PERU. 



61fl 



His Cabinet at the beginning of 1898 was com- 



Iiosed as follows: President and Minister of tho 

 nlerior, 1'olice, and Public Works, C. .M. I 

 Minister of Foreign AtTairs, E. Larrabuiv y 

 riiaiinc; Minister of Finance and Commerce, 

 H. Quiroz; Minister of Ju.-ticeaiid Worship, Dr. 

 .). 1'iiinvdon; Minister of War and Marine, 15. 

 Morales I.ermude/. 



Arm and Population. The area of Peru is 

 437,0(M square miles. The population is esti- 

 mated at J.ilMO.lMK). including :{.-)0.(MM) uncivili/.ed 

 Indians. Lima, the capital, had lo:i,i)5U in- 

 habitants in IS'.M. There an- ls.000 Europeans 

 and 50,000 Asiatics in the country. 



Commerce. Tho imports for 1891 wore 

 valued at l.">. li>(>,000 soles or dollars, of wliieh 

 hY-'NM.ooo soles came from Great Britain, ^.sr,:,.- 

 onn M.les from (Jennany, 1,:>7(;,OIIO soles from 

 France. 1 .::-.':;.( MM) soles from the United States, 

 l.lici.iKH) soles from Chili, 539,000 solos from 

 China. 408,000 soles from Belgium, 445,000 soles 

 from Italy, and 558,000 soles from other coun- 

 tries. The total value of iheextwrts was 12,371,- 

 000 soles, of which 5.811,000 soles went to Great 

 Britain, 1.190,000 soles to Chili, 1,111,000 soles 

 to Germany, 354,000 soles to France, 278,000 

 soles to the United States, and 3,627,000 soles to 

 other countries. The values of the principal 

 exports were: Sugar, 2,921,000 soles; silver in 

 ingots and silver ore, 1,198,000 soles; cotton, 

 1,014.000 soles: wool, 887,000 soles; silver-bear- 

 ing lead ore, 433,000 soles; rice, 150,000 soles; 

 gold bars, 145,000 soles. The state railroads 

 have a length of 760 miles and private railroads 

 125 miles. There are 1,415 miles of telegraphs. 



The foreign commerce of Peru has fallen 

 away, and business in 1893 was generally de- 

 pressed and disorganized. When specie pay- 

 ments were restored in 1888 and an arrangement 

 was made later with the foreign bondholders 

 whereby the railroads could be operated prop- 

 erly and completed in the sections that were 

 most needed, the prospects of trade and produc- 

 tion seemed bright ; but there has been nothing 

 but disappointment, and in 1893 the approach- 

 ing election of a President added the demoraliz- 

 ing effects of political agitation. Gen. Caceres, 

 the most popular general in the war with Chili, 

 who was elected President after the war in suc- 

 cession to Dr. Nicolas Pierola, was the official 

 candidate, having placed Bermudez in the presi- 

 dential chair in the expectation of returning to 

 power in the succeeding term. This custom of 

 em ploying the power and patronage of the Ad- 

 miiiiMnition to perpetuate the personal rule 

 which the provision making a President ineligi- 

 ble for the next term is intended to prevent is 

 oven loss liked in Peru than in other Spanish- 

 American republics. The former term of Caceres 

 w^ considered successful at the time, though 

 the results of his policy had IN-CH disappointing, 

 but now his candidacy was exceedingly unpopu- 

 lar among the democratic masses, whose favorite 

 was Pierola. formerly decried as a dictator, who 

 was living in exile at Panama, having escaped 

 from the prison where he was confined for a 

 revolutionary attempt against the Government 

 of Bormudoz. Several other aspirants had their 

 followers in the various political cliques. Caceres 

 was accused of bringing back from Europe, 

 where he was minister at Paris, a large quantity 



of arms and of influencing the Government to 

 adopt coercive mea-ure-. The policy of his 

 former administration was denounced as tin- 

 root of all the polit ical and economic evils of the 

 country. The mob in Lima wrecked the oflie.-s 

 of tho admini>tration journals, and those op- 

 posed to the Government were suppressed by 

 the police. Riotous demons! rat ion> and admits 

 and assassinations were committed from political 

 motives. Pierola, who was not permitted to en- 

 ter Peru, conducted his canvass from one of the 

 towns occupied by Chili. 



At the end of February a new Cabinet was 

 chosen by President Bermudez, as follows: 

 Premier and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Gen. 

 Velarde; Minister of War, Manuel Villavicien- 

 cia; Minister of Foreign Affairs, Cha<-altana; 

 Minister of Justice, Zogarra ; Minister of Finance, 

 Salvador Cavero. The preaching of the clergy 

 against the Freemasons led to riots in various 

 places. At Mollendo, on March 25, the Masonic 

 lodge was sacked and the American consular 

 agent was wounded by a pistol-shot, while the 

 police looked on with passive indifference. The 

 American Government demanded an expression 

 of regret and reparation. The subprefect of 

 police was removed and reparation promised. 



On May 11 the Velarde ministry was succeeded 

 by another, composed as follows: Premier and 

 Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jos6 Manano Jime- 

 nez ; Minister of the Interior, Pedro Jose Zavala : 

 Minister of Justice, Alfredo Gaston ; Minister of 

 War, Nicanor R. Somocurcio ; Minister of Fi- 

 nance, Eugenio Marquezado. One ground of 

 difference between the parties was the question 

 of the provinces occupied by Chili. By the 

 treaty of 1883 the people of Tacna and Arica 

 would decide by a popular vote at the end of 

 ten years whether they would continue under 

 Chilian rule or return to Peru. But the Chilian 

 Government demanded as a condition of the 

 restitution of the nitrate fields that Peru should 

 pay the war indemnity of $ 10,000,000. and this 

 was impossible in the bankrupt condition of 

 the Peruvian treasury. Congress met to or- 

 ganize on July 13 and began its regular sessions 

 two weeks later. In Congress the predominant 

 party was the Union Civica. which was ho.-tilo. 

 to the Government and to Caceres, and looked 

 with no favor on the candidacy of Pierola, but 

 could not agree upon its own standard-bearer 

 for the elections of April, 1)^94. 



Upon the assembling of Congress Irigoyen, 

 the director-general of finances, and Mendizabel, 

 chief of the treasury, were suspended on charges 

 of corruption in tho collection of taxes. Other 

 officials and adherents of Caceres were implicated 

 in the frauds. In consequence of a vote of cen- 

 sure passed upon Minister Zavala for violating 

 the liberty of the press he was forced to resign in 

 the beginning of September, and the portfolio was 

 taken by Gnston temporarily at first and definitely 

 when tho ministry was reconstituted on the ro>ig- 

 nation of Marque/ado at the end of the month. 

 I, at Hi-re Gonzales succeeded the latter as Minister 

 of Finance and Pardo Figueroa became Minister 

 of Justice. The Government was unable to pay 

 the annuity of '80,000 sterling which it under- 

 took to pay to the Peruvian corporation under 

 the Grace contract, as the treasury was empty 

 and salaries and other obligations were in 



