was moving steadily from Paardeberg to Bloemfontein, He defeated the Boers at Poplar Grove (March 7) and again at Driefontein (March 10), but owing to his cavalry being largely unhorsed was unable to cut off their retreat. Bloemfontein was entered (March 13) after a most exhausting series of marches, and communications were gradually opened with the Orange River. General Clements, exposed to a superior force after the withdrawal of General French's cavalry, had been compelled to retire to Rensberg (February 12) and subsequently to Arundel, the Wiltshire regiment meeting with serious losses; but Lord Roberts's victories enabled him to advance to Colesberg and finally to cross the Orange River (March 15). General Gatacre, after occupying Stormberg (March 6), crossed the Orange River at Bethulie (March 15), and General Brabant completed the deliverance of the Dutch section of Cape Colony from invasion by driving the Boers out of Dordracht and advancing to Aliwal North. The southern section of the Orange Free State was penetrated by British columns in various directions and the railway was strongly guarded as the new line of supplies; but a large Boer force was enabled to retreat along the border of Basutoland. A long halt followed the occupation of Bloemfontein, It was necessary to reclothe the soldiers, to rehorse the cavalry, to accumulate supplies and to reorganize the army. The Boers, encouraged by this delay, regained their spirits, and under the direction of General Botha, who had assumed supreme command after the death of General Joubert, delivered a series of harassing counter strokes by attacking detached British columns which were marching through the country and collecting arms. The first British mishap was the ambuscade of four officers of the Guards, who were either killed or wounded. This was followed by an action at Karree, followed by a Boer retreat. Colonel Broadwood with a mounted column was attacked by a superior Boer force, and in retreating from Thaba N'chu his batteries and convoy were surprised at Sanna's Post (March 31) and seven guns and 425 men captured. The waterworks of Bloemfontein were taken and held by the Boers, and an outbreak of enteric fever in the British camp cost as many as 2,000 lives. Another British column was surrounded at Reddersburg and over 400 prisoners were taken, after an ineffectual attempt on the part of General Gatacre to rescue them-a failure which involved his return to England. The Boers also invested Wepener, where Colonel Dalgetty with a Colonial garrison was intrenched. In West Griqualand a Dutch rebellion had broken out and several columns had been sent to Prieska to suppress it. Lord Methuen had succeeded in surrounding a small raiding force near Boshof and in killing a French officer, Colonel Villebois-Mareuil.

The Advance Upon
Pretoria.

left

Late in April Lord Roberts, with eight infan ry divisions, two mounted divisions, 5,000 yeomanry and 15,000 militia, nearly 100,000 men in the aggregate, was ready to resume operations. He began by a concerted movement for the envelopment of the Boer forces, but only succeeded in clearing the eastern flank and in relieving Wepener. The Boers retreated from Dewetsdorp to Thaba N'chu, and General Olivier retired northward from Wepener. Leaving the Sixth Division at Bloemfontein and General Rundle with two divisions to guard the flank, Lord Roberts headed the direct advance upon Pretoria on May 3. As soon as he started the relief of Mafeking was undertaken-a measure which was impracticable so long as the Boers were not fully occupied elsewhere. Colorel Mahon with 1,200 mounted men Barkly West on May 4, while General Hunter with the Tenth Division forced the passage of the Vaal at Windsorton and helped to conceal the march of the flying column. After a skirmish with the Boers at Kraai Pan (May 13) Colonel Mahon joined forces with Colonel Plumer, who had been repeatedly thwarted in attempts to raise the siege of Mafeking. The combined columns, strengthened by a portion of General Carrington's force from Rhodesia, defeated the Boers and entered Mafeking (May 17), where Colonel Baden-Powell had ended a most brilliant seven months' defence by repulsing a desperate sortie and capturing a considerable number of the assailants. Lord Roberts's advance was rapidly conducted with two columns under Generals Pole-Carew and Hamilton, moving northward on parallel lines, and General French with the cavalry turning one position after another. Brandfort and Winburg were entered during the first week in May; the Vet and the Zand rivers were crossed after sharp skirmishing; Kroorstad was occupied (May 12), and the annexation of the Orange River Colony was proclaimed. After a short halt the Rhenoster was crossed and finally the passage of the Vaal Rive" was made without a battle. In the Transvaal there was desultory skirmishing, but Johannesburg was occupied (May 31) with slight resistance. There was an engagement with the Boer rear guard at Six Mile Spruit and Pretoria was entered (June 5), after President Krüger had abandoned his capital and General Botha had retreated with his guns. The release of a large body of British prisoners was at once effected. Meanwhile the Boers in the Free State had delivered, under General De Wet's leadership, several brilliant counter strokes. Attacked by General Rundle near Senekal (May 28) they had brought about a drawn battle and had captured 460 yeomanry at Lindley. Suddenly swooping down upon the railway at Roodeval, they took 700 prisoners (June 6) and broke the line of communications with Pretoria. On June 14 there was a similar raid.

