SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY

WORKS BY
PERCY F. MARTIN, F.R.G.S.
————
MEXICO OF
THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
With Map, and more than 100 Illustrations. 2 Vols.
Demy 8vo. 30s. net.
"Will take its place as a standard work of reference on the country."—Truth.

PERU OF
THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
With Map, and 43 Illustration. I Vol. 15s. net.

SALVADOR OF
THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
With Map, and 48 Illustrations. 1 Vol. 15s. net.
LONDON : EDWARD ARNOLD

"The Colours."
The Salvadorean Flag, Supported by Cadets of the School for Corporals And Sergeants.

SALVADOR
OF THE
TWENTIETH CENTURY

BY

PERCY F. MARTIN, F.R.G.S.

AUTHOR OF
"THROUGH FIVE REPUBLICS OF SOUTH AMERICA," "MEXICO OF THE TWENTIETH
CENTURY," "PERU OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY," ETC.

NEW YORK
LONGMANS, GREEN & CO.,
LONDON: EDWARD ARNOLD
1911
[All rights reserved]

PREFACE

"And so I penned It down, until at last it came to be, For length and breadth, the bigness which you see."

Bunyan: Apology for his Book.

While it is quite reasonable to hope for a consistent improvement among the Central American nations, and as easy to discern the extent of amelioration which has already occurred, it is necessary to bear in mind some of the causes which have hitherto conduced to the turbulence and the tragedies which have characterized government by some of these smaller Latin Republics.

Many writers, who can know but little of the Spanish race, have attributed the early failures of the States which broke away from the Motherland, not only to lack of stability, but to a radical psychological defect in the national character. This is a decided mistake, for the Spanish people, both in their individual and in their collective character, are fully as capable of exercising the rights, and of enjoying rationally the benefits, of self-government as any other nation of the world. The patriots and heroes who distinguished themselves in the early days of these young Republics, while themselves descendants of the Spaniards, generally speaking, and having only in a few cases Indian blood in their veins, had to combat against all the ambition and avarice, all the pride and prejudices, of the Church-ridden land which had set its grip upon New Spain, and meant, if possible, to keep it there. But it was not possible, and in a few decades was witnessed their complete expulsion as rulers from the countries which had been won by the flower of Spain's soldiery, and lost by the exercise of Spain's oppression and greed.

While the early history of the Latin-American Republics contains much to distress, and even to depress, the reader, it is impossible to avoid paying a tribute to the band of gallant men who fought so desperately in the cause of freedom, and eventually won it. It is not just to say, as so many historians have said, that the highest incentives of these men to action were the favours of artificial and hereditary greatness, with the accumulation, by whatsoever means, of that wealth by which such favours might be purchased. Undoubtedly some mercenary motives were at work, as they usually are in political upheavals of this nature. Does anyone imagine, for instance, during the disturbances which occurred in Mexico early in the present year, and which were personally assisted by United States citizens, that low mercenary motives were lacking? Does anyone imagine that the numerous North American filibusters who took part in the fighting, first on the Texas borders, and then in Mexico itself, had any idea of assisting a persecuted people to free themselves from the yoke of a tyrant? Or was it not the glamour of golden lucre to be paid to them, and the promise of the much-coveted land across the Rio Grande del Norte, that impelled these young Yankees to throw in their lot with the rebels, trusting to their own complacent Government at Washington to see them through—as it actually did—any trouble which might happen to them if they proved to be upon the losing side?

It would perhaps be equally correct to describe the early Spanish conquerors as greedy adventurers, since they never had any ideas of benefiting the countries or the people whom they afflicted so sorely. It is true that they encountered fearful dangers, displayed unheard-of bravery, overturned empires, and traversed with bloody steps an entire continent; but it was to aggrandize the Crown of Spain and to fill their own empty pockets with golden spoil, which, once secured, witnessed the fulfilment of their ambitions.

It was, moreover, from this veritable horde of greedy tyrants that in later days the peoples of these nations sought to obtain, and finally did obtain, their freedom; their experiences of the Spanish Viceroys, with their courts more brilliant and more corrupt than that at Madrid itself; the persecutions of the Church, which has left a record in Latin-America more bloody and more barbarous than even in Europe; the deafness shown by the Spanish Crown whenever an appeal for consideration or clemency was addressed to it—all these things conduced to that upheaval which has taken over one hundred years to consummate and fructify.

It was, then, against all this that the people of Central America were called upon to fight. Can anyone be surprised at the demoralization which occurred in their own ranks when their efforts to secure their freedom from Spain were once crowned with success? History shows many other such instances; indeed, bad as is the record of the earliest days of Latin-American self-government, it by no means stands without parallel. The objects—beyond a desire to be free from the brutal tyranny of the Spanish Viceroys—of the Latin-American revolutionists were never very clearly defined or well understood. Neither was any preconceived or organized plan ever made or carried out in connection with the French Revolution.

Some historians are of opinion that the revolutionists of Central America originally contemplated the establishment of an independent Kingdom or Monarchy which should comprise the ancient Vice-Royalty, or, as it was called, the "Kingdom of Guatemala." But there is little evidence that any such notion was generally popular. Among the body of office-seekers and hangers-on of royal Courts it may, of course, have been regarded with favour. But the Provisional Junta, which was convoked immediately after the separation from Spain, showed a great majority of Liberals, who, in spite of the pressure brought to bear upon them, and the personal danger in which they stood, proceeded boldly to administer the oath of absolute independence, and to convoke an assembly of patriots which should organize the country on the basis of Republican institutions. The effort which was made later on through French machinations to establish a monarchy in Mexico failed dismally, as had the previous efforts put forward by the Mexicans themselves, when Iturbide was made—or, to be more correct, made himself—Emperor for a very brief period.

The people of Central America were but few in number, and were widely distributed over the face of the country. It took several weeks to get into communication with some of the outlying districts, and the diffusion of the newly-created voters prevented them from becoming in any way a united people, or even cognizant of what was being done in their name. In fact, while anxiously awaiting the intelligence that their Junta was about to issue the long-looked-for Republican Charter, the people of Salvador received the startling and disastrous news that their country was to be incorporated into the Mexican Empire. They had been basely betrayed, and it is small wonder that they stood aghast at the colossal nature of that betrayal.

Terrible indeed was the position for the newly-arisen Republic of Salvador. The men whom they had sent to attend the Junta at Guatemala City were met and overawed by armed bands; their deliberations were forcibly interrupted and suspended; some of them, such as Bedoya, Maida, and others, were ruthlessly assassinated, while their own leader and President of the Provisional Junta, one Gainza, turned traitor and went over to the enemy under promise of a high post in the new royal Government.

Salvador was the nearest province to Guatemala, and the centre of Liberalism. It was not long before the patriots of this country took up arms in the defence of their newly-acquired freedom, and when they did theirs was practically the first battle which was fought upon Central American territory by Central Americans among themselves. Unfortunately, it was by no means the last; and history bristles with instances of terrible internecine warfare—of father arrayed against son, brother against brother, and of whole families, once united in bonds of love, wrenched asunder, never again to be reconciled this side of the grave. For years following, the soil of this beautiful land was drenched with human blood, its energies crippled, its resources abandoned. Are we justified in supposing that the end has come? I verily believe that, if it has not actually arrived, it is at least in sight.

It must be remembered that the people of Central America are no longer an uneducated and unduly excitable race, except, perhaps, where their personal honour and independence are concerned; they possess an exceedingly clear and precise knowledge of their prospective or immediate requirements; they have as enlightened leaders among them as ever their powerful Northern neighbour possessed or possesses: all that they ask, and all that they should be granted, is the freedom to manage their own affairs in their own way and in their own time. A well-known writer upon Central America, who visited these countries some five-and-fifty years ago, declared: "Even as it was no one, whatever his prejudices, could fail to perceive the advance in the manners and customs, and the change in the spirit, of the people of Central America during the ten years of freedom which the Constitution secured." If that was true then, it is doubly, trebly true to-day, when education and foreign travel have served to open the minds and broaden the tolerance of these people, who may reasonably be permitted, and even earnestly encouraged, to work out their own salvation. By free and unrestricted intercourse with the nations of the world this can best be effected, and day by day is proving the truth of the saying of Dr. Johnson: "The use of travelling is to regulate imagination by reality, and, instead of thinking how things may be, see them as they are."

October, 1911.

CONTENTS

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY

CHAPTER I

Discovery of Salvador—Scenery—Volcanoes—Topographical features—Mountain ranges—Natural fertility—Lake Ilopango—Earthquake results—Remarkable phenomena—Disappearance of islands—Public roads improvement and construction under Figueroa government.

It was in the year 1502 that Christopher Columbus, that remarkable and noble-minded Genoese, undeterred by the shameful treatment meted out to him by his adopted countrymen in Spain, sailed away to the East Indies in search of a new passage; and it was in consequence of the mutiny among his ruffianly followers that, putting into Hispaniola, Salvador was discovered. For something over 300 years Spain ruled, and ruled brutally; the history of her government here—as elsewhere through Latin America—being one long series of oppressions, cruelties and injustices practised upon the unfortunate natives and the Spanish residents alike. The ill-treatment extended to Columbus is but a case in point.

Lying on the Pacific Ocean, between the parallels of 13° and 14° 10' N. latitude, and the meridians of 87° and 90° W. longitude, Salvador has a coast-line of about 160 miles, extending from the Bay of Fonseca to the River Paz, which is one of the boundaries between this Republic and the neighbouring State of Guatemala. While Salvador is the smallest of the five different countries forming the Central American group, boasting of but 9,600 square miles, it not alone possesses some of the richest and most beautiful territory, but has the densest population as well as the most considerable industry and the most important commerce.

Very remarkable are the topographical features of Salvador, and very profound is the impression created upon the traveller's mind as he approaches it for the first time through the beautiful Bay of Fonseca, with its wealth of tropical scenery, the romantic islands and the background of noble mountains, afforested to the tops of their numerous peaks, and filling the mind with awe at the memory of their numerous destructive eruptions through the centuries.

The coast here presents, for the greater part, a belt of low-lying, richly wooded alluvial land, varying in width from ten to twenty miles. Behind this, and displaying an abrupt face seawards, rises a noble range of coast mountains—or rather a broad plateau—having an average elevation of 2,000 feet, and relieved by numerous volcanic peaks. It is not the height of these mountains that lends so much dignity and beauty, for, as mountains go, they would be considered as anything but remarkable. It is their extraordinary formation, their almost terrible proximity, and their long and terrifying history, which challenge the attention of the individual who gazes upon them for the first time.

Between the range and the great primitive chain of the Cordilleras beyond, lies a broad valley varying in width from twenty to thirty miles, and being over 100 miles in length. Very gently the coastal plateau subsides towards this magnificent valley, which is drained and abundantly watered by the River Lempa, and is unsurpassed for natural beauty and fertility by any equal extent of country in the tropics.

The northern border of this terrestrial paradise—so far as the eye can judge it—rests upon the flank of the mountains of Honduras, which tower skywards about it to the height of 6,000 to 8,000 feet, broken and rugged to the very summits. To the south of the Lempa, however, the country rises from the immediate and proper valley of the river, first in the form of a terrace with a very abrupt face, and afterward by a gradual slope to the summit of the plateau.

Then comes another curious physical feature—a deep, green, and wooded basin of altogether unique scenic beauty and fertility, formed by the system of numerous small rivers which rise in the western part of the country around the feet of the volcano Santa Ana, falling finally into the sea near Sonsonate. This formation is in the shape of a triangle, the base resting on the sea, and the apex defined by the volcano. A second and even a larger basin is that of the River San Miguel, lying transversely to the valley of the River Lempa, in the eastern division of the State, and separated only by a number of smaller detached mountains from the Bay of Fonseca.

Approaching the Salvadorean coast upon any of the steamers which run there, one is confronted with no fewer than eleven great volcanoes, which literally bristle along the east of the plateau which has been mentioned as intervening between the valley of the Lempa and the sea. As a boy and a keen philatelist, I always wondered why Salvador postage-stamps had a group of three active and terrible-looking volcanoes upon their faces. When I visited that country for the first time I understood. The long row of sentinels, grim, yet extraordinarily beautiful, form a right line from north-west to south-east, accurately coinciding with the great line of volcanic action which is clearly defined from Mexico to Peru. Commencing on the side of Guatemala their order is as follows: Apaneca, Santa Ana, Izalco, San Salvador, San Vicente, Usulután, Tecapa, Zacatecoluca, Chinameca, San Miguel, and Conchagua. There are others of lesser note, besides a family of extinct volcanoes, whose craters are sometimes filled with water, as well as numerous volcanic vents or "blow-holes," which the natives not inaptly call infiernillos, i.e., "little hells!" Even the apparently harmless and beautiful island of Tigre, which occupies the centre of the Bay of Fonseca, and a veritable picture of scenic grandeur, is a slumbering volcano, and has a history at once interesting and terrifying. The memorable Cosieguina, El Viejo, Felica, and Momotombo, in Nicaragua, face El Tigre on the other side.

