This year's production of sugar in the district adjacent to Cienfuegos, it is stated, will be considerably less than was figured at the commencement of the grinding season, owing to the unseasonable rains in the months of January and February. It is estimated that the production will nevertheless exceed that of last year, as the following figures will show:

There has come into Cienfuegos from January 1 up to April 25, 1903, 714, 113 bags, against 697,796 bags in 1902. From January 1 to April 25, 1903, 569,900 bags have been exported, against 420,931 bags in 1902. There was in store April 30, 144,213 bags of the sugar that has come into Cienfuegos since January 1 to April 25, 1903, against 276,865 bags in 1902.

On account of the inclement weather in January and February it will be impossible to grind all the cane standing unless the wet season should fail to set in at the usual time. As far as the harvest is concerned the Cuban planters have reason to be satisfied with this year's crop.

BRIDGE OVER THE ARIMAO RIVER, CUBA.

The largest bridge yet constructed in Cuba was completed and opened to the public on May 15. It is 20 miles from Cienfuegos, on the road to the Manicaragua Valley, the tobacco-growing belt of Santa Clara Province.

The bridge spans the Arimao River and is 454 feet in length, with a width of 17 feet. It has two piers and two abutments of hydraulic concrete; Atlas cement was used, and granite for stone capping. The piers are 35 feet above the normal stage of water, and the flooring is of native hard woods-mahogany, black jucaro, and sabicu. It is a steel bridge, of the Pratt riveted system, made by the American Bridge Company, of New York; 11,000 rivets were driven in Cuba.

The contract was let February 13, 1902, at a cost of $50,000. The work of construction was somewhat retarded by floods, which twice carried away the supporting works.

Manicaragua Valley is 36 miles northeast of Cienfuegos, but

there will soon be a well-graded and macadamized highway covering the greater part of the distance; and this, in connection with the bridge, opens up to settlement one of the most fertile regions of the island, as the Manicaragua tobacco is said to excel that of Vuelta Abajo in aroma.

The completion of this bridge not only marks an epoch in the development of this section of the island, but is also highly appreciated by those having occasion to use it, because traffic was sometimes suspended for thirty days before construction on account of floods in the Arimao.

CIENFUEGOS, June 2, 1903.

MAX J. BAEHR,

Consul.

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION IN SOUTH AMERICAN MARKETS.

Consular Clerk G. H. Murphy sends from Frankfort copy of a letter to the Frankfort Zeitung from its correspondent at Buenos Ayres relative to foreign competition in the markets of South America, of which the following is a partial translation:

The statistics of the foreign trade of the Argentine Republic, which have just been published, reveal the exact extent of the influence exerted upon commerce by the bad crops of 1901-2 and by the increase of duty rates, in lessening both consumption and importation. The value of imports decreased from $113,900,000 gold in 1901 to $103,000,000 in 1902, Germany's share of this trade declining from $16,700,000 to $13,200,000 gold. Importations from Belgium, which naturally included many transit shipments from Germany, decreased during the same period from $8,700,000 to $5,500,000 gold. Thus the entire falling off in importations from Germany amounted to more than $4,000,000. The United States-whose importations into the Argentine Republic about equal in value those of Germany-and Italy suffered each a loss of about $2,500,000. Great Britain alone had a small increase-from $36,500,000 to $37,000,000-but this was due to the fact that coal and railway materials continued in demand, in spite of the generally unfavorable condition of the market.

It seems probable, however, that in 1903 the amount of the falling off in 1902 ($11,000,000) will be at least recovered; for, while the wheat and linseed crops will probably not reach the fabulous figures recently predicted by the Argentine Minister of Agriculture, the exports of these two articles will very likely amount to $50,000,000 and $20,000,000 gold, respectively, an increase for these two cereals alone of about $35,000,000.

It may be well to explain here the cause of the decreased importation from Germany. It is not due to United States competition in South America, as the United States has had very little success there, except in the Argentine Republic. The following tables compare exports from Germany and the United States*

* Figures for the United States are for the fiscal years.

to the principal South American countries, the values being stated in United States

The entire exportation of the United States to South America has increased $5,000,000 during the eleven years 1892-1902, but what does this mean when it is remembered that during the same period the aggregate exports of the United States to other parts of the world increased $400,000,000? Moreover, were it not for the increased purchasing power of the Argentine Republic-which has enabled the United States during the period mentioned to increase its exports to this one country to the extent of $7,000,000-there would have been not only a relative but an actual decrease in the total value of exports from the United States to South America. German exports to the Argentine Republic, it will be noted, have increased at almost the same rate as those of the United States.

In Brazil, both the United States and Germany have lost ground, not only in exports, but also (owing to low coffee prices) in imports. The importations of the United States decreased from $118,600,000 in 1892 to $79,200,000 in 1902, Germany's decrease being from $32,300,000 in 1892 to $27,100,000 in 1901. On the other hand, Germany's importations from the Argentine Republic increased in these years from $20,700,000 to $47,800,000, while the importations of the United States only increased from $5,300,000 to $11,100,000 in the eleven years 1892-1902. During the same period, Chile's exportations increased as follows: To Germany, from $17,850,000 to $24,030,000; to the United States, from $3,500,000 to $7,700,000.

