POSTSCRIPT.
The Jamaica Legislature was opened at the unusually early period of the 19th October, in order to provide for a great falling off in the produce of the import- duties; probably not so great, however, as to reduce the income below the point of expenditure. In his opening speech, the Governor admitted the depressed con- dition of the colony. He warned the Legislature that the English Parliament would not retract its steps in the direction of free trade, so as to restore protec- tion for the produce of British Colonies;, but he declared his own opinion that they had a strong claim to relief by a farther reduction of duty on their own su- gars and ram, if the finances of England would bear it. He did not entertain much expectation of advantage to the colony from the immigration of labour; but he felt sure that the slave-trade would not last long in the face of treaties against it ; and after it should have ceased, the Africans would learn to estimate the advantages of migration to the West Indies. In their reply to this speech, the House of Assembly made a last and earnest appeal to the Government and Parliament of Great Britain "to adopt such measures for the relief of the colony, by the remission of the duties on colonial produce or otherwise, as may, by sustaining the value of private property, enable the island to support its public institutions and maintain faith with the public creditor." The Assembly declared itself "ready to provide for the contingencies of the island to the 30th December 1848, in the fervent hope that ere the termination of that period the case of the island will have been considered and ample relief granted by the Imperial Parliament"; but intimated that, in the present state of the island, it could not ' with pro.priety proceed to the considera- tion of any measure involving the further expenditure of the public money." A terrible hurricane swept the island of Tobago on the night of the 11th October, and raged for three hours. Nearly 500 house's were razed; the crops were in great part if not wholly destroyed, as well as vast quantities of corn, plantains, and other growing. provisions; but only nineteen lives were known to have been lost. The hurricane was also felt ip Barbadoes, Grenada, Trinidad, and at sea between Bermuda and St. Thomas.
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