FOUNDED PROCEEDINGS '! R I X I J> .Y 1> \ ' | Part i Page. Inaugural Address ... ■ 335 Address on Technical Education 339 Description, Condition and Pros p e c i s of Tobago 311 OF THE ictoria xnstitute J887, -laimnvv 1S)00. CONTENTS : Page. Thr* I development i»f the Colony by Roads and j Railways ... ... 34G •'-- w cCa K'l “ Mirror" Office, 3 , Abercromby Streei, 1'ort-of-^pain PAPERS Read before tlie Victoria Institute, Trinidad , 1899 i INAUGURAL ADDRESS. Delivered by His Excellency, Sir Hubert Jerking ham, K.C.M.G., on the 26th of October, 1899. TAKE great interest in the working of this Institute for two reasons. 1 like to see men occupy- ing positions of trust and responsibility in the Colony devoting themselves to the instruction of those who have not the opportunity which they iSpyfl themselves in their earlier education have possessed, JSv' y and I also rejoice because the Institute brings together in r a bond of union the men of this Colony who are in humbler spheres and enables them to appreciate what those in higher spheres feel for them, namely, united brotherhood. Although 1 take it as a great compliment to have been put down to give you an inaugural address it becomes a little matter of difficulty to know what I am to say to you ; I refer to my “Embarras de richesse ” due to the pace at which t his Colony has been going on of late. At the same time the pressure of work that has been put upon me since my return has made me unable to prepare such a paper as you might have expected ; hut I know you will he indulgent to your Governor. When 1 looked round for a subject, it seemed to me that having touched three Conti- nents in order to reach my Colony I ought to give you a little account of my travels : but then I recollected that you are not a Geographical Society. You are a Scientific Society, and it was suggested to me that as I had gone through the centre of a cyclone it might he interesting to you for iue to lecture on 336 proceedings of the victoria institute. cvclnnas. The first time I came across one of those horrid visitations called cyclones, I was on my way to the first Colony 1 ever served, viz., British Honduras. When we had got out of the Mississippi Kiver oa the way to Belize, the sea being very tough, T said to the Captain that prudence being the best part of valour I would retire. The Captain came to see me every hour and each time gave me the not very comforting information that the glass was going down. I asked him what that por- tended and he said “That means that we are in the neighbour- hood of a cyclone.” I asked “ What will occur then?” He said “ 1 never heard of a ship coming out of a cyclone.” I have come out of a cyclone this time, and therefore I might give you an interesting account of that event; but I am not a scientist, and here we are in a Scientific Society, and so 1 had to give up that subject. Then I thought that having gone to Venezuela, and having been received remarkably well in that country, notwithstanding the perturbations which were going on, and dining with the President when we thought the rebels were at any moment going to shoot those who were dining. I would tell you about the revolution, but that too is a .subject we have nothing to do with. Then I thought 1 would give 3 ’ou some idea of the difference between government and administration ; because government in my opinion is all fore- sight, while administration lias to do with the present. But foresight into this Colony’s possibilities opens out a subject so great that I might lose myself if I entered upon it ; and [ gave up the idea. I then thought of progress, but it would require several evenings to explain to you that the views of a pessimist are not always in accord with facts and figures. For 1 am sure that this Colony is doing well ; and I wish that I had many years before me to guide you to the triumph which I am perfectly certain will be yours in a very few years. Well then, there remained nothing but the great question of the day. Could I speak to you of that which is in our hearts, the constant thought of our brothers who are fighting for our t^ueeii and country against the Boers? Could \ give you an idea of the reasons why that war has become necessary ? I should have liked to explain to you the origin of this contest, which was necessary from the first T should have liked to explain to you why in Imgl and there are men of standing and respectability, and men who are looked upon as great politicians, who do not quite agn e with Her Majesty’s governin' tit in the line that they have taken, hut whom the Boers have silenced by bring the first gun. T remember that when the Franco-German war took place in 1870, Wurtemburg did not want to join in the march against Prance. There was in those days a particular hatred of Prussia among the German States ; and Wurtemburg would PROCEEDINGS OP TlIB VICTORIA INSTITUTE. 