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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :--
885/26
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC-
COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
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3. One of the first essentials, therefore, of any plan of development on a large scale must be the introduction of labourers on a settlement basis from India or China, or from both places. Without this desideratum, private capital from responsible sources and under responsible control will not be forthcoming.
4. At the present time an unofficial deputation from British Guiana, but under official imprimatur, is visiting India with the object of attempting to make arrangements with the Government of India to promote emigration from India to British Guiana. If this deputation is successful in its quest, it is understood that certain accumulated British Guiana Government Funds will be available to assist in this enterprise. These funds, however, are limited to £500,000, approximately, and it is evident that more money will be required if settlement is to be on a scale comprehensive enough to meet the situation,
5. The conclusion, therefore, to be drawn is that any big company formed for the develop- ment of the resources of British Guiane should have, as one of its main objects, the settlement of a labouring population in the Colony, and that its operations in this connection should be closely linked up with any Government scheme, or, better still, that the two parties should co-operate⚫ in one scheme.
6. Within the past few months public prominence has been given to a proposal that a High Commission should be formed, under the Colonial Office, to administer and develop the interior lands of the Colony, the already developed strip of coastal land (only two or three thousand square miles in extenf) to be retained under the Colonial Government. I have been looking carefully into this plan since I spoke on it in the House of Commons, and have now come to the conclusion that the practical difficulties of defining the boundaries would be so enormous, owing to the configuration of the country, and would arouse such controversies locally on questions of revenue and expenditure, and interests already established in the interior, that its Moreover, consideration would mean much delay and it would probably never materialise. the feelings of irritation engendered in the Colony during its discussion might go far to jeopardize the success of any subsequent scheme of development that might be decided upon.
7. The same arguments, in my opinion, operate against the granting of a Royal Charter over the interior to a private company. Similar practical difficulties would arise, and, in addition, strong political and parliamentary prejudices would have to be countered from the
start.
8. The object of this letter, therefore, is to place before your Committee, for their con sideration, an alternative proposal which will involve common action by private company and the Government, a form of arrangement which already has its precedent in the successful Anglo- Persian oil venture. In my belief it is only in this way that all points of view can be met and that development on a large scale will be achieved. For it is obvious that no capitalists will risk their money in a country like British Guiana without full knowledge of Government support, and, on the other hand, neither the Imperial Government nor the Colonial Government are to-day in the position alone to put up adequate capital for that purpose.
9. I propose, therefore, that a company shall be formed on which shall be represented (a) the Imperial Government, (b) the Colonial Government, (c) a group of British capitalists. It is necessary to form a company in order to create a legal personality which could undertak obligations, acquire rights, and give effect to the common purposes.
10. Generally speaking, I would propose-
(1) That a Company be formed, under the name of the British Guiana Corporation, with wide objects and powers, including Transport Trading, Mining and general development.
(2) That the Company should have rights to establish railway communication from the capital town of Georgetown as far as the Brazilian Border (a distance of about 350 miles), the Colonial Clovernment undertaking to vest it with all rights, powers and facilities necessary for this purpose, and to give it the exclusive right for a period of years from its completion-(a) to work the railway, (b) to construct and work branch lines radiating from it, in addition (c) to give the Company the first option of constructing and working any other railways that may be required in the Colony from time to time.
(3) That the Company be empowered under its Articles of Association to undertake railway
development in Brazil with the object of linking up British Guiana with th Amazon River by rail.
(4) That the Company should have the exclusive right to prospect for and work for metals, precious stones and minerals, including mineral oils, within the Colony, to the extent to which the Colonial Government may be in the position to grant it.
(5) That the Company shall be appointed agents for the Colonial Government for the purpose of introducing labourers into the Colony on a settlement basis, the Company to place this in the forefront of its programme of development.
(6) That the Company shall be granted tracts of land along the Trans-Colonial Railway route when surveyed and along the routes of any subsequent branch railways constructed, and in such other portions of the Colony as may be determined for the purpose of development and with the object of promoting land settlement in such areas as may be set apart by them for this purpose.
