The Sun.
London, England, 1848-01-07 00:00:00

LITERATeRE.
THE HISTORY OF BARBADOS. By Sir icibtri

H. Schomburgk.
This goodly octavo is in many respects a remark-
able work—remarkable for the skill, industry, and
research which it displays—remarkable for the in-
terest which the writer forces his reader to take in
the fortunes of the little Island of Barbados—and
most remarkable as the work of a gentleman who "
writing in a language not acquired in early cbild-
hood.' Never have we read purer, racier, more
idiomatic English, and had it not been for the above
statement in the preface we should never have dis•
covered that the author was not an Englishman. The
History of Barbados is a most interesting history to
an Englishman, it is the healthiest and the oldest of
our West India possessions. It was colonized
originally by England, and has never been
under the dominion of any other power.
It was acquired honestly—there were nu
natives dispossessed, or cheated, or murdered ;
the island was uninhabited when England took
possession of it. It was here that the first sugar cane
was planted in the British dominions, and during the
civil wars, it was to the fugitive Cavaliers what the
North American colonies had been to the fugitive
Puritans_ in the reign of the first Charles, and under
the persecutions of Laud—a place of refuge for those
who wished to enjoy their own opinions in their own
way. It was also in consequence of our possession of
the Island of Barbados, that the navigation-laws
were ifirst enacted. In this history, Sir Robert
Schomburgk gives a complete geographical and sta-
tistical description of the island, an elaborate account
of its geology and natural productions, and a narra-
tive of the historical events which have occurred in
the island from its first settlement, up to the
middle of the year 1847. The following opinions
on the future prospects of the British West In-
dian colonies, will be read with interest at
the present moment. It is evident that they are
the result of much thoughtful consideration of the
subject. The British colonists, it appears, claim the
following concessions in order to enable them to com-
pete in the production of sugar with Cuba and the
Brazils :

" 1. That the duties levied on British and colonial
spirits be equalized.
" 2. That sugar and molasses be admitted into the
British breweries and distilleries, and generally into all
the manufactories of the United Kingdom.
" 3. That the navigation-laws be abolished, and the
trade in shipping be rendered free.
" 4. That an unrestricted immigration into the West
Indies from all parts of the world bo i.ermitted.
" 5. That the productions of the colonies be admitted
into the British markets on the footing of raw materials,
and be free of import duty.
" 6. That Great Britain assist the colonies by loans
of money secured by Colonial Acts to be guaranteed by
Government on the terms conceded to Canada.

" These are the concessions which the colonists expect
from the Home Government; they are however not the
only things required to enable the British planter to
enter the struggle with any hope of success : much
depends upon the colonists themselves, and among the
most important points are an improved system of agri-
culture, machinery to dispense as much as possible with
manual labour, and the construction of railways and
tram roads.

