THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2090, 26 August 1890, Page 3

THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC.

O'* •' _ 1 | “TheI’Argentine 1 ’Argentine Bepublip has,, had for aome years“what ,is, called in the verhacnla^^a, U| Vgloripuß time,’ and, i|t is ' now,”going through;'tho^Baddening , bufeTustfucfive' process .paying iM ! ' TFP dbinmitiled 'd firing . ; A perfect Gulf Stream of riches b ! ak been ' flowing " ; ®o» l fi Atlantic '.Jrom ,,fbe :T |lu ? bf la* ip.oreaamg. ffie, apparent rietajof r .tlie people, and: tempting the whdleOommunity into a .carnival of speculation. Theice are ,t|iree di?^W c t ways in Which foreign •money has been introduced into the colony, and all of them have been used, to the fullest extent. The

Central Government ot the Argentine Federation has to pay .nearly^three millions eyery year,, in interest The ; .provincial, . governments,, ;; are plunged, in,a debt as deep as River Tlate; and. private ' inyestmenU from abroad have Been large and Altogether,, accprdipg j to the corrsspandeiit ofi 'London ( Times,,• whp writes a.careful and,.thoughtful letter on the Whole indebUdness ef the Argentine .Republic to Europe amounts at 'least .to and should probably Be put at, a, higher figure. The interest on such a sum must .be an extremely heavy charge; even to b country Which claims that its resources ape..-.**.Bo.radleM.”, .But, this interest charge does not represent the full i extent ~o£, the,,.Argentine difficulties, for; the situation has been

complicated by the utter recklessness of the financial system. The banks hare bean permitted an almost unlimited issue of paper money, and the, result of scattering paper dollars broadcast, without much regard .to the ‘ bank reserves, has simply been to inflate ( the speculation in land to a height which was never dreampt of even in the few months of the Melbourne land boom; But although values increased, ahd men grew rich on paper, it.was necessary to pay the interest in gold, and this grew harder and harder as specu* lation increased* Then came the collapse, for gold had to be obtained at any price, and the premium upon the precious: metal rose a short time ago

to 215 per cent.* The inevitable consequences followed. Speculation ceased, business came to a standstill, employment became scarce; and some of the banks have failed to pay dividends. For the moment a revelution was feared in Buenos Ayres, but a change of ministry was made, and the people were persuaded that their true interest lay in trusting to a gradual recovery. The new Minister of Finance has the reputation of great, ability. He has been aided by the fact of an unusually good season for the pastoral and agricultural interests, which form the mainstay of the Bepublic, and also by large immigrations of hardworking and thrifty laborers, who are

always adding to the products of the country and increasing its exports. The premium has now fallen to 148 per cent., and, if it can be reduced to 100, the Times correspondent declares that the railways will pay interest, and that the position will be fairly sound, d In the meantime the Minister of Finance is determined to maintain the credit of the Central Government, and asserts that he is in a position to meet every engagement. If this be the case, relief will gradually come, but the Argentines have had a rough awakening from their dreams, and a hard day’s work evidently lies before them.—Austral asian.