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United States, and to assist the Circuit and | ject appointments made by the Governor. District Judges in taking evidence for the trial most of the States the sessions are biennial, of such persons. These duties may, however, the Governor having power to summon in be performed by a judge or magistrate of extraordinary session, but not to dissolve or either a State or the Federal Government. adjourn. State Legislatures are competent to Each of the nine Justices of the Supreme deal with all matters not reserved for the Court must hold a Court in one of the nine Federal Government by the Federal Constitucircuits at least once every two years, and with tion, or falling within restrictions imposed by each may be associated the Circuit or District the State constitutions. Among their powers Judge. The Supreme Court consists of a are the determinations of the qualifications for Chief Justice and eight Associate Judges, ap- the right of suffrage, and the control of all pointed by the President with the consent of elections to public office, including elections of the Senate. It deals with appeals from iu- members of Congress and electors of President ferior courts, and has original jurisdiction in and Vice-President; the criminal law, both in cases affecting foreign ministers and consuls, its enactment and in its execution, with unimand those in which a State is a party.. portant exceptions, and the administration of prisons; the civil law, including all matters pertaining to the possession and transfer of, and succession to, property; marriage and divorce, and all other civil relations; the chartering and control of all manufacturing, trading, transportation, and other corporations, subject only to the right of Congress to regulate commerce passing from one State to another; the regulation of labor; education; charities; licensing, including regulation of the liquor traffic; fisheries and game laws. The revenues of the States are derived chiefly from a direct tax upon property, in some cases both real and personal, in others on land and buildings only. The prohibition upon Congress to levy direct taxes save in proportion to population, contained in the National Constitution, leaves this source of revenue to the States exclusively.

Other courts with criminal jurisdiction are the Court of the District of Columbia and those of the Territories. There is also at Washington a Court of Claims.

States and Territories. The Union comprises thirteen original States, seven States which were admitted without having been organized as Territories dependent on the Union, and twenty-five States which had been Territories. Each State has its own constitution, which must be republican in form, and each constitution derives its authority, not from Congress, but from the population of the State. In the case of the original States the colonial charters were adopted, with more or less modification, as State constitutions; the other States, before entering the Union, had constitutions already made. Admission of States into the Union is granted by special Acts of Congress, either (1) in the form of "enabling Acts," providing for the drafting and ratification of a State constitution by the people, in which case the Territory becomes a State as soon as the conditions are fulfilled, or (2) accepting a constitution already framed and at once granting admission.

His

The Governor is chosen by direct vote of the people over the whole State. His term of office varies from one year (in 2 States), to four years (in 19 States), and his salary from $1,500 to $10,000. His duty is to see to the faithful. administration of the law, and he has command of the military forces of the State. power of appointment to State offices is usually unimportant. He may recommend measures but does not present bills to the Legislature. In some States he presents estimates. the States except Delaware, North Carolina, Ohio, and Rhode Island, the Governor has the power to veto bills, but where this power exists the Legislature, by a two thirds vote, may override the veto.

In all

Each State is provided with a Legislature of two Houses, a Governor, and other executive officials, and a judicial system. Both Houses of the Legislature are elective, but the Senators (having larger electoral districts) are less numerous than the members of the House of Representatives, while in some States their terms are longer and, in a few, the Senate is only partially renewed at each election. Members of both Houses are paid at the same rate, The officers by whom the administration of which varies from $150 to $1,500 per session, State affairs is carried on the Secretaries, or from $1 to $8 per day during session. The Treasurers, and Auditors, and in some of the duties of the two Houses are similar, but in States members of boards or commissions many States money bills must be introduced are usually chosen by the people at the general first in the House of Representatives. The State elections for terms similar to those for Senate has to sit as a court for the trial of which Governors themselves hold office. In officials impeached by the other House, and, some States commissioners are appointed by besides, has often the power to confirm or re- the Governor.

Including Hawaii, there are now six Terri- HAWAII. tories, and when the status of Porto Rico is established there will probably be seven Territories. Arizona, New Mexico, and Oklahoma have local Legislatures, the form of which has been prescribed by the Federal Government; they have powers similar to those of the States, but any of their acts may be modified or annulled by Federal statutes.

