Legislature by partisan pressure, and for the purpose of
disfranchising the majority of colored citizens, was passed by
both houses on the 20th of March, 1901. It is said to be
"considerably more fair than the North Carolina and similar
laws in States farther south. It disfranchises by means of
regulations which practically make it necessary for a voter to
be able to read his ballot. The illiterate are denied any
assistance when they go into the booths, and all emblems are
omitted from the ticket. The color line is not drawn. It is
believed that there are about 32,000 negroes and 16,000 whites
who will not be able to vote under this law. Practically all
of the negroes are supposed to be Republicans, while it is
estimated that the whites are divided about evenly between the
parties."
MASHONALAND:
Embraced in Rhodesia.
See (in this volume)
SOUTH AFRICA (BRITISH SOUTH AFRICA COMPANY):
A. D. 1894-1895.
MASSACHUSETTS: A. D. 1897.
Recovery of the original manuscript of Governor Bradford's
History of Plymouth Colony, sometimes called "The Log of the
Mayflower."
"It has long been well known that Governor Bradford wrote and
left behind him a history of the settlement of Plymouth. It
was quoted by early chroniclers. There are extracts from it in
the records at Plymouth. Thomas Prince used it when he
compiled his annals, Hubbard depended on it when he wrote his
'History of New England,' Cotton Mather had read it, or a copy
of a portion of it, when he wrote his 'Magnalia,' Governor
Hutchinson had it when he published the second volume of his
history in 1767. From that time it disappeared from the
knowledge of everybody on this side of the water. All our
historians speak of it as lost, and can only guess what had
been its fate. …
"In 1844 Samuel Wilberforce, Bishop of Oxford, afterward
Bishop of Winchester, One of the brightest of men, published
one of the dullest and stupidest of books. It is entitled 'The
History of the Protestant Episcopal Church in America.' It
contained extracts from manuscripts which he said he had
discovered in the library of the Bishop of London at Fulham.
The book attracted no attention here until, about twelve years
later, in 1855, John Wingate Thornton … happened to pick up a
copy of it while he was lounging in Burnham's book store. He
read the bishop's quotations, and carried the book to his
office, where he left it for his friend, Mr. Barry, who was
then writing his 'History of Massachusetts,' with passages
marked, and with a note which is not preserved, but which,
according to his memory, suggested that the passages must have
come from Bradford's long-lost history. That is the claim for
Mr. Thornton. On the other hand, it is claimed by Mr. Barry
that there was nothing of that kind expressed in Mr.
Thornton's note, but in reading the book when he got it an
hour or so later, the thought struck him for the first time
that the clue had been found to the precious book which had
been lost so long. He at once repaired to Charles Deane, then
and ever since, down to his death, as President Eliot
felicitously styled him, 'the master of historical
investigators in this country.' Mr. Deane saw the importance
of the discovery. He communicated at once with Joseph Hunter,
an eminent English scholar. Hunter was high authority on all
matters connected with the settlement of New England. He
visited the palace at Fulham, and established beyond question
the identity of the manuscript with Governor Bradford's
history, an original letter of Governor Bradford having been
sent over for comparison of handwriting.
"How the manuscript got to Fulham nobody knows. Whether it was
carried over by Governor Hutchinson in 1774; whether it was
taken as spoil from the tower of the Old South Church in 1775;
whether, with other manuscripts, it was sent to Fulham at the
time of the attempts of the Episcopal churches in America,
just before the Revolution, to establish an episcopate here,
—nobody knows."
_George F. Hoar,
address, May 26, 1897,
on the Return of the Manuscript to Massachusetts._
After the discovery of the manuscript, several attempts to
bring about its return to America were made: by Justin Winsor,
in 1860, and again in 1877; by Mr. Motley, in 1869; and by
others. At length, Senator Hoar, after delivering an address
at Plymouth, in 1895, on the anniversary of the landing of the
Pilgrims, went abroad, with his interest in the matter warmly
stirred up, and took steps, in concurrence with Ambassador
Bayard, which led to the enlistment of potent influences on
both sides of the sea in favor of the restoration of the
precious piece of writing to its proper home. There were many
difficulties in procuring the necessary legal authority for
the surrender of the manuscript by the Bishop of
London,—difficulties not created wilfully, but by questions
and processes of law; but they were all overcome, with kindly
help from everybody concerned, and, on the 12th of April,
1897, the coveted manuscript book was formally delivered to
the United States Ambassador, Mr. Bayard, for conveyance to
the Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It was
delivered by Mr. Bayard in person, on the 26th of May
following, in the presence of the Senate and the House of
Representatives of Massachusetts, sitting together in the
chamber of the latter, with many guests invited for the
occasion. The ceremonies of the occasion included the address
by Senator Hoar from which the above account is taken.
The manuscript volume is now deposited in the State Library of
Massachusetts at Boston. A new edition, carefully reproducing
the text of the history from it, with a full report of the
proceedings incident to its return to Massachusetts, was
printed in 1900, under the direction of the Secretary of the
Commonwealth, by order of the General Court. The following
remarks on the manuscript are from the Introduction to that
edition:
"By very many it has been called, incorrectly, the log of the
'Mayflower.' Indeed, that is the title by which it is
described in the decree of the Consistorial Court of London.
The fact is, however, that Governor Bradford undertook its
preparation long after the arrival of the Pilgrims, and it
cannot be properly considered as in any sense a log or daily
journal of the voyage of the 'Mayflower.' It is, in point of
fact, a history of the Plymouth Colony, chiefly in the form of
annals, extending from the inception of the colony down to the
year 1647. The matter has been in print since 1856, put forth
through the public spirit of the Massachusetts Historical
Society, which secured a transcript of the document from
London, and printed it in the Society's Collections of the
above-named year."
{304}
MASSACRES:
Of Armenians in Constantinople.
See (in this volume)
TURKEY: A. D. 1896 (AUGUST).
MASSACRES:
Of Chinese by the allied troops.
See (in this volume)
CHINA: A. D. 1900 (AUGUST 5-16).
MASSACRES:
Of Chinese in Manchuria by the Russians.
See (in this volume)
MANCHURIA: A. D. 1900.
MASSACRES:
Of Christian missionaries and converts in China.
See (in this volume)
CHINA:
A. D. 1895 (AUGUST);
1898 (MAY);
1898-1899 (JUNE-JANUARY);
1899;
1900 (JANUARY-MARCH), (MAY-JUNE); and
1901 (MARCH).
MATABELES.
Matabeleland.
See (in this volume)
SOUTH AFRICA (BRITISH SOUTH AFRICA COMPANY):
A. D. 1894-1895; and
(RHODESIA); 1896 (MARCH-SEPTEMBER).
MATTHEW, The Gospel of:
Discovery of a fragment of an early copy.
See (in this volume)
ARCHÆOLOGICAL RESEARCH: EGYPT: RESULTS.
MAYFLOWER, The so-called Log of the.
See (in this volume, page 303)
MASSACHUSETTS: A. D. 1897.
MAZET INVESTIGATION, The.
See (in this volume)
NEW YORK CITY: A. D. 1899 (APRIL-DECEMBER).
MEAT INSPECTION BILL, The German.
See (in this volume)
GERMANY: A. D. 1900 (MAY).
MEDICAL SCIENCE, Recent advances in.
See (in this volume)
SCIENCE, RECENT: MEDICAL AND SURGICAL.
MEHTAR OF CHITRAL, The.
See (in this volume)
INDIA: A. D. 1895 (MARCH-SEPTEMBER).
MEIJI STATESMEN.
See (in this volume)
JAPAN: A. D. 1900 (AUGUST-OCTOBER).
MENA, The tomb of.
See (in this volume)
ARCHÆOLOGICAL RESEARCH: EGYPT: RESULTS.
MENELEK II., King of Shoa and Negus of Abyssinia.
See (in this volume)
EGYPT: A. D. 1885-1896.
MERENPTAH I., The funeral temple of.
See (in this volume)
ARCHÆOLOGICAL RESEARCH: EGYPT: RESULTS.
MERRIMAC, The sinking of the collier, at Santiago.
See (in this volume)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1898 (APRIL-JUNE).
MERRITT, General: Report of capture of Manila.
See (in this volume)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1898 (JULY-SEPTEMBER).
MESOPOTAMIA, Recent archæological research in.
See (in this volume)
ARCHÆOLOGICAL RESEARCH: BABYLONIA.
MESOPOTAMIA:
Projected railways.
See (in this volume)
TURKEY: A. D. 1899 (NOVEMBER); and
JEWS: A. D. 1899.
MEXICAN FREE ZONE, The.
"The Department of State has received through Consul-General
Barlow a report of the Free Zone, compiled by the Secretary of
the Treasury of Mexico, giving a history of the original
creation of the zone and defining its limits, and the
privileges and restrictions applicable thereto. The Free Zone
is a narrow strip of territory extending along the northern
border from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific Ocean, with a
latitudinal area of about 12½ miles to the interior, and
embracing a portion of the States of Tamaulipas, Coahnila,
Chihuahua, Sonora, and the territory of Lower California. It
was established many years ago [1861] by the Central
Government, as a compromise or concession to the States
bordering the Rio Grande, as a protection against smuggling
from the United States. The principal cities of the zone are
Matamoras, Camargo, Mier, Guerrero, Laredo, Porfirio Diaz
(Piedras Negras), Juarez, and Nogales. The total population
does not exceed 100,000 people. According to the official
reports, there exist within the limits of the free zone no
industries worth mentioning, which is explained by the fact
that all industrial products manufactured in the zone when
sent into the interior of the country are required to pay the
regular duties charged on imports into the country; and, on
account of the protective tariff of the United States, it is
impracticable to export such products to that country. Thus
the manufacturing industries would have to depend upon the
home consumption, which is not sufficient to maintain them.
All merchandise imported into the zone destined for
consumption therein is admitted on a basis of 10 per cent of
the regular tariff duties, but such merchandise when reshipped
into the interior of Mexico is required to pay an additional
duty of 90 per cent, making, in connection with the 10 per
cent already paid, the regular tariff duty of Mexico. In his
report the secretary of the treasury, Senor Limantour, makes
this statement: 'Many distinguished financiers and eminent
statesmen are opposed to the Free Zone, but all recognize the
fact that, on account of existing circumstances in the
northern frontier, its sparse population, without resources in
agriculture, industry, or mining, the privilege could not be
abolished without compensation, and the problem lies in
choosing some other advantage without prejudice to the rest of
the country.'"
_Bulletin of the American Republics,
August, 1898._
"The franchise granted the Free Zone consisted, in the
beginning, in not levying any duty upon imported articles;
afterwards, however, some small duties, purely local, were
established, and the ordinance of 1887 established as a fixed
basis 3 per cent on the value of the duties according to
tariff—a basis which was raised to 10 per cent by the
ordinance of 1891. By subsequent decrees the duties were
raised l½ per cent for the municipality and 7 per cent for
stamps for internal revenue, the result of all this being that
the merchandise introduced into the Free Zone from abroad now
paid 18½ per cent upon the importation duties according to
tariff. … As the records of the frontier custom-houses of the
north make no distinction in the duties, those for the Free
Zone as well as those for the interior appearing in the same
classification, it is impossible to know exactly what the
treasury loses by the 90 per cent rebate on the duties of the
merchandise destined for consumption in the Free Zone; but,
admitting as an exaggerated estimate that the total
consumption of the Free Zone represents in duties $400,000
($177,600) a year, with the 10 per cent charge on this amount,
the average annual loss would be $365,000 ($162,060).
{305}
"The institution of the Free Zone obliges the Mexican
Government, in order to prevent the introduction clandestinely
into the interior of merchandise proceeding therefrom, to
maintain a body of fiscal guards at an annual expense of
$562,525.95 ($249,762). The guards of the custom-houses must
not be reckoned in this account; for these, with or without
the Free Zone, are necessary to prevent the smuggling which
would be carried on from the United States, and which is even
now done. In case of abolishing the Free Zone, it would not be
possible to completely suppress the fiscal guards; lessened in
number and with a distinct organization, they would have to be
maintained, especially since in case of their abolition the
entire duties would be charged (that is to say, 90 per cent
more than is now levied), and this would be inducement enough
to provoke attempts at smuggling. This body of guards, fiscal
as well as administrative, supplies the place of an interior
custom-house (although it does not levy duties), as it reviews
in certain instances the merchandise shipped through the
frontier custom-houses and in a military capacity guards the
roads leading to and from the frontier to prevent smuggling.
It has a system of fixed sections situated at convenient
locations between the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific, and of
flying detachments continually patrolling the strip of
territory named. Experience has demonstrated the usefulness of
the body, for instances of smuggling by wagons, carts, or
animals can be said to no longer exist."
Of smuggling, "there are two divisions to be made, as follows:
Smuggling to the interior of the Republic and smuggling to the
United State, of America. The first was at one time of
importance, since it was practiced on a large scale. Bands of
smugglers, resorting at times to violence, conducted
merchandise to the interior, but since the Republic entered
the period of peace the Government has been able to take
measures to end this illegal traffic. The custom-houses, which
formerly scarcely produced enough to pay the employees, now
render from $4,000,000 to $5,000,000 annually from import
duties.
"Smuggling from Mexico to the United States of America has
never been practiced to any great extent."
_United States Consular Reports,
August, 1898, page 619._
----------MEXICO: Start--------
MEXICO: A. D. 1892-1895.
Boundary surveys.
The international commission which had been engaged since 1892
in resurveying the incorrectly marked boundary between Mexico
and the United States from San Diego, California, to El Paso,
Texas, finished its work in 1895. Another commission began in
the same year to resurvey the remainder of the boundary, along
the Rio Grande from El Paso to the Gulf.
MEXICO: A. D. 1895.
Boundary dispute with Guatemala.
There was a quite serious threatening of war between Mexico
and Guatemala in 1895, consequent upon a disputed boundary
line. The mediation of the United States brought about a
settlement, which gave the disputed district to Guatemala, and
provided for an arbitration of indemnities, the United States
Minister to Mexico being selected as arbitrator.
MEXICO: A. D. 1895.
Census of population.
Its distribution.
"The population of Mexico appears to be, from our … census …
in 1895, 12,570,195, which would give 16.38 for each square
mile; but from my personal knowledge of the country, I am
quite sure that it is not less than 15,000,000. It is very
difficult to take a correct census in Mexico, because there is
not the proper machinery in operation for that purpose, and
especially because a great many districts are inhabited by
Indians, who are impressed with the fear that if they inscribe
themselves in the census they will be taxed or drafted into
the military service, and they try to avoid registration.
"A great many of our people live in such remote districts that
they are practically cut off from communication with other
portions of the country, and in fact are almost isolated; and
this constitutes still another difficulty in the way of taking
a correct census. … The upper lands being the healthiest, most
of the population in Mexico is settled in the central plateau;
a relatively small portion lives in the temperate zone, while
the torrid zone is very thinly populated. I imagine, at a
rough calculation, that about 75 per cent. of the population
make their abode in the cold zone, from 15 to 18 per cent. in
the temperate zone, and from 7 to 10 per cent. in the torrid
zone.
"From the synopsis of our censuses, … it appears that the
population in Mexico has duplicated during the last century,
and although that increase does not keep pace with the
increase in the United States, because this has been really
wonderful, it compares favorably with the increase in other
countries."
_M. Romero,
Mexico and the United States,
volume 1, pages 89-90
(New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons)._
MEXICO: A. D. 1896.
Amendments to the Constitution.
See (in this volume)
CONSTITUTION OF MEXICO.
MEXICO: A. D. 1896.
Re-election of President Diaz.
By a popular election held on the 28th of June, 1896, followed
by a vote of "electors" cast July 13, Porfirio Diaz was chosen
President of the Republic of Mexico for a fifth term of four
years, to begin December 1, 1896.
MEXICO: A. D. 1896 (July).
Abolition of inter-state taxes.
The following announcement was reported in May, 1896, by the
United States Consul-General at the City of Mexico: "'All the
States and Territories having approved the amendment to the
constitution prohibiting any interstate tax on commerce
(alcabalas), Congress has passed the bill, the President has
signed it, the Diario Official has published it, and it will
soon be promulgated by "bando." as the Vice-Presidency was the
other day. The law takes effect July 1.' This tax has been in
existence for many years in Mexico, and has been a source of
much embarrassment to internal and external trade. Its repeal
meets with general approval, although some of the States will
be compelled to seek other modes of taxation to replace the
money heretofore obtained by this interstate tax."
_United States Consular Reports,
June, 1806, page 354._
{306}
MEXICO: A. D. 1896-1899.
Revolts of the Yaquis.
The Yaquis, one of the native tribes of northwestern Mexico,
taking their name from the river, in Sonora, on which they
dwell, have been in frequent revolt. In 1896, and again in
1899, some of the tribe were fiercely in arms, excited, it was
said, by a religious enthusiast, Teresa Urrea, who claimed a
divine mission and obtained boundless influence over her
tribe, as a saint. She was expelled from the country by the
Mexican government, but stayed on the border, in United States
territory, and continued to stir up hostilities. Though
repeatedly beaten by the government troops, with heavy loss,
their late rising was obstinately persisted in for many
months; but early in 1900 their chief, Tetabiate, was slain,
and a few sharp engagements after that time seems to have
brought the revolt, practically, to an end. A writer in the
California magazine, entitled "The Land of Sunshine" (July,
1899), says of the Yaquis that they are "the backbone of the
population of Sonora. They are the best workmen in the
republic, commanding from 10 to 20 per cent. higher wages in
many localities than Mexican or other Indian labor. There is
not a lazy bone in the Yaqui body. They are a peaceable,
law-abiding people when justly treated. From time immemorial
they have been hunters, miners, and tillers of the soil. They
have the nomad instinct in less degree than almost any other
Indian tribe."
Another writer makes this statement: "There are about three
hundred wild and rebellious Yaqui Indians hidden in the
fastnesses of the Bacatete Mountains, and some thirty thousand
peaceful Yaquis working all over Sonora—among the best workers,
the most successful farmers, and the quietest citizens in the
whole state. … There are few things in the history of the
native races of North America of such absorbing interest as
the career of the Yaqui Indians. The Spanish conquistadores
found them living in this country three hundred and fifty
years ago. They were a strong and stalwart race. Put a Yaqui
by the side of an Iroquois and you can hardly tell them apart.
Put a Yaqui and an Iroquois by the side of any other Indians
in North America, and their physical superiority is seen at
once. Compare them physically with all the other races of the
earth and you will find that they have few, if any, superiors.
The Yaquis were not, however, like their prototypes, the
Iroquois, dependent upon the chase for their food. From the
beginning they were not woodsmen, but farmers. Cabeza de Vaca,
after his long, romantic and perilous journey across the
continent, found great fields of Indian corn waving on the
Yaqui River as far back as 1636. When the early Spanish
missions were established in the Californias they obtained
their supplies from the agricultural Indians in the Yaqui
Valley, and many are the Spanish armies that have been saved
from starvation in times past by the Yaqui corn fields."
_W. S. Logan,
Yaqui, the Land of Sunshine and Health,
pages 15, 17._
MEXICO: A. D. 1898.
Completion of the great drainage tunnel and canal
of the City of Mexico.
"Mexico is finishing a great work, the drainage of the valley
where the capital city is located, which has required for its
completion nearly three hundred years and many millions of
dollars, and has cost the lives of hundreds of thousands of
men. … The Valley of Mexico is an immense basin, of
approximately circular shape, with one extreme diameter of
about 60 miles, completely bounded by high mountains, and
having only two or three quite high passes out of it. No water
drains out of the basin. The surface of this valley has a mean
altitude above the sea of 7,413 feet and an area of about
2,220 square miles. Mountain ranges rise on every side, making
a great corral of rock containing dozens of villages and
hamlets, with the ancient capital in the centre. … Evaporation
is so excessive at certain periods of the year that malaria,
consequent on drouth, was far more dreaded by the inhabitants
than the periodical floods, and thousands perished annually,
so that proper drainage was an absolute necessity for the
preservation of health. Nearly fifty years before the
discovery of America, which took place in 1492,
Netzahualcoyotl saw the necessity for a drainage canal, and
commenced the work in 1450." The Spaniards, throughout their
rule, labored at projects to the same end, and sacrificed the
lives of vast numbers of the natives in the work, without much
result.
"Frequent floodings of the old Aztec city and of the Spanish
capital, situated almost at the lowest point of the valley,
were sure to come in times of unusually heavy rains. In early
days, when the Aztecs lived in the middle of Lake Mexico, when
their temples and wigwams were built on piles and the streets
were often only canals, the periodical overflows from the
upper lakes were a matter of small concern, though even then
the Nahua engineers were called upon to protect the city by
dykes. But when by evaporation, by filling in at the site of
the city, by lessened waters, due to the fissures caused by
earthquakes, Lake Mexico had disappeared, and the city had
come to be built on the spongy soil, above all, when the
short-sighted choice of Cortez had been confirmed and the
capital of New Spain had come to stand on the ruins of the
Aztec town, increasing rapidly in population and wealth,—it
became a serious matter that on an average of once in
twenty-five years the streets should be from two to six feet
under water for an indefinite time. …
"In 1866 the works now [1895] nearing completion were
commenced. A project proposed by Señor Don Francisco de Garay,
a well-known engineer of the city of Mexico, was pronounced
the most feasible. But the revolutionary struggle succeeded,
and for many years the work was relegated to the background. …
The present gigantic work cannot have been considered to have
been seriously undertaken, with a view of completion at any
cost, until the year 1885, when the City Council of Mexico
submitted a project to the Government to which they offered to
contribute largely in the event of its being adopted. A
special commission, with ample authority to deal with the
funds set aside for the work, was appointed by President
Porfirio Diaz. …
"The drainage works, when carried out, will receive the
surplus waters and sewage of the City of Mexico and carry them
outside of the valley, and will also control the entire waters
of the valley, affording an outlet, whenever found necessary,
to those which might otherwise overflow fields and towns,
rendering the soil stagnant and marshy. The work consists of
three parts—1st, the tunnel; 2d, a canal starting from the
gates of San Lazaro, and having a length of 47½ kilometres, or
43 miles; … and 3d, the sewage of the City of Mexico. …
{307}
As this paper goes to press, the drainage works of the Valley
of Mexico are practically finished, as the waters of the
valley have been for several years passing through the canal
and the tunnel to their outlet in the river which takes them
to the Gulf of Mexico, and the company with whom the canal was
contracted is now giving the finishing touches to the sides
and bottom of the canal and will deliver it to the Government
Board of the Drainage Directors in January, 1898. …
"The canal and six-mile tunnel through the mountain range have
a total length approaching 37 miles. The present works will
take rank with the great achievements of modern times, just as
the immense 'cut' of Nochistongo, their unsuccessful predecessor,
was the leader among ancient earthworks in all the world. The
completed system will have cost $20,000,000."
_M. Romero,
Mexico and the United States,
pages 266-280
(New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons)._
MEXICO: A. D. 1898-1900.
The results of twenty years of the presidency of Porfirio Diaz.
The wonderful advance of the Republic.
In his interesting book on Mexico, entitled "The Awakening of
a Nation," written in 1898, Mr. Charles F. Lummis expresses
the opinion that, under the Presidency of Porfirio Diaz, that
country "has graduated to be the most compact and unified
nation in the New World"; that "she has acquired not only a
government which governs, but one which knows how to govern—
and contemporaneously a people which has learned how to be
ruled"; and he characterizes its government as "logical
paternalism—a scheme frightfully dangerous under a bad father,
incalculably beneficial under a good one." Two years later, in a
contribution to an elaborate "Review of the Nineteenth
Century," by many writers, which was published by the "New
York Evening Post," January 12, 1901, Mr. Lummis wrote:
"Before Diaz, the rich and ancient capital had spent two and a
half centuries and ten millions in vain attempts to relieve
its recurrent Hoods. Sewerage was unknown. Today the valley is
drained and sewered by a system nowhere surpassed. Electric
lighting, transit, and power-transmission are in vogue. Law
and order are of a proportion we may well envy. Public
education and individual scholarship have no call to blush in
any fair comparison with any land. Business is prosperous,
almost without individual exceptions. Factories of all sorts—
and some of the costliest and finest factories in the
world—have sprung up by the thousand. The comminuted bones of
a national spirit have knit as they never were before.
Nowadays, it is not Mexico, but we, who are 'fooled' when we
omit her from the category of the nations that count. She does
count; she will count far more. She has mastered anarchy, she
has triumphed even over free silver. She is busily engaged in
practising one of the first gospels and mottoes of the
American colonies—'Mind Your Own Business'—and is making a
magnificent success at it. It is a curious problem in the
philosophies of history, what shall be the outcome of a nation
which instead of being born rugged and growing old and easy, was
born old and in the last quarter-century has come into the
heritage of sturdy youth. For it is as a young nation, with
muscles still growing, that we must think of new Old Mexico."
Honorable John W. Foster, writing to the "New York Tribune,"
on the 9th of January, 1901, from the City of Mexico, where he
formerly resided for some years as United States Minister, has
borne similar testimony to the astonishing progress of the
country. "Since the advent of General Porfirio Diaz to power
in 1876," writes Mr. Foster, "there has been no foreign war
and no serious disturbance of an internal character, the only
exception being the outbreak of certain semi-independent
Indian tribes. In the previous fifty years of the existence of
the republic there had been as many presidents, the majority
of whom owed their existence to revolutionary movements. The
wretched story of Mexican history of that period is too
familiar to be repeated here. … In his inaugural address to
Congress last month, on being again installed as President, he
[president Diaz] referred to the achievements of Mexico in the
last twenty-five years, and modestly said that in it there
were no brilliant deeds to chronicle. From that notable
address I make this extract: 'If it were true that a peaceful
and laborious people have no history, the administration
period I am about to review would almost be devoid of history.
But, on the contrary, those nations that deserve to be called
happy in the only intelligible sense of the word, far from
being without a history, have a very glorious and interesting
one, if, besides being peaceful and laborious, they are also
progressive. That history is the history of their progress,
their achievements, their growing prosperity, of the
improvements of every kind which they have introduced—a
history which, in this modern age and the present constitution
of civilized societies, is as interesting as that of their
past and just as deserving of attention.'"
A report for 1900 by the British Consul at Vera Cruz is to the
same effect. The result of the recent elections he describes
as an assurance of prosperity and a guarantee of the foreign
capital invested in the country. Few countries, the Consul
observes, can boast of such rapid and beneficial reforms as
Mexico; these have, in a short time, prepared the way for the
development of her extensive resources, which are themselves a
sufficient assurance of the future. The finances have of
recent years been brought to a high state of excellence, and
commerce throughout the Republic has flourished. Foreign
capital has flowed in steadily, railway construction has
progressed, and other modes of communication have improved,
the telegraph and postal service have been reformed. The
improvement of inter-oceanic communication across the
Tehuantepec isthmus, with the harbors now being constructed on
both coasts, will revolutionize the foreign trade of Mexico.
It will take more than three years to complete the
reconstruction of the railway and to put the ports in a
condition to enable freight to be taken from the ship's side
at one port and placed alongside the ship at the other within
24 hours. The Consul thinks the route is destined to become
one of the principal thoroughfares of the world, competing
with all other routes between Europe and the Far East.
{308}
Of what has been done for public education in Mexico under the
Diaz government the following account is given in one of the
publications (1900) of the Bureau of the American Republics:
"Education in Mexico has been for many years the subject of
serious consideration on the part of the Government, on
account of the difficulty experienced in combating the
conservative ideas prevailing in the Republic. The main
obstacles have, however, been overcome, and the country to-day
enjoys the benefit of a liberal system of education, which is
administered under three branches—gratuitous, lay, and
obligatory. … The law making education compulsory was
promulgated March 23, 1888, but its enforcement was not
decreed at that time, and the first Congress of Public
Education was convened for the purpose of adopting such
measures as should tend to establish an efficient and uniform
system of education. This congress met on December 1, 1889,
and closed its sessions on March 31, 1890. … A second congress
was convened on December 1, 1890, which solved certain
problems on compulsory elemental education, fixed the methods
to be followed in the schools of superior primary education,
and settled matters pertaining to normal schools, preparatory
education, and special schools. As the result of this
congress, the law of March 21, 1891, was enacted, regulating
compulsory education in the Federal District and the
Territories of Tepic and Lower California, which law became
effective on January 17, 1892. …
"On May 19, 1896, the law of public education was promulgated,
its salient points being as follows:
Official primary elemental education in the Federal Districts
and Federal Territories was placed under the exclusive control
of the Executive; primary superior education was organized as
an intermediate educational system between elementary and
preparatory instruction. A general board of primary education
was created, charged to develop and maintain the same under a
scientific and administrative plan. Preparatory education was
decreed to be uniform for all professions, its extent being
limited to the study of such matters as are necessary to the
development of the physical and intellectual faculties and the
morals of youth, it being further directed that professional
education be reorganized, limiting it to technical matters
which pertain to the profession or professions to which each
particular school is devoted.
"By virtue of this law public education ceased to be in charge
of the Board of Aldermen (ayuntamientos) of the
above-mentioned sections. At the time of its promulgation the
municipality of Mexico contained 113 schools, supported by the
Board of Aldermen, 14,246 students being entered on the rolls,
with an average attendance of 9,798. Each State defrays the
expenses of public education, either with funds specially
appropriated for that purpose or with the municipal funds.
"According to statistical data, in 1876, there were throughout
the country 8,165 primary schools, with 368,754 students of
both sexes. In 1895 Government schools reached the number of
4,056, of which 2,189 were for males, 1,119 for females, and
748 for both sexes; municipal schools numbered 3,394—for
males, 1,754; females, 932; both sexes, 708. These comprised
7,380 primary, 32 secondary, and 35 professional schools, the
number of students enrolled being 310,496 males and 181,484
females (a total of 491,980), and the mean attendance 338,066.
The total cost to the Government and the municipalities for
the maintenance of these institutions was $3,973,738. In the
same year private schools to the number of 1,816 were being
conducted, 659 for males, 460 for females, and the remainder
under a coeducational system. In addition, 276 were supported
by the clergy and 146 by associations, the total number of
students enrolled being 68,879, of which 40,135 were males and
38,744 females. The total number of private schools was
accordingly 2,238, of which 2,193 were devoted to primary
education, 34 to secondary instruction, and 11 to professions.
"The statistics for 1897, which are the latest available, give
the following figures:
SCHOOLS. 1896. 1897.
Federal and State Governments. 5,852 6,141
Municipal. 3,218 1,953
Private institutions. 1,953 1,797
Supported by the clergy. 303 285
Supported by associations. 186 122
"Using the figures given in 1896 for Vera Cruz and the Federal
District as identical for 1897, it may be safely assumed that
on December 31, 1897, the public schools in Mexico (Federal,
State, and municipal) stood as follows:
Number of schools. 9,065
Students enrolled. 666,787
Average monthly attendance. 458,035
Private institutions. 2,361
Number of students. 92,387
Average attendance. 75,857
"The total expenditures for the support of Federal, State, and
municipal schools amounted in 1897 to $6,291,000. In addition
to the normal and primary schools, the Government also
supports the following institutions:
School of jurisprudence,
school of medicine,
school of agriculture and veterinary instruction,
school of engineers,
school of fine arts,
school of arts and trades for men,
and a similar institution for women,
school of commerce and administration.
National conservatory of music,
preparatory school,
schools for the blind, for deaf-mutes;
reform schools, etc.,
also 9 museums, and 17 libraries containing from 400 to
159,000 volumes. Beside the Government institutions above
mentioned, there are throughout the country 26 museums, 83
libraries, 32 scientific and literary associations, and 457
periodical publications."
_Bureau of American Republics,
Mexico: a Geographical Sketch,
page 313._
MEXICO: A. D. 1899 (May-July).
Representation in the Peace Conference at The Hague.
See (in this volume)
PEACE CONFERENCE.
MEXICO: A. D. 1900 (January).
Re-election of President Diaz.
President Porfirio Diaz was reelected on January 1, for
a sixth term of four years.
MEXICO: A. D. 1900 (October).
Census of the Republic.
Gains shown in five years.
Announcement was made from Washington, on the 24th of
February, 1901, that "complete official returns of the census
taken on October 28, 1900, received by the Bureau of American
Republics, shows that the population of Mexico is 13,570,545,
against a population of 12,632,427 [given by M. Romero as
12,570,195—see above] in 1895. The gain in five years was
938,118, or 7.43 per cent. due in part to the greater accuracy
of the latest enumeration. The Federal District, in which is
located the City of Mexico, is the most densely populated
portion of the republic, and contains 530,723 people.
{309}
The City of Mexico increased about 20,000 in five years, and
now has nearly 357,000 inhabitants. The population of seven
States, Jalisco, Guanajuato, Puebla. Vera Cruz, Oaxaca,
Michoacan and Mexico, is 6,995,880, or a little more than
one-half of the entire population of the country. The
population of the States of Sonora, Tamaulipas, Tlaxcala,
Morelos, Tabasco, Aguas Calientes, Campeche, Colima, and the
territories of Tepic and Lower California, the total area of
which is more than one-fourth the entire country, is slightly
in excess of 1,380,000, or a density of only about 2.7
inhabitants to the square kilometre. The central and southern
portions of the republic are the most thickly populated, the
Western and Northern States being the most sparsely settled,
and the Gulf region, or eastern coast, contains a larger
number of inhabitants than the Pacific Coast region. … The
greatest percentage of increase is noted in the northern
States. These States, in addition to being good agricultural
districts, are enormously rich in mineral wealth, and the
large increase in population in this part of the country is
chiefly due to the rapid development of the mines of the
republic, the erection of smelters and manufacturing plants,
and to the general stimulus given to trade and commerce by the
construction of railroads and the heavy investments of foreign
capital in the republic."
----------MEXICO: End--------
MIDDLE-OF-THE-ROAD POPULISTS, The.
See (in this volume)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:
A. D. 1896 (JUNE-November); and 1900 (MAY-NOVEMBER).
MILAN, Ex-King:
His later years and death.
See (in this volume)
BALKAN AND DANUBIAN STATES (SERVIA).
MILAN: A. D. 1898.
Revolutionary outbreak.
See (in this volume)
ITALY: A. D. 1898 (APRIL-MAY).
MILES, General Nelson A.:
Operations against Santiago de Cuba.
See (in this volume)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1898 (JUNE-JULY).
MILES, General Nelson A.:
Commanding expedition against Porto Rico.
See (in this volume)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:
A. D. 1898 (JULY-AUGUST: PORTO RICO).
MILES, General Nelson A.:
Charges against the Commissary Department, U. S. Army.
See (in this volume)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1898-1899.
MILITARY ESTABLISHMENTS:
Armies of Europe and America and their cost.
See (in this volume)
WAR BUDGETS.
MILLENNIUM, The Hungarian.
See (in this volume)
AUSTRIA-HUNGARY: A. D. 1896.
MILNER, Sir Alfred:
Governor of Cape Colony and High Commissioner for South Africa.
See (in this volume)
SOUTH AFRICA: A. D. 1897 (FEBRUARY), and after.
MILNER, Sir Alfred:
Governor of the Transvaal and British High Commissioner.
See (in this volume)
SOUTH AFRICA (BRITISH COLONIES): A. D. 1901 (JANUARY).
MINDANAO.
See (in this volume)
PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
MINERS, Strikes among.
See (in this volume)
INDUSTRIAL DISTURBANCES.
MINNESOTA: A. D. 1896.
Constitutional amendments.
Use of the Referendum.
Several constitutional amendments were submitted to the voters
of the State and adopted; among them one requiring citizenship
of the United States for three months and residence in the
State for six months before permitting a new-comer to vote;
another vesting the pardoning power in a Board of Pardons;
another empowering cities to frame their own charters, subject
to the State laws. At the same time, the Referendum was
brought into practical use, by the submission of several
legislative acts to the popular vote. One of the acts thus
submitted, providing for the holding of a constitutional
convention, was rejected.
MINNESOTA: A. D. 1898.
Outbreak of Pillager Indians.
See (in this volume)
INDIANS, AMERICAN: A. D. 1898.
MINOS, The Palace of:
Its supposed discovery.
See (in this volume)
ARCHÆOLOGICAL RESEARCH: CRETE.
MISSIONARIES, Christian:
The outbreak against in China.
See (in this volume)
CHINA: A. D. 1895 (AUGUST);
1898 (MAY);
1898-1899 (JUNE-JANUARY);
1899; 1900 (JANUARY-MARCH), (MAY-JUNE);
and 1901 (MARCH).
MISSIONARIES, Christian:
Outbreak against in Madagascar.
See (in this volume)
MADAGASCAR.
MISSIONS, Christian:
The Ecumenical Conference of 1900 in New York.
Statistics of the Protestant foreign missionary
work of the world.
The third Ecumenical Conference on Protestant foreign missions
(the second having been held in London in 1888) was assembled
at New York on the 21st of April, 1900, under circumstances
related as follows in volume I. of the official report: "The
immediate origin of the Ecumenical Conference of 1900 was the
discussion of a question put in the 'question box' at the
Annual Conference of Foreign Missions Boards of the United
States and Canada, which met in New York in January, 1896, as
to whether it would be advisable to invite the secretaries or
representatives of societies from the other side of the
Atlantic to meet with the Annual Conference of the American
societies as it was then held, consisting chiefly of the
officers of the Boards. The Reverend F. F. Ellinwood. D. D.,
speaking to the question, said: 'I have had a hope that in the
year 1898, ten years from the great London Conference, we
might invite our brethren from all lands to a great Ecumenical
Conference on Missions.'
"Following this suggestion, a committee of five, consisting of
the Reverend Drs. Judson Smith, F. F. Ellinwood, A. B.
Leonard, S. W. Duncan, and William S. Langford was appointed
'to consider the advisability of calling an Ecumenical
Missionary Conference, to meet in this country within the next
four years, to make preliminary preparation therefor, if
deemed advisable, and to report at the Conference of the
following year.' This committee corresponded with missionary
societies throughout the world, and at the next Annual
Conference recommended that such a Conference be held in New
York City in April of the year 1900; that this recommendation
be communicated to the societies, and a final date agreed
upon. In January, 1898, after further correspondence, the
place and date were finally decided." Measures were taken to
raise a guarantee fund of $30,000 for expenses, and other
preparations were made. Then "under date of June 1, 1899, a
general invitation was sent to every missionary whose name and
address could be secured, to attend the Conference and
participate in the discussions."
{310}
The Conference was opened in Carnegie Hall, New York, on the
21st of April, 1900, and continued its sessions, there and in
neighboring churches, until the 1st of May. "The personnel of
the Conference was broadly representative. It consisted
(1) of delegates appointed by organizations conducting foreign
missions outside of Europe and America;
(2) the missionaries of such organizations, and
(3) members elected by the Executive Committee.
The British and Continental and other foreign societies were
invited to send as many delegates as possible. The American
and Canadian societies were limited in the number of their
delegates; the total from both countries, being fixed at
1,666, was apportioned among the societies on the basis of
their expenditures in foreign missions. All foreign
missionaries in active service or retired were received as
full members. Some of the honorary members and vice-presidents
who were unable to attend desired to have their names
connected with so historic a gathering. Members of committees
and speakers, who were not already delegates, were by a
general act of the Executive Committee, constituted 'special
members.' In addition to the members of the Conference a large
number of persons came from far and near to attend the
meetings. Over fifty thousand tickets to the Carnegie Hall and
alternate meetings were distributed among this class of
visitors. Many thousands more attended the sectional and
overflow meetings where no tickets were required. The
Honorable Benjamin Harrison, for four years President of the
United States of America, occupied the chair, and made an
opening speech."
The magnitude of the organizations of missionary work, all the
interests, needs and fruits of which were discussed in the
Conference, is most succinctly represented in the subjoined
tables, prepared by Dr. James S. Dennis, which are given in
the appendix to the official report (pages 424-426, volume 2).
The classification appearing in the tables is explained as
follows:
"The Bible Societies, the Tract and Literature Societies, the
United Society of Christian Endeavor, the Epworth Leagues, and
similar organizations, philanthropic specialties like that of
the Pundita Ramabai in India, with a considerable number of
organizations, foreign missionary in title and purpose, but
simply rendering financial or other aid to existing
societies—demand recognition, and yet should they be counted
as strictly and technically foreign missionary societies? It
was chosen for the present purpose, to differentiate and
classify, naming three classes of societies as follows;
Class I. Societies directly engaged in conducting foreign
missions.
Class II. Societies indirectly co-operating or aiding in
foreign missions.
Class III. Societies or Institutions independently engaged in
specialized effort in various departments of foreign
missions."
MISSISSIPPI: A. D. 1890-1892.
New State Constitution.
Qualification of the suffrage.
A new State Constitution, framed and put in force in 1890 by a
constitutional convention, without submission to the people,
established a qualification of the suffrage which heavily
diminished the negro vote by its effect. It imposed a pool tax
of two dollars per head, to which any county might add a
further tax not exceeding one dollar per head, which poll tax
for the year every voter must have paid before his ballot
would be received at any election. A further clause of the
Constitution on the subject was as follows: "On and after the
first day of January, A. D. 1892, the following qualifications
are added to the foregoing: Every qualified elector shall be
able to read any section of the Constitution of this State, or
he shall be able to understand the same when read to him, or
to give a reasonable interpretation thereof. A new
registration shall be made before the next ensuing election
after these qualifications are established. Electors in
municipal elections shall possess all the qualifications
herein prescribed, and such additional qualifications as may
be prescribed by law." In 1892 the Supreme Court of the State
affirmed the validity of the Constitution, which had been
challenged on two grounds, namely: that it had not been
submitted to the vote of the people, and that it was in
conflict with the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution of
the United States.
So far, the disfranchisement of the mass of blacks seems to
have had an unlooked for evil effect. "The Negro eliminated,
only one political party remains, and political stagnation has
followed. In Mississippi, the requirement that a poll tax be
paid long before the election deprives many white men also of
their votes. But it does not bar them out of nominating
conventions. Many communities are ruled by a mere handful of
whites who cannot even cast a ballot. For instance, there are
320,000 males of voting age in Mississippi, but the whole vote
cast in the State in November was only 59,000. This is 11,000
votes less than were cast four years ago under the same
restrictions of suffrage. In other words, the whole State of
Mississippi cast practically 110 more ballots to elect seven
members of Congress than were cast in a single congressional
district in New York. (The fourteenth New York district cast
58,000 votes.) In the town of Eudora, where a mayor, a
marshal, a treasurer, and four aldermen were elected, only
eight votes were cast, and of the eight voters seven are said
to have been candidates for office.
"'The same men,' says a trustworthy despatch from New Orleans,
'were voters, candidates for office, and judges of election to
pass as judges on their own votes as voters for themselves;
and in spite of all their efforts they could get only one
outsider to come to the polls and cast his ballot.' This is an
extreme case; but in every State that has disfranchised the
Negro (making a discrimination between him and the ignorant
white man, in the white man's favor) political activity has
constantly disappeared, the vote has shrunk, public spirit in
politics has died. In Louisiana the total vote in November
fell from 99,000 in 1896 to 61,000; of Mississippi, from
69,000 to 59,000; of South Carolina, from 68,000 to 50,000—the
shrinkage in four years in these three States being nearly
68,000 votes, in spite of the increase of population."
_The World's Work,
February, 1901._
MODDER RIVER, Military operations on.
See (in this volume)
SOUTH AFRICA (THE FIELD OF WAR):
A. D. 1899 (OCTOBER-DECEMBER); and
1900 (JANUARY-FEBRUARY).
{311}
[Image: Mission, Christian]
{312}
[Image: Mission, Christian]
{313}
[Image: Mission, Christian]
{314}
MODUS VIVENDI, Alaskan Boundary.
See (in this volume)
ALASKA BOUNDARY QUESTION.
MODUS VIVENDI, The Newfoundland.
See (in this volume)
NEWFOUNDLAND: A. D. 1899-1901.
MOMBASA-VICTORIA RAILWAY, The.
See (in this volume)
UGANDA RAILWAY.
----------MONETARY QUESTIONS AND MEASURES: Start--------
MONETARY QUESTIONS AND MEASURES: A. D. 1895.
The situation of the Treasury of the United States.
Contract for replenishing its gold reserve.
See (in this volume)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1895 (JANUARY-FEBRUARY).
MONETARY QUESTIONS AND MEASURES: A. D. 1895-1896.
The gold reserve in the U. S. Treasury again imperilled.
Refusal of relief by the Senate.
See (in this volume)
MONETARY QUESTIONS AND MEASURES:
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:
A. D. 1895-1896 (DECEMBER-FEBRUARY).
MONETARY QUESTIONS AND MEASURES: A. D. 1896-1900.
The Silver Question in the United States
Presidential elections.
See (in this volume)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1896 (JUNE-NOVEMBER); and
1900 (MAY-NOVEMBER).
MONETARY QUESTIONS AND MEASURES: A. D. 1896-1898.
Movements for monetary reforms in the United States.
See (in this volume)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1896-1898.
MONETARY QUESTIONS AND MEASURES: A. D. 1897.
Renewal of the privileges of the Bank of France.