337 not move. Prince Bismarck invented a telegram : “The enemy have invaded German territory ; no hesitation any longer posd- ble/’ Wurtemburg accepted that telegram as true, and marched with the rest of Germany against France. The telegram was not true, but the result was the united Germany of the present day. Well, we have not forced he war, nr, at, ail events what- ever may have occurred before, Me i oers have, invaded Natal, action has commenced, and every Ih-irisher must watch events in silence and pray for the success of the mother country W hat remains ? All I can do is to impress upon y<>u what the meaning of the Institute is, and how truly. i i the sense of the unity which is so essential tc> Trinidad’s advancement, you should, one and all, in whatever class and position you may be, join with us in the effort which is being made for the education of the people. Wlmt are the objects of the Society? They have been very clearly put forward in the proceedings of the Victoria Institute for the year 1894. They are the collection and diffusion of information on agricultural, commercial and scientific subjects. Now, has tin's Society done what it intended ? That is the question So far as agriculture is concerned, we have had lectures on TriniJ i 1 as an agricultural Colony, by Mr. de Verteuil ; on the care of horses, by Mr Pngson ; on the resources of Trinidad, by Mr. Bert ; on the cultivation of cocoa, by Mr. Hart. Lectures have been given upon everything that this colony can produce, and every hint lias been given to the colony that can possibly be called valuable, lurning to the commercial interest, we have had a lecture on Trinid.nl as a Commercial centre, by the Collector of Custom*, and although the Collector of Customs is one of my officers, I am glad of this opport unity to say, that he is one of the most conscientious and- active workers that this Colony possesses. You have also had a remarkable lecture upon harbour works. It is true that it referred only to Poi t-of- fclpain, but as long as Port -of-'* pain is the capital, it is the centre towards which everything must converge. You have had other lectures of similar character, setting f..|th views which, if not here to listen to them, you may read in the Proceedings of the ►Society. The Society has not only been true to itself, but it has been loyal and true to its antecedents. It undertook to do the work of the Scientific Ass. elation — an Association whieji should not he forgotten. Ten or eleven scientific men, in 18**6 or before that date, under the guidance of a man who. I am happy to say, is on the Committee of this Institute even now — Mr. Guppy — devoted themselves to scientific work and were so modest that they would not allow the whole of their proceedings to be published in book form. That was a mistake which I trust will not be followed by this Institute. The only point 338 PROCEEDINGS OF THE VICTORIA iNSTITUtfE. which I think faulty in the Victoria Institute, is that there is no system of publishing in a proper shape proceedings containing vast information, useful to every class of society. I should like that every year the Trinidad Victoria Institute Proceedings should be published, and be taken by everyone here. It should be upheld here; but it should go further, because when we have the honour of possessing among ourselves men of talent and recognised ability, we ought to go beyond the limits of this colony and diffuse knowledge among the West Indian Islands. I was astounded when I read the able papers which were pub- lished by the Scientific Association ; and Lam equally surprised that in so short a time as the existence of this Institute we should have been able to produce such able papers. Some of them are certainly open to criticism, but criticism is the privi- lege of everyone, I say to the public of Trinidad that I consider that the Committee of this Institute had a duty to perform and that they have performed that duty admirably and truly, and have not in any way whatever endeavoured to supplant the efforts of the Society that preceded it. There is another point. I am always strong on the point of unity. Where people are in small numbers gathering together, means strength. That has been well understood in this Society. Mr. Gu pp yj who was one of the pioneers of this Society, always wanted to unite with the Victoria Institute a Public Library and also to join to it the whole of the Agricultural Society. If the Agricultural Society could meet here it would give to this Institute another mark of greatness, which it is sure to possess in the future. Everything should be centred in the scientific centre, which is this Institute. Not only is it your Museum, but it is also the centre from which secondary instruction is driven at a nominal price. What has the Society not done 1 lb even tried amusing entertainments. There was a French even- in" devoted to Moliere, and an English evening to Shakespeare. Although those evenings were attended with great success, there is no doubt that to prepare for those evenings required too much effort; and in a climate liko ours people are not always ready to come in numbers. Though the Society was successful so far, I think they have undertaken a far better task in the course they have now instituted, viz., classes to form what this Colony wants more than anything else — skilled artisans. I lay stress on the word, and I now appeal specially to my friends who are simple artisans themselves, to remember that even in England the want of skilled artisans is felt. All over the Continent the cry is for men who are so skilled in the work which they are to do that they can claim and get double wages. That is what skill means. It is not to the discredit of this Colony to say that owing to the absence of opportunity such as is offered to you proceedings of the Victoria institute. 