The Governor of each of the Territories, except the Indian Territory, is appointed for four years by the President, to whom annual reports are submitted: These Governors have the power of veto over the acts of Territorial Legislatures. The President appoints the Territorial Secretaries and other officials, together with Territorial judges.

Constitution and Government.-The Hawaiian or Sandwich Islands, discovered by Captain Cook in 1778, formed during the greater part of the nineteenth century an independent kingdom, whose integrity was recognized by Great Britain, France, the United States, and other governments. In 1893, however, the reigning Queen, Liliuokalani, was deposed, and a provisional government formed; in 1894 a Republic was proclaimed, with a Legislature of two Houses and a President; and in accordance with a resolution of Congress of July 7, 1898, the islands were on August 12, 1898, formally annexed to the United States. Five commissioners were appointed to recommend such legislation concerning the isAlaska and the Indian Territory have no lands as they should deem necessary and proper, power of self-government, the former being and in the beginning of December the report governed like a British crown colony, by a of the Commission with its legislative proGovernor who is not assisted by a Legislature. posals was transmitted to Congress. In the Indian Territory the native tribes are principal Bill provides for the erection of the under the direct control of the Department of islands into a Territory, to be styled the Terthe Interior, but the civilized tribes, with the ritory of Hawaii. All whites, including Portsupport of the National Government, maintain uguese, all persons of African descent, and all local governments of their own, with elective descendants of Hawaiian race, either on the Legislatures and executive officers, whose paternal or the maternal side, who were citizens functions are strictly limited to the persons of Hawaii immediately prior to the transfer of and personal property of their own citizens; the sovereignty to the United States, are dethat is, the Indians. clared citizens of the United States. Prior to

The

For military purposes the Islands have been attached to the Department of California.

The District of Columbia presents an anom-the transfer all Hawaiians of full age who alous status. It is the seat of the Federal could speak, read, and write either Hawaiian Government. It is coextensive with and is or English, had the right to vote. The numpractically the City of Washington, and em- ber of registered electors on September 3, 1897, braces an area of 694 square miles. The Dis- was 2,687. trict has no municipal legislative body, and its citizens have no right to vote, either in national or municipal affairs. Under an act of 1878 its municipal government is administered by three commissioners, appointed by the President. They constitute a non-partisan board, one being selected from each of the leading political parties, and the third being assigned to duty as a commissioner from the Engineer Corps of the army. All legislation relative to the District of Columbia is by the Congress. All the legislatures, State and Territorial, have biennial sessions, except Georgia, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and South Carolina, which have annual sessions, beginning in January of each year, with the exception of Georgia, whose Legislature meets in October. Nearly all the present biennial sessions began in January, 1899. The States whose Legislatures meet in January, 1900, are Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, and Ohio. Alabama's next biennial session begins in November, 1900, Louisiana's in May, 1900, and Vermont's in October, 1900.

Area and Population. —The total area of the islands is 6,640 square miles: namely, Hawaii, 4,210; Maui, 760; Oahu, 600; Kauai, 590; Molokai, 270; Lanai, 150; Niihau, 97; Kahoolawe, 63 square miles. In 1896 the population numbered 109,020 (72,517 males and 36,503 females). Of the total, 31,019 were natives, 8,485 half-castes, 21,616 Chinese, 24,407 Japanese, 15,191 Portuguese, 3,086 Americans, 2,250 British, 1,432 Germans, 378 Norwegians, 101 French, 455 Polynesians, and 600 other foreigners. The population comprised 7,570 persons engaged in agriculture, 2,100 in fishing and navigation, 2,265 in the industries, 2,031 in trade and transport, 2,580 in liberal professions, 34,498 laborers, 4,310 of various occupations, and 53,726 without regular occupation. The native population (closely allied to the Maories of New Zealand) is rapidly decreasing, while the foreign element is increasing.

Commerce, Shipping, and Communications. The islands are to a great extent mountainous and volcanic, but the soil

east trade winds blowing from the Atlantic and wring their moisture from them, so that the rainfall of the north section is very copious. South of the mountains severe droughts occur and agriculture demands irrigation, but such work is unsystematically carried on.

