ECUADOR. 



EGYPT. 



The privilege granted to Messrs. Jones it 

 Rarmundo Puiger, for the sinking an artesian 

 well, was annulled by the Government, they 

 being at the same time confirmed in the pos- 

 session of the privilege for supplying Guaya- 

 quil with pure water by a system of pipe*. 



By order of the Government, a day was set 

 part in December. 1872, for thanksgiving for 

 the benefits received during the year, and 

 prayer for the Roman Catholic Church. On 

 that occasion the Bishop of Ibarra congratu- 

 lated the President, whom be designated as 

 defender of the faith and of the holy doctrines 

 of Christ crucified. 



The p'.ipils placed, in 1ST-, under Mr. L. 

 Kiv.-ra, (r intrtirtion in the cultivation of the 

 indigo-plant at the expense of the Govern- 

 ment, having finished their course of studies, 

 were sent back to their respective provinces. 

 The specimens of indigo manufactured by them 

 were considered as very satisfactory. 



In the month of February, 1873, extensive 

 deposits of silver-ores near the city of Loja 

 were discovered. The most important metal- 

 liferous specimens were sulphuret of silver in 

 octahedral prisms of great brilliancy, and sul- 

 phuret of lead ; a reddish-colored silver, with 

 sexahedral prisms of a dull, dingy shade ap- 

 proaching to black ; and bismuth, argentifer- 

 ous lead, and sulphuret of copper. Varieties 

 of coal, copper, and lead, also abound. An 

 excellent mule-road leads from the mines to 

 the sea-coast, the nearest port being at a dis- 

 tance of some 70 miles, and formed by the inlet 

 of Yambelli to the southward of Guayaquil. 

 Along the whole road from Loja, timber, water, 

 and provisions, are plentiful, as is also the ne- 

 cessary fodder for animals. The climate is 

 mild and salubrious. Laborers are paid at the 

 rate of 80 cents per diem. 



The journal La Prerua, published at Guaya- 

 quil, announced the discovery, in July lost, of a 

 quicksilver-mine in the vicinity of that city. 



Two young ladies, examined in obstetric, 

 gave evidence of considerable proficiency in 

 that art. 



The 9th of August was appointed for the 

 celebration of the sixty-fourth anniversary of 

 the independence of Ecuador. 



By a decree issued in the month of February, 

 Amnesty was extended to all Ecuadorians ab- 

 sent from their country for political causes, 

 titi'l permitting their return upon their written 

 application to the Minister of the Interior for 

 * passport. 



A German scientist, Prof. Weiss, who, to- 

 gether with his countrvman. Prof. Stubcl, was 

 occupied, by appointment of the Government, 

 in studying the volcanoes of that region, suc- 

 ceeded, early in 1878, in ascending to the top 

 of Cotopaxi, and viewing the immense crater 

 of that giant of the equatorial Andes, then first 

 teen by human cyo. On his way thither ho 

 risltd the ruins of an Inca palace full of in- 

 terest, as are all the relics of Inca architecture, 

 but now, after having withstood for more than 



three centuries the destroying hands of time, 

 earthquakes, and volcanoes, converted into a 

 shelter for swine and other animals. 



r.nVIT, a country of Northeastern Africa, 

 nominally a pashalik of the Turkish Empire, 

 but virtually on independent state since 1811. 

 The ruler of Egypt, who has the name of 

 Khedive, is Ismail Pasha, born at Cairo in 

 1830, second son of Ibrahim, the son of Me- 

 hemet Ali, succeeded to the government nt tlio 

 death of his uncle, Said Pasha, January 18, 

 1808; heir-apparent is the eldest son of the 

 Khedive, Mechmcd Tefwick. The territories 

 under the rule of the Khedive are estimated at 

 659,100 Kqiinre miles; the Egyptian statistician 

 DeRegny(inhUwork, "Statistiquedc I'rV'.vpti! 

 d'apres des Documents officials," vol. Hi., 1 S 7_) 

 claims927,0008quaromiles. Since then SirSam- 

 uel Baker has proclaimed the annexation of a 

 large portion of Central Africa, extending to 

 the southward as far as the equator, to the 

 dominions of the Khedive. For the present 

 the Egyptian rule in these new dominions is 

 entirely nominal. But, if it becomes perma- 

 nent, as is likely to be the case, since Egypt is 

 without a rival in these regions, the area nt' the 

 Kuyptian Empire would by far exceed 1,000,- 

 000 square miles. At all events, it appears to 

 be highly probable that Egypt may become 

 more and more preeminent among the native 

 states of Africa. The population of Egypt 

 proper is given by Repay as 5,203,405 in 1*7 1 : 

 that of the entire Egyptian Empire is esti- 

 mated at abont 8,000,000. The revenue of 

 Egypt for the financial year, ending Septem- 

 ber 10, 1874, was calculated in the official 

 budget estimates (published in the newspaper 

 VEnftt. of October 3, 1878) at l.!i*-J.:;:M 

 purses (1 purse=$25.79), the expenditures at 

 1,768,128; the surplus at 219,160. Accounts 

 of the actual receipts and disbursements have 

 not yet been published by the Government. 

 The chief source of revenue, according to the 

 budget estimates, was from a land-tax (810,- 

 000 purses). The expenditures embrace 138,- 

 633 purses as the amount of the yearly tribute 

 to the Porte; the civil list of the Khedive is 

 60,000 purses; the appanage of the heir-ap- 

 parent 6,000. The public debt in 1873 

 amounted to 44,204,000, of which 19,149,000 

 was consolidated, and 25.055,000 floating 

 debt. The consolidated private debt of the, 

 Khedive was, in 1873, 8,910,000; and his 

 floating debt was estimated by the Economist 

 at 6,518,000. 



The strength of the Egyptian army, which 

 is raised by conscription, is about 14,000 men, 

 8,000 infantry, 8.000 cavalry, artillery, and 

 engineers, and 3,000 negro troops. 



The imports of Egypt were, m 1871, valued 

 at 560,000,000 piasters (1 piaster = C cents); 

 the exports at 999,000,000 piasters; 240,- 

 000,000 of the imports and 751,000,000 of the 

 exports belonged to the trade with Great Brit- 

 ain. The chief articles of export are cotton 

 (2,040,000 cwt., valued at 624,000,000 piasters), 



