330 



GUATEMALA. 



demonstration, but the King, foreseeing that 

 Delyannis would probably appeal to the popu- 

 lace, had, as chief of the army, given orders to 

 the commandant of the city to prevent any 

 popular disturbance. The crowd, on seeing the 

 streets leading to the palace held by soldiers, 

 hesitated, and it was soon dispersed and order 

 restored. As the majority of the Chamber was 

 composed of adherents of Delyannis, a royal 

 decree was issued on March 25, 1892, dissolving 

 the Chamber, and fixing May 15 for the general 

 election. The number of Deputies was increased 

 again by law to 207. Of this number, 177 ad- 

 herents of Tricoupis were elected, while the Op- 

 position carried only 30 seats. As a result, 

 Tricoupis was charged with the formation of a 

 Cabinet, which was composed of the following 

 members : Premier and Minister of Finance, 

 Tricoupis ; Minister of Education and Ecclesi- 

 astical Affairs, Kossonakos ; Minister of Foreign 

 Affairs, Dragoumis; Minister of the Interior, 

 Theotokis; Minister of Justice, Simopoulos; 

 Minister of Marine, Skouloudis; Minister of 

 War, Colonel Tsamados. 



Religious Riot. On Feb. 14, 1892, there was 

 an outbreak of religious fanaticism directed 

 against the Protestants of the town of Piraeus. 

 During the service, the Protestant church, which 

 had but lately been built by subscriptions from 

 the United States and England, was surrounded 

 by a turbulent mob. Forcing their way into the 

 church, the rioters maltreated the officiating 

 ministers and the worshipers. They pillaged 

 the building, carrying off even the marriage and 

 baptismal registers, and started a big bonfire in 

 the street, pouring petroleum on it. On the ar- 

 rival of the military forces, which were sent for 

 because the police was unable to cope with the 

 mob, the crowd dispersed, leaving nothing but 

 the bare walls of the church. The perpetrators 

 of the disturbance escaped. 



GUATEMALA, a republic in Central Amer- 

 ica. The Constitution, adopted in 1879, and 

 amended in 1885, 1887, and 1889, vests the legis- 

 lative powers in a National Assembly elected for 

 four years. The President is elected for six 

 years. Gen. Manuel Lisandro Barillas was 

 elected to the presidency on March 15, 1886. 



Area and Population. The area of the re- 

 public is estimated at 46,800 square miles. The 

 population on Dec. 31, 1890, was computed from 

 registration returns to be 1,452,003. About 

 three fifths of the people are of pure Indian 

 blood, and the rest are of mixed European and 

 Indian descent, with the exception of a small 

 fraction of pure whites. There were 4,609 mar- 

 riages, 61,575 births, and 69,589 deaths registered 

 in 1890. The capital is Guatemala la Nueva, 

 which had 65,796 inhabitants in 1890. The num- 

 ber of pupils in average attendance in the public 

 schools in 1890 was 52,288, out of a total popula- 

 tion of 143,453 of school age. The Government 

 expenditure on the schools for that year was 

 $475,092, and that of the municipalities $30,553. 

 The army, on which about 10 per cent, of the 

 public revenue is spent, consisted in 1891 of 

 8,718 officers and men. Tnere is, besides, a militia 

 of 67,300 officers and men. 



Finances. The receipts of the Government 

 for 1890 were $6,638,336, and the expenditures 

 $8,300,778. The customs duties produce nearly 



one half of the revenue, and internal-revenue 

 taxes on spirits, tobacco, and minor articles 

 more than one third. The consolidated internal 

 debt in January, 1891, amounted to $6,495,062; 

 the floating debt, $5,554,995 ; the foreign debt, 

 $4,613,500 ; total, $16,663,557. In 1890 the debt 

 was increased by $3,094,367. 



Commerce and Production. The most 

 valuable commercial product of Guatemala is 

 coffee, of which very choice qualities are grown. 

 The soil is remarkably fertile in most places. 

 Sugar cane, Indian corn, wheat, rice, cacao, to- 

 bacco, rubber, bananas, and cocoanuts are other 

 important products. The live stock of the coun- 

 try, consisting of horses and mules, cattle, sheep, 

 pigs, and goats, is valued at $18,623,000 ; and the 

 real property of 6,157 owners, not including 

 those of parcels of less value than $1.000, was 

 estimated in 1885 to be worth $38,741,000. The 

 total value of the imports in 1890 was $7,639,- 

 833, and that of the exports $14,401,534. The 

 chief imports were : Cotton manufactures, $945,- 

 614 ; telegraph and electric-lighting apparatus, 

 $458,266; woolen manufactures, $486,297; silks, 

 $157,463; flour, $189,631; specie, $992,666. 

 The principal exports, were : Coffee, $12,714,981 ; 

 hides, $106,502; bananas, $113,230; sugar, $84,- 

 198. Of the exports, $1,207,546 came from the 

 United States, $1,722,671 from Great Britain, 

 $935,829 from Germany, $804,561 from France, 

 $785,279 from the other countries of Central 

 America, and $521,938 from South American 

 countries. 



The number of vessels entered at the ports of 

 the republic during 1890 was 430, of 548,193 

 tons, of which 336, of 474,835 tons, belonged to 

 the United States ; 40, of 47,309 tons, to Ger- 

 many ; and 48, of 24,334 tons, to Great Britain. 

 The number of letters, post cards, parcels, etc., 

 sent through the post office in 1890 was 5,194,- 

 301. The telegraphs have a total length of 

 2,176 miles. The number of messages sent in 

 1890 was 603,423. There is a railroad, 72 miles 

 in length, connecting San Jose with Escuintla 

 and Guatemala City, and one of 27 miles from 

 Retalhuleu to Champerico, which is to be ex- 

 tended from Retalhuleu to San Felipe. 



Coffee Plantations. The coffee industry has 

 developed within a short period, and is capable 

 of further extension. Between 1861 and 1870 

 the exports were not more than 11,000,000 

 pounds for the whole period. The coffee plant 

 is supposed to have been introduced from Mocha 

 by Jesuits in the last century. The plant was 

 regarded as an ornamental shrub, and no planta- 

 tions were in existence before 1835. About 

 twenty years later the plant began to be growii 

 on a commercial scale, and in the past thirty 

 years the plantations have multiplied at a rapid 

 rate, and they are still being extended from 

 year to year. Lack of labor has prevented the 

 growth of the industry to much larger dimen- 

 sions, for it is estimated that four times the 

 quantity now produced could be grown. The 

 export in 1891 amounted to over 52,000,000 

 pounds, valued at about $10,000,000. The 

 growers reap a profit of about 20 per cent, a year 

 on their capital, and many of them have amassed 

 large fortunes. The fine grades are exported to 

 Hamburg and London, where they have the 

 highest reputation of any that is brought into 



