From our elevated position we enjoyed an excellent view over the
island. The country on this side appears pretty well cultivated,
being divided into fields and studded with farm-houses. I was
however assured that of the whole land not more than half is yet in
a productive state; if such be the case, considering the present
large export of sugar, this island, at some future period when
thickly peopled, will be of great value. Since England has taken
possession of it, a period of only twenty-five years, the export of
sugar is said to have increased seventy-five fold. One great cause
of its prosperity is the excellent state of the roads. In the
neighbouring Isle of Bourbon, which remains under the French
government, the roads are still in the same miserable state as they
were here only a few years ago. Although the French residents must
have largely profited by the increased prosperity of their island,
yet the English government is far from popular.
MAY 3, 1836.
In the evening Captain Lloyd, the Surveyor-general, so well known
from his examination of the Isthmus of Panama, invited Mr. Stokes
and myself to his country-house, which is situated on the edge of
Wilheim Plains, and about six miles from the Port.
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