The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1902-05-30
MARTINIQUE,


by the Bureau of Statistics the success |
of Martinique as a colony is not great |
This is at variance with the generally |
preconceived idea that Martinique was |
immensely rich, OF course upon such |
a subject the Treasury Bureau of sta
tistics must be thoroughly informed or |
it would not issue information which |
will be taken all over the world as au-
thoratauve. While many of the French |
Colonies have been successful and pros !
porous, those of the West Indies by |
reason of their small area have proved, |
says the Bureau, not only a burden !
financially, but have been unsatisfac- |
tory in the demands which their repre- |
sentatives have made and continue to |
make upon the mother country.
The The French colonies in America |
are not of large extent They consist
of Guedeloupe and Martinique together
with adjacent islets which form part
of the chain of the lesser Antilles At
the extreme end of the chain, on the |
mainland of South America, is French |.
Guiana, with its ill omened convict sta |
ton of Cayenne; while some little dis
lance from the coast is the stin more |
i'll omened Devils Island rendered infa- |
nous by the miseries of Dreyfus. The |
other French Colonial possessions are |
away up north of the Southern Coast |
of Newfoundland, and are composed of
the Islands Of st. Pierre and Miguelon.
Martinique. has an area of 3S1 square
miles and a population of about 100000
of which number about 5000 are labor
ers brought from India and over 5000
laborers from Africa; also about 500
Chinese immigrants. The remainder Of
the population is largely native negroes
the white population numbering in all
about 10000. \ large share of the
interior of the island has never been
brought under cultivation, although it
has been occupied by the French almost
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 1913, when
it was abolished in this as well as other
French colonies. Notwithstanding the
fact that a large part of it's interior
has never been brought under cultiva-
ton, the island is described by Reclus
as zone 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, Elan
ders, or Saxony."
The government of Martinique con-
sists-of a local legislative body compos-
ed of natives which has the power to
pass laws applicable to the exercise of
political rights, the regulation of CON
tracts, matters relating to Wills, lega-
cies and successiops, the institution 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 reference to its other colonies
This and the other American colonies of
France have a Nmuch larger share of
self-government than any other Of her
colonies, and are each represented by
a senator and two deputies in the
French Legislative body corresponding
to the Congress of. the United Stated.
These large powers of self-govern-
ment and Of participation in national
legislation are the subject of. open cri-
ticism by French economic writer's.
Leroy Beaulieu, perhaps the most dis
tinguished of French writer's of the pre-
sent day upon economic subjects, in his
COLONIZATION chez les Peoples Moder-
nes," says: ".liS'o.
AS regards politics, we have introdu-
ed French liberty into our colonies: we
give them civil governors, admit their
representatives into our Parliament,
and while all these reforms are excel
lent in themselves, 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 OPP
preston The deputies whom Martini
que send to our parliament serve only
to represent the malice, prejudice and
ignorance of the blacks. The weak, exc /
cutive power in France, allows itself to
be inundated by these deputies and
sends out to the colonies cowardly ana
incapable governors whose INDIGESTION of
character feeds the more or less bar
barous hopes Of the native population
of the island" .t. -,
In dealing with the conditions brought
about by the frightfu disaster at ST.
Pierre and probably over the whole
north end Of Martinique, there will be
political troubles when the final settling
ta