HEADQUARTERS DIVISION OF CUBA, The military governor of Cuba directs the publication of the following order: 1. The auditor of the island of Cuba will have charge of the examination and scrutiny of all accounts arising from the disbursement of funds obtained from the customs receipts in the island of Cuba, except those now audited by the auditor of the custom service. 2. He will prescribe the forms of keeping and rendering all public accounts arising from the disbursement of said funds, and all officers disbursing the same, or any part thereof, shall make due return to him as herein prescribed. 3. As soon as possible after receiving any account or return the auditor will cause it to be examined in his office, and he is authorized and directed to notify disbursing officers of all errors or irregularities in their accounts, and when so notified, disbursing officers will take immediate steps to correct such errors or irregularities. 4. Whenever the errors have been corrected, or payment has been made for deficient articles, and the action of the auditor is sustained or modified by the military governor, a return will be regarded as settled and the officer who rendered it will be notified accordingly. 5. If the necessary corrections in a return be not made within two months from the date of notification by the auditor the facts will be reported to the chief of staff of the Division of Cuba. 6. Balances which may, from time to time, be certified by the auditor, upon settlement of public accounts, shall be final and conclusive upon the executive branch of the government; except that any person whose accounts may have been settled, the head of a department, or of any establishment not under the jurisdiction of a department, to which the account pertains, may, on presentation of new evidence, obtain a revision of the said account by the military governor, whose decision upon such revision shall be final and conclusive upon the executive branch of the government. 7. The auditor will preserve, with their vouchers and certificates, all accounts that have been finally adjusted. He will also superintend the recovery of all debts finally certified by him to be due to the government. 8. The auditor of the finance department will, under the regulations prescribed in this order, and concurrently with the auditor of the island, examine and scrutinize all accounts and returns rendered by civilian officers of the military government of Cuba. 9. The head of a department to which accounts pertain will cause each account current or property return, with accompanying papers, to be examined and transmitted to the auditor of the finance department within twenty days from the date on which such account was received at his office. When a suspension or disallowance is made the department will notify the accountable officer, that he may have an opportunity to submit explanations. 10. All officers requiring funds will submit to the chief of staff of the division approved estimates of the same, which shall state the purposes for which the funds are to be used. These estimates should be submitted not later than the twentieth day of the month preceding that for which the estimates are made. Special requisitions will be made for sums needed for unforeseen contingencies. 11. All transfers of funds or property will be accompanied by invoices and receipts in duplicate, but no transfer of funds shall be made, except on the order of the head of an executive department, or, in case of a United States Army officer, on the order of his proper superior officer. 12. The use of funds for purposes other than those for which specifically appropriated is prohibited. Heads of departments, in notifying officers of remittances, will inform them of the amount remitted under each head of appropriation. 13. Funds in the personal possession of a disbursing officer are so kept at his own risk. 14. No officer disbursing money or directing its disbursement shall be concerned individually, directly or indirectly, in the purchase or sale of any articles intended for, used by, or pertaining to the public service. 15. No officer, or clerk of a disbursing officer, shall be interested in the purchase of any employee's certificate of pay due, or any other claim against the government. 16. Officers will not purchase supplies for the government from any other person in its service, nor contract with any such person to furnish supplies or service to the government, or make any government purchase or contract, in which such person shall be permitted to share or receive benefit. 17. Accounts current will be rendered monthly and will be made in duplicate, each accompanied by the proper abstracts and vouchers, one copy will be forwarded to the auditor of the island, the other will be retained by the officer. Should the disbursing officer be a civilian, under the military government of Cuba, the accounts will be made in triplicate, two being sent to the head of the department under whose direction the disbursement is made and one retained by the officer. On receipt of these the head of such department will immediately transmit one of the accounts to the auditor of the island. 