CO885-24 — Page 155

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

Reference :—

CO. 885

24 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRES NOT TO

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WINDWARD ISLANDE.

power to fix prices, and had exercised that power in respect of certain articles of food, the growing unrest amongst the people turned into a feeling of confidence, and no more was heard of panic amongst them. The importation of flour by the Government has been of great benefit to the people. It has been sold to them throughout the island at the lowest possible rate per pound, and it has kept the price of flour imported by the merchants competing with it at a small margin of profit. The last of the Government flour has been delivered from store, and the whole of the cost of the flour recovered by local sales.

On the outbreak of war representations were made to me of the restrictions placed by the two local banks, the Colonial Bank and the Royal Bank of Canada, on banking business, and the high rates of exchange charged on drafts. After inter- views with the managers of the banks, they, on due consideration, saw their way to meet their customers on a more satisfactory basis, and business continued on almost normal lines.

The people of Grenada were, at the outset of the war, advised by the Govern- ment to plant up, as far as they were able, spare lands in ground provisions. In this matter the assistance of the clergy and the Agricultural and Commercial Society of the island was sought. An officer of much local experience was sent amongst the people throughout the island to advise them in the matter, and later he reported that the great majority of the people had acted on the advice given them, and that he had never before seen Grenada so plentifully planted in ground provisions. Ground provisions are to-day plentiful in the island, and the people are enjoying cheap food in this respect. The cocoa crop for the present season is good, and the current market price somewhat high, 758. per cwt. Want of employment might possibly arise later on to a small extent, but I hope, if the present supply of ground provisions be maintained and the [? present] price of cocoa continues, there will be no necessity to resort to relief works. The social condition of the island is at present normal. The local revenues have been affected by the war to the extent of about 10 per cent. For the period from the 1st August to the 30th November there has been a loss of revenue of £2,655, compared with the average revenue for the corresponding period of the previous five years.

The Legislative Council passed a resolution of loyalty to the King, and voted a donation of £4,000 to the Prince of Wales's Relief Fund, and £6,000 for the pur- A chase of Grenada cocoa, for a gift to His Majesty's forces engaged at the war. public meeting was held to organize committees to collect private subscriptions throughout the island, and a sum of upwards of £1,000 has been sent forward for the Prince of Wales's Relief Fund and the fand of the Red Cross Society.

St. Lucia.

In

The several measures prescribed in the defence scheme of the island were, as in the case of Grenada, immediately adopted. Possession was taken of the West India and Panama telegraph cables and office, the office kept open day and night, and Mr. T. A. Drysdale, Magistrate of the First District, appointed Censor. addition to the censorship of submarine cable messages, control and censorship of wireless telegraph apparatus and messages was assumed under the authority of the Wireless Telegraphy Ordinance, 1912, and regulations thereunder. The cable hut at Toc, on the south side of the entrance to the harbour of Castries, was removed to a position out of view from the sea, and a buried cable was substituted for the telegraph lines on poles which were visible from the sea.

Operators were put on duty throughout the night and day at the telephone exchanges in Castries, Dennery, and Vieuxfort, so as to enable the signal stations and look-outs to communicate immediately with headquarters.

The war stage military measures of the defence scheme were maintained until the 18th of August, when they were relaxed in consequence of the arrival of the French cruiser"Descartes," to act as a guard-ship.

The harbour was closed to shipping at night.

On the outbreak of war, St. Lucia became the principal coaling station in these waters for His Majesty's ships, and, in accordance with Rear-Admiral Cradock's request, conveyed by telegram from Vera Cruz on the 30th July, the whole stock of 4,930 tons of Welsh coal in the Colony was bought for the Admiralty so soon as war broke out, and a guard-boat was stationed at night at the mouth of Castries Harbour.

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Captain H. W. Turner, the Harbour Master, was appointed the Detaining Officer to deal with ships, and the person to take possession and control of wireless telegraphy apparatus under the regulations. Mr. G. D. Mackie, Chief Sub- Collector, was appointed to act as Navy Agent for looking after Admiralty stores

and coal.

The Royal Court was proclaimed a Prize Court on the 19th August, and Mr. T. A. Drysdale and Captain H. W. Turner were respectively appointed the Proper Officer of the Crown and Marshal. Up to now three ships have been brought in for adjudication by the Court, and they and their cargoes have been condemned.

On the 20th August a postal censorship was established over letters and parcels to and from German and Austro-Hungarian territory, to which was added Turkish territory later. On the 13th September, the censorship was extended to letters and parcels to and from neutral territory.

On the 11th and 12th September the three prize ships, the "Thor," "Lorenzo," and "Spreewald," captured by H.M.S. "Berwick," arrived at St. Lucia, and 67 prisoners of war were landed. For the guarding of the prisoners of war and the three prize ships, and for the service of a guard-boat at the mouth of the harbour and of a twelve-pounder gun provided by the senior naval officer, the captain of H.M.S. "Berwick," it became necessary to add to the number of armed men con- templated by the defence scheme, and 30 more men were consequently enrolled-10 police and 20 Volunteers.

To supplement the stock of foodstuffs in the Colony, in apprehension of a pos- sible shortage, planters were asked by the Government, on the 12th August, to allow their agricultural labourers and others to occupy allotments of land free of charge for the purpose of planting potatoes and other quick-growing crops.

The planters readily agreed, and numerous allotments have been planted. For the same purpose the Government also gave free allotments of Crown lands to 177 persons.

This extra cultivation has produced abundance of sweet potatoes, etc., at present, for sale at a cheap price.

In consequence of a rise in the retail price of foodstuffs, an interview was had, on the 20th August, with five of the principal dealers in imported foodstuffs, who readily agreed to fix a reasonable scale of maximum prices It was considered expedient to adopt this course rather than to exercise the powers given by the Royal Order in Council of the 28th October, 1898. These prices, which compare favour- ably with those fixed by the Government in other West Indian Colonies, have been loyally maintained by the dealers, and they have been reduced in respect to some articles. Mr. Lionel Devaux, of the firm of Minvielle and Chastanet, rendered assistance in this matter at a time when there were indications of the probability of unrest among the labourers.

The social condition of the Colony is normal.

There is a general decrease of business in the shops and stores, which has caused a falling off in the revenue from Customs duty. Owing to fewer merchant steamers calling here during the war, there has been a decrease in the coal trade and in the revenue of the port. From the 1st August to the 15th December, 1914, the revenue is less by a sum of £4,900 than the average amount received during the same period in the last five years, a decrease of something like 20 per cent. The price of peasants' oocoa was extremely low in October and November, but it has since risen to a normal rate. It is hoped that the high price of sugar, and the fair prices of cocoa and lime juice will have some effect in staying the drop in customs duty.

A resolution of loyalty to the King was passed by the Legislative Council, and a donation of £1,000 to the Prince of Wales's Relief Fund, and a gift of St. Lucia cooos, to the value of £2,000, made to His Majesty's forces engaged at the war. A public meeting was held in Castries, when a similar resolution was passed and The sum steps taken to collect public subscriptions for the Red Cross Society. collected and forwarded amounted to about £620.

St. Vincent.

As in the case of the sister Colonies of Grenada and St. Lucia, the police and local Volunteers, forming the Defence Force of the island, were brought together for the defence of the island in case of necessity. The force did three days and three nights continual duty, and rehearsed the defence scheme of the island in its entirety. At the expiration of the three days, the Volunteers returned to their civil duties on

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