Nevada. Capital: CARSON CITY. The region within the limits of Nevada forms a part of the Mexican cession of 1848. The Territory was created by an act of Congress, March 2, 1861, from a portion of Utah. A portion of California was included by this act within the Territory, but the State refused its transfer. By an act passed in 1861 a further portion of Utah was added, extending the boundary east of the 115th meridian. Nevada was declared a State October 31, 1864, and a third portion of Utah was added in 1866, extending the eastern boundary of the State one degree of longitude. By the same act the portion of the State south of the 37th parallel of latitude was added to Arizona. The first settlements within the present limits of Nevada were made by the Mormons in 1848 and the two or three years following. The discovery of gold in 1849 attracted some miners, but the real growth of the State dates from the discovery of silver in 1859. Within two years after that time the population had risen from about 1,000 to 16,000, and the mines were in full operation. Nevada has an area of 110,700 square miles, and in 1901 its population was estimated at 42,000. The census reports show that the manufacturing industries of the State declined steadily from 1870 to 1890, but gained somewhat during the last decade. The decrease in gold and silver mining accounts for the decrease in manufacturing. Car were of leading importance in 1900, $300,000. Flour and grist mills and and condensed milk form other im The Legislature of 1901 passed provides that street railway fran of the city concerned to the highest is required to file a bond for the franchise may have life longer than law directs that every foreign cor shall each year publish in a daily ment of its previous year's business An act to protect grazing lands stock driven into the State from be assessed as personal property, mediately paid. notwithstanding paid in other States or Territories. the payment or a bounty to encour natural gas and water. The person petroleum was to receive a bounty natural gas to the extent of 1,000 sum, and whoever sunk a well to tained a flow of 60 gallons of $2,500. The election law of 1891 pro a cross in black pencil opposite he wished to vote. This law was stamp the cross with black ink by by the election clerks. In this way leged practice of substituting pen law and so invalidating votes. Gov. John Sparks. construction and repair shop work No in Nevada provides that all live other States and Territories shall and the tax thereon shall be imthat taxes may have already been An act was passed providing for age the boring of wells for oil, first producing five barrels of crude of $1,000; the first who discovered cubic feet should receive a like the depth of 1,000 feet and obwater a minute should receive vided that the voter should mark the name of the candidate for whom amended to make it necessary to means of a rubber stamp provided it was thought to abolish the alcils other than those provided by Several petitions were presented to Congress. One asked that a convention be called to adopt an amendment to the Constitution providing for the direct election of United States Senators. Congress was asked that certain Indian reservations be opened for the mining of gold, silver and copper, providing the Indians were recompensed and that they offered no objections. Another petition was passed indorsing the resolutions of the National Irrigation Congress held at Chicago in 1900, asking Congress to appropriate money for the reclaiming of arid lands, the preservation of forests, the building of artificial reservoirs and the development of artesian and subterranean sources of water supply. In this connection Congress was reminded that there were many thousands of acres of uninhabited land in Nevada and of no appreciable value, and the expense of irrigating these lands was beyond the means of the State. It was believed also that these irrigation schemes should not be undertaken by private individuals, and that the water of all streams in the arid country should remain subject to public control, and the right to use water for irrigation purposes should inhere in the land irrigated and to be used for the benefit of all the people. The Silver party and the Democrats of Nevada formed what was practically a fusion party in 1902, dividing the nominations, and ratifying these in joint convention. At the election in November Sparks, the fusion candidate, was chosen Governor by a large majority, and nearly all the rest of the ticket was elected. New Hampshire. Capital: In New Hampshire was first visited by Euro- New Hampshire has an area of 9,305 square miles, and in 1901 its population was estimated at 415,000. The abundant water power of the State and the proximity of its southern portion to the business and financial centres of New England have been important factors in the growth of manufacturing, though the barreness of the land, making farming unprofitable, has stimulated the people to efforts along other lines. Boot and shoe manufacturing forms the leading industry, according to the census of 1900, with the manufacture of woollen goods ranking second. Manchester is the manufacturing centre of the State, and some of the finest woollen goods made in the country come from this city. Lumber and timber products, paper and wood pulp, foundry and machine shop goods and hosiery and knit goods stand in the order named. One of the most important acts passed by the Legislature of 1901 provided for the reorganization of the Supreme Court of the State. The then existing Supreme Court of seven judges was abolished and there was established instead a Supreme Court of five judges