Julio A. Roca. The Vice-President is Norberto Quirno Costa. The Cabinet at the beginning of 1902 was composed as follows: Minister of the Interior, Joaquin Gonzalez; Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Amancio Alcorta; Minister of Finance, M. Avellaneda; Minister of Justice and Public Worship, Dr. J. Serú; Minister of War, Col. Pablo Riccheri; Minister of Marine, Capt. O. Betheder; Minister of Agriculture, Dr. W. Escalante; Minister of Public Works, Dr. Emilio Civit.

Area and Population.—The area of the republic is 1,113,849 square miles, that of the 14 provinces being 622,969 square miles and that of the territories 490,880 square miles. The total population was estimated on Dec. 31, 1900, at 4,794,149, being 7.4 to the square mile, and on Dec. 1, 1901, the increase for the year was estimated at 100,000. There were about 50,000 Argentinians living or traveling in foreign countries. The number of Indians was about 30,000. The number of marriages registered in 1900 was 28,103; of births, 173,719; of deaths, 88,656; excess of births, 85,063. The number of immigrants arriving by sea in 1900 was 105,902, comprising 52.143 Italians, 20,383 Spaniards, 3,160 French, 2,119 Russians, 2,024 Austrians and Hungarians, 1,583 Syrians, 760 Germans, 431 British, 355 Swiss, and 205 Portuguese. The total immigration since 1856 was 2,670,293. In 1901 the number of arrivals was 160,000 and of departures 112,000. Buenos Ayres, the capital, had on July 1, 1901, a population of 836,395. The next largest city is Rosario, with 112,461 inhabitants, and after it La Plata, which has about 61,000, and Tucuman, with 50,000 inhabitants. Education is free, secular, and compulsory. There were 3,055 public and 1,076 private primary schools in 1899, with 13,103 teachers and 326,752 scholars; 16 Government lyceums, with 450 teachers and 4,103 scholars; and 2 national and 3 provincial universities, with over 3,000 students.

Finances. The revenue of the National Government in 1900 was $36,632,346 in gold and $63.962,000 in paper, and the expenditure was $23.819,979 in gold and $94,271,310 in paper. Under the conversion law of 1899 paper dollars are redeemable in gold at 44 per cent. of their par value. The revenue for 1901 was estimated at $37,991,000 in gold and $62,300,000 in paper, and expenditure at $26,025,175 in gold and $92,466.605 in paper. The actual receipts were $38,244,638 in gold and $62,341,306 in paper, and the expenditures were $23,835,857 in gold and $91,160,227 in paper. For 1902 the estimated receipts were $40,013,347 in gold and $64,290,000 in paper. The revenues collected in gold are $30,000,000 from import duties, $2,800,000 from export duties, $2,765,000 from port and navigation dues, $460,000 from consular dues and fines, and $3,937.747 from debt services. The expenditures for 1902 were reckoned at $32,438,189 in gold and $96,198,813 in paper. The estimates under the several heads were $2,566.380 in paper for Congress, $13,941,222 in paper for the Interior Department, $309,381 in gold and $1,165,720 in paper for foreign affairs and worship, $7,671,102 in paper for the Ministry of Finance, $23.984,124 in gold and $12,093,810 in paper for the public -debt, $12,066,164 in paper for justice and education, $15,875,000 in paper for the Ministry of War, $12.188 in gold and $10,050,584 in paper for the Ministry of Marine, $3.301.360 in paper for the Ministry of Agriculture, $300,000 in gold and $10.669,100 in paper for public works, $5.498,371 in paper for pensions, and $7,832.496 in gold and $1,300,000 in paper for extraordinary purposes.

