262 
THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST 
[Oct. 1, 1900. 
dnring the past four months, have ignored the wants 
of our trade, or perhaps more correctly spenking, they 
have not ma^e arrangements to fulfil the require- 
ments of the Tea Trade, notwithstanding the fact 
that they have to call in at Colombo for coal and 
passengers, and will iilways find ready for them 300 
tons of c.i-rgo at £-2 Via 4d, netting £800; practically 
sufficient to pay their coal bill to take them down to 
Australia 
The K40 per ton freight which is charged to 
shippers to Australia equals abouL 4jf cents per \h. cal- 
culated on the basis of 850 lb., being the average 
nett weight of a ton of 50 c-ft. of Tea. This 
is as much as is paid ou tea to any port in the 
British Empire inland and transhipped either 
at New York or London as far west as Ontario in 
Canada, or as Far East via Hongkong and the 
Pacific as British Columbia, and is 25 per cent more 
than is paid to Australia from Calcutta. 
As the Australian Colonies a,re the principal out- 
let of teas sold in Colombo, the buyer here has to 
deduct the extra price of freight which he is paying 
from the price he pays to the planter, and so the 
whole industry suffers through shippers having to pay to 
the mail steamers running to Australia, this exces- 
sive rate of 4J cents per pound. 
We have now arrived at a point when Ceylon tea 
is so well-known and so well-liked in Australia that 
the trade requires more freight space to carry the 
produce of the Island to the Australian markets, and 
our nominal friends, the Ring of ship owners, whom 
the trade have been supporting at the above men- 
tioned rate of R40 per ton for so many years, now 
turns like the proverbial viper and advances its rates 
25 per cent or 1| cent per lb. 
The tea trade of Ceylon is no doubt capable of 
bearing this blow with fortitude, feeling that the 
mail steamers are only buying at their own expense 
the means of bringing in outside steamers to compete 
with them at a much lower rate of freight, thus 
helping to break the iniquitous monopoly which has 
been saddled on the trade of the Island. But the 
question goes deeper than the question of breaking 
a monopoly ; it is the question now of the Steamer 
Agents having broken a tacit contract. Speaking for 
my firm, I should be very pleased to see a much 
heavier rate of freight imposed for the next month 
or two upon all tea to Australia, as I happen to 
have shipped my quantum for a little time at E.50 per 
toU) but the point of the sudden demand upon all 
Australian shippers, to pay E50 per ton is the absence 
of consideration for the traders who have supported 
the mail companies. Many merchants in the Fort 
have calculated their orders upon a R40 per ton 
basis, and they have bought to ship at R40 per 
ton freight. If they suddenly without warn- 
ing or notice, are called upon to pay R50 
they themselves have to bear the loss of RIO per ton. 
If the mail companies wish to charge shippers R50 
per ton, then it is only just and fair that they should 
give the shippers due notice of their intention. If 
this had been a port where the freight rate to Aus- 
tralia fluctuated according to the law of supply and 
demand, no fault could be found with the mail com- 
panies in their present action, but however large the 
apace offering here and however small the amount 
of cargo obtainable no mail steamer breaks the rule 
of their " Ring." 
There has been many a time of depression in tea 
which could have been relieved, had a steamer come 
in with empty space and offered same at a low rate. 
But the " Ring " which manages the mail steamers 
have no consideration for the industry of the island 
or her traders: they feel that they have a mono- 
poly, and can take extravagant liberties with the 
trade as is the nature of mono- polists. 
I think the time has come when the Chamber of 
Commerce should enter a serious protest against the 
monopoly and against the arbitrary raising of rates 
Without notice, and I think that I am Jiot going wide 
ojthe markjWhenl make the statement that if a body of 
shippers were to tang together, a Line of steamers 
could be chartered, to call in hero monthly to carry the 
tea export of this isl.md to Australia at 35.s, thus' 
saving Jd per lb. on the pre.^ent ra e of R-40per ton. 
I/thc ■•ihip-ou-nera vmhifaiii thfs rate of RoO per 
ton, 2Jianter.'i from lu.rf Wednesdat/'n sale on- 
vmrdu irill aotc, a full iit the. value thet/ obtain of 
one to tvo ccnt.s per Ih. 
I should like this letter to be put before the Com- 
mittee and with your approval I should like to publish 
it.— Yours faithfully. H. WALTHEW. 
THE SALE (JF PLUMBAGO. 
(To the Editor "Times of Ceylon.") 
Sm, — We have been much interested in the edi- 
torial and comments on the subject of plumbago, 
which have arisen from our original letter to yoa 
on the subject. It would appear from suggestions 
that have reached us, that if a detiuice muiliis ope- 
randi were formulated by which the producers 
could deal with the consuming centres direct, they 
would be glad to avail themselves of such a sys- 
tem. There ore twoj sug estions we no'ice, made 
you which present possible difficulties to be overcome : 
(a) That the article requires pieparalion after it 
leaves the producers' hands before it can be used. 
{h) That the non-success of the prodnce-conaumer 
principle in tea may apply also to plumbago. 
The former could be obviated by handing the 
rough plumbago to one of the Colombo curing firms 
who undertake to prepare at a fixed rate, or, if the 
output of the mine wae sufficient, it would pay to 
erect a curing shed and do the work there. We 
have heard of a firm of cutera who, after curing a 
parcel sent to them for cleaning, refused to allow 
the mine-owner to ship his plumbago himself, in- 
stead of selling it to them as he had been 'pre- 
viously accustomed to do. The owner very properly 
resented such high-handed treatment and started 
curing himself. Producers, however, should have no 
difficulty in finding curers to do this work at fixed 
charge. The reasons of the failure to sell teas direct 
to the consumer are so obvious, that it is hardly 
necessary to deal with them in detail. The sale of 
plumbago, however, is on different lines. The main 
point to be remembered is that, in tea, the average 
consumer is a private individual, who buys a pound 
at a shop within a few yards of his house. In 
plumbago, the consumer is a large manufacturer who 
can buy 50 tons at a time. The factory may be 
situated in the interior of Bui ope or the United 
States, and may require a certain time in which to 
pay for its purchases. To sell to it would, there- 
fore, necessitate an orgmization which is prepared 
to take charge of the shipments of plumbago on 
arrival, deliver it to the factory door, and if neces- 
sary, to wait till the factory settling day for pay- 
ment. If this could be done the producer would be 
getting the utmost v:ilue for his article, as he would be 
getting the actualprice the consumer pays. To arrive at 
this we make the following proposal to those in- 
terested in the sale of plumbago :— We are pre- 
pared to organise a six-weekly auction sale in 
London of all the plumbago sent to .us for realiz- 
ation. In good time, prior to the sale, we will, aa 
is the custom with the Government, sales of ebony, 
forward to every consumer in all parts of the world 
catH.logues and samples of the different parcels. We 
will offer to these latter to take .heir limits for pur- 
chasing in auction, and should t'ley secure the parcel, 
forward the goods to their port, giving them the 
necessary facilities for payment. It would not be 
advisable to bold sales at a less interval than six 
weeks, as sufficient time would not elapse between 
the receipt of samples by the manufacturer and the 
date of sale^' to allow him to write fully as to his re- 
quirements; and orders cabled by him would not lend 
themselves to full and complete instructions regard- 
ing his needs for any special quality or quantity, Tbi^ 
