INTRODUCTION. 13 



place of civilisation. Let the emancipated class, let the African 

 race be fully initiated in the arts and duties of civilisation, and 

 then they will require neither the capital nor the information and 

 skill of the European ; but till this be done, it must be stamped 

 as the height of imprudence, or at least as very bad policy, to 

 encourage an antagonism of interests between the two races. 



The free-trade school, however, had gained its point, the Corn- 

 laws were abolished, and the Act of 1846 soon followed, establish- 

 ing a progressive equalisation of duty on sugars of all growth. 

 Now, in order impartially to judge of, and fairly to appreciate 

 the influence which that Act has exercised on the prosperity of 

 the West Indies, it becomes necessary to examine the influence 

 which the free-trade policy has had on the value of our marketable 

 staples and on our commercial position. 



I have already proved that slave countries can produce sugar 

 and other articles at a cheaper rate than can be effected in the 

 emancipated colonies. I have now to show that whilst Cuba, 

 Brazil, Porto Rico, the Mauritius, the United States, the East 

 Indies, &c., have enormously increased their production, the 

 emancipated colonies have not yet reached the average furnished 

 previous to the abolition of slavery. 



The following table of exports, from the emancipated colonies, 

 is extracted from Mr. M. Martin's work : 



In 1833, the island of Cuba exported 290,600,000 Ibs. of 

 sugar ; it now exports 400,000,000 Ibs. In the year 1833, Loui- 

 siana produced 75,000,000 Ibs., and the crop of 1850 was of 

 269,770,000 Ibs. In 1851, Brazil exported 168,000,000 Ibs. In 

 1834, the quantity shipped from the East Indies was 11,423,664 

 Ibs. ; and 25,759,904 Ibs. in 1839. In 1830, the Mauritius 

 exported 67,926,692 Ibs ; and the shipments of 1853 reached 

 nearly 203,000,000 Ibs. Java has augmented its production in a 

 still greater ratio ; it was about the year 1831 that sugar was ex- 

 ported for the first time from that important Dutch possession, 

 and the quantity shipped in 1853 amounted to 70,000 tons, or 

 156,800,000 Ibs. It will be said that slavery does not exist in 

 the East Indies, the Mauritius, or Java ; but in those countries 

 free labour is as cheap as in any part of the world, and, since 

 emancipation, the labouring population of Mauritius has been 

 increased by 100,000 Indian coolies : in Java a field-labourer's 

 wages are rated at 4 cents. (2d. sterling) per diem. 