The privileges of the Bank of France, as the fiscal agent of
the French Government, expired with the close of the year
1897, and renewal of them was opposed by the Radicals and
Socialists, who demanded the creation of a State Bank. The
government succeeded, however (June, 1897), in carrying the
measure necessary for continuing the existing system, on terms
somewhat more favorable to the state than before.
MONETARY QUESTIONS AND MEASURES: A. D. 1897 (March).
Adoption of the gold standard in Japan.
By a law of the Japanese Parliament, passed in March, 1897, to
come into force October 1, a gold monetary standard was
adopted, at the ratio of 32½ to 1, the silver dollar to be
legal tender until six months after notice given of its
withdrawal.
MONETARY QUESTIONS AND MEASURES: A. D. 1897 (April-October).
Negotiation by American Commissioners in Europe for an
international bi-metallic agreement.
In fulfilment of the pledge given by the Republican party, at
its national convention, in 1896, that it would use efforts to
bring about an international agreement for free coinage of
gold and silver at some common ratio, the following Act was
passed by the two Houses of Congress in January and February,
1897: "That whenever after March 4, 1897, the president of the
United States shall determine that the United States should be
represented at any international conference called by the
United States or any other country with a view to securing by
international agreement a fixity of relative value between
gold and silver as money by means of a common ratio between
these metals, with free mintage at such ratio, he is hereby
authorized to appoint five or more commissioners to such
international conference; and for compensation of said
commissioners, and for all reasonable expenses connected
therewith, to be approved by the secretary of state, including
the proportion to be paid by the United States of the joint
expenses of any such conference, the sum of $100,000, or so
much thereof as may be necessary, is hereby appropriated. That
the president of the United States is hereby authorized, in
the name of the government of the United States, to call, in
his discretion, such international conference, to assemble at
such point as may be agreed upon. And he is further
authorized, if in his judgment the purpose specified in the
first section hereof can thus be better attained, to appoint
one or more special commissioners or envoys to such of the
nations of Europe as he may designate, to seek by diplomatic
negotiations an international agreement for the purpose
specified in the first section hereof. And in case of such
appointment so much of the appropriation herein made as shall
be necessary shall be available for the proper expenses and
compensation of such commissioners or envoys." Pursuant to
this Act, President McKinley, on the 12th of April, appointed
Senator Edward O. Wolcott; of Colorado, ex-Vice-President
Adlai E. Stevenson, of Illinois, and General Charles J. Paine,
of Massachusetts, to be commissioners for the purpose which
the bill describes. The commissioners first visited Paris, and
there obtained assurances from the French government of
cordial cooperation and support. They then proceeded to
London, for negotiation with the British authorities, on whose
attitude towards the movement for international action in the
matter its success was well known to depend. Some members of
the British government, conspicuously Mr. Balfour, were
outspoken advocates of bi-metallism, and much was hoped from
the discussion to be opened with them. The American
commissioners were cordially received, and they were invited
to a formal meeting, on the 12th of July, with Lord Salisbury,
the Prime Minister, Mr. Balfour, First Lord of the Treasury, Sir
Michael Hicks-Beach, Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Lord
George Hamilton, Secretary of State for India. The American
Ambassador, Mr. Hay, accompanied them to the conference, which
was held at the Foreign Office. A memorandum of the
conversation at this meeting, and at a second one held on the
15th, together with a correspondence which followed, were
published later in a parliamentary "blue book," from which the
following account is drawn. Mr. Wolcott explained the wish of
the American envoys to obtain the views of several
governments, preliminary to the inviting of an international
bi-metallic conference. He added that they expected to have,
in England, the full cooperation of the Ambassador of the
French Republic, who happened, for the moment, to be absent
from the country, but who had requested them to proceed with
the meeting in his absence. "Mr. Wolcott then presented some
reasons which, in the opinion of the Special Envoys, rendered
it desirable that some international agreement for the
restoration of bimetallism should be reached, and explained
why, in their opinion, the success of this effort depended
upon the attitude which England would take regarding the
question. He then stated that the Special Envoys requested
that England should agree to open English mints as its
contribution to an attempt to restore bimetallism by
international agreement, and dwelt upon the importance of the
fact that France and the United States were together engaged
in an attempt to bring about such an agreement, and were
cooperating together to that end. Lord Salisbury desired to
know if the French Government would co-operate upon the basis
of opening their mints to the free and unlimited coinage of
silver.
{315}
Mr. Wolcott answered in the affirmative. Lord Salisbury then
asked at what ratio, and was informed by Mr. Wolcott that the
French Government preferred the ratio of 15½ to 1, and that
the United States were inclined to yield this point and accept
this as a proper ratio. Considerable discussion on the
question of the ratio and the method by which it should be
settled then took place. … It was then suggested that further
proceedings should be deferred until the French Ambassador
might be also present. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, in
further conversation, said that if the suggestion of opening
the English mints was to be made, he thought an answer in the
negative would undoubtedly be given. The First Lord of the
Treasury asked whether, assuming this request for opening
English mints to be refused, it was desired that the subject
be discussed upon the basis of something different and less
than the opening of English mints. Upon a mutual understanding
that in the absence of the French Ambassador, anything said
should be considered as said informally, a discussion then
took place as to the concessions that England might make
towards an international solution of the question, if it
should refuse to open English mints. Mr. Wolcott, for the
Special Envoys, presented the following as a list of
contributions which, among others, England might make towards
bimetallism if an international agreement could be effected:
1. Opening of the Indian mints. Repeal of the order making the
sovereign legal tender in India.
2. Placing one-fifth of the bullion in the Issue Department of
the Bank of England in silver.
3.
(a.) Raising the legal tender limit of silver to, say, £10.
(b.) Issuing the 20s. notes based on silver, which shall be
legal tender.
(c.) Retirement, gradual or otherwise, of the 10s. gold
pieces, and substitution of paper based on silver.
4. Agreement to coin annually £ … of silver [present silver
coinage average for five years about £1,000,000, less annual
withdrawal of worn and defaced coin for recoinage, £350,000].
5. Opening of English mints to coinage of rupees, and for
coinage of British dollar, which shall be full tender in
Straits Settlements and other silver standard Colonies, and
tender in the United Kingdom to the limit of silver legal
tender.
6. Colonial action, and coinage of silver in Egypt.
7. Something having the general scope of the Huskisson plan.
Some general conversation followed in regard to the preceding
suggestions, and the interview terminated, to be resumed on
the 15th July, 1897, when it was understood that the French
Ambassador would also be present."
At the second meeting, July 15, Baron de Courcol, Ambassador
of the French Republic, and M. L. Geoffray, French Minister
Plenipotentiary, were present, and the former spoke at length,
stating the position of the French government on the question
of the free coinage of silver. He said: "'Our population,
notably the agricultural population, finds that it has not at
its disposition sufficient resources in currency, in metallic
money. On the other hand, if the Government in the actual
state of affairs reopens the mints to the free coinage of
silver, we would be flooded by the abundance of this metal
coming from all other countries of the world, and we could not
resist the even greater evil of the inevitable depreciation of
one of our precious metals, that is to say, of the effective
destruction of the legal ratio upon which our monetary system
is based. … In other words, we think that the production of
silver, more active in certain quarters of the globe in the
last quarter of a century, is not of itself considerable
enough to change in an enduring manner the normal ratio
between gold and silver after these two metals will have been
scattered over the entire surface of the world among all
nations who are called upon to absorb them. There is, then, in
our eyes, a need which is perhaps transitory, but which is
actually common to all the commercial nations, of taking
measures adequate for assuring, by a common understanding, the
re-establishment of the normal ratio of 15½ between silver and
gold. If measures of this kind should be adopted by all the
commercial nations, we would be able to reopen our mints to
the free coinage of silver without fear of being submerged by
an excessive influx of this metal. The reopening of the mints
of all the commercial countries to the free coinage of silver
in the ratio of 15½ with gold would be the most natural and
the most efficacious means of arriving at the result sought
for. This is the desideratum which I am instructed to bring
forward here, and which I am particularly to urge upon the
English Government as a primordial condition of the success of
the common understanding. If the Government of the Queen, even
in consenting to reopen the mints in India, should refuse to
adopt the same measure for England, at least would they not be
able to take certain measures which would be, up to a certain
point, equivalent, in order to maintain the full value of
silver, and to prevent India from being the victim of a
depreciation of this metal in consequence of an unlimited
coinage? … By way of suggestion, I would indicate, as one of
the measures which the English Government might usefully
adopt, the annual purchase of a certain quantity of silver
metal, which might afterwards be disposed of as seemed
best-either it might be preserved in ingots, or it might be
used for regular consumption, or it might be sent to India.
This quantity might be fixed approximately, at least, for a
number of years, at a sum of £10,000,000 in nominal value.
This is, perhaps, only a palliative; it is, in any event, only
one of the expedients which would be deemed necessary. But I
am to urge strongly that the English Government determine to
take measures of this kind, or other equivalent measures, if,
as I believe, it recognizes with us the necessity of improving
the monetary situation in a great part of its Empire—I may
say, in a great part of the entire world.' Lord Salisbury then
asked whether the French Government would decline to open its
mints unless England would also open her mints. The French
Ambassador replied that he preferred to discuss the subject
upon the basis that France would go to open mints if England
would consent to open her mints, but that he would not exclude
from his view the question of contributions by England towards
maintaining the value of silver, short of open mints. The
Chancellor of the Exchequer, in response to this, stated
definitely that the English Government would not agree to open
English mints to the unlimited coinage of silver, and that,
whatever views he and his colleagues might separately hold on
the question of bimetallism, he thought he could say they were
united upon this point. …
{316}
The suggestions made by the Special Envoys at the interview on
the 12th July were again read, and the Special Envoys accepted
also as important and desirable the proposal that the English
Government should purchase annually, say, £10,000,000 of
silver, with proper safeguards and provisions as to the place
and manner of its use. The French Ambassador expressed his
approval generally of the suggestions of the Special Envoys,
as being serviceable in the consideration of the question. It
was then understood that the proposals submitted by the French
Ambassador and by the Special Envoys of the United States
should be considered, and due notice given when a reply could
be made."
The proposal for the reopening of the Indian mints to silver
was submitted at once by the home authorities of the India
Office, at London, to the government of India, and the reply
of the latter was not received until the following October.
When the reply came, it extinguished hopes of the arrangement
which the American and French governments desired. In a long
despatch, the Indian government explained with clearness the
monetary situation in that country, and discussed the effect
which a return to the unrestricted mintage of silver would
have upon it, under the circumstances and prospects of the
time. "The currency system of India," said the despatch, "is
in a transition state; the Government of India in 1893 decided
to establish a gold standard, and the first step towards that
object was the closing of the mints to silver by Act VIII of
1893. The silver rupee is still the sole legal tender coin,
though the Government has by Executive orders undertaken to
receive gold and sovereigns under certain restrictions, … the
rate of exchange adopted being 16d. the rupee or 15 rupees=£1.
The measures to be taken when the transition period has passed
have not been laid down, but it is probable that the Indian mints
will be opened to gold, and gold coins will be made legal
tender to an unlimited amount; silver rupees would also
continue to be legal tender to an unlimited amount, and the
ratio between the rupee and the gold coins as legal tender
would at the same time be finally settled. The system towards
which India is moving is thus a gold standard of the same kind
as that which now exists in France and the United States, but
with a different ratio for legal tender; but for the present
the mints are closed both to gold and silver. The transition
period has lasted for more than four years, but there is
ground for hope that it is now drawing to a close. The changes
which are involved in the arrangements proposed to Her
Majesty's Government are the following. France and the United
States are to open their mints to the free coinage of silver,
continuing the free coinage of gold and the unlimited legal
tender of coins of both metals, the ratio remaining unchanged
in France and being altered to the French ratio of 15½ to 1 in
the United States. India is to open her mints to silver, to
keep them closed to gold, and to undertake not to make gold
legal tender. France and the United States would thus be
bimetallic: India would be monometallic (silver); while most
of the other important countries of the world would be
monometallic (gold). The object which the proposers have in
view is the establishment of a stable relation between the
values of gold and of silver. This would include the
establishment of a stable exchange between the rupee and
sterling currency, which was the object of the Government of
India in the proposals made in our financial despatch of the
21st June, 1892, which proposals ultimately resulted in the
adoption, in view to the attainment of that object, of the
policy of a gold standard, and in the closing of the mints to
the free coinage of silver. If, then, it were certain that the
suggested measures would result in the establishment of a
stable ratio, the Government of India might well consider
whether their adoption would not be preferable to the policy
to which they committed themselves in 1893 in the hope of
attaining the same result by isolated action on the part of
India alone. The principal questions therefore for us to
consider are whether the measures are more likely to succeed
than the policy of 1893, and what consequences to India may be
apprehended if the measures should fail of success after being
brought into operation. … The first result of the suggested
measures, if they even temporarily succeed in their object,
would be an intense disturbance of Indian trade and industry
by the sudden rise in the rate of exchange, which, if the
ratio adopted were 15½ to 1, would be a rise from about 16d.
to about 23d. the rupee. Such a rise is enough to kill our
export trade, for the time at least. If the public were not
convinced that the arrangement would have the effect intended,
or believed that it would not be permanent, the paralysis of
trade and industry would be prolonged and accompanied by acute
individual suffering, none of the advantages expected would be
attained, and the country would pass through a critical period
which would retard its progress for years. How long the crisis
would last before normal or stable conditions were restored it
is not possible to conjecture. It would be long even if the
mercantile and banking community saw that silver was being
steadily maintained at the prescribed ratio, while any
indication of unsteadiness would greatly prolong the period by
giving foundation for doubt. If the doubt should happen to be
justified by the results, the position would be disastrous
alike to the State, to individuals, and to trade generally. …
We cannot help seeing that if the policy of 1893 is now
abandoned, and if the triple union now proposed as a
substitute should fail in its operation or should terminate,
and in its failure subject Indian trade to the violent shocks
we have described, the Government of India could not, as a
responsible Government, call upon the commercial public to
face another prolonged period of doubt, suspense, agitation,
and difficulties. For it must be clearly and fully recognized
that if India joins in the proposed measures, we shall be left
dependent, as the sole means of attaining stability in
exchange, on the success of those measures, and that if they
should fail, India must be content to remain permanently under
the silver standard with all its admitted disadvantages. … We
have given very careful consideration to the question whether
France and the United States are likely, with the help of
India, to be able to maintain the relative value of gold and
silver permanently at the ratio they intend to adopt, and have
come to the conclusion that while we admit a possibility of
the arrangements proposed resulting in the permanent
maintenance of the value of gold and silver at the ratio of
15½ to 1, the probability is that they will fail to secure
that result, and that it is quite impossible to hold that
there is anything approaching a practical certainty of their
doing so.
{317}
One reason for this conclusion is, that the arrangement would
rest on too narrow a basis. A union consisting of two
countries, with a third lending assistance, is a very
different thing from the general international union of all or
most of the important countries of the world, which was
advocated by the Government of India in the despatches of
March and June 1892 and of February and September 1886. To
afford a hope that a monetary union will succeed in
establishing stability in the relative value of gold and
silver, it is essential that the nations adhering to it should
be of such number and importance that the metallic currency of
the whole body shall be of sufficient extent to allow of the
exercise of adequate influence on the value of the two metals.
