inhabitants popularly elected for three years. The police of Santiago and of the capitals of departments is organised and regulated by the President of the Republic at the charge of the national treasury.

Area and Population.

The Republic is divided (according to rearrangement of 1887) into 23 provinces, subdivided into 74 departments and 1 territory. Departments and territories are subdivided into 865 sub-delegations and 3,068 districts.

In 1884 the province of Antofagasta was ceded to Chile by Bolivia which, however, claims a port on the Pacific. A treaty signed June 3, 1903, provides for the settlement of this and other disputes. In 1884 the provinces of Tarapacá and Tacna were ceded to Chile by Peru. The cession of Tacna

was originally for ten years, at the end of which period a plébiscite of the province would decide to which country it should belong. Owing to troubles in Peru the decision was deferred; a convention for the purpose of carrying out the plébiscite, signed at Santiago April 16, 1898, was, two years later, rejected by the Chilian Congress. Boundary disputes with the Argentine Republic which had been referred to the decision of the British Government were settled by the award given November 20, 1902. For disputes with Bolivia, see under Bolivia.

The following are the area and population of the provinces according to the census of November 28, 1895:

In 1885 the population numbered 2,527,320, 1,263,645 males and 1,263, 675 females. At the census of 1895 the foreign population amounted to 72,812 persons, of whom 42,105 were European, comprising 7,049 Germans, 1,490 Austro-Hungarians, 8,296 Spaniards, 7,809 French, 6, 241 British, 7,587 Italian, 1,570 Swiss, and 2,063 of other European nationalities. The foreigners of American nationality numbered 29,687, of whom 7,531 were Argentine, 6,654 Bolivian, 13,695 Peruvian, and 1,807 of other nationalities. Natives of Africa, Asia, and Oceania numbered 1,020.

The total urban population in 1895 was 1,240,353, and the rural 1,471,792. The estimated population of Chile on December 31, 1901, was 3,146,577. At the same date the population of the principal towns was estimated as follows:-Santiago, 296,695; Valparaiso, 132,941; Concepcion, 49,727 ;

Talca, 39,112; Chillan, 33,506; Iquique, 42, 498; Antofagasta, 15,921 ; Serena, 19,284; Talcahuano, 13,497; Curicó, 14, 179.

The registration of births, marriages, and deaths in Chile began in 1885. The official figures for 5 years are:

The

Immigration is small, but is encouraged by the Government. number of immigrants (agricultural and industrial) who, by the Colonisation Agency in Europe, entered Chili in 1898, was 564; in 1899, 548; in 1900, 936; in 1901, 1,449; in 1902, 864. In assisting immigration during these

5 years the Government spent 400,000 pesos.

Religion.

The Roman Catholic religion is maintained by the State, but according to the Constitution all religions are respected and protected. There is one archbishop, three bishops, and two vicars. For 1902 the amount of subsidies to the clergy and for building and other purposes was 985,910 pesos. Civil marriage is the only form acknowledged by law.

Instruction.

In the

Education is gratuitous and at the cost of the State, but is not compulsory. Of the conscripts for the army in 1901, 70 per cent. could neither read nor write. Professional and secondary instruction is provided in the Universities (one belonging to the State, the other private) and the National Institute of Santiago, and in the lyceums and colleges_established in the capitals of provinces, and in some departments. State University the branches included are law, physical and mathematical sciences, medicine, and fine arts; in the private university, law and mathematics. In 1902 there were 558 students of law, 308 of mathematics, 358 of medicine, pharmacy, and dentistry. In the same year at the National Institute and the lycées of the Republic there were 8,835 matriculated students. There are 3 lyceums for girls in Santiago maintained by Government and 8 in other towns, with 1,749 students. There are normal schools for men at Santiago, Chillan, and Valdivia with 417 students; for women at Serena, Santiago, and Concepcion, with 462 students. There are also private secondary schools, with 9,810 students, male and female. There are, besides, provincial colleges, agricultu ral, and other special schools. At the seats of the bishops there are seminaries under ecclesiastics where instruction is given similar to that in the Government colleges. There were in 1902, 1,821 public primary schools, with 145,052 pupils, an average attendance of 97,692, and 3,426 teachers. The cost of maintaining these schools during the year 1901 was 3,557,596 pesos. There were also 506 private primary schools, with an attendance of 29,684. Other educational institutions are the Paedagogic Institute, the

National Conservatory of Music, the National Observatory, School of Arts and Trades, Institute for Deaf Mutes, School for the Blind, and public museums. The National Library contains 113,600 volumes.

Justice and Crime.

