GOVERNMENT AND LAW. 



making returns to the Government, with 575 branches 

 all over the Dominion. 



Post-office savings banks under charge of the 

 Government have been in operation in Canada since 1808 ; 

 there are also Government savings banks, under the 

 management of the Finance Department, in the Mari- 

 time Provinces. Manitoba, and British Columbia. In 

 1897 there were 779 offices of the former and 28 of the 

 latter. In 18D7 the post-office savings banks had 135,737 

 depositors and 32,380,829 dollars on deposit. 



Internal Communications. Canada has a system of 

 canal, river, and lake navigation over 2,700 miles in 

 length, and vessels from the lake ports reach the Atlan- 

 tic without breaking bulk. Up to 1897, 71,750,000 dollars 

 had been spent on canals for construction alone. In 

 1896, 25,622 vessels, of 4,077,826 tons, passed through the 

 ( 'a na 1 1 ia n c;i nals,carrying 151,342 passengers and 3,413,674 

 tons of freight, chiefly grain, timber, arid coal. 



The Dominion of Canada had a network of railways 

 of a total length of 16,687 miles completed at the end of 

 June, 1897, being an increase of 300 miles over that of 

 1896. The number of miles in operation was 16,550. The 

 Canadian Pacific Railway main line from Montreal to 

 Vancouver is 2,906 miles in length. By means of this 

 railway and a line of Pacific steamers subsidized by the 

 Imperial and Dominion Governments, Montreal and 

 Yokohama have been brought within 14 days of one an- 

 other. There is a monthly steam service between. A ustra- 

 lia and British Columbia, for which the Dominion Gov- 

 ernment gives 25,0002. a year and the Australian 12,000/. % 

 a year. 



The number of electric railways in Canada in 1897 was 

 35, with a mileage of 535; the number of passengers 

 carried during the year was 83,811,300 ; the total paid up 

 capital was 18,727,355 dollars, and the bonded debt, 9,- 

 894,452 dollars. 



On June 30, 1897, there was 9,191 post offices in the 

 Dominion. During the year ended on the foregoing 

 date the number of letters sent through the post office 

 was 123,830,000, of post cards 26,140,000, of newspapers, 

 books, etc. 26,040,000, and of parcels 369,570. Newspa- 

 pers sent from the office of publication are carried free. 

 Their number in 1897 was estimated at upwards of 74,- 

 319,976. The letters and post cards posted amounted to 

 28.88 per head, and the other articles to 19.5-1 per head. 

 Revenue, 4,311,243 dollars; expenditure, 4,897,783 dol- 

 lars. A uniform rate of postage of three cents has 

 been established over the whole Dominion. The num- 

 ber of money order offices in Canada in 1897 was 1,349 

 and of orders issued 1,162,209, their value having been 

 13,081,860 dollars. 



There were 29,318 miles (2,786 being Government) of 

 telegraph lines in Canada in 1897 and 70,701 miles of 

 wire, with 2,572 offices, and the number of messages 

 sent, as nearly as could be ascertained, 4,313,925. There 

 were in 1894, 44,000 miles of telephone wire, and 33,500 

 sets of instruments ; 72,500,000 messages were sent. The 

 returns for 1897 do not vary greatly from those of 1894. 



Area, Population, and Seats of Gov- 

 ernment of the Provinces. 



* Land and water included in area, 

 t 187.926 by census of 1896. 



The following table shows the value of the leading 

 imports and exports in 1897 : 



Imports, 1897, 



for Home 

 Consumption. 



Wool, mfrs. of... 

 Iron, steel, and 



mfrs. of 



Coal and coke. . . . 



Breadstuff s 



Cotton mfrs 



Tea and coffee 

 Sugar of all kinds 

 Cotton wool and 



waste 



Silk and mfrs. of 



Provisions 



Wool, raw 



Wood and mfrs. 



of . , 



Animals, living. . 

 Flax, hemp, jute, 



and mfrs. of 



Spirits and wines 

 Coin and bullion . 

 All other articles. 



Dollars. 



7,125,748 Cheese 



Horned cattle 



10,013,630 Horses 



9,276,534 jSheep 



1,136,263 Eggs 



4,269,0'_'0 O t h e r animal 



4,034,208 1 products 



8,560,790 iWood pulp 



Wood and other 



3,290,2401 mfrs. of 



1,988,305; iWheat and wheat 



055,3161 flour 



878,339 ;Peas 



IJApples 



861,728 ; Hay 



397,902 :Other agricul- 

 I tural products.. 



1,362,853, Codfish 



1,379,436 Fish of other 

 4.076,194] kinds 

 50,780,915 



Total 111,294,021 



Coal. 



Gold-b'r'g quartz 

 | & nuggets, etc. 

 Other minerals.. . 

 Iron and steel and 



I mf s. 



Leather and mfrs. 

 Coin and bullion. 

 All other articles. 

 Foreign produce . 



Total. 



14,676,239 



7,132,807 



1,710,922 



1,002,011 



978,479 



13,744,794 

 741,959 



32,169,087 



7,085,048 



2,352,891 



2,682,472 



999,238 



4,862,997 

 2,706,827 



7,607,490 

 3,330,017 



2,804,101 

 5,164,79* 



522,988 

 1,541,732 



327,298 

 9.815,638 

 13,990,415 



137,950,253 



ARGENTINE REPUBLIC. 



The Constitution of the Argentine Repub- 

 lic, formerly known by the name of " Pro- 

 vincias Unidas del Rio de la Plata," bears date 

 May 15, 1853, with modifications in 1860, 

 when Buenos Ayres joined the confederacy. 

 By its provisions, the executive power is left 

 to a President, elected for six years by repre- 

 sentatives of the fourteen provinces, equal to 

 double the number of senators and deputies 

 combined; while the legislative authority is 

 vested in a National Congress, consisting of a 

 Senate and a House of Deputies, the former 

 numbering 30, two from the capital and from 

 each province, elected by a special body of 

 electors in the capital, and by the legislatures 

 in the provinces ; and the latter 133 members 

 elected by the people. By the constitution as 

 revised in 1898, there should be one deputy for 

 every 33,000 inhabitants. A deputy must be 

 25 years of age, and have been a citizen for 

 four years. The deputies are elected for four 

 years, but one half of the House must retire 

 every two years. Senators must be 30 years 

 of age, have been citizens for six years, and 

 have an annual income of 12,000 dollars. 

 One third of the Senate is renewed every three 

 years. The two chambers meet annually from 

 May 1 to September 30. The members of both 

 the Senate and the Houso of Deputies are paid 

 for their services, each receiving 12,000 pesos 

 per annum. A Vice-President, elected in the 