(7) That the Company shall be afforded all facilities to construct harbours and conduct dredging operations and, further, that it should be granted the first option of undertaking any necessary reconstruction or new construction of Georgetown Harbour and its approaches.
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(8) That a block of ordinary shares to a number to be agreed upon should be issued to the Imperial Government as the purchase price of these rights and assets, one half of these shares to be retained by the Imperial Government and one balf to go to the Colonial Government or in such proportion as may be arranged between the two Governments.
(9) That an adequate cash working capital should be provided, and of the first issue, say £3,000,000, the Imperial Government and the Colonial Government should sub- scribe £1,000,000 between them.
(10) That the Company shall be empowered to increase the share capital, to borrow moneys by Debenture or other obligations and to float subsidiary companies.
(11) That the Imperial and Colonial Governments shall appoint representatives on the
Board of the Company.
11. These proposals, which, I admit, are wide in character, are submitted by me as a basis for discussion of the general principles upon which the Secretary of State may be disposed to negotiate. Should they be regarded favourably I would be prepared to submit more concrete and detailed proposals.
12. In the meantime may I ask that the Secretary of State give directions that any further concessions for bauxite and mineral oil or for other material development be refused or held over until your Committee has had the opportunity to consider the problem of development of British Guiana in all its aspects, and particularly in the light of the proposals made in this letter? It is most important that the Corporation, if formed, should start its operations with some definitely remunerative object immediately in sight, and for which a large labour supply is not so essential, and this would be provided to some extent by the exploitation of the two minerals named.
13. In conclusion, I desire to emphasize the importance of operating on a large scale if commercial success is to be attained. Former attempts at development in the Colony have broken down on account of shortage of labour and of insufficient capital. It requires capital to attract labour, and large capital will not be forthcoming, in the special conditions and circum- stances of British Guiana, unless it has it in its power to introduce a sufficient supply of labour.
I am, etc.,
The Chairman of the
Colonial Development Committee,
Colonial Office,
Downing Street, S.W.
No. 20.
GIDEON MURRAY.
MEMORANDUM FOR THE COMMITTEE BY MR. C. CLEMENTI.
British Guiana needs for its development men and money. The men can only be obtained
in two ways, namely, by natural increments from the existing population and by immigration.
In order to derive a natural increment from the existing population, almost the whole of which
is settled on the coast, heavy expenditure on sanitation is necessary, especially on
(a) completion of the permanent sea defence scheme, to guard against inundation by
the Atlantic;
(b) officient drainage, to prevent flooding from the wet savannahs after heavy rainfall; (c) improved supplies of potable water from artesian wells;
(d) proper methods of sewage disposal.
It is also most desirable to encourage settlement in the interior of the Colony, particularly on the lowland savannahs near Annai and on the highland savannahs between the Potaro and the Ireng Rivers. This would involve heavy expenditure on road-making and on opening up lines of communication into the interior. Again, immigration cannot be organised without considerable expenditure on recruiting transport and care of the immigrants when they arrive in the Colony,
I conclude, therefore, that the population necessary for developing British Guiana, or even for maintaining there such colonisation as has already been achieved, cannot be secured without much preliminary expenditure. The men, in fact, cannot be got unless money is available. The most urgent problem is, therefore, whether money can be made available for the develop- ment of British Guiana. Moreover, a sum of not less than two million pounds sterling, and preferably three million pounds, would be required to inaugurate an era of real development in the Colony. Such a sum cannot be raised in British Guiana by any local effort, but I am told by the Secretary to the Crown Agents for the Colonies that such a loan might be raised for British Guiana in the London market, provided that an annual payment of 7 per cent, in ineffective charges-i.e., interest, sinking fund, flotation expenses, etc., could be guaranteed. Assuming the loan to be £3,000,000, this would mean an annual charge upon the Colony of £210,000 or (at 4s. 2d. to the dollar), a sum of $1,008,000. But the total revenue of British