With a liberal constitution and a president ambitious for his country’s progress and prosperity, Bolivia has the additional guarantee of good government assured in a judiciously chosen Cabinet of state. By good judgment in the appointment of his ministers, as well as in other acts of executive authority, President Montes has contributed to make the present administration an epoch in the history of national progress.

The work of the state department is in charge of six ministerios: foreign affairs and worship, government and promotion, justice and instruction, finance and industry, war, colonization and agriculture. Through the department of foreign affairs the international relations of the government are maintained, foreign treaties are made, the representatives of the government abroad are appointed, and all details of the administration as it affects Bolivia’s attitude toward other nations are consummated. Under the present government the Foreign Office has been particularly occupied with the settlement of boundary questions, and, as the minister’s annual report for last year shows, with very satisfactory results. A problem of first importance to Bolivia, especially since the loss of its seaboard, has been that of establishing the frontiers and securing necessary privileges of transportation over the railroads, and of shipment through the seaports of neighboring republics. Referring to this purpose, the president said in his last annual message to Congress: “The executive has not believed that even the legitimate and patriotic aim to preserve the territorial integrity should be sufficient, without counting upon other elements, to stand in the way of diplomatic arrangements counselled by reason and imposed by circumstances.” And, he adds, with correct judgment: “Bolivia can live and develop with more or less kilometres of territory, but it cannot do so, however immeasurable its extent, without industries, without credit, without economic vitality.” It is this tone of practical statesmanship which animates the entire Cabinet as well as the president. The minister of foreign affairs, Señor Don Claudio Pinilla, is particularly well equipped for the duties of his office at this time when boundary questions are of paramount importance, having rendered his country valuable services in settling international disputes not only under the present government, but in the capacity of special envoy to Brazil during General Pando’s presidency, when he succeeded in arranging the difficult Acre dispute to the eminent credit of his diplomatic perspicacity. A Paceño by birth, Señor Pinilla began his public career in his twenty-fifth year, while still a student of law, being chosen as a member of the commission sent in 1883 to Caraccas to carry to the land of the great liberator a message from Bolivia on the centenary of the hero’s birth. In 1884 Señor Pinilla received his degree as a lawyer, and a year later he entered the diplomatic service, being appointed secretary of the Bolivian legation in Paraguay. The chief work of the legation was the concluding of a treaty of limits between the two countries, and the young secretary, who, in the meantime, had attracted much attention by his clear and well-defined discussion of international questions in the press, remained in Paraguay as chargé d’affaires, upon the return of the minister after the treaty settlement. In his new capacity he displayed the energy of a great character by his close study and complete mastery of every detail that concerned his country’s relation with Paraguay. He initiated plans for its improvement through the opening up of new roads between the two countries, in recognition of which he was presented with a gold medal by the national Senate of Bolivia in 1888. From Paraguay Señor Pinilla was called to be secretary to the president, and from that post he was sent to Chile as secretary of the Bolivian legation. During all this time the young diplomat devoted his attention especially to the study of international limits, and when in 1896 he was appointed minister to Peru, it was understood that he had been chosen because of his complete knowledge of the boundary question, the chief purpose of his mission to Lima being to represent his government’s interests in the solution of this difficult problem. It was during his residence at Lima that the Federal party of La Paz, of which his brother Señor Don Macario Pinilla was one of the leaders, declared against Alonso’s government; and as he was heartily in sympathy with his brother’s cause, he resigned the post of minister to Peru in order to join the ranks of the revolutionists. After the overthrow of President Alonso and the election of President Pando he was sent as minister to Chile. Later, when the solution of the Acre territory dispute between Bolivia and Brazil called for great diplomacy and a thorough knowledge of boundary questions, the government found in Señor Pinilla a representative worthy of its utmost confidence, and he was sent to Rio de Janeiro, accomplishing the purpose of his mission with signal success. As a statesman his knowledge of human nature, his keen observation and unfailing discretion, and the enthusiasm of his energy in promoting the interests of his country have won for him the general respect of the people.

Through the Foreign Office the relations of the government with its diplomatic and consular representatives are sustained, many of whom are among the country’s best statesmen and scholars, and in charge of its legations in London, Paris, Washington, and other foreign capitals. The Bolivian minister at the Court of Saint James, Dr. Fernando E. Guachalla, is one of the most gifted of South American diplomats. His experience has been gained in several very difficult missions, in which he acquitted himself with distinction. After the treaty of Ancón, by which Peru withdrew from alliance with Bolivia, Señor Guachalla was sent to Lima as secretary of the Bolivian legation, remaining as chargé d’affaires when the minister returned. In this post, of special importance at such a time, he proved himself possessed of superior diplomatic ability, and here he laid the foundation of a career remarkable in fruitful results and increasing in importance, as the extraordinary talents of the man became better known and recognized. When the revolution of 1891, which was first federalist and then liberal and reactionary, was installed, Dr. Guachalla was made secretary-general of its governing board; and after the establishment of General Pando’s government, he was appointed minister of foreign affairs. At the head of a special mission he visited Mexico, and was one of the leading figures in the Pan-American Congress there; soon afterward he received the appointment of minister to Washington. It was during his stay at the capital of the United States that the complications of the Acre difficulty began to approach an international crisis, and from Washington his government sent him to Rio de Janeiro to confer with Minister Pinilla in the negotiations for the settlement of that thorny question with Brazil. Like Señor Pinilla, Dr. Guachalla has given especial attention to the boundary question. After the conclusion of the Acre affair he was appointed minister to Buenos Aires, where he was called upon to discuss problems connected with the Argentine arbitration of the Peru-Bolivian boundary dispute, which required skilful judgment and an accurate knowledge of the subject. In 1906 Dr. Guachalla was appointed to his present post as Bolivian minister at the court of Great Britain.

At Paris and Berlin the legation of Bolivia is in charge of Señor Don Francisco Argandoña, Prince de Glorieta, whose magnificent property is one of the show places of Sucre, though the prince and princess live chiefly in Paris, where they are well known and much beloved. As a prince of the papal court, the minister has great influence in church circles, and as Bolivia’s richest banker his word is important in the financial world. He is a clever diplomatist, and has been successful in settling important international questions. The government is represented at Washington by one of the most experienced diplomats in the foreign service, Señor Don Ignacio Calderón, who has lived at the North American capital for many years. His influence has been valuable in promoting the friendly relations that exist between the two countries, politically and commercially. His distinguished wife is a native of the United States, and his children were born in that country.

In the recent negotiations between Bolivia and Peru regarding their commercial relations, which had been unfavorably affected by Bolivia’s treaty with Chile, the Bolivian minister at Lima, Señor Don Benedicto Goitia, whose ability as a politician and a parliamentarian places him among the leaders of his country, was called upon to act on behalf of Bolivian interests, and the success of his mission won the applause of his countrymen. The Bolivian highlands have given to the world more than one diplomat of extraordinary talent, entitled to be named among the most distinguished representatives of the great world powers. Force of will and fearlessness seem to be the predominating characteristics of the people of the region. Perhaps the free air of the altitude “above the heights to which fear may climb” favors a dispassionate study of one’s fellowman, his strength and his weakness, and the will is more able to assert itself because sure of its power. Considering the limited scope allowed for the exercise of his talent, the Bolivian diplomat has frequently shown wonderful qualities; and as in the twentieth century diplomacy bids fair to be a more important national equipment in any country than a strong army and navy, it is essential that this branch of the government should receive especial attention.

The department of government and public works, or, as it is called, Ministerio de Gobierno y Fomento, directs the affairs of the interior as distinct from foreign affairs. Everything relating to departmental, provincial, and municipal government, and the promotion of public works is under the supervision of this ministerio, and it is one of the most important branches of the administration, particularly at present, when the government is devoting constant and profound attention to the improvement of its political system and the development of public works. In the annual report of this department recently presented to Congress, it is seen that many reforms have been made in matters affecting the well-being of society, such as sanitation, police surveillance, the protection of the Indian from abuses of the petty authorities, and the better regulation of the government’s mail service. Bolivia is a member of the Universal Postal Union; newspapers and printed matter are mailed free to any point within the republic; the law punishes severely any tampering with the mail or fraudulent use of its privileges. The system of post-office money orders has been established between Bolivia and the principal foreign countries, and a parcel post service was recently adopted between Bolivia and the United States. The annual report of the director-general of post offices, Señor Dr. Victor Sanjinés, shows that seven hundred and seventy-nine thousand seven hundred and ninety letters, packages, etc., were received from foreign sources, and two hundred and fifty-five thousand eight hundred and seventeen sent to foreign addresses last year. The internal mail service shows the receipts and despatching of mail to have been about equal, nearly two million letters. The foreign correspondence is despatched through the ports of Peru, Chile, and Argentina, according to agreement with those countries. In the interior of the republic there is a weekly service to all parts of the country, and the more accessible districts have semi-weekly delivery of mails. Germany ranks first on the list of foreign correspondence other than South American, France and the United States coming next about evenly. The minister’s report shows a marked improvement in the revenues from the mail service, both foreign and domestic; last year’s returns noting an increase of fifteen thousand bolivianos over those of the previous year. In public works, which are under the supervision of this department, in the branch of fomento, or promotion, progress has been stimulated as never before in the history of the country, the uppermost question at the present moment in the councils of state being the construction of a great system of railroads in accordance with a plan which aims to unite the most thickly populated centres, and proposes to bring railway facilities to the mining districts and to promote commercial interchange on the Amazon, the Paraguay, the La Plata, and the Pacific. The minister of this department, Dr. Anibal Capriles, voices the national sentiment in his report to Congress this year, when he says: “We aspire to gradual, homogeneous development by our own efforts, and this is the policy which the present administration seeks to carry out, with the support of the best popular element and upon the ample basis of justice and right. As should be the case, the administration recognizes neither political parties nor territorial circumscriptions; eminently national, it has acted with equal zeal in all sections of the republic, studying the most urgent necessities and seeking to make the improvements respond to legitimate interests. The plan of the government has been, in brief, to work steadily and surely under the shelter of order and liberty.” Dr. Capriles is himself an indefatigable worker, with extraordinary executive ability, and under his systematic direction of affairs, the various branches of his department despatch daily an enormous amount and variety of work. A native of Cochabamba, Dr. Capriles received his earliest lessons in patriotism and political science in that city. While a student at the university he became associated with the brightest minds of the country in the publication of periodicals devoted to the liberal principles which are represented in the present government. He was the leader of the opposition during Alonso’s administration, and became the head of the revolutionary party in Cochabamba, which seconded the movement in La Paz, in 1898, contributing to bring about the change that resulted in the establishment of the present governing power. Elected second vice-president by the conventional assembly and appointed minister of government two years later, Dr. Capriles has held high offices in the administrations of President Pando and President Montes, having been acting president during the six months that General Pando was with his army in the Acre territory. Dr. Capriles is a writer of distinguished ability, and his biography of General Sucre is one of the valued contributions to South American literature.

Impressed with the necessity for giving increased attention to the administration of justice and public instruction, the present government has initiated important reforms in this department in accordance with the suggestions of the minister, Señor Don Juan M. Saracho, who has made a careful study of existing conditions and the possibilities of improvement. A characteristic feature of the present Cabinet is the absolute fearlessness of its attitude, collectively and individually, in treating of any evils of the body politic which require amendment. The period of soothing and flattering messages to Congress has passed with the gold-laced poseur whom tradition loves to picture in Spanish-American politics; and the annual report of a Cabinet minister to-day may be expected to present a true idea of the actual state of affairs in his department. Señor Saracho gives the result of his year’s administration in clear-cut phrases, urging reform where needed, and expressing satisfaction where progress has been encouraging. In every branch there is the manifest determination to strengthen the efficiency of the public service, to cut off whatever is useless and cumbersome and to build up a perfect system. The question of public instruction occupies a very prominent place in Señor Saracho’s department, and public opinion has not been slow to grasp the importance of establishing schools in every part of the republic upon a more advanced basis than that formerly existing, when the primary school was unknown and the university was within reach of only a favored few. The present minister of instruction proposes fewer universities and a greater number of primary schools, which is the only practical basis of popular education. In accordance with the liberal views which he has held throughout his public career, Señor Saracho believes in the right of every citizen to share the privileges of public instruction, and he regards this as one of the great principles of national progress. He has devoted much attention to questions of education, and long before his appointment to the Cabinet, when as a rising lawyer he made his home in Potosí after being graduated from the university in Sucre, he was recognized as an enthusiastic advocate of popular education. Although a native of Tarija, Señor Saracho’s home has been for many years in Potosí. Upon the fall of President Alonso’s government he was elected representative from that city to the national convention at Oruro, in October, 1899, where he became president of the committee on the constitution, and vice-president of the assembly. After the close of its sessions he was appointed rector of the University of Potosí, and he remained in this post until elected senator from the department of Tarija in 1902, being chosen secretary of the Senate in 1903. At the close of 1903 President Pando called him to the ministry of justice and public instruction, and upon his resignation at the end of President Pando’s term of office, he was again appointed by President Montes. Señor Saracho possesses a thorough knowledge of existing conditions in his country and has absolute confidence in its future greatness. His optimism is wholesome, genial, and of a character to inspire a like sentiment in all who come within the influence of his singularly magnetic voice.

As the treasury is the barometer by which a nation judges its “weather prospect”; and as the prosperity or depression of industrial activity is a sure indication of general conditions, the department of finance and industry has especial interest from an economic standpoint. Under its direction all the financial operations of the government are consummated. The general income of the republic is divided into national, departmental, and municipal revenues. The national revenue arises from customs taxes; duties on the exportation of silver, tin, copper, bismuth, gold, and rubber; imports paid by anonymous societies and mining enterprises; bridge tolls; imported alcohols and aguardientes; consular bills, mortgages, trademarks, mining patents, stamped paper, and stamps; the mint, the state telegraph, land taxes, pensions, and university degrees. The national resources have been increased recently by the Brazilian and Chilean indemnities. These sums will be spent in the construction of railroads. The national revenues are administered by the director of the national treasury in accordance with the budgets of the various ministerios endorsed by the minister of finance. The departmental revenues arise chiefly from the territorial contribution of Indians, taxes on landed property, duties on the importation and exportation of cattle, on legacies, tithes, taxes on hides and skins, and from other sources peculiar to each department. The departmental funds are administered by the director of the public treasury in each department. Congress discusses and votes the general budget, national and departmental, annually, designating the revenues and determining the expenses; the minister of finance and the prefects of the departments supervise the disposal of the budget in accordance with the decision of Congress. The annual budget balances at about ten million bolivianos. As has been said, Bolivia has no external debt; the internal debt is stated at four million bolivianos. A national office of public credit is charged to certify the internal debt. A national tribunal of accounts exists for the purpose of settling accounts in all branches of the administration, national, departmental, and municipal. It is composed of five magistrates elected by the president from a ternary list provided by the Senate; the principal accountants are named by the president from a ternary list of the tribunal, and the remaining employés are appointed by the tribunal. The magistrates of the tribunal can be removed only under sentence of the supreme court of justice.

The promising financial outlook of the country is indicated by the spontaneous offers of loans that have come recently from English and Belgian capitalists, amounting in the first case to a million, and in the second to two million pounds sterling. The minister of finance and industry, Señor Don Daniel del Castillo, comments on these offers in his report for 1905, regarding them as a proof of the favorable condition of Bolivian credit in European markets, and as a guarantee of the facility with which funds could be obtained if necessary to develop the national industries. Señor Castillo is very hopeful for the future of industrial enterprise in his country, when the new railways are completed, to facilitate transportation, and when regulations are once established to protect infant industries. An ardent patriot and for years one of the staunch leaders of the liberal party now in power, Señor Castillo represents the spirit of the new Bolivia, which has outgrown the ebullitions of juvenile temper, and has settled down to the task of full grown government. A statesman of high ideals and practical methods, he devotes all his talents to the public service, and in the councils of state is distinguished for his correct decisions and far-seeing judgment.

The war department is now chiefly occupied with the reorganization of the army, in fulfilment of a decree of the president, issued March 3, 1905, calling for a new military registration of all Bolivians from eighteen years of age upward, without distinction of social class. It is the intention of the government to give no opportunity for the evasion of the law which makes military service obligatory, and the minister of war, Señor Dr. José S. Quinteros, says: “When it is a question of the militarization of the country and of the national defence, there are no privileged social classes, no exclusions for professional reasons; every Bolivian, of whatever social condition and whatever profession, is obliged to fulfil the sacred duty of preparing himself and educating himself in a military sense. And the best school of military education and apprenticeship is the quartel; it is there that practical lessons in military science are given, and that one learns the love of country, consecrating to it the sacrifice of one’s life if necessary.” By following the proposed system of giving military education and instruction to all Bolivians within the quartels, calling them into the service at determined periods, it is believed that within a few years Bolivia will be able to count on a large number of citizens prepared for war. By the laws of the country, every citizen is a soldier except the clergy, the only sons of aged parents, fathers of more than two children, and those whose brothers have died in national war. Those who enjoy immunity from conscription are required to pay a small semi-annual tax during the years in which they would otherwise serve. The Bolivian army is divided into two principal categories, the troops of the line and the reserves; the latter are again divided into the pledged troops of the line, composed of young men between twenty and twenty-five years of age, who form an integral part of the army of the line and may be sent to the quartel at a moment’s notice if necessary; the ordinary reserve, of men from twenty-five to thirty years of age; the extraordinary reserve, from thirty to forty years of age; and the territorial guard, from forty to fifty years of age. The total strength of the army, counting it in these divisions, is one hundred and two thousand five hundred and sixty men.

The military departments correspond to the political departments, the prefect being also commandante general. In each department capital there is a chief of staff, who is a subaltern of the commandante general, and has charge of the transmission of military judgments in civil as well as criminal cases. The republic is also divided into five military zones: the north, which includes the department of La Paz; the centre, including Oruro and Cochabamba; the south, Chuquisaca, Potosí, and Tarija; the east, Santa Cruz; and the northwest, including the Beni and the Territorio Nacional de Colonias. The military park is in La Paz, where it occupies the edifice of the Intendencia de la Guerra; its dependencies are in Oruro and Potosí. The Escuela de Guerra, which has for its object the preparation of technical experts for the service of the general staff and instructors for the army, is under the direction of the war department, as is also the Colegio Militar, designed to give practical military training in all its branches. The general inspection of the army is in charge of General of Division Clodomiro Montes, who has recently made a journey through the republic, completing a thorough investigation of the various branches of military service. The result of his observations has been to confirm the necessity for a new military census and a reorganization of the army. General Montes is a distinguished figure in military circles, not only of his own country, but abroad, with a brave and honorable war record, and in his effort to raise the military standard of Bolivia he is adding an additional service to the many he has rendered in behalf of the nation. The minister of war, Dr. Quinteros, a native of the “Villa Imperial,” Potosí, is one of the youngest members of the Cabinet, though his name is well known not only in political, but in literary circles of South America, where his works on constitutional law have been widely read. He was several times elected deputy before entering the present Cabinet as minister, and in 1903 was president of the Chamber of Deputies. A lawyer of distinguished talents, he has contributed in an important degree to the advancement of knowledge in legal matters, especially through his lectures to the students of the law classes in the University of San Francisco Xavier, Sucre, where he occupied the chair of jurisprudence for several years.

In order to give adequate attention to the important questions of immigration, colonization, and agriculture, the government organized in October, 1904, the Ministerio de Colonias y Agricultura, appointing as minister Señor Manuel Vicente Ballivian, whose thorough knowledge of all subjects relating to Bolivia, whether historical, political, or commercial, makes him a veritable encyclopædia of information. So universally is he recognized as an authority in this respect, that he is quoted in nearly all books of reference on Bolivia in whatever country or language. Señor Ballivian is an accomplished linguist and a writer of great talent, as well as a statesman, inheriting many of the distinguished gifts of his illustrious family, of whom General José Ballivian, Dr. Adolfo Ballivian, and the minister’s father, Don Vicente Ballivian y Rojas, are particularly noted for their fine intellects. Señor Ballivian has translated into Spanish all the more important works written on his country by foreigners, and he has contributed to its bibliography scores of interesting books and pamphlets written by himself. In all his works the chief purpose is the dissemination of knowledge regarding the immense resources of Bolivia, and the opportunity it offers as a field for great industrial enterprises. When called to the ministry of colonization and agriculture, Señor Ballivian had already made his services most valuable to the government through the Geographic Society of La Paz, of which he is president, and the National Bureau of Immigration, Statistics, and Geographic Propaganda, which is under his direction. In his first annual report to Congress, Señor Ballivian gives his plan for promoting immigration, which is to secure only those colonists who come voluntarily to the country, attracted by its great resources, good climate, and favorable laws, thus avoiding the disastrous consequences of promiscuous immigration, such as has afflicted neighboring republics, where the too liberal importation of immigrants has frequently resulted in the necessity for shipping the newcomers back to Europe at great expense. It is the opinion of Señor Ballivian, endorsed by the government, that more satisfactory colonization will be accomplished if immigrants are brought out at their own risk, after being supplied with full information about the country through the consulates and immigration agencies, which will be provided with literature in various languages for distribution as propaganda.

Bearing on the subject of colonization, an important law governing the acquisition of unfilled lands was passed by Congress in October, 1905. According to its provisions, state lands can be acquired only by purchase, except under special dispositions and laws. The unit of measurement is the hectare, equivalent to a trifle less than two and one-half acres. The ownership of land does not carry unrestricted rights as to minerals, which are regulated by mining laws. Everyone, native or foreigner, capable of conforming to the civil law is permitted to purchase from the state as much as twenty thousand hectares, paying cash therefor at the rate of ten centavos, equivalent to four and one-half cents gold, per hectare, for land suitable to agriculture and cattle raising; for lands which contain productive rubber trees the price is one boliviano per hectare. Purchasers are obliged to establish on their lands at least one family for each thousand hectares. Concessions for more than twenty thousand hectares are subject to the approval of Congress. After the land has been granted, it is measured and the limits are marked by two experts, one of whom is appointed by the government and the other by the purchaser, the expenses of both being paid by the purchaser; on the termination of this work, the respective authorities are notified and the concession is recorded in the prescribed registers. For purposes of immigration the government reserves such lands as it deems necessary, holding certain tracts also for distribution among the Indians, for establishing government institutions, founding villages, building roads, and promoting foreign investment and enterprise. Neither those acquiring lands nor their successors are permitted to oppose the opening of roads and streets through their property or the building of railroads across their lands, when an increase of population requires it, nor will they have the right of indemnity, except for the construction work done on the land which the roads cover. All matters relating to these land laws are under the exclusive jurisdiction of the minister of colonies. The executive and the delegados nacionales of the Territorio de Colonias and the Gran Chaco have the power to sell the government lands within their respective territorial limits, in conformity with the provisions of the present law and the regulations authorized by the executive for its execution. Not only has the government made every possible effort to facilitate the opening up of hitherto uncultivated regions, but it has promulgated particularly favorable laws to govern the adjudication of lands and the guarantees and protection which are offered to the foreigner. Furthermore, the districts, or zonas, which are to be appropriated to purposes of colonization, have been specified by law and arranged in groups according to the nature of products and climate.

In addition to the Territorio de Colonias, which offers special inducements for colonization, there are vast lands in the Departments of the Beni, Santa Cruz, and Chuquisaca, along the eastern boundary of the republic. Probably the most promising field for immigration, considering the favorable climate as well as the great resources and proximity to the Argentine railway system and the waterways of La Plata, is the province of the Gran Chaco, belonging to the department of Tarija. This province is now being settled under the direction of the intrepid prefect of the department, Señor Don Leocadio Trigo, who has travelled through the savage wilds that still exist in this region, beyond the most remote districts explored by his predecessors in office. He has succeeded in subduing hitherto intransigent tribes, and has established government authority in districts never before subjected to the laws of civilization. Roads have been opened and postas built to facilitate communication between the Chaco and the rest of the republic. In his recent message, the minister of colonization warmly commends the zeal and patriotism which accomplished a work so important to the interests of national progress.

While active efforts toward colonization are thus in progress, the work of stimulating agricultural development is occupying the minister’s attention in an equal degree. Juntas de Fomento Agricola y Ganadero, which are boards for the promotion of agriculture and stock raising, have been established throughout the republic, and model farms are being instituted for the technical training of agriculturists. A school of agriculture has just been founded in the port of Rurrenabaque, in the Territorio Nacional de Colonias, and another in Tarija. The government proposes also to give elementary lessons in agriculture in the primary schools, followed by agricultural studies of a more advanced character in the secondary schools. The National Bureau of Immigration, Statistics, and Geographic Propaganda is annexed to the Department of Colonization and Agriculture, and, under the indefatigable efforts of Señor Ballivian, the national statistics are being compiled in a satisfactory way. In the section of geographic propaganda, the minister’s predilection for scientific study and research is seen in the institution of a National Museum of Natural History; and among the works of geographic propaganda issued by the bureau, the material coming from Señor Ballivian’s pen indicates the wide range of knowledge he possesses on this subject. The museum contains specimens of the production of the soil, objects of interest in historical research, as prehistoric fossils and archæological specimens; collections of minerals and of plants and animals; of weapons and ornaments of the aborigines; to which is added a rare collection of coins. As the museum is of recent existence, it is still in process of classification, but promises to be one of the most interesting and attractive of the national institutions.

The president confers with each of the ministers of his Cabinet upon an appointed day of each week, and with the entire Cabinet in council once a week. By this method the chief executive is in constant touch with all the departments of the government, and the administration is directed by the supreme power in perfect accord with the various ministerios.