, 1876-02-12

SAS~' SuPPolCl U Cu6 udtIOW RduR6 railway
system. Mr.. Fairlie, in consenting to send out
this expedition, has given another proof of that
spirit of. enterprise which has resulted in so
many noble engineering works. The gentleman
VINO Will be the head of the staff is Mr.. Henry
Hogarth, than whom a more competent man
tor the task it would be difficult to find. The
interest felt in this railway question is so con-
siderable In the island that it is hardly necessa-
ry to bespeak for Mr.. Hogarth a hearty well
come at the hands of the people of Jamaica,
and there can be little doubt that the Govern
ment will do all that is possible to forward the
undertaking. 1t is satisfactory to find that
after the long delays which have occurred, a
practical beginning now seems to have been
made, and this result has been due in a good
measure to Mr.. FairIie's brother, Mr.. Archibald
Fairlie, who, since his visit to Jamaica and the
examination be made of the route and prospects
Of the line, has taken the liyeiiestinterestin the
undertaking..
1t is understood that a p~uncheon Of cane
juice has been received in London from Deme-
rara, having been prepared according to Mr..
Iooth'S directions, and shipped for the purpose
OF experiments according to his process for ex-
tracing the sugar. The cane juice arrived in
good condition, perfectly sound, and it polar
ised III per cent. of erystalisable sugar with
out any glucose. The experiments, which are
being conducted By Mr.. Tooth, have naturally
aroused much interest, and the results, which
he promises with so much confidence, have a
real bearing upon the prosperity of our sugar
colonies and are awaited with some anxiety
and hope.
1t is reported that Germany is anxious to OBJ
tain a naval station in the West Indies, and is
negotiating for the possession of st. Thomas
But until something definite is known the re-
v1ut -,,, L.. l,al4-l Co.. Ct uL,-,oo L., k0or
disposed of in anticipation so many times that
it will probably retain for many more years its
present nationality.
The half-yearly meetings of the Colonial
Bank are interesting, first, to the proprietors,
because of the good dividend generally declared
on such occasions, and, secondly, to the gener-
al commercial public, because of the speech
from the chair. No one is better entitled to be
heard than Mr.. Hill upon any question of COM
mrrcidl policy affecting the sugar colonies in
which the operations Of the bank are carried On.
In discussing sugar bounties, for instance, and
showing their injurious effects, be placed the
whole matter in a very striking light, AS q
rule the increased quantities of sugar imported
into England from the continent are generally
taken as showing the results of the bounty sys-
tenn, but Mr.. Hill, upon the authority of the
Board of Trade returns, stated not merely the
quantity DuJ the Valu6 OF Jn6 sugar so imported
and the announcement that the value of the sugar
we have received from France and other CONT
mental countries during the year amounted to
upwards Of six millions sterling, clearly demon
strated the Importance ofthe question as affect
ing exchanges and the balance of trade. Ifit
turns out that we have had to pay for this sugar
in gold, or ifw have been obliged to buy it with
commodities which relatively cost US more to
produce than the sugar itself wonld have done
had we made it at home, it will be seen how ad-
verse to the commercial interests of this coun-
try these six millions of trade have really been.
The chairman of the bank said that having to
buy all this sugar must have contributed to.
the drain of gold which has made money
dearer at home and affected exchanges, and he
did not omit the obvious reflection that part Of
this money, under a system of free trade and
natural competition, would have gone to the
West Indies to buy raw sugar for the use of
the manufacturers at home, instead of going
over to foreign countries to obtain an article
which we can produce cheaper ourselves, and
for the production of which we have a
special aptitude.
4 correspondent ofthe Hour newspaper. very
pertinently points out the inconsistency of this
country ia the matter of slavery, especially as
shown by the agitation against the slave circu-
lar. The writer thinks that West Indians have
been most unjustly treated by tho " sustained
patronage of slavery on the part of the British
nation-a patronage which began with the