, 1875-06-30

20 furnish meal for supplies, but leaving this
to the merchants, who will furnish the required
articles on collateral security in the crop, until
the returns Of next crop will come to hand
in the second place, by c%ontiniug the number
of parties to be assisted to what is absolutely
necessary. It is already sure, that no appli-
cations will be made by certain parties who
last year came in for a very considerable sum,
so that in reference to them We will not be
under the necessity of saying nay, and the
result of those two methods is that for 8
months-and it will be remembered that last
year the assistance was for 10 months, which
also will serve to reduce the amount-of the
year there will BIZ required a sum of seventy
odd thousand dollars for bureau assistance from
the Treasury. It will be seen from the remarks
to the Money Bill that the amount of $25, 900
now required is at disposal by the terms
granted for the repayment of the loan from
the Statetreasury in the past year being so
liberal that some of the amounts drawn by the
Government will not be due for repayment
before April-May-June next year and at that
time there will be other means from the next
crop for raising the sum, which he could not
explain here, as they cannot be said to be alb.
%solutely certain. With regard to the remain.
ing c. $4,000, the Government intends at a
later stage to introduce a Draft of Ordinance
comforting power on the Governma nt to raise
loans for bureau-purposes, and he would hope
that there would be no insuperable obstacle 60
far. From the way in which the present
amount is raised, it will be seen how temporary
The whole matter IS it is only an expedient;
as soon as the amounts due In April-May next
year are paid, we will be in the same position
We were in before in regard to means for
I,u,oY In,rn |
served aud will serve to hamper the hands is.
that a great part of the advances is still out.
standing and tied up in securities which are
not ready money. The amount outstanding
from bureau loans for l872-73 was 1926, for
all of which real or personal security is held
for 1884 the balance outstanding was
1913, 3S4, of which $6006 are guaranteed by the
Statetreasury, and will be liquidated in the
loan of the advances for that year ST. 500
will be totally lost. For 1874-75 it is sup
posed that $500 will be locked up in the same
way.
4th Member for Christiansted's Country Dis
triot (FarreUy) remarked that in previous
years the Government kept down the price of
cornmeal by contracting for the delivery on
bureau, and whereby the planters were sure
that merchants would not fall off supplying.
This can not from the information given by
His Excelleney, be done this year; circumstan-
oes alter however cases, and it cannot be
helped.
The President said it would certainly have
been desirable if the whole operation could
have been. on the same scale as the last years
but from want Of sufficient means We will have
to be content with less. When considering
the future prospects in connection with Cen
trail Factories, it must not be overlooked that
there is reason to expect, that if the Home
Government see that we are really willing to
make a trial and to do what We can to realize
the plan, they will not withhold the assistance
that may be required in the meanwhile.
After some further discussion between several
Members of the Council and the President
on the question of laying on the Councils
table a fuller statement concerning Bureau
Accounts, than the one already given by the
President,--during which,
The President stated, that after the results
of the last crops it was not to be wondered
at that there were some arrears of Bureau
advances. The crop this year may be estimat.
ed at 10000 hogsheads, representing a sum of
$500, 900 deduct from this the amount of Bu-
reau-advauces from the Colonial Treasury,
$4,000, and the expenses of those Estates
that had no such advances, making a total
expense on the Estates not below $4O0, OOO,-
there would then be wanting the means for
paying previous liabilities and to defray cur
rent expenses, for which that amount was INSULT
cient, the more so, as the crops have been
unequally divided on the Estates, and parties
not in bureau have had prOportionately better