724 



PARAGUAY. 



PARAGUAY (REpfJBLicA DEL PABAGUAY). 

 In onr volume for 1874 has been given a state- 

 ment of the area, territorial division, popula- 

 tion, etc., of this republic. It may here be added 

 that the census of 1876 showed a population of 

 293,844, or an increase of about 83 per cent 

 since the date of the previous census, at which 

 time the number of inhabitants was computed 

 at 221,079. It may be curious to remark that 

 of this last number 106,254 were females! 

 The losses in the late disastrous war with the 

 Argentine Republic and Brazil were reckoned 

 at half the total number of inhabitants 170,- 

 000 males, by battle and disease (chiefly the 

 latter), and 60,000 women and children by 

 famine and exposure in the forests. The aver- 

 age proportion of male to female births is 

 very nearly as eight to nine. The figures 

 above given, for 1876, include 6,000 foreigners, 

 as follows : 1,500 Brazilians, 2,500 Italians, 

 600 Portuguese, 400 Argentines, 250 Spaniards, 

 150 Austrians, 120 French, 90 Germans, 80 

 English, 80 Uruguayans, and 230 of other 

 nationalities. The capital, Asuncion, had in 

 1876 a population of 19,463. 



The President (provisional) of the Republic 

 is General B. Caballero ; and the Cabinet was 

 made up of the following ministers : Foreign 

 Affairs, Sefior J. S. Decoud ; Interior, Colonel 

 Duarte (ad interim) ; Finance, Sefior J. A. 

 Jara ; Justice and Public Worship, Sefior J. A. 

 Bazaras ; War, Colonel Duarte. 



Military service is obligatory for all male 

 citizens between the ages of eighteen and fifty- 

 five; but the standing army has, from motives 

 of economy, been reduced to 500 men 150 

 horse and 350 foot. 



The national revenue, which is mainly de- 

 rived from the customs department, figures in 

 the budget for 1877 at $295,570, and the ex- 

 penditure at $228,650, leaving a surplus of 

 $66,920. 



All export duties were abolished in 1877. 



The following table shows the amount and 

 branches of the expenditure, as estimated in 

 the budget for the year 1879 : 



EXPENDITURES. 



Congress $27,470 



Executive 84,020 



Ministry of Foreign Affairs 9,720 



' of the Interior 41,870 



" ofFinance 86,660 



" of Justice, etc 72,948 



" of War and Marine 47,843 



Total $270,081 



It should here be observed that in the fore- 

 going total of expenditure is not included the 

 interest on the national debt, nor the cost of 

 maintenance of the army. 



The home debt of Paraguay has been re- 

 duced to an insignificant sum, partly by the 

 proceeds of sales of Government lands and 

 partly by a specific additional import of 20 per 

 cent. But the old British debt, consisting of 

 two loans contracted in 1871 and 1872 in Lon- 

 don the first of the nominal amount of 

 1,000, 000 (> and the second of 2,000,000, each 



bearing 8 per cent interest is rapidly increas- 

 ing, no payments having been made on either 

 interest or sinking fund since 1874. Indeed, 

 according to the report of the select Parlia- 

 mentary Committee on Foreign Loans, " no 

 part of the previous payments was provided by 

 the Government of Paraguay, but the whole 

 was derived from the proceeds of the loans 

 themselves." Issued at the price of 80, the 

 loans above mentioned were hypothecated on 

 the public lands of the republic, valued at 

 19,380,000. Besides these onerous obliga- 

 tions, Paraguay groans under the weight of an 

 immense war indemnity of $236,000,000, ac- 

 cording to treaty stipulations consequent upon 

 the war of 1865-70. Of this last indebted- 

 ness, $200,000,000 represent the amount due to 

 Brazil, $35,000,000 that to the Argentine Re- 

 public, and $1,000,000 that to Uruguay. 



The imports, of which about three fourths 

 are from Great Britain and the remainder 

 from Continental Europe (principally Ger- 

 many), were of the total value of $956,000 in 

 1879, and $1,030,000 in 1880; the exports for 

 the same years having been of the values of 

 $1,582,000 and $1,163,000 respectively. The 

 yield of the customs department in the former 

 of these two years was $216,000, and in the 

 latter $320,000. The chief articles imported 

 were : cotton fabrics, $200,000 ; wine, $70,- 

 000 ; flour, $31,000 ; rice, $29,000 ; beer, $18,- 

 600 ; sacking, $17,000 ; woolen and silk fabrics, 

 petroleum, glass and china ware, etc. The ex- 

 ports consisted mainly of mate, or Paraguay 

 tea, 4,800,000 kilogrammes; tobacco, 1,100,- 

 000 kilogrammes; cigars, 12,608,958 ; oranges, 

 14,400,000; hides, 47,522 ; tanners' bark, 34,930 

 kilogrammes; tapioca,, 264,000 kilogrammes; 

 essence of orange-leaves, cabinet-woods, rum, 

 maize, leather, etc. The very favorable re- 

 ports from two consignments of mate" sent 

 to Italy, encouraged the belief that a large 

 market might be opened up there for that 

 product. 



The only railway is that from the capital to 

 Paraguary, some forty-five miles ; and the only 

 telegraph, that connected with the line just 

 mentioned. The yield of the post-office de- 

 partment in 1880 was $1,872. 



By dint of well-directed industry, under the 

 auspices of a good government, Paraguay ap- 

 pears to be slowly but surely recovering from 

 the prostration consequent upon her late war. 

 The Congress had passed a bill to promote Eu- 

 ropean immigration, and a vote of over $30,- 

 000 had been made for that purpose. From 

 March 16, 1880, to February 15, 1881, the sit- 

 ting mixed Paraguayo-Argentine Commission 

 had decided on one hundred and twenty-eight 

 claims, of the total amount of $433,959. It 

 was expected to finish by the end of the year 

 with the Paraguayo - Brazilian claims. The 

 Paraguayan Government had delivered to that 

 of Brazil $8,950,383 in bonds, the interest ac- 

 crued on which is $916,234. A law had been 

 passed authorizing the establishment of a bank, 