339 by this Institute now, the number of skilled workmen is poor and insufficient ] and as long as it is insufficient, we must go to England and get men. As Governor of this Colony I should like to see among the applicants for every post a native of this place whom I could select. When I want somebody to drive the engine on board a steamer, I do not want to find someone who has done nothing but drive a cart. We want men with certificates of the necessary knowledge. Follow these classes, and you will thank the Victoria Institute some day for having given you the means of a comfortable and honest living, and not only that, but for raising your country in the opinion of the labouring world. I am so interested in this Institute, and so desirous of seeing it successful, and so grateful to the ladies and gentlemen who have helped it all the time I have been Governor here, that I appeal to the Colony generally to take an interest in its work. On reading a very remarkable address delivered by Mr. Guppy in this very hall, I came across this passage i “ Whatever neglect or ill-treatment the Victoria Institute may meet with now or later will be the worse for all concerned. It must in any case be the public Museum and Scientific Institu- tion of the Colony. Neglect or ill-treatment will certainly lead to the impairment of its usefulness ; so that when the necessity for the existence of such an Institution becomes properly recog- nised, people will say : ‘ Why was such neglect and ill-treatment suffered to be ? * ” When I read those words I found my excuse for giving you my inaugural address on this subject. ADDRESS ON TECHNICAL EDUCATION. Delivered by Sir John Goldney to the Students of the Technical Classes on the 7th of October, 1899. T HE Victoria Institute was built in commemoration of the fiftieth year of Her Majesty's reign. Nothing could be more appropriate to the purpose than the initiation of technical classes to enable those bearing the honourable name of artisans not only to do their practical work, but to know the scientific reasons why they did their work. No person in this world, however clever or good a workman he might be, could possibly fail to learn something if he attended lectures of this sort. At the time when her Majesty came to the Throne, the British artizan of that day was above the workmen of the world. The English artizan was not a more able man than his Continental neigh- bours, but he had the advantage of living in a country which 340 PROCEEDINGS OF THE VICTORIA INSTITUTE. had been free for more than a century from civil wars and from the presence of armies marching backwards and forwards. In other countries as soon as workmen were beginning to learn what could be done with coal and iron their industry was upset by wars. There is an example of it even now in some of the South American Republics. The want of peace is opposed to trade. Although England had been fighting abroad, when steam became the great power of the world she was the first to cultivate and understand it. I can remember going down the Rhine in a German steamer on which the engineers were all English and all the words of command were given in English, because there were no German engineers to speak of. The result was that the German and other Continental Governments asked themselves why they should employ all those British Workmen to do the work which they ought to do themselves ; and many years ago they started technical schools, of which these lectures are a very humble imitation. The result is that in mechanical art, I do not think there is any difference between the best Continental work and the best British work. The whole of the British Empire now feels that to keep their position in the mechanical and artizan world, it is necessary not only to know the practical work, but to know the reason why certain things should be done. In all these schools the object is to teach people, first of all. that the most honourable thing a man can do is to earn his living hy his hands, and that in order to make himself master of his work he must learn the reason why he does things. When these technical lectures were started, the Institute had to call upon those in the Colony who had scientific knowledge to come to its assistance, and there is not a single gentleman with technical knowledge who has not come forward to assist