Jui.v  1,  1895.1 
rUR  TROPICAL  AGRICCJLTURIST. 
23 
act  on  the  assuiiiption  tiiat  fever  may  l»e  wardeil 
ofl  or  cured  as  elliciently  hy  oiiium  as  by  (juiniiie. 
'With  the  use  of  tlie  last  tlie  cure  etl'ected  cau  be  at- 
tended by  no  sucbevil  after-conseiiuence.  With  that 
of  tlie  first  tliere  rcjiiains  an  ever  present  danger. 
It  lias  yet  to  be  proved,  we  believe,  that  our 
concession  tliat  the  drugs  are  on  a parity  as  re- 
gards tlieir  anti-febrile  ([ualities  may  be  claimed. 
But  we  have  said  enough,  wo  tbink,  to  [int  people 
on  their  guard  against  being  led  away  by  what 
tlie  ComiiiLssion  has  reported  upon  this  aspect 
of  tlie  (piestion  dealt  witli  by  it. 
TEA  HWEEPINtbS;  CAFEEINE. 
Londox,  May  3. 
That  exceedingly  occujiied  man,  Mr.  Christy, 
favoured  me  with  a lengthy  conversation  tliis 
week.  It  was  my  desire  to  learn  liis  views  as 
to  the  recent  Customs  Order  on  the  snlijei^t  of 
tea  swee]iings.  Before  entering  into  detail  with 
reference  to  this,  Mr.  Christy  informed  me  tliat 
a mistake  Iiad  been  made  liy  me  wlien  before 
iiii]mting  negligence  as  to  this  matter  by  tlie 
India  Tea  Planters’  As.sociation.  It  was,  he  said, 
mainly  due  to  the  exertions  of  .Mr.  Sighe  of 
that  body  that  the  Circular  mentioned  had  been 
is.sned  by  the  Customs.  He  thongbt  with  me 
that  there  was  a need  for  some  better  means 
than  now  exists  for  insuring  concurrent  action 
between  the  several  bodies  interested  in  this  and 
similar  (luestions,  and  I understood  him  to  ap- 
ju-ove  of  your  suggestion  that  a Joint  Committee 
of  these'  shouhl  be  constituted  by  which  such 
matters  as  this  ‘tea  swee]>ings’  (jucstion  could  be 
dealt  w'itb.  He  evidently  thought  that,  so  far 
as  it  goes,  the  Customs  Order  was  a satisfactory 
c.ne.  It  load  certainly  had  the  ellect,  he  saiil, 
of  wholl,y  putting  a stoji  for  the  present  to  the 
sale  of  tiiese  sweepings  to  eontiiiciital  revani|iers. 
He  told  me  that  this  practice  hitherto  almost 
passed  belief  ; that  the  trade  had  been 
carried  on  in  the  most  unblushing  manner, 
and  with  little  or  no  attempt  at  concealment. 
It  was,  however,  impossible  now'.  When  .asked 
by  me  if  the  order  did  not  leave  it  ojien  to  the 
w’.arehousemen  to  continue  their  mal]>ractic.es  by 
not  jdacing  the  sweepings  in  the  dust  box — as 
I had  suggested  to  you  seemed  to  be  jiossible — 
Mr.  Christy  leplied  tli.at  atteinjits  of  this  kind 
ipid  been  made.  The  Customs  authorities  had, 
however,  become  so  active  in  tlie  ni.attcr  that 
these  attenijits  had  now  been  ]»iit  a sto]i  to, 
and  he  felt  secure  that  no  sweei>ings  were  now' 
sold  that  had  not  been  treated  .as  l.aid  down  by 
the  law.  Mr.  Christy  showed  me  a sample  of 
the  tea  that  had  been  rcv.amped  .at  Uotterdam 
and  sold  for  food  in  this  market  .as  Bi(d<en  Pekoe 
Points.  On  my  remarking  that  it  hwkcil  ail 
right,  he  observed  that  I could  scarcely  have  read 
the  analy.sis  furnished  of  it  and  published  in  the 
Tropkol  Af/ririi/tiirkf.  It  was,  he  .said,  full  of 
impurities  of  a serious  kind,  however  f.air-seeming 
it  might  be  to  tbe  eye.  He  <lid  not  think,  he 
remarked,'  that  for  the  ]>resent  it  would  he 
neeilfiil  to  take  further  steps  to  guard  .ag.ainst 
repetitions  of  the  ollence. 
iXCMlKASKl)  m:\l.\NI)  KOK  CAI'I'KIXK  .\.XD  IT.S  KFl’KCr. 
“ But  what  1 strongly  feel,  ’ ^Ir.  Christy  went 
on  to  say,  “is  tli.at  the  whole  present  .system 
of  disposal  of  tea  is  monstrous.  It  is  monstrous, 
for  instance,  that  there  should  be  an  .annu.al  w.ast- 
age  of  4011  tons  in  tbe  form  of  warehouse 
swce])ings.  Nothing  can  justify  this,  and  the 
whole  value  is  .abstracted  from  tbe  [ibuiter.s’ 
pockets.  It  is  tbe  practice  of  rebulking  here  that 
is  res])onsible  for  this  Maaste.  It  seems  to  me 
that  the  tea  |ilanters  now'  have  the  remedy  for 
this  in  their  own  hands  if  they  can  only 
be  stirred  up  to  avail  themselves  of  the  ojipor- 
tunity.  Perhaps  you  are  aware  of  the  lierce  com- 
petition of  the  last  few  days  at  the  Mincing 
L.ane  sales.  I had  the  representative  of  one  of 
the  largest  tea-broking  linns  in  here  yesterday. 