General Buller, after a long halt near Ladysmith, turned the Boer positions in the Biggarsberg and occupied Dundee (May 15) and subsequently Newcastle without arduous fighting and with only one untoward incident-the capture of a squadron of mounted infantry in ambush near Vryheld. After attempting to turn Laing's Nek through Utrecht he ordered an advance through Botha's Pass and compelled the abandonment of the tunnel (June 11), completing the expulsion of the Boers from Natal. General Hunter's division, which had marched from the west to Johannesburg, occupied Heidelburg, and on June 23 General Buller's army, after advancing to Standerton, got into touch with Lord Roberts's forces and opened a second line of communication with

Pretoria. While columns were sent across the western district of the Transvaal under General Baden-Powell, Lord Methuen and other commanders, the next serious undertaking was the pacification of the northeastern corner of the Orange River Colony. General Hunter conducted these operations with the aid of Generals Clements, Macdonald and Rundle. The Boer position south of Bethlehem was attacked (July 21), Fouriesburg occupied and General Prinsloo's army finally surrounded and compelled to surrender (July 31), with 4,000 prisoners of war. General Olivier with a small force escaped, but was subsequently captured in a skirmish, and General De Wet, with 2,000 men, had broken through the cordon closely pursued by British cavalry. Repulsed near Lindley, he captured a supply train and broke communications with Pretoria near Honing Spruit, and after halting at Vredevor eluded an enveloping movement planned by Lord Kitchener and retired into the Western Transvaal, only to reappear subsequently with a small force south of the Vaal. Lord Roberts after defeating General Botha east of Pretoria in a two days' battle (June 11-12) was forced to halt until General Hunter's work in the Bethlehem district was completed, and when he finally began the eastern march toward Komatipoort he was held back by raiding operations in the Western Transvaal and the investment of various isolated British garrisons. He occupied Middelburg after a single serious engagement, and Belfast on August_24. General Buller co-operating with him by advancing northward through Ermelo. The British prisoners at Waterval were released; Lydenburg was occupied by General Buller after sharp skirmishing in the mountain passes; Barberton was entered by General French, and the Guards finally reached the Portuguese frontier at Komatipoort. The Boers destroyed many of their guns and their army became utterly demoralized. Many laid down their arms in Portuguese territory, and the army which had successfully held Magersfontein, Colenso and Spion Kop ceased to exist as an organized fighting force. President Krüger had taken refuge at Delagoa Bay after the annexation of the Transvaal had been proclaimed, and finally sailed for Europe in a Dutch man of war. General Botha resigned command and only guerilla warfare remained, small bands of irreconcilable Boers continuing to wreck trains and to swoop down upon unprotected posts throughout the Dutch territories. Months of arduous police work will be required before South Africa can be pacified, and the presence of a large British garrison will be indispensable. The two Boer colonies have been devastated from end to end and the immense droves of horses and cattle which once constituted their agricultural wealth, have disappeared. There are no accurate statistics of the Boer losses in battle and from disease, but the population has been decimated, impoverished and rendered desperate. The death list on the British side from all causes approximates 10,000, and the number of wounded exceeds 15,000. The money cost of the war cannot be less than $500,000,000. Two colonies have been gained in which processes of reconstruction will be retarded by race feuds and resentment. British prestige has not been increased by a campaign which involves the necessity for a complete and radical reform and reorganization of the military service. The only adequate compensation for the conflict has been the strengthening of the bonds between England and her loyal colonies, with a tremendous impulse imparted to the cause of Imperial Federation.