and a Superior Court of five judges. The Superior Court retains the jurisdiction of the for being the final tribunal on matters has appellate jurisdiction in ques given power to nominate the officers nominated all the seven judges of Provision was made for the elec to revise the State Constitution. is provided that the electors shall tion whether the Constitution shall firmatively voted on in 1900, though stitutional revision. The Legisla meet at Concord in December, 1902, mitted to the voters for ratification. ing clubs from acquiring an undue shire provided that thereafter no quire property in the State without Legislature. All bodies of fresh were declared to be waters held in tions and individuals were hence these waters not held in common by mer Supreme Court at trial terms, ployment bureaus to be licensed. An act was passed requiring em Towns as well as cities were author regulation of plumbing and the issu petition of five per cent. of the is made the duty of the local school the other schools required by law, of persons over fourteen years of to be appointed by the Governor, to tablishing a State hospital for con next session of the Legislature, to napping was made from five to thirty years' imprisonment. A prominent measure which failed of passage provided that in towns of 2,500 inhabitants and over the question of granting liquor licenses should be submitted to the voters biennially. Congress was petitioned to provide for a constitutional amendment for the direct election of United States Senators. Gov. N. J. Bachelder. The platform adopted by the Democrats at their State Convention demands the abolition of all tariff on Trust made articles, free trade with insular territories, independence in the Philippines. The convention refused to favor woman suffrage. The Republican State platform commends the administration of President Roosevelt and declares for protective tariff. New Jersey. Capital: The earliest colony in New Jersey was probably planted at Bergen, between 1617 and 1620, by the Dutch of New Amsterdam, who claimed all the territory as part of New Netherlands. In 1634 Sir Edmund Ployden obtained a grant of land along the Delaware from England, and named it New Albion, and a few years later a small party of Swedes and Finns purchased a section of the same territory from the natives and planted several settlements. The English were driven out by the Dutch and Swedes, and in 1655 the latter were dispossessed by Peter Stuyvesant, who sent most of them back to Europe. In 1664 Charles II. of England granted all the territory between the Delaware and the Connecticut Rivers to his brother, the Duke of York, who began to establish his right by the capture of New Amsterdam and finally of the entire region. Quarrels as to ownership occupied ruch of the history of the State after the arrival of the Duke of York, and it was not until 1702, when the proprietors surrendered the right of government to the crown, that peace was established among the rival ceived a distinct administration, and in 1776 adopted a State con New Jersey has an area of estimated population was 1,932,000. stood sixth in rank in manufac due largely to its transportation large markets. The coal district fifty miles from the western border good quality of iron found within iron and steel industry should rank the first place is occupied by the invested in this industry in 1901 dustry. according to the last cen $29,285.792. The great growth of the silk the decade ending with 1870, and first in silk manufacture in the a comparatively new industry, has in recent years, and is now one terests in the State. Very little legislation of general Legislature in 1901. At the session were passed. The Governor was sion consisting of three persons election law, of a new primary Gov. Franklin Murphy. claimants. In 1708 New Jersey rewith Lewis Morris as Governor, stitution. 7,815 square miles, and in 1901 its For two decades the State has tures. its industrial position being facilities and its proximity, to of Pennsylvania being but about of New Jersey, and there being a the State it is natural that the among the most important, though manufacture of textiles, the capital being $75,915,746. In the silk insus, the invested capital was industry at Paterson began during at present this city ranks as the United States. Petroleum refining. assumed gigantic proportions with. of the leading manufacturing in interest was enacted by the State of 1902 several acts of importance authorized to appoint a commisto examine into the advisability which was to report its findings lature and draft such a law as it sion appointed was composed of Record and Joseph Munn. This question vigorously, writing to the various States in which advanced ideas regarding primary elections prevail, and expects to have a report ready when the Legislature convenes in 1903. An act was also passed permitting the use of voting machines at all elections within the State, a commission of five being appointed whose duty it is to examine all machines offered for use before they are accepted. Acts were passed revising the statutes relating to marriage and divorce, the changes being chiefly in the manner of procedure rather than in regard to causes and judgments. The Court of Chancery was given jurisdiction over all causes of divorce or nullity and of alimony and maintenance. Another act pro vided for factory inspectors whose duty it should be to see that the laws regarding the health and comfort of laborers be carried out. The statute permitted the appointment of women to this position, and a lively campaign was carried on by applicants for the appointment. An order was issued by the State Supreme