The principal exports in 1895 were: Coffee, $11,751,795; indigo, $1,284,325: sugar, $97,197; tobacco, $120,225.

The trade with the United States appears as follows, years ending June 30:

The principal imports from the United States for the year ending June 30, 1896, were: Breadstuffs, $258,733; cotton manufactures, 189,018; iron and steel, and manufactures of, $395,485; wood, and manufactures of, $158,730.

The principal exports to the United States were coffee, $1,126,895.

The money unit is the dollar, of 100 centavos; value on January 1, 1897, 47.4 cents. The gold coins of England, Germany, the Latin Union, Spain, several South American republics, and Mexico, by decree, are received at par; those of the United States generally at 5 per cent. premium. A law passed September 30, 1892, adopting the gold standard, and requiring taxes to be paid in gold or its equivalent, is still in abeyance.

For RAILROADS, POST-OFFICE, AND TELEGRAPH, see Index.

Honduras.

The area of the Republic of Honduras is calculated to embrace about 43,000 English square miles, with a population, in 1889, of 396,048. The bulk of the inhabitants consists of aboriginal “Indians," and the sparse European-descended population, mainly of Spanish origin. The capital of the Republic is the ancient town of Tegucigalpa, with 12,600 inhabitants. The main ports are Amapala, on the Pacific; Puerto Cortes, Trujillo, Roatan, Utilla, and La Ceiba, on the Atlantic.

The revenue for 1889 was $1.432,522; 1891, $1,850,163; 1892, $1,764,137, and 1895, $2,172,760. For 1891. the expenditure was $2,983,570; 1892, $2,603,650. For the year 1894-95 the estimated revenue amounted to $1,544,785; expenditure, $1,542,917.

In July, 1896, the external debt of Honduras consisted of four loans, contracted from 1867 to 1870, amounting to £5,398,570, with arrears of interest amounting to £11,046,229; total, £16,444,799. No interest has been paid since 1872. The internal debt in 1892 amounted to $2,742,574.

The chief products are tobacco, sugar, maize, bananas, and coffee. Cattle-breeding is carried on extensively. The mineral resources of Honduras are very rich-gold, silver, copper, lead, iron, antimony being found in almost every department. Deposits of brown and other coal have also been found. There are about 17 important mining companies at work, but statistics of their operations are not procurable. For the year 1892, the imports are given at $1,368,310. The chief imports were: Ironware, $60,703: cotton goods, $238,732. The chief exports were: Live stock, $636,277; bananas, $211,940; cocoanuts, $91,990; coffee, $36,393; silver, $652,500.

The trade with the United States is shown below, year ending June 30:

The principal imports from the United States for the year ending June 30, 1896, were: Breadstuffs, $64,202; cotton manufactures, $139,265; iron and steel, and manufactures of, $72,471; silver, $1,262, The principal exports to the United States were: Bananas, $479,558; chemicals, drugs, dyes, etc.. $51,779; india-rubber, crude, $57,497; gold, $94,573; silver, $387,061.

The unit of money is the silver dollar of 100 cents (value on January 1, 1897, 47.7 cents), weighs 25 grammes.900 fine. There are also 20, 5, and 1 peso gold pieces, of the weight and fineness of the corresponding French coins.

In November, 1894, the adoption of a gold standard equal to the American gold dollar was announced; the existing gold coinage having been demonetized.

Nicaragua.

The area of the Nicaragua Republic is estimated at 49,200 English square miles, and the population in 1895, 380,000, or including uncivilized Indians, 420,000. The population consists chiefly of aboriginal Indians," mulattoes, negroes, and mixed races, and the number of Europeans and their descendants is very small but on the increase. Their number is about 1.200. There are 14 towns with from 2,000 to 30,000 inhabitants. The chief occupation of the inhabitants is the rearing of cattle and raising of coffee.

In 1892, the revenue was $1,764,037, and the expenditure, $2,983,576. The expenditure is principally for the maintenance of an army of 2,000 men, and the payment of interest on the public debt. The public debt consists of the internal debt, amounting in 1894 to $7,000,000, and a loan raised in London, in 1886, for £285,000, in 6 per cent. bonds, with a mortgage on the 93 miles of railway controlled by the State, and the customs.

The culture of coffee and bananas is extending: about 75,000 acres is now under coffee. Five years ago, there were in the Republic 109 mines, worked by American companies. In nearly all, gold is found mixed with silver; in a few, silver mixed with copper.