The northeast coast is broken and forbidding; that of the south safer. The chief port on the north coast is the capital, San Juan. On the west is the important harbor of Mayaguez. On the south side are Guanica, Ponce, and Guayama. The island of Vieques, which lies off the east coast of Porto Rico, is 21 miles long and 6 miles wide.

is highly fertile and productive. Sugar and rice are the staple industries, while coffee, hides, bananas, and wool are also exported. Steamers connect the islands with the American continent, Australasia, and China. In 1897 there were 62 registered vessels belonging to the islands, of 34,066 tons; of these, 21 of 28,510 tons were built in England. There are about 100 miles of railway in the islands of Hawaii, Maui, and Oahu. There are telegraphs in the islands of Maui, Hawaii, | between Hawaii and Oahu, and round the latter island; total length, 250 miles; nearly every family in Honolulu has its telephone. In 1897 the total number of letters, etc., trans- Climate. The climate is hot, but much mitted and received by the Post Office was alleviated by the prevailing northeast winds. 5,079,872; there were 73 post offices. Postal A temperature as high as 117° Fahrenheit has savings banks, 1897 depositors, 10,620; been recorded, but it seldom exceeds 97° Fahamount, $953,981. Honolulu is lighted by electricity, and has lines of tramways. The various islands will shortly be connected by telegraphic cable.

PORTO RICO. '

Area, Population, Etc. The island of Porto Rico (added to the United States by Spain in accordance with the Treaty of Paris, signed Dec. 10, 1898, and ratified by the Senate Feb. 6, 1899, and by the Queen Regent of Spain March 17), according to a recent report of the British consul (Foreign Office, Annual Series, No. 1,917, 1897), has an extent of about 3,668 square miles-35 miles broad and 95 miles long. The population, according to an enumeration made in 1887, was 798,565, of whom 474,933 were whites, 246,647 mulattoes, and 76,905 negroes. The present estimated population is 900,000.

Geographical Formation. - Much of the information presented herewith relative to Porto Rico has been prepared by Professor Wilson, of the Philadelphia Commercial Museum, who has made an extensive survey of the island.

It is traversed from east to west by a mountain range, dividing the island into two unequal portions, by far the longest slope being on the north, so that the rivers on that coast are much the longer. From this chain several branches diverge toward the north coast, giving it a rugged appearance. The most of the population is situated on the lowlands at the sea front of the hills. For lack of roads, the interior is accessible only by mule trails or saddle paths, and it is covered with vast forests. Rivers and brooks are numerous, forty-seven very considerable rivers having been enumerated. They are short and rapid, especially on the Caribbean slopes, which are steep and abrupt. The mountains intercept the north

renheit in the shade during the hottest hours.
At night it sinks to 68 or 69°. The rainy
season lasts from August to December, and the
rainfall is at times so copious north of the
mountains as to inundate cultivated fields and
produce swamps.
The mean annual average
rainfall is 644 inches. The prevailing diseases
are yellow fever, elephantiasis, tetanus, marsh
fever, and dysentery.

Productions. Porto Rico is unusually
fertile, and its dominant industries are agri-
culture and lumbering.
In elevated regions
the vegetation of the temperate zone is not
unknown. There are more than 500 varieties
of trees found in the forests, and the plains
are full of palm, orange, and other trees. The
principal crops are sugar, coffee, tobacco, cot-
ton, and maize, but bananas, rice, pineapples,
and many other fruits are important products.

The principal minerals found in Porto Rico are gold, carbonates, and sulphides of copper and magnetic oxide of iron in large quantities. Lignite is found at Utuado and Moca, and also yellow amber. A large variety of marbles, limestones, and other building stones are deposited on the island, but these resources are very undeveloped. There are salt works at Guanica and Salinac on the south coast, and at Cape Rojo on the west, and these constitute the principal mineral industry in Porto Rico.

Inter-Communication. — Railways are in their infancy, and cart roads are deficient. There are 137 miles of railway, with 170 miles under construction, and 470 miles of telegraph lines. These connect the capital with the principal ports south and west. Submarine cables run from San Juan to St. Thomas and Jamaica.

Cities. The capital of Porto Rico is San Juan Bautista, founded by Ponce de Leon. It is situated on the small island of Morro, now connected with the mainland by the San

capital of the Philippines, Manila, has 154,062 inhabitants (1887); other towns are Laoag, 30,642; Lipa, 43,408; Banang, 35,598; Batangas, 35,587. There are about 25,000 Europeans in the islands and about 100,000 Chinese, in whose hands are the principal industries. The native inhabitants are mostly of the Malayan race, but there are some tribes of Negritos. The group is divided into three governments: Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao with the Sulu Islands; but in many of the islands the natives have hitherto been practically independent.

