30 



ARGENTINE REPUBLIC. 



The Army, as shown by official returns, was 

 comprised, in 1876 (exclusive of the National 

 Guard, 8,283 strong), of 4,648 horse, 515 artil- 

 lery, and 3,120 foot, with 4 generals of brigade, 

 7 colonels-major, 33 colonels, 92 lieutenant- 

 colonels, and 808 other officers. 



The Argentine Navy, in 1875, included 26 

 steam and 2 sailing vessels (2 of the former 

 being iron-clads), of an aggregate tonnage of 

 12,000, and armament of 88 guns. 



The annexed tables present the branches and 

 amount of the national revenue and expendi- 

 ture, as set down in the estimated budget for 

 the fiscal year 1876-'77: 



REVENUE. 



Import duties $11,743.596 



Export duties 2,616.610 



Public warehouse fees 518^84 



Stamped paper 8S2.529 



Wharfage dues, etc. 28,231 



Lighthouses 35.873 



Telegraphs 279.307 



Post-Office 79,553 



Railways 80.000 



Interes'ts, etc 255.36S 



Sundries 125,470 



$16,140,526 



EXPENDITURE. 



Ministry of the Interior $1,876,670 



" Foreign Affairs 116.376 



" Finance 8,863.688 



" Justice,etc 1,208,088 



" War ($4,315,832) and Marine 



($700,579) 5,015,911 



$17,080,733 



Details of the foreign debt of the nation, 

 amounting to about $55,000,000, were given 

 in the ANNUAL CYCLOPEDIA for 1874 and 

 1875. 



The improvement in the condition of Ar- 

 gentine finances, referred to in our volume 

 for 1876, has been progressively maintained 

 throughout 1877; and the general aspect of 

 that department is understood now to be 

 more promising than it has been at any time 

 since the beginning of the crisis, the causes of 

 which have been elsewhere explained.* Con- 

 cerning the promptitude with which the pay- 

 ment of interest and amortization of Argentine 

 loans are made, we transcribe the following 

 from a leading financial authority of London, 

 under date of October 25, 1877: 



"We have satisfaction in being able to state that, 

 according to telegrams received yesterday, the 

 money for the next dividend and drawing on the 

 Argentine loan of 1868 is on the way hither, by the 

 steamer Tagus. The fact that the remittance is 

 sent off nearly two months and a half before it is 

 required in London, speaks volumes for the punctu- 

 ality and business habits of the Argentine Govern- 

 ment. It may also be accepted as an effective cor- 

 roboration of what we have repeatedly described as 

 the fairly healthy condition of the Argentine finances, 

 and an equally effective contradiction of the false ana 

 reckless misstatements which are continually being 

 disseminated in London on the subject. 



The following review of the Argentine 

 finances, from 1863 down to the present time, 

 published in London in October, 1877, and 



* Set foot-note, page 84, ASIHJAL CYCLOPAEDIA for 1875. 



traced to diplomatic sources, is based upon 

 the report of the Argentine Minister of Fi- 

 nance for that year : 



During this period there has been a surplus ex- 

 penditure of nearly $60,000,000, or 33 per cent, over 

 the revenue, principally caused by the Paraguayan 

 war and internal revolutions. Last year was finan- 

 cially so disastrous, that we find no parallel except 

 the year of yellow fever ? 1871. The decline of trade 

 placed the Government in a critical position, and the 

 customs receipts were, of course, much lower than 

 before. The " expenditure extraordinary " during 

 the 14 years is set down at $73,869,936, of which 

 $15,877,930 went in the construction of railways. 

 Hence, but for that expenditure extraordinary, there 

 would have been a surplus of $13,000,000 in the 

 Treasury, the revenue of 14 years showing that ex- 

 cess over the cost of government in the same period. 

 At present there are 1,140* miles of railway, in- 

 cluding 500 miles which belong to the national 

 Government. The balance of floating debt handed 

 over to 1877 was $5,696,816. The ways and means 

 for 1876 were made up thus : Year's revenue, 

 $13,583,633; borrowed, $12,570,244: total. $26,153,- 

 877. Comparing the revenue of 1876 with, the pre- 

 vious vear, we find a decline of 25 percent, in im- 

 port duties, 1 per cent, in exports, 28 per cent, in 

 warehouse fees, 22 per cent, in stamps, 6 per cent, 

 in telegraphs. During the last 14 years the Govern- 

 ment has redeemed $24,750,000 of the public debt : 

 30 per cent, of the total, besides paying $43,500,000 

 for interest. The annual service of the debts 

 amounts to $6,500,000, or an average interest of 

 nearly 6 per cent, per annum on the debts all round, 

 and 4f per cent, annual amortization. The bank 

 has made 10 loans since 1865 in favor of the national 

 Government, down to December 31, 1876. In the 

 budget for 1878, Minister Plaza begins by cutting 

 down the national expenditure to what it was 10 

 vears ago say $16,000,000. The expenditure in the 

 last seven years (1870-'76) amounted to $154,000,000 

 say $22,uOO,000 per annum. Minister Plaza cal- 

 culates on an increase of 10 per cent, in imports, 

 which is highly probable, as the country is slowly 

 recuperating. If the Government and Congress 

 keep on for a few years in the same wise spirit of 

 economy and good book-keeping as this budget in- 

 dicates, the Republic will soon be in a flourishing 

 condition. 



"One perhaps, indeed, the only weak 

 point of the Argentine state machine," writes 

 an Argentine economist, " is, beyond all doubt, 

 its finance system. Hitherto the only resources 

 of the federal Government are indirect taxes 

 upon the revenues of its custom-house, the 

 extent of which depends entirely on the con- 

 dition of commerce. When there is a brisk 

 import and export trade, the receipts of the 

 Government increase, and their diminution is 

 determined by a commercial crisis. Inasmuch, 

 therefore, as the revenue is directly influenced 

 by the fluctuations of trade, in time of straits 

 the Government is not only powerless to re- 

 lieve the situation, but constrained to increase 

 the imports, that being regarded as the only 

 immediately available means of averting finan- 

 cial disaster. Then, the Government itself 

 suffers in all its branches from commercial 

 crises; for, having to meet the numerous ex- 

 igencies incidental to new countries, it never 

 has an opportunity of securing a sufficient sur- 

 plus in a good year to cover the deficit of a 



* 1,893 In actual traffic. 



