Dec.  r,  1896.] 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
405 
]iave  been  pui-chased  making  a total  of  192  acres 
new  land.  The  cost  of  the  laud  and  the  new  plant- 
ing are  charged  to  capital  account. 
4.  The  tea  received  from  the  Company’s  estates 
amounted  to  01G,lbl  lb.,  and  has  been  sold  at  an 
average  of  8T5d  per  lb.  net,  realizing  .£21,907  10s  2d. 
Last  year  the  Company  received  528,048  lb.,  which 
was  sold  at  an  average  of  8d  per  lb.  net,  and  realized 
£17,507  3s  2d.  Credit  is  due  to  the  Superintendents 
for  having  so  well  maintained  the  quality  of  their 
teas  in  spite  of  increased  yield. 
5.  The  following  statement  shows  the  acreage 
and  state  of  cultivation  of  the  Company’s  estates 
on  the  30th  June  last : — 
6 
d 
d § 5 
'T3 
§ ^ 
CQ  Qj 
£ ”3 
Estate. 
(U 
o 
a 
Tea 
O 
CJ 
O 
a 
1 
■SB 
“ £ 
ei  H 
Q 
pH 
Ampittiakande  ) 
Aruhall  J 
50 
414 
— 
4 167 
70 
705 
Fruit  Hill 
Fordyce,  Garbawn, 
— 
225 
— 
— 12 
— 
237 
Goungalla  and 
Paramatta 
772 
29  — 
135 
930 
Rappahannock 
23 
302 
— 
ol 
87 
473J 
Rill<iinulle 
— 
232 
— 
— 6 
20 
258 
Thotulagalla 
137 
221 
— 
4 97 
90 
555 
Yattawatto 
— 
— 
*671 
95  267 
100 
1139 
210 
2106 
071 
103  5795 
514 
43035 
44  acres  interliimd  witli  Liberian  colfee. 
0.  The  net  profits  for  the  past  year  amounted  to 
.£10,708  Is  Id,  to  which  must  be  added  the  sum 
£1,270  18s  lOd  the  balance  brought  forward  from  the 
year  1894-5,  making  together  .£11,978  19s  lid. 
7.  Having  already  paid  a half-year’s  interim  divi- 
dend on  the  six  per  cent  preference  shares  lo  the 
31st  December  1895,  amounting  less  property  tax  to 
£426  Od  Od,  tne  Directors  recommend  the  payment 
of  the  dividend  on  these  shares  to  t'nc  30th  June  last 
requiring  less  property  tax  a similar  amoun'j,  and 
having  deducted  .01,500  the  customary  10  per  cent 
from  the  10  years  of  the  suspense  account,  they  fur- 
ther recommend  a dividend  of  10s  per  share  free  of 
income  tax  (being  5 per  cent  per  annum),  on  the 
ordinary  shares,  amounting  to  £7,500  carrying  forward 
a balance  of  £2,000  7s  lid  to  the  next  account. 
8.  The  Directors  who  retire  on  this  occasion  are 
Mr.  Heniy  Bois  and  Mr.  William  Austin,  who  being 
eligible  offer  themselves  for  re-election. 
9.  Mr.  .John  Smith,  the  Auditor,  also  nAires  and 
being  a shareholder  offers  himself  for  re-election.— 
By  order,  C.  M.  Robertson,  Secretary'. 
12,  Fenchurch  Street,  London,  E.C.,  Oct.  30,  1890. 
PLAXTINC  AND  PRODUCE. 
Jap.vn  Te.v  .Exi’ORT.vnoN. — The  floods  in  Japan  liavc 
played  havoc  with  the  season’s  tea  crop,  the  exports 
of  which,  it  is  estimated,  will  not  be  much  more  than 
half  of  tho  c.xports  last  year.  Accoudiug  to  the  latest 
Japanci-.e  papers,  ojily  353,0001b  of  tea  were  brought 
to  Yokohama  between  September  1 and  September 
15,  showing  a decrease  of  580,00Ulb  compared  with  the 
latter  half  of  .August.  Many  miles  of  railway  were 
washed  out  by  the  floods.  Only  one  branch  remained 
intact  in  the  cities  of  Kobd  and  Osaka,  and  freight 
had  to  be  transferred  by  this  single  line  as  soon  as 
traffic,  at  the  end  of  September,  could  be  resumed. 
The  important  line  between  Osaka  and  Kanzaki  was 
still  closed  when  the  last  steamers  loft.  The  prospects 
are  for  a speedy  recovery  of  things,  so  that  heavy 
shipments  may  be  expected  next' month  and  through- 
out the  coming  winter. 
