Report of Society's Meetings. ' 99 
to accept that amount, and that the Society was follow- 
ing the example of the other bodies. 
Mr. A. R. Gilzean seconded the motion. He said it 
had been decided that there should be a combined effort 
by the West Indian Colonies to get the wrongs of the 
Sugar Industry righted by means of petitions to Parlia- 
ment, &c. He thought it would be right and proper that 
the Society be represented at such a conference, and they 
would no doubt agree with him that it was a pity that 
efforts in the direction of combined a6lion had not been 
taken sooner. Past experience of petitions did not 
encourage them to expe6l very much, but at the same 
time they should not discontinue their efforts, for it 
seemed as if there was now a little more prospe6l of 
obtaining justice. The British voter was becoming alive 
to the foolishness of the policy that had thrown the sugar 
trade so largely into the hands of foreigners. If the 
British Government had put a stop to bounties long ago, 
the world's consumption of sugar would now be largely 
produced by the Colonies, with the effe6l that the home 
shipping, colliery and engineering trades would have 
been more prosperous, and indire6lly many other ad- 
vantages would have been derived. The present Gov- 
ernment seemed to be favourable to the abolition of 
bounties, and was strong enough to carry any good 
measure, it was therefore necessary for the people of 
this and other Colonies to continually press their claims 
for justice. He hoped that the delegates would deal 
effe6lively with the points he would like to have brought 
forward. With regard to Mr. Chamberlain's statement 
that well-equipped and well- managed plantations were able 
to make profits with such good seasons and fair prices as 
