WEST INDIES. 



WEST VIRGINIA. 



781 



an area of 114 square miles, contained 19,534 in- 

 habitants. The number of marriages in 1892 

 was 885 ; of births, 7,251 ; of deaths, 5,365. The 

 revenue for 1892 was 520,000; expenditure, 

 497,000. The imports were valued at 009,000, 

 and exports at 2,089,000. The American com- 

 pany that leases the pitch lake in the center of 

 the island took out 112,224 tons of asphalt in 

 1892, yielding the Government a revenue of 

 87,346. Other exports are sugar, cacao, coffee, 

 and cocoanuts. There are 54 miles of railroad. 

 The Governor of the Leeward Islands is Sir 

 William Frederick Haynes Smith. The area of 

 the group is 706 square miles. The population 

 is 129,470. The finances and trade of the islands 

 for 1892 were returned as follow : 



Dominica differs from the other islands in 

 having a Catholic French-speaking population, 

 and in being mountainous, though not less 

 fertile. Large sums have been raised for roads 

 and similar improvements, without tangible re- 

 sults, and the people have complained bitterly 

 of the burden of taxation. Sir Robert Hamilton, 

 who was sent to study the situation, recommends 

 a larger degree of autonomy. 



The Bahama Islands have Sir Ambrose Shea 

 for their Governor. Their area is 5,390 square 

 miles ; the population in 1892 was 48,155. The 

 revenue was 60,000, and expenditure 63,000. 

 The debt amounts to 111,000. The imports in 

 1892 were 197,000 in value, and the exports 

 145,000. 



The Windward Islands have an area of 550 

 square miles, and had a population of 141,243 in 

 1892. The Governor is Sir Charles Bruce. 

 Grenada had an income in 1892 of 55.820, and 

 59,260 of expenditures ; St. Lucia, an income of 

 48,297, and 54,934 of expenditures ; and St. 

 Vincent 29.125 of income, and 28.906 of ex- 

 penditures. The imports of Grenada were valued 

 at 79,015, and the exports at 264,681 ; the im- 

 ports of St. Lucia at 103,859. and the exports at 

 179,056 : the imports of St. Vincent at 49,313, 

 and the exports at 117.572. 



Danish Colonies. The islands of St. Croix, 

 otherwise called Santa Cruz, St. Thomas, and 

 St. John, constitute the Danish Antilles. The 

 Governor is Col. C. E. de Hedemann. Their 

 combined area is 118 square miles. The popula- 

 tion at the census of Feb. 1, 1890, was 32.786. 

 The imports in 1892 were valued at 522,820 

 kroner, and the exports at 181,464 kroner. 



Dutch Colony. The Dutch Antilles are 

 united in the Government of Curagoa. compris- 

 ing the islands of Curacoa, Bonaire, Arnba, St. 

 Eustache, Saba, and a part of St. Martin. The 

 area is 425 square miles, and the population in 

 1892 was 47.274, of whom 20,838 were males and 

 26,188 females. The garrison numbered 248 

 men. The Governor is Dr. C. A. II. Barge. 

 The revenue was estimated in the budget for 



1894 at 687,473 guilders, and expenditure tin- 

 same. Most of the population are free n<--ro<-s. 

 professing the Roman Catholic religion. Tin- 

 chief -products are corn, beans, rattle, salt, ami 

 lime. The imports of Curacoa, which is a fret- 

 port and distributing point, were valued in IS<H 

 at 4.059,400 guilders, and in 1892 at :},4:}r>,000 

 guilders. 



French Colonies. Guadeloupe has an area 

 of 618 square miles, or, with its dependencies, 720 

 square miles. The Governor is L. II. Nonet. 

 The population in 1889 was 142,294; that of the 

 dependencies, 23,605. The revenue in the budget 

 for 1893 was estimated at 5,629,069 francs, and 

 the expenditure at the same figure. The value 

 of imports in 1891 was 20,456,000 francs; ex- 

 ports, 15,164,000 francs, of which 13,987,000 

 francs were native products. The chief products 

 are sugar, coffee, cacao, vanilla, spices, manioc, 

 bananas, yams, corn, vegetables, cotton, ramie 

 fiber, tobacco, and woods. 



The area of Martinique is 381 square miles. The 

 population in 1888 was 175,863, of whom 84,694 

 were males and 91,169 females. The revenue for 

 1894 was estimated in the budget at 4,942,019 

 francs ; with expenditure, to be made good from 

 the French budget, 2,512,748 francs more. The 

 imports in 1891 were valued at 33.660,000 francs, 

 and exports at 22,939,000 francs, of which 19.- 

 661.000 francs represent native products. 

 Sugar, manioc, yams, and bananas are the chief 

 products. 



WEST VIRGINIA, a Southern State, ad- 

 mitted to the Union June 19, 1863 ; area, 24,780 

 square miles. The population, according to each 

 decennial census since admission, was 442,014 in 

 1870; 618,457 in 1880; and 762,749 in 1890. 

 Capital, Charleston. 



Government. The following were the State 

 officers during the year: Governor, William A. 

 MacCorkle, Democrat ; Secretary of State, Wil- 

 liam E. Chiltou ; Treasurer, John M. Rowan ; 

 Auditor, Isaac V. Johnson ; Attorney-General, 

 Thomas S. Riley; Adjutant-General, J. A. Hoi- 

 ley ; Commissioner of Labor, J. M. Sydenstricker ; 

 Superintendent of Public Schools, Virgil A. 

 Lewis; Bank Examiner, C. A. Wever; State Li- 

 brarian, E. L. Wood ; Secretary of the Agricul- 

 tural Board, C. C. Brown ; Meteorologist, W. W. 

 Dent ; Secretary of the Board of Health, N. D. 

 Baker. M. D. The State was Republican during 

 the first three years of its existence, and Demo- 

 cratic for the interval until Nov. 6, 1894, when 

 the Republicans elected their candidates for 

 Congressmen and a majority of the Legislature 

 29 in the House and 2 in the Senate. 



Finances. The State is out of debt. The 

 treasury balance for the fiscal year ending Sept. 

 30, 1894, was $723,567.67, giving the fund for 

 general purposes $127,138.36; general school 

 fund, $313,683.40 ; irreducible school fund, $282.- 

 745.91. The latter amount represents only a 

 small part of that fund, as $30,000 is loaned out 

 or invested in bonds, and is made up from sales 

 of delinquent lands and their redemption, prop- 

 erty not willed and without heirs, forfeiture and 

 fines, State capitation, etc. 



Improvements. The new work on Elk river 

 was begun in October. The total expenditure 

 since the beginning of the work, in 1878, has 

 been $26,500. The United States Government 



