The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1848-06-06 00:00:00

WEST INDIA MAIL.

The Severn ariivecfat-tlinPiOncn Saturday from
Jamaica. The revolution at Hayti arose from Soulouqui
accusir, Ardorem of treashn, and putting him in prison.
His adherents then attempted to displace the President,
but they were defeated. It was a war of colour, between
the browns and blacks. Port-au-Prince quiet. It is re-
ported that the English Consul at Port-au-Prince refused
protection to the defeated party ; but that the French
Consul protected all who required it. The negroes at
Martinique were assembling, anxiously expecting emanci-
pation. Large amounts of specie have been recovered
from the wreck of the Tweed. Santa Anna has arrived
at Jamaica. In the West India islands an average crop
was expected, but Jamaica wanted rain. All the islands
were healthy, except Barbadoes.
In Jamaica the signs of'an utter prostration of credit
seem rapidly to accumulate, and such was the difficulty of
obtaining money accommodation, that the rates paid
averaged from 12 to 18 per cent per annum. The weather
was unsettled at the latest date. No specific accounts of
the progress of the crops are given by the Barbadoes jour-
nalists. The Dominica accounts state, that the attention
of the Assembly was urgently directed by the inhabitants
to the necessity of a speedy reduction in taxation, in order
to give them an opportunity of maintaining themselves
against the shock of the existing crisis.
The St. Lucia papers, quoting late intelligence from
Martinique, confirm the private advices mentioned a few
days back, respecting the rising of the negroes.
From Demerara information is furnished of the combined
Assembly having. on the 26th of April, in reply to the
opening address of the Governor, positively intimated their
refusal to vote the estinia4-es Lr the next year, until news
shall have been received of the measures which may be re-
solved on by the home government, in connexion with the
report of the recent committees of the House of Commons
on the general state of the sugar colonies, " it being, under
existing circumstances, impossible for the Assembly to
form a correct opinion as to the means they will have of
defraying the expenses of Government." Meanwhile, in
order not to place the Governor in any circumstances of
sudden or vexatious embarrassments, it was proposed to
renew the taxation law, whence the revenue is derived, and
which expires on the 30th of June, to the 15th of August
next. This was resisted by Governor Light, who demanded
a renewal till the 30th of September. The Assembly re-
maining stubborn, he said he would takes day to consider.
The Court was accordingly adjourned for 24 hours, when
the Governor announced his ultimatum that he could not
allow any tax to be voted for a less period than three
months, " which was in itself a great concession:" The
members, however, could not be induced 'to alter their
resolution, and it being consequently impossible to proceed
with business, an adjournment was ordered bythe Governor
sine die.

By the accounts from British Guiana it would appear
that labour on the estates is pretty nearly at a standstill,
all the Creole labourers refusing to work at reduced
wages. It is difficult to say which are in a worse position,
the planters of Demerara or those of Trinidad. In Deme-
rara the labourers will not work at reduced wages, although
they can afford to do so, having plentiful provision grounds.
In Trinidad the people, not having provision grounds,
cannot maintain themselves at any great reduction in the
present rate of wages, and yet if they had provision
grounds, in all probability, like the Demerara labourers,
they would refuse to submit to any reduction so long as
their provisions lasted.
Sugar was selling in a few instances so low as 52,75 per
100 lb. for shipment to Nova Scotia and other North
American markets—a price wholly ruinous to planters.
Labour, however, was abundant and steady, and at a
moderate rate of wages.
In Antigua, among other efforts to meet the disastrous
contest with slave-grown sErar, a movement had been
made, and it would appear with some prospect of success,
to get the existing charge upon produce of 4s. per cwt.
for freight reduced to 35., free of drogherage, while the
latter is proposed to be reduced from 9s. 4d. per hhd. to
7s.
SLAVERY AND THE WEST INDIES.—The state of Do-
minica and progress of public opinion there may be
gleaned from the following observations, extracted from
the Colonist of that island :—" What the West Indians
ask is protection—protection from slave competition.
If you can,' say they, emancipate the slaves in Brazil
and Cuba, then we shall compete with them without
hesitation ; if you cannot then your course is plain—give
us protection or maintain your new principles, and revive
slavery. If the mother country will do neither one thing
nor the other, we submit they ought to let us alone.
France and the United States will pay a premium for us,
and we shall say to England in a voice of thunder, Good
bye to your commercial greatness.' "