Commerce. The following table shows the official values in thousands of dollars of the imports and exports (exclusive of coin and bullion) for each of the five years 1884-88, including re-exports : The imports and exports of coin and bullion have been as follows in 1884-88 : The following are the principal articles of import and export, with their value, for 1887 and 1888 : There was besides a transit trade in 1888 valued at 5,557,031 dollars for imports, and 1,845,490 dollars for exports. Among the more important exports were the following: The foreign trade in the Argentine Republic in 1887 and 1888 was mainly with the following countries, to the following values: The commercial intercourse between the Argentine Republic and the United Kingdom is shown in the subjoined tabular statement, according to the Board of Trade returns : The staple Argentine exports to the United Kingdom are as follows:--Tallow and stearine, 64,8397. in 1886, 27,8827. in 1887, 105,7447. in 1888; mutton, 10,0007. in 1883, 289,6257. in 1885, 442,5977. in 1887, 625,5487. in 1888; skins, mainly sheep, 103,9387. in 1887, 129,8777. in 1888; bones,45,6651. in 1887, 89,5467. in 1888; hides, 73,7631. in 1887, 61,8667. in 1888; wool, 213,8077. in 1886, 32,4377. in 1885, 50,2147. in 1888; and grain, 886,4547. in 1887, 1,241,6587. in 1888. The imports of British produce consist chiefly of cottons, 1,688,4277. in 1887, 1,078,2787. in 1888; woollens, 867,8817. in 1887, 650,8907. in 1888; iron, 1,063,4817. in 1887, 2,342,2597. in 1888; and machinery, 459,4957. in 1887, 744,0567. in 1889. Of the total imports in 1888, 93,998,944 dols., and of the exports 66,312,292 dols., were by the port of Buenos Ayres. Shipping and Navigation. The following are the statistics of the vessels entered and cleared in 'the foreign trade at the ports of the Republic in 1887-88;— Of the total, 30 per cent. of the tonnage was British, and the same proportion national, 16 French, and 7 Italian. The home or river navigation in 1888 comprised 23,863 vessels of 2,592,518 tons entered, and 25,214 of 2,432,940 tons cleared. Internal Communications. The length of railway open for traffic in 1889 was 6,940 miles, which connect the principal cities of the Republic with the capital. There were in addition 2,990 miles in construction. The total cost of construction of the lines open for traffic at the end of 1885 was 20,000,0007., being an average cost of 6,6661. per mile. The receipts for 1888 amounted to 21,000,000 dollars, and the expenses 12,250,000 dollars. In 1888 there were 14,700 miles of telegraph lines in operation, 7,300 miles belonging to the State, and the rest to private companies. The total length of telegraph wires in 1888 was 28,550 miles. The number of telegraphic despatches was 3,511,420 in the year 1889; number of offices in 1887, 668. A concession has been granted (Nov. 1889) to lay a direct cable from Buenos Ayres to Europe, which must be ready within thirty months. The Post Office in the year 1889 carried 42,965,555 letters, 965,269 postal cards, and 32,793,607 newspapers, &c. There were 659 offices. Money and Credit. On November 3, 1887, a law of National Banks similar to the Banking Law of the United States was promulgated. There are at present 40 banks in the Argentine Republic; five of them belong to English companies. Capital of all these banks 350,000,000 dollars. The 24 principal banks had a capital in gold of 8,544,000 dollars, and in paper of 149,598,609 dollars, in 1888. Mean total assets were estimated at 137,653,868 dollars gold, and 460,614,226 dollars paper; with liabilities of equal amount. The Government have no paper money; all has been issued by the banks in terms of the law of national banks. In the month of October 1889, it amounted to 158,000,000 dollars, but according to the law passed on October 18, 1889, this sum shall be gradually reduced to 100,000,000 dollars, and no new issue can be authorised until after May 1891. This law is already being put in operation. Money, Weights, and Measures. The money, weights, and measures of the Argentine Republic, and the British equivalents, are as follows: MONEY. The Silver Peso fuerte, or Silver Dollar, of 100 centesimos.-Average rate of exchange, 48. The forced paper currency since the beginning of 1885 has caused a great depreciation; £1 gold is worth (Nov. 1889) 10 paper dollars. Since January 1, 1887, the use of the French metric system is compulsory. Diplomatic Representatives. 1. OF THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC IN GREAT BRITAIN. Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary.-Don Luis L. Dominguez. Accredited May 8, 1886. Secretary.