In 1903 the import duties amounted to 45,433 contos gold, and 157,846 contos paper or, roughly, about 12,840,0007. The amount of the commercial intercourse of Brazil with the United Kingdom, according to the Board of Trade returns, is shown in the subjoined table, for each of the last five years : The chief articles of commerce between the United Kingdom and Brazil in two years were : The imports into and exports from the United States from and to Brazil (according to United States statistics) in 5 years ending June 30, were as follows: In 1903 the imports from Brazil comprised coffee, 42,653,831 dollars; rubber, 17,218,519 dollars; sugar, 1,176,049 dollars; hides and skins, 2,403,013 dollars. The exports comprised wheat flour, 2,148,342 dollars, and mineral oil, 2,094,718 dollars. Shipping and Navigation. In 1902 there entered the ports of Brazil 10,080 vessels of 10,851,121 tons, of which 6,689 of 4,349,353 tons were Brazilian. The merchant navy in 1901 consisted of 228 steamers of 91,465 tons net, and 343 sailing vessels of 76,992 tons net. In December, 1896, the law requiring that all coasting and river vessels should be Brazilian, after being twice deferred, came into force. Internal Communications. Brazil possessed in January, 1904, railways of a total length of 10,408 English miles open for traffic, besides about 4,000 miles in process of construction. There are 95 railways in operation classified as follows: Lines administered by the Union, 2,275 miles; leased by the Union, 2,023 miles; conceded with guarantee, 1,370 miles; conceded without guarantee, 800 miles; provincial lines, 3,940 miles; total, 10,408 miles. There The telegraph system of the country is under control of the Government. In 1902 there were 14,710 miles of line, and 27,720 miles of wire. were 1,036 telegraph offices. The number of messages was 1,395, 930. The Post Office carried of letters and post cards, 38,085,000; of samples and printed packets 29,250,000, in the year 1899. There were 2,687 postoffices. Money and Credit. There is little metallic money in circulation in Brazil; but the amount of paper money in circulation is being gradually reduced. The amount in circulation in November, 1904, was 673,934, 260 milreis. In 1897 the Bank of the Republic was reorganised with a view to the liquidation of its debt of 194,649,000 milreis to the Treasury. The capital of the new bank is 100,000,000 milreis. The crisis of September, 1900, compelled Government to come to the assistance of the Bank which was authorised to issue, in payment of its creditors, special Government guaranteed obligations, bearing 3 per cent. interest and redeemable at the rate of 20 per cent. per annum. On October 31, 1904, the outstanding amount was 44,937,800 milreis. Until these bonds are paid off and the responsibilities of the bank to the Treasury definitively liquidated, the bank remains under Government control. The savings banks hold deposits and interest amounting to about 130,000,000 milreis. The value of the currency milreis in 1903 was about 12d. Money, Weights, and Measures. MONEY. The Milreis of 1,000 Reis is of the par value of 2s. 21. Paper milreis, about 12d. The 10 milreis piece weighs 8.9648 grammes, 916 fine, and thus contains 8 2178 grammes of fine gold. The 2 milreis silver piece weighs 25.5 grammes, 916 fine, and therefore contains 23 375 grammes of fine silver. Professedly the standard of value is gold. Gold and silver coins have almost entirely disappeared, the actual circulating medium being inconvertible paper currency with nickel and bronze coins. WEIGHTS AND MEASURES. The French metric system, which became compulsory in 1872, was adopted in 1862, and has been used since in all official departments. But the ancient weights and measures are still partly employed. They are :— Recenseamento do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, 30 de Agosto, 1892. 8. London. Rio de Janeiro, 1893. Rio de Janeiro, 1895. Annual Statement of the Trade of the United Kingdom with Foreign Countries and British Possessions. Imp. 4. London. 