302 



COSTA EICA. 



tify the commendatory remarks of the author 

 of the report just mentioned. "Let it not be 

 supposed," he writes, " that this enormous reve- 

 nue tends to impoverish the people, or is de- 

 rived from oppressive imposts. In the first 

 place, the people are rich, and the profits of 

 their agricultural industries are such as to 

 enable them to pay their taxes without embar- 

 rassment; and, in the second place, if these 

 taxes be compared with those of other coun- 

 tries, it will be seen that the Costaricans have 

 no cause to complain of being overburdened. 

 It has now become so natural to see the Gov- 

 ernment with ample means at command for 

 the execution of its numerous projects of im- 

 provement or reform, that the marvels it has 

 already accomplished have passed almost un- 

 noticed. After the heavy outlays made or con- 

 tracted for by the Government for thirty miles 

 of rails for the Atlantic and twenty-five for 

 the Pacific division of the railway, locomotives, 

 thirty iron and a number of wooden bridges, 

 the tripling of the number of workers, and 

 other measures necessary for the simultaneous 

 prosecution of the enterprise on both divisions 

 of the line, the Peruvian Minister comes for- 

 ward to claim the $100,000 (with interest to 

 double the amount) loaned by his Government 

 to that of Costa Eica to enable it to carry on 

 the war against the filibusters in 1857; and the 

 debt was liquidated at once, without bringing 

 any of the Government wheels to a standstill." 

 Another proof of the prosperity of the country 

 is furnished by the fact that the yield of the 

 custom-house in 1869-'70 the first year of 

 the decade above spoken of was but $278,- 

 595.53, while in 1877-'78 it reached $1,010,787, 

 and in 1878-'79, $1,088,890.30. The total for- 

 eign debt of Costa Kica in 1877 was $5,058,- 

 055, all to England, arising from loans negoti- 

 ated in 1871 and 1872 for the purpose of build- 

 ing the interoceanic railway already referred 

 to, and defraying the expenses to be incurred 

 by other public works. 



The most recent statistics of the foreign 

 commerce of the republic are those given in 

 the "Annual Cyclopaedia" for 1878. The 

 coffee crop for the year 1878-'79 comprised 

 400,000 quintals (of 100 Ibs. each), of which 

 287,387 quintals had been exported up to April 

 12, 1879. The early setting in of the wet sea- 

 son -prevented the export of nearly 100,000 

 quintals, according to good authority, while 

 it is claimed that losses were sustained during 

 the season by the scarcity of coffee-gatherers. 

 All difficulties of transportation will cease with 

 the completion of the railway. 



The educational system of the country, under 

 the able administration of Dr. Castro, has of 

 late been greatly improved. The laws divide 

 public instruction into the following grades or 

 classes : Instruction primary-inferior, primary- 

 superior, secondary, university or professional. 

 The primary-inferior establishments, which are 

 mostly situated in small country places, num- 

 ber 145 for males, with 6,949 pupils and 176 



teachers; and 91 for females, employing 147 

 teachers, and with an attendance of 4,742. 

 The cost of this branch of the public-school 

 system for the last year was $101,783. The 

 schools known as primary-superior are situated 

 in the capitals of provinces and of departments. 

 For boys there are 28 schools of this class, em- 

 ploying 68 teachers, the attendance at which 

 averaged during the year 2,991. Twenty-five 

 girls' schools also exist, employing 70 teachers, 

 with an average of 2,176 pupils. The cost of 

 this department for the year was $57,140. 

 To the girls' schools in this department is at- 

 tached a class in telegraphy, which employed 

 during the year six teachers, the expense in- 

 curred being $2,880. Secondary instruction 

 is that which is imparted at the National In- 

 stitute, and for boys only. A moderate sum 

 is collected from the pupils for board and 

 maintenance, and any deficiency at the end of 

 the year is made up by the Government. Dur- 

 ing the year 1878 there were 224 students in 

 all, employing 1 director and 20 professors, the 

 total expense being $26,874, to which the fees 

 of students contributed to the amount of $14,- 

 501. Belonging to this same grade of instruc- 

 tion, although including with it the inferior 

 grades previously mentioned, are establishments 

 in the principal cities and towns, which receive 

 $3,600 annually from the Government. The 

 female college at Alajuela, under the manage- 

 ment of the Daughters of Sion, is not directly 

 subsidized by the Government, except that the 

 gift of the building, grounds, furnishing, etc., 

 which cost $77,292.20, was borne by the Gov- 

 ernment. This college numbers 98 students, 

 and the results of its operations are already most 

 satisfactory. In Cartago there is another pros- 

 perous seminary for females, under the control 

 of another order of sisterhood. It has at pres- 

 ent 66 pupils. A subsidy of $3,000 is annually 

 p.iid to the College of the Catholic Seminary, 

 which at present numbers 57 regular students. 

 The professional or university course is as 

 complete and varied as will be found in col- 

 leges elsewhere, and is under most able man- 

 agement. The number of pupils is small, how- 

 ever (only 22), owing to various causes, among 

 which is the former inferior character of the 

 schools of secondary instruction wherein are 

 prepared the candidates for the university. 

 This evil is fast disappearing. There are, be- 

 sides, 22 private schools in the republic, with 

 612 pupils, male and female. The total expen- 

 diture for public instruction during the year 

 was $197,803, or $58,721 more than in 1877. It 

 is remarkable that in Costa Rica there are more 

 school-teachers than soldiers in active service 

 a fact unparalleled in all Spanish Amerca. 



"The republic," says the President in his 

 message, "maintains cordial relations with its 

 more immediate brethren, although a marked 

 coldness appears in its relations with Guate- 

 mala and Honduras on account of misunder- 

 standings, differences of policy in certain mat- 

 ters, etc., with the Presidents of those coun- 



