SALVADOR. (REPÚBLICA DEL SALVADOR.) Constitution and Government. IN 1853 the Central American Federation, which had comprised the States of Guatemala, Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica, was dissolved, and Salvador became an independent Republic. The Constitution, proclaimed in 1864, and modified in 1880, 1883, and 1886, vests the legislative power in a Congress of 70 Deputies, 42 of whom are proprietors. The election is for one year, and by universal suffrage. The executive is in the hands of a President, whose tenure of office is limited to four years. President of the Republic.-General Carlos Ezeta, elected for the period from March 1, 1891, to March 1, 1895. The administrative affairs of the Republic are carried on, under the President, by a ministry of four members, having charge of the departments of:-The Exterior, Justice, and Worship; War and Finance; Interior and Fomento; Instruction and Beneficence. The army numbers 4,000 men, and the militia 15,000. There is one custom-house cruiser. Area and Population. The area of the Republic is estimated at 7,225 English square miles, divided into 14 departments. The population, according to a census of January 1, 1886, was 651,130 (318,329 males and 332,801 females), giving an average of 89 inhabitants to the square mile, being twenty times that of the average of the other States of Central America. The census returns for 1892 are still incomplete. An official estimate makes the population 780,426. Aboriginal and mixed races constitute the bulk of the population, among whom live about 20,000 whites or descendants of Europeans. The capital is San Salvador, founded in 1528, with 20,000 inhabitants (1892). The city in 1854 was overwhelmed by volcanic disturbances, and most of the inhabitants erected new dwellings on a neighbouring site, at present called Nueva San Salvador. The new capital suffered similarly in 1873, and again in 1879. Instruction and Justice. Education is free and obligatory. In 1893 there were in Salvador 585 primary schools, with 29,427 pupils; 18 higher schools (including 2 normal and 3 technical schools) with 1,200 pupils; and a national university with faculties of jurisprudence, medicine, natural sciences, and engineering, attended by 180 students. In the capital is a national library and museum, and in the Republic 13 newspapers are published. Justice is administered by the Supreme Court of Justice, by several subordinate courts, and by local justices. Finance. The following are the official figures of the revenue and expenditure for five years : The revenue is derived mostly from customs duties. The expenditure for 1892 was for :-Administration, 4,052,073 dollars; public credit, 2,732,456 dollars. At the beginning of 1891 the internal debt amounted to about 7,500,000 dollars. In that year a Committee of Bondholders was authorised to issue, in exchange for bonds of the public debt, bonds of Salvador to the amount of 8,000,000 dollars. Of this amount only 3,779,500 dollars were issued, and, on January 1, 1893, the amount in circulation was 3,614,000 dollars. external debt is about £300,000, and the interest is paid with regularity. The In July, 1893, the Government published a project for an internal loan of 1,000,000 dollars, offering a premium of 10 per cent., and interest 12 per cent. per annum, with the issue of guarantee bonds, redeemable one-half with a new tax on spirits, the other half with 10 per cent. of the import duties. The tobacco and other taxes are already farmed out. Production and Commerce. The population of Salvador is largely engaged in agriculture. The chief produce exported in 1892 was:-Coffee, 180,458 packages; indigo, 9,587 packages; sugar, 12,279 packages; tobacco, manufactured, 1,170 packages; unmanufactured, 2,491 packages. The mineral wealth of the Republic includes gold, silver, copper, iron, mercury. The mines and quarries in operation number 180. The imports and exports have been as follows for five years :— To the imports in 1892 Great Britain contributed 758,230 dollars; the United States, 878,770 dollars; France, 426,438 dollars; Germany, 268,380 dollars. Of the exports, 2,878,648 dollars went to the United States; 797,810 dollars to Great Britain; 953,998 dollars to France; 787,480 dollars to Germany. The principal imports in 1892 were cotton goods, 877,470 dollars. The principal exports in 1892 were :-Coffee, 4,526,760 dollars; indigo, 1,150,170 dollars. The imports into the United Kingdom from Salvador (according to the Board of Trade Returns) amounted in 1892 to 186,4547., of which 104,2527. was for dye stuffs, and 80,9017. for coffee. The domestic exports from the the United Kingdom to Salvador amounted to 270,2077.; the chief articles exported being cottons, 