Court in June, prohibiting lawyers from New York City practicing before the courts of New Jersey on the grounds that New Jersey lawyers are not permitted to practice in New York or Brooklyn. This order was rescinded later, however, it being found that it caused too much trouble for the New York attorneys who had corporation business to transact in New Jersey. On July 28, 1902, election riots took place in Camden at the Congressional primary, caused, it was claimed, by the presence of "repeaters" from Washington and Philadelphia, imported by one of the factions. Two men were killed and several severely injured. On April 3, Atlantic City, the famous coast resort of the State, was badly damaged by a fire which destroyed several hotels and a number of residences and business places along the "board walk." The damage was estimated at more than $1,000,000. In February and March Paterson was flooded by the overflow of the Passaic River, swollen by the heavy rains of two weeks' duration. Factories were forced to shut down and the main part of the city was several feet under water. To add to the distress fire broke out early on February 9, and the firemen had to work in water to save the city from being destroyed. The property loss amounted to nearly $10,000,000. An area a mile long and a third of a mile wide in the business part of the city was entirely destroyed, the fire burning for a night and a day, and being stopped finally by the free use of dynamite. Although the burned district included residences as well as business houses, and hundreds of families were made homeless, not a life was lost in the flames or through the falling of walls. The only fatality reported was the death of an old woman who fell down stairs in a house where she had been taken for safety. The city was put under martial law and no persons were permitted in the burned section without special permit. Help was rushed from all directions, and as soon as possible after property losses had been adjusted the work of rebuilding began. On June 18, 1902, serious rioting occurred in the streets of Paterson, as a result of the strike of the silk dyers in all the large mills. The mobs were incited, it is claimed, by the anarchists who make their home in that city. The trouble really began on the morning of April 22, when one of the "boss dyers" of the city received a letter demanding a time limit of 55 hours a week, at 20 cents an hour and 30 cents overtime for the dyers' helpers. This class of laborers had been receiving 161⁄2 cents an hour, or $9 a week. Thirty minutes were allowed the employers to make a decision, and promptly at 9:30 o'clock work stopped. The strikers marched to the other silk mille and by night every one of the 3,700 dyers, helpers and silk finishers had been forced out. For eight weeks there was no serious trouble. The strikers formed a anion called the United Dyers, Helpers and Finishers of America, and the boss dyers formed the Silk Dyers' Association. In June, however, the lawless element succeeded in getting control of the people, and under the leadership of two men, the silk mills were attacked and property destroyed. The police force of the city was entirely unable to cope with the mob, and help was asked of the Governor. Troops were sent at once, and upon their arrival peace reigned, and within a week, or by June 25, the strike was declared off. September 21 the Bamford Silk Company brought suit against the city of Paterson for $2,500 damages. under the Riot act that makes a municipality liable for damage done to property in a riot. In 1885 the city was sued under similar circumstances and muleted in damages. The act was then declared constitutional by the Supreme Court. New Mexico. New Mexico was among the first of the interior sections of North America to be visited by the Spaniards, nearly a century before the English landed on the Atlantic coast. Alvar Nunez reached New Mexico before 1537, the expedition of Marco de Niza followed in 1539 and that under Coronado a year later. About 1581 Augustin Ruiz, a Franciscan missionary, entered the country, but was soon murdered by the Indians. Formal possession of the region was taken by Juan de Onate in either 1595 or 1599, and the missionaries who accompanied his expedition met with much success in Christianizing the natives. Many of the Indian tribes, and especially the Pueblos, were found in an advanced state of civilization, and these latter were among the first to embrace the new religion offered by the Spanish priests. Oppressed by the newcomers, the Indians began to make resistance against them, and in 1680 succeeded in driving the Spaniards from their country. In 1698 Spain regained possession of the country and held it until 1846, when Santa Fe was taken by the United States force under General Kearney, who soon after conquered the whole territory from Mexico. In 1848 it was ceded to the United States by the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. A territorial government was formed in 1850, and since 1875 the question of the admission of New Mexico as Capital: of a State has been before Congress. A The last session of the Legisla portant acts were passed. with power to examine applicants medicine. The act defined the treatment of any physical or mental prescribing of any curative drug. terial or not material,' and re All persons are prohibited from received certificates from the State that Christian Scientists and osteo An act for the protection of no teacher may be engaged or may losis. Teachers before being en examination. Another act provides from school on account of race or forever after prohibited from teach holding any office of honor or profit Gov. Miguel A. Otero. 