CHILL 



163 



6,635 were government property. The total 

 number of messages forwarded was 423,700, 

 and the receipts amounted to $378,749. The 

 new telegraph line recently established to Lota, 

 Coronel, etc., by the American Telegraph Com- 

 pany was opened for traffic at Santiago on Aug. 

 21, 1885. 



Finance* The report of the Chilian Minister 

 of Finance, made on Oct. 1, 1885, shows that 

 the public income in 1884 amounted to $39,- 

 910,133, and the expenditure to $39,225,118; 

 that on January 1 of the present year there 

 was a balance in the treasury of $14,511,632, 

 against which there were payments to be made 

 amounting to $7,606,468, the net balance on 

 January 1 being $6,902,164. The estimated 

 expenditure for the present year is $35,084,905 ; 

 bat it is calculated that the real expenditure will 

 not exceed $33,600,000. The estimated reve- 

 nue for 1885 is $36,580,000. December, 1883, 

 the foreign debt amounted to $34,870,000, 

 while in December, 1884, it stood at $33,843,- 



000. The home debt was reduced to $333,- 

 394 in 1884. The total national debt (home 

 and foreign) amounted, with interest, on Jan. 



1, 1885, to $60,430,329. The mint coinage 

 in 1884 was $1,992,394, or $473,903 in excess of 

 the coinage of 1883. The budget for 1885 was : 



INCOME. 



Customs revenues $24,000.000 



Government railroads 6,000,000 



Post-office and telegraphs 500,000 



Land-tax 1,100.000 



Patent dues 600,000 



Income-tax 800,000 



Tax on inheritances 200,000 



Excise * 300,000 



Stamp-tax 600,000 



Bale and renting of Government lands . . . 308,000 



Interest collected 400,000 



Guano sales 1,500,000 



Sundry receipts 3S,000 



Total "$35,846,000 



OUTLAY. 



Interior $10,403,173 



Foreign Affairs and Colonization 727,674 



Justice, Public Worship, and Instruction 3,839.650 



Treasury and Agriculture 9,994,237 



Army and Navy 9,552,630 



Total $84,517,414 



On Sept. 9, 1885, the Government concluded 

 in London negotiations for a 4 per cent, loan 

 of 808,900, at 89, for the purpose of com- 

 pleting the payment of the balance of the 1866 

 7 per cent. loan. There were among European 

 capitalists three times as many applications to 

 subscribe to this Chilian loan as could be satis- 

 fied, the amount applied for aggregating 2,- 

 500.000. 



Paper Money for Duties. There not being sil- 

 ver in circulation to pay the duties, the Gov- 

 ernment charged a premium in accordance 

 with the current degree of depreciation of the 

 paper dollar, and in August, 1885, charged 54 

 per cent, extra. In order to do away with 

 this inconvenience to the extent of his ability, 

 the Minister of Finance fixed the premium for 

 September at 50 per cent. ; for October at 45 ; 

 November at 40; December at 35, and from 



January to June, 1886, at 20 per cent., in the 

 settlement of duties. 



The Tariff. The tariff was being studied dur- 

 ing the latter half of 1885 by the Valparaiso 

 Chamber of Commerce, and it is expected that 

 they will soon report the result of their de- 

 liberations. The following table shows the in- 

 crease of revenue from customs : 



1833 $1,025,385 



1843 1,735,432 



1853 8,858,540 



1863 $4.259.588 



1873 8.145,858 



1883 25,215,409 



Commerce. The total trade of Chili with for- 

 eign countries reached in 1884 $125,237,895, 

 against $133,959,114 in 1883. The import in 

 1884 was $52,888,846, reduced to silver coin, 

 and'the export $72,351,049, calculated in paper 

 money. On reducing the latter to silver, it is 

 found that it amounted in coin to $59,625,401, 

 or $6,738,555 more than the import. Silver 

 was exported to the amount of $3,531,858, be- 

 ing $457,016 in excess of the amount shipped 

 in 1883. Copper exportation was represented 

 by 43,378 tons of 2,240 pounds, being 2,738 

 tons more than in 1883. The import decreased 

 $1,339,705 ; the export, $7,381,504 ; there hav- 

 ing been shipped $4,130,036 worth less guano, 

 and $1,176,456 less nitrate of soda, The in- 

 crease in copper production was due solely to 

 the depreciated paper money. 



The ensuing tabular statements show the ex- 

 port of nitrate during the calendar years 1882, 

 1883, and 1884, and the first half of 1885: 



The extraordinary expansion which Chili's 

 foreign trade has experienced is best under- 

 stood by referring to the following statistics : 



During the forty years from 1844 to 1883, 

 both inclusive, Chili imported from abroad 

 merchandise to the amount of $928,858,184, 

 and exported products aggregating $1,076,- 

 797,569 ; excess of export, $147,939,385. 



Out of a total foreign trade of $2,005,655,- 

 753, the share of England was $1,018,324,321, 

 or 57 per cent. 



The American trade with Chili has been as 

 follows : 



