Viii PREFACE. 



Jamaica is the means of circulating more than 150,000 annually 

 amongst all classes of the community ; and this large sum is 

 immediately available, without the vexatious delays formerly 

 experienced in establishing other and more permanent in- 

 dustries. Under the old system, the planter was for the most 

 part in the hands of merchants and agents ; he seldom had full 

 control of his produce, and was so restricted in his selection of a 

 market that he often suffered much thereby. 



This new departure in the sale of West India produce is only 

 beginning to be felt, but its ultimate effects will no doubt tend 

 to such an emancipation of the planter, that these tropical lands 

 will, in time, become as prosperous as they are beautiful and 

 fair. 



British Honduras, in these respects o,t least, will have a clear 

 start. Its magnificent lands have hitherto been untouched, 

 save to yield their rich store of timber and dyewoods ; its 

 planters will from the first have a convenient and abundant 

 market for their produce, and by means of the sale of early 

 maturing crops of fruits and vegetables, they will be able to 

 work with a smaller capital, and maintain themselves free from 

 the encumbrances which have hitherto been the bane of their 

 brethren in the West India Islands. 



In speaking so particularly of minor products in connection 

 with British Honduras, I do not by any means wish it to be 

 inferred that the larger industries are not likely to succeed 

 there. Provided sufficient capital is available for the purpose, 

 and the labour supply is guaranteed, there is no country where 

 they could do better. 



South of Belize River, and extending for many miles on each 

 side of such rivers as the Rio Grande and others, there are 

 extensive areas of fine land admirably suited for sugar-cane 

 cultivation, where the usine system especially might be adopted 



