TRINIDAD : THEN AND NOW. 



261 



sent time, and mud ought not to be surreptitiously 

 thrown, unless there is the strongest proof, and then 

 mud-throwers ought to come forward like men, as was 

 at one time done in the past, when a Royal Com- 

 mission was appointed to inquire into matters 

 M Judicial," and by openly making their charges 

 demand an inquiry. If the oil industry is being 

 hindered by the connivance of anyone, be he or 

 they in authority or otherwise, it must be known 

 and dt could easily be exposed. Unless the speaker 

 or writer is certain of it he ought not to hint at it, and 

 if he knows it or has good cause to believe it to be 

 true, then he is not doing his duty to either himself or 

 the community unless he reports it to the proper 

 quarter unflinchingly, giving his reasons and the 

 source of the information which has led him to this 

 conclusion. Does anyone think that a professional 

 burglar is frightened into not plying his trade be- 

 cause it is inserted in newspaper paragraphs that 

 there is a large number of burglaries being commit- 

 ted ? Not he, he soon goes on as daringly as ever 

 only acting warily and taking more trouble to cover 

 his tracks. 



It is, and must be good that the hidden treasures 

 of heat and light to be developed in Trinidad should 

 not remain for ever locked up and idle ; and so we 

 wish success to the enterprising men who have engag- 

 ed to develop this source of wealth. I would like to 

 say more on this important subject ; but I have said 

 all my limited knowledge enables me to say and I do 

 not wish to embark in groundless speculation. 



