, 1891-10-07
P R 0 CT E b N G $
OF TEIE
COLONIAL COUNCIL
FOR ST CROIX.
Continued from AUis No. 49,

uEIAhSISu dUO ICnShOO VAS4OND9 h"J NDNFS
in Che usual way, namely by a boat which they
appropriated; in Vieques they were arrested
by the authorities. and a vessel from St. Thomas
in charge of a small military force was sent for
them they returned on the 26th April to St4
Thomas, where they were ouarantined up ti
the 18th May, the expenses on that o%ccaslonY
amounted to S443 88. Next soldiers d~esertedv
again on the night between 7th and Sth Junei
from Christiansted, and reached Puerto Rico,
where they were arrested; a schooner from St.
Croix was sent for them, and on their return
here they and the men in charge were quaran-
tined. The cost of this desertion was $410.37
ma king the total sum proposed in the grant
1864. 257. The soldiers have been sentenced to
penalty and to pay the expenses occasioned to
the Colonial Treasury; if they can be refund
ed at all, it will Of course take q very LONG
time, in the meantime the Colonial Treasury
must pay, and to cover the expenses the ad-
ditional grant is submitted.
End Member for Frederiksted's Country
District (B~lackmood) said he could not but
consider these desertions of the military as a
very unfortunate affair, and as we see, they
cost quite a large amount, especially when we
also consider that we have had dry years and
hard times. It is of course so that the quaran-
tine has served to increase the expense the
uUlOuuUO VI lO OAO 1 ullA OACI hACCA ~
paid. At the same time it seemed to him that
there must be some reason for these frequent
assertions; there must be something that causes
these men always to wish to absent themselves
from duties and quarters it seems deFlorable
that such a spirit does exist, and it deserves to
be considered if something might not be done
to create greater contentment among those
men; perhaps it might be ACHE we'd with little
expense. If the men were mo re successful IN
their attempts, we might escape such heavy
expense. Still, the fact is there now; the
causes should be examined into, and then be
removed.
The Governor would in reply state that de-
sertion of soldiers is common in the West In
dies every where, having European soldiers,
not only in st. Croix but also in the British
and French Islands, and the reason Is that
European Soldiers engaged to serve in the
West Indies feel dissatisfied at first on their
arrival, because their expectations are not
realized, and with the lightness ofmind common
to young men, they abscond from the station
where they are. The same thing may happen
again here, especially with recruits, of whom a
number are expected early next year. The
Government has had under consideration how
the soldiers could be made to feel cOntented
and several things have been done towards that
emu anu WudboNtI C1S0 Cdu ~ UOhO WI 10
but discipline must be maintained, and soldiers
a~bsconding must be caught and brought back
and punished.
3rd Crown Member (Ditlevsen) would to
His Excellency's rem arks beg to add, that de-
~sertions of the soldiers here have been known
as long as the Danes have been in possession of
the Island it is therefore nothing new now;
and if it had not been necessary to lay the
question of the expense before the Council,
the two desertions in the course of a year
would scarcely have been noticed. But anyhow
when men desert, they must be brought back,
as otherwise the habit would not be stopped, but
certainly grow worse.
3rd Member for Frederiksted's Country
District (HeUih): To him thequestion is now,
If the transport Of those 4 msn at a time from
Grab Island and PuertoRico could not haVe been
done at less expense than these 1854; there
are for insta nee, steamers always running be-
tween st. Thomas and Puerto Rico, and it did
not seem necessary to depatch a vessel pur-
poselv on this errand. 1t would almost sp-
pear that the men sent out in search Of the de-
serters went on a sort of picnic, and that it was
thought we need not spare money, as we have
plenty Of it. But it is o pretty large amount
anyhow for this affair. Another point is this,
that it is q very serious thing to notice that
such great dissatisfaction prevails among the
Military Force, as to cause such, frequent de-
s~ertions; 10 is serious to reflect on, that the
! Police Force ia insufficient, and the Military