The following table shows the area, population, and density of the

various provinces:

The total population in 1888 was 648,299; or, allowing for omissions, 687,194.

The proportion of males in the population is 52 per cent.; of females, 48 per cent.

Seventy per cent. of the population is native-born. Of the remainder the greater number are Spaniards, Italians, French, Brazilians, and Argentines. The number of English and Germans is small. The Spaniards and French are mostly Basques.

Montevideo, with suburbs, had in 1887 a population of 134,346, onethird foreigners.

The following table gives the number of births, deaths, and marriages from 1884 to 1888:

Of the total births in 1888, 20,605 were legitimate and 5,227 illegitimate. For the whole Republic the population was 81-72 per cent. legitimate and 18.28 illegitimate; for the provinces of the interior, 78-69 legitimate and 21:31 illegitimate; for the province of Montevideo, 90 40 legitimate and 9-60 illegitimate. There were 545 children stillborn in 1887 and 505 in 1888. There is a considerable flow of immigration. In 1873 the number of immigrants was 243,391; in 1875 it fell to 5,298. For the five years 1884-88 the figures were:

mile

Religion.

The Roman Catholic is the State religion, but there is complete toleration. In 1885 (census) there were 159,922 Catholics, 2,032 Protestants, and 2,074 of no religion.

Instruction.

Primary education is obligatory. There were in 1888 380 public schools, with 694 teachers and 32,731 scholars. The number of private schools was 402, with 833 teachers and 21,017 scholars. In 1887 the cost of primary education defrayed by the State was 513,249 dollars. There are at Montevideo a university and other establishments for secondary and higher education. In 1888 the university had 59 professors and 695 students. The normal school for girls has 19 professors and 70 pupils. There is a school of arts and trades supported by the State where 260 pupils receive instruction gratuitously. At the military college, with 8 professors, there are 56 pupils between the ages of 14 and 18. There are also 383 teachers and 4,261 pupils in religious seminaries throughout the Republic.

The national library contains over 20,000 volumes and more than 2,300 manuscripts. There is also a national museum, with more than 20,000 objects. Ninety-seven newspapers and periodicals are published, 91 in Spanish, 2 in English, 2 in Italian, 2 in Portuguese, and 1 each in German and French.

Finance.

The following table gives the revenue and expenditure for the four years from 1884-85 to 1887-88 :-

The revenue is mainly derived from customs.

The expenditure for 1889 was estimated at 13,811,308 dollars, 5,670,189 dollars being for the public debt. The revenue was estimated at 13,862,000 dollars, of which 9,300,000 dollars were contributed by the customs duties. The public debt, on January 1, 1889, according to the official returns, was 79,189,944 dollars. This sum is divided as follows:Internal, 6,033,639 dollars; external, 70,621,730 dollars, including

50,821,570 dollars, which represent the Unified Debt; and international, 2,534,575 dollars. The total value of the real property of the Republic in the five years 1882-86 is shown in the following table:

The province of Montevideo is credited with 106,280,992 dollars of the total in 1886, the next richest province being Salto with 16,533,505 dollars. The number of proprietors is returned as 57,411, of whom 27,394 are Uruguayans, owning property of the value of 126,922,924 dollars.

Defence.

The permanent army of Uruguay is officially reported to consist (1889) of 3,482 officers and men, including 4 battalions of infantry, 4 regiments of cavalry, 2 of artillery. There is besides an armed police force of 3,980 men, and an active civilian force of 3,264. The soldiers are armed with Remington rifles, and there are 67 pieces of artillery. In recent years there has been an excessive expenditure for the maintenance of an increased military force. Uruguay has three gunboats, seven small steamers, one coaster, and one steam sloop, with a complement of 184 officers and

men.

Production and Industry.

The rearing of cattle and sheep is the chief industry of Uruguay. An official return of 1884 gives the extent of pastoral land in actual occupation at 38,750,000 acres, and that of agricultural land, including forage-growths, at 1,507,000 acres. The pastoral establishments in 1887 were officially estimated to contain 6,119,482 head of cattle, 408,452 horses, and 15,905,441 sheep. In 1888 773,449 head of cattle were slaughtered for their hides, tallow, &c., for manufacturing extract of meat and beef preserved in tins. The total value of the flocks and herds in Uruguay is estimated at 76,341,180 dollars. Agriculture is also carried on to some extent, wheat and maize being the chief products. Tobacco, olives, and the vine are also cultivated to a small extent. There are several agricultural colonies in the country, composed mainly of Swiss and Spaniards.

Commerce.

Uruguay carries on an active commerce with foreign countries. It was as follows in 1884-88:

The following table shows the value of the trade of Uruguay in 1887 and 1888, with the countries with which she mainly deals:

The following are the various classes of imports for 1886, 1887, and 1888:

The following are the various classes of exports for 1886, 1887, and 1888:

The following table gives the principal exports for the years 1887-88:

Of the total imports in 1888, 26,196,344 pesos passed through Montevideo, and 19,188,427 pesos exports.

The commercial intercourse of Uruguay with the United Kingdom is exhibited in the following tabular statement, according to the Board of Trade returns for each of the five years 1884 to 1888:

The chief articles of export from Uruguay to the United Kingdom are hides of the value (1888) of 128,1157.; tallow, 70,9917.; preserved meat, 74,229.; sheep skins, 29,1117.; bones, 15,0097.; wool, 62,9037. The imports from the United Kingdom into Uruguay consist chiefly of manufactured cotton goods, woollens, coal, and iron-the first valued at 482,7197.; the second at 237,0617.; coal, 142,7357.; iron, wrought and unwrought, 375,7817.; and machinery, 59,2287., in the year 1888.

Shipping and Navigation.

There entered at the port of Montevideo in 1888 from abroad 1,357 sea-going vessels of 1,624,928 tons, and cleared 1,281 vessels of 1,589,546 tons; of these, 487 vessels of 660,127 tons were British. In the river and coasting trade there entered 3,540 vessels of 1,549,777 tons, and cleared 3,609 vessels of 1,590,987 tons.

Internal Communications.

There were railways of a total length of 445 English miles open for traffic in 1889, and 255 miles under construction. The principal telegraph lines in operation at the end of June 1889 were of a total length of 2,234 English miles. There were 55 offices. In 1888, 148,166 telegrams were conveyed.

The Post Office carried 5,951,347 cartas y oficios, 56,140 post-cards, 14,164,442 samples, printed papers, &c., in the year 1888.

Money and Credit.

In 1886 there were only four banks in the Republic. Since then seven new banks, with a number of credit societies, have been started, including the National Bank of Uruguay, with a capital of 12,000,000 dollars, and a National Company of Credit and Public Works, with a capital of 20,000,000 dollars. Besides the National Bank there are 24 other banks (1888). with a total nominal capital of 133,000,000 pesos.

Money, Weights, and Measures.

The money, weights, and measures of Uruguay, and the British equivalents, are:

MONEY.

The Peso, or Dollar, of 100 centenas. Approximate value, 48. 3d £14.70 dollars.