CUBA. 



261 



Telegraphs. There are in operation 727 kilo- 

 metres, the service being performed by 16 of- 

 fices. The lines are the following : 1. From 

 Oartago to the Nicaraguan frontier ma San 

 Jose, Heredia, Alajuela, Esparza, with branch 

 lines to Grecia, San Ramon, Punta Arenas, 

 Taboba, Liberia, Santa Cruz, and Nicoya (576 

 kilometres). 2. From Limon to San Jos6 (151 

 kilometres). Number of messages in 1882-'83, 

 27,589, of which inland private, 18,982 ; for 

 countries abroad, 1,304; Government mes- 

 sages, local, 7,248 ; beyond the country, 55. 

 Income, $4,940 ; expenses, $17,718. 



Postal SerYice. The income from postal ser- 

 vice in 1882-'83 was $50,000; the outlay, 

 $80,000. 



Commerce. Of the 336 vessels that entered 

 Oosta Rican ports in 1883, 21 were navigating 

 under the Costa Kican flag ; 213 hailed from 

 other Spanish- American countries; 39 were 

 American, 30 British, 14 German, 12 French, 

 and 7 of other nationalities. 



In 1882 there entered the port of Punta 

 Arenas 100 vessels, 79 being steamers, 4 ships, 

 3 barks, 13 brigs, and 2 schooners ; 79 being 

 under the American flag, 7 French, 5 English, 

 2 Italian, 1 Danish, 1 Norwegian, and 5 Ger- 

 man ; the aggregate tonnage being 168,528. 

 Limon, on the Atlantic, has been declared a 

 free port for ten years to come. 



The imports in the fiscal year 1879-'80 via 

 Punta Arenas amounted to $2,669,861 ; via 

 Limon during the first four months of 1880, 

 $133,500 ; the exports through Punta Arenas, 

 $3,524,810 during twelve months, and through 

 Limon, four months, $211,142. 



The chief articles exported from Punta Are- 

 nas were: Coffee, 23,266,196 pounds, worth 

 $3,436,085 ; hides and skins, 276,279 pounds, 

 $50,603; India-rubber, 26,319 pounds, $10,- 

 390; and other goods, re-exports, comprised 

 $27,732. 



The trade between the United States and 

 Central America in 1879-'83 was as follows: 



IMPORT OF CENTRAL - AMERICAN COFFEE AND INDIA- 

 RUBBER INTO THE UNITED STATES. 



CUBA. The area of this Spanish West India 

 island is 43,220 square miles, and the popula- 

 tion, which, according to the census of 1862, 



counted 1,359,238 souls, was shown by the 

 last census (1882) to have increased to 1,521,- 

 684, of whom 850,520 were males and 671,- 

 164 females. The six provinces into which 

 Cuba is divided comprise 33 "partidos judi- 

 ciales " and 130 " ayuntamientos." The prov- 

 ince of Havana counted 435,896 inhabitants; 

 that of Santa Clara, 321,397; Matanzas, 283,- 

 121; Santiago de Cuba, 229,821; Pinar del 

 Rio, 182,204; and Puerto Principe, 69,245. 



The most populous ayuntamieutos are : Ha- 

 vana, 198,721 inhabitants; Matanzas, 87,760; 

 Santiago de Cuba, 71,307; Cienfuegos, 65,067; 

 Puerto Principe, 46,641; Holguin, 34,767; 

 Sancti Spiritus, 32,608; Guanabacoa, 29,789; 

 Trinidad, 27,654; Manzanillo, 23,208; Santa 

 Clara, 22,781; Pinar del Rio, 21,870; and 

 Colon, 20,398. 



The male portion of the population is com- 

 posed of 571,766 Spaniards, 7,944 white for- 

 eigners, 46,698 Chinamen, and 252,660 colored 

 people. The female portion comprises 430,- 

 195 Spanish, 3,216 foreign, 84 Chinese, and 

 242,320 colored females. This gives a total of 

 998,961 persons of Spanish origin, 11,260 of 

 foreign, 46,872 Chinese, and 494,980 colored. 



Army. The commander - in - chief and Cap- 

 tain-General of the island is Don Ignacio Maria 

 del Castillo, born at Jalapa, Mexico, Feb. 9, 

 1817. He arrived from Spain at Havana on 

 Sept. 28, 1883, to take charge of this port. 



The strength of the Spanish forces in Cuba, 

 by decree of the Minister of War at Madrid, 

 was fixed for 1883-'84 at 25,653 men. 



Finances. In 1878 Captain-General Martinez 

 Campos, after making the arrangement with 

 the insurgents at Lanjon, issued a decree vir- 

 tually suspending payments from the Cuban 

 Treasury up to July 1st of that year, and since 

 then no steps have been taken to liquidate the 

 indebtedness, the annual interest on which 

 amounts to $7,000,000. An issue of paper 

 money has been made to the amount of $60,- 

 000,000, and the premium on Spanish gold 

 fluctuates wildly at times; this depreciated 

 currency renders living, dear as it has been at 

 all times, still more expensive. 



Subsequent to the collapse of the insurrec- 

 tion, a tax law was passed, which created eleven 

 kinds of taxation : (1) on the transfer of prop- 

 erty by inheritance, etc., of to 8 per cent., es- 

 timated to produce $1,091,000 per annum ; (2) 

 direct taxes (income-tax) of 16 per cent, on 

 the profits cleared by residents of cities, and 

 5 per cent, on sugar and tobacco planting; 

 receipts under this head being estimated at 

 $6,335,800 ; (3) on railway-traffic, to produce 

 $1,000,000; (4) on slaughtering, $592,800; 

 (5) on passports, $350,000; (6) import and ex- 

 port duties, and ship-dues, $21,359,400; (7) 

 indirect taxes, such as stamp-dues, $3,488,800 ; 

 (8) on lotteries, $3,477,000 ; (9) on the salaries 

 of Government officers; (10) a tax of $12 a 

 head which the owner of liberated slaves has 

 to pay if he retains them for domestic service, 

 $500,000; (11) a tax of 5 per cent, on the 