us. Mr. Hahn, Mr. Gillies and Mr. John voluntarily gave up their time in the evenings to assist their fellow colonists by trying to impart to them the knowledge which they had themselves, and it. must be as gratifying to them as it is to the Board of Management that you have tried to take advantage of those lectures. Nothing could be more gratifving than the actual results. In the first class there was an introductory address on the 25th of February, the number of pupils was 61, and the a\ei.ige attendance was 30, which was very ff ood indeed The second course was started on June 3rd and ended on the 9th September. I he subject was masonry, and of 2S pupils the average attendance was 15 That was not quite so good, but the result of the examination was very satisfactory The winner of the first prize got 207 marks out of a possible <>61 The Building and Construction class was even better, as “the total possible marks was 161 and he got 14$. In drawing the work done has been most praiseworthy; and the energy and PROCEEDINGS OF THE VICTORIA INSTITUTE. 341 perseverance of the students show that they entered the class with that true spirit which ought to make them succeed. I am exceedingly pleased with the result of the examination and I hope that the next class — carpentry — to commence on the 4th of November, will he well attended. Carpentry is essentially a part of building construction. A man may be a very good mason or brick layer, but if he wants to be a master, he must have a knowledge of Carpentry, so that if he makes a contract for building a house he may know whether his sub-contractors are doing his carpentry work well. Take advantage in every possible way of learning the details of the art of every branch of artizanship which is used in constructing a building. You have gone through brick -laying and building construction, and now you have to go into carpentry. Do not give up, as you have done so well hitherto. Nothing would give our dear Queen greater pleasure than to know that you are doing your best to commemorate her glorious reign, by endeavouring to make your- selves equal to the best workmen in the whole of her dominions. A workman is the proudest thing a man can be. A man who can use his hands is far better than one who can only use his head. The superiority of its artizans has made the British Empire what it is. DESCRIPTION, CONDITION AND PROSPECTS OF TOBAGO. By His Lordship the Bishop of Trinidad. milE Bishop said that he attributed the Governor’s presence 1 to the fact that His Excellency was so charmed with his recent visit to Tobago that he wanted to hear a little more about that island. There were others in the room who knew Tobago as well, and in some respects a great deal better than he did, but he would tell them what a practical outsider had had frequent opportunities of observing of the island, the people and the work that was being done or being attempted to be done in the island. He then proceeded to describe the scenery and the circumstances incidental to a journey round the island on a Tobago pony. Tim island contained about 73,000 acres, the bulk of which had been alienated ; there was only about 2,700 acres of Crown land left, and he hoped the Government would take good care that it was reserved, because if the wood was cut down the island would become very much like Carriacou, where there was not a troe anc) the rail* did not fall, the consequence 342 PROCEEDINGS OF THE VICTORIA INSTITUTE. being that its future was hopeless. The mountainous part or backbone of the island was for the greater part Crown land densely covered with primeval forest and had been strictly reserved in years past in order that the island might have a sufficient supply of rain, He also advised that the native woods should be preserved for building purposes and that the people should not have to buy American lumber, which was very expensive and of little use for outside work. Scarborough was an exceedingly prettjr town from the deck of a 'ship, but not so when you landed, and although there were traces of former magnificence and wealth, and about sixty years ago, Tobago was said to be the wealthiest island in the West Indies after St. Kitts, at the present day the stranger going through Scarborough pitied the dilapidated and miserable condition of the little town. The Baccolet lighthouse took its name from what was once an exceedingly wealthy and prosperous estate ; this estate was now the property of Mr. McFie, who was a short time ago Attorney of the Burnley estates in Trinidad ; it was almost out of cultiva- tion now, and the only hope was that the new owner would before long see his way to making things hum there once more. At Roxborough, Mr. Archibald had purchased considerable property and was laying out a very large sum of money. This would no doubt in time encourage others to go and invest their money there to the best advantage they could, and it was from men like that and what they did, that were to be gathered all their hopes of the future prospects of poor little