1901,

The foreign debts on July 1, 1901, amounted to £86,984,201 sterling, consisting of £45,453,744 of national loans outstanding, £31,384,147 of provincial loans and other debts assumed by the Federal Government, and £10,146,310 of cedulas. The funded internal debts on Jan. 1, amounted to $17,937,500 in gold and $93,463,983 payable in paper. On April 1, 1902, the external debts amounted to $386,451,295 in gold and the consolidated internal debt to $89,610,983 in paper and $17,863,000 in gold. The municipal indebtedness is $24,596,422 in gold. The paper money in circulation on Jan. 1, 1901, amounted to $291,004,259. The mint up to Dec. 31, 1897, had coined $31,716,545 of gold, $2,805,840 of silver, $2,748,375 of nickel, and $82,704 of copper coins.

The Army. The standing army consists of 1,340 officers and 7,297 men. The war strength of the regular army is about 30,000 of all ranks. There are 471,912 men enrolled in the National Guard, of whom the younger members receive two months of military instruction. A law authorizing compulsory military service was passed by Congress in 1901.

The Navy. The Argentine naval force consists of the new coast-defense armor-clads the Libertad and Independencia, of 2,336 tons, having a speed of 14 knots, 8 inches of armor, and a battery of 2 10-inch breech-loaders and 4 4.7inch quick-firing guns; the old coast-guards Andes and Plata; the central-battery ship Almirante Brown, of 4,267 tons, having 9 inches of side armor and carrying 10 5.9-inch and 6 4.7-inch quick firers; the Garibaldi, of 6,840 tons, and Pueyrredon, of 6,882 tons, carrying 2 10-inch rifles and 10 6-inch and 6 4.7-inch quick firers, and the San Martin and Gen. Belgrano, of 6,882 tons, the former armed with 4 8-inch, 10 6-inch, and 4 4.7-inch quick firers, the latter with 2 10inch rifles and 14 6-inch and 2 3-inch quick firers, all 4 cruisers having 6 inches of armor and a nominal speed of 20 knots, built originally for the Italian Government; the 9 de Julio, 25 de Maio, and Buenos Ayres, strongly armed and swift second-class cruisers built in England; 5 converted cruisers of 3,403 to 4,218 tons, purchased from Italian and Spanish steamship companies; the English-built destroyers Corrientes, Missiones, and Entre Rios, which at their trials exceeded the contract speed of 26 knots, and the one built to replace the Santa Fé, which was lost; and 12 first-class and 10 second-class torpedo-boats.

Commerce and Production.-There are over 15,000,000 acres in cultivation, yet that is only 6 per cent. of the available land. Wheat in 1901 covered 8,449,372 acres, on which 2,871,440 tons were grown; the yield of flax from 1,518,380 acres was 390,000 tons; and the corn-crop was in the neighborhood of 2,000,000 tons. The woolclip of 1902 was valued at $40,000,000, the wheatcrop at $120,000,000, the corn-crop at $100,000,000. The quantity of sugar produced in 1889 was 103,112 tons, four-fifths of it in Tucuman province. Alfalfa is grown extensively for feeding stock. There were 89.000 acres of vineyards in 1900. The number of cattle in 1900 was estimated at 28.000.000; of sheep. 110.000.000. There were 329.400 cattle slaughtered in 1900. The wool-clip of 1901 was 250,000 tons. Coal and petroleum are found, and some gold is mined on the slope of the Andes, the output of 1900 having been 2.112 ounces. The existence of footand-mouth disease in Argentina put an end to the exportation of live stock to Great Britain. In May, 1902, the disease was officially declared to be exterminated, and negotiations were begun

both parties. The development of the disputed regions as far as it has proceeded has been accomplished thus far mainly by Argentinians, to whom the country is more accessible than to the dwellers beyond the impassable Andes, and who have been stimulated by political motives to substantiate by actual possession their claim to the valleys of the Pacific watershed, into 7 of which, out of 9 principal ones, they have gradually intruded since 1881. While the dispute as to the conditions of arbitration and the basis of the respective claims was still acute the two governments resumed the belligerent preparations which have created financial embarrassment on both sides for many years. In 1900 an understanding was reached between President Roca and

President Errazuriz of Chile not to increase further the military and naval powers of their respective countries. This private agreement ended when President Errazuriz went out of office, and was not renewed with President Riesco. The rivalry of the two nationalities for future influence and empire prompts each one to a struggle for military and naval primacy in South America and for political prestige. This struggle is not likely to end when the burning question of the boundary is settled, yet when that phase of it is past it will be unlikely that either country will go beyond its definite and distinct sphere to seek a cause of war. Chile having purchased 2 torpedoboat destroyers and ordered an armored cruiser in the United States, the Argentine Government decided in the beginning of April to order 2 new war-ships in Italian yards, to cost $5,000,000 in gold apiece, which should be defrayed out of the general revenue in two years. This decision was in accordance with the avowed policy of the Government to maintain a marked naval superiority over Chile, which on its part adopted the policy of keeping its naval armament equal, but not superior, to that of Argentina, so that in case of arbitration involving disarmament or limitation of armaments the arbitrator would find that Chile had pursued a purely defensive policy. Such a competition involved a naval extension that could be checked only by the bankruptcy of one Government or the other. The mediation of the British representatives was offered to bring about an arrangement preventing additional construction and dividing the war-vessels that were being built equally between the two countries. Except upon the sea the danger of a collision between the war forces of the two republics is remote unless neighboring countries are involved, because the great Andean chain forms an effective obstacle against a direct military invasion from either side. The total expenditure for naval construction incurred by the Argentine Government amounted to $30,000,000 in currency, which it was proposed to distribute over three years in equal portions. To meet this extraordinary demand a part of the money was to be obtained from the National Bank, which was in liquidation, and the remainder to be raised by contributions from lotteries, a duty on real-estate transactions, and some increases in internal taxes. At the time when the two additional armored cruisers were ordered there were 2 already building in Italy, to be ready for sea in September, 1903. The total cost of the 4 cruisers is close upon $25.000.000 in gold, and they entail heavy annual disbursements for maintenance. Chile endeavored to exact from the Argentine Government as a condition to the limitation of armaments a declaration that it would in no event intervene in affairs on the Pacific coast. By giving moral support to the contentions of Peru

and Bolivia in their disputes with Chile regarding the restoration of their lost provinces Argentina has to some extent undermined Chilean influence in those countries, where Argentina will not grant to her rival a free hand that would make Chile the dominant political power in South America. Political primacy and domination of the continent is the prize for which the rival powers may wager a conflict that would permanently humble and weaken the loser and result in the destruction of one navy or the other, the payment of a heavy money indemnity, the annexation of the whole of Patagonia by the victorious power, and in the event of Argentinian success the restoration to Peru and Bolivia of the ports and nitrate fields seized by Chile in

1879-82.

The Argentine Government refused to give a pledge to maintain absolute neutrality in existing and future questions on the Pacific coast, but gave an assurance that it had no wish to intervene in affairs on the Pacific, provided Chile fulfils her treaty obligations toward Peru and Bolivia. The Minister of Foreign Affairs died suddenly on May 5, and Valentin Virasoro was appointed in his place. Congress was opened on May 8. The Minister of Finance expected the ordinary revenue to be sufficient to cover expenditure and further reduce the floating debt. Additional taxation affected articles of luxury, not those of prime necessity, and unless extraordinary expenditure occurred it would not be enforced. Regulations were issued requiring statements to be made to consuls regarding the country of origin and the cost of manufacture of goods shipped to Argentina, but on complaint of merchants that these were vexatious they were recalled. Both the Argentine Republic and Chile had made preparations of such warlike character that an outbreak of hostilities might occur after the award of the arbitration tribunal. The Peruvian question might be the cause, but in any event the work of the boundary commission would have gone for naught. Therefore the British representatives conveyed a hint that unless means were adopted to preserve peace his Britannic Majesty would withdraw from the dispute. A treaty was drawn up the preamble of which contained declarations of the Argentine minister to Chile and of the Chilean Minister of Foreign Affairs which were accepted by the Chilean Government as a pledge not to disturb its possession of the Peruvian and Bolivian territories occupied by Chile, but to leave the question of their final disposition to be settled with Peru and Bolivia without intervention, and by the Argentine Government were accepted as a promise on the part of Chile not to seek further territorial aggrandizement. A protocol constituting King Edward of England general arbitrator, one for the cancellation of existing orders for ships and for the equalization of armaments within twelve months, and one recognizing the principle of noninterference with the existing boundaries of the neighboring republics, Chile to retain all rights conferred by treaties, were signed on May 27 at Santiago, and on May 28 a treaty of general arbitration in case of future difficulties was signed, also a protocol for the limitation of naval armaments and one for the demarcation of the frontier after the award of the arbitration tribunal by a technical commission to be appointed by the arbitrator. The first article of the treaty of general arbitration declares that the high contracting parties bind themselves to submit to arbitration every difficulty or question of whatever nature that may arise between them, pro

