The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1835-09-29 00:00:00

,TA MA ICI CROP,

. It is seldotn that we have of late referred to colonial :Mei-
genes di any length. In fact, we wave considered it uuneees-
sail- to bestow time and labour upon toe. subject, the goveruineot
and the people 'of Great Britain being determined !bat only
what is =nod aad pleasant shall be heard of the works of their
hands, tiowever• rash and mischievous these have been or may
be. The concealment of the truth, however, which the Mar-
,
quie of Sligo's clap-trap speech to the Jamaica legislature so
unaccountably called together in August, received by the packet
just arrived, and which is so midi bruited abroad, and laid hold
of to distract and impede the regular course of mercantile trans-
actions, induces us to notice a few of the more prominent state-
meets which it contains, and to expose from unquestionable
resources their disingeuuity and scandalous errors.
The marquis says, from the Ist August, 1834, to the Ist of.
August, 1835, Jamaica has shipped. 68,000 hhdi. sugar; that
there are no snore causes to cut; that the crop has diminished a
little from what bad been calculated owing.to the season, but
that, upon the whole, the crop and every thing " was better than
lie expected;" thus conveying to his employers and masters,
and through them to the misled people of this country, the im-
pression that the crop in Jamaica for this year then finished
was little at all deficient from any former crops.
This is the substance of the marquis's speech, and which the
wiseacres who compile and confuse price currents in London
lay hold of to suit their purposes. What the marquis " expect-
ed" we could only know correctly by the publication of those
gloomy despatches which he wrote from Jamaica to Downing.-
street about twelve mouths ago, and which have been all
garbled or suppressed; while he at the time got a rap across the
knuckles for transmitting these, and a decided intimation that
such were notthe kind of despatches to suit on this side of the
water. With these before us, we should at once ascertain what
the noble marquis "expected;',' but, being without these, we
turn to documents which neither he nor the Colonial-office can
shut up, though the latter may sometimes, as in this year, keep
them back from us for a time, and from these show what the
crops of Jamaica have been in years past, and, front showing
these, learn what the crop of Jamaica ought to have been, and
what it would have been under customary circu,stances.
In vain the noble marquis now blames the season. Every
one acquainted with the facts knows that there have not been
finer seasons for many years than the last and the present sea-
sons have been for Jamaica, and also that all the canes for the
the crop 18,35 were on the ground before the Ist of August,
1834, and required °nit the fostering of reasonable weather to
bring to maturity. The island had such weather, and the noble
marquis, whose memory seems not to be very good, unless, in-
deed, the whigs in Downing-street jumble the effusion of his
brains, as they do effusions contained in other despatches, tells
Air. Siring !eke. in hia de3p!itch, December 13th, 1834, (see
Parliamentary Report, No. 177, of last session,) that " the
crop was NEVEM Barrett in appearance, and, therefore, &there
is any little deficiency in the negroes' work this crop, it will, I
hope, be made up by the extra quantity which the ground pro-
duces this year." Well, it has produced just 68.0J0 hhds., part of
which, and no small part, belouged to crop 1834, and was, from
adverse circumstances, shipped, as many a one knows, after the
Ist of August, instead of before it, as was customary for crops
to be. However, we give the marquis and Downing-street cre-
dit for the whole; and now for the former crops of Jamaica.
Previous to 1814 the average exceeded 120,010 hhds. For
the following years (1814 to 1820) it stood as under, according
to the annual returns given in to the assembly :-
Hhds. Tierces. -Brls.
1814.
181.5..
- 1816
1817 ... 116,012 11,094 2,868
1818 113,818 11,388 '2,786
1819 .. 108,303 11,540 3,244
' 1820 • 115,065 11,322 2,47 t
1821 ... 111,512 11,703 1.992
1822
1823... 94,905 9,179 1;917
1814... 99,225 9,651 2;791
1825
1886 99.978 9,514 3,126
1827... 82,396 . 7,554 3,441
1828... .81,908 8.724 2.810 ,
1829. • • 91,150 9,561 3,292
For the undermentioued-teata we give the quantity in civic,,
as landed in Great Briteint exlusive of what ter one year was
carried into Ireland, varying from 20,000 to 30,000. cwt.' and
remarkieg that the quantity' fur one year in the above, and one
in the following is unusually low front the insurrections which
took place. 'I he return for last year has not been produced,
but the crop is gond-above an %iverage one.
1830.... 1,3;9,347 cwt.. Great Britain and Ireland.
1831.... 1,429,093 " ..Great Britain only.
1R32.... 1:431,689 " ..Great Britain and Ireland.
1833.... 1,256,990 " DO. Do.
The average crop of Jamaica, then, front 1821 to 1829 incla-
sive, was equal tO 98,000 hhds.; and, notwithstanding the severe
loss by insurrection, the average of 1830 to 1834 inclusive, if we
had the return for the latter year, would be 95,000 hhds., of 15
cwt. net each at the King's beam, for Great Britain and Ire-
land, and, including shipments to other places, from 2,000 to
3,000 hhds. more, 98,(X./0 or it deficiency as under:-
Average crop, 1820 to 1834 inclusive, 98,(YJ0 hhds.
Crop 1835, 68,000 "

Deficiency • 30,(X)() "
or nearly one third, which is surely enough for one year of
emancipation, more especially when we recollect that the, canes
were on the ground before emancipation commenced, and the
apprentices had them only to reap.
The fact is. the canes rotted on the ground because onr black
relations would not work; and, if we are not misinformed, the
crop is not finished in many places, and cannot be finished for
the same reason.

The conduct that attempts to conceal or to gloss over these
alarming truths is roost re.prehensible, and is unworthy the
Marquis ( f Rot neither he nor others can help them-
selves. They must he, like O'Connell and municipal commis-
sioners; &c. &c. to support • whig powers and expenses, and
radical theory and robbery. The reply of the Jamaica Assem-
bly to the Governor's speech gives the lie to its whole assertions,
and which, notwithstanding the Governor • secreted hiinself for
two nays to rrevent its being received, that it might be sent by
the packet along with his speech, (what a Pitiful subterfuge!),
has, we learn, come, and we shall soon be able to present it to
.our• readers. On some idle day also, when we get clear of
O'Connell and other whig missionary humbugs and nuisances,
we shall give a letter from the Marquis of Sligo to the govern-
ment, written on the 29th December last, but never intended
to see the light, it being. most scandalously concealed, and, at
the same time, state how it has come into our hands, and which
gives a dark but true account of the then state of Jamaica.—
Glasgow Courier.