238 



DELAWARE. 



aged the hill country that had been occupied, de- 

 stroying the growing crops. Gen. Inclan explored 

 the Gobernadora hills, where he had an encounter 

 with a rebel band on Dec. 4. On that day Antonio 

 Maceo crossed the troclia unobserved with his staff 

 and a small force, intending to join Gomez. In the 

 vicinity of Punta Brava the party was surrounded 

 by the column of Major Cirujeda, and more than 

 40 were killed, including Maceo. Dr. Maximo 

 Zertucha, Maceo's surgeon general, was the only 

 member of the staff who escaped, and when he im- 

 mediately afterward gave himself up to the Spanish 

 authorities and obtained amnesty, the Cuban patriots 

 felt sure that this man had betrayed their chief to 

 the Spaniards for money, either leading the party 

 into an ambush or getting word to the enemy of 

 their arrival and probable route. 



Gen. Ruiz Rivera succeeded Maceo as Commander- 

 in-chief of the Cuban army of the west. The Span- 

 ish troops in Pinar del Rio continued their opera- 

 tions in the hills, which the Cubans opposed no 



longer in considerable bodies, but by harassing the 

 Spanish forces in small parties. Their principal 

 fastnesses were still safe from Spanish attack. In 

 the east a large body of insurgents crossed the 

 Moron-Jucaro trocha after making a breach by 

 blowing up some of the forts with dynamite. The 

 ' Three Friends " was fired upon by a Spanish gun- 

 boat when attempting to land a large cargo of arms 

 find ammunition on Dec. 19 at the mouth of the 

 San Juan river, between Cienfuegos and Trinidad, 

 and put to sea again with her cargo and party of 

 filibusters, setting them down on a desert Florida 

 key, where they were rescued by the "Dauntless." 

 The main body of Gen. Gomez's forces at the close 

 of the year was encamped in the Cienega de Zapata. 

 Guerrilla fighting was still as lively as ever in 

 Havana, Matan/as. Santa Clara, and Puerto Principe. 

 The Spanish troops made further attempts to oc- 

 cupy the rebel positions in the mountainous parts 

 of Santiago and ( 'a maguey and in the southern 

 swamps, with no permanent success. 



D 



DELAWARE, a Middle Atlantic State, one of 

 the original thirteen; ratified the Constitution 

 Dec. 7, 1787; area, 2,120 square miles. The popu- 

 lation, according to each decennial census, was 

 59,096 in 1790; 64,273 in 1800: 72,674 in 1810; 

 72,749 in 1820; 76,748 in 1830; 78,085 in 1840; 91,- 

 532 in 1850; 112,216 in 1860; 125.015 in 1S70; 

 146,608 in 1880; and 168,493 in 1890. Capital, 

 Dover. 



Government. The following were the State 

 officers during the year: Governor (acting), William 

 T. Watson, Democrat ; Secretary of State, J. H. 

 Whiteman, Democrat: Treasurer, Charles II. At- 

 kins, Republican ; Auditor, B. L. Lewis, Democrat; 

 Attorney-General, Robert C. White, Democrat; 

 Adjutant General, Garrett J. Hart, Democrat ; In- 

 surance Commissioner, Peter K. Meredith : Chan- 

 cellor, John R. Nicholson ; Chief Justice of the 

 Court of Errors and Appeals, Charles B. Lore ; As- 

 sociate Justices, Ignatius C. Grubb, Charles M. Cul- 

 len, and David T. Marvel, Democrats. 



Finances. The report published in March shows 

 the following summary of the condition of the 

 State finances : The general fund receipts of 1895 

 were $174,767.94, and the expenditures $187,119.15, 

 leaving a deficiency of $12,351.21, which was con- 

 verted into a balance of $7,648.79 by borrowing 

 $20,000 from the school fund. Other balances at 

 the end of the year were: School fund, $16,017.33; 

 sinking fund. $4,529.38; State Hospital improve- 

 ment fund, $36,052.64; State Hospital current fund, 

 $5.39 ; total balances, $64,253.53. The school dis- 

 bursements during the year were $127,759.98. 



In its general fund the State has bank stock to 

 the amount of $92.100 and railroad mortgages to 

 the amount of $385,000 ; also a real-estate mortgage 

 of $10,000. The bonded debt of the State is $684,- 

 750, and the excess of investments over the bonded 

 debt is $347,092. 



Education. The report of the State College for 

 the year ending June 30 has the following details: 

 The number of students enrolled for the year was 

 71; in arts, 35; in civil engineering, 10; in me- 

 chanical engineering, 13: in agriculture. 7. The 

 number of graduates for the year was 14; in arts, 

 8; in civil engineering, 3: in electrical engineering, 

 2; in agriculture and science. 1. Of the past year's 

 income, $2. 57:!. s2 was expended for apparatus, 

 machinery, and laboratory supplies, and $895.08 for 

 reference hooks. 



The Agricultural Experiment Station has again 

 given much attention to the study and investigation 

 of animal diseases, especially those affecting horses 

 and cattle, including anthrax, tuberculosis, etc. 

 Investigations have been made as to the San Jose 

 scale insect ; also other scale insects, the elm-leaf 

 beetle, and other insects injurious to vegetation. 

 Valuable tests have been made with strawberries, 

 and studies of varieties of apples suitable for 

 profitable culture in Delaware. The receipts for 

 the year were $39,871.44, and the expenditures 

 $37.321.20. , 



The State College for Colored Students was opened 

 Oct. 7, 1895, with 20 students, and the formal open- 

 ing took place about two weeks later. The college 

 offers facilities for learning carpentering, black- 

 smithing, printing, and other trades, as well as 

 scholastic training. 



The new State Library has been finished. The 

 whole cost was about $10,000. The second story 

 has been fitted up as a hall, and this is in use by 

 the Constitutional Convention. 



Charities. The number of inmates at the In- 

 sane Hospital Dec. 1 was 252. The biennial re- 

 port of expenses shows that the cash on hand Dec. 

 1. 1894, received for treatment of patients, was 

 S5.272.44; during the two years $7.023.87 has been 

 received for treatment and $64.002.01 from the 

 Legislature, while $76,161.06 has been expended. 

 At the December meeting of trustees it was de- 

 cided to charge annually $152.18 per patient, which 

 is $14 more than is now charged at the hospital and 

 $60 less than the average charge in institutions of 

 like character in other States. Three employees at 

 the hospital Supervisor Michael Lynch and at- 

 tendants Daniel Brown and John J. Swan were 

 arrested in December, 1895, charged with the mur- 

 der, on Oct. 5, of Leon Pisa, alias Leon Lewis, a 

 patient. The arrests were made on the strength 

 of warrants which were sworn out by Dr. Paris T. 

 Carlisle and Thomas B. Smith, trustees of the hos- 

 pital. The verdict acquitted Lynch, but convicted 

 Brown and Swan of manslaughter. A motion for 

 a new trial was denied, and the convicts were sen- 

 tenced each to one year's imprisonment and a fine 

 of $400 the lightest penalty permitted by law. 



The annual appropriation for the maintenance of 

 the hospital is $32,000, which has proved inadequate 

 even to keep up the expenses incurred under the 

 present regime. There are 17 attendants in the in- 



