242 MEXICO, CENTEAL AMERICA, WEST INDIES. 



relays of couriers, by means of whom letters and verbal messages are transmitted 

 with great rapidity. But the development of the telegraph, and even of the 

 telephone, must soon supersede this antiquated system. 



Education is still in a backward state, and in 1890 there were only 1,200 

 schools, with an attendance of 53,000, in the whole republic. The three colleges 

 for secondary instruction are frequented by about 1,200 students, and in all the 

 higher schools English is obligatory. 



The Guatemalan constitution has undergone many changes. At one time part 

 of a larger state, at another an independent republic, alternately ruled by the 

 " Serviles " and the " Liberals," exposed to the tyranny of a Carrera or the 

 cruelty of a Barrios, the nation has had to modify its political charter with every 

 fresh revolution. The last constitution was that of 1879, completed in 1889, 

 though fresh changes will have still to be made if Guatemala is eventually to 

 become a member of the contemplated Central American Confederacy. 



The legislative power is vested in a chamber of deputies, in the proportion 

 of one to 20,000 inhabitants, elected by all citizens capable of reading and writing. 

 The deputies, half of whom retire by rotation every two years, number at present 

 69, and are returned by electoral districts, which are represented by one, 

 two, or three members, according to their population. The executive is entrusted 

 to a president elected for six months, assisted by a state council, and six ministers 

 having charge of foreign afifairs, the interior, public works, war, finance, and 

 public instruction. Lastly, the judicial functions are exercised by a high court of 

 final appeal, and lower courts, all judges being appointed by election. Imprison- 

 ment for debt is abolisjhed, and the domicile, as well as private correspondence, is 

 held to be inviolate, except in time of war or invasion, when all rights are 

 suspended. 



In the departments and communes, the nyunfamientos are constituted by 

 popular suffrage, although the Government reserves the right of dissolving these 

 assemblies, and replacing them by a judge. It also appoints to each department 

 a jefe politico, who is always a military officer, although charged with civil func- 

 tions. His power over the Indians is almost unlimited, and in each commune 

 a comisionado politico or gohernado)', often chosen amongst the descendants of the 

 ancient caciques, transmits his orders to the alcaldes, of whom there are two or 

 three, accoi'ding to the population of the district. The " first alcalde " has special 

 charge of the Ladinos, the " second "of the Indians, and both wear the traditional 

 hat and band as the badge of their authority, besides tbe cruciform or silver- 

 mounted rod. 



The Church, long supreme in Guatemala, has no longer any recognized privi- 

 leges. According to the constitution, no cult enjoys any pre-eminence, and the 

 free exercise of all religions is authorised, although in 1890 there was only one 

 Protestant church in the capital. The Jesuits had already been expelled in 1767, 

 and in 1871 their establishments were finally suppressed and their property con- 

 fiscated. The same fate had befallen the other religious communities in 1829, 

 although they subsequently recovered part of their effects. But the property of 



