April, 1909.] 



387 



Miscellaneous. 



A member of the House gave notice of 

 his intention to move the House into 

 Committee on some future day to dis- 

 cuss the general question emboided in 

 the report. At a subsequent meeting 

 he moved that the House go into Comit- 

 tee to consider the question of raising a 

 sum not exceeding £100,000 to assist 

 planters to bring their crops to matu- 

 rity. This motion was very fully dis- 

 cussed, but was lost. 



The difficulties of planters increased 

 meanwhile, and in the following year, 



1886, an Act was passed entitled ' an 

 Act to enable sugar plantations to be 

 cultivated and managed for a limited 

 period,' and was generally known as 

 the Plantatious-in-aid Act, 1886. It 

 was to remain in force for one year- 

 It rjrovided for a Government guarantee 

 of "advances against the crops of the 

 following year. 



Three Commissioners were to be ap- 

 pointed by the Governor-in-Exeeutive 

 Committee, whose duties were to deter- 

 mine what advances should be made 

 to each person applying, to see that 

 the money advanced was properly ex- 

 pended, and that the proceeds of the 

 crops against which advances had been 

 obtanied. were handed over to the per- 

 sons making the advances. Any un- 

 paid balance was to be a charge against 

 future crops, and at the back of all was 

 the Government guarantee. Proceedings 

 in the Court of Chancery did not affect 

 the security given by the Act over the 

 crops against which advances had been 

 made. 



The Secretary of State for the Colonies 

 did not approve of the revenues of the 

 island being pledged for the purposes 

 of the Act, but, considering the circum- 

 stances under which it had beeu passed, 

 he saidhe would not advise Her Majesty 

 to disallow it. This Act never came into 

 operation. The troubles of planters 

 were increasing at a rapid rate and 

 many plantations were thrown into 

 Chancery. And in the following year, 



1887, another attempt was made to 

 solve the difficulty by the passing of 

 th6 Agricultural Aids Act. This Act 

 provides that owners may obtain 

 advances on the security of their crops. 

 Owners intending to obtain advances 

 must advertise their intention to do so, 

 and if within a certain time the lien 

 holders do not object, they may do so 

 under the provision of the Act. The 

 security over the crops, which they 

 are thereby empowered to give, is not 

 affected by a foreclosure suit. Future 

 crops are not liable for unpaid balances. 

 The security is over the one year's 

 crops pledged, and those alone. 



This Act, which is still in operation, 

 enabled planters to carry on with more 

 or less difficulty according to the seasons 

 until the severe crisis in 1902. Early in 

 that year planters were iuformed by 

 those who had been making them ad- 

 vances under this Act, that they were 

 not prepared to make any further 

 advances owing to the very hopeless 

 outlook for the sugar industry. Strong 

 representations Avere made to Mr. 

 Chamberlain as to the perilous state of 

 the sugar industry in the West Indies 

 and British Guiana, and he got a free 

 grant of £250,000 from the British 

 Government to assist planters in tiding 

 over the time that should elapse before 

 the abolition of the bounties on beet 

 sugar. The share of the grant allotted 

 to the Barbados was £80,000. 



It was very wisely decided not to 

 divide it up between the sugar growers, 

 but to use it for the purpose of enabling 

 the Government to make advances to 

 them, to assist in carrying on the culti- 

 vation of their plantations. 



To give effect to this wise decision an 

 Act was passed entitled the Plantations- 

 in-Aid Act, 1902. The £80,000 was placed 

 under the control of the Governor-in- 

 Executive Committee. The Act provides 

 that the Executive Committee borrow a 

 sum not exceeding £200,000 at 5 per cent., 

 on the security of the revenues of the 

 island, to be repaid on August 31, 1903. 

 The grant of £80,000 was to be used for 

 the repayment of the money so borrow- 

 ed. Five Commissioners were appointed, 

 whose duty it was to receive applications 

 for loans, and to recommend to the 

 Executive Committee to whom loans 

 should be made and the amount of such 

 loans, to see to the proper application of 

 the loans and their repayment. The 

 loans were a speciality debt, the first 

 lien against the plantation and against 

 the crops and stock, and interest at the 

 rate of 5 per cent, was charged on the 

 loans. 



The proceeds of the crops were to be 

 paid to the Executive Committee, and if 

 they were insufficient to repay the loan, 

 the balance was to be repaid by five 

 annual instalments with interest. 



An owner before borrowing had to 

 obtain the consent of the lien holders 

 against his plantation, or put an 

 advertisement in the Official Gazette and 

 one daily newspaper of his intention to 

 borrow. 



Planters gladly availed themselves of 

 this means of getting money to work 

 their plantations, and loans to the 

 amount of £96,011 were obtained by 122 

 planters for this purpose, 



