Labour and Colonisation — The Outlook. 41 



stated that our descendants will be healthier than ourselves. But 

 some people appear to think they can revolutionise the world in a day, 

 while all the time experience says plainly that slow and sure is the real 

 basis of everything. The people of Demerara tried to get immigrants, 

 and after many failures found the best people. It will hardly be judicious 

 to go on with a series of experiments with Africans and Chinese but to 

 urge upon the Indian Government the fact that British Guiana is suitable 

 for its people and that there are no such drawbacks to their immigration 

 as some people suppose. 



It would be desirable for every employer of labour to put down his 

 wants and the reasons for requiring what he cannot now get. He should 

 also say what wages he has offered to attract labour and if there was more 

 continuous labour obtained with increased wages. In some of the old 

 returns it was stated that on particular plantations there was a certain 

 number of residents and only three or four tasks per head were performed 

 in a month. It is obvious that if a rise in wages enables a man to live by 

 working one or two days a week he will not work for five. There is a 

 system in the gold and balata fields which is worth considering, but I 

 understand there is no task work in these industries. The task system 

 has its advantages but it certainly enables a man to begin and leave off 

 when he pleases. The weekly or monthly labourer could not claim for 

 anything like what is paid for as tasks. That our people can work in 

 stores by the week and month can easily be shown and possibly they do 

 better than when working by task. Were we to give up the task system 

 however there would be difficulties and yet it hardly conduces to contin- 

 ued work ; possibly some modifications are desirable and yet trouble 

 comes when we have no limitations to the amount of work or the hours of 

 labour. Overtime must always be paid for and it might, perhaps, be well 

 to give something extra to the man who does the most work ; annual 

 prizes may be considered. 



I find it generally useful to keep in mind the principle of what I call 

 " progressive continuity.'' It is evident that " all's right with the world " 

 or it could not continue. At the same time mere continuity is not enough 

 for there must be progress as well. If the airplane stops it must fall and 

 if a horse ceases to draw when going up hill the cart may slide back. It 

 is more satisfactory when we say that the world is good but may be 

 better, than to declare it evil and find fault with everything. There will 

 always be faults to amend for that is in the nature of things, but it is not 

 good to kick over a thing before considering how it can be improved. 



Colonization in Guiana has been a series of experiments. As a result 

 we have people from all parts of the world, all of whom can be made 

 useful to the community. Superior or inferior people can only be found, 

 when we look at them from a few standpoints. The excellence of every- 

 one is certain, but this excellence is not on all lines. We may even go so 

 far as to say that the highly superior person on all lines never existed. 

 The so-called lady and gentleman are mainly made up by dressmakers and 



