AND ITKKTo l;|(<). 



On in.. D .11 of Mr. Brown, of Indiana, the nomi- 



madi- nnaiiimoiis. M r. < 'risp. bein;,' 



;ed for, addressed the caucn.s a> 



I am profoundly grateful for 



1 your confidence and esteem. 1 pledge 



.iiid now to .Icvoie whate\erof industry 

 -s to the advancement of the rial 

 the Democratic party. 1 bcir to nay to 

 ik to you my tirst words .since I am 

 n for Speaker, that my election means 

 '.ward in tarill reform. 1 heir to say to 

 in our party to-day no man who 

 iv l.elic\cs in tin- Democratic d.H-trine of 

 turitf reform than I do. Alter the Ion:.' stmir^le 

 n which \\e have passed, when Representatives 

 .'lied, when other otlicers are to I.e nominated, 

 not become nit- to consume your time. I In-.,' 

 however, that during the progress ot' this can- 

 have said no word respectinir any individual 

 would at all justify him in having any harsh 

 ot' any kind against me. 1 have felt that it 

 friendly struiTirlc. 1 have felt that we wen- all 

 .ind I have felt that wlioever mi.irht \>c 

 Speaker, whenever this House meets and 

 es we start as one body, working and laboring 

 "inmon cause the principles of the Demo- 

 cratic party. 1 thank you ayain tor your confidence 

 and for your kindness, and assure you that this whole 

 has left in my bosom no unkind feeling toward 

 MK-mU-r of the llouse. 



Tuesday, Dec. 8. Mr. Crisp was duly 

 Speaker of the House of Representatives. 

 The I{i 'publican minority cast their votes for 

 [icaker Thomas B. Reed. 

 'HA AM) PUERTO RICO, two islands 

 li constitute the Spanish possessions in the 



1 ndies. The area of Cuba is 3(5.013 square 

 miles, inclusive of that of the Isle of Pinos and 

 other islands and keys. The population on Dec. 

 ::i. is! 10. was officially estimated at 1,631,687 

 ns, of whom 65 per cent, are white. Ha- 

 vana, the capital, has 250,000 inhabitants. The 

 colony is administered by a governor-general, 

 who is responsible to the Minister of the Colonies 

 in Madrid, but has power in certain cases to sus- 

 pend the action of any law or decree of the home 

 authorities. Over each of the six provinces is a 

 t'ivil governor, who acts under the direction of 

 the ( iovernor-General. The island is represented 

 in (lie Spanish Cortes by 2 Senators from each 

 province and by 30 Deputies. 



Finances. ^he revenue for the fiscal year 

 1 sin i '91 was estimated at 25,815,376 pesos, and 

 the expenditure at 25,446,807 pesos. Of the rev- 

 enue. 1 4.791.300 pesos were the estimated receipts 

 from customs. The debt called for an exnendi- 

 ture if 10,447,267 pesos, the Ministry of War for 



;.'? pesos, and the Ministry of the Interior 

 for4.-j:::.so-_> pesos. The capital of the debt is 

 stated lit $181,000.000. and the customs revenue 



]_'ed to pay the interest. Besides the gen- 

 end taxation, amounting to over $25,000,000 a 



the 153 municipalities levy $8,000,000 a 

 year. The total annual income of the people is 

 '>ti muted at $80,000,000. To complete the rail- 

 way system, which now lias a length of about 

 l.nod miles. a loan of $40.000.000 has been au- 

 thori/ed. The Government owns 2,810 miles of 



iphs. 



I he Army and Navy. The armed force 

 maintained by the Spanish Government in Cuba 



10 men, besides which there is an organiza- 



tion of volunteers numbering 68,1 15. In I'm-rlo 



Uit-o ::..")tili tfo,, ps ale .-latlolied. A tleel of 



6H gmilioats crui>c> about tin; shoreM of lx<th 

 islandx 



roniiiiem 1 . Sugar ami tobacco an- the Maple 

 product! Of Cuba. The \ield of Mjgar in I 1 - 1 -* 

 was 056,71!) tons, and of BoiMMf l'i7.T!M ton-,. 

 The annual production of |.,i I'lO.lKM) 



bale*. In 1888 there w.-n- IS'J.o.'iti bah- exported 

 from Havana, boidcs :J'JO,<K)0,(K>0 cigars. The 

 forots contain valuable woods, and the mineral 

 wealth of the country i> very great, con-istingof 

 gold, copper, iron, manganese, an abundance of 

 asphalt, and beautiful marbles. The whole island 

 i-- exceedingly fi rlilc, yet only one tenth of the 

 surface is cultivated. All tropical fruits and 

 some that are natives of the temperate zone can 

 be easily raised. The commerce is chiefly with 

 Spain, the United States, and Great Britain. 

 The principal imports are flour, salted provi>ions, 

 lard, textile manufactures, hardware, glass and 

 crockery, and machinery. The I'niicd States in 

 1889 imported from Cuba 1,000,000.000 pounds of 

 sugar, valued at $36,277,489, molasses of the 

 value of $3.416,754, tobacco and cigars for $9,- 

 237,836, and fruits and nuts for $1,576.751. The 

 principal exports from this country to Cuba were 

 meat and dairy products of the value of $3.257,- 

 883. iron and steel manufactures of the value of 

 $1,988,018, breadstuffsof the value of $1,336,047, 

 wood and its manufactures of the value of $1,- 

 110,946, and coal of the value of $581,095. 



Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico, or Porto Rico, 

 is the fourth largest island of the Antilles, and 

 is said to be the most healthful and fertile. The 

 area is 3.550 square miles. The population num- 

 bers 784,709 persons, of whom about 300.000 are 

 negroes. The Captain-General, who administers 

 the Government Luis Daban in 1891 is assisted 

 by a council of military officers nominated by 

 the Crown. The estimated revenue for the year 

 1888-'89 was 3.863,100 pesos, and the estimated 

 expenditure 3,973.491 pesos. There are 470 miles 

 of railroad and a telegraph system uniting the 

 principal towns. 



The principal products are sugar, coffee, to- 

 bacco, cotton, rice, cattle, and tropical fruits, 

 especially plantains and bananas. There are salt 

 basins that are exploited by the Government. 

 Valuable cabinet woods and timber are obtained 

 in the forests. The foreign commerce in 1889 

 consisted of $14,177,557 of imports and $11,066,- 

 683 of exports. There was an increase of $1 .095,- 

 560 over. the exports of 1888, owing to larger 

 crops of sugar and tobacco, higher pric> 

 coffee, and an increased exportation of cattle to 

 the neighboring West India islands. Of 63,610 

 tons of sugar exported 38.724 tons went to the 

 United States, and of 20. 703 tons of molasses the 

 United States took 17,949 tons. The ex]K>rtation 

 of this article was less than in the previous year, 

 because more was used for making rum. Of the 

 total imports, $8,990,147 OMM from Spain. $3,- 

 778,015 from the Tinted States. x::.10!i.-i:!:! from 

 England, $1,477,321 from Germany. $!M.Xo:{:5 

 from Cuba, and the rest from France. Denmark. 

 Uruguay, the Argentine Republic. Helgium. and 

 other countries. The importation of flour from 

 the United States was $1.610.0:53: of lard. $4:>1,- 

 581 ; of pork and hams. $214.392. These figures 

 represent the bulk of the imjwirts of those arti- 



