The Future Prosperity of the Colony, 



By Harry I. Perkins, F.R.G.S. 



ijT the present time, when the state of the Sugar 

 Industry is in so unfortunate a condition, and 

 men talk with bated breath of the impending 

 financial difficulties, consequent on a long continuation 

 of the depression which threatens to destroy the pros- 

 perity of the colony indefinitely, it is surely the duty of 

 all to whom the colony furnishes a home, — and a far from 

 unpleasant home too, — to use their best efforts, by a6live 

 combination, to stave off the evil days which seem so un- 

 pleasantly near; and by cordial co-operation with the 

 Government and each other, to make what appears to be 

 a calamity, into the turning point of the Colonial fortunes. 

 In the first place, an alternative to the Sugar Industry 

 — the mainstay of the Colony — must be sought for, and 

 its merits examined. 



The most obvious alternative lies in the Gold Industry, 

 which, after an almost uninterruptedly successful and 

 rapidly increasing growth, has this year for the first time 

 failed to add to its already considerable proportions. 

 There are several causes of this arrested development, 

 some of which were already in existence when the 

 Industry first started, and others which have "grown 

 with its growth." It is impossible to overcome them all ; 

 but much may, and can be done, to lessen their influence 

 in such a degree, that the progress of the Industry and 

 Colonial prosperity generally may not be unduly re- 

 tarded. 



VY2 



