National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1882-02-11
BLAINE ooNTRADrcrEp.
How the Revenues OF Peru Are srortsnEed
--InterestIng Fncts ana Figures.

--InterestinE Fncts ana Figures.
Mr. Blaine'a pathetic protest in his recent ex-
PLANTATION against Chilis demand for partof Peru
appears queerer the more closely II Is examined,
for II Is clear that having determined to support
Peru and pick quarrel with Chill he made not
even cursory examination of the facts bearing
OH ChilPs demand. fhe had done this he would
have seen at once that Chill requires cession Of
territory, because Peru Is over head and ears In
debt and has nothing but territory TO pay Seeing
this he would have seen also that the various pri
vate schemes to which he gave more attention
than they deserved had for their object specula-
tions of no sort of value unless the United States
could be got to back them and become their in
dorser which, II will be found wns a condition
precedent with them ALL Chill requires Tarapaca
because Peru has no money with which to pay q
money indemnity. Feru has no money nor any
legitimate means of raising money, because she
already owes q vast debt, about three times as
much as our debt in proportion to the population
Of Peru and the United States, and has her Gus
toms revenues, her guano, her railroads, all her
property and Income mortgaged-so heavily mort
gagged that she has not since 1876 paid even the in
terest on her debt.
PERU's EXTERNAL DEBT.
The external debt Of Peru is stated in the Lon.
don Stock Erchdngc annual as follows: Eleven
million nine hundred and twenty thousand pounds
in bonds, bearing per cent interest, issued In
1870, and on which the coupons have not been
paid since 1875. but 977sd2O Of the bonds have
| been redeemed by drawings" leaving net out
standing Gl11 $50 of per cent. bonds with cou
pons unpaid since January, 1876 Thirty.four
million twenty-five thousand five hundred pounds
OF per cent. bonds, issued In 1872 with the cou-
pons also unpaid since April 1876. The per cents
stood at 1871 and the 5s at 1l3< on December 81,
1881, which is the measure of Peru's credit.
REvENUEs PLEDGED.
For the payment of these bonds and the arrears
due on coupons since 1876 the Peruvian govern =
mont pledged TO the bondholders oil It's revenues
from guano, railroads, and customs. This pledge
is on the per cent bonds, loan Of 1870. executed
In Paris and London on the LIST of June OF that
year. In like manner the Peruvian por cents,
loan OF 1872, executed In London January Of that
year, contain a similar provision.
DOMESTIC DEBT AND ASSETS.
II would seem from this that Peru has, in vulgar
phrase put pretty much all her boosted richness
cup the spout rs security for the triAlng sum OF
s225,OoOOoO, besides unpaid interest since 1875.
But this is not ALL for Peru has dornostic debt Of
which no accurate account Is accessible, but
which Is said to amount to about s127, 900 more
| Among Peru's assets the guano deposits are the
leading item, these belong to the State and not
| to private individuals. careful report made by
Senior Crucagu for the Chilian government and
which has been extensively published here and in
iuuheo Nht VI luuTHet-
able guaiio still remaining in the Peruvian de-
| posts:
n.,.ro ,,.. 7Sns; Tons;
Thuonlll 200000 Chipana ....~.,.. 10000
Punta de Lobos... G0.OOo Independenca..... 5000
| statement from Peruvian bondholder in the
London Telegraph gives statistics to show that
reckoning on this years shipments, there will be
left less than three hundred thousand tons OF
marketable guano, containing not less than or 6
| per cent of ammonia. In all the Peruvian de-
posits, supposng the net value Of this guano TO be
$50 per ton this would give total, to Mr.. Blaine'S
dismay, OF only s9OO0OO0, which IA already hy-
pothecnted to the holders of s225 1000 OF bonds
and Is therefore, Of little use in any settlemen,
with Chill.
THE NIrRATEs.
The nitrates do not belong to the Peruvian gov.
ernment at all, They are the property of private
| owners, mostly Chllians, Europeans, and Ameri-
cans, who work these depositsas our miners do the
veins of gold and silver Whether Peru or Chill
| owns Tarapaca, where the nitrate beds are, In
| neither case are they valuable to the government
only for what 1t can obtain in the shape of export
other taxes as the product out of the producers
and whatever is so taken from them the consumer
of nitrfte, among whom our own people figure
largely, will have to pay for 1t will be added to the
| price they must pay. 1t would be an undoubted
advantage to the farmers of the United States, who
| for the last few years have used good many
thousand tons of Tarapaca nitrate, to have an
orderly government like that of Chilli laying
moderate taxes on the product rather than to have
notoriously disorderly and beggared government
| like Peru laying exorbitant taxes on 1t.
PRODUCT OF THE NITRATE BEDS
| But Mr.. Blaine's extraordinary statements about
the Importance OF these nitrate beds OF Tarapacs
must be checked by the following correct figures
The production of nitrate during the last ten years
| has been rs follows: