The effect of the scandals connected with the provisioning of our army during the war has made itself felt in Germany. Germany and the The Germans have been trying to introduce a bill into their legislature which shall make the inspection of meat so rigid that it will practically exclude American meats. In particular it was suggested that all canned meats must be opened before they could be admitted as wholesome food. This latter clause was strongly objected to by the American packers, as canned meat after having been exposed to the air will not keep sweet. They felt that the action proposed was merely intended to pay the Americans back for passing the Dingley Tariff Bill, which has caused Germany considerable annoyance. The Bill which is being discussed by the Reichstag, or German Parliament, tries to take the sting out of the blow aimed at foreign meats, by insisting that home-grown meats shall also be subjected to the most rigid inspection. One of the speakers contended that the enforcing of such a Bill would tend to improve the quality of German meat, and possibly enable the Germans to get along without importing any meat at all, which he said would be a good thing, as the American meat was quite unfit for use. He declared that the meat trade in America was entirely in the hands of speculators, and made the surprising statement that as the American packers had not hesitated to poison their own army, it was not to be supposed that they would have any scruples about laying the Germans low in the same way. These remarks were received with tremendous applause, Various State Affairs 579 The Cuban Assembly having voted to disband the army, and then having dissolved, the work of examining the pay-rolls has been comThe Cuban Army. menced, and the soldiers will be paid off at the earliest possible date. The United States government has decided not to make any attempt to verify the lists, but to accept them as offered by the Cubans, and divide the three million dollars between the men who are named in the list. When the pay-roll came to be counted it was found that there were nearly ten thousand more men on it than had been estimated. The soldiers will not therefore receive the full hundred dollars each which was intended. General Gomez has been reinstated in his old position of Commander-in-Chief of the Cuban Army, and will so continue until the work of paying off has been accomplished. The old general who has worked so faithfully for the independence of the island has come to the conclusion that Cuba is not yet ripe for self-government, and will use his influence with the people to urge them to seek American protection until they are strong enough to rule themselves. He is preparing a manifesto to that effect which he will spread far and wide throughout Cuba. There is considerable satisfaction among the Cuban planters over the announcement that Secretary Alger has decided to allow them an extension of two years from May 1 for the payment of their mortgages. Relief for Cuban The original proposition was that six years should be allowed, but General Alger considered this too long, and vetoed the plan. The present announcement has pacified them. Many men think they will be able to settle their affairs in that time, and it is hinted that extensions will be granted to those who have not prospered sufficiently to be able to do so. The Cuban Bandits. A great deal of trouble is being made for the authorities in Cuba at this time by the bands of brigands which are infesting the country. A large number of these outlaws attacked the town of Caimoto on April 15, overpowered the soldiers, killed one and wounded three, and then proceeded to loot the town. They have been pillaging the plantations in the country, and have become the terror of the island. A vigorous campaign has been planned against them under the command of General Fitzhugh Lee, and it is hoped that they will soon be overpowered. Where the Caribbean Breaks. SEVENTH TRAVEL PAPER. LOGWOOD EXTRACT-DANGEROUS HARBOR-FAL MOUTH PRISON-UNHAPPY LOT OF PRIS ONERS-SUGAR ESTATES. A FACTORY was started in Old Harbor, on the South side, but was a failure because of gross extravagance, mismanagement, and burning of buildings which were not insured. The product of the Island fac Falmouth's Dangerous Harbor 581 tory was pronounced by chemists and European buyers superior to any they had seen. There were more orders on hand than the factory could fill. There seems no necessity for paying enormous freights, insurance premiums, and labor on wood and roots that contain a comparatively small amount of dye principle, when these thousands of tons could be converted into extract in the Island, and the refuse wood applied to heating boilers. Falmouth possesses a dangerous harbor, and vessels cannot enter or depart at night, nor can they sail during the prevalence of certain winds. There is an immense sunken rock here which is a menace to shipping. It is a debatable question whether the removal of this rock will jeopardize the safety of the town or not. Old residents fear that if it is removed, there will be danger from an influx of tidal waves. Old Port Royal was swept under the sea by a tidal wave, and although this happened centuries ago, the occurrence has not been forgotten. The progressive, newer element insists that there can be no risk of submersion or trouble from this source. The government has had the harbor surveyed and received engineers' reports, which show that the expense of blasting and removing the rock would be enormous. The public buildings of Falmouth well deserve a visit. There is a well-conducted Government Hospital here, which is a model of cleanliness. The prison is adjacent. The prisoners are well looked after, but those physically competent are compelled to labor exceedingly hard. They are aroused at six thirty A. M., and marched to the wash house. After hasty ablutions they proceed to the shed, where each receives a dish containing a measured quantity of prison-baked bread, or corn meal mush, varied on Sundays with a bit of mackerel or salt beef. On week days labor follows for ten hours, with an intermission of an hour at midday. The male prisoners are compelled to hammer out cocoanut fibre from the husk, break stones, or pick oakum. The hardest work is the beating of fibre. It seems a simple thing, but one cannot help pitying the wretched prisoners, obliged to sit without shelter under the rays of the fierce tropical sun and hammer out the tough fibre until it is reduced to a pliable condition. It makes one dizzy to mark the steady rise and fall of scores of hammers. The tale of fibre is so large that strong men can only beat out their allotted portion in the time allowed. If prisoners are refractory or lazy, their allowance of food is curtailed and they are assigned to dark cells. The use of the lash has been abolished, but in view of the increase of crime, there is a probability that this means of punishment will be revived. Female prisoners fare the same as male except that their tasks are less severe. There are some peculiar things noticeable in connection with imprisonments in the Island. It appears singular that a judge sentences a criminal on one count to seven years' penal servitude, and on another |