as in all other respects concerning their internal administration, altogether independent, their interests might appear to be compromised if the central Government, by levying upon their chief resources, collected direct taxes within their jurisdiction. There is, therefore, little ground for apprehending the presentation of any import bills tending to prejudice the provincial tax-system. "Again, the vast possessions of the Republic offer secure and simple means for rendering the national finances less dependent upon the custom-house. The nation owns millions of acres of valuable land, which do not as yet produce a dollar, while, if under cultivation, they would contribute largely to swell the national revenue." Much, however, still remains to be accomplished before the country shall regain its wonted financial tone and vigor. Thus turning the public lands to profit necessarily depends upon the influx of a strong tide of immigration, and more prompt means must be resorted to. What has hitherto been achieved is rather a mitigation of the symptoms of the evil than the absolute removal of the causes; and so long as these persist, no reasonable hope can be entertained of positive recovery. Temporary relief has been secured by rigid economy; but the really productive sources of the nation are still in a state of comparative inactivity. Meantime, in the second half of 1877, theories, as discordant as numerous, were hurled in rapid succession along the columns of the public press, or constituted the chief burden of voluminous memorias, as to the means to bring the crisis to an end. Some economists urged the necessity of a still higher tariff on all imports indiscriminately; others admitted the propriety of that measure, but would confine it to spirits and tobacco; while still others cried it down unconditionally, as not only inopportune, but calculated to ag gravate the evil for which it was proposed as a remedy. When controversy was at its highest, the Finance Committee, in September, sent in their report on the proposed Custom-House Law for 1878. One of the members of the committee dissented, and for reasons of much interest to the commercial body. Even the majority of the committee admit that the iron hand of necessity alone forces them to sanction the proposed increase of duties, which Senator Lucero strongly opposes. The honorable senator declares that the high customs duties are mainly answerable for the falling off in the import trade, and that, if they are raised further, the inevitable result will be a further falling off in trade. The first eight months of 1877 show a serious falling off in the import trade, compared with the same period in 1876, the value being only $18,870,000. It is not alone in Buenos Ayres that this decline is observed. Last year the value of the imports at the Rosario customhouse reached $4,137,000; in 1877, up to August 31st, they were only $2,379,000. It is clear that the "milch cow " of the national Treasury, as the custom-house is often facetiously called, is running dry, under the strain of exorbitant import duties. The majority of the Finance Committee declare that it was only for " one year more " that the country would be asked to bear the additional burden; but Senator Lucero declared that this "one year more" might prove the hair that breaks the camel's back, if the trial of the experiment were persisted in. Indeed, the general voice of the press and the country at large would seem to show that the time has come when a further increase of the tariff must prove useless, if not dangerous, and that the way out of the still existing trouble is through a yet greater reduction of the Government expenses, rather than new additions to the already too numerous burdens heaped upon the commercial circles. Chief among the moderate economists above alluded to, who propose the restriction of the new imports to spirits and tobacco, is Señor Rufino Varela, Minister of Finance of the province of Buenos Ayres. The following extract, from a memoria by that gentleman, under date of September, 1877, will serve to make manifest some interesting details: I would propose to put a high duty on imported spirits, and so give rise to a new source of revenue by taxing the spirits made in our country, and by this means lessen the taxes on capital and industry, cheapen the cost of the necessaries of life, and above all free us from the heavy balance we pay out by the fifth part of our wool, hides, and other products, in exchange for wines and spirits. Another consideration: A tax, to be good, must be general. And herein the tax on wines and spirits is unrivaled. In Jujuy as in Patagones, in San Juan as in Corrientes and Buenos Ayres, there is a majority in consumers of spirits and tobacco. Therefore this tax in all parts is most remunerative, and, as a source of revenue, is the most effective for covering the expenses of a country. Let us suppose, in these three years of depression, that the Argentine Government, to cover its deficits, had, instead of a tax of 30 per cent., put a tax of 100 per cent. on spirits, as