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a middle  course  and  that  is  to  form  some  Indian  Coffee  Association 
in  London  with  a view  to  the  watching  of  the  interests  to  the 
grower  and  pushing  the  sale  of  Indian  coffee  with  the  trade  and 
the  consumer.  Discussing  the  coffee  position  generally  we  notice 
that  the  London  Commercial  Record  refers  to  the  necessity  of 
finding  new  outlets  for  Indian  Coffee.  It  says:  If  there  is  one 
trade  more  than  another  which  baffles  those  connected  with  it,  it  is 
the  Coffee  trade.  The  enormous  supplies  of  Brazil  sorts  have 
been  the  surprise  of  bears  and  the  alarm  of  bulls  for  a long  time, 
and  although  the  planter  vowed  some  years  ago  the  production  of 
his  coffee  was  carried  on  at  a great  loss,  yet  the  shipments  from 
Brazil  have  been  larger  year  after  year.  No  frost,  storm  or  vermin 
have  been  able  to  insure  a diminution  of  those  gigantic  supplies. 
Most  extraordinary  resolutions  have  at  times  been  passed  calcu- 
lated to  establish  a falling  off  in  receipts,  or  even  in  the  total  yield 
of  the  crops,  but  all  to  no  purpose.  It  would  seem  that  the  planters 
of  Rio  and  Santos  descriptions  are  anxious  to  make  up  in  quantity 
what  they  cannot  in  quality.  Ruinous  as  llic  decline  in  the  value 
of  Brazils  must  be  to  their  producers,  the  sorry  part  is  that  coffees 
of  less  magnitude  and  importance  have  to  suffer  in  sympathy. 
They  are  unable  to  make  up  their  losses  by  doubling  or  trebling 
their  output,  and  they  ^Yiil  have  to  go  to  the  wall  unless  some 
means  can  be  devised  to  save  them  from  such  a calamity.  We 
have  all  followed  with  regret  the  low  value  which  Last  Indian  sorts 
— which,  perhaps,  more  than  other  coffees,  suffer  from  the  over- 
production of  Brazils — have  fetched  this  season,  feeling,  as  we  must 
do,  that  to  many  planters  such  prices  as  London  paid,  or  rather 
had  to  pay,  could  not  possibly  compensate  the  Indian  planter  for 
his  trouble  and  expense.  We  all  saw  that  a crisis  in  India  would 
undoubtedly  be  the  outcome  of  the  depression  in  the  Coffee  trade, 
and  we  are  seriously  afraid  that  such  a crisis  is  near  at  hand,  for 
according  to  reports  just  received  from  the  coffee  growing  districts, 
the  monsoon  has  so  far  been  very  unfavourable  to  the  new  crop, 
and  small  yields  are  likely  to  ensue  at  a time  when  big  ones  are 
most  urgently  wanted.  No  wonder  that  great  depression  prevails 
among  the  planters  generally,  and  that  the  coming  season  is  look- 
ed forward  to  with  considerable  misgiving,  and  even  alarm.  We 
hear  that  European  managers  and  superintendents  are  dismissed 
from  many  plantations,  manure  is  sparsely  used,  or  not  at  all,  and 
some  estates  are  allowed  to  grow  wild,  as  their  owners  no  longer 
possess  the  means  of  maintaining  them.  This  must  be  regarded 
as  a very  serious  matter,  not  to  India  alone,  but  to  London  as  well, 
and  support  should  be  given  to  the  struggling  planter  where  con- 
sistent with  fair  competition.  We  understand  some  planters  are 
desirous  of  sending  a delegation  to  London  to  study  the  Coffee 
question  here,  and  to  find,  if  possible,  some  way  or  other  of  push- 
ing their  products  or  find  new  outlets  for  them.  There  is  no  doubt 
that  some  wholesale  Coffee  dealers  are  responsible  for  the  little 
appreciation  in  which  the  fine  East  Indian  Coffees  are  held  in  some 
parts  of  our  country.  As  a matter  of  fact  they  are  not  known  to 
the  average  man,  to  the  ordinary  consumer,  and  hencp  they  are 
