822 



WEST INDIES. 



heads. The yield of the fisheries, which give em- 

 ployment to 370 boats and 900 persons, is about 

 17,000 a year. The shipping of the island consists 

 of 47 sailing vessels and 2 steamers, having a total 

 capacity of 8,876 tons. The total value of the im- 

 ports in 1894 was 1,279,335, and of the exports 

 984,512. The chief imports were cottons for 121,- 

 161, rice for 89,305, and flour for 81,887. The 

 principal exports were raw sugar for 625,872, mo- 

 lasses for 141,563, and flour for 23.212. The 

 Government revenue in 1894 was 160,624, and the 

 expenditure 161,279. Of the re venue, 94,243 came 

 from customs. Of the expenditure, 73,562 went 

 for salaries. The Governor is Sir James Shaw Hay. 

 There is a House of Assembly of 24 members elected 

 annually by popular suffrage, the number of elect- 

 ors registered in 1894 being 2,167. The Legisla- 

 tive Council of 9 members is appointed by the Gov- 

 ernment. 



Jamaica has an area of 4,193 square miles, with 

 a population of 681,085 in 1894. The dependent 

 Turks and Caicos islands are 223 square miles in 

 extent, with 5,089 inhabitants. The Cayman Islands 

 have an area of 225 square miles and 4,322 inhab- 

 itants. The population of Jamaica at the census of 

 1891 consisted of 14,692 whites, 121,955 colored and 

 half-breeds, 488,624 blacks, 10,166 East Indians, 481 

 Chinese, and 3,623 unclassed. Kingston, the capi- 

 tal, had 46,542 inhabitants. The number of mar- 

 riages in 1894 was 3,734 ; of births, 27,365 ; of deaths, 

 14,885 ; excess of births, 12,480. Coolie, immigra- 

 tion was suspended in 1886. but resumed in 1891. 

 The number of East Indian immigrants in 1894 was 

 13,828, of whom 2,615 were indentured laborers. 

 There were 962 Government schools in 1895, with 

 an average attendance of 62.587. The strength of 

 the West India regiments in Jamaica was 1.570 offi- 

 cers and men in 1896. Fortifications and batteries 

 have been erected at Port Royal, Rocky Point, and 

 five other places. There are 12 ships of the British 

 navy on the North American and West India sta- 

 tions. There are 119 miles of railroad and 1,420 

 miles of telegraph. The number of dispatches in 

 1894 was 111.812 ; receipts, 6.253 : expenses, 6,904. 

 The post office forwarded 3,292,029 letters and post 

 cards. The railroads carried 290,415 passengers ; 

 their receipts were 73,823, and expenses 53,776. 

 The revenue of the Government for the year end- 

 ing March 31, 1894, was 803,075, and expenditure 

 810,867. The largest expenditures were 83,710 

 for public works, 77,650 for the debt, and 51,474 

 for police. Of the revenue, 315.892 came from 

 customs. The public debt, including guarantees, 

 amounted to 2.151,882. The imports for 1894 

 amounted to 2,191,745, and exports to 1,921,422. 

 The leading imports were cotton goods for 303,- 

 159, fish for 184,867, flour for 147,492, and rice 

 for 38.697. The principal exports were fruit for 

 428.886, coffee for 356,734, raw sugar for 239.210, 

 and rum for 147,478. The merchant shipping of 

 the colony consisted in 1894 of 116 sailing vessels. 

 of 5,810 tons, and 2 steamers, of 879 tons. The 

 total tonnage entered and cleared during that year 

 was 1,564.340. The Governor of Jamaica is Sir 

 Henry Arthur Blake. The Governor is assisted by 

 a Privy Council and by a Legislative Assembly, part 

 of which is elected by the people and part nominated 

 by the Government. 



