URUGUAY. The area of Uruguay is estimated at 72,111 square miles. No census of population has ever been taken, but estimates made in 1879 place the number of inhabitants then at 438,245, and an estimate in 1896 as 818,843, or 11.3 per square mile. The revenues and expenditures of the State were as follows for the years indicated: The chief items of expenditure are the cost of the public debt, administration, and public force. The estimated expenditure for 1895-96 amounted to $14,378,815; revenue. $14,570,560. For 1896-97, estimated revenue, $15,924,820; expenditure, $15,885,605. The public debt on July 1, 1896, was stated to be as follows (Uruguayan dollars): Consolidated 31⁄2 per cent. 1891 and 1896, $93,641,202; bank loan 5 per cent. 1896, $7,834,900; internal, unified, $6,877,950 guarantee and railway debts, $3,924,678; national bank and liquidation debt, $1,507,570; international debts. $4,093.425; total, $118,479,725. The service of the debt in 1896 required $4,119,387 for interest; amortization, $1,237,000. The total value of real property in 1895 was 275,806,015 pesos. The department of Montevideo is credited with 128,503,716 of this, the provinces of Paysandu and Salto coming next with 14,635,326 and 12,745,807 pesos, respectively. PRODUCTION AND INDUSTRY.-The raising of cattle and sheep is the chief industry. In 1895, there were declared to be 5,247,871 head of cattle, 388,348 horses, 14,087 mules, and 14,333,626 sheep. Total value of flocks and herds is estimated at 73,038,000 pesos. In 1894, 86,322,000 pounds of wool were exported; in 1895, over 100,000,000 pounds. Agriculture is said to be increasing. The yield of wheat for 1894 was 36,112 hectolitres; maize, 59,837. Public companies facilitate the acquisition of land. Tobacco, olives, and the vine are also cultivated. Gold, silver, copper lead, magnesium, and lignite coal are also mined. The "special" trade (merchandise only) was as follows, in gold dollars: 1891. 1892. 1893. 1894. $23,800,370 1890. Imports... $32.364,627 Exports... 29,085,519 26,998,268 25,951,819 27,682,000 33,479,511 The following statement shows the imports from and the exports to the countries named: The imports of coin were, in 1895, $8,499,934 and the exports $3,241,207; in 1896, imports, $8,918,5221; exports, $7,791,020. The trade with the United States, years ending June 30, is shown as follows: The principal imports from the United States for the year ending June 30, 1896, were: Agricultural implements, $158,295: cotton, manufactures of, $119,315; iron and steel, and manufactures of, $89.957: oils, mineral, $413,548; wood, and manufactures of, $265,538. Exports to the United States: Hair, $80,275; hides and skins, not furs, $2,139,896; wool, unmanufactured, $937,589. For RAILROADS, POST-OFFICE, TELEGRAPHS, see Index. In July, 1892, the paper money in circulation was $2,388,000; the metallic reserves declared by the banks were $7.579,782; the monetary circulation was estimated to be under $5,000,000, while the whole stock of metallic and paper money in the Republic was estimated at about $20,000,000. In 1892, the coinage of $3,000,000 in silver was authorized by law. The standard coin is the silver peso, or dollar, of 100 centenas. Approximate value, 4s. 3d.; £1 = $4.72. There is about 2,000,000 pesos in silver in circulation, coined in Buenos Ayres. The circulation of foreign silver money is now prohibited, but the only gold coins that have legal currency are foreign. For gold and silver coinage, see Index. ECUADOR. The area of Ecuador is about 120,000 square miles, with about 1,270,000 inhabitants-whites, 100,000; mixed, 300,000; Indians, 870,000. Included are the Galapagos or Tortoise Islands, with an area of 2,400 square miles, and a population of about 200. The chief towns are the capital, Quito (80,000), Guayaquil (45,000), Cuenca (25,000), Riobamba (12,000), Ambato, Loja, and Latacunga (each about 10,000). For each of the years 1897 and 1898 the revenue was estimated at 9,093,551 sucrés; expenditure, 11,005,141 sucrés. The staple produce of Ecuador is cocoa, but coffee, sugar, and rice are successfully cultivated. Ecuador is rich in auriferous ores. Gold-washing is carried on by several native companies, and American companies have been formed to work the mines at Cachavi, Uimbi, and Playa de Oro. Petroleum is so abundant on the coast near Guayaquil that it lies in pools, but is hardly worked. The country is known to be also rich in silver, copper, iron, lead, and coal. Mining operations are regulated by the law of August 24, 1892. The value of the foreign trade, for the years named, has been: The chief imports are cotton and other tissues and provisions. About 254 per cent, of the imports are from, and 12 7-10 per cent. of the exports to, Great Britain. The chief exports (1893) were: Cocoa, £1,297,314: coffee, £162,951; ivory nuts, £106,088; india-rubber, £39,177; hides, £20,810; straw hats, £26,673. The exports from Guayaquil in 1894 amounted to £1,393,375 (cocoa, £1,023,815; coffee, £193,056; rubber, £27,420). The imports into the United States and exports from the United States for 1892 to 1898, ending June 30, have been as follows: The principal articles of import from the United States for the year ending June 30, 1896, were: Breadstuffs, $72,470; iron and steel, and manufactures of, $136,710; lard. $170,171. Silver, $98,000. Exports to the United States were: Cocoa, and shells and leaves, $183,448; coffee, $209,671; hides and skins, not furs, $103,434; india-rubber, crude, $240,919. Gold, $3,058; silver, $728. Ecuador having no mint, the coin of the country is minted at Birmingham, Eng., in Chili, and in Peru. The total silver coinage minted in the four years ending with 1889 was about 1,835,000 sucrés. The value minted in 1890 was £77,000; in 1892, £43,000. The amount of silver coin in circulation is estimated at about 1,800,000 sucrés, or £260,000. The two Guayaquil banks had in their vaults on December 31, 1895, the sum of 2,371,348 sucrés, or £257,135. NOTE. For monetary system see Volume I of " Year Book," page 70. * Guayaquil only. There are two banks authorized to issue notes for circulation, namely, the Banco del Ecuador, capital 2,000,000 sucrés, and the Banco Comercial y Agrícola (into which the Banco Internacional has been merged), capital 4,000,000 sucrés. The authorized issue of notes depends on the stock of silver in the vaults of the bank, and the banks are bound by law to hold one-third of the value of their circulation in coin, silver, or gold. The banks are in no way related to the State, except that they have to present a monthly statement of balances of silver in deposit and notes in circulation. The cash deposited in the two banks on December 31, 1894, was: Banco del Ecuador, 1,098,899 sucrés; Banco Internacional, 502,080 sucrés. The amount of notes in circulation in 1894 was as follows: Bank of Ecuador, 2,832,710 sucrés = £303,26; Banco Internacional, 1,233,141 sucrés = £132,305. TRADE OF AFRICA. : According to the official returns of the five countries, the following statements show the imports into and exports from Great Britain, France, the United States, Belgium, and Germany from and to the several colonies and countries of Africa in the years named: * Exclusive of diamonds, which were imported to the value of $22,366,900. |