(No. 38.) - No. 2. Copy of a DESPATCH from Governor Hincks to the Right Honourable Sir, H. Labouchere, M. P. Windward Islands, Barbados, 16 October 1857. (Answered, No. 95, 16 January 1858, p. 99.) I HAVE the honour to transmit to you the copy of a Despatch from Lieu- 9 October 1857. tenant Governor Kortright, being in reply to your Despatch of the 15th August 1857, on the subject of the arrangements for sending coolies to the West Indies. Enclosure. Sir, Government Office, Grenada, 9 October 1857. In reply to your Despatch of the 8th September, No. 122, covering copy of a Despatch from the Right Honourable the Secretary of State for the Colonies, on the subject of the arrangements for sending coolie labourers to the West India Colonies during the forthcoming season, I have the honour to inform you that a large portion of the expense for this service will, I fear, have to be met out of the Imperial guaranteed loan. The local immigration fund at our disposal amounted, on the 30th September last, to 4277. His Excellency Governor Hincks, Barbados. I have, &c. (signed) C. H. Kortright. Encl. in No. 2. (No. 41.) -No. 3. COPY of a DESPATCH from Governor Hincks to the Right Honourable H. Labouchere, M. P. Windward Islands, Barbados, 9 November 1857. Sir, No. 3. Governor Hincks to the Right Hon. H.Labouchere,M.P. 2. The rate of wages in Grenada is at present the same as St. Lucia, Barbados, and I believe St. Vincent, viz., 10 d. per diem. In all these Colonies I have little doubt that 1 s. is frequently given, especially to men. The coolie rate in Grenada is 10 d., and in addition, he enjoys the advantage of medical attendance and medicines, lodging, and provision grounds of one acre. Mr. Kortright states, that in Guiana and Trinidad, provision grounds are not granted, and evidently attaches some importance to that circumstance. On the other hand, I have been assured that in Guiana a plot of ground is always gladly conceded to the coolies when required. 3. Task-work prevails generally in Grenada, and Mr. Kortright describes the task to be one which can be finished by noon. At present the coclies are not permitted to work by the task, though Mr. Kortright has little doubt that when their capabilities become known, the system will be extended to them. 9 November 1857. 4. It appears that in Grenada the resident estate labourers obtain 9 d. per diem, the non-residents 10 d., and on some estates both receive alike. The non-resident creole labourer only receives the wages of the coolie, without house or medical attendance, and the resident in some instances less. It is manifest, that the acre + Page 24. Enclosure 1. Enclosure 2. Paar. 4. GRENADA. Enclosure 3. Enclosure 4. of provision ground is estimated as either of no value at all, or at that of 1 d. a day, or 5 d. per week, which is the Barbados rate for a quarter of an acre. My belief is, that when labourers are allowed to have three or four acres in cultivation, the land is situated generally at a considerable distance from the estate buildings, and high up on the slopes of the hills which border the valleys in which the sugar cultivation is carried on. This is not an unimportant fact, as the labourer loses a great deal of time in travelling to his distant provision grounds, and nothing but necessity will induce him to continue such an arrangement. The whole system of mixing up the questions of rent and wages is, as I have elsewhere stated, vicious in the extreme; it has been one of the principal causes of all the West Indian difficulties with regard to labour, and yet with the exception of Barbados, so far as my knowledge extends, it generally prevails. 5. I have no further remark to offer on the subject of the rate of wages beyond this, that the planters of St. Lucia have declared their willingness to raise them to 1 s. per day, while those in Grenada have not signified any such intention, and the next cargo will, I presume, be indentured on the same terms as the last. 6. I shall proceed to consider the relative cost of sugar cultivation in Barbados and Grenada, which ought to influence materially the rate of wages. It is much to be regretted that such unwillingness is manifested by the planters in these Colonies, with the exception of those in Barbados, to furnish statistical information. But while I should have been glad to have obtained several particulars, for which I applied to Mr. Kortright, I am enabled with the materials before me, to institute such a comparison as will be sufficient for the object which I have in view. 7. In my Despatch to Mr. Kortright of the 14th August, No. 117, I furnished him with a statement of the cost of producing sugar in this Island, where the cultivation is so profitable, that the value of property has reached a point higher, probably, than land used for raising an agricultural staple would sell for in any other part of the world. 8. This statement was made from the published returns of two agricultural societies in this Island, the members of which are resident practical planters; they have furnished the items of the cost in detail, and these have been fully discussed and criticised. 