I. AMERICA.

ARGENTINE REPUBLIC.

(REPÚBLICA ARgentina.)

Constitution and Government.

THE Constitution of the Argentine Republic, a group of states formerly known by the name of 'Provincias Unidas del Rio de la Plata,' bears date May 15, 1853, with modifications in 1860, when Buenos Ayres joined the confederacy. By its provisions, the executive power is left to a president, elected for six years by representatives of the fourteen provinces, equal to double the number of senators and deputies combined; while the legislative authority is vested in a National Congress, consisting of a Senate and a House of Deputies, the former numbering 28, two from each province, elected by the provincial legislatures, and the latter 86 members. By the constitution there should be one deputy for every 20,000 inhabitants. A deputy must be 25 years of age, and have been a citizen for four years. The deputies are elected for four years, but one half of the House must retire every ten years. Senators must be thirty years of age, have been citizens for six years, and have an annual income of 1001. One-third of the Senate is renewed every three years. The two chambers meet annually from May 1 to September 30. The members of both the Senate and the House of Deputies are paid for their services, each receiving 7007. per annum. A vicepresident, elected in the same manner, and at the same time as the president, fills the office of chairman of the Senate, but has otherwise no political power. The president is commander-in-chief of the troops, and appoints to all civil, military, and judicial offices, and has the right of presentation to bishoprics: he is solely responsible for the acts of the executive; both president and vicepresident must be Roman Catholics.

President of the Republic.-General D. Julio A. Roca, elected President, September 1880, and installed in office, October 12, 1880.

The Ministry, appointed by and acting under the orders of the

President, consists of five Secretaries of State, namely, of the Interior, Foreign Affairs, Finance, War, and Justice.

The president has a salary of 4,000l., the vice-president of 2,000l., and each of the five ministers of 1,800l. each per annum.

ment.

The Constitution, with certain small exceptions, is identical with that of the United States. Such matters as affect the Republic as a whole are under the superintendence of the Central GovernThe governors of the various provinces are invested with very extensive powers, and to a certain degree independent of the central executive. They are not appointed by the president of the Republic, but elected by the people of each province for a term of three years. The provinces elect their own legislatures, and have complete control over their own affairs.

Although Roman Catholicism is recognised as the religion of the State, all other creeds are tolerated; in 1883, 53,800l. were set down in the budget for public worship.

There are two Universities in the Republic, Buenos Ayres and Cordova, with 66 professors and 923 students in 1882; a mining school and an agricultural school with 10 professors and 76 students. There are also 28 middle-class and normal schools, with 6,707 pupils, and 1,985 primary (national, provincial, municipal, and private) schools, with 128,919 pupils. There are besides a few special schools. In the elementary schools there is thus only 1 pupil to about 28 inhabitants. On primary schools the State spent 120,000l. in 1883, which was considerably supplemented by the provinces and municipalities.

Justice is exercised by a supreme court of five judges and an Attorney-General, which is also a a court of appeal, and by a number of inferior and local courts, trial by jury being established for criminal cases.

Revenue and Public Debts.

The public revenue assigned to the central government is derived almost entirely from customs duties, which are very heavy, and all other sources furnish comparatively little to cover the public expenditure. The latter is made up chiefly of the cost of army and navy, and the service of the national debt. For some years past the annual expenditure exceeded the annual revenue.

The budget estimate for 1883 was 6,130,000l. revenue, and 6,128,000l. expenditure. The following are the details of the budget for 1884 :

Each province and municipality has besides its own budget, involving an additional expenditure of 3 millions sterling; the total national and provincial expenditure amounting to about 31. per head. The budget of Buenos Ayres province for 1885 was 2,324,1927. of revenue, and 2,298,311l. of expenditure; of the city in 1884, 450,000l. of revenue, and 444,000l. of expenditure. The total revenue, national and provincial, for 1884, is estimated at 9,151,000l., and expenditure at 9,163,000l.

The principal item of expenditure of the Republic is for interest of the public debt, home and foreign.

