22 



ARGENTINE REPUBLIC. 



with a bonus of 500 per mile to the com- 

 pany. The prospectus had also been published 

 and subscriptions called, for the Northern line 

 to Rosario (189 miles), and branches, embracing 

 in all 500 miles. The works were expected 

 shortly to commence on the Port Campana 

 Railway (40 miles) to provide a suitable port on 

 the Parana. The Ensenada Railway was fin- 

 ished, and was to be opened to public traffic 

 before the close of the year. Besides the pro- 

 posed railway by the Planchon, a project is 

 on foot for building another, 800 miles farther 

 north, from San Juan into Chili, at an esti- 

 mated cost of 12,000 per mile, the Argentine 

 and Chilian Governments giving & guarantee 

 of 7 per cent, on their parts respectively. An 

 appropriation of $200,000 had been made for 

 the erection and improvement of public offices 

 in Buenos Ayres and some of the other pro- 

 vincial capitals. The works on the Tucuman 

 Railway were expected to be commenced tow- 

 ard the end of October. A remarkable aug- 

 mentation was reported in the traffic receipts 

 of the Central Argentine Railway ; the receipts 

 for the month of June were almost $66,000, be- 

 ing an increase of 60 per cent, in the passenger 

 and 17 per cent, in the freight traffic, as com- 

 pared with the corresponding month in 1871. 

 The gross increase for the year is, however, 

 not over 14 per cent. The line to the Rio 

 Cuarto was to be opened by the end of the 

 year ; and the works on the line from Mercedes 

 to Concordia were advancing rapidly. The 

 transandine telegraph, establishing communi- 

 cation between Buenos Ayres and Santiago, 

 the Chilian capital, was inaugurated in July, 

 and continued in uninterrupted operation. 

 Telegraph-lines through other parts of the re- 

 public are in active process of construction, 

 and there are numerous lines projected ; 

 among others, one from Montevideo to Rio 

 Grande do Sul, in Brazil; which, thanks to 

 the submarine cable already laid to Monte- 

 video, will place Buenos Ayres in telegraphic 

 connection with Rio de Janeiro, and ere long 

 with Europe, it being affirmed that a cable 

 from the Brazilian capital and Lisbon will be 

 completed in the course of 1873. In January, 

 1870, there were but two horse-car railways 

 in the city of Buenos Ayres, witii an aggre- 

 gate length of 4,780 metres ; the city has at 

 present nine lines, covering 106,687 metres. 

 Some 16,000 metres more are in process of 

 construction ; and more new companies are 

 about to be formed. 



^ The army of the Argentine Republic, exclu- 

 sive of the militia and national guard of Buenos 



Ayres, is composed of 6,482 men: 2,909 in- 

 fantry, 2,861 horse, and 712 artillery. There 

 are 29 generals, 273 commandants, and 263 

 officers. The republic has seven vessels-of- 

 w:ir, one of which mounts 12 guns. 



The shipping statistics for 1871 show an ag- 

 gregate of 1,526,281 tons, four-fifths of which 

 refer to Buenos Ayres, and the remainder to 

 the other ports. This is exclusive of the 



coasting-trade. There were, in all, 1,628 

 steamers, and 2,410 sailing-vessels ; the na- 

 tionalities and tonnage were distributed as 

 follows: 



The number of steamers plying monthly 

 between the various European ports and the 

 Plata was to be extended from about 20 to 25 

 by the opening of the present year; 14 of 

 these were to be English. Negotiations were 

 being made between the Argentine and Uru- 

 guayan Governments for a new Sanitary Con- 

 vention. 



The port of Ensenada will, it is expected, 

 shortly be opened, and the bar removed ; for 

 which purpose Congress seemed disposed to 

 make an appropriation of $500,000. 



Strenuous efforts were being made to im- 

 prove the sanitary condition of the city of 

 Buenos Ayres. A committee was appointed 

 during the year to inquire into the matter and 

 report upon the practicability of establishing 

 a thorough system of drainage in the city 

 (street sewerage having been hitherto unknown 

 here), and furnishing the latter with a supply 

 of potable water adequate to the necessities 

 of the population. 



The combined energies of the national and 

 provincial Governments are sedulously em- 

 ployed to promote the progress of public edu- 

 cation. The University of Cordoba and the 

 colleges (Colegios Nacionales) have so far 

 given results at least equal to those predicted 

 by the warmest defenders of the system ; the 

 aggregate number of professors in these col- 

 leges is 170, and that of the students 2,600. 

 A normal school for teachers has been estab- 

 lished in Parana, and has already over 60 

 pupils on its roll. 



In 1872 there were in the whole republic 

 1,407 schools, public and private (exclusive of 

 the university and colleges); but these were 

 attended by only 81,183 children, out of 468,- 

 987 children between the ages of 6 and 15 

 years. In other words, 391,990 children be- 

 tween 6 and is years of age had not yet taken 

 the first steps in education. Two ecclesiasti- 

 cal seminaries are supported by the national 

 Government, one in Buenos Ayres, the other 

 in Cordoba. The Astronomical Observatory 

 in Cordoba, under the direction of Mr. B. A. 

 Gould, from the United States, was inaugu- 

 rated in October, 1871, by the President of 

 the Republic. There are in the republic 21 

 public libraries, inclusive of the Biblioteca Na- 

 cional, established in 1870. A national exhibi- 

 tion was opened at Cordoba, October 15, 1871, 

 and closed on the 20th of the following Jan- 

 uary. The building was divided into three 

 sections; 11,704 objects were exhibited by 



