spacious barracks and the military hospital. St.
Michael’s Cathedral, which is solid but plain, St.
Mary’s Church, and the Jewish synagogue are
among the notable buildings. There are several
hotels, and a newspaper which was established in
1730. T he port is an open roadstead, and the inner
harbour, or 1 carénage,” will not admit vessels of
deep draught ; but Bridgetown is the terminus for the
transatlantic steamship service, and the centre of distribution
for traffic with the other English islands, as
well as a port of call between the United States and
South America. I t is also connected with the ocean
telegraph system. Fontabelle is an attractive suburban
place, and Hastings is a popular resort. Other
places along the coast are Spaightstown, Hoisting-
town, and Holetown. There are twenty-five or
thirty miles of railway on the island, mostly for
plantation service.
Not only the language and the laws but all the
characteristics and traditions of Barbados are distinctively
English,— one might say intensely English.
I t is sometimes called “ Bimshire ” and its people
“ Bims,” but the term has the obscure origin of
slang, and is merely expressive to the popular mind
without having any clear significance. While the
colony has not been flourishing of late and there
have been signs of discontent, and though the overcrowded
population has been drifting away to some
extent, its natural resources and attractions are likely
to renew its prosperity as soon as its labour force is
applied to a greater variety of industries. I t has not
suffered from earthquakes or volcanoes of its own,