IN THE WESTERN PACIFIC. [Area, 96,160 square miles; population, 427,000.] German possessions in the western Pacific include Kaiser Wilhelm's Land, the Bismarck Archipelago, Solomon Islands, Marshall Islands, Caroline Islands, Pelew Islands, Marianne Islands, and certain of the Samoan Islands, with a total area of 96,160 square miles and a population of 427,000. Kaiser Wilhelm's Land has, with other small islands, an estimated area of 70,000 square miles and a population of about 110,000. The estimated revenue for 1901 was 810,000 marks, including the imperial contribution, 710,000 marks. The government is in the form of a protectorate, with a representative of the German Government in control in cooperation with native officials. The development of the protectorate has been intrusted to the German New Guinea Company, which has extended its operations to other German possessions in the Pacific. Imports, 1899-1900.. Marks. 377, 682 212, 117 BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO. [Area, 20,000 square miles; population, 188,000.] A German protectorate which extends over a group of islands in the Pacific, the aggregate area being estimated at 20,000 square miles and the population at 188,000. The commercial development is in the hands of the German New Guinea Company. The imports amounted during 1899-1900 to 1,240,925 marks; the exports to 907,282 marks. SOLOMON ISLANDS. This group includes a number of small islands in the Pacific, which are under the officials of Kaiser Wilhelm's Land. They lie northwest of Australia, and their aggregate area is estimated at 4,200 square miles and the population at 45,000. MARSHALL ISLANDS. The Marshall Islands consist of two chains of lagoon islands in the Pacific, midway between the Hawaiian and Philippine islands. Their aggregate area is estimated at 150 square miles and their population 15,000. Imports, 1899-1900.... Marks. 454, 300 KIAU-CHAU. [Area, 200 square miles; population, 60,000.1] Kiau-Chau, on the east coast of the Chinese province of Shantung, was seized by Germany in November, 1897, and transferred to that country on a ninety-nine years' lease in March, 1898. The administration of the district is intrusted to the navy department, and a naval officer, with the title of governor, is at the head of the local government. The area of the protectorate is about 200 square miles, and the population estimated about 60,000. Extensive coal fields, less than 100 miles distant, are, by agreement, to be worked with German capital. Concessions for the construction of railways, one of which is to pass through the coal fields to the boundary of the district, have been granted, and actual railway building is in progress. Budget estimate, 1901 (of which Imperial contribution 10,750,000 marks). Imports into Germany, 1900.... CAROLINE, PELEW, AND MARIANNE (OR LADRONE) ISLANDS. Marks. 2, 352 These islands were acquired by Germany from Spain by treaty of February 12, 1899, the purchase price being 16,750,000 marks, and form for the present part of the German New Guinea protectorate. They lie to the north of German New Guinea, and to the west of the German Marshall Islands. Their combined area is estimated at 810 square miles, with a population of 42,000. The Carolines consist of about 500 coral islets, with a population mainly of Malay origin, with some Chinese and Japanese and about 900 whites. The chief article of export is copra. The Pelew Islands, to the west of the Carolines, are about 26 in number, mostly coral, many of them uninhabited. Copra, tortoise shell, and mother-of-pearl are exported. The German Marianne Islands, to the north of the Pelew Islands, are small and sparsely peopled, their northern group being actively volcanic and uninhabited. The total population according to the latest official data was 1,938, mainly remnants of the indigenous population. The budget estimate for 1901 provides a revenue for all the three island groups of 312,000 marks, of which 287,000 marks are Imperial contribution. SAMOAN ISLANDS. [Area, 1,000 square miles; population, 29,100.] Two of the largest islands of this group-viz, Savaii and Upolu-were acquired by Germany by the Anglo-German agreement of November 14, 1899, accepted and ratified by the United States in January, 1900. Of the total population of 29,100 there were about 400 whites, half of whom were Germans. The revenue for 1901 is estimated at 266,000 marks, including 146,000 marks of Imperial subsidy. The imports during the year 1899 amounted to 2,141,000 marks, while the exports (chiefly copra) reached the sum of 1,505,000 marks. The number of vessels entered at the port of Apia in 1900 was 69, with a tonnage of 84,488, 36 vessels, with a tonnage of 49,029, being British and 20 vessels, with a tonnage of 30,232, being American. 