2 



TRINIDAD : THEN AND NOW. 



dealt with men," I have obtained a goodly share, 



and have learned to sympathise with and understand 

 the good, and sometimes frail, qualities of those 

 amongst whom I have sojourned, and have made it 

 serve as a pleasant substitute for the — to some, as 

 they think — more profitable commodity alluded to. 



The continuous residence referred to, together 

 with the active travelling life which my profession 

 compelled me to lead, have given me opportunities to 

 observe passing events possessed by few, and enable 

 me to speak not only with authority but also with 

 certainty of the progress made and the prosperity 

 attained in this beautiful colony within the time 

 named. 



I have frequently been asked " Why don't you 

 write your experiences in Trinidad ; they would 

 be interesting reading ? " Knowing that the expe- 

 riences my questioners meant were, to a great extent, 

 those relating to the detection of crime, and enquiries 

 made relative to other suspected criminal incidents, 

 my answer invariably has been : " It is not easy to do 

 this without hurting the feelings of many innocent 

 p'eople who have the misfortune to be, in some way 

 or other, related to some whose criminal exploits I 

 would be obliged to chronicle." I have no doubt 

 that some of the experiences I could relate would 

 be interesting reading to some ; but there are many 

 others to whom it would not be pleasant. I am not a 

 blind believer in the saying De mortuis nil nisi bonurn, 

 because if this were so history could not truthfully 

 be written, and I am afraid that if strictly adhered 



