COSTA RICA. 



CUBA. 



225 



erty and idleness have been the ever-increasing result 



of 'the demfineti/iitinn of silver in 1873; we there- 

 invite the united support of the electors in the 

 ctTort to restore the coinage system which existed 

 during the years of our national prosperity, and 

 which is the coinage system recognized in our na- 

 tional Constitution. We denounce the recent bond 

 is and the useless increase of the national debt 

 in time of peace. 



' As labor is a great producing industry, we 

 _nizc the certain result of depression in busi- 

 io be less money to be paid for the labor 

 product and a limited market for its employment. 

 We therefore invite labor to unite to save itself 

 from the danger which threatens it if money shall 

 continue to increase in purchasing power, and all 

 ' o decrease in exchangeable value in the mar- 

 kets of the world." 



The State ticket nominated was the following : 

 For Governor, James B. Sargent ; for Lieutenant 

 Governor, S. Ashbel Crandall ; for Secretary of 

 State, Homer S. Cummings ; for Treasurer, A. M. 

 i;" ; for Comptroller, E. M. Ripley. 



The State convention of the People's party met 

 at New Haven, Oct. 3, fewer than 40 delegates be- 

 ing in attendance. No ticket was nominated, the 

 principal vote of the convention being one instruct- 

 ing members of the party to vote for all the candi- 

 dates of the Silver Democrats. 



A call therefore having been issued in Septem- 

 ber, the Sound-money Democrats met in conven- 

 tion at Hartford on Oct. 8. The resolutions of their 

 platform were the same as those adopted at the 

 Democratic Convention in June. It was also re- 

 solved that the party title to be placed at the head 

 of the ballots containing the names of the candi- 

 dates of the National Democracy in Connecticut 

 should be " National Democratic." Presidential 

 electors were nominated, as well as the following 

 State ticket: For Governor. Joel A. Sperry ; for 

 Lieutenant Governor. William Waldo Hyde ; for 

 tary of State, William Belcher: for Treasurer, 

 George H. Hoyt ; for Comptroller. H. W. Curtis. 



At the election in November the Republican State 

 ticket was successful. Four Republican members 

 of Congress and 24 Republican State Senators were 

 elected. The vote for presidential electors was : 

 McKinley, 110,285; Bryan, 56,740; Palmer. 4.336 ; 

 Levering, 1,806 ; Social Labor and scattering, 1.227. 

 McKinley's plurality was 53,545, the total vote cast 

 being 174,394. 



COBEA. See KOREA. 



COSTA RICA, a republic of Central America. 

 The Congress is composed of a single Chamber 

 of 21 Representatives, elected for four years by 

 electoral colleges chosen by all the respectable citi- 

 zens. Rafael Iglesias was elected President for the 

 term of four years ending May 8, 1898. 



Area and Population. With an estimated area 

 of 23.000 square miles, Costa Rica has about 275.000 

 inhabitants, including 3,500 aborigines. Immigra- 

 tion has been encouraged by granting concessions 

 of land. There were 1.490 marriages in 1893. and 

 10,567 births and 6,027 deaths. Education is free 

 and compulsory. 



Finances. The revenue for the year ending 

 June 30, 1895. was 6,021.615 pesos, and the expendi- 

 ture 6.824,243 pesos. The foreign debt was com- 

 promised in 1887 by giving new bonds for 2.000,- 

 000 sterling, bearing interest at 5 per cent., and for 

 the arrears of interest, amounting to 2,119,500, 

 stock in the Costa Rica Railroad for 22| per cent, 

 of the amount. In 1895 the Government defaulted 

 again, on account of the premium on gold, and 

 offered a new compromise. The Bank of Costa 

 Rica has the privilege of issuing notes, of which 

 3,107.000 pesos were in circulation in 1895. protected 



VOL. xxxvi. 15 A 



by a specie reserve of 1,155.000 pesos. Tln-rc wen- 

 about 1,000,000 pc-os ,,f silver in circulation. The 

 Government in July. 1896. passed a law prohibiting 

 the importation of foreign silver coin and requiring 

 that in the possession of the people after thirty days 

 to be sent to the mint and exchanged for < 

 Rican currency. 



Commerce and Communications. The culti- 

 vation of coffee is rapidly extending and all avail- 

 able land is being planted to this crop, which brintrs 

 a high price in the European market. The number 

 of plantations is 8,595. The coffee crop in 1895 was 

 15,160.868 kilogrammes, representing a value of 

 more than $ 9,000,000. The mining and agricultural 

 resources of the country will be expanded when the 

 railroads that are projected have been built. Of 

 the original Costa Rican Railroad 147 miles are in 

 operation on the Atlantic side and 14 on the Pacific 

 side, earning 2.449.893 pesos in 1895. An American 

 company with a capital of $1.500.000 has under- 

 taken to construct a line from San Jose, the capital, 

 to the Pacific coast. 



Boundary Settlement. Costa Rica and Nica- 

 ragua came to an agreement in April. 1896, through 

 the mediation of the President of Salvador, regard- 

 ing the demarcation of the boundary between the 

 two republics. There was a dispute as to the in- 

 terpretation of the boundary treaty of 1858, which 

 was referred to the President of the United States 

 for arbitration. After President Cleveland had 

 rendered his decision disputes arose as to the loca- 

 tion of certain points of the line. The new con- 

 vention provides for a joint commission of delimi- 

 tation, which shall be accompanied by an American 

 engineer selected by President Cleveland to act as 

 referee in any dispute that may arise. 



CUBA, the largest of the West Indian islands, 

 the last remaining American colony of Spain ex- 

 cepting the neighboring island of Puerto Rico. 

 The head of the civil and military administration 

 is a captain general appointed by the Spanish Gov- 

 ernment, as are also the members of his council. In 

 the Spanish ( 'ones Cuba is represented by 30 Depu- 

 ties and 16 Senators. 



Area and Population. The island has an area 

 of 41,655 square miles. The population in 1894 

 was estimated to be 1.631.696. Slavery ceased in 

 1886. Havana, the capital, had 198,271 inhabitants 

 in 1887. The population of Santiago de Cuba in 

 1892 was 71.307; of Puerto Principe. 46.641: of 

 Holguin > 34. 767; of Cienfuegos, 27.430; of Sancti 

 Spiritus. 32.608. Of the total population 65 per 

 cent, are white and the rest negroes and mulattoes. 

 except about 50.000 Chinese laborers on the planta- 

 tions. The bulk of the plantation laborers, how- 

 ever, are negroes and mulattoes. numbering about 

 575.000. The white population is divided into the 

 Peninsulares. or immigrants from Spain, a small but 

 influential class, comprising officials and ex-officials, 

 wealthy planters and merchants, and professional 

 men. and the Insulares. or Cuban Creoles, descended 

 from the original Spanish conquerors, numbering 

 nearly 1,000.000. 



Finances. The revenue for the fiscal year 

 1893-'94 was $20.492.764. and the expenditure $26.- 

 230.176. The military expenditure was $8.541.200. 

 and the naval expenditure $1.097.385: the cost of the 

 civil administration. $3.663.909. The debt amount- 

 ed to $159.849.000, consisting of the Spanish debt 

 of $570.000 due to the United States, amortizable 

 bonds for $179.000, $114.410.000 of Cuban bonds at 

 6 per cent, issued in 1886, and $47,690,000 of 5-per- 

 cent, bonds of 1890. In 1895 the expenses of the 

 war added $122.500.000 to the debt, not counting 

 $10.000.000 of arrears of salaries and unpaid obli- 

 gations. In 1896 the war expenses were $10.000.000 

 or more everv month. With the increased debt the 



