Aim ALT. 



ARGENTINE REPUBLIC. 



25 



1acong. They arc to minister in outlying dis- 

 tricts, hut will "not have authority to administer 

 the holy communion that part of the church 

 nemo- bring taken on stated days by the paro- 

 chial I'lie " iva<l<-i-s " are not to be ad- 

 "reverend," hut they are to wear 

 the surplice in their ministrations. At the first 

 annual meeting of the "Association of Lay 

 Helpers," in the diocese of London, about fifty 

 1 er-mis were present. 



AMI A LT, a duchy in Germany. Area, 1,017 

 Engl. square miles. Population, in 1864, 193,- 

 Tapital, Dessau, with 16,306 inhabitants. 

 In the German war, in 1866, Anhalt sided with 

 Prussia, and after the conclusion of the war it 

 joined the North German confederation. 



ARGENTINE REPUBLIC. President (from 

 October 12, 1862, to October 11, 1868), Barto- 

 Iom6 Mitr6; Vice-President, Marcos Paz. 

 Minister of the United States at Buenos Ayres, 

 General Alexander Asboth, appointed in Octo- 

 ber, 1866. 



The area of the republic is estimated at 38,- 

 890 geographical (or about 825,000 English) 

 square miles. Exclusive of this territory the 

 Argentine Government claims Patagonia, 

 which is generally connected with Chili, and 

 the whole of the Gran Chaco, parts of which are 

 generally counted with the territory of Bolivia 

 and Paraguay. The population of the republic 

 in 1857, and, according to Martin de Moussy*, 

 in 1863, was as follows: 



The war which the Argentine Republic (in 

 common with Brazil and Uruguay) has for some 

 time been carrying on against Paraguay, con- 

 tinued throughout the year. (See PARAGUAY.) 

 In some . provinces, especially those bordering 



* Martin do Moussy, the author of the prront work. /><; 

 tcription de la Confederation Argentine (torn, iii., Paris, 

 1864), Is called by Page (In his work, "La Plata," London, 

 1859) "an eminent sdent'fic man," and his work Is recom- 

 mended by Sir Woodbine Parish, who himself is the author 

 of the best-known book on the La Plata States, to all who 

 desire to have the latest and most accurate Information on 

 the subject. M. de Moussy has carefully compared all the 

 censuses and estimates of population, and his statements are 

 universally accepted as thoee most entitled to credit. 



t Census of 1855. $ Census of 1854. 



upon Paraguay and Bolivia, great dissatisfac- 

 tion with tlie continuance of the triple alliance 

 and the war was expressed, and repeated at- 

 tempts were made at stirring up civil war and a 

 separation of some of the northern provinces 

 from the Argentine Confederation. Most of 

 these attempts were easily suppressed ; but the 

 latest reports from Buenos Ayres stated that, in 

 December, the insurrection in Mendoza was 

 becoming more serious, the chief having up- 

 ward of three thousand men at his command, 

 and being evidently supported by Chili. In 

 Catamarca the insurrection was also re- 

 ported still to hold the Government. The 

 sympathy of Chili, Pern, and" Bolivia with 

 the Paraguayans threatened the friendly rela- 

 tions which had hitherto existed between these 

 republics and the Argentine Confederation, and 

 toward the close of the year fears were enter- 

 tained of an invasion of Argentine territory 

 by a Bolivian army. (See BOLIVIA.) The Ar- 

 gentine Government took, however, occasion 

 from the bombardment of Valparaiso by the 

 Spanish fleet, to protest against this act as con- 

 trary to the principles of international law. 



Notwithstanding the continuance of the war 

 which taxed the strength of the government to 

 the utmost, the republic is at present making 

 greater progress than during the previous peace. 

 On September llth the Western Railroad was 

 opened ten leagues farther, to the town of 

 Chiviledy. This finishes one hundred and ten 

 miles of railroad westward from Buenos Ayres. 

 This railroad traverses a fine country, and al- 

 ready has a great business. It is owned by the 

 government. In the same month two Ameri- 

 can gentlemen, Messrs. Hopkins and Gary, ob- 

 tained a charter from Congress for a telegraph 

 from Buenos Ayres to Chili. In October the 

 submarine cable which connects the cities of 

 Buenos Ayres and Montevideo was successfully 

 laid. It lies on the bed of the river, between 

 Buenos Ayres and Colonia, a distance of twen- 

 ty-six miles. The works on the Argentine 

 Central Railroad, from Rosario to Cordova, were 

 suspended in November, 1866, on account of 

 the tardiness of the government in making out 

 tha titles to the public lands granted to the 

 company. For every twenty leagues of rail- 

 road there was to be a transfer of title to the 

 granted lands, and the company having finished 

 the railroad about twice that distance, .needed 

 the land, on which to base the issue of bonds. 

 But though the materials for the entire railroad 

 had all arrived, or were en route from Europe, 

 yet there was this obstacle to the work. This 

 road, when finished, will bo the grandest road 

 south of the equator, sweeping for two hun- 

 dred and fifty miles through a region of great 

 fertility. 



On December 10th a convention to reform 

 the constitution of the republic met at iSantu 

 Fe, in a kind of general caucus. On the llth 

 it had a preliminary meeting, and on the 

 12th they proposed amendments, discussed 

 them, voted on them, apd adjourned. The 



