, 1868-11-20

wages for a f~rSt-claSS laborer, and one half of
the wages for a second class ,laborer, best DIES
which they had the free use of a house ard
proviSion-ground he furthermore expressly
showed, that 1t was TO be expected, that the
final Law confirming the said Import Duty
mOmd be hacing much l0nger duration than the
Labor Act, which latter the Home Government mt
could not consider in any other light, than of a
perfectly temporary nature. The supposition
alluded to, that the new Customs. Dues on
Cornmeal would be falling on the laborers has,
as we all know, entirely failed to be realised,
and in the statement of the division of the
CuStomS-D Dues given by him in the Councils
meeting on the 10th September last year, the
total amount of the Import-Duty on Cornmeal
had therefore been posted as Delayed by the
estates owners. When the mover Of the pre-
sent proposal states in recommendation of it,
that its adoption would be comforting a boon
on the poorer classes, this was perfectly I'M
founded, because the proposed measure, if
adopted, would almost solely be beneftting the
estates owners or those merchants who sell
them meal for the laborers. 1t had often been
a matter of wonder to him, that the planters
here have not, since the rise in the price of
meal, commenced to grow provisions In order
to give the laborerS a portion of their allow
ance in vans sc. he knows, that in Barbados
the cultivation of provisions is carried on to a
pretty great extent along with the cultivation
of sugar, and the objection advanced by the
Committee in the Diet of 1850 could not exist,
were the planter themselves to find their inter-
ests served by cultivating provisions for the
said purpose.
The 9Th crown-member (Walker) said, that
he had been informed by one of those persons
who in lS49 partook in the deliberations regard
ing the ordinances then Issued here, that it was
an underS God thing, that the duty on Corn
meal should only be a temporary impost.
The 2nd crown member (~Stakemann) stated,
that it is quite certain, that at the time when
the duty on CornmeaI was imposed, it
was calculated, thai the impoSt would fall on
the labOring%-c lasS. The reason of this was,
that at the time the Labor-Act emanated and
for some time after, the estates proprietors
used to pay the whole of the laborers' wages
in Cash it was not the intention of the provi-
sion in ) 9 ltr. C. of the Regulations to prescribe
the giving of allowance. Some planters COM
mrnced, however, to give allowance because
the lahOrers preferred it, and the other planters
were by degrees very naturally obliged to do
the same on account of the competition for
labor, in the self same manner as, at a later
period, the practice of giving extra, provisions
SFd'lS 10 Tue IdnoreTS at crop-OVer ume, ana
other like practices. have become general all
over the Island. In this way the result is,
that the whole burthen of the duty on Corn
meal has come to fall on the planters instead
of the laborers, as was intended. Respecting
the cultivation of provisions, he believes that
the Island is not suited for such cultivation,
because we with no degree of certainty can
reckon upon such weather as is required for
that cultivation, while the sugar cane can much
better withstand long drought. Besides that
the laborers would not be satisfied to receive.
instead of their allowance of meal, provisions