MILITIA BACK PAY.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXII, Issue 2675, 12 February 1866, Page 5

MILITIA BACK PAY.

To the Editor of the Daily Southern Cross. S IR> I beg to present to the public of this colony, through your independent journal, a copy of the resolutions passed at a public meeting, held on the Ist February, in Cambridge, on the subject of those admitted and well founded claims of " back pay for the Waikato Militia : — First resolution : Resolved, "That this meeting pledges itself never to relinquish the subject of ' back pay ;' but on the contrary, to pursue every legal *nd constitutional means for its recovery." Second resolution : Resolved, "That this meeting deems it advisable to immediately open subscriptions to secure, by legal means, the safe and certain recovery of such claims." — I have, &c, J.B. Auckland, February 10, 1866.

Essay on Dogs, by Josh Bixiiikjs.— Dogs in the lump are useful, but they are not always profitable. The Nufoundlin dog is useful to save children from drowning; but you have got to hare a t pond of water and children running about karelese, or else the dog aint profitable. There aint nothing made boarding a Nufouudlin dogs. Bat terriers are useful to catch rats ; hut the rats aint profitable after yu have ketcbed them. The shepherd dog is useful tew drive sheep ; but you have got to go and buy a flock of sheep, and pay more than they are wuth, jest to keep the dog buzzy, the dog aint profitable— not much Lap dogs are very useful ; but if you don't hold them in your lap awl the time they aint profitable at all. The coach dog is one ov the most useful ov dogs I know ov ; but yu have got to have a coach 4 (and that aint always pleasant), or you can't realize from the dog. Thuß we see that, while dogs ar.e generally useful, there are times when they »inj|ggenerally profitable.