Tobago. At Queen’s Bay there was an estate called Betse} 7 ’s Hope. He believed the name had now been changed to JLouis d’Or ; this estate had been bought by an English syndicate. The King’s Bay estate, he was glad to say, had passed into the hands of gentlemen in Trinidad, and he most heartily congratulated the gentlemen who had acquired that estate, because if they would only do for that estate what it deserved, it would do for them what they in turn deserved. There was a very considerable area of flat land in front and behind, the steep hills and the ravines were crammed with leafy mould that had been dropping there for ages, offering the most fertile soil. All that was wanted was that money should be poured in from both pockets for some little time, as the earth like everything else, would not give you anything unless you gave the earth something for it. After describing the beautiful scenery along the journey, His Lordship said that on the leeward coast owing to its having for years been given up to sugar, there was hardly a tree to be seen upon it, and at the present time it presented a rather melancholy and sterile appearance. He was sorry to say that the people of Plymouth, the second town, of the island, were in a state of poverty and great misery. At Mount Irvine Bay proceedings op the victoria institute. 343 there was, he believed, the only vacuum pan sugar estate in the island — the property of J\lr. Kernahan, who had made manly endeavours which all his friends trusted would be crowned with success. Coming to Buccoo and Shir van, he said Buccoo estate was no longer cultivated, and as showing the pitiful condition to which things had come in some parts of the West Indies, fifty or sixty years ago this estate belonged to an English nobleman, who, being in want of money, sold it for £80,000, and such was the condition of the sugar trade and the fer- tility of Tobago and the excellence of the work done there, that in two years the purchaser had cleared off the whole sum out of the produce of the estate and put a handsome profit into his pocket. He supposed that would never be done again, but these things served to encourage people who were making efforts. There was the cave that Robinson Crusoe lived in. Some people had their doubts, but there could be no possible doubt about it because they found the skull of his goat, and that skull was exhibited at an exhibition here some years ago, so Tobago must have been Robinson Crusoe s island, and if you rode along the beach you could always see the man Fridays foot marks. He had mentioned the names of twelve bays which were really good ports. The fact of those twelve harbours being there, meant that if they asked for anything at all for Tobago, they must have a steamer. Grenada could not manage with one and got three of them, and besides that, Grenada was in a direct line of traffic with Trinidad, and was also a place of call of a number of ocean going boats every month, a thing that was nob likely to be the case with Tobago ; so that far better provision would have to be made for Tobago than had been found suffi- cient for Grenada. He gathered that idea because lie knew Tobago— he knew the country thoroughly well, and he knew the water — he had steered boats all round the coast, be had been half drowned in most uf the rivers and knew the place thoroughly well, and he knew that in time to come, if they were to get all the produce they could and encourage the planters and working people to add to the wealth of the island, they would have to provide them with a steamer of about 300 tons and of moderately shallow draught, put a few buoys down where there were rocks and shoals — and these were thoroughly well known to the fishermen round the coast — and this steamer would have to run with a tolerable amount of punctuality and be connected with the ocean steamers in Trinidad, and this ought not to be done less than once a week. The roads in Tobago were not carriage roads, but they were good enough for the French who, in days gone by, constructed them fur the carriage of cannon, so as to cover every little bay that lie had mentioned. The northern part of the island consisted of a kind M 344 PROCEEDINGS OP THE VICTORIA INSTITUTE. of decayed porphyry rock which made the best possible roads, and roads which once made could be kept up at as little cost as possible. All the southern part of the island had been cultivated in sugar except a small part of it which had been planted in cotton. He did not know why the} 7 gave up cotton, because Tobago used to grow the best cotton that went to Liver- pool, and he believed the indigo grown there was of the best quality. The question was what their attention might be turned to. They knew what had been of enormous assistance to i l’inidad and had regenerated Grenada, and they also knew what in the hands of one or two men of pluck and determination was being done in one or two small spots in Tobago. Cocoa and nutmeg cultivation had not been of long standing. He would advise no very large sale of