122,460 square miles, and in 1901 children in schools provides that gress pass a law prescribing that claim did not perform the assessninety days he should forfeit his cate there again six months after. empted in the meantime. This was It was recommended that Con whenever the locater of a mining ment work required by law within claim, provided that he might lo if his claim had not been presuggested as a substitute for a bill introduced into Congress by Senator William A. Stewart at the request of the Governor of Alaska, which provided that if assessment work were not done by the 31st of December of the year in which the claim was located the claim should be forfeited and the locater could not again pre-empt it. In Considerable progress was made during 1901 and 1902 in preparing for the irrigation of arid lands. March, 1901, the Legislature, acting in accordance with a Federal law of 1898, by which 500,000 acres of public domain were given to the Territory on condition that such land be irrigated, passed an act creating a Territorial Commission of Irrigation, vesting it with power to select sites for permanent reservoirs, to advise with the United States Commissioners for the selection of donated lands and to approve contracts made in connection with irrigation enterprises. A contract was awarded for the reclaiming of 50,000 acres of arid land, and by the end of 1902 contracts had been let for nearly all of the 500,000 acres. Corporations constructing the irrigation systems were to be given part of the proceeds from the sale of the donated auds. In his annual report for 1901 the Governor of the Territory again made a strong plea for the admission of New Mexico as a State. He said that there was over $150,000 worth of taxable property in the Territory, that the population numbered over 250,000, that the Territory had invested more money in schools per capita than any other Territory or State, that it had more newspapers per capita than any State, and that Statehood had been promised by both large political parties. New York Capital: The first white men to arrive at New York found the country populated by some subordinate tribes of the Algonquin Indians, and by the Five Nations of the Iroquois. The names bequeathed to various places indicate to which tribe they belonged. In July, 1609, Samuel Champlain, having ascended the St. Lawrence River, discovered the lake which bears his name, and on September 6 of the same year Henry Hudson, with his company of fur traders, discovered the bay of New York, and three days later entered the river which now bears his name. In 1614 the first Dutch settlement was made on Manhattan Island, and the name of New Netherlands was applied to that unoccupied part of America lying between Virginia and Canada. The first permanent agricultural settlement was made by the Dutch at Fort Orange, now Albany, in 1623, and by a company of Walloons on Long Island, a short time afterward. In 1626 the island of Manhattan was purchased from the Indians, and in 1629 an aristocratic element was introduced. About 1638 unprovoked assaults upon Indian villages brought about a serious war, which threatened to exterminate the colony, but on the coming of Peter Stuyvesant the Indians were pacified and remained so until the capture of New Amsterdam by the English under Colonel Nicolls, in 1664. The name New York was applied then to the whole province, the English claiming the country as a part of Virginia, under the prior discovery by Cabot. The Dutch engaged in slave trade in 1627, and at the time of the surrender, in 1664, the colony contained more slaves, in proportion to population, than Virginia. In 1688 New York was placed, with New England, under the administration of Andros, and Francis Nicholson was appointed Lieutenant-Governor of New York. In 1689, under the leadership of Jacob Leisler, the colony revolted from the tyranny of Nicholson, seized the government and administered it under the name of William and Mary, Leisler being the nominal head, though never officially recognized. In 1691 Leisler and his sonin-law, Milbourne, were arrested, tried for treason and executed. On the night of February 9, 1690, a party of French and Canadian Indians burned Schenectady and massacred nearly all the inhabitants. The peace of Ryswick, in 1697, concluded the hostilities between the French and English, and troubles with the Indians ceased until 1702, when Queen Anne's war broke out, but from this date on until after the close of the Revolutionary War, settlements in the northern part of the State and near the mountains were subjected to numerous Indian raids. The original grant tween the Delaware and Hudson the territory included in the present cut boundary was established in were finally settled in 1786; in separate State, and the dispute be shire was then settled. New York has an area of 49,170 1900 its population was 7,268.012, 7,406,000. The population of New According to the census there has facturing industries of the State greatest increase in value of prod with 1890. The natural resources topographical position, have con industrial State are a rich soil, an and mineral deposits. Horticulture vailing in the neighborhood of Lakes lakes in the central part of the accessible to the cultivator, as in yield of wealth in the form of for paper making industries, and the material for still other industries. in several counties. The clay beds centre of one of the greatest brick extensive cement beds. In the pro marble and limestone. New York in 1899, and since 1893 the State of salt. Gypsum, talc, graphite, found in small quantities. Gov. Benjamin B. Odell, Jr. of New York included all land