We doubt whether any two, or even three, nations in the world,
unless, indeed, one of them was Great Britain, could comply
with this condition, and we have no hesitation in saying that
France and the United States and India certainly could not. …
We have no hesitation in recommending your Lordship to refuse
to give the undertaking desired by the Governments of France
and the United States. We are quite clearly of opinion that
the interests of India demand that her mints shall not be
opened as part of an arrangement to which two or three
countries only are parties, and which does not include Great
Britain." Immediately on receiving this reply, Lord Salisbury
informed Ambassador Hay that "Her Majesty's Government feel it
their duty to state that the first proposal of the United States
Representatives is one which they are unable to accept," and
expressing a wish to know "how far the views of the American
and French Governments are modified by the decision now
arrived at, and whether they desire to proceed further with
the negotiations at the present moment."
Great Britain, Parliamentary Publications
(Papers by Command: Commercial, Number 8, 1897).
In the view of the American envoys, it seemed useless to
proceed, with no hope of cooperation from Great Britain, and
they returned to America with a discouraging report.
MONETARY QUESTIONS AND MEASURES: A. D. 1897 (December).
Adoption of the gold standard in Russia.
An imperial ukase declared the adoption of the gold standard
in Russia, authorizing the issue of a new five-rouble gold
piece.
MONETARY QUESTIONS AND MEASURES: A. D. 1900.
Settlement of the monetary system in the United States.
See (in this volume)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1900 (MARCH-DECEMBER).
MONETARY QUESTIONS AND MEASURES: A. D. 1900 (November).
Withdrawal of legal tender silver coins in Germany.
See (in this volume)
GERMANY: A. D. 1900 (NOVEMBER).
----------MONETARY QUESTIONS AND MEASURES: End--------
MONGOLIA.
See (in this volume)
MANCHURIA AND MONGOLIA.
MONOPOLIES.
See (in this volume)
TRUSTS: UNITED STATES.
MONROE DOCTRINE, The:
As emphasized in the Treaty of International Arbitration.
See (in this volume)
PEACE CONFERENCE.
MONROE DOCTRINE, The:
Its discussion as involved in the Venezuela Boundary Question.
See (in this volume)
VENEZUELA; A. D. 1895 (JULY) and (NOVEMBER).
MONTAUK POINT, Removal of troops from Santiago de Cuba to.
See (in this volume)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:
A. D. 1898 (JULY-AUGUST: CUBA).
MONTENEGRO.
See (in this volume)
BALKAN AND DANUBIAN STATES.
MOROS, The.
See (in this volume)
PHILIPPINE ISLANDS; THE NATIVE INHABITANTS;
and A. D. 1899 (MAY-AuGUST).
MORTMAIN, Proposed restrictions on, in France.
See (in this volume)
FRANCE: A. D. 1901 (JANUARY).
MOSLEMS AND CHRISTIANS:
Conflicts in Armenia.
See (in this volume)
TURKEY: A. D. 1895.
MOSLEMS AND CHRISTIANS:
Conflicts in Crete.
See (in this volume)
TURKEY: A. D. 1897 (FEBRUARY-MARCH).
MOSQUITO, The, as a carrier of disease.
See (in this volume)
SCIENCE, RECENT: MEDICAL, AND SURGICAL.
MUKDEN.
See (in this volume)
MANCHURIA AND MONGOLIA; also,
RUSSIA IN ASIA: A. D. 1891-1900.
MUNICIPAL EVENTS, Notable.
See (in this volume)
BOSTON, CHICAGO, NEW YORK, TOLEDO, LONDON.
MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENTS:
Institution in Cuba.
See (in this volume)
CUBA: A. D. 1900 (JUNE-NOVEMBER).
MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENTS:
Institution in the Philippines.
See (in this volume)
PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: A. D. 1900 (MARCH).
MUSIC: In the Nineteenth Century.
See (in this volume)
NINETEENTH CENTURY: THE MUSICAL CENTURY.
N.
NABONIDOS, Discovery of an inscription of.
See (in this volume)
ARCHÆOLOGICAL RESEARCH: BABYLONIA:
DISCOVERY OF AN INSCRIPTION.
NANSEN'S EXPEDITION, Return of.
See (in this volume)
POLAR EXPLORATION, 1896.
NASHVILLE EXPOSITION.
See (in this volume)
TENNESSEE: A. D. 1897.
NATAL.
See (in this volume)
SOUTH AFRICA.
NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF 1896.
See (in this volume)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1896 (JUNE-NOVEMBER.)
NATIONAL PARTY, The.
See (in this volume)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:
A. D. 1896 (JUNE-NOVEMBER); and
1900 (MAY-NOVEMBER).
NATIONAL SILVER PARTY.
See (in this volume)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1896 (JUNE-NOVEMBER).
{318}
NATIONAL STEEL COMPANY, The.
See (in this volume)
TRUSTS: UNITED STATES.
NATIONALISTS, FRENCH, Revolutionary conspiracy of.
See (in this volume)
FRANCE: A. D. 1899-1900 (AUGUST-JANUARY).
NAVAL POLICY, German.
See (in this volume)
GERMANY: A. D. 1900 (FEBRUARY-JUNE).
NAVIES OF THE SEA POWERS: A. D. 1900.
The following tables are compiled from a return issued by the
British Admiralty in the spring of 1900, showing the state of
the fleets of Great Britain, France, Russia, Germany, Italy,
the United States, and Japan, including vessels then built and
in progress of construction.
Of battle-ships, there were built and building in the several
navies:
Count with a displacement of
Great Britain. 70 821,605
France. 35 339,599
Russia. 24 262,912
Germany. 25 191,259
Italy. 19 193,001
United States. 16 184,144
Japan. 7 92,420
Of armored and protected cruisers, there were built and
building:
Count with a displacement of
Great Britain. 147 827,430
France. 60 297,486
Russia. 23 144,673
Germany. 22 107,844
Italy. 25 93,673
United States. 26 140,274
Japan. 23 114,479
Of unprotected cruisers, armored coast-defence vessels,
and special vessels there were built and building:
Count with a displacement of
Great Britain. 31 104,250
France. 29 93,385
Russia. 26 66,886
Germany. 35 59,617
Italy. 3 13,821
United States. 30 77,150
Japan. 13 24,065
Of torpedo vessels and torpedo-boat destroyers
the number built and building was:
Count with a displacement of
Great Britain. 238 70,311
France. 305 34,002
Russia. 233 37,735
Germany. 130 20,094
Italy. 180 24,863
United States. 50 12,121
Japan. 71 9,537
A consolidation of the above figures shows a
total of ships in the principal navies as follows:
Great Britain, 486;
France, 429;
Russia, 306;
Germany, 212;
Italy, 227;
United States, 122;
Japan, 114.
A writer in the "Fortnightly Review," discussing the above
returns, points out the imperfectness of the representation
which such gross figures give of the actual naval strength of
the several Powers, and he has undertaken to correct them by a
calculation of what he calls the "fighting weight" of the
ships, based on the age of each and its displacement in tons.
He says: "The scale of depreciation for age that I have used
is as follows: Ships, built and now building, that were
launched, or which will be launched, during 1895-1899 (and
later), are reckoned at their full value of fighting weight;
i. e., at 100 per cent. Ships launched during 1890 1894 are
reckoned as now worth only 80 per cent. of their fighting
weight. The other depreciations being: Ships launched
1885-1889 are valued at 60 per cent. of their nominal fighting
weight; 1880-1884, at 40 per cent.; before 1880, at 20 per
cent."
By this mode of reckoning, the table of battleships is
converted to the following exhibit of estimated "naval
strength":
Count adjusted fighting weight
Great Britain. 70 604,141
France. 35 220,635
Russia. 24 221,988
Germany. 25 152,929
Italy. 19 112,899
United States. 16 176,708
Japan. 7 88,088
This method of depreciating the tonnage on the basis of the
age of a ship causes the respective proportions of Great
Britain, France and Italy, in battle-ships, to become smaller,
while the respective proportions of Russia, Germany, United
States and Japan become larger. The United States lose but 4
per cent. of the nominal value of their battle-ships; Japan, 5
per cent.; Russia, 16; Germany, 20; Great Britain, 26; France,
35; Italy, 42.
Applying the same arithmetic to the returns of armored and
protected cruisers, the writer shows that Japan suffers a loss
of 10 per cent. of their nominal fighting weight, France 14,
United States 14, Italy 18, Great Britain 21, Russia 23,
Germany 24.
Reducing in like manner all the remaining returns, he arrives
at the following summary of "the seven navies arranged in the
order of their strength"—taking the navy of Japan as the unit:
Degree of strength.
Great Britain, 6.38
France, 2.57
Russia, 1.88
United States, 1.65
Germany, 1.34
Italy, 1.03
Japan, 1.00.
Stated in "tons of fighting weight," his comparison stands:
Great Britain, 1,347,000
France, 543,000
Russia, 397,000
United States, 349,000
Germany, 282,000
Italy, 218,000
Japan, 211,000.
Turning next to the consideration of armaments, the writer has
compiled the following table, which shows "for each class of
gun separately, and for all classes of guns combined, the
number of these guns that are possessed by the seven naval
powers":
POWER Breech Quick Muzzle Torpedo All Classes
Loading Firing Loading Tubes of Guns
Guns Guns Guns
Great Britain. 912 7,454 340 1,534 10,240
France. 471 3,653 - 928 5,052
Russia. 393 2,589 - 625 3,607
Germany. 258 1,995 - 611 2,864
Italy. 140 1,791 4 573 2,508
United States. 303 1,791 - 230 2,324
Japan. 110 1,168 - 314 1,592
----------
All the Powers
combined. 2,587 20,441 344 4,815 28,187
In this comparison the United States drops from the fourth
rank to the sixth. For a comparison of the naval expenditure
of the Powers,
See (in this volume)
WAR BUDGETS.
NEBUCHADREZZAR, Exploration of the ruins of the palace of.
See (in this volume)
ARCHÆOLOGICAL RESEARCH: BABYLONIA; GERMAN EXPLORATION.
NEELY EXTRADITION CASE, The.
See (in this volume)
CUBA: A. D. 1900-1901.
{319}
NEGRITOS.
See (in this volume)
PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: THE NATIVE INHABITANTS.
NEGRO, Disfranchisement of the.
See (in this volume)
MARYLAND, MISSISSIPPI, NORTH CAROLINA: A. D. 1900;
SOUTH CAROLINA: A. D. 1896;
LOUISIANA: A. D. 1898; and
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1901 (JANUARY).
NEGROS, The island of:
American occupation.
See (in this volume)
PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: A. D. 1899 (JANUARY-NOVEMBER).
Acceptance of American sovereignty.
Establishment of provisional government.
See (in this volume)
PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: A. D. 1899 (MARCH-JULY).
NEMI, Lake: Sunken Roman vessels found in.
See (in this volume)
ARCHÆOLOGICAL RESEARCH: ITALY.
NETHERLANDS, The Kingdom of the (Holland): A. D. 1894.
War in Lombok.
See (in this volume)
DUTCH EAST INDIES: A. D. 1894.
-------NETHERLANDS, The Kingdom of the (Holland): Start------
NETHERLANDS, The Kingdom of the (Holland): A. D. 1896.
Electoral Reform Act.
A notable extension of the franchise was accomplished by an
Act passed this year by the States General, to have effect in
the elections of 1897. It made voters of all Dutch citizens
not under 25 years of age who present "certain outward and
positive signs of capacity and well-being. The chief sign is
the fact of payment of one or more direct State taxes (for the
land tax an amount of 1 florin is sufficient). Besides these,
the Reform Act admits as electors all those who can prove that
they are householders, and have paid rent of houses or
lodgings during a fixed term, or that they are owners or
tenants of boats of not less than 24 tons capacity, or that
they have been during a fixed term in employment with an
annual wage or salary of at least £22 18s. 4d., or possess a
certificate of State interest of at least 100 florins, or a
State savings bank deposit of at least 50 florins, or the
legal qualifications for any profession or employment."
_Statesman's Year-Book,
1899, page 807._
NETHERLANDS, The Kingdom of the (Holland): A. D. 1897.
First election under the new Franchise Law.
The first election in Holland under the new franchise law,
held June 15-25, 1897, returned to the Chamber 47 Liberals, 22
Catholics, 22 Protestant anti-Revolutionists, 4 Radicals, and one
deputy who is styled an Historic Christian.
NETHERLANDS, The Kingdom of the (Holland):A. D. 1898.
Enthronement of Queen Wilhelmina.
Queen Wilhelmina, who succeeded to the crown on the death of
her father, William III., in 1890, reached the age of 18 on
the 31st of August, 1898, and received the reins of government
from her mother, Queen Emma, who had acted as Regent until
that time. The young Queen was enthroned September 6 in the
New Church at Amsterdam, where she delivered, with a
simplicity and fervor which impressed those present, her
address to the States-General and took her oath of allegiance
to the Constitution. "I am happy and thankful," the Queen
said, "to rule over the people of the Netherlands, who,
although small in numbers, are great in virtue and strong by
nature and character. I esteem it a great privilege that it is
my life's task and duty to dedicate all my powers to the
prosperity and interests of my dear fatherland; and I adopt
the words of my beloved father,—'Yes, Orange can never do
enough for the Netherlands.'" After the Queen and the
Queen-Mother, the most striking figures at the ceremony were
the Princes from the Dutch Indies.
NETHERLANDS, The Kingdom of the (Holland): A. D. 1898 (June).
The Sugar Conference at Brussels.
See (in this volume)
SUGAR BOUNTIES.
NETHERLANDS, The Kingdom of the (Holland): A. D. 1899 (April).
Invitation to the Peace Conference to be held at The Hague.
See (in this volume)
PEACE CONFERENCE.
NETHERLANDS, The Kingdom of the (Holland): A. D. 1899 (May-July).
Representation in the Peace Conference at The Hague.
See,(in this volume)
PEACE CONFERENCE.
NETHERLANDS, The Kingdom of the (Holland): A. D. 1899 (May-August).
Advice to President Kruger of the South African Republic.
See (in this volume)
SOUTH AFRICA (THE TRANSVAAL): A. D. 1899 (MAY-AuGUST).
NETHERLANDS, The Kingdom of the (Holland):A. D. 1901.
Marriage of Queen Wilhelmina.
Queen Wilhelmina was married, on the 7th of February, to Duke
Henry of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, who received the title of
Prince of the Netherlands by proclamation on the same day.
Both civil and religious ceremonies of marriage were
performed.
--------NETHERLANDS, The Kingdom of the (Holland): End------
NEW BRUNSWICK.
See (in this volume)
CANADA.
NEWEL, Stanford:
American Commissioner to the Peace Conference at The Hague.
See (in this volume)
PEACE CONFERENCE.
NEWFOUNDLAND: A. D. 1895.
Union with Canada refused.
Terms proposed for the union of Newfoundland with the Dominion
of Canada were rejected, and negotiations abandoned.
NEWFOUNDLAND: A. D. 1897.
Conference of colonial premiers with the
British Colonial Secretary.
See (in this volume)
ENGLAND: A. D. 1897 (JUNE-JULY).