Crown lands for the reason lie had given, and he hoped the Crown would be very jealous of whatever forest lands remained in Tobago. There were enormous tracts of land for sale, if any one wanted to buy them. I ^ <>re was 1)0 necessity for the Government to distress itself, because people wanted land in Tobago and could not get it. I Li traced on the map the part of the island that was capable of growing cocoa, nutmegs and other products, such as india rubber, which was the only tiling in agriculture that did not seem to be depressed. In going through a large cocoa property in Gienada the other day, he saw nutmeg trees growing under the cocoa trees, and when he suggested that the trees were crowding each other out, he was told that when the nutmeg trees were bearing, the owner would cut all the cocoa trees down and burn them for firewood. The population of Tobago was estimated at about 20,500 people. The great bulk of the popu- lation of course were agricultural labourers. There was very ltt e else for them to do, as there was no manufacturing in lobago. (uses had been told him which he only gave to the au lence as le received them — that on one estate pay day came at intervals of five months. 8ome people said the people of Tobago were good tor nothing, but any people would be good for nothing it t hey were paid like that. He said it was a distinct libel on the 1 obago labourer, because it was not his fault if lie was n o oi ,IZ )- e would not charge the planter, because the fault must re at the door of Die decadence of the great sugar industry whatever might have been the cause of that decadence. In .000 cwt. of he exported of half a million. Ia ' 1828'^ e^o^d 7 W f ° in , 8tead 0 , • i qqa i j- sne expoi tea 8, r 00 cwt. of molasses and in 1890 she exported 3.864, or less than one half. That was the reason why the people in Tobago did not work hard- 16 WaS beCaUSe their trade was gone, and very few pay tables whatever might have been the cause of that deca. lb-^ b0 ' ei,l y year® ago — Tobago exported 1.47,00 nH l -oQ ln ? he ex P° rt ed 2,174 cwt. In 1828 sh oU4 ,.b gallons of rum, and in 1890 she exported 8,7 PROCEEDINGS OF THE VICTORIA INSTITUTE. 345 were able to give a man a living wage, he did not mean four or five cents, but something which would give him a margin for comfort and a bit of a holiday and a little bit of luxury in his home — that was what he called a living wage. Some gentleman had told him they could get very fair labour, and another said he had no fault to find with the labour there The present rate of pay was from 6d to 9d. a day, that being the ordinary wages for able-bodied men. That, he thought, was sufficient to tell them the condition of affairs in that, at present, unfortunate little island. Skilled artizans gob from lSd. to 3s. a day. He did not think a blacksmith or a carpenter in Trinidad would work for that. Tobago has products essentially its own, as distinguished from Trinidad. There had been in times past a most excellent breed of very safe ponies in Tobago. He had a little pony not more than 13 hands high that carried him the whole livelong day. There were plenty of them. He had been told that of late years the stamina of the ponies had not been quite as good as it used to be — that, would be a question for Mr Meaden to discuss with the Governor so as to restore to Tobago that excel- lent class of pony which was a source of wealth to the island. In many parts the land was essentially fitted for the keeping of sheep. At Studley Park, about six miles from Scarborough, there were hundreds of acres of land where guinea grass grew wild like a weed without being cultivated as it was in Trinidad. He was sure large flocks of sheep could be kept, hut a first class shepherd must be brought out at a good salary and they must also import sires for the flock of the very best kind. The Warden of Tobago told him the other day that there was decided reason to hope that the revenue of Tobago would go up. Tn the matter of education, with a population of 2(1,000, the Government had only been able to spend =£500 or £600 a year, hi the matter of roads, when Mr. Low was Commissioner, they borrowed a loan from Trinidad which he believed had been 'yiped out since the island became a Ward of Trinidad, and very little had been spent in public works. Public works would have to be done* in the way of roads and probably one or two jetties in some of those harbours ; public wor ks included a steamer such as he had suggested. This would be general encouragement to the old planters who were still Struggling- ?U1( 1 to the new planters who were prepared to lay down their capital j, * ie y received proper encouragement and assistance from the government. Tobago had often been spoken of by the people rinidad with rather a curling lip and a smile of phy a,1 | com, but he was convinced that in the next twenty years n spL ? Vernment kept its shoulder to the wheel in the way it woulrM UlC ^ ne ^ t° do, the people of Trinidad, he was feure, u ^ exceedingly proud of their daughter next door, At 346 PROCEEDINGS OF THE VICTORIA INSTITUTE. Sandy Point, where there was a good deal of land suitable for sugar, there were vast tracts of land that might become provision and vegetable gardens for Trinidad and probably oilier islands in the West Indies. THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE COLONY BY ROADS AND RAILWAYS. By Mr. E. R. Smart. I beg to direct your attention to this Map of Trinidad. You will see that there are three main ranges of hills : — First, the Northern Range running east and west. Second!