July  i,  1896.] 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRlCUi/rURIST. 
27 
pity  if  an  industry  of  sncli  great  possil)ilities  of 
toLaceo  were  allowed  to  drop  out  «i  sight  and 
mind  for  the  want  of  enterprise  (and  Ceylon 
men  do  not  lack  this  as  a role)  and  practical 
knowledge.”  In  the  Planting  Review  prelixed  toour 
tiandhook  we  have  summarized  the  information 
available  to  the  eml  of  l8!io  on  the  subject  of 
tobacco  in  Ceylon.  In  his  latest  report  on  the 
Ceylon  Rotanical  Canlens  Dr.  Trimen  does  not 
lefer  to  tobacco ; and  the  IJlue  Rook  for  1895 
has  not  yet  reached  us  : so  that  we  are  unable 
to  say  whether  the  cultivation  of  the  i)lant  is 
still  advancing  in  Ceylon.  Pei  haps  some  corre- 
spondent can  inform  us  on  this  point.  There  is 
no  question  that  tobacco  is  a paying  product ; 
but  it  is  also  terribly  e.xhaustive  of  the  .soil, 
which  needs  to  be  a rich  one  to  stand  the  strainon  it. 
— . - 
INDIAN  PATENTS. 
Applications  in  respoct  of  the  undermentioned  in- 
vemions  have  been  liled,  during  the  week  ending 
9tli  May  IS'JG,  under  the  provisions  of  Act  V of 
1888. 
Extract  from  Rhea  bark. — No.  150  of  189o. — Harry 
Stafford  Beyts,  merciiant  and  commission  agent,  re- 
siding at  97,  Elphimstone  Circle,  Bombay,  for  an 
extract  from  Ithea  bark. 
The  fees  prescribed  have  been  paid  for  the  con- 
tinuance of  exclusive  privilege  in  respect  of  the 
undermentioned  inventions  for  the  periods  sliovvu 
against  each  : — 
Eor  improvements  in  machinery  for  obtaining  fibrous 
macorial  from  ramie  and  other  jilants. — No.  193>of 
1891. — Mr.  E.  C.  Marc’s  inveiuion  for  improvementa 
in  mac’ninery  for  obtaining  fibrous  material  from 
ramie  and  other  plant.s.  (Specification  liled  8i,h 
February  1892.)— /in/iait  J<]ast.crn  IiJujiuccr,  May  29. 
•<>  
COFFEE  AND  TRADING  IN  “ OPTIONS 
AND  FUTURES.” 
Lokd  Stanuev  of  Aldekley  rose  to  call  the  atten- 
tion of  the  House  to  the  aJleged  depreciation  in  the 
prices  of  wheat,  cotton,  wool,  silver,  coffee,  and  other 
agricultural  products,  owing  to  an  international  system 
of  trading  in  “ options  and  futures,”  representing 
fictitious  or  iiou-existing  produce.  Ho  said  that  some 
25  condemnatory  resolutions  had  been  passed  in  the 
last  two  years  by  our  leading  agricultural  and  other 
societies.  Further,  owing  to  the  reports  of  the  special 
commissions  held  in  the  United  States,  Germany,  and 
Belgium,  a Bill  for  suppressing  these  systems  was 
twice  read  in  the  United  States  House  of  Represen- 
tatives last  December,  and  a similar  Bill  passed  the 
same  House  in  1S94,  while  a committee  of  the  German 
Keichstag  reported  last  month  in  favour  of  total 
prohibition  of  them;  also  in  Bolgimn  a Bill  to  deal 
with  this  subject  had  been  framed.  He  asked  her 
Majesty’s  Government  why  Mr.  Charles  \Y.  Smith’s 
evidence,  prepared  in  1899  and  1891  at  the  reiiuest 
of  the  Royal  Commission  on  Agriculture  on  this 
subject,  had  been  suppressed  alter  having  been 
printed,  and  w'hether  it  would  be  l.iid  upon  the 
table  of  the  House  ; also  a translation  of  the  articles 
published  on  the  same  subject  in  the  Journal  de 
I’Afjriciillure,  by  M.  Alfred  Paisant,  President  of 
the  Civil  'Tribunal  of  Versailles;  and  ho  further 
5'0  asked  her  Majesty’s  Government  how  it  was  that, 
after  hundreds  of  failures  due  to  these  systems 
hardly  one  had  been  brought  before  the  Bankruptcy 
Court  for  fear  of  exposing  the  system ; and  whether 
her  Majesty’s  Government  would  appoint  a Select 
Committee  to  take  evidonco  on  the  subject.  5'90 
The  noble  lord  formally  moved  for  papers  on  the 
subject. 
The  Earl  of  Dudley. — I do  not  think  t’nat  the 
matter  which  has  been  brought  forward  by  the  noble 
lord  is  one  which  calls  for  any  action  by  Parlia- 
ment at  the  present  time.  It  has  boon  discussed 
pretty  freely  by  many  commercial  bodies  throughout 
the  country,  and,  altbough  it  is  perfectly  true,  as 
the  noble  lord  says,  that  some  of  those  com- 
inproiftl  bodies  have  passed  resolutions  in  favour 
of  legislative  action,  still,  on  iho  other  hand,  the 
Associated  Chambers  of  Commerce,  at  botli  their 
last  two  conferences,  lutve  refused  to  bind  them- 
selves in  any  W'ay  to  .such  an  expression  of  opinion. 
Moreover,  the  matter  has  been  brought  forward  by  Air. 