The most beautiful of the Republic's many volcanic lakes is that of Ilopango, on the borders of which is situated the village of the same name, with a scattered population of between 1,400 and 1,500 people. The lake is some 6·85 miles long from west to east, about 5·11 miles wide, with an area of 25·1 square miles and a developed shore-line of 28·8 miles. The late President of the Republic, General Fernando Figueroa, was kind enough to place a steam-launch at my disposal, which enabled me to see the lake under the most favourable auspices, and in company with his nephew, Señor Angulo, I spent several interesting hours upon its calm, deep green surface. This lake has been the scene of numerous remarkable volcanic phenomena, the most recent of which took place a few weeks after my visit, and resulted in the centre islands, which were one of its most charming features, completely disappearing beneath the surface of its waters.

In January, 1880, the lake had also been the scene of a severe earthquake, which shook the entire surrounding country. Upon this occasion the waters suddenly rose about 4 feet above their usual level, and, flowing into the bed of the Jibóa—a stream which forms the usual outlet from the lake—increased it to the proportions of a broad and raging river, which soon made for itself a channel from 30 to 35 feet in depth. A rapid subsidence in the level of the lake was thus produced, and by March 6 in the same year the surface was 34 feet below its maximum. It was then that the rugged and stony island, about 500 feet in diameter, and which I have mentioned above, suddenly rose over the waters, reaching to a height of 150 feet above the level of the lake and being surrounded by several smaller islands, the waters all around becoming intensely hot. Previous to this extraordinary phenomenon, the bottom of the lake, so I was informed, had been gradually rising, and so violent was the flood when it occurred, that the small village of Atuscatla, near the outlet, was entirely destroyed.

Some years afterwards—namely, in February, 1892—while some severe earthquakes were taking place in Guatemala, their reflex was felt in the same spot—Atuscatla, on Lake Ilopango—Lieutenant Hill, who was then making investigations in Salvador on behalf of the United States Government, declaring that a shock was felt lasting fifteen seconds, and then continued with gradually decreasing force for a further one minute and five seconds.

When I was a visitor to Ilopango, there were two extremely comfortable hotels to be found on the banks, both having some very convenient bathing facilities to offer, and each having a beautiful garden attached. During the hot season, and upon Sundays and all holidays, these hotels are crowded with visitors from San Salvador, who ride out in parties, there being no other mode of reaching the lake. The road is a truly beautiful one, travellers crossing numerous streams and passing through shady, blossom-covered woods, containing many magnificent trees. By moonlight this route appears remarkably picturesque, and many people prefer to make the journey thus. Ilopango is some four hours' ride from the capital, and the journey across the lake usually occupies another two or three hours in an electric or naphtha launch. The hotels and bathing establishments, however, are located upon the side of the lake nearest to San Salvador.

The outline of the beautiful Ilopango Lake, when last surveyed, was quite accurately determined by means of intersections from the various topographical stations. Its surface in January, 1893, was found to be 1,370 feet (417·6 metres) above the sea. Its actual depth the surveyors had no means of ascertaining; its basin, however, is far below the general level of the surrounding ridges, which are all volcanic. Those to the north and east are formed of layers of sand and ashes partially compacted, yellowish in colour, and throwing out spurs towards the lake, terminating in steep bluffs. West of the lake the ground rises to the San Jacinto Hills; but the soft material composing it has been eroded into a maze of sharp ridges and deep gulches. The eastern hills are also broken into a succession of knife-like ridges.

Professor Goodyear, a famous American geologist, has said that the southern hills consist entirely of volcanic materials, but are of a much harder and firmer structure than those of the north and east, being composed largely of conglomerates containing boulders well cemented together. The lake is situated upon the volcanic axis of the country, and has long been the seat of numerous earthquakes and active volcanic phenomena, the most violent of recent times being those of 1879 and 1880. According to the same Professor Goodyear, there was a series of earthquake shocks, some of great violence, extending from December 22 to January 12, 1880, followed by a period of quiet until the night of January 20, when, after a series of loud reports and explosions, followed by violent hissings and dense clouds of steam, a mass of volcanic rock rose from the centre of the lake to a height of 58 feet (17·7 metres). Previous to this the bottom of the lake had been gradually rising until January 11, and the waters had been lifted to maximum height of 5·2 feet above their usual level. This sudden rise converted the outlet from a small stream—not over 20 feet wide and a foot deep, and with a current of two or three miles per hour—into a raging torrent discharging as much water as a great river. So violent was the flood that the small village of Atuscatla, situated near the outlet, was as stated, destroyed, and the channel was so widened and deepened that the waters of the lake fell 38·6 feet (11·75 metres) from the highest point reached, or 33·4 feet (10·17 metres) below their original level. During the time of this flood the Rio Jibóa, which carries off the waters of the lake, was enormously swollen and became very muddy, and in the lower portion overflowed its banks, flooding broad tracts of the plain. By the middle of February, 1880, the lake adjusted itself to the new conditions, and since that time, until the visitation of last year (1910), there had been no great change in its level; the variations at present going on are due to the excess of precipitation during the rainy months over that which is prevalent in the dry season.

Anyone who had seen Salvador, say, ten years ago, and who revisited it to-day, would assuredly be impressed by the great improvement which has taken place in, and the extension of, both the main and sub-roads of the Republic. Whereas in former times the roads were only passable in the dry season, and were even then very trying to travellers on account of the dust encountered, while in the wet season they became mere morasses, to-day they are in the majority of cases so well built and so carefully maintained that even in the wet season of the year it is quite possible to use them.

This great improvement has been brought about mainly by the enterprise of the late President, General Fernando Figueroa, who evinced a keen and consistent interest in opening up new means of communication by making public roadways of enduring worth, his excellent work being actively continued by his present successor.

Views on New National Road, between San Vicente and Ilopango.

The main routes of communication in Salvador run longitudinally through the country, from Rio Paz and the city of Ahuachapán on the west, to La Unión and the Rio Guascorán on the east. From this central line, which connects all the important cities and towns of the interior, other roads run out like spurs to the towns and the cities to the northward, or to those of the coast to the southward. Thus, from Santa Ana there is a road north to Metapán, and one south to Sonsonate and Acajutla. Ahuachapán also has a road to Sonsonate via Ataco and Apaneca, two towns which are located high up in the mountains. At Sitio de Niño, on the Salvador Railway line, there is a road northward to Opico. Here, also, the main road to the city of San Salvador divides, one branch going north to the volcano of that name, and the other to the south of it via the famous Guarumál Ravine and Santa Tecla. From the city of San Salvador there are roads north to Chalatenango via Tonacatepeque, and south to the port of La Libertad via Santa Tecla.

Cojutepeque is connected by road to the towns of Ilobasco and Sensuntepeque to the north-east. San Vicente has a road to the port of La Libertad, running south-west via Zacatecoluca. At San Vicente the main east and west road separates, one branch going to the north of the Tecapa-San Miguel group of volcanoes, via the cities of Jucuapa and Chinameca to San Miguel, and the other south via the city of Usulután. San Miguel has several roads leading in all directions. There is one north to the town of Gotera, another north-east to the Mining District via Jocoró and Santa Rosa, which continues to the principal crossings of the Rio Guascorán; and there is yet another, running nearly due east to La Unión, on the Gulf of Fonseca.

I was in the country while construction was proceeding in connection with the Ilopango-San Vicente road improvements, and I was much impressed with the thoroughness of the work being undertaken. The new construction was some 40 kilometres long by 6¹⁄₂ to 7 metres in width (say 20 to 25 feet). It was commenced in 1906, and it will be finished by the end of next year (1912). It is estimated to cost not less than 350,000 pesos. It is a purely Government undertaking, and ranks as one of the most important highways in the Republic. At first over 250 men were employed, but as the work progressed this number was reduced to 200. The highest part of the road is cut through the side of the mountain at 210 metres (say 700 feet) above the shore of Lake Ilopango. The steepest gradient is 7 per cent., and the minimum radius 20 feet. The most expensive part was that between Kilometre 14 and Kilometre 13, where extremely hard rocks have had to be cut through. At one point ten men were engaged for a period of nine months upon the most difficult part, and they were suspended from above by ropes, in order to reach and to cut down the massive timber trees obstructing progress.

The Chief Engineer engaged by the Government to undertake this contract is Señor Don Juan Luis Buerón, a German by birth, having seen the light at Königsberg; but he is a United States citizen by adoption. Señor Buerón is now seventy-eight years of age, and although he is getting rather beyond active hard work, his valuable experience and shrewd judgment are much appreciated by the Government in all such matters as road construction. He has built many public roads in North America, he told me, and was also responsible for laying the track of the Havana (Cuba) tramways. This interesting old engineer had also gained some experience in Mexico before the days of Maximilian (1857-1869). He now occupies a position of comfort, and enjoys the deep respect of the hundreds of peons who call him master. Señor Juan Buerón junior, the son, is an equally capable road engineer, and assists his father in his work for the Government of Salvador.

Another road deserving of mention is that which has been put under the charge of the official engineer, Don Guillermo Quirós, and one which unites the town of Santiago-de-María with the port of Linares, on the River Lempa, passing through Alegría. The section from Santiago-de-María to Alegría has been completed, and it was officially inaugurated while I was in the Republic; the journey from Berlín to the River Lempa can now be continued with much greater celerity. Very considerable are the advantages that this highway has brought to that part of the country, in which are situated the most valuable coffee plantations, whose owners now find far greater conveniences for bringing the berry to the port of El Triunfo, since the road leading to this place has also been repaired and widened to facilitate the transit by beasts of burden. The official engineer, Don Manuel Aragón, has been occupied with the planning and opening of a road from Citalá, in the department of Chalatenango, to Metapán, in the department of Santa Ana. The road leading from this capital to the port of La Libertad is likewise the object of attention. The official engineer, Don Andrés Soriano, with a gang of foremen and labourers, have been working for several months past repairing it.

This highroad continually needs very large sums of money for maintenance. The repairs which in former years have been carried out have proved anything but lasting, owing to the serious mistakes in construction of an engineer who put into practice certain untried experiments, which completely failed.

It is necessary now to remedy this mistake, and drains and aqueducts have had to be constructed on the road where none previously existed, to avoid, in the rainy season, destruction by the strong currents of water rushing over it. The official engineer, Don Alberto Pinto, was occupied during a good part of the year 1908 upon road works, having made many alterations, improvements and widenings in the roads of the Departments of San Miguel, La Unión, Usulután, Chalatenango, Santa Ana and Cabañas.

On the way from Mercedes to Jucuapa, and also upon the road to San Miguel, it is proposed to construct a bridge of stone and mortar, at the place called Barrancas de Jucuapa; the chief engineer, Señor Pinto, has already made an estimate and sent in the corresponding plans. The cost will amount to a little more or a little less than $10,000.

CHAPTER II

Early Days of independence—"Central American Federation"—Constitutional Presidents—Executive power—Chamber of Congress—The Cabinet—Justice—The courts—Prisons and prisoners—Employment and treatment—Police force—How distributed—Education—Colleges and schools—State-aided education—Teaching staffs—Primary education—Posts and telegraphs—Improved interstate parcels post.

The breaking away from Spanish dominion (although the seeds of revolution were laid as far back as 1811) did not take place until ten years later, and coincided with the successful termination of the struggle for liberty which occurred in Mexico under the patriot priest Hidalgo. Salvador gained its freedom, comparatively speaking, without bloodshed; and on September 15, 1821, it was declared a free and independent State. In the year following an attempt was made to annex the country to the Mexican Empire, under the rule of the ambitious and unscrupulous Emperor Agustin Yturbide, during his very brief reign, in 1822. As history relates, this presumptuous Mexican was born in Valladolid (now known as Morelia) on September 27, 1783, and he was sentenced to death and shot on July 19, 1824.

It is to the credit of Salvador that it was the one Central American State which firmly resisted the invasion of the Mexican troops; but in the end it had to submit to a far superior force, commanded by General Filisola, and was then formally incorporated into the Mexican Empire. This humiliation endured, however, for a very brief time, since in the following year Yturbide met his violent death, after which a Constitutional Convention was called, and in 1824 a Federal Republic was declared bearing the name of the "Central American Federation." This was composed of the five States—Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica—the first President being General Manuel José Arce.

Party jealousies and personal ambitions, however, soon brought about disintegration, and in spite of the efforts of some far-seeing patriots, who considered that in union alone lay the hope of peace, security and prosperity for their country, the form of government proved wholly impracticable. Nevertheless it continued for a few years to struggle along, General Francisco Morazán, doing his best to maintain order and to save the union from disruption. Notwithstanding all his efforts, the Federation was dissolved in 1839, and the five States again became independent Sovereign Republics. Three years later General Morazán unwisely made another effort to reunite the countries; but his attempt was treacherously rewarded by a conspiracy against his life, followed by his execution in San José, Costa Rica, in the month of September, 1842.

Since his death various attempts have been made from time to time, to reunite the several Republics, the last effort of this kind having been prosecuted by General Zelaya, perhaps one of the most unscrupulous and dishonest, as well as one of the cruellest, Spanish-Americans who has ever attained supreme power. Whatever chances of success a United Central America might have had, under the auspices of a Zelaya it could have never met with anything but failure. General Zelaya, in spite of frantic efforts to maintain his position, was himself chased from Nicaragua in 1909, and is now said to be living in Europe upon the proceeds of the money which he is declared to have filched from his country during his long and oppressive reign.

