The Desperate Plight of Lewis Stewart, Unde Seoretary visits. the stan of mittee will poconstrvetion scheme involving an Jespenditure of nearly £500,000.
The proposals include demands for State yeats, ax follow: For new fishing boats and ear, 000; harbours, 60,000; Tand reclamation, £80,000; youd repairs, £30,000; ex tation, £20,000; technical education, £10,000; total The promoters of the scheme m that its adoption would give Tnow life to Lewis and obviate any further need of spoon-feeding, The money asked for fishing Tneeds would suffice to build 60 steam drifters and 80 motor-boats, and half could be given ax w loan Fand halt as a grant. Fishing ix the staple industry, but has been at a standstill for years, owing to lack of gear.
There ix a population of 30,000, and the conditions are deplorable, Many parts of the island were stricken by famine last winter, and fa relief fund had to be started.
All attempts to capitalize industry have failed. Lord Loverhulme was forced to abandon all his plans to introduce factory work into the island.
Lewis ix over-populated under present conditions, housing and sanitary arrangements are primitive, anil tuberculosis is rampant.
The death-rate from this disease higher in Lewis than in any town.
Mundreds of families ive in houses in which animals shelter tinder the sume roof, There are no trees, and the land is of poor quality.
But the people are strongly opposed to any scheme which would mean their removal from their island home.
The problem. of reconstructing Lewis is di years ago Inst Monday:
inks were first sed in the Great War. This for which Mr. Winston Churchill was largely responsible, saved thousands of lives and. broke the "impregnable" Hindenburg Line, ba
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.