PATRIOTIC SOCIETIES IN THE UNITED STATES. 



637 





The expenditures amounted to 5,852,722 pesos, 

 of which 2,647,786 pesos were the general ex- 

 penses of the Government, 864,609 pesos reduc- 

 tion of the debt, and 2,340,327 pesos extraordi- 

 nary expenditures. These sums are reckoned in 

 the paper peso, the exchange value of which in 

 1893 was only 16 cents. The external debt on 

 Jan. 1, 1894, amounted to 27,850,623 pesos, con- 

 sisting of the Argentine debt of 12,393,657 pesos, 

 the Brazilian debt of 9,876,466 pesos, and 5,580,- 

 500 pesos of bonds held in England, on which no 

 interest has been paid since 1891. 



The imports in 1893 were valued at 2,533,000 

 pesos in gold, and the exports at 9,135,000 paper 

 pesos. 



The permanent army consists of 1,314 infantry 

 and 347 cavalry and artillery, with 20 cannon. 

 The National Guard is called to arms in case of 

 war. Service in the guard is obligatory. 



Change of Administration. The official 

 candidate for the presidency to succeed Gen. 

 Gonzalez was Dr. Jose C. Decond, Minister to 

 Uruguay and former Minister of Justice. Gen. 

 Egusguiza, Gen. Caballero, and Gen. Escobar 

 were independent candidates. On June 9, 1894, 

 a month before the elections for presidential 

 electors, as the result of a conspiracy between 

 these three and the Minister of War, the Vice- 

 President, and the chief of police, who were their 

 respective supporters, Gen. Gonzalez was seized 

 by armed men as he was entering the Con- 

 gress in Asuncion and summarily deported to 

 Buenos Ayres. Vice- President Marinigo, a nephew 

 of Gen. Caballero, assumed the presidency and 

 appointed a new Cabinet. When the election 

 was held in September Gen. Egusguiza was de- 

 clared to be elected. He was inaugurated on 

 Nov. 25, and accepted the Cabinet appointed by 

 Marinigo, composed as follows: Minister of the 

 Interior, Angel Martinez ; Minister of Finance, 

 Augustin Caneta; Minister of Justice, Dr. M. A. 

 Maciel; Minister of Foreign Affairs and Coloni- 

 zation, Gregorio Benitez ; Minister of War, Gen. 

 A. Caceres. 



PATRIOTIC SOCIETIES IN THE UNIT- 

 ED STATES. The remarkable interest devel- 

 oped in the various patriotic and hereditary so- 

 cieties in the United States, and their splendid 

 work in the preservation of history and records 

 as well as the marking of important historical 

 sites by tablets and monuments, makes necessary 

 this brief description of the more important 

 organizations and their work. Nothing in this 

 country has ever done so much toward fostering 

 a faith in American institutions and in develop- 

 ing among the youth of this country so strong 

 feeling of patriotism as these societies. Their 

 influence has been of distinct value in counter- 

 acting the craze for things foreign, called An- 

 glomania, which for so long a time has been so 

 humiliating to all true Americans. 



Society of Colonial Wars. This society has 

 for its objects 



To perpetuate the memory of these events, and of the 

 men who in military, naval, and civil positions of 

 high trust and responsibility, by their acts or counsel, 

 assisted in the establishment, defense, and preserva- 

 tion of the American colonies, and were in truth the 

 founders of this nation. With this end in view it 

 seeks to collect and preserve manuscripts, rolls, and 

 records ; to provide suitable commemorations or 

 memorials relating to the American colonial period, 



and to inspire in its members the paternal and patri- 

 otic spirit of their forefathers, ana in the community 

 respect and reverence for those whose public services 

 made our freedom and unity possible. 



It was instituted in New York city Aug. 18, 1892, 

 and incorporated on Oct. 18, 1892. It admits 

 to membership 



Any male person above the age of twenty-one years, 

 of good moral character and reputation, who is de- 

 scended from an ancestor who fought in battle under 

 colonial authority, or who served as a governor, 

 deputy governor, lieutenant governor, or member of 

 the King's Council, or as a military, naval, or marine 

 officer, soldier, sailor, privateer, or marine in the serv- 

 ice of the colonies, or under the banner of Great 

 Britain in North America, in the wars in which the 

 said colonies participated, or enrolled men from the 

 settlement of Jamestown, Va., May 13, 1607, to the 

 battle of Lexington, April 19. 1775, provided the claim 

 to eligibility is satisfactorily based upon the service 

 of an ancestor who performed duty as above under 

 colonial sanction, or British enlistment in North 

 America either in garrison, in the field, or on the 

 sea ; or descended from men who rendered conspicu- 

 ous civil service in a period of warfare. Should there 

 be no direct descendant of such propositus, the coun- 

 cil may admit that collateral relative who shall be 

 deemed best suited to represent such propositus, pref- 

 erence being given to the male line. 



The New York society was the first to be 

 organized, and State societies have been formed 

 since in Pennsylvania (1893), Maryland (1893), 

 Massachusetts (1893), Connecticut (1893), the 

 District of Columbia (1893), New Jersey (1894), 

 Virginia (1894), New Hampshire (1894), Ver- 

 mont (1894), Illinois (1894), and Missouri (1894). 

 The total membership is over 1,000. The an- 

 nual meetings are called general courts, and are 

 held on the anniversary of some conspicuous 

 event in the colonial wars; thus the general 

 court of the New York society is held on Dec. 

 19, in commemoration of the victory over the 

 Narragansett Indians on Dec. 19, 1675. 



The society has established a fund for the 

 erection of a memorial in commemoration of the 

 one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the vic- 

 tory by the American colonial forces at Louis- 

 bourg. A site located on a well-preserved re- 

 doubt, connected by a causeway with the King's 

 Bastion, where Gen! Pepperrell received the keys 

 of the fortress from Gov. Duchambon in the 

 presence of the assembled troops, has been pre- 

 sented to the society. The position is a promi- 

 nent one, and the memorial will be a landmark 

 from the sea and shore. A design by William 

 G. Beatty, of the New York society, has been 

 selected. It consists of a plain doric shaft rising 

 from a square base, and surmounted by a cannon 

 ball as an emblem of victory. The material to 

 be used will be red granite from St. George, 

 N. B., and the height will be about 30 feet. The 

 Nova Scotia Government authorities, Historical 

 Society, and citizens are interested in the enter- 

 prise, and many Americans visiting Cape Breton 

 have expressed their pride and satisfaction that 

 an American patriotic society is to honor an 

 event which reflected so much glory on their 

 country. It is expected that an old French can- 

 non will be raised from the harbor of Louis- 

 bourg and mounted in the redoubt close by the 

 memorial. A memorial medal to be struck from 

 the metal of old cannons found in the vicinity 

 is in course of preparation. 



