in 1883 to 1,766,457 pesos, in 1884 to 1,572,297 pesos, in 1885 to 1,660,526 pesos, in 1886 to 1,571,000 pesos. In 1881 the imports were valued at 1,204,465 pesos, in 1882 at 1,320,125 pesos, in 1883 at 953,076 pesos, in 1884 at 1,448,130 pesos, in 1885 at 1,476,596 pesos, in 1886 at 1,621,000 pesos. The chief imports are textiles, valued at 596,564 pesos in 1884-85 per cent. from Great Britain; foods and drinks, 384,524 pesos. About 48 per cent. of the total imports come from Britain.

The British imports pass entirely through the territories of Brazil and the Argentine Confederation, and there is no direct intercourse between Paraguay and the United Kingdom.

The

The number of horned cattle in Paraguay in 1887 was 730,000, sheep 32,000, horses 62,000, goats 11,000, pigs 12,000. chief agricultural products besides yerba and tobacco are, maize, rice, wheat, mandioca, and cotton, barely sufficient for home consumption. In 1882, 37,500,000 lbs. of sugar were produced. Only 158,100 acres were under cultivation in 1887-viz. maize 58,800 acres, mandioca 41,400 acres, beans 22,300 acres, tobacco 16,300 acres, sugar 7,100 acres, rice 3,400 acres, sundries 8,800 acres.

There are (1887) 1,198 factories, mills, and houses of business, with an aggregate working capital of 4,550,000 pesos, giving employment to 2,600 persons.

The only railway in Paraguay is a short line of 45 English miles, from Asuncion, the capital, to Paraguari. The total traffic in 1886 amounted to 126,815 pesos. A concession was granted in 1887 for the extension of the railway through the southern part of the republic to the river Parana, and another towards the Bolivian frontier. The river navigation is important; in 1882, 696 vessels, of 104,819 tons, left Paraguayan ports, and 569, of 130,198 tons, arrived. There is a line of telegraph at the side of the railway; in 1884 a new line was opened, connecting Asuncion with Corrientes in the Argentine Republic, and thus with the outside world. Paraguay joined the postal union in 1881; the number of letters, newspapers, &c., transmitted in 1886 was 304,617.

Diplomatic and Consular Representatives.

1. OF GREAT BRITAIN IN PARAGUAY.

Envoy and Minister.-Hon. Francis J. Pakenham (Resident at Buenos Ayres). Consul.-William Stewart.

2. OF PARAGUAY IN GREAT BRITAIN.

Consul-General.-Christopher James. Accredited May 14, 1884.

Money, Weights, and Measures.

The money, weights, and measures of Paraguay, and the British equivalents, are:

MONEY.

The Peso, or Dollar 100 Centavos. Nominal value, 48. ; real value, 33.

14 imperial bushel.

694 Engl. sq. yards.
12 Engl. sq. miles.

Since the end of the war of 1865-70, an extensive paper currency has been introduced into the republic. The weights and measures of the Argentine Confederation and the currency of Brazil are also in general use.

Statistical and other Books of Reference concerning Paraguay.

1. OFFICIAL PUBLICATIONS.

Mensage del Presidente de la República, presentado al Congreso Legisla tive de la Nacion. 4. Asuncion, 1883.

Memoria del Ministerio de Hacienda, presentada à los H. Senadores y Diputados en 1880. 4. Asuncion, 1883.

Sobre la cantidad de leguas de terrenos públicos aproximadamente, la calidad de ellos, sus produciones, &c.: Informe por order. de S. E. el Señor Presidente de la República del Paraguay. 4. Asuncion, 1871.

Report by Mr. Vansittart on Paraguay, in 'Reports of H.M.'s Secretaries of Embassy and Legation.' Part I. 1883.

Report by Consul Baker on Paraguay in Reports of the Consuls of the United States.' No. XXXIX. 1884. Washington, 1884.

Report on Paraguay in Deutsches Handels-Archiv.' May, 1887. Berlin.