vided such questions do not affect the precepts of the respective constitutions of the two countries, and that they can not be solved through direct negotiations. The exception of questions affecting the constitutions of the republics may be made to cover almost any question in which national ambition or animosity finds a cause of war. This is, however, a necessary legal restriction of arbitration when adopted by constitutional governments, although a similar clause delayed for several years the ratification of the treaty of arbitration between the Argentine Republic and Italy. The British Government has been particularly interested in the preservation of peace between the Argentine Republic and Chile on account of the amount of British capital staked in both countries. In the Argentine Republic, aside from Government securities, there are nearly £123,000,000 of foreign money invested, about 75 per cent. of it English, and in Chile the proportion of British capital is larger. The agreements were approved by the Senates of the two republics without much discussion, but in both Houses of Representatives there was cavil and obstruction, but not enough opposition to prevent their acceptance after a further interchange of notes in which Chile agreed to the limitation of armaments on receiving a distinct as surance that the Argentine policy was one of absolute neutrality in questions on the Pacific coast. The period for ratification elapsing, it was prolonged by a protocol signed on July 24. On July 31 the Argentine Chamber approved the agreements without modification, and on Aug. 12 they passed the Chilean Chamber.

Besides high taxation, necessitated by the warlike preparations that have been carried on intermittently for ten years, the failure of civil and criminal justice in Argentina operated to deter enterprise and depress the economic situation. President Roca, in his message to Congress, said that the standard of the judiciary had degenerated through a quarter of a century without any determination being shown on the part of the Legislature to mitigate this crying evil. The system of indirect taxation by which the bulk of the revenue is raised bears most heavily on the poorer classes. Thousands of immigrants have left again when they found how difficult it is to make a living. Land taxation is of the highest description, and a result of this condition is that great blocks of fertile land lie unimproved and uncultivated. A transitory cause of economic depression in 1902 was the failure of the harvest in 3 great provinces. Notwithstanding the agreement with Chile to restrict armaments, the budget called for a national expenditure of $77.000.000, reckoned in gold, besides $25,000,000 of provincial expenditures and the municipal charges. The grain harvest in Argentina is always uncertain. In 1900 the wheat exports were 2.000.000 tons, in 1901 only 1,000,000 tons, and in 1902 they dropped to 600,000 tons. Minor causes which aggravated the economic crisis were the closure of British ports to Argentine sheep and cattle, overproduction of sugar in Tucuman, and an excessive crop of grapes in Mendoza and San Juan. Quarantine restrictions between the Argentine Republic and Brazil also tended to hinder trade. The revenue fell off until the Government was confronted with a shortage of $7,500,000. In framing the budget for 1903 the Government made a retrenchment of $16,500,000 on the finance bill for 1902 and reduced taxation by $2,900,000 in gold and $1.500,000 in currency. In order to meet unforeseen expenditure the National Bank, which owes the Government $50,

000,000, placed $5,000,000 of its bonds in the hands of the Government.

ARIZONA. (See under UNITED STATES.) ARKANSAS. (See under UNITED STATES.) ASTRONOMICAL PROGRESS IN 1902. The astronomical discoveries of the past year (from October to October) have in some respects surpassed those of any of its predecessors, characterized by great activity, especially in the departments of variable stars and spectroscopic binaries.

