Thursday , 6th January, 1898. 
Hugo Hoffman*, Esq., in the Chair. 
The following Paper was read 
TRINIDAD AS A COMMERCIAL CENTRE. 
y Robert Henry McCarthy, Collector 
UL VUSbUIUO. 
0 fiuities; a^ Thtfme f,efinetI as f i >o exchange of sup 
- the consumer. In tbe medium bet ween theprodm 
form of barter one nnn! s ® al>i y stages commerce was thesimpli 
another man in exclm n V r' 1 ^ SOme wbal ho had too much of, 
As society became ,nr„.« D ° , 80I ? etb ‘“ff which ho had to spa. 
step in civilisation his import- ^ ^ tm<!or aro ' S0 > and with eve 
ls importance has increased. 
before the invention^ of* ' V) 1 S discovered the Western Continen 
steer across pathless or ? marm ® r ’ 8 compass enabled ships 
hugged the shore and , ans ’ ' vl,lle 7 e t maritime explore 
had carried men to the Ihn T W ni « ht . the trading spu 
fent his ships from the t J ° ^ tben ,:no » 11 world. Solornc 
before the birth of Clndsf P^V- 0 "’ 11 the east coast of Africf 
on the one side and Pritub ° ni ? arl traders had reached J.nd 
eud, and I might probal h 1 n \ - e 0the ‘' '> ! ' uro P p from end I 
pedlars or packmen before the 10th "T ,mb l tualJ T travelled h 
out own time, the wealth of th > i r centni 7- Coming nearer t 
Tow 1)s of Germany, of Venice U 'fn S ,e P ub]ics of Italy, theFm 
eve T hnown sea, aroused i j, nd <3,en f a » ''fyosp argosies 'corere 
monarchs whose sole wealth ln' L ’ " 0n< ei ’ au d the cupidity c 
am > lay in agriculture. 
Reflection on thpa* 
mercial prosperity, namely t r ^ nn . dfs us of one feature of com 
wu.h which it can rise and’ fall Iff t ‘"? character — the readines 
i«g contrast to agriculture that ^Pect a strik 
have tunes beyond number- been T 7 ’ TuSCan T. aa d Fiander 
c stdl the richest agricultural ated b - y u ' ar . but the) 
**" h “ d ’ >«•"»» or Z“, “ * 
on or nscal oppression has per- 