In the year 1885, General Justo Rufino Barríos, President of Guatemala, had sought to accomplish what Morazán had failed to do; but his efforts ended equally in disaster. On August 13, 1886, the Constitution which is at present in force was promulgated, and General Menéndez was elected as first President under that Constitution by popular vote in 1887, for the term ending in 1890. He was succeeded by General Carlos Ezeta, who was inaugurated on March 1, 1891. The third President was General Rafael Gutierrez. Then followed General Tomás Regaládo; Don Pedro José Escalón; General Fernando Figueroa; and the ruling President, Doctor Manuel Enrique Araujo.

The form of government in vogue is that of a free, sovereign and independent Republic—that is to say, democratic, elective, and representative. The Constitution now in existence is contained in a code of articles. The Government is divided into Legislative, Executive, and Judicial sections. The Legislative power is vested in the National Assembly, which is composed of one Chamber, and having the title of the National Chamber of Deputies. This consists of 42 members, three Deputies being elected for each Department by direct popular vote for a term of one year, the right to vote being vested in every male citizen who is over eighteen years of age. It is to be observed that every Salvadorean is not only privileged, but is compelled to vote, thus doing his duty to the State.

The Executive consists of a President and a Vice-President, who are elected by popular vote for a term of four years. In addition to being Chief Magistrate, the President is also Commander-in-Chief of the Army. In the event of a failure to elect the Executive, a President is chosen by a majority of votes in the Congress from among the three candidates having polled the largest number of votes in the popular election. He is not eligible for re-election either as President or as Vice-President until four years shall have elapsed. The date of the Executive's inauguration is on March 1 following the election, which is usually held in the month of November.

The administration of each of the fourteen different Departments is in the hands of a Governor, who is selected by the President from personal knowledge of both his capacity and temperament. Besides administering the civil affairs of the territory under his jurisdiction, this official is usually either a military man or one possessed of adequate military knowledge; and he is thus Commandant of the military of his Department.

It was my pleasure to meet, and spend some considerable time in the company of, many of the Governors of the different Departments, and I was deeply impressed with their general thoroughness of purpose, their keen desire in all cases to further the interests of their Departments, and to apply to their benefit any and every advantage which could be adapted from the governments of other countries.

The municipalities, on the other hand, are managed entirely by their own officials, all of whom are elected by the people themselves. The officials comprise an Alcade, or Mayor, a Syndic and several Regidores, or Aldermen, these being numbered according to the size of the population. A good deal of competition exists for office, and at the time of election much amusement is derived from watching the canvassing in progress. There is a decidedly healthy appearance of municipal enterprise in most of the towns of Salvador, and, taking these as a whole, they seem to be uncommonly well administered. In the accepted sense of the word, there is no real poverty, no slums, no crying "graft" scandal demanding redress, as in our much-vaunted civilization, and such charities as are rendered necessary in the form of hospital relief and medical attention are rendered cheerfully and as a matter of course, entailing neither a favour nor a dependence upon either party.

In Salvador, as in all the Latin-American Republics, the President is a reality, and not a mere figure-head. He makes his presence felt, and yet, in a perfectly constitutional manner; he associates the form of a democracy with the reality of government. For many years past the people have had, and have to-day, an excellent example of a thoroughly sensible and dignified Chief Executive, who has firmly upheld the good name of the country and piloted it with a strong, and even masterly, hand through a maze of difficulties. Of General Fernando Figueroa as of Doctor don Manuel Enrique Araujo, it may truthfully be said that they have kept before them a lofty ideal of the honour of their nation, and one which has been the one incentive in guiding their policy. The whole demeanour of these distinguished men has been productive of the country's esteem, while their real qualities for administration have not been denied even by their most determined political opponents.

The personnel of the present Ministry in Salvador reflects the best intelligence and the greatest administrative ability of that country, the President having selected from among the former members of the Cabinet, and added to their number, such persons as enjoy the confidence of the majority of the Congress; and he has retained them as his advisers and his coadjutors so long as, and not longer than, that confidence continues. The present Cabinet consist of the following:

Ministers or Secretaries of State.

Foreign Affairs, Justice and Beneficence: Doctor don Francisco Dueñas. Interior, Industry ("Fomento"), Public Instruction and Agriculture: Doctor don Teodosio Corranza. Finances and Public Credit: Don Rafael Guirola, D.

Sub-Secretaries of State.

Foreign Affairs: Doctor don Manuel Castro, R. Justice and Beneficence: Doctor don José Antonio Castro, V. Interior: Doctor Cecilio Bustamente. Industry ("Fomento"): Ingeniéro José Maria Peralta Lagos. Public Instruction: Doctor Gustavo Baron. Agriculture: Don Miguel Dueñas. Finance and Public Credit: Don Carlos G. Prieto. War and Marine: Don Eusebio Bracamonte.

H. E. Dr. Manuel Enrique Araujo;
President of the Republic of Salvador 1911-1915.

Perhaps it is the Ministry of the Interior which is charged with the most numerous and most important sections. Upon this Department depend the General Direction of the Post-Office; the General Direction of the Telegraph and Telephones; the General Direction of Police; the Direction of the National Printing Establishment; the Direction of the Superior Council of Health; the General Direction of Vaccination, as well as of the Municipal Treasury and many other small offices that complete the establishments included in the public administration.

The number of measures carried out by this one Ministry during the years 1907 and 1908 amounted, more or less, to 3,600. The subjects that came under the jurisdiction of the Secretaryship of State are also many and complex; and in order to attain results they demand both constant attention and an intimate knowledge of the administrative laws, the many special regulations, the numerous statutes and dispositions which exist, as well as any quantity of minor laws.

The Judicial Power is vested in a Supreme Court, which holds its sittings in the city of San Salvador; two District Courts, which are also held in the city; District Courts which are held in the cities of Santa Ana, San Miguel, and Cojutepeque, as well as periodical Circuit Courts held in different districts; and there is a long list of Justices of the Peace.

The Justices of the Supreme Court are elected by the National Assembly for a term of two years, while the Judges of the First and Second Instance are appointed by the Supreme Court for a term of two years. The Justices of the Minor Courts are elected by popular vote.

As in most Latin-American countries, the course of justice is not always speedy, all depositions, no matter how trivial the case under trial may be, nor whether it be civil or criminal, having to be laboriously written out, "examination-in-chief" and "cross-examination" being practices little known. Naturally, an immense amount of valuable time is thus consumed, and the results are anything but conclusive.

To a considerable extent the administration of justice in Central America is based upon the same principles as those in force in the United States, and it is generally admitted, especially by those who have suffered from them, that these are far from perfect. The theory of Latin-American justice is excellent, such theory being that every man is entitled to justice speedily and without delay, freely and without price. We all know that this is not the experience of litigants generally, and in no part of Latin America can the administration of justice be considered entirely perfect. Salvador is not worse off than any of its neighbours in this respect, while, on the other hand, there is a decided amount of respect entertained for the judiciary, and few verdicts have been given which have called forth any protest, nor many rulings handed down which have excited conflict among the public.

Travellers in Latin-American countries, more often than not such as pay but a very superficial visit to those lands, are in the habit of drawing pitiful pictures of the cruelty practised upon prisoners and injustice shown towards litigants, and they indulge in harrowing accounts of "nauseating filth," "poisonous stenches," "germs of disease," "bad food," and numerous other, blood-curdling horrors. However true such descriptions of some countries are, and I rather imagine that most of them are the outcome of vivid imagination on the one hand and of blind prejudice upon the other, it is certain that nothing of this kind can be truthfully said about Salvador.

It would be ridiculous to suppose that this Republic more than any other builds luxuriously-equipped and comfortable prison-houses, to act as an encouragement for the committing of crime. The object of punishment, we are told, is prevention of evil, and we all know that under no circumstances can it be made incentive to good. The punishments inflicted upon Salvadorean prisoners are based upon much about the same scale as in other countries; but the physical condition of the prisoners as a whole is infinitely better than that which is to be met with in any other Latin-American country, with the two exceptions of Peru and Mexico.[1] Of all three countries I may say with every justice that the present prison system is of a much more lenient and humane nature than that of any other country in either the old or new world. I state this deliberately and after having visited most of the prisons in Latin-American Republics, as well as many of those to be found in Europe and the United States.

It is the object of the Government of Salvador to make as much use of prisoners' services as is legitimate, and at the same time to find for them intelligent and useful occupations. While hard work is not always compulsory, and is not always an accompaniment of a sentence to imprisonment, every encouragement is offered to prisoners to engage themselves in some kind of work; and in many instances substantial payments are derived from some of the work thus undertaken, all such payments being carefully preserved for the use of the prisoners, and handed over to them at the time of their release. Thus, for instance, in the Penitenciaría Central, at San Salvador, which is the chief penal establishment in the Republic, many of the prisoners are engaged in making furniture for the public offices, as well as military and police uniforms, boots, etc., likewise for use in the army and the police force. I am not sure whether any payment is made to prisoners for this kind of contribution; but in other penal establishments which I visited I observed that the prisoners were making baskets, mats, toys, and other small articles, which were offered to visitors for a trifling sum, and in other cases were sent to the public market for sale.

At the Penitenciaría at Santa Ana the same method was in vogue with regard to employing prisoners, some remarkably good furniture, police clothing, and military boots and shoes, being turned out here also. In this establishment, as well as in others, the utmost cleanliness prevails. The long rows of airy and well-ventilated cells are well lighted, the walls and ceilings being whitewashed and the floors, built of red brick, kept scrupulously clean. No furniture of any kind is allowed to remain in the cells during the day, but at night mattresses with clean blankets are thrown down side by side, and the prisoners sleep with their day-clothes folded up and placed under their heads or deposited under the mattresses.

In other cells there are light canvas or wooden cots of an easily detachable nature, which are folded up and put away during the daytime, so that the cells are always free from encumbrances of any kind. Prisoners are allowed to move about freely (unless under very severe punishment due to violence) from the cells to the yard, and most of them are engaged during the daytime in weaving baskets, sewing materials, or doing some other kind of work which may be congenial to them. They are not compelled to wear any special form of clothing nor a degrading uniform, while some are even permitted to smoke.

Although strictly guarded by armed soldiers, I did not, when I visited these establishments, witness a single instance of brutality or overbearing demeanour on the part of these guardians; on the other hand, there seemed to be a sort of fraternity between them and their wards, chatting and laughter proceeding, apparently, without objection upon the part of the Governor or Superintendents.

The area of the prison cells was in no case less than 10 feet by 6 feet, and in some instances it was found to be considerably larger. All ablutionary exercises take place in the paved yard of the prison, and prisoners are compelled to bathe at least once a week in the open air; those who are so inclined may take a bath once every day. The food, which I had the opportunity of tasting, seemed thoroughly wholesome and plentiful, meat being provided in quantities as well as boiled maize, beans (frijoles), and coffee of excellent quality.

I can only repeat that, from close personal observation, I am unable to endorse any of the harrowing descriptions of prison barbarities, which I have referred to above, as applying in any way to Salvadorean penitentiaries.

Considerable attention has been paid to the establishment and maintenance of a thoroughly efficient Police Force, by the late Director-General, General Enrique Bará, who has studied the question of Police administration in Europe and the United States, and has applied most of the good points which he found existing there to the Police organization in the Republic of Salvador.

All Police are under the control of the Minister of the Interior—Ministerio de Gobernación—although the organization itself is a military one. The severest discipline is maintained, and the men are moderately well paid. They seem, moreover, to be drawn from the better classes instead of from the worst, as is so often, unfortunately, the case in some parts of Latin America.

All the larger towns, such as Santa Ana, San Miguel, Sonsonate, La Unión, etc., have their own well-organized Police Force, each placed under a responsible officer, but all of them directly dependent upon, and subject to control from, the Capital. Especial care is taken to organize both the day and night corps, and, as a consequence of the strictness which is maintained, very few robberies, and scarcely any murders, take place nowadays in the Capital or chief towns.

The Superior Officers of the Police Force consist of the following:

1 Director-General.
1 Sub-Director.
1 Secretario de la Dirección (Secretary to the Director-General).
1 Tesorero Específico (Special Treasurer).
1 Instructor.
1 Ayudante de la Dirección (Adjutant to the Director).
1 Juez Especial de Policia (Special Police Magistrate).
1 Secretario del Juzgado de Policia (Secretary to the Police Magistrate).
1 Guarda-Almacén (Storekeeper).
1 Escribiente de la Dirección (Amanuensis to the Director).
1 Escribiente del Juzgado (Amanuensis to the Magistrate).
1 Escribiente de la Comandancia (Amanuensis to the Commandant).
1 Medico del Cuerpo (Doctor to the Corps).
1 Practicante (Assistant-Surgeon).
1 Telegrafista (Telegraphist).
3 Barberos (Barbers).
2 Asistentes (Assistants).

The present Director-General of the Police is General Gregorio Hernández A., who was appointed in the month of May last (1911).

The Capital is divided up into seven different districts or zones, each zone being policed as follows:

Zone 1: 1 Comandante (Chief Superintendent in Charge), 1 Sergeant,
4 Inspectors, and 60 Policemen.
Zone 2: Same as Zone 1.
Zone 3: 1 Comandante, 1 Sergeant, 3 Inspectors, and 60 Policemen.
Zone 4: 1 Comandante, 1 Sergeant, 2 Inspectors, and 64 Policemen.
Zone 5: 1 Comandante, 1 Sergeant, 2 Inspectors, and 64 Policemen.
Zone 6: 1 Comandante, 1 Sergeant, 2 Inspectors, and 56 Policemen.
Zone 7: 1 Comandante, 1 Sergeant, 2 Inspectors, and 40 Policemen.

