we cannot but lament acts of excessive severity which remove all hopes of conciliation.

The deplorable picture which almost all the Spanish-American Republics around us present ought to be a lasting lesson for us, and at the same time a motive of gratitude to the Almighty for the blessings showered on this country after so many years of calamity.

The benefits of internal tranquillity are in reality palpable, and impel of themselves towards prosperity, well-being, and riches, thus leaving to the Government the care of preserving that inestimable peace, and of removing the various natural obstacles with which a new country with few resources has to struggle, and whose population, although laborious and active, is concentrated in the interior.

One of the great necessities of our Republic which occupies the attention of the Government, is the opening new ways of communication to facilitate the exportation of the abundant and varied productions of our soil. Without them, we should witness the discouragement of those who dedicate themselves to the cultivation of the land, and the paralysation of all efforts for the extension of

commerce.

Reduced as we hitherto have been, in having but one sole product to offer in exchange for the objects of foreign industry, although doubtless a valuable one, but of limited consumption, the spirit of speculation and enterprise cannot have its full play and extension, and finds itself exposed to great anxieties by any accident that may affect it. It is therefore necessary to improve the means of communication, as well as to facilitate embarkation and disembarkation on our southern coasts, so as to be able to export those products advantageously whose bulk is large relatively to their small value.

The Government has made liberal concessions for the construction of piers on the coast of Escuintla and Suchitepequez, and has had to wait a long time for the result of those concessions. That object not having been attained, orders have been given that in case. the construction of the piers should not have been contracted for by the agent of the concessionary, they shall be contracted for on account of the Government itself.

Attention is also directed towards ascertaining the means most adequate and proper for improving the roads, and as the support of the Chamber is necessary in order to give an impulse to all these undertakings, the projects that are considered suitable for carrying them into effect will be submitted to you.

Peace and prosperity are also evidently ameliorating the customs and the moral condition of the people, instilling into them habits of labour, and the love for the enjoyments of social life, and for the independence, which that alone can impart; they also favour and develop the good education, which improves daily, in a notable

manner, in the establishments, both public and private, for both sexes, under the protection and vigilance of the authorities.

In view of this progress and of the material improvements which every day appear both in and out of the capital, we may be assured, without boasting, that our civilization is developing itself, and that we are gradually progressing towards a more perfect state.

The consequence of this state of prosperity is the yearly increase of the revenue, as the Chamber will perceive by the statements which will be submitted to its examination.

The increase of the revenue has accelerated the amortization of the debt, which has considerably diminished during the present year. This rapidity of amortization, and the punctuality and exactitude with which the engagements of the Treasury have been met, has enabled the Government to obtain funds in anticipation on better terms than in former years.

The debt which weighed upon the Treasury for arrears of civil and military salaries has been entirely extinguished. In the midst of all these favourable circumstances it is impossible to deny that all the branches of the public service, and especially the internal government of the towns, and the administration of justice, are far from that perfection to which they must arrive in order to insure the welfare of those towns and our dawning prosperity. The Government, feeling more immediately the disadvantage produced by this state of things, and actuated as it is by the greatest zeal for the public service, would remedy this evil, were it not that prudence points out the inexpediency of making innovations until the probability of their success becomes apparent. The firmest resolution, and the most upright intentions, do not suffice to remove the material obstacles which the want of the necessary elements for organizing a perfect administration opposes, and it very often happens that those measures which may be adopted with this object, so far from destroying the evil, only have the effect of creating confusion and hindering all reform. This reason induces the Government to follow steadily the system hitherto adopted, which has been productive of good results, and to study unweariedly the means of improving everything gradually, in the hope that the course of time will of itself bring about the formation and development of those means which we are as yet in want of, and of which the Government endeavours to the extent of its power to encourage the formation, under the auspices of peace and justice.

The Secretaries of State will submit to the Chamber the general statement of the administration of last year, together with the estimates of the revenue and expenditure for the ensuing year, accompanied by the necessary calculations and explanations, in order that you may proceed to their examination.

These documents will furnish to the Representatives and to the public an exact idea of the state of the revenue and of our credit. They will also furnish information on all those subjects that are worthy to be laid before you and the public. For my part, I confidently rely on your support and co-operation, so that I may continue to devote myself to the service of our common country, which has so much right to expect us to serve her with loyalty and devotion.

Let us thank the Almighty for the benefits showered so bountifully on this people, and beg him to continue his benevolent protection to all of us.

Palace of the Government, Guatemala, November 25, 1860. RAFAEL CARRERA.

SPEECH of the President of Nicaragua, on the Opening of the Congress.-Managua, March 6, 1860.

(Translation.)

HONOURABLE SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES!

A SERIOUS disagreement has long existed between Great Britain and the Republic of Nicaragua; it is, as you are aware, on the Mosquito question, the origin, progress, and consequences of which are well known to you, thus rendering it unnecessary for me to enter into its details. Nicaragua has had to suffer during this state of things; and England, notwithstanding her power, has also felt the embarrassing consequences arising therefrom, so that it is the interest of both parties to come to an understanding for the final and pacific solution of this delicate question. With this object in view a Convention has been concluded, which will be presented to you by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, and which I recommend to you, not so much for its intrinsic merits, as because it removes an obstacle in the way of the progress of the Republic, that might hereafter be the origin of dangerous emergencies, taking into consideration the complications which such a question might give rise to, between the contending interests of The United States and Great Britain and those of Nicaragua.