in the United States-let nobody say I take an exceptional country; you can also add France and industrious Belgium, and many others-should we have had to suffer so many difficulties? If, in 1875, we had put on spirits the same tax as in England, this would have given the country an average revenue of $12,000,000 per annum, or $36,000,000 for the last three years; and, deducting what was paid to the custom-house, would have left $29,000,000, or twice the amount of our deficits. If high duties diminish importation, either it would have been substituted by the manufacture in our own country, or, owing to its dearness, the consumption would have diminished. In the first case, the national revenue would have lost nothing, for to the custom-house duties could be added the excise on the local production, and the country would have gained, because agriculture is necessary for the manufacture of spirits and liquors. In the second case, the country would not have lost either; since, the importation of spirits diminished, other articles would have profited, or general industry, and a large sum would not have to be sent out of the country. But, in either case, the highest duty on the smallest quantity would have given better results than the system now followed. Thanks to this system, England, France, the United States, and Belgium, and all who follow it, have no deficits. Moreover, this is urged by more spirits, and tobacco amounted in 1875 to $11,283,000. potent motives. The value of imports of wines, This enormous sum has not contributed in the least to the social wealth nor to industry; while in exchange we have had to pay with the noble products change if it were for machines, coal, instruments of of our industry. We would understand this exindustry, useful values, or reproductive articles of any kind; but to exchange them for spirits, is not to be tolerated. England, France, and the United States, conscious of the impossibility of doing away with the use of spirits and tobacco, determined to make social welfare take advantage of it. To make spirits, products of the soil are necessary, and, consequently, the manufacture of spirits, being localized, would immensely contribute to foment agriculture, and shut the door against a foreign product that is of no use to so ciety. By this means the importation of spirits to the United States is relatively insignificant, in France nil, and in England does not figure for the third part of the taxes paid by the local manufacturers, in spite of the very high duties. We see how this alone powerfully increases local industry and social wealth. Nearly all the spirits now imported can be made in the Argentine Republic, benefiting agriculture, and leaving their value in the country. Tucuman and Salta have excellent caña. San Juan, Mendoza, La Rioja, Catamarca, etc., have splendid wines; Córdoba and Santiago del Estero have their "algarrobas" to make aguardiente; and Santa Fé, EntreRios, Corrientes, and Buenos Ayres have their maize and potatoes. Why should we, then, import then? Then, as is the case in all other countries, spirits of home manufacture should be subject to a tax. Notwithstanding the vigorous opposition it met with from all parties, the new national stamp law was passed in October. It has been described by an Argentine writer as "a most important law, as it affects every one and everything, increasing the taxes on merchants and steamboats very considerably; in fine, the known-a kind of new income-tax, caused, no most comprehensive act of the kind hitherto doubt, by the depressed state of the revenue. Merchants, lawyers, doctors, stevedores, lightdents, clergymen, pilots, officers, judges, poermen, ship-brokers, surveyors, medical stulicemen, in fact everybody, will have to lend a small annual contribution to keep the ship of the state from running high and dry. From January 1, 1878, bills of exchange will have to be stamped twice over, first by the province, and secondly by the nation; in fact our bills of exchange will henceforward go home with as many stamps as our hide with marks; the grasp of the new stamp act is almost universal." Popular education is making rapid stridesso rapid, that the Argentine Republic, which, not many years ago, was behind its neighbors in this respect, now surpasses all of them. The following table shows the attendance, in 1875, at the primary schools in the principal countries of South America: SCHOOLS. PUPILS. SCHOOLS. PUPILS. Total Num- Total ber of Schools. Census of Number Population of Pupils. Indians. without Concerning the number and general character of the newspapers and other periodicals published in Buenos Ayres, we reproduce the following brief report from the Argentine official publication already referred to: The liberty of the press is an old acquisition among us, although it is much less abused than in other states in the same condition. Extravagances naturally take place here also, as certainly no one will imagine that our press would keep itself within the limits prescribed in other countries by the attorney-general or the prejudices of