, 1884-10-18
To
His Excellency Governor Arendrup
c. d., I'D. NJ.

NAAOA 80 AAAC 4 vi AS
Island, respectfully beg that your Excel
lency will be pleased, during your approach
ing visit to Denmark, to lay before His
Most Gracious Majesty the King the
following statement as to the present very
grievOus condition Of the sugar industry
of st. Croix, with the submissive hope
that His Most Gracious Majesty and his
Ministers may be induced to consider the
case and endeav0ur to relieve our great
distress.
/. We would beg humbly to point out
that the sugar industry is the sole and
only industry Of the Island, and, from
various causes, is. apparently, the only
industry that is suitable TO the Island,
which owing to ITS want Of elevation,
scarcity OF water supply, habits of its
working population, and Indifferent means
of communication with other islands or
countries, affords but little, if any, hope
of success with other tropical Agricultural
Industries, such as the cultivation of
coffee, cocoa, cinchOna, cotton or tobacco,
and affords no market whatever for the
sale OF horses, cattle. sheep or hogs, or even
for the disposal of fruit or vegetables, more
especially now in the very declining con
dition of st, Thomas, with which place had
we but steam communication, we might
otherwise reasonably expect to find a
demand for such cattle, sheep, fruit and
vegetables as we might be able to raise.
.. For the above reasons, therefore, we
are firmly Of opinion that unless some
change for the better speedily takes place
in the market price of sugar, also Of rum
and mo:aSSeS (Which latter two products
have his year been almost unSalcablc)
the Is and Of st. Cr0iX must collapse, and,
the Planters being unable to pay the
oplipor ~ IA VnC oy aiy-n aONnlDy,ONnht m fba
labourerS, the support now afforded
towards the maintenance Of Law, Order
Religion, Education and Civilization will
therefore be necessarily withdrawn. Those
of the educated inhabitants, who can
afford to do 50, will forSake the Island,
while the remainder will have nothing
before them bat the most mean and ahjcct
poverty
The negroes themselves will lapse into
barbarism.
8. While we do not, for n moment,
allow ourselves to think that such a destiny
lies before St. CroiN, situated as it is on
the very track OF the future great ocean
highway via the Panama Canal, yet it is
with some miSgiVingS that we view the
present condition of the Island Of st. John
and the declining fortunes Of st. Thomas,
the former Island serving to show us but
too truly and forciOly what the extinction
Of the sugar industry viii bring about
with St. Cr0lX.
l.. We estimate the minimum cost of
growing and manufacturing a logshead OF
sugar OF 1900 lbs. nett to be $50, and the
nett price we have received this year from
the Central Factory has averaged less than
$4l per HID, while, since the close Of the
Factory's Campaign, the price received
for sugar shipped to other countries has
fallen as low as $25 per HID.
AS far as can be judged at present the
low prices now obtaining will at least
extend over another Season, on account of
the inflated and speculative production of
beet sugar throughout Europe generally.
5. Viewing the state of affairs III the
other Islands and parts Of the West
Indies where sugar is the staple industry,
we observe that the French West Indies
are afforded very great help i'll the present
crisis, by the recent SurtaX imposed on
foreign sugars imported into France, and
are thus ensured a permanent and good
market for their produce. In the Spanish
Islands reciprocity treaties with other
nations are in force, or being put into
force, while as regards the English Islands,
the British Government while affOrding
the planters very great sympathy, is aid
ing them in every way to procure recipro-
city treaties with America and Canada, or
in c-Ountenancing annexation, if possible,
to those countries.
6. We understand that the import duty
and war tax on our sugars in Denmark is
something like S3S per HID, being 8 do
higher than the tax or duty on beet sugar