Montevideo, the Capital of the Republic.

The great maritime town of Montevideo, the capital of the Republic and the so-called department, was founded in the year 1726 by the Spanish marshal Don Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, with some Spanish families, who came from Buenos Ayres and Canary Islands.

The town is built over a rocky peninsula, in the middle of the salt waters of the River Plate, with a height of over 100 feet above the sea.

It is actually divided into three large sections called the Antigua (old) town, the Nueva (new) town and the Novisima (newest) town. All around the town will run the great boulevard General Artigas. The whole town consists in 1,600 manzanas or square cuadras, more than 600 of which are already edificed; it must be added that every day new buildings are begun everywhere about the town. In all directions new streets are opened and new houses are built and new suburbs created, making Montevideo larger and larger every day.

The streets are all straight and nearly all of them well paved with granite stone. In the old town they are 10 and 11 metres wide and in the new town 17 metres, with broad pavements and trees planted on both sides.

The principal roads that lead to the town are broad, part of them covered with a bed of macadam and the others with a bed of stones.

There are six public squares, called, Zabala, Constitucion, Independencia, Libertad, Treinta y Tres, General Flores, and the smaller ones called Solis and Muelle Viejo.

In all these squares there are trees and banks; they are lit with electric light and the paths that surround them are made of the finest granite.

Most of them are one manzana large, that is to say 7,378 square metres. The square called Independencia is a parallelogram 221 metres long by 232 metres broad with an area of 29,260 metres. In it is situated the government palace. The boulevard called 18 de Julio is the continuation of the Independencia Square, from W. to E., being 26 metres broad.

The common sewer has an extension of 93,000 metres and more than 7,500 are directly its conduits.

The drinkable water comes from Santa Lucia (61 kilometres from Montevideo); the various conduits have an extension of over 180 kilometres.

All the streets and even the suburbs have the electric light; some others have still the gas light.

Three gasometres, two of them 100,000 cubic feet and one 70,000, are employed for the preparation of the gas. The gas pipes represent an extension of 128 kilometres. The power of each light is equivalent to that of 18 candles.

There are two important establishments for the preparation of the electric light, which is now used by a great many trade houses and shops.

The town is composed of over 19,000 houses—20 per cent. of them being houses with two stories; a good many of them have three and four stories. The architecture of the houses is most elegant, especially of those which were built during the last fifteen years.

Among the public buildings remarkable for their importance are: the Cathedral, the Charity Hospital, the Insane Asylum, the Central Cemetery, Solis Theater, Normal School, Government Palace, Parliament House, Custom House, Professional School, National Bank, San Felipe and Cibils Theatres, London Bank, South America British Bank, Uruguay Club, Gas Works, Prison, San Francisco, Capuchin Friars, Concepcion and Carmen Churches, Orphan Asylum, Seminary, English Church, Music Academy, Oriental Hotel, Gounouilhou Baths, etc.

The suburbs and environs are most picturesque, with a great quantity of the most elegant country houses, built all along the avenues called Agraciada, Paso del Molino, Duranas, Miguelete, Sierra, Goes, Suarez, Larranaga and many others.

Being the capital of the Republic, Montevideo is the residence of the three high powers of the state, of the aggregate of foreign ministers and consuls and also of the bishop. It is the centre of all the most important business of the Republic and reputed one of the best markets in the River Plate.

In Montevideo reside all the principal Societies and Associations in the Republic.

The aspect of the town is agreeable and quite that of a European city, and its population is quite a cosmopolitan one.

The census of the year 1891, Dec. 31, gave a result of 234,688 souls for the department of Montevideo, 190,000 more or less belonging exclusively to Montevideo, and 53 per cent. of them being natives and 47 per cent. foreigners.

All the most important trade-houses are in Montevideo, the largest and finest hotels; there are three theatres, fifteen churches and nine chapels, three cemeteries and three markets, etc.

During the bathing season a great many foreigners come to Montevideo, owing to its fine shore and beautiful bathing establishments, like the one called Los Pocitos, where exists a beautiful and elegant building for the foreigners, and those called Romirez and Capurro.

The following table gives an idea of the immense yearly consumption of meat in Montevideo:

OXEN, COWS.SHEEP.TOTAL.
YEARS.——————
Kilogs.Kilogs.Kilogs.
187415,918,8751,373,72117,292,596
187515,379,0421,166,72116,545,763
187614,801,6961,088,19915,889,895
187714,578,7111,009,30915,588,020
187815,208,5431,378,11416,586,657
187913,468,4551,394,75114,863,206
188014,019,2361,420,64115,439,377
188114,228,3751,472,59815,700,973
188215,297,0931,408,49716,705,590
188316,100,3221,448,12617,548,448
188416,380,6231,450,67917,831,302
188519,293,4351,426,34520,719,780
188617,911,8941,738,30519,650,199
188718,027,8141,272,31419,300,128
188820,499,3251,555,74322,055,068
188924,681,6221,733,48726,415,109
189024,724,2871,021,56825,745,855
189125,087,020847,43525,934,455