LIFE ON ST. HELENA.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21136, 19 March 1932, Page 3 (Supplement)

LIFE ON ST. HELENA.

SCENE OF NAPOLEON'S EXILE,

WHERE MOTOR-CARS NOW RUN

The Bishop of St. Helena, who was formerly the Rev. Charles C. Watts, curate of St. Mark's, Noel Park, London, declares that St. Helena is one of the cheapest places in the world for people with fixed incomes. " Ever since the Suez Canal was opened and St. Helena ceased to be a port of call, the islanders have been' poverty-stricken," says the bishop. " The British Government is helping, for £3OOO has been granted for roads, on which the island's 30 motor-cars now run about the scene of Napoleon's exile. " A British agricultural expert from Kew Gardens is trying to restore the cultivation which existed in the old East India Company's days, when crops of all kinds were grown. There are fine pasture lands for cattle and bee culture has been introduced. " St. Helena has much to offer for people who do not mind comparative solitude. Fine old country houses may be hired furnished for £5 a month. Servants are plentiful for 15s a month with board. The people are attractive folk, with good manners, well-behaved, and law-abiding. Meat cost Is a pound; it is too expensive for most of the islanders, who live on fish, rice and vegetables. Customs duties are very low, and taxation negligible. " Other advantages of St. Helena life are the healthy climate, golf, tennis, cricket, shooting, fishing, and riding. Gardening and miit-growing are hobbies which can be indulged in. There is no reason whv St. Helena should not become a flourishing holiday resort."