134 SCIENCE PROGRESS. 



frequently been the case with beet sugar, a powerful impulse 

 was received from the political condition of Europe. There 

 appears to be no doubt that the introduction of beet factories 

 into France by Napoleon I. was intended as a blow to the 

 British Empire through her Colonies. England had 

 attained her greatness through her Colonies, and Napoleon 

 was determined to destroy them. The Continental ports 

 were therefore closed to free British sugar ; the price rose 

 rapidly, and, under this artificial political protection, factories 

 sprang up in v^arious parts of France and Germany. 

 Most of these collapsed, however, at the downfall of the 

 Emperor. 



We do not again hear much of beet-growing till 

 about 1840. The British West Indies had just received 

 their first serious rebuff in the emancipation of slaves, and it 

 is quite probable that by this means the cultivation of the 

 beet again received a political stimulus. From this time 

 onward, the manufacture of sugar in Europe steadily and 

 rapidly increased. The advance was and is artificial, in that 

 payments are made on the Continent either directly or in- 

 directly on all exported sugar ; on the other hand, the 

 British market, formerly a Colonial monopoly, has been 

 opened more and more widely to the world's supply, first by 

 the abolition of differential duties in favour of the Colonies, 

 and later by the placing of sugar on the free list. 



The British sugar-growing Colonies, being denied the 

 protection they formerly received, have therefore steadily 

 lost ground. The imports of sugar into the United King- 

 dom have increased five times during the last fifty years, 

 whilst that received from the Colonies has diminished. 

 This is partly due, of course, to their finding other nearer 

 markets (the United States for West Indian Colonies and 

 India for Mauritius), but the total production of the 

 British possessions will not at present meet the home 

 demand. 



The accompanying table will illustrate the growth of 

 British imports during the last fifty years, the gradual 

 decrease of sugar received from the Colonies and its almost 

 entire replacement by European beet : — 



