"'Occasional taxes' and _patentes_ amounted, for the whole Island, during the year 1894 to 1895, to the sum of $133,283.31 for the public Treasury. We do not include that total in our statements because it is collected only occasionally. "It is to be borne in mind that the total of taxes is never collected in Cuba, and that there is always a deficit, which has been less since the Spanish Bank is the collector. "Here is the total collection of taxes during the year 1894 to 1895: Havana Province 90.84 per cent. Matanzas " 89.72 " Santa Clara " 87.73 " Pinar del Rio " 78.34 " Santiago de Cuba " 66.59 " Puerto Principe " 93.65 " "The last-mentioned province gives such a good result (notwithstanding the very great difficulties in collecting, over only five municipal districts which are on a very large area of land), because the capital of the province and the city of Nuevitas afforded a splendid revenue. In the province of Santiago de Cuba the collection is harder than in any other, on account of the scarce and bad roads and means of communication. "In the lists of collection of 'Industrial Subsidy' in the province of Havana, there appears a great number of taxpayers who have not existed for many years and whom, nevertheless, the administration continues to keep on its records, because every new administrator is reluctant to confess that the taxpayers have decreased during his time of office. "There are reasons to suspect that there are concealments of taxpayers in the city estates list. A new record (_catastro_), made by an intelligent and honest administration, would surely give a rise in the collection of taxes. "The collection of taxes is in charge of the Banco Español de la Isla de Cuba, which has branches at Matanzas, Cardenas, Cienfuegos, Sagua, and Santiago de Cuba, and auxiliary offices at Puerto Principe and Pinar del Rio. "The Island has been divided into groups of towns near those cities. The representatives of the Bank collect the taxes themselves in the cities where they live, and by delegates in the other towns. "The actual contract signed by the Government and the Bank began in 1892-93, and holds good for ten years. The Bank receives as a commission 5 per cent. upon the total amount of the taxes to collect, presented by the public Treasury. As the Bank has no interference whatever, when the lists of taxes are made, it confines itself to collecting what the public Treasury declares in its own lists. The Bank, therefore, is merely an agent.