January r, 1890. | THF TROPICAL AGR'CULTURIST. 
487 
pure Ceylon and Indian Teas on November 5th, 
and which has Mr. Kenneth S. Begg as Manager. It 
was not to be expeoted that existing large dea'eis 
in China tea3 should stand quietly by and allow 
their monopoly gradually to disappear. One oE the 
largest New Zealand tea distributing firms issued 
a circular in a Dunedin paper, in anticipation of 
the Company. It is headed "Buy Jumbo," such 
being the delectable brand of the firm's blends : — 
the Jumbo Blends at 2s and 2s 4d per lb. ; and 
while Messrs. Nelson, Moate & Co. profess in this 
very document to "import more China, Indian and 
Ceylon teas than any wholesale distributing house 
south of the line," the following shows how they 
try to do good (?) service to Ceylon and Indian 
planters. They go on to say, ia their prtcious cir- 
cular, distributed all over the Colony, that their 
" Jumbo blends " 
Are S iperior and more Regular in Quality, better 
liquoring, and less Distasteful to those who are at all 
incliaed to Biliousness than any original packages of 
Indian or Ceylon teas imported. As all Indians and 
Ceylons are Sickly and most irregular in taste, we 
strongly recommend those who can drink them, to try 
these. Pure Uniform blends. 
The italios are ours. We are glad to see that Mr. 
Begg, in advertising the new Company, without 
descending to the vulgarities or the spiteful and 
unwarrantable attacks of Nelson, Moate &Lo , relates 
facts in respect of China versus Indian and Ceylon 
teas after the following businesslike fashion: — 
These Pure Ceylou and Indian teas have found such 
favour in the Home market that year by year they have 
lessened the consumption of China Teas, so that the-e 
have falleu off, according to the Customs Statistics, 
to less than one-half. The attempt by dealers in 
Chinese Teas to depreciate aud cry down Ceylon and 
Indian Teas shows that they are afraid of this new 
competition here, as profits on Ceylon aod Indian teas 
are not Learly so large as on the Chinese teas. The 
Ceylon and Indian teas can be guaranteed for Purity, 
Strength, Flavour, and Cleanliness, as they are all 
manufactured by machinery, under European super- 
vision. On the other hand, the Chinese tea is made by 
hand, subject to all sorts of adulteration, as Europeans 
do not see the Tea in China until it reaches the Treaty 
Ports. We are selling at the Lowest Possible Prices, 
and as enly one-half as much is required as compared 
with Chinese tea, the saving in using our Ceylon and 
Indian Teas is very considerable. 
While doing their little worst to injure Ceylon 
and Indian teas in the estimation of the people 
of New Zealand, Messrs. Nelson, Moate & Co. 
profess to be large importers of these teas. So far 
as this market is concerned, we have good reason 
to doubt if they have been at all regular importers of 
teas from Colombo — they may at rare intervals have 
got small consignments, but we should be prepared 
to challenge them to prove that they have got as 
much as 20,000 lb. direct from Ceylon during the 
last ten years. Certainly after their petty but deli- 
berate ebullition of spite in their "Jumbo" oiroular, 
all sensible people in New Zealand will look to 
other quarters for approved pure Ceylon teas ; and 
teas which have oarried the day in fair and open 
competition with "Chinas" in the mother country 
are not likely to be considered " siokly in taste" by 
the people of the "Britain in the South." 
PLANTING TEA NOTES. 
Dejira Dun, Dec. 4ih. — We are all busy pruning 
and hooiug. It is very cold now ; quite a white Irost 
in the early morning, and ice can be seen on buckels 
or pans of water in the early morning. Health generally 
good. 
Sonahi, Nov. 29tb. — November has been an unusally 
good mouth iu the way of leaf, aud most gardens 
have made much more tea than duiiog same^month 
last year. Plucking will be oontinued well iu December. 
Weather much warmer than is common at this date. 