}', the Central Range running from south-west to north-east. Thirdly, the Southern Range running east and west. Ihese three ranges divide the Island into four main portions, namely : (1.) The North Coast. (2.) The North Central District. (3.) The South Central District. (4.) The South Coast. blp / e ; ’f also a waterparting starting from the northern range of hills running south through Tainana to the Central Ridge dividing the N. Central District into two parts. This waterparting forms a distinct range of hills on the north side, and also on the south side, but towards the centre the elevation falls nearly to the level of the surrounding country forming a plateau called the Aripo Savanna. But at the same time this waterparting is slightly higher than the land to the east and west of it so that the rain which falls on the west side runs to the Carom, whilst the rain which falls on the east side runs to the Oropuche. There is also a range of hills forming a waterparting ™nmng south-east from Tabaquite to ioin the southern range dividing the South Central District into two paits. The eastern part is the basin of the Nariva and the Oinemand^B P art *° nm the basi “ s of the Ouaracara, the Cipero and the southern Oropuche. PROCEEDINGS OP THE VICTORIA INSTITUTE. 34? Now, in the year 1887, the situation was as follows : The North Coast was provided with a large number of bays, where sloops could shelter fairly well, planters could ship their produce at these bays without much difficulty. Therefore, the best way to develop the North Coast, speaking generally was, to open up short roads running from the northern range of hills to the various shipping bays. The southern and south-eastern coasts where the}' were fertile could be developed in the same way, also the coast from Cedros to San Fernando. The basin of the Caroni was fairly well supplied with means of communication by a railway, and by a large number of roads, and the south- western basin of the Guaracara and the Cipero was provided with a large number of railways and roads. The district of the southern Oropuche east of Siparia, was certainly cut off from the rest of the world — but that could be opened up very easily by a system of roads converging on San Fernando. But with regard to the two large districts in the east central portion of the Colony, namely, the basin of the Oropuche, and the basin of the Nariva and Ortoire, some special mode of treatment seemed advisable. There are large districts stretching from the centre of the Island up to the east coast, the coastline is short in comparison, and being exposed to the easterly winds, and having no bays, shipping operations are carried on with difficulty. The Manzanilla district, one of the most fertile parts of the Colony, had absolutely no stone suit- able for metalling a road. It was agreed, therefore, that a railway should be made almost entirely with that one object in view, to take road material into the district, and then that roads should be constructed from the railway in all directions. I will now describe the selection of the route for this railway, and the position of its terminus. It was considered advisable to creep down south as much as possible so as to keep on the good land; in fact, if the country had permitted it, we should have gone right down to Tumpuna, taken the left bank of the Caroni and worked eastward some three miles to the southward of the present line. But it was found that the lateral ridges starting from the main central ridge, came right down to the Caroni river, making it impossible to run a railway there excep at very great cost for cuttings and embankments. Many have said, why did you stop at Sangre Grande ? Firstly, it was considered unnecessary to put ca railway where you could pu < road. Now, having arrived at a spot within eight miles 0 ' coast, we were within the limiting distance toi r ? ns ^ ii pf i fetal. A road could be built to the sea coast, and retail , rom tiio terminus. Secondly, the last five mi es w0 . * r0 been very expensive for a railway ending on a coast whei no harbour. Thirdly, because the actual position 348 PROCEEDINGS OF TIIE VICTORIA INSTITUTE. Sangre Grande station is, in my opinion, an excellent site for a terminus from the point of view of the road constructor. Main roads can be worked out from that central position like the rays of a fan in all directions. Now, gentlemen, what more is required ? Roads converging on that railway. The scheme as it stands at present is