, 1890-08-13

AHCG 0'At kOA" ~ HNoO' "AO
audiences as the inquiry OF their orators,
"Sball we sink to the level of these South
American States, where the Presidential
election is followed by resistance I" The
people of the North said NO and they
insisted, at The sacrifice of much treasure
and MI Ii blood, that The ballot should rule
the Great Republic and that Instruction
against Il laWtuliy elected President should
be SterHly suppressed. The BuenOS Ayres
people now talk confidently Of the good re-.
suits that must flow from the murder or
deposition Of the President. These antici-
pati0ns of course, are of old and recurrent
date. Revolutions are as common in these
parts of The globe as earthquakes, while
they are Just as fruitful ofeyll and as bar
rem of good. At every new turn of the
wheel the successful conspirators, make
lavish promises Of economy and reform
and the men who depoSe or shoot them eX-
pose to the world in a few months or years
the broken Oaths and the pledges unful6lled.
The reform really wanted is not likely to
arrive soon. There should be a change of
climate, so as not to allow the sun to induce
fits of heat interchauged with intervals of
lassitude. There should be q change of
race, so that Spanish methods of politics
intrigues, assaSsinations, and prOnunciami-
entOs-Should die down. With new hea-
VenS and new men a new earth would not
be required. for the soil is fertile and the
territory wide. 1t would matt er little then
how the State was ruled-by an Emperor,
as in Brazil for some time, by an aristOcra-
cy as in Chilli, or by a democracy rs else
where-so that the people showed some
sense of political stability, ''Some reverence
fOI the la ws themselves had made" and
some ind ignaiiOn at the rise to power of
military ruttians or corrupt civilians.
Above all, we should feel inclined to preach
to The Argentine people not to let party
spirit override patriotism.
The Argentine Republic is II Federal
Union OF fourteen provinces-auSwering 10
the States of the North American Union
and of nine territories. The provinces
are to Il great extent Self-ruled. The city
and province of Buenos AN res far exceed
all the others in wealth, and contain about
a third Of the whole population Of the State.
The jealousy Of President Celman, a native
of the Province Of CordOva, with not four
hundred thousand inhabitants, is. therefore
natural enough. The only city is BuenOs
Ayres itself, with six hundred Thousand in.
hahirants; all the rest are little bigger
than small English towns. There Is no
reason whatever why the country 1t we'll
ruled should not Oc q great and prosper
Gus State. 1t has a magnificent domain
with room for at least ten times its present
population. 1t is only second to the Unit
ed States in the constant gain from grown
inning rants pouring in, mainly from Italy.
In the six years, from 1888 to 1889, a mil
lion CT foreigners c me TO settle III the Re
public. and citizens born abroad form near.
ly one-eighth Of the whole population.
Although the credit OF the State is now i'm
paired, and its finances are in confusion,
it has been for many years honOurably sue
cessful in all it's dealings with foreign Gre
ditorS. In April, 1889, the Government
was able to change the greater part of its
Six per Cent. Loans into a Four and q
half per Cent. Debt-an operation entirely
due to the rise in Argentine credit. Later
on it entirely extin guished another part of
its Six per Gent. Obligations through the
operation of a Sinking Fluid steadily APP
piled. III August last year it offered Three
aud a Half per Cent. Bonds in exchange for
its SIX per { cnt. "Hard Dollars" Loan, anti
the operation Was carried out. This honour
able history is quite exceptional in South
America, and the present eond iti0n of tho
county, there fore naturally excites az
much aStoniShmen as alarm. There ara
sanguiue English investors who believe
that everything will come right in the end
through the "rcmoval, (" one way Or another
Of the weak or culpable President ; and
the best men in the Republic deride the
notion Of a national collapse. The crisis
has, however, lasted u long time, and its
dificultipS do not diminish aS fine pO4S on.