EL DORADO IN THE HEBRIDES

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 191, 8 May 1919, Page 8

EL DORADO IN THE HEBRIDES

; THE FUTURE OF LEWIS. . - ■-. Lord Leverhulme, the new' proprietor of the Island of Lewis, in tho course of an interview, recently gave to the.London "Daily ■ News" interesting particulars as, to ,his plans for: making it a happy spot, in the Hebrides. Lewis, he reminded me at the outset,.had-a-popu-lation of 32,000 at the. last census.' . "The scenery of the island is magnificent, its climate almost paradisical," he said. -"When I was there last week the temperature' was lOdeg. higher than in London. Flowers and plants will grow in the open there which you would have to travel as far south as the Isle of Wight to soe produced under'like conditions." ~ "The people," ho added, "are mostly crofters! Earning a livelihood involves tho hardest,sustained labour on the part of the- crofter, his wife, and his children. A" woman will frequently'have to make Ivrp journeys to tho peat beds per day; this means sixteen miles, with a vc-ry heavy burden over eight of them. For fishing they have only tho open boat and. the most primitive of tackle. Tho total earnings of a family of five will be from Bs.' to 12s. per week. Yet these people are given to education. There are 900 students _ receiving higher at the . Nicholson Institute," They pass thence in remarkable numbers to the universities." New houses nro to be built, woll equipped, with a garden in each case largo enough to be useful as an allotment. "The fishing grounds off Lewis are amongst the finest in the world. Canning factories must be ready. The first is now in course of erection at Storno- . way, and will be followed by others, ' The question of transit is not difficult. .Then we are to have works for handloom weaving. There is real demand for Lewis and Harris twcvls. "Add to all this," Lord Leverhulme said, "the possibilities of tho island as a centre for tourists, and you will see how . the employment problem is on the way to being solved. For tourists tho island is an ideal place. Tt is kept warm in winter by the Gulf Stream. It is kept from excessive heat in the summer by the Atlantic_ Ocean.' I hold that Lowis has a magnificent future before it."