108 



CHILE. 



CHINA. 



Navigation. During 1899 there were entered 

 at Chilean ports 7,207 vessels, of 10,016,704 tons, 

 and cleared 7,154, of 9,738,769 tons. 



The commercial marine on Jan. 1, 1901, con- 

 sisted of 81 sailing vessels, of 35,228 tons, and 55 

 steamers, of 32,873 tons. 



Railroads, Posts, and Telegraphs. The 

 length of railroads in operation was 2,880 miles, 

 of which the Government owned 1,355 miles, 

 built at a cost of 86,463,437 pesos, and earning 

 14,944,872 pesos gross in 1900, while expenses 

 were 15,917,434 pesos. The number of passengers 

 carried was 6,565,254; metric tons of freight, 

 2 229 172 



'The post-office in 1900 handled 13,925,466 let- 

 ters and postal cards, 18,118,329 printed packets, 

 and 1,243,639 other packets; the receipts were 

 1,136,887 pesos, and expenses 1,178,322 pesos. 



The telegraphs on Jan. 1, 1901, had a length 

 of 14,592 miles, of which 11,882 miles were state 

 lines, over which 1,286,936 messages were sent. 

 There are 5,804 miles of telephone-lines belonging 

 to two companies. 



Political Affairs. The dispute with the Ar- 

 gentine Republic, which almost reached the point 

 of hostilities at the end of 1901, occurred at a 

 time of financial embarrassment for Chile. A 

 failure of the wheat harvest and a strike in the 

 nitrate-fields which reduced revenue were tem- 

 porary causes which ' aggravated the difficult 

 financial position into which the republic has ar- 

 rived after spending a redundant revenue for 

 many years. In January, 1902, Congress im- 

 posed an additional duty of 10 per cent, on all 

 imports. To cover purchases of war material 

 the Government was authorized by Congress to 

 issue treasury bills for 2,500,000 running five 

 years, which German bankers were expected to 

 take on the guarantee of nitrate-mines and land 

 in Tierra del Fuego. From Feb. 15 nitrate du- 

 ties could be paid 10 per cent, in gold and 90 

 per cent, in currency, instead of 35 per cent, in 

 gold. For making certain payments owed by the 

 Government an indefinite delay was ordered. A 

 combination among nitrate concerns gave a pre- 

 text for increasing the export duty on nitrate 

 6d. (a third of a peso) per quintal, which was 

 expected to give by $5,000,000 gold more revenue. 

 The intended acquisition of 2 additional new 

 ships by the Argentine Government had to be 

 duplicated, and accordingly 2 battle-ships were or- 

 dered, to cost over 1,000,000 each. When the 

 loan negotiations failed the Government had to 

 take 1,000,000 from the currency redemption 

 fund, which was to be replaced by selling salt- 

 peter and guano lands, by which means 2,000,- 

 000 more would be raised, enabling the Govern- 

 ment to dispense with the loan. The Government 

 decided to effect 10,000,000 pesos of retrench- 

 ments, mainly in the army and navy and the 

 educational budgets, and thus expected to meet 

 all expenditure, counting on 3,207,500 of re- 

 ceipts from the export tax on saltpeter, 1,500,000 

 pesos from the alcohol tax, and 54,370,000 pesos 

 from other sources. Congress met in an extraor- 

 dinary session on April 9 to consider proposals 

 for the regulation of insurance companies, the 

 reconstruction of the Valparaiso mole, the sale of 

 the cruisers Pinto and Errazuriz, and the con- 

 struction of the Transandine Railroad. The ac- 

 tion of the Government in borrowing from the 

 conversion fund to pay for the new armaments 

 was condemned as unconstitutional and Con- 

 gress refused to sanction the sale of the 2 cruis- 

 ers. Consequently the Tocornal-Yafiez ministry 

 resigned on April 25. The President had diffi- 

 culty in finding statesmen willing to accept office 



and face the financial crisis in the disorganized 

 state of parties at a critical juncture of the dis- 

 armament negotiations with Argentina. A Cabi- 

 net was formed at last on May 4 as follows: Pre- 

 mier and Minister of the Interior, Barros Luco; 

 Minister of Foreign Affairs, Rafael Balmaceda; 

 Minister of Finance, Guillermo Barros; Minister 

 of Justice and Public Instruction, G. Figuera; 

 Minister of Public Works, Ismael Valdez; Minis- 

 ter of War and Marine, Victor Manuel Lamas. 

 The. Moderate Liberals, hitherto the Opposition, 

 promised to support the new ministers in a pol- 

 icy of peace and financial reform. When Con- 

 gress opened on June 1 an agreement with the 

 Argentine Republic had been reached through 

 the mediation of Great Britain. The July inter- 

 est on the Chilean bonds was paid with a tem- 

 porary loan of 1,000,000 from the banks. The 

 contracts for the new cruisers with English ship- 

 builders were taken off the hands of the Gov- 

 ernment by the British Government. 



The boundary dispute with the Argentine Re- 

 public was left to the arbitration of England,, 

 and the danger of Argentine interference in the 

 quarrel with Peru and Bolivia regarding the 

 retrocession of Tacna and Arica was averted, but 

 Chile was bound to abide by treaty engagements 

 (see ARGENTINE REPUBLIC). A secret pact be- 

 tween Chile, Colombia, and Ecuador secured the 

 support of Colombia as well as of Ecuador to 

 Chile's proviso that general arbitration, as pro- 

 posed at the Pan-American Congress in the city 

 of Mexico, shall only apply to disputes that 

 arise in the future. Chile secured for Colombia 

 the neutrality of Ecuador in the civil war that 

 was raging in Colombia, and agreed to furnish 

 Colombia with a second-class iron-clad cruiser. 

 A treaty of friendship and a treaty of commerce 

 and navigation were arranged between Chile and 

 Colombia in January, 1902. In the protocol it 

 was provided that the ports of each country 

 should be free for the natural products of the 

 other, subject to such limitations as should be 

 stipulated in the treaty w r hen finally concluded. 

 This provision was of less value to Colombians- 

 than to Chileans, who desired a free entry for 

 their wheat, flour, and vegetables, giving them 

 an advantage over the products of the United 

 States, which pay duty. A secret treaty is said 

 to have been drawn up whereby Colombia agrees- 

 to the free passage of Chilean troops and arma- 

 ments at any time across the Isthmus of Pana- 

 ma, Chile agreeing to provide money or help of 

 any kind to remove difficulties that may arise 

 from the use of the facilities granted and to in- 

 demnify Colombia for all loss or damage she may 

 sustain therefor. 



CHINA, an empire in eastern Asia. The sys- 

 tem of Government, as laid down in the regula- 

 tions of the Tsing dynasty, is based on the gov- 

 ernment of the family, and in theory the Em- 

 peror exercises supreme paternal authority. The 

 official body which controls the administration 

 is the Neiko, or Cabinet, composed of 2 Manchus- 

 and 2 Chinese, assisted by 2 members of the Han- 

 lin College, who see that all edicts and proclama- 

 tions conform in style and substance with the 

 dynastic regulations and the Confucian precepts. 

 Important questions are decided by the Chun- 

 Chi-Chu, the Grand Council, composed of 5 or 

 6 of the highest officers of state, Manchus and 

 Chinese, who have control over the Manchu 

 army and. unless the Emperor is a strong and 

 resolute ruler, wield the real authority, issuing 

 decrees and orders in his name to the executive 

 boards in Pekin and to the provincial authorities. 

 The executive boards act under the direct super- 



