The old and the new Peru

by Marie Robinson Wright

DR. SOLÓN POLO, MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS IN PRESIDENT JOSÉ PARDO’S CABINET.

Politically, the republic is divided into twenty-two departments, two of which, Moquegua and Tumbes, known as littoral provinces, consist each of a single province only. The departments are subject to the authority of a prefect, who is appointed by the executive, receiving his instructions from the minister of government. The departments are subdivided into one hundred and one provinces, governed by sub-prefects, and the provinces are again subdivided into eight hundred and one districts, under the authority of governors. By this arrangement the supreme government maintains immediate control of the national interests in every part of the republic, the prefects, sub-prefects, and governors having direct supervision of primary instruction and the police service within their respective jurisdictions. The recent reorganization of the police system has brought notable improvements into the service, which is conducted in conformity with modern regulations.

The ecclesiastical authority is exercised in accordance with the national constitution, which states that Roman Catholicism is the established religion, freedom of worship being permitted to non-Catholics. The church territory is divided into nine dioceses: the archbishopric of Lima, and the bishoprics of Trujillo, Chachapoyas, Huaraz, Huánuco, Ayacucho, Cuzco, Puno, and Arequipa. These are again divided into curacies, of which Lima has sixty-six, Trujillo one hundred and three, Chachapoyas forty-three, Huaraz forty-seven, Huánuco fifty-seven, Ayacucho ninety-two, Cuzco eighty-two, Puno fifty-two, and Arequipa seventy-one, making in all six hundred and thirteen, in charge of curate-vicars, who receive their instructions from the bishops of the diocese to which they are appointed. Every village in the republic has its church or chapel and religious instruction is given to every citizen, the churches being open at all hours of the day to admit anyone who wishes to consecrate a few moments to devotions.

DR. CARLOS WASHBURN, PRESIDENT OF DR. PARDO’S CABINET.

The civil rights of all persons are respected in Peru without distinction of nationality, and all who reside in the country are equally protected by its laws. Any foreigner may acquire property in Peru and dispose of it at will; in general, everything concerning landed property is amply guaranteed by the Peruvian laws. The Thirty-second Article says: “The laws protect and oblige all persons equally; and the civil rights are independent of the quality of the citizen.” The Twenty-eighth Article declares that “every foreigner can acquire, in accordance with the laws, landed property in the republic, possessing in everything relating to that property the same obligations and privileges as a Peruvian.” Special dispositions expressly authorize foreigners to denounce mines and obtain concessions of mountain and rubber lands on the same conditions as Peruvians. In the exercise of any trade, profession or industry of any kind, absolute freedom is permitted to native and foreigner alike, so long as it is not opposed to morality, health or public security. Foreigners desiring to practise medicine, law, or engineering are required to prove their ability by presenting their title received from a university, and by submitting to the prescribed examination. In order to guarantee the titles of land owners, a registry office has been recently established, in which is inscribed the name of the actual owner, the manner in which the property was acquired, the incumbrances attaching to its purchase, if any, and any conditions which limit the possessor’s right to dispose of it. The Civil Code recognizes the right of a foreigner to dispose of his property by will, and, in case of his dying without having made a will, and without leaving immediate heirs, it provides for placing the property in security, under the direction of the consular representative of the nation to which the deceased belonged; an inventory is taken and the inheritance liquidated, so that claims against it may be presented in due form, after the settlement of which the balance is handed over to the heirs legally entitled to receive it. As regards the personal liberty of foreigners as well as Peruvians, the Eighteenth Article of the Constitution expressly says that no one can be arrested without a written order from a competent judge, or from the authorities charged with the preservation of public order, except in cases of flagrante delicto, and in any case the person arrested must be brought before the judge of the case within twenty-four hours afterward. The law of habeas corpus is recognized, by which anyone detained more than twenty-four hours without having his case submitted to the proper authorities may present himself, or be represented by a proxy, before the judge with a complaint, and the judge is bound to investigate the arrest and to decree the liberty of the detained person in case no legal reason for his further detention can be established.

THE MINT, LIMA.

Naturalized foreigners enjoy the rights and are subject to the obligations imposed upon Peruvians, except that they cannot be elected to the presidency of the republic, or be ministers of State, Senators, deputies, or judicial authorities, though they may be appointed justices of the peace. The children of foreigners are, if born in the country, Peruvians by birth, provided their names be inscribed in the Civil Register. A Peruvian woman follows the nationality of her husband, though, should she become a widow, she again assumes the nationality of her birth. It is important for foreigners who contemplate living in Peru to know that civil marriage is established for non-Catholics, who may celebrate the marriage ceremony before the mayor of the place in which either of the contracting parties resides, in the presence of two witnesses who must be residents of the same locality. It is necessary only that a declaration be made before the mayor that they do not belong to the Catholic community, or that they have separated from it. It is obligatory that the Act of Marriage shall be inscribed in the Civil Register within eight days after the ceremony, even in the case of those who are married according to the religion of the country. The divorce court is unknown in Peru, the only legal separation being one which dissolves the union only so far as regards the property, the marriage tie remaining in force. In the case of non-Catholics, the civil courts decide as to the judicial separation or nullity of the marriage, while, for Catholics, the ecclesiastical authorities dispose of the matter in accordance with the ruling of the Council of Trent.