Page:Statesman's Year-Book 1921.djvu/333

 BERMUDAS 281

The chief products are onions, potatoes, lily-bulbs, and Tarious kitchen garden vegetables.

- 1»13 1915 1»16 1»1T 1918

Imports 1 Exports

£ * * * £

570,575 579,828 734,799 674,493 692,742 792,683 104,647 101,663 139,825 207,724 139,825 208,708

1 Excluding Government stores from imports.

Import* (excluding Government stores) from United Kingdom in 1919, 59,990*. ; United States, 466,000*.; Canada, 230,000*.

Food supplies are mostly imported from the United States and Canada, and nearly all the export produce of Bermuda goes to the United States. The principal imports in 191S were: provisions, 174,804*.; flour and meal, 56,414?.; cotton goods, 34,100*. ; butter, 21,375*. ; ale and beer, 14,982*. ; hardware and cutlery. 13,734/. ; groceries, 14,242*. ; oats, 30,874*.; coal, 23.13SJ. ; sugar, 27,350*. ; apparel, 19,477*.; leather wares, 24,047*. ; oxen and cows, 11,561*. The principal exports in 1918 were: onions, 24,139*. potatoes, 78,233*.; other vegetables, 8,427*.

The registered shipping consisted (1918) of 7 steam vessels of 2,189 tons uet, and 16 sailing vessels of 3,336 tons net ; total net tonnage, 5.525.

In 1919 the total tonnage of vessels entered and cleared was 1,253,188 tons, of which 632,212 were British. There are 220 miles of telephone wire under the control of the military, and 15 of telegraph cable. There is also a private telephone company, which has about 775 subscribers and upwards of 1,600 miles of wire. A telegraph cable connects the islands with Halifax, Nova Scotia, and another connects with Turks Island and Jamaica. There were (1918) 19 post offices in the colony; the number of letters and post cards dealt with in the year 1918 was 1,405,756 ; newspapers, book packets and circulars, 429,098 ; parcels, 17,328. The post office revenue was 8,815*., and expenditure, 8,588*. Savings bank deposits on December 31, 1918, were 44,057*., to the credit of 2,286 depositors.

There are two banks in the Island, the Bank of Bermuda, Ltd., and the Bank of N. T. Butterrield and Son, Ltd., both local. The Colonial Government deals with both. Bills of exchange issued by the Treasury Chest Office iu the Colony form the basis of exchange with the outside world.

The currency, weights, and measures are British, but silver coin is legal tender to any amount. The British 1*. and 10*. notes are legal tender. The Bermuda Government is also authorised to issue 1*. notes up to an amount not exceeding 40,000*.

References: Bermuda in Colonial Reports. Annual. London.

A'eir ton (Margaret), Glimpses of Life In Bermuda and th« Tropics. London, 1897.