THE LABOR PROBLEM IN THE TROPICS. 481 



on the ancient limestones that here underlie the lavas at no great 

 depth; outcrops of these limestones occur only a few miles away at 

 the mouth of Soda Butte Creek. This gas must emanate from fis- 

 sures in the rock just above the bears, and on still nights it may accu- 

 mulate to a depth of two or three feet in the ravine, settling in a 

 heavy, wavy stratum, and probably rolling slowly down the bed of 

 the rill into the valley below. The accompanying photographs were 

 made during our visit. 



THE LABOR PROBLEM IN THE TROPICS. 



By W. ALLEYNE IRELAND. 



A GREAT deal of space has been devoted in American magazines 

 and newspapers recently to the question of how this country 

 has become a colonial power. Destiny and duty, strength and weak- 

 ness, accident and design, honesty and corruption have been called 

 on by writers, singly and in various combinations, to bear the re- 

 sponsibility of the new departure in the national policy. 



Whatever interest such speculations may possess for the student 

 who seeks to discover in the events of history some indication of the 

 evolution of national character, there can be little doubt that the 

 eyes of the people at large are turned in another direction. 



What are our new possessions worth? is the question which in- 

 telligent men of all classes are beginning to ask; and it is not sur- 

 prising, in view of the comparative isolation of this country in the 

 past, that there are few who have sufficient confidence in their own 

 opinion to answer the query. 



In England, whose colonial and Indian empire embraces nearly 

 one fourth of the population of the globe, there is an astounding 

 lack of knowledge in relation to colonial affairs; and those who 

 follow the debates in the House of Commons will have noticed that 

 when the colonies are the subject under discussion the few members 

 who remain in their seats seldom fail to exhibit a degree of ignorance 

 which must be most disheartening to the able and learned Colonial 

 Secretary. 



It is not to be wondered at, then, that in the United States, where 

 the people have been too much occupied with the problems continually 

 arising at home to pay any attention to affairs which, until very re- 

 cently, have appeared entirely outside the range of practical politics, 

 there should be few men who have given their time to that careful 

 study of tropical colonization which alone can impart any value to 

 opinions in regard to the practical issues involved in the colonial ex- 



VOL. LIV. — 35 



