122 



CHILI. 



17,629,270 sterling, and the internal debt to 30,- 

 169,042 pesos. The interest charge on the foreign 

 debt is 12,675,733 pesos. 



The Army and Navy. The standing army, in 

 accordance with the law of Dec. 31, 1896, consists 

 of 9 regiments of infantry, 8 of cavalry, 5 of artil- 

 lery, and a corps of engineers, with a total strength 

 not 'to exceed 9,000 men. The roster contains 10 

 generals and 613 officers of other grades. The Na- 

 tional Guard, formerly a volunteer force, has since 

 1896 been reorganized. Every Chilian from twenty 

 to forty years of age is required to serve, and about 

 J.\IMI ivrcive military instruction every year, the 

 total strength being 432,000 men. 



Tlie Chilian fleet contains the first-class cruiser 

 " Esmeralda," of 7,020 tons, the powerful small 

 battle ship " Capitan Prat," of 6,900 tons, the iron- 

 clad "Almirante Cochrane," of 3,500 tons, the old 

 " Huascar," the new armored cruiser " O'Higgins," 

 of M.500 tons, the fleet new " Blanco Encalada," of 

 4400 tons, the second-class cruisers " Preside nte 

 Errazuriz" and " Presidente Pinto," of 2,080 tons, 

 the recently launched " Ministro Zenteno," of 3,600 

 tons, 11 gunboats of various sizes, 4 new English- 

 built destroyers of more than 30 knots, and 15 first- 

 class and 4 second-class torpedo boats. 



Commerce. The total value of imports in 1896 

 was 74,082,805 pesos, and of exports 74,359,414 

 pesos. In 1895 the imports were valued at 69.206,- 

 552 pesos, and the exports at 72.919,882 pesos. The 

 values of the chief exports were 45,528,000 pesos for 

 nitrate, 4,918,000 pesos for silver, 4,881,000 pesos for 

 copper, 3,599,000 pesos for cereals, 1,561,000 pesos 

 for coal, 1,443,000 pesos for iodine, 1,022,000 pesos 

 for leather, and 948,000 pesos for gold. 



Navigation. There were 2,021 vessels in the 

 foreign trade, of 2,732,000 tons, entered and 1,919, 

 of 2,969,000 tons, cleared at Chilian ports in 1895. 

 The tonnage entered coastwise was 6,232,000. 



The commercial navy on Jan. 1, 1896, numbered 

 42 steamers, of 29,931 tons, and 146 sailing vessels, 

 of 75,711 tons. 



Communications. There were 2,504 miles of 

 railroad in operation in 1896, of which the Govern- 

 ment owned 1,075 miles. The capital expenditure 

 on the Government railroads and 600 miles that 

 will become Government property at the end of 

 their concessions was 77,540,011 pesos. On the 

 completion of 46 miles over the Andes, Chili will be 

 connected by an international railroad between 

 Mendoza and Santa Rosa, 18 miles having already 

 been built on the Argentine side and 18 on the 

 < 'hilian side. 



The Government telegraph lines, on Jan. 1, 1896, 

 had a length of 6,965 miles, with 8,330 miles of wire. 

 The number of dispatches in 1895 was 1,159,553. 

 There were 2,613 miles of lines belonging to railroad 

 and telegraph companies. 



The post office in 1895 carried 56,465,924 internal 

 letters and newspapers and 4,977,598 in the foreign 

 service. The postal receipts were 1,749,021 pesos, and 



expenses 1 .!:{( ).!:;."> pe-os. 



Financial Crisis. The state of armed peace 

 maintained for two years on account of the Pata- 

 tronian boundary dispute was more trying to Chili 

 than to tin- Argentine Republic, with its growing 

 wealth and population. Hence the Chilians were 

 anxious to have the conflict come soon if the ques- 

 tion must be decided by arms. The decline of the 

 nitrate industry and other causes of depression, in 

 connection with the unsettled state of the currency, 

 led to a financial crisis which grew more nvere a* 

 the year advanced. A ministerial crisis occurred 

 on March 22, when all the members of the Cabinet 

 resigned. Several weeks were passed in negotia- 

 tions before a new ministry was formed. It was 

 constituted on April 15 as follow-: Premier, Carlos 



CHINA. 



