Realising that a decided change would take place in banking as soon as the United States took charge of affairs, the shareholders of the Bank of Spain met some months ago in Havana and reorganised the bank, making it a private concern, and changing its by-laws so that it could do business as a private institution, untrammelled by Government interference. Among other uses to which the Government of Spain put the Spanish Bank was that of a collecting agency for practically all taxes other than those of the custom-houses. The value of receipts for direct taxation that have been delivered for collection to the Spanish Bank of the Island of Cuba, from the fiscal year 1885-86, when this institution commenced the collection, with right of seizure, to 1894-95, both inclusive, actual amounts collected, deductions, and amounts pending collection as per vouchers, and accounts rendered to the Treasury by this institution, are as follows: ---------+-------------+-------------+-------------+------------+---------- | | |Deductions | |Per cent. Fiscal | Face Value. | Collected. |for which | Pending | of face Years. | | |Bank was not |Collections.|value un- | | |responsible. | |collected. ---------+-------------+-------------+-------------+------------+---------- | Pesos C.| Pesos C.| Pesos C. | Pesos C. | | | | | | 1885-86 | 5,021,271.25| 4,561,976.18| 438,029.78 | 21,265.29| 0.423 1886-87 | 5,240,651.50| 4,655,776.10| 547,435.19 | 37,440.21| 0.714 1887-88 | 5,386,627.83| 4,758,446.22| 575,840.11 | 52,341.50| 0.971 1888-89 | 5,316,367.75| 4,694,829.26| 549,628.25 | 71,910.24| 1.352 1889-90 | 4,878,047.21| 4,304,196.24| 497,220.89 | 76,630.08| 1.570 1890-91 | 5,336,611.25| 4,659,477.26| 571,994.17 | 105,139.82| 1.970 1891-92 | 4,242,982.34| 3,696,877.74| 428,374.80 | 117,729.80| 2.774 1893-93 | 5,357,928.97| 4,635,278.61| 572,890.51 | 149,759.85| 2.795 1893-94 | 5,092,200.41| 4,505,426.32| 432,163.62 | 154,610.47| 3.036 1894-95 | 5,163,321.70| 4,421,631.99| 534,492.41 | 207,197.30| 4.012 +-------------+-------------+-------------+------------+---------- |51,036,010.21|44,893,915.92|5,148,069.73 | 994,024.56| ---------+-------------+-------------+-------------+------------+----------