The age-herald., 1899-06-24
SOMETHING OF OUR
 TRADE WITH ISLANDS


 Washington. June -(special.)-The fact that reciprocity treaty intended to bring a portion of the British West Indies into closer commercial relations with the United States has just been signed, and that others of that group of islands are suggest ing similar arrangements lends interest to a series of tables which the treasury bu- reau of statistics will present in the forth coming number of the summary of com merce and finance
 These show that the great semi-circle of islands which stretch from the southern coast of Florida to the eastern coast of Venezuela, numbering hundreds, having an area of nearly 100000 square miles, and a population of 5,OOO,GOO, have annual com merce of $50, ,OOO,OOO While the events of the past year have brought the most im- portant of these, Cuba and Porto Rico, into closer relations with the United States, these events were quickly followed by sug- gestions for a closer relation on the part Of others of the group which naturally look to the United States the nearest market in which to dispose of their products and from which to obtain their supplies.
 In this great chain of islands connecting Wlln continent, GTeaL controls by far the largest number. The Bahamas, which stretch southeasterly from Florida almost to Porto Rico, with twenty inhabited and scores of uninhabited islands, have been under British control since 171S, and at the close of the revolu- tionary became the home of many families of English loyaists from the south of the United States. The virgin group, just east of Porto Rico is partly under control of Great Britain The long line of islands stretching southwardly from Porto Rico to the northeast coast of South America, touching British Guiana the mainland, are mostly under the control of the United Kingdom, while Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, lying southwest Of Cuba, and British Honduras on the adja- cent mainland of Central America, are likewise part of Greater Britain" Thus the large proportion of the semi-circle of islands swinging from the coast of Central America past the southern point of Florida to the northeastern point of South America, emitting Cuba and Porto Rico, are under British control
 The British colonies thus lying commer- cially adjacent to the United States at the south, including those upon the mainland of Central and South America, have an area of over 12500O square miles, a popula- tion of nearly 2000,000, and their purchases from abroad amount annually to nearly $40,000 090 in value, and their exports to about a like sum. Their productions are mostly sugar, tropical fruits, coffee, cocoa, and fibers, of which the United States is a large importer while their purchases are chiefly breadstuffs, clothing, manufactured goods, mineral oils, coal, lumber, and other articles of which we are large exporters. At present our sales to them amount to about $l20O0 LOO per annum or about 30 per cent. of their total purchases, while our im- ports from them amount to about $15,B00 900 annually, or nearly 40 per cent. of their total exports.
 While the abolition of slavery in the British West Indies in 1852. the French West Indies in 1S4S, Porto Rico in 1S73, and Cuba in 1956 followed by the development in Europe of beet sugar production and eXportation( reduced the area devoted to sugar growing in the West Indies, it in- creased at the same time the variety of the tropical products which they have to offer in exchange for the food stufrs, cloth ing, and manufactures which they an- nually purchase from the temperate zone.
 The chief purchases of the people of the British West Indies are cotton goods, dried HSn Hour, meats, rice, lumber, hardware and furniture and other manufactures. In Sg, Jamaica imported cotton goods worth N,01S779; fish, $5656S2; flour, $790212, and rice, $196,762. Trinidad imported flour, $619,- 9G9; textiles, s1,5O6,721 rice, SPA, ,023; Ba- hamas: Cottons, $l9l ,9l5; flour, S123 691. Barbados: Cottons, S640,246 flour, $2S1, ,492; rice, $2i6,556; fish, s401 277 St. Lucia: Cot tons $11S,42S; flour, sS6, 4o9. St. Vincent: Flour, $1, ,901 Leeward Islands: Cottons, s2OS,4 ,422; flour, s22S,725. Grenada: Flour, SIP ,69S. The British West Indies as whole imported from Great Britain in 1897 merchandise valued at SS ,6S2, ,7S6, of which $215357 consisted of cottons, $95S S60 of ap- parel, $450,0S8 of leather and saddlery, s644,S31 of iron $273,775 of manure, and $257 ,412 of machinery.
 The exports from the British West Indies consist of sugar, molasses, coffee, cocoa, spices, pitch and other bituminous pro- ducts Trinidad exported in 1897 sugar valued at s2,619,S1; cocoa, $2947590; mo- lasses, SS2,6S7. Jamaica exported sugar, S5SS,647; rum, $4479 976; coffee, $SO5 ,376. Barbados: Sugar, $2,17741S; molasses, $41S,- 9i6. St. Vincent: Sugar. 4,543; arrow root, $lO6,376. Grenada: Cocoa, S645 502: spice, $65,712. St. Lucia: Sugar S2S9 O6O; cocoa $S3 ,499. Leeward Islands: Sugar, H,1l9511. The total exports from the Brit ish West Indies to Great Britain in 1897 were $,O1 457, S164S71 being sugar, s774,527 rum $2,OS9,044 cocoa, and S2sS,201 dye WoodS. A. w B.