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land. The movement of shipping, in 1864, was as follows: Arrivals, 879 vessels, 135,488 tons; clearances, 875 vessels, 145,454 tons; total, 1,754 vessels, 230,942 tons. In 1865, it was as follows: Arrivals, 702; clearances, 619; total, 1,321 vessels, 200, 108 tons.

Army and Navy. The army consists of about 50,000 men, inclusive of the national guard. The navy consists of six steamers.

9. MEXICO.

Capital, Mexico. Area, 773,144 square miles. Population, 8,137,853.

History. Discovered, 1518; after its conquest by Cortez organized into the kingdom of New Spain, 1540, and governed by Spanish viceroys; beginning of the war of independence, 1810; Iturbide, generalissimo, 1821; Iturbide, emperor, 1822; Maximilian, emperor, 1864; executed, 1867. The list of rulers from 1821 to 1868, is as follows:

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Population.

86,329.

.167,472.

.164,073.

.62,109.

1829-Guerrero.

1830-Bustamente..

Dictator.
.President.

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The following table exhibits the population of each state in 1857, and of their capitals in 1865:

States.

Aguas Calientes..

Chiapas.

Chihuahua..

Colima...

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The statistics of races, according to the best authorities, is as follows: 1. Whites (including the descendants of Spaniards and Indians who consider themselves white), 1,004,000; 2. Indians, 4,800,000; 3. The mixed races (Mestizoes, Zambos, Mulattoes, &c.), 2,190,000; 4. Negroes, 6,000. Government. President, Benito Juarez, a descendant of the Indian race of Tapatecos; born at Ixtlan, state of Oajaca, 1807; elected Deputy to the House of Representatives, 1846; Governor of Oajaca, 1848-52; exiled by Santa Anna, 1853; returned to Mexico, 1855; Minister of Justice, 1856-58; of the Interior, 1858; head of an insurrection against President Zuloaga, 1858-59; and against President Miramon, 1859-61; elected President, 1861; re-elected, 1857. Vice President, LERDO DE TEJADA.

The ministry is (Nov. 1868) composed of the following members: Foreign Affairs, Lerdo de Tejada; Finances, Matias Romero; War and Navy, Ignacio Mejia; Interior, Iglesias; Public Works, Balcarcel; Justice, Ignacio Mariscal.

The Mexican constitution bears date October 4, 1824. It was suspended by the French in 1863, but re-established in 1867. By its terms Mexico is declared a federative republic, each state managing its own local affairs. The Congress consists of two houses. The members of the House of Representatives are elected by each state at the rate of one member for 80,000 inhabitants, for a term of two years, must be 25 years of age, and have resided eight years in the state. The Senate consists of two members for each state, who must be at least thirty years of age and elected by a plurality of votes in the state congress. The members of both houses receive salaries of two thousand dollars a year. The President and Vice President are elected for a term of four years. Congress meets annually from January 1 to April 15, and a council of government, consisting of the Vice President and half the senate sits during the recesses of Congress. The legislatures of the several states are similar to that of the republic.

Finances. The revenue for 1866 was estimated at $16,500,000; the expenditures at $29,500,000; the deficit at $13,000,000; the actual deficit proved to be much larger. The Mexican debt, August 1, 1865, was as follows:

Old English three per cent. loan, as per settlement of 1851.
Three per cent. stock, created 1864, for overdue coupons of old loan..

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Interest, £600,000; lottery prizes, £120,000; sinking fund, £250,000..
Six per cent. Mexican debt, about..

Capital.
£10,241,650

An'l Interest.

£307,205

4,864,800

145,944

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Admitted claims of foreigners, bearing interest at six per cent..
Amount due to French government for war expenses, March 31, 1865...........
Annual pay't to France on acct. of war expenses, as per Paris convention.

Total......

6,000,000 360,000

13,000,000

1,000,000

£63,471,450 £3,945,049

The present Government does not recognize any portion of the above liabilities, except the six per cent. internal Mexican debt, the interest of which has not been paid for a number of years.

Commerce. In 1856, the total imports of Mexico were valued at twenty-six millions, and the exports at twenty-eight millions of dollars. There are no official accounts of recent date concerning the trade of Mexico. The imports of the port of Tampico were, in 1864, $3,342,020; in 1865, $3,970,045; and in 1866, $847,806.

The great staple of Mexican export trade is silver. The annual produce of silver in the chief mining districts is given as follows: Zacatecas, $6,000,000; Guanajuato, $2,000,000; San Luis Potosi, $500,000; Guadalajara, $600,000; Mexico, $1,000,000; Durango, $1,000,000. Total, $11,500,000; add bars of silver exported secretly, $1,000,000; total, $13,600,000. The richest of all the mines now worked are those of Real del Monte and Pachuca, situated about sixty miles from the city of Mexico. There is a Mineria, or school of mines, in the city of Mexico, which has received the support of all the succeeding governments.

A line of Railway, (The National Mexican), from Vera Cruz to the city of Mexico, was commenced in 1864. The army was in July, 1867, estimated at from 30 to 35,000 men. It was to be reduced by 18,000 men.

10. PARAGUAY.

Capital, Asuncion. Area, 126,352 square miles. Population, 1,337,431.

History. First arrival of the Spaniards, 1515; long and obstinate resistance of the natives; arrival of the Jesuits, 1608; administration of the Jesuits until 1758; beginning of the war of independence under Francia, 1811; Francia Dictator, 1811-1840; Carlos Antonio Lopez, President, 1844-1862; Francisco Solano Lopez, President from 1862.

A large territory west of the Paraguay, the Gran Chaco, is claimed at the same time by Paraguay, Bolivia, and the Argentine Republic. In 1857, the capital had 48,000 inhabitants.

Government. President, FRANCISCO SOLANO LOPEZ. Official accounts of revenue and expenditures are not published. One of the chief sources of public income is from the sale of the yerba malé (Paraguay tea), and other products of the land belonging to the government, which is about one-half of the entire territory of the republic. It yielded in 1859, 8,161,323 francs; customs, stamps and other duties, the rent of public lands, in the same year, 4,280,000 francs;

total sums of revenue in that year, 12,441,323 francs. A public debt was heretofore unknown; but in March, 1865, the President was authorized by the National Congress to contract a loan of £5,000,000.

Army and Navy. The standing army is 15,000 men; the reserve, 46,000 men. At the beginning of the war against Brazil and her allies in 1865, President Lopez was reported as having in a short time organized an effective army of 68,000 men. In 1868, he was reported to have reinforced his army by an army corps of women. The navy, in 1864, (according to the Buenos Ayres Standard), was composed of 3 brigs, 21 steamers, 15 small gunboats, partly iron-clad, each carrying one 80-pounder Armstrong gun.

Commerce. The imports, in 1859 (according to a communication to the Moniteur of Paris), amounted to 8,833,000 francs; the exports to 7,703,000 francs; the number of arrivals and clearances, together, to 412 vessels, of 16,650 tons.

11. PERU.

Capital, Lima. Area, 510,107 square miles. Population, 2,500,000.

History. Foundation of a Peruvian Empire, in the 12th century; landing of the Spaniards under Pizarro, 1526; gradual conquest of the Empire; temporary independence of Spain; reestablishment of the Spanish authority, 1547; beginning of the war of independence, 1810; declaration of independence, 1821.

The greater number of the inhabitants are descendants of Spaniards mixed with Indians. According to Paz Soldan (Geografia del Perú, Paris, 1862), the population, exclusive of uncivilized Indians (of whom there are about 400,000) was 2,255,000.

Government. President, José BALTA, elected July 18, 1868. A new constitution was adopted in 1867. The President is elected for a term of five years. The Senate consists of two members from each department; the House of Representatives of one member for each 20,000 inhabitants. The parochial electoral colleges choose deputies to the provincial electoral colleges which, in turn, send deputies to Congress. The public exercise of any religion, save the Roman Catholic, is prohibited. The new constitution was adopted by forty-three against forty votes, while the provision that the Roman Catholic religion should be the religion of the state and, as such, protected and maintained by the state, was passed by a unanimous vote.

The Ministry, appointed by President Balta in August 1868, is composed as follows: Interior and Presidency, Pedro Galvez; Foreign Affairs, José A. Barrenechea; Justice, Teodoro La Rosa, (November, 1868); Commerce, Francisco Garcia Calderon; War and Navy, F. Balta.