9. I was anxious to obtain a similar return from the planters in other Colonies, that the true cause of the prosperity of Barbados might be made apparent, and that the accuracy of the very loose, though current remark, that it is to be ascribed solely to its command of labour, might be tested. 10. Mr. Kortright in his reply has referred me to a schedule of the total expenses of working six estates in Grenada, for a period of seven years, appended by Mr. Walker to his supplementary Report in the Grenada Blue Book for 1855, and he has ascertained that this is considered to be "a fair criterion by which to judge of the cost of cultivating the majority of the estates in this Island; some few, however, consider the estimate high." I shall therefore assume that the schedule in question is the most accurate return available from Grenada, and I shall contrast it with that of Barbados. There 11. The heads of expenses are arranged differently in the two returns. is no such item in the Barbados account as "European Supply," and, unless when new machinery is required from England, I cannot conceive what articles would be included under that head, the cost of which would even approach to that stated. With regard to machinery, Mr. Kortright calls attention to the fact, that during the seven years included in the Grenada return, two of the estates were furnished with new iron water-wheels, and one with a new steamengine and mill. In the Barbados estimate, an ample allowance is made for the wear and tear of machinery, as well as for loss upon stock, the former item being 650 dollars per annum upon a small estate, and this allowance spread over the seven years of the Grenada return, would have more than met the extra charges for new machinery referred to by Mr. Kortright. 12. It will be found, however, that three of the Grenada estates had no new machinery, and the years in which the others incurred this extra expense, are indicated. What then are the articles embraced under the head of "European Supply" Having no data to enable me to reply, I shall content myself with remarking that this very item has long been considered in this Island to cover much wasteful expenditure. The Barbados planter obtains his supplies in the Island as he requires them, and at much less cost than is done in Grenada, judg- GRENADA. ing from the return. 13. The cost of wages, strange as the fact inay appear, is $1.44 per 100 lbs. in Grenada, and $1.76 in Barbados, which would be 17. 2 s. 8 d. difference in the cost of a hogshead of sugar. This is not adverted to by Mr. Kortright, who has not analysed the items of which the cost is made up. Taking my own reduced estimate of the cost of production in Barbados, which I have no doubt is correct, Mr. Kortright shows that the expense in Grenada is greater by 21. 9 s. 10 d. per hogshead. You will observe, that errors in the figures have been corrected in two places. I am not disposed to admit the justice of this comparison, as I am persuaded that the Grenada schedule is as much too high as the Barbados one, and this is admitted by some Grenada planters. The only fair mode of instituting a comparison is by taking the statements of the planters themselves in both Colonies. The fact then is, that the average of the Grenada estates, which is 13. 15 s. 11 d. per hogshead, is as near as possible to that of the Barbados planters, it being 5 d. per bogshead more than the estimate of one society, and 2s. 1 d. per hogshead less than that of the other. I may here explain, that Mr. Kortright has fallen into an error in supposing that I estimated the net weight of the Barbados hogshead at 17 cwt., which he assigns to those of Grenada. My estimate was 1,700 lbs., which is little over 15 cwt., and I have been assured on good authority, that the average net weight in London will not exceed this. The Grenada hogsheads will certainly not weigh more than those of Barbados. This misconception does not in the least affect the calculations, and I merely advert to it to prevent misconception. 14. The cost of wages is less in Grenada, as I have already stated. There is an immense difference in the salaries paid to attornies and managers. The proprietors of Grenada are chiefly absentees, which may account for the excess under this head. In Barbados, the cost of salaries averages 11. 9 s. 2 d. per hogshead; in Grenada, 31. 14 s. 11 d., indeed, on one of the estates, the salaries were 51. 0s. 6 d. per hogshead, while the labourers' wages were only 6 . 0 s. 6 d. 15. It is out of my power to analyse the expenditure further, owing to the want of detailed information from Grenada. Foreign manure is a heavy item in Barbados, but is invariably purchased on the spot. Unless included in "English Supplies," it is not to be found in the Grenada account: and I much doubt its having been used. Skilled workmen, such as the coppersmith, blacksmith, plumber, millwright, wheelwright, carpenter, and mason, cost about 16 s. per hogshead in Barbados. They are probably included under the head" Incidentals" in Grenada. About 27. per hogshead is estimated for loss on stock, and wear and tear of machinery in Barbados, and this is doubtless much more than the actual expenditure in Grenada. 