Oct. 1, 1900.] 
THE TEOPICAL AGRICULTUEIST. 
865 
WH$;)AT CKOB OF THE AUSTRALASIAN 
COLONIES. 
1893-9. 
1S99-1900. 
Bushels. Bushels. 
Qaoerislaud e07,012 61-J,4M 
Victoria, 19,581,304 15,205,350 Deo. 4,375,954 
N.S.' Wales 9,230,216 '13,58(5,277 Inc. 4,300,061 
Slih: A'tralia S,778 900 8,453,135 Dac. 325,765 
NewZenland 13,073,416 7,695,121 Dec. 5,378,295 
—Queensland Co^mtry Life, Aug. 23. 
THE CONGO -STATE AND COMPETITION : 
DESTRUCTION' Ob' RUBBER. 
"'A very favourite argument used by the admirers 
quand mSme ot the Congo State consists in the 
oft-repeated statement that the country is hshig 
developed and is becoming prosperous by tlie iu- 
trpduotion of fresh capital, &c. If hy ruining 
acres of valuable rubber-produciii i' i land, 
by depopulating entire district re and 
svvox'd, by causing thousands of . ■ ■ . Congo 
State territory to cross the river into French 
territory, in order to get quick returns, develop- 
ment is secured, then the country is being de- 
veloped—not otherwise. Does tiic circumstance 
that since 1892 rubber in increasing quantities 
has been exported and nuiny' new rubber-export- 
ing companies formed, prove that the country is 
becoiaing prosperous? Let us see. In 1897, 
1,002,380 .kilos of rubber Vt'ere exported from the 
Congo State. Out 9f these l,GG2,3uO kilos of rubber 
ho fewer than l'Jf/l,/0d Tdlos cavia from the 
Dqin'dnc Privc .' Out of the 1,071,499 kilos, the 
Domaine Prit'e r'./cor.nted for 721, .541, 
the balance of 3i . iplied by the two 
ebmpfinies, ^ociJt>' Congo and Abir, 
in both of whom tiiL; Oojigu iicate, as already 
shown, is interested to the extent of one-half 
t.heishares, Deducting the output of the Boinaine 
PHve from the quantity of rubber exporetd, there 
reniaias 590,831 kilos to represent private enter- 
prise. A further extiminafcion reveals the fact 
that one singe company, the Sociefca Anonyms 
I3elge d,u Haut Congo, the absolute genuineness 
of v.ilich, as a strictly private company without 
State participation in profits, operating oiitside 
the Domaina Pr' \ ■ oubtful (see footnote, 
Article III.) expo i2 kilos out of the 
590,881 kilos remai - - . ^ that all the other 
companies put togcLlicr merely succeeded in ship- 
ping home in 1897 a paltry 142 tons, reckoning 
l,OUt) icilos to the ton 1 Does this indicate pro- 
sperity? Take ivory. In 1897 the Congo State 
exported to Belgium 289,117 kilos of ivory. Out 
on this total the D'omalne Privc produced' 198,326 
kilos! The export of ottier products is insigni- 
ficant. The facts speak for themselves. There 
is nothing in tlie remotest degi-ee iipproaeliiug 
a genuine increase of prosperity in the Congo 
State. Private enterprise in three-fourths of the 
territories is simply non-existent;, and even i.i 
the nominally Free Trade zone the legimate 
barter trahsaction.s of independent ti'aders are 
hatnpered iit every turn by the proceedings of 
tlie ofEicial taxgathorers, vvho use coercive 
measures to compel the natives to pny in taxes 
I the products of the forest which they would other- 
wise e.-^change against Europen goods. The in 
■creasing magnitude of the rubber exports from 
the Congo State since 1892 is due therefore not 
to legimate commerce, but to slave labour. Re- 
I'move that slave la !> vi tJic bubble of "pro- 
,^perity" is pricki- 
j;, Sept. 1. 
THE; LAST LONDON CINNAMON SALES, 
The third qiiMrterly cinnamon sales for the 
yertr, held in Lendon on 27fch August, appear 
to have gone off very satisfactorily for sell- 
ers. 'When noticing the May sales the fol- 
lowing month, we" suggested an explan- 
ation for the drop that was then recorded, in 
the heavy catalogue, and the trade disturb- 
ance caused by the South African war ; and 
we expressed the hope that, imless our ex- 
ports continued to advance, there would be a 
recovery from the slight falling oil". As it 
turned out, there has been no diiiiinution in 
our cinnamon exports— C[uilled hark being 
in excess of the cpiantity sent away last year, 
and the shortage as compared with 1897 and 
1898 being mor e than made up by the in- 
creased ovitput of chips ; and yet the prices 
show a good advance, with a brisk demand. 
Although the report we append speaks of a 
moderate supply, it will be seen 'that the 
quantit;/ catalogued was in excess of 
that brought to hammer in August last year, 
and yet— v/hat very seldom happens- almost 
the whole quantity was knocked down to bid- 
ders—all but S hales cut of 1,141 ! And how this 
happened, with an advance in prices of from 
Id to -Id— surely a most exceptional experi- 
ence- is told in a very business-like way in 
what follows. At the commencement of the 
sale, it looked as if the easier prices of last 
May v/ere to rule again ; but a brisk competi- 
tion soon established itself ; and prices were 
forced up almost irrespective of grades. We 
are not told v^liat excited the unlooked-for 
competition ; hufc the caution should be noted 
that this ignoring of qualities and grades is 
not an experience to be calculated on, as it 
did not express any particular feeling in the 
spice marWet. Probably soihe broker put in 
a bid for a mark of which another had long 
a monopoly, and that led to fancy prices ; for 
it is well-known that some of the best 
marks are almost invariably bought for 
Spanish Firms ; and Spjiin "has evidently 
recovered snillciently from the debilitating 
war to_; be able to resume trade on the old 
lines. 
Even more satisfactory than the advance 
in prices of plantation s[)ice, is the neglect 
of "wild bark. The former v/as due to some 
exceptional local condition ; the latter indi- 
cates the continued resolution of the trade, 
as expressed at previous auctions, to have 
nothing to do with spurious bark. If ex- 
porters have not already learnt the lesson 
that it cannot possibly pay them to send 
stufi: for which no one bids, or v^'hich fetches 
M a lb., they will soon be convinced of the 
f.i,iaity, and that will help to maintain prices 
for honest spice.— We quote as follows from 
Messrs. Forbes, Forbes & Co.'s Report ou 
September auctions :— 
Loudon, August Cinnamon. At the 
quarterly auctions held yesterday the supply was 
moderate, viz :— 1,141 bales Plantation quill, 
against 1,202 bales at the previous sales, and 939 
bales ao this period last year. We are pleased 
to report an exceptionally brisk demand, and the 
clearance of all but eight bales. 
The " worked " cinnamon comprised 305 bales, 
and the "umvorked" 836 bales. The " un- 
worked " quill chiefly sold at about h to Id per 