1 Exclusive of the bay, with an area of about 200 square miles, and the neutral zone, with an area of about 2,500 square miles and a population of 1,200,000. PORTUGAL. The colonial possessions of Portugal are ten in number, and are located in Asia, Africa, and Oceania, and have a total area of 804,004 square miles and a population of 10,115,804. PORTUGUESE AFRICA. [Area, 793,590 square miles; population, 8,591,424.] The Portuguese possessions and dependencies in Africa include Azores to Madeira (governed as a province of Portugal), the Cape Verde Islands, Guinea, Prince's and St. Thomas Islands, Angola, and East Africa, with a total area of 793,590 square miles and a population of 8,591,424. The Cape Verde Islands, fourteen in number, are located in the northwest of Africa, with an area of 1,480 square miles and a mixed population of 114,000, descended from early Portuguese settlers and negroes introduced from Guinea. The government is administered by a governor appointed by the sovereign. The estimated revenues in 1899-1900 were 364,129 milreis;1 expenditures, 319,941 milreis. Imports in 1898, 1,558,047 milreis; exports, 194,608 milreis. Portuguese Guinea is located on the north coast of Senegambia and includes the adjacent archipelago of Bijagoz. It has an area of 1,440 square miles and a population of 820,000. Its government is administered by a governor appointed by the Crown. The estimated local revenues in 1899-1900 amounted to 56,655 milreis. The estimated expenditure of the Portuguese treasury for the administration of Guinea is 216,742 milreis. The imports in 1898 were 458,566 milreis; exports, 223,136 milreis. The adjacent islands of St. Thomas and Prince's constitute a separate province under a governor. ANGOLA. [Area, 484,000 square miles; population, 4,119,000.] Angola, the Portuguese possession in southwest Africa, has a coast line of over 1,000 miles, an area of 484,000 square miles, and a population estimated at 4,119,000, of which nearly all are native tribes. Railways have been opened, ports improved, and the territory divided into five districts, the whole being under the direction of a governor appointed by the sovereign, and each district under a subordinate. The estimated revenue in 1899-1900 was 1,673,111 milreis; expenditures, 2,013,671 milreis. Imports in 1899, 7,102,224 milreis; exports, 7,958,497 milreis. Vessels entered in 1899, 754, of 1,220,879 tons, of which 506 vessels were Portuguese. PORTUGUESE POSSESSIONS IN EAST AFRICA. [Area, 301,000 square miles; population, 3,120,000.] Portuguese possessions in east Africa are on the southeastern coast, and are divided into four districts, portions of which are administered by the Mozambique Company under a royal charter, others by the Nyassa Company, also with a royal charter. The area is 301,000 square miles, the estimated population 3,120,000. Commercial, agricultural, industrial, and mining operations are carried on by the Zambezia and Mozambique companies. The currency used is chiefly British Indian rupees. The estimated revenue for 1898 was 4,232,326 milreis; expenditures, 3,945,765 milreis. Imports at the leading ports amounted to £1,621,494; exports, £164,196. ITALY. The foreign dependencies of Italy include the colony of Eritrea, on the west coast of the Red Sea, having an area of about 42,000 square miles and a population of 329,516; also a protectorate over certain eastern African territory eastward of the British Somali protectorate and north of British East Africa, with an area of about 100,000 square miles and a population of 400,000. The Italian sphere of influence over the country adjacent to Eritrea at one time included the whole of the province of Tigre, in Abyssinia, and surrounding territory as far as the town of Kasala, but after a series of defeats from the Abyssinian generals the protectorate was abandoned. The government of Eritrea is under officials appointed by the home Government. The Italian dominion in the extreme east of Africa is known as Italian Somali Land, and has an area of 100,000 square miles and a population of 400,000. The administration of the region is under a commercial organization known as the "Società Anonima Commerciale Italiana del Benadir." The government of Italian dependencies is administered by a governor nominated by the King and under the direction of the minister of foreign affairs. The colonies are not self-sustaining, the revenue from the Red Sea colony being, in 1899-1900, 2,456,700 lire2 and the contributions of Italy 8,130,800 lire, while the total expenditures of Italy on account of its Red Sea possessions between the years 1882 and 1899 were 378,325,510 lire. DENMARK. The colonial possessions of Denmark include Iceland, Greenland, and the Danish West Indies, with a total area of 87,148 square miles, and a population of 127,184. The area of Iceland is 39,756 square miles and the population 70,927; that of Greenland, 46,740 square miles, population 10,516; Danish West Indies, 138 square miles, population 32,786. The imports of Iceland in 1899 were 2,403,000 kroner,3 the exports 2,660,000 kroner; of Greenland, imports 631,000 kroner, exports, 325,000 kroner; of the Danish West Indies, imports, 76,000 kroner, exports 93,000 kroner. The government of Iceland is administered by a governor under a constitution and an assembly subject to control of the Government at Copenhagen. The trade of Greenland is a Government monopoly. Its government is administered by a governor and agents who are responsible to a Government board at Copenhagen which has charge of all Greenland affairs, the General Government policy being to pay the natives small prices for their articles of export and sell them commodities at first cost, or at a small advance on Copenhagen prices. The government of the Danish West Indies is under the control of a governor-general, who resides at Christianstad, in the island of St. Croix. 1 Value of milreis, $1.08. 2 Value of lira, 19.3 cents. 3 Value of kroner, 26.8 cents. SPAIN. The Spanish colonial possessions are at present made up of certain territories in Africa having according to the Statesmans YearBook, 1901, an area of 246,698 square miles and a population of 475,611. The possessions occupy a portion of the northwest coast of Africa, directly opposite the Caroline Islands and north of the Senegal River. They include the Canary Islands (governed as a province of Spain), area 2,808, population 334,521; Rio de Oro and Adrar, with an area of 243,000 square miles and a population estimated at 100,000; Ifni, near Cape Nun, with an area of 27 square miles and an estimated population of 6,000; Fernando Po, Annabon, Corisco, Elobey, and San Juan, with an area of 850 square miles and a population of 30,000. The government is in the form of a protectorate under the governorship of the Canary Islands, with a subgovernor resident at Rio de Oro. A considerable area on the banks of the Campo and Muni rivers is in dispute, being claimed by both Spain and France, and has an additional area of 69,000 square miles and a population of 500,000. RUSSIA. Two States, Bokhara and Khiva, in Central Asia, are under the suzerainty of Russia. The area of Bokhara is 92,000 square miles and the population 2,500,000. The chief Russian control relates to rights of trade, the government being administered by Amir Sayid Abdul Ahad, a native, but educated in Russia. Russian paper rubles form the medium of exchange. Steps have been taken to incorporate the customs administration with that of the Russian provinces. No foreigner is admitted into Bokhara without a passport, and a Russian political resident is located at the capital. Khiva, in western Turkestan, was captured by the Russians in 1873, who abolished slavery and compelled the Khan to acknowledge himself as a vassal of the Czar. The area is 22,320 square miles, with about 800,000 inhabitants. The State has no external relations except with Russia, though the government is administered by Khan Syed Mohamed Rahim Khan. The military force is limited by treaty with Russia to 2,000 men, and the local government pays a yearly tribute to Russia of 150,000 rubles out of its annual revenue of 500,000 rubles. The Grand-Duchy of Finland, ceded to the Emperor of Russia in 1809, retains some portions of its constitution and legislative powers, having a national parliament consisting of four estates-the nobles, clergy, burghers, and peasants-convoked by the Emperor of Russia. They discuss the laws proposed by the Emperor, who retains, however, the right of veto upon their action. The unanimous consent of all four chambers is necessary for changing the constitution or levying new taxes. Finland has its own money system and custom-houses. PROVINCE OF KWAN-TUNG. Port Arthur and Ta-lien-wan on the northeastern coast of China were leased to Russia by the Chinese Government by agreement of March 27, 1898. The duration of the lease is to be twenty-five years, but may be extended by mutual agreement. An Imperial ukase of August 28, 1899, creates of this territory a province, named Kwang-Tung. Port Arthur, the capital of the new province, is reserved as a naval port exclusively for Russian and Chinese men-of-war, while part of the harbor of Ta-lien-wan is open to merchant vessels of all nationalities. At the southern extremity of the port a new town, Dalny, has been founded, which is to be the terminal point of the Manchurian branch of the Great Trans-Siberian Railway. Manchuria is now held in military occupation by Russia pending final adjustment of the Russian claims for indemnities and compensation arising from the recent conflict with China. TURKEY. The "tributary States" of Turkey are Bulgaria, Samos, and Egypt. The principality of Bulgaria is under control of Prince Ferdinand, who was elected Prince of Bulgaria by a vote of the national assembly in 1887 and confirmed by the Porte and the great powers in 1896. The legislative authority is vested in a single chamber, called the national assembly, whose members are elected by universal suffrage at the rate of one member for every 20,000 of population. Laws passed by this assembly require the assent of the Prince. The executive power is vested in a council of eight members. There is an imperial ottoman commissioner resident in Bulgaria. Imports Vessels entered Miles of railway Letters and newspapers carried....... 1900. levs (francs) .. 46, 342, 100 Samos is an island off the coast of Asia Minor, forming a principality of the suzerainty of Turkey under the guaranty of France, Great Britain, and Russia. The area is 180 square miles; population, 54,830. In 1899 the island became an autonomous State under a high commissioner of the powers, subject to the suzerainty of the Porte. The constitution of April 28, 1899, provides for an assembly, consisting of deputies elected for a period of two years in the proportion of 1 1 Value of piaster, 4.4 cents. for every 5,000 inhabitants, and of 10 deputies nominated directly by the high commissioner, who is at the head of the executive authority, and appoints his councilors or ministers. Questions concerning the foreign relations of Crete are determined by the representatives of Great Britain, Russia, France, and Italy, at Rome. Tripoli, the most easterly of the States of Barbary, on the north coast of Africa, was placed in 1875, for administrative purposes, directly under Constantinople and now forms a separate and independent Mutessaraflik. It has an area of 399,000 square miles and a population of 1,000,000, with imports amounting in 1899 to £384,900, and exports to £410,500. EGYPT. The administration of Egypt is carried on by native ministers, subject to the ruling of the Khedive, in conjunction with an English financial adviser, without whose concurrence no financial decision can be taken, and who has a right to a seat in the council of ministers, but is not an executive officer. Representative institutions have been promulgated by the Khedive, including a legislative assembly, a general assembly, and provincial boards. The legislative council consists of 30 members, of whom 14 are nominated by the government, and it meets once a month to examine the budget, but can not initiate legislation, and the government is not obliged to act on its advice. The general assembly consists of the members of the legislative council, and 6 ministers, and 46 members popularly elected, has no legislative functions, but no taxes can be imposed without its consent. The council of ministers, with the Khedive, is the ultimate legislative authority. The total area, including the oases in the Lybian Desert, the region between the Nile and Red Sea, and El-Arish in Syria, is about 400,000 square miles, though the cultivated and settled area covers but about 13,000 square miles. Population in 1897, 9,734,405. There are four judicial sytems: The courts of religious law, concerned mainly with questions of personal status of Mohammedans; mixed courts, dealing with civil actions between persons of different nationalities; consular courts, where civil cases between foreigners of the same nationality and foreigners accused of crime are tried; the native courts, for civil actions between natives or crimes by natives. The revenues are from land tax, customs, a tax upon tobacco and salt, and from stamps, registration fees, the octrois, and certain direct taxes, and in addition to these the receipts from administration of Government railways, telegraphs, post-offices, and ports. Total ordinary receipts (estimates) Imports, 1900.......... Exports, 1900... Imports from Great Britain, 1900.. Exports to Great Britain, 1900.......... 1901 Egyptian pounds 2.. 10, 700, 000 do.... 16, 766, 610 Vessels entered, 1899 ... British vessels entered Turkish vessels entered AUSTRIA-HUNGARY. Austria-Hungary has no colonies or protectorates in the ordinarily accepted sense of the term, though the Ottoman provinces of Bosnia and Herzegovina were by the treaty of Berlin, 1878, handed over to the Austro-Hungarian Government for administration and military occupation. The administration is exercised by the Bosnian bureau, and intrusted to the imperial finance minister in Vienna in the name of the Emperor-King. The provincial government, the chief authority in the province itself, has four departments-internal affairs, justice, finance, and public works-and has an advising body composed of representatives of the people and the ecclesiastical dignitaries of Sarajevo, the seat of government. Similar councils are also provided for the district and county authorities. The area is 23,262 square miles; the population in 1895 was 1,568,092. The trade statistics are not given separately, being included with those of Austria-Hungary. The local revenue, which in 1894 was 1,027,310, is sufficient for the cost of administration, but not for the maintenance of the army of occupation. The island of Formosa, ceded to Japan by China under the treaty of 1895, has an area of 13,458 square miles, or slightly larger than the State of Maryland, and a population of 2,745,000. The Pescadores Islands, also ceded by China in 1895, have an area of 85 square miles and a population of 52,400. Government schools have been opened, and a native military service established. Formosa supplies 6,600,000 pounds of the 8,000,000 pounds of camphor, the world's annual camphor product. The expenditure on railways in the island last year was 2,400,000 yen, and is to be increased to 4,000,000 yen. The deposits of the Bank of Formosa are 40,000,000 yen. While China has no colonies in the accepted sense of the term, the area of her divisions, which are termed "dependencies," is vastly greater than that of China proper, being 2,881,560 square miles, while that of China proper is 1,353,350 square miles. The total population of the dependencies, however, is but 16,680,000, while that of China proper is 383,000,000. The dependencies, so called, are Manchuria, Mongolia, Tibet, Jungaria, and East Turkestan. In some of these dependencies the government is directly administered by Chinese officials in close conjunction with residents of the territories, especially so in Manchuria and Mongolia. In Tibet the enormous distance and difficulties of communication have made the country more or less independent of the suzerain power of China, the only visible sign of the supremacy of the central government being the presence of "ambans," or