in previous years had been liquidated, and the amortisation of the Public Debt carried on with due regularity.*

Alluding to the current year (1904), the Minister pointed out that the Debt, including floating liabilities, amounted to $11,157,153. In order to carry out the amortisation with the same regularity as heretofore, a sum of $2,771,724 would be required. Assuming the Revenue to amount to $6,800,000, it would not be possible to assign from it a larger sum than $1,550,000 to the redemption of the Debt. To this, however, might be added $392,700 in respect of profit on the auctions of "Salvador Bonds,"† making the total amount available for this purpose $1,942,700. There would therefore be a deficiency of $829,024, to which the Minister earnestly called the attention of Congress.

REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE, 1903.

The details of Revenue and Expenditure in 1903, given by the Minister, are as follows:

This last statement does not appear to be entirely borne out by the returns given below on page 339 in the table of the movement of the Public Debt, which show an increase in the amount of Debt cutstanding as compared with the previous year.

+ These Bonds are an internal issue.

Y

The balance carried forward from 1902 to 1903, and not included in the above Statement of Revenue, amounted to $269,907.14, and that remaining at the close of 1903, to be carried forward to 1904, to $276,098.89. Omitting, the receipts from Loans, etc., the Expenditure had surpassed the Revenue by $912,710.65, and had exceeded the Budget Estimate by $1,595,481.39.

In accordance with the Decree of 22nd September, 1903, the Customs Duties had been reduced to 109 per cent., payable as to 94 per cent. in silver and 15 per cent. in gold. Of the amount paid in gold, two-thirds were specially assigned for the subsidy to the Salvador Railway Company, and one-third for the liquidation of the Burrell claim.

PUBLIC DEBT.

The movement of the Public Debt in 1903 (exclusive of floating liabilities) was stated by the Finance Minister to have been as follows:

NOTE. The figures in this table differ considerably in every case from those in a similar table given in the President's Message. In the latter, for instance, the amount of Bonds issued in 1903 is stated to have been $3,179,513, and the total amount of principal and interest outstanding at the close of the year $8,642,309. No explanation of these differences can be found in either the President's Message or the Finance Minister's Report.

With regard to the "Salvador Bonds," the Minister stated that the total amount outstanding at the close of the year was $5,840,638.55, consisting of $4.987,452.26 in respect of capital, and $853,186.29 on account of interest.

Various issues of Bonds had taken place during 1903, amongst which were new Bonds payable in United States gold, which were created to meet the principal and interest of the Burrell claim. These Bonds, which were in the hands of the Union National Bank of Oakland, California, were denominated "National Indemnity Bonds,” and at the exchange of 260 per cent., represented a sum of $1,177,891.80 currency.

BUDGET FOR 1904-5

The Estimates for the financial year 1904-5 were published in the Diario Oficial of 14th June, 1904, and were as follows:

The Finance Minister in his Report stated that the value in gold of the Imports and Exports during 1903 was respectively $3,088,477.10 and $5,669,545.24, the balance of trade being therefore favourable to Salvador to the extent of $2,581,068.14 gold.

No details are furnished with regard to Imports, but the Report contained the following Table, giving the currency values of Exports.