, 1884-09-27
Saturday, 9th September, 1884

"AGRICOLAn writes to the st. Thomas
Herald a letter bubbling all over with am
ger about another letter signed "ObserveI"
which we, making ourselves guilty of q
deplorable want of tact" had published in
this paper on the 9th inst. We only men
ton this as ii good opening for a short ar
ticle which we have ever since had it in
mind to write in regard to the state of the la
bourerS' cottages. Thatletter O" ObServer's"
we have heard q good deal about from
others besides the wrathful "AgricOla".
Says one gentleman, shut it is manifeStly
false, everybody knows that the cottages
here are in a capital condition, much bet
ter than in most Of the English colonies"
"IOu may be right, we replied, 'that is al
so our impression, but of course "Observer"
has seen something which gives him ground
for the complaint. To another, who was
surprised that the AviS should publish
such a shameful epistle, we said "But is
the charge true Are there any cottages
in a diSgraceful state p DWELL, if there are,
pie can please themSelyeS.'' A third, to
whom we remarked, 'EThey say the state
ment is fllSe", answered 80 no, there are
plenty bad enough, and mentioned one
place, a sugar estate in full swing, where
the labourerS' houses were all in ruins.
Now, when a man buys a property he buys
whatever is upon it. The cottages are
therefore his, and he may keep them water
tight or even improve them, Or he may
allow them to leak and to rot, ever to fall
down, if he likes, without any person hav-
ing a right to interfere with him. Far be
1t from us to exhibit such q "depl0rablo
want OF tact" as to do so. We will merely
In the first place refer to something which
we have read about the island of Jamaica.
A few years after emancipation, sugar cul-
tiVatiOn III Jamaica fell into a miSerably
low state, II those who know the causes
tell us that one of the chief was the NEGLECT
OF the planters to encourage the free peO-
pie to settle on the estates. The houses
were allowed to go to ruin, and the people
left the estates for the towns and either
worked on those in the immediate neigh
bOurhoOd Of the towns or drifted into other
occupations. We will next mention some
thing which we know in regard to the is
land of Antigua. There are in that island
a great number 1--WE think about 10. the
population being about 37,000) of free vii
lagos, so that no estate is situated very
far from a free village, and consequently
from a supply of labOur; vet the planters
of Antigua value much having villages Of
their own on the estates, which we will
illustrate by what happened after the Sc.
we're hurricane of August 1871. That hur-
ricane caused the loss of over 80 lives. and
filed the hospital the next day with the
injured among the many buildings deS-
troyed were of course a great number of
houses in the free villages. The planters,
then, after consulting together, seized the
opportunity, and obtained from the Go
.vernment, on the strength of a special legis-
latiye enactment, an advance of $4,000 for
the purpose of helping them in putting up
cottages on the estates.
Now gentlemen, there is the case. if is
plainly in your W interest to keep YOUR
cottages in order. What said a writer in
the ''Times" the other day quoted in Aris
No. 7G)f 'FThe Islands can only be made
prosperous by being made attractive to
the capitalist and the MbOmer.7 Even
"AgricOla" admits i'll effect that many
houses have been allowed to go to ruin.
but he says it is because there are no
enough people to occupy them. OF
each one must judge for himself
about that, but it would be we'll to be care
ful not to put cause for effect.
We have now said what we have TO
say on this subject, and perhaps have
again displayed q ''depl0rable want of
TACT; but there is one thing of which
are certain, and that is that a planter
who, except under the pressure of dire ne
allows his cottages to get out of
order will display a still more deplorable
want of tact.
Our correspondent "Caution" draws q
picture, for the trutb of ubiob no