COSTA ETCA. 293 



of such prodigious works, gigantic locks, large harbours in stormy seas, channels 

 maintained at a constant depth, despite the invasions of sedimentary matter brought 

 down by impetuous mountain streams ? On the other hand, the annual increase of 

 the world's trade, and the necessity of opening a navigable highway by which 

 thousands of vessels will be spared a voyage of over 9,000 miles round Caj^e 

 Horn, render the execution of this gigantic work more and more probable. 



But its successful completion is full of dangers for the republic itself. WTien 

 the canal has become the great highway between New York and San Francisco, 

 and the all-powerful company finds itself mistress of the route with a vast army 

 of employes at its disposal, how can the feeble and sparsely -peopled state hope to 

 maintain its independence against the "manifest destinies" of the North American 

 Anglo-Saxon nation ? 



Administration. 



In her political institutions, Nicaragua differs little from the other Central 

 American states. By universal suffrage are erected two chambers, a senate of 

 18 members for six years, and a lower house of 21 representatives for four 

 years. The president is also nominated for the same period, and is assisted by a 

 council of four ministers, or secretaries, for foreign affairs, finance, public works, 

 and the interior. 



The standing army comprises a few hundred men, with 1,200 custom house 

 officers, and a reserve of over 15,000 liable to serve in case of civil or foreign war. 

 The revenue, like that of the neighbouring states, is largely derived from tobacco, 

 spirits, and gunpowder monopolies, supplemented by the customs and some minor 

 imposts. Most of the expenditure is absorbed by public works, instruction, postal 

 and telegraph services. Nicaragua, unlike Honduras, has hitherto escaped the 

 financial speculators, and the public debt amounted in 1890 to about £600,000, with 

 a mortgage on the 93 miles of railway, altogether little more than one year's income. 



In the Appendix are given the eight administrative divisions with their areas 

 and populations. 



VI. — Costa Eica. 



Next to Salvador, Costa Rica is the smallest of the Central American states in 

 extent, while its population is absolutely the smallest. It may be described as 

 little more than a narrow strip of territory forming a terrace or plateau between 

 the two oceans at a mean elevation of 3,500 feet, and intersected by a volcanic 

 range double that height. But it is occupied b}^ a somewhat homogeneous people, 

 who present a certain originality amongst Ilispano- American communities, and 

 whose progress has been less interrupted than that of the sister states by foreign 

 wars and civil strife. 



In some respects, Costa Rica is the model republic of Central America, as well 

 as one of the most prosperous, not so much on account of its mineral wealth, as 

 might be supposed from its name, as of its agricultural resoui'ces. This term 



