New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1860-05-05

by 0esacDment OF 'Ioru nouoey . INV :.
notice which the Dutch authorities hso W N"'
breaking out Of hostldes was the Appearances ',
three or four Eoslish privsteers OIL the "ou'N VI
the Demsrara. folio sed shortly after ~ TWO s'ooSs
n, uaY ,ha commanders Of which declared thas
thew had Lord Roopeys orders to take secession
., On. .0l.,,v u,op the sane terms winch had oren
o,on,.a =, 81 Euststns. THIS communication
s.v;n, ,,en transmitted to the Court of Policy Of
Esseoubo. that doughty body voted that IL the
,peu, attempted to asceDd toe river, ire comm md
ant of the fort should be duested to Ore at THIN,
AZ frat with blank cartridges, aud, II that
Aid not bring them to, with shot. But If
the ships returned the FIRE, he was forthwith
to hoist white Gag, and call parey, sad
if they still continued 10 fire, to pull down his
flag altogether. THIS proposed mock combat never
came off After some discussion with lieutenant
of one Of the sloops-of~ar, wb) had been sent 70
them tn q summons 70 surrender, the Dutch Au-
thorities, finding he would give them no infofna-
ton ss to the terms granted to st Euststius,
thought it more prDdeat TO surrender at discretion.
Accordingly they signed exploitation, BY which
they agreed to give up the fort, thu public stores,
and al the shipping. One Of the Butisn aoops-of-
wal entered the De ncrsra, and the other sailed to
10 take possession OF Bsrb'ce Additional ves'e's
soon arrived from Barbados with troops On board
aud the British commander proclaimed himself
director Of The THREE R,vcrs," thus for the fret
time uniting what now constitutes British Guiana
under one government
The Enshsb, however, did not long retain their
conquest. A superior French force arrived coon
after, and took possession, the French commander
in his turn, proclaiDiUg himself Governor; but at
the peace OF PARIS in 1888 the Dutch dominion was
testablisbed. The new colony Of Demerara had
by tbs lime so tar outgrown the pare0t settlement
Of Essequibo that the two were now united, and
tho Executive and Legislative authorities for both
were established at Staoroek.
Most or al of the Datch colonies established in
America took on very cosmopolitan character
As had been the care with the colony Of New Meth
erlauds, 50 the now rising united colony Of De No.
rsra and Esseqmbo freely admitted planters OF all
countries, bestowiDg upon them the same nights
with the Dutch inhabitants. Many English from
BaIbadoes and the other English islands we're at
tracted thtber by the reputed fertility of the soil,
and albough the colony was still Datch in its ale
glance and laws, in the matter OF tse Ownership
of the plantations it soon became semi English.
| There also came in number of French
| planters, to whom, after the catastrophe OF
| st. Domingo, very considerable additions were
made.
The remark may often be heard in the colooy-in
reference to the dams or dykes by which the
cultivated portions Of it are protected from the
inroaos of the tide water on the one hsud, and
of the back water on the other, and the elaborate
system of drainage, by which alone the land is
rendered capable OF cultie atOn-tka. nobody but
DutchmeD, accustomed to the dykes and drainage
| of Holland, would ever have thought of uoder-
taking such work. The credit undoubtedly be-
lonas to the Dutch planters of having rst hit upon
the idea of king and draining the low lads aad OF
having set the example of carrying 1t into practice.
But their operations were principally confined to
the banks of the rivers and creeks, where the
drainage from the elevation Of the land is COM
paraively easy, and where the inroads of the tide
water are more easily guarded against. 1t vac
mainly by the boldness enterprise, and caota Of
the English immigrants, that the much more for
mfdsble work was undertaken of settling Oh the
sea coast and of fencing oct the ocean itself.
The immediate iuducement 10 the establishment
of these sea-coast plsntat ons was not the produc
ton of either suf coffee, for which the sadness
of the so aud the difficulty of drainage rendered it
but ii adapted. Originally these plantations were
established for the cultivation of the cotton plant
branch of industry introduced abou. the year
I77O, and which from tie growing demand for cot
| ton on the part of the English manufacturers had
| rapidly increased. The first experiments in the
| reclamation of these sea.coast lands was made
| along the west coast of Demerara-tbe coast that
is Immediately adjoining the De nerata River on the
| west So attractive Did these lands soon become
to spectators and such were the ideas formed of
the produc,iveness that not long after the resto-
ration of the colonies to the Dutch the whole sea-
coast from the Pomeroop to the Corentyn was sur
yeyed and laid of int lots, which were offered for
sale by the Government. These lots had narrow
front on tie sea- generally hundred Dutch or
RhyDland rOodr-each rood being twelve feet four
inches EDglisb. The front of the lots was thus
somewhat under quarter of mile. With hun-
bred roOds front, three roods back make an acre
The proprietor of LIT was authorized to 90 back
in the fret instance to depth of seven hundred
ADD fly roOds, or about mile and three qqarte's,
thus embracing an extent of two hundred and fifty
acres. But wheo this first trac, had been brought
into cultivation, the proprietor had the right upon
the pa, u ent of a sum known as acre money, to
take up behind it second lot of tho same extent,
and that being cultivated third lot and so on un-