462 LITERATURE, CONTINENTAL. 



LOUISIANA. 



Hedberg, " En Vinter i sodern " ; and G. af Geijerstam, 

 " Stockholmsnoveller." 



Switzerland, The German Swiss have always in 

 these reports been classified with Germany, and that 

 not simply as a matter of convenience, for in a liter- 

 ary sense they are closely related to their brethren in 

 the empire. Notices of the work of some of their 

 important writers in the broad domain of belles-let- 

 tres, such as J. Joachim and J. V. Widmann, will be 

 found under Germany. In the present division, 

 however, may be placed some of the notable publica- 

 tions in the various fields of learning, more especially 

 those of directly national or local interest, llistory 

 has been contributed to in Paul Sehweizer's impor- 

 tant "Geschichte der schweizerischen Neutralitiit," 

 and Wilhelm Oechsli's " Quellenbuch zur Schweizer- 

 geschichte " (Neue Folge), and this subject has its 

 periodical in " Anzeiger fi'ir schweizerische Ge- 

 schichte," while as a literary review the country has 

 a " Schweizerische Revue " (third year). In ecclesias- 

 tical history we have Emil EgliV'Kirchengeschichte 

 der Schweiz bis auf Karl den Grossen," and in biog- 

 raphy E. de Bude's " Vie de Jacob Vernet, the'ologien 

 genevois (1698-1789) " and C. H. Vogler's life of the 

 almost forgotten sculptor Alexander Trippel, of 

 Schaffhausen ; while various phases of Swiss law are 

 elucidated in Bug. Huber's " System und Geschichte 

 des schweizerischen Privatrechts " (Vol.. IV), C. 

 Stooss's " Grundziige des schweizerischen Strafrechte" 

 (Vol. II), and W. Rieser's "Das Schweizerburger- 

 recht" (1892), and a" Schweizerisches Idiotikon" is in 

 course of preparation. It is reported that an attempt 

 to introduce the production of national dramas in 

 French Switzerland was made by performing, at 

 Avenches, a drama by Adolph Ribaux, of Neuenburg, 

 entitled " Julia Alpinula." 



Spanish America. It may no doubt be urged that 

 our Spanish-American brothers are kept in such a 

 state of turmoil by revolutions following each other 

 in rapid succession, that literature can hardly thrive 

 in such an atmosphere. Yet some portion of what 

 has been done seems worthy of note, both as a meas- 

 ure of present achievement and a promise of future 

 expansion. 



Under Spain will be found a list of important 

 works by Americanists and a reference to a new 

 Spanish-American anthology. Lexicographical ma- 

 terial is found in Carl Lentzner's " Tesoro de Voces y 

 Provincialismos Hispano- Americanos " (Vol. I, Halle, 

 1892), and another Spanish book by a German author 

 is " Geografia y Geologia del Ecuador, publicada par 

 orden del Supremo Gobierno de la Rpublica " 

 (Leipizig, 1892), by Theodor Wolf, twenty years a 

 resident in that country. In Barcelona (1892) was 

 published Vol.1 of the u Obras" of Fray Vicente 

 Solano (1791-1865), a savant Franciscan monk who 

 lived in Ecuador, while Oscar d'Araujo issued in 

 Paris "L'Ide'e republicaine au Br<$sil." It appears 

 that in the latter country journalism, " the main 

 factor of popular instruction,"' finds in French litera- 

 ture an " inexhaustible source whence it seeks the 

 material necessary to the fulfillment of its civilizing 

 and patriotic mission." At any rate, that was the 

 reason cited for the failure of the Brazilian Congress 

 to ratify the copyright treaty negotiated between 

 France and Brazil in January, 1891. In the Argen- 

 tine Republic, two noteworthy volumes published at 

 Buenos Ayres are Alexandra Rosa's description of his 

 numismatic collection of 1,571 pieces, and a five-vol- 

 ume work on Dictator Rozas, by Adolfo Saldias, 

 while from Uruguay came the news of the death, in 

 Montevideo, of Alexandro Magarinos Cervantes, 

 famous as author, editor, liberal statesman, and uni- 

 versity professor. In Cuba the cultivation of plants 

 peculiar to the climate of that island was described in 

 " Tesoro del Agricultor Cubano " (2 vols., "Biblioteca 

 de la Propaganda Literaria"), by Francisco Javier 

 Balmaseda, the sixteenth edition (1893) of whose 

 " Fabulas morales" has also appeared. 



