490 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
[Jan.  2,  1893. 
conoerned  to  communicate  with  ua  at  orce  in  order 
that  the  necessary  information,  or  oorreotion  of  his 
tory  may  be  afforded.  We  very  much  regret  if 
injustice  has  been  done  to  the  Brokers,  and  we  must 
hive  something  more  to  say  soon. — Ed.  T.A .1 
4,  Mineing  Lane,  E.  C.  21st  Nov.  1892. 
Dear  Sirs, — My  attention  has  been  called  to  a para- 
graph in  the  Ceylon  Observer  of  28th  ult.  headed  “ Tea 
Buyers  in  Mincing  Lane — A Queer  Story,”  the 
gist  of  which  is  that  at  the  tea  sales  the  brokers  are 
accustomed  to  combine  to  keep  prices  down.  As 
the  truth  of  the  story  told  is  vouched  for  as  being 
“ beyond  question  ” by  the  editor  of  the  Observer , I 
shall  be  glad  to  have  your  views  of  the  matter  so 
that  I may  send  it  for  publication  in  that  newspaper. 
— I am,  yours  faithfully,  (Signed)  W.  Martin  Leake, 
Secretary. 
Messrs.  W.  J.  &H,  Thompson,  Messrs.  Gow,  Wilson 
& Stanton;  Messrs.  Geo.  White  & Co.;  Messrs. 
Wilson  Smithett  <ft  Co. 
31  Fenchureh  Street,  E.  C.,  23rd  Nov.  1892. 
Wm.  Martin  Leake,  Esq.  Secretary  the  Ceylon 
Association  in  London,  4,  Mincing  Lane,  E.C. 
Dear  Sir,— In  reply  to  your  favour  of  yesterday  we 
beg  to  say  that  we  had  noticed  the  paragraph  in  the 
Ceylon  Observer  of  28th  ult.  to  which  you  draw  our 
attention,  but  never  heard  of  the  transaction  referred 
to  before. 
Anyone  conversant  with  the  oircumstances  under 
which  the  Ceylon  tea  auctions  are  conducted  in 
London  must  be  aware  that  competition  among 
buyers  is  far  too  keen  to  admit  of  anything  of  the 
kind  being  general  and  we  think  the  inference  which 
the  inspirer  of  the  paragraph  intended  should  be 
drawn  from  it  is  entirely  uncalled  for.  In  our  opinion 
the  heading  ‘‘A  Queer  Story”  is  very  appropriate!! 
— We  are,  dear  sir,  yours  faithfully  (Signed)  Geo. 
White  & Co. 
38,  Mincing  Lane,  E.  C. 
W.  M Leake,  Esq.,— Dear  Sir, — Without  fuller  de- 
tails it  is  impossible  to  comment  upon  the  11  very 
queer  story”  you  allude  to.  We  have  no  hesitation 
in  saying  that  no  combination  exists  among  brokers 
to  keep  down  the  prices,  and  that  the  buying 
broker  who  would  let  anyone  else  have  a tea  under 
the  limit  he  had  for  it  is  unknown  to  yours  faith- 
fully, (Sgd.)  W.  J.  & H.  Thompson. 
P.S. — Was  the  buying  broker  in  the  room  when 
it  was  sold  ? Was  it  a small  lot  of  pekoe  dust  ? 
1 3,  Rood  Lane,  E.  C.  23rd  Nov. 
W.  Martin  Leake  Esq.,  London  E.  C. 
Dear  Sir, — We  are  in  due  receipt  of  your  favour 
dated  21st  inat.  and  in  reply  we  beg  to  state  that 
we  read  the  paragraph  to  which  you  allude  in  the 
Ceylon  Observer  with  soma  surprise,  as  we  are  our- 
selves unable  to  place  any  credence  whatever  upon 
auch  an  extraordinary  statement.  You  are  aware 
that  it  is  distinctly  to  the  interest  of  the  “ first 
hand”  or  selling  brokers  to  keep  prices  up  and 
pot  down,  and  we  do  not  think  that  they  would  be 
at  all  likely  to  combine  together,  to  do  that  which 
is  manifestly  wrong  and  against  their  own  interest.— 
Wo  are,  dear  sir,  yours  faithfully, 
(Sgd.)  Gow,  Wilson  & Stanton. 
41,  Minoing  Lane,  E.O.,  28rd  Nov.  1892. 
W.  Martin  Leake,  Esq.,  the  Ceylon  Association  in 
London. 
Dear  Sir,— With  regard  to  your  enquiry  as  to  the 
truth  of  the  story  stated  as  “ beyond  question  ” in 
the  Ceylon  Observer  of  the  28th  ult.,  we  can  soaroely 
think  that  their  readers  can  regard  it  as  serious 
we  should  oharaoteriza  it  as  “beyond  belief.” 