176,2347.; iron, 17,7067.; woollens, 19,6757.; machinery, 9,9071. (For earlier years see Guatemala.) Shipping and Communications. In 1892, 618 vessels entered the ports of the Republic, and as many cleared. A railway connects the port of Acajutla with the inland towns of Santa Anna and Ateos 53 miles, and is nearly completed to San Tecla. Receipts in 1892, 191,558 dollars; expenses, 131,876 dollars. There are over 2,000 miles of good road in the Republic. Salvador joined the postal union in 1879. In 1892 there were 54 principal receiving offices, and 759,289 letters, and 922,608 packets were transmitted. In 1892 there were in Salvador 131 telegraph stations and a network of 2,421 miles of wire. There were 602,947 messages transmitted. There are 897 miles of telephone wire. Money, Weights, and Measures. MONEY. The Dollar, of 100 centavos, approximate value 4s., real value 6 dollars = 17. The gold coins of England, Germany, the Latin Union, Spain, several South American Republics, and Mexico, by decree, are received at par; those of the United States generally at 5 per cent. premium. The Central Ameri can Mint (Limited), established August, 1892, had issued up to March, 1893, 10,000 dollars in gold coinage, and 70,585 dollars in silver. In July, 1893, the company contracted to coin in silver 1,000,000 dollars a year for 5 years in "colones" and half "colones" 900 fine, and smaller pieces 835 fine. A law passed September 30, 1892, adopting the gold standard, and requiring taxes to be paid in gold or its equivalent, is still in abeyance. In 1885 the metrical system of weights and measures was introduced. Diplomatic Representatives. 1. OF SALVADOR IN GREAT BRITAIN. Consul-General and Agent.-L. Alexander Campbell. There are consular agents at London, Falmouth, Southampton, Manchester, Nottingham, Liverpool, Birmingham, and Glasgow. 2. OF GREAT BRITAIN IN SALVADOR. Minister and Consul-General.-Audley C. Gosling. Statistical and other Books of Reference concerning Salvador. Constitucion politica de la República del Salvador decretada por el Congreso Nacion Constituyente el 4 de Diciembre de 1883. Leyes, Ordenes y Resoluciones de los Poderes Legislativos y Ejecutivos en 1889. 8. San Salvador, 1892. American Consular Reports for February, August, September, and October, 1893. Washington. Report on Salvador for 1892, in No. 1281 Annual Series, Foreign Office Reports. London, 1893. Annual Statement of the Trade of the United Kingdom with Foreign Countries and British Possessions for the year 1892. Imp. 4. London, 1893. Gonzalez (Dr. D.), Geografía de Centro-América. San Salvador, 1878. Guzman (D.), Apuntamientos sobre la topografia fisica de la rep. del Salvador. San Salvador, 1883. Laferriere (J.). De Paris à Guatemala. 8. Paris, 1877. Marr (Wilhelm), Reise nach Central-America. 2 vols. 8. Hamburg, 1863. Morelot (L.), Voyage dans l'Amérique centrale. 2 vols. 8. Paris, 1859. Reyes (Rafael). Nociones de história del Salvador. San Salvador, 1886. Scherzer (Karl Ritter von), Wanderungen durch die mittelamerikanischen Freistaaten Nicaragua, Honduras und Salvador. 8. Braunschweig, 1857. Squier (E. G.), The States of Central America. S. London, 1868. Reigning King.-Malietoa Laupepa, restored November 9, 1889. Group of 14 volcanic islands in the South Pacific, the chief of which are Upolu, Savaii, and Tutuila. At a Samoan conference at Berlin in 1889, at which Great Britain, Germany, and the United States were represented, an Act was signed (June 14), guaranteeing the neutrality of the islands, in which the citizens of the three signatory Powers have equal rights of residence, trade, and personal protection. The three Powers recognise the independence of the Samoan Government, and the free rights of the natives to elect their chief or king, and choose the form of government according to their own laws and customs. A supreme court is established, consisting of one judge, who is styled Chief Justice of Samoa. To this Court are referred (1) all civil suits concerning real property situated in Samoa; (2) all civil suits of any kind be tween natives and foreigners, or between foreigners of different nationalities; (3) all crimes and offences committed by natives against foreigners, or com mitted by such foreigners as are not subject to any consular jurisdiction. All future alienation of lands is prohibited, with certain specified excep tions. A local administration is provided for the municipal district of Apia. Apia in the island of Upolu is the capital and centre of government. Area, 1,701 square miles; population, about 36,000, of which 16,600 in Upolu, 12,500 in Savaii, 3,750 in Tutuila. The natives are Polynesians. There were in 1891, 235 British-born subjects (163 males and 72 females), about 90 Germans, and a few