18. Accounts current must be made out in time to reach the auditor not later than the twentieth of the month following that covered by the account. 19. With the accounts will be forwarded all orders and other papers upon which the accountable officer relies to relieve himself from responsibility, including abstracts of purchases made during the month. 20. All disbursements must be covered by vouchers, in duplicate, accompanied by duplicate itemized and receipted bills. 21. When an officer is relieved from duty, he will certify outstanding debts, if any, to his successor, and transmit a list of the same to the head of his department. Unless otherwise ordered, he will turn over to his successor all public money, property, books, and papers pertaining to the service from which he is relieved. 22. The correctness of the facts stated on a voucher and the justness of the account must be certified by the officer. 23. The giving or taking of receipts in blank for public money is prohibited. 24. Vouchers for funds disbursed will, before being signed by a public creditor, be made out in full, with the place of payment and name of paying officer entered in the receipt, and the exact amount of money clearly stated in the receipt. 25. The signature to a receipt and the name of the person entered at the head of an account must be literally alike. When a signature is not written by the hand of the party, it must be witnessed by an officer of the government when practicable. 26. An officer will have credit for an expenditure of money made in obedience to an order by competent authority, which order must be in writing. If the expenditure be disallowed it will be charged to the officer who ordered it. 27. If payment be made on a certificate of any officer as to fact and afterwards disallowed for error of fact in the certificate, it will pass to the credit of the disbursing officer and be charged to the officer who gave the certificate. 28. Returns of all property purchased with funds derived from the customs service will be made quarterly. 29. Officers responsible for public property of any description are charged with its preservation from loss or damage. Every officer accountable for public property will keep himself accurately informed by personal examination of the quantity and condition of the property on hand and will be held strictly responsible that it is accurately reported on his return. At each transfer of such property, both the invoicing and receipting officer will attend in person, and each will satisfy himselť by personal examination that all property invoiced is on hand and in condition as stated in the invoice. 30. Property worn out in the service will not be destroyed, but will be kept for the action of an inspector detailed by the commander of a military department. The accountable officer will submit an inventory thereof and ask for an inspector's action, for which application should be made to the headquarters of the department in which the officer is serving, and the property will be disposed of as ordered by him. If sold at auction, the money received therefor will be turned in to the credit of the treasurer of the customs service. 31. Accounts current for January and February will be forwarded with the least practicable delay. 32. Property returns will be rendered to cover the first quarter of his calendar year. 33. All accounts and returns will be made out on forms furnished by the auditor of the island, who will supply the same on application. 34. All decrees, orders, or laws, or parts thereof, in conflict with the provisions of this order, are hereby revoked. ADNA R. CHAFFEE, Major-General of Volunteers, Chief of Staff. HEADQUARTERS DIVISION of Cuba, On the recommendation of the secretary of state and government, the military governor of Cuba directs the publication of the following order: I. The prosecution of all claims against municipalities or provincial deputations will be suspended, until the method of their adjustment shall be determined, after the reorganization of said corporations. II. Judges will not take cognizance of suits involving claims against provincial deputations or municipalities, for liabilities incurred prior to December 31, 1898, and suits already instituted to establish such claims will be suspended. ADNA R. CHAFFEE, Major-General of Volunteers, Chief of Staff. HEADQUARTERS DIVISION OF CUBA, On the recommendation of the secretary of state and government, the military governor of Cuba directs the publication of the following order: I. All fines, whether of governmental or municipal character, shall hereafter be paid in cash. Receipts for amounts so paid will be given in each case, and proper record kept of the same by the officer receiving them. II. All decrees, orders, or laws, or parts thereof, in conflict with the provisions of the foregoing order, are hereby revoked. ADNA R. CHAFFEE, Major-General of Volunteers, Chief of Staff. HEADQUARTERS DIVISION of Cuba, On the recommendation of