M 



BOLIVIA. 



Hi* beads of elderly subjects remind one of the 

 masterpieces of Elliott in richneM and warmth 

 of color. la the death of Mr. Bogle, art hat 

 lot one of iu most faithful interpreters. 



BOLIVIA (rUi'Cuucji DI BOLIVIA), an inde- 

 pendent republic of Sooth America, extending 

 from latitude 10* to*** south, and fruni longi- 

 tude 67* 85 to 70' 30' west. Iu boundaries are : 

 north and northeast, Brazil, from which the 

 Rio Paraguay separates it in part southeast: 

 oath, the Argentine Republic and Chili ; and 

 weat, the Pacific Ocean and Peru. The bound- 

 ary question has not yet been definitively set- 

 tied with Brazil; but the Pilconiayo has been 

 fixed, instead of the Bertnejo, as the northern 

 limit of Bolivian territory in the Gran Cbaco. 



The area of the republic is estimated at 

 677,288 aanare mile* ; but these figures should 

 not be taken as absolutely correct, no official 

 or regular survey of the country having ever 

 been made. The population is probably not 

 Car abort of 8,000,000.* 



President of Bolivia, Don Adolfo Ballivian 

 {May, 1878); Minister of the Interior and of 

 Foreign Affair*. Dr. M. Baptista ; Minister of 

 Finance, etc.. Dr. H. Bnirtillos; Mini-ter of 

 War, General M. Ballivian; and Minister of 

 Jurtice and Public Worship, Dr. D. Cairo. 

 Arrbbishop and Primate of the Republic, I >r. 

 1'uch y Solona (1881). There are three 

 bishopric.: La Pax, C. Clavijo (1869); Santa 

 Gnu de la Sierra, F. X. Rodriguez (1870); 

 and Cochabamba (titulary bishop), F. M. <1. 1 

 Oranado. 



The n-irular army comprises 81 generals, 859 

 eommanding officer*, 054 subaltern officers, 

 and 4,000 men, at an annual expense of $2,- 



The following tables exhibit the trade with 

 Great Britain for the yean 1871 and 1872: 



.1. 



$m.M> 

 sum 



m - 



:i T. 





fiiT.ano 



07.740 

 M0.7SO 



m m 

 (.MUM 



V !' 



HMTIM 



* 



Udj whli the United State, and some of the 

 orlnn countries ; fort, In the absence of 

 ctanu, It wonld be unsafe to attempt 



f r..*.. ,,^. u 

 w sMtls, sw OM Anoit Crctar^atA fcr 



to give ercn approximate figures. The export 

 of calisaya-bark through the IVruviun ports 

 of Arica and Inlay is far from inconsiderable ; it 

 amounts in all probability to some $160,000; 

 but this is not the only article of Bolivian 

 commerce imported or exported through the 

 ports just mentioned, since Peru annually pays 

 Bolivia more than half a million of pesos (dol- 

 lars), as compensation for duties rniU.u-d at 

 Arica on Bolivian merchandise in tramitu. 



The annual trade in coca-leaves may be set 

 down as averaging sixty millions. 



Almost one-ball' of the national revenue is 

 raised by a land-tax levied upon the Indian 

 population; the remainder is derived mainly 

 from customs receipts, mines, and other state 

 property. 



As a rule, the income is altogether incom- 

 mensurate with the expenditure, the former 

 being, on an average, about $5,000,000, while 

 the latter is rarely below $6,000,000, a state 

 of tilings which burdens the nation from year 

 to year with a deficit of a million. Bolivian 

 credit, nevertheless, stands lair in the Kiiropeim 

 money market, and, notwithstanding the loan 

 contracted in 1872 1,700,000 the Bolivian 

 debt is smaller than that of any other South 

 American republic. In November, 1872, the 

 Government presented to ('undress a ba!. 

 sheet showing the foreign debt to be $20,115,- 

 898.24, and the home debt, $4, 041,174, mak- 

 ing a total national debt of $24,757,072.88. 



This state of things, though not compara- 

 tively unfavorable, would soon cease if Bolivia 

 had an adequate seaboard, and suitable means 

 of transport from the interior to the coast. 

 But its monster mountain-ranges present a 

 formidable barrier betuccn the productive re- 

 gions of Bolivia and the 1'aeitic Ocean. That 

 difficulty does not exist on the eastern side 

 f the country, and an easy path to the At- 

 lantic is presented by the numerous gigantic 

 rivers which drain the soil of Alto Peru, as 

 this favored country wag once called. In 

 i-tl'ect. more than two-thirds of the w:,t. r of 

 Bolivia are emptied into the Madeira, which 

 in turn pours them into the mighty Amazonas. 

 The only obstacle to the navigation of the Ma- 

 deira by steam are the rapid*; but these are 

 so situated as to be easily avoided by means 

 of a railway 150 miles in length. That rail- 

 way was commenced many months ago ; but, 

 the British contractors having failed to keep 

 good faith with the company, the works were 

 temporarily suspended about the middle of 

 the year. 



Shortly before the Assembly Extraordinary 

 terminated its session, some of the financial 

 questions submitted for deliberation resulted 

 in inch economical measures as reduction of 

 the salaries of public officials, and of the al- 

 lowances of pensioners. The Government also 

 was authorized to contract a now loan of 

 1.000,000. 



The period immediately preceding the elec- 

 tions for President of the republic was marked 



