, 1896-04-18
ONWARD.
From tile Demerdra Argosy.

ny, its interests during his regime being di-
Trctly affected to a great extent by his own
ideas of what constitutes good government
and what in his opinion is the best policy to
adopt on the main questions affecting the colo
ny's welfare. An indOlent or stupid man
could manage to spend two or three years
as the nominal head of the administration
without committing himself to a single pro-
gressive mnvelNent. no matter how anxious
the people and their representatives might
he TO see the revenues OF The colony developed,
and yet he could lay claim to the credit of
having done his duty and earned his salary.
And we have had at times such an iuhiction
as this sent upon us, no doubt for our sins.
But. on the other hand. WE have had clear
sighted, vigorous minded, brave-hParted men,
who have fought braVely against opposing
int1uencies, foremost amongst which was the
characteristic lethargy of the Inhabitants, to
carry out some practical measure or legisla-
tive innovation or administrative reform, and
who have left the colony more prosperous
than they found it. We believe it IL the
truth to say that altogether we have not
been unfortunate IN our Governors, or how
could we account for the fundamental i'm
provement that has taken place In the hnan-
cial condition of the Government, which
could not have taken place if heroic remedial
measures ildtl not nS6n adopted 10 FeSIOIo
the colony to health and strength after the
terrible SCATTERING of its agricultural and so
cial fabric, which attended the tragic but
magnificent Imperial legislation of 1888.
No matter how manfully the remaining colo
nists might have set themselves TO restore
agriculture to its former standard, their eff
forts would have ended in signal failure if
the Government had not had the courage to
Sancnon. If not to suggest. immigration and
other schemes. to supersede the labour con-
ditions upon which the maintenance of agrl-
culture formerly depended. And it must be
understood that in this connection Govern
ment" means "GoveInor". he being the
great motive power in the governmental
machine. commanding the support of his
officers and a majority in the legislature. The
years that have elapsed since this great epoch
in the cOlony's--or rather we might say, the
wOrlds-histOry are not so very many, not
the time Of two generations as these are
reckoned in the northern lands; but iii that
short period the colony has experienced
many variations # fortune, sometimes good,
often bad, and occasionally 80 bad that men
feared the battle for dear life had been
fought and-lost. The strong vitality the
colony has revealed after repeated disastrous
experiences, and its sustained progress from
decade to decade. albeit with many lnterme.
date relapses, must be regarded by those
closely interested in it, as a promise that we
belong to a colony with a future, possessing
latent resources, the development of which
will be attended with results that will am
ply repay all that has been spent upon it.
Since the awful times Of l848-5O when the
total abandonment of the sugar estates was
regarded as a rapidly approaching calamity
which no available resources could obviate,
tie march of progress has been more or less
steady. In 1850 when a special Commission
appointed by the Government traversed the
colony to enquire into and report upon the
State and Prospects of the Colony, they
found whole districts fast r~elapsing into
bush. the most ordinary marks of civil
cation fast disappearing and communica-
ton by land fast becoming inpracticable, ex-
cept on the East Coast where the present
railway had been laid down. The number of
sugar estates had fallen from $50 in 1929 to
$50, and the coffee and other estates from
ia to Is. The exports had fallen in the
q years between 1929 and 1849, from
1O3, 1913, 900 lbs. of Sugar, 9,23O,O00 lbs. of
Coffee and $4,000 lbs. of Cotton to
60. 81 900 lbs. of Sugar and 81. 900 lbs of
Coffee,1Cotton having disappea red alto~eth-
er as an article of export. 1t had become