Mangaloai, Dec. 2nd. — Tea season virtually closed. 
Most gardens iu this district are behind estimate. 
Telegraph communication with Mangaldai opened on 
the 8th ultimo. November has been exceptionally 
warm, and has proved a good month for leaf. Still 
great delay in shipping tea from this ghat. Steamer 
calling: very irregularly. 
Oharali, Dec. 2ud. — Weather still continues mild 
and there is every appearance of another flush or 
two beiug got before we close for the season. 
Pruning has been commenced on some of the 
gardens. 
Nabeakata, Dec. 6th. — There has not been a drop 
of rain here for the last two months. The season 
is fast closing, many gardens having already succeeded 
in making their estimates. There is still a little 
leaf on the bushes, but another week will probably 
see the end of manufacture. Weather fairly cold at 
nights but still hot in the day time. — Indian Planters' 
Gazette. 
DEPRESSION : TRADE, REVENUE AND LIFE 
IN MAURITIUS. 
Even the better classes are not affluent, and that 
the trade, such as it now exists, is gradually drift- 
ing into Arab — that is Indian— hands. The Mauri- 
tians have put all their eggs into one basket, and 
that not a very sound one. Everything has been 
sacrificed to the sugarcane. Coffee and spices, to- 
bacco, cotton, cocoa, manioc, indigo, all of which 
were introduced by La Bourdonnias, and all of which 
should thrive in this marvellous climate, have virtually 
disappeared. The export of sugar in 1887 was to the 
value of R2,31,29,949, the export of vanilla R2,36,583, 
the export of aloe fibre R4,46,176. These are tbe 
only pio mots, and for everything else Mauritius de- 
pend" upon outside supplies. Here, as I have the sta- 
tistics before me, a tew more figures may be useful. 
The value of the sugar exported in 1878 was 113,40,80,008. 
In 1887 it was only K.2,31,29,949. I said in an earlier 
letter that Mauritius must be Indian by and by, aud the 
following little table shows that India is already the 
mainstay of the Island :— 
1878. 1887. 
R. R. 
Exports to U. K. ... 78,58,767 17,61.476 
Do to Iudia .„ 1,05,55,272 1,39,88,469 
Again the " exoess of expenditure over reveuue " 
for the last four recorded years is a handy and useful 
test . — 
Revenue. Expenditure. Deficit. 
R. R. R. 
1884 ... 86,09,628 91,62,442 5,52.814 
1885 ... 73,09,233 83,91,059 10,81,826 
1886 ... 72,29,973 83,90,054 11,60,081 
1887 ... 68,58,918 79,85,909 11,26,991 
The official classes also feel the pinoh. Mauritius 
is a Crown Colony, ot course, and so ita Civil Servants, 
to begin with, do not reoeive more than oue-ihird of 
the pay drawn by their moxe fortunate brethren in 
India. At the same time tbey are even more affected 
by the silver difficulty. In the year 1878 it was im- 
peratively necessary to set the finances of the island in 
order, and this was cleverly accomplished by adopting 
our Indian rupee currency at the rate of R10 to 
the pound sterling. Since then all local salaries 
have been drawn at the rate of RIO to the pound 
sterling, but in order to conciliate the officials they 
were allowed to remit at par as much money as they 
pleased to send to bona fide relations, while pensions 
and furlough allowances were also paid at par. Officials, 
however, who have joined during the last four or five 
years have their pensions and allowances paid at the 
ordinary rate of exchange. The old Freuch Governors 
were remunerated at the rate of £20,000, the ^English 
Governors, until latterly, drew £1U,U00 ; Sir JohuFope 
Hennessy only draws R60,000 per annum ; and it is 
understood that his successor, Sir (Jharles Lees, will 
draw a good deal less. Retrenchment, in tact, is tbe 
necest-ary order of the day all rouud. Mauritius used 
to be one of the most popular military stations in the 
