MEANS OF COMMUNICATION. 237 



other hand, the Colonial Bank carries on here, I believe, a very 

 profitable business. The exchange varies from 470 dollars to 490 

 dollars, allowance being made for time and amount : deposits 

 taken at 3 per cent., and money discounted at 8 per cent. 



No private bank has ever been established : rate of interest 

 8 and 10 per cent, on good security : small sums, however, are 

 often borrowed from individual money-lenders at 15, 20, and even 

 30 and 40 per cent, for three, six, and twelve months, though 

 this dirty trade is only practised by shameless usurers. 



MEANS OF COMMUNICATION. Roads and Bridges. It cannot 

 be expected that a country but comparatively recently settled, with 

 only a belt along the sea-shore under cultivation, should possess 

 a superiority of internal communication ; and this is precisely the 

 case with regard to Trinidad. Moreover, materials for making 

 roads and keeping them in repair are not only scarce, but the 

 metal being in general limestone, is not very durable, and is to 

 be procured only from a few localities. The very nature of the 

 soil itself it being clay or clay loam is, when coupled with the 

 heavy rains, a very great obstacle to the formation of good roads. 



A short review of the history of our road ordinances may be 

 of some interest. During the prevalence of slavery, the com- 

 mandants had the charge of making, repairing, and keeping the 

 roads in repair. The free inhabitants of each quarter were 

 compelled by law to keep the roads of their respective districts in 

 good order, and to contribute, for that purpose, a certain amount 

 of days' labour according to their amount of property. The 

 commandant made an estimate of the number of days necessary 

 for the repairs, and summoned each proprietor to supply his 

 quota, the roads being partitioned among the different individuals, 

 and generally the portion nearest to each individual's estate 

 allotted to him as his share : the work was afterwards inspected, 

 and if not properly performed, was required to be perfected. 



Immediately after emancipation, it became necessary to 

 change this system, and no less than four ordinances were enacted 

 between the months of October, 1839, and March, 1844 ; or, at 

 the rate of one ordinance per every ten months ! In the year 1846, 

 however, an ordinance was passed, providing for the making and 

 repairing, and keeping in repair, the roads, bridges, and fences, in 

 the island of Trinidad. This ordinance was made very comprehen- 

 sive, and fully entered into the details of the subject. It divided 