Finances. The budget for 1867, as voted by the House of Representatives, was as follows: Revenue, £2,689,083; expenditure, £3,105,421; deficit, £416,338. The chief source of income is the sale of guano, but the proceeds are for several years in advance pledged to the creditors of the state. The public debt July 1, 1866, was $108,458,760.

Army and Navy. The Peruvian army in 1866, was composed as follows: Infantry, 8,400; Cavalry, 1,200; Artillery, 1,000; Gensd'armes, 5,408; total, 16,008.

The navy consisted, in 1866, of the steamers Callao, thirty 68-pounders; Chalaco, four 68-pounders; Tumbez, four 32-pounders; Chanchamaya, two 32-pounders; Colon, two guns; two steam corvettes, America and Union, with 14 rifled guns each; the iron clads Loa, two 100-pounders; Victoria (monitor), with two 68-pounders; the iron-clad frigate Independencia, with fourteen rifled cannon; and the Huascar, with two 300-pounders and two 40-pounders.

Commerce. The imports of 1865 amounted to about $35,000,000; exports to $40,290,048. The number of vessels which entered the ports of Peru in 1865, was 1,436, amounting to 926,977 tons; the number of vessels cleared was 1,316, amounting to 884,471 tons. The merchant navy, in 1861, numbered 110 sea-going vessels, of 24,234 tons.

12. SAN DOMINGO.

Capital, San Domingo. Area, 17,826 square miles. Population, 136,500. History. For some prominent facts in the past history, see Hayti; re-annexation to Spain, 1861; insurrection, 1863-65. Spain acknowledges the independence of San Domingo, May 6, 1865. Since then almost uninterrupted civil war. Provisional President since 1867, Buenaventura Baez. The population is composed chiefly of mulattoes and whites. The annual imports and exports are estimated at about 6,000,000 francs each. The number of vessels annually entering the ports of San Domingo and Puerto Plata is from 100 to 120.

13. URUGUAY.

Capital, Montevideo. Area, 66,716 square miles. Population, 350,000.

History. Declaration of independence by the delegates assembled in the city of La Florida, August 25, 1825; recognition of Uruguay as an independent republic by the treaty of Montevideo, between Brazil and Buenos Ayres, October 4, 1828; proclamation of the constitution, July 18, 1830.

Population of the capital, in 1860, 37,787, and in 1862, after annexation of Cordon and Aguada, 45,765. According to a circular of Minister Herrera, in 1863, the population of the republic amounted to 350,000, among whom were 150,000 foreigners.

Government. President, Lorenzo Battle, since February. 1868: formerly minister of war. The ministry is divided into four departments: Foreign affairs, interior, finances, and war. The sessions of the legislature generally extend from February 15 to the end of June. During the adjournment a permanent commission of two senators and five members of the lower house remains in session. The President is elected for the term of four years.

Finances. A budget extending from July 1, 1860, to December 31, 1861, gives the estimated receipts and expenditures both at $3,579,802. In consequence of the almost uninterrupted civil war, no budgets have since been published. The public debt in February, 1862, amounted to $20,000,000.

Army. The army, in 1864, was composed as follows: Garrison of the capital, 1,300; garrison in the provinces, 1,500; national guard, about 20,000 men. For the war against Paraguay, which Uruguay undertook together with Brazil and the Argentine Republic, Uruguay contributed a contingent of 3,500 men; but nearly the whole of this force was soon withdrawn, as the outbreak of a new civil war was feared.

Commerce. The imports in 1862, were $8,151,802; exports, 8,804,443. In 1866, the imports amounted to $15,330,000; exports, $18,238,000. The revenue from customs was, in 1862, $1,779,898, and in 1866, $3,293,924.

14. VENEZUELA.

Capital, Caracas. Area, 368,235 square miles. Population, 2,200,000.

History. Declaration of independence by Bolivar, November 20, 1818; meeting of the first congress. February 15, 1819; proclamation of the Republic of Colombia (New Granada and Venezuela), December 25, 1819; Venezuela seceded and constituted itself an independent republic, November, 1829; independence recognized by Spain, March 30, 1845.