The Leeivard Islands have an area of 706 square 

 miles, and in 1893 had a population of 131.333. The 

 population in 1891 was composed of 5,070 whites, 

 23,320 colored, and 99,333 blacks. The Governor is 

 Sir Francis Fleming. The group is divided into 

 five presidencies : Antigua, with Barbuda and He- 

 donda ; St. Kitts, with Nevis and Anguilla ; Domin- 

 ica ; Montserrat, and the Virgin Islands. The Fed- 

 eral Executive Council is nominated by the British 



Crown, and the Federal Legislative Council consists 

 of 10 members nominated by the Crown and 10 

 elected by the Legislative Councils of the several 

 colonies. The chief imports in 1894 were textile 

 manufactures for 69,690. flour for 02.407, and 

 dried fish for 25,403. The chief exports were 

 sugar for 426,345, molasses for 33,708, limes and 

 lime juice for 24,005, and rum for 5,238. An- 

 tigua, with an area of 108 square miles, and its de- 

 pendencies, with an area of 62 square miles, have 

 36.819 inhabitants. St. John, the chief town, has 

 9,738. The products are sugar and pineapples. The 

 imports in 1894 were 178,931 in value, and exports 

 199,870. The revenue was 50,881 in 1893, of which 

 28,214 came from customs. The expenditure was 

 50,870. The colony has a debt of 27,871. Montser- 

 rat, with an area of 32 square miles and a population 

 of 11.672, besides sugar exports large quantities of 

 lime juice. There are 1,000 acres planted to lime trees. 

 The imports in 1893 were 29,325 and exports 32,- 

 715 in value. The revenue was 8,371, of which cus- 

 toms produced 3,579 ; the expenditure amounted 

 to 7.882. There is a debt of 8,200. St. Kitts. or 

 St. Christopher, has an area of 65 square miles and 

 a population of 30,876 ; Nevis, an area of 50 square 

 miles and 13,087 inhabitants: Anguilla, an area of 

 35 square miles and 3,699 inhabitants. St. Kitts 

 and Xevis have one Executive Council and a Legis- 

 lative Council composed of 10 elective and 10 nom- 

 inated members. The chief products are sugar and 

 rum. Anguilla produces cattle, pineapples, vegeta,- 

 liles. and salt. The imports of St. Kitts and Xevis 

 in 1893 amounted to 184,192; exports. 1-273,799. 

 The revenue in 1893 was 58,859 and expenditure 

 l'."i 1.975. Of the revenue, 24,178 came from cus- 

 toms. The Virgin Islands, with an area of 58 

 square miles, are settled by a colored population of 

 4.639 persons, cultivating sugar and cotton on small 

 parcels of land owned by themselves. From the 

 small, barren island of Sombrero, which is not ad- 

 ministratively connected with the colony, phosphate 

 of lime is obtained. The imports of the Virgin 

 Islands were 3,885 in 1893, and the exports 4,153. 

 The revenue was 1,552, and expenditure 1,715. 

 Dominica has an area of 291 square miles and 26,841 

 inhabitants. It produces sugar, fruit, cacao, and 

 woods. The imports amounted to 64,552 in 1893 ; 

 exports, 53,752. The revenue was 22,347, of 

 which 7,334 came from customs ; expenditure, 

 25.815. 



The finances of the Leeward Islands have been 

 mismanaged for many years, and especially those 

 of Dominica, which has incurred 62,000 of debt 

 and has only 10,000 worth of work to show for it. 

 In 1896 the British Parliament voted a grant of 

 15,000 to relieve the island of its financial embar- 

 rassments. A strike of the negro laborers on the 

 island of St. Kitts, who thought that with a large 

 sugar crop to dispose of at higher prices they ought 

 to have better wages, culminated in a riot on Feb. 

 17. They submitted their grievance to the admin- 

 istrator, and when at the date when he promised an 

 answer he still put them off, a mob of men and 

 women collected at night, set buildings on fire, and 

 looted the stores of the Portuguese merchants. A 

 force was landed from the British ship "Cordelia," 

 and after a fight in which three rioters were killed 

 and many wounded, order was partially restored. 



Trinidad has an area of 1.754 square miles. The 

 population in 1894 was 222.689. Tobago, adminis- 

 tratively connected with it, has an area of 114 

 square miles and about 20,000 inhabitants. Port 

 of Spain, the capital of Trinidad, has 38,000 popu- 

 lation. The number of births in 1894 was 7.608 ; 

 of deaths, 5,593; excess of births, 2,015. About 

 58,500 acres are planted to sugar cane, 95,000 to 

 cacao and coffee, and 14,000 to cocoanuts. From 



