PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference→→
C.O.885
18 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC-
COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
76
of the 15th ultimo,* referring for my observations a letter from the Foreign Office, dated the 8th of July, in which some exception is taken to the estimate framed by Sir G. T. Carter (£11 16s. 8d. per ton) of the cost of sugar production in this Colony. I forwarded a copy of your despatch for the observations of Sir Daniel Morris, and have the honour now to transmit a copy of his letter in reply.
2. The estimate made by Sir G. T. Carter (in the draft of his despatch it is stated to be £11 18s. 5d.), was based upon the information furnished to the West Indian Royal Commission in 1897, which will be found on page 198 of Appendix C, volume 11, of their report. It was compiled by an expert Committee from the statistics of forty-two sugar estates in various parishes of the island. extending over a period of eight years (1588 to 1895), and, having been derived from the planta- tions' books, it may be taken to have been absolutely accurate at the time it was framed, while as the conditions of manufacture have changed but little in the interval, any deductions made from it may be accepted as being sufficiently accurate at the present moment. That information shows the average annual produce of the forty-two estates to have been 70,842 tons of sugar, plus the molasses, and the average annual expenditure on them $4,054,529, which gives an average of $57:23, or £11 15s. 5d. per ton of sugar with its molasses. I think, however, that as the molasses takes such a large place in the manufacture of muscovado sugar, it would enable a more accurate estimate of the cost of producing the latter articles to be framed if the former were 'to be made to bear its proper proportion of the expendi- ture. The average output of molasses per ton of sugar is one hundred gallons, estimated to be equivalent to 312 parts of a ton of sugar, and thus taking the molasses into account, the average annual produce of the forty-two estates in question may be placed at 92,945 tons of sugar, and the cost of manufacture at £9 1s. 9d. per ton. If from this is deducted the revenue derived from provisions, live stock, &c., which the Committee estimates to average £1 4s. per ton of sugar, the cost of production will be reduced to £7 17s. 9d. a ton.
3. I enclose a copy of a letter from Mr. J. R. Bovell, the Superintendent of the Agricultural Department, in which he reports that the statistics of twelve estates taken in more recent years show that the cost of production of a ton of sugar (with its molasses) was £12 7s. 4d. In this estimate, however, an allowance of only 4s. has been made for the revenue derived from the estates' other resources which would appear from the figures given by him to have been actually £1 5s. 2d. It will be seen that in the case of these twelve estates the average profit per ton of sugar was £2 10s. 8d.
4. I also enclose a copy of an estimate which has been furnished to me by Mr. E. W. Mahon, one of the most experienced planters in the island, who places the cost at £10 per ton of sugar, presumably including its molasses.
5. In the estimate of £8 15s. furnished to the Foreign Office. I imagine that an allowance has been made for the receipts from such subsidiary sources of revenue as provisions, stock. landrent, &c.
77
connection with it. On most estates in Barbados there are produced, as rotation or catch crops, annual crops of sweet potatoes, yams, and maize. The estates also derive revenue from renting land as house spots and other sources.
3.
As the cost of raising rotation and catch crops is usually charged as part of the general expenses of a sugar estate, it is only reasonable that the revenue derived from ground provisions and other sources should be deducted from the cost of producing the sugar. It would be observed from an article in the "West Indian Bulletin." Volume I., page 73, lines 15, 16, and 18, that the average revenue from ground provisions, rents, and other sources, per ton of sugar, may be taken as vary- from 9s. 8d. to £3 per acre depending upon the position of the estate. Possibly, ing owing to the higher value of sweet potatoes, and to the returns from cotton in recent years, the average revenue from ground provisions, &c., may be higher.
4. If the revenue from ground provisions, &c., were estimated at an average of £1 15s. per ton of sugar, the net cost according to the figures given by Sir Gilbert Carter would be about £10 1s. 8d. The amount realised this year in Barbados for one ton of muscovado sugar and 100 gallons of molasses is £11 3s. 6d. This, it will be observed, is slightly below the figures quoted by Sir H. Bergne, so the net profit (or clearance of a sugar estate as worked at Barbados) would be about £1 1s. 10d. per ton of sugar. As the average yield for the whole island is estimated at 17 tons of sugar per acre, this would be about equal to a net profit of about £1 17s. 1d., or, say. £2 per acre.
5. I frust that the information given above may be useful in explaining the circumstances connected with the sugar cultivation at Barbados. Unfortunately there are no data available for arriving at the exact figures of the cost of production. It may be mentioned that in the report of the West Indian Royal Commission, Appendix C.. page 228, Governor Sir James Hay gave the average cost of producing a ton of sugar with its molasses in 1897 at £9 16s. 2d., while on page 196 Mr. Henry A. Pile placed it at £10 2s. 1d. These figures may be useful for the purpose of checking the figures submitted in this letter.
His Excellency
S. W. Knaggs.
Acting Governor,
I have, &c.,
D. MORRIS,
Commissioner of Agriculture for the West Indies.
SIR.
(Confidential.)
(No. 1995.)
I have, &c.,
S. W. KNAGGS,
SIR,
Governor (Acting).
Enclosure in No. 94.
Imperial Department of Agriculture for the West Indies,
Barbados, August 13, 1907.
I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of Your Excellency's letter of August 6th, enclosing a copy of a confidential despatch received from the Secre tary of State for the Colonies inviting my observations on a letter dated July 8th from the Foreign Office with reference-an estimate framed by Sir G. T. Carter as to the cost of sugar production in Barbados.
+ I am not aware of the sources whence Sir Gilbert Carter obtained his estimate of the cost of producing one ton of sugar at £11 16s. Ad. The estimate may be correct, but apparently all the circumstances may not have been stated in
• No. 64.
4 No. 50.
Enclosure in No. 94.
Agricultural Department, Bridgetown, August 22, 1907.
In compliance with Your Excellency's request that I should inform you what the average cost of producing sugar is in Barbados, and what the price of sugar and molasses has been for the past few years, I now have the honour to submit the following.
2. In the first place, I may say that it is very difficult to arrive at the actual cost of producing a ton of sugar in Barbados, as I know of only one estate where a separate account is kept for each crop. Some months ago I tried to obtain from the proprietor of this estate the cost of growing, and as it is kept separately, the cost of manufacturing a ton of sugar, but the gentleman, although not actually refusing, led me to understand that he did not care to give the information.
I may, however, say that two or three years ago, I heard indirectly that it amounted to over £12 10s. per ton of sugar.
3. Therefore, to ascertain as correctly as possible the cost of producing a ton of sugar, I have prepared a statement which I enclose herewith showing what it cost on twelve estates, and at the same time I have included in the statement the revenue obtained from the various crops, &c. For obvious reasons the names of the estates have been omitted. Of these returns two are for the average of eleven years, seven of ten, two of nine, and one of six years. I also enclose a summary of the statement