The Irish republic. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1867-18??, 1867-10-12
Jamaica.

An elaborate minute of the Governor the finances and
taxation of the colony has just been published and is the
subject of lengthy comment by the newspaper press The
minute is in certain allegations contained in
MORALS by the planters against the financial and other
of Sir John Grants government AS these memo
ra although addressed to the Legislative Council here
intended principally for the Home Government, Sir
John has prepared the minute for the of the
Colonial Minister on the subjects embraced in Them The
picture he draws of the state in which he found the colony
is by atterng its former rulers He points out
that for series of years the gross considerably
less than the ordinary charges and that large loans
regularly raised not only for extraordinary but
also in great part make good these annual deficits in the
ordinary annual expenditures and he has appended to the
minute number of official statements, showing the long
succession of deficits the great growth of debt and the empty
Treasury which the present Government succeeded What
makes this long series of annual deficits the difficult
deal WITH he says that they incurred without
able provision being made for the two great ends of civil
government namely order and justice He shows that not
wihsandng the heavy outlay for police the force
worthless that life and property formerly much at the
mercy of the unruy if there had been police at all
and he gives his deliberate opinion that with efficient
police the lamentable disturbances of October 1865 would
have been prevented He audes the fact that while there
the greatest extravaganza in most branches of the public
service the Educational Department hitherto has been
uay starved As to the administration of justice he
that hitherto in all but trivial matters the doors of justice
have been practically closed to the great of the people
Defending his Government against the charge of
sariy increasing taxation he shows concusvey that the
necessity of wholly from the financial posi-
ton bequeahed the present Legislative Council by the
late House of Assembly, and he insists that such increase
was necessary insure the protection OF the peace and the
accessibility OF justice ALL The policy of the Government
he says; keep all classes in order and make Justice
accday accessible to all classes faithful observance Of
this policy he believes will the fortunes of jamaica
what effect 1t Is already having the black population of
the island the Governor shows in the following passage Of
his minute with reference to the wise the cottages Of
the peasantry:
The memoralsts OF St Ann further that the is
causing real discomfort among the class affected by it. ten
fold greater than that supposed previously to exist This is
remarkable assertion Bearing in mind on the one hand
the strong representations of the general discomfort Of the
black population in 1865 made only by the Government
of the day. but by numerous private persons the GREAT
popular meetings of that year, and what was said Of 6
and what written of them the occurrences Of Ooh
in that year. and the representations of the existence Of
universally rebeous spirit made by the highest authority
long after those and knowing on ~
other hand the unexamped of quiet and content in
which the black population at this moment the marked