PERU. 



751 



adopted, in which are certain clauses held to 

 abolish the prohibition alluded to, and this 

 Constitution is still in force. In 1879 several 

 Jesuits, under the jurisdiction of the Spanish 

 province of Toledo, returned to Peru, and the 

 Government permitted them to take up their 

 quarters in the convent of San Pedro at Lima, 

 which they had founded and built nearly two 

 centuries ago. They were to pay rent, how- 

 ever, and to educate at Government expense 

 a certain number of youth from the outlying 

 departments. The famous Church of San 

 Pedro was given over to them ; and they es- 

 tablished missions, and did good work. But, 

 unfortunately, an opportunity was given for 

 complaint. One of the fathers published a 

 text-book for the use of his pupils, in the u His- 

 tory of Peru," in which some of the patriot 

 leaders during the war of independence were 

 handled severely, and the newspapers declaimed 

 against the danger of diminishing the youthful 

 admiration for the heroes of that sturdy fight 

 for independence. One question led to an- 

 other, and public meetings were called by the 

 students of the university. Demands were 

 made upon the Government that the law of 

 1855 be enforced, and the members of the so- 

 ciety be again banished. There was division of 

 popular sentiment, and the Government de- 

 termined to take a middle course. It was de- 

 creed that the national property occupied by 

 the Jesuits as their college should be immedi- 

 ately vacated and returned to the state, and 

 that, as no permission had been given to the 

 society to return to Peru, they can not live in 

 community, or rather practice as a community, 

 without such permission. While this did not 

 deport them, it destroyed their usefulness. 



Finance. Under the Iglesias administration, 

 the income from Oct. 23, 1883, till Dec. 31, 



1884, had been $7,003,361 in silver coin, and 

 $242,958 in paper money, and the outlay $7,- 

 059,082 in the former and $905,907 in paper, 

 the income from duties being $5,154,830 in 

 silver, and the outlays embracing $3,124,024 in 

 silver and $532,175 in paper for war; $1,824,- 

 459 silver for collecting duties, etc. ; $1,773,- 

 965 silver and $336,774 paper for carrying on 

 the Government and paying the police ; while 

 for Justice, Public Worship, Education, and 

 Foreign Representation only $500,000 in silver 

 were spent. 



Prior to the war with Chili, the income of 

 Peru used to be $16,000,000 per annum; but 

 the loss of the guano and nitrate of soda de- 

 posits has reduced the income of the nation to 

 what it is at present. 



The amount of money derived for the bene- 

 fit of Peruvian bondholders from guano-sales 

 by the Chilian Government was $883,405 in 



1885, but was not expected to exceed $600,000 

 in 1886, the Chilian financial agent in Paris 

 not having been able to sell over 100,000 tons, 

 to be delivered in May, 1887. Assuming the 

 annual average of 100,000 tons to be kept up, it 

 will be seven 3 ears longer ere the net proceeds 



of 50 per cent, of 1,000,000 tons will cover the 

 bondholders of Peru entitled to a share therein. 

 Out of the bonded debt of Peru of 31,000,000, 

 26,000,000 are held in England, and the bulk 

 of the remaining 5,000,000 in France and 

 Holland. 



A decree dated March 1, 1886, ordered duties 

 payable at Callao to be defrayed either in silver 

 dollars or bills on banks in Callao and London. 



In consequence of the depreciation and 

 fluctuations of the silver currency in circula- 

 tion in Peru, it has been decided to use the 

 American gold dollar as the basis of all mone- 

 tary transactions, using the silver dollar at a 

 value of eighty cents gold for all fractions un- 

 der a quarter of an eagle. 



The tax of two reals per mark on the silver 

 taken from the Cerro de Pasco mines was re- 

 moved on Dec. 29, 1885. 



On June 2, 1885, the Government of Miguel 

 Iglesias had decreed that the $5 so-called " In- 

 ca notes " and $500 treasury notes should be 

 taken in full payment of the 10 per cent, extra 

 duty, and for 20 per cent, of the duties to be 

 collected at Mollendo. The decree was re- 

 voked under date of Feb. 26, 1886. 



Mining. An American enterprise has been 

 attracting a good deal of attention, and people 

 that hope for the speedy rehabilitation of Peru 

 have great anticipations of the work to be done 

 by William H. Cilley, managing director of the 

 Oroya Railway and Cerro de Pasco Mining 

 Company, and a commission of distinguished 

 mining engineers and experts sent out by the 

 syndicate at New York. The object of the 

 commission is to examine and report upon the 

 condition of the mining district of Cerro de 

 Pasco and the quality of the silver ores con- 

 tained therein, in the interest of the capitalists 

 that obtained from the Iglesias Government the 

 concession for extending the Oroya Railway to 

 the Cerro de Pasco, and the development of 

 the silver-mines at that place. This project, 

 now apparently on the way to realization, is 

 looked upon at Lima as the most important 

 that could be originated as regards the benefits 

 to be derived from it by the country at large. 

 The immense mineral and agricultural wealth 

 of the interior, now sparsely brought to the 

 coast, and but imperfectly developed, owing 

 to the lack of cheap transportation and ener- 

 getic enterprise, can be made productive, and 

 give to Peru a means of commercial exchange 

 abroad, while at home it will afford an opportu- 

 nity for labor and intelligence that has hitherto 

 been wanting. 



Consular Invoices. The Government, under 

 date of May 18, 1886, decreed that all invoices 

 of goods shipped to Peru must be certified by 

 Peruvian consuls abroad, and that they must 

 be in conformity with the vessel's manifest ; if 

 not, an extra duty of 25 per cent, will be levied ; 

 and if the goods are duty-free, they will have 

 to pay a 25 per cent, duty; the captain of the 

 vessel to be fined from $100 to $1,000, unless 

 he can prove that the non-existence of the 