CAUSE OF THE NEGRO REBELLION. The Times has the following article showing the cau-e of the Jamaica revolt :— Our impression this evening contains a document of no slight interest at the present moment. This is nothing less than the actual letter to which the Governor of Jamaica attributed "in a great degree," the recent msurofficial capacity, but simply as .« 'a PJ^gJ^g interested in Jamaica." Nevertheless, he this epistle to the Secretary of State for the Colonies, and his present defence is that as it was N™ ad dressed, and not to the people oi *™™*J%^X accountable for the impression which it ultimately Mr CaVdweU'forWded this letter to Governor Eyre, with instructions to report upon it in reply. Oi course also Governor Eyre published the letter in the island, and addressed this circular to the anthorities and clergy of all denominations asking for the information required. But these steps were the necessary consequences of Dr. Underbills communication to the Minister. The Minister could only act upon it by referring to the Governor, and the Governor could only reply to it by the means which he adopted. This is the course taken on all such occasions ; and when Dr. Underhill laid such a statement as he did before the Colonial Secretary, there was no alternative between leaving it without notice, or sending it to the island foi consideration and answer. . ..« i . Governor Eyre, too, wis perfectly justified xb speaking of the "innuendoes" contained m thu letter. After describing the impoverished condition of the negroes in the island Dr. Underfill! continues, " I shall say notting oi the course taken by the Jamaica Legislature, of their abortive Immigration Bills, of their unjust taxation of the coloured population, of their refusal of just tribunals, of their denial of political rights to the emancipated negroes." But in these words, while professing to say nothing, he really says everything that is bad oi the Government of the colony, and while pretending to pass over the subject without remark leaves the gravest of accusations to produce their effect. Dr. Underhill, too, must b« well aware that these topics were no new topics in Jamacia. Tbey were the topics upon which certain persons, and especially persons of the Baptist persuasion, loved to expatiate, but Dr. Underbill's address to the Colonial Secretary gave the subject an urgency which it had noi possessed before. Its necessary effect was to put the authorities of the island on their defence, while th< blacks and their partisans knew it. Now, at last the case of the negro had been brought fairly befor< the Imperial Government, and the colonial mien had to justify themselves. The consequences Governor Eyre impressively describes to us. Meet ings were held in connexion with Dr. Underhill'! letter, ' ' where the people were told that they were tyrannized over and ill -treated; were overtaxed ; were denied political rights; had no just tribunals.' This is little, but a repetition of the allegations which Dr. Underhill advanced, nor can we fee the least surprise at hearing that the speakers oi these occasions carried their views a little further used "language of the most exciting and seditious kind," and told the people "plainly to right them selves, to be up and doing, to put their shoulders t< the wheel," and "to do as theHaytians had done.' Dr. Underhill had deliberately, and in the characte: of a well-informed and interested correspondent brought before the Colonial Secretary such, charge* against; the Legislature of Jamaica as must needs be communicated to those authorities, and the ineyitabh notoriety of the proceeding increased the agitatior prevailing already. No person, we imagine, can doubt that the disaffec tion of the negroes is, indeed, "in a great degree due" to the teaching of those who consistentlj impressed upon an ignorant and impulsive rac< that they were ill-treated and oppressed, and thai when they suffered it was owing to the f aulti of their rulers. That teaching is not a thing o yesterday, and Dr. Underbill's letter did bui give a formal expression to doctrines already familiar . THia +r?** nmna+y™ '•""•? — ~' — ir- -*--"./ the Baptist Society itself would admit, is ho^ far such teaching was justifiable, considering the facts of the case and the known character of the negro. If the blacks of Jamaica wer< really oppressed by tyranny and degraded by mis government, it was right to call attention to th< facts, nor can the consequences of the inquiry b< fajrly visited on those who with proper motives sei it on foot. But the case, even as stated exparte bj Dr. Underhill, is anything but clear, and though lw suppresses everything that may be said to the negro's discredit, there are inferences enough irresistibly suggested to tell the whole story. Jamaica is overpopulated ; that is "there is not sufficient employment for the people; their is neither work for them nor capital to employ them." But then "a large part of the island is uncultivated, and might be made to support a greater population than is now existing on it." These are Dr. Underbill's own statements, and we may add that, in point of fact, while Barbadoes supports 620 inhabitants to the square mile, Jamaica, with a soil still more fertile, supports only about 80. Why is this? .Again, the planters have repeatedly passed "Immigration Bills" — that is, Bills providing for the importation of labourers. Why should this be, if there is not work enough for the blacks already in the country ? Further, it happens to be known that these immigrants or coolies, though represented as underselling the negroes in the labour market, do, nevertheless, get a decent maintenance for themselves and save a little money. How comes that ? Then, the blacks have "very numerous freeholds which they themselves possess." How is it that they make so little out of them ? This latter point is almost the only one on whici Dr. Underhill condescends to any particulars, but here he does say that the blacks, who might be disposed to raise produce for profit on their own estates, " meet with every kind of discouragement." When, however, we proceed to inquire what this discouragement is, we find it amounts merely to the absence of that extraordinary encouragement which Dr. Underhill thinks ought to be given. He would have the Governor bestir himself personally to make the negroes industrious, and all kinds of special arrangements made for enchancing their remuneration. But what is the great fact that is seen all through these representations ? It is that the negro has no stomach for work. He will not work as the coolie works, and therefore he cannot live as the coolie lives. His labour cannot be relied upon, and so estates go out of cultivation. Except under the pressure of some present stimulus his incorrigible Haziness prevails, and the wants of his half brutish condition are so few, and supplied to-so great an extent by the bounty of nature, that the stimulus is seldom applied. Dr. Underhill acknowledges that what Jamaica needs is an influx of settlers with capital and enterprise for the extension and improvement of agriculture. He says, too, that "at the best, with all the scientific appliances the planters can bring to it, both capital and machinery, sugar manufacturing is a hazardous thing." How, then, can they dispense with regular and steady labour, or how are they to provide "remunerative employment" for men who will never work more than five days in the week, and cannot always be relied upon to do that ? Above all, why is it to be disguised that these men, whose political rights are described as imperfect, and for whom such exceptional consideration is claimed, are men who express their dissatisfaction by falling suddenly upon their employers, beating out their brains, ripping up their bellies, scooping out their eyes, and practising at a minute's notice all the atrocities of a downright savagery? Is not the conduct of the black mob at Morant Town in itself a sufficient illustration of the character and capacity of the negro ? The worst grievance of these men was that work was slack and wages bad, and for that, as every person of candour would admit, they were to a great extent responsible themselves. Yet on provocation not sufficient to create an hour's rioting, they rise in murderous insurrection and butcher all the white men they can find ! This propensity is not to be overlooked in determining the negro's responsibility and position.

