It was hoped at first that the accounts of the
damage and loss of life bad been exaggerated, but reports from the Governor and eye-witnesses of the disaster state that already three hundred and forty-three bodies have been buried, and that, although the effects of the earthquake have been confined to the three parishes of Kingston, Port Royal, and St. Andrew, within that area the majority of houses have been ruined beyond repair. Warned by the first shocks, the whites hurried into the open, but the negroes sought shelter in the poorer quarters of the city, where the greatest loss of life occurred. The business quarters were also wrecked or burned out, and nine thousand persons are reported homeless. On the other band, though the sea-bottom has shifted owing to the earthquake, the shipping in the harbour suffered little or no damage, and the party of British visitors who were in session at the Agricultural Conference escaped without injury. It is satis- factory to learn that perfect discipline has been maintained in the city, excellent work having been done by the ships' doctors, the native police, the West Indian Regiment, and the clergy. Sympathy with the inhabitants in their distress is widespread on both sides of the Atlantic, the United States having promptly despatched warships with offers of assistance. Messages of condolence and offers of help have come from the Canadian and American Governments, and the Lord Mayor of London has opened a Mansion House Fund, headed by large subscriptions from the King, the Queen, and the Prince and Princess of Wales.
