Religion in Guatemala is thoroughly disorganized. There is ample accommodation in the cathedrals and churches not appropriated by the Government, but they are for the most part neglected, many of them being only casually served by itinerant priests. It is estimated that less than onetenth of the population avail themselves of the opportunities of public worship; and it does not appear that any other system of religion thrives upon the ruin of the Roman Catholic establishment.

Finance.

The finances of Guatemala do not flourish so well as her internal government. Import and export duties provide more than a quarter of the total revenue, but this does not suffice to cover the expenditure, or to furnish interest for the foreign debt (held chiefly in Great Britain). The bulk of this is in the shape of a loan of £720,000, contracted in 1869. Payment of interest was suspended in 1885.

HAYTI.

The Republic of Hayti (capital, Port-au-Prince) is the western portion of the island of San Domingo, in the West Indies, formerly in the possession of France, and previously of Spain. After many vicissitudes a Constitution was proclaimed in 1867.

Area, 10,250 square miles. Population, about 800,000, of whom nine-tenths are negroes, and the remainder chiefly half-breeds. The prevailing language is French.

GOVERNMENT.

The President, nominally elected for four years, at a salary of £4,800, is the head of the executive power. Regular popular elections have not recently taken place, the country being in a condition of chronic insurrection.

The present occupant of the post has had a longer term of office than any of his predecessors (1879-87). He is assisted by four Ministers who are in charge of departments of administration.

A Senate of 30 is nominated by the House of Commons, and is renewed by thirds every two years. The House is elected by the people every three years, all citizens earning incomes and paying taxes being entitled to vote.

The religion is nominally Roman Catholic. Education is in a neglected condition, and not efficiently supported by the State.

Expenditure in 1885-6, about £800,000 nominal. Foreign debt, £3,338,120. Internal debt (largely represented by paper money) unascertained. Interest is not paid on either of these debts.

HONDURAS.

The Republic of Honduras (capital, Tegucigalpa) is on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, east of Guatemala and north of Nicaragua. Assuming independence in 1839, it proclaimed a Constitution in 1865, and modified it in 1880. Area, 46,000 square miles. Population, about 460,000, of whom the large majority are native Indios. These figures are mere approximations.

GOVERNMENT.

The Constitution of 1880 provides for a President to be elected every four years by popular vote of all electors to the Chamber of Deputies. He is assisted by a Council of seven Ministers, having charge of Foreign Affairs, Interior, Public Works, War, Finance, Public Instruction, and Justice. These are nominated by and responsible to the

President, and advise him in his executive capacity. The government of the country is, however, very unsettled, and the President has frequently been content to rule with the help of a single Minister.

The Chamber of Deputies includes thirty-seven members, the franchise apparently depending on the payment of taxes.

For local administration the country is divided into twelve Departments, including sixty districts, and 212 municipali

ties.

Education is fairly attended to, about one in eighteen of the population attending school. There are also higher schools and a national college.

Honduras is practically bankrupt—a fact which is due in part to quarrels with its neighbours and in part to the contraction of loans for the construction of an inter-oceanic railway. Three loans, of the nominal amount of £5,990,000, were contracted in Europe between 1867 and 1870, at interest varying from 7 to 12 per cent. It is uncertain how much of the principal reached Honduras. About £689,000 was paid to contractors up to 1875, and a few miles of the line near Puerto Cortez are all that there is to show for the money. No interest has been paid since 1872. The internal debt of the country is £400,000. The annual Revenue is about £200,000, and the Expenditure somewhat greater.

LIBERIA.

The United States of Liberia" (capital, Monrovia) were founded as an experimental nation of negroes, on the west coast of Africa, in the year 1822, by the American Colonization Society, of which Henry Clay was the guiding spirit.

The settlement was intended to test the capacity of the African natives for self-government, and prospered fairly for some time, under the direction of American citizens. Its independence was proclaimed in 1847, and recognized by the European Powers; but not by the United States. until the slave-holding influence over the Government had passed away.

Area, about 14,000 square miles.

Population, over a million, of whom about 18,000 are liberated slaves.

GOVERNMENT.

The United States Constitution was imposed upon this mimic Republic. The President must not be under 35 years of age, and must possess property to the amount of £120. The Senate is composed of eight members, and is elected every four years. The House of Representatives, elected every two years, contains thirteen members.

There is a gradually increasing Revenue, now exceeding £40,000, and an Expenditure which does not appear to grow with the Revenue. The latter is derived mainly from customs dues. Nevertheless the country owes about £200,000, on which it does not pay interest, and its condition at present appears to be almost hopeless.

MEXICO.

The Federal Republic of Mexico (capital, Mexico) has been in almost constant revolution since its independence. of Spain in 1821. A Federal Republic was proclaimed in 1823, and after many disturbances a new Constitution was proclaimed in 1857. This was presently annulled by the so-called church, or reactionary, party. The attempt of the French to set up an empire for the Archduke Maximilian

in 1862-7 signally failed. Mexico lies between the United States and the Republic of Guatemala, having lost to the former country the States of California and Texas, and the Territories of New Mexico and Arizona.

Area, 645,500 square miles. Population, about 10,000,000. Of these about one-fifth are white, and more than onethird are Indians. These estimates include the three Territories not organized as States.

GOVERNMENT.

The Constitution of 1823, revised in 1857, and modified on subsequent occasions, took many of its features from that of the United States. It declares all citizens equal, without respect of race or creed; gives to each of the constituent States two votes in the Senate; makes the popular House correspond to the population of the States, with universal suffrage; provides for the payment of Senators and Representatives; and in sundry other ways keeps fairly close to the northern model. But the difficulty has been to insure obedience to this Constitution in a country which is doomed to almost perpetual civil war.

The President is indirectly elected every four years, and is not immediately re-eligible. He is assisted by six Secretaries of State, having charge of the Departments of Foreign Affairs, Justice, Finance, the Interior, War and Marine, and Public Works, who are responsible to Congress.

The Senate includes 56 members, two each from twentyeight States. Senators must be thirty years of age, and they receive a salary of £600 a year. One member is elected by his colleagues each month to act as President of the Chamber, and he is the recognized substitute for the President in case of need.