PORTO RICO. 



PORTUGAL. 



649 



the disbursement of the annual amount neces- 

 sary to defray the support of a professional 

 school, which will be opened in the capital. 



Soil. The soil of Porto Rico is exceedingly 

 fertile, and more sugar to the acre can be pro- 

 duced there than in most "West India islands. 

 The climate, though warm, is healthful, but 

 there is an occasional hurricane, like the one 

 of Sept. 7, 1883, which caused great devastation 

 and extensive inundations. 



Telegraphs. The total length of telegraph 

 lines in 1880 was 473 miles. 



The Ponce Exhibition. On Dec. 1, 1883, an ag- 

 ricultural and industrial exhibition was opened 

 at Ponce, a most valuable display being made, 

 especially of everything relating to the culture 

 and manufacture of tobacco. American pro- 

 ducers and manufacturers were largely repre- 

 sented at the show. 



A Central Sugar-House. On May 4, 1883, a 

 meeting was held of shareholders in a new 

 central sugar-house, to be founded in the fer- 

 tile Vega de Yabucoa. The system to which 

 preference has been given for the extraction of 

 sugar is that of Fowler. The estimate of cost 

 is $325,407 ; estimate of gross proceeds, $478,- 

 530. From the latter amount the cost of cane 

 will have to be deducted and credited to the 

 agricultural department of the company, $204,- 

 750, and the cost of working the cane in the 

 mill and reducing it to sugar, $69,570, together 

 $274,320. This would leave net proceeds of 

 one crop's operations of the sugar -house to the 

 amount of $204,210. Deducting finally from 

 these proceeds the interest on capital and sal- 

 aries to manager, engineer, clerks, etc., $58,- 

 805, there would remain $145,405, equal to 

 about 65 per cent, on the capital of $225,000 set 

 aside for the starting of the mill. 



Commercial Treaty. Under date of Jan. 4, 

 1884, it was telegraphed from Madrid that a 

 commercial arrangement would soon be con- 

 cluded between Spain and the United States, 

 by which Spain would agree to apply the so- 

 called " thirty-column " tariff to imports from 

 America into Cuba and Porto Rico, which 

 would be tantamount to the suppression of the 

 flag and differential duties. Spain would also 

 agree to abrogate the special duties on live fish 

 into Cuba in foreign bottoms, and to suppress 

 the consular and tonnage dues on vessels leav- 

 ing the United States for Cuba or Porto Rico. 

 The United States would abolish the 10 per 

 cent, ad valorem duties on imports from Cuba 

 and Porto Rico under the Spanish flag. 



The closing stipulation of the agreement con- 

 tains a passage much more important than the 

 immediate reductions. It is thus summarized 

 by the State Department: "Both governments 

 bind themselves to begin at once negotiations 

 for the conclusion of a complete treaty of com- 

 merce and navigation between the United States 

 and Cuba and Porto Rico." 



Under the provisions of the arrangement we 

 have referred to, the changes in the duties 

 levied upon American products imported into 



these islands are as follow, the quantity to 

 which the duty applies being in each case 112 

 pounds, excepting flour, where the quantity is 

 220 pounds, and rough white-pine lumber, 

 where the quantity is 1,000 superficial feet: 

 Apples, old duty, $1.46, new, $1.18; bacon, 

 old, $3.82, new, $2.82 ; beans, old, $1.12, new, 

 82 cents; butter, old, $6.65, new, $5.19; cod- 

 fish, old, $1.09, new, 81 cents; calico, old, 

 $21.21, new, $15.92 ; cotton duck, old, $12.31, 

 new, $9.10; flour, old, $5.51, new, $4.69; lard, 

 old, $4.44, new, $3.32 ; petroleum, old, $2.91, 

 new, $2.18; potatoes, old, 64 cents, new, 45; 

 hams, old, $3.82 ; new, $2.82 ; rice, old, $1.91, 

 new, $1.45 ; straw paper, old, $1.12, new, 80 

 cents ; rough white-pine lumber, old, $6.65, 

 new, $5.19. The duties thus designated as 

 new are those which for upward of 20 years 

 have been imposed upon these goods imported 

 into Cuba or Porto Rico in Spanish bottoms. 



Port Regulations. A short time before the 

 home Government adopted a liberal policy, the 

 local authority in Porto Rico acted in a spirit 

 precisely the reverse, and on Nov. 11, 1883, a 

 decree went into effect that vessels arriving 

 shall pay $1.25 per 1,000 kilos, gross weight, 

 on all cargo landed (instead of $1 as formerly), 

 and $1 per 1,000 kilos on all cargo loaded out- 

 ward, whether vessel arrives with cargo or in 

 ballast, which is a new tax, and is equal to 

 about 7 cents per 100 pounds on a cargo of 

 sugar. For a number of years past the charges 

 in Porto Rico have been moderate, but this 

 makes them more than they are in Cuba. 



Commerce. The peninsular and foreign trade 

 movement in Porto Rrco in the years 1881 

 and 1882 is given as follows : 



The American trade with Porto Rico is 

 shown in the following table : 



The chief articles imported into the United 

 States in 1883 were : sugar, 83,940,670 pounds; 

 and molasses, 5,448,321 gallons. 



In 1882 there entered Porto Rican ports 

 1,586 vessels; aggregate tonnage, 1,114,340; 

 sailed, 1,502 vessels; aggregate tonnage, 992,- 



687. 



PORTUGAL, a monarchy in southern Europe. 

 The fundamental law is the charter granted in- 

 1826 by Dom Pedro IV, and -revised in 1852 

 by the Cortes. The representative assembly 

 consists of two chambers, that of the Peers, 

 who are nominated for life by the King and 

 number 150, and the Chamber of Deputies, 

 which has consisted since 1878 of 149 mem- 



