Report of Society*s Meetings. 1S7 



ferred this matter to the Chamber of Commerce, who 

 have received a similar communication." 



Government Secretary's Office, 



Georgetown, Demerara, 28th January, 1896. 

 •Sir, — It will have been observed from the copy of Mr. Chamberlain's 

 despatch which I had the honour to transmit to you on the 14th in- 

 stant, that its first object is to obtain a return showing the extent to 

 which, in each of the colonies, foreign imports of any kind have mate- 

 rially displaced, or are displacing, similar British goods; and the 

 causes of such displacement. 



2. The return, however, as will be seen from the 3rd paragraph of the 

 despatch, is only to include such British manufaftures as have been dis- 

 placed to the extent defined therein. 



3. An examination of the Customs statistics of the colony, according 

 to the Comptroller of Customs, discloses the faft that the only British 

 manufafture which shows a displacement within the limits of Mr. 

 Chamberlain's despatch, is machinery. A statement is annexed hereto 

 showing the value of machinery imported into this colony during the 

 years 1884, 1889, and 1894; and also the countries of origin. It has 

 further been observed, with reference to the concluding portion of para- 

 graph 4 of the despatch, that a very considerable proportion of earthen- 

 ware and glass, although imported from the United Kingdom, is of 

 foreign manufafture. 



4. The Afting Governor now desires me to ask your Society to be so 

 good as to afford him their views as to the reasons which may have, in 

 these cases, induced the Colonial importer to prefer a foreign article to 

 similar goods of British manufafture ; and also such further information 

 as they may be able to give him, of the nature required by Mr. Cham- 

 berlain in the 4th paragraph of his despatch. 



5. His Excellency will also, of course, be very glad to receive any 

 observations your Society may desire to make, with regard to the gen- 

 eral question discussed in the despatch, — I have the honour, &c., 



FRANCIS VILLIERS. 



AA2 



