, 1884-10-15

HOU uOluS 50 well, anu UlaC some
Factories had been obliged to stop, and
that one, which was III the course of con-
struction, had been stopped till better
times. He could not see that it would be
sufficient for our sugars to be placed on
the same footing as Beet Root; however,
he supposed that His ExcelIency would
submit that side of the matter too be-
fore the Home Government. 1t cannot
be too fOrcibly urged how impossible it will
be for us to continue Sugar production
here with the present prices and with the
present burthens, which are no doubt
heavier here than in any other sugar grow
ing place; it is a positive fact that what
has been gained this year by the crops will
not be sufficient to cover the expenses of
the crop, and to all appearances the look
out for next years is worse. He would
therefore hope and beg His Excellency to
interest himself as much as possible for
the subject of the Memorial, which will be
presented before long.
The Governor could only repeat what he
had previously stated, that he would exert
himself to obtain the best possible results
for the Island, but he could make no promise
whatever. He would beg to complete his
previous statement to-day about the amount
Of duty on our Sugar in Denmark, besides
the import duty there is an amount of war.
tax collected in accordance with the law Of
9TH August 1864 on all such impOrtatiOnS,
and which will increase the amount of the
dues collected on our Sugars with about
l Shilling per pound more than that men
toned by him to-day.
End Member for FrederikSted's Country
District HecjH could Of course not add
much to what had already been stated. 1t
is beyond a doubt that as prices and ex-
penses are now, it is impossible to grow
and manufacture sugar in this island
hence, we have a very serious question be-
fore us but one thing is certain, which
is, that something must be done, and that
too much time should not be lost. AS re-
CARDS the Export Duty levied here on our
produce, it should be removed and the
amount collected somewhere else, from
some other source, and he would then for
instance mention an excise on Rum, the
imposing Of this revenue would rest with
the Council and the Government, and he
could not see any insurmOuntabIo obSta-
Giles in the way Of it. In the English Is
lands the excise on q puncheon Of Rum
amounts to something like 5000 per pun
cheon; if we were to have d rate Of say
$14 a gallon, it would not only contribute
to stop the consumption OF Rum, which
would be a great benefit, in the first place
to the lab0urlng classes, who now indulge
because of the CheapneSs CT the article, and
to the public revenue of the Island. An
Excise might not give the same returns as
the Export Duty, but it will at least be a
help.
The GOUernOr in reference to the Sugges-
ton made by 2nd Member for Christian
sted Country District (Hewitt) would beg
to say that an excise duty on Rum could
not possibly compensate for the abolition
of the eXpOrt-duty an excise duty might
possibly yield a few thousand dollars q
year, but not $30, 600, which is the average
of the export duty; and if we make the
excise duty too high on Rum, the prOduc-
ton thereof will cease. Moreover an Elk
else Duty on Rum, as at present in eXiS-
tence in some of the English Islands, re-
quires a control which it is extremely
difficult to exercise for if the control is
too ligid, the production will to q certain
extent stop, and if it is too l%enient, then
smuggling will take place and the revenue
will fall short of all calculation.
The Chairman left the Assembly and
the Vice chairman occupied the chair.
1st Member for Frederiksted's Country
District LatimerI could out join in thank
ing His Excellency for the information
given. AS regards the idea of a reciprOci-
ty treaty, he was afraid that, even if we
COULD obtain it; there would be diff
cultieS in regard to the question of duties
in Denmark; the United States might eX-
pect them to be removed too, i'll cOmpensa-
ton for the admittance of our sugars duty
free in the United States but to that Den
mark would scarcely agree. AS for returns