In this last zone the policemen are mounted.

The different Departments are also well policed, as follows:

New San Salvador (Santa Tecla), having 1 Comandante (Superintendent and Director), 2 Inspectors, and 40 Policemen.

Sonsonate: 1 Comandante (Superintendent and Director), 1 Sub-Director, 1 Secretario, 3 Inspectors, and 32 Policemen.

Cojutepeque: 1 Director, 2 Inspectors, and 25 Policemen.

Atiquizaya: 1 Director, 1 Inspector Secretario, 1 Sub-Inspector (or Second Inspector), and 15 Policemen.

San Vicente: 1 Comandante (Director), 3 Inspectors, and 21 Policemen.

Ahuachapán: 1 Director, 1 Secretario, 3 Inspectors, and 27 Policemen.

Chalchuápa has two Zones, which are policed as follows: First: 1 Director, 2 Inspectors, and 27 Policemen. Second: 1 Director, 2 Inspectors, and 18 Policemen.

Santa Ana: 1 Director, 1 Sub-Director, 1 Secrétario, 1 Guarda-Almacen, 2 Escribientes, 150 Policemen, 1 Comandante de Dragones, 1 Sergeant, and 40 Mounted Men.

San Miguel: 1 Director, 1 Sub-Director, 4 Inspectors, and 57 Policemen.

La Unión: 1 Director, 1 Sub-Director, 3 Inspectors, and 40 Policemen.

Zacatecoluca: 1 Director, 2 Inspectors, and 18 Policemen.

The total personnel of the Salvadorean Police Force is as follows:

The Government of Salvador are of opinion, and very rightly so to my thinking, that inasmuch as education is compulsory it ought to be free, since the State, by depriving parents of the labour of their children, entails some sacrifices on them. It has also relieved them of the burden of paying any kind of school fees; and this in a country like Salvador, which possesses naturally a great proportion of humble inhabitants, to whom the payment of even the lightest fees would appear an immense taxation, means a great deal. To organize a system of collecting fees from among the people living long distances from the Capital would also have been onerous; and the Government saves all this, and many other outlays, while procuring the best results from its educational system. The benefits arising, moreover, will be reaped by future generations, since a liberal education is a matter in which all citizens are interested; and there is certainly no hardship in calling upon all to contribute by means of a moderate tax towards that end.

As I have said, the happiest results have been achieved by the Government's broad and comprehensive system of education in Salvador. The authorities combine with the municipalities in carrying out their arrangements, and the teachers of both sexes are drawn from among the best and most cultured classes of the community.

There has been established since July, 1907, a Board of Education (Junta de Educación), which is subject to the directorship of a specially-appointed Minister and Sub-Secretario of Public Instruction. In the month of November, 1907, an important conference was summoned, and held meetings at the Capital, at which the curriculum to be adopted was fully discussed, and the plans for the carrying on of all places of private and public education was entirely reorganized. The whole system of conducting elementary, normal, and advanced schools, holding day and night classes, granting scholarships and holding periodical examinations, has now been placed upon a thoroughly sound and comprehensive basis; and it is only just to say that in this respect the Republic of Salvador compares most favourably with any country in Europe, or with any educational system in the United States of America.

The education of the sexes is conducted in the same elementary schools, and not only is this found an economy, but the feminine mind is found here (as in Scotland and elsewhere) to become strengthened when put through the curriculum given to boys and men. Competition is greater between the sexes than between rivals of the same sex, and a correspondingly higher standard of achievement is obtained. It has been found in Latin America, where until recent years women were kept in ignorance and were denied the attainment of any but social positions in the community, that constant intercourse between the sexes had led to a more perfect development of character, and had materially diminished shyness. Marriages are now made of a safer kind, and a new and more intelligent class of citizen is springing up, all of which facts will tend in due course to bring about a more complete political settlement and the introduction of permanent order among the people. Although by no means as yet extinct, the conventual existence for the women of Salvador is fast diminishing, and they are commencing to realize the advantages and pleasures of living under freer and less morbid conditions than formerly.

Santa Ana seems to be essentially the educational centre of the Republic; for whereas schools, colleges, and Universities are to be found in all of the Departments, in Santa Ana there are no fewer than thirty-three such establishments, besides several private schools and seminaries. San Salvador has between 6 and 7 important educational institutes, and many small private schools; Cuscutlán has 8 or 9; La Paz, 7 or 8; Sonsonate, 5 or 6; while Ahuachapán, Chalatenango, Cabañas, San Vicente, La Unión, Morazán, and La Libertad, are all similarly well provided.

The teaching staff at present employed under Government control numbers something over 1,100, and is divided up into Directors, Sub-Directors, Auxiliary Professors, these being composed of both the male and the female sex. These latter are in a small minority, but, still, there are over 278 Lady Directors, over 120 Sub-Directors, and 100 Professors.

The 3rd Company, Sergeants' School, in Review Order.

Company in line, Sergeants' School.

Section of Riflemen kneeling, Sergeants' School.

The proportion of pupils matriculating is extremely high, and in this respect the girls come very close in point of number, as also in the number of marks obtained, to the boys. The Government provides all the necessary books, stationery, models, apparatus, etc., for the use of the pupils, and these latter are not put to one penny expenditure for anything that they may require. It is considered absolutely proper and consistent with the dignity of the family for a Salvadorean child to receive a Government free education; and as this is divorced from all compulsory religious instruction, children of all denominations, or of none, can participate. As a matter of fact, practically all attending are of the Roman Catholic faith, but no dogmatic teaching is resorted to in any establishment under Government control.

Mention should be made of the very useful and successful educational establishments which the Government has organized and supported since 1907, such as the Medical and Surgical College, Chemistry and Dental Schools, Commerce and Industry College, as well as the National University, which has been entirely remodelled and reorganized since December 15, 1907.

Upon several occasions the Government has found the necessary money to send a particularly promising pupil to Europe or to the United States, for the purposes of study and receiving the finest training that the world of art and letters can offer. The last pupil to be sent to study music at the expense of the Government was Señorita Natalia Ramos, who left for Italy in the month of May (1911), and is now making good progress there. In every sense of the word the Salvadorean Government has proved a "paternal Government" in these respects; and many a genius has been rescued from probable obscurity, and much dormant talent has been fostered and encouraged for the benefit of the community at large as well as to the lasting advantage of the individual.

Attention on the part of the Government is now being given to a further modification in the system of primary instruction; and this is being effected gradually, it being proposed as a preliminary to establish several high schools throughout the country. A School of Agriculture, with all necessary elements and machinery, was inaugurated during the year 1908. Mixed primary schools in the country now number 132, with a total number of registered pupils amounting to 34,752. Expenditures for 1907 under this head were nearly $400,000, and in addition there are many private institutions where primary instruction only is given. Academic teaching is in the charge of the National University of San Salvador, embracing schools of law, medicine, pharmacy, dentistry, civil engineering, etc.

In no other part of the Government service has greater improvement been manifested than in the Department of Posts. This Department is supported out of its own revenues, and the service during the past few years has been extended to a very considerable extent, while the credit of the Central Office has been maintained by punctuality in the payments of the foreign postal service. Among the more notable Conventions celebrated have been those with the Republic of Mexico for the exchange of parcels and money orders, and a triweekly postal service introduced to the neighbouring Republic of Guatemala via Jerez; a postal service has also been established with the same country via Zacapa. It is satisfactory to be able to state that since the inauguration of these additional services, which took place early in 1907, scarcely any interruptions have occurred, not even in the rainiest weather, a fact which may be attributed to the zeal and ability of the officials and employés of the Postal Department.

The annual expenditure of this branch of the public service has increased from $87,084 in 1902, $102,787 in 1903, $121,756 in 1904, $142,855 in 1905, $161,662 in 1906, to over $200,000 in 1910. The regularity and rapidity with which the house-to-house postal deliveries take place in the Capital and principal cities of the Republic have frequently been noticed, and favourably commented upon, by foreigners sojourning in Salvador. Honesty among the employés is no less a feature of the postal arrangements in this Republic, where all public servants are reasonably paid and are as diplomatically handled, so that general contentment obtains among the large class of public servants employed.

The Parcel Post Department is also exhibiting from year to year notable increases, as the following figures will show: $44,613.55 in 1901; $58,096.27 in 1902; $68,467.30 in 1903; $88,557.60 in 1904; $90,662.72 in 1905; $93,295.80 in 1906; and for the first six months in 1907 the figures given are $51,654.86, or at the rate of $103,000 for the whole year.

A Postal Convention for the exchange of money orders between Salvador and Great Britain was signed in London on June 27, 1907, in San Salvador on the following August 27, 1907, and, after being approved by the President, General Figueroa, took effect on September 5, 1907, the exchange offices being situated at San Salvador and London respectively.

The telegraph and telephone service has also increased consistently, especially since 1903, at which time as an economic measure, and for the convenience of the public, a considerable reduction took place in the amounts of the charges. There has been a large increase in telephonic connections, and several new offices have been established, while the old ones have been considerably improved, necessitating large outlays for this purpose, as well as for works and materials. Many hundreds of miles of new telephone and telegraph lines have been added to the system, of late there has been a marked increase in the telephone and telegraph apparatus, and the personnel of the system has been proportionately augmented. There have been two handsome towers constructed at San Salvador, and another at Santa Ana, for the introduction of wires to the Central Offices, and the system in vogue leaves little to be desired either in regard to efficiency or completeness. The general budget for telegraphs and telephones has risen steadily, from a little over $260,000, in 1902, to over $500,000, in 1910.

During the year 1910 the number of cablegrams received in the Republic were as follows: Cables sent from Salvador, 7,877; received in the Republic, 8,723. In those transmitted there were used 61,727 words, and in those received 75,950. Total of cables sent and received, 16,600 = 137,677 words. The amount represented in cost was $96,450.47, and of this the Government received $23,994.27.

Considerable progress has been made in Salvador in connection with wireless telegraphy, this being one of the first—if not the first—of the Central American Republics to adopt the new system of communication. By the time these pages are in the hands of the reading public, the Government will have completed two additional wireless stations, one at Planes de Renderos, near the Capital (San Salvador), and the other at the Port of La Libertad. With the completion of these stations, wireless communication will have been established between the Capital and all the ports of the Republic.

The electric light service used and supported by the Government has also increased. In 1902 the total cost was barely $25,000, whereas to-day it amounts to over $50,000, exclusive of the value of subventions by which several of the electric light companies have been aided by the Government.

In connection with the recently-held Central American Conference convened in Guatemala City, and at which representatives of all five Central American States were present, great improvements were resolved upon in reference to the postal arrangements between these States. It was determined, for instance, to introduce a much more comprehensive parcels post; and although the dimensions of articles which may be sent were not much extended, the character of the commerce carried through the post was considerably broadened, with beneficial results to all of the different States. It was, among other things, decided to prevent any libellous or indecent publications passing through the Post-Office; and here a distinct improvement has been made upon British Post-Office methods, which permit of the carrying of any sort of literature so long as it is covered from inspection. The Central American postal authorities reserve the right—and exercise it—to open and retain anything which they suspect to be of a dangerous or wrongful nature, and thus they act with more intelligence than some of their European brethren.

The Regulation for the Control of the Postal Service, as passed by the Government on September 26, 1893, was found wholly unfit for this important branch; and from that date to the present, continual reforms have been introduced into the postal service, which now stands among the best regulated in Central America. In the Fiscal Estimate of the year 1907, passed by the National Congress, several notable economies were introduced, such as the suppression of some of the too numerous employés, and reduction of the salaries of others; while these measures seemed opportune, they did not work well in practice, neither did they give good results. The Ministry was obliged, therefore, to again make alterations in order to insure permanent order in the postal department.

By a resolution of September 28 and October 24 respectively, the Government arranged to suppress the office of Administrator of the Post-Offices in the different Capitals of the Departments, joining the functions of that to those of the Administrator of Revenues, but without augmenting the pay for this additional service. From this arrangement, however, the offices of Santa Ana, Sonsonate, and San Miguel, were excepted, while some others were annexed to the Department of the Fiscal Receiver and to the respective telegraph-offices.

At present the active staff of the Postal Service of the Republic is composed of 327 individuals, organized in the following departments: General Direction; Departmental Administrations; Postal Contractors. The General Direction is subdivided thus: Sub-Direction; Secretary; Bookkeeper and Cashier; Office of Postal Statistics; Keeper of Stores; Amanuensis; and Keeper of the Archives. The Chiefs are those of the Foreign Department, of the Interior, of Registered Letters, of Parcels Post, and of Poste Restante and Unclaimed Letters Department. There are besides five Assistants, two Transmitters of Postal Specie, twenty-two letter-carriers, and forty-eight junior postmen.

