6 5 8 WEST INDIES 



of 480. The sale to the ginnery of seed cotton is compulsory in the case of lots of less than 

 100 Ib weight. Any amounts up to 4000 Ib may also be sold by anyone to the ginnery. This 

 cotton is bought on a profit-sharing basis. The law providing for this method of sale and 

 purchase has proved highly popular among small cultivators. In addition to the Govern- 

 ment establishment there are three private ginneries. The price of lint during the year was 

 good, reaching 26d. per Ib. in the case .of some special bales. The average price, however, 

 was I7d. to 2od. for Sea Island cotton, Marie Galante selling at from 6d. to lod. per Ib. 



The whale oil industry would appear to be in a decadent state, there being a great fall 

 in the value of the export. Efforts are being made to establish a sponge industry in the 

 Grenadines. Turtling is carried on, but here again the exports disclose a conspicuous de- 

 crease. The total value of the imports was (1909) 87,810, (1910) 97,737; and of exports 

 ( I 99) 88,698, and (1910) 101,180. The revenue was (1909-1910) 28,440, (1910-1911) 

 30,125; andthe expenditure (1909-1910) 31,330, (1910-1911) 30,343. The excess of 

 assets over liabilities amounted on March 31, 1911, to 6524. There is no public debt, the 

 last loan instalment having been repaid in May 1910. The Colony is responsible for the 

 unpaid balance of the Hurricane loan to planters from the Imperial Treasury, which on March 

 31, 1911, stood at 10,450, but against that amount there is a sinking fund of 2335. This 

 loan is being steadily redeemed. 



There are 28 primary schools, and 4552 scholars on the rolls with an average attendance 

 of 2260. There is also a secondary school, and satisfactory results are obtained from the 

 Agricultural School. Special effort is made to teach the cultivation of cotton. 



The Administrator in 1912 was the Hon. C. Gideon Murray. 

 .:;-.. :'.!<( v-'i. .-^ ;: :.:.-.,. <.;:), ;.- ^i{ -!;.};.' .;.:?) :;.-n v:i /'i.j.^-.ijr: -i -.;! : :. --ir-li/".' ;'";;.! .KJ'inq /.-: 



: BfclTtSJr HONDURAS 1 



The development of British Honduras proceeds slowly. The Stann Creek Railway, 

 begun in 1907, was nearing completion in IQI 2. It runs 20 miles inland, and opens up an 

 extensive area suitable for banana cultivation. In 1911 a Town Board was constituted 

 for the City of Belize. The population according to the census of 1911 was 40,809 

 (20,526 males, 20,283 females). The birth rate in 1911 was 42.393 and the death rate 

 24.8, malarial fever being the principal cause of mortality. Tuberculosis has seriously 

 increased, and preventive measures are being adopted with some success. 



The total imports for 191 1 were valued at $2,886,677 . $67,460 on 1910), and the exports 

 at $2,685,849 ( 341,469), the bulk of the trade being with the United States. The revenue 

 in 1910-11 was $459,295, and the expenditure $542,810. The loan debt on December 31, 

 1910, amounted to 168,815. Provision for the repayment of loans has been made by the 

 investment of sinking funds which total $92,173. There were 46 primary schools in 1911, 

 with 4725 pupils. The cost of primary education was 834,259. Of this sum the Govern- 

 ment contributed $20,103. 



The Governor in 1912 was Sir E. J. E. Swayne, K.C.M.G. 



' 



BARBADOS 4 



In 1912 the House of Assembly voted 900 to defray the cost of a complete survey of 

 the island, with a view more particularly to the investigation of the extent and position 

 of the petroleum deposits. The existence of petroleum has been proved, but the in- 

 dustry has not yet been placed on a commercial footing. The survey was entrusted 

 to Mr. E. H. Cunningham Craig. In 1912 the Legislature passed a Bill granting to 

 the Anglo-Mexican Petroleum Products .Co. Ltd. the exclusive right of supplying im- 

 ported fuel-oil to calling steamers for a period of twenty-five years. 



With an area of 166 square miles, Barbados is for its size the most densely populated 

 British possession. The census of April 1911 showed a population of 171,417 (69,912 

 males and 101,505 females). The population and prosperity of the island are affected 

 by two factors the emigration of labourers to the Panama Canal Zone and the influx 

 of visitors from abroad. The Panama Canal has been constructed mainly by West 

 Indian labourers, of whom no fewer than 20,000 were natives of Barbados in 1909. Jt 

 is claimed that any disturbance of the local labour supply has been more than compen- 

 sated for by the remittances sent home by Barbadians from the Panama Canal Zone, and 

 by the money brought back to the island by returning emigrants. In 1909 80,000 was 

 remitted; in the following year nearly 83,000. Tourists also help to circulate money. 

 In 1910 5491 first and second class, and 12,441 steerage and deck passengers reached the 



1 See E. B. iv, 615. 2 See E. B. iii, 380, 381. 



