PERU. 



661 



equaled $1 in silver; a year later, 29 paper 

 dollars were necessary to obtain a silver dol- 

 lar, and at this exchange the various branch 

 offices of the national treasury admitted pay- 

 ment in paper to the extent of fifty per cent. 

 The public and railroads insisted on $80 paper 

 for one silver dollar. Damaged or partially 

 torn paper money is refused everywhere ; the 

 loss on mutilated $100 and $500 notes is com- 

 paratively heavier than on small notes. The 

 Government has caused $14,675,000 of frac- 

 tional notes to be printed and circulated, in 

 order to facilitate current dealings. In Decem- 

 ber there was intense excitement in Lima and 

 Callao, owing to the paper currency continuing 

 to decrease in value. Disorders resulted in the 

 market-places and the streets, and a panic oc- 

 curred. The streets had to be patroled in 

 Lima, and squads of soldiers stationed in the 

 markets to prevent acts of violence against 

 those who refused to sell for paper money. 

 The money-changers in Lima kept their places 

 closed in consequence of the violent manner in 

 which they were spoken of at a meeting in the 

 plaza. When a crowd formed around the pal- 

 ace, President Caceres spoke from a balcony, 

 and assured all present that the Government 

 was doing everything possible to remove the 

 causes of alarm and re-establish confidence. In 

 the main market in Lima there are 1,800 stalls. 

 Of this number 1,300 were closed on Decem- 

 ber 15. The steeples of the churches were oc- 

 cupied by pickets to prevent the rioters making 

 a call to arms with the bells, and all liquor- 

 shops and hotels were closed by the police. 

 The banks were also closed. While a meeting 

 was held in the main square, pickets of armed 

 police were stationed at the four corners of the 

 square. One of these pickets was molested by 

 boys and drunken men, and the police fired, 

 wounding several boys. Two days prior to 

 these events not a single money-changer or 

 business house in Lima was selling silver dol- 

 lars for paper money. In Ascope, in the north 

 of Peru, trouble was feared, as the business 

 houses all refused to sell for paper money. In 

 Tru jillo holders of notes were in a panic. Near- 

 ly all the retail stores were closed, and the 

 bakers stopped baking because the holders of 

 flour refused to sell except for silver dollars, 

 while the bakers only held notes, and the 

 greater part of these were in halves. The pre- 

 fect exercised great vigilance, and succeeded 

 in borrowing $40,000 gold notes with which he 

 was changing the half-notes for the poor people. 

 Business men in Cerro de Pasco rejected bank- 

 notes, doing all their business in private notes 

 payable on presentation. Disorders occurred 

 in lluancavelica, and the acting prefect and the 

 treasurer were murdered. 



The budget for 1887-'88 estimates the reve- 

 nue at $16,183,674, and the expenditure at 

 $13,632,386. 



During the first six months of 1887 the reve- 

 nue from customs was $2,300,000 short of the 

 estimate, and the cash collected was absorbed 



by the expense of maintaining the army in a 

 state of efficiency. At Callao the amount of 

 duties collected only reached $1,216,728, while 

 $2,000,000 had been calculated upon. Salaries 

 of Peruvian consuls were reduced to fifty per 

 cent, of the fees collected, except that of the 

 consul at Panama. 



In December the import duties were raised 

 five per cent, ad valorem, the product to be 

 applied to a gradual withdrawal of the paper 

 currency. 



Another decree, simultaneously issued, or- 

 dered that Peruvian consuls issuing or viseing 

 bills of health be allowed to charge only one 

 cent a ton up to 500 tons, at the port of de- 

 parture, and half a cent at the large ports 

 where the ship may call. 



The silver exportation to Hamburg through 

 the port of Callao amounted in 1886 to 5,789,- 

 276 kilograms, and in September, 1887, there 

 were indications that it would be considerably 

 exceeded. 



In November opium was declared a Govern- 

 ment monopoly, and the right to import and 

 sell it was offered for sale. 



Boundary Question. In September an under- 

 standing was arrived at with reference to the 

 settlement of the boundary question between 

 Peru and Ecuador. The Peruvian minister at 

 Quito signed an agreement with the Minister 

 of Foreign Affairs of Ecuador, subsequently 

 ratified by the Congress of the latter, submit- 

 ting the difference to the arbitration of the 

 Queen-Regent of Spain. In the event of her 

 declining, either France, Belgium, or Switzer- 

 land is to be requested to assume the task. 



A Military Revolt. At 11 p. M. on September 

 27, a mutiny broke out at Trujillo, in the bar- 

 racks of the Zepita battalion, and two compa- 

 nies escaped, after mortally wounding the cap- 

 tain of the guard, and killing the sentry. It 

 was said that the soldiers mutinied because 

 they received only two paper dollars a day as 

 ration-money. The movement was led by a 

 sergeant known to have been a criminal of the 

 worst kind. The mutineers went to the bar- 

 racks, but the lieutenant on duty stood bravely 

 to his post and resisted a heavy fire with 

 great skill, until he was re-enforced by the sub- 

 prefect of police. During this time some of 

 the mutineers had also attacked the hospital, 

 but they were driven off. These two defeated 

 parties subsequently went to the mountains. 

 The authorities followed them about three 

 leagues into the country, where a fight took 

 place in which several were killed. In the 

 square at Trujillo fifteen or twenty persons 

 were killed or wounded. It was said that the 

 mutiny would not have taken place if the sol- 

 diers had been paid regularly. Their pay was 

 in arrears, and no one would trust them. The 

 taxes are paid in silver dollars ; this the soldiers 

 see, and therefore they object to being paid in 

 paper money. The sergeant who led the mu- 

 tiny was caught, tried by court martial, and 

 shot. He confessed having committed fourteen 