Germany has accordingly, during the past ten years, succeeded in maintaining in South America the second rank after Great Britain. Her strong position is based upon the vast productive capacity of German factories, and also upon the readiness of German exporters to meet the wishes of their foreign customers.

In giving these figures, I do not wish to encourage too great a feeling of security, for it is natural that the North Americans will continue in the future to work with energy for the strengthening of their position in a market where they have already

had some success.

TIMBER CONCESSIONS IN DUTCH GUIANA.

Minister Newel transmits from The Hague, under date of May 15, 1903, a statement from the governor of Surinam relating to concessions for cutting timber in Dutch Guiana, which reads, in substance:

No concession of less than 400 hectares (988.4 acres) is granted. Thus far, the concessions are granted only for squares or rectangular plots, with payment in advance at the rate of 10 cents per hectare (2.471 acres) and for one year. The holder has a prior right to renewal of the concession. The grants are made by the governor of Surinam and the government reserves the right, at all times, of instituting an inquiry into the manner in which the work is carried out. The holder of the concession is empowered to avail himself of all the different sorts of wood found on the territory, with the exception of the bolletrie boom (Lucuma mammosa Juss). Pending further regulations by colonial order, these concessions shall be granted on the following conditions:

1. Except for the cutting down of fuel and the working of timber, no trees shall be felled, deprived of their bark or resin, or injured in any other way, on penalty of $1 for every tree thus injured.

2. Government right of supervision.

3. Persons employed shall be under proper control.

4. Withdrawal of the concession in case of failure to comply with conditions. 5. Expenses of concession shall be refunded by the holder.

6. Authorities are not responsible for any difference in the situation, area, form, or boundaries between the territory conceded and the indications of the chart according to which the concession was granted.

7. The concession does not prevent the erection on the territory of works of public usefulness, either by the authorities or by private persons or societies, with the consent of the authorities, the holder of the concession having no claim to indemnity or subsidy whatever.

EMERALD MINES IN COLOMBIA.

Consul-General A. M. Beaupré, of Bogotá, under date of April 29, 1903, sends a copy of the conditions* prescribed by the Government for the presentation of bids and for the leasing of the Muzo and Coscuez emerald mines. These mines, the property of the Colombian Government, are to be leased to the highest bidder, the proposals to be received by the Government on December 31, 1903. To be admitted as a bidder, it is required:

I. Not to be in debt overdue to the National Treasury, the fact to be established by a certificate issued by the treasurer of the Republic.

2. To produce the sealed proposal addressed to the Minister of Finance before 10.30 a. m., December 31, 1903.

*Filed in the Bureau of Trade Relations.

3. To add a certificate of the treasurer-general stating that the bidder has deposited in the National Treasury in American gold or in drafts on London, Paris, or New York, payable, at most, thirty days' after sight to the order of the same treasurer and backed by a respectable bank in Bogotá, or by receipts from the Crédit Lyonnais, London Bank, or Union Bank, if the bidder is a foreigner, the amount of $50,000 required as a guaranty against bankruptcy.

4. To present a signed statement, accepting, without any restriction whatsoever, the stipulations set forth in these presents. The minimum monthly rent shall be $30,000 American gold for the ten years' lease. Proposals which do not cover this amount shall not be admitted. At all times the Government reserves to itself the right to inspect the mines, in order to prevent damages, and the liberty to declare the contract null and void by reason of said damages. The Government may occupy said mines without applying to the judicial authorities and even by having recourse to force.

NEW TARIFF OF COLOMBIA.

The Department has received from Consul-General A. M. Beaupré, of Bogotá, translation of the new Colombian tariff, as follows: CUSTOMS TARIFF.

FIRST CLASS.

Taxed at the rate of 20 cents (7 cents gold*) per kilogram (2.2046 pounds).

Paper in the form of journals, pamphlets, and other printed matter. Building woods, such as shingles, beams, sleepers for railways, and planks and boards, neither planed nor finished; wood in the form of carriages and trucks for railways; houses not adjusted.

Iron and steel in rails, rail spikes, and other materials for public railways; in bridges for public roads; in gasometers, apparatus, conducts, and lamps for public lighting; articles of iron intended for the construction or repair of penitentiary establishments; in telegraph wire for public use; in railing for ornamenting public buildings and squares; lighting conductors; conducts for public drains of the districts and for public fountains or basins.

Copper or bronze in the form of statues for the ornamentation of public buildings and squares.

Gold coins of a fineness of not less than 90 per cent.

Silver in coins of a fineness not less than 90 per cent.

Marble in statues and monuments destined for the ornamentation of public buildings and squares.

Clay tiles, building material, such as unwrought stone, clay bricks, and tiles made of burnt clay and stone.

Live animals.

Yarns, white and colored, prepared with finish.

Coke.

SECOND CLASS.

Taxed at 45 cents (16 cents gold) per kilogram.

Sweet potatoes or yams, potatoes, onions, maize, rice, chick-pease, lentils, beans, and all other kinds of vegetables, pot herbs, and fruits, fresh.

Ice.

* Taking the value of the Colombian peso, as estimated by the United States Mint, April 1, 1903, at 35.2 cents gold.