, 1875-06-30
THE WEST INDIAN IN LONDON.
ICON d.

Blue Book for 1873 opens with a reference to
the difficulty and hardship experienced by its
planters and population in 1872. The cause
of this was the reduction of the sugar crop to
80, 167 hhds, which was 81 per cent. below the
crop of 1871, and nearly 20 per cent. below the
average crop of the six preceding years. In
1873 the crop fell still lower, and yielded only
1887 hhds. The Governor says that 1878
was " the last of a series of disastrous years
such as has not occurred since the agriculture
of the island recovered from the shock of
emancipation" His Excellency admits that
" the House Of Assembly was perhaps justified
in expressing the opinion, in their answer to
the Governors speech on opening the present
Session, that the past year (1S73) was one of
great Individual distress, and that there has
hardly been any period of the cOlony's history
when there was less individual prosperity"
This sentiment was generally corroborated by
the local press, and echoed in this column, and
the Governor therefore accepts it as an accu-
rate description of the year. And yet, as men
toned by His Excellency, during the year
the revenue Aeurished, trade inwards and out
wards, excepting only the export of home
gTSWn sugar, increased; consumption was but
slightly checked crime largely decreased
pauperism was scarcely more apparent than
usual emigration was less than in the pre-
CoulnQ year,, GDu Tie goHGTdl HcdIiH vi INC
island Mas~ excellent. This looks like a para
dox, considering how entirely dependent is the
prosperity of the island upon the sugar.cultiva-
ton. But to any one acquainted with Barba-
dos it is easy of explanation and the Governor
again displays that wise and careful spirit
which has generally marked his administration,
when he bids US not to look for such decisive
accompaniment of a series Of small sugar crops
again. Economy in the public expenditure has
long been recognised as essential to the general
good of the colony, and to the vindication Of
the present form of government. The revenue
in 1878 was 123,676l., being an advance of
6,024L. over that ofl672 without any increase
of taxation. The expenditure was l2l, 1861,
or less than that of 1872 by 3,2I2J. The Gov
ernor thus compares one bad year with another,
and in a tone that might be mistaken for
solemn irony, i" congratulated the colony upon
the result. But a later paragraph in His Excel
lenc rs report shows that this decrease IS only
a Question of account, and that in reality there
was a considerable excess Of expenditure.
Again, if the production of the staple in a
certain year has decreased, it surely does not
follow that a slight increase of the revenue
is the sign of taxation having become easier
to the population. The contrary is rather the
natural inference, namely, that the less demand
for labour has increased the burden of the
taxation. The fact that while recent crops
have decreased revenue has been maintained
at its usual level, and has even shown signs
of expansion, is a proof that taxation has actu-
aiiy become heavier, and the Governor could
bring forw ard no more cogent argument for
the reduction of the taxes than the ag%ricultu-
raj statistics contained in his report. The
Governor explains the discrepancy between the
increase of the revenue and the diminution of
crops by three reasons, 1st. That the planter
works for the future, whether the present crop
be good or bad. In other words, that he invests
in wages to the usual extent in the hope of an
ultimate return. This may be true in a mea-
sure, but it contains an obvious fallacy, and
.deprives the argument founded upon a mere
increase of revenue of any weight. End. That
the, labouring population is more affected
bysthe root and grain crop than the SUI
gar crop. This statement contains a somewhat
dangerous half-truth. ignoring as it does the
fact. that the labouring population are primari-
lysdependent upon the payment of wages. The
-thirdreas0in is that Barbados is an ~entrep6t for
foreign, cornmerce But the review of the taxa
tons Of the colony is not complete without arefer-
senees to the local revenues. There was an ad-
vance in the paroohial revenue! and expenditure
9ofthe year, and an increased outlay on the poor.
The, exusnditfire under this latter head was