In looking over the year's work, one is confronted with the fact that, though astronomy is the oldest of the sciences, it is still in the experimental stage, and probably will be for centuries. The impressive fact must constantly be borne in mind by the reader that he is standing face to face with numbers, magnitudes, velocities, and distances which no stretch of thought can comprehend. All countries that possess the means for astronomical research made gratifying progress during the year, and this is emphatically true of the United States.

Daylight Astronomy. This is exemplified only in observing the Sun, about which astronomers know but little. When his disk is observed with a telescope of contracted aperture, the eye protected against his terribly penetrating heat and light by colored glass and other devices, it presents a mosaic of pores, spots, faculæ, and corona; and when his disk is completely covered by the Moon during a total eclipse the chromosphere, prominences, streamers, and Bailey's beads, all of which bid defiance to investigation. We are no wiser than were the ancients as to the cause of these phenomena. All we know is that he rotates on his axis in about twenty-six days, and has also a motion of translation, but whether tangential or orbital is unknown. This progressive motion was immediately inferred when his rotation was known. This supposition has been confirmed by both telescope and spectroscope. In our age the direction is toward the constellation Hercules, but the center around which the Sun and planets and satellites are revolving is unknown. This motion is about fifteen miles a second-sufficient, it would seem, after the lapse of a few centuries to produce a perceptible change in the appearance of stars and constellations. The point toward which we are now moving is called the solar apex. strenuous effort is being made by several astronomers, especially at the Lick Observatory, to locate with all attainable exactness the direction of this motion. The D. O. Mills expedition to Chile, South America, with a new reflecting telescope and other appliances made especially for the work by John A. Brashear, has arrived at Valparaiso, and will be located there for three years, to work in conjunction with the astronomers at the Lick Observatory. Before shipment the instruments were subjected to the most rigid comparison tests with those left in the observatory. The two parties will work on two different sets of stars, one north, the other south, which latter can not be seen at the Lick Observatory. Spectroscopic and other observations will be made on several bright stars in both hemispheres during the three years. As before said, the design of the expedition is to ascertain the exact direction of our celestial highway, including the entire solar system and periodic comets, its rate of motion, and, if that is orbital, where the mighty center is, and whether a single Sun or a cluster of Suns, and the periodic time.

A

The three most trustworthy determinations of the present solar apex are as follow: New

comb, right ascension 18h 28m, declination north 35°, or near Alpha Lyra. Kapteyn, right ascension 18h 16m+20°, or in Hercules. Campbell 18h 28m+20°; velocity 12.4 miles a second. To elucidate the spectroscopic process by which it is hoped the direction of the Sun's motion may be determined the following facts must be borne in mind. If a star is not moving toward or from the solar system, or we toward or from the star, the spectral lines of hydrogen, sodium, iron, etc., will occupy precisely the same positions that are experimentally observed in the chemist's laboratory. If the lines in the spectrum of the star occupy positions slightly toward the red end of the spectrum, that star is either moving from the Earth or the Earth from the star, or both from each other. On the other hand, if all the lines are moved slightly toward the violet, that star is either moving toward the Earth or the Earth toward the star, or both toward each other. If the lines from all the stars in a certain region of the sky are moved toward the violet, it furnishes strong evidence that the Sun with his family of planets is moving in that direction, or that all the stars in the region are moving in our direction-an improbable supposition.

If the spectral lines from stars in a certain direction are moved toward the violet the theory demands that the lines from stars in the opposite direction shall be displaced toward the red.

The Zodiacal Light.-The cause of this strange light is one of the most inexplicable mysteries of the heavens. It is very doubtful if its cause will ever be discovered. It is gratifying, however, to announce that it is beginning to attract the attention it deserves. For its investigation no instrument, unless it be the spectroscope, can be used. Though the area of the light is large, it is too faint for telescopic observation, and the hope that the spectroscope can deal intelligently with it is almost a forlorn one. So faint is it that the light from the planets Venus and Jupiter are sufficient to obliterate it. It is also too faint to attract popular attention, but none the less necessary to be investigated. It is a broad beam of light, seen in the west above the place where the Sun has set as soon as twilight is ended, and in the morning sky before dawn appears. It is conical, 25 degrees broad

at the horizon, and extends often to near the zenith, where it narrows to a blunt point. Some observers think they have seen it extend from horizon to horizon. In some countries it is seen only during the 3 spring and autumnal months, in the west in spring, and in the east in autumn. This, if true, is an important fact as associated with the meteoric-ring hypothesis. At the Lowe Observatory, in southern California, 3,500 feet above tide-water, it is visible the year round in the west; but, owing to obstruction by the San Gabriel mountains, it is never seen in the east except from the top of Mount Lowe, one of its highest peaks.

Several plausible theories have been advanced to explain the cause of this light, but in the writer's opinion they are not worth recording.

The writer is of the opinion that the zodiacal light is due to the reflection of sunlight from the cast-off tails of comets. No comet gathers its tail to itself; a part is left behind, and the process has been going on since the creation. This hypothesis demands that the cometic ring extend far beyond the earth, if not to Neptune's orbit, its eccentricity being very great.

The Gegenschein is another mysterious light, in several respects more so than the zodiacal

light, with which it seems to be associated. Prof. Barnard has made it a systematic study for fifteen years. It is a circular light, always exactly opposite the Sun, therefore on the meridian at midnight. He has traced what he calls the zodiacal band, extending from it to the evening and morning zodiacal cones, 3 or 4 degrees broad, and it can be seen, except where it crosses the Milky Way, in June and December. The writer never saw it in New York, but in California was surprised at its brilliance.

Mercury. The exact diameter of Mercury has always been considered beyond the limits of accurate measurement. Recently, from a long series of micrometer determinations with the 26inch telescope at the Naval Observatory, Prof. T. J. J. See has deduced a mean diameter of 5.8993", with a probable error of only 0.0080′′. There was no appearance of an atmosphere or evidence of any markings on his disk. This gives the diameter of the planet about 3,000 miles.

Jupiter.-Prof. See has recently completed a series of daylight observations to determine more reliable values of Jupiter's diameter with the same telescope. They were made when he was at the distance of 5.20 (the Earth's distance from the Sun being 1) with the following result: Equatorial diameter 37.646", polar 35.222′′, corresponding to 88,151 and 82,475 miles respectively. Since last report Prof. See has subjected Saturn and his rings to a long series of micrometrical measurements with the following results: Equatorial by night, 76,598; by daylight, 74,172. External diameter of outer ring, 171,948. External diameter of dusky ring, 111,969 miles respectively.

Bolides. Since the last report several of these strange celestial visitors have suddenly appeared and as suddenly vanished-where from and where gone is a fathomless mystery. They are also called fire-balls and meteors. That they are identical with the fall of meteoric stones is generally conceded; but that they are even remotely connected with what are called shooting stars is in the highest degree improbable. During the great star showers of Nov. 13, 1833, and the 14th in 1866 not a bolide was seen, though countless millions of the microscopic meteors were seen over a large portion of the earth. No shooting star ever has been known to reach the Earth. The writer well remembers the celebrated one of 1860. In Niagara County, New York, he rose to give a lecture, when instantly the room was lighted to the brilliance of a sunny day, and the light disappeared as quickly as a flash of lightning. It was first seen in Colorado in broad daylight, and last seen over the Atlantic Ocean. Whether it ever reached the Earth is not known. Its velocity was from 12 to 15 miles a second.

The object in calling the reader's attention to this subject is to describe the appearances of 3, among several others, on as many different dates which have appeared in the past twelve months. On Dec. 16, 1901, a remarkably bright one was seen in England, in the constellation of Perseus. It moved north almost at a right angle to the ecliptic, and disappeared beneath the polestar. On Nov. 13, 1901, one was visible over a large portion of England. Its path remained visible a short time when a dotted streak of light appeared. finally assuming a faint nebulous cloud. The most remarkable of the three passed over New South Wales at 9h 35m on the evening of Jan. 7, 1902, visible over a region 300 miles in length. It first appeared in the con