Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1899-06-03
SPAIN CEDES HER ISLANDS.

SPAIN CEDES HER ISLANDS.
The Queen Regent opened the Span.
ish Cortes yesterday with the usual
ceremonial, and iu the speech from the
throne announced that the Carolines,
Marianne and Palaos Islands bad been
coded to Germany by the late Spanish
cabinet. The Marianne groupe is COM
monty known as the Ladrones. The
speech was in part as follows:
Sat the opening of the Cortes all the
SORROWS which have wrenched our
hearts, through the disasters which
have visited our country, are reawaken'
ed. We must peserye sadness in order
to derive experience, but the woes OF
our country are of such nature that
reticence and silence avail better than
complaints.
"When peace with the United States
was concluded Parliamentary troubles
caused change of cabinet and the pre-
sent cabinet was formed. Under the
constitution it belonged to me to ratify
the treaty by laying it before the Cham
T Der.
"There remained under our control
the Caroliues, Palsos and most of the
Marianne Islands. But the former
cabinet believed it useless for Spain to
retain such minor appendages of our
ancient empire and sigued with the
German Emperor convention to cede
these territories under the law, which
will be submitted Immediately to the
Chamber.
"Our foreign relations are cordial and
friendly. We especially owe to the Pope
recognition for the many times he has
given US his moral support.
1.-THE most important, most urgent
and most difficult task before you is to
balance the budget and liquidate the
debts resulting from the war through
ordinary and permanent sources OF in
come. Thanks to the severely eco
nomical policy projected, the govern.
ment will not ask fresh sacrifices of the
country, except such as can be equita-
bly, divided among all classes.
with the ordinary budget will also
be presented schemes to liquidate the
charges created by the loss of posses
sion and colonial campaigns"
The Qneen Regent then referred to
proposed financial measures and ex
pressed confidence that the nation
would show the same resignation dur
ing peace IS it showed during war,
adding:
For the times are critical and it is
impossible during the present session
to do all that is necessary. But, dur
ing the next session there will be pro-
jects for the reorganization of the army
and navy, based on obligatory service;
for improving the public service, de-
centralizng the provincial and mu-
nicipal administrations and reform
ing the penal code and electoral laws"
The announcement that Spain had
coded the Caroline, Palaos and Marian
ne Islands was received with surprise
in Washington.
The cession marks the relinquisn-
ment OF the Spanish possessions in the
far East except the Island of Fernando
Pc and some dependencies on the Afri-
can coast.
The dispatch containing the news
was shown to the German embassy
officials in Washington, but Ambassa-
dor Won Holleben said he had no com
ments to make. He had received no
information, he said, as to the cession.
While the United States government
has been uuadvised of the cession of
these groups, the colonial policy of EN-
peror William has led the administra
ton to expect that the German govern
ment would lose no opportunity to
stretch out his domain in the Pacific.
officials do not regard
the movement as requiring any special
cognizance on the part of the United
States, for according to one member of
the Cabinet, this government has ac-
uuired all that it wants in that quarter.
While Guam is il the midst of the other
islands that are coded, this act is giving
no concern in Washington.
1t has long been reported that Ger
caany was negotiating at least for the
Caroline islands. 1t was announced
from Madrid last summer that this
group had been offered to Germany
for 10000, 900, but that price was con-
sidered too high. There was no con-
frmation of this from Berlin.
The Caroline and Palaos, or Pelew,
Island are usually reckoned together as
one group. The Ladrones or Marianne
islands are about 800 miles farther
north and are distinctly separate
group. The areas and population are
as follows:
Carolines-214 square miles, $4,000
inhabitants.
Palaos-346 square miles, 10000 in
habitants.
Marianne islands (including GUAM
400 square miles 5000 inhabitants.
The Carolinee are in the Pacific ocean,
almost due east of the central part of
the Philippines. zap Island, one of
the principal islands of the group, is
about LOO miles east of Iloilo and l.
200 miles southeast of Manila. 1t is
about $500 miles from San Francisco.
The entire group consists of about 500
islands, many of them very small. The
islands are of coral formation, but some
of them have q considerable depth of
soil. and on this On abundance and va
riety of tropical fruits are grown. Most
OF the inhabitants are of the Malay race.
The islands yere discovered in l54S
and named for Charles Y.
The Palaos islands number several
hundred, and ere Inhabited by people
much like those of the Carolines.
The Marianne group, exclusive OF
Guam, includes IA islands. Only three
of those coded to Germany are inhabit-