There are, in addition to a High Court of Justice in the capital, six Courts of Appeal distributed over the Republic, Tribunals of First Instance in the departmental capitals, and subordinate courts in the districts. In 1902, 651 children (544 boys and 111 girls) were sent to the 3 correctional schools; 63,448 offenders (54,672 men and 8,776 women) were sent to prison; 2,855 criminals (2,707 men and 148 women) were sent to houses of correction (presidios); and 104 men and 75 women were sent to the 2 penitentiaries.

Finance.

The public revenue is mainly derived from customs duties, while the chief branches of expenditure are for the national debt and public works and salaries.

In recent years the revenue and expenditure (ordinary and extraordinary) in gold and in currency pesos was as follows (gold pesos 18d.):

Years

=

1 Stated otherwise at 25,882,702 pesos gold, and 108,844,693 pesos currency.

For 1903 the estimated expenditure was as follows:

The estimated revenue for 1904 is 128,554,000 pesos (including former surplus), and the expenditure is put at 129,300,000 pesos,

L L

On December 31, 1903, the public debt of Chile was :

In addition, there was a debt due to the Bank of Tarapacá, and a debt of 1,500,000l. dne to the Rothschilds.

The interest on the external debt is at 4, 5, and a small portion at 6 per cent., and the total charge amounts to about 14,377,372 pesos,

The revenue of all the municipalities of Chile for the year 1902 was 10,377,497 pesos, and the expenditure 10,110,156 pesos.

In 1898 the real property belonging to the State was valued at 626,363,137

pesos.

The following statement shows approximately, according to data collected by the Statistical Bureau in the three years 1893-96, the value of the real property in Chile owned by corporations and private persons:

If to the value of private properties be added the sum of 50,000,000 pesos, the estimated aggregate value of properties under 2,000 pesos, the value in private ownership amounts to 1,436,125,688 pesos. Of this about 200,236,400 pesos (or one-seventh) is mortgaged, viz.: 160,236,400 pesos to land banks and about 40,000,000 pesos to private persons.

Defence.

By law of September 5, 1900, military service is obligatory. Every Chilian capable of bearing arms, from 20 to 45 years of age, is liable to serve; in the first year for nine months with the colours; in the following nine years in the first reserve; and afterwards, till the completion of his forty-fifth year, in the second reserve. In 1904 the contingent of recruits numbered 6,160. The army consists of 10 battalions of infantry; 8 regiments of cavalry; 4 regiments mountain, 1 of horse, and 1 of coast artillery; 5 groups of engineers, and 1 company of mounted infantry. The permanent nucleus in 1904 contained 4,757 men and 900 officers. The army had 4,679 horses and 1,350 mules,

Rate

The principal vessels of the Chilian fleet are as follows:

The Esmeralda is a remarkable vessel, said to make 21 knots easily at sea. In type she resembles somewhat the Russian Rossia, the guns being unprotected-save by shields. The O'Higgins, named after the famous Chilian admiral, was also built at Elswick, and is a remarkably fine vessel, powerfully armed, of high speed, and protected by a steel belt of from 7 in. to 5 in.; 6 in. on the barbettes and gun casemates, 9 in. on the conning tower, and a 2 in. deck. The 8 in. guns are carried in separate barbettes, French fashion. Six of the 6 in. guns are in casemates. The battleship Capitan Prat, built in France, is an early edition of the same type. She is now more or less obsolete and of small fighting value. There are also 3 torpedo gunboats, 6 destroyers, and 8 modern torpedo boats.

Industry.

About 1 million of the population are engaged in agriculture. Chile produces annually large quantities of cereals, besides excellent wine, fruit, and vegetables. In 1903 the area and yield of the chief crops were: Wheat, 268,021 hectares, 2,725,395 quintals; barley, 47,809 hectares, 756,590 quintals; maize, 21,835 hectares, 286,500 quintals; beans, 28,444 hectares, 397,743 quintals; potatoes, 47,569 hectares, 2,816,448 quintals; In 1903, 30,703 hectares were under vines; the number of vine-stocks was 114,510,825; the yield of wine was 903, 459 hectolitres, besides 12,015 hectolitres of brandy. The chief forest product is alfalfa, 21,928 hectares in 1903. On December 31, 1903, the live stock of Chile comprised 182,821 horses, 32,443 mules, 829,953 oxen, 1,335,332 sheep, 135,471 pigs, and 165,280 goats. The wealth of the country, however, consists chiefly in its minerals, especially in the northern provinces of Atacama and Tarapaca. The chief metallic product is copper, the output of which in 1902 amounted to 69,258 metric tons of ore, or 11,534 metric tons of metal. Other metals worked are gold, of which, in 1902, 229, 114 grammes were produced; silver, in 1902, 16,420 kilogrammes. Cobalt mining has proved unsuccessful; sulphur mining is being restricted; borate of lime is extracted