Government. Provisional President, José TADEO MONAGAS, elected August, 1868; (died November, 1868). A new constitution was adopted in 1863.

Finances. The public revenue, in 1858, was 20,525,275 francs; expenditures, 20,525,275 francs; the public debt, in 1859, amounted to 114,128,100 francs, 9,517,035 being interior, and 104,611,065 external debt.

The army, in 1858, consisted of 10,000 men; the navy of two steam frigates and four schooners. The imports, in 1856, were valued at 27,985,644 francs; the exports, at 32,180,520 francs.

15. BRITISH POSSESSIONS.

SUMMARY OF THE BRITISH POSSESSIONS IN AMERICA.

The following table gives the area and population of each of the colonies and dependencies of Great Britain in America, as well as the revenue, expenditure, imports and exports of each. The Hudson's Bay Territory is not included. Negotiations for its annexation to the Dominion of Canada have been begun, but not concluded.

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Capital, Ottawa. Area, 376,988 square miles. Population, 3,464,766. History. The old province of Quebec was, in 1791, divided into the two Governments of Upper and Lower Canada, with representative institutions for each. In 1840, the two provinces were reunited into the province of Canada, and the legislative councils consolidated. On Sept. 1, 1864, delegates appointed by the Governments of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward's Island, met at Charlottetown to confer as to the practicability of establishing a legis: lative union between the maritime provinces. Canadian delegates were informally present. A legislative union of the maritime provinces was found by the conference to be impracticable, but the delegates were unanimonsly of opinion that a union on a larger basis (inclusive of Canada) might be effective. The subject was fully discussed at the Inter-Colonial Conference of Quebec, which was opened October 10, 1864, and consisted of 7 delegates from New Brunswick, 5 from Nova Scotia, 7 from Prince Edward's Island, 2 from New Foundland, and 12 from Canada. The conference lasted 18 days, and adopted the "Seventy Two Resolutions" as a plan of union. The Legislative Council of Canada, February 20, 1865, adopted a resolution, by 45 to 15 votes, to petition the Queen for a legislative union of Canada, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, New Foundland, Prince Edward's Island, into one Government. The same resolution was passed by the House of Assembly on the 10th of March, by a vote of 91 (54 Upper Canada, 37 Lower Canada) to 33 (25 Lower Canada, 8 Upper Canada). New Brunswick, in 1865, chose a House of Assembly hostile to the Quebec scheme; but in 1866, at a new election, the Confederationists obtained a majority and union resolutions passed the House of Assembly by 31 to 8. The Nova Scotia House of Assembly, in 1866, issued union resolutions by a vote of 31 to 18. Prince Edward's Island repudiated the action of the delegates and declared against union. New Foundland declared against any immediate action on the subject. The Legislature of British Columbia, in 1866, expressed a desire to be admitted into the Confederation. In December 1866, delegates from Canada, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, met in London to draft a Constitution. The English House of Lords passed a bill for the Confederation of the Provinces, February 26, 1867; the House of Commons March 8, and March 28 it received the royal sanction. A royal proclamation of May 22, declared that the Dominion of Canada should commence its existence on July 1, 1867. Serious opposition to the Confederation was shown in Nova Scotia, and at the election of a new legislature, the anti-Confederationists carried almost every district. Government. Governor General, Sir JOHN YOUNG, appointed, 1868. The Cabinet, appointed July 1, 1867: President of the Council, Hon. ADAM T. FERGUSON BLAIR; Minister of Justice, Sir JOHN A. MACDONALD; Minister of Finance, Hon. A. T. GALT; Minister of Militia, Hon. G. E. CARTIER; Minister of Customs, Hon. S. L. TILLEY; Minister of Excise, Hon. WILLIAM HOWLAND; Minister of Public Works, Hon. W. M'DOUGALL; Minister of Marine and Fisheries, Hon. P. MITCHELL; Minister of Agriculture, Hon. JEAN C. CHAPALS; Secretary for Canada, Hon. HECTOR L. LANGEVIN; Secretary for the Provinces, Hon. T. ARCHIBALD; Postmaster General, Hon. ALEXANDER Campbell; Receiver General, Hon. JOHN KENNY.

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