152 



CHILI. 



of cool weather, but during the first fortnight 

 in March, there were still 201 cases of which 

 77 resulted in death. 



Postal Service. The numher of post-offices in 

 operation in 1887 was 481, dispatching dur- 

 ing the year 37,308.210 items of mail-matter. 

 The number of ordinary letters handled in the 

 mails in 1886 was 14,299,883; registered let- 

 ters, 125,902 ; sample packages, 39,639 ; ju- 

 dicial notifications, 15,392 ; Government mes- 

 sages, 703,255 ; and newspapers, 20,124,139 ; 

 together, 35,308,210, dispatched in 1886. The 

 receipts in 1887 were $483,439, nearly balanc- 

 ing the expenses. Postal money-orders were 

 paid out in 1886 to the amount of $1,633,322. 

 The Government paid subsidies to ocean 

 steamers for carrying the correspondence in 

 1886 to the extent of $223,880. 



Railroads. The Chilian railroad system, on 

 Dec. 31, 1887, consisted in in the first place of 

 Government lines : 



Length in 



Santiago to Valparaiso 137 



Branch line, Las Vegas to Santa Kosa 45 



Santiago to Maule and San Fernando to Palinilla, 



branch line 304 



Santiago to Concepcion 41H 



Angol to Traiguen 72 



Reuacio to Victoria 75 



Total. 



Next of private lines : 



Arica to Tacna 



Pisagua to Tres Marias 



Iquic|iu> to Virginia 



Patillos to Salitn-nis del Sur. . 

 Mejillones to Oerro Gordo .... 



Antofagasta to Ascotau 



Taltal to Refresco 



Chanaral to Las Animas 



Caldera to Copiapo 



Carrizal Hajo to Cerro Blanco 



Coqniinbo to La Serena 



Ovalle to Panulcillo 



Serena to Rivndavia 



Tongoy to Tain ay a 



Laraquete to Maq'aegua 



Total 



1,096 



Ilometres. 



63 

 106 

 194 



93 



N 

 29T 



82 



60 

 242 



SI 



15 

 123 



78 



55 



40 



1,553 



The Government lines projected, toward the 

 cost of which Congress voted in 1888 the sum 

 of 3,517,000, or its equivalent, were : 



Kilometres. 



Victoria to Valdivia 403 



Coihue to Mulehen 43 



Concepcion to Caflete . . 160 



Tome to Cauquenes 200 



Talca to Constitucion 85 



Palmilla to Pichilemu 45 



Pelequen to Peumo 35 



Santiago to Melipilla 59 



Santiago to Pefton 27 



Calera to Cabildo 76 



Vilos to Salamanca 12S 



Ovalle to San Marcos 60 



Guasco to Vallenar 43 



Total 



1,369 



Other Means of Internal Transportation. In the 



cities of Santiago and Valparaiso there are 

 comfortable tramway lines ; in the former a 

 distance of 60 kilometres, in the latter of 10. 

 There are tramways, moreover, at Concepcion, 

 Copiap6, Chilian, Limache, Rengo, Quillota, 

 San Felipe, Santa Kosa, Serena, and Talca. 

 There are besides in the country about 800 



wagon-roads measuring 66,000 kilometres in 

 length, and 2,000 ordinary roads of a total 

 length of 40,000 kilometres. Seventy-eight 

 water-courses are navigable a distance of over 

 4,800 kilometres. 



Telegraphs. The Government owns nearly 

 all the telegraph lines in operation, there being 

 150 offices in 1886, increased to 170 in 1887. 

 The length of line was 10,300 kilometres, and 

 of wire 12,148, the entire cost of which has 

 only been $844,325. There were sent 419,777 

 private telegrams in 1886, bringing $121,248, 

 and 112,819 Government messages charged 

 $80,476. Private lines exist between Santiago 

 and Valparaiso, Arica and Tacna, Santa Rosa 

 de Los Andes and the Argentine Republic, and 

 a cable runs along the coast. Concessions have 

 been granted to build additional private lines 

 between Arica and Tacna, Serena and Co- 

 quimbo, Santiago and the Condes mines, and 

 Concepcion and Talcalguano. Telephone lines 

 are in operation at Santiago, Valparaiso, and 

 in other cities. 



Commerce. The foreign-trade movement in 

 Chili has been as follows: 



Chili produced in 1887 29,150 tons of fine 

 copper, compared with 35,000 in 1886 ; the 

 export during the first nine months of 1888 

 was 23,675 tons fine, against 22,990 during the 

 corresponding period of the previous year. 



The Chilian exportation of nitrate of soda 

 has been as follows : 



The American trade with Chili exhibits these 

 figures : 



General Production. The "Sinopsis Estadis- 

 tica," Santiago, 1887, sums up the productive 