shop-keepers. But it would be easy to prove that our journals are generally well-conducted in this respect, and sustain a good comparison with those of other countries where the same liberty is enjoyed. Aside from the political newspapers-which abound particularly in the capital, and of the largest sizethere is also a number of scientific periodicals, which naturally struggle here against many difficulties, but whose efforts on that very account are only the more meritorious. We also have newspapers in foreign languages at present, two in English, four in German, one French, and two Italian. The foreigners, whose organs these newspapers are, also support societies of charity and social enjoyment, which flourish alongside of similar establishments of the same kind founded and sustained by Argentine citizens; for charity is a virtue fully generalized in this beautiful and wealthy country. Concerning the present condition of commerce in the Argentine Republic, but little can here be added to what may naturally be inferred from the remarks on finance. There are, however, some statistical details of an eminently valuable character, and which we shall endeavor to set forth in as concise a form as possible. It is first of all necessary to make two important observations in regard to the tables given below, namely: that the countries named therein are always those of entry or clearance, though they are, in some instances, *For a detailed statement of educational matters in the Republic, see the ANNUAL CYCLOPEDIA for 1874 and 1875. VOL. XVII.-3 A 1,830 112,220 by no means the source of production. For example, no inconsiderable proportion of the merchandise credited to France and England in the table of imports was sent to the various ports of these countries for shipment to the River Plate by countries having no direct shipping communication with South America, and conversely in the matter of exports. Some countries, as Switzerland, for instance, receive Argentine commodities in large quantities, but indirectly, and consequently their names do not appear in the tables at all. Belgium also figures in the first place among the purchasers of Argentine produce; but it would be a mistake to believe that she takes such a great quantity for her own consumption; on the contrary, a large portion of it passes to Germany and to other North-European countries. Again, a great many loaded vessels are cleared for England, and nevertheless only touch in the Channel for orders-that is, to learn their final destination; in this way the owner is able to send his cargo to a market where the prices or other circumstances may be more favorable to his interests. Yet this produce appears in custom-house registers as exported to England; while, in reality, it is rarely introduced into that country, but generally figures among the imports of another one. Thus, it is easy to understand that the books of the Argentine Custom-House, and those of countries in commercial relations with us, cannot always agree on the head either of exports or imports. Our tables show quite large importations from Uruguay; but, at the same time, it is remarked that these almost exclusively consist of foreign articles. This is explained by the fact Buenos Ayres have their branches at Montethat many of the large commercial houses of video, for the purpose, according to their convenience, of supplying both markets. On the other hand, many vessels load in the Uruguay River, in Uruguayan ports, but, before setting sail for Europe or for North America, complete their cargoes with Argentine productions, which is all the easier, as most of these ports are situated opposite Argentine river ports. Thus, the exporting merchants in these latter find it more advantageous to dispatch their goods on board the foreign vessel on the other side of the river, than to send them to the more distant market of Buenos Ayres, where freight and local expenses are much higher. Chili also sends goods of European manufacture to the Argentine Republic. The Chilian markets offer to the provinces of Mendoza, San Juan, and Salta, greater advantages for the acquisition of certain articles than through Argentine ports; and, although it is requisite to transport them across the Cordilleras on mules, the transportation is in this way effected more rapidly and at much lower rates. This state of things will be notably changed on the completion of the principal railways; and even now a diminution of imports from Chili may be remarked, due to the increased facility of communication between Argentine ports and the cities of the interior. We must yet remark, in reference to the column of totals in our statistics, that the values are not based upon the real cost of the merchandise imported or exported, but at an average of from 30 to 35 per cent. below the real value. The total value of the imports and exports, and the names of the countries with which trade was carried on during the years 1870–74, are exhibited in the following table: 1871. $64.483,160 2,270,456 18,880.298 17,148,780 East Indies. 