NICARAGUA. 



613 



upon the ice, and the increasing fall of snow 

 rapidly filled up the space, burying the rail 

 completely, and preventing transit over the 

 mad. In some instances the cars were all day 

 in going the length of the road. The people, 

 in many cases, came down on ladders, the 

 trains being detained between stations. 



The fire department set to work to build 

 sleighs and hire all suitable ones in order to 

 use them for the transportation of engines. 

 hose, and ladders to fires. The telephone 

 company, finding its wires were in many in- 

 stances crossed by the electric-light wires, it 

 became necessary as a precaution against con- 

 flagration to shut off the light currents, so that 

 the city was tor one or two nights practically 

 without illumination. Coal was delivered with 

 great difficulty to many private residences. 

 The Steam Supply Company supplied steam 

 without interruption to all its customers. The 

 gp.s companies supplied gas without trouble, 

 while coal and all objects that had to be trans- 

 ported on the surface were only with great de- 

 lay and at the cost of great efforts delivered to 

 those requiring them. 



To dispose of the masses of snow, fires were 

 built against the heaps, and in other places 

 jets of steam were used to melt the accumula- 

 tion. Carting the snow to the docks and 

 dumping it into the river was the most effi- 

 cient of the methods adopted. The East River 

 Bridge was operated at a disadvantage, the 

 cable transport having stopped. In the midst 

 of the blockade thus occasioned an ice bridge 

 formed across the East river, and several thou- 

 sand people crossed upon it. A very sad feat- 

 ure was the loss of life. Owing to the expos- 

 ure, several persons perished in the city and 

 suburbs. 



NICARAGUA, a republic in Central America ; 

 area. 51,600 square miles ; population in 1886, 

 262,372. The capital is Managua, population, 

 18,000. 



Government. The President is Don Evaristo 

 Carazo, whose term of office will expire on 

 March 1, 1891. Tlie Cabinet is composed of 

 the following ministers : Foreign Affairs, Don. 

 Adrian Zavala ; Finance, Don Bernabe Porto- 

 carrero : Interior. Don David Osorno ; Public, 

 Works, Don Chose Chamorro; War, Gen.J. Eli- 

 zondo. The Nicaraguan Minister at Washington 

 is Don Horacio Guzman: the Consul-General 

 at New York, Alexander Cotheal : the Ameri- 

 can Consul at Managua is Charles H. Wills. 



Finances. The income in 1885 was $1.479.- 

 093 ; the outlay, $2,191,076 ; in 1886 the for- 

 mer was $1.594.236, and the latter, $1,998,667. 

 The foreign debt is represented by 285,000, 

 bearing 6 per cent, interest, and the home 

 debt, including paper money in circulation, 

 amounted to $491,123 on Oct. 31,1886. In 

 September, 1888, the Minister of Finance made 

 a contract with the Banco de Nicaragua by 

 virtue of which the Government engaged to 

 withdraw and cancel all the paper money in 

 circulation on November 15 of that year, with 



the exception of $-200,000, which are to be 

 withdrawn gradually; to provide for which. 

 10 per cent, of the duties on imports at the 

 seaports are to be set aside until the amount 

 is canceled. The bank bound itself to take at 

 par in siker coin all such paper money <,n 

 presentation. In this manner specie payment 

 has virtually been resumed. 



Army. The effective strength of the perma- 

 nent army is 1.258 men, commanded by 83 offi- 

 cers; and of the militia 14,000, officered by 581. 



American Arbitration. The President of the 

 United States, in his message of December 3, ex- 

 pressed himself in the following terms: ''The 

 long-pending boundary dispute between ' 

 Rica and Nicaragua was referred to my arbi- 

 tration; and by an award made on March 22 

 last, the question has been finally settled to 

 the expressed satisfaction of both of the parties 

 in interest." A dispute having arisen after- 

 ward between the two republics, in relation to 

 the site of the proposed Nicaraguan Canal, the 

 American minister to Guatemala was instructed 

 to use his good offices to bring about an under- 

 standing between the two governments. The 

 following dispatch from him \\ as received at 

 the Department of State on Jan. 17, 1889: 

 "The convention between Nicaragua and CV>ta 

 Rica to arbitrate questions affecting the Nica- 

 raguan Canal was signed on the 10th instant. 

 The President of the United States is named 

 the arbitrator." 



Annexation of Corn Island. The " Gaceta Ofic- 

 ial " of Sept. 22, 1888, announced the taking 

 --ion of Corn Island by the Government 

 on August 30. This small island lies off the 

 Nicaraguan coast, on the Atlantic side, thirty- 

 six miles east of Bluefields. It has a popula- 

 tion of 500, and a good port with a depth of 

 forty feet. The island is fertile, and exports 

 a large amount of cocoanuts. There is also 

 a ship -yard, where sloops of twenty tons 

 capacity are built. 



Postal Service. During 1885-'86 the number 

 of items of mail matter handled was 2.480,153, 

 while the expense involved was $71,406: the 

 receipts did not exceed $22,717. 



Telegraphs. The number of telegrams sent 

 during 1885-'86 was 261.116, 87.010 being 

 Government dispatches and 174,106 private 

 messages. The latter were 91.007 in 1884. 

 88,580 in 1885, and 85,526 in 1886; the cable- 

 grams numbered 9,267. The receipts during 

 1886 were $49,101, and the expenses $83,300. 

 There were in operation in 1887 808 miles of 

 telegraph and 32 of telephone. In October 

 several new telegraph offices were opened. A 

 line went into operation a distance of forty 

 miles between Eteli and Sauce, to be soon 

 followed by one between Matagalpa and Jui- 

 galpa. which will connect the former with the 

 Department of Chontales. 



Eleetrir Light. The municipality of Leon 

 made a contract in October for the lighting of 

 the city during twenty-five years, at the end 

 of which time the city has the option of buy- 



