, 1874-07-11

~
Notwithstanding has progressed since
the last meeting as much as could be ex-
pected: $25O,0O0 have already been SUBJ
scribed; the absentees, however, have
not yet had time to give in their adhe-
renee.
The word was then given to Mr.. Mel
chlof, who had accompanied the Commits
sion to Martinique, and he gave a most
lucia description of the working of the
system In that island, into the detail of
which we do not intend to enter to-day,
as 1t will be given later in the Report
which will soon be published.
The total production of the colony is
from $4,000 to 40. 900 Tons, of which
quantity the Factories manufacture about
g. The reason why all the planters have
not Joined the Factories are many Some
are TOO distant from them, others are pre-
vented by local difficulties which they
vii! no doubt succeed in removing. He
explained the different conditions upon
which the Factories work and showed
very clearly the advantage of the separa-
ton of the two industries. Those Facto-
RES which do not pay have been injudi-
clousIy erected, and there are 4 or S out
OF the Is in the island that are in that
position, not having a sufficient supply of
canes. The extreme dividends paid by
some OF the first Factories was the cause
OF their having rushed too fast into the cree.
ton OF others in places where they could
not get canes enough. He gave a short
hlstorlque of the oldest Usine in the island
established in 1910, shelving how from a
very simple beginning the system has
worked its way to the present high degree
OF perfection, passing through many vicis-
STUDIES and difficulties. The present
mode of payment for canes has also been
adopted after trying others which have
been abandoned as impractical. He gave
the cost of several Factories, showing that
In many cases they have been cheaper
than was generally believed at first, and
also expressed it as his conviction that
their erection would be cheaper here than
in Martinique, the facilities for making
railways here being greater than there.
Mr.. Melchior went into some detail to
show how it will pay the planter. The
system of payment for canes proposed is
to be preferred, making manufacturers and
growers ally Interested ana therefore
best calculated to produce the harmony
that is so desirable. But will 81 p. ct.
pay, it may be asked. At present the
planter gets A p. CT. of sugar, besides the
secondary products, amounting to about ]
more; he gets then 6 p. CT. now, and is
offered 81. But he will save labour, wear
and tear of machinery, extend cultivation,
which will more than make up for this
apparent loss. Besides, the division Of
profits has in Martinique amounted to l
p. CT. more, and may be more still.
The Factories must pay and benefit the
community immensely. At Martinique
they get u lbs. of sugar of 100 lbs. Of
canes, which manufactured in the Usines
is worth 1880 p. CT. more than ours. If
our average crop, 5000 hhds., were manu-
featured in Factories, it would represent
the value of 10000 hhds. Those of the
Westindia Islands which have not got
improved manufacture are as badly off as
ourselves.
He gave many other calculations, which
will be found in the report, and observed
that the whole question of establishing
these Factories here is yet very problema-
tic It is not known yet if the money