766 



SALVADOR. 



SAMOA. 



riehwe, one of the authors of the policy of Rus- 

 sification, who was appointed acting Secretary 

 of State, being the first Russian who has repre- 

 sented Finland in the Russian Government since 

 the retirement of Count Speransky in 1811. An 

 imperial rescript published on July 4 emphasized 

 the Czar's determination to persevere in his policy 

 in spite of the remonstrances of the representa- 

 tives of the Finnish people, which were declared 

 to be out of place. Finland was an organic part 

 of the Russian state and inseparable from it, 

 and while the Czar considered it beneficial to pre- 

 serve the special organization of internal legis- 

 lation granted by his ancestors, he also inherited 



the task of defining the relations of the grand 

 duchy with the Russian Empire by the force of 

 positive law. With this object he confirmed the 

 fundamental law of Feb. 1.5 laying down rules for 

 issuing general state laws for Finland, and in 

 accordance with this legislative act, which re- 

 mains unshakable in the future, the labors of 

 the extraordinary Diet would be taken into con- 

 sideration in drafting the new military law. He 

 commanded the Governor. General to impress upon 

 the minds of the population the true meaning 

 of the measures undertaken for the purpose .t 

 strengthening the bonds uniting the empire and 

 the grand duchy. 



S 



SALVADOR, a republic of Central America. 

 The legislative power is vested in the National 

 Assembly, a single chamber of 42 members, 3 to 

 each department, elected every year by universal 

 suffrage. The President is elected also by the 

 direct vote of the people for the term of four 

 years. Rafael Antonio Gutierrez was elected 

 President for the term ending March 1, 1899, and 

 Dr. Prudencio Alfaro was elected Vice-President. 

 The Cabinet constituted in 1897 was composed as 

 follows: Minister of the Interior, Dr. Prudencio 

 Alfaro; Minister of War and Marine, Dr. Juan 

 F. Castro; Minister of Public Instruction and 

 Charity, Dr. Carlos Bonilla; Minister of Public 

 Works, Public Credit, and Justice, Dr. Antonio 

 Ruiz. The direction of foreign affairs was dele- 

 gated to the United States of Central America, 

 a federation composed of Salvador, Honduras, 

 and Nicaragua. In November, 1898, the oppo- 

 nents of federation in Salvador upset the consti- 

 tutional Government and established a provi- 

 sional Government under Gen. Tomas Regolado. 



Area and Population. The area of Salvador 

 is 7,225 square miles. The population on Jan. 1, 

 1895, was estimated at 803,534, of whom only 

 about 20,000 are of pure European descent. San 

 Salvador, the capital, has about 50,000 inhabit- 

 ants. 



Finances. The revenue in 1898 was $4,600,000 

 in silver, and expenditure at least $11,000,000. 

 In 1896 the revenue was $10,174,000, and expendi- 

 ture $9,745,000. The revenue from import 

 duties was estimated at $5,144,000; from spirit 

 duties, $2,524,000. The expenditure of the Min- 

 istry of Finance was reckoned at $2,845,000; for 

 the Ministry of War, $1,908,000; for the Ministry 

 of the Interior, $1,487,000; for the Ministry of 

 Public Works, $1,417,000. 



The foreign debt, amounting to 725,000, has 

 been assumed by an English company in con- 

 sideration of various concessions. The Govern- 

 ment agreed to pay to the company 24,000 a 

 year for eighteen years and to hand over the 

 railroad free of charge. The subsidy of 24,000 

 per annum was secured on 15 per cent, of the 

 import duties. The company was bound to finish 

 the railroad by July, 1901, or pay a forfeit of 

 1,000 for every month's delay. The internal 

 debt was $8,000,000 in 1896. 



Commerce and Production. The land is ex- 

 ceedingly fertile, and the people are industrious 

 and frugal. The chief product is coffee. Indigo, 

 sugar, and tobacco are also cultivated. The total 

 value of imports in 1896 was $3,347,718; of ex- 

 ports, $7,485,384. The chief imports were cot- 

 ton for $961,554, spirits for $371,205, iron manu- 

 factures for $183,616, flour for $132,438, and silk 



goods and yarn for $142,389. The chief export* 

 were coffee for $5.857,64(5, indigo for $979.990. to- 

 bacco for $274.208. and balsams for $92.659. The 

 trade relations are mostly with the United State-. 

 Great Britain, Germany, and France. The im- 

 ports of specie in 1896 were $119,199 and exports 

 $187.688. The number of vessels that visited the 

 ports in 1896 was 338. There are 72 mil.- of 

 railroad, and other lines are building. The length 

 of telegraphs js 1.724 miles of wire, beside- 

 miles of telephone line. The'number of telegraphic 

 messages in 1896 was 660,682. 



SAMOA, a kingdom occupying the Samoan 

 Islands in the south Pacific Ocean, of whieh th<> 

 neutrality and independence were guaranteed l>\- 

 the act s'igned at the Samoan conference in !'.< f- 

 lin on June 14, 1889, by represents! i\ i - <>r (Mi- 

 many, Great Britain, and the United ^t;ite-. 



The area of the islands, 14 in number, i- 1.701 

 square miles. The population in 1897 compri-e.l 

 35.565 natives, about 450 whites, and 800 South 

 Sea islanders working on the plantations. Of the 

 Polynesian natives about 10,600 live in the island 

 of Upolu. 12,500 in Savaii, and the rest in Tutuila. 

 The foreigners in 1S9.'> comprised 203 Hriti-h ;md 

 Australasians, 120 Germans, 26 Americans, 26 

 French, and 25 others. In 1899 there were about 

 475 foreigners. 



The total value of imports in 1897 was 1,384.- 

 446 German marks 747,751 marks by German, 

 217,317 marks by English, 220,756 marks by Amer- 

 ican, and 198,622 by other houses. The value of 

 exports was 1.004,632 marks, of which the value 

 of 910,018 marks was exported by German. 3.~2.- 

 213 marks by English, 33,651 marks by Ameri- 

 can, and 5,750 marks by other houses. The ex- 

 ports consist of copra, the pith of the palm tree, 

 cotton, cacao, coffee, bamboo, and fruits. Mo-t 

 of the imports, including beer. wo. den-, \\iiie-. 

 table delicacies, coal, umbrellas, ready-made cloth- 

 ing, and hardware, are for the use of the for- 

 eigners settled in the islands, most of whom 

 reside in Apia. Apia was visited in the cour-e- 

 of 1897 by 58 steamers, of 76,369 tons, and 22 

 sailing vessels, of 5.367 tons. 



The taxation of the foreign population yielded 

 110.822 marks in 1897, of which 69.706 marks were 

 import duties. 16.640 marks export dutie-. ^.n-2.~> 

 marks Government taxes, and 16,451 marks mu- 

 nicipal taxes. Of the total Germans paid 7-.'MJ 

 marks, English 11,801 marks. Americans 1 

 marks, and others 11,220 marks. 



Provisional Government. In the last days 

 of 1898 Chief-Justice Chambers held court to de- 

 cide the rival claims to the kingship of Malieloa 

 Tanu, son of the late King, and Mataafa, whose 

 party was twice as numerous, but who was de.- 





