Page:Statesman's Year-Book 1921.djvu/249

 ST. HELENA

197

ST. HELENA.

Governor.— Lieut. -Cul. K. F. Peel.

St. Helena, of volcanic origin, is 1,200 miles from the west coast of Africa. Area, 47 square miles. Population, 1911 Census, 3,520. Estimated civil population, Dec. 31, 1919, 3,468. Births, 1919, 124; deaths, 29; marriages, 27. Emigrants, (1919), 198 ; immigrants, 33. Four Episcopal, 4 Baptist, 1 Roman Catholic chapels. Education, 8 elementary schools (of which 3 are Government schools), with 699 pupils in 1919 ; aud one private school. Police force, 5 ; cases dealt with by police magistrate, 76 in 1919. A detachment of the Royal Marine Artillery is stationed on the island. The port of the island is called Jamestown.

The following table gives statistics for St. Helena : —

Revenua l. Expenditure

1913

(Pre-war) £

11,411 10,632

7,568 43,394

1916

£

20,625 11,9824

1917

£

9,808 15,966

1919

£ £ 15,630 12,169 12,548 11,432

Exports s. Imports*

24,636 46,514

54,830 51,301

68,502 30,878 49,487 44,084

i Including Imperial grants (2,000/. in 1013, 13.67SJ. in 1916, 2,200/. in 1917, 8 000/. in 1918, 3,800/. in 1919).

2 Including specie, 1,550/. in 1912 : 720/. in 1913; 1,188/. in 1914 ; MM. in 1016.

s Including specie, 500/. in 1913; 1,000/. in 1915; 2,000/. in 1916; and 4,000/. in 1917; but excluding go rem ment stores.


 * Excluding extraordinary military expenditure (6,263/. in 1916).

The revenue from customs in 1919 was 2,8382.

Public debt, nil. But the Colony's liabilities at December 31, 1919, exceeded the assets by 1,3652.

The principal export in 1919 was fibre and tow, 27,1082. for 603 tons.

Savings-bank deposits on December 31, 1919, 16,680i. , belonging to 163 depositors.

Fruit trees, Norfolk pines, eucalyptus, and cedars flourish in St. Helena. Cattle do well, but there is no outside market for the meat. The flax {phormium) industry is now established, and a Government mill com- menced operations in 1908. In 1919 the exports of fibre and tow were 603 tons. Two private mills produced 410 tons of fibre and 115 tons of tow in 1919. At the fonr mills 183 males and 59 females were employed at the end of 1918. The area of land under flax is estimated at 1,000 acres (1918). A lace-making industry has been started. The number of vessels that called at the Island in 1919 was 28 (26 British), with a total tonnage of 89,548.

The Post Office traffic from St. Helena in 1917, 26,415 letters and post- cards, besides books, papers and parcels. The Eastern Telegraph Company's cable connects St. Helena with Cape Town and with St. Vincent. There are telephone lines, with 40 miles of wire.

St. Helena is an Admiralty coaling station. About two of the Cape ol Good Hope Squadron visit St. Helena every year.