476 AMi\^ONlA AND LA PLATA. 



Religion — Finance. 



Altlioug-li all cults are free, the Roman Catholic clergy are subsidised, and 

 the ecclesiastical hierarchy enjoys an official status. It comprises the Archbishop 

 of Buenos Ayres, who must be a native of Argentina, and four suffragan bishops 

 — Parana, Cordoba, Cuyo, and Salta. The clergy number about 650 priests and 

 200 monks of various orders employed in educational work. The priests are 

 eligible to the different political bodies. 



The army comprises in time of peace from 8,000 to 10,000 men with 1,700 

 officers; but in 1893 a bill was passed raising its strength to 15,600 men. There 

 is an undue proportion of over-paid officers, while the rank and file fare badly. 

 The national guard, drawn largely upon during civil strife, comprises over 400,000 

 men, that is, all able-bodied citizens between the ages of 17 and 45, with a reserve 

 comprising all between 45 and 60. 



The fleet consists of ironclads, gunboats, torpedoes, and transports, with 150 

 guns, 24,450 tons, and 1,500 sailors. 



The finances of the Republic are in a deplorable state, the expenditure regularly 

 exceeding the income, while the interest on the public debt already exceeds the 

 annual revenue. The liabilities thus continue to accumulate, and are now exces- 

 sive compared with the number of inhabitants, despite continual reductions of 

 interest and pensions, and other retrenchments equivalent to partial acts of 

 bankruptcy. The administration has at times been reduced to such straits that 

 it has been unable to pay its gas bills, so that the companies have threatened to 

 cut off the supply from the public offices. 



The provincial finances are in the same plight, and Entre-Rios, which has an 

 income of only £600,000, has a debt the annual interest of which amounts to 

 £700,000. Collectively the national, provincial, and municipal debts exceed 

 £120,000,000, and to this must be added the foreign charges on various so-called 

 national undertakings. The railway companies are at present (1894) indebted to 

 English capitalists to the extent of £50,000,000. As a set-off there are vast 

 stretches of the public domain still unsold. 



Each of the fourteen provinces is divided into departments, which comprise 

 so many jyartidos, while the nine territories remain undivided into departments. 

 The provincial authorities are directly elected by the people, but the President of 

 the Republic appoints the territorial governors for three years, and these nominate 

 the district justices of the peace. When a territory has a population of 30,000 

 it has a right to elect a legislature, and double that number entitles it to enter 

 the Confederation as an " Argentine province." 



In the appendix are tabulated the provinces and territories, with respective 

 areas and populations. 



