CHILI. 



Tin' e-limated population on Jan. 1, 1891, was 

 8,706,747, I "in- !M per square mile. Tin- CM i- 

 mutt is based upon tin- incomplete census of 

 and is believed to fall below the real num- 

 ber I iv at least 4()0.(KJ(). Santiago, the capital, 

 hail 800,000 inhabitants in 1885, and Valpaiaix., 

 tlie chief seaport, 100,000. 



I'll*- Army and Navy. The military law of 

 Dec. :?0, 1887, limits the army to 8 regiments 

 of infantry, 3 of cavalry, 2 of field artillery, 1 

 battalion of coast artillery, and 1 of engineers, 

 and fixes the maximum strength at 5,835 men. 

 The National Guard numbered 51,090 in 1MM. 



The naval forces comprise 2 ironclads, 4 deck- 

 protected cruisers, 10 nrst-class and 2 second- 

 class torpedo boats, 2 torpedo gunboats, 2 cor- 

 vettes, 3 rams, 2 dispatch boats, 2 transports, 4 

 gunboats, and 4 sailing vessels. 



Finances. The revenue in 1889 amounted to 

 !!<>.; r>,?35 pesos or dollars, of which 41,102,402 

 pesos were derived from customs. The expendi- 

 ture was 59,387,200 pesos. The revenue for 1890 

 was estimated at 58,000,000 pesos, not including 

 the surplus of 31,257,520 pesos brought over from 

 the preceding year. The expenditure was esti- 

 mated at 07,0(59,809 pesos. In 1891, the year of 

 the war, the expenditure is supposed to have 

 been 100,000,000 pesos, in paper currency. 



The public debt on Jan. 1, 1890, amounted to 

 93,617.955 pesos, including an external debt of 

 47,110,460 pesos, an internal deut of 24,013,579 

 pesos, and 22,487,916 pesos of paper currency. 

 The Government proposed to raise an internal 

 loan of 30,000,000 pesos in 1892. 



Congress. The session of Congress that closed 

 on Jan. 30, 1892, was remarkable for the amount 

 of work done. The most important bill passed 

 at the close of the session was an act authorizing 

 the President to borrow $25,000,000, in order to 

 withdraw the notes of the dictatorship. 



The regular session of Congress was opened on 

 June 1 by President Montt. He referred to the 

 restoration of order since he took office, and 

 passed over the "Baltimore" affair in a few 

 words, lamenting the attack and expressing re- 

 gret at the circumstances, which at one time 

 threatened a rupture of friendly relations be- 

 tween Chili and the United States, and said that 

 a settlement would be arrived at through diplo- 

 matic channels in accord with international jus- 

 tice. The treaty with Bolivia, made by the Junta 

 at Iquique in 1891. would be modified after be- 

 ing submitted to the Congresses of Chili and Bo- 

 livia. The diplomatic service would be reduced 

 on grounds of economy. An amnesty law would 

 be presented to Congress in favor of Balmace- 

 di-ts, excluding those officials against whom ac- 

 cusations were pending before Congress. Immi- 

 gration would be favored, and a rural police 

 organized. The army would be augmented to a 

 peace footing of 6,000. The navy would not l>e 

 increased during the present year. Reciprocity 

 treaties with all the South American republics 

 were recommended. 



A bill was passed by Congress authorizing the 

 1'iv-ident to issue bonds amounting to $8,750,- 

 000, for sale in Chili and Europe, interest not to 

 exceed 5 per cent, per annum, and a sinking fund 

 amounting to 2 per cent, was to be provided. 

 Interest on the loan would be payable in Santi- 

 ago, London, Paris, or Berlin, at the option of 



the holders, and the bonds are to be secured on 

 the export duties of nitrates and iodine. The 

 President is authorized to increase the amount 

 to be applied in the payments from the nitrate 

 funds, if that should become necessary. Should 

 the bonds not be taken up, the President is au- 

 thorized to arrange for a loan, with the maxi- 

 mum of 6 per cent, interest, the sum realized to 

 be devoted to extinguishing the present floating 

 debt of $8,750,000. A bill was passed fixing the 

 rates of duties on nitrates and iodine: the duty 

 on nitrates equal to $1.42 per metric quintal, 

 and that on iodine 46 cents per kilo, payments 

 to be made as often as the Government requires 

 them. The revenue thus raised is to be applied 

 to the payment of interest of the coupon debt, 

 which now amounts to $000,000 annually. 



President Montt sent a message to Congress in 

 September, calling an extra session of that body 

 for the consideration, among other questions, of 

 the Franco-Chilian treaty, colonization, the sales 

 of nitrate, and the estimates for 1893. Other ob- 

 jects were to establish a money standard and 

 arrange for a sufficient volume of currency, to 

 consider an increase of pay for the army and 

 navy, and to reorganize the civil service. 



Cabinet Crises. In forming his Cabinet, 

 President Montt had been governed by a desire 

 to reconcile the different parties, and it consist- 

 ed of Liberals. Radicals, and Conservatives. It 

 was evident, however, that this coalition minis- 

 try could not attain any solidity under the Lib- 

 eral regime, and dissatisfaction with the pro- 

 posals of Finance Minister Valdes Vergara to re- 

 habiliate Chili's finances led to the resignation 

 of the Conservative members. A new Cabinet 

 was formed on March 13, 1892, without the Con- 

 servatives, which was composed of the following 

 men : Premier and Minister of the Interior, 

 Edouardo Matte ; Minister for Foreign Affairs, 

 Gaspar Toro ; Minister of Justice and of Public 

 Instruction, Sefior Castello; Minister of Fi- 

 nance, Augustino Edwards ; Minister of War and 

 of Marine, Luis Barros Borgagno ; Minister of 

 Public Works, Jorge Riesco. The new Cabinet 

 set out with an elaborate programme of reform ; 

 it pledged itself to adopt a course of moderation 

 and to act in concord. Vacancies should be 

 filled by competent men, irrespective of politics, 

 and expenditures should be minimized. But it 

 soon appeared that this Cabinet would not be of 

 long duration, as the strife between the Liberals 

 and the Conservatives was becoming bitter. The 

 Cabinet demanded the removal of five of the 

 railroad directors, who were held responsible for 

 the loose and demoralizing methods prevailing 

 in the Government railway service. The direct- 

 ors, expecting his support, appealed to the 

 President, who refused to give a decision, and 

 allowed an appeal to be made to the Commission 

 Conservadore, the body that supervises the acts 

 of the Government during the recess of Con- 

 gress. The Cabinet was sustained, and a crisis 

 was narrowly averted. The dissatisfaction with 

 the Cabinet grew daily. This was due largely 

 to its neglect to present any measures of econo- 

 my, and the ministers finally saw themselves 

 forced to resign. A new Cabinet was constituted 

 June 11, and was composed as follows: Minister 

 of the Interior. Harms Luco; Minister for For- 

 eign Affairs, Isidore Errazuriz; Minister of Fi- 



