, 1891-02-21
EXTRACT FROM THE SPEECH OF SIR
WIN. SENDALL TO THE BARBADOS
LEGISLATURE.

Since the last occasion on which a Speech
was delivered to you from this place, the
colony has pursued tho even tenour Of it's
way, without any serious interruption to
the general course of progress and prosperity.
The exceptionally abundant sugar crop Of
l889,-'90 has, it is true, been succeeded by
months of unfavourabIe weather, which
will materially affect the prospects Of the
planter for the coming year.
But those whose labour and capital are
employed upon the cultivation of the land.
and VIII are therefore dependent wholly
upon the forces of nature, are accustomed
to base their expectations not upon the
yield of a single year, but upon. average
returns and from this point of view there.
is certainly no ground for discouragement
as rega.ds the material prosperity of Bar
bados, possessing, as she does, a soil whose
great natural fertility is being year by Year
augmented and enhanced, by the increasing
application of scientific modes Of treatment.
And this leads me to remark upon THE.
paramount Importance of maintaining and
extending that enlightened policy, which finds
expression in the agricultural experiments
and operations carried on at Dodds' Refor-
matory, aided by those scientific researches for
the prosecution of which you have established
a public laboratory. '," ''i '@"'
For Notwithstanding the fact that prices
have to some extent recovered from the
extraordinary depression of six years back,
the margin Of profit to be derived from the
production of your staple commodity. cane
sugar, is still, it is to be feared, in the
long run a diminishing quantity and is In
danger of vanishing altogether, unless all
the resources of practical ,, experience, aided
and directed by scientific knowledge, are
brought to bear upon the selections of plants,
upon the preparation Of the soil, and upon i'm
nTOvpmn anita in maohiVavU ard ~ 4hn oo
cesses of manufacture.
And in saying this, I do not wish it to
be supposed that l am advocating the pro.
ductlon generally in Barbados Of q class Of
sugar Of a superior grade to that for which
the colony has already established a high
reputation. My opinion up5n the point mAy
be of little value, but so far as r am Abuses
judge, ] see no reason why the planters and
proprietors Of Barbados should desire to en-
ulate those who in other colonies have sunk
an enormous capital in the erection of.
costly and elaborate machinery for the pro
duotion Of crystallized sugars Of the highest
class.
There will always be a demand for this
class of sugar which is ordinarily made in.
Barbados, and which ranks. moreover,
amongst the best of it's kind what | would
venture to press upon your attention, is the
increasing Importance, and indeed the urgent
necessity, OF aidlng the planter by those
extended and systematic experiments, which
he has neither the means, nor the skill. nor
the leisure to conduct for himself, but which
will enable him not only to know and to.
select the particular variety of cane which is
best suited to his needs, but also, by a pro,
per treatment of the ground, to ensure the
freeest and fullest play to the natural quail.
ties of the plant, and thus to obtain the
largest possible return that his land is capa-
bic of yielding.
Equal in Importance to the adoption of
measures. which will place increased returns
within the reach of our cultivators, is the
question of finding, and Ike ping, a market
for our produce; and in respect to this, the
outlook for Barbados is not free from ele-
m ,nts Of uncert .inty, and even of anxiety.
The quantity of sugar for refining purposes
exported from this e)lony in the year 1890,
was 81,S69 hogsheuls. Of this total amount
7l,576 hogsheads, or eighty-seven per cent,
were exported to the United States Of
America 6,967 hogsheals. or about eight per
cent. to Great Britain and 2,485 Eogsheads,
or about three per cent. to British North
America. -sa 9i4i4d41
On the other hand, of 51.316 puncheons
molasses exported during the year, British
North America took 43,204, or eishty-four
per cent. while only 1851 pnncheons, or a
little over ten per cent went to the