The Exchange Offices include three Administrators, three Superintendents, and six letter-carriers. Those of the first class are—six Administrators, six superintendents, sixteen letter-carriers, and twenty-five postmen. Those of the second class are—six Administrators and eight letter-carriers. Those of the third class are—nineteen Administrators and an equal number of letter-carriers. Those of the fourth class are—forty-three Administrators and forty-three letter-carriers; and these are again sub-administered by the respective municipalities. There are seven Postal Contractors, who have in their service some forty or fifty subordinates. Three Postal Agencies complete the service, namely—one in Panama (Central America), one in the Sitio del Niño (a station on the Salvador Railway), and the other in Parras Lempa.

CHAPTER III

Biographical—The President, Dr. Manuel E. Araujo—The ex-President, General Fernando Figueroa—The Cabinet—Dr. Francisco Dueñas—Don Rafael Guirola, D.—Dr. Teodosio Corranza—Dr. Manuel Castro, R.—Dr. Cecilio Bustamente—Señor José Maria Peralta Lagos—Dr. José A. Castro, V.—Dr. E. Bracamonte—Dr. Miguel Dueñas—Señor Carlos G. Prieto—Dr. Artúro Ramón Ávila.

Dr. Manuel Enrique Araujo, President of the Republic of Salvador, although a comparatively young man, has long been regarded as one of the most distinguished scholars and politicians of his time. Born at Jucuapa, he came at a very early age to the Capital, in order to study medicine and surgery, and very soon he secured a wide reputation—extending, indeed, beyond the confines of his own country—as a great authority upon special medical and surgical cases. While still quite young, Dr. Manuel Araujo was married to Señorita Maria Peralta, the beautiful and accomplished daughter of a former President of the Republic, Don José Maria Peralta, a man who enjoyed universal respect and affection.

The young politician was always a strong Liberal in politics, but he never permitted party spirit to prejudice him in respect to his public actions, which have, both before and since his occupancy of the Chief Magistracy, been characterized by complete independence of judgment and commendable broad-mindedness. Besides being the selected occupant of the Presidential Chair by practically all political parties alike, Dr. Araujo is regarded as the representative of both the culture and the scientific professionalism of the country. As already mentioned, he is a very distinguished surgeon; he has also invented some very delicate and useful surgical instruments, many of which may be found in the Paris and Continental hospitals. The Chief Executive occupies the position of President of the Salvador Branch of the Spanish-American University. In social as well as in educational circles, Dr. Araujo is highly respected, apart from his exalted position; and to foreigners he is especially persona grata, on account of his broad sympathies and general charm of manner. It will be entirely contrary to general expectations and present appearances if, during his tenancy of the Chief Magistracy, Salvador fails to enjoy a great industrial peace and prosperity, as well as a financial regeneration, such as has long been devised to place this State in the fore-rank of Latin-American countries.

While politics in Salvador, as in so many other countries north and south of the Equator, have come to be regarded as a profession, Dr. Araujo has shown that he has considered them as accessories rather than expedients, and has carried out in principle the axiom that "he serves his party best who serves his country best." Inasmuch as Dr. Araujo occupied the position of Vice-President of the Republic in the Government of General Fernando Figueroa, it may be assumed that he has been in thorough accord with his policy; and now that he himself occupies the same exalted office, no great change in the Government's projects or methods of carrying them into effect will result. That some of the youngest men have proved the greatest statesmen history clearly shows; and the instance maybe cited of our own brilliant countryman, William Pitt, himself a son of the great Earl of Chatham, who made his first speech in the House of Commons when he was but twenty-two years of age, and became Prime Minister at the age of twenty-three. It is the young blood and youthful activity which are helping to mould a successful future for the Salvador of to-day.

By authority of Article 68 of the Constitution, the National Legislative Assembly elected, last May, Señor Carlos Melendez, Dr. Fernando Lopez, and General Juan Amaya, First, Second and Third Designates respectively, to succeed to the Presidency of the Republic in case of a vacancy occurring during the present term.

General Fernando Figueroa, President of the Republic of Salvador 1907-1911.

General Fernando Figueroa, President of the Republic from 1907 to 1911, was born in San Vicente. Even when a small boy his disposition led him to a military career, and while still in his teens he enlisted in the ranks of the Salvadorean Army, during the memorable struggle with Guatemala of 1863. Under the command of General Bracamonte, he became a Lieutenant, and speedily distinguished himself in the field. He was on this occasion very severely wounded, and also was specially mentioned in despatches. After the death of General Gerardo Barrios, and the election of Dr. Dueñas as President, young Fernando Figueroa was given his captaincy. He was mainly instrumental in organizing the militia, and in 1871 he put its capabilities to the test when the war in Honduras broke out. Upon the overthrow of the Government of Dr. Dueñas, and the selection of Marshal Santiago González as Provisional President, peace was proclaimed with Honduras, General Medina being recognized as legitimate President, and young Figueroa's services were temporarily unneeded. In 1872, however, Captain Figueroa was again fighting in territory belonging to Honduras, namely at Sábana Grande and Santa Bárbara, his gallant services at the first-named place gaining for him his lieutenant-colonelcy. In the following year, 1873, Colonel Figueroa distinguished himself in a third expedition against Honduras, at which time the President of the Republic was Señor Celio Arias, but who, by Salvador's aid, was dispossessed of the Chief Magistracy in favour of General Ponciano Leiva. Colonel Figueroa's bravery at the Battle of Amapala, and his gallant support of General Juan José Samayoa, have become important facts in Salvadorean history.

This same year he was appointed Governor of his native Department, San Vicente. In 1876, after fresh exploits in the field, the rising young soldier became a General, and with this military advancement he assisted the same year at the Battle of Pasaquina, in which he was once again seriously wounded. The events of 1876 led to further civil war, which continued with but few important intervals of peace until 1885, and during which period Marshal Santiago González fell from power, and Dr. Rafael Zaldívar replaced him as President. At this time, also, General J. Rufino Barrios died on the battle-field of Chalchuapa, and General Figueroa was given the supreme command of the Government troops against the Revolutionists, who were headed by General Francisco Menéndez. The latter having succeeded in attaining position as head of the State, General Figueroa retired temporarily; but he returned with the inauguration of the administration of General Carlos Ezeta, and was again appointed to his former post of Governor of San Vicente. Later on he was nominated Minister of War, which position he resigned upon becoming candidate for the Presidency. He was duly and constitutionally elected in November of 1906, took office on March 1, 1907, and retired automatically with the fresh elections of 1910, to give place to Dr. Manuel Enrique Araujo, the present Chief Magistrate.

During his long and honourable career, General Figueroa has been distinguished as much for his brilliant soldier-like qualities as for his personal work and high sense of probity. He has had—as have all great men—his enemies and his detractors; but none among them can bring—nor ever have brought—any charge against his personal honour or integrity.

It was his keen patriotism and shrewd diplomacy which arrested the three-cornered armed conflict in which Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua, were concerned in 1907, and but for General Figueroa's tact and good sense, coupled with his masterly grasp of the situation, these three sister States would have exhausted themselves over a dispute which was practically worthless, and would have proved just as fruitless.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs is Dr. don Francisco Dueñas, a barrister, and a very distinguished member of the profession. Born in San Salvador, and forty-three years of age, Dr. Dueñas has occupied several important positions in the legal profession, and he is looked upon as one of the soundest authorities on commercial and general law. The Minister is regarded as an extremely able man, who is bound to rise to the highest position which the State can confer upon him.

The Minister of Finance is Señor don Rafael Guirola, D., a thoroughly sound, practical business man, with a wide knowledge of finance and commerce in all its branches and a member of one of the leading families. He may be depended upon to adopt a comprehensive and intelligent view of all subjects pertaining to his Department, and it may be accepted as certain that he will give wide encouragement to such foreign enterprise as can be regarded as of benefit to the State. Señor Rafael Guirola, D., is forty-five years of age.

The Minister of the Interior, Industry ("Fomento"), Public Instruction and Agriculture, Dr. don Teodosio Corranza, is also one of the most prominent lawyers in the Republic. He was born in San Salvador, and is about fifty-two years of age. He has occupied some of the most important and responsible posts in the country, and is considered by all alike as lending both distinction and prominence to his high office.

Dr. don Manuel Castro, R., Sub-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, is a barrister by profession, and a distinguished member of the Salvador Academy. Although only twenty-seven years of age, Dr. Castro has already filled with great distinction several important positions in the legal profession, and he is regarded as a rising "star" in the political firmament.

The portfolio for Home Affairs has been entrusted to the capable hands of Dr. Cecilio Bustamente, who is also a distinguished lawyer, as well as the writer of several books of more than ordinary merit. On several occasions Dr. Bustamente has occupied a position on the Bench, his judgments and rulings always having commanded deep respect, and invariably being the outcome of calm consideration and much forensic learning. Dr. Bustamente is about thirty-eight years of age.

Public Instruction is under the direction of Dr. Gustavo Barón, who is three years younger than Dr. Bustamente. By profession he is a physician and surgeon, having taken high degrees at the Paris University. Before entering the present Cabinet, Dr. Barón served as teacher of, and lecturer upon, several subjects in the National University of Salvador; and there is probably no man in the Republic who enjoys a wider respect or a deeper regard, especially among his colleagues, than the present Sub-Secretary of Instruction and Promotion.

The important portfolio of Public Works has been entrusted to the hands of Señor don José Maria Peralta Lagos, a civil engineer of great reputation in Central America, although only forty-two years of age. For many years past Señor Peralta Lagos has been interested in engineering undertakings, and there can be no question that he is admirably fitted both by experience and long study of current engineering subjects for the high and responsible position which he occupies.

The portfolio of Justice is in the hands of Dr. don José Antonio Castro, V., a young but very brilliant man, his age being only twenty-eight years, and who is a barrister by profession.

War and Marine are represented by Don Eusebio Bracamonte, a counsel of great reputation, and who for a considerable time occupied the position of Chief Justice of the High Court of Salvador. Dr. Bracamonte is forty-three years of age.

The portfolio of Agriculture is in the hands of Don Miguel Dueñas, who has devoted many years to a careful study of agriculture in all its branches, and has, from his experience and the careful observation of the methods employed in foreign countries, intimately acquainted himself with all modern methods, many of which he has personally introduced upon his own country estates. Señor Dueñas, who is forty years of age, has travelled very considerably in the United States and in Europe, and he speaks both English and French with considerable facility. For some years past he has been a Member of Congress, while he is also the Founder and the President of the Salvadorean Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture, an institution which has already conferred considerable benefits upon the State.

Señor Carlos G. Prieto, Sub-Secretary of Finance and Public Credit, is forty-five years of age, and a sound authority upon finance and commerce generally.

It is worthy of mention that the Ministry of Agriculture in Salvador is an entirely new creation, and owes its existence to the ruling President, Dr. Manuel E. Araujo. Considering the immense interest which Salvador has in agriculture, and bearing in mind the fact that upon its intelligent pursuit depends, to a very large extent, the prosperity of the country, it is surprising that a Department for Agriculture should not have been previously instituted. This is probably due to the fact that the late Ministry was disinclined to add further to the burden of expenditure in connection with the government of the country; but the additional expenditure incurred in the establishment of this Department has been abundantly justified by results, and there is very little question that, if for nothing else, the Presidency of Dr. Araujo will stand out prominently in connection with a governmental creation which has long been needed, and which is already proving thoroughly useful.

A new branch of the Government service has been established within the past few months in the form of an Information Bureau, which should prove of great utility to manufacturers and shippers, if they desire to avail themselves of it. Already several North American firms have done so, and, as I understand, with some material advantage, the existence of the department having been brought to the attention of United States commercial men by the very up-to-date and shrewd American Consul-General at San Salvador, Mr. Harold D. Clum. I have not heard that any attention has been directed to the institution by the British Board of Trade.

The Salvador Congress authorized, and the Ministry of Agriculture maintains, this Information Bureau, to report upon the orders which the various departments of the Government may consider it expedient to place abroad or upon the home market. The law provides that Government orders shall be placed only after, and presumably upon the basis of, a report from this Bureau; so that it is a distinct advantage to manufacturers and others, who desire to market goods in which the Government might be interested, to send their catalogues (but printed in Spanish, and not in English) with price lists (but calculated in decimal measurements and coinage, and not in "£ s. d."), as well as their proposals, to the Bureau. All such communications should be addressed: "Oficina de Informacíon, Ministerio de Agricultura, San Salvador." And let it be remembered that the postage upon letters is 2¹⁄₂.!

The young and vigorous blood of which the Salvadorean Cabinet is composed is perhaps one of its strongest and most promising features, and the excellent impression which its formation created last March has been confirmed in every way since it got to work and proved the quality of its members for governing the country wisely and economically.

It would, under ordinary circumstances, perhaps be difficult to replace the valuable services which, for fifteen years past, have been rendered by Mr. Mark Jamestown Kelly, F.R.G.S., as Consul-General for the Republic of Salvador to the United Kingdom, with residence in London, and to whom full reference has been made in a preceding page; but it will be generally admitted that the Government has made a very wise and a very acceptable selection in Dr. Artúro Ramón Ávila. The new Consul-General is a native of San Miguel, and belongs to one of the leading families of the country, and occupying a very high social position in the Republic.

