ROADS AND CURRENCY.
The national highways of Costa Rica are not all in the best condition, which is due to the destructive force of the winter rains. The government, however, endeavors to render them serviceable. In Nicaragua, the public roads, prior to the construction of railways, were only fit for mule travel, except at short distances from towns, which wagons could traverse. In the rainy season they were impassable, owing either to mud or swollen streams. The same is to be said respecting those of Honduras. Much has been successfully accomplished in late years in the improvement of roads and construction of bridges. Salvador appropriated in 1876 funds for macadamizing the public highways. Guatemala is well provided with roads and bridges, and derives a considerable revenue from tolls to keep them in repair, and to construct new ones.[XXXIII-12] Railways and telegraphs are treated of elsewhere.
The monetary unit of Costa Rica is the peso of one hundred centavos, with 25 grammes of silver of the standard of 0.900. The government mint coins gold, silver, and copper.[XXXIII-13]
Gold coin became very scarce in Nicaragua. There was no copper, and the smallest of silver was the half-real. Gold coins of the United States, Great Britain, and France, and the silver money of those countries, Switzerland, Belgium, Mexico, Peru, and Spain, were current for their full value.[XXXIII-14] In Salvador nearly all foreign coins were received for their face value. In Honduras the currency was much vitiated by the introduction of the moneda provisional—copper slightly alloyed with silver—of the denominations of quarter and half dollars, of which probably $1,500,000, nominal value, went into circulation since 1839.[XXXIII-15] Besides this coin there has been in circulation the cut money of the old kingdom, a portion of the Honduras government's own coinage, and that of the federal republic; all of which, together with English and American coins, make up the bulk of money in circulation.[XXXIII-16] In a decree of September 21, 1870, the government of Guatemala endeavored to introduce in its coinage the decimal system, recognizing the peso as the unit.[XXXIII-17] Another law of November 15, 1878, provided for the coinage of gold pieces of 1, 2, 5, 10, and 20 pesos, and silver pieces of 8, 4, and 2 reales, and half and quarter reales.[XXXIII-18] Foreign coins circulated at the rates fixed by the government.[XXXIII-19] There have been banks in most of the states of Central America for a number of years, several being now in successful operation.[XXXIII-20]
BANKS AND MAILS
The states of Central America, including the Isthmus of Panamá, maintain communications by mail, not only with one another, but likewise with other nations of Europe and America, and through them with the rest of the world.[XXXIII-21] The several republics use their best endeavors to perfect the internal mail service.[XXXIII-22] They pay subsidies to steamship companies for bringing and carrying their mails, and are members of the Universal Postal Union.
ISTHMUS TRAFFIC.
The discovery of gold in California, as is well known, restored life to the Isthmus of Panamá. In December 1849, the first emigrants went across, bound for the new El Dorado. In 1850 there was a large travel,[XXXIII-23] notwithstanding innumerable difficulties and discomforts. After the construction of the railway the traffic over it still increased; most of it was in transitu, but the local trade was not insignificant.[XXXIII-24] The note at foot contains data mainly procured from official sources on the amount of transportation from the earliest days of the opening of the road to a recent date.[XXXIII-25] It will be noticed that in the latter part of the sixth decade of this century the transit traffic through the Isthmus became greatly diminished. This was mainly due to the construction of the overland railway to the Pacific in the United States, and to the establishment of a British line of large and fleet steamers running from Europe to ports in the south Pacific through the straits of Magellan, affording advantages over the Panamá railroad transportation.
The transportation of passengers and merchandise to and from the Isthmus has been mainly effected by steamship lines—American and British during the first fourteen or fifteen years, to which were subsequently added those of a French company; and still later those of a German one.[XXXIII-26]
GOLD AND THE ISTHMUS CANAL.