248 TlMEHRI. 



Upon it stands what was once a fine commodious chapel, 

 a minister's house, and a large schoolroom. No fairer 

 piece of God's bright earth could have fallen to the lot of 

 any little batch of peasant proprietors. Four hours 

 labour, per diem, of each able bodied person, would 

 suffice to make this charming estate a flourishing and 

 paying concern. Every family might have a home in 

 which plenty should reign. A high sand reef offers 

 a lovely locality for houses, barns, sheds for cattle, etc. 

 Wide pasture lands stretch out to windward, offering 

 fattening grazing for live-stock ; and rich fertile soil lies 

 to leeward, ready to smile abundant harvests twice a 

 year for the minimum of care and attention. Is it 

 possible to imagine conditions of life more tempting to 

 virtue and industry ? Yet the state of that place is one 

 of absolute decay and ruin. Houses once strong and 

 substantial have fallen and rotted, as and where they 

 fell. Roads once high and dry are quagmires. The 

 mud and water reached half-way to my knee as I waded 

 through. Drains and dykes once deep are filled and 

 useless. Dams which once kept the sea at bay are 

 broken through, and salt water covers the very fields 

 where their food should be growing. Loitering about 

 could be seen people of all ages. The village is no 

 better than an encampment of squatters. On Sunday 

 morning last I passed through the same village to sea- 

 ward and though the sea water was lapping the brink 

 of the dam raised to prote6l their homes, one solitary 

 old man was the only individual who cared sufficiently 

 to turn out and try to save the village. This is not an 

 isolated case nor anything abnormal. From all parts of 

 the West Indies, we hear the same sad tale. 