residents, with their military guard at the capital. Appointments to the first offices in the State are bestowed by the Emperor of China, and all measures of consequence are referred to the Court of Pekin. The internal government is intrusted entirely to natives, the executive administration being in the hands of a regent and four ministers, who appoint the governors of provinces and designate their collectors of revenue. No separate statistics of the commerce of these provinces or dependencies are attainable. UNITED STATES. The noncontiguous territorial divisions belonging to and governed by the United States are six in number, viz: Alaska, the Hawaiian Islands, the Philippine Islands, Guam and Wake Islands, and the Samoan Islands of Tuituila and Manua in the Pacific, and Porto Rico in the Atlantic. Two of these, Alaska and the Hawaiian Islands, are considered Territories of the United States and have been given by legislative enactments forms of government similar to that of the Territories of the United States. The government of Porto Rico also resembles in many particulars that of the Territories of the United States, and Porto Rico, Hawaii, and Alaska are respectively customs districts of the United States, and all customs laws of the United States apply to them. The Philippine Islands, Guam, Tuituila, and Manua are at present subject in part or wholly to military government and to special customs and other laws established for their government. The control of noncontiguous territory by the United States Government is of such recent date and under such varying circumstances that no general system can be said to have been applied with reference to the fiscal relations of the colonies as a whole. In Porto Rico a civil government has been established by an act of April 12, 1900. In the Hawaiian Islands a form of civil government was established by the act of April 30, 1900. In the Philippine Islands a commission consisting of persons appointed by the President under authority of a special act of Congress administers civil government in those parts of the islands in which it has been practicable to transfer the government from military to civil authority. In Alaska a form of territorial government has been established by act of Congress. Porto Rico, Hawaii, and Alaska are considered customs districts of the United States, and the customs laws of the United States apply in those islands as in the United States. The effect of this is that there is collected on articles imported into those divisions from countries other than the United States the rates of duty collected in the United States on articles coming from all foreign countries, but no duties are collected in the United States on articles coming from them, nor are any duties there collected on articles entering them from the United States. No export duties are collected on any articles exported from them. The act creating the fiscal relations between Porto Rico and the United States, while it applied to the island of Porto Rico the tariff of the United States, provided that 15 per cent of the rates named in that tariff should be temporarily collected in Porto Rico on articles from the United States, and in the United States on articles from Porto Rico; but that these should terminate within two years, and might be terminated at any time that the Porto Rican legislature should provide sufficient revenue for the conduct of the local government and request the termination of the collection of those taxes. The Porto Rican legislature, at its first session, enacted legislation for the collection of sufficient revenue to meet the current expenditures, and requested the termination of all duties, both in Porto Rico and the United States, on articles passing between the island and the United States, and this request was complied with by a proclamation issued by the President in July, 1901. In the Philippine Islands a special tariff has been created and put into operation. Its rates apply on all articles entering the islands, whether from the United States or from other countries, no discrimination in favor of the United States being made in any particular. In the United States the existing tariff applies on articles from the Philippine Islands precisely as against those from any foreign country. The customs collections in Porto Rico, Hawaii, and Alaska are performed by officers named by the United States Government, those divisions being considered customs districts of the United States. Those in the Philippines are by officers appointed by the Philippine Commission, which administers the civil government of the islands. These divisions receive no subsidies or regular payments from the United States Government. The sums collected by the United States Government as duty upon articles brought in from Porto Rico subsequent to its control by the United States were, under authority of an act of Congress, transferred to the use of the government of Porto Rico and for aid and relief of the people, public education, and public works. The Hawaiian annexation act provided that the United States Government should assume the existing obligations of the Hawaiian Government not exceeding $4,000,000. These two applications of the funds of the United States Government to Porto Rico |