Billeder på siden
PDF
ePub
[graphic]

no census was taken, 60,000; of Argentines abroad, 50,000; grand total, 4,094,911. The increase of population 1869-95 has been at the rate of 4'6 per cent. per annum.

By a treaty concluded between the Argentine Republic and Chile in 1881 the latter recognises the right of the former to all the country east of the crest of the eastern ridge of the Andes, including all Patagonia and the eastern part of Tierra del Fuego. Commissioners are now at work delineating the boundary. Disputes have arisen and the Government of Queen Victoria has agreed to act as arbitrator, but the Commissioners have not yet been able to agree as to the question to be submitted to arbitration. Commissioners are also at work on the boundary along the Bolivian frontier.

The capital of the Republic, Buenos Ayres, had a population of 753,000 in August, 1898. Other towns, with populations for 1895, are Cordoba, 47,609; Rosario, 94,025; Tucuman, 34,300; Mendoza, 28,709; Paraná, 24,261; Salta, 16,600; Corrientes, 16, 129 inhabitants; La Plata, the new capital of the province of Buenos Ayres (founded 1884), 45,410; Santa Fé, 24,755; San Luis, 9, 826; San Juan, 10, 410.

The immigration and emigration by sea have been as follows in five

[blocks in formation]

In 1897 the immigrants comprised 38,745 Italians, 13,059 Spaniards, 7,813 French, and 1,876 Germans. Of the total, 21,431 were females.

In the twenty-five years 1873-1897, the total arrivals of immigrants numbered 2,063,232.

In 1895 the number of foreigners in the Republic was 886,895, of whom 492,636 were Italians, 198,685 Spaniards, 94,098 French, 21,788 English, 14,789 Swiss, 17,143 Germans, 2,269 Portuguese, 12,803 Austrians, and 32,184 of various nationalities. By the Constitution of the Republic, all children of foreigners born in the country are Argentine.

Religion and Instruction.

Although the Constitution recognises the Roman Catholic religion as that of the State, all other creeds are tolerated. There are 1 archbishop and 5 suffragan bishops. For the instruction of the clergy there are 5 seminaries. In 1888 civil marriage was established in the Republic.

Primary education is free, secular and compulsory for children from 6 to 14 years of age. In the capital and the 9 territories it is under the charge of a national council of education, assisted by local school councils; and in the 14 provinces under their respective governments. The elementary schools are supported in the capital and each province by the taxes established in their Education Acts, aided by large subsidies from the general Government. The sums contributed by the general Government and the 14 provinces to the support of the elementary education in the Republic amount to over 10,000,000 dollars. In 1896 there were 2,681 public, 1,034 private, and 34 national primary schools, with, in all, 8,557 teachers and 264,294 pupils. Secondary or preparatory education is controlled by the general Government, which maintains 16 lyceums (one in each province and the capital), with 450

JUSTICE-FINANCE

347

professors and 3,710 pupils. There are also 35 normal schools with 10,949 pupils. There are 3 universities, at Cordova, Buenos Ayres, and La Plata, comprising faculties of law, medicine, and engineering, with a total of 2,500 students; a school of mines (39 students), 2 colleges of agriculture, a naval and a military school. There is a well-equipped national observatory at Cordoba, and another at La Plata, museums at Buenos Ayres and La Plata, and a meteorological bureau.

Justice.

Justice is exercised by a Supreme Court of five judges and an attorney. general, which is also a court of appeal, and by a number of inferior and local courts, trial by jury being established by the Constitution for criminal cases. Each State has its own judicial system.

In 1895 in Buenos Ayres, 4,553 criminal cases were tried. Of those tried on criminal charges 1,227 were Italians, 628 Spaniards, 1,453 Argentines, 29 English. Of the trials 75 were for murder. There were, besides, 14,626 breaches of the peace. The number of prisoners in the national penitentiary at the end of 1896 was 343 (145 Argentine citizens and 198 foreigners).

Finance.

The revenue and expenditure of the Republic are stated as follows:

[blocks in formation]

The estimated revenue for 1898

was 34,759,146 dollars gold, and 52,918,000 dollars paper, and the expenditure 22,100,182 dollars gold, and 97,881,111 dollars paper. For 1899 the Government estimates of revenue and expenditure were :—

[blocks in formation]
[graphic]
[blocks in formation]

In July, 1898, the National External Debt amounted to 61,900,3527., and the issue of bonds to the amount of 9,944,0981. was expected. Of these new bonds the amount of 1,819,100l. was for railway guarantees recission; 6,746,0307. for the conversion of the Buenos Aires Provincial Debt, and 1,378,968 for the conversion of Buenos Aires City Debt. The total National External Debt thus rises to 71,844,4507.

On December 31, 1896, the Internal Debt amounted to 189,162,500 pesos gold and 45,838,067 pesos paper. In 1898 an Internal "Popular" loan to the amount of 39,000,000 pesos was raised for the purpose of complementing the naval and military power of the country, and the issue of Internal bonds to the amount of 6,000,000 pesos was authorised for the discharge of the debt of the Department of Education. According to the President's message of May, 1898, the floating debt on December 31, 1897, after deducting realisable assets, amounted to about 39,000,000 pesos paper, while on December 31, 1896, it had been 52,237,318 pesos paper.

Each province and municipality has, besides, its own budget, the total national and provincial expenditure amounting to about 31. per head. For 1896 the revenue of the province of Buenos Ayres was 13,502,580, and expenditure 8,844,190 dollars currency. The estimated expenditure of the 14 provinces for 1894 was 30,312,519 dollars. In 1895 the Provincial debts, including arrears of interest, amounted to 137,261,866 dollars gold, or 34,589,9007. The Municipal debts amount to 24,596,422 dollars gold.

In 1896 a Bill was approved for the unification of the National and Provincial foreign debts, and under this law the issue of 4 per cent. bonds for 34,000,000 pesos has been authorised for the conversion of the External debt of the province of Buenos Aires. A Bill for the settlement of the railway guarantees was also approved, and only one company is now left to arrange the question, all the others having agreed to the terms and accepted the bonds created in lieu of all further claim.

Defence.

The army comprises 94 superior officers and 851 subaltern officers, while the rank and file numbers 12,073 men. The total effective army, according to a statement presented to Congress in 1897, should be 29,513 officers and men. The number of men in the national guard is put at 480,000, the majority of whom now receive military training, those 20 years of age being mobilised every year and given two months drill in camp. The other guards are drilled every Sunday during two months.

There is a military school, with 125 cadets, and a school for non-com

[blocks in formation]

missioned officers. The naval school has 60 cadets, and the school of gunners 80.

The Argentine navy consists of 4 coast defence armourclads (of which the Andes and Plata are old), 6 armoured cruisers, 3 second-class cruisers of high speed built at Elswick, and 7 modern smaller cruisers and gunboats, with a number older, as well as 3 destroyers and 12 first class and 10 second class torpedo boats. The following are the modern armoured ships. Abbreviations-c.b., central battery; c.d., coast defence; a.c., armoured cruisers; q.f., quick firer.

[merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small]

Of the armoured cruisers five have lately been bought in Italy, under the sanction of the Italian and Spanish Governments, for which they were built. They vary in some particulars, but all displace about 6,800 tons, and are very fine vessels of their class. They are 328 feet long, with 61 beam and 24 feet draught. They are protected by complete armour belts with a maximum thickness of 6-in., and above this amidships is 4-in. plating, forming a kind of redoubt. The armament is given in the table. It is well-protected. Engines of 13,000 horse-power are calculated for a speed of 20 knots. The ships are replete with every modern appliance.