256,243 208,147 296,838 251,321 278,614 1.256.163 116.652.885 95,865,261 12,806,668 The imports, and countries whence shipped, were as follows for the same quinquennial period: COUNTRIES. $1.502,4 iures show a notable decrea 11976 were $704,657.75 under dis is only temporary, and our e end of 1973, reduced to 896.180. found not uninteresting to pr Belgium.. $2,406,812 111,713 8,268,538 $2,967,586 81.194 $1,910,435 71.486 $10,189.200 552,548 14.796.476 Brazil. 6.987,551 256,248 202,583 1,468,045 East Indies. 79.836,176 Engiand.. 63,155,160 Imports. France 1,822,111 8,228,015 2,304,001 10.108,881 Germany 6.735,889 Holland 2,861,493 8,784,384 2,620,656 Exporta Tot 81318.07 $2.753.473 $4.00 914.704 Italy. 3,165,958 4.070,038 2725.219 86 857 1.164.625 4.020 48 Paraguay. 112 Peru (by land) 4,166,948 Portugal.. 12 820,946 8.200.536) 4.36 Spain... 17.252.757 1,978.532 4.501.822 United States. 8,327.856 15.855.845 Uruguay.. West Indies.. 335,573 1,468.045 5.971,927 3,90 872,780 18/1.499 8.556.166 704 2.99514 6.832266 2519.116 5.842.511 8.64 8,778,274 20,488,158 4.07.5741 8.442 2479437 5.162.966 7,626 $55,961,177 $278,322,725 1873219 6.414.669 7.670 8894 140664 9.169.982) 10.623) 8.418 4.387.670 7,567,843 10.-22. $1.364,447 12 1,711,065 06 1,680,472 42 1,525,599 69 1,786,858 41 $97.839 97 5,534,709 7.171. 121.775 92 98.281 63 111,871 40 144,508 05 122,794 80 $1116916 $99,668,576 $134.755.4 $1.755,546 $4.998.4291 $6,739,2 ports of the United States ca erce with the Argentine R 8.602.786 7.274. 5,187, The duties on foreign merchandise for Salta and Jujuy reached $21,768.73. The official value of foreign merchandise reembarked and forwarded to other custom-houses of the Republic amounted to $355,223.25, the duties of which on entry reached $50,718.97. The official value of native products embarked in this port with destination to other ports of the Republic was $477,808.66, and their export duties $28,668.52. The tax for lighthouses brought in $1,392.56; and the port duties reached the sum of $22.50. The total receipts for 1876 were as follows: The above figures show a notable decrease. The imports of 1876 were $704,667.75 under those of 1875, and exports fell $20,677.15, making a difference of $725,344.90, or a falling off of over 38 per cent. The causes of this decrease are but too well known. The present crisis has paralyzed the progress of commerce in the country, but its effects have been severely aggravated by the notorious bank question, which has caused a complete restriction of credit, this important branch of commerce having been forced into liquidation. But, doubtless, the present state of affairs is only temporary, and our customhouse will soon recover its former importance. The advance to the Government by the London and River Plate Bank, which amounted to $725,000, was, at the end of 1876, reduced to $96,180. As the minister will see, the revenue of this custom-house amounted to $1,232,448.92, but the cost of collecting this sum amounted to over 8 per cent. It may be found not uninteresting to present at one view the imports from the Argentine Republic to the United States, and the exports from the latter to the former, during the twenty years from July 1, 1857, to June 30, 1876: YEARS. Totals. 8,629,812 4,367,461 ARKANSAS. The regular biennial session of the Legislature of Arkansas began on the 9th of March, being limited by the constitution 8th of January, and came to an end on the to 60 days. Ex-Governor A. H. Garland was elected to the United States Senate by a nearly unanimous vote of both branches. A joint committee, including persons of both political parties, was appointed to notify him of his election. A Republican member of the committee addressed to him a separate com$4,098,280 munication, in which he said: "It may not be 5,508,268 out of place for me, as one of the committee, 5,020,556 and a conceded Republican, to advise you of the reasons that have prompted a majority of the 5,906,674 votes of a majority of that party who hereto5,971,227 7043,258 fore have been found opposing you on many a 3,586,166 5,884,785 6,832,266 8,683,764 political field. You found the State Govern5,842,811 8,442,825 ment in confusion: you have restored peace. 2,819,116 4,807,874 7,626,990 You found human life insecure and uncertain: 2,507,514 5,162,966 7,670,480 2,479,437 6,414,669 8,894,106 you vouchsafed and gave protection to all, re1,378,219 7,040,575 8,418,794 gardless of condition. You found financial 1,459,664 9,169,982 3,234,992 7,587,843 10,822,835 prostration: you have built up the State's 2,633,963 4,537,670 7,171,633 credit. You found the State looked upon with 1,439,618 5,834,709 distrust you have placed her name high on 1,585,052 8,602,786 the roll of States for integrity and honor. In $35,116,916 899,668,576 $134,785,492 fact, you have fully shown, as we believed, as Arkansas's favorite son, that you knew her wants, and that you have as fully anticipated them in their fruition. With a firm and unyielding hand you guided the ship of state, 1837. 1858. 1859. Exports. 1860. 999,708 Imports. 1861. 1,166,625 8,200,886 1862 1,084,858 1,978,852 |