, 1896-12-09

them was found adulterated. 1t seems that the
traders muot venture to import adulter ated
liquor in the hope Of getting it sold TO those
'who do not know any better. Tie Rero rt is
not Without discIc,ilt to the colony. especially
i'll the matter Of the deliberate importation
of alulteratrd iood->tuff; but it is pleasing to
read the Analysts ssnIance that there is g
marked improvement, compared with former
years. in The general lun OF the food stuff
now being sold to the people. For this i'm
proved standard If purity we must be thank
fnl; bnt We must not rest satisfied until the
sale Of adnlterated food has been lendered
absolutely protitless, for then the nrfarious
traders will cease To dcul in it.
In Consul thurchilF> report TO Lord Sails
bury on the Trade snd Commerce Of Surinam.
for he two Yeas 1894 and 1895. W. cad that
the struggle for existence in. the period in
question was very trying, the two chief sta-
pleS, cocoa and gold, having failed in their
c~ontribVt pns TO Ing revenue, the former
Through low market rates and the other
through y construction of ent, prise. The
total value OF all the exports for 1894 WAS
5.t62, Sl4 tlorins and those for 1898 were al
most exactly the same, each showing a reduo-
ton OF about 10000 holinS ON the experts
for 1898. The Consul believes that lack Of
capital and Ahlence If interest i'm the COLONY
on the part of the Mother Country. together.
lave q great deal 10 do with the normal alag
nation of local tEade the colony cling endowed
with mineral and forest wealth. The limits Of
which are entirely unknown. At present the
Timber trade hardly deserves notice. so tri.
fling is the whole OF it; and q vessel charter
ed for u timber cargo has to lie in the port
for months. The local price of furniture
woods is quoted ut Il 10 psr ton for cedar;
e. 3 Q for quassi; and e. ) O for letter
3, wood. These prices may be of some use to
those few merchants III Dsmerara who at
present nre giving some attention to the fur
niturs woods of tile colony. Under the head
Of Commerce we read, and We are ready to
. believe it, that tho commercial system of Surf
dam is based upon fonG credits. Perhaps the
word endless would better describe a large
proportion of them III this respect there 10 a
family resemblance hc ween British and Dutch
Guiana. Tho value Of the imports last year
was G439:jSj, Of which Great Britain fur
nishcd only &46, 642. or a little over ten per
cent, which ~ a small share, but it is notice
able that it is twice as much as the British
supplied in 1886, tho increase having gone on
since that year. .As n proof that ParamaribO
does not Offer muck inducement to British
purchasers, the fact is mentioned that during
1894 and 1870, only one commercial bagman
Of that nation visited it, while Germans.
Yankees and French we're constantly on the
visit. The bognan business is now largely
overdone, but the Consul links that an &C.
casional visit from an Engineering house
would lead to some orders in machinery, for
very often a suggestion of great moment
is evolved by tho Joint combination
Of the practical experience Of the manufac-
turer and the planter" On one of the biggest
.ugar estates, the machinery is all of French
make and the manufacturer himself came out,
fitted it up and handed it over in thorough
working order. The cultivation Of sugar in
The colony is decreasing; but cocoa IS on the
increase, notw ithstandinS the bad prices; rice
is being sown; and coffee is being establish
ed. At one time a very large export trade
was done in coffee, as much MS ten million
Amsterdam pounds having been shipped in
''ono year. By'l950 the crop had dwindled
to one-tenth of this AMOUNT, and in 1890 it
was representa- by 437 poundsl From that
year the industry began TO revive ard in 1895
the exports had risen to 214, 900 pounds, one
estate alone having now 600 acres in tie
Liberian plant. With coffee and cocoa to
turn their attention to, the chances Of sugar
inducing the native agriculturists to give it
thcir attention are very small, notwithstand-
ing the. richness of the soil and its especial
:. adaptability for the growth of the cane.
With regard 10 the people Of Surinam we