In the year 1889, the total imports amounted (in currency) to 2,536,820 pesos; 1890, 3,327,007 pesos: 1891, 2,738,500 pesos; 1892, 6,006,806 pesos: exports, 1889, 3,162,683 pesos; 1890, 3,834,137 pesos; 1891, 2.376,500 pesos. The chief article of export is coffee-113,719 quintals in 1890, valued at 2,487,646 pesos; in 1893, 130,000 quintals; in 1894, 123,180 quintals.

In 1894, England exported to Nicaragua £131,938 of cotton goods.
The trade with the United States is shown as follows, year ending June 30:

The chief imports from the United States for the year ending June 30, 1896, were: Breadstuffs, $159.366; chemicals, drugs, dyes, etc., $51,661; cotton manufactures, $102,148; iron and steel, and manufactures of, $216,237; leather, and manufactures of, $52,254; provisions, $108,013: silver, $2,425.

Chief exports to United States were: Coffee, $286,749; bananas, $399,938; hides and skins, not furs, $79,800; india-rubber, crude, $355,845; wood, unmanufactured, $80,923; gold, $200,032; silver, $190,669.

The system of money is the same as in Honduras; though Mexican, Chilian, Peruvian, and other South and Central American dollars are issued as well by the Bank of London and Central America as by the Government; there is also a paper currency.

For RAILROADS, POST-OFFICE, TELEGRAPHS, see Index.

Costa Rica.

The area of the Republic is estimated at 23,000 English square miles. According to the census of February 18, 1892, the population was 243,205, besides 19,456 unenumerated and about 3,500 aborigines. The enumerated population gives on an average 10.5 inhabitants to the square mile.

The revenue and expenditure for six years have been, in pesos:

The foreign debt of the Republic consisted of a six per cent. loan of the nominal amount of £1,000,000, contracted in England in 1871, and a 7 per cent. loan of the nominal amount of £2,400,000— issued at $2-contracted in 1872. The amount outstanding in January, 1887, was £2,691,300, and the accumulated interest amounted to £2,119,512. The principal of the debt has been converted into a total amount of £2,000,000 sterling at 5 per cent. from January 1, 1888, and for the arrears of interest fully paid-up shares in the Costa Rica Railway Company were given, £22 10s. of shares for the arrears on each £100 old bond. In 1895, the Government again went into default, and negotiations are now in progress for a settlement. The internal debt on March 31, 1896, amounted to 1,381,591 pesos. It is being rapidly redeemed.

The soil and climate of Costa Rica are very productive. The principal agricultural products are coffee (15,160,878 kilogrammes in 1893), bananas (1,576,650 bunches), sugar (162,804 quintals in 1891). The production of bananas and of coffee is rapidly increasing. Gold and silver mines are worked; the annual value of the produce being about 128,000 pesos.

The following are the values in pesos (1890-93 gold, 1894–95 paper) of the imports and exports:

The most important export is coffee, the quantity exported in 1895 being 188,766 bags, valued at 11,200,283 pesos. Other exports were bananas, 784,257 pesos; hides and skins, cedar, and various woods. The trade with the United States is shown as follows, years ending June 30:

The principal imports from the United States for the year ending June 30, 1896, were: Breadstuffs, $194.301: chemicals, drugs, dyes, etc., $48,750; cotton manufactures, $128,973; iron and steel, and manufactures of, $181,184; provisions, $124,204; tobacco, and manufactures of, $59,737; gold, $10,400. Exports to United States were: Coffee, $3,157,025; bananas, $574,782; hides and skins, not furs, $67,640; gold, $28,465; silver, $275.

There are two banks in Costa Rica, the Anglo-Costa Rican Bank, and the Bank of Costa Rica, with a capital of 1,000,000 pesos and 1,500,000 pesos respectively. The Bank of Costa Rica has a monop oly of the note issue. The paper in circulation in 1895 amounted to 3,107,000 pesos, the specie reserve being 1,155,000 pesos. The silver in circulation amounts to 1,000,000 pesos.

The Government has issued a decree withdrawing its present system of currency and adopting a gold standard. The unit is the peso, or dollar, of 100 centavos; value January 1, 1897, 47.4 cents.

For RAILROADS, POST-OFFICE, TELEGRAPHS, see Index,

BRITISH WEST INDIES.

The London "Statesman's Year Book" gives the following statistics of revenue and expenditure and of commerce and tonnage of the British West India Islands:

Trinidad, in 1896, exported sugar valued at £700,347; cocoa, £452,141; molasses, £36,488. Jamaica exported, sugar, £148,679; rum, £123,211; coffee, £210,946. Barbados, sugar, £436,551; molasses, £122,023. St. Vincent, sugar, 21,909 cwt.; arrowroot, 22,006 lbs. Grenada, cocoa, £159,519; spice, £12,424. St. Lucia, sugar, £61,965; cocoa, £15,403. Leeward Islands, sugar, £20,315.

