TRINIDAD I THEN AND NOW. 



235 



discovery be made which will render asphalt a fit 

 article for ordinary use, Trinidad could supply the 

 world with it." Such a use has been found for it in 

 street pavements and road-making and there are few 

 places in progressive parts of the world where its use 

 is not known. 



When I first visited La Brea it seemed as if this 

 wonderful product was then beginning to find a mar- 

 ket, although to a limited extent, — not a tenth part of 

 the extent to which it has since attained. The ex- 

 port of asphalt in 1876 was 15,274 tons, in 1910 it 

 amounted to 157,000 tons, bringing to the revenue of 

 the colony vast sums. In 1876 there were four well- 

 known colonists interested in this industry, Mr. Fin- 

 layson, Mr. Tom Field, Mr. Conrad Stollmeyer and 

 Mr. Charley Stollmeyer. I believe Lady Dundonald 

 and Mr. Previte were also interested in it, but their in- 

 terests were represented in the interests of those I 

 have named. Finlayson, Field, and to some extent the 

 Stollmeyers represented the one interest and Mr. 

 Conrad Stollmeyer represented Lady Dundonald 's in- 

 terest. I cannot say to what extent Finlayson, Field 

 and Stollmeyer were jointly interested, nor, for the 

 purpose of this article, does it in the least matter. 

 Lady Dundonald, who was represented by Stollmeyer, 

 did not at this time, seem to be actively engaged, but 

 later she was very much so and came out to look after 

 her own interest. At the time of which I write the 

 lease to the Finlayson and Field combination was fast 

 approaching an end and Mr. Finlayson was busy try- 

 ing to dispose of his interest, especially before he lost 



