570 HISTORY 



bore with grievous weight on the latter. The Turks Islands were also so far 

 removed from the seat of government as to gain little benefit from connection 

 with the Colony, Communication with Nassau was hindered by a long stretch 

 of treacherous seas, swept with tides and full of dangerous rocks. Contrary 

 winds added to the difficulty of navigating here. Intercourse with London was 

 regular and far more frequent than that with Nassau. The evil results of this 

 were, that little was done to preserve public order in this community; that 

 the people here were practically denied recourse to the higher courts of the 

 Colony ; that they knew little of the conduct of the government ; and worst of 

 all, that for many years they neither participated in, nor exerted influence 

 upon, the affairs of that government. But all these things might have been 

 borne with, had it not been for the careless financial treatment accorded them. 



Although the Turks Islands consisted of but two small islands and some 

 insignificant cays they nevertheless contained one-tenth of the population of 

 the Colony, and were the most important industrial community in the 

 Bahamas. Their contribution to the public revenues was far out of proportion 

 to their population. In the twenty years from 1837 to 1847 they yielded nearly 

 one-fourth of the whole income of the public treasury, but their interests were 

 left out of consideration in making up the budget of the Colony. And only 

 about one-half of the money collected in these islands was expended in any way 

 which would benefit their people. In 1845, when the price of salt was low, the 

 same duty was collected on its exportation that had been taken at the beginning 

 of the century when salt was much higher. The protective duties frequently 

 imposed on food products, although benefiting other interests, operated preju- 

 dicially to the Turks Islands, whose people imported all their necessaries except 

 salt. 



The Turks Islands had remonstrated repeatedly against these evils, and as 

 often prayed for relief. But this had proved to be of little avail. To many 

 complaints a deaf ear was turned; to others the Bahama Assembly had re- 

 sponded with futile measures of relief. At Nassau those who controlled the 

 government knew little and cared less about the interests of the Turks Islands, 

 and matters grew worse instead of better. In 1844, a new set of regulations of 

 the salt ponds was introduced. The old short term leases that had prevailed 

 for many years were superseded by a system of long ones. The people feared 

 ruin from these new measures. Burdened as they were in other ways they 

 could not submit to what they considered to be a new imposition. They pro- 

 tested against it. They seized upon their connection with the Bahama gov- 