Jamaica, in 1896, imported cotton goods worth £248,160; fish, £163,506; flour, £155,326; rice, £28,997. Trinidad imported flour, £129,123. Bahamas, textiles, £44.923; flour, £28,283. Barbados, cottons, £115.838; flour, £56,510; rice, £63,618. St. Lucia, cottons, £17,672; flour, £14,269. St. Vincent, flour, £8,959. Leeward Islands, textiles, £49,642; flour, £50,933.

TRADE WITH THE UNITED STATES.

The trade of the United States with the British West Indies is shown as follows, years ending June 30:

1892. Exports to U. S.... $12.440.132 Imports from U.S. 8,130,257

1893.
$16,028,592

8,044,846

The principal articles of import from the United States for the year ending June 30, 1896, were: Animals, $124,330; breadstuffs, $3,059,306; carriages and street cars, $122,561; cotton manufactures, $335,852; fish, $110,527; iron and steel manufactures, $427,400; leather, and manufactures of, $231,156; oil cake and oil-cake meal, $122,497; oil, mineral, refined, $262,373. Provisions-Beef products, $272,051; hog products, $920,370; oleomargarine, $146,660; dairy products, $214,513; tobacco, and manufactures of, $233,613; wood, and manufactures of, $860,540; gold, $28,000; silver, $10,764.

The principal articles of export to the United States were: Asphaltum, $162,710; chemicals, drugs, dyes, etc., $1,077,641; cocoa, crude, and shells of, $763,290; coffee, $643,261; fruits, including nuts, $222,614; salt, $110,092; spices, $274,075; sponges, $231,162; sugar and molasses, $4,758,569; gold, $232,612; silver, $16,426.

Of the total tonnage returned (1896), 6,517,418 was British.

Currency, weights, and measures throughout the islands are those of Great Britain, though in several of them various American coins are current.

SOUTH AMERICA.

THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC.

Area and Population.

The area comprises 1,778,195 square miles.

At the census of 1869 the population of the provinces was 1,736,922. According to the census of 1895, the area, population, and population per square mile of the provinces and territories are thus stated: Provinces, area, 515,815 square miles; population, 3,851,542; population per square mile, 7.4. Territories, area, 1,262,380 square miles; population, 103,369; population per square mile, 0.08. Total area, 1,778,195 square miles; population, 3,954,911; population per square mile, 2.2.

NOTE. For the above data for each province and territory, see "Commercial Year Book,” Volume III, page 124.

In 1896, there were 75,204 Italian, 18,051 Spanish, 3,486 French, and 1,032 German immigrants. From 1873 to 1896, the total arrivals of immigrants numbered 1,990,254. The number of foreigners in the Republic in 1895 was 1,004,527.

Fiscal Affairs.

The revenue and expenditure of the Republic are shown as follows:

At the beginning of 1897, the national debt stood as follows (in U. S. money): External debt, $316,900,000; internal debt, gold, $91,130,000; paper, $25,140,000; total, $433,170,000.

On December 31, 1895, the floating debt amounted to $1,370,000 gold and $9,000,000 paper. The annual service of the debt in 1894-95 amounted to $13,846,322 dollars paper and $1,478,311 gold. The amount of notes redeemed in 1894 was $8,000,394.

Agriculture, Etc.

The land under cultivation in 1895 was about 15,000,000 acres, out of a total of 240,000,000 acres available for cultivation. The area under vines was 71,135 acres; production of wine, 50,720,640 gallons; raisins, 10,582 tons; alcohol, 574,560 gallons. There are about 82,000 acres under sugar cane, and the sugar crop for 1896 was estimated at 120,000 tons; there are 48 sugar works in operation. In 1896, there were planted 5,500,000 acres of wheat, yielding 1,400,000 tons. The late national census gives 21,701,526 horned cattle, 74,379,561 sheep, 4,930,225 horses and mules. The census of 1895 gives the following statistics: Schools, 2,744; newspapers, etc., 405; libraries, 150; hospitals, 129; Catholic churches, 849; nonCatholic churches, 50; theaters, 121; flour mills, 532; sugar mills, 48; sugar plantations, 2,749; vineyards, 6,513; breweries, 44; distilleries, 108; wine factories, 852.

tons.

imals.

The sugar crop of 1897 was estimated at 110,000 tons; wheat, 1,500,000 tons; maize, flax, 400,000 In 1895 there were 21,702,000 cattle, 74,380 sheep, 4,447,000 horses, and 3,885,000 goats and other an