416 



GUATEMALA. 



division, eight months were allowed ; and on 

 the second six months from the conclusion of 

 the former. 



Minute details concerning the territorial di- 

 visions, area, population, etc., will be found in 

 the ''Annual Cyclopaedia" for 1875. 



The President of the Republic is General 

 Rufino Barrios (elected May 7, 1873). The 

 Cabinet is composed of the following min- 

 isters: Interior and Finance, Sr. A. Salazar; 

 Public Works, Sr. Herrera; Foreign Affairs 

 and Public Instruction, Sr. L. Montufar; War, 

 Sr. Barberena. The United States Minister 

 (to the Central American States) Resident in 

 Guatemala is Mr. G. Williamson. 



The army is composed of 3,203 men, be- 

 sides a militia force of 13,000. "Guatemala 

 has just made an important addition to her 

 war material," writes a newspaper correspond- 

 ent, u by the purchase of some very powerful 

 artillery so powerful indeed as to make any 

 attempt to attack her forts a matter of great 

 danger if not certain destruction to anything 

 at present on this coast. In thus arming it- 

 self, the Government of President Barrios is 

 not contemplating commencing hostilities upon 

 any of its neighbors, but simply preparing so 

 as not to be taken unawares. It has deter- 

 mined upon leaving everybody alone and mak- 

 ing everybody leave it alone." 



The condition of the national finances for 

 the year 1877 is set forth in the following ta- 

 bles: 



REVENUE. 



Balance $41,507 



Import duties 1,427,390 



Export duties 166.854 



Commercial duties 60,732 



Frontier custom-hovisjs, etc 3,976 



General taxes 96323 



8u?ar-plantation tax. 55,265 



Paper stamps 49,175 



Gunpowder tax 11 757 



Mill tax .... 100)631 



blauhter-no:ise tax 76,811 



Sale of public Ian Js 24' 793 



P irit 'a* .'.'.'.' 743,591 



Outstanding debts 426 267 



Deposits " 33'430 



Receipts extraordinary ....... i "!" '."'. 25',S53 



National Bank . . gg3 153 



Sundries ..!!",!! 826>12 



$4,503,523 

 EXPENDITURE. 



Ministry of the Interior and Finance. . . $777 906 



Ministry of Public Works 410^813 



Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Public { 



Instruction f 233,942 



Ministry of War " ' 1072207 



Benevolent institutions 17 148 



I/ 1 in offices. 



{^7' lin ^ 



Deposits 



^^K 

 gt: 



^\VB\ 



Voluntary forelsn'loan::::;:;;;; 



New coffee-tax bonds 



18T6 ' : : ' ' : ' : 



157,533 



$4,42S,298 



Concerning the national debt, no more rec- 

 cent returns of an official character are avail- 

 able than those given in the "Annual Cyclo- 

 paedia" for 1877, according to which tbe total 

 amount was $3,877,384. In the course of the 

 year the Government made proposals for a new 

 loan of $1,000,000 to meet current expenses 

 and for the amortization of the convertible 

 debt. The gross receipts of the spirit mo- 

 nopoly during the year 1878 were $748,870.- 

 10, which left a net product of $475,974.60. 

 The district of Santa Ana was the largest con- 

 sumer, the administration of that city being 

 charged with $114,321.67, against $102,906.33 

 for the capital. The increase in the business 

 as compared with 1877 was $53,432.96. 



The subjoined remarks on the International 

 Bank of Guatemala are drawn from the half- 

 yearly reports published in July and December, 

 1878. The bank was opened on October 1, 

 1877, and in the short time in which it has 

 been in existence has demonstrated the value 

 of such an institution for the country, and its 

 merits as a means for the employment of sur- 

 plus capital. Various circumstances have oper- 

 ated against its complete success, among which 

 may be mentioned the prejudices which regu- 

 lar banking enterprises always meet with in a 

 country unfamiliar with such institutions, but 

 more particularly the commercial crisis through 

 which the country is passing. Notwithstand- 

 ing these circumstances, enough has already 

 been accomplished to establish its hold upon 

 the public confidence, and to enable the share- 

 holders to look forward with hope to more ex- 

 tended and profitable operations in the future. 

 The capital stock, at first $400,000, was after- 

 ward fixed at $600,000, to enable the directors 

 to supply the increasing demands of the agri- 

 cultural and mercantile communities, more par- 

 ticularly in handling the immense coffee crop 

 of the country. The class of business done in- 

 cludes every line of banking operations, dis- 

 counts, exchanges, deposits, loans on real es- 

 tate or collaterals, and the issue of notes. Of 

 these there were in circulation in July $106,- 

 790 fully guaranteed, and to be increased c,s 

 required, some having already proposed an ex- 

 tension to $254,270. Discounts to June 30th 

 amounted to $1,468,377, which gave a profit 

 of $30,815.44; and those to December 31st, 

 $1,410,377.52. The bank lias established rela- 

 tions with the different monetary centers of 

 the world, and furnishes letters of credit, ex- 

 change, etc., to the public at reasonable raters. 

 This branch of the business has yielded good 

 results, which will be greatly increased in the 

 future. ^ A dividend of $400 per share was de- 

 clared in July, leaving a reserve fund of over 

 $4,000. The net profits for the period in 

 which the bank has been in active operation 

 have been at the rate of over 13 per cent, per 

 annum; a very good showing for a new inst ; - 

 tution, under commercial conditions of the 

 most unfavorable character. A branch bank 

 has been established in Quezaltenango, and an 



