774 



WEST INDIES. 



coffee 22,901, bananas 23,405, cocoanut palms 11,- 

 293, cacao 1,527, ground provisions 77,271, Guinea 

 grass 123,130, pimento and pasture 02,418, pi- 

 mento alone 4,993 acres. The shipping in 1898 

 consisted of 134 sailing vessels, of 9,220 tons. In 

 Turks u nd Caicos Islands there were 40, of 0,080 

 tons. The number of letters and postal cards sent 

 through the post ottice in 1899 was 4,791,102; the 

 number of telegraph messages. 97,308. The revenue 

 of Jamaica in 1S9S was 748,514. and expenditure 

 752, 74 Of the revenue 330.398 came from 

 customs. The chief expenditures wen- 107,315 

 for debt charges, 01,150 for police, and 00,405 

 for public works. The value of the external com- 

 merce was 1,814,793 for imports and 1,002,543 

 for exports. The import of cotton goods was 

 254,007; of fish, 151,509; of flour, 145,039; 

 of rice, 104,140. The export of sugar was 150,- 

 311; of rum, 104.295: of coffee, 102,219. The 

 tonnage entered and cleared was 1,827,719 tons. 

 The revenue showed an improvement over that 

 of the previous year owing to an increase in the 

 import duties and a tax on cigars and cigarettes, 

 but was less than in 1895 and 1890, while expendi- 

 ture was considerably greater. The imports 

 showed an increase of 7 per cent, and the ex- 

 ports an increase of 15 per cent, over those of the 

 preceding year. Of the imports less than half 

 came from Great Britain and the rest mainly from 

 the United States, to which 00 per cent, of the 

 exports were shipped, as fruit constitutes now 40 

 per cent, of the total exports. The sugar also 

 goes to the United States, instead of to England, 

 as formerly, while rurn, logwood, coffee, and pi- 

 mento are sent to England. Cotton goods, boots 

 and shoes, and other articles of cheap quality but 

 good appeal a nee are imported from America in 

 preference to English wares, so that in 1899 the 

 United States for the first time took the lead of 

 Great Britain in the import trade. The revenue 

 for 1901 is estimated at 705,280, and expendi- 

 ture at 75(5.991. The estimate of revenue was 

 144,527 more than the estimate for 1900, chiefly 

 because an estimate of 125,000 for railroad re- 

 ceipts was included. After a long controversy 

 with the railroad company the Government took 

 possession of the railroad on Aug. 15, 1900. A 

 line of steamers has been started to run direct 

 from Jamaica to England in twelve days, each 

 ship to carry at least 20,000 bunches of bananas 

 and the other fruits and products of the island. 

 A subsidy of 40,000 a year will be paid, partly 

 by the Imperial and partly by the colonial Gov- 

 ernment. The growing of fruit in Jamaica is an 

 industry that has sprung up in the last twenty 

 years, and owes its existence to American enter- 

 pii-c and capital. The fruit exports in 1890 

 amounted to 4,000,000 bunches of bananas, 10,- 

 000,000 cocoanuts, and 100,000,000 oranges. The 

 value of fruit exported in IS'.KS was over 030,000. 

 of which .D520.0IM) went to the United States. 



The HtihdiiHi Ixhnitlx have an area of 4,465 

 square miles, with 53.250 inhabitants in 1898. 

 The Governor is Sir Gilbert T. Carter. There is 

 a Legislative Council of 9 members and a Repre- 

 sentative Assembly of 29 members "lected by 

 the people with a low property qualification. The 

 number of births in ISitS was -2. 1(14; of deaths. 

 1,224; exec-- of births. 9K). Then- were 44 public 

 -cln.ols with 5.99S children enrolled and 4.o:>l) in 

 a\.rai_'i- daily attendance. The sponge fisheries 

 in isus yielded 105.038. Shells, pearls, and am- 

 bergris are other sea products. 1'ineapples of the 

 value of 24.300 were exported, including canned 

 fruit. The value of the orange crop was C:;.0(il. 

 Si-al plants covered 20.000 acres. The value of 

 all imports was 238,330 in 1898, of which 53.- 



430 were for cotton goods and 28,880 for flour. 

 The exports were valued at 174,800. The ton- 

 nage entered and cleared was 741,522 tons. The 

 revenue in 1898 amounted to 80,700, of which 

 03,571 were derived from customs; expenditure, 

 04,148, of which 7,754 went for public works, 

 7,935 for the debt, and 5,310 for police. The 

 debt amounted to 118,420. 



