anao, San Antonio de los Baños, Marin, Alfonso XII, Colon, Guane, San Cristobal, San Juan de los Remedios, Sancti Spiritus, Trinidad, Baracoa, Bayamo, Guantanamo, Holguin, and Manzanillo, one thousand, eight hundred and seventy-five dollars per annum. The judges of first instance have original civil jurisdiction in all cases where the amount involved exceeds tvo hundred dol lars, and appellate jurisdiction from the municipal courts; they decide questions of competency arising between municipal judges of the same judicial district, take cognizance, in first instance, when the com petency of other judges of first instance is in question, and of appeals in similar cases of municipal judges; they hear cases in bank ruptcy and for the discharge of such com missions or other duties as may be devolved on them by superior courts or of courts of the same category of other judicial districts. The other officials of a court of first instance are one secretary, four court or record clerks (escribanos), one physician, and two bailiffs or constables. The secretaries are appointed by the judges of first instance, while the clerks are appointed by the gov ernment on the recommendation in ternary of the audiencias. The secretaries and clerks are paid from fees according to a schedule established by the government and collected from litigants. Prior to American occupation there were three criminal audiencias and three territo rial audiencias. The criminal audiencias were located in Pinar del Rio. Santa Clara, and Puerto Principe, and each was composed of a presiding judge and two associate justices. They were appointed by the governor-gen eral and paid as follows: Presiding judge, four thousand, two hundred and eighty dollars per annum; associates, three thou sand, five hundred dollars. These courts had original and exclusive jurisdiction over all crimes committed in the island from chicken stealing to murder, until the estab lishment by General Wood of the special
criminal court (Juzgado de Guardia) of Habana, by a decree of February i, 1900. The criminal audiencias had no civil jurisdiction. The other officials of the criminal audien cias were one public prosecutor (fiscal) one deputy prosecutor, one secretary, one as sistant secretary, and two clerks. Territorial audiencias were established in the provinces of Habana, Matanzas, and Santiago, and had criminal jurisdiction in the provinces where located, and civil juris diction in the territory assigned them; thus, the audiencia of Habana had criminal juris diction in that province and civil jurisdiction over Pinar del Rio and Habana; the terri torial audiencia of Matanzas had criminal jurisdiction over that province and civil juris diction over Matanzas and Santa Clara; the territorial audiencia of Santiago had criminal jurisdiction over the province of Santiago and civil jurisdiction over Santiago and Puerto Principe. Thus the territorial audi encias had a criminal chamber and a civil chamber or sala. The judges were appointed by the governor-general in council with the secretaries. The presiding judges of the audiencia of Habana received a salary of five thousand, seven hundred and fifty dollars; the nine associate judges, five thousand dol lars; the other court officials were the same as for the criminal audiencias with the addi tion of an assistant deputy fiscal or public prosecutor. By a decree of June 15, 1899, civil and criminal jurisdiction was conferred on the six audiencias within the provinces where established. Certain administrative func tions and duties were also imposed on them, and the fees which were formerly paid to the secretaries of audiencias in stamped paper of the State were also suppressed. Other court officials under the laws of Spain were the solicitors, who sepresented contending parties in civil and criminal causes. Formerly the office of solicitor was sold as a source of revenue to those who paid the highest price, the insular govern