beRivers. In 1664 the proprietor sold State of New Jersey; the Connecti1731; the claims of Massachusetts 1790 Vermont was erected into a tween New York and New Hampsquare miles, and by the census of and in 1901 it was estimated to be York City in 1900 was 3,437,202. been a steady increase in the manuduring the last decade, though the ucts is shown for the decade ending which, with its geographical and tributed to make New York a great excellent climate, extensive forests is favored by the mild climate preOntario and Erie and the smaller State, and where the land is inthe higher Adirondack region, the ests has supported great lumber and mineral deposits have furnished Coal is lacking, but iron is found along the lower Hudson are the making districts, and near them are duction of granite, sandstone, slate, ranked fourth in the United States has ranked first in the production petroleum and natural gas are The growing industries nearly all fall in the group of highly finished articles and luxuries demanded by an advancing civilization and a high state of the arts and sciences, and many of them pertain peculiarly to a city civilization. New York now ranks first of all the States in the production of wood pulp for newspaper stock. It is a noteworthy fact that the production of confectionery now exceeds that of iron and steel in the State. The most important industry in New York State is the manufacture of clothing. In 1900 the 4,204 establishments reported gave employment to 90.017 wage earners, or 10.6 per cent of the wage earners in the State. The production was valued at $233,370.447, or 10.1 per cent of the total value of the products of the State. The increase in the value of the products for the decade ending 1900 was 64.4 per cent. As early as 1830 New York merchants began to supply a demand for ready-made clothing in the South and West, and since then the demand and the ability to satisfy it, have grown with extraordinary rapidity. The manufacture of foundry and machine shop products ranks second in the State, and printing and publishing holds the third place. Textile manufacturing, refining of sugar and molasses, distilling of liquors, manufacture of tobacco, and lumber and timber products, flour and grist milling, manufacture of chemical products, men's furnishings, and more particularly, shirts and collars, dairy products, and the manufacture of boots and shoes, rank among the other important industries, in the order named. Of the 78.658 manufacturing establishments in the State in 1900, 62,567, or 19.6 per cent, were located in 106 cities and villages. The New York State Legislature in 1902 passed several laws of general interest. The indirect taxation of trust and insurance companies was increased and the amount of revenue to be raised by direct public taxation was correspondingly decreased. The Boards of Managers of the State Hospitals for the Insane were abolished and the administration of the affairs of such institutions was transferred to the State Commission on Lunacy. The Governor was directed to appoint a fiscal supervisor for the affairs of all State charitable institutions, whose duty should be to revise all estimates for the maintenance of such institu tions. The appropriation for the construction of new highways was increased from $420,000 to $750,000, and a law was passed providing that the State shall pay 50 per cent of all sums levied by towns for highway repairs, instead of 25 per cent as formerly. An act was passed prohibiting the shooting of live pigeons in tournaments. The amount appropriated to rural free schools was increased to $332,500 for the year. An appropriation of $100,000 was made for a New York State building at the St. Louis Exposition in 1903. The right of married women to bring suit against employers for wages due them was upheld by the Legislature, which gave them the right to use their own name for such purposes, On January 2, 1902, two trains crashed together in the New York Central Railroad's tunnel, leading into the Grand Central Station, New York City, and seventeen lives were lost, while a score or more persons were seriously injured. The wreck seems to have been due to the smoke and fog in the tunnel, which prevented the engineer of the second train seeing the train ahead on the same track. Most of those killed and injured were from New Rochelle, a small town of homes of New York business people. There seemed to be a tendency to put the blame for the accident upon the engineer, who escaped death, but the newspapers, almost without exception, demanded an investigation of the conditions which made the wreck possible. Suits for injuries and death were brought against the railroad company, and up to the time this book goes to press verdicts to the amount of $307,000 had been rendered. The largest single verdict was for $60,000, awarded the widow of Henry G. Dimon. The company is appealing from nearly all the verdicts. On August 30 a strike was declared by the employes of the Hudson Valley Railway Company, a street railway company doing business in Saratoga County, the men demanding an increase of wages and the recognition of the union. Much violence was shown as the strike progressed, and the Sheriff asked for troops, feeling himself unable to cope with the situation. Martial law was practically declared along the lines of the company's road, and attempts ..re made to run cars under military protection. On October 17 a committee of the strikers called on the company to effect an agreement for the end of the trouble, but without success. The company offered to take back the old men without regard to membership in the union, with the exception of several considered