Antonio Bridge. The district of its name con- and the total area, including the Sulu Islands, tains 27,000 inhabitants. On the western end is about 115,300 square miles. The populaof the island Ponce de Leon built the Govern- tion is estimated at about 8,000,000. The or's palace, inclosed within the Santa Catalina fortifications, where also are the cathedral, town house, and theater. This portion of the city is now called Pueblo Viejo. It is an Episcopal see subordinate to the Archbishop of Santiago de Cuba. The city is strongly fortified for the defense of the entrance to the outer harbor. The interior harbor is landlocked, capacious, and safe, and is being dredged to a uniform depth of twenty-nine feet. The houses are of stone, usually one story high, and have roof gardens, from which fine marine views may be enjoyed. Almost every house has a garden in its patio or court. Besides the capital, San Juan, there are some sixty or seventy towns and villages of considerable size in the island. Of these the most important are Ponce and Arecibo, each with a larger population than San Juan (that of Ponce being about 35,000 or 40,000, while that of San Juan is estimated at 25,000); Mayaguez (also larger than the capital) and Aguadilla, on the west coast; Farjardo and Humacao, on the east coast: Guanica and Aroyo, on the south, and Pepino and Cayey, in the interior.

Commerce.—The foreign trade of Porto Rico in 1896 amounted to $36,624,120, the imports being valued at $18,945,793, and the exports at $17,295,535. The largest trade was done with Spain, being $11,259,702, and the next largest with the United States, $6,526,029. In the year 1897 the imports from the United States were $1,988,888, and the exports to the United States $2,181,024. The imports from the United States included petroleum, ironware, dried and salted meats, textiles, and dairy products. Rice was the principal article of import from the rest of the world.

The largest article of export from Porto Rico is coffee, which is over 63 per cent. of the whole. The next largest is sugar, 28 per cent. The other exports in order of amount are tobacco, honey, molasses, cattle, timber, and hides.

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.

Financial and Industrial Conditions.-Silver is the basis of the currency in the Philippine Islands. There is no gold in general circulation, and has been none for more than twenty years. The Mexican dollar of a date previous to 1877 is current in the islands, and it is practically the only money in general circulation. The Spanish Government, in the summer of 1897, coined $6,000,000 of silver in a local currency, which was sent to the islands. These dollars are lighter in weight than the Mexican dollar, but the scarcity of money in the Philippine Islands caused them to be quickly absorbed. There is a local note-issuing bank, called the Banco Español Filipino, which has in circulation notes based on silver, of which there was outstanding on Sept. 30. 1898, approximately $2,500,000.

It is estimated there are in circulation $10,000,000 of subsidiary coins, the 10-cent, 20cent, and 50-cent pieces, which have been recoined from Mexican dollars by the Spanish Government. The estimate of the Mexican dollars now in circulation, as given by one of the best-informed bankers in the islands, is from $20,000,000 to $25,000,000. This, with the $2,500,000 of notes of the Banco Español Filipino now in circulation, constitutes the currency of the islands. This would make a total of from $40,000,000 to $15,000,000, speaking roughly, for the entire islands, or, approximately, $5 per capita for the total population of the islands. It must not be overlooked that these figures are given on a silver basis, and that, therefore, in figuring on our own standard all of these figures must be cut in two. On a gold basis, the currency of the islands is, therefore, from $20,000,000 to $22,500,000, or $2.50 per capita, figuring on the total population of the islands.

These islands, ceded by Spain to the United States by the treaty signed by the Peace Commissioners, Dec. 10, 1898, and ratified by the Senate, Feb. 6, 1899, and by the Queen Regent of Spain March 17, extend almost due north and south from Formosa to Borneo and the Moluccas, embracing an extent of 16° of latitude and 9 of longitude. They are about Three banking institutions do the banking 2,000 in number; the two largest are Luzon business of the Philippine Islands aside from (area 40,024 square miles) and Mindanao; that done by the large commercial houses.

which buy and sell exchange, and to a limited | mize labor, and there was no United States at extent carry on the business which legitimate- hand, as in the case of Cuba, to invest money ly belongs to banking institutions. Of the in plantations and develop the business in acthree banks, the two most important are cordance with modern ideas. There is no branch concerns, the third being a local insti- doubt that the culture of the cane can be imtution controlled by Spaniards and natives. mensely extended, and the methods of production would be modernized very rapidly if capital were directed toward the islands and there were a greater degree of confidence in their future.

