, 1891-04-15
INTERVIEW With Mr.. WASHINGTON EYES.
From the European Mail, March 18Th. J

"Well, now about the Exhibition %
THAT is beautifully arranged, and, as
for the site, a better could not have been
chosen. ] spent u deal of time in examin-
ing the different products, and I must
confess that Mr.. Lee Bapty, the general
manager, had made the best use of his
time i'll getting the arrangements III such
II state of forwardnesS at the opening. In
fact, everything was ready, except in the
caSe-whlCh always happens-Of a few
belated exhibitors. The services of Mr..
Mackinnon received general recognition.
/ spent u great lea Of time in the build
ing, the architecture Of which reflects the
highest credit on Mr.. Messiter, and, having
had some experience Of the Colonial and
Indian Exhibition of 1886, I thought the
utmost was made Of the jamaica building.
The stalls were very attractive, and | hope
I hey are doing a good business. Canada
was a very large exhibitor, and the rap
prochement between the two Colonies was
% very significant sign of trade arrange
ments in the near future
"YOu believe, then, in trade arrange
ments -
Yes; but only for Jamaica. If the
other Colonies went in, it would, Of course,
swamp the whole thing, and do no good
to anybody. Talking about the Exhibit
tion,1 [ was glad to see how the foreign
Commissioners were working. l saw a
great deal of Mr.. Kuhe, Chevalier Mackie,
and NJ. BOssOmaieI, before they left
Europe for Jamaica, and l felt sure they
would be earnest and buSiness-like in all
their arrangements. Chevalier Mackie's
glass mandatory was a great attraction,
He gave me the first glass bead he pro-
duced. Here it is, and you will admit it
is very pretty. Besides the specimens Of
glass manufacture, there were many aTtiS-
tic articles in the Foreign Courts. Not
only Cheyalier Mackie, bnt all the Foreign
Commissioners did their BEST
"And about the Exhibition generally
do you think it will do good to the is
land ?"
Undoubtedly. The Revenue has alrea-
dy largely increased in consequence of the
improved trade. The value of house pro
perty has gone up, and on every h"nd
signs of increased value Of property are
seen"
"And now about the industries of the
island. AS an estate proprietor, | suppose
yuu devoted som attention to the imp0r-
tant question of sugar cultivation ~
yes: 1 visited my own and other es-
tates, aud, comparing notes with other
proprietors, l think the crop, taking it
all round, will be only 10 per cent. below
that Of last year. This, taking into con-
sideration the fact that several estates
nave lately gone out of cultivation, ought
not to prove discouraging.'
"And what about the fruit trade ?"
"Well, that is being developed at a
really surprising rate. The fruit is carried
in steamers specially fitted up for the
trade, and the consignments are landed in
New York in excellent condition, after a
VOYAGE only of seven days"
1With good packing, suppose, there
il really no reason why a similar trade
should not be built up with England ~
tWell, you see, the fruit would be
another ten or eleven days on the voy-
ace, but, with c%ool.air chambers aud
proper packing, | really do not see why
West Indian fruits should not be largely
sold in the English market. Already
there IS Il market here for oranges from
the islands. In this respect the West IN
dies are fortunate in having such an eX-
cellent adviser as my friend Mr.. Morris
- Vow who. as VOa know. has lust re-