The Almirante Brown was built at Poplar in 1880, is of 4,200 tons displacement, 5,380 horse-power, with 14 knots nominal speed, and is protected by 9-inch steel-faced armour. She has received a new armament. The steel cruiser-rams Libertad and Independencia, launched by Messrs. Laird Bros. at Birkenhead, respectively in 1890 and 1891, are very remarkable vessels. They have a small displacement (2,500 tons), but are powerfully armed, well protected, and handy ships. They carry 2 9-in. Krupp guns en barbette, and have a secondary armament of 4 4.7-in. Armstrong quick-firers, 2 sponsoned out on each broadside, and 8 smaller pieces. These were the first vessels to be provided with heavy guns mounted for high-angle (40°) fire. The side and barbette protection is 8-in. compound armouring. The protected cruiser Nueve de Julio, 3,575 tons has a displacement of 14,500 indicated horse-power, and nominal speed 22.5 knots. With natural draught (13,000 horse-power) this vessel obtained the high speed of 21.9 knots. She carries 4 6-in. and 8 4.7-in. Q. F. guns, and 24 Hotchkiss 3 pr. and 1 pr. guns. The Buenos Aires, the new second-class

350

ARGENTINE REPUBLIC

cruiser built by Messrs. Armstrong, is one of the fastest sea-going vessels afloat, with the exception of torpedo-boats and destroyers. The mean speed during a six hours' trial at natural draught was 23 202 knots. Her waterline length is 396 feet, and her extreme breadth 47 feet 2 inches. The displacement is 4,500 tons, and the indicated horse-power 14,000. She is armed with 28-in., 4 6-in. and 6 4.7-in. Q.F. guns, and 16 3-pr. and 8 1-pr. guns. The protective deck is 1 in. on the flat, 3 in. on the slope, and 5 in. over the machinery space.

Messrs. Yarrow have built four protected destroyers, the Santa Fé, Coriéntes, Missonies, and Entre Rios, with a contract speed of 26 knots, greatly exceeded at the trials; but the Santa Fé has since been lost. Five steamships have been bought from Italian and Spanish companies (3,403 to 4,218 tons), for conversion into cruisers.

The personnel of the navy includes 309 executive and 181 engineers and officers, and 34 torpedo, electrical, and other officers; with 4,128 seamen, and a battalion of marine infantry, and a battery which is being increased to a battalion with 4 batteries.

Production and Industry.

The area of land under cultivation in 1895, in the 14 provinces and 9 national territories, was 15,000,000 acres, or about 6.2 per cent. of the total area available for cultivation, which is put at 240,000,000 acres.

In 1895 the area under vines was 71,135 acres. The production of wine in 1895 was 42,267,200 gallons; of raisins, 10,582 tons; of alcohol, 478,800 gallons. About 82,000 acres are under sugar cane, and there are 48 sugar works in operation; the Tucuman sugar crop was estimated in 1896 at 119,000 tons; in 1897, 93,000 tons; 1898, 60,000 tons.

The chief agricultural products are: wheat, 5,500,000 acres yielding 1,500,000 tons (1897); maize, flax, 400,000 tons (1897). In 1895 there were in the Republic 21,702,000 cattle, 74,380,000 sheep, 4,447,000 horses, and 3,885,000 goats and other animals. In 1897 there were slaughtered 340,100 head of cattle. In the saladeros of Argentina, Uruguay and Rio Grande do Sul, there were 1,353,100 cattle slaughtered in 1897; in 1896, 1,204,288. According to the census report for 1895, the number of industrial establishments in the Republic is: flour mills, 532; wine factories, 852; distilleries, 108; breweries, 44; sugar plantations, 2,749; sugar mills, 48; vineyards, 6,514. In the provinces of Buenos Ayres, Santa Fé, and Entre Rios agricultural lands to the extent of 318,000 acres have been acquired by the Jewish Colonisation Association. On this land 14 Jewish colonies, with in January, 1898, a population of 7,015, have been settled; 11 of the colonies are in Entre Rios. In the Chubut valley in eastern Patagonia there is an agricultural colony with a population of 3,800, of whom 1,142 are Welsh-speaking British subjects, with 2 Church of England clergymen, 1 Roman Catholic priest, and 7 Welsh ministers.

Coal (lignite) is found in several provinces, but not worked satisfactorily. Petroleum is worked in Mendoza.

Commerce.

The following table shows the official values in thousands of pesos gold of the imports and exports (exclusive of coin and bullion) for five years, including re-exports:—

« ForrigeFortsæt »