, 1877-02-03

pany Il likely to get the new Steamship Con.
tract FIR q service between this isl and and the
United States. Three Companies are said to
have rendered a fourth would have rendered
Ous for the fact the Governor Insisted up5n
regulating the dates of sailing, which no Com.
pany havlag fixed sailing dates for other and
more important points of call could consent to.
II was a principle laid down by Sir John
Grant when he replied to the memorial of the
inhabitants Of Jamaica, that a Steam service
between jamaica and New York only would
not satisfy the great wants of the island, and
therefore 1t would bs necessary to subSidizs a
COMPANY which would make jamaica a point
OF call, as between New York and Colon.
bringing a large influx of strangers, and plao.
ing Kingston on the highway of trav. Iers.
To this, the island exclaimed, amenl Sir
John saw the situation and our wants, and no
response to a mem0'ial was ever more vel.
cnme' or more joyfully received by the inhAbi-
tants OF Jamaica than this. How Sir John
Grants good Intentions We're foiled everybody
Knows, and 1t ever a colony has suffered from
the unsatisfactory working Of a contract, which
no puOIlc or private rem1aStra0O. was sufi 3ient.
~ powerful to improve, Jamaica has, and what
Is worse than all, having no confidence or re.
spect for the present Administrator, his ne.
S"n2e IA likely to be k-pt in psrpotual remem-
DrAnoe for seven yesrs 10 come, bv SOme selec.
ti5a Of contractors or OoaoluSjoa of a contract
which will utterly Tail in securing for tie A1ll.
ny The benefits which this Steamship Subsidy
was Calculated To secure fer US hv Sir john
Grant. Instead Of having the Pao'i1 Mail
Nompdny'S steamers, now that W have a Clbls
to regulate by three days notice the precise
movements Of these great floating hotels, the
Colony pays 94,5C0 a year for small steamers
winch have always beea remarkable for their
h!tb, being i'll provisi med aud slt0gether I'm.
suited tor the work that is expected of thsp.
Sir John CRAFTS answer to tbs memorialisls
when the subsidy was first asked, would be q
study worthy of Sir William Grey at this lime,
when 30 much OF our prosperity in the next
seven years depends upon his present action.
1he waste Of P1biio money in the Public
Departments has been long a subject of much
Indignation and heartburnjng among the colo.
nIstS, who are powerless to restrain it. The
following story speaks for itself, and is only
another out Of very many instances of " wanton
waste Yet other and far mOre important
projects which are in keeping with tbs progress
ct civilization, and ars necessary for tho public
good and general convenience, are thrust aside,
because there is "nO money available for such
purposes" Yet a comparison oft"o Colonies
10 one year, 1878, Demerara and jamaica,
shows how justly JamaicA complains
Demrrara. Jamaica.
Revenue .&352,i3 .e39O,937
Expenditure . e. G356,0I4 &5S6,52O
Imports -, &l.8SS.2s3 &I.759,042
Exports =. E2,337.l2I &l.4l0.4s5
Public DEBIT. 366, 437 eRSG9,9I
We learn that the Government took tenders
for the erection of a Flagstaff at the Custom
House recently, and that q tender was sent 10
for something over ESQ, but Of course the
tender was rejected, and Captain Ferguson,
Acting Director of Roads, was forthwith order
ed to construct one at the government work
shop. The result was. the same Flagstaff cost
S67-sOme Is or ZIG m2re than the original
tender. But This is not all. The best
Flagstaff in the City is that belonging to
the Chambe of Commeros, and is located
in Harbour Strickland certainly no be-.
ter Is needed for the Custom House
that only cost six pounds The next best is on
the grounds al Myrtle Bank, anil that cost only
FIVE poundS !! : and the new staff, whioh is a
very light one, at the store Of MsssrS. J. II.
Dtpass & Co, in Port Royal Street.. only cost
SO los. In each instance the sum included all
the materials and fitting, as we'll as the cost of
erection. What is to be aai1 now of the extrav2S
gance of this Government workshop where
everything it does is all of a pieces ?-every
house it builds costing one shilling a cubic foot.
while private enterprise constructs it in much
less time for only fourpance a foot Are we
really 10 have no ennuirV Are ennuiriaA only