NEWFOUNDLAND: A. D. 1897-1900.
The Reid contract.
The question in politics.
In the fall of 1897 a line of narrow-gauge railway, with
branches over six hundred miles in total length, was completed
and opened to traffic. The main line of rail extends from the
capital, St. Johns, to Port aux Basques, at the southwestern
extremity of the island, and is expected to produce an
important development of resources from the forests and mines,
as well as from agricultural lands. The railway was
constructed by a contractor, Mr. Reid, who agreed to operate
it for seven years at his own expense, receiving therefor a
land grant of 5000 acres per mile. In 1898 a new contract was
made with Mr. Reid, which placed most of the resources of the
island under his control. For an additional land-grant of 2500
acres per mile of road he undertook to operate the road for
fifty years. By a present cash payment of $1,000,000 to the
colony treasury, he purchased the reversion of its right to
the possession of the road at the end of that period. At the
same time he secured the right to purchase from the government
its telegraph lines and the dry-dock at St. Johns, for half a
million of dollars, and was given a monopoly for 30 years of
the coast mail steam service, with an annual subsidy of
$150,000, he undertaking to maintain in it eight steamers,
well equipped. This remarkable contract was bitterly denounced
by a large party in the island, and the Imperial government was
strongly petitioned to nullify the whole transaction: but the
British Colonial Secretary, Mr. Chamberlain, while he
characterized the contract as representing "the most
unparalleled abrogation of its functions by a responsible
government," decided that he could not properly interfere.
{320}
The "Reid Deal," as it was known, then became a burning issue
in Newfoundland politics, and the Ministry responsible for it,
led by Sir James Winter, was ousted from the government in
February, 1900. Mr. Reid was then arranging to transfer his
Newfoundland contract and franchises to a company, which
required the sanction of the colonial government. The new
(Liberal) Ministry, of which Mr. Robert Bond was Premier,
refused consent to the transfer unless Mr. Reid would amend
his bargain with the colony in several very important
particulars. He offered some concessions, but not to the
extent demanded; and so the question between him and the Bond
Ministry went into the canvass of 1900, for the election of a
new Assembly, and the Conservatives, heavily backed by Mr.
Reid, were defeated overwhelmingly, winning but 4 seats out of
36 in the Lower House of the Legislature. On this result of
the elections the "London Times" of November 26, 1900,
comments as follows: "The course which the victorious Bond
Ministry will now take must be awaited with interest. … A
policy of compromise would certainly appear to be the wisest
and the safest for all parties. Mr. Reid, it seems to be
acknowledged, has carried out his part of the bargain of 1898
fully and even generously, and the colony, it is stated, has
profited largely in consequence. In the absence of actual
fraud or corruption it would be difficult in these
circumstances to justify the rescission or even the material
modification of the agreement, on the faith of which he has
spent his money, without his assent. A repeal of the Act of
1898 against his will would savour of repudiation. It would
assuredly damage the credit of the colony very seriously."
NEWFOUNDLAND: A. D. 1899-1901.
The French Shore Question.
The Modus Vivendi.
"At the period of the negotiation of the Treaty of Utrecht, in
1713, by which the rights of the French fishermen were regulated
[see, in volume 4, NEWFOUNDLAND: A. D. 1713], thousands of
French fishing vessels availed themselves of the inshore
fisheries about the island; and that they might be not
altogether without facilities for the drying and curing of
their fish, they were granted under the Treaty the 'right to
use a strip of the coast seven hundred miles long and half a
mile wide.' Accompanying the Treaty, but, be it noted, not a
part of it, was a declaration of King George, that British
subjects on the island were not to interfere with these French
coast rights by erecting permanent structures upon it,
calculated to obstruct the operations of the French fishermen.
This Royal declaration was harmless and unimportant when the
population of the island was very small, and the French
fishermen resorted to the inshore fisheries of Newfoundland.
But to-day, a different condition exists. The French fishermen
no longer use the inshore fisheries of the island, but
prosecute, instead, their fishing operations on the Grand
Banks, several hundred miles distant, drying their product
either at the French islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon, which
are more adjacent to the Banks, or transporting the fish
direct to France. … The need for which the French shore right
was granted has practically ceased to exist; and inasmuch as
the prohibition to the people of the island from erecting
permanent structures on the island was merely a mandate
emanating from the King, and not an integral part of the
Treaty itself; and because the reason for the observance of
the mandate has thus ceased to exist, it is imperative that,
in the interests of the prosperity of the island, this Royal
concession should be revoked. … But what, it may be asked, on
a perusal of the whole case, has caused the Newfoundland
question to suddenly become paramount? Why is its urgency
greater in 1899 than it was in 1889? Is there not some
concentrated force, some propelling power, at work behind the
scenes? There is—and that power is a millionaire. The name of
this millionaire is Robert Gillespie Reid, who, having
voluntarily assumed, by means of the measure known as the Reid
contract, the responsibility of developing the island's
resources, finds himself, at the outset, confronted by a
situation which precludes all present enterprise. This
gentleman has acquired, in fee simple, some three or four
million acres of land in Newfoundland; and where the islanders
were content to wait patiently for justice, he, as a
business-man, eager to exploit his mines and timber, can
hardly be expected to pin his faith to assurances so frail,
and of fulfilment so remote."
_B. Wilson,
Newfoundland's Opportunity
(Fortnightly Review, February, 1899)._
A royal commission which lately investigated the situation of
affairs on the Treaty Coast of Newfoundland found that the
coast "is 800 miles in extent, with a permanent population of
13,300, all but 76 of whom are native-born, while the total of
French frequenting the territory during the fishing season
does not exceed 600 men. The French, last year, according to
the official reports furnished to the Admiralty, occupied only
eight cod and nine lobster stations, with a personnel as
above, while their catch of cod was but 18,000 qtls., worth
about 36,000 dollars, and their pack of lobsters about 7,000
cases, of about equal value. And is it not monstrous that, in
order to satisfy vexatious French claims and perpetuate
obsolete treaty claims, the people of the Treaty Coast should
he coerced and victimised, and the development of the whole
colony retarded, as has been the case? The Commissioners
found that, despite the liberal bounties given by France for
fishing on the Treaty Coast, the allowance of 50 francs per
head by the St. Pierre municipality for the same purpose, and
the special appropriation the past two seasons in the French
colonial grant 'for extending operations on the Newfoundland
coast, 4,000 francs,' the number of men frequenting there and
the number of stations operated are steadily declining every
year, and in ten years' time it is doubtful if there would be
a Frenchman on the coast. Still, so powerful is the French
fetish that the shore is tabooed as far as industrial
development is concerned, and the hinterland likewise. No
grant of land can be given there except with the stipulation
that it is subject to French rights. No permanent building can
be erected within half a mile of high-water mark, because the
French claim the strand for drying their fish. No wharves can
be built by which to load minerals, because they will
interfere with the French fishery. (Only last year they
stopped the erection of one which was twenty-two miles from
their nearest station, and Mr. Reid, the railway contractor,
when he wanted to build a wharf at Bay St. George to land
construction materials, had to seize the opportunity of the
French warship in the Bay leaving to coal and renew stores,
and put an army of men to work, who built it in seventeen
days, so that it was completed when the Frenchmen returned.)
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No mineral developments are permitted because they may hamper
the French. Competition on near-by fishing grounds is
prohibited for the same reason. Illicit (?) lobster packers
are hunted like malefactors for disregarding a 'modus vivendi'
as unjust as it is ridiculous. Bait-selling is only possible
by permission of the French and on their terms. The railway
was deflected 120 miles out of its proper course because of
French objection to a terminus on the shore. In fact, fishing
is only pursued with the greatest difficulty, while the land
is closed to agricultural settlement and mining enterprise.
And that, too, in the face of the fact that the French 'army
of occupation' consists of about one vessel, one station, and
about sixty fishermen on every 100 miles of coast, whose
annual catch is worth about 10,000 dollars."
_P. T. McGrath, France in Newfoundland
(Nineteenth Century, January, 1899)._
In 1890, a temporary agreement ("modus vivendi") concerning
the lobster packing and other questions, was arranged between
the British and French governments, which has been extended
from time to time, very much to the dissatisfaction of the
Province. The last extension expired at the end of the year
1900, and the Newfoundlanders showed a strong disposition to
resist any renewal of it. A letter from St. Johns, in
December, 1900, stated the feeling of the colony as follows:
"Last year the term of the 'modus vivendi' was allowed to run
out, and a deadlock, such as now seems inevitable, would
doubtless have been created; but when the end of December came
the reverses in South Africa appealed to our patriotism as the
oldest British colony, and the Legislature unanimously passed
at one sitting a Bill renewing the arrangement for another
year. The colony was unable to afford any more substantial aid
at the time, as her naval reserve had not then been
inaugurated, but this course on her part testified to her
sympathy with the Imperial mother, and her readiness to
relieve her from other difficulties. This year Newfoundland is
taking the bit between her teeth, and the result must be a
complication which, however unwelcome to the Imperial Cabinet,
cannot but have been regarded as inevitable sooner or later.
If our case is as strong as we are led to believe that the
Royal Commission represents it to be, there is certainly good
ground for our insisting upon remedial measures. It must not
be forgotten that the French now keep up less than 15 cod and
lobster stations altogether on the treaty coast, and that
about 550 men is the number they had there last season. As
against this the resident population is nearly 14,000, and the
objections which they urged against the 'modus vivendi' in its
early days apply with equal strength now. These people are
shamefully treated, the colony as a whole is humiliated, and
the recognition of such conditions by England without making
an attempt to get rid of them is a cause of reproach which she
should remove without delay."
Much newspaper discussion of the subject has been going on in
both England and France, with an apparent showing of readiness
on the part of the latter country to bargain with the British
for cessions in West Africa or elsewhere. How much of a price
Great Britain is willing to pay for release from the treaty of
Utrecht is a question the answer to which cannot be forever
postponed.
Despite its reluctance, the Newfoundland Legislature was
prevailed upon, in February, 1901, to pass an Act renewing the
"modus vivendi" for another year. Several members who
supported the measure declared that they did so for the last
time, and only because of an unwillingness to embarrass the
British government during the continuance of the South African
war.
NEWFOUNDLAND: A. D. 1901.
Change of Government.
Early in the year, Sir Henry McCallum was transferred from the
governorship of Newfoundland to that of Natal, and Sir
Cavendish Boyle was appointed to succeed him.
NEW JERSEY: A. D. 1897.
Constitutional Amendments.
On the 28th of September, several proposals of constitutional
amendment were voted on in New Jersey. One prohibitory of
gambling was adopted by a small majority. Another, that would
give the suffrage in school elections to women, was rejected
by about 10,000 majority.
NEW SOUTH WALES.
See (in this volume)
AUSTRALIA; and CONSTITUTION OF AUSTRALIA.
NEW YORK CITY: A. D. 1894-1895.
The Lexow Investigation of Tammany government.
Election of Mayor Strong.
"On the second Sunday in February 1892 the minister of a
wealthy Presbyterian church, Dr. Charles Parkhurst, startled
his congregation by preaching an outspoken political sermon,
in which he attacked the Tammany administration in most
unmeasured language. 'The mayor and those associated with him
are polluted harpies [he declared]. Under the pretence of
governing this city they are feeding day and night on its
quivering vitals. They are a lying, perjured, rum-soaked, and
libidinous lot. … Every effort to make men respectable,
honest, temperate, and sexually clean is a direct blow between
the eyes of the mayor and his whole gang of lecherous
subordinates, in the sense that while we fight iniquity they
shield and patronise it; while we try to convert criminals
they manufacture them, and they have a hundred dollars
invested in the manufacturing business to every one invested
in converting machinery. … Police and criminals all stand in
with each other. It is simply one solid gang of criminals, one
half in office and the other half out.' This sermon was the
starting point of the new anti-Tammany movement. Dr. Parkhurst
was called before the grand jury to prove his words, but he
was obliged to admit that all he knew was the repeated
accusations that appeared in almost every local newspaper.
Thereupon the grand jury publicly rebuked him, and sent a
formal presentment to the Recorder declaring their
'disapproval and condemnation' of the sermon. Everyone at once
concluded that no more would be heard of Parkhurst in
politics, but they did not know the man. The clergyman called
a couple of detectives to his aid, and personally visited the
lowest resorts, to obtain the necessary evidences of
corruption. A month later he preached a second political
sermon, and this time he took into the pulpit with him a
bundle of affidavits. He repeated and emphasised his former
accusations, and again he was summoned before the grand jury.
This time the result was different. 'The police are either
incompetent or corrupt,' the jury declared, and citizens
generally agreed. …
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"In 1894, the State Senate … appointed a committee, this time
under Senator Lexow, to inquire into New York municipal
affairs. Soon after the committee was appointed Mr. Croker
found it convenient to hastily resign the leadership of
Tammany and go to Europe. The worst accusations of the
bitterest enemies of Crokerism were almost all more than
substantiated by the evidence given before the committee. It
was found that the police were utterly corrupt, that they
extorted blackmail from gambling house keepers, women of ill
fame, saloon keepers, and others, and in return gave them
their protection. Even thieves, in some instances, were found
to be regularly paying their police dues in return for
immunity from arrest. One police justice had to admit that he
received a hundred dollars from a keeper of a disorderly
house. Everywhere that the Lexow Committee probed, or that
other competent critics examined, the same thing was found.
For several years New York had been living under a system of
universal blackmail. Saloon keepers had to pay Tammany to be
allowed to evade the Sunday closing law, merchants to be
granted the simplest conveniences for getting their goods into
their premises. But in the case of Mr. Croker no dishonesty
could be proved. It was known that he had in a few years risen
from a poor man to a millionaire, but in no instance could it be
shown that he had acquired this wealth by corruption. His
friends said he had made his money by horse-racing and real
estate speculation, but unfortunately Mr. Croker did not go
before the witness stand to finally clear up the matter. While
the committee was sitting he remained in Europe.
"The usual storm of indignation followed the 'Lexow' exposure,
and most reputable citizens united once more to overthrow
Tammany. Colonel Strong, a well-known banker, was chosen
reform candidate for mayor, and secured a majority of fifty
thousand. In 1895 he began his administration, and initiated a
vigorous reform movement. The police force was entirely
reorganised; municipal offices were given for merit rather
than political reward; the streets, for the first time in the
memory of the oldest inhabitant, were really kept clean, and
the whole local government was taken out of politics. Mayor
Strong's time of office has not been without its faults, but
among those faults dishonesty has not been one. Rather the
mistake has been to enforce all laws too rigidly, and make too
few allowances for the weaknesses of human nature in a
cosmopolitan resort. Police President Roosevelt's strict
enforcement of the Sunday closing and social purity laws was
only his duty, but yet it cost the reformers many votes.
Although the report of the 'Lexow' Committee did Tammany much
temporary harm, it recovered quickly. After the mayoral defeat
of 1894 it pulled its forces together again, and rallied
around it all the ambitions men who were disappointed in Mayor
Strong's bestowal of his patronage. In the autumn of 1895 it was
able to score a minor victory at the polls, and it carefully
nursed its strength for the election of November 1897. Mr.
Croker, notwithstanding his repeated declarations that he was
'out of politics,' came back to New York, and at once took
over command of his party."
