, 1912-02-28
months after it has obtained Royal sanction!

CCfFU III Ina Ia
was directed by His Excellency the acto..
VIce-(fovernor to introduce this Draft ia.
the hon. Council. The matter which the
dratt dealt with was well known to the Mem
oers !, the stealing from the fields has reach
Ell such a degree, that Government has.
found 1T necessary to bring forward this,
Draft. He recommended it fol- favourable
consideration.
ISt Discussion was opened.
Bird Member for Christiansted Town.
(Crea9h3 considered this Draft a great pro-.
gress for the community. AS it now is, the
people will scarcely any more cultivate We
getables, because as soon as the crop is.
nearly tit for reaping it is stolen out of the,
ground. Our markets, which formerly had
abundance of all kind of vegetables are now
scarcely supplied with, anything. tn Bar
bados and Jamaica strict measures were,
taken, we are perhaps too humane, at all,
events he hoped that something good would
come out of this law.
3rd Member for Frederiksted Country
District (Blackeeood) seconded the last
Speaker. If the value of the theft of sugar
canes was made up, it would be something
quite astonishing. He was glad that Gov
eminent bad taken this step.
3rd Member for Christiansted Country
District (Leecy) seconded the two last Speak
49, IL Aoo OhJ CHO AOlho u w ION UWS
against the guilty must be strict, but We
must have help TO convict the thief th4
people can hardly be convicted, for you must
always have two witnesses. He hoped Gov
eminent would take means for obtaining An'
easier access to have the guilty punished.
He would mention an instance from his own
ey experience, as, illustration of what he mean.
Some of his people had planted yams, a week
afterwards all the y~amsbits were taken up.
and mace away with; some lime after yams,
grew up IN another mans ground, not far
from the aforementioned ground it wa#
notorious, that this man. had never had any
yams for planting and the footsteps leading
from the first ground to the last were i'll
size equal to the feet of the man, that now
had yams growing, but no eye wines ses COULD
be procured and nothing was done.
LIST Member for Frederiksted Country
District (Sn2ith) asked, if the old custom
that the police could authorize any person
to arrest Il labourer who had left his work
on the estate to which he was contracted
and could not be found by the police, was
nude away witht
The Chairman remarked, that he doubted
whether the policemasters would authorize
the planters to arrest such persons. as it's
legality might be doubtful.
3rd Member for Frederiksted Country
OIE CCOCCOOOtB 'AN OAhAN
way practicable. The Waterman or the driv-
er knew the people, and if one OF them was
authorized to arrest the person wanted, 1T,
was more convenient.
LIST Member for Frederiksted Town (Cout-
ter) remarked, that if this Draft had been
introduced 10 years ago, it would have been
better he considered the punishment Of
80 days too low $50 Frcs. were not pro-
portionate to 80 days.
The Chairman said that s 80 included
all thefts, the less serious thefts such "9
stealing food for immediate consumption
would be punishable according to first sec
t,on Of the paragraph with fines or consum-
er's imprisonment, while thefts of II more
serious kind such as theft of canes, fruit and
other p: oduc's which is cultivated with eco
nomical view would be punishable under
section two with hard labour.
1st Member for Frederiksted Town (C0uI-
ter) asked if a man stole fruits from q tree
in his yard in Town, he then was to be pun
ished mild.
The Chairman answered, that the steal
ing of canes and grass came under the hard
punishment; what it depended on was, If
the thinps stolen were subject to CIVILIZATIONS