Apbil 1, 1899.] tHE TROPICA!, AGEICULTCJEIST. 
705 
tjf redncing its claim to a reasonable earn. Unfortu- 
nately, just when the new lease was being arranged the 
license fees paid by the independent miners, who 
are allowed to work in all lands not iu use by the 
company, had reached their highest point, amoant- 
ing in 1895-96 to £-28,277. Since then they hare 
fallen to £9,976 in 1897-98, and it is highly doubtful 
whether they will ever again rise to the 1895-96 level. 
It is clear that the more the company extends its 
own operntions— in 1897-98 it washed 823,703 loads, 
against 366,739 loads in the previous year— the less 
ground there is for the tributers, who, moreover, can- 
not work the deep layers of byon. Anyhow, the 
Government of India and the Secretary of State fixed 
» rent under the new lease of R3,50,000, less 10 per csnt 
for the cost of collection — in other words, R3,15,0O0 — 
plus one-fifth of the net profit?. The Government, 
while reducing its rent slightly, in reality put the 
shareholders in no better position, because it increased 
its share of any net profits that might be made. 
The preposterous character of the new lease appeared 
from the results of the year ended February 28, 1898, 
when, after paying £20,815 to the Government, the 
result to the Burma Ruby Company was a loss of 
£8,102 on the year's working. It is true that the 
twelve months were subject to unprecedented calami- 
ties, owing to plague, famine, and monetary stringency. 
But even if the royalties from the tributors had been as 
Urge as they were in the previous year (£22,534) there 
would still have been but a shadowy balance of £4,000 to 
divide between the Company and the Government. 
At the meeting held last August Sir Lepel Griffin 
■tftted that he and his colleagues had strongly urged 
on the Government the necessity of a revision of the 
new lease. His proposal — which seemed an emi- 
nently fair one — was that the rent should be reduced 
to a maximum of R2, 00,000, and that if the royalties 
fell below tliat amount the company should not 
pay more than it received from the tributers. The 
Government's clnim for 20 per cent, of the profits 
to remain as at present 
After long months of delay a reply to the represen- 
tations of the Board was received a few months ago, 
stating that, although the Secretary of State for 
India was not prepared to consider any permanent 
revision of the terms of the company's lease, he con- 
•snted, after consulting the Government of India, to 
remit Rl, 00,000 from the rent of 1897 and 189S on the 
condition that the company otherwise fulfilled its 
•ngagements and paid up " all rent due." Even this 
eonaession, unhandsome as it seems, is better than 
nothing ; for the remission of Rl,00,000 — that is 
£6,666 taking the rupee at Is 4d — from 
the 1898 rent reduces the year's loss to 
•bout £1,500. But it is really amazing that the 
Govrnment, which is always ready to talk so sym- 
pathetically of its warm desire to foster the interests 
of British trade all over the world, acts iu such an 
extrfcordinary manner towards the capitalists whom 
it practically invited to invest their money in 
Burma. It is not as if the company were badly 
managed. As far as we can judge, everything has 
been and is being done to try and achieve succesa. 
The gross cost per load has been reduced from 298 
in 1893-94 to Is 23d. in 1807-98 ; and yet further 
economies are being effected by the installation of 
an electrical plant, which is now in succesful 
operation. It is not possible to say yet what the 
nltimate saving to the company will be from this in- 
stallation ; but a comparison of cost for winding, 
pampinir, and lighting the central mines shows 
that, while it was R9,969 in December, 1897, it was 
reduced in December, 18P8, to R3,074, and according 
to the engineer, will be further reduced to R1,50S 
almost immediately. The falling off in the royalties 
^ is a matter beyond the company's control ; but, so 
far as its own operations aro concerned, everything 
seems to be done that good management can suggest. 
And what is the response of the Government to the 
toil and appeals of those who have assisted so much 
in the opening up of Burma? Exorbitant taxation, 
nbich has compelled shaieholdera to pay out of theii 
own pockets £146,000, although they have not had 
the smallest fraction of a dividend. This strikes one 
as an old method of encouraging trade and enterprise, 
and It IS high time to bring it home to the Indian 
t^overnment that it was mainly on the faith of the 
statement of its own engineer (Mr. Harrington Brown) 
that the public was induced to subscribe to the com- 
pany.— 5. and C. J/ai7,March 3. 
FROST TEA IN THE AGRAS, DIMBULA. 
March 18.— We are having extraordinary 
weather up here. Rainfall from 1st January 
to date hve inches ; very short last year : 
and now on the top of it all, the most severe 
frost the Agi-as has ever had. 1879 was bad 
enough, but it was not equal to what we 
have just experienced with the thermometer 
on the Hth at freezing point, and on 9th ataS' 
«nd still threatening. Almost everyone has 
suttered more or less, and in varying extent, 
from 10 to— it i.s reported-3(X) acres. Some 
tea has been bui'nt very badly. 
The frost has come much later in the year 
than previously, and is lasting much longer, 
iiven for the last fom^ nights the thermometer 
outside stood at from 3(3' to 37°. How much 
longer is the drought going to last is an 
anxious question with most of us. At the 
same time the wonder is that the rest ©f the 
tea, not touched up by frost, looks so well 
and goes on flushing as it does. 
THE "STATIST" ON BRITISH- 
GROWN TEA. 
The Statist occupies a position second only 
to that of the Econotjiist in the financial 
and business world of London; and there 
can be no doubt of ths beneficial effect which 
an article like that which we reproduce 
on another page, will have on the posi- 
iP^T staple industry in the City 
ot London. Already there are signs of 
enquiry for Shares in Tea Companies, 
which had been lost sight of, for many 
months, and a general rise in quotations 
may be anticipated. This, of course, is not 
due merely to the opinion of the Statist, 
but to the encouraging facts to which it 
has given prominence. For instance, we are 
reminded once more that India and Ceylon 
only produce 275 million lb. of tea; while 
the world outside the producing countries 
requu-es 500 million lb. In other words, 
there is ample room for increased crops if 
we can go on di-iving out China and Japan on 
the Continents of Europe and North America 
and throughout Australasia. On the other 
hand, the sixteen-penny rupee is regarded a* 
having given a needful check to overproduc- 
tion, at a time when the prices for our teas 
threatened to run down too low in the London 
market. The great matter now is to get 
the Americans and Russians to appreciate 
our Ceylon teas, and this appreciation ia 
steadily advancing. 
The Galle Planters' Association may have 
a useful and important career before it, if all 
planters within the Southern Province render 
sui)poit by membership and attendance at 
meetings. Li^'iit feedin;; railways or tramways 
Hp to the Morawak Korale and in other directions 
where trartic abounds, may well lorm partoftiie 
Association's (irogiamuie for the early future. 
