340 
‘COLONIAL OFFICE to the TREASURY. 
Downing Street, 
Sir, November 9th, 1896. 
REPRESENTATIONS continue to reach Mr. Secretary Cham- 
berlain giving cause for increasing disquietude as to the = eia 
of certain West Indian and other B cvm d Colon 
2. The Lords ee of the Treasury are ae that 
the price of suga open markets has for some time past been 
affected by VEM EDNY Ra. caused both directly by the 
bounties given by some European Governments and indirectly by 
the effect of those bounties in stimulating an enormous produc- 
tion in advance of effective demand. 
Early in the year 1895 it was judged necessary by the 
Marquess of Ripon to sanction special remissions m taxation on 
sugar estates in Ta h Guiana, Trinidad, and the Leeward 
n consequence of the evidence laid Pon. him of the 
critical "position of this industry. In the course of that year very 
urgent petitions and memorials were addressed to the Secretary 
of State sie practically all the Colonies affected, through their 
Chambers of Commerce and other association s, making positive 
Um as to the distbteóus effect of the mida trade in the 
abandonment of estates and the disorganisation of industry. 
i p he 
w 
Governors. In November, 1895, Mr. Uhütiberala n was addressed 
by a very large and representative deputation on behalf of the 
West India sugar industry, and the commercial and engineering 
interests associated with it "SS desired that he should recom- 
end Her Majesty's Government to take active steps against the 
"Ear sugar bounties as the only means of saving the West 
Indian Colonies zm ruin. A report of the proceedings on this 
occasion is enclose 
n the s. ot ‘Angus last the amounts of the bounties offered 
by ‘the Gov of Germany and Austria-Hungary were 
apibertinately Müdblód: and a Bill has been prepared, and will 
probably be adopted in France, to raise the bounties in that 
country p sog ri although it is computed that they are 
even now equivalent to a grant of £3 5s. per ton. The new 
German rates are from Is. 3d. to ls. 9d. per ewt., or 25s. to 35s. 
per ton. 
5. The prospect created by the announcement of these increased 
rates caused a renewed fall of about £3 per ton in the market 
price of sugar, and o resulted in a fresh series of memorials to 
the Secretary of State, and in a stimulus to the tendency to 
abandon the Bain of estates. Announcements of the inten- 
tion to do this, and warnings as to the serious consequences that 
may be expected, are reaching Mr. Chamberlain from most of the 
Colonies affected. 
6. These facts are very briefly recapitulated without detail, 
which would be superfluous in viow of the position which Mr. 
Chamberlain has so far been forced to maintain towards all such 
representations, namely, that Her Majesty's Government do not 
see their way to take any effectual or active steps whatever to 
countervail the operation of the Bounties, 
P 