The external debt on January 1, 1883, was 18,913,5187., and internal debt 20,000,000l. In October 1883 it was decided to issue a new loan for 6,440,000l., so that the total debt to the end of 1883 was thus 45,000,000l. Recent loans have been for purposes of conversion of previous loans. In the end of 1884 another loan of 6,000,000l. was floated in London (?) to be spread over three years.

The above does not include the municipal debt of Buenos Ayres (about 130 million piastres, or 1,050,000l.), assumed by the National Government on federalising the city; nor the railway guarantees on 3,200,000l. stock, of which only a portion falls on the Treasury to make good. Neither does it include the internal debts of Buenos Ayres and the thirteen minor provinces, which sum up about 11,000,000l. in 1883, and which have really no connection with Argentine finances.

Army and Navy.

The army of the Republic, exclusive of the National Guard, consisted in 1884 of 7,312 officers and men, comprising 3,704 infantry, 2,576 cavalry, and 1,032 artillery. The militia and national

guard are officially stated to number 350,000 men. The regular army is supplied by recruitment; service in the national guard is compulsory. The army was commanded at the same date by 57 superior and 484 other officers. There is a military and a naval academy.

In 1883 the navy of the Republic included 1 sea-going armourclad, 2 armoured monitors, 6 gunboats, 1 torpedo-depôt ship, 4 first-class torpedo boats armed with Whitehead torpedoes, 4 other boats with spar torpedoes, and about 15 other steamers of various classes, mostly of small size. There are also a few sailing vessels. The seagoing armour-clad Almirante Brown is of 4,200 tons displacement, 5,400 horse-power, and is protected by 9-inch steel-faced armour. In her central battery she carries 6 11 ton breech-loading guns of the new Armstrong type, and has 2 other guns of the same calibre mounted at the bow and stern respectively. She is also equipped with Whitehead torpedoes and the electric light. Her design was prepared by Mr. W. H. White, and she was built in 1881 by Messrs. Samuda. The 2 monitors were built in 1874-5 by Messrs. Laird. They are each of 1,535 tons displacement and 750 horse-power; have 6-inch iron armour and an armament of 2 12-ton guns in a single turret protected by 8-inch armour. The torpedo-depôt ship Mai-pu is a paddle-wheel steamer, and carries a large outfit of the appliances needed for torpedo warfare. The first-class torpedo boats were built by Messrs. Yarrow, and attained remarkably high speeds. None of the other vessels in the fleet call for any special notice. The navy is manned by 1,366 officers and men, besides 137 torpedo men and 371 marine infantry.

Area and Population.

At the last census, 1869, the population of the provinces amounted to 1,736,922, exclusive of the national territories.

The following table contains a list of the fourteen provinces actually composing the Argentine Republic, their estimated area, and the number of inhabitants, according to an official estimate of 1882:

To these figures have to be added the area and population of the various territories, as follows:

By a treaty concluded between the Argentine Republic and Chili 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 most of Patagonia and a small part of Tierra del Fuego. It is officially claimed that in the end of 1882 the total population was 3,026,000. Of this population 363,745 were foreigners-123,641 Italians, 55,432 French, 59,022 Spaniards, 8,616 Germans, 17,950 English, and 99,084 of various nationalities.

The capital of the Republic, Buenos Ayres, had a population of 177,790 in 1869, and 295,000 in 1882. Other towns are Cordova, 39,651, Rosario, 32,204, Tucuman, 24,257 inhabitants in 1882, and other ten towns with more than 10,000 inhabitants.

The increase of population in recent years has been due chiefly to immigration. The immigrants of 1877 numbered 28,708, those of 1878, 35,876; 1879, 50,205; 1880, 41,615; 1881, 47,489; 1882, 59,843; and 73,210 in the first nine months of 1883. Between 1870 and 1883, 550,000 immigrants are stated to have arrived at Buenos Ayres. The great majority of the immigrants are natives of Italy