Smith,  a gentleman  wdio  has  taken  a leading  part 
in  this  question,  before  tlio  Central  Ciiamber  of 
Agriculture  on  more  than  one  occasion,  but  that 
ciiamber  has  not  seen  ht  to  make  any  represen- 
tation to  tho  Board  of  Agriculture.  Tne  Agrioul- 
tur.ii  Commissioii  have  had  before  them  evidence 
bearing  on  this  question,  and  they  will  no  doubt 
deal  with  it  in  tiieir  report.  Under  these  circum- 
stances I feel  sure  that  your  lordships  will  not  feel 
inclined  to  adopt  tlie  suggestion  of  the  noble  lord  and 
appoint  a Select  Committee  to  inquire  into  this  .subject. 
T'ue  noble  lord  has  drawn  the  atcentiuu  of  the  House 
to  tho  alleged  depreciation  in  the  price  of  certain 
products  owing  to  the  system  of  what  is  called  deal- 
ing in  ” futures  ” or  “opticni.”  Of  course,  the.e  can 
be  no  doubt  that  there  lias  been  a very  large  fall  in  the 
price  of  some  of  the  products  to  which  the  noble  lord 
lias  referred,  bat  I venture  to  think  that  it  is  by  no 
means,  proved,  even  after  the  speech  of  the  noble  lord, 
that  tiiac  fall  in  price  is  in  .any  w-ay  due  to  the  system  of 
w'hich  he  complains.  To  say  tliat  price  is  governed  by 
the  laws  M supply  and  demand  is  merely  to  use  a 
truism,  but  it  is,  1 believe,  a fact  tiiat  that  law  holds 
good  even  in  liie  speculative  market,  and  that  the  un- 
aiiimaus  opinion  ot  tho  best  exports  is  that  the  price  in 
those  luarket.s  follows  and  docs  not  lead  the  price 
dictated  by  the  laws  of  supply  and  demand,  in  fact, 
they  are  of  opinion  that  this  system  of  dealing  in 
“ futures,”  instead  of  deteriorating  prices,  rather 
tends  to  equalize  them  and  to  counteract  the  iiuctua- 
tious  that  always  must  exist.  The  noble  lord  refers, 
in  his  question,  to  coffee  as  one  of  the  products  the 
price  of  w’nich  Iras  been  depreciated  by  this  parti- 
cular system.  Aly  information,  liowever,  is  totally 
at  variance  on  tbat  point  witii  that  of  the  noble 
lord.  Although  I understand  that  it  is  perfectly 
true  that  tins  system  enters  very  largely  into  the 
coffee  trade,  and  that,  in  fact,  the  coffee  trade  is  to 
a great  extent  carried  on  in  that  Vyfay,  yet  coffee 
happens  to  be  a product  tho  price  of  which  does 
not  ductiiate  and  wiiicli  has  not  depreciated  of  I'ecent 
years.  The  eircumstanoes  of  coi'fee  in  particular, 
therefore,  point  to  a totally  different  conclusion  from 
that  drawn  by  the  noble  lord.  But,  oven  if  the  argu- 
ments of  the  noble  lord  were  sound,  and  even  if  one  had 
reason  to  believe  that  t'nis  system  of  gambling  had  de- 
preciated prices,  1 very  much  doubt  whether  it  would 
be  possible  to  check  it  by  legislative  action.  The  noble 
lord  has  referred  to  the  many  attempts  that  have  been 
made  chiefly  by  Air.  Smith  and  others,  to  distinguish 
between  purely  legitimate  speculation  and  gambling 
enterprise,  but  all  those  attempts  to  differentiate  have 
failed,  and  I doubt  very  mucli  wiiether  it  would  be 
possible  to  draw  any  distinguishing  line  of  that  kind  in 
an  Act  of  Parliament,  witlioui  running  very  grave  risk 
of  hampering  trade  and  checking  legitimate  enterprise. 
Tne  noble  lord  also  referred  to  several  attempts  which 
had  been  made  by  foreign  Governments  in  this  direc- 
tion, bat  ill  no  single  instance  have  those  attempts  been 
sueoossfal  and  no  Bill  drawn  witli  this  object  has  as  yet 
passed  into  law,  and  I understand  that  only  last  mouth 
an  aiiti-optiouai  Bill  wa.s  thrown  out  ot  the  Agricultural 
Committee  ill  the  House  of  Representatives  at  Wash- 
ington. With  regard  to  Air.  Smitli’s  printed  evidence, 
which  Ihe  noble  lord  seems  to  think  has  been  suppressed, 
1 believe  what  really  took  place  was  that  Air.  Smith 
prepared  a i>rcuia  of  the  evidence  which  he  intended 
to  give  before  the  Agricultural  Commission,  and  he 
was  cross-examined  upon  tliat  pivois,  and  that  it  was 
not  published  for  the  very  good  reason  that  it  is  not 
usual  to  publish  a precin  of  intended  evidence. 
With  regard  to  the  last  point  referred  toby  the  noble 
lord,  the  Government  have  no  information  that  the 
proceedings  in  bankruptcy  do  not  include  as  large  a 
liroportion  of  failures  by  gambling  in  “ futures”  as 
by  any  other  cause,  and  the  reason  that  they  are  not 
more  frequently  heard  of  is  probably  because  few  of 
such  failures  in  proportion  take  place.  The  transla- 
tion which  the  noble  lord  asks  for  docs  not  seem  to 
tho  Government  to  bo  one  which  can  rightly  be  putOU 
the  table  of  this  House. 
