New-York daily tribune., 1859-05-17
fEEE LABOR IN THE WEST INDIES.


The April number Of The EdinJsrgh Rerie'c,
n an article on thc - West iudcs as they were ana
sre." REPLIES 10 the vague declamations about tho
nun of WRIT india ptopr!rtors Through the Idle
pcs. Of The cmancipa'd nrgrorS and the dlminu-
ton of the sugar cultivation in those islands, ny an
appeal 90 statistical iacis-
1t Is fully admitted that during several years
(,o,o l-i7 onward, the owners Of Vest India prop
er,v sur. red greatly, and that many of them wore
,educed 10 ruin. Bat this was not caused by
ouy falling ~ ia the production Of snsar. on the
contrary. during this ycry period oi distress 10 'ne
rro,lirtors. there WAS decided increase OF pro-
duciou In the siX years from i'il 10 ioio' In
elusive. the importations of West India sugar INTO
tho United Kingdom amounted 10 li,62C, 90 cwt.
IT, ll,r n,.Nt sx years iyum lei7 to 1852 inclusive
the ,crv ACME and agni,, of West India distress,
and during which period the speedy aoandohineh'
If ,nyar cultivation in the West Indies vas freely
prcIhesitd, the impcrtations amounted 10
l7.?l-.A2 cwt., being an increase TO the large
amount of 3,H:I-, ,3l2 cw'. If II be- asked no"
i; happened that. with tina increase W
,,cGncr the value Of West lndls prop
crk 40 srr.tl, drcnrd, and so many
PLANTERS were ruined, the answer is to be SOUGHT
IL comparison of the marhet va!ils OF the prod
ucts nf these tuV successive Pcrir"is Inc tfac
e,rIsnstirn If the unprofitabIencs: Of West Indian
culii aiinn during the latter PERIOD and the rum "i
80 mspy eugugrd IL ii, rs tn bc found III The prey
nsrt and striking fact that West India sugar,
which sd 10 1910 lnr i9s per c0t., IN bond, exci'
si,e of duty, had sunk in 1880 43s 5d-a decline
in value of more than one half an occurrence OF
TIE very same kind which. during the two years
past has produced so fearful decline IN the value
of so many specieF of Western property, reducing
to poverty so many persons who had supposed
ih.,srl,cs itch. la the eight years ending with
| 1916 West India sugar bad averaged, eAciu-
sive Of duty, 37s. Sd per cwt. ln the eight
| fni,wiuV wears il averaged only PAS. 6d. In
the first eli lht years the whole production of the
Briri-L West Indies was just abb ut 20 oOOOOO cwt,
while the second period produced 2i,500.00O cwt
AZ the ,.ic, VI ~ first eight y""r", 'h'" T''--s
ougrt "a nave v,"ugnt ~ ~,o00.oVo more than 1t
| actually sold for A. If WAS, the whole amount
realized from this lcs,ased product fell saort OF
| the amnnmt received for the smaller crop Of the
| preceding eight years by $4,000, 600. The cause
oi THE great fell If price which ia the true e1plana-
tion If West IliIh distress is 10 be found in the
WITHDRAW 81 ,f the protective duties which the West
| lDdis planters he'd hitherto etjcl led--a measure
with which the uegro laborers had nothing to do,
ard for which they Cannot in any sense Dc held
rctp"usiDlc.
This tremendous fall in the price Of their prod
uce came upon the planters With peculiar force.
The estates b-longed mostly to abseniees. They
were carried on il most extravagHnt way and
with hardly m exception we're hoa'ily mortgaged.
They wrrc cultivated as had tecn the cssc Iron
the beginning. oniy b.! meals Of large capital sG-
nusIly advanced by London merchants on security
of the grosiug crops. OF which the consignment
wss assured to them. But with this enormous
fall in the prico of sugar thr credit %! the planter
was gone !Ie was embarked in an enterprise
which hr could only garry on by means of large
advances. ard such adF ancts were not now 10 be
Lad. Bu though great numbers Of planters we're
thus crushed exactly :hcy bad bceu I'M
der similar circumstances in the time of
Slavery, stil the cultivation went on.
as the above returns show, and il
has couinuedi. 60 on ever sihce-the imports into
the United Kingdom. Of British West India sugars
for the pr,iod ifom 1913 10 ioJc iaciusive having
amounted to is.4i3,34l cwt, still gain uPoa tue
prryiCns period, 10 which also should be added q
considerable amount -xpuTted 10 the United STATES
Pricrs have 90 ain cCme up. In i-57 the valuc of
thr sugar aloue exported TO the United Kingdom
anOuuied To upward ol twenty -slx millions oil dol
lars Nor can This vast production be attributed
to the immigrant. IL the last i've years oaly
twenty-five thousand immigrants have been intro
dnced into all tho West Indies from which
number ought to be deducted those VIVA,
III the same period, have returned hume.
IL 1882 and 1885 the last two wears Of Slavery,
the British sugar colonies exported 5.i7l IA cwt
of sugar, In the two years lo:,6 and I-53 they
exported to Great Britain alone, -,.35, ,tJl cws.;
and. beside this large trade, altogether new, has
sprung mp 10 Australia the United States aud other
counties, of which there no published returns.
This statement: includes MsuritiuS, which has had
th1 benefit of Cody immigration on large scale
But, leaving out this island, and leaving o,.f ia
maies also, which has suffered from peculiarly bad
Eans cement, the other fifteen sugar colonies show
product for the three years OF lo5-6-7 Of Az
6is emt. Of sugar, against 7,l'5,ol9 cwt produced
IN the last three Years Of Slavery.
These clear statistical facts contain an sbundsnt
reu,aon OF all the declamaticns about the ruin OF
the West Iudcs and the disastrous effects of
emancipation.
THE DEBT OF FRANCE TO ITALY.
Il.ra -. NJ .f H..