648 



PORTO RICO. 



of the considerable proportion of the German 

 imports of pork products which are brought by 

 way of Antwerp. The Belgian imports, in which 

 these are included, are given as, $4, 583, 807 in 

 1881, $1,696,150 in 1882, and $1,239,123 in 

 1883i, The largest exportation of hams is also 

 to Great Britain, amounting to $5,853,920 in 

 1881, $3,516,799 in 1882, and $4,670,603 in 

 1883. Cuba and the other West India islands 

 and countries of South America, with British 

 North America, take most of the remaining 

 ham exports, as well as a large portion of 

 the exports of bacon. The value of the hams 

 exported to Germany is given as $i72,655 in 

 1881, $44,024 in 1882, and $94,851 in 1883 ; of 

 the exports to Belgium as $348,348 in 1881, 

 $83,472 in 1882, and $59,384 in 1883. The 

 exports of salt pork are also mainly to Great 

 Britain, Canada, and tropical American coun- 

 tries. Lard has not been interdicted in any 

 country. The exports to Great Britain in 1883 

 amounted to $7,941,529 ; to Germany, $4,867,- 

 142 ; to France, $3,727,926; to Cuba, $2,471,- 

 774; to Belgium, $1,723,355; to British North 

 America, $1,444,177. The exports of bacon 

 and hams to France and Germany were very 

 large and were increasing before the trade was 

 interrupted by their inhibition. The effect of 

 the restriction was to arrest almost entirely 

 the exportation of bacon and hams to France, 

 which decreased in value from $4,855,932 in 

 1881 to $445,719 in 1882, and $29,246 in 1883. 

 The falling off in the value of lard exported 

 to France, showing the natural effect of the 

 diminution of the supply, was from $5,567,030 

 in 1881, to $3,699,876 in 1882, and $3,727,926 

 in 1883. The value of the exports of bacon, 

 hams, and pork for each of the fiscal years 

 from 1869 to 1883 inclusive, to France and 

 Germany, showing the growth of the trade 

 and the effect of the restrictive measures, was 

 as follows : 



PORTER, FITZ-JOHN, CASE OF. 



PORTO RICO, an island of the West'Indies, a 

 possession of Spain. It is about 100 miles long 

 from east to west, and 40 from north to south ; 

 area, 3,596 square miles. The highest peak in 

 the island is 3,678 feet. In 1883 the census 

 showed a population of 731,648 ; 369,054 being 

 males and 362,594 females. The island was 

 a penal colony in the last century, and the 

 descendants of convicts have settled on the 



mountain plateau and fertile savannas, form- 

 ing a hardy, laborious population of agricult- 

 urists called " Jibaros," whose industry facili- 

 tated the extinction of slavery ten years ago. 

 The number of slaves was then about 60,000, 

 and of the colored population about 75,000. 



Under the present liberal policy the island 

 can, with its fertile soil and its favorable geo- 

 graphical position, hardly fail to advance 

 morally and materially. At the Geographical 

 Congress which met at Madrid, in 1883, a 

 member. Mr. Ricart, drew the attention of 

 his colleagues to the importance of the Mona 

 passage between Porto Rico and St. Domingo, 

 in connection with the future Panama Canal, 

 recommending the Government to extend to 

 St. John's, Porto Rico, the capital, with an 

 excellent harbor, all sorts of franchises, fortify 

 the island of Mona, and build on it a light- 

 house and telegraph station. 



The most populous cities are : Ponce, a port 

 on the south coast, with 37,545 inhabitants; 

 San German, in the interior, 30,146; Maya- 

 guez, a port on the west coast, 26,446 ; Are- 

 cibo, a port on the north coast, 25,754; Utu- 

 ado, 24,912; St. John's or San Juan, fortified, 

 on the north coast, 23,414 ; and Yauco, 22,720. 



The Captain- General of Porto Rico is the 

 Marquis Don M. de la Vega de Inclan. The 

 American Consul at St. John's is E. Conroy. 



Finance. The budget of the colony, for the 

 fiscal year 1883-'84, estimated the income and 

 outlay as follows : 



REVENUE. 



Taxes $611,956 



Custom-houses 2,699,020 



Monopolies 283,700 



Income from state property 86,000 



Sundryitems 232,100 



Total $3,862,77 



EXPENDITURE. 



General outlays $1,155,981 



Department of Justice 270,853 



War 1,212,948 



44 Finance 288,169 



theNavy 74,996 



" Administration 553.415 



PublicWorks 882,240 



Total $3,938,547 



The Minister of the Colonies proposed in 

 1883 that the treasury notes issued to indem- 

 nify planters for the loss of their slaves through 

 emancipation, be converted into bonds to be 

 gradually extinguished at long intervals through 

 the operation of a sinking fund ; that the mu- 

 nicipal taxes on real estate, and the rural taxes 

 on farms and plantations, be reduced ; that the 

 floating debt be kept within a certain limit, the 

 greatest economy observed, and monetary cir- 

 culation reformed. The home Government, by 

 decree of July 5, 1883, Article VIII, made pro- 

 visions for the conversion of the treasury notes 

 above alluded to, under authority from the 

 Cortes, the same law ordering the enlargement 

 of the capital, St. John's. 



Education. Under the provisions of a decree 

 issued by the home Government, Aug. 9, 1882, 

 the budget of the island is in future to embrace 





