The expenses of administering the new colony…

The expenses of administering the new colony of British Honduras increases at a time when the economy is severely depressed, largely as a result of the costly military expeditions against the Maya.

Great landowners and merchants dominate the Legislative Assembly, which controls the colony's revenues and expenditures.

Some of the landowners are also involved in commerce, but their interest differs from the other merchants of Belize Town.

The former group resists the taxation of land and favors an increase in import duties; the latter prefers the opposite.

Moreover, the merchants in the town feel relatively secure from Mayan attacks and are unwilling to contribute toward the protection of mahogany camps, whereas the landowners feel that they should not be required to pay taxes on lands given inadequate protection.

These conflicting interests produce a stalemate in the Legislative Assembly, which fails to authorize the raising of sufficient revenue.

Unable to agree among themselves, the members of the Legislative Assembly surrender their political privileges and ask for establishment of direct British rule in return for the greater security of crown colony status.

The new constitution is inaugurated in April 1871, and the new legislature becomes the Legislative Council.