that Cuba, far from being a source of revenue to Spain, is a constant drain upon her treasury.

All these facts ought to be familiar to those who speak or write about Cuba; but when an important daily paper asserts in an editorial article that Spain has three times promised to Cuba representation in Congress and has each time broken her promise, in spite of the well known fact that Cuba has for many years past been represented in the Spanish Cortes, is it to be wondered at that such gross misrepresentations should find credence?

SOCIAL AND POLITICAL RIGHTS.

Anybody who has visited Cuba and has had an opportunity to study its customs, its manners, and its social and political life, knows that its people enjoy the same political liberties and civil rights as their brethren of the Peninsula, and we have no less an authority than that of the great orator and republican, Emilio Castelar, for the statement that Spain enjoys to-day all the political freedom which is consistent with a monarchical form of government, as much liberty, indeed, as any other country under the same form of government. And Señor Montoro, the Cuban home-ruler, as quoted above, declares that "to-day all classes in Cuba enjoy the fullest measure of social and political rights."

The political and administrative reforms adopted by the Spanish Cortes for Cuba, with the hearty concurrence of all parties, just before the present insurrection broke out, and which will be put in operation as soon as peace is restored, will give the two Antilles a greater measure of liberty than even that which is enjoyed by their sister provinces in the mother country.

WHAT DO THE CUBANS WANT.

It is such reforms as these, and a few other measures, such as the abolishment of the existing commercial laws between Spain and Cuba, the enactment of more liberal navigation laws and a revision of the tariff, which will satisfy the great majority of the Cubans, meaning by this not only the native population, but also the more progressive and far-seeing of the Spaniards residing in the Island.

These are the bona fide demands which Cuba and Porto Rico make upon Spain, and these they respectfully present and submit to the Cortes through their elected representatives. Spain, as history shows, has been granting to both Antilles all the reforms they have asked for, including the abolition of slavery, slowly and gradually, but surely. Would it not be justly considered an unwarrantable interference on the part of the United States were she to intermeddle in this matter by urging Spain to comply with the above demands. made by the majority of the Cubans through their senators and representatives? What then is to be thought of the proposed interference by the United States on behalf of a very small minority, which have placed themselves beyond the pale of the law, by taking up arms and making raids, not only upon the property of the Spanish government, but also upon the property of peaceful citizens? How can the United States consistently, with her boast of being in the vanguard of civilization, go out of her way to give moral aid and support to a few scattered guerrilla bands that are disturbing the peace of a friendly nation, burning plantations, destroying railroads, telegraphs and bridges, and using dynamite with the relentless fury of anarchists? How low must those hold the dignity of our nation who urge Congress and the government to

take sides with such desperadoes, and recognize them as respectable and civilized belligerents!

CUBAN TAXATION.

The assertion that the present rebellion is due to the intolerable oppression of the Cubans by Spain in burdensome taxation is disproved by the character of those in arms. Does any intelligent person imagine that those bandits and mulattoes are tax-payers? And their agents, friends and sympathizers in the United States, are they in any way affected by the taxes in Cuba? No; the taxes have nothing to do with the present rebellion, nor are the taxes in Cuba so high as to excite anybody's indignation.

They can certainly be made to appear very high by juggling with the figures, as the malicious correspondent of a prominent New York paper has done in a letter from Havana, wherein he states that the annual taxation of the Island of Cuba amounts to $93,400,000; and in order to make it reach this sum he proceeds to doctor the items and the figures in the most extraordinary manner.

As many persons, not having any means of verifying this statement, may have given it credence, it will not be amiss to expose here the methods by which the public is willfully misled. There are very few, among those who declaim against the burdens imposed by Spain on Cuban tax-payers, who take the trouble of ascertaining what is the amount of taxation in Cuba.

GOVERNMENT ESTIMATES.

We have before us the official text of the budgets for the Island of Cuba for the fiscal year 1895-6, and we can, there

fore, supply the figures. The total expenditures are estimated at $26,095,244.19, divided as follows:

The total revenues of the Island are estimated at $24,755,759,872, although they actually yield no more than $22,000,000. The different sources of revenue are as follows:

To the student of economics these will not appear as very oppressive taxes, considering the wealth and population of the Island of Cuba. Indeed, it will surprise many who know the value of its extensive sugar and tobacco plantations, with an annual production of nearly $100,000,000, to learn that the total revenue derived from the taxes on rural properties amounts to only $316,000.

VI.

THE COMMERCIAL STAND-POINT.

It has been proved that the people of Cuba do not want the independence of the Island, and now I will demonstrate that Cuban independence, from a commercial point of view, would not be advantageous to the United States.

Of all the countries south of us, the Spanish West Indies are foremost in business relations with the United States. Our trade with Cuba and Porto Rico is larger by far than any we have with either Mexico, Central America, or some of the republics of South America, and even Canada does not make a better showing than the Spanish Antilles, if we take the per capita rate of importations from the United States.

Figures are uncontrovertible arguments, and they clearly show that the fiscal laws of Spain are not so oppressive as to obstruct the commerce between her two islands and their best and principal market, that of the United States. Besides, I might quote some diplomatic correspondence in evidence of Spain's constant readiness and desire for negotiating commercial treaties with the United States, in lieu of the many-times renewed, extended, but unsatisfactory modus vivendi.

COMPARATIVE TRADE-STATISTICS.

The following statistics from the "U. S. Treasury Department Report on Foreign Commerce and Navigation," for the year ending June 30, 1893, show the importance of our commerce with the Spanish islands: