The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1896-12-31
Affairs in the Spanish West Indies.
What Belfast Sea Captain Saw and Felt in
Porto Rico.


Porto Rico.
Capt Jere. O. Hayes of Belfast, master
of the bark Nellie Smith, writes from st.
John, Porto Rico. under date of Dec. 9th,
as follows:
The cargo being discharged and settled
for and the wind blowing strong from the
north, and it being impossible to sail from
here, | am constrained to write a few re-
marks on the place and people.
This city has long history and to the
Spaniards glorious one, for it is one of
the places which the English tried to take
and failed, and which a foreigner finds
out after arriving here, even if he never
heard of it before. The population of
the city is about 10000, not including
5000 soldiers to garrison the place.
There are about 10, 600 soldiers on the
island. There are great many beggars
has license to beg every day in the week.
Those who neverserved their country, and
beggars from BIRTH can only beg on Satur-
day, and then copper cent will get oues
hand kissed fervently and many invoca-
lions to some saint in ones behalf. There
is another class of beggars who wear the
uniform of Spain, such as pilots, custom
house officials, sanitary officials and a
horde of others whose business | never
knew. They are inveterate beggars. and
cent will not appease their appetite for
they ask for beef pork ham, peaches,
pears, and almost everything which YES
sci carries. The more gold stripes his
arm and shoulder is adorned with the
more he demands, and after getting what
he can, unlike the first described beggar
who kisses ones hand or invokes a bless
ing, he goes away saying, 1.-The American
son of a sea cook; we got that much out
of him." One could not expect any in
vocations to deity from the last mention
ed beggars, for that is foreign to their ma
ture. They never invoke for themselves;
that is, if going to church is any criterion.
The women only go to church. There
are, of course, few exceptions to that
rule.
The people of this island export more
than $50, 900, 600 worth of merchandise
per apnum, and import $40, 900, 600, vet
the majority are poor and miserable. It
costs Sc per month for rent for one small
room The rustOm-honSa official ,,,lo,,,
we had on board for nearly month, Ito
feed at our expense) informed me that he
got S29 per month from the government,
that he paid SO per month for rent, and
having eight all told in the family, they
have to feed and clothe themselves on $40
per month. There is no occupation for
them would not avail themselves of it.
There are two things they attend to we'll
one is a rocking chair, the other a cigar
or cigarette. | gave the custom house
officer a barrel of flour, supposing he
would have it used in his family, but his
wife got sick through fright, and he may
mentioned to her. He sold it to a baker,
The duty on barrel of flour is S4 50 to
the custom house and So. 50 to the city.
the latter is called the consumers tax. 1t
is a pretty name, and as Spanish is
sweet sounding language they can manu-
facture sweet sounding names for an ad-
ditional tax. AS / am speaking Of taxes
l will remark that flour is not the only
article taxed. That being an article Of
great necessity, they say it is taxed light
ly, just trifle. l will also add that the
cargo of lumber just unloaded from this
vessel, 40 NJ. feet, cost about 81, 900, the
freight So, 600, and the government charges
on it exceed $500. They have new
money on this island, stamped especially
for Porto Rico, which has been in use
only or years, in lieu of Mexican sill
yer, which had been used for great many
years. The change came through fraud.
One Captain General of this island wanted
the monopoly of bringing in Mexican sill
yer, SO he ordained that anybody bringing
in Mexican silver was liable to arrest and
imprisonment. He alone could do it, but