" The advantage of a separation of the cultivation o
the cane from its manufacture into sugar is now generally
acknowledged. The incongruity of the present system
must be especially felt in Barbados, where there are
estates with ten acres of land under cultivation of the
sugar-cane, and to which a windmill and a set of works
is attached to produce eighteen or twenty hogsheads of
sugar, or, to adduce au extreme case, where only ten
hogsheads are made under favourable circumstances.
The manufacturing department on a sugar estate is con-
nected with very heavy expenses, and it would prove
more to the advantage of the cultivator if he could sell
his canes, and leave the manufacture to those who would
devote their whole attention to the means of extracting
the largest quantity and the best quality of sugar out of
the raw material. The central manufactories in Gua-
deloupe and Martinique in the West Indies, and in
Bourbon in the Indian Ocean, have realised every ex-
pectation ; and a company has just been formed in
London, called the British West India Company, to
undertake the separate manufacture of sugar in central
establishments, on principles similar to those adopted in
the Usines Centrales' in Guadeloupe. The system is
followed on a small scale in Barbados by the labourers,
who cultivate sugar-cane on their allotments. They
carry their canes to some neighbouring estate to be
ground, and receive in return two-thirds or three-fourths
of the sugar manufactured. Mr. S. Prescod, in his
evidence before the Select Committee of the House of
Commons, in July, 1840, estimated the quantity of sugar
cultivated by labourers upon their allotments at three
thousand hogsheads : I have heard it estimated at ten
thousand hogsheads at present.
" Relieved from the manufacturing process, the cul-
tivator of the cane would he able to devote his un-
divided attention to planting and reaping. It cannot be
denied that the tropical agriculture is at present con-
ducted upon more rational and scientific principles than
it was ten years ago, to say nothing of the crude system
prevalent in the last century; still there is vast room for
improvement. Agricultural chemistry is a science which
has only recently attracted attention in the West Indies:
nature under the tropics is so prolific, that only in the
old and worn-out colonies artificial means were required
'to refresh the fertility of the soil, and these have not
always been employed with judgment and advantage.
The husbanding of manual labour is a point of the
greatest importance. On many estates the same system
is still followed which existed when compulsory labour
was in vogue.
" It is generally acknowledged that Barbados possesses
more advantages in her redundant population than any
other colony in the British West Ladies. If that colony
therefore, roused to exertion by the press of circum-
stances, combine with this great advantage those which
science and modern invention offer to her—if economy
and retrenchments in individual life and in the concerns
of public administration be practised—she may weather
the storm which so seriously threatens the British sugar
colonies. Her situation on the outskirts of the West
Indies archipelago is a favourite one in a commercial
point of view; the signs of the times tell us in plain
terms that we are merely on the threshold of improve-
ments, and that, as our knowledge expands, inventions
will crowd upon inventions. Steam, that mighty power!
has materially lessened distances, and has lent its power-
ful aid to commerce; its employment for other purposes
in the affairs of mankind, as agriculture and husbandry,
remains a desideratum in Barbados. The use of the
plough proves annually of greater advantage to that
island, but there is still a wide scope for the adoption of
other machinery.
" The introduction of central manufactories, steam-
engines, railways and tramways are points of the
greatest importance in the sugar colonies. Cuba is said
to possess at present eight hundred miles of railway,—
the British West Indies only twelve miles. The remarks
of the Hon. George N. Taylor, the late Speaker of the
House of Assembly, in a speech delivered by him in
favour of Legislative support for the railway intended to
be introduced in the island of Barbados, are very com-
prehensive, and bear upon the general question respect-.
ing the economy of manual labour. I do not hesitate,
therefore, in conclusion, to insert the heads of that
speech, as reported in the local newspapers:—
"'Unless we could diminish the cost of production
and improve the quantity of our sugar, we must aban-
don the cultivation of the cane. He knew of no other
means which would so effectually promote these objects
as the establishment of a railway in the island. Under
the present system the planter was a farmer, a manufac-
turer, and a carrier. A railway would relieve him of the
latter employment, and this would be a great advantage,
as a little calculation would show. Suppose a crop to
consist of twenty-five thousand hogsheads of sugar, and
nine thousand puncheons of rum and molasses, it would
require six hundred and twenty carters and three thou-
sand one hundred oxen to be employed for fifty days to
bring the crop to the shipping port, allowing-two carters
and ten oxen to two hogsheads of sugar, and the same
employment to three puncheons of rum or molasses.
Here, then, was a loss of thirty thousand effective days'
labour taken from the plantations at a very critical time,
besides the loss of the labour and manure of three thou-
sand one hundred oxen for fifty days. But this was not
the worst part of the system. The cattle by being thus
employed were rendered unfit for working agricultural
implements; and manual labour, the most expensive and
least effective, when agricultural implements could be
used, was obliged to be resorted to. The cattle, by not
being suffered to go out of the plantations, would be in
a far better condition to work, and the saving of manual
labour would be very great Another disad-
vantage attending the carrying the crops to town by the
cattle of the estates, was the retarding the reaping, and
the loss sustained by the rotting and dr; ing of the canes;
for it was well known that the sooner the canes were
made into sugar after they rere ripe, the more and
better sugar they made; and it was also well known,
that nothing was so destructive to the cattle as taking the
crops to town and bringing up the supplies. By relieving
the planter of the carrying business, he would be able
to produce a larger quantity of sugar at a less cost, and
a railway would relieve him of this business to a great
extent. Then the establishment of a railway would in-
troduce the use of steam-engines, which had been very
truly said to be the greatest present which science ever
made to the arts. The steam-engine had been estimated
to do the work of three hundred millions of labourers in
Great Britain. It was this labour which had enriched
the mother country, and caused such vast accumulation
of capital which was now being expended to the extent
of millions in the construction of highways all over the
kingdom. It was impossible to say to what uses this
Powerful agent might be applied when it was once fairly
introduced into the island. Ile was perfectly convinced
in his own mind that it would be found more economical
in the grinding of the canes than the windmill.'"
The work is profusely illustrated by tastefully exe-
cuted lithographs of the scenery of the island, by
several maps and diagrams, and by numerous wood-
cuts. The map of the Carribee Islands, traced from
a manuscript chart of the world preserved in the
- British Museum, and considered to have been exe-
cuted previous to the year 1536, which is given as one
of the illustrations, is quite a curiosity.

