Here may be found a good illustration of England's policy which is a great contrast to the policy of Spain in Cuba. No money has been spent on the roads of Cuba, all of which are in a deplorable condition. Attention should at once be given to this important question and a liberal sum out of both local and general revenues of the Island set apart for this purpose. The debt of Jamaica is not excessive; it is in the neighbourhood of $10,000,000, with an annual charge of about $400,000. Police and medical charges are about the same, averaging about $300,000 each, or in all $600,000. In this connection attention is called to the annual expenditure on roads in Jamaica for fourteen years: EXPENDITURE FOR MAIN AND PAROCHIAL ROADS IN JAMAICA, FROM 1883-84 TO 1896-97, INCLUSIVE -----------+------------+-----------+------------------ Year. |Appropriated|Expenditure| |revenue for |for Main | Total. | Parochial | Roads and | | Roads. |Buildings. | -----------+------------+-----------+---------+-------- | Pounds | Pounds | Pounds |Dollars. |sterling. |sterling. |sterling.| 1883-84 .. |39,514 | 48,156 | 87,670 |438,350 1884-85 .. |40,496 | 47,614 | 88,110 |440,550 1885-86 .. |38,246 | 52,285 | 90,531 |452,655 1886-87 .. |39,670 | 48,080 | 87,750 |438,750 1887-88 .. |42,935 | 52,318 | 95,253 |476,265 1888-89 .. |42,146 | 57,632 | 99,778 |498,890 1889-90[6] |20,740 | 32,210 | 52,950 |264,750 1890-91 .. |50,317 | 91,659 |141,976 |709,880 1891-92 .. |44,845 | 91,659 |136,504 |682,520 1892-93 .. |48,520 | 83,718 |132,238 |661,190 1893-94 .. |50,169 | 58,460 |108,629 |543,145 1894-95 .. |47,111 | 65,647 |112,758 |563,790 1895-96 .. |48,398 | 68,654 |117,052 |585,260 1896-97 .. |45,538 | 80,467 |126,005 |630,025 -----------+------------+-----------+---------+-------- Total for | | |1,477,204|7,386,020 14 years | | | | Average | | | | per year | | | | 527,573 -----------+------------+-----------+---------+--------- The necessity of liberal expenditure for maintaining the health of the community is of first importance. A study of this budget may be found a preparation for the subsequent study of the Cuban budget, to which the reader's attention will be invited presently.