CIVIL REPORT OF MAJ. GEN. JOHN R. BROOKE, MILITARY GOVERNOR OF CUBA. HEADQUARTERS DIVISION OF CUBA, The ADJUTANT-GENERAL, UNITED STATES ARMY, Washington, D. C. SIR: Upon my arrival at Habana on December 27, 1898, it was found advisable to at once publish the orders assuming command of the newly created Division of Cuba, and the assumption of the duties and prerogatives of the military governor, in compliance with the orders of the President, as published in General Orders, No. 184, Headquarters of the Army, December 13, 1898, to wit: GENERAL Orders, No. 184. HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY, The following order has been received from the War Department: "By direction of the President, a division to be known as the Division of Cuba, consisting of the geographical departments and provinces of the island of Cuba, with headquarters in the city of Habana, is hereby created, under command of Maj. Gen. John R. Brooke, U. S. A., who, in addition to command of the troops in the division, will exercise the authority of military governor of the island. Maj. Gen. Fitzhugh Lee, U. S. V., commanding the Seventh Army Corps, is assigned to the immediate command of all the troops in the province of Habana. Maj. Gen. William Ludlow, U. S. V., is designated as the military governor of the city of Habana, and will report direct to the division commander. He is charged with all that relates to collection and disbursement of revenues of the port and city, and its police, sanitation, and general government, under such regulations as may be prescribed by the President." R. A. ALGER, Secretary of War. The travel enjoined is necessary for the public service. H. C. CORBIN, Adjutant-General. Whereupon the following order was issued from these headquarters, to wit: GENERAL Orders, ( No. 1. HEADQUARTERS DIVISION of Cuba, In accordance with the order of the President, as published in General Orders, No. 184, dated Headquarters of the Army, Adjutant-General's Office, Washington, December 13, 1898, the undersigned hereby assumes command of the Division of Cuba, and by the requirements of the same order will exercise the authority of military governor of the island of Cuba. JOHN R. BROOKE, Also to announce the staff of the division commander, to wit: HEADQUARTERS DIVISION of Cuba, Habana, December 29, 1898. GENERAL ORDERS, No. 2. The following officers are announced as the staff of the major-general commanding the Division of Cuba: Maj. Gen. Adna R. Chaffee, U. S. V., chief of staff. Maj. James T. Dean, chief ordnance officer of volunteers, acting aid-de-camp. Capt. Frank B. McKenna, assistant adjutant-general of volunteers, aid-de-camp. Capt. James A. Campbell, assistant quartermaster of volunteers, acting aid-decamp. First Lieut. Charles W. Castle, Sixteenth Infantry, aid-de-camp. Lieut. Col. William V. Richards, assistant adjutant-general of volunteers, adjutantgeneral. Maj. Lyman W. V. Kennon, assistant adjutant-general of volunteers, assistant adjutant-general. Lieut. Col. Edgar S. Dudley, judge-advocate of volunteers, judge-advocate. Lieut. Col. Tasker H. Bliss, chief commissary of subsistence of volunteers, chief of customs service. Lieut. Col. Abiel L. Smith, chief commissary of subsistence of volunteers, chief commissary. Lieut. Col. Robert M. O'Reilly, deputy surgeon-general, chief surgeon. Maj. George R. Smith, paymaster, chief paymaster. Col. Henry H. C. Dunwoody, assistant chief signal officer, chief signal officer. By command of Major-General Brooke: L. W. V. KENNON, Assistant Adjutant-General.” Brig. Gen. Oswald H. Ernst, U. S. V., was directed to report to the major-general commanding, by paragraph 29, Special Orders No. 299, series of 1898, Headquarters of the Army, and was assigned as inspector-general of the division under General Orders No. 17, current series, Headquarters of the Army, and General Orders No. 2, current series, these headquarters. It was found that considerable confusion incident to the withdrawal of the Spanish troops and replacing them with the United States troops existed, but no untoward event occurred, however, as every precaution was taken to maintain order. The gradual withdrawal of the Spanish troops and the advance of the United States troops continued, until the morning of the 1st of January, 1899, found but few Spanish troops in the city, and these went on board transports, which movement was com pleted about 12.30 p. m. Outside of the principal towns the retiring Spanish army was closely followed by the Cuban army, which took charge of the towns and country, maintaining order, and, generally, performing police duty. This state of affairs continued, substantially, until the final disbandment of that army. The disbandment of the Cuban army was commenced in November, 1898, but only such as could procure work, or were anxious to resume their former vocations, seem to have taken advantage of the "licencia" (furlough) which was given to many. A large part of the army was held together on various pretexts until the distribution of the $3,000,000 and the giving up of their arms effected a final disbandment. During the time the army was held together as an organized body the police duties performed seemed to be well done and order was preserved. The spectacle of an army of, according to the rolls, 48,000 men being peacefully dispersed among the people has for its prototype the disappearance of the great volunteer army of the United States in 1865. În neither case has there been any great disturbance, as was feared in both cases, and particularly so as regards the Cuban army. The small attempts at brigandage were quickly suppressed, the lawbreakers placed in prison, and the courts are now hearing their cases. On January 1, 1899, a division of the Seventh Army Corps, under the command of General Fitzhugh Lee, General Keifer's division, was brought to the city, and, with the regiments on duty in Habana under the command of Gen. William Ludlow, were so placed as to insure good order during the ceremonies of the relinquishment of sovereignty by Spain, which occurred in the Governor-General's palace at 12 o'clock noon, where were assembled the Captain-General and his staff, the United States commission with its officers, the American military gov. ernor with his staff, Maj. Gen. Fitzhugh Lee, Maj. Gen. William Ludlow, Maj. Gen. J. Warren Keifer, and their staffs, and nine Cuban generals as his guests. This ceremony was simple in its character, though very impressive, consisting of a formal speech by the Spanish GovernorGeneral, which was replied to by General Wade, the chairman of the United States evacuation commission, who, in concluding his remarks, turned to the