WEST VIRGINIA. 



757 



John, an area <>f 21 square miles and 084 inhabi- 

 tant*. Tin- people an- mostly negroes who raise 

 the tngMMMUM On their own land, and the prin- 

 cipal export* arc raw sugar. 



The IMitch Antilles. The islands of Cura- 

 cao, Bonaire, Aruba, a part of St. Martin, St. 

 K i Mac-he, and Saba form the Dutch colony of 

 Curacao, which is administered by a Governor 

 \\i;h the assistance of a Colonial Council of 8 

 ollirial and 8 appointed members. The Gov- 

 ernor in 1SJK5 was Dr. C. A. II. liar -,'>. The area 

 of tho island of Curasao is 210, of Aruba 95, of 

 Bonaire 09, of St. Martin 17, of Saba 5, and of 

 St. Ktistache 7 square miles. The population of 

 Curacao in 1892 was 27,498, of Aruba 7,888, of 

 Bonaire 4,053, of St. Martin 4,023, of Saba 1,926, 

 and of St. Eustache 1,633. The budget of the 

 colony for 1893 was expected to balance at 694,- 

 696 guilders. The imports in 1890 were valued 

 at 8,738,917 guilders. The principal products 

 are Indian corn, beans, cattle, salt, and lime. 



French Colonies. The island of Martinique 

 has an area of 380 square miles and 175,863 in- 

 habitants; Guadeloupe, with Us dependencies, 

 has an area of 720 square miles and 165,154 in- 

 habitants. Each island has its Governor and 

 elective council, and is represented in the French 

 Parliament by a Senator and 2 Deputies. Mar- 

 tinique produces sugar, manioc, sweet potatoes, 

 and bananas v and to a smaller extent coffee, 

 cacao, and tobacco. The products of Guade- 

 loupe are sugar, coffee, cacao, vanilla, spices, 

 manioc, woods, bananas, sweet potatoes, rice, and 

 to some extent cotton, ramie fiber, and tobacco. 

 The budget of Martinique for 1890 makes the 

 receipts 3,993.000 francs and the expenditures 

 the same, and that of Guadeloupe makes them 

 balance at 5,940,000 francs. The imports of 

 Martinique in 1890 were valued at 30,261,000 

 francs: exports of domestic produce, 20,714,000 

 francs ; imports of Guadeloupe, 23,249,000 francs ; 

 exports of domestic produce. 20,672,000 francs. 

 I). Moracchini is the present Governor of Marti- 

 nique, and L. II. Nouet Governor of Guadeloupe. 

 A railroad 15 miles long is under construction 

 in Guadeloupe, for which annual subventions 

 will be paid for seventy-five years, at the end of 

 which it becomes the property of the colony. 



WEST VIRGINIA, a Southern State, ad- 

 mitted to the Union June 19, 1863; area, 24,780 

 square miles. The population, according to each 

 decennial census since admission, was 442.014 in 

 1870; 618,457 in 1880; and 762,749 in 1890. 

 Capital, Charleston. 



Government. The following were the State 

 officers during the year: Governor, A. B. Flem- 

 ing, Democrat, succeeded on March 4 by William 

 A. McCorkle, Democrat: Secretary of State, 

 William A. Ohley, succeeded by W. E. Chilton ; 

 Treasurer, William G. Thompson, succeeded by 

 John M. Rowan: Auditor, Patrick P. DulTey, 

 succeeded by I. V. Johnson ; Attorney-General, 

 Alfred Caldwell, succeeded by Thomas S. Riley : 

 Superintendent of Free Schools, Benjamin S. 

 Morgan, succeeded by Virgil A. Lewis : Presi- 

 dent of the Supreme Court, John W. English : 

 Indies. Henry Brannon, Homer A. Holt, and 

 Marmaduke A. Dent. 



Legislative Sessions. The regular biennial 

 session of the Legislature began on .Ian. 10. and 

 expired, by limitation, on Feb. 24. On Jan. 24 



HOD. Johnson F. Camden, Democrat, was elc< -ted 

 a United States Senator for the unexiiired term 

 '!' Senator John K. Kenna. who died in Wash- 

 ington on Jan. 11. The \.,i,- was a.-, follow*: 

 Senate Camden 20, Erwin Maxwell, Kcpnl,- 

 lican, 4; House Camden 89, Maxwell 29, M. W. 

 Burgess, Populist, 1. On the same day I'nited 

 States Senator Charles J. Faulkner w 

 elected for the full term of six years, the vote 

 being: Senate Faulkner 20, Stephen B. Klkins, 

 Republican, 4 ; House Faulkner 89, Klkins 2H. 

 < '. 1 . Hill, Populist, 2. The legislation of the 

 session includes an act reducing the State tax 

 levy for general purposes 5 rents on each $100 

 of valuation, and increasing the levy for school 

 purposes by the same amount. By this change 

 three sevenths of the entire amount of taxes 

 collected by the State will hereafter be devoted 

 to the support of public schools. Suitable pro- 

 vision was made for the purchase or erection of 

 an executive mansion. The employment of non- 

 residents to perform police duty in the State, or 

 otherwise to assist in the execution of its laws, 

 was forbidden. Other acts of the session were : 



Revising tho laws relating to the management of 

 the Penitentiary. 



Providing for depositing in the Auditor'", office 

 certain records, books, documents, and papers relat- 

 ing to land titles procured and to be procured from 

 the State of Virginia, and making the same a part of 

 the public records of the Auditor's office, and pro- 

 viding how the same or copies thereof, and certifi- 

 cate liased thereon, may be used as evidence. 



Making it a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine not 

 to exceed $200 and imprisonment not to exceed one 

 year, to rent a house to be used as a house of ill fame, 

 and oonfltitating each day a separate ofl'ense, annul- 

 ling all leases or contracts for the renting of Midi 

 houses, and providing for a line, not to exceed $25, 

 for living or loitering in such places. 



For the prevention of cruelty to children, and pro- 

 viding for their care and maintenance in certain cases. " 

 This act allows children to be taken by trustees of 

 orphans' homes and other such institutions when 

 their parents are not giving them proper cure and 

 attention, upon the order of the judge of the circuit 

 court of the county in which the child resides. 



Providing for the erection in the national Capitol 

 of a statue of Senator John E. Kenna. 



< 'renting 3 mining districts in the State instead of 2. 



Revising the laws concerning the sale of lands for 

 tho benefit of the school fund. 



Authorizing fidelity and guarantee companies ot 

 other States to transact surety business in this State. 



Amending the Australian election law l>y requir- 

 ing the districts to be laid oil into precincts. and pro- 

 hibiting any person from voting outside the precinct 

 in which he resides. 



At the expiration of this session, on Feb. "24. 

 the regular appropriation bills had not been 

 passed. The Governor, therefore, at once called 

 a special session, to meet on Feb. 25. specifying 

 in his call no business except the consideration 

 of appropriations. At this session the regular 

 appropriation bills, which were pending at the 

 close of the previous session, were carried 

 through, and an adjournment reached March 8. 



Charities. At the Insane Hospital, in Wes- 

 ton. there were 936 patients in February. The 

 buildings for the new hospital at Spencer were 

 practically completed during the year. The 

 sum of $i22,000 had been expended thereon np 

 to February, and at that time two of the three 

 buildings were ready for furnishing. 



