member of the board convened to frame the new municipal law (General Orders, No. 40, current series, this office). He has also assisted, from time to time, in the formulation of legislation which has been promulgated in orders, rendering in this respect a voluntary and most efficient cooperation.

PATENTS, COPYRIGHTS, AND TRADE-MARKS.

The office of patents, copyrights, and trade-marks was organized under General Orders, No. 24, Office Military Governor, dated Manila, P. I., June 26, 1899, which provided, among other things, for the transfer to the office from the custody of Spanish officials of all records, documents, and property pertaining to this bureau. Here, as elsewhere, the archives turned over have been incomplete and noncontinuous.

In the absence of legislation extending their operation to the archipelago, the patent, trade-mark, and copyright laws of the United States have not been viewed as applicable to the islands, and therefore no steps have been attempted looking to the granting of titles thereunder by this bureau.

Circular No. 12, division of customs and insular affairs, of the War Department, dated April 11, 1899, provided for the protection in the archipelago of patents, trade-marks, prints, and labels, duly issued and registered in the United States, upon the filing of certified copies of the patent or certificate of registration, and for the observance of all rights in patents and trade-marks acquired in the islands under Spanish laws. Subsequently, by a later order of June 1, 1899, a fee of $1 was fixed for the filing of these copies, the exaction of which was, on September 25, 1899, done away, but which was, by cablegram of March 9, 1900, again established. Collections arising thereunder were more than sufficient to pay the running expenses of this bureau.

By the close of the fiscal year ending June 30, 1900, there were registered 681 certified copies of United States patents and 395 certificates of registration of United States trade-marks, embracing a large variety of articles adapted to the development of the islands and the needs of its inhabitants.

MINING BUREAU.

By General Orders, No. 31, Office of the United States Military Governor in the Philippine Islands, dated March 10, 1900, the mining bureau, theretofore administered as a bureau of the dirección general de administración civil, was reestablished and placed in charge of First Lieut. Charles H. Burritt, Eleventh Cavalry, U. S. V.

When Lieutenant Burritt took charge of and opened up this bureau it was found that its archives and records were in the most chaotic condition, and a very large amount of labor has been necessary in order to systematize and classify the same. This work seems to have been done with much thoroughness.

Lieutenant Burritt has prepared and submitted to this office a draft of a general order creating a statute of limitation upon the presentation of Spanish mining claims under the provisions of article 8 of the Treaty of Paris, and has also reported to this office a complete code of mining laws for the Philippine Archipelago, based upon the existing conditions of the mining industry in the islands and a careful investi

gation of the mining section, taken from the records and archives of the bureau and from unofficial reports of miners and prospectors. Both reports were received too late to admit of action of the military governor, and were transmitted to the United States Philippine Commission.

There is also in preparation in the mining bureau a work which, when complete, will be a very thorough and careful investigation of the mining industry in the entire archipelago; also in process of preparation translations of all of the geological and mineralogical reports of the Spanish officials bearing upon the question of the mining industry in the entire archipelago. This work is nearly finished, and will be of great value.

An examination is also being made in the bureau on each Spanish mining concession, together with the amount of taxes due thereon, and in each case a proper brief has been prepared for the enforcement of the collection of the same. No mining concessions have been granted during American occupation, the work of the bureau being confined wholly to a classification of the archives and an examination into claims for concessions which were pending before the Spanish Government at the time of the transfer of sovereignty, and the preparation of laws and regulations for the government of this important branch of the public service.

The thorough and systematic investigation conducted by the mining bureau leaves no room for doubt that radical changes are required in the mining laws which were established under Spanish control, and which are at present in force in the archipelago. The results obtained have been so few and insignificant in the long period in which they have been in force as to demonstrate their inadequacy to the development of the mineral resources of the islands. The policy under which they were framed and perpetuated seems to have been to discourage this, and the obstacles which they have presented thereto have been so serious that the extent and value of the mineral richness of the islands, so far at least as the precious metals are concerned, are but little known. The cumbersome methods and tedious delays that have attended the development of a claim have been such that there has never been a thorough investigation of the mineral lands in the interior. There are to-day in the islands experienced prospectors and competent mining engineers, and with the enactment of a law that will in its workings at one and at the same time give protection to legitimate claims, and remove the obstacles presented by those which are without right upon the records, and which cloud the title to lands that should be officially declared open, under proper regulations, to bona fide entry and development, all doubts as to the mineral conditions of the country will in the very near future be put at rest, and it will soon be known whether or not the islands are as rich in minerals as has been claimed for them.

