26 



ARGENTINE REPUBLIC. 



identification of the language with the Acca- 

 dian stock, and the correctness of his transla- 

 tions, are questioned. 



ARGENTINE REPUBLIC, an independent re- 

 public of South America. (For details of area, 

 population, etc., see "Annual Cyclopedia" 

 for 1883.) 



Government* The President is Dr. Juarez Cel- 

 man, whose term of office will expire on Oct. 

 12, 1892. The Vice- President is Sefior Carlos 

 Pellegrini. The Cabinet was composed of the 

 following ministers: Interior, Dr. Eduardo 

 "Wilde; Foreign Affairs, Q. Costa; Finance, 

 Dr. Pacheco ; Justice, F. Posse ; War and Navy, 

 General Racedo. The Argentine Minister at 

 Washington is Sefior Quesada, and the Consul 

 at New York, Sefior Adolfo G. Calvo. The 

 American Minister- Resident and Consul-Gen- 

 eral at Buenos Ayre;s is Hon. Bayless W. Hanna. 



Army and Navy. The army of the republic, 

 exclusive of the National Guard, according to 

 latest official returns, was 7,324 strong, com- 

 prising 3,550 infantry, 2.844 cavalry, and 930 

 artillery. The National Guard was 347,653 

 strong. 



On March 15 a decree reorganized the in- 

 fantry, which in future is to be composed 

 of twelve regiments of three battalions, each 

 regiment to have one battalion of troops of the 

 line, and two of National Guards, the bat- 

 talions to number 250 rank and file in times of 

 peace, and 500 in war-time. 



The navy consists of 37 vessels, mounting 72 

 guns, of a total tonnage of 16,112, wilh 12,855 

 indicated horse power, manned by 1,926 sail- 

 ors. There are three iron-clads, four gunboats, 

 seven torpedo-boats, three steam transports, 

 four cruisers, and sixteen smaller steam and 

 sailing craft. The Minister of the Navy de- 

 creed in March the formation of a squadron of 

 evolutions. The manoeuvres lasted from April 

 20 to April 30 at PuntaLara, whence the squad- 

 ron went to sea. 



Finances. In May, 1887, the foreign indebt- 

 edness of the republic amounted to $93,882,- 

 962, and the home debt to $53,7,92,320 ; total, 

 $147,675,282. The income in 1886 was $46,- 

 634,000, and the expenditures $46,615,000. 



During the summer of 1887 the Government 

 resolved to convert certain outstanding bonds; 

 these were $3,582,315 9 per cent, treasury 

 bonds of 1875, $458,106 of the 1858 foreign 

 loan, and $874,251 1863 bonds of the home 

 debt. For the treasury bonds the Government 

 gave 5 per cent, foreign bonds with 1 per cent, 

 annually set aside for the sinking fund thereof, 

 receiving the treasury bonds in payment at 

 103 per cent. The Government furthermore 

 succeeded in floating among German bankers a 

 5 per cent gold loan to the amount of $10,291,- 

 000 at 90, to be refunded when due at the rate 

 of 4 marks (96 cents) per dollar. This was 

 the first Argentine loan ever placed in Ger- 

 many, yet it was subscribed for eight times over. 



The Argentine Government also found a 

 market in Europe for the " cSdulas," or mort- 



gage-bonds of the Banco Nacional Hipotecario, 

 bearing 7 per cent, interest, and guaranteed by 

 the Argentine Republic, $20,000,000 having 

 been issued thereof under provisions of the law 

 of Sept. 24, 1886, with 1 per cent, per annum 

 drawn for their gradual extinguishment. Dur- 

 ing the first six months of 1887, the customs' 

 revenue collected at Buenos Ayres produced 

 the following amounts: January, $2,877,695; 

 February, $2,584,692; March, $3,727,911; 

 April, $3,240,882; May, $2,890,100; June, 

 $2,413,309 ; total, $17,734,589. Between Janu- 

 ary 1 and August 8, the amount collected was 

 $21,059,780, against $17,042,900 during the 

 corresponding period of 1886. 



The suspension of specie payment decreed in 

 1885, which expired on Jan. 9, 1887, was pro- 

 longed for .two years. The share capital of the 

 National Bank was increased during the sum- 

 mer of 1887 to $47,273.400. The vote of No- 

 vember, 1886, approving the budget estimate 

 for 1887, fixed the allowance to members of 

 Congress, both senators and deputies, at $8,400. 



Railroads. The extension of the railway sys- 

 tem has been as rapid as the increase in com- 

 merce. In 1884 there were fewer than 2,500 

 miles in operation ; in 1885 there were 4,947 ; 

 and on Jan. 1, 1887, 6,161 miles constructed at 

 a total cost of $175,000,000 in gold. The An- 

 dine Railroad extends from Buenos Ayres to 

 the boundary-line of Chili, and there has been a 

 hope that the Government of that republic 

 would either build up to it or permit some pri- 

 vate corporation to do so. But the recent ac- 

 tion of the Congress of Chili indicates that the 

 gap of 140 miles between the two oceans, west 

 of the Cordilleras, would remain. There ap- 

 pears to be a decided opposition in Chili to 

 the construction of this road, on the supposi- 

 tion that it would cause much of the merchan- 

 dise now shipped around through the Straits 

 of Magellan to enter at the port of Buenos 

 Ayres, and thus rob Valparaiso of its com- 

 mercial prestige. The Argentine Govern- 

 ment has granted a concession to a company to 

 to construct another transcontinental line from 

 Bahia Blanca, a port 200 miles south of Buenos 

 Ayres to the port of Talcahuano on the Pacific 

 coast, where are extensive coal-mines. The 

 Argentine Government guarantees a dividend 

 of 6 per cent, on the actual cost of the road 

 for twenty years, and gives a generous grant of 

 the public domain. This road would make a 

 large part of the pampas accessible, and give 

 the Argentines a chance at the fuel-deposits of 

 Chili. At present all the coal used in the Ar- 

 gentine Republic, or by ships entering the har- 

 bor, has either to be brought around through 

 the Straits of Magellan or from Europe. But 

 it is apprehended that the Government of Chili 

 will refuse to concur in the concession, even to 

 the extent of refusing permission for the con- 

 struction of the road, for the same reason that 

 it objects to the other transcontinental line. 

 The Argentine Congress, during its last session 

 in 1886, passed a bill ordering surveys for the 



