210 



COSTA KICA. 



the society's property, real and personal, exempt from 

 taxation, does not exceed $20,000. 



That no person not a citizen of the State shall be 

 appointed a special constable, policeman, or deputy 

 sheriff, excepting the Governor may appoint as special 

 officer any regular employ 6 of any railroad or steam- 

 boat company. 



The Senate contained 14 Republicans and 10 

 Democrats ; the House, 137 Republicans, 109 

 Democrats, and 2 Independents. 



State Prison. The remodeling of the State 

 prison at Wethersfield, for which provision 

 was made by the Legislature of 1886, was in 

 progress during the year, and was nearly com- 

 pleted at its close. The improvements include 

 not only additions to the former buildings, but 

 the entire reconstruction of the cells and floor- 

 ing, leaving only the stone walls of the old 

 prison intact. "When finished, the new struct- 

 ure will be one of the best-equipped institu- 

 tions of its kind. 



Railroads. The Legislature of 1884 passed a 

 law permitting the gradual removal of grade- 

 crossings in the State, on petition of the rail- 

 road company or the local authorities to the 

 board of railroad commissioners, the expense 

 of such removal to be equally borne by the 

 town and the railroad. Considerable anxiety 

 was felt in the latter part of the year over the 

 workings of this law, and petitions from more 

 than forty towns were received by the Gover- 

 nor, urging him to call an extra session of the 

 Legislature to secure its repeal. The danger 

 apprehended arose from the intention of the 

 New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad 

 to abolish all its grade-crossings within two or 

 three years, compelling the towns along the 

 line to bear half of the expense. As the law 

 contemplated only a gradual removal, and its 

 execution rested entirely in the discretion of 

 the commissioners, the Governor refused these 

 petitions, believing that the board would carry 

 out the spirit of the law and not impose too 

 heavy a burden upon the towns by hastening 

 removals. 



COSTA RICA, one of the five Central Ameri- 

 can republics. The area is estimated at 19,980 

 square miles; and on Dec. 31, 1886, the popu- 

 lation was 196,280. 



Government. The President of the Republic 

 is Don Bernardo Soto, whose Cabinet is com- 

 posed of the following ministers : Foreign 

 Affairs, Finance, and Commerce, Don Mauro 

 Fernandez; Interior, Public Works, Justice, 

 Public Worship, and Charity, Don Cleto Gon- 

 zalez Viqnez ; War and Navy, Don A. de Jesus 

 Soto. The United States Minister to the five 

 Central American republics, resident at Guate- 

 mala, is Hon. H. C. Hall. The Costa Rican 

 Consul-General at New York is Don Jose Ma- 

 ria Mufloz. 



Treaties. In September, 1887, the Costa 

 Rican Congress ratified the extradition treaty 

 with Guatemala. On July 26, 1887, the Presi- 

 dents of Costa Rica and Nicaragua made a 

 treaty at Managua, the principal provisions of 

 which are the following: Confirmation of the 



boundary treaty as it stands; permission to 

 dig a canal and conduct enough water from 

 Colorado river for improving the navigation 

 of San Juan river, Costa Rica to pay 25 per 

 cent, of the expense involved in such- work; 

 free navigation for all time on San Juan river 

 and Lake Nicarauga; acknowledgment of Cos- 

 ta Rica's right in the canal ; settlement of all 

 doubtful points in the treaty having reference 

 thereto ; Costa Rica to be consulted in all mat- 

 ters of granting concessions relating to the 

 canal or transit ; liberty to navigate in Nica- 

 raugan waters without exercising jurisdiction ; 

 fixing of a date when commissioners are to 

 meet for determining the boundary-line. 



Finance. The report of the Minister of Fi- 

 nance, of June 8, 1887, shows that the national 

 indebtedness stood as follows : Consolidated 

 foreign debt, 2,000,000; home debt, $527,- 

 819 ; paper money in circulation, $1,044,683. 

 Of the latter, $25,000 were withdrawn and 

 destroyed on January 22, and this canceling is 

 to continue at the rate of $25,000 quarterly till 

 extinguished. It had been estimated by him 

 that the home debt would be reduced to $426,- 

 823 on Dec. 31, 1887; but the Government re- 

 f olved to pay this amount by anticipation, and 

 did so on September 30, much to the benefit 

 of Costa Rican finances, the two series of bonds 

 advancing in London to 79J and 77-J, respect- 

 ively, on the strength of the dispatch an- 

 nouncing the liquidation of the internal in- 

 debtedness of the republic. Another wise 

 financial mea*ure, sanctioned by the National 

 Government on Dec. 31, 1886, was the renting 

 of the Central and Atlantic sections of the 

 Government railroad to the Cos' a Rica Rail- 

 road Company, a London corporation, under- 

 taking to finish the line under the management 

 of Minor Cooper Keith, the well-known finan- 

 cier and railroad contractor. From 1879 to 

 1887 the Government had incurred an annual 

 loss of $48,000 on that portion of its railway, 

 while it now ceded the management upon 

 terms favorable to the national exchequer. 

 The inrome of the nation in 1886-'87 was 

 $2,888.752, being $176,138 in excess of the 

 estimate; the actual outlay was $2,772,315. 



At the instigation of the President, a "banco 

 hipotecario " is to be established in the capital, 

 with a capital of $1,000,000 in shares; the 

 charter to extend over seventy years; to be a 

 bank of deposits and issue; to do a general 

 banking business, and advance, on first mort- 

 gage on long credits, money on real estate. 



Army. The actual strength of the active 

 army in 1887 was 6,219 men; of the reserve, 

 1,067; national guard, 692; together, 7.978 

 men, commanded by 2.521 officers. There 

 were 40,238 citizens capable of bearing arms. 



Post-Offite. In 1886 there passed through the 

 post-offices of the republic 2,437,639 items of 

 mail matter, as follows: 664,910 letters; 325,- 

 738 Government dispatches ; 618 registered let- 

 ters ; 9,576 postal-cards; 1,411,602 newspa- 

 pers, and 24,959 sample packages. The in- 



