34 Timehri. 



bound to fail and the labourer kills the planter. The question then is 

 whether the people now in the colony can support its expensive govern- 

 ment if the plantations are abandoned. 



Possibly some will say that no one cares for the sugar estates but 

 this is hardly true. The welfare of every country depends largely upon 

 its manufactures and exports and for many years British Guiana has been 

 supported by sugar. Were it not for East Indians coming here we should 

 have had no rice industry. If, however, any business cannot be made to 

 pay it must necessarily be given up but there is no reason to 

 suppose that sugar-growing will fail. Thirty years ago some 

 of the oV! planters despaired and yet it has not gone, and we can find 

 croak ers frorn the very beginning A pamphlet under the title of "The 

 Groans of the Plantations " was published about two centuries ago and 

 grumbles have been frequent ever since. Those who know nothing of 

 West Indian history think that the " Good Old Times " were pleasant and 

 profitable. But, when we try to find these times they evade us, for there 

 was as much grumbling as we have to-day. Plantations have been 

 abandoned but sugar is still grown though the " West Indian Nabob "has 

 disappeared. 



The plantation system requires capital and labour ; much more might 

 be done to economise both. When we look back to the old times we 

 find that high prices of sugar consisted with an interest and credit system 

 that could uot exist to-day. Everything purchased cost more and the 

 charges for freight, insurance and commission were enormous. The 

 " Nabobs " strutted about like lords for a few years and then suddenly 

 went out of sight. Even they were the few survivals of many failures. 

 When therefore we see a plantation put out of sugar cultivation to-day we 

 can find many similar cases in the past and see reason to hope. Worso 

 troubles than that likely to come from the stoppage of indentured immi- 

 gration have been surmounted and we may presume that those planters 

 who are living now are not less persevering than their predecessors. The 

 optimist does not despair. 



The sugar planter has always been afraid of new industries because they 

 reduce his labour supply and increase wages. There was almost an 

 outcry when the gold industry started, but ultimately this difficulty, 

 become of little consequence. Other industries like balata and 

 rice have reduced the labour supply for the estates, but many still thrive. 

 We should have better conditions if our present labourers would work five 

 days a week, but this is not within the bounds of our expectations. 

 Tropical man is not coerced by winter and is therefore improvident ; in 

 one way he is more independent but when sickness comes he is a burden 

 on the community. Forethought is almost lacking in our labouring 

 classes. 



A sugar plantation must have a manager ; from the want of proper 

 control the villages are backward. They are, however, much improved 

 from what I saw nearly fifty years ago. We can hope for further 