The Antwerp papers received yesterday quote a
letter from Frankfort, in which it is stated that the debts
and liabilities of the three houses which recently failed
there amount in all to about 6,000,000 florins (500,0001.).
I\lo particulars relative to assets had as yet transpired.
A lodging-house keeper at Clifton, named Daniel
Thompson, committed suicide, on Monday morning last,
by throwing himself from the St. Vincent Rocks. A
verdict of temporary insanity was returned by the
coroner's jury.

le It

DR. lIAMPDEN and PERSECUTION.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.
SIR,—I am generally a warm approver of the
sentiments, spirit, and conduct which you endeavour
to propagate, infuse, and recommend. But if Ido
not take exception to one point in your leading
;Article of this morning it is at least necessary to guard
against its wrong application.
In reference to the Dean of Hereford's objection
to act in agreement with the law, you ask, " Is it in
accordance with the generous spirit of our constitu-
tion, is it in fact consonant with the doctrines en-
joined by our religion, that a man should be subjected
to the cruel penalties of prainnnire because he will
not declare that he is willing to aid in raising an in.
dividual to the august and holy responsibilities of a
bishopric, whose opinions he believes in his conscience
to be heretical and blasphemous ?" Now, Sir, to the
conclusion at which you aim I most religiously
assent, and am astonished that in the nineteenth
century, and in a land were the circulation of the
New Testament is so general, that any person pro-
fessing Christianity can he found foolhardy enough to
contend that a Christian should obey the law when
such obedience is in opposition to his conscience.
But, Sir, the point to which I wish to call your at-
tention is this—ls the Dean of Hereford the only man
that shall be allowed to enjoy freedom of conscience
Shall he be allowed to evade or escape from the
demands and commands of the civic power, while
the rest of the community are told by these very
deans and bishops, and men in holy orders, that they
must submit to the demands of the law whatever may
be the dictates of their religious consciences? Shall such
men be allowed to coerce the Dissenters (as they do
in the case of church-rates), but themselves evade the
like authority and obligation ? Shall they, in their
oppcsition to the consciences of others, gird on the
sword of civil power, and raise the standard of
" Honour the King," but in their own case trample
that standard under foot, and wrench that weapon
from the hands of sovereignty itself? Sir, lam not
writing in favour of coercing the Dean, but in favour
of fair play, common justice, and common sense.
But one thing I do say, that if any man or men
should be forced into acting contrary to their con-
sciences, it ought to be those who contend that such
compulsion is right; if any men are made to submit
to civil authority, it ought to be those who compel
others to submit. Why should the magistrate, the
constable, the auctioneer, and the gaol be used against
the conscientious Dissenter, while sympathy and re-
spect be paid to the resistance of the Dean ? You
cite his words of being in God's temple and in His
sight, and performing the priestly office, &c.
Let not the glowing language, and the delusive
though imposing circumstances which attend the case
of Dr. Merewether, mislead our judgments. He
may be a most worthy man, but what matters it to
me that he was in a cathedral, or that he spoke feel-
ingly and solemnly ? When I hear any conscientious
disciple of Jesus declare, in the presence of that God
" who dwelleth not in temples made with hands," that
he cannot subscribe to such temples—when I see him,
under a deep sense of the presence of Him " in whom
we live, and move, and have our being"—solemnly aver
that he can support no other priest but He who hath
" entered once and for all into the holy of holies for
us"— when with this awful solemnity, and under this
deep impression of the omnipotency of religious prin
ciple, I hear such a disciple exclaim, I must " obey
God rather than man," the fact of Dr. Merewether
being in a church, and thinking himself a priest,
ought to have only its due weight, which with me
amounts to this, that he may be a very sincere man,
but most terribly mistaken.
Sir, let me call on you to place the sentiments I
have herein imperfectly expressed clearly and plainly
before the public, with that ability and honesty for
which your paper has justly acquired so high a cha-
racter, for I, in the midst of many other business
engagements, have only time to subscribe myself
yours, DALETH.
_ _

_ •
Gloucestershire, Dec. 29, 1847.
P.S.—lt must be acknowledged I write impartially,
for I pay church•rates, believing it not wrong to give
the Church its mere mammon when the State de-
mands it. But there are others who conscientiously

resist, and the question is, should the Church make
the State supreme over conscience ? Let the Dean
answer !
[This letter having been addressed personally to a
gentleman who bas ceased to have any connexion
with the office, did not reach us until some time
after it was written. All communications should be
addressed to the Editor.—ED. Sun.]