negro being called a zambo; that of a white and a negress, a mulatto; of a white and a mulatto female, a terzeron; of the latter and a white, a quadroon; and so on to the eighth or tenth shade of colour. The number of Mestizos in the country is stated at 1,500,000. 5. The Europeans, among whom the Spaniards predominate. The number of the latter is about 40,000; they are generally nicknamed Gachupinos which, in the old Mexican tongue, means pricking with the heel, in allusion to the spurs the first conquerors wore. The king of Spain formerly exercised a right of conferring the exclusive privileges enjoyed by the white population on individuals of any shade by a decree of the audiencia, Que se tenga por blanco '—that he be deemed white. These distinctions of colour have been abolished as far as political privileges are concerned, by the constitution of 1824, which admits persons of all colours to the equal enjoyment of civil rights.

Trade and Industry.

6

The commerce of Great Britain with Mexico has undergone great fluctuations for the last fifty years. The imports of British produce into Mexico amounted to 112,5997. in 1818; they fell to 1,5987. in 1821; rose to 1,228,0407. in 1827; fell to 160,7527. in 1831; and rose again to 779,0597. in 1849. Then again came a period of decline, which continued till 1860, after which a steady and gradual progress made itself appear. The subjoined tabular statement shows the total value of the imports from Mexico into the United Kingdom, and of the exports of British and Irish produce to Mexico in each of the five years, 1860 to 1864 :—

The extraordinary rise in the imports from Mexico into the United Kingdom, from 1862 to 1864, was due solely to the introduction of raw cotton, of which, previous to 1862, not a single pound was imported. The other Mexican imports are of a miscellaneous nature, the most notable being mahogany, averaging in value 100,000l. per annum. Cotton manufactures, of an average value

of 450,000l. per annum, form the staple export of the United Kingdom to Mexico.

The formerly important silver mines of Mexico, neglected for a long time, were partly reopened in 1864. The former annual average produce of these mines is given as follows:

Since the accession of the Emperor Maximilian, the working of the silver mines has been resumed on an extended scale.

A line of railway, called the 'Imperial Mexican,' 300 miles long, from Vera Cruz to the city of Mexico, with branch to Puebla, was commenced, under State aid, in 1864, and is to be completed in 1867. A portion of the line, from the capital to San Angelo, was opened in September, 1865.

Money, Weights, and Measures.

The money, weights, and measures of Mexico and the British equivalents, are as follows:

The Dollar.

:

The Arroba

S for wine
oil

=

3 imperial gallons.

=

2

Square Vara
Fanega

1.09 vara 1 yard.

Statistical and other Books of Reference concerning Mexico.

1. OFFICIAL PUBLICATIONS.

Anales del Ministerio de Fomento. Obras Publicas, Mejoras Materiales, Colonizacion, Descubrimientos, Inventos y Perfeccionamientos hechos en las Ciencias y las Artes, y utiles aplicaciones practicas. Tomo primero. 8. México, 1854.

Reports of Mr. Consul Jonson and Mr. Consul Blacker, on the Trade and

Commerce of Mexico; in 'Abstract of Reports on the Trade of various Countries.' No. XI. Fol. London, 1862.

Statistical Tables relating to Foreign Countries. Part IX. London, 1864.

2. NON-OFFICIAL PUBLICATIONS.

Chevalier (Michel), Mexico: Ancient and Modern. 1864.

2 vols. 8. London,

Egloffstein (Baron F. W. von), Contributions to the Geology and the Physical Geography of Mexico; with Profiles of some of the principal Mining Districts. 8. New York, 1865.

Hauslab (Frz. v.), Ueber die Bodengestaltung in Mexico und deren Einfluss auf Verkehr und Militärischen Angriff und Vertheidigung. With Maps,and Plates. 8. Vienna, 1865.

Müller (J. W.), Reisen in den Vereinigten Staaten, Canada und Mexico. 3 vols. 8. Leipzig, 1865.

