The Massachusetts spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1831-1858, 1832-08-15
From Il Lond0n Paper.
BRITISH COLONIES.

I portanl branch of affairs Notwithstanding the
loss of the United States, the Colonies of Grcal
Britain, exclusive of India, exceed in number
extent and value, those of every other country
In North America we possess the provinces Of
Upper and Lower Canada, Novia Scotia and
New Brunswick, with their dependencies, in
which are Included Prince Edwards Island
! Great Britain also possesses the HudsoE's Bay
territory; Il tract Of vast extent, but situate in
an uhproitable climate, and worth very little
+ except Tor Hunting grounds for beaver, &c
! We also possess the large Islands of Newfouna.
land and Cape Breton, but the soil is barren and
the climate severe and fogey so thpt they arc
valuable principally as fishing stations The
entire population of all th;se North American
colonies are estimated at about one million.
In the West Indies we possess jamaica Bar
BADGES, St Lucia, Antigua, Grenada, st. GUM
cent, Trinidad, and some other Islands exclu
sive OF Demerara, Berhce, and Essequibo, in
! South America. Jamaica is by far the largest
and most valuable of our insuar possessions
Demetara, Berbicc, and Essequibo, were taken
| from the Dutch during the late war. and were
definitely ceGed to us in 1914 The British also
possess the settlement of Belize in the Bay OF
Honduras
In the East we possess the island of Ceyon,
which, though populous. is one OF the least val.
liable OF our possessions. The British possess
ern Africa, called the Cane of Good Hope. of
winch Cape Town is the C.pital. This colony
was ais" coded by the Dutch to the British in
1915. Great Britain likewise owns the island
OF Maurlllus, which was coed by the French in
1874. The island is not very fertile, and meas.
uIes about $50 miles in circumference The
largest possession Of the British in the Southern
Hemisphere is the island or continent of New
ilolland and the adjoining island OF Van Die.
mans Land. These with their dependencies
receive the collective appelation Of Australasia
The population of the whole is only about 81.
900 exclusive of aborigines. The most value
less of all possessions is Sierra Leone, dstric.
ton on the southwest coast of Africa. This
colony was founded partly as a commercial es-
tablshmemt, but more from motives Of humani-
ty. II was intended to CONSIST principally OF
free blacks, who being instructed in the Chris.
tian religion, and in the arts of Europe, should
become, as ii were, focus whence civilization
might be dlfiused among the surrounding tribes.
About ZOO free negroes, who, having Joined
the royal standard in the American war, were
obliged, at the termination of that contest, to
take refuge IN Nova Scotia, were conveyed
thilher in 1872 to these were afterwards add.
ed the Maroons from jamaica and since the
legal abolition OF the slave trade, the negroes
taken in the captured vessels, and liberated,
have been carried To the colony. The total
number of liberated African, under the superin-
tenGence of the colonial authorities is about
$4,000. Great efforts have been made to civ
lilZe these blacks, but all have failed, and the
colony presents melancholy instance Of per.
verled and abased national philanthropy.
The British possess certain islands and places
in the Mediterranean. The chief possession in
this quarter is Malta, an island 90 miles long
and from 10 to IL miles broad. 1t was def.
| nitely ceded by the French in 1876 1t is re.
tanned as Military and Naval station. The
population, including the troops and strangers
amounts to about 100000. The small island
of Geo, adjacent, has a population of about
$1,000. The lonian Isles in Greece, also be.
long to Great Britain. The principal foreign
military station belonging to the British in this
part of the world is Gibraltar, a rocky promon.
tory, near the southernmost extremity of Spain,
and commanding the strait which communi-
Gates betwixt the Atlantic and Mediterranean
The population about l6500, exclusive Of
the troops, which usually amount to 1900 or
1000. Such are the British Colonial posses
sions worth noticing.
The retention of colonies is understood to
serve two chief purposes The import and en-
port trade with them is said to be Of great ben
/ ent 10 the Mother Country; and this traffic
encourages the maratime profession, which is
always associated with the welfare of this
twixt Great Britain and some of It's colonies is
immense. In the year 1929, the imports flom
the British North American colonies amounted
in value to & ,OSS, 500, aud the exports thther
to Sc 0G4 l26 In the same year, 1909 ships
arrived from the same colonies with burden
of 43l ,l24 tons while 1869 ships cleared out
wards with burden of Asia tons. The
imports consist generally Of timber ashes, fish,
| oil, skins, and other raw produce. The export
consists Of luxurics of every desert pton, and
all kinds Of manufactured goods The British
West India colonies export three great articles,
sugar, coffee and rum. In 1880 there were
about 100000 of hundred weights of sugar
imported from thence, and upwards of twenty.
seven millions OF lbs of coffee, and nearly eight
millions gallons of rum. From this vast i'm
porlation of goods, the Government received
( in duties seven millions five hundred Thousand
pounds sterling, being between a sevsnth and
| sixth Of the whole Revenue of the British EN-.
pire. The exports from this country to our
West Indian colonIcs consist OF coarse cottons
linens, checks, hats, and other articles of negro
clothing; hard ware and earthen ware, slaves
hoops, coal, lime, provisions, fish, furniture. &c
The total amount of imports from the West
India colonies in the year 1929, was E9,067,-
9l4, while the total Of exports in the same
year was 1851 100, of which jamaica itself
had about G9,000,000. The number of ships
| which arrived was nine hundred and sky
eight, having a burden of 2G3,3 1873 tons the
number outwards was nine hundred and eight.
cen, with burden of 25z 1913 tons The prices
of all kinds of West India produce have greatly
fallen, on account of the cultivation Of the same
articles being now carried on in new countries
not formerly taking part in this trade The Brit
ish possessions in the Bay OF Honduras afford
means of obtaining abundant supplies Of Ma.
hogany, and serve as an entrep0t for the sup
pIv of Guatemala with English goods. The
trade with the remaining colonies is of inferior
value. Mauritius exports nearly 800, 900 hum
drcd weight of sugar annually; It's coffee trade
is declining il exports tortoise shell to the ex
tent of c9.000 year. Provisions, machinery,
clothing, &c, are largely imported. With re.
gard to the Cape Of GOud Hope, 1t appears that
i that colony exports To Gfea. Britain goods
TO the value of about E2,000,000 on an aver.
aye annually, while the value of the exports
here, amounts to upwards of double Of that
sum-
clustered FEET. The foHo,oiug mode
Of cure lCaS communicable Capt. Cochrane
dndhe says he nerer found it to fad:-"H is
simply 10 'rtb the feet, on going to bed, ,oiM
spirits mired wih taiio,o dropped from q
lighted candle into The palm Of he hand. O,
The ,foLiowing morning no bHSiers erist III,