The Washington herald., 1908-07-12

Readers Of The Washington Herald
may be surprised TO learn that one OF the
important producing points OF raw sugar
Is in Natal, South Africa. II appears
that sugar growing is one Of the most i'm
portant industries Of the colony. having
more money invested in It than any
/ other. Moreover. the product Is cane
sugar. and is Of excellent quality In
fact, Natal is already one Of the great
sugar-producing points OF the world and
Is rapidly growing in Importance
Consul Z. S. Cunningham. writing from
Durham. gives some interesting facts re-
garding tho raising Of sugar there. part
Of which follows:
! Sugar cane has been grown IN the coast
districts for a quarter of a century, but
until the last ten or fifteen years the
most primitive methods were used. About
| fifteen years ago Yuba cane was intro
duced into Natal. and during TIE past
eleven years its culture has been. carried
on In a practical manner. to the exclusion
OF all other varieties The Industry has
now grown 10 one Of considerable i'm
! portance.
Large Capital Involved.
The capital invested in the industry
amounts 10 over S.90o.0OO. OF which the
amount In lands is $3e50.OOO: buildings
and improvements. S925.O00. and in ma
lchinery and plant, over S2.75O.O00. Dur
Ing the last eighteen months at least
/ $4,000 has been invested In machinery
alone. Great interest has been shown
in tho industry during the most recent
years, and local hnanciers have shown
their faith in fits future by investing their
| own money, as hardly 100000 OF tho
/ capital invested is foreign
! Advanced methods OF cultivatinR the
cane are rapidly being introduced ana
/ modern mills and a completely equipped
| rennery are taking the place OF the out
/ oi-date plants In several plantations
\ WPie an the old plantations are being
\ improved and uew machinery IS being
/ substituted FOR that formerly used.
| Until recently il was the custom OF the
/ thirty-four mills 20 make and refine suf7-
/ cienty for local consumption their own
output This is stlll the practice OF mapv.
\ but five Of the largest have Jointly SUD-
scrihed 10 the stock OF the South African
/ Sugar Refnerics Limited which has
D coast
Junction, where the unrefned sugar from
the mills OF subscribers and others Will
/ be forwarded. TO be converted into as fine
I sugar as can be produced anywhere The
company has established an up-to-date
refinery. equipped with the most modern
sugar-making machinery. with a capacity
OF refining 100 tons daily. Standard quail
ties Of sugar viii be turned out includ-
/ Ing cubes. crystal granulated. &c. I'm
addition 20 which golden sirup will be
manufactured
Product Could BE Enlarged.
There We're in 1906 4o.o22 acres in cult
walton under European management.
neither native nor Indian paintings he
ing OF any consequence. Practically the
entire coast district of Natal is suited 10
cane culture, as the SOL is very fertile
and the rainfall generally Is ample. being
from thirty 10 sixty inches. FOR the deem
roofing Nuba cane. Replanting takes
place every three or four wears. The
cane grows 20 a medium size. and the
Yield Of sugar per acre IN 1896 from all
the lands harvested was II tons of sugar
though the yield on the best conducted
plantations Is much greater.
In 1906 q, iq7 short tons OF sugar. valued
AT 2,l23oo0. and 2,70l,2i2 pounds Of mo-
lasses We're produced. The official statis-
tics FOR 1907 are not yet available. but II
has been estimated 20 have been 1000
tons. or about 10 per cent Of the LouIsi-
ana output, valued az SS3 per ton. From
the increased paintings II is safe 20 say
mat. under existing conditions. the an
nual yield is not likely 10 fall under this
amount
All the alcohol manufactured here and
the methylated spirits, which are manu-
featured on a large scale. are by-prod-
uCts OF sugar.
For the purpose OF protecting and ad-
vancing this important industry a sub
stantial duty has been imposed Prior 10
July, 1906. the duty on unrefined golden
sirup. molasses. saccharine, and treacle
was Sl7-O3 per ton: when refined. S24S3
per ton. This was altered IN 1906. when
there was imposed the present duty OF
$2i.33 per ton on candy, loaf. castor. icing
and cube; S17G3 on other kinds. including
golden and maple slrup. molasses. sac
charine, and treacle, excepting concen,
trated forms Of saccharine and other
sweeteDed substances, on which there Is
a duty Of StS7 per pound.
Protected by Freight Rate.
The duty prescribed by the Customs
Union tariff does not fully show the pro-
lection afforded the industry. as II is
further protected by preferential freight
rate on government railroads OF Natal
and South Africa. as a South African
product. AS an illustration Natal sugar
enjoys a preference in freight between
this port and johannesburg OF 1927 over
the imported sugar. which resulted in
1907 in 26,2S tons, valued at Sl,995,59O, Of
the Natal product being shipped to the
inland colonies for consumption, while IN
Natal the principal consumption is Of the
imported sugars.
1t will be apparent that, although the
sugar industry Is one Of great importance
to the colony, II has been fostered by the
levying OF a duty on the imported article
and extending to the domestic product
such a substantial preference in freight
that the withdrawal Of either without a
corresponding benefit from the other
would be fatal to It.
As a laborer on the plantations the ma
tive has until now been unsatisfactory.
White labor, except for the more respon-
sible posts, is unobtainable, besides be-
ing too expensive; and to meet these con-
ditions Indians have been indentured for
a term OF FIVE years. and It is quite prob
able that without this cheap labor the In
dustry could not survive. In 1906. 1855
persons Of all races were employed in the
cane mills and plantations. OF this num-
Der 2OS were white, the remainder being
chiefly indentured Indians. OF the 24761
indentured Indians In Natal in 1907 7,iS1
were employed on sugar estates.
The Question OF Wages.
The difference in wages paid 10 the In
dian and white is not 80 great as one
would suppose. as IT has been reliably !
estimated that three-sevenths Of the
wages were paid TO white and four-sev- |
enths 10 cClored. The whites arc highly |
paid, which makes the term "chvap la !