The JA'ctcanl lxlnn<lx comprise Antigua, with 

 Barbuda and liedonda, St. Kitts, with Nevis and 

 Anguilla. Dominica, Montserrat, and the Virgin 

 Isles. They have an aggregate area of 701 square 

 miles. The population at the census of 1891 was 

 127,723, comprising 5,070 whites, 23,320 colored, 

 and 99,333 blacks. There were 137 schools with 

 25,122 pupils. Sugar and molasses are grown 

 generally on the islands, except where the sugar 

 cane has been superseded by fruit crops. Antigua 

 produces pineapples as well as sugar; Montserrat, 

 sugar, coffee, cacao, arrowroot, and limes, the 

 juice of which is exported in bottles; St. Kitts 

 and Nevis, sugar and rum; Anguilla. vegetables 

 and salt; the Virgin Islands, sugar and cotton on 

 small farms owned by the negroes themselves, and 

 phosphate of lime from the island of Sombrero; 

 Dominica, Liberian cofl'ee, cacao, limes, and other 

 fruits. The value of imports in 1898 was 3.!)43 

 for the Virgin Islands. 122.908 for St. Kitts and 

 Nevis, 105,103 for Antigua, 19,818 for Mont- 

 serrat, and 00,200 for Dominica; of exports, 

 3,855 for the Virgin Islands. 138,222 for St.' 

 Kitts and Nevis, 79,178 for Antigua. 13.849 for 

 Montserrat, and 03,912 for Dominica. The im- 

 ports of cottons into the Leeward Islands were 

 40,030, and of flour 41,997. The exports of 

 sugar were 175,885 in value; of cacao, 20,3(50; 

 of lime juice, 25,753. The tonnage entered and 

 cleared in the Virgin Islands was 11.307; in St. 

 Kitts and Nevis. 493.329; in Antigua. 429,108; in 

 Montserrat, 208,430; Dominica. 450,998. The 

 revenue of the Virgin Islands in 1898 was 1,715, 

 and expenditure 1,784: the revenue of St. Kitts 

 and Nevis was 40,430, and expenditure 44.- 

 059; the revenue of Antigua was 39,0(53. and ex- 

 penditure 55,580; the revenue of Montserrat 

 was 0.199, and expenditure 11.930: the revenue 

 of Dominica was 24.569, and expenditure 24.- 

 648. The debt of Montserrat was 17,300: of 

 St. Kitts, Nevis, and Anguilla. 74.450; of An- 

 tigua, 137,471: of Dominica. 70,900. Of tin- 

 revenue of the Virgin Islands 823. and 23.5S:i 

 in St. Kitts, Nevis, and Anguilla, 21.100 in An- 

 tigua, 3,543 in Montserrat. and 11.710 in 

 Dominica came from customs duties on imports. 



The \\'iniliriirtl JxltnxlK are Grenada. St. Vin- 

 cent, the Grenadines, and St. Lucia. The area is 

 550 square miles, and the population in 189S was 

 154,598, of which number 47.970 were in St. Lucia, 

 237 square miles in extent: 44.000 in St. Vincent, 

 having an area of 147 square iniles; and 02.022 in 

 Grenada and the Grenadines, of which the area 

 was 1(5(5 square miles. The Governor is Sir Alfred 

 Moloney. In Grenada cacao has supplanted sugar, 

 covering 11,115 acres, and spices are grown on 

 1,343 acres. St. Vincent, besides sugar and nun, 

 produces spices, cacao, and arrowroot. The prod- 

 ucts of St. Lucia are sugar, cacao, rum. and log- 

 wood. The imports of St. Lucia in ls.s wen- 

 valued at 271.995. and exports at 93.415: im- 

 ports of St. Vincent at 95.551, and exports at 

 44.000: imports of Grenada at 210.783, and 

 exports at 257.274. There were 38 public schools 

 in Grenada in 1899. with 8.38(5 pupils: 3(5 schools 

 in St. Vincent: and 39 schools in St. Lucia, with 

 5.280 pupils. The revenue of St. Lucia for IS'.iS 

 was 07.2(58. and expenditure 1100.975 : the rev- 

 enue of St. Vincent was 27,3(51. and expenditure 



