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URUGUAY. 



Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sefior Salterain ; Min- 

 ister of Agriculture. Industry, Public Instruction, 

 and Public Works, Jacobo Varela ; Minister of Fi- 

 nance, Jose Ramon Mendoza; Minister of Foreign 

 Affairs and of Worship, Dr. Mendilhjirzu. 



Area and Population. The republic has an 

 area of about 72,000 square miles, with a popula- 

 tion of 827.485 in 1897 according to the enumera- 

 tion, probably nearer 877.000. The number of 

 marriages in 1897 was 2.746; of births, 27,763; of 

 deaths, 13,013; excess of births, 14.750. The im- 

 migrants in 1897 numbered 9,140, including 3,651 

 Italians, 2,552 Spaniards. 672 Brazilians, 483 French, 

 287 Germans, and 225 English. 



Finances. The budget for the year ending June 

 30, 1898, the same that has been published even- 

 year since 1893. made the total expenditures 13,647,- 

 i)24 pesos, of which 505,490 pesos were for the exec- 

 utive power. 62,045 pesos for the presidency, 117,- 

 407 pesos for foreign affairs and worship, 2,213,694 

 pesos for the interior, 832,026 pesos for finance, 

 953,346 pesos for public works, 1.730,507 pesos for 

 war and marine, 5,721,735 pesos for the public debt, 

 and 1,511.674 pesos for other expenses. The receipts 

 from customs in 1897 were 8,547,179 pesos. The 

 consolidated foreign debt on July 1, 1898, was 100,- 

 409.672 pesos; the total debt, including a loan of 

 3,875,300 pesos raised in 1897, was 120,315,676 pesos, 

 requiring the payment of 4,861,774 pesos interest 

 and 1,066,774 pesos for the sinking fund. 



Commerce. The value of the imports in 1897 

 was 19,512.000 pesos; of the exports, 29,320,000 

 pesos. The exportation of wool was 12,403.000 

 pesos; hides, skins, and leather, 6,634,000 pesos: 

 meat, 4.313,000 pesos; tallow, 1,299,000 pesos: ex- 

 tract of meat, 1,183,000 pesos; cereals, 1,040,000 

 pesos; animals, 782,000 pesos. 



The values in pesos of the commerce with differ- 

 ent countries were as follows : 



Navigation. In 1897 there were 1.126 vessels, 

 of 1,904.626 tons, entered and 1,024, of 1,796,529 

 tons, cleared at Montevideo, besides 2,439 coast- 

 ing vessels, of 621,406 tons, entered and 2,447, of 

 621,244 tons, cleared. The mercantile navy, in 

 1898, numbered 23 steamers, of 7,654 tons, and 56 

 sailing vessels, of 13,697 tons. 



Communications. The railroads in operation 

 in 1897 had a length of 1,010 miles. The telegraph 

 mileage was 3,400 miles, besides 994 miles of rail- 

 road telegraphs. The number of messages in 1896 

 was 342,800. The post office in 1896 carried 10,512,- 

 887 internal and 6.642,842 foreign letters, etc. ; re- 

 ceipts were 1,424,004 francs, and expenses 1,604,411 

 francs. 



The Army and Navy. The permanent army in 

 1898 consisted of 4 battalions of rifles, 4 regiments 

 of cavalry, 1 regiment of field artillery, and 1 regi- 

 ment of foot artillery; numbering in all about 310 

 officers and 3,170 men, besides 3,200 police troops. 

 The national guard is about 20.000 strong. The 

 regular infantry is armed with Mauser rifles. The 



naval force consists of 3 gunboats and a steamer, 

 manned by 22 officers and 162 sailors. 



Coup d'Etat. In the beginning of January the 

 Government assembled the national guard in the 

 capital preparatory to taking decisive measures 

 against the Opposition in the Chambers, which 

 threatened to restore the former regime of the Co- 

 lorados, led by ex-President Julis Herrera y Obes, 

 who still formed a large majority of the Chambers, 

 the members of which were practically nominated 

 by the late President Borda in 1896. As the elec- 

 tion of the President rests with the Chambers, Dr. 

 Herrera or some other violent Colorado was certain 

 to replace Sefior Cuestas at the end of his term in 

 February unless some extra constitutional course 

 was taken to prevent it. Sefior Cuestas, who was 

 himself a member of the Colorado party, on assum- 

 ing the presidency after the assassination of Borda 

 on Aug. 25, 1897, had made peace with the Blanco 

 insurgents and laid down a policy of retrenchment 

 and reform that made him a formidable rival of 

 Herrera, who therefore attacked him fiercely in the 

 Legislature and called upon him to resign. An al- 

 leged plot for his deposition and an attempt upon 

 his life only rendered him more popular. On Jan. 

 9 President Cuestras proclaimed a dictatorship after 

 having many officers arrested on suspicion of being 

 engaged in a military plot. Disturbances occurred, 

 in consequence of which he declared the Chambers 

 dissolved on Feb. 10, proclaimed a provisional Gov- 

 ernment, and nominated a Council of State of 88 

 members representing all parties. This Junta ap- 

 pointed Sefior Cuestas provisional Governor and 

 Sefior Maceachcn Vice-Governor until after the pop- 

 ular elections to be held in November. The majority 

 in the Legislature had put forward as candidate 

 for the presidency a very old man, Dr. To mas 

 Gomensoro, who was a puppet of Dr. Herrera. All 

 three parties in the republic requested acting Presi- 

 dent Cuestas to suppress the Chambers, and thus 

 prevent the restoration of the old system of corrup- 

 tion and the probable revival of the civil war. lie 

 deferred action, hoping that the majority would 

 succumb on seeing the hopelessness of resistance, 

 until the last moment. But on Feb. 10 it became 

 imperative to strike, for on that day the extraordi- 

 nary session of the Legislature ended. Four days 

 later the Chambers were to reconvene for the ordi- 

 nary session, the first act of which would have been 

 to elect a new president of the Senate, superseding 

 Sefior Cuestas as Vice-President and acting Presi- 

 dent of the republic preparatory to the election of 

 a new President on March 1. As he had secured 

 the support of the chief officers of the garrison and 

 the volunteers as well as that of the principal citi- 

 zens, the Legislature bowed to the state stroke 

 without even formulating a protest. 



The provisional Governor announced that the 

 public revenue, administered with economy, was 

 sufficient for all requirements of the state, and 

 promised to publish a genuine budget, something 

 not known for many years. An excellent wheat 

 crop and an abundant wool clip, both of which 

 realized good prices, were favoring circumstances 

 for the Provisional Government. 



Military Revolt. Although at the time of the 

 coup d'etat President Cuestas had removed all in- 

 imical regimental officers and departmental pre- 

 fects he knew of, Dr. Julio Herrera still had a fol- 

 lowing in the army as well as in the country. Three 

 generals named Casimiro Garcia, Ricardo Estevan, 

 and Santos Arribio planned a revolt and placed 

 themselves at the head of two artillery regiments 

 which on July 4 seized the arsenal in Montevideo 

 and began fighting in the streets with the other 

 regiments of the garrison, all of which were loyal 

 to President Cuestas, v.ho was supported by the 





