Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 8.djvu/326

 JAMAICA

274

JAMAICA

to an American syndicate for $500,000 in cash, and $3,500,000 in second mortgage debentures. An inter- national exhibition was opened (27 Jan., 1891), by the then Prince George of Wales. The guarantee fund was $120,000; total visitors, 302,830. Sir Henry Blake was then administering the affairs of the colony as governor.

In 1893 a board of education was formed. The abolition of fees in elementary schools was provided for by a house tax. In 1896 a scheme for the sale of Crown lands to small settlers was instituted. In 1898 direct cable service between Jamaica and Eng- land was established. The Imperial Direct Line of steamers was inaugurated with $200,000 annual sul> sidy — half from Jamaica, and half from the Imperial Government. Port Royal was created a separate parish in the same year.

Agriculture and Commerce. — There is an agricul- tural society with some fifty affiliated branches in the various parishes of the island. Lectures and practical demonstrations have been organized by the society. Of the 2,500,000 acres of land in Jamaica, 1,310,000 are in wood and ruinate, and 775,000 under cultivation (560,000 grazing land, and 215,000 under tillage). There are 143,000 acres of government or Crown land unoccupied. The following table shows the area under cultivation the last year of each of the three decades: —

Year

1885 1895 1905

Coffee

415 1,687 6,532

Ginger Corn

148 925 84 384 184 86

86 230

378

18,850 32,675

In 1902-3 over 14,000,000 bunches of bananas valued at $5,673,750 were exported. Over 95 per cent of these went to America. It was officially es- timated that the loss to the island by the cyclone the following year, through destruction and damage to crops and buildings and loss of trade, was $12,- 500,000. The estimated number of cattle, horses, etc. , in the island in 1904-5 was: horned stock, 107,695; horses, 57,908; asses, 18,500.

Shipping. — Number and tonnage of vessels that entered in the ports of the island for the year 1907: —

Q -1 ( British ships, 182, tonnage 15,974


 * '*"• (Foreign " 49 " 28,441

a. (British " 312 " 506,683

steam. ^Foreign " 932 " 968,189 Quantity and value of the chief exports in 1907: —

Sugar 15,499 hhds. value $592,710

Rum 14,630 puns. " 670,.570

Coffee 54,861 cwts. " 442,320

Pimento 85,294 cwts. " 394,480

Dyewood 34,004 tons " 417,560

Fruit " 5,053,020

Tobacco " 134,425

Minor products " 1,675,.590

Thus the relative importance of the island's exports that year was: sugar 6-3, rum 7-1, coffee 4-7, dyewood 4-4, pimento 4-2, fruit 53-8, tobacco 1-4, minor prod- ucts 17-S. Of the exports, 57-2 per cent in value went to the United States of America, and 29'8 per cent to the United Kingdom.

Currency. — Gold and silver coins current in Great Britain and Ireland are legal tender to any extent, and local nickel pennies, half pennies, and farthings are legal tender to the extent of twelve pence (one shil- ling) in one payment. Paper money consists of the notes of the Colonial Bank, and of the Bank of Nova Scotia, of £1 to £5 and upwards. The other coins here are American gold coins. English weights and measures are in use in the colony. There are three daily newspapers published at Kingston and twelve

others (six weekly, four monthly, and two quarterly) at Kingston and other parts of the island.

Means of Communication. — The whole length of main roads on the island aggregates close on 2000 miles; they are sufficiently broad almost everywhere for a double line of traffic, and are generally main- tained in e.xcellent condition. The first railway in Jamaica was opened between Kingston and Spanish Town in 1845. It was extended to Old Harbour in 1867, and from there to Porus in 1885, as well as the branch line to Ewarton from Spanish Town in the same year. In 1890 American capitalists extended the line to Montego Bay, a distance of 113 miles, and to Port Antonio, a distance of 54 miles. An electric tram line, some 24 miles in extent, serves Kingston and its suburbs. The first steamship communication between Jamaica (Kingston) and the United States (New York) was begun in 1860. Ja- maica joined the Universal Postal Union in 1877. There is a fortnightly mail service to and from England direct, also one via New York, a weekly service to the LTnited States. There are 160 post and 64 telegraph offices in the island; and two lines of cables connect Jamaica with America.

The Earthquake of 1007. — A shock of earthquake of great severity occurred about 3.30 p. m. on Mon- day, 14 January, 1907. It lasted for upwards of twenty seconds; its greatest intensity was experi- enced along the foreshore of Kingston harbour. A large proportion of the buildings of the capital were either destroyed or badly damaged. The injiu'ies to the submarine cables indicated that the gravamen of the shock was experienced at a depth of about a mile. The greater part of the business area of the city was destroyed, most of it by fire. The loss of life and property was estimated at about 800 persons and about $10,050,000 (Handbook of Jamaica, 1909). Most of the churches in the city were either completely wrecked or damaged beyond repair, and the majority of the public buildings, institutions, and the two con- vents, and their schools suffered equally. The cata- clysm was one of the most calamitous events which has occurred in the history of the colony. Generous offers of pecuniary aid were made by most of the large cities of the LTnited States, but were de- clined by the local Government. Some of the ships of the United States Atlantic fleet landed a party of medical officers, and equipment for the tem- porary field hospital at the Jesuits' college at Win- chester Park. These surgeons did excellent work. A body of American marines was landed at the request of the authorities to quell an uprising among the prisoners at the general penitentiary. This action was subsequently taken exception to by the governor, and consequently the American admiral had no alternative but to withdraw his squadron, leaving, however, sup- plies, medicines, etc. for the use of the sufferers. Sub- sequently the Imperial Government expressed regret at the action of its representative, who shortly after- wards resigned. A Mansion House (London) fund to relieve the distress was promptly started, and realized some $277,000. A free grant was made by the Im- perial Parliament of $750,000 and a temporary loan of $4,000,000 at 3 per cent. The funds subscribed from all soiu-ces were distributed by a relief com- mittee. Up to 31 Dec, 1908, loans to the value of $1,317,150 had been made. Thanks to the energy of Dr. Collins, the vicar .\postolic, most of the damaged Catholic schools were repaired or rebuilt in a few months. .\ new Catholic church dedicated to the Holy Trinity is being erected near Winchester Park, in place of the former one which was ruined by the earthquake.

Dependencicf!. — The Turks and Caicos Islands, which geographically form iiart of the Bahama group, are depentlencies of" Jamaica. They have an area of 162 J square miles and a population of some 5300.