, 1891-02-14
P R 0 G E E D II G s
oE TIE
COLONIAL COUNCIL
FOR ST. CROIX.
Continuation Of Meeting, End Feb. 1891.

the OTa1C winch ne naQ the honour to Law
before the Council, he would confne himself
TO only a few remarks. 1t will be seen that
the Revenue is estimated at S148, 100 or 1858
less than last year the decrease 10 due to the
difficulty in estimating the Revenue from the
Export Duty, since under the present bad
prospects of the coming crop, it was impossi-
bic for the Government to form any idea Of
what the result might be; in order to enter
the item on the Budget, it had been consider
cd best to calculate only the half of an aver
age crop or 5000 hogsheads. and accordingly
to estimate the Export Duty at SI3, 500. He
hoped the actual result would be better, but
he could not of course be sure. In most of
the other items there will be found an in
crease in the amounts estimated now according
to the average of the 3 last years, which is
owing to the good crops Of the last years,
bat which could not be expected this year,
unless the prospects improve considerably;
If they do not, the Revenue must fall short
Of what is estimated on the Draft. The ex-
penses are put down at S253,523.86 or
81; 109.87 less than last year there is bnt
worry little difference in the ind yidual items.
Under the Post Department there is an
item of 1925 owing to the increased outlay
requisite for conveying extra mails between
the 2 towns under the Military Expenses
there il an increase of S2322 owing to the
vacancies in the number Of men having been
filled ; these two are the only items Of in
crease Of any significance. Bat there are
decreases under the Pilot and Harbour De-
partment $50, under the Militia and Brand
Department 1852; under the Sanitary De-
partment S1279; the Hospital expenses are
expected will be lower than hitherto under
Pensions 81, 535 81 owing to the death Of
Reverend Feilberg and to a reduction in the
pension to Captain Ostermann, besides one
pension according to Ordinance having ceased.
These are the remarks he had to make in
reference to the Budget The Colonial
Council will remember that last year a Draft
Of g nSw Communal Budget was laid before
the Council together with a bill Of Law con.
corning alterations Of the Colonial Law that
bill has since been laid before the Danish Diet
it is essentially Of the same contents as when
before the Council, only with this difference
that to the Revenue of the Communal Budget
had been added the tax on Sugar Cultivation,
and according to the Bill now before the
Diet St. Croix Communal Budget would have
3 small surplus. He was sorry to say. that
the prospects of that bill being passed in the
Diet as submitted by the Home Government
are but poe. he feared that the Law on
which the Diet might agree will not be as
favourable for the colony as the original
Draft but time will show. With these
DemArks he would recommend the Draft Of
budget for the discussion Of the Council.
The VicechGirmdn would, as he had some
remarks to make, ask the honorable 4th
Member for Christiansted's Country District
(Didrichsen), as the Oldest Member present,
to occupy the Chair temporarily. (Mr.
Didrichsen assumed the chair j Hewitt. said,
this Budget. is introduced this year under the
most extraordinary circumstance in which
any Budget could ever be introduced. The
long spell of dry weather in the Island and
low prices for produce, exceed by far any
thing that has fallen within his experience
and probably that of most Members, and the
,res1lt will be that no Estate in the Island
will be able to pay it's expenses for the COM
ing crop This is generally acknowledged and
admitted and this unfavourable state of the
Island leads US to consider not only the
position of the planter, how he is to find
means and even employment for the labour
force on the Island but also how labourers
are to make out, if planters be forced to
Ourtail. These considerations weigh hard,
and the force of circumstances will tell
strongly on many; already now we see
Estates having to employ labourers for half
time, and some have had to stop entirely,
waiting for a favourable change of weather;
most estates are now finished boiling. and
thcy Oan find no useful occupation for the
labour forge hitherto employeds no mora
land - clear, NO wedding nor anything Of