Walker Martinez ; Minister of Foreign Affairs, Juan 

 Latorre ; Minister of Justice, Agusto Luco ; Minis- 

 ter of Finance, Dario Zanartu ; Minister of War, 

 Patricio Alcalde ; Minister of Industry and Public 

 Works, Emilio Bello Codecido. In order to clear 

 the way for developments in the Argentine dispute, 

 the new Cabinet made haste to arrange the old dif- 

 ference with Peru in respect to the conquered prov- 

 inces of Tacna and Arica, the inhabitants of which 

 should have decided in 1894 by a plebiscite whether 

 they would remain under Chilian administration or 

 return to Peruvian allegiance. A protocol was 

 signed in the beginning of May for me execution 

 of the treaty of Ancon, any differences arising as to 

 the conditions of voting to be settled by the arbitra- 

 tion of the Spanish Government. In the beginning 

 of July a monetary panic resulted from the con- 

 tinued withdrawal and exportation of gold in large 

 amounts. The Government, on July 7, closed all 

 the banks until July 12, and meanwhile discussed 

 the advisability of issuing a paper currency. A 

 moratorium of thirty days was next declared. Con- 

 gress empowered the President to issue $50,000,000 

 of paper money, partially guaranteed on the import 

 duties, to borrow 4,000,000 sterling for the purpose 

 of redeeming the notes after three and a half years, 

 and to lend $20,000,000 at 4 per cent, to the banks 

 on good security. This law soon made gold go up 

 to a premium of 46 per cent, and over, and caused 

 merchants to countermand their orders for goods 

 from Europe. The Government parted with its 

 hoard of gold. Its military expenditure had ex- 

 hausted its resources and the balance of the con- 

 version fund. The periodical advances from the 

 state to the Bank of Chili, which never had been in 

 a position to meet its liabilities since the establish- 

 ment of conversion in June, 1895, had also contrib- 

 uted to the financial straits of the Government. 

 The failure of conversion and the return to a depre- 

 ciated paper currency caused such indignation in 

 financial circles that the Minister of Finance re- 

 signed, and Rafael Sotomayor was appointed in his 

 place. Although the income for 1899 was estimated 

 at $83,000,000, and the expenditure at only $76,000,- 

 000, the Minister of Finance asked Congress to re- 

 establish the inheritance and donation duties, and to 

 impose taxes on foreign insurance companies, to- 

 bacco, matches, and alcohol. The Chilian and Ar- 

 gentinian boundary commissioners met at Santiago 

 in August. Barros Arrana, who had charge of the 

 Chilian interest, took offense because President 

 Errazuriz and Admiral Latorre insisted upon taking- 

 part in the conferences, and on Aug. 19 he resigned. 

 His place was taken by Alberto Gonzales Errazuriz. 

 CHINA, an empire in eastern Asia. The Gov- 

 ernment, as defined in the collected regulations ol! 

 the Tsing dynasty, is based on the Government of 

 the family, and the Emperor exercises supremo 

 paternal authority. The acts of the Government; 

 are largely regulated by precedents extending back 

 thousands of years. The imperial administration 

 is directed by a Ci\binet composed of 2 Chinese and 

 2 Manchu members, advised by 2 delegates of tho 

 Hanlin College, who watch against any contraven- 

 tion of the dynastic regulations or Confucian pre- 

 cepts. The highest governing body is the Grand 

 Council, which issues laws and regulations for thu 

 empire. Subordinate to the Cabinet are the board* 

 of administration, presided over each by a Chineso 

 and a Manchu. One board supervises the eonduc; 

 and administration of the officials, another directs 

 the finances, the third enforces the laws relating to 

 the duties and ceremonies of the people, the fourth 

 has charge of military matters, the fifth of publiu 

 works, the sixth is the high court of criminal juris- 

 diction, and the seventh directs naval affairs. Th'J 

 Board of Censors, presided over by a Chinese and A 



