94 



CHILI. 



the United States, and D. J. Williamson, Esq., 

 Consul-General at Valparaiso. 



The standing army is composed (1878) of 8 

 generals, 7 colonels, 29 lieutenant-colonels, 38 

 majors, 99 captains, 20 adjutants-major, and 

 197 lieutenants 398 officers and the follow- 

 ing corps: five battalions of infantry, 2,000 

 men ; two regiments of cavalry, 700 ; one regi- 

 ment of artillery, 616; total, 3,316. Vacan- 

 cies occurring in the regular army are filled 

 by volunteers from the National Guard, but 

 the regular strength of the army, fixed by the 

 law of 1875 at 3,573, is seldom reached. The 

 strength of the National Guard is as follows : 

 infantry, 3,546 men; cavalry, 1,288; artillery, 

 1,285; total, 6,119 men. A general rising of 

 the Indians being apprehended, troops have 

 been sent to the frontier to protect the new 

 colonies. There has also been lately a great 

 increase of brigandage in the interior of the 

 republic, and stringent measures will be re- 

 quired to extirpate it. 



The navy comprises ten vessels, as follows : 



There are in the navy 3 rear-admirals, 1 

 first-class, 9 second-class, and 13 third-class 

 captains, 46 lieutenants, 48 coast-guard, and 

 54 surgeons and engineers ; 1 naval architect, 

 1 almoner, and 2 first-class pilots. There is 

 also a battalion of marines, commanded by 1 

 colonel, 1 lieutenant-colonel, 4 captains, and 

 19 lieutenants, and a battalion of marine artil- 

 lery of 432 men, commanded by 1 colonel, 1 

 lieutenant-colonel, 3 adjutants-major, 6 cap- 

 tains, and 19 lieutenants ; besides the battalion 

 of marine artillery at Valparaiso forming a 

 part of the guardia civil, and comprising 808 

 men, officered by 1 colonel, 1 lieutenant-colo- 

 nel, 6 captains, and 24 lieutenants. 



The revenue of Chili for the year 1876 (es- 

 timated at $24,561,670, including a foreign 

 loan of $4,742,564 and a home loan of $3,050,- 

 000) amounted to $23,492,456, as follows: 



Ordinary receipts $15,360,158 



Keceipts extraordinary 7 184 52-3 



Balance from 1875 947,775 



Total $23,492,456 



The expenditures were : 



Ordinary $17,959,524 



Extraordinary 2,725,615 



Total $20,685,139 



The revenue for 1877 was estimated at $17,- 

 506,000, including a loan of $2,000,000, and 

 the expenditure at $18,040,808; but a late re- 

 port of the Minister of Finance before a Con- 

 "gressional Committee sets down the deficit at 

 $2,500,000. The estimates approved for 1878 



amount to $17,400,000, including the interest 

 on the new loan. The total estimated revenue 

 is $14,087,000, leaving a deficit of $3,500,000, 

 which may be reduced to $2,200,000 by the 

 balance of $500,000 of the loan, and by pro- 

 posed reductions in the expenses of the Gov- 

 ernment. The foreign debt on January 1, 

 1877, was set down at $38,809,000, comprising 

 seven loans with interest ranging from 3 to 7 

 per cent., and the home debt at $10,780,875, 

 with interest varying from 3 to 8 per cent. 

 The railway debt included in the total of $49,- 

 589,875 amounted to $35,000,000. 



The banks have been authorized by the Gov- 

 ernment to suspend specie payments until the 

 31st of August, 1879. Their emission of paper 

 money, to the amount of $15,600,000, is guar- 

 anteed by the state, and is made redeemable 

 in coin at the above date. Large amounts of 

 gold and silver have been exported to meet ac- 

 counts abroad, the balance of trade having been 

 against the country for several years past, ow- 

 ing to the failure in wheat crops and the de- 

 cline in the price of copper. It is known that 

 not more than $5,000,000 in bullion and coin 

 remain in the country, and a very depressed 

 feeling is prevalent in financial and commercial 

 circles. The financial system of the country 

 is based upon customs duties and the Govern- 

 ment monopoly of tobacco. The income tax, 

 the succession tax, and taxes on real and per- 

 sonal property, deemed necessary to set the 

 country on a sounder financial basis, are vehe- 

 mently opposed by the deputies in Congress, 

 who are mostly men of large property, or capi- 

 talists. The custom-house returns give the 

 receipts for 1875 and 1876 at $7,801,354 and 

 $7,422,790 respectively; and a decrease of 

 $1,000,000 in the importations of 1877 will 

 still further reduce this main source of the re- 

 public's revenues. 



The subjoined table exhibits the value of the 

 foreign commerce of Chili from 1873 to 1877, 

 inclusive : 



The following table shows the distribution 

 of the Chilian trade in 1877: 



The custom-house returns of the port of Val- 

 paraiso for the first seven months of 1878 show 

 an increase over the receipts of 1877 as follows : 