It is but due Lieutenant Burritt to invite here the attention of the military governor to the energy and zeal displayed in the work assigned to him.

FORESTRY BUREAU.

This branch of administration was organized under General Orders, No. 50, Office of the Military Governor, dated Manila, P. I., April 14, 1900, and was placed under the charge of Capt. George P. Ahern, Ninth United States Infantry, an officer of extensive experience and

study in forestry matters. The subjects within its scope were, under Spanish rule, administered by a bureau of the dirección general de administración civil.

The work of the bureau has consisted of classification and translation of the documents pertaining to the forestry interests of the islands received from the Spanish archives, which proved disappointingly incomplete-maps, surveys, and many other documents which it was thought would be found being lacking. The elaborate timber regulations adopted by the Spanish Government were revised and adapted to the present conditions, and thus materially amended were promulgated by General Orders, No. 92, this office, dated June 27, 1900.

There are at present employed in the bureau a chief assistant and 8 assistant foresters, 14 rangers, 1 translator, and 1 stenographer. The foresters and rangers are well versed in forest botany and familiar with the people, their languages, and customs. The great importance of this branch warrants its thorough development with the improving conditions, and for this there will be required in the near future a material increase in its working force. The income that will be derived even under existing conditions from the enforcement of the forestry regulations will be more than sufficient to meet the expense of such enforcement, and promises a very ample revenue.

The existence of dense tracts of public forest lands, comprising in the archipelago many millions of acres, is unquestioned. Upon these are to be found many hundred tree species, the majority of which are hard woods and many varieties of which are as yet practically unknown in the arts and trade. With the numerous varieties of timber available for building purposes, shipping, and cabinetwork, are to be found many species of gum, rubber, and gutta-percha trees and various dyewoods, the cutting of which should be made to alone largely pay the cost of maintaining the department of forestry. Cocoanut palms, which it is estimated produce an annual revenue of $1 to $2 per tree, as many as 150 to 200 growing to the acre, exist in profusion throughout the islands.

In the vicinity of Manila much timber has already been cut, and lumbermen are compelled to go a considerable distance now in order to get out suitable timber, but the real richness of the islands' forests is as yet practically untouched. The principal difficulties attending the immediate development of these interests are the lack of roads along which the timber, when felled, can be transported to the rivers and tide water. With the building of these, surveys must be made of the public lands, there having been little or nothing accomplished in the past in either direction; the real development of the forests must await the doing of much of this preliminary work.

Notwithstanding the obstacles that now present themselves, it is believed that nowhere else is there a more promising field for the application of the methods of scientific forestry. The certain results of this must be large financial returns, the affording of employment to thousands, the making habitable islands like Mindoro, which are not now so by reason of their dense covering of timber, and the opening to agriculture of large areas of land now inaccessible and untillable. With the systematic culture, development, and preservation of valuable trees in great variety and number that will follow therefrom, there will be insured a valuable and continuing source of revenue to the archipelago and its inhabitants.

DEPARTMENT OF POSTS.

The second annual report of the director-general of posts shows that on August 20, 1900, there were 21 post-offices in the islands in charge of American civilians. Of these, 11 were money-order offices. In addition thereto there were 37 offices in charge of army officials, where stamps were sold and registered mail handled.

The service has been extended along the only line of railway on the islands as the United States forces advanced, and is now in operation. between Manila and Dagupan, the two terminals of the system. Under its franchise the railroad company is required to give free transportation to the mails, and these are forwarded through the medium of two postal cars, one furnished by the railroad, the other having been constructed by the Quartermaster's Department when the Government was operating the road.

