Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 6.djvu/716

Rh 682 CUBA particularly those called the royal ninths and the con solidated fund, the sinking fund, the media annata, and the annual and monthly revenues of the clergy; personal deductions, such as from the pay of public func tionaries, and the price of exemption from military service ; miscellaneous receipts, as the produce of the sale of royal lauds, the rents of vacant livings and of unclaimed estates, the produce of vendible offices ; and casual receipts, in cluding deposits, confiscations, donations, and the recovery of arrears. Previous to the outbreak of the insurrection of 1868 the total revenue of Cuba had reached nearly to 26,000,000 dollars, of which sum about 6,000,000 dollars was annually remitted to Spain, leaving the remainder to cover the ex penses of the army, navy, and civil service of the island. Since 1868 the imposts have been much increased, but have not been sufficient to cover the enormous increase of expen diture consequent on the rebellion. The Government of the island has thus been compelled to borrow large sums for its war funds. Public finances are specially under the manage ment of the Government bank called the Banco Espanol, and have fallen into an unsatisfactory and confused state consequent on the steps taken by the island Government for obtaining funds by the emission of large amounts of notes without additional security, and without a special guarantee for each issue from the Madrid Government, resulting in a depreciation of the paper, or a premium on gold and silver. The coins in use are chiefly the old Spanish &quot; doblon,&quot; or &quot;onza de oro,&quot; worth about &amp;lt;3, 4s., or 16 silver dollars of Spain, but it is legal tender for 17 dollars in the island. Gold coins of half a doblon, &quot; media onza,&quot; of 8 dollars 50 cents, and of half and quarter that amount, and the &quot; peso,&quot; or dollar in gold or silver, are also in circulation. There is scarcely any smaller silver currency in Cuba, excepting the American 10 cent piece or dime, called the &quot; real sencilla.&quot; The roads of Cuba are generally in a very wretched condition. Several railways have been established. The oldest, opened in 1838, extends from Havana to Guinea, a distance of forty-five miles, and has branches to Batabano, San Antonio, and Los Palos. There are lines in operation from Matanzas to Sabanilla, Cardenas to Bamba and Jucaro, and thence to unite with the line which crosses the island between Sagua la Grande and Cienfuegos, as well as from Puerto Principe to Nuevitas. The whole length of lines in operation is nearly 400 miles. Coastal communication is kept up by steamers which ply regularly between the differeut ports. Numerous lines of steamers run between Havana and New York, New Orleans, Key West, Philadelphia, and Baltimore ; and with Europe communica tion is maintained by English mail as well as French and German lines of ocean steamers. The island is connected by telegraph with the mainland and with Jamaica. Conflicting accounts render it impossible to arrive at anything like certainty as to the number of inhabitants on the island at the time of its conquest ; but it may be esti mated at from 300,000 to 400,000. There is little doubt, however, that before 1560 the whole of this population had disappeared from the island. The first census of Cuba was taken in 1774, when the population was 171,620. In 1791 it was 272,300. The following table gives the population since that period : Yeai Whites. Free Blacks. Slaves. Total. 1811... 274,000 114,000 212,000 600,000 1817... 290,021 115,691 225,268 630,980 1827... 311,051 106,494 286,942 704,487 1841... 418,291 152,838 436,495 1,007,624 1846... 425,769 149,226 323,759 898,752 1819... 457,133 164,410 323,897 945,440 1860... 604,610 207,735 367,370 1,179,715 Owing to the disturbed condition of the island, no census of the inhabitants has been taken since that of 1861. The results of the enumeration of that year made the total population 1,396,530, distributed thus : Naturalized Whites 730,894 Asiatic Coolies 34,834 Mexicans (Yucatese) 1,047 766,775 Free Coloured 232,493 Slaves 370,553 603,046 Kesident foreigners 5,298 Passing 3,987 Spaniards 17,424 26,709 An estimate, based on this census, made in 1869 gives the total population as 1,414,508, including 50,000 coolies. The following statement appears in The Times, March 16, 1877: &quot;The American press despatch from Havana states that the official figures show that in the year 1870 there were in the island 363,000 slaves; in W3, 287,000 ; and 1876, 199,000. The numbers of free blacks in the island in 1873 was 26,000 ; in 1874, 50,000 ; in 1875, 75,000 ; and in 1876, 84,000. The free blacks in the four jurisdictions in which no census could be taken are estimated at 6000.&quot; Writing in 1872, Mr Gallenga quotes an official state ment of the population, giving a total of 1,359,437 ; or 1,034,616 in the western division of which Havana (population, 230,000) is the chief city; 75,725 in the central districts round Puerto Principe (population, 31,000); and 249,096 in the eastern division, the chief town of which is Santiago de Cuba (population, 37,000). The only other town of importance is Matanzas with a popu lation of 36,000. The inhabitants of Cuba are divided into four classes, the native Spaniards, who occupy nearly all the t ffices of power and trust ; the Creoles, who are mostly planters, farmers, or lawyers, and are generally looked upon with contempt by the Spaniards ; the third class, composed of free mulattoes and free negroes in about equal parts, who are excluded by law from all civil offices ; those under ser vitude, constituting the fourth class, divided into the bozales, those recently brought from Africa, the ladinos, those im ported before the law of 1821 prohibiting the slave trade, and the criollos, those born on the island. Cuba was long notorious for the extent to which the slave trade was carried on there, and the ineffectual efforts made to suppress it. The English Government succeeded, however, in 1853 in inducing the Spanish Government to pledge itself to adopt measures for its suppression ; and the importation of African slaves has consequently ceased for a number of years. In their place Asiatic coolies have been introduced in consider able numbers, and the plan has worked well for the planters, though it is almost certain death in a short time to the coolies, who are slaves in almost every sense. Under a better and more liberal system of government, there can be no doubt that Cuba would speedily attain a much higher state of prosperity and importance than it has yet enjoyed. Great as is its productiveness at present, some writers assert that under good government it would be increased five-fold ; its mineral resources would then be fully developed, and it would be able fully to take advan tage of its admirable position to develop its trade. The following authorities may be consulted Ramon de la Sagra, Historia fisica, polit., y natural de la I. de Cuba, 13 vols, Madrid, 1849-1861, and Cuba en 1860, Paris 1862 ; Cuba and the Cubans, comprising a History of the Island of Cuba, New York, 1850 ; Jegor von Sivers, Cuba, die Perle der Antillen, Leipsic, 1861 ; Fernandez de Castro, Estudios sobre las minus de oro en la I. de Cuba, Havana, 1865 ; Jac. de la Pezuela, Diet, geogr. estadistico-