ringleaders, but refused to deal with its employes other than as individuals. It was promised that the question of increase of wages would be considered after work was resumed. The men refused to accep these terms and the strike continued, with the prospects of lasting all Winter. The Democratic State Convention was held at Saratoga October 1. The platform adopted declared for tariff revision, condemned the trusts and especially the coal and beef trusts, advocated government ownership of coal mines, territorial expansion without colonization, and reiterated many of the declarations of the Kansas City platform. The Republican 3tate platform, adopted at the convention held September 24, indorsed the administration of President Roosevelt and advocated his nomination for President in 1904, commended the Philippine policy and declared for legislation regulating trusts. Nicaragua. Capital: From the fact that it offers a ready means of communication between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, Nicaragua holds an important position among the Central American Republies. The country, which resembles in shape an isosceles triangle, has an area of about 49,000 square miles. The Caribbean coast measures about 300 miles from north to south, while the Pacific coast is about 200 miles in length. The topographical features of Nicaragua are largely determined by two mountain ranges which traverse the country in a general direction from northwest to southeast. Between these two ranges lies the great interior basin, comprising an area nearly 300 miles long by 100 wide, in which are situated the two beautiful lakes which form such important features in the physical geography and economic conditions of the Republic. Lake Nicaragua, the ancient Cocibalca, the larger of these, is about 92 miles long and 34 wide, and varies in depth from 12 to 83 feet. The lake receives the waters of the Rio Frie, which has its source in Costa Rica, and of several smaller streams. Its outlet is the River San Juan, flowing to the Caribbean sea, the waters of which and part of whose bed will be utilized for the inter-oceanic canal in case the Nicaraguan route should be selected. Lake Managua is about 32 miles long by 16 wide. It is not so deep as the larger lake, but a line of five steamers is now running upon it. The fluvial system of Nicaragua lies almost entirely to the eastward of the mountain ranges, and consists of numerous rivers of varying size and volume. The Coco is about 300 miles long, but does not carry an amount of water proportionate to its length. The Rio Grande is of considerable size. For a distance of 100 miles from the sea it averages 100 yards in width and 15 feet in depth, and would be navigable for vessels of considerable size, were it not for the dangerous bar at its mouth, which seldom carries more than eight feet of water. The deepening of the water on this bar will undoubtedly be accomplished in the near future, and this fine river opened to the commerce of the world. The Bluefields River is navigable for large steamers from Bluefields to the Boca de Rama, a distance of about 65 miles. The San Juan River is the most important water course of Central America, forming the outlet through which are discharged the waters of the great hydraulic system of Lake Nicaragua, but its navigation is interrupted at several points by rocks and rapids. The Republic of Nicaragua is divided into twelve departments. With a productive soil and a salubrious climate it has conditions favorable for sustaining a vast population. The present population is about 380,000. Whenever conditions are fulfilled which will give access to the world to the products of their labor, there will, doubtless, be a large influx of immigrants, as has been the case in other parts of Central and Southern America. It is claimed that in the whole of Central America the only country which excels Nicaragua in mineral wealth is Honduras. The mines thus far discovered are very valuable, but the mining industry has not developed satisfactorily because of the lack of capital, skilled labor and convenient means of transportation. At present only the gold mines are worked. The famous silver mines which gave such fabulous yieldings in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries are no longer worked. as they require larger capital and a greater knowledge of the subject of mining than is now available. The total production of gold in the country is estimated at 22,754 ounces annually. The country enjoys great regularity of temperature, while the trade winds which sweep across the country ventilate it so thoroughly as to produce a climate agreeable to the senses and favorable to health. Reports show a remarkable immunity from disease and sickness, both among natives and those coming from other countries. The atmosphere has a remarkable uniformity of pressure, which is very favorable to the maintenance of good health, and is particularly beneficial to the respiratory organs. The products of the country are of the most varied character, including coffee, India rubber, bananas, cocoa, sugar, cotton and other articles. Since 1825 the United States Government has given more or less attention to the Investigation of the question of the Isthmian canal. Surveys and estimates of cost have been made and there is now a strong party in this country which favors the construction of such a canal. The commercial problem which the opening of a canal across Nicaragua would solve is the same to-day as that which stimulated Columbus and his contemporaries and successors to their arduous efforts. It is still the discovery of a direct east and west route for the commerce of the world. |