CHILI AND VALPARAISO. 5 J 



they excel. Nearly every house is furnished with a piano ; 

 they dress with much taste, and in the Parisian style. 



The men have been accused by travelers of being indo- 

 lent ; no doubt such was the case wdien they were under 

 the Spanish rule, and had no inducement to be otherwise, 

 but I have been assured by foreign gentlemen, who have 

 resided in the country for the last fifteen years, that such 

 is not their character at the present day ; on the contrary, 

 they are industrious and enterprising. 



The religion of Chili is the Catholic ; but the govern- 

 ment has repudiated the interference of the Pope in the 

 appointment of bishops and arch-bishops. The clergy 

 have great influence over the people, and much political 

 pow r er in the state ; but they are liberal in their notions 

 of government, and encourage the diffusion of knowledge 

 amongst the lower classes. 



Commerce has more than doubled within the last ten 

 years. According to the statistical accounts of the past; 

 year, Valparaiso alone exports thirty thousand hides. 

 Grain is sent to Peru and Equador in large quantities. Six 

 hundred quintals of wool are shipped annually from Con- 

 ception. Copper, hemp and platina are largely exported. 

 The iron mines are also sources of great wealth, and the 

 miners annually extract vast quantities of the ore ; indeed, 

 there is no doubt that Chili is blest with all the elements 

 necessary to make her a powerful commercial nation. 



The army which was sent to invade Peru in the war just 

 concluded, is said to have consisted of 8,000 men, and to 

 have been well appointed. The navy is larger, and by 

 far more efficient, than that of any of the other South 

 American States. 



The prospects of education are bright. There are several 

 good colleges in the republic, and common schools are be- 



