The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-09-20

very prosperous people. Agriculture
and Industry have languished to the
lowest point compatible with existence,
and that is very low, indeed, in
country which is as fertile as any part
of the tropics. Sugar is cultivated to
a small extent, but the principal in
dustry is cutting and exporting log-
wood and mahogany, which are heWn
in the mountain forests and f1oated
down to the seaports by the rivers.
Too Lazy to Cut Fruit.
There is a small trade with the
United States in bananas and cocoa
nuts We might have made big
business of it, but we were too lazy.
Americans had to come down ITO cut
the fruit as well as buy it.
Beyond the 'timber-cutting. which
is mainly the work of the Indians in
the forests, there is no business doing.
although the country has great latent
resources and the land is very rich.
1--WE just sit down and vegetate. our
town, Belize, is about as lively as
mausoleum. There are no railways,
no roads. no street cars, no telephones,
no telegraphs and no good roads. And,
stranger still, nobody seems to want
them.
Although the area of the country
is only about $500 square miles, a
large part of it is absolutely unex-
plored. No white mans foot has ever
trodden many of our forests and
mountains. No white mans canoe mas
ever penetrated the upper reaches of
some of our rivers. There are not
many unknown regions OF the earth
| nowadays, and it is strange that one
of them should be situated in an Eng
! fish colony only few hundred miles
from the United States.
Some time ago young American
| came down from New York and or
eaniZed an expedition to explore part
! of the interior His energy disturbed
| everybody. and we regarded nm as
madman for working so hard. II we
had had lunatic asylum we should
probably have clapped him inside.
An UndevcIoped Estate.
There is hardly any capital in the
colony. and the labor is unemployed of
| its own free choice. There are thou
! sands of acres of fertile land which can
| be taken up for nothing, or, at most,
for a few shinings an acre. if they hap
pen to be near a seaport. The soil Is
| ADAPTED to the raising of all kinds OF
tropical products, and there is an ex-
cellent market-the United States-at
our very door But the colony does not
progress; it does not even live-it rots!
| British Honduras is colonial fail-
IRE if ever there was one.
England is forever struggling "a
gain new possessions in China or Afri-
ca, even at the risk of war. 1t is
strange that she does not make the
best of the colonies which she already
! possesses Here is a fine. undeVeloped
estate in Central America which she
| has allowed to go to rack and ruin
| without lifting a finger. OF course. II
may be said that the colonists have
themselves to blame. That is true. but
| why doesn't England take some ener-
! getic steps to improve the colony. open
up means of transportation and bring
! in "A better breed OF colonists? She
! liz disgraCed by the fact that one OF
| her colonies Is in a more backward
state than anx Of it's Latin-American
neighbors.
| Several of England's West Indian Is
! lands are also IA "A deplorable state
only three Of them--Jamaiea. Trinidad
and Greuada--ean be called fairly pros
porous These beautiful and fertile
gems OF the Caribbean were won Tor
Great Britain BY the genius OF her
greatest admirals. ard the pluck Of her
| boldest sailors, bat they have been al
| lowed 20 20 10 rot through misgOvern-
ment and negligence.
A. the natural result, there IL e
| party in almost every ore ~ These
Islands which elamors for annexation