the secretary of justice and public instruction, and of the secretaries in council, the military governor of Cuba directs the publication of the following order: I. Hereafter judicial courts or magistrates in the island of Cuba will refuse to take cognizance of all prosecutions which have for their object the punishment of criminal acts committed by troops in active military service during the past war, by individual members of the same, or by any person connected there with in any capacity or manner whatsoever, whether belonging to Cuban or Spanish forces; and it is also declared that no criminal responsibility shall attach to any person or persons for any act so committed. II. Within the meaning of the preceding article shall likewise be included all individuals invested with civil authority, whether by the Spanish Government or by the different revolutionary organizations, both with regard to orders which they may have dictated or acts which they may have done, whether directed to the suppression of the revolution or to the accomplishment of the purposes of the revolution itself against the Government of Spain. III. Individuals undergoing criminal trial, or who may now be confined for the commission of any act included in the foregoing articles, shall immediately be set at liberty. Judges in charge of proceedings in such cases will bring them to a close, and will forward the records in each case to the appropriate audiencia, that the latter may take the necessary action under the provisions of this order. ADNA R. CHAFFEE, Major-General of Volunteers, Chief of Staff. HEADQUARTERS DIVISION OF CUBA, On the recommendation of the secretary of finance, the military governor of Cuba directs the publication of the following order: I. All municipal assessments, known as "repartimiento," are hereby abolished, and the outstanding quotas yet unpaid, and due in the second half of the present fiscal year, are remitted. II. The present tax on beef cattle, of 4 cents per kilo of meat, is abolished, to take effect on April 1, 1899. III. All taxes and imports on articles of prime necessity, such as food and fuel, including kindling wood, coal, and charcoal, are also hereby abolished, with the exception of those imposed on distilled and fermented alcoholic liquors. IV. No municipality shall be allowed to place a tax on the importation or exportation of merchandise and cattle, and all municipal taxes now affecting those articles are hereby abolished. V. The following taxes on urban and rural property (real estate) and on industry and commerce are hereby turned over to the municipalities, to be by them applied to the payment of their local necessities, according to the following rules: URBAN PROPERTY. 1. All taxes actually in force on city real property are hereby reduced to a single municipal tax of 8 per cent per annum for the municipalities of Havana, Matanzas, Cárdenas, Sagua la Grande, Cienfuegos, and Santiago de Cuba, and of 6 per cent per annum for the remaining municipalities of the island. These 8 and 6 per cent rates shall be levied on the net income of the property, according to the assessment now in force. Said taxes shall be collected in quarterly installments, but those falling due on the fourth quarter of the fiscal year shall not be collected prior to June 20, 1899. 2. The 12 per cent state tax on real property, the municipal surtax, and the collection tax are hereby abolished, except that such of the municipal surtaxes as may be due for the third quarter of the present fiscal year shall be collected by the municipalities. RURAL PROPERTY. 3. The direct tax on rural property is hereby reduced to the single tax now levied by the state, the 100 per cent municipal surtax, the extraordinary surtaxes, and all collection taxes are hereby abolished. 4. Besides the exemptions heretofore granted, all properties which, according to the tax rolls of the State, pay taxes not exceeding $5 per annum, those destroyed by war, and, in general, those which are not at present actually productive, shall be considered exempt from all taxation. 5. Properties shall be considered as actually productive which are now worked or cultivated, as stated in the assessment rolls now in force. 6. The collection of these taxes, herein provided for, shall take place semiannually, but those of the present half year shall not be collected prior to April 20, 1899, nor shall those of the first six months of the next fiscal year be collected prior to September 20, 1899 INDUSTRIAL TAXES. 7. The industrial impost, or tax on manufacturers and commerce, as well as all municipal surtaxes and collection taxes, are hereby reduced to a single municipal tax, according to the following rules: 8. For industries included in the first list (tarifa primera) the rate shall be reduced one-fourth-that is, the rate hereafter will be 75 per cent of the amount levied, according to the state tax rolls now in force. 