80 TIMEHRI. 
But, a few British capitalists stuck to the sinking ship ; 
at last by almost herculean efforts they pumped it dry 
and mended the leak. Coolie immigration and machi- 
nery were the panaceas; the former was only conceded 
after a hard struggle with the Government. We have to 
thank JOHN GLADSTONE for initiating the system, and 
though his first introductions may be consideredas failures, 
they paved the way for something better. . 
Slowly but surely the colony recovered. Presently the 
sugar export went up to an amount beyond that of the 
old times and the new estate owners began to breathe 
more freely. Although fewer plantations were in culti- 
vation the acreage under canes was much increased, 
and then, a better kind of sugar was almost universally 
manufactured. Little fortunes were spent on machinery 
and buildings, with the result that the cost of manufac- 
ture was reduced as well as that of labour. The largest 
export of sugar in the old time was that of 1827, amount- 
ing to 71,168 hhds. and in 1838 it was 54,583 hhds. 
After the emancipation it fell gradually until in 1846 the 
total was only 26,211 hhds., the lowest point, after which 
it slowly but gradually began to creep up again, reaching 
725347 hhds. in 1861. Ten years later it crept up to 
104,204 hhds, and got to its highest point in 1887 with 
149,860 hhds., since which it has again declined. 
The present crisis, like that of the beginning of the 
century, is the result of over-produétion, but whereas 
then it was only of cane sugar, now, owing to the bounty 
system, that from the beet rules the market. The Deme- 
rara planters think they might be able to keep on their 
estates if bounties did not exist, but the difficulties in 
the way of their abolition seem to be insurmountable, 
