564 



NICARAGUA. 



NORTH CAROLINA. 



combining strength with lightness, as well as 

 facility in opening and shutting. The lower 

 part of the gate consists of a water-tight 

 compartment, in which shifting water-ballast 

 acts to aid both in raising and lowering the 

 gate, while the moving force employed is hy- 

 draulic. The gate moves on rails above the 

 floor of the lock. The first division of the 

 canal begins at Greytown, at the mouth of San 

 Juan river, and extends to the valley of the 

 Arroyo de las Cascadas, 19-48 miles. This part 

 consists entirely of excavations, but has lagoons 

 on the line, which will much reduce the labor 

 and expense. At Rio Lajas begins the western 

 division of the canal, which extends 17'27 

 miles from the western shore of the lake to 

 Brito, on the Pacific. Ships from the Atlantic 

 will here gradually descend by four locks, and 

 arrive in a snug haven. The depths of these 

 locks will be respectively 26'4 feet, 29 - 7 feet, and 

 29'7 feet, and for the last one a variable lift of 24'2 

 to 33-18 feet, in order to meet the state of the 

 tide. Lock No. 4 will rest on solid rock, but 

 the remaining three locks will be cut through 

 strata of clay, gravel, and compact sand, pre- 

 senting no special difficulties. Several incon- 

 siderable streams intersect this portion of the 

 line. The largest, the Rio Grande, will be de- 

 flected into another channel, while it is pro- 

 posed to carry the others under the canal. 

 When Commodore Hollins shelled the tiled 

 roofs and waving palms of Greytown in 1854, 

 that port was deep enough for the navies of the 

 world. But the silt from the San Juan has re- 

 duced the maximum depth to twenty-one feet 

 within the bar. It is proposed to divert the 

 San Juan into another channel near Greytown, 

 and to carry out a jetty over a mile on the east 

 side of the port and anchorage, which must 

 tend to deepen the port as well as serve for a 

 breakwater. At Brito, the western terminus, 

 quite a different formation exists. The shores 

 are bold, and a rocky headland on the east side 

 affords partial protection. It is proposed to 

 build jetties on either side of the little bay, 

 which will afford a good haven, large enough 

 for many ships. The canal is itself a harbor 

 up to the lower lock. It is estimated by Mr. 

 Menocal that the canal can be completed in six 

 years. Owing to the ample supply of water- 

 power, the route can be lighted with electricity 

 at moderate cost. The estimates for this work, 

 based on former surveys, placed the probable 

 cost of the canal at $65,722,147, inclusive of 

 possible contingencies. The latest surveys of 

 Mr. Menocal instead of adding to this amount, 

 have modified the plan of the eastern division 

 to such a degree as to reduce the former esti- 

 mates $16,921,980. Engineer Menocal secured 

 the canal concessions from Nicaragua, which 

 extend over a period of ninety-nine years, with 

 an expressed option to the company to hold 

 the property as lessees for an additional period 

 of 101 years upon the payment of 25 per cent, 

 of the net profits to the republic. The sum of 

 $100,000 was paid for these concessions. The 



first survey expedition of the Nicaragua Cana] 

 Construction Company left New York on No- 

 vember 30, Civil Engineer Peary, of the navy, 

 having charge of it under the direction of A. 

 G. Menocal, chief engineer of the company. 



NORTH CAROLINA. State Government. The 

 following were the State officers during the 

 year : Governor, Alfred M. Scales, Democrat ; 

 Lieutenant- Governor, Charles M. Stedman ; 

 Secretary of State, William L. Saunders; Treas- 

 urer, Donald W. Bain; Auditor, William P. 

 Roberts; Attorney-General, Theodore F. Da- 

 vidson ; Superintendent of Public Instruction, 

 Sidney M. Finger ; Commissioner of Agricult- 

 ure, Montford McGlelm; Chief Justice of the 

 Supreme Court, William N. II. Smith ; Asso- 

 ciate Justices, Thomas S. Ashe,* succeeded by 

 Joseph J. Davis, and Augustus S. Merrimon. 



Legislative Session. The Legislature met on 

 January 5, and adjourned on March 7. It 

 passed 605 laws, nearly all of which are private 

 or special. One of the most important meas- 

 ures adopted provides for a reduction of the 

 the ad-valorem State tax from 25 to 20 cents 

 on each $100. As in Georgia and some other 

 Southern States, a formidable list of special 

 taxes upon all kinds of trades and professions 

 is maintained. The liquor-license tax varies 

 from $20 to $200 a year. Provision was made 

 for the incorporation and establishment of sav- 

 ings-banks within the State, and for regulating 

 their business. The Treasurer is authorized 

 to issue registered four-per-cent. bonds in ex- 

 change for coupon bonds issued under the acts 

 of March, 1879, upon surrender of the latter. 



An amendment to the State Constitution, 

 increasing the number of Supreme Court judges 

 from three to five, was proposed to be voted 

 upon by the people in 1888. Other acts of the 

 session were as follow : 



To prescribe the punishment for waylaying and for 

 poisoning another. 



To enable sheriff? and tax-collectors to collect arrears 

 of taxes from 1881 to 1886, inclusive. 



Making it unlawful for railroads to collect a larger 

 amount or an equal amount for transportation of freight 

 or passengers a short distance than for a longer dis- 

 tance in the same direction. 



Requiring every contractor to furnish to the owner 

 of any building which he is constructing or repairing, 

 before receiving any part of the contract price, an 

 itemized statement of the amounts due laborers upon 

 such building and the furnishers of material there- 

 for, making the debts so set forth a lien on the build- 

 ing, and authorizing the owner to withhold such part 

 of the contract price as is necessary to pay them. 



Authorizing the State Board of Education to con- 

 struct and complete certain roads and canals in east- 

 ern North Carolina, and to employ the State convicts 

 thereon. 



Constituting the town of Durham a public-school 

 district. 



To establish a bureau of labor statistics. 



Declaring that the State shall exercise exclusive 

 jurisdiction and control over the shell-fisheries south 

 of Eoanoke and Croatan sounds and north of Core 

 sound, and providing for the appointment of a board 

 of shell-fish commissioners, who shall survey all natu- 

 ral beds and proclaim them as public grounds subject 



* Died February 4. 