9. For the present are also abolished the taxes enumerated in the second list (tarifa segunda) under the heads of extra salaries, concert companies, newspaper publishing companies, and others of like nature; gymnasiums and establishments of learning. The remaining industries enumerated in this list shall pay one rate only of taxation to the municipalities, which shall be 75 per cent of the present rate, levied according to the state tax roll now in force. 10. The income derived from the third list (tarifa tercera) shall hereafter be collected by and shall pertain to municipalities, but the rate of taxation on this list shall be one-third less than that at present levied by the State, except that this reduction shall not apply to the manufacture of distilled liquors, spirits, and other alcoholic beverages. 11. The fourth list is hereby abolished. 12. The fifth list, as well as the so-called patents appended to the regulations of May 12, 1893, are reduced 50 per cent of the present rate, and shall be exclusively a municipal tax, to be collected by the municipalities of the island and not by the state. All municipal surtaxes and collection taxes are hereby abolished. GENERAL RULES. VI. The aforesaid taxes shall be paid in United States money, or in its equivalent, pursuant to the order of the President of the United States of January 4, 1899, published in the Gazette of March 4, 1899. VII. Municipalities shall themselves collect all the taxes pertaining to them, in conformity with the provisions of the "municipal law," and shall apply them to the payment of the expenses enumerated in their budgets. VIII. The provincial branches of the department of finance shall, within twenty days after the publication of this decree, forward to each municipality located within their respective jurisdictions a certified copy of the present tax rolls, inserting therein the amount of the net income from taxes on city and country property, so that the said municipalities may be able to make the collection in accordance with this decree. IX. For the present all laws, regulations, and orders, not in conflict with the provisions of this order, concerning taxes above transferred to municipalities shall remain in force X. The internal excise tax on the wholesale and retail sale of alcohols, spirits, and liquors is likewise provisionally transferred to municipalities, which shall control and collect said taxes in conformity with the regulations of January 19, 1893, and their supplementary provisions, but said excise tax shall be collected with an increase of 50 per cent on the articles included in the first five classifications, and 100 per cent on those included in the remaining classifications, payment to be made in United States money or its equivalent. The provincial branches of the department of finauce shall forward to the municipalities located within their respective jurisdictions certified rolls of taxpayers of this class, and also a statement of those who have paid their taxes and of those who have not yet done so. XI. Taxes now collected from telephone companies, the services of which are rendered entirely within the bounds of a municipality, are hereby assigned to such municipality. The tax levied by the royal order of May 12, 1888, on the telephone company of Habana is hereby transferred to the said municipality. ADNA R. CHAFFEE, Major-General of Volunteers, Chief of Staff. HEADQUARTERS DIVISION of Cuba, The military governor of Cuba directs the publication of the following order: The operation of the decree of March 5, 1898, of Captain-General D. Ramón Blanco, extending the provisions of previous decrees with regard to the collection of debts upon city and country properties, is hereby further extended until the 30th day of April, 1899. Before that date the military government will publish a final decree, which shall govern in these matters. L. W. V. KENNON, Assistant Adjutant-General. No. 31. HEADQUARTERS DIVISION OF CUBA, Habana, March 29, 1899. On the recommendation of the secretary of justice and public instruction, the military governor of Cuba directs the publication of the following order: I. The dues which have heretofore been paid to the government for the issuing of academic and professional degrees of any kind whatsoever are hereby abolished, and in future such degrees, conforming to the model which may be adopted, shall be issued free of cost to the persons entitled to receive them. II. The department of justice and public instruction shall cause these degrees to be printed in suitable manner, the cost of the same to be paid from its appropriation for material. III. All persons may receive degrees under this order who have undergone the general examinations preceding the issuing of the degree, and who may not yet have received it. No. 34. L. W. V. KEnnon, HEADQUARTERS DIVISION OF CUBA On the recommendation of the secretary of justice and public instruction, the military governor of Cuba directs the publication of the following order: I. Courts of justice will continue to execute fully the decrees of pardon which the former governor of the island, Gen. Jiménez Castellanos, granted to the members of the late Corps of Volunteers on the 16th and 27th days of December, 1898, |