TROPICAL AQRIGtJLTURlST, 125 
of each place, peeing I do not poesega the informatioD. 
In a general way I note any ohaugea taking place 
when passing along the roaJ, and nothing very stri- 
king has been done in Kalupshana to call for a fresh 
description since the laat was written. I see ft new 
factory on Oallender, and another on West Haputale. 
The open land baa been gradually put into tea as the 
proprietors gained confidence, while they lost faith 
in coffee and cinchona. The ten when plont^d seems 
to take a yfar or so longer to give a relurn tlian 
down in Dimbnln, but when once it takes a grip 
of the soil, it holds its own against all enemies, of wind, 
or weither, and rather likes bad usage. The bushes 
after 4 years' growth are stronger than common, 
and look as if they will yield good results. Of the 
3,000 acres sold in 1830, five blocks were entirely 
abandoned several years ago, after much outlay in 
opening, reading and building for cinchona estates. The 
whole is now grown up in jungle, and nothing to be 
seen except the roofs of deserted bungalows, or lines. 
An e.>penditure of a few rupees an acre would clear 
the small jungle, and the land is there ready roaded 
for tea it the proprietors cared to begin again, but no 
one is in any hurry to return. The original loss of 
capital has much to do with checking progress, and it 
points io the formation of a oompany in which the 
owners of unopened land would take shares. Several 
blocks were never felled, and cannot be called aban- 
doned. The beet tea land is still unplanted, or at least 
the easiest lay of the land. The cinchona on some of 
the estates would have piid well had the average price 
for bark not fallen below a shilling a lb., but the culti- 
vation will not pay of i'selt at current rates. 
After so many disappointments the proprietors want 
a stimulus in same shape ; and I think Government 
might make a few miles of a cart road from a stution 
in Ohiya to join the Kaliipahani bridle ruad at about 
the 6th milepoat where I understand it can be made 
on an easy gradient. The land would gladly be given 
free if Government will do the rest without asking 
anything from the planters. The natives as well as 
Europeans want to use tlie railway ; and a road of 
some kind must be made there, as well as in all 
directions where a station is situated. It will be said 
there is not enough produce to require a cart road 
yet until more land is brought into oultivatioTi. 
This is more through the misfortune tha:\ 
the fault of the proprietors, who paid to Govern- 
ment R180,000 eleven years ago, and who hope yet to 
make something- out of their properties. There is land 
there capable of producing yearly one million poun 's 
of high claPS t<;a, if the railway can be made easy 
of access. It passes within half a mile of the valley, 
but unless there is a good cart road made to tin 
nearest station on the line, it will be of no benefit to 
the Kalnpahana estates and the produce will fiud i t 
way to Colombo by Ri'nipura at a cheaper rate than 
carting it back to the Haputale pass. 
[We certainly think Government should mal.a 
the short oonneoting road referred to — a truly rj- 
produotive work to them. — Ed. T. ] 
JAPAN AND CALIFORNIA. 
[We are privileged to copy from a letter of 
Mrs. Barnett, the wife of the ''Whitechapel Vioar" 
as follows. — Ed. T a-] 
Japin interested us greatly. It is not so picturesque 
as wa expected. ludLod it is not Eastern at nil iii 
the senie in which India and Ohina are Eastern. It 
is a unique fossil startled into lifu by the vision of t ie 
Holy Grail of Western ideas and ideals which it is 
now pursuing with feverish and passionate enthusirfSm. 
Then the acceptance of Christianity is very beautilu. 
and I have snen few more impressive sights th .n 
the 700 ugly k'ien upturned faces of the Tokio un- 
dergraduates as thej listened to the Vicar telling tht m 
of the poor and how they could help them 
" This matter is not yet arrived with us" — one said — 
" bnl it will be with our nation soon ami 
then it is well that we should have underetood how 
to meet it." We had a very interesting time, and 
inttead of taking a travelling servant interpreter, we 
invited one of the University students to be our guest 
and interpreter. In this way we learnt much of tho 
educated thought of young Japan. 
Here, in California, there is much to make one sad. 
At every turn and corner one is cheated. Large firms 
lending themselves to lies and sharp practices that 
could be eipacted only from street hawkers at homo. 
From the carman who cheats you in your change 
to this country's "Cook" who dodges you, expect- 
ing your ignorance of American geography, they all 
sw ndle you, and if you complain to what one would hope 
to be batter class people, they say " Wa-e ll I guess it 
sbarpena yer wits to have to look after yourself. You 
won't catoh our young folk napping in this country ;" 
and you don't ; but you do find them without trast 
in each other, and I think the great verse might be 
with truth transposed, bo as to read " He who cannot 
trust his brother whom he has seen, how can he 
truat God whom he has not seen." But the country 
is wonderful. Miles and miles and miles of land 
lovely, fertile, wooded, watered— ready to yield abun- 
dantly at man's merest touch. 
SOUTHWAED HO!— IN NEW SOUTH 
WALES. 
The Strike— Big Fires— Fruit-geowing at Paera- 
MATTA. 
Kellyville, N. S. W., 12th June 1891. 
Since my last letter we have had some stirring 
times in Sydney and in other seaport towns ia con- 
sequence of the great maritime strike, which ex- 
tended to the coal minere, sheep shearers, trolly and 
van drivers etc., etc. This foolish strike continued 
for 77 days and cost over 100 OOO men in loss of wages 
and some three million piunds streling, the ship, 
owners and other employers of labor losing another 
two millions, making a total loss in money alone of 
70J millions of rupees ! During these 79 days the 
public were subjected to much inconvenience and 
annoyance, the local trade being almost paralyzed. 
IMost of the local shipowners were obliged to lay up 
their vessels and the few that did run were oflBcered by 
spare captains (the only class not out on btrike) and 
manned by seasick landsmen. It ia a matter 
of history now that the men were beaten 
all along the line, the fact being that there 
was no reason whatever for the movement. Some 
quettion as to whether or not mates and other officers 
should join the Trades Union. The men called out 
were satisfied with their wages, their hours and their 
employers. They blindly obeyed their leaders, a 
thing they are not likely to do again in a hurr/. 
Daring the progress of this strike Sy lney was like a 
city in a state of civil war. Large parties of mounted 
troopers (regulars and specials) continually patrolled 
the streets, and over 3,000 gentlemen acted as special 
oubtables. In ocnsequence of these precautions non- 
union men were enabled to attend to their work 
and peace was preserved. 
Then again we have had a great fire, when banks, 
olub-houses and many places of business were destroyed 
at a loss of some millions sterling. The buildings were 
too high for the firemen to do much in the way of ex- 
tinguishing the flames. The shafts of the various 
lifts used in such monster buildings became so 
many vast chimneys to draw up the flames, 
and no power couM overcome such fire under such 
conditions. A law is to hi brought in limiting the 
height of city buildings to seven or eight stories 
instead of 10, 11 and 12 stories which is now the rule. 
Later in the year there was another fire. I happened to 
be in Sydney at the time, and it was the grandest sight 
I have ever witneessed. A store containing 35 thoatand 
cases of kerosino oil (just auded) took fire and for 
some three or four ho irs blazed away furiously. The 
flames fed by 280,000 gillons of kerosine reachsd 
a height of fully 200 feet, and as layer after layer of 
cases was reached by the fire the flames would shoot up 
afresh accompanied by loud explosions as the tins of 
burning oil were shot up into the air. The waters of 
that part of the harbour were at times one eheet of 
