The Van Buren press., 1897-10-09
OLD MAIDS IN BERMUDA.
MARRYING an Alien Means ioss u :"
Voman's Landed Estate.


Xyoman,s Lanaed ESTATE.
T. snita of the preeminenee of ths
sninster in New England, the PioPol'
tion of unmarried women in New Eng
land Is greater in the British colony oi
Bermuda than anywhere else Oh 'his
siae of tbe Atlantic ocean. The selnl7
tropical climate of the islands, togetner
With their isolation, has made oil the
white inhabitants of English STOCK "
oniet. almost sluggish people OF a SIM
plieity nearly Arcadian. Inc women women
asneciaIlv many Of whom have led very
circllmscribed lives, never leaVihs 'iie
islands. cultivate an old-fashioned nos,
pitalitv and possess a natufal ease %
manner that seems to rise from peflec'
faith in other people. Crime Is very
rare in Bermuda, partly because IL Is
extremely difficult for criminal TO ge'
off the islands.
Bermudian women are eXceileit
bousekeepers and bring up large ia',i''
lies of children. the fayorite chicks Oh
flock being sent in some cases TO 'he NJ.
states for education. In matters Oh e'i'
ouette these folks are much more eA'
acting than Americans. They are com
Portable. well-to-do sort of people, with
here and there family possessing
ample means. As in England, property
especially real estate, remains IN the
same family for long period, some OF
the descendants Of the original settlers
still possessing lnnds that never nave
passed out of their families.
It is conservative as to real estate
ownership and keeps up the supply oi
spinsters. No alien can acquire tltle
TO land in Bermuda, either by purchase
or inheritance. This law is directed
against the Portuguese, who have
flocI<ed to the colony and taken to grow
ing onions. So long as these intruders
own no land, they have no vote, and the
difficulty of naturalization and the
property qualification combine to make
double barrier, protecting the natives
in their control of things.
But the law provides further, that II
a woman owning real estate marrles an
alien she forfeits her real estate and be-
comes incapable of inheriting any.
They have no "squaw men III bermuda
This law is not very popular withyoung
women who see their brothers and
sweethearts paying court to American
girls with comfortable incomes. The
number of Americans who have become
residents of Bermuda is smaller than il
would be under different land laws, but
the winter colony is large one, and the
most energetic business men Of Hamil-
ton, the capital of the islands, are from
the states. Marriages result of Ber-
mudian men with American girls, but
in a community where so large pro
portion of all property is land, Bermu-
dian girls are prevented from retaliat-
ing. There are instances where girls
renounee their birthrights, but penni-
less bellies are not universally attract
i've.
Young men emigrate from the islands
in ever increasing numbers in search OF
better openings than so limited a field
can offer, and this course operates with
the land laws to restrict matrimonial
opportunities. There is very little abb
ieet poverty among the whites of Ber-
muda 50 that from one point of view the
''superfnous" women do not suffer, but
they have not the mental or social re-
sources of Yankee spinsters. Schools
are poor, libraries few and small, char
table work, except to a very limited ex.
tent among the negroes, unnecessary
and women clubs unknown. The wom-
EN- are deyout church goers, but unless
they belong to the government house
set they have little other recreation
1t is much pleasanter to be girl bach
elor in New York or Boston than an old
maid in the beautiful coral islands.-N
Y. Tribune.