or St. Lucia claims to be, has nevertheless a kind of fairness of its own, which one who loves Nature in all her moods and phases very soon discovers. It is by no means a dead flat, but is composed of ridges and valleys of coralline limestone, with a chain of mountains which in the northern part of the island rises to the respectable elevation of 1,200 feet, and in the district called Scotland (for, like Auckland Castle, it too has its own Scotland) is almost beautiful. The coast-line, moreover, on the eastern side of the island is well worth a visit, and the melancholy little railway, if it cannot do much else, will at any rate take you there, though at a very depressing rate of speed. Just as Cornwall is marked by its mines, so is Barbados by its sugar estates, each with its group of buildings, tall chimney or windmill, and cluster of cabbage palms. I was there during the cane season, and the island was quite lively with the carts of cane going home to the mills, the brisk manufacture of the sugar for exportation, and the forest of masts in the busy roadstead waiting to carry it to Europe. Sugar is the staple product of Barbados. The estates here are not so large as those of Demerara, seldom exceeding three hundred acres, and the produce, of course, varies in relation to the soil, cultivation, and rainfall. We visited an estate at Hampton, where all the latest machinery, at a cost of £10,000, is at work, and where the entire process, from crushing the cane to packing the sugar for the ship, can be seen. It was all very interesting; but to me the most attractive feature of all was that of the negroes themselves, working cheerily and, as it seemed, diligently, for their adequate wages, and the one thought which again and again came into my mind as I went through the great building, with all its ingenious and elaborate arrangement, was, "Thank God, they are free!" As a man-servant's board-wages in Barbados are only 1s. 6d. a week, and nothing is required for fuel, very little for clothes, and, during the cane-harvest, still less for food (for the negroes almost live upon the cane), a negro, when he is in constant work, is well off. How much better off than our own artisans in Shadwell or Lambeth they must cross the ocean to discover. It is unfortunate that sugar should be so cheap, for at present it is impossible to cultivate with a profit, and Barbados has not much else to fall back upon. The climate is neither moist nor hot enough for cocoa, which is such a good second string to the bow in other islands. There is no

fruit production worth speaking of. Cotton is being planted as an experiment; but if the best seed is not used, disappointment must follow. Sugar, at its present price of £13 per ton, except when the crop is large, allows no margin beyond the cost of production. Where there is interest to pay on borrowed money (as is so often the case), an estate, in a bad time, cannot pay its way. It is the subsidised German and French beetsugar which is competing so ruinously with our colonial production, and some of our West Indian kinsfolk would like to be protected against it. But it is a serious thing to ask the Home Government to raise, in an appreciable degree, the price of an article of consumption which, to the mass of the English people, has now become not so much a luxury as an actual staple of life. England is far in advance of all the countries of the world in her use of sugar, consuming, for every head of her population, 68 lb. a year, while France comes next with an average of only 17 lb.

It is an immense advantage for Barbados that labour is abundant, living extremely cheap, and that the construction of the Panama Canal makes an outlet for the unemployed. It is be wished, however, that she did not carry all her eggs in one basket.

Bridgetown, prettily nestled among trees, has neither sordidness nor dirt to be ashamed of. The population is 19,000; the public buildings, not yet quite finished, are of an ornamental as well as useful character; the Barracks are prettily situated in an open park, where polo goes on under all varieties of climate; the sea drive to Hastings is a charming and favourite resort about sunset; and the briskness of the building trade, in houses both of a public and private nature, indicates that some one is thriving, even if sugar is cheap. Government House, the centre of a graceful and abundant hospitality, is well situated on an eminence which commands both the town and the sea. What the interior lacks is trees, what the seaboard wants is harbours. There are no snakes (not that any one misses them), and almost the only venomous thing is the centipede. Musquitoes, to be sure, are plentiful; but they are not so intrusive in trumpeting their presence as ours in Europe are, and a weak solution of carbolic acid rubbed on the face and neck usually keeps them at bay.

One thing more I must mention before proceeding to other matters. Barbados, exemplary, as I hope soon to show, in other things, has been particularly so in the erec

Public Buildings, Bridgetown.

tion of a commodious, first-class hotel. To be sure it is neither furnished nor opened, for the spirited promoter of it is just dead, and some delay was inevitable. But it is built, and on an admirable site, and this citizen of our small but wide-awake island has started an enterprise which a neighbouring island took in hand some years ago, wretchedly bungled, and has not had courage to attempt again.

Florida, except to the sportsman, soon becomes monotonous. Bermuda and the Bahamas are not said to be violently attractive, and perhaps one winter there might be enough for most people. There are travelling folk enough in the United States alone to fill to overflowing all the hotels in Barbados, Trinidad, Jamaica, and St. Lucia that are likely to be built for some time to come. Barbados has built the first. If money is soon found for furnishing and starting it, it will take a man very clever in blundering to fail to make it a success. The plain truth is, that tourists, who do not happen to have private introductions in the West Indies, are at present debarred from visiting them by lack of sufficient or suitable hotel accommodation. Let this be supplied, promptly and suitably, and if properly and liberally managed, and thoroughly advertised, hotels must answer.

