POVERTY OF GUIANA. 63 



that two large estates which, within his recollection, a few 

 years ago, would have brought £40,000, were sold for 

 £3,000 each. Therefore, taking £3,000 as the average 

 value of estates, the real value of estates here, including 

 cotton and coffee estates, was £660,000 ; that was to say, 

 property which some years ago would have brought twenty 

 millions sterling, had been, in consequence of the measures 

 of the British Government, reduced in value to £660,000. 

 That showed the utter annihilation which had taken place 

 in the value of property in the colony. There was another 

 point which would also show the great depreciation which 

 had taken place in the value of property. In the petition 

 to which he had already referred, it was stated that the 

 gross annual value of produce of the colony in 1846, was 

 $3,500,000, or £700,000 sterling. Now, he believed he 

 had shown the value of all landed property in the country, 

 taking the value of the estate to be £3,000, was £660,000. 

 That was, the value of the sugar estates in the colony was 

 only £660,000, while the produce of a year was £700,000. 

 In fact, the landed property in this country was not worth 

 one year's purchase ! ' " 



It is easy to see that such a general depreciation in the 

 price of productive property anywhere, must leave poverty 

 and ruin on its path, but adequately to realize the financial 

 reverses of this gem of the ocean, it is necessary to appre- 

 ciate its exceeding fertility and unequalled natural resources. 

 I will briefly allude to some of the most prominent indica- 

 tions of both. 



