July i, 1890.] 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
31 
THE EUEASIAN COLONY IN THE 
MADEAS PEESIDENCY. 
The pioneer writes : — 
The President of the Anglo-Indian and BuraBian 
Association, Mr. Gantz, last year described the Eu- 
rasian colonies ofWhitefield and Sausmond.the creation 
of the energy of the late Mr. D. Starkenburgh White 
as the maffimm opus of the Association; but it is to 
be feared that, while they cannot with justice be said 
to be altogether a failure, they have been far from 
attaining the success or fulfilling the purpose their 
founder expected and intended. At the time of the 
inception of his scheme Mr. White stated that his 
object was “ to settle Eurasians on the soil, to lead 
them into agricultural pursuits, and to remove for 
ever the feeling of anxiety as regards their future and 
that of their children ; and again, in 1886, he declared 
hia aim to be “ to send the able-bodied destitute, old 
and young, only as labourers to be fed and paid, leaving 
it to them to rise by good conduct to tho level of 
settlers: to send persons of slender means to carry 
on trades of various kinds, giving them each an acre 
of land ; and to send persons of sufificient, yet mode- 
rate, means to farm, giving them allotments of land 
extending to twenty acres. Mr. White s idea, in short, 
was to found a self-contained community of Eurasians, 
consisting of three classes, agricultural, industrial and 
labouring, from which outside competition should be en- 
tirely excluded. The vision was fascinating, but like 
other dreams of idyllic communities it took too little 
account of the infirmities of the men on whom suc- 
cess depended and on the working of economic law. 
What has really happened may be gathered from 
a very sympathetic de.scription of a visit paid to the 
colonies last autumn by Lord Connemara, the writer 
of which is Mr. Kees, who has already given us so 
many agreeable narratives of a similar sort. The first 
view of the settlement at Whitefield was not calculated 
to excite enthusiasm. It had not,’’ says Mr. Lees, 
“ a very flourishing appearance. Some of the cottages 
were moderately neat, but in no case had any settler 
apparently tho time or inclination to cultivate tlio 
Graces. In tho neighbouring town of Bangalore the 
bungalows and verandahs aro generally covered with 
orange bignonia, violet petrcea, various thunbergiaa 
and a wealth of convolvulus ; but the Whitefield settler 
has not called them to his aid, and the village has 
a somewhat bare and unattractive appearance. 
Nor did personal converse with the settler.s 
themselves servo to prove that the actual condition of 
the colonists was belied by this uninviting exterior. The 
oldest settlor in the place said his lands had never paid 
him. He had had some capital and had come there 
expecting to make a living, but be bad hoped for help 
from the Association which he had never received. The 
cattle were not strong enough for improved ploughs, 
and the ground was not good enough for large crops. 
Very similar was the story of a more recent settler 
always the cry for external help : and the most cheer- 
ful accounts came from a colonist who did not reside ^ in 
the village at all. The artisans and the able-bodied 
destitute, whom Mr. White pictured leading a frugal 
and contented life among members of their own race, 
were apparently nowhere to be seen. The only real 
success had been attained by persons with moderate 
capital who reared pigs and poultry and cultivated fruit. 
From all this there seems to bo but one conclusion 
possible. For the Eurasian pauper or even for tho 
person of slender means Mr. White’s scheme has 
done nothing, and in tho nature of things could do 
nothing, for both classes are beaten at every turn by the 
native labourer and the native cultivator, and the idea 
of excluding competition was from the first chimerical, 
rousioners, who have accumulated a certain amount 
of capital are in a rather better position, though even 
they can hope for success only by leaving the ryot in 
secure possession of his own ground and turning their 
attention to fruit growing, arboriculture, and the like 
pursuits. In a word Whitefield and Eausmond have 
given to those who already had ; but they have not, as 
their founder expected they would, provided tho le.ss 
fortunate members of tho Eurasian community with a 
means of livelihood ; nor is there any reason to believe 
that their educational value has been greater, or that 
ihe experiment has developed that spirit of energy 
and self-reliance the lack of which is the worst defect 
in the Eurasian character. The case, Mr. Rees re- 
marks, is one for kindly criticism and a helping hand ; 
but he i.s at the same time quite uncertain whether 
the colonies will reach old age or even adolescence. 
Is this really to be taken as the niagnum opus of the 
Eurasian leaders ? 
e- 
AGEIOULTUEAL AND INDUSTRIAL ASSO- 
CIATION OF FIJI. 
Sugarcane. — The acreage under this product during 
the past year has been from variou.s causes, considera- 
bly reduced. The floods in the early part of last year 
not only destroyed large areas of cane which would, 
under ordinary seasons, be new turned into sugar, 
but deprived the soil of all fertility for some months 
reducing that which had escaped the floods to a mass 
of green unripe canes at the time most favourable for 
cutting and reaping. 
On the Ba tho returns so far have been satisfactory 
if report is to be taken as a guide. 
Bananas. — This product of the colony not only rivals 
the former but from a commercial point of view far 
exceeds it in importance to the colony. Your com- 
mittee are within the mark when they say in reference 
to this product of the colony, that bur, for its con- 
sidorable extension, the colony would be in a very 
much worse condition than it is now. Notwithstand- 
ing the exactions levied upon this product from the ships 
outwards, the area under cultivation has been largely 
increased. The export value of this product for last 
year, was about d-42,000, and there is no reason why 
it should not be more than double, and at remunera- 
rative prices to the grower. Uare and attention has 
been latterly bestowed upon the cultivation and selec- 
tion of fruit for the market and when this has been 
done the disease has not made much headway. Thera 
is as yet no specific for this disease. Baron von Mueller’s 
recommendation is in one or two particulars impracti- 
cable : first too expensive ; second, of too dangerous 
a character to be entrusted to irresponsible persons. 
The other particulars are valueless being too weak to 
destroy the fungus. 
The exports of fruit for 1889 were. Bananas £42,526. 
Pineapples, about £3,500. 
It is said that if the banana plantations of the 
entire tropical world were utilised as they ought to 
be, the uiiirket would be flooded with a textile material 
that would quickly influence the value of such rivals 
as hemp, flax, cotton and jute. 
Copra, — For the last year or two nothing butdisaster 
appears to have overtaken this product. Hurricana 
succeeding hurricane, attended with a very slack market 
and low prices. 
Your committee, however, trust that an immunity 
from hurricane may be experienced by those depend- 
ing upon a crop of this product for this year and the 
next. Prices have lately advanced a little. 
Exports 1889, £39,158 12s 4d. 
Cotton. — Your committee are of opinion that in 
cotton cultivation on a small scale remains a profitable 
experiment, where the climate is suitab'e. Thekidney 
variety has been grown for tke last two years under 
Government supervision with marked success ; and, 
whilst there is no danger of overdoing or overstock- 
ing the market with this article of commerce, they 
would recommend the planting of an acre or two 
where the land is available. There is no tangible 
reason why cotton should not become one of the 
staple products of the colony ; and, through the Planters 
and Fruit-growers Oo-operativo Association, the product 
could be delivered direct to tho manufacturer, leav- 
ing a very fair margin of profit to the grower. 
That this latter suggestion is practicable wo have 
evidence in the recent action of tho Lancashire 
manufacturers and operatives in support. Rather than 
submit to the cotton ring in Liverpool tho operative* 
elected short time and serai-ataivation to support theii 
