CUBA. 



263 



tion of slavery, now disguised under the name 

 of " Patronato''; the fostering of white immi- 

 gration by families, but left to private initia- 

 tive ; the granting of the usual necessary lib- 

 erties; independence and decentralization in 

 municipal and provincial affairs ; the autonomy 

 of the colony, that is, its own administration 

 and free voting of taxes ; finally, free trade. 



In order to oppose this Liberal- Autonomist 

 party, the " Constitutional Union " was formed, 

 mostly made up of Spaniards. It has for its 

 object : To preserve as long as possible com- 

 pulsory labor; to endow the colony with a 

 political and administrative regime analogous 

 to that of the Peninsular provinces ; and finally 

 to main-tain the system of protection. 



The struggle between these two parties in 

 Cuba is most lively, especially as the Conserva- 

 tive party accuse the Liberals of being the 

 enemies of Spain, and treat them as such. The 

 Government is not an altogether passive spec- 

 tator of this political strife, but invariably 

 leans toward the Constitutional Union, to the 

 detriment of the Liberal Autonomists. 



The prosperity of young societies known by 

 the names of colonies is dependent upon three 

 conditions: 1. The right of self-administra- 

 tion. 2. A good method of acquiring land and 

 a system of succession which, while it favors 

 the equality of conditions, facilitates a rapid 

 transfer of property and stimulates the occu- 

 pant of the soil to cultivate and improve it. 

 3. Moderate taxation in other words, cheap 

 government. 



Cuba does not yet possess the right of self- 

 administration, power concentrating in the 

 hands of the Captain- General and of the Min- 

 ister of the Colonies. This administrative cen- 

 tralization is felt throughout the details of local 

 existence and does not allow the vitality of the 

 country to find full scope, which is indisputa- 

 bly a great drawback. There is the pressure 

 on society of a numerous bureaucratic army, 

 devoid of fixed interests in the island. With 

 few exceptions, these office-holders are native 

 Spaniards. The fall of a cabinet in Madrid 

 frequently involves the dismissal of numerous 

 officers in the ranks of the administration, to be 

 replaced, not by individuals competent for their 

 new employ, but by those who belong to the 

 victorious party at home. This abuse has come 

 up for debate in the Cortes, and grave revela- 

 tions of immorality in financial matters have 

 been made relating to the local administration 

 of Cuba, causing the Minister of the Colonies 

 himself to promote radical reform. 



The annual message of the President of the 

 United States, of December, 1883, contains the 

 following passages : 



It is understood that measures for the removal of 

 the restrictions which now burden our trade with 

 Cuba and Porto Eico are under consideration by the 

 Spanish Government. The proximity of Cuba to the 

 United States, and the peculiar methods of adminis- 

 tration which there prevail, necessitate constant dis- 

 cussion and appeal on our part from the proceedings 

 of the insular authorities. I regret to say that the 



just protests of this Government have not as yet pro- 

 duced satisfactory results. 

 I have alluded in my previous messages to the in- 



Srious and vexatious restrictions suffered by our trade 

 the Spanish West Indies. Brazil, whose natural 

 outlet for its great national staple, coffee, is in and 

 through the United States, imposes a heavy export 

 duty upon that product ; our petroleum exports are 

 hampered in Turkey and in other Eastern ports by 

 restrictions as to storage and by onerous taxation. 

 For these mischiefs adequate relief is not always af- 

 forded by reciprocity treaties, like that with Hawaii 

 or that lately negotiated with Mexico, and now await- 

 ing the action of the Senate. Is it not advisable to 

 provide some measure of equitable retaliation in our 

 relations with governments which discriminate against 

 our own ? If, for example, the Executive were em- 

 powered to apply to Spanish vessels and cargoes from 

 Cuba and Porto Eico the same rules of treatment and 

 scale of penalties for technical faults which are ap- 

 plied to our vessels and cargoes in the Antilles, a 

 resort to that course might not be barren of good re- 

 sults. 



United States Commercial Agent Ford, of Sa- 

 gua la Grande, in a report on the carrying-trade 

 between that port and the United States, says 

 that if, during the next four years, " American 

 tonnage continues to decrease and English steam 

 tonnage to increase at its present ratio, the 

 American flag will be seen only above the Uni- 

 ted States consulate, and the chief business of 

 the consular office will be merely to give cer- 

 tificates of invoices and to draw bills of health 

 for British steamers." In regard to discrimi- 

 nation against American vessels and in favor 

 of British vessels, Mr. Ford- makes the follow- 

 ing comparisons, and offers the following sug- 

 gestions as remedial measures : 



In my judgment, it would be an act of wisdom in 

 our law-makers should they abolish all consular fees 

 now paid by American vessels, excepting those for 

 noting and extending protests ; and it would also 

 be well to annul the law allowing three months' extra 

 pay when a seaman is left in the hospital. The other 

 section relating to the three months' extra wages is a 

 just and equitable statute, and should continue in 

 force. To abolish that would entail endless annoy- 

 ance and trouble to consular officers, without benefit- 

 ing any one, helping not even the complaining ship- 

 masters. Another relief would be to allow eveiy thing 

 which enters into the construction of vessels to pass 

 free of duty, and to permit, under proper restrictions, 

 the withdrawing from bond of whatever is used on our 



An additional disadvantage under which Amer- 

 ican vessels labor when brought in competition with 

 British vessels comes from our method of taking ton- 

 nage measurement. British vessels are measured 

 with deductions which are not allowed to American 

 vessels. I will give, as examples, two British steam- 

 ers which loaded in Sagua this year: the British 

 steamer Clandon, gross tons 1,971, net tons 1,286; 

 and the British steamer Leina, gross tons 1,732, net 

 tons, 1,141. These paid tonnage dues on their net 

 measurement. Had they been American steamers 

 (and up to July 1, 1882, no deductions were made for 

 even coal-space), dues would have been collected on 

 the gross tonnage. The difference in these charges 

 at $1 per ton is considerable, and the British steam- 

 ers thus secure over ours an advantage of about 50 

 cents per hogshead on their cargoes. 



Commerce. There were exported from Ha- 

 vana, in 1880 : 90,523 boxes, 219,323 bags, and 

 190,083 hogsheads of sugar ; 12,433 hogsheads, 

 of molasses ; 1,476 tierces of honey ; 9,873 pipes 



