, 1868-04-28

tees report, consider III d lact certain, tnat tne
Council thereby declared, to have no objections
to the privileges in the Custom-dues at home
eventually being made dependent-on on a reduc-
ton in the Custom-dues here on articles from
the mother-country.
The 2nd member for Christiansteds country
district (Ratcliffe) corroborated the views of
His Excellency the Governor, and considered
it even desirable, that the duties on impOrta-
lions from Denmark be reduced, they having
caused a rise in the prices of the articles here.
The Chairman observed, that the committee
report has in toto adopted his views on the
subject in question.
1t was then put to the vote, if the Council
should adopt the Committees report, which
motion was agreed to unanimously with 13
votes.
The following draft of the final application to
His Excellency the Governor was then read:
ellis Excellency
Governor Birch,
Commander of the Order of Dannebrog and
Dannebr0gsman.
In the meeting of the Colonial Council of
October 14th last, a mitt was elected to
draw up a report on a memorial from the plan
ters of this Island to Your Excellency for cob
tanning more favorable conditions for the inn
po~rtation of the produce of this Island into the
mOthercountry."
The cause for giving in their report so late
as in the meeting of the 18th instant the Com
mittee have stated to be, firstly, that the confe-
rences which they deemed it desirable to hold
with Your Excellency were interrupted by Your
having to 90 to st. Thomas in consequence of
the earthquake of November 18th secondly and
principally, the contemporary intelligence of the
sale Of the Islands,-a sale in which there was
IL uoa,A~ T. ~ Of ftrnJv woo in
cluded,-and after which it would appear super
fuous to petition the Danish Government for
the aforementioned purpose, as the cession of
the Island to America Would,-even in a much
higher degree-carry with it the advantages de-
sired for it. AS it, however, since the publica-
ton of the treaty concluded between His Ma
iesty the King and the President of the United
States, must be considered doubtful whether
st. Croix also will be coded, there arose in this
Island a painful anxiety, apt to draw the minds
of the inhabitants to reflect upon their future
relations, such as people must suppose and fear
would arise in the event of our becoming Sepa-
rated from the Sister Islands, and this Island
remaining with Denmark. without an essential
change being made in our relations to that coun-
try, favorable to the produce of the Island, and
to its Importation into the mOthercOuntry. AS
now several months have already passed by
without our having had any information of the
intentions of His Majesty the King in regard to
this Island, and as the uncertainty about it has,
besides very much increasing the anxious appre-
tensions in the Island, carried injurious effects
to our interests, the Council feel it a duty to
take the matter up anew, though now only as
something secondary and provisional for the
event that the ceSsion-which the Council deems
necessary-of this Island along with the two
other Islands, should be protracted, in order
then to seek, as quickly as possible, to obtain a
change for the better in the highly onerous con-
ditions on which the produce of the Island must
now be imported into Denmark.
The Council will therefore, while recommend
ing the memorial of the planters to the favor
able attention of Your Excellency, first and
foremost with all due respect express the lively
wish and hope of the population of this Island,
that St. Croix will be also ceded to the United
States of America that only thereby can it
hope to attain that total and perpetual ameliora-
ton in its commercial relations, which is indis-
pensable to its existence as sugar-producing
and that its remaining attached to Denmark