PERSIA. 



PERU. 



521 



at 3,000,000 rupees a year. Lead- and copper- 

 mines have been worked from ancient times. Tin, 

 antimony, zinc, nickel, cobalt, orpiment, manga- 

 nese, iron, ocher, alum, borax, petroleum, and coal 

 are found, and salt is abundant. The turquoise- 

 mines, which have been operated from early times, 

 yield the choicest stones found in the world. A 

 Russian company has a concession for mining tin 

 and other metals in Azerbaijan. 



The value of the foreign commerce was esti- 

 mated from the customs receipts at 7,500,000 

 sterling in 1890 and succeeding years, at 9,000,- 

 000 in 1898 and the same in 1899, and in 1900 at 

 10,500,000. The customs duties are 5 per cent, 

 ad valorem for Europeans and from 1 to 8 per 

 cent, for Persians. The customs duties were for- 

 merly farmed out to the highest bidders, who re- 

 tained about a sixth. The farmers took advan- 

 tage of the fall in the value of silver to increase 

 their profits, in consequence of which the Govern- 

 ment increased the farm money to 250,000 in 

 1895 and 300,000 in 1898. In 1899 the Govern- 

 ment collected the revenues in Azerbaijan and 

 some other provinces. The reform proved success- 

 ful, and on March 21, 1900, the farm system was 

 abolished altogether. The net receipts from cus- 

 toms for 1901 were expected to reach 400,000. 

 Cotton goods, broadcloth, and other woolen stuffs, 

 sugar, glass, carriages, tea, coffee, mineral oil, 

 and drugs are the leading imports. The principal 

 exports are dates, opium, silk, cotton, wool, car- 

 pets, pearls, tobacco, turquoises, rice, cotton 

 stuffs, gum, pearl shells, skins, almonds, cereals, 

 mastic, and horses. 



The Army. The present army is useless, al- 

 though for nearly a century the Persian Govern- 

 ment has employed European military instructors. 

 The troops are raised by levies on the districts 

 and tribes, and those who are taken are soldiers 

 for life. A regular system of conscription was 

 decreed by the late Shah, with service for twelve 

 years, but it has not been carried into effect. The 

 nominal strength of the army is 105,000 men, half 

 of them considered as reserves. The number liable 

 to be called into the service at any time is 53,- 

 520, consisting of 35,400 infantry, 3,300 irregular 

 cavalry, 2,500 artillery, 90 camel artillery, and 

 100 engineers. The number kept under arms is 

 about 25,500. 



Railroads, Posts, and Telegraphs. The 

 only existing railroad in Persia is one built by a 

 Belgian company from Teheran to Shah Abdula- 

 zim, 6 miles, completed in 1888. One from Amol 

 to the Caspian was begun and left unfinished. 

 The Russian Government is said to have under- 

 taken to build a railroad from Julfa through Ta- 

 briz and Hamadan to Bunder Abbas and a branch 

 to Teheran. In order to preserve the British and 

 Indian trade with southern Persia, which was 

 handicapped by the fact that goods had to be 

 shipped by sea from Bombay or Karachi to Bun- 

 der Abba's and thence conveyed by mules or 

 camels through Persia, the Indian Government 

 established a direct caravan route from Quetta 

 through Nushki to Seistan, from which point 

 goods can be distributed all over Persia. In the 

 northern and central parts of Persia Russian 

 goods can be sold much cheaper than those from 

 England or India, owing to the railroad. The 

 trade by the camel route to Seistan has grown so 

 rapidly in three or four years that a railroad from 

 Quetta to the Persian frontier is contemplated. 

 From 600,000 rupees in 1898 the trade by this route 

 grew to 1,200.000 rupees in 1900. The telegraphs 

 have a length of about 4,800 miles, with 7,000 

 miles of wire. The lines belonging to the Govern- 

 ment have a length of 3,700 miles and are farmed 



out to the Minister of Telegraphs for .CO ,000 a 

 year. The post-office is t'arme.l out, lor .D>,000 

 to the Minister of Posts. 



Internal Affairs. The pn-cid Shah 1ms in- 

 troduced many reforms, lie has .iltoii-hrd s,000 

 superfluous offices, and has diiniiii-.iu.d. hi- ,'j v il 

 list by 150,000 krans. He abolished tin; v->m 

 of farming the taxes. He published an f did. of 

 toleration. For the pilgrimages of the |,enpi. ; i,, 

 various holy places he made better provision' i he 

 financial reforms are expected to increase tin: rev- 

 enue from 40,000,000 to 00,000,000 krans. The ad- 

 ditional 20,000,000 krans, about 750,000 sterling 

 will be devoted to building roads and schools, in 

 starting factories, in improving agricultural land, 

 and in developing the resources of the country in 

 other directions. The army has been reorganized 

 on European models by Russian and Austrian 

 officers. The Russian Government obtained con- 

 trol of the customs, except at Fars and ports of 

 the Persian Gulf, by virtue of the loan made in 

 1900 to the Persian Government. The Russian 

 officials who supervise the collections have 

 placed obstacles in the way of the development of 

 the new British route from India through Quetta 

 by arbitrarily increasing the duties and by forbid- 

 ding the Indian traders to go armed. The loan 

 runs seventy-five years. The duties on Russian 

 imports were increased to 5 per cent, in 1901, and 

 the same tariff was imposed on Persian exports to 

 Russia. The Russian Government, by granting a 

 subsidy to steamers and an abatement of duties 

 to merchants, established in 1901 regular steam 

 communication between Odessa and the ports on 

 the Persian Gulf. A great part of the trade that 

 was once British has passed into Russian hands. 

 Armenian merchants of Russian nationality are 

 established in all the centers of population, and 

 Persian traders become Russian subjects because 

 as such they can secure the better protection of 

 their rights and interests. The Armenian and Rus- 

 sian languages have been made obligatory sub- 

 jects of study in Persian schools. New loan ne- 

 gotiations with Russia gave rise to suspicion and 

 discontent in the summer of 1901. Members of 

 the royal family participated in a movement 

 against the Grand Vizier, who was denounced as 

 having sold the interests of the country and 

 blamed for not introducing reforms demanded by 

 the people. Revolutionary placards were posted 

 in Teheran, but the seditious movement was 

 stopped by arresting and punishing their authors. 



PERU, a republic in South America. The 

 Congress consists of a Senate of 48 members and 

 a House of Representatives containing at present 

 108 members. Members of both houses are elected 

 for six years by the electoral colleges of the prov- 

 inces, the deputies to which are elected by pa- 

 rochial electoral colleges. The President and the 

 two Vice-Presidents are elected for four years by 

 the direct vote of the nation. The President of 

 the republic for the term beginning Sept. 8, 1899, 

 is Eduardo de Romana. The Vice-Presidents are 

 Isaac Alzamora and Federigo Bresani. The Cabi- 

 net constituted on Oct. 31, 1900, was composed of 

 the following members: President of the Council 

 and Minister of Finance, Domingo Almenara; 

 Minister of Foreign Affairs, F. de Osma y Pardo; 

 Minister of Justice, Worship, and Public Instruc- 

 tion, Rafael Villanueva; Minister of the Interior 

 and Police, Col. Zapata; Minister of War and 

 Marine, Col. Portello; Minister of Public Works, 

 Agustin Tovar. 



Area and Population. The area of Peru is 

 estimated at 695,733 square miles. The popula- 

 tion was officially estimated in 1896 at 4,609,999, 

 exclusive of tribal Indians, who are numerous in 



