I. SITUATION, EXTENT, GEOGRAPHICAL FEATURES, CLIMATE, SOIL AND
PRODUCTIONS OF BRITISH GUIANA.
Guiana is a vast tract of territory situated on the north-east coast
of South America, between the mouths of those celebrated rivers, the
Oronoco and the Amazons.
British Guiana includes a portion of this coast, extending some two
hundred miles from east to west, bounded on the east by the river
Corentyn which separates it from Dutch Guiana, or Surinam, and on the
west by the Morocco creek, or the tract of country adjacent to it,
belonging to the republic of Venezuela. British Guiana extends inland
from the coast some two hundred miles, in a southerly direction, to a
chain of high mountains, by which it is bounded on the south, and which
separates it from Brazil. It thus includes an area of upwards of forty
thousand square miles, being about equal in extent to the State of New
York.
The whole country slopes gradually down from the mountains to the sea.
The back country is hilly and much diversified in surface; the land
along the sea-coast is flat, level, and extremely fertile. The colony
is watered by three large rivers, the Essequebo, the Demarara, and the
Berbice. These rivers descend from the mountains, and run parallel
to each other at nearly equal distances. They are navigable for many
miles, and together with numerous smaller rivers and creeks, they not
only afford great facilities for internal navigation, but also for
irrigating the land, a thing of great importance in that climate.
British Guiana never suffers from those violent storms and hurricanes
with which other tropical regions are visited. Along the whole coast,
vessels can ride at anchor in perfect safety, at all seasons of the
year. The whole shore is a bed of deep soft mud, and can be approached
by vessels without danger.
The latitude of the coast, along which the settlements are situated, is
about seven degrees, north. The longitude of Georgetown, the capital,
is about fifty-seven degrees west from Greenwich. Its direction from
the city of New York is considerably east of south. The distance is
about two thousand miles, or twenty days' sail, very nearly the same
distance as New Orleans.
Situated under the tropic, Guiana enjoys a perpetual summer. The
thermometer generally ranges from 78° to 84°. The trade winds, which
blow constantly from the coast, render the climate comfortable and
salubrious. The year is divided into four seasons, two rainy and two
dry. The short rainy season usually commences about December, and lasts
four weeks: the long rainy season begins in June, and lasts till the
middle of August. But as regards these seasons there is a good deal
of variation. In the rainy season, the rain falls violently during the
forenoon, but the afternoons are clear and pleasant. During the dry
season occasional showers occur.
The only portion of this fertile country which has yet been settled and
cultivated, is a narrow strip extending along the coast, and a little
distance up the mouths of the principal rivers, together with some
islands at the entrance of the Essequebo. The plantations are generally
about half a mile wide, fronting on the sea, and extending back two,
three, four or five miles. This series of adjoining plantations forms
the only cultivated part of the country, which thus resembles a long
string of villages half a mile apart.
The soil of the plantations, which is very deep and rich, is divided by
canals into separate fields. The same fields are cultivated in constant
succession, and no manure is ever used. The canals not only serve to
drain and irrigate the land, but also to convey the canes, when cut,
to the sugar-house. Sugar and coffee are principally cultivated. There
are a few cotton plantations, and some devoted to the cultivation of
the plantain, which, with a rich variety of other vegetables, such as
the sweet potato, the banana, yams, the casava, &c., furnish a large
part of the food of the inhabitants. There are also large cattle farms.
Cattle are abundant, and beef is cheap.
The uncultivated tracts abound with a vast variety of useful plants and
trees. Many of the trees furnish excellent timber. There are in the
colony several steam mills employed in the manufacture of lumber.
II. FORM OF GOVERNMENT, ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE, CIVIL DIVISIONS,
POPULATION, SOCIAL EQUALITY.
British Guiana is a colony, conquered some forty years since from the
Dutch, belonging to Great Britain. It is what is called a crown colony,
and all its laws are made, or revised in England.
The governor, whose authority is very extensive, is appointed by the
British queen. He is assisted in his administration by a council
of nine persons, called the Court of Policy, four of whom are high
executive officers appointed by the Crown. The other five are chosen by
the inhabitants. No law made by the Court of Policy can remain in force
unless it be approved in England by the queen in council.
Justice is administered by a Supreme Court consisting of three Judges,
who are always lawyers of high standing, sent out from Great Britain.
In the criminal trials which come before this court, the judges are
assisted by three assessors, who answer to our jurymen, being persons
chosen by lot from among the inhabitants,--who have an equal vote with
the judges. No prisoner can be found guilty, except by at least four
votes out of the six.
The colony is divided into three counties, Demarara, Berbice and
Essequebo. Each of these counties is again divided into parishes, and
the parishes are subdivided into judicial districts, each under the
superintendence of a Stipendiary Magistrate, appointed and paid by
the Crown. These stipendiary magistrates are persons of education and
character, sent out from Great Britain, and who, having no interest
or connections in the colony, and being frequently removed from one
district to another, may be expected to be impartial, and not likely
to be warped in their judgment by personal considerations. These
magistrates are under the sole control of the Governor, by whom they
can be suspended from office. They have exclusive jurisdiction, as will
presently appear, of all controversies, as to contracts and labor,
arising between employers and laborers. The whole population of the
three counties may be estimated at one hundred thousand, of whom six or
eight thousand are white, and all the remainder, colored. The English
language is now spoken by all, and is the only language used in the
colony.
Those distinctions which prevail to so great a degree in the United
States, between the free colored and the white population, and which
render the position of the colored man in the United States so
mortifying and uncomfortable, are wholly unknown in British Guiana.
In this respect all are equal: colonial offices and dignities are
held without distinction by white and colored. Colored men are
indiscriminately drawn to sit as assessors on the bench of the Supreme
Court. The colored classes in British Guiana are wealthy, influential,
and highly respectable. Many of them are magistrates, proprietors,
merchants with large establishments, and managers of estates receiving
liberal salaries. The collector of customs at one of the principal
ports, is a person of color, and many others hold public stations. It
is evident from these facts that color is no obstacle to advancement or
distinction. It is difficult and almost impossible for a citizen of the
United States, educated in the midst of distinctions and prejudices,
to realize the state of things so entirely different which prevails in
British Guiana.