“I mentioned a nominal differential duty. What I mean by that is, that the slave sugars are all so much better manufactured, which the great command of labour enables them to do, that, to the refiner, they are intrinsically worth more than ours. In short, they prepare their sugars, whereas we cannot do so, and we pay duty at the same rate on an article which contains a quantity of molasses. So that, if the duties were equalised, there would virtually be a bonus on the importation of foreign sugar. I have a letter before me in which is written,—‘Whilst at Jamaica, offers came from the Havannah to supply sugar all the year round at 12s. per cwt.,’ as I said before, in no Jamaica estate can it be grown much under 20s., and assuredly by none at 12s. The refiners estimate the value of Havannah, in comparison with West India free sugar, as from three to five shillings per cwt. better in point of colour and strength. The reason is, that these sugars are partially refined or clayed.”
If these are correct data, and we do not anticipate that they will be impugned, the result will be this;—
| Cost of production in slave countries per ton, | £12 0 0 |
| Add duty £1 per cwt. | 20 0 0 |
| Cost, irrespective of freight, | £32 0 0 |
| Cost of production in free labour colonies, | £20 0 0 |
| Add duty 14s. per cwt., | 14 0 0 |
| Difference of value between slave and free sugar, at the lowest estimate, or 3s. per cwt., | 3 0 0 |
| Cost, irrespective of freight, | £37 0 0 |
Such is the amount of protection at present enjoyed by our colonists—a protection which, be it remarked, is every year to decrease! In the present, or second year after the passing of Lord John Russell’s bill, we find that slave-grown sugar can be brought into the market at a cost of production less at least by five pounds per ton than that of our own colonies! We can now easily understand how it is that, within a very short period, Cuba has increased her exports of sugar from 50,000 to more than 200,000 tons; and we can readily believe that, with such a stimulus as has been given, she may, in as short a period, succeed in doubling the latter quantity. No doubt, in order to effect this, the importation of slaves from Africa must go on with corresponding celerity; but that is a matter which we need not regard, as our present rulers are actually giving an enormous impulse to the trade.
In a matter of this sort, in which the element of British honour is largely implicated, it in reality matters not who the parties are, whom, by an unjust and inconsistent course of legislation, we are thus oppressing and defrauding. But if self-interest is at all to be taken into view, it may be as well that we should know, that at least three-fourths of the capital now jeopardized in our West Indian colonies, is the property of fellow-citizens in this country. The disastrous effects of the Mauritius failures, primarily caused and frightfully accelerated by the abolition of the old, and the operation of the new system in that island, were immediately felt by the commercial circles here, and tended greatly to increase that depression which has been experienced in every branch of our trade. If, as is now seriously meditated, and as must be the case should the Whig Cabinet prove equally obstinate as rash, our West Indian plantations should be abandoned, and the capital already expended as completely sunk as though it had been dropped into the depths of the ocean, we may look for another crisis at home, which will assuredly appal the boldest. Let our financial authorities tell us whether we can, under present circumstances, afford to part with an invested capital of two hundred millions, or to throw back into a state of nature and pauperism, colonies which, a very few years ago, consumed annually no less an amount than three millions and a half value of our manufactures? And yet to such results, unless some strong remedial measure be immediately applied, we are most decidedly tending. The depreciation of the value of property in the colonies has been going on for years at a most alarming rate, and we shall now state a few facts upon that point, which we think will convince the most sceptical. We shall begin with Demerara.
In 1838, the value of the estates, owing to the want of labour, had fallen from one-third to a half. The following is the account of some of the estates:—
| Price in 1838. | Former Price. | |
|---|---|---|
| Anna Catherina Estate, | £30,000 | £50,000 |
| Providence, | 38,000 | 80,000 |
| Thomas, | 20,000 | 40,000 |
In 1840, the depreciation became greater. Here are a few examples:—
| Rome and Houston Estate, | £40,000 | £100,000 |
| Success, | 30,000 | 55,000 |
| Kitty, | 26,000 | 60,000 |
| William, | 18,000 | 40,000 |
In 1844, the Groenveldt estate, formerly valued at £35,000, was sold for £10,000. In 1845, the Baillie’s Hope estate, formerly valued at £50,000, was disposed of for £7,000. And in 1846, the Haarlem estate went for £3,500, whereas its previous value was not less than £50,000!