Much has been said, recently, about British emancipation, and the
returning commercial prosperity of her tropical islands. The American
Missionary Association[66] gives currency to the assertion, that "they
yield more produce than they ever did during the existence of slavery."
It is said, also, in the _Edinburgh Review_, that existing facts "show
that slavery was bearing our colonies down to ruin with awful speed;
that had it lasted but another half century, they must have sunk beyond
recovery. On the other hand, that now, under freedom and free trade,
they are growing day by day more rich and prosperous; with spreading
trade, with improving agriculture, with a more educated, industrious and
virtuous people; while the comfort of the quondam slaves is increased
beyond the power of words to portray."[67]

Now all this seems very encouraging; but how such language can be used,
without its being considered as flatly contradicting well known facts,
and what the American Missionary Association, Mr. Bigelow, and others,
have heretofore said, will seem very mysterious to the reader. And yet,
the assertions quoted would seem to be proved, by taking the aggregate
production of the whole British West India islands and Mauritius, as the
index to their commercial prosperity. But if the islands be taken
separately, and all the facts considered, a widely different conclusion
would be formed, by every candid man, than that the improvement is due
to the increased industry of the negroes. On this subject the facts can
be drawn from authorities which would scorn to conceal the truth with
the design of sustaining a theory of the philanthropist. This question
is placed in its true light by the _London Economist_, July 16, 1859, in
which it is shown that the apparent industrial advancement of the
islands is due to the importation of immigrants from India, China, and
Africa, by the "coolie traffic," and not to the improved industry of the
emancipated negroes. Says the _Economist_:

"We find one of the Emigration Commissioners, Mr. Murdock,[68] in an
interesting memorandum on this subject, giving us the following
comparison between the islands which have been recently supplied with
immigrants, and those which have not:

_Sugar, pounds. The _Sugar, pounds.
_Number of three years before the last three
Immigrants._ Immigration._ years._

Mauritius 209,4