Charles Edmond Akers and George Edmundson

“ The immediate supervision and despatch of public administrative affairs is in the hands of the cabinet ministers-interior, foreign affairs, war and marine, finance and commerce, justice and public instruction, and public works and promotion (fomento) . The execution of the laws in the departments and provinces, as well as the maintenance of public order, is entrusted to prefects and sub-prefects, who are appointees of the president. A vacancy in the office of president is filled by one of the two vice-presidents elected at the same time and under the same conditions. ”

“ Manufactures.—The manufacturing industries of Peru are confined chiefly to the treatment of agricultural and mineral products the manufacture of sugar and rum from sugar cane, textiles from cotton and wool, wine and spirits from grapes, cigars and cigarettes from tobacco, chocolate from cacao, kerosene and benzine from crude petroleum, cocaine from coca, and refined metals from their ores. Many of the manufacturing industries are carried on with difficulty and maintained only by protective duties on competing goods. ”

“ Mining.—Mining was the chief industry of Peru under Spanish rule The Inca tribes were an agricultural and pastoral people, but the abundance of gold and silver in their possession at the time of the conquest shows that mining must have received considerable attention. They used these precious metals in decorations and as ornaments, but apparently attached no great value to them. The use of bronze also shows that they must have worked, perhaps superficially, some of the great copper deposits. ”

“ The mining laws of the colonial regime and political disorder together raised a barrier to the employment of the large amount of capital needed, while the frequent outbreaks of civil war made it impossible to work any large enterprise because of its interference with labour and the free use of ports and roads. ”

“ Commerce.—Owing to political disorder, difficulty in land communications, and the inheritance of vicious fiscal methods from Spanish colonial administration, the commercial development of Peru has been slow and erratic. There are many ports on the coast, but only eight of them are rated as first class, viz. Paita, Eten, Pacasmayo, Salaverry, Callao, Pisco, Mollendo and Ilo, five of which are ports of call for foreign coasting steamers. The inland port of Iquitos, on the Marañon, is also rated as first class, and enjoys special privileges because of its distance from the national capital. ”

“ The coast, extending from the base of the Western or Maritime Cordillera to the Pacific Ocean, consists of a sandy desert crossed at intervals by rivers flowing through narrow, fertile valleys. The sierra is the region of the Andes, and is about 250 m. in width. It contains stupendous chains of mountains, elevated plains and table-lands, warm and fertile valleys and ravines. The montana is the region of tropical forests within the valley of the Amazon, and skirts the eastern slopes of the Andes. ”

“ Inability of the first vice-president to assume the office opens the way for the second vice-president, who becomes acting president until a successor is chosen, The vice-presidents cannot be candidates for the presidency during their occupancy of the supreme executive office, nor can the ministers of state, nor the general-in-chief of the army, while in the exercise of their official duties. ”

“ Goats are raised in Piura and Lambayeque for their skins and fat, and swine-breeding for the production of lard has become important in some of the coast valleys immediately north of Lima. Horses are reared only to a limited extent, although there is demand for them for military purposes. The government is seeking to promote the industry through the importation of breeding mares from Argentina. Mules are bred in Piura and Apurimac, and are highly esteemed for mountain travel. ”

“ Departments with eight and more provinces are entitled to four senators, those of four to seven provinces three senators, those of two to three provinces two senators, and those of one province one senator. The deputies are chosen to represent 15,000 to 30,000 population each, but every province must have at least one deputy. Both senators and deputies are elected for terms of six years, and both must be native-born Peruvian citizens in the full enjoyment of their civil rights. A senator must be 35 years of age, and have a yearly income of $1000. ”

“ Weights and Measures.—The French metric system is the official standard of weights and measures and is in use in the custom-houses of the republic and in foreign trade, but the old units are still commonly used among the people. ”

“ The Lima Geographical Society (founded in 1888) is perhaps the best and most active scientific organization in the republic. Its special work covers national geographical exploration and study, archaeology, statistics and climatology, and its quarterly bulletins contain invaluable information. The society receives a government subsidy, and its rooms in the national library in Lima are the principal centre of scientific study in Peru. ”

“ No country is provided with more and better safeguards against electoral and official abuses than is Peru, and yet few countries suffered more from political disorder during the 19th century. The president has no veto power, but has the right to return a law to Congress with comments within a period of ten days. ”

“ The eastern range is cut through by six rivers in Peru, namely, the Marañon and Huallaga, the Perene, Mantaro, Apurimac, Vilcamayu and Paucartambo, the last five being tributaries of the Ucayali. The range of the Andes in south Peru has a high plateau to the west and the vast plains of the Amazonian basin to the east. The whole range is highly auriferous, and the thickness of the strata is not less than 10,000 ft. It is nowhere disturbed by volcanic eruptions, except at the very edge of the formation near Lake Titicaca, and in this respect it differs essentially from the Maritime Cordillera. ”

“ The most important export is sugar, the products of the mines ranking second. The largest share in Peru’s foreign trade is taken by Great Britain, Chile ranking second and the United States thire
Products.—Although her mining industries have been, the longest and most widely known, the principal source of Peru's wealth is agriculture. This seems incompatible with the arid character of the country and the peculiar conditions of its civilization, but irrigation has been successfully employed in the fertile valleys of the coast. ”