of other nationalities. The natives are all Christians (Protestant and Roman Catholic), and schools are attached to the churches. Revenue from taxes and customs duties on the foreign population in 1891 5,6701. The trade is in the hands of German and British firms, and British trade is increasing. Imports, 1891, 70,7127.; exports, 34,6477. Imports, 1892, 67,3181. (39,2591. from Great Britain and Colonies); exports, 36,3567. Of the imports only 467. came from the United Kingdom; 20,5287. came from Australia, and 18,6811. from New Zealand. Chief imports, haberdashery, trinkets, lumber, galvanised roofing, and tinned provisions; chief exports, copra, cotton, and coffee. During 1892 many acres were planted with cacao, with a view to export. In 1892 104 vessels of 85,565 tons (30 of 28,936 tons British) excluding men-of-war and coasting vessels entered the port of Apia; in 1891, 93 vessels (41 British) entered. During 1892 the whole of the improved steam communication with New Zealand, Australia, and California continued in operation. New Zealand is reached in five days, Australia in eight. British Consul.-T. B. Cusack-Smith, Deputy Commissioner for Samoa and Union Group. The Berlin Treaty made the American coinage the standard of exchange in Samoa. English silver and United States, English, and German gold are exclusively in circulation. The Chilian coinage has been exported from the country. BOOKS OF REFERENCE. Bastian (Adolf), Einiges aus Samoa und andern Inseln der Südsee. 8. Berlin, 1889. Blue Book for Samoa, 1893. Churchward (W. B.), My Consulate in Samoa. Finlay's South Pacific Dictionary. Meinecke, Die Inseln des Stillen Oceans. Papers on Samoa, published by the United States Foreign Office. Report of the Berlin Conference relating to Samoa. London, 1890. Stevenson (R. L.), A Footnote to History: Eight Years of Trouble in Samoa. 8. London, 1892. Turner (Rev. G.), Nineteen Years in Polynesia. London, 1884. Wallace (A. R.), Australasia. Williams (Rev. J.), Missionary Enterprise in the South Sea Islands. Foreign Office Annual Series. Report on the Trade of Samoa, No. 1064, 1592; and Report 1262, 1893. SANTO DOMINGO. (REPÚBLICA DOMINICANA.) Constitution and Government. THE Republic of Santo Domingo, founded in 1844, is governed under a Constitution bearing date November 18, 1844, re-proclaimed, with changes, November 14, 1865 (after a revolution which expelled the troops of Spain, who held possession of the country for the two previous years), and again in 1879, 1880, 1881, and 1887. By the terms of the Constitution the legislative power of the Republic is vested in a National Congress of 22 deputies. members are chosen by direct popular vote, with restricted suffrage, in the ratio of two for each province and two for each district, for the term of two years. But the powers of the National Congress only embrace the general affairs of the Republic. The The executive of the Republic is vested in a President chosen by universal suffrage for the term of four years. During the past few years, according to the British Consular Reports, the country has been going on prosperously, and become comparatively quiet. President of the Republic.-General Ulisses Heureaux, elected 1886. The administrative affairs of the Republic are in charge of a ministry appointed by the President. The Ministry is composed of the heads of the departments of the Interior and Police, Finance and Commerce, Justice and Public Instruction, War and Marine, Public Works and Foreign Affairs. Each province and district is administered by a governor appointed by the President. The various communes, cantons, and sections are presided over by prefects or magistrates appointed by the governors. The communes have municipal corporations elected by the inhabitants. Area and Population. The area of Santo Domingo, which embraces the eastern portion of the island of Haiti-the western division forming the Republic of Haiti-is estimated at 18,045 English square miles, with a population in 1888 officially estimated at 610,000 inhabitants, or about 34 to the square mile. The Republic is divided into six provinces and five maritime districts. The population, unlike that of the neighbouring Haiti, is mainly composed of a mixed race of the original Spanish inhabitants and the aborigines, of mulattoes and of negroes, the latter being less in number; the whites, or European-descended inhabitants, are comparatively numerous, and owing to their influence the Spanish language prevails, though in the towns both French and English are spoken. The capital of the Republic is the city of Santo Domingo, founded 1494, at the mouth of the river Ozama, with 25,000 inhabitants according to official statement; Puerto Plata, the chief port, has 15,000 inhabitants. |