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CHILI. 



CHILI, a Republic in South America. The 

 President of the Eepublic is Jose Joaquin 

 Perez, who was elected, by a unanimous vote, 

 on September 7, 1861. The President is as- 

 sisted in his executive functions by a Council 

 of State and a Ministry, divided into four de- 

 partments, namely : the Ministry of the In- 

 terior and of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of 

 Finance, the Ministry of Justice, of Public In- 

 struction, and of Ecclesiastical Affairs, and the 

 Ministry of War and Marine. The ministers 

 appointed for these four departments on June 

 20th, 1862, were Manuel Antonio Tocornal, 

 Victorino Lastarria, Miguel Guemes, and Mar- 

 cos Maturano. The excitement produced in 

 Chili in consequence of the seizure of the 

 Chincha Islands by Spain, led to the resignation 

 of two of the ministers, those of the Interior 

 and of Finance, who were succeeded by Al- 

 varo Covarrubias for the Interior, and Alex- 

 ander Eeyes for the Finances. The Council of 

 State is composed of the ministers, two mem- 

 bers of the Courts of Justice, one ecclesiastical 

 dignitary, one general, and several other high 

 functionaries. 



According to a report of the Minister of the 

 Interior, the population of the Republic amount- 

 ed, on December 31st, 1863, to 1,700,055 in- 

 habitants; 849,284 men, and 850,771 women. 



The receipts of the Government in 1861 

 amounted to 5,850,821 piastres, and in 1862 to 

 6,287,155 piastres. In the budget of 1863 the 

 receipts were estimated at 6,244,887 piastres, 

 the expenditures at 7,585,983 piastres, and the 

 deficit at 1,341,096 piastres. 



The Home Debt in December, 1862, amounted 

 to 3,185,625 piastres, and the Foreign Debt to 

 1,485,800 piastres. 



The army, on April 20, 1863, consisted of 

 2,871 troops of the line, and 28,077 national 

 guards. The fleet, according to a report fur- 

 nished by the Minister of War to Congress, 

 was, in August, 1863, composed as follows: 1 

 screw corvette, of 200 horse power, with 20 

 guns ; 1 screw sloop, of 200 horse power, with 

 5 guns ; and two paddle steamers, of 100 horse 

 power, with 2 guns; total, 4 steamers, with 

 27 guns. 



The movement of commerce in 1862 was as 

 follows: Imports, 17,226,655 piastres, against 

 16,676,314 in 1861 ; exports, 21,994,432, against 

 20,349,634 in 1861. In 1863, the imports 

 amounted to 20,487,517 piastres, an increase 

 over those of 1862 of 3,260,862 piastres. 



The number and tonnage of vessels which 

 entered and cleared at the ports of the Re- 

 public in 1861 and 1862 were as follows : 



The mercantile marine of Chili consisted, at 

 the end of 1862, of 259 vessels, of 57,111 tons 

 burthen, with 2,806 sailors. 



The Government and people of Chili took a 

 very active interest in the difficulty between 

 Peru and Spain. (See PERU.) The current of 

 public opinion was strongly in favor of aiding 

 Peru in case of a war. The Congress of Chili 

 passed a resolution, by which the Spanish war 

 vessels were forbidden to coal in the ports of 

 Chili. Another resolution was adopted ob- 

 jecting to the recognition of a Mexican 

 monarchy. 



This Congress terminated its sittings on 

 Dec. 27th. They approved the public expen- 

 ditures for the year 1865, and also sanctioned 

 an increase of two millions of dollars on the 

 estimates for public purposes, most of which 

 will be expended on the augmentation of the 

 navy. For this purpose two vessels are under 

 construction in England. 



The Government of Chili has for some time 

 devoted its attention to the best means to 

 be adopted for the colonization of the vast 

 tracts of rich country at their disposal, and a 

 decree appointing a commission to report on 

 the subject has been passed. The commis- 

 sioners met on the 25th of December, and ap- 

 proved of the following measures : 



1. The foundation of an emigration office, with 

 branches in Europe. 



2. The acquisition by the Government of lands in 

 the central provinces, to instal the emigrants pro- 

 visionally. 



3. A system of contracts between owners of estates 

 and the emigrants by medium of the Central Emi- 

 gration Office. 



4. The assignment of an annual sum by the GOT- 

 ernment to encourage emigration. 



Already a considerable progress has been 

 made by Chili in this object. Admiral Fitz- 

 roy, in a speech made before the English Royal 

 Geographical Society on May 9, 1864, pointed 

 to the fact that the new German colony of 

 Port Montt, in a region which, when he sur- 

 veyed the coast, was peopled only by small 

 bodies of savages, had in ten years become a 

 town of 15,000 inhabitants. A little further to 

 the north there was a place where twenty or 

 thirty ships at a time were loading coal ; while 

 at the period of his visit only but a few 

 fragments of coal were seen lying about, which 

 no one thought worth picking up. The range 

 of the Andes is rich in minerals, and the whole 

 of the country to the west is well timbered. 

 Indeed, the country is already becoming the 

 abode of civilized men ; for a number of new 

 settlements have lately sprung into existence 

 along the eastern coast and in the Straits of 

 Magellan, as well as on the western side. The 

 forests of the Chilean side include extensive 

 clusters of apple trees of good edible varieties, 

 and the country also possesses three different 

 kinds of potatoes, better than any he had ever 

 eaten at home. Admiral Fitzroy was only 

 surprised, considering the deterioration of the 

 potato plant in England, that some adventurous 

 Englishman had not been out to this region to 

 procure a stock of fresh plants. 



