The West Indian Bundle of Sticks. 267 



Council should of course be continued, but it will be a 

 luxury within the reach only of the rich.* 



The Imperial Post Office has arranged a common 

 system for Inter- Colonial and Foreign Mail correspon- 

 dence, but the existing system of cables for telegraphic 

 communication cannot be regarded as satisfactory , and 

 an improvement in it might easily be brought about by 

 joint action on the part of the colonies concerned. The 

 penny postage rate should be at once introduced for 

 Inter-Colonial correspondence, and, although sixpenny 

 telegrams may not be practicable now, much lower rates 

 should prevail than do at present, for cable messages 

 among the islands. The means of internal communica- 

 tion within the islands themselves should be established 

 on a thorough system. There should be in each colony, 

 wherever practicable, a complete network of roads, rail- 

 ways, mail-coaches, and coasting steamers, for, while 

 the isolation of island from island is bad, the isolation of 

 parish from parish is worse. The wires of the telegraph 

 and telephone should even penetrate into the out-of-the- 

 way parts of the several colonies. 



Since Corsica has given birth to COLUMBUS and 

 NAPOLEON it would appear that a man may make a 

 great figure in the world, although born in a small island. 

 Nay, was not that man of brilliant genius, ALEXANDER 

 HAMILTON, born in our own islet of Nevis? It is cer- 

 tain, however, that even men like COLUMBUS, NAPO- 

 LEON, and Hamilton, must have a larger stage to play 

 their parts upon. So, though in a smaller way, with 



* The Heirs of the late Mr. H. M. A. Black, spent £1,87$ : — Ifi the 

 prosecution of their Appeal to the Privy Council, from a judgment of 

 the Supreme Court of British Guiana. 



L L _' 