2. NON-OFFICIAL PUBLICATIONS. Abreu and Cabral. Brazil geografico-historico. Rio de Janeiro, 1884. Alcock (F.), Trade and Travel in South America. London, 1903. Bates (H. W.), South America. London, 1882. Bates (H. W.), The Naturalist on the River Amazon. London, 1864. Bayern (Therese Prinzessin von), Meine Reise in den brazilianischen Tropen. Berlin, 1897. Brazil, The New, its Resources and Attractions. London, 1901. Brown (C. B.), and Lidstone (W.): Fifteen Thousand Miles on the Amazon and its Tributaries. London, 1878. Burton (Capt. R. F.), Exploration of the Highlands of Brazil. 2 vols. 8. London, 1869. Canstatt (Oskar), Das republikanische Brasilien in Vergangenheit und Gegenwart. Leipzig, 1898. Carpenter (F. G.), South America, Social, Industrial, &c. London, 1900. Coudreau (H.), Voyage au Xingu, 1896. Paris, 1897. Coudreau (O.), Voyage au Trombetas. Paris, 1900. Dawson (T. C.), The South American Republics. Part I. New York and London, 1904. Fialho (A.), Historia de fundacão da Republica. 8. Rio de Janeiro, 1891. Fletcher (Rev. Jas. C.) and Kidder (Rev. D. P.), Brazil and the Brazilians. 9th ed. 8. London, 1879. Rio de Janeiro, 1899. Fonseca (J. S. da) and Almeida (P. de), Voyage autour du Brézil. Garraux (A. L.), Bibliographie Brésilienne. Paris, 1898. Grimm (J. Th.), Heimatkunde des Staates Rio Grande do Sul. 8. Santa Cruz, 1891. Il Brasile. Rivista mensile agricola, commerciale, industriale, e finanziaria. Rio de Janeiro. Keane (A. H.), Central and South America. In Stanford's Compendium. New Issue. London, 1901. Keller (Franz), The Amazon and Madeira Rivers. Fol. London, 1874. Laemmert (Eduardo von), Almanak administrativo, mercantil e industrial, da corte e provincia do Rio de Janeiro. Rio de Janeiro. Lamberg (M.), Brasilen, Land und Leute. Leipsic, 1899. Le Brésil. Paris (published weekly). Levasseur (E.), Le Brésil. 3me ed. Paris, 1899. Milton (A. A.), A Constitucão do Brazil 8. Rio de Janeiro, 1895 Nabuco de Araujo (J.), Um Estadista do Imperio, Nabuco de Aranjo, sua Vida, suas Opinioes, sua Epoca. 2 vols. Paris, 1898. Néry (Baron de Santa Anna), The Land of the Amazons. London, 1901. London. Sa (C. de), Brazilian Railways. Rio de Janeiro, 1893. Berlin, 1894. Rio de Janeiro, 1894. 1890. London, 1870. CHILE. (REPÚBLICA DE CHILE.) Constitution and Government. THE Republic of Chile threw off allegiance to the Crown of Spain by the declaration of independence of September 18, 1810, finally freeing itself from the yoke of Spain in 1818. The Constitution voted by the representatives of the nation in 1833, with a few subsequent amendments, establishes three powers in the State-the legislative, the executive, and the judicial. The legislative power is vested in the National Congress, consisting of two assemblies, called the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies. The Senate is composed of members popularly elected by provinces for the term of six years, in the proportion of one Senator for every three Deputies; while the Chamber of Deputies, composed of members chosen directly by departments for a period of three years, consists of one representative for every 30,000 of the population, or a fraction not less than 15,000; both bodies are chosen by the same electors. Electors must be 21 years of age, and able to read and write. The executive is exercised by the President of the Republic elected for a term of five years, by indirect vote, the people nominating, by ballot, delegates who appoint the President. A retiring President is not re-eligible. In legislation the President has a modified veto; a bill returned to the chambers with the President's objections may, by a twothirds vote of the members present (a majority of the members being present), be sustained and become law. The day of a Presidential election is June 25 of the last of the five years of a Presidency, and the inauguration takes place on September 18 of the same year. President of the Republic.-Señor German Riesco, 1901-1906. The salary of the President is fixed at 18,000 pesos, with 12,000 pesos for expenses. The President is assisted in his executive functions by a Council of State of five members nominated by the President, and six members chosen by the Congress, and a Cabinet or Ministry divided into seven departments, under six Ministers. LOCAL GOVERNMENT. For the purposes of local government the Republic is divided into Provinces, presided over by Intendents; and the Provinces into Departments, with Gobernadores as chief officers. The Departments constitute one or more municipal districts each with a council or municipality of 9 members, |