The Irish standard., 1896-01-25
THE FACTS ABOUT GUIANA.
As Much a slave-H Holding Country As
Was Once the
Sou.h.
ENeL1 q CONTROL HEH AND MONEY

Forests of Valuable Timber Untouched
And Mines Of un1o!d Wealth
To Be Opened.
The. dispute over the boundary of Ven
vantage, at least, OF calling attention to
a region that is little known to the civ
ilized world, sexcept through vague and
indefinite reports of travellers and adj
venturers, although the country is one of
the oldest, historically, OH this hemis-
tphere, says a Georgetown, Demeraro,
British Guiana, special correspondent in
the Philadelphia Times. The Dutch set
tied it in early days, in defiance OF the
pope and the Spaniard, but it came under
English rule IN 1914, which changed the
general scheme of government adopted
by the Dutch Trading Company. The
governor is appointed by the crown, and
he is practically the ruler OF the colony,
as he holds the controlling power in the
court of policy. The court is composed
OF sixteen persons, onc-ha.f OF whom are
appointed by the crown, through the gov
ernor, and the other half by the elector-
ate. The electorate franchise is SO re-
stricted by a property qualification that
the rule is lodged into the hands OF
few Englishnen, who are naturally in
sympathy with the governor. The elect
ed mem bers Of the court practically have
to be the owners of $4,000 worth of real
estate, and the large planters thus have
the legislation placed into their own
hands and well beyond the reach of the
natives and poorer colonists.
Guiana is practically a country of i'm
mense landed states. The sugar inter
ests are supreme here, and these are own
ed by about dozen wealthy planters, not
more than three OF whom are actual col
onists. Their residence is abroad, but
their money and interests are in Guiana.
They control the legislation through
their agents and factors, and besides
owning most of the valuable sugar
lands, they have a firm grasp upon the
chief business interests in Georgetown.
There are, three things that are valuable
in Guiana-one is sugar, which has de
ve,oped into a paying industry; another
is gold which is just beginning to be To-
Gated and mined, and the third coolies.
The coolies are practically slaves to
their English masters, although it is Of
fensive TO the English public sense to
designate them as such. The planters
both resident and absent, have done all
in their power to obtain absolute control
over the lives of their slaves, and the
English government has granted them
liberties enough to make the system lit
tie better than that which obtained III
our Southern states prior to the rebellion.
The coolies are in many instances work
ed and treated as if they were so many
pack-horses: They are bound to their
masters for five years, and receive food
and clothing and wages that never ex-
coed shilling day. During this bond
age he is worked unscruprllously and
subjected to numerous and petty fines:
which largely eat up his wages. His
only appeal is to the English local courts,
which are more apt to take sides with the
wealthy Planters than with the coolies.
At the end of five years the coolie can
choose another master, or renew his
bondage with the first for a second term
of five years. At the end OF ten years
he is returned to his native place free
man. The coolie system thus borders
so closely upon the slave system that it
would be hard to exempt one from gen
eral condemnation and curse the other
The interior of British Guiana is Who'll
ly unsettled, and bands OF native South
American Indians roam over it as freely
as they did when Columbus first dEscov-
cred the western hemisphere. While the
topography of the country is fairly we'll
known through the work of English sur
veyors, it's wonderful resources have
never been measured nor approximately
estimated. There is a general belief that
untold mineral wealth exists in thus re-
gion. Gold mining camps have been To-
Gated on the disputed territory for many
years, but it is a mistake to say that
these are settlers. They are only shift
ing, temporary mining camps, with no
settled habitation or acquired property
worth anything. Some settlements have
been made along the river banks, but
not more than $50 miles from the coast,
and these are reached by small steam
boats which regularly ply up and down
the stream Along the river the soil is
rich and alluvial, yielding wonderful
tropical products and making scenery
that is grand and imposing. The trees
are magnificent in their size and beauty,
and enormous forests of them extend
many miles back into the country, in
GLIDING in their list of valuable growths
mahogany, iron-wood, logWood, lignum-
vitae and dye-woods. In time these for
ests will prove of inestimable value to
England and the whole civilized world.
The gold mines. are still practically I'M
developed. The disputed region in which
they are located was not thought to be
of much value for many years, but wan
dering bands OF miners have in late years
unearthed some rich fields. The gold
fever has struck the English adventure
ers in Guiana and Venezuela as heavily
as it did the Americans in early Califor-
MIA days, and considerable numbers are
hocking to the unsettled territory. The
! real value of these mines will never be
determined until scientific methods and
modern machinery are employed to I'M
earth the treasures. At present very lit
tie capital has sought this region as an
investment in mining machinery, largely
because the territory was a disputed one.
If England should obtain the absolute
right over it English capital would I'M
,, 1oubtedly pour into the country and de-
yelop the mineral resources rapidly.
The climate of Guiana is not by any
means agreeable. Georgetown is within
! 6 degrees OF the equator. and the mercury
generally fingers around 80 and 100 de-
grees. The land is also low and marsty
| in places so that fevers, are prevalent at
all seasons of the year. and white man