He  was  (juite  hoar.se  with  the  shouting  he  had 
had  to  I'.o  at  the  [irevious  day’s  sales.  Wh.at  is 
the  cause  of  this  sudden  actixity  you  ask?  It 
is  due  to  the  fact  that  the  cafteiiie  manufacturers 
ha\e  within  the  last  w'eek  or  so  almost  swept 
the  markets  b.are  of  the  commoner  sorts  of  tea. 
'J'he  demand  for  c.atreino  is  greatly  increased, 
and  it  is  that  which  is  causing  the  competition 
at  the  tea  sales.  This,  of  course,  greatly 
strengthens  the  hands  of  the  tea  iilanters.  They 
have  been  the  victims  hitherto  of  the  home 
traders,  who  impose  upon  them  charges  for 
interest,  and  for  losses  in  weight  Ac.  that  there 
is  now'  no  reason  for.  Let  the  planters  at  once 
s. ay  they  will  have  no  more  of  these  charges 
.and  deductions.  If  they  are  continued,  let  it  be 
known  they  will  sell  locally,  and  will  not  ship 
home  for  the  dealers  to  work  with.  This  would 
at  once  ]int  a stop  to  the  present  b.ad  system 
and  would  .add  largely  to  the  producer.s’  i>ro- 
lits.  I'drst  and  foremost  the  .abandonment  of 
the  ])ractice  of  rebulking  should  be  insisted 
upon.  It  is  this  that  produces  tbe  400  tons  of 
.annual  wjist.age.  Let  the  planters  do  .as  T have 
myself  done,  .accept  the  (Aistoms  st.atement  of 
taro  .and  tret,  and  insist  on  buyers  at^cejiting 
that  as  the  b.asis  for  purchasing  with  .all  risks 
upon  it.  riie  planters  are  now  (piite  in  the 
position  to  make  this  insistence.  The  g.ame  is 
in  their  own  hands  if  they  will  but  see  it.  I 
am  (|uite  (a)ntent  with  the  Customs’  estimate 
of  weights.  Its  oHicers  open  two  or  three  boxes 
of  .a  break,  and  upon  tbe  weights  in  these 
they  m.ake  their  estim.ate  for  the  whole  break. 
They  cannot  be,  ami  are  not,  much  out,  and 
their  results  would  be  satisfactory  both  to  the 
})l.anter  ami  buyer.  'I'lie  hatter  sbouhl  purch.ase 
t. aking  .all  I'isks  upon  Ih.at  Customs’  estim.ate, 
.and  then  there  need  be  no  long  w.arebonsing 
ebarges,  nor  those  for  interest  .as  now  made,  nor 
for  rebulking.  The  wast.age  of  400  tons  would 
then  dis.api)ear.  The  large  London  tea  .agency 
firms  will,  of  course,  oppose  my  suggestion,  but 
they  no  longer  have  the  pow'cr  for  this  opjtosi- 
tion  in  their  haiuls.  The  pl.anters  c.an  now  in- 
sist upon  the  (diserv.ance  of  .any  (a)urse  they 
deem  best  for  tliemselves.  Their  tea  .sells  as 
fast  .as  it  can  be  put  on  the  market,  .and  it 
need  scarcely  be  warehoused  .at  .all.  \Vhere, 
therefore,  is  the  ground  for  w’.arehousing  .and 
interest  (diarges?  As  1 have  said,  a threat  to 
sell  the  iiroduce  locally  would  bring  the  Home 
agencies  to  their  bearings  anil  pnt  a stop  to 
tlie  unjustifiable  burdens  that  have  hitherto  had 
to  be  borne  wholly  by  the  planters.” 
I h.a\e  endeavoured  to  re|»roduce  as  f.aithfully 
.as  is  possible  for  me  to  do  wh.at  iMr.  Christy 
said  to  me.  To  one  .so  little  acijuainted  witli 
the  jir.actices  of  the  tea  trade  as  I am,  it  h.as, 
of  course,  been  dillicult  to  fnlly  follow  all  that 
was  suggested  and  remarked  to  me.  But  pro- 
bably what  has  been  written  is  accurate  enough 
to  [d.ace  your  jilantei's  au  vourant  xvith  Mr. 
Christy’s  views  and  opinions.  The  experience 
of  that  gentleman  is  so  great,  and  the  sound- 
ness of  Ids  judgment  so  highly  respected,  tli.at 
much  weight  is  to  be  att.aclied  to  these.  If  I 
have  .accident.ally  in  .any  degree  misrepresented 
these,  my  .apologies  are  due  to  Mr.  Christy  in 