The Transvaal

Annexed.

Krüger's Visit to

France.

On October 20 President Krüger sailed from Lourenço Marques for Europe on the Dutch cruiser Gelderland. Owing to his ill health the cruiser was obliged to slacken speed, but on November 7 arrived at Ras Jibutil, on the Abyssinian coast, reaching Suez on November 15, and sailing the next day. The cruiser arrived at Marseilles on November 21, too late for President Krüger to land, and on November 22 he was formally welcomed with a great outburst of popular sympathy. The streets were crowded and the city gave itself up to a holiday. Police precautions had been taken to prevent demonstrations of a nature offensive to England, and there were no marked cases of disorder. His trip from Marseilles to Paris was more like that of a conquering hero than a refugee official, demonstrations similar to that at Marseilles taking place at Tarascon, Avignon, Lyons, Dijon and other places. His arrival at Paris was the occasion for an outbreak of pro-Boer enthusiasm, but the net result of his trip in aid to the Boer cause was nothing. After leaving Paris he started for Berlin, but at Cologne he was met by an envoy of the Emperor, who informed him that the Kaiser was unwilling to receive him.

Lord Roberts cabled from Johannesburg, November 28, that General De Wet had captured the Dewetsdorp garrison, of two guns of the 68th Field Artillery, with detachments of the Gloucestershire regiment, the Highland light infantry and Irish Rifles, 400 in all. The British losses were 15 men killed and 42 wounded.

A plot to assassinate Lord Roberts was revealed in November. The conspirators laid a mine which was designed to be blown up while Lord Roberts was in St. Mary's Church at Johannesburg, during the morning service of November 18. The plot was discovered November 16, and five Italians, four Greeks and a Frenchman were placed under arrest.

On December 1 Lord Kitchener was promoted to supreme command in South Africa and Lord Roberts started for England. Warm receptions were given him on

Lord Kitchener
Promoted.

the way, especially when the cruiser Canada, on which he sailed, arrived at Port Elizabeth, Cape Colony. It was reported on December 7 that the Boer General De Wet was hard pressed at Aliwal North, General Knox dogging his steps. On the same date the authorities at Johannesburg, in pursuance of the reconcentrado policy, prepared accommodations on the racecourse for thousands of people from the farms in the vicinity of the Rand.

CUBA AND PORTO RICO.

CUBA.

