170 Timehri. 
trying to round that redoubtable Cape, for within a few weeks nearly a score 
of large sailing ships put into Stanley for repairs of some sort. But you will 
perhaps be rather disappointed to learn that the work of repairing is so 
costly, and so slow, that many ships prefer to make for Monte Video. Mr. 
Allardyce refers to this in his paper, and I have often heard the complaint 
myself during my stay there. 
EDUCATION. 
13, Ample provision is made for the elementary instruction of the children, 
and the people make the most of it. There is a Government school in Port 
Stanley, as well as a Roman Catholic school, and another at Port Darwin, which 
is supported by the Falkland Islands Company, for the benefit of the children 
of their employees. Then besides these schools, which are all on the “ East,” 
there are two travelling schoolmasters for the “‘ West.” These schoolmasters 
are employed by the Government, and their duties are to travel from house to 
house and instruct the children of the shepherds in the remote districts. This 
system first came into operation in1896, and was the outcome of representations 
made to the Government by the shepherds themselves. They unaertook to 
provide the teacher with free board and lodging, and to pass him on from place 
to place, with horse and guide, if the Government would undertake to provide 
thesalary. An understanding was come to between them and the Government, 
and two young men were sent out from Scotland in the autumn of 1896 on a 
five years’ agreement. The scheme worked fairly well from the beginning, 
and has been continued and extended ; both the Government ana the shepherds 
kept their pledge, and keep it still. 
Home Lire. 
14. And just here I might try to give you a nearer glimpse of the home life 
of the people, as I know it. The houses are all built of wood, and are rather cold 
in winter, especially thosethat have only one fireplace. As stated above the only 
fuelis peat. This requires a large fireplace if it is to burn well, and given this, 
the Falkland Island peat does indecd burn well. In selecting a site for a dwell- 
ingthesheep-farmer has to consider, not only the advantage of having a shepherd 
in that particular spot, but also whether there is a gocd supply of peat and 
water at hand, otherwise he may find after a while that he can no longer carry 
the peat to the house, and must, therefore, carry the house to the peat. The 
people are very hospitable, not only to strangers, but to each other. The 
houses are so far apart that each is regarded as a sort of rest-house by those who 
happen to pass along the track. When a rider is seen coming along some re- 
freshment is got ready to offer him, and it would, I think, be taken as a sign of 
unfriendliness in a rider, if he were to pass without calling, if only to say “ Good- 
day.” There is not, it is true, much variety in what is set before one to eat, 
but there is always plenty of good mutton and home-made bread. Vegetables 
are rather scarce, sometimes, and beef is not so plentiful as mutton. Still 
there is a fairly large number of cattle on every station, and a shepherd may have 
as many cows as he cares to tame, so that, in the summer at least, there necd be 
no scarcity of milk and butter. On the whole I think the Falkland Islander is 
not badly off in the matter of diet, and during my stay in these islands, and since, 