16. To sum up the chief items which raise the cost of sugar in Grenada, are the heavy disbursements for salaries and for articles comprised under “European Supply;" while Barbados appears to pay more under the head of wages to labourers, probably owing to the fact, that ratooning can be carried on in Grenada to a considerable extent.. 17. The Grenada estates, with one exception, averaged over 100 hogsheads of sugar, and, except during the period of the greatest depression in the sugar market, might have been conducted with profit. I must draw your particular attention to the fact, that the interest on invested capital in Barbados is about 97. per hogshead. This is a moderate estimate, being 6 per cent. on the market value of estates. The charge in Grenada, estimated in the same way, would be under 27. I particularly referred to this charge on the Barbados planter in my Despatch to Mr. Kortright, No. 117, but he has not noticed the point in his reply, and there can be no doubt that the fact is indisputable. Interest on capital having been excluded from the calculation of the cost of production, it follows, that the Grenada planter has an advantage of 7 l. per hogshead over the Barbados one, which is more than the entire cost of labour. 18. Mr. Kortright admits that he cannot defend the system of management or of agriculture pursued in Grenada, and states that it is too true that there is a great misapplication of labour." He attributes this unsatisfactory state of affairs to the fact that the bulk of the property of the Island is in the hands of absentee proprietors, and I am of opinion that this has been one of the principal causes of the retrogression of the Colony. Enclosure 3. Enclosure 4. GRENADA. Enclosure 3. 19. It appears that implemental husbandry does not exist in Grenada, whereas it is now very generally practised in Barbados. It certainly seems extraordinary that labour should be more economised in the Colony where it is abundant, than elsewhere. 20. Mr. Kortright estimates the population, which is available for cane cultivation in Grenada, at 6,000. He also cites the opinion of a gentleman of very great experience and intelligence, who estimates that out of a population of 28,000, 4,500 to 5,000 work continually on sugar plantations. I am thoroughly convinced that the estimated number of labourers in Grenada should produce double the quantity of sugar that is exported. I have considered this subject fully in my St. Lucia correspondence, and shall here content myself with affirming that the well-directed labour of 4,800 persons should be sufficient for the production of 12,000 hogsheads of sugar. 21. I readily subscribe to Mr. Kortright's opinion that in Trinidad, and I would add in Barbados, "the principle of economising labour is better understood than in Grenada;" but I am further persuaded that economy never will be practised so long as cheap coolie labour shall be supplied to the planters. 22. Though I am of opinion that the rate of wages in Grenada is insufficient, and that free labour might be attracted from Barbados if adequate inducements were held out, you will have gathered from my Despatches that I attach infinitely more importance to the tenure of the labourers' holdings, which is the root of all West Indian evils. 23. In my Despatch to Lieutenant Governor Kortright, No. 117, pars. 25 and 26, I have exaggerated the increased cost of coolie labour, owing to my having been under the impression that the Colony was liable to furnish return passages to the labourers after an industrial residence of five years. If I am not mistaken, such was at one time the state of the law in some of the Colonies. Owing to accidental causes to which it is unnecessary to refer, I could not obtain a copy of the Grenada Immigration Act, when I first had the subject under consideration, but a subsequent reference to it has convinced me that I have overestimated the cost of coolie labour, and that 3 d. to 4 d. per diem, beyond that of the creole, would be more correct. The argument is not weakened by this error. 24. In conclusion, I have to report that in my opinion the rate of wages in Grenada ought at least to be 1 s. 3 d. per diem, and that it is dealing hardly with the resident population to expose them to the competition of what must be termed compulsory labour, at all events, until wages have reached such a point as would indicate a deficiency of supply. Encl. 1, in No. 3. Encl. 2, in No. 3. (113.) I have, &c. (signed) F. Hincks. Enclosure 1, in No. 3. Sir, Windward Islands, Barbados, 7 July 1857. I HAVE the honour to transmit to you the copy of a Despatch from the Right Honourable the Secretary of State for the Colonies, forwarding a report from the Emigration Commissioners accompanying a letter from Mr. Caird, E nigration Agent at Calcutta, on the subject of the treatment of coolie immigrants. His Excellency Lieutenant Governor Kortright, Grenada. I have, &c. (signed) F. Hincks. Enclosure 2, in No. 3. Sir, Government Office, Grenada, 7 August 1857. REFERRING to your Despatch, No. 113 of the 7th July, covering copy of a Despatch from the Secretary of State for the Colonies, and a report from the Emigration Commissioners, accompanying a letter from Mr. Caird, Emigration Agent at Calcutta, respecting the rate of wages paid to coolies in the several British Colonies, I have the honour to inform you that the question raised by Mr. Caird appearing to me to be a very important one, not only with regard to the coolie labourers, but as involving a total change in the rate of labourers' wages in Grenada. I have laid the several documents before the Executive Council, in order to avail myself of their experience on the subject of the labour market. 