VINCENT

VINCENT, St, one of the West India islands belonging to Great Britain, in the windward group, between N. Lat. 13. 10., and 13. 25.; W. Long. 61. 10., and 61. 20.; 21 miles S.S.W. of St Lucia, and 108 W. of Barbadoes. Length from N. to S. 17 miles; breadth 10; area 130 square miles. The coast is bold and rocky, and the island is traversed from N. to S. by a range of hills, steep and

rugged, but mostly covered with wood, attaining their highest elevation in Souffrière, a volcano near the northern extremity of the range, 3000 feet above the sea. A tremendous eruption of this volcano took place in 1812, and caused much damage. The crater is half a mile in diameter, and 500 feet deep. From the central range of hills, several others diverge on either side to the sea, forming numerous valleys, which are well watered by a number of small rivers flowing down them. The soil in the lower parts of the valleys is rich and loamy, while on the higher ground it is more sandy and not so fertile. There are few marshes, and the natural vegetation is nowhere very luxuriant; so that even the uncultivated parts of the island are free from noxious exhalations; and the climate, though exceedingly moist, is considered to surpass in salubrity that of any of the other West India Islands. The extent of cultivated land in the island, in 1855, was 21,081 acres; and the principal productions are sugar, rum, molasses, arrowroot, cocoa, and cotton. The only important mineral production of the island is pozzuolana, a cement formed from volcanic ashes. The value of the exports and imports of St Vincent to and from different countries, in 1856, is exhibited in the following table:—

The imports consisted chiefly of wheat flour, dried and salted fish, beef and pork, manures, linen woollen and silk cloth, hardware, machinery, and timber; and the principal exports were, sugar to the value of L.75,134; rum, L.15,956; molasses, L.2529; flour, L.7000; and arrowroot, L.15,598. The total number of vessels that entered in the same year was 344, tonnage, 19,784; and the number of those that cleared 334, tonnage, 18,112. The government of St Vincent is in the hands of a lieutenant-governor, and a council at once legislative and executive, consisting of twelve members appointed by the crown. The public revenue for 1856 was L.21,258; and the public expenditure, L.17,037. There were in 1852 103 places of worship in the colony, of which 14 belonged to the Church of England, and nearly all the rest to the Wesleyan Methodists. The number of schools in 1856 was 22, which were attended by 1960 pupils. St Vincent was discovered by Columbus in 1498, but for a long time no settlement was established here by Europeans. In 1714 the French began to colonize the island, but disputes arose between them and the English, and continued for a long time, until it was ceded to the latter in 1763. The French again captured St Vincent in 1779, but it was restored to Great Britain, at the peace, in 1783. The capital is Kingstown, on the south-west coast, and the island is divided into 6 parishes; one of which comprehends the Grenadines, a group of 120 islets to the south, and included in the government of St Vincent. Pop. (1852) 30,128.