SANTO DOMINGO. 



723 



decreed a 20 per cent, increase of import du- 

 ties, payable in gold, and on July 7 another 

 decree dispensed thenceforward with the legal- 

 ization abroad of manifests and invoices in- 

 tended for ports of the republic. On June 1 the 

 Government abolished the export duty on cof- 

 fee of 12 cents the 100 pounds. 



A New Silk-worm. In the summer of 1885 Dr. 

 Guzman, of Salvador, discovered in the interior 

 of the country a new silk- worm, which feeds 

 on the leaves of the Tecoma sideraxilum, and 

 the Assembly of Salvador immediately ex- 

 tended privileges and aid to him for the pur- 

 pose of utilizing the discovery. 



finances. The actual revenue and expendi- 

 ture of the republic during 1884 were as fol- 

 low: Income, $4,067,000 ; outlay, $4,057,000. 



The public indebtedness amounted, on Oct. 

 1, 1883, to $1,575,292 of bonded debt, and 

 $3,046,197 floating debt. 



On Aug. 26 Gen. Menendez issued a decree 

 suspending payment of all engagements made 

 by the previous administrations between May 

 1, 1876, and June 21, 1885, except the follow- 

 ing: 1. The treasury notes issued by the Gov- 

 ernment under decree of March 12. 2. The 

 treasury notes issued for military purposes un- 

 der the' decree of June 18, 1885. 3. All sala- 

 ries that may be due to school-teachers. 4. 

 Whatever money may be due to army tailors 

 for the accoutrement of the army. 



Commerce. The commercial movement has 

 been as follows : 



There entered ports of the republic, during 

 the first nine months of 1883, 268 vessels, 205 

 of which were steamers, of a joint tonnage of 

 334,894; and there left 270, of which 205 were 

 steamers, measuring together 354,092 tons. 



SANDWICH ISLANDS. See HAWAIIAN ISLANDS. 



SANTO DOMINGO, a republic occupying the 

 eastern portion of the West Indian island ot 

 that name, the western portion being Hayti. 

 Area, 53,343 square kilometres. The popula- 

 tion of the republic is 350,000 ; that of the 

 capital, Santo Domingo, 20,000. 



Government. In May, Don Francisco Grego- 

 rio Billini resigned the presidency of the re- 

 public, because his government programme had 

 met with opposition from certain important 

 newspapers. The President is Gen. Alejandro 

 Wos y Gil. His Cabinet was composed of the 

 following ministers : Interior and Police, Sefior 

 Alfredo Deetjen ; Foreign Affairs, the lawyer 

 Seftor Jos6 de Castro ; Justice, Public Works, 

 and Instruction, Sefior Domingo A. Rodriguez ; 

 Finance and Commerce, Seftor R. R. Bosco- 

 witz; and War and the Navy, Gen. Eugenio 

 Miches. The Dominican Minister at Washington 

 is Don Jose Manuel Macias; the Consul at New 

 York, Sefior H. Billini; the American Minis- 



ter at Santo Domingo is Hon. J. M. Langston ; 

 the Consul at Puerto Plata, T. Simpson ; and 

 at Santo Domingo City, II. C. C. Astwood. 



-Finances. On Jan. 1, 1884, the public indebt- 

 edness was $5,392,437. In October, 1885, an 

 arrangement was made in London with the 

 Haumont bondholders, by virtue of which a 

 compromise was arrived at, the latter accept- 

 ing 50 per cent., 261,561 of new bonds to be 

 issued in the place of double the amount of old 

 bonds, the interest on the new bonds to be 4 

 per cent, the first year, 5 per cent, the next, 

 and 6 per cent, per annum till the bonds are 

 due; the new bonds to be received at par in 

 payment for Government lands and mines ; the 

 first coupon to be paid on May 1, 1886. Simul- 

 taneously the Government raised the import 

 and export duties sufficiently to produce 60,- 

 000 additional per annum, and in June, 1885, 

 it was shown that in January, February, March, 

 and April, the home debt had been reduced 

 $274,433. On May 1, 1885, the home debt 

 did not exceed $1,855,081. 



Commerce. The amount of goods imported 

 into Santo Domingo in 1883 was $3,142,102, 

 while the export did not exceed $2,129,266. 

 The import into Puerto Plata in 1884 amount- 

 ed to $908,919, paying $550,693 duty. There 

 was at the same time exported produce to the 

 amount of $971,630, the export duty levied 

 thereon being $67,083. The American trade 

 was as follows: 



The chief article exported from Santo Do- 

 mingo in 1885 was sugar, 42,523,746 pounds, 

 worth $1,332,684. The domestic exports con- 

 sisted mainly of 29,014 barrels of flour, 2,550,- 

 037 yards of cotton goods, $121,782 worth of 

 machinery, etc., $133,874 of provisions, and 

 $119,332 of lumber. 



Army. On June 8 Congress passed a bill or- 

 ganizing the military forces of the country, in 

 accordance with which military service is com- 

 pulsory, and embraces all men capable of bear- 

 ing arms, from the age of 18 to that of 50. 



Education. With the exception of the capi- 

 tal, two or three towns on the coast, and four 

 or five in the interior, there is a deplorable ab- 

 sence of schools. In the capital the munici- 

 pality supports an institution where jurispru- 

 dence, medicine, surgery, and mathematics are 

 taught. Only twenty students attend. There 

 is a normal school, and there are several pre- 

 paratory ones, all supported by the city. There 

 are two private colleges, and in all the republic 

 about 120 schools, paid by the municipalities. 



Railroads* Alexander Baird, proprietor of 

 the Samana and Santiago Railroad, reported 

 during the summer that the work on this road 

 was progressing satisfactorily. The idea was to 

 run the road from Saman& Bay up through La 



