Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-04-11
REPUBLIC.
Something About Its Laws and How
They Are Administered.
A REMARKABLE PROGRESS

Its Constitution Modelled Upon That OF the
United states-Liberal Inducements to Inn
| migrants-Spread of the Common School
system-The Typical Gillian Politician.
From The Stars Travelling Commissioners
CooU1MBo, CHILL March, 1891.
| "HEN MOST OF Us WENT TO SCHOOL
| w there asin South America both Pata-
gonian and Terra del Fuego; but nowadays
there are no such countries-at least none with
an autonomy Of their own. Some years ago
the stronger republics Immediately to the
northward, Argentine and Chilli took forcible
possession of the whole territory, including all
the outlying islands, and then divided it
among themselves. The line of division cuts
In twain what used to be Patagonia, and runs
straight down through the middle Of St..
Charles Island, the largest on the Terra del
Fuego archipelago; and, by the way, there is
likely to be war in the near future concern
| ing these boundaries, because aggressive little
Chill, though she secured the lions share in
the first place, now demands more from her
big, slow neighbor.
| TO THE TIP END OF THE CONTINENT.
|
tip end of the continent, extends it southwark
to the southernmost limit of the farthest island
| and takes in on the west a vast number of
other islands, every one Of them mountain
| scattered remnants of the great Andean system,
| winch here finds a termination BETTING its
| grandeur. Between these heights the winding
| ocean passages known to seamen as Smyth 8
channel and the Strait Of Magellan present
scenery that battles description-the magrifi-
cence OF utter desolation, wild, gloomy and
awe-lnsplring. All this including the Tara
pa:a territory wrested from Peru and the bit
OF BOLIVIA acquired at the same time, gives
| Chilli length of considerably over 2, 900 miles,
while its breadth is barely 120 miles. The sum-
init of the Andes forms its eastern boundary,
their slopes on the Atlantic side belonging to
the Argentine Republic and their western slopes
| to Chill.
SEPARATED INTO NINETEEN PROVINCES.
The long, ribbon-like country, stretching be-
tween the snow-covered Cordilleras and the
| mighty Pacific, is separated into nineteen prov
inces, counting Araucania. the desert plains,
| dark forests and deep mountain gorges occu-
1 pied BY the still unconquered Indians, whom
| the early explorers described as a race of
giants, and Sir Francis Drake reported as
MEME of such bigginess that it seemed as
though the treese of the forest were uprooted
reach from the mountain tops to the sea, and
| are separated from one another by some nat
ural boundary, such a river or a chain Of
transverse hills. The provinces themselves
| are divided into departments according to
their size and population. Thus the province
OF Coquimbo has six departments; those of
| valdivia and Lanquihue only two each Santiago.
the most densely populated Of them all. has
hve, and Valparaiso four. The departments in
! their turn are divided into townships of which
there are upwards of four hundred, and these
townships are again divided into districts.
which are the smallest political divisions.
cHILfs CONSTITUTION.
Chilis constitution was patterned after that
OF the United States and closely resembles it in
the letter of the law if not in the spirit of its
| administration. There are four distinct powers
Of gOvernment-the executive, invested in the
president; the legislative, i'll two houses of con-
gress; the judicial, in the judges of the various
courts, and the municipal, whose influence is
confided to the provinces The president
however, exerts controlling influence over
| them ALL or is supposed to do so, in times of
peace, the tendency being strongly toward GEN.
trallzation and unification of power. A presi-
dent is chosen every five years, and in 1871 the
law was passed which makes him ineligible to
reelection. except after an interval of one or
more terms. he has five cabinet officers
and is otherwise assisted by council of
state, composed of eleven members, five of
whom he names to suit himself, the other six
being elected by congress. The presidents sal
airy Is S1e, 600 per annum in Gillian silver
which Is worth good deal more Just now than
the paper of the country. There is no white
House" set apart for the executive and his
family, but they are permitted to reside in the
| treasury building, portion of which has been
luxuriously fitted up for the occupation of
Chilis rulers. The cabinet officers each re-
ceive $4,000 year, while the members of con-
gress serve for nothing but glory and find
themselves"
HOW THE PROVINCES ARE GOVERNED.
;s
ente, who is appointed by the president to be
at the head of municipal affairs and mayor Of
the capital city of his section His power is
extremely limited, he having no authority in
any matter independent of the will OF the presi-
dent. His salary is "a, ZOO year, with resi-
| dence furnished.
The departments are presided over bv gov
ernors, who are also named by the president
Some OF them receive a salary of -, 500 and
others not more than 81 600 per annum, ac-
| cording to the wealth and importance of the
| department The townships are presided over
by the subdelegates, appointed by the governors
| and the districts by inspectors, appointed by
| the subdelegates-all serving without paw
The members of congress serve three wears
| and there are 1OS Of them, elected from the va
rious departments. The senate is composed of
81 members. elected by the people of the prov
proportion of them who can read or write and
have an income of not less than 900 per annum,
no other persons being permitted to vote.
THE JUDICIARY.
The six judges who compose the supreme
court reside in Santiago and are mostly occu-
pied with cases concerning real estate, war
claims and criminal affairs of magnitude. The
municipal authority, composed OF the inten-
denies and city councils, is limited that thew
have not the power to expend 800 without the
| consent Of the president. Every department
has one or more justices Of the peace, who are
| dignifed by the title Of Judge" and some de-
partments have five or six of them according
| to the population. There are but four courts
Of appeal in the whole country-two in San
tiagO, one in Conception and one in Serena.
| There are upward of 1000 miles of railway
completed in Chill and more in process of con-
struction. There are 257 post offices, over G, 900
miles of telegraph lines and a cablegraph from
| Valparaiso connecting with the United States
| and Europe via Panama. Eighteen daily papers
and no end of weeklies' are published in the
republic, or, rather, there were before Presi-
dent Balmaceda temporarily shut up most of
them until the present political storm blows
| over.
| WHAT THE LAST CENSUS SHOWED.
| The latest census gives Chill total popula-
| {inp ~ ~ ~; ob