THE PROSPERITY of the labouring classes, as well as of all other classes, depends in Jamaica, & in other communities, upon their working for wages, not uncertainly, or capriciously, but steadily & continuously, at the times when their labour is wanted, & for so long as it is wanted;
AND THAT if they would use this industry, & thereby render the plantations productive, they would enable the planters to pay them higher wages for the same hours of work than are received by the best field labourers in this country;
&, as the cost of the necessaries of life is much less in Jamaica than it is here, they would be enabled, by adding prudence to industry, to lay by an ample provision for seasons of drought & dearth;
AND THEY may be assured, that it is from their own industry & prudence, in availing themselves of the means of prospering that are before them, & not from any such schemes as have been suggested to them, that they must look for an improvement in their conditions
Queen Victoria - reply to petitions for reorganisation of Jamaican economy (drafted by Colonial Office)
