July i, 189 i.] 
THE TRDPIOM. ASmtSOLTUmST. 
25 
CEYLON TEA FOR AMERICA. 
A private letter fi-om London conveys to us, what 
is deemed rathGrmore re-a3=uring intelligenoe ia re 
ferenoeto Mr.Elwood May's attit'ide and aapiratious 
The idea of e=tabh'shing a vast '■ oonier " or 
monopoly ia Ceylon tea had evidently been 
dissipated by ooutaet with " City " men do 
ing business in " tei," and instead he was likely 
to make proposals which were much morepraoti 
cable and indeed commendable. In the first place 
Mr. May has ma e it clear that the g'-eat difiiau'ty 
encountereJ by he Company of which he is Pre 
sident, in bringintg Ceylon tea into universal use 
in America, arises from the widespread manipulation 
and adulteration of inferior teas. There is no law, it 
is alleged, in the Unite! States, as in England, 
against adulteration ; and the multitude everywhere 
ruQ after a cheap article unless their attention ia 
speoially arrested after a striking fashion — and ihc 
more striking and startling the better on the 
American ooatinant. Now, so far as they hav? 
gone, the Ceylon Planters' Company— or rather 
the Ne-w York Directors —have done exceedingly 
well in securing flr3t-cIa=!S agents in several of the 
principal eastern towns and in Oauadi, ; and it 
is clear that through the influence of these a 
large and growing business is. likely to be trans 
acted. But DS regai-d^i the oentral and 
wesiern divisions and the country at lavge, 
Mr. May thinks th^t the Company should 
have more signiflc^ns and iropresaive cred'-n 
tials from the tea planters of this 'Jolony, — a forma 
" endorsement" ii the term he uses — to bring homk 
to the American public mind that the Company 
is, above ail things, the representative and vendor 
of pure Ceylon tea throughout the Far Western 
Continent. Thia, per se, is not altog^'ther an un- 
reasonable wish or request, if the main object be 
to fight the trade in cheap low-class or adulterated 
stuff How the " endorsement " can be given elieot 
to by the planters, independently or through their 
Association, it is not so easy to see ; but prob- 
ably some practical suggestion may arise out of 
the conference which Mr. Elwood May Wrjg to 
have with the Tea Committee of the London 
Association. It is intimated that Mr. H. K. 
Rutherford, in anticipation of that Ooniorence, had 
prepared a scheme to enable the Ceylon planters 
to utilize the Company as their special agents at 
ths Chicago Exhibition. That is a very good sug- 
gestion indeed, and we trust to see it worked out 
after a practical fashion. But it scarcely covers 
the position taken up by Mr. May in reference 
to the Continent at large. One reason why more 
sxplioit representative credentials are required ia 
said to be to satisfy some powerful American 
oapitalists who are inclined to take shares and 
join the Board. If it is clearly understood from 
ths outset that the Company la ooly to deal in 
Ceyloa teas, — to sell nothing but pure Ceylon teas 
— to challenge to this end, analysis or examination 
of any of its packets or chests as soid all over 
America, — then indeed the Directors deserva very 
handsome treatment from this Colony, and its planters 
especially, and scarcely any resolution that could 
be passed by the Tea Fund Commitee or Planters' 
Association should be deemed too strong for the 
occasion. We must remember that a form of 
words which might be deemed by us in England 
to be absurdly grandiloquent and out of place 
is not so "reckoned" among the sixty millions 
more or less who constitute the mighty Republic 
across the Atlantic. These are, in subst^noe, the 
statements which have reached uf. Meantime, 
however, we have to see what the Conference with 
the Tea Oommittee in London may bring forth. 
THE PLANTING EXPEDITION TO PERU. 
Messrs. Sinclair and Rops were to have left 
Liverpool for Naw York on 20th May, After a brief 
stay in the States, they expect to visit some of 
the West Indian islands— perhaps look in on the 
Jamaica E-xhibition — before going on via Panama. 
Mr. A. Ross ha'^, we uaderstand, baen very busy 
in preparation for the Expedition ; in fact much 
of the organizing has been left in his hands, and 
he has befidss b?en qualifyiug himself after a 
characteristic fashion, shewing all the buoyant 
energy of the typical Ceylon planter. Mr. Ross 
has been taking lessons in navigation, i&c, so as 
to be able to lake oisarvations, and he has also 
qualified as an amateur photographer. His experi- 
ence a3 a cacao plant^n- in iSorth Matale will 
also stand the Expedition in good stead, while 
the relations between the three Ceylon members 
— Messrs. Sinclair, Ross and Clark — are certain to 
be marked by the utmost cordiality and confidence. 
If the Peruvians give the support faithfully pro- 
mised by them, the Espediiioa cannot fail of a 
large measure of succ-^sa in making known the 
character and capabilities of an immense expanse of 
new country. All three gentleman have stood the 
test of a very strict medicul examination. 
TEA SALES AT BOME AND PliO.SPECTS. 
A Planter writes on 20th Miy : — This is i.ay news 
from home by mail of M iy 1 j , ;— '• Coyion Tea,s 
lire aO'ning in faster than the market oa" aiaud, 
and prices have bften irregular and waiik at this 
week's sale. Indian teas are also less price, although 
it ia esii.'ualeu that only 50,000 packages remain 
to be sold for the season, China congou has been 
pressad for sale at auction and the low prices mow 
current for good quality will check heavy buying in 
China for England at the commencement of the 
new £,e.=i3oa." — lo is thus clear that, our hiiving begun 
heavy exporting in the beginning of the setison 
has choked off China. I do not think our heavy 
exports are all due to favourable weather bu , coarser 
plucking, e.itates that used to give from 100-200ib. 
per acre are now yielding 400 to 500." 
COCONUTS AND CINNAMON. 
Kadirana, May l.'jth. — No mon,snon as yet here, snd 
the hills are still very distinct evtry ni jruiug and 
ulojost throughout the day, showing that there has not 
bee.j very much lain ia thtir vicinity. Very iitde rain 
since the '20th April. On the 12th icstunt there was a 
good shower lueasurinj 1-63 inch, and the tola! to date 
's ('iiiy SOlinahea, which is unasuaily littie for this 
ime of the year. April al^io was very .short, the ti-tal 
being only .3 50 inches. The fall for the first 4 momh.s 
of the yo^r is 19 43 inches, whieh is about the average 
of the f.iuf previoas years; sach a dry April and May 
howiver i« unusual. It is to be hnped that the latter 
p;»rt of this mouth wiil show an improvenien'. Fever 
s vary prevalent since March: April and M.iy being 
very haJ. Though not .so s.'stious as it was ia isST it 
is very iiiuoh m ire prevalent th;m usual abonl ibis 
time; and on eataie.s aud in the vidnges there is haidly 
a, hon>o without one or mora inmates id. Thia is 
the time when, in addition to treatment at outdoor dis- 
penstiries, there should be itinerating medical officers 
going through thevillages. Dispensariosaie generally 10 
to 12 miles. 'ipart, and though those living wivhiu 2 miles 
or so will avail themselves of them, ii is liardly to be es- 
pecteil th.'it tho; e farther away will patronize "them. Ifc 
IS in theee cases that itineriiting medical offict^rs oould 
do 80 much good, by preventing needless suff..ring, isnd 
B.-jving ra.uy liva.^. Fever is the bane of Ceylon, 
and to it mainly, iu luy opinion, must be attributed 
