The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1852-11-04
EMANCIPATION.

EMANCIPATION.
We have heard great deal of the failure
negro emancipation in the British West Ind
Islands 1t il shown that their exports hay
diminished. and that the negroes refuse to wor
for their former owners except at rates whic
are inconsistent with the profits the latter dC
sire to make out Of the former But it does nc
seem to be made out at the same time that til
emancpated blacks enjoy less of the neccssare
and comforts of life and Of the means of mora
and intellectual improvement than they di
before And yet it would appear that ernanc
patton could not justly be called failure, unlcs
its subjects were brought by it into IA wOrs
condition than before
But leaving the British Colonies out of tn
question, the advocates of Emancipation ma
points to those of France, without fear that th
supporters Of Slavery rs an eternal institution
can deny or eyade the facts which they fur
nish Those facts we find set forth in recent
number of the Recue DIES deur W0ndeS. in ar
article by Capt Bowel Wllaumez, former Gov
ernOr of Senegal With treasury reports anC
other official documents ut hand, he reviews il
all the French Colonies the result Of three year,
and upward of emancipation and shows that
| Judging by the amount of exports, the great test
of the opponents of the measure, it must be
pronounced anything but failure. Let Us
look at the facts
The Island of Martinique il small, with a
circumference of 100 to 100 miles, and a sur.
face of about $50 900 acres The population.
like that OF most of the French colonies is com
posed of whites, or creoles, who are Europeans
by descent Of blacks Of African origin, and of
colored men derived from both these races.
The first number about 5000, and own the
greater part of the lands and capital, and have
in their possession all the wholesale trade, as
well as the most productive branches of in
dustry. The colored men, or mulattoes about
800 in number, inhabit mostly the towns
where they live either by trade or by mechanical
or manufacturing labor, or as fishermen cooks
&c. They were mainly free before the Reyolu-
ton of 1913, being either free born or set free
by their masters, or having purchased their
freedom themselves. The blacks, on the con-
trary, who constitute the main body of the
population of Martinique, were almost all slaves
before 1913 they number about 10000 the
whole population of the island being about
10000.
The products Of Martinique are derived first
from the culture of sugar; next come coffee
cocoa, and little cotton, too, but the three last
branches do not equal i'll value even quarter OF
the sugar crop, 80 that we may consider only
this last product, and leave the others out OF
the account
Emancipation, as is known, took place du-
ring the excitement Of 1913. During the ten
years previous, the export Of sugar had averag-
ed about 60,000,000 lbs. yearly at the end OF
1913, owing to the disturbances Of the year.
the documents of the custom-house exhibit
only n result of 10, SOC, 900 lbs the end of the
year 1919 exhibits n still further decrease, for
the sum total dcscends to - 90 600 lbs. In
1850 the product remained about the same,
but in 1881 there was gratifying increase
at the end of that year the export had risen to
; 500 600 lbs; and the first three months of
1852 present still more happy prospect for
the current year for during these three
months there was an export Of / :. 500 600 lbs
while the same period of 1851 exported only
5000, 600 lbs At this rate, there is every reason
to hope that for this year the export will reach
the average of 10000 900 lbs, which it had
before the act of emancipation
The annual importations of Martinique
present just the same aspect. Thus from
% 81 Os9 francs, which they reached in
lS47, they had fallen at the end of 1913 to
10 753, 73l francs; in ls49, they re-ascendcd
II j2l 800 francs in 1850 to Y, 93O, O76 francs
and as to the year 1851, it presents still more
satisfactory results-for the first three quarters
of that year, which alone are vet ascertaincd.
exhibit in merchandise imported into the colony
a figure of l5,4I5, 1913 francs, while the cor
responding period of 1850 furnishes only n
total Of 34l2, 093 francs.
In view of these results, says Mr. Bouet-
Willaumez is there no reason to rejoice ut the
social transformation of Martinique We leave
the question to onr friends who seek TO render
bondage eternal
So much for Martinique but Guadaloupe is
no less instructive. That island is situated IS
miles north of Martinique from which it does
not greatly differ, either IN products or local
manners and customs. The results of cman-
cipation are very much the same in both, and
it is only in order to leave no doubt rs to the
facts, that we give the exact figures The pop
uiation OF Guadaloupe and its dependencies
numbering about 1919, 000 is like that of Mar.
Unique composed of 200 to II, 900 whites.
about 10000 cOlored men, and the rest of
blacks free since 1913 During the ten year.
preceding the revolution of February the
average Of the islands exports amounted tt
70 000 900 lbs sugar; in lSlS il fell to IS 900 OOC
lbs; in 1910 to 80 000 900 lbs: and in 1850. Tn,
decrease was such that the custom. house ac
counts show for this year no more than
2S,000,0 900 lbs Ii is true that ut this epoc
the disorders became 80 serious in this COLONY
that its Governor was forced to put it under
martial law but this measure was quite sufl
cient to establish security, and restore to labor
the recent freedman In 1851 we see thi.
Colony exporting $4,000 600 lbs of sugar; anC
it promises even more encouraging results fol
1852, because the first three months of thi
year have already furnished an export o
| PAS, 600 lbs. of sugar while the same periot
of the preceding year furnished only 4, 200, 00(
lbs. Thus Guadalupe, like her sister Martin
iquc, has resolutoy resumed the work, and
will surely be restored by it to her former
prosperity.
The importations into the Colony have been
subject to the same variations. In ISl7 they
amounted to n ,339,l 1877 francs but at the
end of lSiS had fallen TO 1881 6Sl francs, al
which they remained during lSI9 and 1850
But in 1881 the merchandise imported into the
Colony during the three first quarters of the
year amounted to the sum of l3O35 IS francs
while the corresponding period of 1850 exhibits
only the value OF 1881, $40 francs
Turn now to the Island of Bourbon The
products Of this Island are the same as those
of the Antilles with the exception of cloves
which is next 10 coffee in the list of its pr0duc-
tons but sugar is always its most considera.
BILE crop, and is equal to three or four times
the value of all the others together The pop