only half complete — to use a familiar simile, half the bridge is most substantially built, the other half is a yawning chasm. It is quite impossible for me in the course of this lecture to point out the course of all the roads the district requires. I would merely point out that wherever you see rivers running through very rough country, the best course for main roads is on or near the waterparting between them. I do not advocate roads of 30 feet in width. I suggest only that the trace for the road should first be selected with the greatest care, with easy gradients and few bridges, if possible on the ridge top. but where the ridge runs up into a peak, then that a bridle track not more than 10 feet in width should be cut out on the side of the hill. As funds permit, these roads should be metalled from the railway, or coated with burnt clay, but sup- posing there is no money for either one or the other, still a road thus located fairly well drains itself, and mud on a level track is not so dangerous as mud on a gradient of 1 in 4, You may be amused at my suggesting a road only ten feet wide, but on consideration, it is evident that if a road runs through absolutely level country that only requires a drain on each side, and the earth taken from the drain thrown on the road to make the formation level, the cost of such a road is almost the same if you make it 30 feet as if 3 r ou make it 10 feet, but when you come to side cuttings, there is a vast economy in a ten foot road over a broader one. The sections which I show illustrate this statement as in the case of the ten foot road, you save 8-9 ths of the earthwork, and the expense of a ditch on the upper side. I am informed that the new road on the Island of Chacachacare was cut out on the side of the hill to a width of only five feet, and yet proved wide enough to allow all the material used in the construction of the lighthouse to be carted up to the top. I must now leave the Oropuche District and direct your attention to the basins of the Nariva and Ortoire, near the mouth of which is the district of Mayaro. The next question to be considered was, how far should we go. I recommended it should stop at a point about 12 miles from Mayaro where the vega became a swamp, and where the hills which came clown to the swamp were merely hard gravelly ridges, but if financial consideration prevented the line being continued so far, then I suggested it should at least go as far as Tabaquite. Now, why should Tabaquite be the temporary terminus J Because it is an excellent starting point for a large PROCEEDINGS OF THE VICTORIA INSTITUTE. 349 number of roads. If the railway is extended down to the swamp, you have the opportunity afforded you of metalling all the roads within ten miles of the railway from the quarries on the Baccus River. If the railway is not extended, the roads must he constructed without metal, and trust to sandstone and burnt clay, which can be procured at certain places in the district. But supposing these roads are traced out properly, there will be very few bridges to make, they will be practically level, and planters can make their own roads to them, also fairly level. In fact, by working out a system of roads oti a scientific system, and not hap-hazard, you can have a first-class road within one mile from every man’s house, and every ten-acre planter can have a decent and fairly level footpath up to his own door. How, here I would point out how very much easier and cheaper it is to tun roads or railways in the direction of the physical features of the country rather than at right angles to them. Hills are not scattered at random over a country ; they run in ridges, mid the ravines and rivers run between them ; in fact, the hollows have been scooped out by the action of the rain during On o periods of time. To make a slight digression ; thousands 0 ) rear s ago one of the main branches of the Orinoco undoubtedly flowed across the centre of Trinidad depositing m some places sand, in other places mud, and in the salt water (| utdde coral grew. After many ages the land was upheaved, und tlie rains began to tear away the soil — now the sandy and muddy tracts which were slightly upheaved, have remained such to this day like the Aripo Savana. The sandy tracts which Me,e more upheaved and stood therefore at a steeper gradient, " e,, e tQ rn out by the rain, and thus were formed the sandy hills ' l ,i precipitous gorges of the country near the Talparo river, ke muddy tracts which were sufficiently upheaved were also kun out by the rain, and this is the origin of the Naparima Ca y Strict, Where there was coral, the mixture of coral with IIUj d and sand after upheaval, was also torn out by the rains, anc is the origin of those splendid calcareous soils which, .ketch not in an absolutely continuous line, but are broken up fingers and toes from Princes Town to the point near the j*" arn P w bere the main central railway was originally intended ^anting i n >SOrne p ar ti cu hir direction. After a few months t c*,; •■'■■■•>.•■