It  would  obviously  be  very  short-sighted 
polioy  on  the  part  of  selling  brokers  to  combine 
to  keep  down  prices  of  tea,  as  besides  destroying 
their  reputation  for  making  best  possible  sales 
they  would  be  reducing  their  brokers  (in  this  case 
to  the  extent  of  some  60  per  cent)  for  it  is  not  sug- 
gested, that  the  broker  benefited  by  the  4d  per  lb, 
advance  so  quickly  offered,  which  was  dnly  eeeured 
by  the  fortunate  buyer  of  the  tea,  whose  extraordi- 
nary cheapness  had  somehow  or  other  escaped  the 
attention  of  a room  full  of  dealers  all,  of  course 
eager  to  pick  up  such  bargains  ! However,  seeirg 
!h.t  this  very  “queer  story”  is  anonymously  told 
through  the  inevitable  friend,  we  think  brokers  are 
entitled  to  demand  that  the  xuthor  of  it  should 
emerge  from  obscurity  and  give  us  full  particulars 
of  this  ourious  transaction,  with  date  and  names  of 
the  parlies  involved  in  it;  and  exphnation  wou'd 
then,  no  doubt,  be  speedily  forthcoming  which  would 
prove  satisfactory  to  everybody. 
In  the  meantime  we  are  constrained  to  think  that 
tbe  story  has  got  considerably  mixed  in  its  travels. — 
We  are,  dear  sir,  yours  faithfully, 
(Sigued)  Wilson  Smithett  & Oo. 
CEYLON  TEA  IN  NEW  SOUTH  WALES  AND 
AN  OLD  PLANTER  ON  EXISTENCE  THERE. 
Deab  Sib, — Your  staple  has  bad  such  an  extra- 
ordinary advanoe  that  I am  afraid  we  shall  have  to 
do  without  it  for  a time,  though  we  are  very  glad  to 
see  the  rise  both  for  your  sakes  end  our  own.  I 
am  getting  very  tired  of  passing  conlrsots  for  half 
our  business— for  teas  at  5d  to  6d  per  lb.  I can 
assure  you  we  much  prefer  them  at  9J  to  lOd  : it 
makes  a big  difference  in  one's  returns.  Your 
improvement  is  already  helping  India  and  China, 
but  they  will  keep  you  out  of  this  market  until  you 
lose  a bit,  whioh  you  oan  well  afford  to  do.  We 
cannot  sell  ordinary  Ceylon  Pekoe  Souohong  at  8d 
to  8£d,  but  by  all  means  make  hay  as  fast  as  you 
can  while  London  will  keep  you  going.  You  will  do 
better  in  the  long  run  with  300  lb.  an  aore  at  lOd 
than  400  or  450  lb.  at  8d. 
I always  get  a pleasant  half-hour  reading  the 
Ceylon  papers  when  the  mail  arrives:  what  a won- 
derful little  plaoeit  is,  and  what  an  interest  everyone 
in  it  takes  iD  its  welfare;  it  ought  to  be  oelled  “ The 
Pivot  of  the  World."  If  people  here  exhibited 
similar  proportionate  energy  and  patriotism  Amerioa 
wouldn’t  be  in  it. 
Apropos  of  the  foregoing  the  following  aneodote 
is  worth  repeatiog.  I was  dining  one  evening  at 
The  Bristol  during  my  visit  to  Ceylon  in  1890 
with  a small  party,  mostly  old  acquaintances. 
The  conversation  led  on  to  the  relative  merits  of 
Ceylon  and  Australia,  and  0 ie  member  of  the 
party  (a  regular  Ceylon  patriot)  said  to  me 
“ Look  here,  Rowbotham,  wouldn’t  you  be  very 
glad  to  get  baok  to  Ceylon  if  you  could  get  a 
decent  billet  cr  caw  your  wny  to  mi  k ng  a 
deoent  living  ?’’  With  the  idea  of  drawing  him  a 
little  more  I replied  that  for  every  hundred  a year 
I oould  earn  in  Sydney  I should  require  a 
thousand  in  Ceylon.  For  half  a minute  he  was 
speechless  at  suoh  an  awful  insult  to  his  beloved 
land,  and  then  roared  out : “ Well,  you  must  be 
making  d — d little  in  Sydney  then.”  Nevertheless  I 
should  like  to  be  dining  with  him  again  at  the 
same  place  tonight.  Still  there  are  points 
whioh  make  Sydney  not  the  worst  place  in 
the  world  to  live.  The  community  in  general 
undoubtedly  take  life  easier  than  any  other  collec- 
tion of  the  Anglo-Saxon  race,  and  get  more  ease 
and  pleasure  out  of  existence  than  any  other 
nationality.  You  oan  pick  out  the  Sydney  native 
or  long-standing  resident  anywhere  by  his  self- 
possession  and  laisser-faire  manner,  and  yet  he 
is  very  muoh  11  all  there  ” if  you  wish  to  oall  his 
mental  powers  -into  operation. 
At  the  present  moment  I am  sitting  at  a large 
bay  window  150  feet  above  the  sea  level — (although 
within  a month  of  midsummer  it  is  too  chilly  to 
sit  on  the  verandah)  ; out  of  this  window  I oan 
see  at  anchor  without  turning  my  head  nine  ships 
of  the  Australian  Naval  Squadron,  the  P.  & O, 