A

A

The

Since the accomplishment of the sole purpose of the war with Spain-the liberation of the people of Cuba from intolerable oppression, and the removal from the immediate vicinity of United States territory of a continual source of disturbance-the promise of the Government at Washington to establish a free and independent republic on the island has been consistently and energetically pursued as expeditiously, as the circumstances would warrant, culminating in the constitutional convention which met in Havana on November 5. General Leonard Wood succeeded General John R. Brooke as Governor-General on December 20, 1899. From that date there has been a steady diminution of the American garrisons and a rapid substitution of civil for military rule, notably marked by the general elections of June 15 and September 15, the former for municipal officers throughout the island and the latter for delegates to the constitutional convention called to assemble on November 5. Both elections were conducted without American officials, either military or civil, being at a single polling place, and without any interference whatever on the part of the United States authorities. There was not a single disturbance at either election. On January 12 General Wood issued an order to define the relations between the military and civil jurisdiction, in which the military, which had been practically supreme until that time, were forbidden to interfere in the conduct of civil affairs except in matters of sanitation. summary of the progress made during the year is given by General Wood in the following brief abstract of his annual report: "The United States troops have not been used during the present year for the maintenance of order. The police work outside the principal municipalities is done by the rural guard, numbering about 1,200 men. These men and their officers are all Cubans. Over 3,000 public schools have been established, 3,600 teachers are employed in them, and 200,000 children are in the schools. The largest number of pupils under the Spanish rule was between 26,000 and 30,000. The salaries paid the teachers exceed any paid in the United States in corresponding grades with the exception of three of our largest cities. The trip of the 1,300 Cuban teachers to the United States in August was most beneficial and will, if possible, be repeated next year. All of the larger cities have undergone extensive street improvements, in fact the change in that particular since the American occupation has been most remarkable. Travellers can go from one end of Cuba to the other without being solicited by beggars, and hunger is absolutely a thing of the past. thoroughly efficient mail service has been provided and is being conducted with efficiency and economy. Public works, involving millions of dollars, have been taken up and completed. Between 600 and 700 miles of first class roads have been built and many hundreds of miles have been put in repair and made passable. A complete overland telegraph system has been put in operation through all the provinces. financial condition of the country is excellent. The government is entirely self-supporting, and the treasury has an unincumbered balance of $1,500,000. Municipalities are gradually assuming their financial obligations and responsibilities, and relieving the State of the care and expense for police, sanitation, etc., which will result in more money being available for public works of general utility. This year the sugar crop will be between 550,000 and 600,000 tons, and if the present prices continue the money obtained by the planters will equal the amount they received for their year of greatest production-1,000,000 tons. The value of this year's crop of sugar and the coming tobacco crop will be, conservatively, $100,000,000. In January and February all the prisons were overhauled and repaired and their sanitary conditions vastly improved. Hundreds of prisoners detained for long periods awaiting trial have been released after being held as long as they would have been imprisoned if found guilty of the charges for which they were arrested. Justice has been stimulated by every means. Judges who have been found derelict have been summarily dismissed, and every effort is being made to impress upon the community at large that individual rights and individual liberty are the foundations of every good and stable government. Correctional courts have been established in the larger cities where the trial is oral and summary, as in our police courts. When, in the opinion of the judge, the offence warrants a sentence greater than $10 or ten days, or both, a jury of five is regularly impanelled. courts are limited to the imposition of sentences of six months' imprisonment or $180 fine, or both. Their success has been phenomenal, and while opposed at first, every town is now anxious to have one, and orders have been already issued establishing thirty more. The writ of habeas corpus will take effect on December 1, this year. Early in April last frauds were discovered in the postal administration. On May 16 E. P. Thompson, postmaster at Havana, confessed that he had taken $435 from the money order funds on September 16, 1899, and had covered up the defalcation from month to month, until United States postal inspectors discovered the discrepancy on April 17. Thompson made restitution of the amount, but with W. H. Reeves, deputy auditor for the island, he was imprisoned May 16. On the same day Fourth Assistant Postmaster-General Bristow started from Washington to investigate the frauds. He reported on July 25 that the total embezzlement was at least $131,713 89, and would not exceed $150,000. He found that Estes G. Rathbone, Director-General of Posts, had been guilty of official malfeasance, and on July 28 that officer was dismissed from the service, arrested in Havana for misappropriation of funds amounting to $4,000 and held in $25,000 bail. On May 6 Charles F. W. Neely, chief financial agent of the insular mail service, was arrested in Rochester, N. Y., charged with embezzlement of more than $30,000, and held for extradition. On August 13, when Judge Lacombe, in

These

New-York, was about to sign the papers returning Neely to Havana, he was stopped by an order remanding the accused to the custody of the United States marshal pending an appeal to the United States Supreme Court. Señor Salvador Cisneros y Betancourt, formerly President of the Cuban Revolutionary Republic, presented a memorial to President McKinley in Washington, on August 20, favoring the immediate independence of Cuba by the withdrawal of American forces. The population of Cuba, according to the census of October 16, 1899, was 1,572,797, against 1,631,687 under the Spanish census of 1887. The density was 35.7 inhabitants to the square mile, or about the same as that of Iowa. The urban population, including cities down to 1,000 inhabitants, constitutes 47.1 per cent of the total. The population of the city of Havana is 235,981; of Santiago, 43,090; of Matanzas, 36,374, and of Cienfuegos, 30,038. Cuba has 57,613 more males than females. The native whites number 910,299; colored, 520,300; mixed, 270,805; foreign whites, 142,198, and Chinese, 14,857. Of the 1,215,810 persons over ten years of age, 688,555 could neither read nor write. The white Cuban citizens numbered 184,471, of whom 51 per cent could not read or write, and the colored citizens numbered 106,214, of whom 74 per cent could not read.

PORTO RICO.

