218 



CUBA AND PUERTO RICO. 



1,426,317 pesos from England, and 1,255,572 

 pesos from Germany. The principal imports 

 are textiles, machinery and agricultural imple- 

 ments, tools, furniture, glass, tinware, hardware, 

 fancy articles, wines and liquors, flour, sugar, 

 and canned goods. 



The number of vessels entered in 1889 at Port 

 Limon and Punta Arenas was 309, of 367,052 tons, 

 of which 136, of 149,062 tons, were British. In 

 1890 there were 319, of 344,695 tons, entered, and 

 319, of 341,883 tons, cleared. American steam- 

 ers visit the ports I'egularly, and French and 

 German vessels call occasionally. 



Communications. There were 180 miles of 

 railroad in 1890, consisting of a line from Limon 

 to Carillo, 70 miles in length, which was extended 

 in 1891 to Cartago, 51 miles farther, and of 

 branches of this line and a road, 14 miles long, 

 between Punta Arenas and Esparta. In August, 

 1888, Minor C. Keith, an American citizen, ob- 

 tained a concession for a railroad from the Jimi- 

 nez to the Prio river, on the frontier of Nicara- 

 gua. In June, 1881, a contract was made for 

 the construction of a railroad from the Pacific 

 port Punta Arenas to San Jose, which has com- 

 munication with the Atlantic coast by means of 

 the Limon Railroad. 



There are 600 miles of telegraph. In 1890 the 

 number of messages sent was 163,967, which 

 yielded a profit of $49,458. The number of let- 

 ters, etc., sent through the post office in that year 

 was 684,091. 



Political Crisis. A conflict arose in the 

 summer of 1892 between the Legislature and 

 President Rodriguez. In June, Ricardo Fernan- 

 dez Guardia presented to the Assembly a formal 

 accusation against the President, charging him 

 with abuse of power and violation of the laws. 

 The President declared himself ready to meet 

 the charges without relying on any immunity or 

 privilege. The chief cause of dissension was a 

 dispute over the old question of religious in- 

 struction in the public schools. The President 

 favored the clerical view, and in taking a stand 

 for religious methods of education he was sup- 

 ported by the bulk of the lower classes and by 

 an influential part of the intelligent people, who 

 possess the franchise, as well as by the bishop 

 and all the clergy. The majority of Congress 

 and of the electors were determined to have the 

 schools, of which the Costa Ricans are justly 

 proud, kept entirely secular. Public feeling ran 

 high, and deputations waited on the President 

 to urge him to stand out for Christianity in the 

 schools. As Congress was equally determined, 

 he dissolved that body on Sept. 13, and, in a 

 proclamation defending his action, declared all 

 constitutional rights suspended. Under the mili- 

 tary regime thus inaugurated many civilians and 

 officers of the army were arrested. The official 

 announcement of the dictatorship telegraphed 

 abroad declared that peace was perfect and no 

 trouble was feared. 



CUBA AND PUERTO RICO, two islands 

 constituting the only remaining Spanish colonies 

 in America. 



Cuba is administered, under the direction of 

 the Minister of the Colonies in Madrid, by a 

 Governor-General, who has large discretionary 

 powers, and under him a civil governor presides 

 over each of the six provinces. The colony 



sends to the Spanish Cortes 30 Deputies and 2 

 Senators from each province, besides 1 chosen by 

 the University of Havana and 1 representing 

 the Royal Society of Friends of the Country. 

 The Governor-General is assisted by an Adminis- 

 trative Council appointed by the Government, 

 but is not obliged to follow its advice. 



Finances. The revenue for 1890-'91 was 

 estimated at $25,699,102, and expenditure at 

 $25,622,656. The public debt in 1889 was said 

 unofficially to amount to $186,000,000, requiring 

 $9,000,000 a year to pay the interest. 



The Army. The armed forces are restricted 

 by law to 20,414 men in peace. This limit was 

 exceeded in 1891, when there were 22,454 troops 

 stationed in Cuba and 3,857 in Puerto Rico. 

 The militia, including a black battalion, num- 

 bered 63,115 men. 



Commerce. The chief imports are rice, flour, 

 and dried beef. The export of sugar is about 

 650,000 tons a year. There are 1,000 miles of 

 railroads and 2,810 miles of telegraphs. The 

 forests, which abound in valuable woods, cover 4 

 per cent, of the surface of the island. There 

 are large tracts that have never been explored. 

 Since the suppression in 1878 of the disastrous 

 rebellion which had wasted the resources and 

 energies of Cuba for ten years, the sugar and 

 tobacco crops have increased and improved in 

 quality constantly, and the trade with the 

 United States has almost doubled. The reci- 

 procity treaty between the United States and 

 Spain in respect to Cuba and Puerto Rico went 

 into effect on Sept. 1, 1891. For the twelve 

 months ending Aug. 31, 1891, the imports into 

 the United States from Cuba amounted to $66,- 

 057,287, and the exports of merchandise from the 

 United States to Cuba to $11,920,214. For the 

 fiscal year 1889-'90 the imports of the United 

 States from Cuba had been $53.801,591, and the 

 exports to Cuba $12,669,509 in value. For the 

 first twelve months of the operation of the 

 treaty, ending Aug. 31, 1892, the imports from 

 Cuba into the United States were $80,106,459, 

 and the exports to Cuba $19,684^729. 



Puerto Rico. The island of Puerto Rico is, 

 next to Cuba, Hayti, and Jamaica, the largest of 

 the Antilles. The estimated revenue for 1890- 

 '91 was 3,683,100 pesos, of which 2,466,000 pesos 

 were customs receipts, and'737,490 pesos the prod- 

 uct of direct and indirect taxes. The estimate 

 of expenditure was 3,633.583 pesos, of which 

 1,048,538 pesos were for military purposes, and 

 615.863 pesos for financial administration. 



There are 470 miles of railroad, and the princi- 

 pal towns are connected by telegraph. The ex- 

 ports of the United States to Puerto Rico in 

 1890 amounted to $2,247,700, and the imports 

 from Puerto Rico to the United States to $4,- 

 053.626. For the twelve months ending Aug. 

 31, 1891, the imports of the United States from 

 the island were $3,360,780, and in the succeed- 

 ing twelve months they were $3,446,385, while 

 American exports to Puerto Rico increased from 

 $2,217,672 to $2,676,596 under the reciprocity 

 treaty. 



Political Situation. The great majority of 

 Cubans, inclusive of the colored people, adhere 

 to the Autonomist or home-rule party, the aim 

 of which is to secure the same degree of inde- 

 pendence and self-governmen-t that the Canadi- 



