, 1876-05-27

very 0lgn wages anu the laD0ureFS nave
nothing to complain of in the treatment which
they received, the fact seems conclusive in
favour of the statement, so long resisted by
pfejudiced or careless persons, that hands
could not be got even if better terms were offer
ed than the Planters are in the habit of allow
ing. No one in his senses, would, we think,
venture upon the task of establishing a new
Sugar estate in this island on the plan Of those
IN existence, or even of establishing any of
those which have been abandoned in the past.
But whilst this state of things as regards the
exploitation of the large estates is found to pre-.
vail in a country possessing over half-a-million
Of inhabitants, the large majority Of whom have
been reared in The ~Sugar-groWing and manu-
featuring business, it was natural to suppose
that any opportunity given to people who had
thus imbibed the taste for this special calling,
TO follow it in some way more c0ngenial to
their minds than is TO be found in larger
estates, would be eagerly embraced and, as a
fact, we find that a vast number of The hands
who had withdrawn from work on the estates,
took 10 establishing small Sugar plantations
and works Of their own. Upon a late inquiry
made on the subject it was ascertained that no
less than five thousand Sugar mills had been
erected by the small settlers to grind the canes
grown on their own lands, and that in many
cases these humble concerns turned out a CON
siderable quantity Of Sugar, which was sent to
market in various stages of perfection, from
the molasses state to that of fine grained crys-
tails. One who observes the degree of patient
and laborious industry devoted by The small
settlers in the preparation Of their f%avOurite
produce cannot fail to discover, that theirs is
eminently a labOur Of love. One half The time
consumed by these people in expressing a
minimum quantity Of juice from their canes, by
means of rude Squeezer9 made by Introducing
the end of a thick branch into a notch made in
the trunk of some standing tree, and in after
wards boiling the juice in IRON boilers on an
open fire, would, if bestowed on estates labour,
pay them twice as much as they ever get; but
though they probably know and feel this (for
they are by no means wanting in the percep-
ton of their own INTEREST," they prefer to go on
and be Independent of any master. The labour
does not end with the manufacture. Whoever
travels in the country parts on market-days
will observe at every step women loaded with
enormous pans Of new Sugar or syrup, stagger-
ing to market under the heavy load, in order to
dispose of it there at a further loss of time.
People who do this must be admitted to pos
sess a native liking for Sugar making, which
cannot but become largely developed, when
proper inducements are offered and the right
and acceptable kind of inducement will be
afforded them in the Central Factories. This
effect Of the Central Factory system is not
mere matter Of speculation fpr it has been
demonstrated wherever an attempt was made
to introduce it even in an inferior form.
Several establishments p~artaking Of the charac-
ter of Central Factories in a small way have
been started in various parts Of the country and
have been highly successful. At present a
large proportion Of the Coffee business is car
ried on by means Of Central Manufactures, as
they may be called. Coffee is another produce
for which The peasantry have a peculiar pre-
d~ilection, and owners Of works situated in the
mountain districts where the berry is grown,
have been making plenty Of money by buying
the fruit in the pulp, nnd preparing it them
selves for market. Formerly the growers, after
drying the berry unpulped on the ground, beat
it out in large wooden m~ortars, and so separat-
ed the marketable part for disposal but now
the mortars have all been thrown aside, and
the efforts of the small settlers are entirely
engrossed in growing as much Of the berry as
possible for sale to the central works. The
same result cannot fail to happen with regard to
the caDe-grOwers. These will soon discover
that they can advantageousIy dispose of their
canes to the Central Factory, and that the
time wasted in making for themselves about
one-fourth part of what their plant should yield,
into inferior molasses, will be far better m
ployed in extending cultivation.
The people in the district where Mr.. Burton's
factory is to be pitched, are enthusiastic about
II and thnv are nrpOarinO tn wplnOma tha