Although only twenty-seven years of age, Dr. Ávila has already attained some celebrity in his own country, and has received the degree of Doctor of the Faculty of Jurisprudence, a title which was conferred upon him by the National University of Salvador. In 1907 one of Dr. Ávila's most notable achievements was the composition of a "paper" which he read before the Tribunal of Examination, this being a learned thesis upon the subject of "The Duel" ("El Duelo"), consisting of 100 pages, and pronounced by literary critics as about the most clever and most convincing essay which had been written upon the subject.

Previous to entering upon his profession as an advocate, Dr. Ávila served as a Justice of the Peace for one year in the Capital of Salvador, being later on appointed Judge of the First Instance. He occupied a similar position in the Civil and Criminal Courts of Santa Tecla (New San Salvador), and held that post for two years. Dr. Ávila had also for some time been advocate-in-chief for the Banco Salvadoréno, of Salvador, and he represented legally various other reputable houses of commerce. Dr. Ávila holds the position of Consul-General of the Republic of Salvador for Great Britain and Ireland, and has taken convenient offices at 8, Union Court, Old Broad Street, London, E.C.

Señor Santiago Perez Triana, who has for some time been a resident in London, entered the service of the Salvadorean Government as Secretary of the Legation in 1900, under Dr. Zaldívar, and accompanied him to the Spanish-American Congress which met in Madrid in December of that year. Señor Perez Triana's capacity was that of second delegate of Salvador, Dr. Zaldívar being chief of the Mission, the third Attaché, who occupied a similar position to that of Señor Perez Triana, being Señor M. Rodriguez. Subsequently Señor Perez Triana was appointed Secretary of the Legation of Salvador in Spain. Since 1901, when he went to the last-named country to reside, he occupied the dual position of Chargé d'Affaires both in Madrid and in London; and he still occupies a similar position in the latter city, but not in Spain. In 1907 Señor Perez Triana was appointed Delegate to the Hague Conference for Salvador, jointly with Mr. P. J. Matheu. He is a quite remarkable orator and a man of great culture, speaking English with complete accuracy and writing it with equal facility.

Dr. Artúro Ramón Ávila;
Consul-General for the Republic of Salvador to Great Britain. Appointed May, 1911.

In connection with the Coronation of Their Majesties King George and Queen Mary, in the month of June last, the Salvadorean Government sent to London an Extraordinary Mission to represent the Republic, selecting for the purpose Señor J. Miguel Dueñas who by birth and education was well fitted to fill so important a position. Señor Dueñas was born in the city of San Salvador on August 28, 1871, and is a son of an ex-President of Salvador, Dr. Francisco Dueñas, and Donna Térésa Dardano. After a brilliant college career, pursued both in his own country, in the United States, and in Europe, Señor Dueñas returned in 1895 to Salvador, where he was soon afterwards elected by popular vote as Deputy to the National Congress of the Republic. He also became an active member of the Municipal Council, and is the Founder and President of the Salvador Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture in Salvador. He retains his position as Secretary of State for the Department of Agriculture, which, as mentioned previously in this volume, was brought into existence upon the initiative of the present President of the Republic, Dr. Manuel Enrique Araujo, this being one of his first official acts after assuming the Presidential chair, in the month of March last. Accompanying Señor Dueñas was his wife, Señora Donna Maria Eugénia Palomo.

The new Minister of Salvador in Spain and Italy, with residence at Madrid, is Dr. don J. Gustavo Guerrero, who was for many years Consul-General for Salvador at Genoa, and acted as First Secretary of the Special Diplomatic Mission of Salvador to the Court of St. James in connection with the Coronation of King George V. He is one of the several young men of great promise in Salvador, and is destined to go far. He is, moreover, a distinguished advocate, having taken high degrees at the Universities of San Salvador and Guatemala City. He has acted as Deputy Governor at the first-named Capital, as well as Consul at Burdeos, Consul at Genoa, Secretary of Legation at Washington, and Chargé d'Affaires at Rome and Madrid.

In the month of May last (1911) Señor don Nicolás Leiva was appointed Consul for Salvador at Liverpool, which port carries on a fair amount of trade with the Republic.

CHAPTER IV

Government finances—London Market appreciation of Salvador bonds—History of foreign debt—Salvador Railway security—Central American Public Works Company—Changing the guarantee—Financial conditions to-day—Public debt at end of 1909—Budget for 1910-11—Small deficit may be converted into a surplus—Summary.

The high opinion which the London Market entertains regarding Salvadorean Government securities is shown by the price at which they are quoted; and although judged upon their merits, these same securities are rather too cheaply priced, they form a marked contrast to some of the neighbouring States' foreign loans, such, for instance, as Costa Rica and Honduras. As a matter of fact, the Salvadorean Governments of successive years have strictly and faithfully performed their foreign obligations; and it has been the firm policy of past Presidents, as it is of the present Executive, to maintain their foreign credit upon an unassailable basis. It is possible to speak very encouragingly of the Salvador 6 per cent. Sterling Bonds, which were issued in March, 1908, at 86 per cent., and which are at the present time of writing quoted at or a little above par. Their desirability as an investment depends upon the standard of security they afford—on the probability, that is, that Salvador will faithfully fulfil its obligations. The Salvador Government 6 per cent. Sterling Bonds (1908), amounting to £1,000,000, were issued to meet the cost of certain public works and to repay certain local loans contracted at a higher rate of interest. The loan is redeemable by an accumulative sinking fund of 2¹⁄₂ per cent., by purchase or drawing, and is secured by a first charge on—(a) the special Customs duty of $3.60 (U.S. gold) per 100 kilogrammes of imported merchandise; and (b) the duty of 40 cents (U.S. gold) per quintal (up to 500,000 quintals) of the annual export of coffee, the proceeds of which are remitted fortnightly to the London Bank of Mexico and South America, whose Chairman stated recently that "the rapid way in which the remittances are coming forward is very satisfactory, and will, no doubt, in time improve the credit of this small but hard-working country." The bonds constitute the whole External Debt of the country, previous loans having been commuted in 1899 for debentures of the Salvador Railway Company, to which the Government pays an annual subsidy of £24,000. This subsidy has now been punctually remitted for over nine years. It is on such grounds as these that the friends of Salvador maintain that the value of the bonds should not be gauged by the financial reputation of some of the other Central American Republics.

It may be interesting to trace the whole history of Salvador's foreign indebtedness, which commenced as far back as 1827. The record—by no means an unworthy one—is as follows:

1827: Of the debt of the Central American Federation—which was composed of Salvador, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Honduras, and Nicaragua, and amounting to £163,000—the proportion which was assumed by Salvador was one-sixth, £27,200.

1828-1859: No interest was paid during this long period of turbulence and strife.

1860: Salvador compromised her share of the debt for 90 per cent. paid in cash.

1889: A loan for £300,000 was issued, bearing 6 per cent. interest and 2 per cent. accumulative sinking fund. It was offered by the London and South-Western Bank at 95¹⁄₂ per cent., and was specially secured on 10 per cent. of the Customs duties and the rights of the Government on the railway from Acajutla to Ateos (thirty-five miles), and in the proposed extension to San Salvador. Out of the proceeds of the loan a mortgage of the Government's interest in the portion of the railroad already constructed (Acajutla to Sonsonate), amounting to £183,000, was paid off. The extension of the railway was only continued for a distance of seven miles from Ateos to La Ceiba.

1892: Bonds for an amount of £500,000, bearing 6 per cent. interest and 1 per cent. accumulative sinking fund, were created by the Government and issued by Messrs. Brown, Janson and Co. to the contractor Mr. A. J. Scherzer, in pursuance of a contract made by the Government with Mr. Scherzer in 1891, for the purpose of the extension of the railway. These bonds were specially secured on 10 per cent. of the Customs duties, and also by a first mortgage on the railway line from Ateos to Santa Ana (thirty miles) when built. These bonds were not issued to the public, but were delivered from time to time to the contractor, against the engineer's certificates, as the works proceeded.

1894: A company called the Central American Public Works Company was registered by Mr. Mark J. Kelly in London, and Mr. Kelly was associated with Mr. Scherzer in carrying out this contract, and in the month of April a concession was obtained from the Government under which the contract of 1891 was cancelled. The Central American Public Works Company undertook to complete the line to Santa Ana; to build a branch from Sitio del Niño to San Salvador (twenty-four miles), together with a deviation of one and a half miles at the port of Acajutla; to give the Government £70,000 in fully-paid ordinary shares of the company when issued; and to redeem the loans of 1889 and 1892. The Government, on its part, agreed to hand over to the Company the whole of the railways for a period of ninety-nine years, and to guarantee the Company for fifty years a net annual profit on working the railways of 6 per cent. upon the sum of £800,000, secured by a charge of 10 per cent. on the import duties.

A change of Government took place almost immediately afterwards, and, owing to the differences which then arose between the Government and the Company, the concession was declared void.

But in December a supplementary contract was entered into between the Company and the new Government, by which it was agreed that—(1) The £70,000 of shares of the Public Works Company were to be delivered to the Government by May 31, 1895 (this was done, and the Company took possession of the completed portion of the line and commenced the construction of the remainder); (2) the duration of the concession was shortened from ninety-nine to eighty years; (3) the guarantee was reduced from £48,000 a year to £24,000 during the construction of the line to Santa Ana, £36,000 during the construction to San Salvador, and the full £48,000 was not to be paid until the railway was entirely finished.

1898: In this year a new company, called the Salvador Railway Company, Limited, was formed to take over the concession from the Central American Public Works Company. Proposals were laid before the holders of the 1889 and 1892 loans to convert their bonds into mortgage debentures of the railway company. Some of the 1889 bondholders, however, declined to signify their adherence to the scheme, and it was thus found impossible to arrange for the release of the mortgage on the first section of the railway. The Central American Public Works Company had, moreover, undertaken to deliver to the Government all the bonds by December, 1898; they therefore approached the Government with the object of securing further legislation in order to get over the difficulty. In this they were not at the time successful, and the Government declined to remit to the company the sum due under the guarantee for the half-year ending December 31, 1898. The funds for the payment of the February and August, 1898, coupons on the 1889 bonds were sent by the Government direct to the London and South-Western Bank. The November 1897 drawing and May 1898 coupons on the 1892 bonds, and the July 1898 drawing and February 1899 coupons on the 1889 bonds, were not paid.

1899: On February 8 of this year a further contract was entered into between the Government and Mr. Kelly, representing the Central American Public Works Company, of which the following were the principal provisions: (1) The company was to hand over to the Government for cancellation the outstanding 1889 and 1892 bonds (in round figures amounting to £725,000) within six months from the date of ratification of the contract by Congress. The company might, however, leave outstanding £60,000 of the bonds if they could not make delivery of the whole of them, but on these they were to pay on their own account the same interest (6 per cent.) and amortization (2 per cent.), as the Government was under obligation to do. (2) The Government was to pay the company for eighteen years from January 1, 1899, a fixed annual subsidy of £24,000 in lieu of the previous guarantee, and to hand over all the railways free of charge. The subsidy was to be secured on 15 per cent. of the import duties, in respect of which the Government was to issue special Customs notes. These notes were to be handed to a bank named by the company, who were to sell them and collect the proceeds.

The railway company engaged themselves to complete the line to the Capital by June 30, 1900. If the bonds of the external debt were not handed over within the period stipulated, the Government was to have the right, subject to existing hypothecations, to take possession of the railways.

In April, 1899, an agreement was entered into between the Council of Foreign Bondholders, acting in conjunction with the Committee of 1889 bondholders, and the Central American Public Works Company, for the transfer to the Salvador Railway Company of the railways and concessions held by the Works Company, including the subsidy payable under the contract of February 8, 1899, on such terms as might be agreed between the Works Company and the railway company. The railway company were to issue (1) Prior lien debentures to the amount of £163,000, forming part of a total authorized issue of £250,000, and bearing 5 per cent. interest and 1 per cent. accumulative sinking fund, to be applied by purchase or drawings at par. Such issue to be for the purpose of providing the funds for the completion of railway, repairs, working capital, and expenses; (2) 5 per cent. mortgage debentures to the amount of £660,000, to provide for the cancellation of the outstanding bonds of the 1889 and 1892 loans, the debentures of the Public Works Company (£150,000), and other claims.

These debentures were to be redeemable by an accumulative sinking fund of 1 per cent. per annum, commencing from August 15, 1906, to be applied by purchases or drawings, at the price, in the case of drawings, of £103 for each £100 of debentures. The holders of the 1889 bonds were to receive, in respect of each £100 bond, £100 in mortgage debentures of the railway company, bearing interest from August 15, 1899. The 1889 bonds were deposited with the Council against the issue of negotiable receipts, with two coupons of £2 10s. each attached, payable out of the first two instalments of the subsidy in respect of the coupons on each bond of £100, due February 15 and August 15, 1899.

This arrangement was accepted by the holders of the bonds of the 1889 and 1892 loans, who by the necessary majorities authorized the trustees of the loans to release the respective mortgages. It was also approved by the holders of the debentures of the Public Works Company, and was duly carried into effect.

STATEMENT OF REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE FOR THE LAST TEN YEARS.

It will be observed that, while the general revenue of the Republic had expanded considerably during the past decade, having, indeed, increased about 50 per cent., the expenditure had, unfortunately, expanded also, and to a greater degree, leaving an annually increasing deficit to be met. The reason for this during the latter few years is clear—the unfortunate political troubles which were thrust upon the Republic by the acts of certain revolutionists instigated by the evil genius of Central America, ex-President J. Santos Zelaya, and which turned what might have been a fairly profitable period into a disastrous one, from a financial aspect.