_F. A. McKenzie,
Tammany
(Nineteenth Century, December, 1897)._
NEW YORK CITY: A. D. 1895.
Consolidation of the Astor, Lenox and Tilden foundations
to form the New York Public Library.
See (in this volume)
LIBRARY, NEW YORK PUBLIC.
NEW YORK CITY: A. D. 1896-1897.
Consolidation of New York, Brooklyn, and neighboring towns,
in the Greater New York.
"The project of uniting the cities of New York, Brooklyn, and
the cities, towns and villages contiguous to the same, into
one great municipality, although long mooted before 1890,
first took definite form in that year, by the passage on May
8th, by the Legislature, of Laws 1890, Chapter 11, entitled
'An Act to create a commission to inquire into the expediency
of consolidating the various municipalities in the State of
New York, occupying the several islands in the harbor of New
York.' …
Pursuant to the provisions of this act, a commission
consisting of the following members was appointed, viz.:
Andrew H. Green, Frederick W. Devoe, John L. Hamilton, J.
Seaver Page of New York; J. S. T. Stranahan, Edward F. Linton,
William D. Veeder of Brooklyn; John H. Brinkerhoff of Queen's
county; George G. Greenfield of Richmond county; Charles P.
McClelland of Westchester county; and Campbell W. Adams, State
Engineer and Surveyor, ex officio, and Albert E. Henschel
acting as secretary. In 1893, the commission presented to the
Legislature a bill providing for the submission of the
question of consolidation to a vote of the residents of the
various municipalities proposed to be united into one city.
The following year the Legislature provided for the referendum
suggested by the commission. … The following vote was cast
upon the question of consolidation in the ensuing election on
November 6, 1894:
for consolidation; against;
New York, 96,938; 59,959;
Kings, 64,744; 64,467;
Queens, 7,712; 4,741;
Richmond, 5,531; 1,505;
Mount Vernon, 873; 1,603;
Eastchester, 374; 260;
Westchester, 620; 621;
Pelham, 261; 153.
At the opening of the Legislature in 1895, the Commission of
Municipal Consolidation Inquiry presented a report with a
proposed bill declaring the entire district before mentioned
(with the exception of the city of Mount Vernon) consolidated
with the city of New York. The bill, however, failed of
passage because of the addition of an amendment of referendum
in the last hours of the session of 1895, too late for further
action. The Legislature, as a result no doubt of this vote on
consolidation, did annex to New York city the towns of
Westchester, Eastchester, Pelham and other parts of
Westchester county.
"Early in January, 1896, the Legislature appointed a joint
sub-committee of the Cities Committees of both Houses to
inquire into the subject of the proposed consolidation and
report March 1, 1806. The committee made a report and
submitted a bill favoring consolidation. The bill as reported
was passed by the Legislature and was submitted to the Mayors
of the cities of New York and Brooklyn, and to the Mayor and
Common Council of Long Island City pursuant to the provisions
of the Constitution.
{323}
The bill was returned to the Legislature without the
acceptance of the cities of New York and Brooklyn. The
Legislature repassed the bill over the vetoes of the Mayors of
New York and Brooklyn, and it became a law May 11, 1896, with
the approval of the Governor. This act (L. 1896, ch. 488) is
entitled, 'An Act consolidating the local governments of the
territory within the city and county of New York, the counties
of Kings and Richmond and Long Island City and the towns of
Newtown, Flushing and Jamaica and part of the town of
Hempstead, in the county of Queens, and providing for the
preparation of bills for enactment into laws for the
government thereof.' … Pursuant to the act of consolidation,
the Governor (Levi P. Morton) appointed on June 9, 1896, the
following members of the commission to draft the proposed
charter, viz.: Seth Low, Benjamin F. Tracy, John F. Dillon,
Ashbel P. Fitch, Stewart L. Woodford, Silas B. Dutcher,
William. C. De Witt, George M. Pinney, Jr., Harrison S. Moore.
Mr. Fitch having resigned from the commission, the Governor
appointed Thomas F. Gilroy in his place. By virtue of the act,
the following gentlemen were members of the commission: Andrew
H. Green, president of the commission appointed by L. 1890,
ch. 311; Campbell W. Adams, State Engineer; Theodore E.
Hancock, Attorney-General; William L. Strong, Mayor of New
York; Frederick W. Wurster, Mayor of Brooklyn; and Patrick
Jerome Gleason, Mayor of Long Island City. The commission
organized on June 25, 1896, appointed Benjamin F. Tracy as
president and George M. Pinney, Jr., as secretary, and named
William C. De Witt, John F. Dillon, Thomas F. Gilroy, Seth
Low, Andrew H. Green, Benjamin F. Tracy, and George M. Pinney,
Jr., as a committee on draft of proposed charter."
_M. Ash,
The Greater New York Charter,
introduction._
The committee submitted a draft charter to the commission on
the 24th of December, with a report in which a fundamental
feature of its plan is thus set forth: "It is clear that the
work of administering all of the Departments over so large a
space of territory, situated on three islands and partly on
the main land, must be subdivided in order to be successfully
done. The draft, therefore, proposes to divide the city into
the five Boroughs which nature and history have already
formed; that is to say:
(1.) Manhattan, which consists of the island of Manhattan and
the outlying islands naturally related to it.
(2.) The Bronx; that is to say, all that part of the present
City of New York lying north of the Harlem, a territory which
comprises two-thirds of the area of the present City of New
York.
(3.) Brooklyn.
(4.) Queens, consisting of that portion of Queens County to
be incorporated into the Greater New York.
(5.) Richmond, that is, Staten Island.
Power is given to the Municipal Assembly to subdivide these
Boroughs still further, in case of need. The Greater New York
will start with these five Boroughs for administrative
purposes. Your Committee have reconstructed the Borough
system, as submitted in the tentative draft, upon lines which
we are of one accord in believing to be a better and more
appropriate development of the plan for the Greater New York.
These lines give to each Borough various boards through which
the prosecution of local improvements may be facilitated
within the limits of small districts, but reserve to the
Municipal Assembly the right to incur indebtedness and to
authorize the making of contracts."
The draft thus prepared was subjected to criticism in the
commission and in public hearings, and, after amendment and
revision, was reported to the Legislature in February, 1897,
as the charter recommended by the Commission for the
consolidated city called "The Greater New York." It received
some amendment and was passed. On submission, as required by
the State constitution, to the mayors of New York and Brooklyn
and the mayor and Common Council of Long Island City, it was
approved in Brooklyn and Long Island City, but returned
without approval by the mayor of New York. The Legislature
then re-enacted the bill, and it was made law, by the
governor's signature, on the 4th of May, 1897.
NEW YORK CITY: A. D. 1897 (September-November).
Election of the first Mayor of Greater New York.
The first municipal election in Greater New York excited a
passion of interest that was natural in the city itself, but
extraordinary in the degree and the extent to which it spread,
not only throughout the United States, but widely in the
foreign world. The election was looked upon as the test of a
vastly important experiment in the democratic government of an
enormous city. The charter of the great consolidated
municipality had lodged tremendous, unprecedented power and
responsibility in the office of its mayor. The people were
given an opportunity to determine by a single act of suffrage—
by their choice of a single man—the character of their
government. Would they choose that man, at the beginning of
the new system, in the interest of the corrupting organization
in party politics which had misruled the old city of New York
for years, or would they rise to the grand opportunity
afforded them, and set a strong, free, independently honest
man at the head of their local government. Democracy in
municipal affairs, at least, had never been put on trial so
sharply before. To a great number of the citizens of New York
the duty of the hour was plain, and they promptly set their
hands to it. Many months before the election they began the
organization of a Citizens' Union, in which men of all
political parties, sinking every other difference, should join
for the defeat of Tammany and "Boss" Croker, and for the
election to the mayor's office of the best mayor to be found.
With remarkable unanimity, their thought of the man turned to
Seth Low, President of Columbia University, but one time mayor
of Brooklyn, where his vigor, his firmness and his
independence had been conspicuously proved. An extensive
canvass of the city showed so widely spread a feeling in favor
of Mr. Low that he was named at the beginning of September as
the candidate of the non-partisan Citizens' Union. It was
hoped that the whole opposition to Tammany Hall could be
united in support of Mr. Low, representing as he did no
partisan hostility to any organization in national or state
politics. It was especially hoped and believed that the
Republican party organization would endorse the choice of the
Citizens' Union and make Mr. Low (himself a strong Republican)
its own candidate. By nothing less than a general combination
could the compact forces of Tammany Hall be overcome, and that
fact was well understood.
{324}
It was a fact so plain, indeed, that when the head of the
Republican organization in New York persisted in setting a
party candidate in the field, to divide the opposing voters of
the city, there seemed to be small doubt of the intention with
which it was done. The master politicians of the party were
evidently more willing that the vast powers of the mayoralty,
in the organization of the government of Greater New York,
should be wielded by their prototypes of Tammany than that
they should be given to independent hands. The party was
obedient to them, and General Benjamin F. Tracy was put
forward, by a Republican convention held September 28, in
opposition to Mr. Low. The night previous, another candidate
had appeared, in the person of Mr. Henry George, author of the
economic doctrine of the "single tax," supported ardently by a
large following, especially in the Democratic party. A section
of that party, organized under the name of the United Democracy,
had nominated Mr. George, and his nomination was endorsed a
week later by a great assembly which claimed to represent the
Jeffersonian Democracy of New York. On the 30th of September
the nomination of the Tammany Democracy was given to Judge
Robert A. Van Wyck. Between these four principal candidates,
the result of the election was only put in doubt by some
question as to the strength of the Democratic vote which Mr.
George would draw away from Judge Van Wyck. It was a question
extinguished sadly, three days before the election, by the
sudden death of Mr. George. He had not been in good health,
and the strain of the exciting canvass broke him down. His
followers made a hasty nomination of his son, Henry George,
Jr., in his place; but the personal prestige which might have
carried a large vote with them was lost. Of the triumph of
Tammany there was no longer any doubt, and no surprise was
felt (though abundant grief and anger found expression) when
the returns of the voting on November 2d were announced. Judge
Van Wyck was elected by the ballots of 233,997 citizens, against
151,540 cast for Mr. Low, 102,873 for General Tracy, 21,693
for the younger Mr. George. Tammany would have been beaten if
the Republican vote had gone to Mr. Low. Besides the four
principal candidates here named, there were four other
nominees who received small numbers of votes. Lucien Sanial,
put forward by the Social Democrats, received 14,467; William
T. Wardwell, named by the Prohibitionists, received 1,359;
Patrick J. Gleason and Alfred B. Cruikshank, running with
little more than some personal support, received a few
hundreds of votes each.
NEW YORK CITY: A. D. 1899 (April-December).
The Mazet Investigation.
An investigation of charges against the city government, by a
committee of the Legislature, Mr. Robert Mazet, chairman, was
opened in April, 1899, the examination of witnesses being
conducted by Mr. Frank Moss. The investigation followed lines
much the Same as those pursued by the Lexow committee, in
1894, and revealed much the same foul state of things,
especially in the department of police. But there was
evidently less earnestness in the committee; the probing of
iniquities was fill less thorough, and the whole proceeding
was stopped with suspicious suddenness as soon as it drew near
to prominent members of the party by which it was controlled.
It called fresh attention to the rottenness in municipal
politics, and it led to the creation of a new commission for
the revision of the Greater New York charter; but otherwise it
was most unsatisfactory.
NEW YORK CITY: A. D. 1899-1900.
The Ramapo Water Contract.
In August, 1899, Bird S. Coler, Controller of the City,
exposed a gigantic scheme of plunder involved in a contract
with the Ramapo Water Company, which Tammany officials,
assisted, it was said, by some interested Republicans, were
attempting to crowd through the Board of Public Improvements.
The contract would have bound the city for forty years to pay
to the Ramapo Company $70 per million gallons for 200,000,000
gallons of water daily. In his Message to the State
Legislature, January 2, 1901, Governor Odell thus referred to
the matter: "Under chapter 985 of the laws of 1895, as
amended, the Ramapo Water Company was given the power of
condemnation for the purpose of securing to it the water and
lands necessary for its purposes. During the year 1899 an
attempt was made to enter into a contract with this company by
the municipal board empowered to make such contracts. This
proposition, when presented to the citizens of New York, was
severely criticised by them, and the question of continued
municipal ownership of their water supply was thus brought to
their attention. The Legislature of 1900 enacted a law which
made the consummation of such a contract impossible without
the unanimous consent of those empowered to make such
contract. The ownership of water rights sufficient to provide
the city of New York with an ample supply of pure and
wholesome water should be entirely under the control and
direction of the municipality." Action on the subject was
taken by the Legislature, which, in March, repealed the Act of
1895, thus stripping the Ramapo Company of its extraordinary
powers.
NEW YORK CITY: A. D. 1900 (January-September).
The Rapid Transit Tunnel Contract.
Projected Tunnel to Brooklyn.
"The great project of underground rapid transit is now an
assured thing. A few months ago the prospect seemed very dark.
It is true that the rapid transit commissioners, a very able
and upright body of men, with the invaluable aid of a
distinguished engineer, Mr. Parsons, had a good while ago
decided on the route and the plans; but the way seemed blocked
by a series of semi-political and semi-legal difficulties. …
Suddenly these difficulties began to disappear. … The
financial plan adopted was that the city should provide the
money which a contractor would expend in building the road,
the contractor following the plans furnished by the city,
submitting to municipal inspection, and agreeing upon his part
to pay the interest on the bonds sold by the city to obtain
the money, and also to pay enough into a sinking fund to
provide for the ultimate redemption of the bonds. Bids were
called for on November 15, to be opened on January 15. … It
turned out that two well-known contractors were the only
bidders, and the award was given to Mr. John B. McDonald. His
bid was $35,000,000. The theory of this contract is that the
road is to be the property of the city, leased for fifty years
to the contractor, who is to pay a rental that will be large
enough so that the taxpayers will not have expended a penny. …
{325}
The main trunk line will start at the post-office (City Hall
Square) on the south and proceed northward along the spine of
Manhattan Island, following the general direction of Broadway
to Kingsbridge, a distance from the point of beginning of
twelve or thirteen miles. Near the upper end of Central Park,
at a distance of six or seven miles from the point of
beginning, a branch of the tunnel road will take a
northeasterly direction, terminating at Bronx Park, which is
about the same distance north as Kingsbridge, but several
miles further east. The road will have four tracks for six
miles of main line, two of which will be used for local trains
and two for express trains."
_American Review of Reviews,
February, 1900._
Work on the great undertaking was begun promptly, and had made
great progress within the first twelve months.
In September, 1900, preliminary steps were taken toward the
construction of a connecting tunnel, under the East River, to
Brooklyn, and through the congested districts of the latter
borough. "At least three years will be necessary for the
preliminary work and actual construction before trains are
running. … Tentative estimates have been made, and these are
said to be from $8,000,000 to $10,000,000. … The route as
contemplated … starts in connection with the Manhattan
proposed tunnel at a point at or near the intersection of
Broadway and Park Row; thence under Broadway and Bowling Green
to Whitehall Street; under Whitehall Street to South Street;
thence under South Street to the East River, and under the
river, striking the Brooklyn shore at a point in Joralemon
Street between the East River and Furman Street, under
Joralemon Street to Fulton Street, to the Borough Hall, out
Fulton Street to Flatbush Avenue, and under this thoroughfare
to the railroad station. On the New York side the route
includes a loop to be built whose debouching point shall lie
between Bowling Green and Exchange Place in Broadway, running
under Broadway to Bowling Green, and thence under Bowling
Green to State Street, to and under Battery Park to Whitehall
Street, thence returning under Whitehall Street and Battery
Park to State Street and to Broadway. The construction calls
for two tracks, and avoids all grade crossings, each track to
have a separate tubular tunnel."