There are about 25,000 Europeans resident in the islands (the total population is nearly 8,000,000), of course, not counting the troops. Some 12,000 are established in the capital, Manila, the center of the colonial government. English, Spanish, and German houses are engaged in trade, advancing money to the natives on their crops. Such business methods involve risks and necessitate large capital in the beginning, but the profits are immense. The land is fertile and productive, | and lacks only intelligent cultivation. Abaca (manila hemp) is one of the chief sources of wealth of the country. Sugar cane does not give as satisfactory returns, owing largely to the ignorance of planters. The average production is 178,000,000 kilograms (175,186.96 tons), while that of Cuba is equal to 720,000,000 kilograms. The sugar goes almost entirely to Japan, England, and the United States. It is of poor quality and very cheap. The cultivation of tobacco is one of the most important industries, although it is capable of much greater development. The native coffee, although not equal to the mocha or bourbon varieties, has a fine aroma. It goes chiefly to Spain. Cocoa trees grow in abundance, and the oil is used for lighting houses and streets. The indigo is famous for its superior qualities. The inhabitants are apathetic to a degree that is noticeable even in these countries, where every one is averse to exertion. The women have long and slender fingers, remarkably fine and sensitive, and well adapted to their work. The hats and cigarette-holders they make and the articles they embroider are models of delicacy. Cotton spinning and work in bamboo are among the chief industries.

The fiber which gets its common name from the city of Manila is perennial and requires little cultivation; in fact, it does very well without any. It reaches the proportions of a tree, but its soft stem is cut with a knife, though several inches in diameter, and the decortication of the fiber is rather a matter of time and patience than of skill or hard work. About a million bales are exported annually, nearly all of it going to England or coming to this country, and our importation of the fiber has been increasing.

The sugar culture has remained in its primeval condition because the supply of labor was so great that there was no incentive to econo

The tobacco is as well known in Europe and Asia as the tobacco of Cuba is in this country; it is extensively cultivated and its manufacture is the staple business of the capital city.

Commerce.-In 1891 the Philippines' exports to Spain amounted to $22,479,000 ($18,095,595 in United States currency). In 1891 the Philippines' imports from Spain amounted to $17,126,000 ($13,786,430).

The total exports from the Philippines in 1892 consisted of 95,016 tons of hemp; 3,951,060 piculs (553,148,400 pounds) of sugar; 21,223 piculs (2,971,220 pounds) of coffee; 61,459 piculs (8,604,260 pounds) of sampanwood; 5,570 piculs (779,800 pounds) of indigo; 254,428 quintals (56,091,197 pounds) of tobacco leaf; 137,059,000 cigars. The total exports in 1892 were of the value of $33,479,000 ($23,803,569). Total value of imports, in 1892, were of the value of $27,000,000 ($19,197,000).

The imports into the Philippines from the United States in 1897 were but $94,597, the principal item being mineral oils. The exports to the United States were $14,383,740, the largest items being hemp, $2,701,651, and cane sugar, $1,199,202.

Climate.-Mr. Hilder, Assistant Secretary of the National Geographical Society, who spent nine months in the islands, says in the Forum that there is considerable variety in the climate, and that for the tropics it is not excessively hot. On the western side of Luzon the hot season is from March till June, May being the hottest month, when the temperature ranges from 80° to 100°. The mean temperature for the month is 84°, 2° above the summer temperature of New Orleans and 9° above the hottest month in Washington. From October to March is a cool, dry season. The northern islands are subject to terrific storms, which never pass south of 9° north latitude.

Railways and Shipping. In a report published in Special Consular Reports, Highways of Commerce, Consul Elliott, of Manila, says that there is but one railway in the islands-from Manila to Dagupin-a distance of 123 miles. It is single track and well built, steel rails being used its entire length, the

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