“ It is a universal article of food in Peru, and the output is consumed in the country. Maize is another important food product which is generally cultivated along the coast and in the lower valleys of the sierra. In some places two or three crops a year are obtained. It is the staple food everywhere, and little is exported. It is largely used in the manufacture of chicha, a fermented drink popular among the lower classes. Tobacco is grown in the department of Piura, and in the moniafa departments of Loreto, Amazonas and Cajamarca. ‘The local consumption is large and the export small. ”

“ Peru was the centre of Spanish power, and the viceroy had his military strength concentrated at Lima. Consequently the insurrections in the more distant provinces, such as Chile and Buenos Aires, were the first to declare themselves independent, in 1816 and 1817. But the destruction of the viceroy’s power was essential to their Peru Independent. continued independent existence. The conquest of the Peruvian coast must always depend on the command of the sea. ”

“ The Peruvian supply is practically exhausted through the destructive methods employed in collecting the bark, and the world now depends chiefly on Bolivia and Ecuador. The forests of eastern Peru are rich in fine cabinet woods, but their inaccessibility renders them of no great value. Among the best known of them are cedar, walnut, ironwood and caoba, a kind of mahogany. Many of the forest trees of the upper Amazon valley of Brazil are likewise found in Peru. ”

“ These Indians are generally described as Cholos, a name sometimes mistakenly applied to the mestizos, while the tribes of the eastern forests are called Chunchos, barbaros, or simply Indians. The Cholos may be roughly estimated at about 1,800,000 and form by far the larger part of the sierra population. Practically all the industries and occupations of this extensive region depend upon them for labourers and servants.
The mestizos are of mixed Spanish and Indian blood. There are two general classes—the costeños or those of the coast, and the serranos or those of the sierras. ”

“ The foreign population is chiefly concentrated in Lima and Callao, though mining and other industries have drawn small contingents to other places.
Education.—Universities and colleges were founded in Peru soon after the conquest, and Lima, Cuzco, Arequipa and Chuquisaca (now the Bolivian town of Sucre) became centres of considerable intellectual activity. Something was done for the education of the sons of the Indian “nobility,” schools being created at Lima and Cuzco. ”

“ It is probable, however, that the settlement of the Cuzco valley and district by the Incas or “people of the sun” took place some 300 years before Pizarro landed in Peru. The conquering tribe or tribes had made their way to the sierra from the plains, and found themselves a new land sheltered from attack amidst the lofty mountains that hem in the valley of Cuzco and the vast lake basin of Titicaca, situated 12,000 ft. above the sea level. The first historical records show us these people already possessed of a considerable civilization, and speaking two allied languages, Aymara and Quichua. ”

“ Near Lima, on the south, there are three bathing resorts, Chorrillos, Miraflores and Barranco, which have handsome residences and large populations in the bathing season. North of Lima is the port and bathing resort of Ancon, in an extremely arid locality but having a fine beach, a healthy climate and a considerable population in the season. The towns of the coast region are usually built on the same general plan, the streets crossing each other at right angles and enclosing squares, or quadras. ”

“ The public revenues are derived from customs, taxes, various inland and consumption taxes, state monopolies, the government wharves, posts and telegraphs, &c. The customs taxes include import and export duties, surcharges, harbour dues, warehouse charges, &c.; the inland taxes comprise consumption taxes on alcohol, tobacco, sugar and matches, stamps and stamped paper, capital and mining properties, licences, transfers of property, &c. ”

“ The question hinged to a great extent on the qualification necessary for the inhabitants to vote, in the event of a plebiscite being called to decide whether Chilean ownership was to be finally established or the provinces were to revert to Peruvian sovereignty. Peru proposed that only Peruvian residents should be entitled to take part in a popular vote; Chile rejected this proposition, on the ground that all residents in the territories in question should have a voice in the final decision. ”

“ On the coast, however, in and near the large cities and towns, it compares well with other South American countries. Peru belongs to the international postal union, and had in 1906 a money order and parcels exchange with seven foreign states. A noteworthy peculiarity in the foreign mail service is that an extra charge of 2 cents for each letter and 1 cent for each post-card is collected when they are sent across the isthmus of Panama. No charge is made for the transmission of newspapers within the republic. ”

“ The regular force is maintained by annual drawings from the lists of young men 19 years of age in the first reserves, who are required to serve four years. The direction of military affairs is entrusted to a general staff, which was reorganized in 1904 on the lines adopted by the great military powers of Europe. The republic is divided into four military districts with headquarters at Piura, Lima, Arequipa and Iquitos, and these into eleven circumscriptions, The mounted police force of the republic is also organized on a military basis. ”

“ Modern machinery is little used and many mines are practically unworkable for want of pumps. In the vicinity of some of the deposits of argentiferous galena are large coal eds, but timber is scarce on the table-lands. The dried dung of the llama (taquia) is generally used as fuel, as in pre-Spanish times, for roasting ores, as also a species of grass called ichu (Stipa incana) , and a singular woody fungus, called yareta (Azorella umbellifera) , found growing on the rocks at elevations exceeding 12,000 ft. ”