2. There 2. There is no doubt that it would be highly impolitic to allow the coolies at the time of their engagements in India to entertain any false impressions as to the remuneration they are to receive for their services in Grenada, and, as a matter of course, they will prefer emigrating to the Colony which holds out to them the best prospect of high wages. 3. In stating the rate of wages in Grenada at 10d. per diem, it appears to have escaped Mr. Caird's notice, that Mr. Walker's Despatch of the 6th October 1856, to which he refers in his letter, shows that in addition to 10d. per diem, the coolie is entitled to "provisiongrounds of at least one acre." This is an advantage which he does not possess in Trinidad or British Guiana, and offers to an industrious man an opportunity of bettering his condition to a considerable extent. 4. The system of task-work has long been in operation among the native labourers in this Island; and when the capabilities of the coolies for labour have become better known here, it will, I have reason to believe, be extended to them. The creole labourer frequently finishes his task by noon, and generally refuses to undertake a second one, devoting the rest of the day to the cultivation of his own provision-ground. It is thus in the power of an industrious man to double h's daily wages by a little additional exertion. 5. It appears to me that under the task system the coolie will be placed in a better position than he is in the Mauritius, where his net gain in wages is confessedly only 2s. 6d. a week, without apparently an opportunity being afforded him of increasing the amount by additional labour. 6. An increase in the rate of wages of the coolies would involve a change with respect to the remuneration of the creole labourers, and I am not prepared to state at present whether the planters will consider it to their advantage to adopt such a course. As it is, the coolie is better off than the native labourer, who has neither house nor medical attendance provided for him. 7. There are several advantages this Island possesses over Trinidad and British Guiana which appear trifling, but which nevertheless tend to the comfort of the labourers, accessibility of markets for the purchase or sale of provisions, the low price of ground provisions, and the abundance of running water, a free use of which I believe the coolies consider of great importance. Windward Islands, Barbados, I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Despatch of the 7th instant, No. 47, Executive, containing your observations on Mr. Caird's letter on the subject of the rate of wages paid to coolie labourers in the several British Colonies. 2. There can be no doubt that the question raised by Mr. Caird is one of deep importance, and you acted most wisely in laying all the documents before your Executive Council, and in availing yourself of their experience in the labour market. 3. I fear very much that the explanations which you have offered in the Despatch before me will be considered anything but satisfactory, either by the Indian Government or by the Secretary of State; and I think that the time has arrived when it would be no longer proper for me to withhold the expression of the opinions which I have formed on the labour question of the West Indies, and which are the result of much deliberation, and founded on well authenticated facts. 4. Your Despatch has strengthened my previous conviction that the policy which the Grenada planters have hitherto pursued is a most ruinous one for themselves. 5. I am well aware how difficult it is to convince the employers of labour that it is their interest to raise the rate of wages, and I cannot say that in the present instance I have the faintest hope of success. 6. But I am bound, not less by my duty to Her Majesty than by a most sincere desire to promote the best interests of the planters of Grenada, to state candidly the opinions which I have formed. 7. The current rate of wages in Grenada is 10d. a day, which is the Barbados rate, though here it is frequently 1s., and in British Guiana it is, I believe, not less than 1s. 6d. I have been repeatedly assured that the planters in Grenada, St. Vincent, and St. Lucia cannot afford to raise the rate of wages. I do not desire, in discussing this question, to base my opinions on the high price of sugar which has ruled for some time back, and which may be treated as exceptional, but rather on what may be considered an average price estimated fairly with reference to the cost of production. 8. I find that in Barbados the actual cost of delivering sugar on the wharf may be fairly estimated at $5. 16, or 21s. 6d. per 100 lbs., which would make the cost of a hogshead of 1,700 lbs. net, 187. 5s, 6d. sterling. This cost includes, as it of course ought to do, fair interest on the capital invested in buildings and land. GRENADA. Encl. 3, in No. 3. |