WEST INDIES. 



837 



members were withdrawn. The Colonial Secre- 

 tary, in order to avoid having again to resort to 

 such a temporary expedient, directed the Govern- 

 or to appoint the 4 additional nominated members 

 permanently with a right to vote on any question 

 that the Governor pronounces to be of paramount 

 importance. The representative members, thus 

 stripped of their legislative powers, have ever 

 since protested in the Council and have petitioned 

 the British Government to restore the old Consti- 

 tution. Mr. Chamberlain declines to sanction any 

 change until existing conditions have had a fair 

 trial and have by common consent been found 

 wanting. No question has yet arisen in the Coun- 

 cil on which the elective members have been unan- 

 imous in their opposition to the Government ne- 

 cessitating its being declared of paramount im- 

 portance by the Governor. The change in the 

 Constitution secures government by white men, in 

 which the vast majority of the colored population 

 acquiesce. Householders who pay 1 a year in 

 taxes and rates are alone qualified to vote, and 

 only a part of the qualified do vote. In January, 

 1902, the elected members sent a petition to Mr. 

 Chamberlain setting forth that the present system 

 is not working satisfactorily, and asking for a re- 

 turn to the system by which the representative 

 members have a normal majority; in this event 

 they would agree to an alteration in the order in 

 Council providing that when the Governor de- 

 clares a matter to be of paramount importance 

 the elected members shall not vote. The financial 

 difficulties of the Government were acute in the 

 beginning of 1902, and the economic situation was 

 one of extreme depression, although the elements 

 of prosperity were at work. Additional taxes 

 were imposed to avert a deficit. These could not 

 be collected, and the Government drew the con- 

 clusion that the limit of taxation had been 

 reached. 



An outbreak occurred at Montego, on the north 

 side of the island. A mob overpowered the police 

 and teiTorized the town on April 5. On April 6 the 

 police killed a citizen, after which a score of po- 

 licemen were badly injured and troops were sent 

 for. The withdrawal of constitutional privileges 

 by Mr. Chamberlain and the alteration of the in- 

 cidence of taxation were the reasons given for the 

 rioting, which was preceded by political meetings 

 and violent speeches. Some of the influential 

 people of the island refused to pay the taxes, after 

 which the Government repealed the obnoxious tax 

 law after prosecuting many persons for non-pay- 

 ment. Lesser riots occurred at Annotta Bay and 

 other places. Previous to and leading up to the 

 outbreak of disaffection the elected members of 

 the Legislative Council proposed reductions in 

 salaries and other expenditures to balance the 

 budget. Acting-Gov. Olivier would not accept any 

 of the proposed reductions, whereupon the elected 

 members, believing their presence in the Council 

 useless, and not wishing to accept any responsibil- 

 ity for the estimates, decided to absent themselves 

 until they were passed. 



The Government passed a bill to guarantee 

 loans for the erection of central sugar factories. 

 Of the advance of 250.000 by the British Par- 

 liament to enable embarrassed West Indian sugar- 

 planters to continue cultivation and pay wages 

 until the European sugar bounties are abolished 

 in the fall of 1903, only 10,000 were assigned to 

 Jamaica. Thrice this sum was applied for at the 

 prescribed interest rate of 6 per cent, per annum, 

 and the Legislative Council voted to advance the 

 difference out of the island revenues. The fruit 

 season of 1902 was good, and the Government rev- 

 enues and the trade of the island in the course of 



the year showed a remarkable improvement. In- 

 stead of a deficit there was a surplus of 23,000 

 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1902. The tour- 

 ists from England and the United States brought 

 much money into the island. There was an in- 

 crease of 88 per cent, in coffee exports, 39 per cent, 

 in pimento, 36 per cent, in bananas, 54 per cent, in 

 oranges, 47 per cent, in coconuts, and 19 per cent, 

 in dyewoods. The company which established a 

 direct steamship line from Great Britain changed 

 the distributing port for fruit from Bristol to 

 Manchester, and placed the business in Jamaica 

 in the hands of the American company that raises 

 and exports bananas to the United States, the 

 picking, sorting, and packing of fruit under the 

 supervision of its own agents having been so im- 

 perfectly done that the losses on spoiled cargoes 

 and unmarketable shipments reduced the total 

 profits on fruit to nothing. A reciprocity treaty 

 was made between the United States and Jamaica, 

 Turks, and Caicos Islands, and British Guiana. 



Turks and Caicos Islands, having an area of 

 165 square miles, had in 1901 a population of 5,350, 

 of whom 2,464 were males and 2,886 females. 

 About 1,500,000 bushels of salt are exported every 

 year to the United States and Canada. The Com- 

 missioner is William Douglas Young. The Cay- 

 man Islands in 1901 had 4,322 inhabitants, com- 

 prising 1,904 males and 2,418 females. The Mo- 

 rant and Pedro Cays are also dependencies of 

 Jamaica. The imports of the Turks Islands in 

 1900 were valued at 29,564; exports, 34,584; 

 tonnage entered and cleared, 290,639 tons. 



The Leeward Islands have a total area of 701 

 square miles, with 127,434 inhabitants in 1901. 

 There were 114 Government schools in 1900, with 

 24,974 pupils. Sugar and molasses are still the 

 principal products of the islands, though fruits 

 and other products have been planted on some of 

 them. The Governor is Henry Moore Jackson. 

 The islands are divided administratively into the 

 presidencies of Antigua, with Barbuda and Re- 

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

 minica, Montserrat, and the Virgin Islands. The 

 Legislative Council consists of 8 nominated mem- 

 bers and 8 members elected by the non-official 

 members of the local legislative councils of St. 

 Kitts and Nevis, Antigua and Dominica. The 

 elective element in the Legislatures of Antigua 

 and Dominica was abolished in 1898, when the 

 Imperial Government contributed money to aid 

 those islands in their financial difficulties. 



Antigua has an area of 108 square miles and 

 Barbuda and Redonda together have an area of 

 62 square miles. The population of these islands 

 declined from 36,819 in 1891 to 34,971 in 1901. St. 

 John, in Antigua, the capital of the colony, had 

 9,262 inhabitants in 1901. Sugar and pineapples 

 are the chief products. Steamers run to New 

 York, Canadian ports, and England. The local 

 revenue in 1900 was 42,652; expenditure, 49,- 

 435. The receipts from customs were 23.081. 

 The value of imports in 1900 was 125,304: ex- 

 ports, 111,849. The tonnage entered and cleared 

 was 451,592 tons. The debt of the island is 137,- 

 071. 



The Virgin Islands have an area of 58 square 

 miles, with 4,908 inhabitants in 1901, compared 

 with 4,639 in 1891. Sugar and cotton are grown 

 by the colored people, who own their small hold- 

 ings. The local revenue in 1900 was 2,117: ex- 

 penditure, 2,197; imports, 3,387; exports, 2,- 

 812; tonnage entered and cleared. 12.070. 



St. Kitts is 65 square miles in extent, with 

 29.7S2 inhabitants in 1901. having declined from 

 30,876 in 1891. A>r/s. 50 square miles in extent, 

 declined in population from 13,087 to 12,774. An- 



