The fifth debt: by a royal decree of the 27th of September, 1890, 1,750,000 mortgage notes of 500 _pesetas_ each (about $175,000,000), were issued, redeemable at par by quarterly drawings, and paying five percent. per annum interest. The notes of these last two emissions are placed in Paris and London, and the redemption and interest thereon are payable in gold or its equivalent. They are guaranteed by the customs, post-office, and stamp revenue of the Island of Cuba, and the direct and indirect taxes, and besides by the Spanish nation. Besides, during the last war, the Spanish Government made an internal loan against the Cuban Treasury of 400,000,000 _pesetas_ ($80,000,000) and another one of 200,000,000 _pesetas_ more ($40,000,000), guaranteed by the Spanish customs. The floating debt, caused by the war expenditure and payments of current appropriations in Cuba, was not less than $100,000,000. These are not exactly official statements, and yet they were obtained personally by the author from official sources, and come close to the mark. Tabulated, we have this: STATEMENT OF CUBAN DEBT, OCTOBER, 1898 Spain's debt to the United States $600,000 Notes by royal decree of May 10, 1886 124,000,000 " " " " " September 27, 1890 175,000,000 Internal loan against Cuban Treasury 80,000,000 " " " Spanish customs 40,000,000 Floating debt, war expenses, etc. 100,000,000 ------------ $519,600,000 Paul Leroy Beaulieu gives the bonded debt of Cuba as 2,032,000,000 _pesetas_, or $406,400,000. This evidently does not include the large floating debt included in the above estimate. So far as Cuba is concerned, this debt has been liquidated. It will, therefore, in the language of the French economist, be "absolutely necessary for Spain to meet the expenditure." Why not? Spain lost the game, therefore she must pay the cost.