628 



PARAGUAY. 



PENNSYLVANIA. 



In the Second District II. II. Northup was an in- 

 dependent sound-money candidate for Congress. 

 Party lines were obliterated in many of the coun- 

 ties, both the old parties being divided on the cur- 

 rency question. 



At the June election the vote for justice stood: 

 Bean, Republican, 40,451 : Burnett, Democrat, 18,- 

 62.'}; Gaston, Populist, 26,135. The Republican 

 Congressional candidates were elected by small 

 pluralities over the Populists. In the Legislature 

 there will be on joint ballot 63 Republican, 7 Demo- 

 crat, and 20 Populist and Free-silver members. 



A Free silver party was organized and held a 

 convention at McMinnville, July 9. Delegates to 

 the national bimetallic convention were chosen, and 

 the course of Senator Teller in leaving the Repub- 

 lican convention was approved. 



A gold-standard Democratic convention was held 

 in Portland, Aug. 22. 



The Free-coinage Democrats united with the Pop- 

 ulists on the national ticket. 



The result of the November election was as fol- 

 lows: McKinley, 48,779; Bryan, 46,662; Palmer, 

 97? ; Levering, 919. 



PARAGUAY, a republic in South America. The 

 legislative power is vested in a Senate of 13 mem- 

 bers and a Chamber of 26. The President for the 

 four years ending Nov. 25, 1898, is Gen. Juan B. 

 Egusquiza. 



Area and Population. The area is estimated 

 at 98,000 square miles. The population was re- 

 duced by war from 1,337,439 in 1857 to 221.079 in 

 1873, of whom only 28,746 were men. In 1887 it 

 was 330,000. Immigration has increased the popu- 

 lation considerably. In 1895 it was estimated at 

 432,000. The number of immigrants in 1890 was 

 1.419; in 1891.448: in 1892,539; in 1893, 431 ; in 



1894. 270 ; in 1895, 243. The number of foreigners 

 living in Paraguay is estimated at 17,000, of whom 

 5,000 are Argentinians, 2.500 Italians, 1.500 Span- 

 iards, 1,250 Germans, 800 French, 600 Bra/ilians, 

 600 Swiss, 450 Austrians and Hungarians, and 200 

 British. 



Finances. The revenue in 1895 was 5,120,248 

 pesos (1 paper peso = 15 cents), of which 81.891 

 pesos were derived from sales and leases of land, 

 4,227,701 pesos from customs, and 810,656 pesos 

 from various taxes. The expenses of the Govern- 

 ment were 3,179,873 pesos for general administra- 

 tion, 108,728 pesos for repayment of debt, and 1,703,- 

 406 pesos for extraordinary purposes ; total, 4,092,- 

 007 pesos. 



The internal debt in 1896 amounted to 5,441,643 

 pesos ; the external debt to 34,598.213 pesos, includ- 

 ing 9,876,466 pesos due to Brazil, 12,393,656 pesos 

 due to the Argentine Republic, an English debt of 

 4,172,500 pesos, and 8,151,591 pesos of temporary 

 obligations. The English gold debt was contracted 

 in 1886. In 1892 the Government ceased to pay 

 the coupons. When Gen. Egusquiza became Presi- 

 dent in 1894 the bondholders' representatives made 

 an arrangement for funding the arrears of interest 

 into new bonds and setting aside the export duties 

 on yerba mate for the payment of interest and a 

 sinking fund of 1-J- per cent, per annum to begin in 

 1900. The rate of interest was to be 1 per cent, for 



1895, l per cent, for the next five years, 2 per cent, 

 for the next three years, 2^ per cent, then for three 

 years, and thenceforward till extinction 3 per cent, 

 per annum. The arrears amounted on Jan. 1, 1896, 

 to 100,000. This arrangement was approved by 

 the Legislature on Nov. 15, 1895. 



Currency. The National Bank, the Hypothe- 

 cary Bank, and the Bank of Paraguay and the Plate 

 River all suspended payments after the Argentine 

 collapse of 1890. The Agricultural Bank, a state 

 institution employing public funds for the encour- 

 agement of agriculture, was embarrassed. The 

 Territorial Bank and the Mercantile Bank are the 

 only ones in operation. The chief circulating me- 

 dium is the paper currency. The value of the paper 

 peso fell from 70 cents in 1890 to 15 cents in 1895. 



Commerce and Communications. The im- 

 ports in 1895 were valued at 2,460,000 pesos in gold, 

 and exports at 12,729,000 paper pesos (1 gold peso 

 = 6 paper pesos). In 1895 there were entered at 

 Asuncion from foreign ports 311 steamers and 63 

 sailng vessels, having an aggregate burden of 124.674 

 tons, and cleared 311 steamers and 15 sailing vessels. 

 of 114,164 tons. The railroad mileage completed in 

 is 1 .).") was 156 miles. The post office forwarded 664,- 

 028 letters, etc., in 1895. The number of telegraphic 

 dispatches in 1894 was 13,207 in the internal and 

 20,316 in the international service. There were 360 

 milrsof telegraph wire. 



PENNSYLVANIA, a Middle State, one of the 

 original thirteen, ratitied the Constitution Dec. 12, 

 1787; area, 45,215 square miles. The population, 

 according to each decennial census, was 434,373 in 

 1790; 602,365 in 1800; 810,091 in 1810; 1,047,507 

 in 1820; 1.348,233 in 1830; 1,724,033 in 1840; 2,311,- 

 786 in 1850; 2,906,215 in 1860; 3,521.951 in 1870; 

 1.2S2.891 in 1880; and 5,258,014 in 1890. Capital, 

 Barrisburg. 



Government. The State officers for the year 

 were: Governor, Daniel II. Hastings; Lieutenant 

 Governor, Walter Lyon : Secretary of the Common- 

 wealth, Frank Boeder; Secretary of Internal Af- 

 fairs, James W. Latta; Treasurer, Samuel M. Jack- 

 son, succeeded in May by Benjamin J. Haywood ; 

 Auditor General, Amos H.Mylin : Attorney-General, 

 Henry C. McCormick; Adjutant-General, Thomas 

 J. Stewart ; Insurance Commissioner, James II. 

 Lambert; Bank Commissioner, B. F. Gilkeson ; 

 Secretary of Agriculture, Thomas J. Edge ; Super- 

 intendent of Public Instruction, Nathan C. Schaef- 

 fer ; Superintendent of Public Buildings and 

 Grounds, John C. Delaney ; State Librarian, W. H. 

 Egle ; Dairy and Food Commissioner, Levi S. 

 Wells; Forestry Commissioner, J. H. Rothrock; 

 Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. James P. Ster- 

 rett; Associate Justices, Henry Green, Henry W. 

 Williams, James T. Mitchell, J.' B. McColhun, John 

 Dean, D. Newlin Fell ; Justices of the Superior 

 Court, E. N. Willard, Charles E. Rice, James A. 

 Beaver, John J. Wickham, Howard J. Reeder, 

 George B. Orlady, Peter P. Smith. All the above- 

 named are Republicans, except Judges McCollum 

 and Smith, who are Democrats. 



Finances. The cost of running the State gov- 

 ernment during the fiscal year ending with Novem- 

 ber was $11.004,517.07. The revenues for the same 

 period were $12,265,756.09. The balance in the 

 general fund at the close of the year was $4,251,- 

 257. The expenses of the State government for 

 the previous year aggregated $13.402,962.90, while 

 the receipts were $11,746,411.10. The difference in 

 the expenses of the two years is due largely to the 

 cost of the Legislature. 



Under different acts of Assembly certain moneys 