A Phase  of  the  L.ujour  Question. — It  is  anything 
but  gratifying  to  Indian  planters,  who  are  not  so 
exempt  as  ihey  would  wish  to  be  from  labour 
troubles,  to  know  that  British  Indian  labour  is 
received  with  condescension  in  countries  not  under 
Britisli  rule,  and  th.it  the  treatment  accorded 
to  the  immigrant  is  anything  but  good.  There 
arc,  of  course,  thousand.s  of  British  Indian  subjects 
who,  like  other  emigrants,  leave  their  country  for 
their  country’s  good,  and  who  from  labour  point  of 
view  are  useless.  These  are  indifferent  where  they 
go  so  long  as  they  make  money.  But  there  must  be 
also  many  who  are  a loss  to  the  labour  market  in  India, 
and  would  remain  at  home  if  they  knew  what  they  had 
to  put  up  with  elsew'here.  The  lot  of  British  Indians 
in  Natal  or  ihe  West  Indies  is  rosy  indeed  compared 
with  their  life,  say,  in  Geniian  East  Africa  or  the 
Transvaal.  The  'J  i/iie.i  in  its  article  on  Indian  affairs 
deals  with  the  cynical  a.ppreciation  of  the  British 
Indian  recently  expressed  by  Major  von  Wissmanu, 
who  in  his  statement  of  Germany’s  policy  in  Africa 
was  good  enough  to  explain  that  the  greatest  obstacle 
“to  Germ.iny’s  making  Bast  Africa  what  England 
had  made  India  lay  in  the  thinness  of  the 
population.”  “In  order  to  obtain  a denser 
population  recourse  might  be  had  to  settling  the 
colony  with  Inliuis”  and  certain  other  Asiatics. 
Having  thus  obtaiue  I a supply  of  British  Indian 
subjects  to  do  the  work  of  opening  up  the  country 
— a work  which  the  Arabs  and  negi'oes  will  not  do — 
Major  von  Wissmanu  proposes  that  “ the  negroes 
should  be  taxed  least,  the  Arabs  more,  and  tlie 
Indians  most  of  all.”  The  writer  of  the  Titaes  article 
goes  on  to  say  ; “ Does  Major  von  Wissmaun  really 
suppose  that  so  valuable  a class  of  British  subjects 
are  to  be  had  by  German  administrators  in  East 
Africa  on  tho  terms  of  his  programme  ?”  Perhaps 
the  Major  docs,  for  an  impression  prevails  that  Indian 
labour  is  to  he  had  for  the  asking  in  any  country  or 
for  any  purpose.  British  Indian  subjects  are 
even  attracted  to  the  'Transvaal,  that  land  of  promise 
for  alien  labour,  where  they  receive  characteristic 
cousideration.  ’The  Johaniiesberg  correspondent  of 
the  Times,  writing  of  this  treatment,  says : — “ The 
Boer  Goverumeiu  has  decided  to  bring  in  a drastic 
measure  dealing  with  the  Asiatic  traders  in  this  coun- 
try. These  poor  fellows  are  to  be  cleared  out  of  their 
present  shops  in  the  towns,  and  are  to  be  allowed  to 
trade  in  certain  ‘locations’  only.  Ostensibly,  the 
change  is  to  be  made  on  hygienic  grounds,  but  the 
real  motive  is  that  Asiatic  traders  are,  erroneously, 
looked  upon  as  a curse  to  the  country,  who  spend 
no  money  in  it  and  send  all  their  savings  to  India. 
These  people  work  hard  and  patiently  and  live  upon 
little.  I have  had  years  of  experience  among  the 
Tamils  (a  i-ace  of  Southern  India),  of  whom  thers 
are  large  numbers  in  |Jobannesburg,  and  a more 
decent,  inoffensive  people  it  would  be  hard  to  find. 
'They  are  very  proud  to  call  themselves  “ British 
subjects  of  the  Queen,”  and  I believe  that  the 
Indian  Government  and  India  Office  have  contended 
that  these  Indians  are  British  subjects  with  a right 
to  claim  Britisli  protection.  Many  thou.sands  have 
been  admitted  into  the  Transvaal ; they  have  brought 
goods  from  India,  spent  money  in  acquiring  shops 
in  tire  towm,  Ore.,  and  it  is  hoped  that  a gross  in- 
justice to  the.se  poor  Indian  traders  may  be  avoided 
by  a timely  and  jadicious  word  of  advice  from  the 
British  Government  to  tho  authorities  at  Pretoria.” 
Perhaps  the  Indian  Government  will  exercise  some 
inquiry  into  the  treatment  of  Indi.an  subjects  in 
countries  not  under  the  British  flag. — II.  and  C, 
.Mail,  Oct.  30. 
CENTRAL  TEA  COMPANY  OF  CEYLON, 
LIMITED. 
Directors.— J.  Saucroft  Holmes,  Chairman  ; H.  K. 
Rutherford,  and  W.  H.  Anderson. 
Secretary. — Sir  Wm.  Jolrnston,  Bart. 
Manager  in  Ceylon.— H.  V.  Masefield. 
Reporc  of  the  Directors  to  be  submitted  at  the 
First  Annual  Ordinary  General  Meeting  of  Share- 
holders to  be  held  at  21,  Mincing  Lane,  E.C.,  on 
Thursday  the  5th  November,  1890. 
^ The  Directors  have  the  pleasure  to  submit  the 
Gjiieral  Balance  Sheet  and  Pi  off  t and  Loss  Ac- 
count for  the  year  ending  30th  June,  1890,  duly 
audited, 
