CUBA
561
CUBA
properties and diverted them to the uses of the State.
Among these seizures were the convent of the Francis-
cans, which has been used since then as the Custom
House ; the convent of the Dominicans, used for a time
by the University of Havana; the convent of the Au-
gustinians, used as the Academy of Sciences; the con-
vent of San Ysidro, used by the Spaniards as military
barraclis, and later, by the Americans, as a relief sta-
tion. Up to the time of the American occvipation
these and other valuable properties, formerly held by
the Catholic Church, had been held by Spain, subject
to the results of a long series of negotiations between
the Crown of Spain and the Holy See. The Spanish
Government also held a large amount of censos, or
mortgages, upon property in different parts of the is-
land which had been given to the Church for religious
purposes, but which had been taken over by the State
for purposes of administration. The Crown, however,
annually paid the Church a large sum for its mainte-
nance. With the American occupation these annual
payments ceased, and the American Government con-
tinued to use the property for the same governmental
purposes to which it had been put by the Spaniards.
The Church thereupon clauned the right to take back
the property. This gave rise to a long discussion and
investigation, imtil the whole matter was finally re-
ferred to a judicial commission in 1902. This commis-
sion decided in favour of the claims of the Church, and
the matter was adjusted to the satisfaction of all. The
Government of Intervention agreed to pay a rental of
5 per cent, upon the appraised value of the jjroperty,
which amounted to about $2,000,000, with a five years'
option to the Goverrunent of Cuba, when organized, to
buy the property at the appraised value, receiving
credit against the purchase price for 25 per cent, of the
rental paid ; and the matter of the censos was adjusted
by the Government of Intervention taking them at 50
cents on the dollar and permitting the debtors to take
them up at the same rate.
The island at present is divided ecclesiastically into one archdiocese and three suffragan dioceses as fol- lows: the Archdiocese of Santiago de Cuba, created as such in 1804, comprising the civil province of the same name and that of Puerto Principe; the Diocese of Ha- vana, established in I78S, comprising thecivil provinces of Havana and Matanzas; the Diocese of Cienfuegos, established in 1903, which includes the province of Santa Clara ; the diocese of Pinar del Ri'o, established at the same time as the precetling in 1903, and com- prising the civil province of the same name and the Isle of Pines. In 1899 the remains of Christopher Colum- bus, which had been brought from Santo Domingo in 1796 and had since then been preserved in the cathedral of Havana, were once more removed, this time to Se- ville in Spain. The .Archbishop of Santiago de Cuba is metropohtan of the island. Francisco Barnaba Agui- lar, the first native incumbent of this metropolitan see, was consecrated by Archbishop Chapelle, 2 July, 1899. Under Spanish rule all the bishops, as well as most of the priests of the island were appointed from Madrid. An Apostolic Delegate for Cuba and Porto Rico now resides at Havana. He is not accredited to the Cuban Government, and Cuba has no official representative at the Vatican. The first delegate was Archbishop Cha- pelle of New Orleans, who was sent by Leo XIII to look after the interests of the Chiu-ch in Cuba during the .Vmerican occupation. There are in the island 199 secular, and 129 regular priests. Of institutions con- ducted by religious orders, there are 13 colleges for boys, 17 schools and academies for girls, 5 orphan asy- lums, 1 reform school, 2 houses of the Good Shepherd, 2 asylums for the aged, and 2 hospitals. The clergy are exempt from military service and jury duty. There are no chapels in the prisons; wills and inheritances are subject only to civil laws ; eemeteriesare owned in some instances by the municipalities, in others, as at Ha- vana, by the Church. Church property is held in the IV.— 36
name of "the Roman Catholic Church". Both civil
and religious marriages are legal and binding, and per-
sons may be married according to either or both. Di-
vorce is not legally recognized.
Education. — During the early history of Cuba, the clergy seemed to have been the principal if not the only agents of education. By the Bull of Adrian VI (28 April, 1 522), the Scholatria was established at Santiago deCuba for giving instruction in Latin. In 1689, the College of San Ambrosio was founded in Havana vmder control of the Jesuits, for the purpose of preparing yoimg men for the priesthood. The foundation of another Jesuit college in Havana was the next step that gave a fresh impulse to education; this was opened in 1724 under the name of the College of San Ignacio. The old College of San Ambrosio was then united with it, although it still retained its character as a founda- tion-school for the Chm-ch. As early as 1688, the city council of Havana petitioned the royal Government to establish a university in that city, in order that young men desirous of pursuing the higher studies might not be compelled to go to Europe to do so. This was not inunediately granted, but finally, by a letter of Inno- cent XIII (12 September, 1721)," the fathers of the Con- vent of San Juan de Letran were authorized to open the institution desired, and, after some years of prepa- ration, the present University of Havana was founded in 1728. The rectors, vice-rectors, counsellors, and secretaries were to be Dominicans In 1793, under the administration of Don Luis de las Casas, who is always gratefully remembered by the Cubans, was founded La Sociedad Economica de la Habana, which has always been the prime mover in the educational advancement of the island.
Not until the last century was well advanced, was there a free institution in all Cuba where children could be taught to read and write. The first opened was that of the Bethlehemite Fathers in Havana, and that through the generosity of a private citizen.
In 1899, the date of the American occupation, pri- vate schools abounded in Cuba, but the benefits of these could be enjoyed only by the children of the rich. The children of the poorer classes who attended the so- called municipal schools, received only a rudimentary education. But soon after the American intervention the wonderful work of reconstruction was begun. Ade- quate school buildings were provided, the number of teachers was rapidly increased, and measures w-ere adopted to compel children to attend the classes. When the Cuban government assumed control, it con- tinued the good work along the same lines, so that now it can be said that the public schools are equal, if not superior to the private ones, at least as to furniture and teaching apparatus. Primary education, according to the Constitution, is gratuitous and compulsory. The expenses are paid by the municipality or, in any case of municipal inabiUty to pay, by the Federal Govern- ment. Secondary and higher education are controlled by the State. The children of the public schools re- ceive religious instruction in what are known as doc- trinas, of which there is one in every parish, and at the head of it is the parish priest. These dmirinas are like Sunday schools, except that sessions are held on Sat- urday "instead of Sunday. The teachers are all volun- teers, and are usually ladies who live in the parish. According to the census of 1899, the proiiortion of illit- eracy was about 60 per cent. But with the extraordi- nary increase in the number of .schools and facilities for teaching, this proportion is (in 1908) rapidly decreasing.
Recently the University has been divided into three faculties: Letters and Sciences; Medicine and Phar- macy; Law. The faculty of Letters and Sciences consists of the schools of" letters and philosophy, of pedagogy, of sciences, of engineering, electricity, of architecture, and of agriculture. The faculty of Medi- cine and Pharmacy consists of the schools of medicine, of pharmacy, of dental surgery, and of veterinary sur-