Nevertheless, there is no reason to adopt a despairing view of the Salvadorean national finances, since the resources of the country are very elastic, and their development is but in its infancy.

It is much to the credit of the Government, both the present and that which was lately in office, that the situation should have been so boldly and frankly met, the whole position being explained and true reasons given. Everyone must think the better of the authorities for their honesty in dealing with the nation, an honesty which is, unfortunately, rare, not alone among Latin-American States, but also among European Governments of much older growth and wider experience. Don Manuel Lopez Mencia, the ex-Minister of Finance, who is a thoroughly capable and experienced financier, fully grasped the necessities of the situation, and before retiring from office freely criticized his own Department, offering many valuable and timely suggestions for improving it and for placing the finances of the country upon a more satisfactory basis. I believe that the present year (1911) is destined to afford a much more encouraging condition, and a continuation of the present economical and severe retrenchment policy in force; the deficit, which has made an unwelcome appearance in each year's accounts over a period of a whole decade, will gradually give place to a surplus. Naturally, all depends upon internal peace being preserved and freedom from foreign political troubles; both of which, happily, at the time of writing seem to be well assured.

In regard to the general financial conditions of Salvador, which are at the present time in a much more satisfactory state, the following particulars will be of interest:

PUBLIC DEBT.

The composition of the Public Debt on December 31, 1909, stood as follows:

Gold Liabilities.

Silver Liabilities.

The Public Debt of the Republic of Salvador on December 31, 1901, amounted to $10,666,584 (gold) = £2,133,517, and $6,207,059 (silver) = £517,256. Reduced to the silver unit, the total Debt amounted to $32,873,520.

The Customs Revenues for 1910 show a small decline over those of 1909, the difference being $3,784.00.

The Government's whole Revenue during the first half of 1910 amounted to $2,972,501 (gold), and its expenditure to $2,677,431 (gold).

The total import and export duties for the two years 1909 and 1910 are as follows:

BUDGET FOR 1910-11.

The estimates for the financial year 1910-11, approved by the National Assembly, and published in the Diario Oficial of June 6, 1910,[3] were practically identical with those for the preceding year.

The details are shown below:

In regard to this Estimated Deficit, which in any case is very small, it is to be mentioned that in November of this year (1911) an additional export tax upon coffee, of 30 cents (gold) per 100 kilogrammes comes into effect, although only for two years, and it is expected to produce $180,000 (gold). This additional revenue will wipe out the small anticipated deficit, and leave a considerable surplus, for the present year.

Artillery on Parade Ground, San Salvador Barracks.

CHAPTER V

Salvador versus Honduras and Nicaragua—Attitude of the President—Proclamation to the people—Generals Rivas and Alfaro—Invasion of Salvador—Ignominious retreat of enemy—Conciliatory conduct of General Figueroa—Character of Salvadorean people—Treachery of Zelaya.

There is no question that but for the prompt and conciliatory action of General Figueroa the events which took place in the last months of 1907 might well have involved the whole of the States of Central America in a long, serious, and sanguinary conflict. As it was, sufficient provocation was given to Salvador, whose territory was invaded, and many of whose citizens were either injured or robbed. In this month, the invaders who came from Honduras were largely composed of Honduraneans, Nicaraguans, Salvadorean revolutionists, and American filibusters, who actually seized the port of Acajutla, and taking forcible possession of engines and cars belonging to the Salvador Railway Company, reached as far as the city of Sonsonate. The invading forces were led by Generals Manuel Rivas and Prudencio Alfaro, the latter being General Santos Zelaya's candidate for the Presidency of Salvador.

It was at this time that General Figueroa issued a fervent and eloquent appeal to the loyalty of his troops and his countrymen. In exhorting them to deeds of valour, he declared that he himself would lead his army in defence of the national honour even to death, and his previous military experience would certainly have enabled him to have carried them to success. General Figueroa's "Proclamation to the Salvadorean People" is worth quotation in these pages, and I therefore give it in full as follows:

"Compatriots: General J. Santos Zelaya, in violation of the faith imposed in international agreements, has broken his solemn obligations contracted through the intervention of the Governments of the United States and Mexico. At daybreak this morning he surprised the small military force at Acajutla, and has landed Nicaraguan forces with the object of conquest. Before this brutal offence which the Nicaraguan Government has committed against us, we should all, as one man, gather round the flag of our country and defend it, letting our blood flow rather than allow it to be stained by the adventurers who, in an evil hour, seek to defile it. The national honour, the deeds of our forefathers, the future of our children, and the lofty legends of our people, cry to us to arise and punish the insolence of the Nicaraguan President, and to preserve, not only our military glory and our interests, which recent events in Honduras have shown to be in danger, but the respect that our heroic army has inspired whenever it has been called upon in defence of our country.

"Soldiers: Do not permit the consummation of this insolent attempt in the annals of an enlightened people which would fill us with shame and opprobrium, rendering us unworthy to preserve intact the sacred treasure of our autonomy, the honour of our victorious banner and our sovereignty. Before permitting the arms of an audacious adventurer to violate the soil of our beloved country, whose safeguard is entrusted to the national army and to your undoubted patriotism, prefer yes, a thousand times, death with honour on the battle-field, where I will accompany you even to death.

"I have full confidence in your loyalty and in your military honour, and I therefore place in your hands the sacred trust of the national defence.

"Free and heroic peoples never retreat before the enemy, for they carry in their hearts the conscience of doing their duties and confidence in the right, which assist all worthy and independent peoples to repel aggression against their autonomy.

"Salvadoreans: In this movement be assured that I shall save, untarnished, the honour of the country and the security of your homes, which are now threatened by the mercenary soldiery of the Nicaraguan ruler.

"Your chief and friend,
"F. Figueroa.

"San Salvador,
"June 11, 1907."

It is satisfactory to know that the Presidential call to arms, in addition to the strong personal influence which General Figueroa wielded, shortly afterwards put an end to the trouble that had threatened at one time to assume the most serious aspects, and to have involved the whole of the five States in a fierce struggle. Now that the threatening cloud has been dispersed—it may be hoped for all time—it is possible to smile at some of the incidents which have been related in connection with the embroilment. It is, for instance, related that the invasion of Salvadorean territory, the first step of which took place in the month of June, 1907, failed of achievement principally on account of a personal dispute which broke out between the two Revolutionary Generals, Rivas and Alfaro.

It is alleged that the former, on reaching the town of Sonsonate, after landing successfully at Acajutla, proceeded to the National Bank in that town, where he overawed the cashier (not a very brilliant achievement, since he was only a boy) and raised what is known as "a forced loan," departing heroically with the sum of $20,000 in silver, and nobly handing over to the bewildered and trembling bank official a receipt for that amount signed by himself as the "General of the new Salvadorean Army." On learning what his brother-commander had done, Alfaro, it is said, strongly objected to raising—"stealing," he described it—money in this manner; and so emphatic was his language, and so indomitable his decision to have none of it, that General Rivas refused on his part any longer to act with him, and the two leaders parted there and then, Rivas proceeding on his way to the Capital at the head of his following, and Alfaro marching with his to Santa Ana.

Before leaving one another, it was arranged, however, that the Republic of Salvador should be divided in half, General Rivas to rule the Eastern zone, with headquarters at San Salvador, and General Alfaro to rule the Western zone, with headquarters at Sonsonate. To this proposition General Alfaro also strongly objected at first, but consented reluctantly later; and while the two future victors were quarrelling as to what they would do with the territory which was not yet theirs, a messenger arrived hot-haste from the Capital with the unpleasant tidings that General Figueroa was coming in person with a train-load of troops to Sonsonate.

Thereupon followed a hasty and most undignified retreat to Acajutla, and an eyewitness has left a humorous description of how the brave invaders, in their desire to get out as soon as possible, precipitated themselves into small boats, barges, and lighters, or any kind of thing that floated, making their way to the gunboat Momotombo, up the sides of which they scrambled helter-skelter, glad enough to be safely off Salvadorean territory and once more on their way to the refuge of the Nicaraguan port of Corinto.

The gunboat was obliged, as all vessels are, to anchor a half-mile from the Acajutla pier, men, arms, and ammunition having to be conveyed over that distance in any kind of boat of which they could command the use.

At an early period of the invasion it is certain that General Figueroa had the situation well in hand. He was always popular with the army, and he likewise possessed the complete confidence of the Salvadorean people, who felt that in his strong hands the safety of the Republic lay. Moreover, by his excellent system of organizing the Intelligence Department of his army, and the care with which he had selected his officers, General Figueroa was always in complete possession of the plans and actions of the opposing force; and even when these latter fatuously supposed that he knew nothing, and was doing nothing, to check their advance, General Figueroa was laying his plans with consummate ability, and, as we now know, he ultimately executed them with complete success.

Dr. Alfaro, who for the nonce had become a "General," was never an opponent worth much consideration; while General Rivas only displayed any marked ability when conspiring and organizing foreign troops, destined to be led to battle, when led at all, by others than himself. The only man who had any chance of making serious difficulty, and who might have fostered formidable trouble, was Barahona, of whose actions and intentions the President was always fully aware, and who at the psychological moment consigned him to the security of a prison. And there he kept him until the worst trouble was over.

The conciliatory measures which were adopted at the beginning by General Figueroa and his Government were adhered to throughout the upheaval, and it is only right that impartial history should record the dignified and sane proceedings which characterized the attitude of the Republic of Salvador at this period. The views which General Figueroa entertained and acted upon throughout are clearly reflected in an official communication addressed to a well-known American, the then Consul-General for Salvador in the United States. General Figueroa said:

"Untiring enemies of the peace and repose of our people have once more endeavoured to create disturbances; for some time past my Government has received notices of what was transpiring, and of the progress of the conspiracy, together with considerable data. This Government did not, however, act hastily, assuming, rather, an expectative attitude, but nevertheless following closely the trend of affairs, until the moment had arrived when active work was to be begun.

"This Government early received advices from various parts of the country, notifying it of suspicious movements on the part of the enemies of the Republic. It was also noted that many of these left the Capital two or three days before for other towns, and all of them were closely followed. The Government was prepared for all emergencies; barracks were ready, and the proper orders given to crush any movements on their part. Consequently, when numbers of these conspirators formed in groups around such towns as Sonsonate and Ahuachapán, many were captured. The Government is now in possession of the persons of most of the authors of the conspiracy, and the guilty ones are being proceeded against legally. Fortunately, the trouble has not interfered with the progress of the country, nor with the gathering of the coffee crop which is now in progress; while the Government has received assurances of sympathy and support from the great majority of law-abiding citizens throughout the country."

In this reference to the trifling effect occasioned to the coffee crop by the political disturbances, the President was a little premature. The subsequent depression which was experienced in commercial circles generally was undoubtedly occasioned by these disturbances, although the consequence only proved transient.

All travellers, foreigners and natives alike, who happened to be in Central America at this time, were well aware of the provocative part which President Santos Zelaya of Nicaragua was playing; for many years he had been acting as the evil genius of this Republic, and his misgovernment and brutalities to his own people met with general condemnation.

There can be no question that the revolution which was started in Salvador, but which was so promptly and effectually suppressed, was promoted by Zelaya, who, rightly or wrongly, imagined that at the psychological moment he would meet with support, not alone from Honduras, but from the United States, either directly or indirectly.

There is sufficient evidence on record to prove that Dr. Prudencio Alfaro, who, since the death of General Regalado during the war with Guatemala in 1906, had attained some slight popularity in Salvador, was the instrument through whom General Zelaya hoped, and indeed endeavoured, to carry out his plans. The conquest of Salvador was only one of them, since, as I have mentioned in another part of this volume, it was the ambition of Santos Zelaya to reconstitute a Federation of the five Central American States, and then to elect himself first President.

It was with the financial and physical assistance of Zelaya that Dr. Alfaro engaged the Nicaraguan gunboat to convey him and other conspirators from Corinto to Acajutla in order to spy out the land, and to industriously lay the seeds of revolution. It was nothing to Zelaya that he should allow one of the Government gunboats to be employed in making warfare against a friendly power, with which he had signed a treaty of peace only a very few weeks before, or to supply from the national treasury the funds for letting loose a horde of armed ruffians upon a neighbour's territory.

I have been shown documentary proofs of the arrangements upon which Zelaya had been employed for many months previous, and which provided for the invasion of Salvador at four different points. From time to time changes were made in the personnel of the Nicaraguan commanders, but the names upon the lists which were shown to me were not in all cases the same as those of the men who actually took part in the abortive invasion.

I remember, for instance, observing the name of General Salvador Toledo, who had previously been deputed to command the invading army which was to enter Salvador from Honduras, near the Guatemalan frontier; and also that of General Estrada, who had been nominated to strike at the enemy with the Northern forces at the proper time. This General Estrada had been in command of the Honduranean forces between Puerto Cortes and the Salvadorean line, and he it was who numbered among his followers all the scum of the population, mostly consisting of ex-prisoners and exiles, who were willing enough to fight against their own country's soldiers, side by side with Honduraneans.

