Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 17.djvu/120

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BEBMUDA 104 BEBMUDA

boarding schools where housekeeping is taught, holiday resort for Americans. The civil population

There are 8 large hospitals in Berlin in charge of on 31 December, 1919, numbered 21,869, including

Catholic sisters, 18 institutions for visiting the sick 7,441 whites.

and poor; 6 boarding houses for old people con- Economic Status.— Of the 12,360 acres, 4,000 are

ducted by nuns. In charge of nuns are 25 kinder- under cultivation. Food suppUes are imported

gartens for children under six years, and 20 for chiefly from Canada and the United States, and

school children, 3 nurseries, 9 orphanages for children nearly all the export produce of Bermuda goes to

under 6 years, and 10 for school children, 14 houses the United States. The chief development in

for girls in employment, and out of employment; recent years has been in the potato crop, which has

2 houses of retreat. increased by nearly thirty per cent since 1915. The Associations. — ^There is much activity among the Bermuda onion ia another important crop. The

Catholic societies in Berlin. In 1921, there were registered shipping in 1918 consisted of 7 steam 4 societies fur^ering the interests of the foreign vessels of 2,189 tons and 16 sailing vessels of 3,336 missions: 40 societies of Christian Mothers, with tons. In 1919 the total tonnage of vessels entered about 17,000 members. About 70 Sodalities of and cleared was 1,258,188 tons, of which 6^,212 Mary for men, women, young men, girls, and chil- Were British.

dren; 32 associations for Catholic young men. The principal exports are potatoes, onions, lily Among the local charitable associations there are: bulbs, and vegetables; in 1919 all the exports the Catholic charity organization of Berlin and amounted to £208,708; the imports to £792,683. Ber- suburbs, and association of all the Catholic benevo- muda is an important naval base for the English lent institutions, endowments and societies; Soci- fleet, with a dockyard, coaling stations, etc., and eties of St. Vincent de Paul, including 33 confer- during the great European War the American navy ences for men, and 43 conferences for women; the maintained a depot, largely used by sdbmarine- St. Hedwig's women's association; the society for chasers, mine-sweepejs, and other craft on their the protection of girls; 4 societies for the care of trans-Atlantic journeys. A telegraph cable connects lying-in women; the Catholic burial association; the islands with Nova Scotia, Halifax, also Turk's the society for the care of the Catholic deaf and Island and Jamacia. The revenue for the year dumb of Berlin. The most important associations from all sources totalled £119,091 and the expendi- in connection with the various callings are: the ture, £90,684. Customs duties provide the bulk of Catholic Journeymen's Association, having a large the revenue, there being no direct taxation for building of its own; the Master Workmen^ Union; colonial revenue. A loan of £40.000, raised in 1893 35 Catholic Workmen's Unions: 38 unions for for the improvement of the cnannels leading to Catholic working women, married and unmarried; Hamilton Harbor, falls due in 1924. The nominal 9 grou|)6 of the Catholic Business Men's Society; value of the sinking fund on 31 December, 1919»

3 associations of Catholic male and female teach- was £39,674. There is no other public debt. Com- ers, 12 associations of Catholic students; 2 Philister mimications within the islands are maintained by societies. Among the political associations should boat and horse-drawn vehicles, the use of motor be named: the People's Union (Katholische VolkS' vehicles being prohibited by law.

verein); the Windthorst Union, and the Center Government. — ^The laws of the colony are enacted

party proper, with about 45 organized groups, by a Legislature consisting of the Governor, the

Besides these there are sinking and church choir L^islative Council, and the House of Assembly,

societies; Catholic social societies, societies for col- The Governor is assisted by an Executive Council

lecting funds for church buildings (especially, for of four official and three unofficial members. The

the St. Boniface Association); Catholic societies Legislative Council consists of nine members, three

for sport {DetUsche Jugendkraft), of whom are official and six unofficial. The House

The most important of the Catholic newspapers of Assembly consists of thirtynsix members, four

are : 'The Germania" and the ^'Markische Zeitung." of whom are elected by each of the nine parishes.

Since this article went into type word has been There are about 1,413 electors, the electoral qualifi-

received of the erection of a see at Berlin and cations being the possession of freehold property of

the appointment of a bishop in the person of the not less than £60 in value. A member of the As-

Rev. Dr. Kaas. sembly must have freehold property rated at £240.

Education. — ^There are no government schools in

Bermnda Islands, a group of small islands in Bermuda, but education is compulsory and Govem-

the West Atlantic, a colony of Great Britain, about ment* assistance is given by the pa3rment of grants

580 miles from Cape Hatteras, N. C, and 677 miles and, where necessary, school fees. The aided schools

from New York, belonging to the West Indies, must reach a certain standard of efficiency and

but detached from the other groups, situated be- submit to Government inspection. In 1919, 30

tween (about) latitude 32* 14' and 32** 25' North, aided primary schools, with 2,^76 pupils, received

and longitude 64"* 38' and 64** 52' West. They lie Government grants, £2,853 yeariy. There are 3

Southwest and Northeast, based on the edge of a garrison schools and 2 naval schools, about 17

coral bank and occupjr a space of only about 18 other primary schools, and 4 secondary schools,

miles by 6, though said to oe 300-360 in number, having no Government grant. Cambridge local

They are separated from one another by very nar- examinations are held in Bermuda. A Government

row channels and are mostly rocky islets, only six scholarship is provided to enable youths educated

being of any considerable size or importance. These in Bermuda to go abroad to prepare themselves

are Bermuda, Somerset, Ireland, St. George, St. for a Rhodes scholarship.

David, and Boaz. The total area is 193 square History. — According to the Spanish navigator and miles. They are difficult of access, surrounded on historian, Ferdinand d'Oviedo, who visited these three sides by hidden coral reefs which extend islands in 1515, they were discovered at an earlier about ten miles under water. The highest point date by Juan de Bermudez, who was shipwrecked is 260 feet. The climate is delightful, the highest on a voyage from Spain to Cuba with a cargo temperature in August, 1919, was 90**, the lowest, of hogs. The exact date of the discovery is not 46° in February; the mean temperature was 70. known, but a map, contained in the first edition There are no extremes of temperature, and malaria of the "Legatio Babylonica" of Peter Martsrr, pub- is unknown, which makes the islands a popular lished in 1511, shows the Island "La Barmuda^' in