, 1912-05-29

AduC0 uau F0S0TVeu 10 nllnS0t TO u0Clu0 GL0
matter, that no contract had been signed
but that one of the offers had been accept
ed and the party informed thereof and that
the matter would not be laid before the
Municipal Committee. This being IL matter
which could not have any interest FOR the
Minister of Finances; and when we see that
ST. Croix is paying $500 AMI st. Thomas
$500 while the State Treasury is only to
pay $500 annually then certainly the Com
munlty has q greater financial interest IN
the matter than the State Treasury aud
should at least have the matter brought
before it's Representative the Municipal
Committee, it being al economical affair
of the Community. That the matter is
all economical affair of the Community
may best be seen by the following ex-
ample II for the sake of argument we
suppose that the Colonial Council on next
years Budget refuses the grant for the
transport of the mails then there wod!d be
a question of these two alternatives, either
that the Minister professionally sanctions the
grant by obtaining Il Royal Resolution for
It, or that the Government would have to
terminate the contract entered intO} the first
alternative would hardly be employed under
the present Liberal Ministry, aud the second
alternative proves that the Government
could not uphold the contract against the
decision of the Council, which proves that
it is un economical affair of the Community
and therefore within the scope of the NUM-
cipul Committee.
No one will deny that q motor schooner
is preferable to the old arrangement, but
there may be other conditions which
might be worth considering. Th Governor
says, that there was u difference between the
two offers of $500, and if the other offer
10 Ioo,, uno,@kaI - xu.,1ll ,onon thOt g.
Croix would have had to defray the whole
Of this amount us ST. Thomas had DO great
interest in maintaining the communication
between the islands and therefore could not
be expected to increase its subsidy. The
Speaker could not agree with His IIxceIlen-
cy in his opinion, that st. Thomas had so
little interest iii the communication with
st. CrOix. When namely the new enterprise
es in st. Thomas have been developed, it is
expected, that St. Thomas will have large
increase in trade with warehouses and large
stocks OF goods, and OF course big merchants
with supplies for the neighboring islands,
and it may then not unlikely happen
that st. Croix may see it's interest in pYovid-
ing itself with goods from st. Thomas in-
stead of rs now from foreign markets direct,
the more so MS foreign credit IS less avail
able than formerly; and if the trade Of st.
CrOlX turns 10 OF. 1lOIlnS lOT supplies us III
days of old, st. Thomas certainly will have
considerable interest in good communication
with ST. Croix. But even granting that ST.
Thomas would not increase its subsidy aud
St. Croix has to defray the entire increase;
there might be considerations which might
make it preferable, to pay such an increase.
1t is most probable that a. tile contract is
given to the party who now already CON
trolls the largest part of the shipping trade,
it will be tantamount to q monopoly and all
competition will be forced out of existence.
L is then not at all unlikely, that freights
will be increased. which again will affect the
community at large, merchants as we'll as
shippers Of cotton, and therefore this consi-
Iteration might be SO weighty us to make it
preferable to avoid the contract even at u
larger remuneration TO another party and thus
keep up II wholesome competition All these
considerations would likely have come for
ward, If the matter lad come under discus
SION in the Municipal COMMITTEE The
Minister of Finances cannot be expected to
know all such details. The address is couch
ed in most polite and parliamentary terms,
and if the Colonial Council considers the
tiobtS oronia1 the community to have n saw