2. NON-OFFICIAL PUBLICATIONS.

Demersay (L. A.), Histoire physique, économique et politique du Paraguay et des etablissements des Jésuites. 2 vols. 8. Paris, 1865.

Du Graty (Alfred), La République de Paraguay. 8. Bruxelles, 1865. Förster (Bernhard), Einiges über Paraguay, in Deutsche Kolonial-Zeitung.' November, 1887.

Johnston (K.), Paraguay. In 'Geographical Mag.,' July 1875. London, 1875. Kennedy (A. J.), La Plata, Brazil, and Paraguay, during the War. 8. London, 1869.

Lambel, Le Paraguay. Tours, 1878.

Mansfield (Charles), Paraguay, Brazil, and the Plate. New edition. By the Rev. Charles Kingsley. 8. London, 1866.

Masterman (G. F.), Seven Eventful Years in Paraguay. 8. London, 1869. Mulhall (M. G. and E. T.), Handbook to the River Plate Republics, &c., and the Republics of Uruguay and Paraguay. 8. London, 1885.

Page (Commander Thomas G.), La Plata, the Argentine Confederation, and Paraguay. Narrative of the Exploration of the Tributaries of the River La Plata and adjacent countries during the years 1853, 1854, 1855, and 1856, under the orders of the United States Government. 8. New York, 1867. Quentin (Charles), Le Paraguay. 8. Paris, 1866.

Thompson (George), The Paraguayan War; with sketches of the history of Paraguay, and of the manners and customs of the people. 8. London, 1869. Toeppen (Dr. Hugo), Hundert Tage in Paraguay. Hamburg, 1885.

Tschudi (Joh. Jak. v.), Reisen durch Südamerika. 2 vols. 8. Leipzig, 1866. Washburn (Charles A.), The History of Paraguay. With notes of personal observations. 2 vols. 8. Boston and New York, 1871.

PERU.

(REPÚBLICA DEL PERÚ.)

Constitution and Government.

THE republic of Peru, formerly the most important of the Spanish Viceroyalties in South America, issued its declaration of independence July 28, 1821; but it was not till after a war, protracted till 1824, that the country gained its actual freedom from Spanish rule. The Republic is politically divided into departments, and the departments into provinces. The present constitution, proclaimed Oct. 16, 1856, was revised Nov. 25, 1860. It is modelled on that of the United States, the legislative power being vested in a Senate and a House of Representatives, the former composed of deputies of the provinces, in the proportion of one for every 30,000 inhabitants or fraction exceeding 15,000, and the latter of representatives nominated by the electoral colleges of the provinces of each department, at the rate of two when the department has two provinces, and one more for every other two provinces. The parochial electoral colleges choose deputies to the provincial colleges, who in turn send representatives to Congress, and elect the Municipal Councils as well.

The executive power is entrusted to a President. There are two Vice-Presidents, who take the place of the President only in case of his death or incapacity, and they are elected for four years.

President of the Republic.-General Andres Avelino Caceres, appointed June 3, 1886.

The President has to exercise his executive functions through a cabinet of five ministers, holding office at his pleasure. None of the President's acts have any value without the signature of a minister.

By the terms of the constitution there exists absolute political, but not religious freedom, the charter prohibiting the public exercise of any other religion than the Roman Catholic, which is declared the religion of the State. But practically there is a certain amount of tolerance, there being in Callao and Lima Anglican Churches as well as Jewish Synagogues. At the census of 1876 there were 5,087 Protestants, 498 Jews, other religions, 27,073.

Education.

Elementary education is compulsory for both sexes, and is free in the public schools that are maintained by the municipalities. High schools are maintained by the Government in the capitals of the departments, and in some provinces pupils pay a moderate fee.

