The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1902-05-23
SOMETHING ABOUT THE IS.
LAND OF THE RECENT
DISORDER.
It Had a Population of One
Hundred Ninety Thousand
of Which Ten thousand
We're White.


of the recent awful disaster, have not,
according to the publication of the
treasury bureau of statistics, Colonial
Administration, "been altogether salts
factory. While many of the French
colonies have been successful and
prosperous, those of the West Indies,
by reason of their small area and dis
lance from the mother country, have
proved not only a burden financially
but somewhat unsatisfactory in the
demands which their representatives
have made and continue to make
upon the mother country. France has
tried the experiment, as did Spain, OF
giving to certain of her colonies rep
resentation in the Legislative body OF
the home government and according to
the quotations made in the bureau
of statistics publication from Mr..
Leroy Beaulieu, that experiment has
been unsatisfactory.
The French colonies in America, as
is we'll known, consist of Martinique
and Guadeloupe with their adjacent
islands forming a part of the chain of
small islands which stretches in a
semic;rcle enthusiastically from Porto
Rico almost to the coast of South
America. On the mainland OF Sonth
America near the southern terminus
oft his semicircle of islands just men
toned is another colony of France,
French Guinana, while further north
lust off the southern coast of New
foundland is the remainder of French
colonial America, the islands of st.
Pierre and Miquelon.
Martinique has an area of Ssl
square miles and population OF
about 100, 900, OF which number
about 5, coo are laborers brought from
India and over 5000 laborers from
Africa; also about 500 Chinese immi-
grants The remainder of the popula-
tion is largely native negroes the
white population numbering in all
about 10, 900. A large share of the in
terror of the island has never been
brought under cultivation, although it
has been occupied by the French al
most constantly since 1886, period of
267 years, the only interruption in
French control being the period from
1894 to 1902, when the island was held
by the British. Slavery existed until
1S4S, when it was abolished in this
as we'll as other French colonies.
Notwithstanding the fact that large
part of its interior has never been
brought under cultivation, the island
is described by Reclus as lone of the
most densely populated spots on the
globe; on the arabic lands people are
packed as closely as in such industrial
centers as Lancashire. Flanders, or
Saxony.
The government of..Martinique con-
sists of local legislative body :. COM
posed of natives which has the power
to pass laws applicable to the exercise
of political rights, the regulation of
contracts, matters relating to wills,
legacies and SUGGESTIONS, the institu-
tion Of juries, criminal. procedure,
recruiting for naval and military
forces, and the methods Of electing
local officers in the cities and towns.
The governor and other officers are
appointed by the French government
which also makes the tariff laws of
the island, as is the case with refer
ence to it's other colonies. This and
the other American colonies of France
have, as already indicated, much
larger share of self-government than
any other of her colonies, and are
each represented by senator and two
deputies in the French legislative
body corresponding to the congress of
the United States. These large pow
ers Of self government and of partici-
patton in national Legislation are the
subject of open criticism by French
economic writers, Leroy Beaulieu,
perhaps the most distinguished of
French writers of the present day
upon economic subjects, in his "Col-
onisation chez les Peules Modern
ness, says: ''As regards politics,
we have introduced French liberty
into our colonies; we give them civil
governors, admit their representatives
into our parliament, and while all
these reforms are excellent insthem-
selves, it is unfortunately to be feared
that they will in practice result in
abuses, and that unless the mother
country is very watchful those very
powers which she has granted to
her colonies will become powers of
oppression. The deputies whom Mar
Unique sent to our parliament serve
only to represent the malice, prejudice
and ignorance of the blacks. The
weak executive power in France al
lows itself to be intimidated by these
deputies and sends out to the colonies
cowardly and incapable governors
whose indecision of character feeds
the more or less barbarious hopes OF
the native population of the island. .
Sir Charles Dixie, the we'll known
British legislator and writer upon
colonial governments, does not join
the pessimistic views which the
French writer's express regarding the
experiments which the French have
made in the encouragement of local
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