During the last fiscal year there were issued 33,734 money orders in the sum of $1,526,310.25, as against 14,907 for the period of American occupation prior to July 1, 1899, aggregating $486,074.04. These orders were issued almost entirely to the army.

The total revenues since May 1, 1899, when the service in the archipelago was made independent, it having been prior thereto administered through the medium of the San Francisco office, have amounted to $117,848.38. The total expenditures for salaries and all other expenses were $98,220.05, leaving a surplus for this period of $19,628.33. This is exclusive of $5,890.04 fees for money orders, which are construed as belonging to the service in America. In these expenditures is included the very considerable item of rent for the Manila postoffice, which from May 1, 1900, has been at the rate of $600 gold per month. The facilities afforded by this building are inadequate to the needs, and it would be economy to erect a suitable building, as the amount now paid for rent would more than pay the interest upon the cost of construction.

The director-general of posts estimates that more than 32 per cent of the letters sent to America were either forwarded without stamps, the postage being paid at the place of destination, or were prepaid by stamps sent from the United States, with a resulting loss to the local service of receipts at the rate of $30,000 a year.

On June 9 last an order was issued requiring the director-general of posts to deposit with the treasurer of the islands funds on hand, which had previously been kept in his possession, separate and apart from the other island funds.

Notwithstanding the general rule requiring all officials in receipt of public funds to remit the same each month to the treasurer of the islands, the practice has heretofore obtained of permitting postmasters located at remote stations to retain from their receipts the amount of their salaries and other expenses of their offices, the balance only being forwarded. This is the practice in the United States, and with the greater difficulties and risks attending the transmission of funds in the archipelago this departure from the general system of accounting seems to be almost required in the interests of the service. Its discontinuance is directed in recent orders.

Though the department of posts has been maintained at all times as a branch of the military government, the order creating it required

its administration to be under the direction of the Post-Office Department. The director of posts, while being given general supervision and control of the service, was required to cooperate with the military commander, but the exact limits and scope of the powers of this branch were not clearly defined. Any inconvenience that might have resulted from such an arrangement was obviated by the earnest and continued efforts of the director-general of posts to bring his department at all times within perfect accord with the general policy controlling the administration of the affairs of the archipelago, and by his submission for Executive approval of the various plans that have been from time to time adopted for the improvement of the service. The wide latitude allowed him in the conduct of his department has not resulted in its different administration from the other branches of the Government with respect to Executive supervision, examination, and practical control.

In pursuance of the general policy observed in the various departments, the inspector-general, division of the Philippines, concluded, on August 3, 1900, a careful and detailed inspection of the department of posts from May 1, 1899, when it became independent of the San Francisco office, to the close of the fiscal year. The result of this demonstrated the excellent administration and condition of the department. No case of unwarranted salary appeared and the most careful attention to the interests of Government was plainly apparent. The sole discrepancy discovered was an error of 12 cents in the expense account, which arose in the reduction of Mexican to American currency. Since the submission of the report of the director-general of posts, Circular No. 41, Division of Customs and Insular Affairs, dated August 8, 1900, and embodying Order No. 943, current series, of the PostOffice Department, has been received, defining more clearly the relation of this branch to the general government of the islands. By the provisions of this the director-general is, among other things, required to submit a detailed statement each month to the military governor of the estimated expenditures and receipts for the ensuing month, and the governor-general in revising this is authorized to make such changes therein as he may deem best for the public interests. No obligation for an amount exceeding $1,000 shall be entered into in any branch of the postal service without the approval of the governor-general. The director-general of posts retains the power of appointment of all officers and employees of the service, with that of fixing their compensation, but his power therein is made subject to the approval of the governor-general. Under this order the money-order fund is still required to be kept separate and distinct from the funds of the islands.

CAPTAIN OF THE PORT.

From the annual report of the office of the captain of the port, and from additional information since furnished by that office, the following comparison of the volume of business and the expenditures thereby involved, between the present fiscal year and the previous period of American occupation, is to be had: