CO882-10 — Page 403

388

The figures of exports of soap and guano are as follows:-

Average value per year.

Triennial Period.

-

1.900 1902

Soap

Rs. 37,7

3 6 10

5

72.

746 Guano Rs. 766

8

12

122, 538 42, 540

50,469 51,809 31 3,226

583, 698

The exports of soap have since ceased, and in 1920 the Balony imported over Rs.12,000 of common washing-soap.

The guano industry received a check during the Great War, but is now reviving, and during 1920 the exporte amounted to Rs.311,780. The industry of distilling essences is one which appeals to the French temperament, and essences of cinnamon, cloves, citronella and basil have become important items in the list of exports, as may be seen from the following table:-

Value of essences exported.

Year.

1907

1908

1913

1915

1916

1919

1920

Rs. 2,384.

10,295.

16,482.

42,115.

94,200.

193, 346.

422,253.

rumours of former outbreaks of disease, and the continual demand of the people is that the Government shall endeavour to import or discover some new product. I do not think there has been a single method of planting, cultivating, manuring or treatment evolved in the Colony, resulting from attempts to overcome local peculiarities of soil, climate ào.

1

21. Owing to the system of land-omership in existence, by which the major part of the land is owned by non-labouring inhabitants, much more attention is directed to finding products for export than towards cultivating crops for home needs. The following tables of imports of tropical crops and products into the Colony in 1920 is instructive in this connection: -

Rs. 346,128

R100

Sugar

154,295

Maise

58,567

Coffee

32,090

Dholl à Lentils

044

973

Spices

442

Bourbon Tobaco o

3.170

Onions

820

Pistache

747

Turmeric

732

20

160

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

Reference :--

CO. 882/10

ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC. COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

19 The outstanding characteristic of the agricultural industries of the Colony appears to me to be the fact that

for the past thirty years there has been no orop cultivated systematically: first, vanilla produced large returns with practically no cultivation: next, coconuts produced a liveli- hood for the inhabitants without there being a single method of cultivation or manuring evolved: and lastly, essences of cinnamon and cloves, distilled from wild plants, are supple- menting the deficit caused by the decay of the vanilla industry. I do not think that this point can be too strongly emphasized, if a sympathetic and helpful policy on the part of the Gov- ernment be decided on: it means that every individual of the

present younger generation received no inheritance of

accumulated agricultural lore from the older men.

{

20. The whole outlook of the inhabitants on agricultural matters seems to be distorted. Upon the failure of any in- dustry, their first efforts are directed, not towards measures for restoring it, but towards the discovery of a new source of revenue. Thus no efforts have been made to control vanilla root-disease, or scale-insects on fruit and coconut-trees, or Melitomma on coconuts, no trials have been made of the effects of manures on coconuts, livestock are neglected because of

7.

Rattan Tapioca

Rs. 614, 878

The total cost of upkeep of Government is less than this sum. In the light of these figures, and in view of the fact that steamship communication has always been difficult, it seems extraordinary that attention has been turned away from the question of home-consumed products and directed towards possible new erops for export. There are no small,labouring owners in Seychelles, and in consequence the Colony spends ons- third of the total value of her exports in payment for imported. tropical foodstuffs which in other small colonies are grown by the negro peasantry.

Years.

22. The total trade and the expenditure upon Government are given in the following table:-

Annual average for triennial perioda.

morts. Governmen 938, 575 Rs. 268,109

porta.

1897 1899 Rs. 1,545,148 Rs. 1900

1902

777

1,182,648 785.915 209

100, 281 1,187

,275, 552

The standard of living, as judged by the imports, has apparently