Another name which was on the officers' list was that of General Cierra, who was to have entered the Republic of Salvador from the south, with the intention of capturing the port of La Unión, and of meeting the forces of Generals Cristales and Presa. According to the calculations which were then made, it was believed that General Cierra had only 3,000 men with him.

General Figueroa at this time wisely declared the City of Salvador "in a state of siege," which is the equivalent of suspension of political guarantees, to enable summary action to be taken against political offenders or even suspects; a condition afterwards extended to the whole country; and his instructions to the Governors of the several Departments no doubt saved the Central Government from considerable embarrassment as the result of the rising. Those who led the insurrection had counted upon receiving support from the public, which, however, they did not realize, and the lack of this made the capture of the leaders by the Government troops a matter of comparative facility. Secondly, much of the inconvenience which would have followed a general disturbance of the affairs of the country at that time, and which would have caused both the Government and the people losses upon coffee shipments, was spared them, but not altogether obviated.

As we have seen, it was altogether a clumsy attack which had been planned, and had better local knowledge prevailed it would have been ascertained that the prestige of the existing Government stood too high, and the personal popularity of General Figueroa was too great, to have ever endowed this rising with any great chances of success.

In this connection I think I may well quote an extract from an official statement which was made in El Diario de Salvador, one of the most powerful papers in the Republic, of which I attach the following translation:

"In our edition of yesterday we published the decree of the Supreme Executive power declaring the Republic to be in a state of siege. According to the terms of this decree, the Government has been obliged to take extreme measures, owing to the attempt of its enemies to create a revolutionary movement calculated to cause a radical change in this Government.

"Fortunately for the Administration, the plot was discovered in time, and repressive measures were at once adopted which rendered the movement impossible of consummation. But, if it is certain that the internal peace has not been disturbed, such is not the case with the credit of the country. Furthermore, the fact that the attempt was made at the time for harvesting coffee aggravated the situation somewhat for the moment, and threatened to interfere with the gathering of this important crop on which much of the prosperity of the country depends; but the action of the Chief Executive in issuing orders to the Governors of the several Departments has reduced this evil to a minimum.

"In his instructions to the Governors, the Minister of the Interior provided in part that, notwithstanding the state of siege, the greatest latitude must be given persons and workmen who were not actually under suspicion, but insisted on the strict guarding of public order. Men in the discharge of their duties, however, were allowed to pass toward the Capital of the country without the necessity of presenting passports. This referred particularly to merchants, managers of plantations, and day labourers.

"As will be seen," continued the journal referred to, "the circular does not mention the municipal elections which are soon to take place throughout the interior, but the President of the Republic has authorized us to make known his desires that these elections be held with perfect freedom, and be unhampered by the decree of the Executive."

Colonel's Quarters, School of Sergeants.

Officers' Club Room, School of Sergeants.

The extract which I am quoting continues as follows:

"Whatever reasons the enemies of the Government may set forth in justification of their conduct, it cannot be doubted that the country has resisted the movement grandly, and has caused the failure of another attempt, which adds one more to the number which have aided to discredit the country abroad, and characterized our land as one of convulsive nations, incapable of making reasonable use of their Governments, such as we now enjoy. We must not lose sight of the fact that the eyes of Europe are upon us, thanks to the important rôle which Salvador is destined to play in uniting the civilizations of the East with the West."

It cannot be too emphatically pointed out that the Salvadoreans are not naturally a rebellious or warlike people, and, except when compelled to take up arms in their own defence or in favour of a righteous cause, they ask nothing better than to be permitted to devote themselves to the congenial and profitable occupation of cultivating the bounteous land which is theirs by inheritance. In the troubles which afflicted the country in the years 1907-08, the whole cause was the incitement which was offered to them by their turbulent and troublesome neighbours the Nicaraguans and the Honduraneans. As I have shown very conclusively, it was the long-established policy of Santos Zelaya to foster an outbreak in Salvador which should broaden into a revolution, in the course of which Salvadorean troops would be compelled innocently to commit some overt act which would give Honduras or Nicaragua a cause for the initiation of a movement against the Republic. This, it was hoped, would ultimately result in the election to the Presidency of Salvador of Dr. Prudencio Alfaro, who was always a creature of Santos Zelaya, and who for many months was his guest at Managua, where he formed all his plans, for the execution of which President Zelaya was ready to pay. As we have seen, the agitators did not wait for the casus belli on the part of Salvador, but most unwarrantably invaded that country and committed certain outrages, only, however, to have to execute a most humiliating retreat before any beneficial results could possibly have accrued to them. Had it come to an actual encounter or series of encounters between the allied forces of Honduras and Nicaragua on the one hand and the Salvadoreans on the other, there can be no question that the latter would in the long-run have emerged victorious; out of a population of 1,100,000, the Salvadoreans can claim a fighting force of at least 100,000. The Salvadoreans are the best and most plucky fighters in South or Central America, as has been proved upon several occasions, displaying great intelligence on the battle-field and in the conduct of their campaigns. At the memorable battle of Jutiapa, fought between the Salvadorean troops and the Guatemalans in the previous year (1906), and in spite of the fact that the latter numbered over 40,000 as against little more than half that force arrayed on the side of Salvador, the former gave an extremely good account of themselves, and showed that the excellent military training which they had received had not been thrown away.

The invasion of Salvadorean territory in the month of June, 1907, by the Nicaraguans was a direct and unprovoked violation of the Treaty of Peace and Amity of Amapala, only signed on the previous April 23, and ratified on May 8, by which the Governments of the two countries agreed to submit their grievances to the Presidents of the United States and Mexico for arbitration. The news was first received through the telegram sent by President Figueroa, dated June 11, 1907, and addressed to Dr. Manuel Delgado, the Salvadorean Minister at Washington. In this despatch, General Figueroa says:

"This morning the revolutionists bombarded and captured the port of Acajutla. The forces were commanded by General Manuel Rivas, and came from Corinto in the warship Momotombo, armed by the President of Nicaragua. It is in this manner that President Zelaya complies with the terms of the Treaty of Amapala, which was the result of the intervention of the American Government."

The gunboat mentioned was one of six warships which Nicaragua at that date possessed, and which composed the whole of the Nicaraguan "Navy." The vessel was capable of transporting 1,000 troops, and the facility with which these landed and seized the port of Acajutla is explained by the fact that the Salvadoreans were entirely unsuspicious and unprepared for such an outrageous act upon the part of the treacherous Zelaya, with whom they had every reason to consider themselves at peace. The civilized world has denounced the Nicaraguans' act of aggression, and unhesitatingly expressed the opinion that President Zelaya had committed a grave violation of international ethics in opening hostilities against Salvador without having made a preliminary declaration of war or giving any reasons for such an action.

CHAPTER VI

Outbreak of hostilities between Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Guatemala—Discreditable conduct of Nicaragua proved—Failure of United States and Mexican intervention—Dignified and loyal attitude of General Figueroa—Warning to Honduras—President Dávila used as Zelaya's cat's-paw—The latter's subsequent regret—Central American Court of Justice trial of claim for damages, and result of judgment.

The true friends of interstate peace, of whom there are as many in Latin America as other parts of the world—although, from the frequent turmoils which occur in that part of the globe, one might be excused for doubting it—were much distressed by the serious quarrel which broke out between the neighbouring Republics of Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua, in the years 1907-08. This was not by any means the first conflict which arose between Salvador and Honduras, for the two States were at war in 1871, when General Miranda invaded Honduras with the object of proclaiming General Xatruch as President in place of General Medina; again in 1872, when were fought the famous battles of Sabana Grande and Santa Bárbara; and in 1873, when Salvador sent an armed expedition against President Celio Arias, and in order to restore General Ponciano Leiva to the Presidency of the neighbouring Republic. Although the relations between Nicaragua and its adjoining States had long been on a questionable basis owing to the ambitious projects of General J. Santos Zelaya, its President, there was no reason to anticipate any disturbance, more especially as at the most critical time, owing to the intervention of the United States and Mexico, the cloud had blown over, and to all appearances peace reigned.

The worthlessness of the intervention, and the absolute ineptitude of the United States to effect any permanent improvement in the prevailing conditions, was, however, proved conclusively a few months after the Treaty of Peace and Amity had been signed, amid somewhat premature rejoicings at Washington, on December 20, 1907. Almost before the ink was dry upon the document, Honduranean and Nicaraguan troops had violated the terms and conditions, and continued, moreover, to do so in spite of all diplomatic reminders and serious warnings from the United States. In these "warnings," however, Mexico took no part, merely using the good offices of President Diaz to effect what the threat of the Big Stick had failed to accomplish. Eventually peace was proclaimed, and since then it has been strictly maintained as between the different Republics, although not by any means so within their own borders, as witness what has recently occurred, and is still occurring, in Honduras, and, alas! within Mexican territory, also. It seems a cruel irony that Diaz the Dictator should so soon have become the Deposed. The fact recalls forcibly the poet Burns's well-known words:

"And may you better reck the rede, Than ever did th' adviser!"

The true history of these Republics' quarrels of recent times would at this stage be somewhat difficult to record, since an immense quantity of official documents would have to be translated and given in full. To do this, however interesting, would prove impracticable within the limits of a single volume. The matter has been sketched by me from personal knowledge, and I trust that I shall escape the charge of prejudice or unfairness to any of the parties involved.

For the facts set forth abundant evidence can be procured, and possibly, if my account be compared with the many versions which have been from time to time adduced by others, who have spoken and written from authoritative or personal information, it will not be found to vary very much in the main particulars. I have patiently listened to the accounts of all that took place both on Salvadorean and on Nicaraguan territory, and, furthermore, the incidents which both led up to and followed the clash of arms were related to me by the participants when all feeling of animosity and bitterness had disappeared, and the usual friendliness between the members of this strangely mercurial people had been restored. Thus very little for spirit of resentment—although perhaps something for the vainglorious spirit of the individuals concerned—need be allowed. Il est difficile toujours d'estimer quelqu'un comme il veut l'être.

Considerable as is the space which I have given up in this volume to the relations of the Salvadorean, Honduranean, and Nicaraguan troubles, I find it impossible to publish in its entirety, as I should have liked to have done, the text of the complaints presented by the Governments of Honduras and Nicaragua against that of Salvador, and which were heard before and decided by the Central American Court of Justice, as well as the final answer and arguments which were later on issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Salvador. All these documents, which fill two substantial and closely-printed pamphlets, the one consisting of 84 pages and the other of 108 pages, are extremely interesting and instructive, serving as they do to throw a particularly clear light upon the methods of some of the Central American States, which imagine that they are acting in an "honourable" manner and fulfilling a respectable destiny.

It is significant that these publications, which are complete and official, were issued by the Government of Salvador, from which it is clear at least that this country had nothing to fear from the world at large being made acquainted with the history of the troubles. No less worthy of comment is it that neither Honduras nor Nicaragua has ever made any rejoinder to the arguments and conclusions of the Court of Justice or of the Salvadorean Government, and in this action, perhaps, they have for the first time shown some intelligent discretion.

The impartial reader of these publications can only arrive at one conclusion, nor, indeed, is it even necessary that he should know anything of either the countries or their inhabitants to be able to form some sensible deduction from the actual position. The correspondence, the genuineness of which is unchallenged, speaks for itself. It seems clear that the Government of Salvador, while subscribing in Washington the Central American Treaty of Peace, swore faithfully to fulfil the International Agreement which bound it to its sister Republics, and at the same time opened for itself and for them, as it had every reason to hope and believe, a new era of confraternity to be maintained in dignity and mutual advantage. To the principles of that Treaty, Salvador adhered with the utmost rigour; and, in the face of the most intense provocation, refused to depart one inch from its solemn obligations. The attitude which this small but high-principled State showed at this time of trouble and trial has evoked the admiration and commendation of all statesmen, independently of country, or creed, or political belief.

Penitentiary at San Salvador.

Officers' Club Room, Military Polytechnic School.

To particularize more minutely from the abundant evidence which exists to this effect, and which may be gathered from every page of these two pamphlets, is unnecessary in this volume; but one fact at least I may call attention to, as exemplifying the honesty of purpose and the good faith of the Salvadorean Government towards the Republic of Honduras, at a time, moreover, when only armed retaliation could reasonably have been looked for.

In all probability the friendliness of President Figueroa for his neighbours would never have been questioned, nor their relations have been in any way embittered, but for the Machiavellian interference of Santos Zelaya. It is an eloquent fact of the sympathy felt for Honduras, that President Figueroa of Salvador wrote personally, and almost affectionately, to President Dávila, on June 10, 1907, drawing his attention to the revolutionary plans of certain Honduranean exiles who were making Salvadorean territory their temporary headquarters. Only feelings of friendship and good-nature could have prompted a neighbourly action of this kind, which, however, some few months afterwards was rewarded by President Dávila allowing his troops to join forces with the Nicaraguans in their invasion of Salvadorean territory.

This I may say in defence of ex-President Miguel R. Dávila, whom I know quite well, and with whom I have had many long and interesting conversations: he is a man of great honesty of purpose, but of singularly weak will; in fact, he has neither initiative nor power of moral resistance. Quiet and modest to an extraordinary degree, speaking very little above a whisper, and with the manners of a curate rather than those of a soldier, one is inclined to rather wonder que diable fait-il dans cette galère of President of an unruly and half-savage Republic.