The national constitution, on which is based the present political organization of Peru, stands a lasting monument to the patriotism and genius of the statesmen in whose hands was placed the responsibility of framing it, and does credit to the democratic principles of the nation whose sovereign will is manifested in its laws and provisions. For nearly half a century, the government of Peru has been building its strength on this solid foundation of broad purpose and practical ideals, and to-day the aspirations of its rulers are being realized with ever-increasing success. The aim of the present administration, admirably expressed by one of the leading statesmen of Peru, is that of a modern people striving to attain their highest welfare and aggrandizement: “To develop the immense resources and wealth with which nature has so wonderfully endowed the land; to render the territory accessible to labor and civilization by opening up means of communication, granting all kinds of facilities and giving security for the life, health, and welfare of the inhabitants, in order to obtain the population that large territories require; to educate and instruct the people, making them understand their personality, their liberty, their duties, and their rights; to develop their faculties and energies, their labor forces, their industrial and commercial capacity and power, elevate their moral dignity, consolidate and strengthen the national unity, insure definitely the government of the people, of justice, of order, and of peace; to attract capital and foreign immigration, develop and give impulse to the commercial relations with other countries, maintain a frank and true harmony and international solidarity, respect all mutual and reciprocal rights, and resolve all disagreements by friendly, just and honorable means; to perform, in short, a work of human civilization.”

The national constitution of Peru declares the form of government to be republican, democratic, and representative, based on the unity of the three governing bodies, the executive, legislative, and judicial, each independent of the other in exercise of its authority. The executive power is charged with the duty of guarding the general interests of the nation, by carrying out the purposes of the constitution through a correct and capable administration of public affairs, the president of the republic being the chief executive, assisted by six ministers of State, who direct the departments of Foreign Affairs; Government and Home Affairs; Justice, Worship and Public Instruction; War and Marine; Finance and Commerce; and Public Works and Promotion. The first and second vice-presidents, who are called upon to perform the duties of president under circumstances set forth in the constitution, are elected simultaneously with the president and in the same form, their official term covering four years, as does that of the president. The qualifications necessary to entitle a citizen to become president are, that he shall be a Peruvian by birth, not less than thirty-five years of age, and have resided at least ten years in the country. As stated elsewhere he cannot be reëlected president, nor can he be elected vice-president, until the expiration of an intervening term.

The legislative power is exercised by Congress, composed of two chambers, the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies. Senators are elected by the departments (the largest and most important of the territorial divisions), each department being entitled to from one to four senatorial representatives, according to the number of its provinces. In order to be eligible for the Senate, a candidate must be over thirty-five years of age. The Chamber of Deputies consists of as many representatives as there are provinces or territories of from fifteen thousand to thirty thousand inhabitants. Both senators and deputies are elected for a term of six years by direct vote, both must be Peruvian citizens, born in Peru; and a deputy must be at least twenty-five years of age. The president of the republic, vice-presidents, ministers of state, prefects and sub-prefects of departments and the governors of provinces are ineligible to membership in the legislature until two months after leaving their executive offices; the same applies to the judiciary and to all public employés under the direct authority of the executive; ecclesiastics cannot represent the departments or provinces of their diocese. The regular sessions of Congress are opened on the 28th of July each year, the term lasting for ninety days; extraordinary sessions may be convoked by the executive, with no stated period of duration, though they cannot be continued over a term of more than forty-five days.

The judicial power of the government is administered by a Supreme Court, established in Lima, and nine superior courts, which are installed in Lima, Cuzco, Arequipa, Puno, Ayacucho, Cajamarca, Huaraz, Trujillo, Piura, and Iquitos; each of these courts has jurisdiction over one or more departments. The court of Tacna, which performed its labors until the period of the war of the Pacific, is still in recess, and judicial questions arising in the section subject to Peruvian authority are brought before the court of Arequipa. In almost all the provinces there are judges of the first instance, and in all districts are justices of the peace.

In accordance with the national constitution, the local government of the republic is under the direction of departmental and municipal boards. The departmental board has its headquarters in the capital of the Departamento, as this division is named in Peru; its duties are to attend to the service of public works, public instruction, and works of the benevolent societies, and to revise the acts of the municipal boards. The members of the departmental boards are delegates elected by the provincial councils, as the municipal boards of provinces are called; the municipal boards of the districts into which the provinces are subdivided are known as district councils. The provincial council is composed of citizens elected by the people, foreigners having the right to vote and being eligible for election; from among its members are chosen the mayor, vice-mayor, two recorders who administer the finances of the municipality, and a number of inspectors who superintend its various branches of public service. All these posts are unsalaried. The district council is composed of the mayor, or alcalde, two aldermen elected by the people, and two recorders appointed by the provincial council. The duties of both the provincial and district councils are to govern the towns of their jurisdiction as regards sanitation, hygiene, the supply of water and lighting, the superintendence of public roads, markets, street cars and other conveyances, public amusements, etc.; they also have charge of the civil register and statistics. Primary instruction and the police service are not under the direction of the municipal boards, but under the supreme government. The revenues of provincial and district councils are derived from municipal properties, and chiefly from local taxes called arbitrios, which are imposed with the approval of the supreme government. The proceedings of the district councils are revised by the provincial councils, whose acts are, in turn, subject to revision by the departmental boards.

Politically, the republic is divided into twenty-two departments, two of which, Moquegua and Tumbes, known as littoral provinces, consist each of a single province only. The departments are subject to the authority of a prefect, who is appointed by the executive, receiving his instructions from the minister of government. The departments are subdivided into one hundred and one provinces, governed by sub-prefects, and the provinces are again subdivided into eight hundred and one districts, under the authority of governors. By this arrangement the supreme government maintains immediate control of the national interests in every part of the republic, the prefects, sub-prefects, and governors having direct supervision of primary instruction and the police service within their respective jurisdictions. The recent reorganization of the police system has brought notable improvements into the service, which is conducted in conformity with modern regulations.

The ecclesiastical authority is exercised in accordance with the national constitution, which states that Roman Catholicism is the established religion, freedom of worship being permitted to non-Catholics. The church territory is divided into nine dioceses: the archbishopric of Lima, and the bishoprics of Trujillo, Chachapoyas, Huaraz, Huánuco, Ayacucho, Cuzco, Puno, and Arequipa. These are again divided into curacies, of which Lima has sixty-six, Trujillo one hundred and three, Chachapoyas forty-three, Huaraz forty-seven, Huánuco fifty-seven, Ayacucho ninety-two, Cuzco eighty-two, Puno fifty-two, and Arequipa seventy-one, making in all six hundred and thirteen, in charge of curate-vicars, who receive their instructions from the bishops of the diocese to which they are appointed. Every village in the republic has its church or chapel and religious instruction is given to every citizen, the churches being open at all hours of the day to admit anyone who wishes to consecrate a few moments to devotions.

The civil rights of all persons are respected in Peru without distinction of nationality, and all who reside in the country are equally protected by its laws. Any foreigner may acquire property in Peru and dispose of it at will; in general, everything concerning landed property is amply guaranteed by the Peruvian laws. The Thirty-second Article says: “The laws protect and oblige all persons equally; and the civil rights are independent of the quality of the citizen.” The Twenty-eighth Article declares that “every foreigner can acquire, in accordance with the laws, landed property in the republic, possessing in everything relating to that property the same obligations and privileges as a Peruvian.” Special dispositions expressly authorize foreigners to denounce mines and obtain concessions of mountain and rubber lands on the same conditions as Peruvians. In the exercise of any trade, profession or industry of any kind, absolute freedom is permitted to native and foreigner alike, so long as it is not opposed to morality, health or public security. Foreigners desiring to practise medicine, law, or engineering are required to prove their ability by presenting their title received from a university, and by submitting to the prescribed examination. In order to guarantee the titles of land owners, a registry office has been recently established, in which is inscribed the name of the actual owner, the manner in which the property was acquired, the incumbrances attaching to its purchase, if any, and any conditions which limit the possessor’s right to dispose of it. The Civil Code recognizes the right of a foreigner to dispose of his property by will, and, in case of his dying without having made a will, and without leaving immediate heirs, it provides for placing the property in security, under the direction of the consular representative of the nation to which the deceased belonged; an inventory is taken and the inheritance liquidated, so that claims against it may be presented in due form, after the settlement of which the balance is handed over to the heirs legally entitled to receive it. As regards the personal liberty of foreigners as well as Peruvians, the Eighteenth Article of the Constitution expressly says that no one can be arrested without a written order from a competent judge, or from the authorities charged with the preservation of public order, except in cases of flagrante delicto, and in any case the person arrested must be brought before the judge of the case within twenty-four hours afterward. The law of habeas corpus is recognized, by which anyone detained more than twenty-four hours without having his case submitted to the proper authorities may present himself, or be represented by a proxy, before the judge with a complaint, and the judge is bound to investigate the arrest and to decree the liberty of the detained person in case no legal reason for his further detention can be established.

Naturalized foreigners enjoy the rights and are subject to the obligations imposed upon Peruvians, except that they cannot be elected to the presidency of the republic, or be ministers of State, Senators, deputies, or judicial authorities, though they may be appointed justices of the peace. The children of foreigners are, if born in the country, Peruvians by birth, provided their names be inscribed in the Civil Register. A Peruvian woman follows the nationality of her husband, though, should she become a widow, she again assumes the nationality of her birth. It is important for foreigners who contemplate living in Peru to know that civil marriage is established for non-Catholics, who may celebrate the marriage ceremony before the mayor of the place in which either of the contracting parties resides, in the presence of two witnesses who must be residents of the same locality. It is necessary only that a declaration be made before the mayor that they do not belong to the Catholic community, or that they have separated from it. It is obligatory that the Act of Marriage shall be inscribed in the Civil Register within eight days after the ceremony, even in the case of those who are married according to the religion of the country. The divorce court is unknown in Peru, the only legal separation being one which dissolves the union only so far as regards the property, the marriage tie remaining in force. In the case of non-Catholics, the civil courts decide as to the judicial separation or nullity of the marriage, while, for Catholics, the ecclesiastical authorities dispose of the matter in accordance with the ruling of the Council of Trent.

The new laws that have been introduced from time to time in the national code show a spirit of fraternity in the Peruvian character which is particularly promising for the development of friendly foreign relations. In the liberal mining laws, the enterprising prospector from abroad finds every facility to aid him in his ambitious undertakings; and in the laws governing colonization, the establishment of industries, or any foreign enterprise, the conditions are as favorable as a progressive and far-seeing policy could make them. A description of this richly dowered country will show that its society, its intellectual and benevolent institutions, its industries and its growing trade, are the outward expression of a people’s faith in their political security and the wisdom of their laws.