_New York Times,
September 28, 1900._
On the 25th of January, 1901, announcement was published that
the Board of Rapid Transit Commissioners had adopted a
resolution definitely providing for the extension of the Rapid
Transit Railroad to Brooklyn. The original plan of route in
Brooklyn had been chosen. The only change made was in
Manhattan. The trains would be run through State St. instead
of Whitehall, as formerly planned, with a loop at the Battery
for Manhattan trains.
NEW YORK CITY: A. D. 1900 (April-May).
Ecumenical Conference on Missions.
See (in this volume)
MISSIONS.
NEW YORK CITY: A. D. 1900 (June).
Great fire at the Hoboken piers.
See (in this volume)
HOBOKEN.
NEW YORK CITY: A. D. 1900-1901.
Revision of the charter.
Carefully as the Greater New York charter had been drawn, it
proved unsatisfactory in the working, in various respects, and
a commission to revise it was appointed in 1900. The report of
the commission was submitted to the Governor on the 1st of
December, and transmitted, with his approval, to the
Legislature in the following month. In the hands of the
Legislature, the bill embodying the revised charter underwent
considerable amendment, very much, it would seem, to its
detriment. It was passed by the Senate on the 3d of April and
by the Assembly on the 4th, and went to the Mayor of New York
for the submission to his judgment which the State
Constitution of New York requires. Some of the more important
changes in the charter made by the revision, as passed, are
the shortening of the mayor's term of office from four years
(which the revision commission had advised retaining) to two
years, with eligibility for re-election (which the commission
had advised against); an increase of the administrative powers
of the presidents of boroughs; abolition of the municipal
Council and creation of a Board of Aldermen of 73 members;
reorganization of various departments of the municipal
administration.
NEW YORK CITY: A. D. 1901 (March).
Offered gift of $5,200,000 to the Public Library
by Andrew Carnegie.
See (in this volume)
LIBRARY, NEW YORK PUBLIC.
NEW YORK STATE: A. D. 1894.
The revised Constitution.
See (in this volume)
CONSTITUTION OF NEW YORK.
NEW YORK STATE: A. D. 1896-1897.
Passage of the Raines Liquor Law.
An Act for the regulation of the liquor traffic, which was and
is the subject of much controversy, was passed in March, 1896,
by the Legislature of the State of New York. From its author,
Senator John Raines, it has borne the name of the Raines Law.
It heavily increased the tax on the selling of liquor, raising
it to $800 on common "saloons" in the city of New York; to $650
in Brooklyn; to $500 in other cities having more than 50,000
and not more than 500,000 inhabitants; and to rates in lesser
cities and towns which ranged from 8100 to $350. It forbade
the licensing of any liquor shop within 200 feet of a
schoolhouse or a church, and also forbade the opening of any
new shop of that character in a residence district without
consent of two-thirds of the property owners. It prohibited
the sale of liquor on Sundays, except in hotels and clubs; but
this provision furnished a means of evasion which was speedily
brought into use. "Raines hotels" and "Raines Clubs," as they
were called, sprang into existence everywhere, sufficiently
answering the requirements of the law to escape its penalties.
These and other defects were considerably remedied by
amendments of the Act in April, 1897. It survived a powerful
attack in the Legislature at that time, the whole strength of
the leading cities in the State being brought against the law.
The country districts were generally united in supporting it,
partly on principle, and partly because of the extent to which
it lightened the burdens of taxation. By apportioning
two-thirds of the enormous revenue raised under the Act to the
towns, counties and cities in which it is collected, and
one-third to the state treasury, the Raines Law fortified
itself strongly in more than the moral sentiment of the
people. Under the Raines Law all local excise boards are
abolished, and the whole licensing and regulating of the
liquor traffic is placed under the supervision of a State
commissioner.
NEW YORK STATE: A. D. 1897.
The Black Civil Service Law.
See (in this volume)
CIVIL SERVICE REFORM: A. D. 1897-1899.
{326}
NEW YORK STATE: A. D. 1898.
Primary Election Law.
An Act which aims to make the political party caucus for
nominating candidates, and for choosing delegates to
nominating conventions, a "primary election," conducted under
strict regulations of law and guarded by registration, was
passed by the New York State Legislature and signed by the
Governor March 23, 1898.
NEW YORK STATE: A. D. 1899.
New Civil Service Enactment.
See (in this volume)
CIVIL SERVICE REFORM: A. D. 1897-1899.
NEW YORK STATE: A. D. 1899 (May).
Taxation of public franchises.
A measure of great importance, introducing a new and eminently
just principle in taxation, was carried through the
Legislature of New York in May, by the energetic influence of
Governor Roosevelt. Recommended by the Governor in a special
message on the 27th of March and passed in an unsatisfactory
form, a bill to provide for the taxing of public franchises
which did not promise successful working was being left on his
hands when the Legislature adjourned. He promptly called a
special session and renewed to it his urgent recommendations.
"I recommend," he said, "the enactment of a law which shall
tax all these franchises as realty, which shall provide for
the assessment of the tax by the Board of State Tax
Commissioners, and which shall further provide that from the
tax thus levied for the benefit of each locality, there shall
be deducted the tax as now paid by the corporation in
question. Furthermore, as the time for assessing the largest
and wealthiest corporations, those of New York and Buffalo,
has passed for this year, and as it will be preferable not to
have the small country corporations taxed before the larger
corporations of the city are taxed, I suggest that the
operations of the law be deferred until October 1, of this
year."
Within a few days, the desired bill was passed by both Houses
of the Legislature, signed by the Governor and became a law.
The public franchises to which it relates are defined in its
first section, as follows:
"The terms 'land,' 'real estate,' and 'real property,' as used
in this chapter, include the land itself above and under
water, all buildings and other articles and structures,
substructures, and superstructures, erected upon, under or
above, or affixed to the same; all wharves and piers,
including the value of the right to collect wharfage, cranage,
or dockage thereon; all bridges, all telegraph lines, wires,
poles, and appurtenances; all supports and inclosures for
electrical conductors and other appurtenances upon, above, and
underground; all surface, underground, or elevated railroads,
including the value of all franchises, rights, or permission
to construct, maintain, or operate the same in, under, above,
on, or through streets, highways, or public places; all
railroad structures, substructures, and superstructures,
tracks, and the iron thereon, branches, switches, and other
fixtures permitted or authorized to be made, laid, or placed
on, upon, above, or under any public or private road, street,
or grounds; all mains, pipes, and tanks laid or placed in,
upon, above, or under any public or private street or place
for conducting steam, heat, water, oil, electricity, or any
property, substance or product capable of transportation or
conveyance therein, or that is protected thereby, including
the value of all franchises, rights, authority, or permission
to construct, maintain, or operate in, under, above, upon, or
through any streets, highways, or public places, any mains,
pipes, tanks, conduits, or wires, with their appurtenances,
for conducting water, steam, heat, light, power, gas, oil, or
other substance, or electricity for telegraphic, telephonic,
or other purposes; all trees and underwood growing upon land,
and all mines, minerals, quarries, and fossils in and under
the same, except mines belonging to the state. A franchise,
right, authority, or permission, specified in this
subdivision, shall, for the purpose of taxation, be known as a
special franchise. A special franchise shall be deemed to
include the value of the tangible property of a person,
co-partnership, association, or corporation, situated in,
upon, under, or above any street, highway, public place, or
public waters in connection with the special franchise. The
tangible property so included shall be taxed as a part of the
special franchise."
NEW YORK UNIVERSITY:
The Hall of Fame for Great Americans.
See (in this volume)
HALL OF FAME.
----------NEW ZEALAND: Start--------
NEW ZEALAND: A. D. 1891-1900.
Democratic experiments.
Labor laws and the land system.
Compulsory industrial arbitration and its working.
"I have been a studious observer of every phase of social life
and legislative change that has taken place in this colony
during the past seven years," wrote U. S. Consul Connolly, at
Auckland, in July, 1896. "I arrived at the very beginning of
the experimental era—and it is no misnomer to call much of the
legislation of the past few years experimental in the truest
sense [see, also (in this volume), AUSTRALIA: RECENT
EXTENSIONS OF DEMOCRACY]. But while it is so, there is a most
gratifying feature which compensates for the violence done to
the feelings of those whose motto has been 'let us permit
matters to remain as they are, they suit us well enough.' That
the legislative innovations of the immediate past have shocked
the sensibilities of a large number of prominent and
well-to-do colonists is unquestionably true, but, at the same
time, as against any inconvenience they may have experienced
on this account, there is the fact of increased prosperity in
nearly every branch of trade and industrial life throughout
the country, farm products are fetching satisfactory prices,
manufacturing industries are running full time and paying good
wages and fair interest on the capital invested, labor is
remuneratively employed, interest on money has fallen from 6
and 7 per cent to 4 and 5 per cent (this of itself, is
sufficient to prove that money is abundant). Millions of
English capital are flowing in for the development of the gold
fields of the colony, and the credit of the country at no
period of its history stood so high on the English market as
it does to-day.
{327}
I may also mention that, through the genuine encouragement
given by the Government to the small-farmer class, the waste
lands of the country are being rapidly taken up wherever land
is found suitable for farming or grazing purposes.
Notwithstanding the admitted prosperity of the colony and the
fact that the Government have had a substantial surplus over
expenditure now for a number of years, the national debt
continues to increase. But the increased indebtedness is not
of the usual character, for the reason that the country has
security for nearly all the money borrowed in recent years.
Money had to be borrowed under Government guaranty to save the
Bank of New Zealand from closing its doors. This was done to
avert financial disaster. …
"Money has been borrowed to purchase large estates for the
purposes of settlement. Those who take up land under this
system, as already stated, pay an annual rental sufficient to
cover the interest on the purchase money and the cost of
administration. The land is always vested in the Government
and this must be regarded as a good asset. One million and a
Half sterling was borrowed last year in England at 3 per cent
per annum. This £1,500,000 loan is called the ' advances to
settlers loan.' This money is lent out to farmers at 4 per
cent per annum. … I need scarcely add that the large
landholders, the mortgage companies, and the money lenders
generally did not favor this kind of legislation, particularly
the cheap advances to settlers, but their opposition was utterly
futile. With the advent of the one-man-one-vote and the
extension of the franchise to women, the power of corporate
wealth in this country appears to have been irrevocably
destroyed. Whether this be for good or evil, I am not, of
course, in a position to say. I can say, however, that no ill
effects of the change are apparent up to the present; on the
contrary, the country is more prosperous and at least as
honestly and as economically administered as it was under the
old régime.
"To say that this country is, in my opinion, more truly
democratic than any country in the world would be merely
stating a simple truth; and to say that the present Government
is a workingman's Government is equally true. A great deal of
the legislation of recent years, however, is in advance of the
requirements and ideas of the people, with the result that
some of it has proved to be annoying and irksome to many. This
is especially true of some of the labor laws. The Government
are honestly endeavoring to place the masses in possession of
their legitimate rights with as little friction as possible,
and at the same time with due regard to vested interests and
the propriety of things generally. But while struggling thus
with the duties and responsibilities of their official
positions, the members of the Ministry are torn asunder by the
clamorous and impracticable demands of the unreasonable and
irresponsible. The sympathies of the Government are
unmistakably with the people, but the honor, the dignity, and
the welfare of the country will not permit them to depart from
a course too inconsistent with the sense of obligation, fair
dealing, integrity, and responsibility which are the admitted
characteristics and duty of all civilized governments. The
great danger at the present moment is too much legislation in
one direction. This is the one thing wherein the Government
find it really hard to resist the demands of organized labor.
There is, however, a very gratifying disposition manifesting
itself among the more reasonable members of the labor
societies to let well enough alone for the present—a
disposition it is much to be hoped may extend throughout the
whole body of the workers. If not, I have no hesitation in
predicting a serious revulsion of public sentiment and
sympathy within the next few years."
_United States Consular Reports,
January, 1897, page 35._
"Australian experience seems in many ways to prove the value
of our system of written constitutions, to be construed and
enforced by the courts. The effect on the minds of
ill-informed legislators of the knowledge that they can do
anything for which they can get a majority, is naturally to
beget extravagance and an overweening sense of power, and lead
to excessive experimentation. … It is in devices for the
protection of labor that most of this experimentation occurs.
New Zealand affords the best example of it. It provides
elaborate legal protection for the eight-hour day. A workman
cannot consent to work overtime without extra pay. The state
sees that he gets the extra pay. It looks closely after the
condition of women and children in the factories. It sees that
servant girls are not overcharged by the registry offices for
getting them places. It prescribes one half-holiday a week for
all persons employed in stores and offices, and sees that they
take it. It will not allow even a shopkeeper who has no
employees to dispense with his half-holiday; because if he
does not take it, his competition will injure those who do.
The 'labor department' of the government has an army of
inspectors, who keep a close watch on stores and factories,
and prosecute violations of the law which they themselves
discover. They do not wait for complaints; they ferret out
infractions, so that the laborer may not have to prejudice
himself by making charges. The department publishes a
'journal' once a month, which gives detailed reports of the
condition of the labor market in all parts of the colony, and
of the prosecutions which have taken place anywhere of
employers who have violated the law. It provides insurance for
old age and early death, and guarantees every policy. It gives
larger policies for lower premiums than any of the private
offices, and depreciates the private offices in its documents.
It distributes the profits of its business as bonuses among the
policy-holders, and keeps a separate account for teetotalers,
so that they may get special advantages from their abstinence.
The 'journal' is, in fact, in a certain sense a labor manual,
in which everything pertaining to the comfort of labor is
freely discussed. The poor accommodation provided for servants
in hotels and restaurants is deplored, and so is the
difficulty which middle-aged men have in finding employment.
More attention to the morals and manners of nursemaids is
recommended. All the little dodges of employers are exposed
and punished. If they keep the factory door fastened, they are
fined. If housekeepers pretend that their servants are
lodgers, and therefore not liable to a compulsory
half-holiday, they are fined. If manufacturers are caught
allowing girls to take their meals in a workshop, they are
fined.
{328}
"As far as I can make out, too, without visiting the country,
there is as yet no sign of reaction against this minute
paternal care of the laborer. The tendency to use the powers
of the government chiefly for the promotion of the comfort of
the working classes, whether in the matter of land settlement,
education, or employment, seems to undergo no diminution. The
only thing which has ceased, or slackened, is the borrowing of
money for improvements. The results of this borrowing have
been so disastrous that the present generation, at least, will
hardly try that experiment again."
_E. L. Godkin,
The Australian Democracy
(Atlantic Monthly, March, 1898)._
NEW ZEALAND:
Labor Laws.
Compulsory industrial arbitration.