PERSIA. 



PERU. 



r.33 



The Now Shah. <>n May 1 the Shah was shot 

 dead when entering a shrine near Teheran by an 



--in disguised a* a woman. The murderer \va-n 

 iituUali named Mohammed Rcza. an adlierent of 

 Jemaleddin. whose seditious teachings caused him 

 to be banished from Persia in 1*!!!. both members 

 of the Babi sect of religious and political reformers. 

 Xasrcddin had seriously impaired his authority and 

 alienated his subjects by his sale in 1891 of the to- 

 bacco monopoly to English speculators. Although 

 this concession was revoked, the revolutionary spirit 

 was not allayed, and popular discontent has been 

 aggravated by dearth of provisions in different 

 provinces. Recently the excessive issue of copper 

 coins operated to make food dear. The Sadrax.am 

 obtained advances of money from the banks to pay 

 the troops and thus insure their loyalty. Russia 

 d corps of observation on the frontiers and 

 offered military assistance in case of disorder. 

 There were disturbances in some of the cities that 

 were quickly suppressed. The most serious trouble 

 was created by the turbulent nomadic tribes of the 

 south, with its center in Shiraz, where Zil-es-Sultan, 

 who loyally recognized his younger brother as the 

 legitimate Shah, restored order in a few days. Mu- 

 zaffereddin was proclaimed Shah in Shah at once, 

 and was recognized by Great Britain. Russia, and 

 Turkey. Amin-es-Sultan was confirmed as Sadra- 

 zam. with full power over the civil and military au- 

 thorities. The new Shah was enthroned at Teheran 

 on June 8. He announced that henceforth public 



-. dignities, and military titles, as well as deco- 

 rations, would be granted solely on the merits of 

 the candidates, that no money consideration would 

 be allowed to have any weight, and that he himself 

 would accept no pecuniary presents. One of his 

 first acts was to lighten the taxation on food, which 

 had caused the only disturbances that occurred in 

 connection with his accession. The Shah Xasred- 

 din's murderer was hanged on Aug. 12. The new 

 Shah proclaimed as Valiahd his eldest son. Moham- 

 med All Mirza, born in 1875, his mother being a 



THE SHAU OF PERSIA. 



Kajar princess. The heir apparent, who bears the 

 title Ite/cad-es-Sultaneh. was according to precedent 

 appointed Governor of Azerbaijan. On Nov. 24. 

 the Sadrazam retired, and the new Shah announced 

 that he would govern without a Grand Vizier and 

 himself preside over a Cabinet of 12 ministers. 



Prince Hussein Mirza Farman Farma was appoint- 

 ed Minister of War: Ali Ghuli Khan. Mukhi 

 I>owleh. Minister <>f the Interior; Abbas Mirza 

 Mulkara. the Shah's uncle. Minister of Justice ami 

 of Commerce ; Mushir ed Dowleh. Mini>terof For- 

 eign Affairs: and Abdul Waliab Khan, Nizam ul 

 Mulk. Minister of Finanee. 



PERI*, a republic in South America. The legis- 

 lative power is vested in a Congress constituted like 

 that of the I'nited State-;. The provinces are en- 

 titled to elect 1 member to the House of Represen- 

 tatives for every 30,000 inhabitants or fraction ex- 

 ceeding 15,000. A department elects '2 Senators if 

 it consists of 2 provinces and 1 Senator for every 

 additional 2 provinces. Members of both h 

 are elected indirectly for six years and renewable 

 by a third every two years. Every male Peruvian 

 who is married, or is master of a trade, or owns 

 real property, or pays taxes, or can read and write, 

 has a vote. The Senate has 48 and the House 108 

 members. The President, who must be a Peruvian 

 by birth, resident in the country for ten years 

 before his election, is elected for four years by 

 popular suffrage. The President for the term 

 ending Sept. 10, 1899, is Nicolas de Pierola. The 

 Vice-presidents are Senor Billinghurst and A. 

 Seminario y Vascones. The Council of Ministers 

 in the beginning of 1896 was composed of the 

 following members : President and Minister of the 

 Interior, Antonio Bentin ; Minister of Foreign 

 Affairs. M. Porras : Minister of Finance and Com- 

 merce, F. Bresani ; Minister of Justice and Wor- 

 ship. A. Albaracin ; Minister of War and Marine, 

 Col. Ybarra. 



Area and Population. The area of Peru is 

 463.74? square miles, and the population was 2.- 

 629.663 at the last enumeration, made in 1876. 

 The aboriginal Indians make 57 per cent, of the 

 total, cholos and zambos 23 per cent., and descend- 

 ants of Spaniards, together with 18.082 Europeans 

 and 50.032 Chinamen and other Asiatics, 20 per 

 cent. Lima, the capital, had 103.956 inhabitants 

 in 1896. 



Finances. The budget for tbe period from 

 March 1 to the end of 1896 makes the revenue 8.405.- 

 921 sols, of which 5,220.933 sols are customs duties, 

 1.611.425 sols taxes. 500,000 sols proceeds of the 

 salt monopoly, and the rest departmental taxes. 

 ] tost -office receipts, etc. The expenditure is reck- 

 oned at 9,293,438 sols. A 6-per-cent. loan of 11.- 

 141.580 raised in England in 1870. and a 5-per-cent. 

 loan of 20.437.500 contracted in 1872. make up the 

 foreign debt of 31.579.080. They were secured on 

 the guano deposits, now in the possession of Chili, 

 and on the general resources of the Government. 

 The arrears of interest accumulated since 1876 

 amounted to 22.998.'.i51 in the beginning of 1890, 

 when by the Graee-Donoughmore agreement the 

 bondholders released the Government in considera- 

 tion of a cession of the railroads, mines, guano de- 

 poMts. and lands of the state for the period of 

 sixty-six years. The bonds were exchanged for new 

 certificates of the Peruvian Corporation, limited, 

 with headquarters in London. This company be- 

 ing unable to pay the coupon due on April 1, 1896, 

 the debenture holders met and agreed to accept 2 

 per cent, per annum for that coupon. 3 per cent, 

 for succeeding ones up to 1901, and then 4 per 

 cent., on the understanding that the company 

 shall pay no dividend in any year without making 

 up the interest on the debentures to 5 per cent., 

 and not more than J of one per cent, on the pref- 

 erence stock only, unless 6 per cent, is paid on the 

 coupons. 



The internal debt, on which the interest was re- 

 duced to 1 per cent., amounts to 26.606.450 sols. 

 The bonds were quoted in 1896 at 7'8 per cent, of 