-Florencio L. Dominguez. There are Consular representatives at Belfast, Birmingham, Cardiff, Cork, Dublin, Dundee, Falmouth, Glasgow, Hull, Leith, Liverpool, Manchester; Canada (C.G.), Sydney, Cape Town, Melbourne, Montreal. 2. OF GREAT BRITAIN IN THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC. Envoy and Minister.—Hon. Francis J. Pakenham. Appointed February 1885. Secretary-George B. Jenner. Statistical and other Books of Reference concerning the Argentine Republic. 1. OFFICIAL PUBLICATIONS. Censo municipal de la ciudad de Buenos Aires. 2 v. 1887. Censo de la provincia de Santa Fé. 1887. Censo de la provincia de Buenos Aires. 1881. Datos trimestrales del comercio exterior de la República Argentina. Año 8o. Aires, 1889. Bueno Estadistica general del comercio exterior de la República Argentina. 1888. Buenos Aires, 1889. Informe presentado à la Oficina de Estadistica do Buenos Aires. Buenos Aires, 1889. Y Informe sobre el estado de la educacion comun, durante el Año de 1887. By Dr. Benjamin Zorrilla. Buenos Ayres, 1889. Ley de educacion. Buenos Aires. 8 de Julio de 1884. Ley de inmigracion y colonizacion de la República Argentina sancionada por el Congreso nacional de 1876. Buenos Aires, 1882. Los presupuestos, los recursos y las leyes de impuestos de la nacion, las 14 provincias y las principales municipalidades. Año de 1888. Buenos Aires, 1889. Boletin mensual de estadística municipal de la ciudad de Buenos Aires. Informe sobre deuda pública, bancos, &c., por P. Agote. Año v. Buenos Aires, 1889. Memoria del Ministerio del Interior de la República Argentina, presentada al Congreso nacional de 1889. 4. Buenos Aires, 1889. Memoria presentada por el Ministro de Estado en el departamento de Hacienda al Congreso nacional de 1889. 4. Buenos Aires, 1889. Registro estadístico de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Fol. Buenos Aires, 1889. Map of the Argentine Republic. With a short description of the country. Published by the Argentine Government Information Office. Message of the President of the Republic in opening the Session of the Argentine Congress, May 1889. Buenos Ayres, 1889. Mission of Viscount San Januario to the Republics of South America, 1878 and 1879. Published by order of the Argentine Government. Buenos Ayres, 1881. Report by Mr. Egerton on the Products and Industries of the Argentine Republic, in 'Reports from H.M.'s Secretaries of Embassy and Legation,' 1882. Report by Mr. Jenner for 1887 on the Financial Condition of the Argentine Republic, and remarks on the President's Message in No. 389 of Diplomatic and Consular Reports, 1888. Report by Mr. Jenner on the Trade and General Condition of the Argentine Republic in No. 572, and on the Finances of the Republic in No. 554 of 'Diplomatic and Consular Reports,' 1889. ་ Reports on Argentine Republic in Reports from the Consuls of the United States' Nos. 79 and 82. Washington, 1887. The Argentine Republic as a field for Emigration. By Francis Latzina, Chief of the Argentine National Statistical Bureau. Buenos Ayres, 1883. The Treaty of the Boundaries between the Argentine Republic and that of Chili. London, 1881. Trade of the Argentine Republic with Great Britain; in 'Annual Statement of the Trade of the United Kingdom with Foreign Countries and British Possessions for the year 1888.' Imp. 4. London, 1889. 2. NON-OFFICIAL PUBLICATIONS. Almanaque agricola, pastoral é industrial de la República Argentina y de Buenos Aires. Buenos Ayres, 1884. Arcos (Santiago), La Plata, Etude historique. Paris, 1865. Bates (H. W.), South America. London, 1882. Beck-Bernard (Charles), La République Argentine. Berne, 1872. Crawford (A.), Across the Pampas and the Andes. London, 1884. Diareaux (Emile), Buenos Aires, la Pampa et la Patagonie. Paris, 1878. Dominguez (L. L ), Historia Argentina. 4th edit. Buenos Ayres, 1870. Guilaine (Louis), La Répub'ique Argentine physique et économique. Paris, 1889. Jordan (Win. Leighton), The Argentine Republic: a descriptive and historical sketch. Edinburgh, 1878. Latham (Wilfrid), The States of the River Plate, their Industries and Commerce. 2nd ed London, 1868. Mitre (Bartolomé), Historia de Belgrano. 4th ed. Buenos Ayres, 1887. Moussy (M. de), Description géographique et statistique de la Confederation Argentine. 3 vols, and Atlas. Paris, 1861. Mulhall (M. G. and E. T.), Handbook of the River Plate. London, 1885. Napp (R.), The Argentine Republic. Buenos Ayres, 1876. Paz (Ez. N.) and Mendonça (Manuel), Compte-Rendu de l'Exposition continentale de la République Argentine. Buenos Ayres, 1882. Paz Soldan (Mariano Felipe), Geografia Argentina. Buenos Ayres, 1885. Sarmiento (Domingo Faustino), Life in the Argentine Republic in the Days of the Tyrants. Translated by Mrs. H. Mann. 8. London, 1868. |