OUATKMALA. 



389 



arrive at full hearing in the sixth year; in the 



!i they an- in tlioir prime; and noun- 



niie to bcur until tho eighteenth or twen- 



The < '\ernment, at the suggestion of sorno 

 planters, approved the statutes of a 

 jt.int stock etnn|i:iny, orirani/rd fur tlie pur- 

 ililisliin-; a sugar-refinery in tho re- 

 pul)lie. 1 he i-nterprise is to be on a largo 

 and it can scarcely fail to prove success- 

 ful. The new industry will also bo the means 

 of iiitroilii.-in : many others, some of which 

 are immediately attendant upon it, such as the 

 manufacture of animal charcoal, which, after 

 it has been used in the purification of the 

 snirar, can bo applied as an excellent fertilizer 

 for the fields. 



A number of India-rubber plantations have 

 been formed of late, and this branch of culti- 

 vation bids fair to give handsome results. 



Tohacco-planting, which has been attempted 

 in various parts of the country, begins already 

 to show signs of success. 



It is reported that the chief towns art- shortly 

 to be lighted with gas, and proposal** have 

 been made for porcelain, paper, and htearine 

 candle factories. 



I: i<-h coal-beds have been discovered near 

 Izabal, and arrangements were about to be 

 made for working them as soon as suitable 

 machinery can be procured ; and, in the mean 

 time, timber-felling in the forests of Petcn 

 was to be commenced on an extensive scale, 

 for account of the Government. 



Tho Department of Public Works reports 

 some progress in the matter of roads, so much 

 needed in every direction. Work had begun 

 on a new carriage-road, to lead northward 

 from tho capital, and which, when completed, 

 will be eminently beneficial to the commercial 

 interests of the eastern departments. 



There is now a project on foot for the con- 

 struction of a railway from Escnintla to the 

 Pacific port of San Jose, the length of which, 

 according to the report of the minister, will be 

 82 miles, and the total cost, at the rate of 



GUATEMALA IN 1724. 



$30,000 per mile, $960,000. Of this sum it is 

 proposed to pay $768,000 in advance, and the 

 remainder in bonds bearing interest at 6 per 

 cent. 



. fudging from the good credit the republic 

 enjoys in Europe, it was presumed that the 

 money could bo obtained there on favorable 

 terms, viz., by issuing bonds at the rate of 70, 

 with interest at 7 per cent, per annum, and an 

 accumulative sinking-fund of 2 per cent, per 

 annum, equivalent to about 11.83, or less than 

 12 per cent., the usual rate of interest in Gua- 

 temala. 



The net proceeds of the line, calculating the 

 exportation and importation at 10,000,000 Ibs. 

 each, exclusive of the increase of agricultural 



and commercial enterprise?, would give $114,- 

 200, in which are included the yield from pas- 

 sengers, and one-half of the duties on imports 

 and exports by San Jose", which at present are 

 intended for the support of that end of the 

 road. A prospectus of the line was published, 

 and Seflor Saenz de Tejada, residing in Paris, 

 was appointed special commissioner by the 

 Government for the negotiation of the loan. 

 In case sufficient funds can be raised, the line 

 will be extended to the capital. 



The telegraph is fast spreading its wires 

 through the republic ; communication was es- 

 tablished, in April, with the eastern depart- 

 ments ; lines to the western departments were 

 in courso of construction ; and on June 2d 



