, 1889-02-02
DemeraTa News.

Mr.. QUELCH, Secretary to the Commit
tee of the Agricultural and horticultural
Show to be held at Buxton on the
25th and 26th April, has made us his deb
tor for a copy of the List of Prizes offer
ed for comp 4tition. In many respects
the coming exhibition is distinct from all
those THAI nave been held in this colony
heretofore; and the avOwed object OF the
promoters is to advance the interests OF.
the so.called working classes, by temptlng
them to exert themselves in certain direc-
TONS, towards which as a rule they MAIN,
tain a bearing of stolid Indifference. The
prizes are to be reserved for mechanics,
artisans, labourerS and domestic servants,
located on Ithe East Coast Of Demerara,
and all articles exhibited must be made,
grown or reared by the exhibitor. Amongst
the special prizes We find one OF $50 for
the best kept cottage and yard belonging
to artisan or labourer in any village one
of like amount for the best kept provision
land and one Of 81 20, for the best col
lection of plants used and arranged for
window decoration !; with second prizes III
every competition. If a spirit of tldlne's
and order can he begOtten, even In a small
way at first, amongst the cottage dwellers
or the provision farmers, the money the
Committee have offered as prizes need not
be grudged. Acting on a similar idea,
the Committee have offered prizes for the.
field labourers who shall have earned
most money and worked the greatest
number Of days from September to Feb
ruary, inclusive and prizes for domestic
servants who nave been longest III the
service of one employer. The prizes for
fruits, vegetables, sugar and other food
products, needleWOrk, and mlScella nrOuS
products are very numerous, and are NM
tel to two amounts, VIZ, S4.6O tor nrS6
prize and $500 for. second. Whether 1t
was wise to fix prizes for say, the best lot
of peas, and for the best sample of Mus
cavado Sugar from canes grown and mann
featured into sugar by peasant proprlr'
tors, at the same amount we very much
doubt. We opine that greater diScrlmI-
nation Shewn in propOrtioning the amount
of the prizes to the exhibits would have
repaid by it's results, the trouble it wOnld
nave cost to make it.
The half-yearly report of the British
Guiana Mutual Fire Insurance. Company,
Limited, cannot but be gratifying to he
shareholders and to all who take an inter
est in the welfare of one of the most use fui
Of local institutions. The period just end
ed claims the distinction of having con
tributed to the funds the largest half.
yearly aggregate amount of new premi-
umS, since the year of the Company's
inception. Considering that the last six
months Of 1888 were not characterised by
any exceptionally brisk spell OF general
trade, the increase in question is all the
more remarkable. The Company now have
in available funds invested in local quar-
ters, the sum OF $230,000, over and above
the guarantee notes, which amount to
1858, 900. The cash investments amount
to about 10 per cent. of the whole. OF. the
COmpany's risks. The number OF policies
in force at the 3lst December was 775,
insuring $~2,276,169 at an annual premium
of $51, 900. For details of the financial
statement prepared by the Directors,
against the general meeting to be held on
Monday, we refer our readers to the docu-
ment itself, which will be found published
in full in the supplement to tO-day's paper.
The E~ssequebo Gold Mining Co. held q
quarterly general meeting IN Thursday
afternoon, when Mr.. Mewburn GARRETT,
chairman, submitted the report of the
directors for the quarter ended 3lSt De-
cember last. In every respect the report
was satisfactory. The gold obtained under
the personal superintendent OF Mr..
Barnard at the placer was greater than
during any former quarter, and the ex-
penses of working had been kept within
reasonable limits. The directors recon.