military governor and transferred the island of Cuba tó him, who, thereupon, entered upon the full exercise of his duty as the military governor of Cuba. Of course, the gathering into his hands of all the duties of his office took time. The desire of a large body of the Cuban army to take part on the 1st of January in the ceremonies of the relinquishment of sovereignty by Spain was reported verbally, by General Ludlow, and he was informed that the danger to life and property was too great, and that the celebration must be postponed to a time when the excitement had cooled off and the passions of the people could be under control. This celebration afterwards took place on the arrival in the city of Gen. Máximo Gomez, Commander in Chief of the Cuban forces, on February 24. General Ludlow was directed to meet General Gomez at the city limits and show him every courtesy possible. The Quinta de los Molinos, the summer residence of the Governor-General, was placed at his disposal, and for several months he, with his staff and escort, occupied the houses and grounds as the guests of this Government. The civil bureaus of the Governor-Generalcy were taken over by officers of the military governor's staff, and held by them until the proper civil officials could be selected and appointed. On this day, January 1, was published the following proclamation : To the people of Cuba : HEADQUARTERS DIVISION of Cuba, Coming among you as the representative of the President, in furtherance and in continuation of the humane purpose with which my country interfered to put an end to the distressing condition in this island, I deem it proper to say that the object of the present Government is to give protection to the people, security to person and property, to restore confidence, to encourage the people to resume the pursuits of peace, to build up waste plantations, to resume commercial traffic, and to afford full protection in the exercise of all civil and religious rights. To this end, the protection of the United States Government will be directed, and every possible provision made to carry out these objects through the channels of civil administration, although under military control, in the interest and for the benefit of all the people of Cuba, and those possessed of rights and property in the island. The civil and criminal code which prevailed prior to the relinquishment of Spanish sovereignty will remain in force, with such modifications and changes as may from time to time be found necessary in the interest of good government. The people of Cuba, without regard to previous affiliations, are invited and urged to cooperate in these objects by exercise of moderation, conciliation, and good will one toward another, and a hearty accord in our humanitarian purposes will insure kind and beneficent government. The military governor of the island will always be pleased to confer with those who may desire to consult him on matters of public interest. JOHN R. BROOKE, Major-General, Commanding Division of Cuba and Military Governor. In carrying into effect the design of conducting the government through civil channels, it was found to be necessary to reorganize the various civil departments or secretaryships, which was done by reducing the number and combining several departments under one head, except the finance department, which was not combined with any other. The order announcing the organization of the civil departments is as follows: HEADQUARTERS DIVISION Of Cuba, In pursuance of the authority vested in him by the President of the United States, and in order to secure a better organization of the civil service in the island of Cuba, the military governor orders that hereafter the civil government shall be administered by four departments, each under the charge of its appropriate secretary, as follows: First. The department of state and government. Third. The department of justice and public instruction. Fourth. The department of agriculture, commerce, industries, and public works. Public records and property will be transferred and rearranged accordingly. ADNA R. CHAFFEE, Major-General of Volunteers, Chief of Staff. The following gentlemen were appointed as secretaries: HEADQUARTERS DIVISION Of Cuba, Habana, January 12, 1899. The military governor of Cuba directs me to announce the following appointments: To be secretary of the department of state and government, Domingo Mendez Capote. To be secretary of the department of finance, Pablo Desvernine. To be secretary of the department of justice and public instruction, José Antonio Gonzáles Lanuza. To be secretary of the department of agriculture, industries, commerce, and public works, Adolfo Saenz Yanez. ADNA R. CHAFFEE, Major-General of Volunteers, Chief of Staff. To these secretaries were transferred, by the officers in charge of them, the various bureaus of the Spanish civil government. The reports of the secretaries will show the condition in which these were found, and the amount of labor required to bring order out of the chaotic condition. can be better imagined than described. Finally, the departments were placed in sufficient working order to begin to take over, from the military officers who were temporarily in charge, those duties which pertained to the department of each; this has been gradually going on until the civil departments are now nearly complete in all the provinces, and the affairs of Cuba may be said to be conducted "through the channels of civil administration, although under military control," except the department of customs, which is conducted according to the system prescribed by the Secretary of War. In reaching this stage on the highway of progress toward the estab lishment of government through civil channels, many obstacles have been overcome, the most serious being the very natural distrust of the people, which was born and nurtured under the system of the preceding government, and was particularly the effect of the wars which these people waged in their effort to improve their condition. It is believed that this distrust has given way to confidence in the minds of a majority of the people, and that they are generally beginning to see that the government, as administered by the United States, is for them and for their benefit. It is proper at this time to speak of the condition of the people and the country as it existed at the time of the relinquishment of sovereignty by Spain. A large number of the people were found to be actually starving. Efforts were immediately made to supply food, which the War Department sent, all told, 5,493,500 Cuban rations, in addition to the 1,000,000 rations distributed by Mr. Gould, and these |