:00:00

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tiva.tir in ,I,4lu:atca, which leas increated the quan-
4ity of low-'-,sugar.; an..l in. the nex-t place, to the,
n'Antity of l'ei',/ 'sugar vt hid) ha; been lateifialport-
V frefin:Oie.c.mqueyed colonies.
Would not the .14ourbott.cane, p!anted in a soil
tavouiable fa giiod sugar;' in Such . soil prodUCt aS.
good sugar as the cane. With which the Island of:h-
tnaica was „usliinatiy planted ?-.7-No;
.1, rather think
the old clue made better sugar, an_i of a firmer and
}more comPaEt.grain.
'And d 6 you say that the sugar k not so strong ?-,.
Lis not so firm in point of grain, biit'asAo strePgo
I cannot say, never: having made any'experiment to
ascertain the same; but I have understbod, -that:
,huppaiing casks of equal size to be tilled with sugar,
namely, one with sugar made from the, old,,catie.,
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and the other with silg-ar from the Bourbon cane,
the I,,rmer would Weigh_ at ,the King'i beam

considerably heavier than the latter.
Do not all different sugars of various qualities pay
the ;Same freight ?—Yes; Ivut these may be some
trifling variation in the rate of fre.iht from ,different
parts of the country ; but such variation dees'tiot
all depeqd upon the quality-Of sugar. •
If methods were adopted for" iniproving•the (pan=
ty Of the sugar. within the Island, nnst not
.the cluan-,-
.tity shipped in . all probability be. lessened ?—.tti,.7
doubted!). it Would be lessened. .
C in you inform the committee whether the sugw
iinported flout tlidDwch conquered Colonies is infe-
rior. ?,-7--That fad does not fall within my knowledge;
but. I have always tuiderEtoood it is so.
'Can yia state what ahogshead cif sugar -k of iwt.
at the King's beam should yield to thePlanter,,free
from all mercantile expences at market, in order to
give him. a fair return on his capital should think
Ile 'woul,l hot have a fair return on his capital unless
he got 251. per. hogshead weighing I 4 cwt. at the
Kint,;'s beam.
1).) you think 10 I)er cent. net, on a capital enl-.
• bnItPLI iu 111,.: West Indies, would be coo 1111.1 d) for .a
Planter to expect as .1 fair return ?—No, I do not.
Not toper cent. too inncit do not ; 'my reason'
for thinking so is, that d p.er :cent. is paid for any
Money bortowed by the Planter, and 4 percent. for
wear and tear of lands,' plantation utensils, the IoSS
of negroes, and the loss of stock, is but a. moderate
allowance. ,
lime not the. propriekors of- the sugar colonies in
general hi-late:years, and. particularly in the last-year,
sufßred great distress, owing ,to toe depressed price
of Snior have beard that they base-
Were ;lot the returns fruit the eStatesin the seven
preeedipg years unusually. large 1
aoi..-ording' to the best of my I:nov:ledge ; but I 'think
the last year has borne harder upon the 'hatter than
Any tormer year. . • •
What were iheL. returns for set:en
.years preceiling
1811 ?-I.'or smile years previous to that theywere
iii general. verse favourable ; I think in-the year 1798..-
.there was a, good
in general, ..hc .ils of the seven years,.
.preventing t [lot , ? —Yes ;in gene-
• ral th y .vere.favour due bust of .iny yetol-
lenion, • • .
Do you Conceive that in the seven Years'preeeding-,
1301 upon ail average:,' ,the. Planter received more
than ;i return oflo percent. on his capital 1-1 am
almost sure that be 'did tint.

During your bon residence inrJamaica, you mit
have been well acquainted with the dependency of
that Island on the Ameridan States `tor supplies of
lumber and provisions ; can you state .to tbo, Porn-
mittee, whether these articles coUld be suppl(e4
from any other quarter am sure it k
that they can be supplied front any otber, unh.7ss it
be from some. European quarter:. During
.oe.4We-
rican war, we used to get tai'el; sometimes from
Europe made, up into packs, but they were both
bad, and very high priced. ,
•Do you recoiled on any occasion, .when supplies
of til""'"'"Ocks froin the American States were.in-
terrnpted, tiny distress •lh;yppenui iu Jan-taxa
t--:-
Yes; such interruptions have occasionally created
Very great distress to all' 'descriptions of people, pat-.
tletdatly to the sugar planters;: trot only onareount
of.the want of laioher, but from the difficulty of
at lrding subsistence to White`pcople.pnd rigroOs.
Does the Island afford the rnetms of making casks
.to send home Ihe'prOduce, without the importation
of What is called Atherican lumber ?,—Sou?e estates
Which are settled far back in. the,pountry, and have
got wood abut them, can. niatce,:wbhift make!
hogsheads; but -they no,n,nteans. of 11131,611 g
puncheons. •
,•• What are' such hogsheads Made of?--0(4.t he broad.
leaf, and other wed& that ate suitable the purpobe.
Are. niit the. est4tes•which -can, io AupplY them-
selves with casks• for sugar Verffew ?-4Very
Are, not the great: majority: of,the estates in the
Island depeodent on' American lumber for *prir-
pose . ay are. .! . r
in what ,mannerare Arneridith litipplieS.pillid• for ?
They. are paid for part init 'produce,' :but' generally
cash or bilis. • • ,