CHILI. 



131 



' Arica, comprising the port of the same name, 

 bounded on the north by the department of 

 Tacna, and on the east, west, and south its 

 boundaries are those of the province. Tacna 

 is the capital of the department of its own 

 name and of the province ; and Arica is the 

 capital of its own department. The salary of 

 the Intendente of Tacna is $8,000 ; that of the 

 Governor of Arica, $4,000. The President of 

 the Republic is empowered, to appoint, every 

 three years, for each of the two departments, 

 three alcaldes, who, conjointly with the Inten- 

 dente and Governor, will discharge the func- 

 tions of a local governing body. 



Government, Government Officers, etc. Chili de- 

 clared her independence on Sept. 18, 1810, and 

 threw off the Spanish yoke after gaining the de- 

 cisive victory over the Peninsular forces com- 

 manded by Ordofiez, at Maipti, April 5, 1818. 

 The Constitution framed in 1833, and amended 

 in 1874, establishes three powers in the state 

 the executive, the legislative, and the judi- 

 cial. The executive power is vested in a Presi- 

 dent, elected for a term of five years, and re- 

 eligible. Four of the six Presidents, from the 

 civil war of 1830 to the accession of Don Do- 

 mingo Santa Maria in 1881, served two terms 

 each, namely: Gen. Joaquin Prieto, 1831-1841; 

 Gen. Biilnes, 1841-1851; Montt, 1851-1861; 

 and Perez, 1861-1871. Suffrage, extended only 

 to citizens that can read and write, twenty- 

 one years of age if married, twenty-five if un- 

 married, and registered and qualified as high- 

 tax-payers, is virtually limited to the wealthy. 

 Hence the constantly small number of ballots 

 thrown for Presidents in proportion to that of 

 the inhabitants little more than one to every 

 fifty. " Chili is thus, in fact, an oligarchy, 

 though in name a republic. No government 

 on record, under the name of a republic, ever 

 possessed more power than the Chilian Govern- 

 ment. The President can, if energetic and so 

 disposed, wield absolute authority, and ignore 

 public opinion. And yet, this feature in the 

 governmental policy of Chili serves to main- 

 tain a degree of peace unparalleled, not merely 

 in countries inhabited |by kindred races, but in 

 almost any commonwealth in the civilized 

 world ; and has at the same time had the ef- 

 fect of promptly promoting the interests of the 

 people, the development of the country, and 

 the aggrandizement of the state. Thus the 

 adoption of a constitution placing immense 

 power in the hands of the supreme magistrate 

 has proved a veritable blessing to the country. 

 And, in view of the fact that the warm patri- 

 otic feeling so firmly rooted in the Chilian pub- 

 lic has its very origin in the esprit de corps of 

 the political class, one may conjecture that, al- 

 though the President might dictate who shall 

 be his successor, enlightenment and patriotism 

 stand on guard, at least against the possibility 

 of any military adventurer or vile speculator 

 upon national revenues pushing his way up- 

 ward, either on the social or political ladder of 

 the country, much less obtaining the supreme 



power." The President of the Republic has a 

 salary of $18,000. The Council of State, pre- 

 sided over by the President of the Republic, 

 is composed of three members elected by the 

 Senate, and three elected by the Chamber of 

 Deputies, and a member of the courts of jus- 

 tice, an ecclesiastical dignitary, a director of 

 finance, and an ex-minister or ex-intendant, 

 appointed by the Executive. The legislative 

 power resides in a Senate of thirty-seven mem- 

 bers elected for six years, and a Chamber of 

 Deputies, elected for three years, consisting of 

 one representative for every 20,000 inhabit- 

 ants. Deputies must have an income of at 

 least $500; Senators, $2,000. The judicial 

 power is vested in a High Court of Justice in 

 the capital, four Courts of Appeal for the prov- 

 inces, courts of first instance in the depart- 

 mental capitals, and subordinate district courts. 



The President of the Republic is Don Do- 

 mingo Santa Maria (Sept. 18, 1881). 



The Cabinet was composed of the follow- 

 ing ministers : Interior, Don J. M. Balmaceda 

 (April 12, 1882) ; Foreign Affairs and Coloni- 

 zation, Don A. Vergara Albano (Jan. 18, 1884) ; 

 Justice, Public Worship, and Public Instruc- 

 tion, Don J. I. Vergara (1883) ; Finance, Don 

 R. Barros Luca (Jan. 18, 1884) ; War and the 

 Navy, Don C. Antiinez (May 6, 1884). 



Church Dignitaries, Religion, etc. There are, 

 besides the Archbishop of Santiago, the Bish- 

 ops of La Serena, Concepcion, and Ancud. The 

 religion of the state is the Roman Catholic, but 

 all sects are tolerated. The clergy and the 

 theological seminaries are subsidized by the 

 state. 



Diplomatic and Consular Corps, etc. The Chilian 

 Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipoten- 

 tiary to the United States is Don Joaquin Godoy 

 (accredited June, 1883). 



The Chilian Consul at New York is Don 

 B. R. de Espriella ; and the Consul-General at 

 San Francisco, Don J. de la Cruz Corda. 



The United States Envoy Extraordinary and 

 Minister Plenipotentiary to Chili is Dr. 0. Lo- 

 gan (accredited in 1882). The United States 

 Consuls to Chili are : Mr. D. M. Dunn, at Val- 

 paraiso ; Mr. J. Grierson, at Coquimbo ; and 

 Mr. J. F. Van Ingen, at Talcaguana. 



Army. In 1883 the regular army comprised 

 9 generals, 18 colonels, 79 lieutenant-colonels, 

 131 majors, 238 captains, and 548 lieutenants: 

 total, 1,023 officers. There were 3 regiments 

 of horse, 1,500 strong; 10 battalions of foot, 

 9,040; 2 regiments of artillery, 2,196; and a 

 corps of substitutes, 167: total, 12,903 men. 



In September, 1884, the Government pre- 

 sented a bill in Congress to fix the strength of 

 the land and sea forces : the strength of the 

 former, including the three arms artillery, 

 cavalry, and infantry was not to exceed 8,000. 

 The mobilized National Guard was to be placed 

 in reserve for the retnainder of the year. The 

 actual strength of the latter, in 1884, was 51,- 

 826, comprising 2,076 horse, 43,151 foot, and 

 6,599 artillerymen. Of the total guard, 17,408 



