The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1900-04-10
THE island Of ST. HELENA MEETING Talks OF WATER
sKTTCH OF CRONJE's PRESENT
PRISON.
1T is Extremely Healthy-Was Once
Very Prosperous-T'he Suez Canal and
Steam Navigation Ruined 1t.


ST. Helena, the island famous in his
tory as the prison place of Bonaparte,
writes a contributor to the Chicago
Inter Ocean, has BEEN selected by the
British authorities as the residence of
General Cronje, the captive Boer com
mander and his staff. Great Britain is
evidently determined to isolate Cronje
and his aids in a spot from which there
is small chance of escape, and where
they cannot communicate with their
fellow countrymen. For this purpose
st. Helena is admirably located. 1t Is
situated in the South Atlantic, 1,40O
miles off the west coast of Africa, and
800 miles from the nearest land. which
is the almost equally isolated Island of
Ascension. There is no need of cells or
chains on st. Helena. Once landed there
a prisoner has no hope of escape, save
through pardon.
All that has given the island of st.
Helena its fame is the fact that it was
there that Napoleon spent the last six
years 0S15-1S2D of his life. So long as
his name continues to hold the place it
does in human history, the little isolated
volcanic cone, of foT'ty-seven square
miles, with a population of barely 4,000
will not be permitted to sink into OBJ
livion. st. Helena was discovered in
Nova Castillo. 1t was then densely
wooded, with redwood and ebony, but
the destruction of it's forests has been
followed by a wasting away of the sod,
so that the slopes are now mostly bar
rem. willows, poplars and other trees
from the temperate zone have been IN
troduced. Apples, pears, grapes anu
potatoes have been brought and now
grow side by side With coffee and tea
plants, sugar cane, cotton and bananas.
The island was first settled by Por-
tuguese deserters, who We're afterward
Joined by escaped slaves. Their off
spring were a little later largely exter
minated by the Portuguese. Some of
them, however, must have escaped the
general slaughter, for when Sir John
Cavendish in his voyage around the
world, visited st. Helena in 1885, ne
found it inhabited and containing
small town. In 1916 the Dutch attempt
ed to establish a settlement, but re-
linquished the island to the English in
1861. In 1868 the commander of a home
ward bound East India fleet of English
vessels took formal possession of it in
the name of Charles II, who Immediate
ly made it over to the East India Com
pany. The Dutch again obtained pos
session in 1872, but the next year it was
recaptured by Captain Richard Munden
with three ships. Since that time it has
remained in British possession.
The East India Company invited set
tiers to immigrate from England to St
Helena, and numbers of families which
had been reduced to beggary by the
great fire in London took advantage Of
the offer of free land, which was as
signed to them provided they would
cultivate it within six months. Slaves
We're also introduced from Madagascar
Being situated in the direct track Of
vessels bound from the east to England
around the Cape of Good Hope, it soon
became an important port of call for
a large number of vessels. The chief
source of income of the inhabitants was
derived from supplying fresh provisions
to the ships that put in at that port.
A large garrison was also kept up, there
being at one time nearly 1000 men sta
toned there. Between 1915 and 1921 the
British Government withdrew the Is
land from the East India Company, its
chief use during that period being as
a prison for Napoleon. In 1922 the East
India Company resumed it's jurisdiction
over it, but in 1884 it became a crown
colony.
The island continued to prosper until
the opening of the Suez canal. This al
tered the route to the East Indies, thus
depriving the inhabitants of their
means of livelihood The introduction
Oh steam Navigation also maze II I'M
necessary for vessels to touch at that
point The island also received another
blow in the reduction of the garrison
and of the naval squadron which had
been kept up for the suppression of
the slave trade. The inhabitants fell
into poverty, having nothing to depend
upon but the precarious sale of supplies
to American whalers Which sometimes
make st, Helena a port of call. 1t is
now a British admiralty coaling sta
tion to which the Cape and West Afri-
can squadron sometimes resort. One
battery of royal artillery and one COM
pany of infantry are also stationed
there.
Perhaps the taking of General Cronje
and his men to st. Helena will restore
to it some of it's former prosperity. For
some years the island has been getting
deeper and deeper into financial straits
and the population has been steadily di-
minishing. In 1871 the Inhabitants
numbered 6,444; ten years later the pop
ulation was 5,059, while by the census of
1891 it was only 4,116, including the gar
rison. According to The Statesman
Year Book there are only about 100
births a year and about IS deaths. How
| ever, about 200 persons annually emf
CRATE to the United States and South
Africa Cronje and his men would helI
to bring these numbers IN again. IT is
said. that this is one of the most salu-
| brious spOts on the face of the earth
and the longevity of those who remain
| tbaTp G errsaat