Alfred H. Stone Collection
Volume: 78

48. W. P. Livingstone, “The Future of the British West Indies,” North American Review (March 1906): 426-32.

Speculative essay concerning the independence of British possessions in the Caribbean. The author is pessimistic as far as the capacity of these colonies for independence is concerned. Mr. Stone has marked a passage that explains that point. “What is the cause of this perpetual dissatisfaction and reaching out towards some external source of stimulus and aid? The answer will be found to lie in the racial characteristics of the population. The great majority of the inhabitants are negroes and persons of mixed blood, who are incapable of independent progress. They can advance only under the pressure of the vigorous influences of northern civilization; without this contact they degenerate and regress.”