276 



ECUADOR. 



EGYPT. 



was destroyed by the frightful catastrophe of 

 1868. 



In Quito great improvements were made m 

 the building destined for the Academy of Arts 

 and the National Printing-Office. 



The river Milagro was to be dredged by 

 machinery and engines from England ; the 

 work was to begin about the middle of June. 



The Indians who rebelled in the province 

 of Chimborazo were quiet, and the state of 

 siege had been removed. 



The merchants of Guayaquil had asked the 

 Government for its decision in reference to the 

 duties on goods of which one-half was for 

 consumption in the country, and the other 

 half for reexportation, inquiring if they could 

 be divided accordingly. The Government re- 

 fused. 



An American schooner from California had 

 arrived with the necessary apparatus for re- 

 covering the treasure believed to be contained 

 in the sunken frigate Leocadia, which for 

 sixty years has been lying behind Punta Santa 

 Helena. Of the millions of dollars expected 

 ta be still found in the remains of the hulk, 

 the Government is to get five per cent, of what 

 is taken out. 



The minister of Ecuador in Washington in- 

 formed his Government that, although the pos- 

 tal agreement between Ecuador and the Unit- 

 el States of America was still in force, the 

 post-office authorities in New York still con- 

 tinued to demand postage on the correspond- 

 ence directed to the Ecuadorian legation. On 

 this the Superintendent of Foreign Mails re- 

 plied, that the post-office of Guayaquil is to 

 blame in not complying with Article II. of 

 the postal contract, which declares that a 

 separate mail-bag must be sent to the United 

 States consul in Panama, whereas they con- 

 tinue to do as formerly, that is, before the 

 conclusion of the contract for the British mail. 

 The Government ordered an inquiry into the 

 matter at Guayaquil. 



$4,706.50 were subscribed in Ecuador tow- 

 ards paying the war debt of France to Ger- 

 many. 



The programmes of the Schools of Obstet- 

 rics and Sculpture, to be opened in Quito un- 

 der the direction of European professors, were 

 published in April. 



The Bank of Ecuador sent a circular to the 

 merchants, recommending them to insure their 

 goods, and to influence those persons who 

 have business with them to do likewise. The 

 bank stated that it would shortly have no mer- 

 cantile transactions with merchants whose ef- 

 fects, which were to serve as guarantee, were 

 not insured. It offered to facilitate, gratui- 

 tously, all the necessary steps to obtain poli- 

 cies. The frequent fires, or at least the con- 

 stant alarms, were great drawbacks to mercan- 

 tile transactions. 



In the canton of Ambato fourteen primary 

 schools were opened, and in less than a month 

 the number of scholars had reached 907. 



The political chief of the canton of Cafiar 

 asks that the fine imposed on drunkards should 

 form part of the municipal rents. 



A school for young ladies was established in 

 Riobamba, capital of the province of Chimbo- 

 razo, under the direction of the Sisters of the 

 Sacred Heart. 



Ibarra, the capital of the province of Imba- 

 bura, which was destroyed by an earthquake 

 in 1868, was rehabilitated. All the civil au- 

 thorities were present, with the ecclesiastic 

 Cabildo, the bishop, and other notables. A' 

 numerous procession marched into the square 

 of the destroyed city, and a blessing was pro- 

 nounced over it, according to the present rites 

 of the Church. 



Three important decrees were issued in Au- 

 gust concerning public instruction. The first 

 was for the direction of the Polytechnic School ; 

 the second appointed the programme of studies 

 and examinations in the colleges and lycfiums ; 

 and the third prescribed periods of examina- 

 tions, vacations, etc. 



An Orphan Asylum is to be founded at Quito, 

 under the charge of the Sisters of Providence. 



By order of the Minister of Public Works, 

 four youths from each province were to be 

 sent, at the expense of the respective provin- 

 cial governments, to attend the practical course 

 in the cultivation and elaboration of indigo, to 

 be held at Quito. 



The Government was desirous of establish- 

 ing a savings-bank for the soldiers of the army. 



A bronze statue of Bolivar is to be erected 

 in Guayaquil. 



The President is using his best endeavors for 

 the material improvement of the country, for 

 which he spares no expense or personal fa- 

 tigue. He lately spent three weeks in Guaya- 

 quil, principally taken up in seeing into and 

 forwarding all works of public utility and be- 

 neficence, and especially all those measures 

 having in view the safe navigation and the 

 making of Guayaquil one of the finest ports 

 and cities on the Pacific coast. The measures 

 taken by him for the prompt dispatch of goods 

 lying in the custom-house had the best effects. 

 In less than a month the fiscal warehouses 

 were cleared out, and the merchants received 

 the goods detained there on account of the 

 unusual importations of the year. 



The bishop of the diocese received a com- 

 mission from the President to take in charge 

 the construction of an enlargement of the 

 Charity Hospital, with the sum of $20,000 for 

 the expenses of the building. 



The improvements on the Malecon are to be 

 finished in two years. 



EGYPT, a dependency of Turkey in North- 

 ern Africa. The present ruler, Isrn ail-Pacha, 

 has the official title, Khedive-el-Masr ; i. e., 

 ruler of Egypt. The title Khedive, which was 

 given to Ismail in reward for the services 

 rendered to the Turkish Government during 

 the Candian War, denotes in the list of Turk- 

 ish titles more than "Viceroy;" the former 