There is in Lima a central university, called 'Universidad de San Marcos,' the most ancient in America; its charter was granted by the emperor Carlos V.; it has faculties of Jurisprudence, Medicine, Political Science, Theology, and Applied Science. Lima possesses a school of mines and civil engineering, created in 1874, with good collections and laboratories. There are in the capital and in some of the principal towns private high schools under the direction of English, German, and Italian staffs. Lima has also a public library, with a rich collection, besides the one of the university and school of mines. There are two minor universities at Cuzco and Arequipa.

Revenue, Army, and Navy.

The public revenue was until recently mainly derived from the sale of guano, and from customs. Direct taxation exists in two forms, there being a poll-tax, at the rate of 4 sols on the coast and 2 in the inland departments per annum, for every man between 21 and 60 years; a tax is levied too, at the rate of 3 per cent., on the rent derived from real property. Of the actual revenue and expenditure of the Government there were until recently no official returns, but it is known that there were large annual deficits, the profits from the sale of guano not proving sufficiently large to cover the cost of immense public works, including a railway to the summit of the Andes, besides the payment of interest of a large debt.

The following is an official statement of the revenue and expenditure for 1884 and 1885 :

In 1886 a budget of revenue and expenditure was passed by the Congress for each of the years 1887 and 1888. The revenue was estimated at 8,062,385 silver sols, and expenditure 6,760,866 silver sols, leaving a surplus of 1,304,419 silver sols. The largest items of revenue were customs, 4,255,900 sols; poll-tax, 1,100,000 sols; tobacco duty, 350,000 sols; stamps, 288,135 sols; taxes on real estate, 361,531 sols. The largest items of expenditure were the Ministry of the Interior, Police, and Public Works, 2,454,500 sols; Ministry of War and Marine, 1,824,766 sols; Justice, Instruction, and Religion, 898,211 sols.

Peru has a considerable public debt, divided into an internal and external. The internal liabilities are estimated officially at over

106 million sols, including 83,747,000 sols paper money, the paper sol being equivalent to only 2d. The outstanding foreign debt is made up of two loans, contracted in England in 1870 and 1872:Foreign Loan.

Outstanding Principal

£ 11,141,580

The two loans of 1870 and 1872 were secured on the guano deposits (now in possession of Chile) and the general resources of Peru. No interest has been paid on the foreign debt of Peru since 1876; an arrangement was made in 1882 with Chile by which a percentage of the guano deposits should be paid as interest to the bondholders; and a small amount was transmitted to England in 1883, but as yet (Dec. 1887) no definite arrangement has been arrived at. The interest arrears of Peru amount (1886) to 17,887,8401. An estimate for 1884 gave the total debt of Peru at that date at 50,000,000l.; at the same time 14,000,000l. of Government paper money was in circulation.

The army of the republic is now composed of six battalions of infantry, numbering 2,400 men; of two regiments of cavalry, numbering 600 men; of two brigades of artillery, numbering 500 men ; and of a gendarmerie of 2,400 men, forming a total of 5,900 men. The number of men under arms was raised nominally to 40,000 in May 1879, after the outbreak of hostilities against Chile, and further ordered to be increased to 70,000 men in the summer of 1880, after the successful invasion of the territory by the Chilians; but in fact it never exceeded 19,000 men, for lack of arms.

The Peruvian navy was the most powerful on the Pacific coast, until Chile began the construction of ironclads in 1874-75. At the beginning of the war with Chile, Peru possessed four ironclads, the Huascar, Independencia, Atahualpa, and Manco Capac, in addition to a number of unarmoured vessels. The two last-named ironclads were of very small size (about 1,000 tons displacement), with 3-inch laminated armour on the sides, and carrying two 9-inch smooth-bored Rodman guns in a single turret: they were really coast-defence monitors. Of the two seagoing ironclads, the Independencia was lost by running on a rock during an action with the Chilians; and the Huascar was captured after a gallant fight with the two Chilian ironclads. The Peruvian navy is now composed of only two cruisers and two small troop-ships.

Area and Population.

The area of Peru is estimated to extend over 503,000 English square miles, with a population, according to a census taken in