Washington telegraph., 1865-08-16

had served its purpose. and was thereaf-
ter cast aside and forgotten. 1t might
naturally be supposed that this violent
curtailment of the period of apprentice
ship, would, out of mere shame, have i'm
pre- ssed ministers with the prspriety of
doing something fer the relief of the colo
nies-not by way of actual pecuniary as
sistance, which was never asked-but by
giving every facility in their power to
the introduction of free labor from every
quarter whence it could be hired or OBJ
tanned. However, Course Numerically
opposite was immediately pursued; and,
up to the present time, no facilities what
ever for procuring labor have been given
to the colonists, and every obstacle has
been thrown in the way of the importa-
ton of free laborers from the coast of
Africa, f.
Under such a system the decline of
the colonies was, as a matter .ofcourse,
inevitable. The following is the Jamai-
ca statement of the relative amount and
value of the exports of that island at va
rious periods:-. ....- -..-. ....-...
''The destructive results to property, by the
chagnes thus precipitately forced ON the colony,
will be best manifesto by reference to the
exports of our three great staples-sugar, rum.
and coffee, estimating sugar at +2O per hogs
head, rum at i lO per puneheon, and coffee H
60 shillings per 100 lbs, TO wit:
Average OF .iye years ending 1907. last of the
African trade, 13l ,962 hogsh-ads at sugar, go
462 puncheons rum. %, 62o 81 lbs. coffee an
nual value 1852 ,62l.
Average of the five years ending 1915, date .f
Registry Act, lis, $50 hogsheads Of sugar. As
I26 puncheonS run. "a 3.l 7S0 lbs. coffee An
nual value 3,5SS.9O:i.
Average of the five wears ending l5.,3 date Of
Canniug's resolutions. Il0, ,924 hogshcads sugar.
Al 046 puncheons rum. Il ,7.t1 ,9U9 lbs. co:fcr;
annual value, 3, l92.6J7.
Average of the five years ending 1888, last
Eve of slavery 95,353 hosshe;,tis sugar, 30 Ju5
puncheons rum. I7,645.oJl lbs. coffee; annual
value 2.79l ,i75.
Averag,. of the five years ending ls43, irst
FIVE of freedom AZ, f5S hogsheads sugar, a. 50
puncheons rum, ! 7,Il2,495 lbs eof.e-; anrlu i
value l,2l3, ISi ...-.
Up 10 1877, the experts Of Jarnaica, pro-
gresSiveiv ros- as cultivation was extended
From that date they have been gradually sink
iagi but Ne mere esp 'cislly eutreat attention to
the evidence here atiucei of she effect of email
cipatiun, which, i'll tea years, reduced the ANN.
-
791 AIS, to l,2l3 2si, being in the proportion
of seven to sixteen, at five per cent. to an in-
vestment of about thirty-tvo millions of prop
crty annhilated. We believe the history OF the
world would be- in vain sea ched for aay narsl-
lei case of oppression, perpr;rated 10y a civilized
government upon amy section o! ats own SUB
jects.'
"In otllcr places the alteration and de-
cline has been even more startling. The
following table exhibits the state of ex-
ports from British Guiana. at intervals of
three years, beginning with 1927. and
ending as above with ISIS
1927, 7l,lGs sugar hogshra,ls. ~ ,362 ruu
puncheons, - ,226 noasss casks, 1904 cot
ton bal $ c.uj2, ,.32 lbs. cOTee, dutch.
1890, 69,7H sugar hogsheatls, - .9.i9 rum
puncheoHs 2l,I59 Ri0lasses casks, ,i23 cotton
bales, {, 9,502 ,756 lbs. coffee, dutch.
1888, 63,ilJ sugar hogshrads, II .S2I rum
punch-ous "A sos Molasses casks, 3 3.s93 cotton
bales, 81 ASP lbs eogf.;e, dutch.
1886, 57,li2 Sugaf hoEsheads, 2i.eo2 run.
puuchcoTs. 81 ,0SS ln"iassr. casks, 3 i9t, co.iOa
bales, sol .4J2 lbs. eoai--, dutch
1899, 3S,tJl sugar ho.shrads, 5000 rua,
puncheous, l2.i3i mulasses casks, 1864 coilop
bales, l-55S 250 lbs. coffee, dutch.
1843, 3o,735 sugar hogshcads, 1896 ruin
puncheons, 24,e37 molass,s casks, ~ cotton
bales, ,42s, ,lGU lbs. coffee dutch.
"And during the whole period of those
changes, there was Il constantly aug
menting consumption in the mother coun-
try of all the art cles of colonial producel
The causes OF this extraordinary de-
cline of product n are abundantly clear,
and the facts now adduced ought to COW
er with confusion those ignorant and
pragmatical prrsapages who avcrrcd that,
under a system ct free trade, no loss
whatever would be sustained by the
planters. No doubt. had free labor been
ready and attainabe, the loss would have
been much diminished; but the misfor-
tune was, that free labor could not BIZ
found within the colonies to anything
like the required extent; and neither time
nor Opportunity Were afforded to the
planters to obtain it elsewhere. The
friends of the African have either per
suaded themselves, or endeavored to cheat
the public into the belief, that the negro
has attained a point OF civilization and
dociity, from which large proportion of
the inhabitants of the British islands are
at this moment very widely removed
They promised. on his behalf, that when
emancipated, he would set down serious
ly to work, and, with a heart fall &C graf
itude, proceed to earn his wages by toll
ing in the seryice of his employer 1t is
well for those gentlemen that they did
not offer any tangible forfeit in the event
of the failure of their portege The ne
gro is perhaps more fully alive than any
other class of mankind to the luxury of
undistur bed idleness. He has few wants,
and those few are easily supplied in such
a splendid island as Jamaica, where his
provision ground, with the smallest pos
sible amount of cultivation, will afford
him every necessary, and some of the
luxuries of lite. hat he caunot raise for
himself must, OF course, be obtained by
labor; but very slight portion indeed of
the primal curse now lights upon the
emancipated negro, who bas no ambition,
and consequently ne motive to persevere
Thus. the negroes abandon themselves to
a life of Lazy sensuality, and look upon
the neglected cane-tields and choked cof-
fee plantations with an eye of utter iHdif
ference.
"The great object of the planters,
therefore-fOr the existence of the colo
pies seems to depend ,Ipon the success of