The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-05-13

~ '''h, Infh>uT1nk lDuf iuiA'' ~
$500 fee, ahovs s.a level. The general up
pearance presented by this mountain ana
tho neIghboring table-topped masses ! 'nn'
Of an array Of huge. impregnable fortresses'
IN addition IN ,he.s types OF land formauoh
there are. besides the E,Seauibo. other large
rivers. Of which tho Berbice and the peh'sr"a
are nnvigable IN n considerable distance from
the senbonrd. navigablc. also. are 'he "ai'
and Barima rivers in the nortn"'e,
Of tho COLONY. and. although this advah'aSo
cannot be definitely predlcated oil ~ ~"
MnzIrini and Rupununl rivers, iainue"'s
OF the E,seluibo. yet their poSs'o'o
limos NJ communication with the interior ren-
derS them Of Importance to inc coio"y,
should here mention that the climate OF BTU
Ish Guiana Is not unpleasant LOT o'ou
warm It is not subject 10 sudden changes
Except on tho savannahs. the rahso " ~
thermometer is from ~ degrees TO ~ degrees
Fahrenheit The northeast 'rade"ihu PIC
walls on tho coast lands during the dry seasons
of which there are two. namely rom reo'u-
AIRY TO March and from August 10 peeeihper'
The other months Of the year constitute 'he
rainy seasons. the annual rainfall varying from
70 TO 100 inches.
let us tnrn TO the natural resources OF tne
country and begin with its mineral "eai'h.
The Commissioned OF Mines IN MS amman
report for iSO2-e3. asserted. "ihere Is not
the slightest doubt that diamonds are 10 DO
found in the different rivers OF the Colony
and it Is possible that a dry NINE may DC oS-
covered in their neighborhood, The sam
pies ! have seen have been perfect, CLASSY.
octohedron stones Of the best quality. ana
/ consider that the colony has a possible fu-
ture in store Us q diamond producing region
II is certain that considerable quantities OF
gold have been found in British Guiana. NO
extensive mining. however. was undertaken
until 1894, when $50 ounces OF gold were oo-
tanned. Subsequently there was increasing
activity In this industry. and the value OF the
gold produced In isoj-0i was about two and
Il half million dollars, The most notable
gold-mine districts are between the Barima
and Barama rivers. on the right bank oil the
Cuyuni River: on the Curuni River, not far from
is termination. on tho Caburi River, and on
the Fssequibo. at the junction OF that river
with the Totaro.
British Guiana produces cane sugar. highly
priced for its exceptional quality. the exports
OF which in Is96-07 were valued at about
So 500. 600. II also produces rum. which. how
aver. is inferior TO that Of Jamaica, as well
rs molasses. coffee and timber OF late the
colony, like other British possessions in the
Caribbean. has suffered severely at the hands
Of the beetroot sugar factories of Europe.
The population OF British Guiana is now
computed at about 2s3, 600, n striking feature
OF it Is its cosmopolitan character, All tie
continents upon the globe have furnished con-
siderable elements, there may be en-
countered, side by side, Hindoos.
Chinese. native Indians. Portuguese. Germans.
Dutchmen and EnglIshmen. There has also
been a large influx OF negroes from the West
Indian islands. The coolies brought from In
dia have proved trustworthy laborers the
Portuguese are disseminated all through the
colony and form the bulk Of the white populs-
ton In the northwestern district. In former
times. when most of the cultivated land was
distributed among n few great landowners.
tbs poor man had but little chance OF advanc-
Ing his fortunes. Now, however, the Colonial
Government encourages tho growth Of small
land proprietors, and a well-to-do middle class
il rising. The political constitution OF the
country presents a strange mixture Of Grown
colony. a dependency and a true self-govern-
ing colony. This amorphous state OF things Is
due TO the fact that British Guiana formerly
belonged 10 the Dutch. whose system Of colon
ilation was. and still is. very different from the
English. The law Of British Guiana is still the
Dutch-Roman law. that is 10 say the law OF
ancient Rome. ~ interpreted by the Dutch
iurists Of the seventeenth and eighteenth
centuries, Al the head Of the administratio
Is the Governor appointed by the Queen. He
and the so-called Court Of Policy form the
executive government The Court Of Policy
consists Of fifteen members, seven officials
and eight elected by the direct vote Of the peo-
pie The Governor has two votes and a veto
on any measure al any stage. The Court of
Policy acts clso - a legislative council. ex cepting
for matters Of taxation, which are determined
by the so-called Combined Court, which con-
siSts Of the Court Of Policy and Of six Fnan-
cial Representatives chosen directly by the
people. For administrative measures Of
certain kinds there Is the Executive Council.
consisting Of the Governor, five official and
three unofficial members, nominated bv the
Crown. An elective member of the Court Of
Policy must bc the owner Of eighty acres OF
land. ~ which forty NJ least must be under
cultivation. or of movable property valued
at about 81 500. or NJ n house or land having an
annualhental Of 81. $50. Theso-called Financial
Representatives. and the general electors
the latter. nv tho way. number only about
80 must also have property qualifications.