The Clayton-Bulwer Treaty and the bases of the Dallas-Clarendon Treaty prove the importance of the matter in hand, and are facts which ought not to be overlooked, so that we may not lose an opportunity of avoiding dangers which may hereafter occur.

This is the principal object for calling together the present extraordinary session, the most delicate, and the one which demands all your tact and prudence.

Now allow me, honourable Senators and Representatives, to specify to you also the other objects which will require your attention.

If it be the duty of nations to consolidate their mutual relations by means of Treaties, this duty is the more urgent for Nicaragua, on account of her topographical position; so the Executive has thought, and for this reason, Treaties have been concluded with the principal Maritime Powers in the world.

Unfortunately the one lately negotiated with Sir W. G. Ouseley was not approved by his Government, and it therefore became necessary to open fresh negotiations. The slight difficulties that existed have been now removed, and I submit for your ratification a new Treaty of Commerce, Friendship, and Navigation, which has been concluded with that Power. It is founded on the same principles and the same reciprocity as those lately concluded with The United States and the French Empire.

The federal ties which preserved the national unity of Central America having been loosened, and the time not having yet arrived for the union that ought to exist, it becomes a matter of imperious necessity that the different kindred fractions should approximate and draw closer to each other by means of Treaties, for the regulation of their political, civil, and commercial interests. This has been the object in concluding a Convention with the Government of Honduras, which may partly meet that necessity.

Ever since we were a colony the importance of our isthmus has been acknowledged, and the idea of an interoceanic communication has been kept in view. The Spanish Government was unable to carry out this idea, and so was the Federal Government, and since then the Government of the Republic in its efforts to do so has gone on from disappointment to disappointment, from illusion to illusion, and from hope to hope, and out of these have arisen a multitude of reclamations against us. But this fatality must not daunt us; the transit is advantageous to Nicaragua, the world requires it, and humanity demands it; we ought, therefore, to make greater efforts for establishing it, proceeding in future with more prudence and circumspection, and answering all reclamations with the justice which is on our side. Since the failure of the Belly contract, new proposals have been made to us by various companies, which hitherto have not produced any result, as those proposals were in opposition to the Decree for free transit. Notwithstanding this, I have thought it right to lay them before you for your sovereign consideration.

The matters relating to the interior, although of secondary importance, are urgent, as one of them tends to expedite the better administration of justice, and the other to improve the measures adopted for the benefit of agriculture.

Honourable Senators and Deputies! your patriotism and your wisdom will dispose of these matters for the best; I feel assured of it, and the country expects it of you; meanwhile, Providence which watches over the destiny of nations will know how to enlighten you for the good of the Republic.

I have spoken.

Managua, March 6, 1860.

DISCOURS de la Reine de Tahiti, à l'Ouverture de l'Assemblée Legislative.-Papeeti, le 3 Mai, 1860.

MESSIEURS LES DEPUTES!

EN me retrouvant au milieu de vous qui êtes l'élite de la nation Tahitienne, à côté du représentant de notre puissant protecteur l'Empereur Napoléon III, je remercie Dieu, ayant cette pensée au fond du cœur, qu'avec son aide, nos efforts réunis amèneront la civilization et la prospérité sur cette terre qu'il a déjà bénie en lui donnant un ciel si pur, un sol si fertile et la salubrité, source féconde de vie et de grandeur.

Jusqu'à ce moment, MM. les Députés, si nous n'avons pu faire davantage, c'est qu'il fallait avant tout, dissiper les erreurs qui entourent l'enfance d'un peuple et dont j'ai eu moi-même à supporter les rudes suites. Mais du milieu des ténèbres, la vérité a brillé, sa lumière nous éclaire enfin pour nous guider vers un avenir où l'intelligence de l'homme sortant des ombres de la nuit, doit jeter de toute part ses rayons vivifiants pour créer avec noblesse et organiser avec vigueur.

Ainsi vous aurez à prendre des mesures sages et fortes pour assurer à la loi son entière exécution. C'est avec un vif sentiment de peine que j'ai vu des juges, ces hauts gardiens de la propriété et de la sécurité des familles, demeurer indifférents alors que leurs sentences restaient sans effet, ou bien laisser reposer la loi quand il aurait fallu frapper avec énergie. L'inexécution de la justice tend à la ruine des peuples en facilitant l'élévation et la fortune des hommes vicieux et pervers.

En portant mes yeux vers l'avenir dont la jeune génération tient les destinées entre ses mains, je me demande, avec inquiétude, quel sort est réservé à la nation Tahitienne, si vous ne vous occupez sérieusement de l'éducation de vos enfants. Si vos enfants se rendent aux écoles pendant quelques heures du jour, vous les laissez, le reste du temps, libres de s'adonner à leurs passions, qui détruisent bientôt le corps après avoir corrompu le cœur. Etudiez, MM. les Députés,