The above table gives a good idea of how this arrangement worked during normal times. There were two or three features in it, however, which were bad, and which the author is glad to notice that the United States Government in renewing the agreement of the Bank of Spain for the present fiscal year, that is, the year ending June 30, 1899, has obliterated. The Spanish Government paid the five per cent. on the receipts given the bank, and not on the money collected. This resulted in great abuses, because the delinquents during the years of war were fifteen, sixteen, and forty-three per cent. respectively. The punishment of delinquents has also been considerably modified by the United States authorities. The following table gives the receipts for direct taxation that have been delivered for collection to the Spanish Bank of the Island of Cuba from the fiscal year 1895-96 to 1896-97, both inclusive, actual amounts collected, deductions, and receipts pending collection up to December 12, 1898, as per data at hand in the Spanish Bank: -------+---------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+--------- | | |Deductions |Pending |Per cent. FISCAL| Face Value. | Collected |for which |Collections. |of face YEARS.| | |bank not is | |value un- | | |responsible. | |collected. -------+---------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+--------- | | | | | 1895-96|$ 4,802,936.66 |$3,460,998.24|$ 579,002.52 |$ 762,935.90|15.88 1896-97| 4,589,735.08 | 3,283,286.51| 547,975.70 | 758,472.87|16.52 1897-98| 4,341,112.87 | 2,250,806.74| 223,119.47 | 1,867,186.66|43.01 +---------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+--------- |$13,733,784.61 |$8,995,091.49|$1,350,097.69|$3,388,595.43| -------+---------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+---------