HONDURAS. 



:>d embracing the two years end- 



;i. ! vsv v tin- expenditure (iii tin- army 

 :, ili,- .1,-l.t. xiilT.oJ'J; on I In- iii-"- 

 .'$485,500; on public works, $:!M.Mlt. 

 :idmg army is limited to 500 men. The 

 ulitia, in which all can be called on to serve 



month-, number- 'jii.707 men. 

 ( oniincm- and Prod action. The republic 

 i abundance of rich soil, ami tin- climate at 

 ililli-n-nl i'li- vat ions is so varied that plants of the 

 tropical ami tciujK-rato zones thrive cijiiiilly well. 

 Tin- niinrral iv-iurccs arc very great, but want 

 capital, dilliculty in obtaining steady labor, 

 id al'scnce of means of transport have proved 

 les to their development. The exports for 

 .r ending July 81, 1888, were valued at 

 .''>M in silver, classified as mineral products 

 the value of $1,678,449; vegetable products, 

 1,710; animal products, $307,879; gold and 

 her coin. $78,853; industrial products, $9,205. 

 lie principal articles of export are silver bars, 

 itianas, cocoa-nuts, cattle, indigo, mahogany, 

 ild dust, cedar, India-rubber, sarsaparilla, hides 

 id deer skins, and various woods. The exports 

 the United States, with which there is com- 

 .ninication by steamer*, were $2, 790,405 in 1888; 

 ' other countries in Central America, $331,950 ; 

 Cn-at Britain. $105,088; to France, $81,500; 

 Belgium, $30,345; toother countries. $11,301. 

 The imports are imperfectly reported, the farm- 

 rs of customs having an interest in concealing 

 leir receipts. According to the official returns 

 * the United States, the imports into Honduras 

 American domestic products for the year end- 

 March 31. 1890, were $522,021 in value, 

 linst $618,973 in 1889, $072,790 in 1888, and 

 in 1887. The imports into the United 

 ites from Honduras are given as $857,919 in 

 7, $959.331 in 1888, $1,215,561 in 1889, and 

 984.404 in 1890. The principal articles import- 

 are hardware and silK and cotton goods. 

 Communications. Of 69 miles of railroad 

 >m Puerto Cortez to San Pedro Sula, only 37 

 liles are in operation, owing to the destruction 

 the bridge over the river Chamelicon. Lines 

 projected to connect TruxiLlo with Puerto 

 irtez and with Juticalpa. The projected inter- 

 eanic railroad would run from Puerto Cortez 

 Amapala. on the Pacific coast. The Govern- 

 icnt owns 1.717 miles of telegraph, sending an 

 iverage of 98,000 messages annually. 

 Political Affairs. Honduras has suffered 

 >m the late iiprising in Central America, which 

 is left her finances in greater disorder than ever, 

 'resident Bogran asked Congress, which met in 

 ~ie spring of 1891, to authorize a loan of $2,000,- 

 for the betterment of internal affairs. A 

 ity was discussed with San Salvador provid- 

 ig for the settlement by arbitration of all diffi- 

 ilties between them, the free interchange of 

 sh other's products in case of war, and the use 

 >f the projected mteroceanic railroad of Homlu- 

 is by Saivadoian troops and of a branch that 

 to be built to Puerto Union by Honduranian 

 jps. This treaty was intended to isolate Gua- 

 'inala in the event of a new war with Salvador, 

 ater, Gen. Bogran was suspected of engaging in 

 sh schemes of Barillas for a Cent ral American 

 union under the hegemony of Guatemala. Gen. 

 Ponciano Leiva, the Government candidate. VMS 

 elected to succeed Bogran. The Liberal party 



HUDSON RIVEK. 



809 



favored Poliearpo Bon ilia, who received about a 

 third as many votes a* Gen. Lciva. CongreM 

 met on Nov. 7 tocan\a>- the returns, which were 

 declared to bo regular. The Opposition ui tempt- 

 ed to prevent the accession ol (Jrn. Leiva by a 

 revolutionary rising, headed by (Jen. Lerencio 

 Sierra, who attempt- -1 t-i ccuiiy the depart IM i.t 

 of Choluteca, where Leiva was least popular, with 

 a force of 1,400 men. The revolutionists pro- 

 claimed Bonilla President, and the revolt was 

 spreading when Gov. Domingo Vaseouez met 

 and defeated Sierra's force, driving the rebels 

 over the border into Nicaragua. 



HUDSON RIVER, IMPROVEMENT OF. 

 By an act of Congress passed in 1890 a commis- 

 sion was appointed to examine the obstructions 

 to navigation in Hudson river between New York 

 city and the State dam at Troy, N. Y., and re- 

 port a project and estimate the cost of widening 

 and deepening the river between New York and 

 Albany, and also between New York and the 

 State dam at Troy, for the navigation' of sea-go- 

 ing vessels drawing 20 feet of water ; and also a 

 separate estimate of the expense of improving 

 the river between New Baltimore and the State 

 dam at Troy to such an extent as to secure a 

 navigable channel 12 feet deep at mean low tide. 

 The naturally deep waters of the Hudson begin 

 at Coxsackie. From that point to Troy, 28 miles, 

 navigation always has been maintained with dif- 

 ficulty. The river is crooked and wide, and 

 tides, freshets, and ice-jams produce bars. The 

 first appropriation by the State for the improve- 

 ment of this portion of the river was made in 

 1797; but up to 1819 the depth of the channel 

 was only 4-5 feet. Between 1819 and 1803 a 

 depth of 7'5 feet at mean low tide was estab- 

 lished. By 1885 this was increased to 10 feet, 

 with a width of 150 feet, between Coxsackie and 

 Albany: and 8 feet, with a width of 125 feet, be- 

 tween Albany and Troy. In 1888 these meas- 

 urements had been increased to 11 feet and 175 

 feet up to Albany, and to 10 feet and 140 feet 

 from that point to Troy. At the same time the 

 United States Government has been aiding in 

 the improvement of the river, having built 99,- 

 850 lineal feet of dike, against 22,400 built by the 

 State. Although the tonnage of Hudson river 

 is nearly three times that of the Mississippi, the 

 amount expended in its improvement is insig- 

 nificant compared with the Mi>.-i-sippi appropri- 

 ations. The plan of deepening the upper Hud- 

 son is only one link in the chain of a system of 

 enlarged water ways from Chicago and Duluth to 

 New York city. The western link involves the 

 deepening of the shallow places along the Great 

 Lakes,, so as to give a clear channel of "20 feet. 

 The places selected for dredging are these : Sail- 

 ors' Encampment, St. Clair Flats, (in-sse Pointe 

 Flats, month of Detroit river, foot of Lake Hu- 

 ron, and the shoals near Round Island. A con- 

 vention of persons interested in this project met 

 in Detroit in December, 1891. Next to the 20- 

 foot channel, the convention considered a ship 

 canal connecting Lake Erie with the Atlantic 

 Ocean of most importance, and one of the reso- 

 lutions requested Congress to authorize the Sec- 

 retary of War to make surveys, examinations, 

 and estimates of the cost of the various practica- 

 ble routes for such a water-way. The improvement 

 of Hudson river from Coxsackie to Troy, so that 





