THE 

 CUBA REVIEW 



"ALL ABOUT CUBA." 



CopxriKht, igog, by the Munson Steamship Line. 



Volume VIIL MARCH, 1910. NUMBER 4. 



CUBAN GOVERNMENT MATTERS. 



Cuba's 1909 Financial Operations Successful — Begins Fiscal Year With a Good Sur- 

 plus—Secretary of State Sanguily Praises the United States— Congress Ad- 

 journs April 4. 



The new government's statement of Cuba's financial operations for 1909, made 

 public February 10, shows that all expenses have been paid, and in addition $6,000,- 

 000.00 and a balance left of $2,500,000.00 of her $12,000,000.00 outstanding debt', 

 just the amount found in the National Treasury at the end of the American inter- 

 vention on January 28, 1909. The present budget shows an increase of $6,000,000.00, 

 due to exterior debts and the establishment of new offices and departments created 

 by the government of intervention, but despite the favorable showing given above 

 is made. The new budget for the coming fiscal year aggregates $29,600,000.00, and 

 the receipts are estimated at $34,780,000.00. It is lower by $700,000,000.00 than the 

 last budget of President Palma's administration. Cuba begins her new fiscal year 

 with a prospective surplus of $45,159,148.00. 



On February 21, the Conservative party through its executive committee ex- 

 pressed its dissatisfaction at prevailing conditions in a public manifesto. The 

 Conservative party it says, has fulfilled its pledges loyally to support the Govern- 

 ment during its first year, but its co-operation has not brought satisfactory 

 results. The Administration it finds, has no system, has permitted useless ex- 

 penses to increase almost from day to day, while the Constitution is a dead letter, 

 its provisions forgotten and neglected; citizens overtaxed, especially the poorer 

 classes, and so called democratic principles put aside. 



On February 22, the N. Y. Herald said that at a dinner recently given to Sehor 

 Sanguily by some of his friends, celebrating his appointment as Secretary of State, 

 Sehor Sanguily said he was authorized by President Gomez to make public his in- 

 tention not to accept renomination to the Presidency of the Republic, and that his 

 only wish was to try to hand over the affairs of the republic to his successor 

 in the best possible shape. 



The Cuban Congress adjourned February 25 until April 4 with but little business 

 transacted during the session. President Gomez, it is understood, is contemplating 

 several cabinet changes. 



A treasury statement issued February 11 shows that general custom collections 

 for the calendar year of 1909 surpassed the receipts of 1908 by the sum of $1,916,- 

 112.16, or just $83,887.84 short of two million. 



The collections for the year of 1908 were $22,232,974.35, while in 1909 they 

 reached the sum of $24,149,086.51. 



