THE CUBA REVIEW 



11 



Judgment in favor of the 

 The Espada San Lazarus hospital cor- 

 Cemetery poration has been entered 

 Title in the suit brought by the 



trustees of that institution 

 to recover the lands of the old Espada 

 Cemetery in Havana, a most valuable prop- 

 erty covering about three city blocks and 

 claimed as church property by the bishopric 

 of Havana. Some seventy years ago the 

 San Lazaro hospital corporation trans- 

 ferred the property to the bishop, with the 

 stipulation that the "lands were to be used 

 for a cemetery." It served such a purpose 

 for m.any years, but was recently aban- 

 doned and the remains removed, by order 

 of the department of sanitation. 



Two suits were then brought by the 

 managers of the hospital, one in vindica- 

 tion and another on the annulment of sale. 

 The former was against the Roman Cath- 

 olic bishopric of Havana, and the second 

 one against Hugh J. Reilly and Bruno Diaz 

 and their assignees, and in both the hospi- 

 tal has won the initial fight, the court up- 

 holding the contention that the church re- 

 ceived the property "only for a cemetery," 

 and after that it reverted automatically to 

 the hospital ; that the church could not sell 

 the land, and if sold, which was done in 

 this case to Messrs. Hugh Reilly and 

 Bruno Diaz, the sale could be annulled. 



The judgment grants costs to the hospi- 

 tal against Reilly and the others. 



Seiior Ortelio Foyo, ex- 

 Encouraging Secretary of Agriculture, 

 Iinmi- Commerce and Labor, has 

 gration been named as special im- 

 migration commissioner 

 under a decree signed by President Gomez. 

 Senor Foyo's mission will take him prin- 

 cipally to Spain and the Canary Islands. 

 He will promote immigration generally, but 

 particularly will try to get two hundred 

 families of good reputation and character 

 to locate in Cuba. The government, it is 

 believed, is prepared to spend approxi- 

 mately $1,000 on locating each of these 

 families. It will give them a half caballe- 

 ria (about 16 acres) of land, will build 

 them houses that will serve their practical 

 needs, a yoke of oxen and some other farm 

 animals. 



El Veterano, an independ- 

 They Want ent Guantanamo daily, pub- 

 His lished an editorial July 21st, 



Resignation asking President Gomez to 

 resign. El Veterano says 

 that General Gomez promised some time 

 ago to a number of prominent Santiago 

 veterans who fought with him in the revo- 

 lution that he willingly would withdraw 

 whenever his old veteran friends would 



suggest that they were not satisfied with 

 the way he was conducting public affairs. 

 "The moment has arrived," says El Vete- 

 rano, "for the promised resignation, and 

 the veterans beg to recall to General Go- 

 mez his past offers." 



On July 23d tlie contract 



Contract between the city of Havana 



Extended and the Havana Gas and 



15 Years Electric Light Company for 



a fifteen-year extension of 



the agreement to furnish the city lighting, 



was signed. 



Under it the company is obliged to carry 

 out improvements amounting to about two 

 million dollars, to increase the service, to 

 change the present petroleum lights in the 

 outskirts for gas or electricity, and to make 

 other improvements. 



A clause in the contract reserves to the 

 city council the right to cancel the contract 

 and to offer it for public bid should there 

 come another company and offer to do the 

 same service. 



The Committee on Agricul- 

 Mines and ture. Industry and Com- 

 Mining merce, of the Cuban House 

 Tax-Free of Representatives, has re- 

 ported favorably a bill ex- 

 empting mining claims and properties, un- 

 der exploitation or not, from all national, 

 provincial and municipal taxes for a period 

 of ten years, and extending this exemption 

 for a full ten years to all mining claims 

 and properties put in operation at any time 

 within the original ten-year period. Dur- 

 ing a period of thirty years all vessels en- 

 tering Cuban ports in ballast, coming from 

 any foreign or Cuban port, and which clear 

 with cargo of minerals or other products 

 of national mines, are to be entitled to the 

 remission of one-half of the port and ton- 

 nage dues paid on entrj^ and during a sim- 

 ilar period minerals and mineral products 

 are to be exempt from payment of export 

 duties. During a period of ten years, ma- 

 chinery, apparatus, and railway material 

 imported into Cuba for use in mining and 

 metallurgical industries are to pay no more 

 than the minimum duty prescribed for sim- 

 ilar articles when imported for use in the 

 most-favored Cuban industrv. 



Irrigation 

 Necessary 



Pinar del Rio's mayor has 

 presented a motion to the 

 city council, providing for a 

 meeting of all the mayors 

 of the province in the interest of an irriga- 

 tion plan. The provincial governor, the 

 secretary of agriculture and senators and 

 representatives are to be importuned to aid 

 in preparing a memorial to Congress for 

 that purpose. 



