558 HISTORY 



to attain this, it discussed the question of commuting the whole of them in a 

 lump sum. As these were the sole revenues of the Colony which were not 

 at the disposal of the House of Assembly, it was not expedient for the Crown 

 to part with the control of them without the guarantee of a fair equivalent.. 

 The House of Assembly was long unwilling either to accept the terms offered 

 to it for a commutation, or to make any just offer. By 1845 the amount of 

 the arrears had reached several thousand pounds, the amount falling due 

 annually being nearly £800. Not more than one-fourth of them, it 

 was estimated, could have been collected. Owing to the financial straits of 

 the Colony in 1845, the Assembly was unable to offer any considerable sum 

 to purchase the Crown's right in the lands. The Secretary of State author- 

 ized Governor Mathew to accept ten annual payments of £300 each as full 

 commutation, if the Assembly would vote for that.'* The Assembly took up 

 the matter and disposed of it finally in 1846. The offer made by the-Colonial 

 Department was accepted. All arrears due on lands outside of New Provi- 

 dence, some of them dating back to the time of the accession of William IV, 

 were remitted.™ Provision was made for the collection of future rents by 

 the Colony. Individual commutation was also provided for. 



Salt Ponds. 



One of the most permanent sources of wealth in the Bahamas was salt ponds.. 

 Salt was called by some the staple of the Bahamas. The warm waters sur- 

 rounding these low islands contain much salt in solution, and conditions- 

 are favorable for the evaporation of them. There were adverse conditions,, 

 however. The labor of raking salt was very severe, and doubly so on account 

 of the heat of the tropical sun. It was difficult to get laborers to work at it 

 constantly. As long as the slave system continued, masters could apply their 

 slave labor to it. After the emancipation the laborers were reluctant to dO' 

 this severe work, and in order to induce them to engage in it, higher wages had 

 to be paid.™ But the salt crop itself was a precarious one at best. A few 

 hours' rain would destroy the results of months of labor. Fortunately there- 

 was a season in the year when rains were less frequent and when salt raking- 

 could be carried on. Besides these things there was a difficulty in disposing 



•=» Ds., S. St., 1845, No. 87. 



•^ 9 Vic, 10. Exception was made for New Providence because it was thought 

 that the enforcement of payment there would not work to the detriment of the 

 holders. 



°" See Balfour to Rice, No. 39. 