The military administration of Porto Rico ceased on May 1, 1900, when Charles H. Allen, of Massachusetts, was installed as Governor of the island and the civil government was instituted in conformity with the act of Congress approved April 12, 1900. The change was effected without the slightest friction, so thoroughly had the new order of affairs been anticipated by General George W. Davis, the commanding general and military executive. The departments, bureaus and other branches of the new system, both insular and municipal, had been gradually formed; the courts of the island were all in the discharge of their functions; educational funds were being applied to the instruction, according to modern American methods, of more than 30,000 children; the taxation laws had been so changed that very heavy burdens had been removed from the poor; the public highways were in fine condition and were being rapidly extended, and, through the judicious distribution of food and clothing, most of the suffering following the devastating_hurricane of August, 1899, had been relieved. In office in every municipality were officers chosen by the electors, life and property were everywhere secure without the protection of troops, and there was a balance of $300,000 in the insular treasury. This had been accomplished, notwithstanding losses incurred by the inhabitants from disturbances of trade relations, from unsettled currency conditions and from the almost overwhelming disaster of the hurricane which destroyed seven-tenths of the maturing crops. Since May 1, 1900, commerce with the United States increased more than 50 per cent over that of the same period of the preceding year, and the exports of the island were more than three times as great as in the corresponding months of 1896 under Spanish rule. The population of Porto Rico under the census of October 16, 1899, was 953,243, the excess of females over males being 8,721. The density is 264 persons to the square mile, about the same as that of Massachusetts, and more than seven times that of Cuba. Divided by races, there are 589,426 whites, 59,390 negroes, 304,352 persons of mixed blood, and 75 Chinese. total inhabitants, 98.5 per cent are native born. Nearly 100,000 citizens registered in October to vote at the November elections for the legislative assembly. The Porto Rican budget for the fiscal year 1900-'01, issued by the Executive Council July 3, estimates the receipts at $2,014,608, and the expenditures at $1,984,645. Since the American occupation, two years ago, there has been no invasion of the island by contagious or infectious diseases. The experiment of native soldiers has been a very marked success. One battalion is mounted upon native horses. The regiment is declared to compare favorably with American regulars as respects health, sobriety and availability for duty.

TERRITORIAL GROWTH OF THE UNITED

STATES.

Of the

The original territory of the United States comprised 827,844 square miles; transferred from Great Britain by Treaty of Paris, September 3, 1783. The present total area of the United States (main body) is 3,090,777 square miles; total area of outlying territory, 747,733 square miles; aggregate, 3,838,510 square miles.

LOUISIANA TERRITORY (1,171,931 square miles).-Purchased from France, by treaty, April 30, 1803, for $15,000,000.

FLORIDA PROVINCES (59,268 square miles).-Purchased from Spain, by treaty, February 22, 1819, for $5,000,000.

OREGON (291,000 square miles).-By discovery, 1792; exploration, 1805-'06; settlement, 1811; and treaties with France (1803), Spain (1819), Russia (1825) and England (1846).

TEXAS ANNEXATION (376,133 square miles).-By convention with Texas Republic, March 2, 1845, and payment of $10,000,000.

MEXICAN CESSION (first, 545, 783 square miles).-By conquest and purchase from Mexico for $15,000,000, Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, February 2, 1848. Second cession (45,535 square miles).-Purchased from Mexico for $10,000, by Gadsden Treaty, December 30, 1853.

ALASKA (577,390 square miles).-Purchased from Russia, March 30, 1867, for $7,200,000.

HAWAII (6,567 square miles).-Annexed by joint resolution of Congress, July 6, 1898. SPANISH CESSIONS.-Porto Rico, 3,531 square miles; Philippines, 114,361 square miles; Guam, 100 square miles. By Treaty of Paris, December 10, 1898, and payment to Spain of $20,000,000 for the Philippines.

FINANCIAL TABLES.

UNITED STATES DEBT STATEMENT, NOVEMBER 1, 1900. INTEREST BEARING DEBT.

Total

$1,111,071,877 11

Cash balance in the Treasury September 30, 1900, exclusive of reserve and trust funds..

|

Cash balance in the Treasury October 31, 1900, exclusive of reserve and trust funds......

$138,204,878 19

Decrease during the month..

137,005,032 12

$1,199,846 07