PARAGUAY.

Constitution and Government.

THE form of government of Paraguay is nominally republican, but approaches in reality to an absolute despotism. Representative institutions exist in the form of a congress of several hundred members, which, however, is entirely subject to the head of the state. The latter, called President of the Republic, exercises the whole legislative and executive authority, and is commander in-chief of the troops, as well as head of the church, the law, and every other branch of the government. The president has, moreover, the right to nominate his own successor.

President of Paraguay.-Don Francisco Solano Lopez, born in 1827, the eldest son of Don Carlos Lopez, president of the republic; succeeded to the presidency at the death of his father, by the will of the latter, Sept. 10, 1862.

The President of the Republic is assisted in the discharge of his administrative functions by four secretaries of state, whom he may appoint or discharge at will. They are:

1. The Secretary of the Interior.-Francis Sanchez.

2. The Secretary of War and of the Navy.-Col. Venancio Lopez. 3. The Secretary of Foreign Affairs-José Berges.

4. The Secretary of the Treasury.-Mariano Gonzalez.

The country is divided into 20 sections, or commandancias, exclusive of a territory in the south-east, called the Missions, occupying 600 square leagues, and governed by a special officer.

Population, Revenue, and Commerce.

The area of Paraguay is estimated at 73,000 square miles, and the population, according to an enumeration made in 1857, amounted to 1,337,431. Nearly one-half the entire territory is national property. It consists of pasturage lands and forests, which have never been granted to individuals; the estates of the Jesuit missions, and other religious corporations; and a great number of country houses and farming establishments confiscated by the late dictator, Francia. The latter paid great attention from the commencement of his reign to the improvement of agriculture, and to rendering the government

property productive; and, by so doing, created a branch of revenue which, aided by time and a thrifty government, has been found sufficient of itself for all the wants of the state. Part of these lands are let at a very moderate rent, and for an unlimited period, under the single condition that they shall be properly cultivated, or turned into pasturage. On other parts of these national lands there are large farms, where thousands of cattle and horses are bred. These supply the cavalry with horses and the troops with provisions; besides which, they also furnish great numbers of oxen for the consumption of the capital. The farming establishments are objects of peculiar solicitude to the government; and every month the master herdsmen are obliged to make a detailed report concerning them.

No official account of revenue and expenditure has ever been given; but it is calculated that the annual receipts amount to about 750,000l., derived from state property, the greater part of which has been confiscated; tithes in kind upon all articles of produce, the right to levy which is sold each year to the best bidder; taxes upon shops and storehouses; the droit d'aubaine, or right to the property of all foreigners dying in Paraguay; and fines, postage, sale, stamp and commercial dues. The principal state expenditure is for war stores and the support of the army. There is no public debt.

The military force formerly numbered only about 3,000 men, principally cavalry; but in the war against the allied forces of Brazil, Uruguay, and the Argentine Republic, which broke out in March, 1865, the government raised in a short time an effective army of 60,000 men, including 10,000 cavalry, and 5,000 artillery. According to newspaper reports, these troops were divided into four corps d'armée of from 10,000 to 20,000 men, and had with them 400 field pieces and battery guns. The chief fortress of Paraguay is Humayita, manned, in 1865, by 8,000 men, with 120 guns of large calibre.

The Paraguayan navy was said to consist, in 1865, of 3 brigs of war, 21 steamers, and 15 small gunboats, partly ironclad, each carrying one 80-pounder Armstrong gun.'

*

The commerce of Paraguay is small, and almost entirely in the hands of government. With the United Kingdom, Paraguay has held no direct commercial intercourse for many years, except in 1862, when a few articles of machinery and furniture, valued at 1,7647., were exported to the Republic. The great staple of Paraguay is yerba maté, a species of cabbage, the leaves of which are dried and reduced to powder, in which state it is exported, being extensively used in South America as a kind of tea. When the

* Buenos Ayres Standard, April 20, 1865.