The following is the correspondence referred to : TO THE EDITOR OF THE ''TIMES." Sib, — As Governor Eyre has given his opinion in his despatch published in your columns to day that the outbreak in Jamaica "is in a great degree due to Dr. Underbill's letter," you will in all fairness give a. similar publicity to one or two facts that the Governor has omitted to state. On the sth. of January last, not in my official capacity as secretary of the Baptist Missionary Society, 'but as a private perspn interested iv Jamaica, I addressed a letter to the Right Hon. E. Cardwell on the condition of the island. On the 27th of January Mr v Cardwell expressed his thanks for this communication, and stated that he had forwarded, it to the Governor of Jamaica, with^ infractions to report upon its contents. '

Mv letter was published by Governor Eyre in the ti V «Etc At the same time the Governor Wmm§m Iflpl mffiand innuendoes," which he says my letter contains, but which on a smtab c occasion I am ■^&B£?gsssS ■«aS3eJBs;.V J! EH-£ which it was copied from a Jamaica newspaper. ' IbettoTiibscribemyselfasyoiirobedientservant, ° Edward B. Underhill. Harapstead, Nov. 20,

"DB. UKDERHILL TO MB. CARDWKLIi. v "33, Moorgate-street, E.C., Jan 5, 1865. » Dear Sir,-I venture to ask your kind consideration to a few observations on the present condition of the island of Jamaica. " For several months past every mail has brought fetters informing me of the continually increasing distress of the coloured population. As a sufficient illustration, I quote the f ollowing brief passage from one of them :— " < Crime has fearfully increased. The number ot prisoners in the penitentiary and gaols is considerably more than double the average, and nearly all for one crime -larceny, Summonses for petty debts disclose an amount of pecuniary diffioitftiy wftic4 has never before been experienced ; and applications, for parochial ani private relief prove that multitudes ape Buffering from want little removed from starvation,' "The immediate cause of this distress would seem to be the drought of the last two years $ but, in fact, this has only given intensity to suffering previously existing. Allaccounts, bothpublicandpnvate, concur in affirming the alarming increase of crime, chiefly of larceny and petty theft. This arises from the extreme poverty of the people. That this is its true origin is made evident by the ragged and even naked condition of vast numbers of them ; so contrary to the taste for dress they usually exhibit. They cannot purchase clothing, partly from its greatly increased cost, which is unduly enchanced by the duty (said to be 38 per cent, by the Hon. Mr. Whitelocke) which it now pays, and partly from the want of employment, and the consequent absence oi wages. "The people, then, are starving, and the causes of this are not far to seek. No doubt the taxation of the island is too heavy for its present resources, and must necessarily render the cost of producing the staples higher than they can bear, to meet competition in the markets of the world. No doubt much of the sugar land of the island is worn out, or can only be made productive by an outlay which destroy all hope of profitable return. No doubt, too large a part of the island is uncultivated, and might be made to support a greater population than is now existing upon it. "But the simple fact is, there is not sufficient employment for the people ; there is neither work for them nor capital to employ them, " The labouring class is too numerous for the work to be done. Sugar cidtivation on the estates does not absorb more than 30,000 of the people, an(3 every other species of cultivation (apart from provision growing) cannot give employment to more than another 30,000. But the agricultural population oi the island is over 400,000, so that there are at least 340,000 whose livelihood depends on employment other than that devoted to the staple cultivation of the island. Of these 340,000 certainly not less than 130,000 are adults, and capable of labour. For subsistence they must be entirely dependent on the provision grown on their little freeholds, a portion of which is sold te those who find employment on the estates, or perhaps, in aslictit desrree an such nrndnnft as+lw a « able sto raise for exportation. J3ut those who grow produce for exportation are very few, and they meet with every kind of discouragement to prosecute the means of support which is advantageous to the island as to themselves. If their provisions fail, as has been the case, from drought, they must steal or starve. And this is their present condition. The same result follows in this country when employment ceases or wages fail. The great decrease of coin in circulation in Jamaica is a further proof that less money is spent in wages through the decline oi employment. Were Jamaica prosperous, silver would flow into it, or its equivalent in English manufacture, instead of the exportation of silver, which now regularly takes place. And if, as stated in the Governor's speech, the Customs' revenue in the year gone by has been equal to former years, this has arisen, not from an increase in the quantities imported, but from the increased value of the imports, the duties being levied at an ad valorem charge of 12£ per cent, on articles such as cotton goods, which have within the last year or two greatly risen in price. " I shall say nothing of the course taken by the Jamaica Legislature ; of their abortive Imnfgration Bills ; of their unjust taxation of the coloured population ; of their refusal of just tribunals ; of their denial of political rights to the emancipated negroes. Could the people find remunerative employment, these evils would in time be remedied, from theit growing strength and intelligence. The worst evil consequent on the proceedings of the Legislature ia the distrust awakened in the minds of capitalists, and the avoidance of Jamaica, with its manifold advantages, by all who possess the means to benefit it by their expenditure. "Unless means can be found to encourage the outlay of capital in Jamaica in the growth of those numerous products which can be profitably exported, so that employment can be given to its starving people, I see no other result than the entire failure of the island, and the destruction of the hopes that the Legislature and the people of Great Britain have cherished with regard to the well-being of its emancipated population. "With your kind permission, I will venture to make two or three suggestions, which, if carried out, may assist to avert so painful a result. "LA searching inquiry into the legislation of the island since emancipation, its taxation, its economical and material addition, would go far to bring to light the causes of the existing evils, and, by convincing the ruling class of the mistakes of the past, lead to their removal. Such an inquiry seems also due to this country, that it may be seen whether the emancipated peasantry have gained those advantages which were sought to be secured to them by their enfranchisement. "2. The Governor might be instructed to encourage, by his personal approval and urgent recommendation, the growth of exportable produce by the people on the very numerous freeholds they possess. This might be done by the formation of associations for shipping their produce in considerable quantities; by equalizing duties on ,the produce of the people and that of the planting interests ; by instructing the native growers of produce in the best methods of cultivation, and pointing out the articles which would find a ready sale in the markets of the world; by opening channels for direct transmission of produce, without the intervention of agents, by whose extortions and frauds the people now frequently suffer and are greatly discouraged. The cultivation of sugar by the peasantry should, in my judgment, be discouraged. At the best, with all the scientific appliances the planters can bring to it, both capital and machinery, sugar manufacturing is a hazardous thing. Much more must it become so in the hands of the people, with their rude -mills and imperfect method! But the minor products of the island, such as spices, tobacco, farinaceous food, coffee, and cotton, are quite within their reach, and always fetch a fair and remunerative price, when not burdened by extravagant charges and local taxation. "3. With just laws and light taxation capitalists would be encouraged to settle in Jamaica, and employ themselves in the production of the more important staples, such as sugar, cotton, and coffee. Thus the people would be employed, and the present starvation rate of wages be improved. "In conclusion, I have to apologise for troubling you with this communication ; but since my visit to the island in 1859-60 I have felt the greatest interest in its prosperity, and deeply grieve over thl sufferings of its coloured population. It is more than time that the unwisdom (to use the gentlest term) that has governed Jamaica since emancipation should be brought to an end ; a course of action which, while it incalculably aggravates the misery arising from natural, and therefore unavoidable causes, renders certain the ultimate ruin of every class — planter and peasant, European and Creole. *' Should you, dear sir, desire such, information as it may be in my power to furnish, or see me, on the ,

matter, 1 shall be most happy either to forward whatever facts 1 may possess or wait upon you *„b any time that you may appoint.—" I have, &c., " Edwd. B. Underbill. " P.S. I append an extract from the speech of the Hon. H. A. Whitelocke in the House of Assembly with respect to the condition of the people :—: — "'He (Mr. Whiteloeke) would make an assertion which could not be gainsaid by his successor, that taxation could not be extended ; nor one farthing more could be imposed upon the people, who were i suffering peculiar hardship from the increased value i of wearing apparel, which was now taxed beyond all bounds. Actually they were paying 38 per cent, now, when 124 per cent, was before c onsidered an outrageous ad valorem duty. Cotton goods, including Osnaburgh and all the wearing apparel of the labouring classes, had increased 200 per cent, in value. What was bought at 4d. per yard before was selling at Is. per yard. Therefore the people are now paying l^d. duty on every yard of cloth, instead of Ad., which has been justly described as a heavy impost. The consequence is that a disgusting state of nudity exhibited itself in some parts of the country. Hardly a boy under ten years of age wore a, f r-ook, and adults, from the ragged stja.te of their- garments, exhibited thos,e parts of the body where covering was especially wanted. The lower classes hitherto exhibited a proneness for dress, and he could not believe such a change would have come over them, but for his belief in their destitution, arising oiit of a reduction In their wages, at a time when eyeyy article of apparel hji4 rjs.en in va^ue. This year's decrease in imports I foreshadowed what was coming. Sugar was down again at £11 per hogshead ; coffee was falling ; pimento was valueless ; logwood was scarcely worth cutting ; and, moreover, a sad Jlimun^ion, WAS effected in qur chief staple exports fconi a deficiency of rain. ' "