PARAGUAY. 



701 



Court sixty years ago. On the other hand, it 

 was argued that the national Constitution guar- 

 antees the importation into a State of any article 

 the introduction of which is not forbidden by 

 Congress, but there its guarantee ends ; it does 

 not give the absolute right to traffic in the im- 

 ported commodity. Within a few days after the 

 decision, the Supreme Court of Maine reversed 

 the decision of the lower court, which convicted 

 the sellers of original packages of liquors im- 

 ported from the provinces or other countries, 

 the claim being that the State had no right, 

 under the Constitution of the United States, to 

 interfere with the business. This decision was 

 based upon an identical case in Iowa that had 

 just led to the original-package decision by the 

 United States Supreme Court. A few days 

 later, another decision was made, in Armstrong 

 County, Pa. An original-pfickage store had 

 been opened in a local Prohibition town in that 

 county, the county having also a Prohibition 

 majority. The seller asserted that he was acting 

 as an agent, under power of attorney, of a brew- 

 ing company in Ohio. He was prosecuted, on 

 the allegation that he was avoiding the laws by 

 selling liquor without a license ; and this he ad- 

 mitted. But he asserted that he had not violated 

 any local liquor laws by selling these " original 

 packages," and he proved them to have been 

 unbroken, and to have been duly sealed and 

 stamped as required by the United States law. 

 The judge, in his charge, declared that if these 

 were the original packages, then the seller had a 

 right to make the sale, under the recent decision 

 of the Supreme Court, and that he did not vio- 

 late the liquor law of Pennsylvania in selling 

 without a license. The seller was acquitted by 

 the jury. These instances brought the matter 

 directly before both branches of Congress, then 

 in session, there being a universal demand that 

 a bill should be passed placing liquor imported 

 in original packages within the jurisdiction of 

 State police power, on delivery by the common 

 carrier to the owner or consignee. The Senate, 

 on May 29, 1890, passed a bill to limit the effect 

 of the regulations of commerce between the 

 States and foreign countries in certain cases. 

 This provided that liquors transported into any 

 State or Territory, for use, consumption, sale, or 

 storage, shall, on their arrival, be subjected to 

 the operation and effect of the laws of such 

 State or Territory, enacted in the exercise of its 

 police powers, and shall not be exempt therefrom 



by reason of their being introduced in the orig- 

 inal packages. The Senate thus committed it- 

 self to a bill that concerned liquors only ; but 

 in the House of Representatives a feeling pre- 

 vailed that the bill snould cover many other ar- 

 ticles beside liquors. In the House a substitute 

 was prepared making the proposed law appli- 

 cable to every article of interstate commerce. 

 The constitutional provision was also affirmed 

 that there shall be no discrimination in favor of 

 citizens or products of like character of the 

 State where any given article is held or offered 

 for sale, and the reaffirmation of the right of 

 police regulation for the sake of the public 

 health. Provision was made against discrimina- 

 tion by particular States in favor of articles pro- 

 duced within those States, and care was taken 

 to prevent the measure from authorizing any- 

 thing like State prohibition of interstate com- 

 merce, or the virtual levying of duties by one 

 State upon the products of another. While the 

 bill was in doubt between the two houses, the 

 leaders of the liquor dealers cautioned the re- 

 tailers not to make haste to use their advantage 

 under the Supreme Court decision, because Con- 

 gress was likely to enact a law that would 

 govern the decision of the Supreme Court on the 

 final appeal. It being evident that the Senate 

 would never agree to the more comprehensive 

 measure that had passed the House, a long de- 

 bate took place, so that many of the members 

 might place themselves on record. In this debate 

 an original package was, by general consent, de- 

 clared to be a case containing not fewer than 

 one dozen bottles, or, when not in bottles, not 

 less than five gallons. Finally a compromise 

 measure was agreed upon, which passed both 

 Houses and became a law in July, 1890. This 

 compromise measure enacted that all fermented, 

 distilled, or other intoxicating liquors or liquids 

 transported into any State or Territory, for use, 

 consumption, sale, or storage, shall, on arrival 

 in such State or Territory (or remaining there- 

 in), be subject to the operation and effect of the 

 laws of such State or Territory, enacted in the 

 exercise of the police powers, to the same extent, 

 and in the same manner as if such liquors or 

 liquids had been produced in such' State or Ter- 

 ritory, and shall not be exempt therefrom by 

 reason of being introduced there in original 

 packages or otherwise. Since this enactment 

 several original-package cases have been dis- 

 missed in the courts of the States. 



PARAGUAY, a republic in South America. 

 According to the Constitution of Nov. 25, 1870, 

 the Senate is composed of 13, and the Chamber 

 of Deputies of 26 members, elected directly by 

 the suffrage of all citizens over eighteen years of 

 age. The President for the four years ending 

 Nov. 25, 1894, is J.Gonzalez, who succeeded Gen. 

 Patricio Escobar. 



Area and Population. The area of Para- 

 guay is 91,970 square miles. According to the 

 census taken in 1886, the population is 329,645, 

 comprising 155,425 males and 174,220 females. 

 The population of Asuncion, the capital, was 



24,838. Immigration increased from 100 in 1886 

 to 563 in 1887, 1,064 in 1888, and 2,395 in 1889. 

 The immigrants are chiefly Italians, Spaniards, 

 French, and Germans. The foreign population 

 in 1886 was estimated at 15,000, including 5,000 

 Argentines, 2,000 Italians, 1,100 Germans, 600 

 Brazilians, 600 Swiss, 500 Frenchmen, and 150 

 English. The country has been depopulated by 

 wars, except in the central districts. In the 

 spring of 1890 fresh revolutionary disturbances 

 broke out. The Government formerly owned 

 three fourths of the land, but has recently sold 

 the greater part of it, mostly in large blocks. 



