Demerara, 25th April 1855

W. A. Sandbach Esq.

Dear Sir,

I beg to acknowledge the receipt of your favor of the 18th March which however did not reach me until the 1st Inst. Several days after the European mails were made up here, there is yet no appearance of the packet due on the 23rd Inst and there will now be no opportunity of replying to letters by her.

I have not failed to bring under the notice of the managers the note of the shipping and landing weights of the sugar by the Mischief, and I hope in such a way as will have some effect and prevent the degree of carelessness with which the produce was sent from the estate.

I hope you will continue to send out the landing weights of each shipment, that I may have an opportunity on every occasion of seeing the difference in the weights at home compared with the shipping weights here.

I shall be prepared to have the logies at the Leonora put in, as soon as they arrive. They have 40 or 50 hhds sugar to make before them which will be made next month; they are now repairing the upper part of the chimney which was in a bad state—pieces of it were constantly falling down over the liquor bench. I think it will be completed next week.

I beg to hand you a note from Mr. Martin respecting the working of the draining machine, which I have no doubt you will consider satisfactory, and I have no doubt that it will prove of great advantage to the estate, altho it will be some time before its good effects on the cultivation will be seen. It has been a most expensive undertaking and now that it is finished I will get Mr. Jones to make out a statement from the books of the whole expense attending its erection.

At Anna Catharina, Coffy still, I hope, will be nearly finished next week, but it will be necessary then to increase the contents of the liquor loft which at present is not sufficient to enable them to distil the molasses when the strength of their crop comes in, and this is the more necessary as I think if everything goes on well that the crops on the estate should increase considerably.

I propose therefore to enlarge the vats in the loft to about 2000 gallons each; by doing this I think there will at present be no necessity for an extension of the buildings.

At Groenvoldt they will begin to make sugar about the beginning of next month. I dare say you are aware that the still on this estate is in bad order, so much so that it could not longer be worked without considerable repairs, which are now in course of being done, but still it will not last long, and a new still will be required in a year or two, besides it is too small if the crops should increase which it ought to do.

I have got two lots of Coolies of about 30 each for the Groenvoldt and Anna Catharina, and I am in hopes of getting a lot out of the next vessel for the Leonora, as their hospital will be finished before the arrival of the next ship.

I enclose you a printed letter addressed to me by the Governor regarding immigrants. I have not however applied for any for your estates under the new arrangement, as the estates will get some this season. I would recommend your not to apply for any for the next season until we see how the new plan will work, but if you think otherwise it is competent for you to apply to the Immigration Commissioners through the Colonial Office.

I have received Mr. Tennant’s letter by the “Waloboka”. In respect to what he says about the crops, they would be required even if you made up your mind to put up vacuum pans. The weather is rather too heavy for the wet lands, but as yet it has not had any bad effect on the young canes, but the yielding of the ripe canes is injuriously affected by it.

I am,

Dear Sir,

Yours respectfully,

James Stuart