luipciial Expansion 15 



present crops are not reduced on account of pests and 

 other troubles, but that the present outputs will be 

 increased by extending the areas planted and increasing 

 the crops generally by means of scientific and up-to-date 

 methods, as well as by improved machinery and other 

 appliances. This scheme for developing the resources of 

 our Empire has already been discussed by me in " The 

 High Price of Sugar " when commenting on the danger of 

 overworking the natives on tropical estates. After showing 

 how scientific training could increase the output of sugar 

 per man and per acre without over-burdening the labourers^ 

 I conclude by stating on p. 12 " what an immense saving 

 of labour, which could then be devoted to other industries, 

 these increased yields would mean compared with our 

 requirements under existing conditions. The fact that in 

 the near future every worker will be, if he does liis duty, 

 worth two ordinary ones before the War should alone 

 cause the authorities to see that those who have the land 

 and employ the labour to cultivate it, know how to 

 appreciate and how to use both the land and the labourer 

 to best advantage, and that too without the labourers 

 being overworked to a degree that can render them useless 

 to their family or to themselves and a burden to the 

 community at large." In the book that I wrote with 

 Mr. J. F. Woodroffe on " The Rubber Industry of the 

 Amazon " I also devoted much space to a discussion of 

 the South American Indians and Cahoclos and the 

 amelioration of their lot whereby, whilst their level of 

 comfort would be considerably raised, their output of 

 produce could be increased far beyond the extra cost 

 involved in the better housing and feeding of these 

 workers. 



To speed up the development of the resources of the 

 Empire on the lines and at the rate suggested by the 

 E.R.D.C. would create in any case a demand for native 



