GUATEMALA. 



385 



of the fraternal spirit that lias always animated it, and 

 practical evidence of its desire that all distinctions 

 among Central Americans should disappear, all being 

 placed on an equal footing with Guatemalans with 

 espect to their rights and privileges. The shameful 

 lines of demarkation which now exist must gradually 

 disappear. 



Events of 1884t An attempt on the life of 

 President Barrios was made at the capital, 

 Guatemala, on Sunday, April 13. About eight 

 o'clock in the evening, a bomb was exploded at 

 the feet of the President and his companion, 

 Gen Barrundia, on their return from the the- 

 atre, while they were entering the park. Both 

 were slightly wounded. Two men were ar- 

 rested on suspicion: Santos Soto, fifty-two 

 years of age, a man with a very bad record, 

 accused of exploding the projectile ; and a man 

 named Jose Escobar, for abetting the deed. 

 The proceedings against the assassins revealed 

 an extensive plot, involving as chief actors these 

 men and Jesus Soto, who were condemned to 

 death, and as abettors and accomplices, Sebas- 

 tian Macal and Abraham Soto, condemned to 

 the penitentiary for, life. Subsequently Guil- 

 lermo Rodriguez was also found guilty of par- 

 ticipating in the conspiracy, and was con- 

 demned to death. Two men of note, Jos6 

 Maria Samayoa and Julio Garcia Granados, 

 were degraded from their public functions. 



The meeting of the Presidents of Honduras, 

 Salvador, and Guatemala, at the Guatemalan 

 capital in September, terminated amicably; 

 yet all appeared convinced that the results ob- 

 tained have not promoted the formation of a 

 Central American federation. The interests of 

 the small states clash with those of the greater 

 one (Guatemala), and they are seemingly afraid 

 of the one-man power that Barrios exercises. 

 On September 15 the three Presidents inaugu- 

 rated the Southern Railroad of Guatemala. In 

 September, Guatemala was invaded by a small 

 party, chiefly political refugees, who crossed 

 the Mexican frontier, and advanced a short 

 distance, but the attempt was frustrated. 



Railroads. The lines from Champerico to 

 Retalhulen, and from San Jose" to Guatemala, 

 are in operation. Work continues on the In- 

 teroceanic Railway. Since May the American 

 contractors have been pushing with vigor the 

 construction of the Northern Railroad from the 

 Atlantic side and from the capital. 



Telegraphs. There were in operation in 1883, 

 altogether, 77 offices and 4,635 kilometres of 

 lines ; the number of telegrams forwarded was 

 223,994, of which 159,000 were private mes- 

 sages and 64,994 Government dispatches. The 

 gross amount collected was $95,023. 



Postal Service. The number of post-offices in 

 1883 was 144; mail matter dispatched, 2,111,- 

 366 pieces, against 693,847 the previous year. 

 Income, $35,019; outlay, $34,834. 



New Ports of Entry. The boundary-line be- 

 tween Guatemala and Mexico, having been 

 definitively traced and fixed in 1884, Guate- 

 mala has been able to carry out its long-ma- 

 tured plan of making the port of Ocos, in the 

 VOL. xxiv. 25 A 



bay of the same name, a port of entry. An- 

 other new port of entry has been created at the 

 Atlantic terminus of the North era Railroad, and 

 named Puerto Barrios 



Land-Grants to Settlers. The Government has 

 issued a decree granting to every laborer in- 

 troduced by the contractors of the Northern 

 Railroad Company, under contract to work on 

 their line, whether from the United States or 

 from Europe, eleven and a quarter hectares 

 of land, provided he is not under twenty-one 

 years of age, nor over fifty, on condition of his 

 having worked on the railroad one year, and 

 that he intends to become a bona fide settler, 

 with option to select the land from among un- 

 occupied Government arable tracts, in the de- 

 partments of Peten, Alta, or Baja, Verapaz, 

 Zacapa, or Izabal, with immunity from all tax- 

 ation whatever during the first five years. The 

 land is to be delivered to him free of all ex- 

 pense. In order to prevent drunkenness among 

 them, a tax of $150 each is imposed on all 

 stores in which liquor is sold. 



Crimes. The number of crimes committed in 

 the republic in 1883 was 3,142, of which 2,095 

 were by whites and individuals of the mixed 

 race, and 1,047 by pure Indians. 



Protestantism. A new educational establish- 

 ment will soon be opened in Guatemala, under 

 the auspices of the Presbyterian Board of Mis- 

 sions of New York and the immediate direction 

 of Mr. Hill. The course of instruction will be 

 wholly in English, and in accordance with the 

 system in vogue in the best schools in the 

 United States. No sectarian influences will be 

 brought to bear to bend the religious senti- 

 ments of the pupils in opposition to their home 

 teaching. 



Resources. The census taken in June, 18S4, 

 shows that there are on stock-farms, etc , 

 and grazing grounds in the republic, 107,187 

 horses, 41.366 mules, 441.307 head of cattle, 

 417,577 sheep, 27,618 goats, and 117,118 hogs, 

 together 1,213,193 live animals, against 1,159,- 

 222 in 1883, being in the aggregate worth $15,- 

 102,233. 



A Los Angeles (Cal.) gentleman has brought 

 from Guatemala a plant called the "melon- 

 shrub," which grows to the height of about 

 three feet. It is an evergreen, with a beauti- 

 ful purple and white flower, and bears a fruit 

 shaped like a rifled-cannon shell, about four 

 inches long by from two to three inches in 

 diameter, a melon of most excellent taste, with 

 the outside streaked with yellow and brown, 

 and the color of a cantaloupe inside. The 

 shrub bears in four months from the seed. 



Commerce. On June 27, 1883, the export 

 duty on Guatemalan products of twenty cents 

 per quintal gross weight, and one cent the su- 

 perficial foot of dye and cabinet woods, was 

 abolished, and since then exportation has in- 

 creased so much that the year 1883, though 

 liberated from the duty only during the latter 

 half of it, shows an export of $5, 7 18, 341, against 

 $3,719,210 in 1882. The imports, on the other 



