The Sun.
London, England, 1863-06-22 00:00:00

SOUTH AMERICA.

We have received per French mail steamer
Guienne advices from Buenos Ayres to the 14th of
May. Congress was in Session, its opening being
inaugurated by President Mitre in a lengthened
message, described by the Standard as " a nice piece
of rhetoric, and true in all its details, yet it has
two faults, being rather too long, and too much
couleur de rose in promising immense progress, re-
form, enterprise, &c.'' After a long controversy,
Mariano Saavedra was re-elected Governor of the
extramural province of Buenos Ayres by 39 votes,
out of an Assembly of 64 members. Grave doubts
were raised as to the !egality of such an act, the
Constitution prohibiting re-election. Nevertheless,
his former tenure of office having been brief,
the difficulty was overleaped, and his re-election
was regarded as a triumph of the peace party
over the second candidate, Signor Gainza, who
is an ultra-provincial, i.e., anti-nationalist.
Signor Riestra's party was divided, voting in equal
moieties for the opposite candidates. The Chambers
had as yet done nothing, the Cordova Railway and
other important bills being before committee, among
others, the proposed change in the Custom-house
law, which, if carried, will cause a serious reduction
of duties on nearly every class of English goods.
The Minister of Finance had also laid before the
house a Free Banking Law, which will tend,
if passed, greatly to increase the value of the
Buenos Ayrean securities.
Flores, the filibuster chief, was still hiding from
the authorities, with a force variously represented
at from 70 to 700 men. Several parts of the Argen-
tine Republic had been threatened by the bandits
of Rioja ; but in every case they had been re-
pulsed and routed, and the national Govern-
ment counted on sufficient elements to crush out all
opposition, even if, as was suspected in some quar-
ters, General Urquiza should have sinister inten-

tions.
The Buenos Ayres Great Northern Railway was
doing a large business, and the works rapidly pro-
gressing, the third portion of the road, to a place
called Lo Olivos, being intended to be opened to
the public on the 20th or 25th of May. The Boca
Railway, to connect the wharfage of Buenos Ayres
with the city, was steadily progressing. The
works of the Cordova, or, as it is called, the Grand
Central Argentine Railway, had commenced, and
the contract with Mr. Wheelwright awaited speedy
ratification by Congress. The Government, who
are the owners of the Western Railway, had ad-
vertised for bids for the extension of the line
from Moreno to the town of Mercedes, and it
was considered more than probable that an Eng-
lish contractor would get the contract. A rail-
road was projected to connect an important town in
Corrientes with Concordia, one of the river ports
in Entre Rios, the contract for which would pro-
bably be taken by an English house. This road
will ensure the carrying trade from Brazil to Con-
cordia, as vessels cannot pass that town in conse-
quence of the cataracts in the Uruguay.
The city of Rosario is about to be lighted with
gas, an English engineer, in company with Mr.
Calzadilla, a native gentleman, having got the
contract.
Several vessels had arrived at Buenos Ayres
during the fortnight with emigrants, and over 100
Irishmen were landed from La Zingara, all of
whom were immediately employed by their fellow-
countrymen in the camp.
The high price of gold was the cause of serious
inconvenience to foreign merchants. Doubloons
had kept so long over 400 paper dollars currency,
that, notwithstanding the regular burning of the
paper money each month, people had lost all hope
of having the currency improved by any, save
the most stringent measures. The London and
River Plate Bank was doing a good safe business,
as also the Maua Bank, which it was thought will
establish banks of issue in the provinces if the new
banking law is passed. In exchange transactions
by this mail had not been active, and the sum total
was a little under the usual average. The sales,
however, had been firm, and very little fluctuation
experienced. On England a few transactions were
effected at 6215., but nearly all the bills passed at
Wis. The total amount on England was £140,000.
On France the rate was 85f. to 851 f., and the
amount passed about 400,000 f. On Brazil about
1,000 oz. passed at from 29,800 reis. Bolivano cur
rency had no alteration, and all the sales for the
fortnight were made at the uniform rate of 213-
per doubloon. Paper currency had fluctuated
about the end of the fortnight, owing to the un-
favourable advices received from the interior and
neighbouring republic of Banda Oriental. The
last quotation was 444 reis per doubloon, and rates
of foreign exchange as follows:—England, 675. ;
France, 84f. 841 f. 84f.; Antwerp, 841 f. 84f. ; Rio
Janeiro, 29,800reis ; Montevideo at par ; Gas shares,
8 per cent, premium ; l3olsa shares, 14 per cent.
prem.
Business at Buenos Ayres had been rather brisk.
During the fortnight subsequent to the sailir g of the
British ship Oneida for Southampton a good deal of
wool was sold at fair prices ; the high figure of ounces
enabling the shipper to pay a few more paper dols.
the arrobe. There was but a very small stock of
wool on hands, the bulk having been already
shipped. The sheep farmers of the province had
had a splendid lambing season. In some parts
drought was experienced, but within the last
week it rained most copiously, and all fears of a
winter drought were dispelled. The extreme high
price of land in the province was, however, a
great drawback. Many cheep farmers were cross-
ing the Arroyo Medio, and settling down in the
fertile wilderness of Sante Fe, where pasture lands
are unreasonably cheap. The arrivals of wool from
the camp since the commencement of the season
amounted to 2,100,000 arrobes, of which 1,950,000
were sold, and stacks amounted to 150,000,000. •
Good lots of superior mestizo and well conditioned
wools had been in good demand, and the prices paid
were as follows—Fine mestizo wool, unwashed, 90
to 96 ; good do., 85 to 90 ; fair do,, 75 to 85 ; mixed
do., 70 to 75 ; Borrega do., 60 to 70; low mixed
and creole, 50 to 60. From the provinces the fol-
lowing sales have been effected-270 bales Cordova,
at 351 reals; 250 do., at 36 reals ; 620 do., at 37 ;
100 do. Santiago, at reserved price; 600 arrobes
Entre Rios, at 26 reis ; 1,600 do. Corrientes, at 2
reis; 500 do., at 28 reis; and 2,000 do. ordinary
Banda Oriental, at 21 reis.
The sales of ox and cow hides during the fort-
night had been as follows :—Dry hides.—For North
America-24,000 sold at 381 to 39 reals for Cor-
rientes, 39 to 41 reals for Entre Rios, 36 to 40 reals
for classified from the province of Buenos Ayres, ac-