In two very important matters Barbados,

if not ahead of the other islands, assuredly is not behind them. I mean in her admirable system of education, and in her public recognition of the Christian faith. With one gap, of which I will speak presently, and which can be bridged over at any moment (the sooner the better), the Education scheme is complete. It is the outcome of the Education Act of 1878, resulting from a commission appointed, in 1875, to report upon the subject, and out of an annual revenue of £140,000, it expends the creditable sum of £15,000 a year. An Education Board, of which the experienced and energetic Bishop of Barbados is chairman, carries out the provisions of the Act, submits an annual Educational Budget, superintends all the schools under its authority, and every year reports to the Governor. There are three sets of schools-primary, second grade, and first grade. The primary schools, which are carried on by the various religious bodies, with full religious instruction and a conscience clause, do a useful but probably not complete work. In Barbados, as in England, many little fish escape the net, and at present any compulsory methods deserving the name would be premature and hurtful.

There are at present 68 infant schools, and 78 primary schools-either boys, girls, or mixed-under the care of the Anglican Church. They all receive grants in aid. A Moravian school I visited with the Bishop was a cheerful and encouraging sight. Nearly all the children were coloured. Here I enjoyed the unique experience of proposing to ask for a half-holiday, and finding my

(1.) "As the evidence submitted to your Committee has extended to considerable length, they have thought it desirable to draw attention to the leading points of the statements made by the witnesses. Of the witnesses examined, 12 were assistants called to prove the length of hours; 21 have spoken on behalf of various associations in different parts of the country; 21 were representative traders called by the supporters of the Bill; five were inspectors of factories; 14 were traders called by different members of the Committee; and two were medical men.

(2.) "Your Committee are agreed that the practice of keeping open shops until a late hour of the evening prevails extensively; that while shops used by the wealthier classes generally close at a comparatively early hour, in neighbourhoods where the shops are frequented by the working classes they are kept open until very late, especially on Saturday. It follows that in such cases all the persons employed, including young persons, must be kept on their feet for a great many hours, and that where shops are crowded and ill-ventilated such prolonged hours must be exhausting and often injurious to health, especially in the case of girls.

(3.) Your Committee have had evidence that in wholesale warehouses the packing and entering clerks are often detained till very late at night, especially at the busy seasons. The apartments in which the work is carried on, in the departments mentioned, are often underground, and even in the daytime lighted by gas. In those departments, too, apprentices and other young men are commonly employed, and work of this description, if so prolonged, your Committee can readily believe to be exhausting and injurious.

(4.) "Again your Committee find, that in shops to which work-rooms are attached, young persons, who could not be employed in the latter beyond the statutory hours of the Factory and Workshop Act, are called upon to serve after their tasks in the workrooms have been finished. Your Committee have introduced into the Bill a provision designed to put an end to this practice.

(5.) "It appears to be very common for the employed, and perhaps especially the apprentices and young persons, to be detained for some time after the shops have been closed to customers, to clear up, put away the goods, and to pack up articles purchased; and in many cases these young persons have to come earlier in the morning than the others to prepare the shops for the day's work.

(6.) The great majority of witnesses expressed their opinion that though voluntary action had effected much improvement, little could be expected

from it in the poorer neighbourhoods, and that nothing short of legislation would be effective.

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that strong testimony has been given in support of (7.) Under these circumstances it is not surprising the Bill referred to your Committee.

(8.) "A widespread desire has been expressed by gown-up persons employed in shops, that in some way their labours also may be limited by law; and your Committee believe that employers are not indisposed as a rule to such limitation, provided that it takes the form of general early closing of shops. (9.) "Your Committee have evidence that, in many keepers to close early has been frustrated by the localities, the desire of the great majority of shopdissent of some few individuals, while in many cases the large establishments are induced to keep their

doors open longer than they otherwise would do, for

fear of their customers being diverted to smaller shops in the same trade.

(10.) "Your Committee did not consider themselves empowered to consider any measure for the compulsory closing of shops; but they did not decline to receive such evidence, because it bears directly upon the question of the practicability and usefulness of the proposal to limit the hours of service of young persons in shops.

(11.) "The witnesses who were in favour of a compulsory closing generally expressed a willingness to accept the Bill as a step in the right direction, and because it might tend to shorten the hours of service of the employed, and to promote the earlier closing of shops.

(12.) There was a concurrence of opinion that if any limitation were placed upon the hours of employment of young persons, or upon those during which shops may be kept open, there must be some relaxation upon certain days, as on Saturday, and the eves of holidays. Suggestions were made by many witnesses that the limitation in the former case should be rather upon the total number of hours of employment in the week, than on those in each day, and your committee have modified the Bill in this sense.

(13.) "It appears, moreover, from the evidence taken before your Committee, as well as by that taken before the Factory and Workshops Act Commission of 1876, that a large majority of the inspectors of factories are in favour of some legislative regulation of the hours of labour in shops; Mr. Taylor, inspector in the North-West Lancashire Division, expressed his belief that they are now almost unanimously of this opinion.

(14.) “The Bill contains no provision for Government inspection, and though no doubt, under the circumstances, there may be some evasion, still your Committee believe that it would have a considerable effect.

(15.) "The Bill exempts from its operation licensed public-houses and refreshment-houses of all kinds. It appears to the Committee that the employment of young persons in such places must be at least as fatiguing, and, in many respects, as injurious as in shops; but the Bill, as referred to your Committee, did not extend to them, and your Committee have not therefore taken evidence on the subject.

(16) "In conclusion, your Committee being satisfied that the hours of shop assistants range in many places as high as from eighty-four to eighty-five per week, being convinced that such long hours must be generally injurious, and often ruinous to health, and that the same amount of business might be compressed into a shorter space of time, recommend this Bill to the favourable consideration of the House."