Litchfield enquirer., 1868-06-18
JAMAICA.
A PEACEFUL REvoLUTIoN-PECUNlA Els
 TIMATE OF PROPERTY OWNED BY THI

A PEACEFUL REvoLUTIoN-PEoUNARY Els
 TIMATE OF PROPERTY OWNED BY I'll
 BLAcKs-ExPoRTs OF THE COLONY. Quietly but steadily revolution of quit an important character is taking place il
 this island, owing to the liberal and en llghtened policy pursued by the presen
 Governor, Sir J. P. Grant, and his able
 and prudent administration of the Gov ernment Considering what was the con
 d!tlon ot the colony when he entered upon
 hls duties here, not much more than eight.
 cen months ago, and what crop o1 troubles the misrule of Gov. Eyre left tc the successor of that notorious individual
 the present state of affairs SC favorab1y with what it was at that period speaks volumes in favor of Sir John Grants
 administrative talent, while it strilkingly
 illustrates the power Of just laws faithfully
 administered in promoting the order, peace
 and general we'll being of society. Legis
 lation is now impartially conducted, anc for the first time since emancipation, 3( years ago, the blacks of Jamaica find theii interests equally considered with those oi the old dominant class. The system of assessing and collecting the public taxes which long prevailed in the island, has been materially amended, and the Jamaica negro, for the first time since, by becom- ! ing free man, he became tax payer. l finds the burdens of taxation fairly dis tributed. The Courts, both Civil and Criminal, have been remodeled, and for the first time in the history of the Colony, the people have been brought to feel that justice, in so far as they are concerned, is Q reality and not mockery and delusion. 1 The result of all this is, that the spirit of disaffection which was rampant among the 1 negroes under the rule of Gov Eyre, has I entirely disappeared.
 The small settlers, as the propriety peas antry are called, sare applying themselves more lndustriously than ever to the culti- vatlon Of the soil, opening new lands and planting them out in coffee, sugar cane, ginger, and other products; and the calen- dars of the criminal courts continue to show the same gratifying decrease of crime of which they gave evidence in the latter part of last year, and upon which I com mented i'll one of my previous letters to the Tribune.
 To give some idea of the progress the blacks arc making in the acquisition of property, | will quote here an estimate framed upon sufficient data to make it worthy of notice, of the wealth of these people. The following arc the figures:-
 65,0OO Cottages and furniture at $sO, s5,2O0, 900
 354, ,575 Acres of Land, at $9, 293G 800
 Clothes for 65, 900 famil1es at $2O each 300 OOO
 Stock on Freeholds, at $I5 each family. 975.OOO
 oUOO sugar Mlils, at S5O each, 250, 900
 Funds ill Savings Banks, 25O.OOO
 Grand total, $1O,S11 ,6OO
 can say, from my personal acuuaint- ance with the people and the country-an acquaintance extending over many years, and the result of close observation-that these figures, if at all controvertibIe, are rather below than above the mark. For instance, the clothes of each family are set down at an average value of $2O; but there are very few adult negroes whose holiday suit IS not worth at least half this amount: ana as almost every acre of ground owned by the blacks is in state of excellent. prof. 1table cultivation, the estimate for the land Is think, too low. But taking the figures as they stand, tho aggregate results, it ap- pears to me, do no discredit to the Jamaica freedmen. They certainly give no support to the too prevalent notion that these peo- pie are incorrigibly indolent.
 AS to the general production of the colo ny, the returns of exports to the end of the last financial year do not bear out the re- peated assertions of the opponents ot the present government to the effect that the country is going to ruin. In the year 1864 the year before the disturbances ex- ported 27,7O5 hogsheads of sugar, in 1867 we exported 3O,329 hogsheads, being an in- crease of over 2,30O hogsheads In the ar- ticie of rum we exported in 1864 only 13,- 74O puncheons; last year our exports of this article reached 1S,760 puncheons-an in- crease of over 5000 puncheons. The quan- tlty of coffee exported in 1864 was 5, 424, 184 lbs; last year it was 5,5OS, ,S42 lbs, although the seasons ln the principal coffee districts were by no means favorable for the crop. Of ginger there were 6,O71 cwts. shipped Tn le64; Ill 1867 the exports had swelled to 10, 4o2 cWts.-an increase of 15O per cent And logWood, which showed 27, 1928 tons in 1864, gave 39,737 tons in 1867, being 12, 900 tuns more than 1864. In only one of the principal exports has there been a falling oil; that IS pimento, the prices of which have been so low of late years, that they have been barely sufficient to cover the ex- pense of picking and curing the berry. The pimento may add, is a spontaneous production. These figures must be regard ed as very satisfactory, and as the seasons for the past few months have been extreme ly general, expect that this years crop of afl kinds will be largely ill advance of last | years.