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Colonel Jackson has not visited the Colony himself, but has been for the last twenty years the Chairman of the Company and familiar with its correspondence, and has also regularly read the local newspapers, which are forwarded to us.

Mr. Braithwaite has visited the Colony on three occasions, and some other of our Directors have also visited it.

On one occasion Mr. Braithwaite stayed a year in the Colony, viz., the whole of 1903.

Mr. Braithwaite is a timber merchant and had a sawmill in Hull. He is still carrying on

a mahogany business in British Honduras through his brother, Mr. Siduey Braithwaite, who lives at Seven Hills, near Punta Gorda, in the south of the Colony.

The mahogany is now all exported to the States in the round.

Mr. Braithwaite was the first person to export mahogany in the round to England. Prior to that it had always been squared.

We are also interested in the Western Lands Syndicate, which owns land higher up the Stann Creek Valley, and in the Southern Estates Syndicate, which own lands near Punta Gorda. Very little money has been spent on planting in these two latter estates, which have con- fined themselves to mahogany cutting.

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With respect to the future of the Colony, our experience shows us that whilst it possesses an admirable soil and climate and abundant and well-spread rainfall, it lacks both capital and labour.

We think the first requisite would be to get a direct British communication with Jamaica, which is only 300 miles distant, whereas the distance fo New Orleans, where the present mail steamers run, is 850 miles.

At present the Colony gives a subsidy to the American mail steamers. In 1908 it was 12,000 dollars per annum, but we do not know what it is at the present moment.

If a steamer connection were made with Jamaica, it would do much to solve the question

of labour, and it is well known that both Jamaica and Barbados have a large mass of labour which is accustomed to tropical cultivation.

When we imported the Jamaicans, a large number of them remained in the Colony and are settlers there now.

We believe it would relieve the congestion in Jamaica, and particularly in Barbados, if the natives of those islands could be induced to emigrate to British Honduras.

The Barbadians are reported to be very hard working.

When we imported labour we had to charter vessels for the express purpose, which was very costly, but with regular weekly boats the communication would be easy and you could get the men and also return them as wanted.

We consider that every effort should be made to supply labour of this class in the Colony, as the present supply of labour is insufficient and is also more adapted to wood cutting than anything else.

In our view the Colony has also suffered from the fact that almost all if not every member of the Legislative Council are merchants in Belize, or interested in the northern part of the Colony, in which the chief industry is cutting logwood and mahogany.

Except in the case of the Stann Creek Railway the Belize people have concentrated their efforts too much on the capital (Belize). For instance, in the "Times" of Saturday last we saw an announcement that the Government of British Honduras was to raise a loan for the purpose of filling up swampy lots in Belize, erecting public buildings there, and making roads, none of which will benefit the Colony as a whole.

We suggest that a start should be made in increasing the productivity of the Colony, when questions of decoration can settle themselves.

There is scarcely a metalled road in the Colony. The sole communication is by rivers, which can only be used for small craft as the bars at the mouths are silted up, and, except for the Stann Creek Railway, no effort at all has been made to help on agriculture in the Colony. Our Company were the first pioneers in agriculture on a large scale and unfortunately we had to buy our experience.

We think that the British or Colonial Government should establish a Central Sugar Factory and a Central Tobacco Factory.

We have ourselves grown tobacco, which was well reported on, but it requires a great deal

of experienced labour for curing it, and also extensive sheds under which to dry it.

It is well known that a Central Sugar Factory is an expensive thing, but our view is that small growers would bring their sugar-cane and deliver it at a fixed price. Both large and small settlers should be encouraged.

With regard to timber, Mr. Braithwaite will state as follows:-

He considers that there should be a serious effort made at reafforestation of mahogany. At present the mahogany is being cut out and as it is a slow-growing tree a systematic replanting should be undertaken. As regards the pitch-pine, Mr. Braithwaite's opinion is that the American Company secured the concession to cut pine partly with a view of preventing com petition from other sources and partly with a view of keeping a reserve for themselves in case their own American supplies became exhausted.

Hull, 22nd November, 1920.

Miscellaneous

No. 349.

Printed for the use of the Colonial Office.

246

PD

IMPERIAL INSTITUTE.

Account of Receipts and Expenditure from

1st April, 1918, to 31st March, 1919.

(For the Account for 1917-18 see Miscellaneous No. 342.)

270-10) WL. 32180-350 26 2/2 1.6 0.35

IMPERIAL INSTITUTE,

April, 1920.

Reference.****

Co

885/26

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPENIGMI PHOTOGRAPH-NUT TUĮ