228 



COSTA EICA. 



1877 was set down at $1,199,045, of which 

 the railroad works absorbed $466,961, the War 

 Department $114,225, the navy $161,417, pub- 

 lic schools $66,422, and expenses of litigation 

 in England $60,305. In the budget of 1878-'79 

 the revenue was estimated at $3,179,873, as 

 follows : 



Export and import duties $1,200,000 



Spirit monopoly 850,000 



Tobaccco monopoly 450,000 



National Jiank 154,800 



llailway 100,000 



Sundries 415,073 



The expenditures were distributed among the 

 various departments of government in the fol- 

 lowing order : 



Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Education, Jus- 

 tice, etc 



Ministries of the Interior, Police, War, Navy, Agri- 

 culture, etc 792,140 



Ministry of Public Works 251,668 



Ministry of Finance, expenses of monopolies, etc. ; 

 sundry expenses 



The surplus thus accruing, say $993,551, was 

 to be applied for the prosecution of the works 

 on the railway ; and it would also enable the 

 Government to cover the deficit standing 

 against the year 1877-'78 as shown ahove, and 

 that of $104,808 against 1876-'77. The cus- 

 toms department yielded in the whole of 1877 

 $340,710 more than in the year immediately 

 preceding, an increase accounted for by unu- 

 sually large imports, the duties on which be- 

 sides were raised 50 per cent, about the middle 

 of 1877. The excess of the revenue over the 

 expenditure for the month of April was said 

 to be $200,000 ; money " was plenty, and the 

 salaries of both railway and Government em- 

 ployees (on the Atlantic side), bills for provi- 

 sions, and estimates on contracts were promptly 

 liquidated." A statement of the national debt 

 may be found in the "Annual Cyclopasdia" 

 for 1877. 



The Banco de Emision was closed about the 

 middle of the year by decree of the Govern- 

 ment, and the business transferred to the new 

 National Bank. A Government order was is- 

 sued in the fall requiring the sworn brokers 

 throughout the republic to forward twice 

 weekly to the "Diario Oficial" information 

 on the following points : Prices current of cof- 

 fee and other important products ; prices of 

 notes and other documents of the Government ; 

 prices of bank bills ; the current rate of dis- 

 count at the banks and by private capitalists ; 

 the premium on or commercial price of foreign 

 coins ; rates of exchange on the principal com- 

 mercial points in Europe and the United States, 

 of bills of exchange drawn by banks or private 

 individuals ; failures or bankruptcies ; and such 

 other information, of whatever character, as 

 may be useful to the commerce of the country. 



The total value of the exports for the year 

 1877- 1 78 was $6,187,062, of which $300,000 

 was through the Atlantic port of Limon, and 

 the remainder through that of Puntarenas on 

 the Pacific. The chief staples shipped from 

 the latter port were as follows : coffee, 28,804,- 



480 Ibs., against 24,300,000 in 1876-'77; hides, 

 394,169; India-rubber, 71,167 ; copper, 9,473; 

 cheese, 8,966; sarsaparilla, 4,032 Ibs. The 

 shipping movements at Puntarenas in 1877 

 were as follows : Entered, 82 steamers and 31 

 sailing vessels, with an aggregate of 172,334 

 tons, and 680 passengers. Cleared, 81 steam- 

 ers and 22 sailing vessels, with an aggregate 

 of 167,208 tons, and 504 passengers. Of the 

 craft entered, 82 were under the United States 

 flag, 6 British, 8 French, 5 German, and 7 Co- 

 lombian ; and of those cleared, 80 United States, 

 5 British, 7 French, 3 German, and 3 Colom- 

 bian. 



The "Diario Oficial" published in August 

 some extracts from a New York correspond- 

 ence showing the importance of the fruit 

 trade between the Central American repub- 

 lics and the United States, recommending a 

 line of steamers between Port Limon and Pen- 

 sacola. Why the latter point should be pre- 

 ferred to New Orleans was not explained. The 

 importation of bananas into New York in 1877 

 is stated to have aggregated 402,921 bunches, 

 of which 200,000 were credited to Colon, while 

 it was said that Colon had already shipped in 

 1878 413,417 bunches, losing in transportation 

 about 15 per cent. The entire shipment of 

 pineapples during the same period was 3,230,- 

 470, with a loss of about 20 per cent. In May 

 it was reported from the interior that the pros- 

 pects for coffee were extremely favorable, and 

 that the new crop, should no unforeseen disas- 

 ter supervene, would be the largest yet known, 

 say 35,000,000 Ibs., but some apprehension ex- 

 isted that the labor market would be severely 

 tried when the time for picking and cleaning 

 such a large quantity of coffee should arrive. 

 A new port called Cocos had been established 

 on the Pacific coast. It is situated on Culebra 

 Bay, and has, it is believed, a fair anchorage. 

 A custom-house, warehouses, etc., were or- 

 dered to be established. Vessels visiting the 

 port will have no tonnage, anchorage, wharf- 

 age, or lighthouse charges or dues of any sort 

 whatever to pay. The population of the dis- 

 trict is small, but it was hoped that facilities of 

 this character would have the effect of attract- 

 ing settlers and increasing commerce. 



The following extract from a manifesto, pub- 

 lished by President Guardia on June 9th, and 

 referring to the interval between that date and 

 September, 1877, when he superseded Don Vi- 

 cente Herrera, shows an improved condition 

 of affairs in the republic : 



The public works which have been accomplished 

 during the year are many and various ; a college 

 for young ladies in Alajuela established by the sis- 

 ters of the order of Our Lady of Sion and under the 

 direct patronage of the Government ; three barracks, 

 a wharf, and lighthouse in the port of Limon ; im- 

 provements in the palace at San Jose* ; the erection 

 of a new building and a magnificent still in the Fa- 

 brica at San Jose" ; repairs to the Presidio in San Lu- 

 cas and the establishment of a hospital there ; the 

 extension of the telegraph system and the vigorous 

 prosecution of work on the railway. On the latter 

 work $8,000,000 have already been expended, of 