After " Mexico, a traves de los Siglos " (1887 -'89, 5 

 vols.), perhaps the most important work of na- 



folio volumes, in 1890, a sumptuous book with text in 

 Spanish, French, and English. 



LOUISIANA, a Southern State, admitted to 

 the Union April 30, 1812; area, 48,720 square 

 miles. Population in 1890, 1,118,587. Capital, 

 Baton Rouge. 



Government. The following were the State 

 officers during the vear: Governor, Murphy J. 

 Foster ; Lieutenant-Governor, Charles Parlange ; 

 Secretary of State, Thomas S. Adams ; Treas- 

 urer, John Pickett ; Auditor, W. W. Heard ; Su- 

 perintendent of Public Instruction, A. D. La- 

 fargue; Attorney-General, M. Cunningham all 

 Democrats. Commissioner of Agriculture, Henry 



C. Newsom ; Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, 

 Francis T. Nicholls; Associate Justices, Samuel 



D. McEnery, Charles E. Fenner, Lynn B. \\',-it- 

 kins, and Joseph A. Breaux all Democrats. 

 Judge Fenner resigned Aug. 15, to take effect 

 Oct. 1. His term of office would have expired 

 in 1896. Hon. Charles Parlange. Lieutenant- 

 Governor, was appointed to fill the vacancy. 



The death of Judge E. C. Billings, Dec. 1, left 

 vacant the Federal judgeship for the eastern 

 district of Louisiana; and on Dec. 13 the Presi- 

 dent sent to the Senate the name of Judge Par- 

 lange for the vacant office. 



Valuations. Great dissatisfaction is felt at 

 the inequalities of assessment in the various 

 parishes, and glaring injustice in the valuations 

 put upon property for purposes of taxation has 

 been exposed by some recent developments. 



Suggestions are rife as to amendments in the 

 law by the constitutional commission ; but it 

 appears that the Legislature has full power to 

 take measures for equalizing valuations. As a 

 step toward that end, the assessor of St. Landry 

 issued a call for a convention of tax assessors to 

 meet in New Orleans, Jan. 16, 1894, the day after 

 the convention of sheriffs, who, as collectors, 

 would be of assistance to the assessors. 



Finances. The Auditor reports the receipts 

 from all sources for 1893 to have been $3.956,- 

 854.95. The expenditures were $3,546,275.89. 

 An additional sum of $171,343.02 was paid out 

 during the year from the direct tax fund of 

 $314,000, which was received in 1892 and is not 

 in the receipts and expenditures proper. 



The State Board of Liquidation held a meet 

 ing in the summer, and decided to take measures 

 to use a surplus that has accumulated from the 

 fund set aside for the payment of interest on 

 State consolidated bonds for the purchase of 

 State bonds, and thereby accomplish a reduction 

 of the State debt. 



The Treasurer, who was not present at the 

 meeting, announced his disagreement with this 

 determination of the board. He took the po- 

 sition that the act of 1874, under which the 

 bonds were to be purchased, had been abrogated 

 by the Constitution of 1879, and that, conse- 

 quently, he would not pay out the money unless 

 ordered to do so by the courts or upon the war- 

 rant of an act of the Legislature. The At- 

 torney-General declared that the law governing 

 the Board of Liquidation leaves nothing to the 

 discretion of the board, and he therefore applied 

 in behalf of the State to the Civil District Court 



