346 



GUATEMALA. 



crops; 250,000 acres to vines; 125,000 acres 

 to currants ; and 325,000 acres to the olive- 

 culture. The principal imports are cereals and 

 textiles, and the principal exports dried cur- 

 rants, olive-oil, lead, wine, silver-ore, dye and 

 tanning stuffs, and zinc. 



The merchant navy on Jan. 1, 1887, com- 

 prised 74 steamers, of 33,318 tons, and 3,164 

 sailing-vessels, of 239,361 tons, exclusive of 

 about 6,000 coasting-vessels. The number of 

 vessels that entered Greek ports in 1885 was 

 10,597, of 2,431,589 tons; the number that 

 cleared was 10,593, of 2,430,518 tons. 



The railroads in operation on Oct. 1, 1887, 

 had a total length of 615 kilometres. 



The state telegraphs in 1885 had a total 

 length of 6,603 kilometres, with 7,675 kilo- 

 metres of wire. The number of internal dis- 

 patches was 544,556 ; of international dis- 

 patches, 181,991 ; the receipts, 1,065,809 

 drachmas ; the expenses, 993,800 drachmas. 



The number of letters sent through the 

 post-office in 1885 was 6,182,571 ; postal-cards, 

 167,321; registered letters, 381,804; journals 

 and printed matter, 4,792,522. The receipts 

 were 1,034,246 drachmas, and the expenses 

 695,633 drachmas. 



General Election In the previous elections, 

 which returned Delyannis to power, Tricou- 

 pis, who was then Prime Minister, was cen- 

 sured by his followers for not using the cus- 

 tomary official pressure and sending military 

 guards to protect the ministerial candidates 

 and overawe the opposing factions. Elections 

 under the new electoral law were held in 

 January, 1887. The Prime Minister refrained 

 as before from administrative interference, yet 

 so discredited had Delyannis and his party be- 

 come that 100 ministerial candidates were 

 elected, to only 50 of the opposition. 



GUATEMALA, a republic of Central America. 

 (For details relating to area and population, 

 see " Annual Cyclopaedia " for 1886.) 



Government! The President is Gen. Manuel 

 Lisandro Barillas. The Cabinet is composed 

 of the following ministers: Foreign Affairs, 

 Don Lorenzo Montufar; Public Instruction, 

 M. M. A. Herrera; Interior and Justice, F. 

 Anguiano; Public Works, S. Barrutia; Fi- 

 nance, Don Mauricio Rodriguez; War, C. 

 Mendizabal. The Guatemalan Minister at 

 Washington is Don Francisco Lainfiesta, the 

 Consul-General at New York is Jacob Baiz, 

 the Consul at San Francisco, Don Jos6 M. 

 Roma. The United States Minister for all 

 Central America, resident at Guatemala, is 

 Hon. Henry C. Hall, and the Consul-General 

 James R. Hosmer. 



The strength of the regular army is 2,500 

 men, and that of the militia is 20,000. 



Finances. Prior to the consolidation of the 

 foreign debt of Guatemala, assented to by the 

 bondholders at their London meeting of Dec. 

 3, 1887, the national indebtedness was com- 

 posed of a home debt amounting to $5,504,880, 

 and a foreign debt of $5,702,843, constituting 



a total indebtedness of $11,207,723. By virtue 

 of the agreement made with the holders of 

 Guatemalan 1856 and 1869 loans, the latter 

 have been consolidated, and, together with 

 accumulated interest, converted into a new 

 4 per-cent.-bond issue, for which a sinking 

 fund has been provided at the rate of | per 

 cent, per annum. Simultaneously it was re- 

 solved to convert the home debt into a 6-per- 

 cent.-bond issue, with a sinking fund of 1 per 

 cent, per annum. The customs revenue was 

 pledged as a security for both debts. 



The Government received, early in 1887, a 

 proposal from the banking firm of J. P. Na- 

 than & Co., Guatemala, in behalf of the Paris 

 Societe de Dep6ts et de Comptes-Courants 

 on the one hand, and of the London banking 

 firm of S. S. Thomas, T. Bonar & Co. on the 

 other, for the creation by the two concerns 

 jointly of a national bank in the city of Guate- 

 mala, with a share capital of 1,000,000, such 

 national bank to be authorized to issue bank- 

 notes of a face value of $1 to $200, both in- 

 clusive. 



Postal Service. There were in operation in 

 1886 129 post-offices, dispatching altogether 

 3,400,876 items of mail-matter, the receipts 

 being $56,026 and the expenses $50,597. 



Commerce. The imports nd exports for five 

 years have been as follows, in thousands of 

 dollars : 



The chief articles exported in 1886 were: 

 coffee, $5,883,417 ; sugar, $352,556 ; hides and 

 skins, $170,474; India-rubber, $113.307; and 

 there were shipped besides, bananas, sarsa- 

 parilla, cocoa, indigo, wool, and some gold- 

 dust; furthermore, silver coin to the amount 

 of $118,261. 



The American trade with Guatemala pre- 

 sents the following changes: 



The increased import figure is due to the 

 rise in coffee. 



Railroads. There are in running order the 

 Champerico-Retalhulen line of railway from 

 San Jose to Escuintla, 45 kilometres in length, 

 and the Escuintla-Guatemala line, 71 kilome- 

 tres. The interoceanic line is being built. 



Telegraphs. The total length of telegraph in 

 operation is 2,905 kilometres, with 77 offices, 

 which in 1886 forwarded 311,976 messages, 

 the receipts being $148,231 and the expenses 

 $1 1 5,899. There is direct communication with 

 all Mexican telegraph-offices at minimum rates. 



Extradition. The extradition treaty between 



