The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1848-12-12

Neac laHOeu WIN lhe following extract OF 4 letter
from young American destined Lima to his friend
in Washington, dated
KINGSTON, Jamaica, Nov 8, 1913.
l fear that it would require more experienced pen
than my own to invest any account of Jamaica with
much iniefest Much, indeed, might be written of the
dePorable state of the island and an American might
derive an instructive lesson therefrom on a sube at
present engaging the attention of our countrymen refer
to the experiment made here of total and entire and too
hasy emancipation of the slaves 1t is here that the
favorable circumstances combined to give impair
tal trial How has succeeded? Let the and
faithful accounts given by papers of the utter ruin
and decay, but too visible throughout the length and
breadth OF the island, answer The enormous depeca-
Ton in every sfeces of property the fact that not
than one-thrd the plantations are under full cultivation
that each crop increases the burden of their debts that
the amount of their products is diminished, that the
value OF the principal crop, viz the sugar. is 100000 less
Than the expenditures for government &c the constant
emigration of those who can disengage themselves
IRON business, and the condition of their large. idle,
ana worthless negro poPuahon-all furnish abun-
dant evidence that there has been great in
the policy pursued towards the island AT the same
lime, we must seek for more causes than to account
Tor this rum The coonists compaia that the dscrim
mating duty is not sufficiently high to enable them to
compete with save-grown sugar, but we Americans find
that slave labor cannot compete with free The difficult
~ here appears to be- that restraint removed the
negroes will only work long enough to gain bare sub
ssence at very high rates The enormous expense at
which the government is administered may be adduced
of the operating the prejudice of the
planters A statement published in a Kingston paper
shows the expenditures in 1913 to have been E4o5 900
Then the duties levied on their sugar amour, to about
cent. per ID. Now Texas and louisiana produce
sugar for this price, net
The proportion of the black TO the white population
Is about thirty forty to The whites nearly
all Jews and Spaniards ] am informed that there is not
single American commercial house the island. At
me same time large portion of the revenue is derived
ron duties on American provisions, which brought
here and exchanged for cash These vessels seldom take
any cargo IN RETURN except little fruit there is a
continual dram OF specie from the island.
The streets and houses of Kingston present a very
rulnous appearance When house burns down, the old
brick walls are suffered to moulder away with no attempt
10 rebuild The houses of the better class are Comfort
able though petensons elegance of architecture are
made. Balconies built many of the side. walks
and the latter paved in some streets The site OF |
the city is a large sandy plain enclosed on the north
cast, and west, by lofty mountains Many of the mer-
chants reside outside of the city the sides of the
mountains The heat in Kingston is oppressive: but at
elevation of 900 feet above, the climate pleasant
and saubrious. About two miles from the city the
plain, quartered regiment OF her Malcsy's
black troops The British troops are quarered high up
the side of one of the mountains This arrangement
adopted in consequence of the extraordinary
tay prevailing among the unacclimated troops, when