established in the suburbs of the capital an agricultural college and model farm.
Mining.-In the Cordillera, which runs through Salvador, there are veins of various metals-gold, silver, copper, mercury and lead being found mostly in the E., and iron in the W. Coal has been discovered at various points in the valley of the Lempa. In the republic there are about 180 mining establishments, about half of them, being in the department of Morazan; they are owned by British, United States and Salvadorian companies. Only gold and silver are worked. The output, chiefly gold, was valued at £250,000 in 1907.
Commerce.-The trade of Salvador is almost entirely confined to the import of cotton goods, woollen goods, sacks and machinery, and to the export of coffee and a few other agricultural products. In 1900 the formation of a statistical office was decreed. The average yearly Value of the imports for the five years 1904-1908 was £804,000, of the exports £I,250,000L The coffee exported in 1908 was valued at £830,000. The imports, comprising foodstuffs, hardware, drugs, cottons, silk and yarn, come (in order of value) chiefly from Great Britain, the United States, France and Germany; the exports are mostly to the United States and France.
Shipping and Communications.-Until 1855 the roads of Salvador were little better than bridle-paths, and fords or ferries were the sole means of crossing the larger rivers. During the next half-century about 2000 m. of highways were built, and the rivers were bridged. The first railway, a narrow-gauge line, between the port of Acajutla and Sonsonate, was opened in 1882, and afterwards extended to Ateos on the E. and Santa Ana on the N.W. A railway from the capital to Nueva San Salvador was also constructed. and in 1900 was linked to the older'system by a line from Ateos to San Salvador. In 1903, concession was granted for an extension from Nueva San Salvador to the port of La Libertad. From 350 to 450 vessels annually entered and cleared at Salvadorian ports (chiefly Acajutla, La Libertad and La Union), during the years 1895 to 1905. The old port of Acajutla has been closed, and a new port opened in a more sheltered position about 1 m. N., where an iron pier, warehouses and custom-house have been erected. Salvador joined the postal union in 1879.
Currency and Credit.-In 1910 there were three commercial banks and an agricultural bank within the republic. In 1897 a law was passed adopting a gold standard. The currency of the country in 1910 consisted entirely of silver pesos, the fractional money under -900 fine having, by arrangement with the government, been all exported by the banks. The peso or dollar at par is valued at four shillings; its actual value was about Is. 8d. in 1910. The metric system of weights and measures was adopted by decree of January 1886, but the old Spanish weights and measures still continue in general use.
Finance.-The revenue is mainly derived from import and export duties, but considerable sums are also obtained from excise, and smaller amounts from stamps and other sources. The principal branches of expenditure are the public debt, defence and internal administration. The official figures showing, the revenue and expenditure for the five years 1904"1908 are as follows (pesos being converted into sterling at the rate of 12 to £1):—
| Years. | Revenue. | Expenditure. |
| 1904 | 675,000 | 734,000 |
| 1905 | 711,000 | 837,000 |
| 1906 | 707,000 | 1,024,000 |
| 1907 | 728,000 | 886,000 |
| 1908 | 1,064,00 | 1,019,000 |
The foreign debt, amounting to £726,420 (£240,000 of a 6% loan of 1889, and £485,720 of another of 1892) was in 1899 converted into 5% mortgage debentures of the Salvador Railway Company Limited, to which the government has guaranteed, for eighteen years from the 1st of January 1899, a fixed annual subsidy of £24,000- In March 1908 a new foreign loan was raised, amounting to £I, 000,000. The bonds were issued at 86, and bore 6% XXIV. A.
interest, secured partly upon the special import duty of $3.60 (American gold) on every kilogramme of imported merchandise, partly upon the export duty of 40 c. (American gold) on every quintal (100 lb) of coffee up to 500,000 lb. The 4% internal debt amounted in 1905 to £840, I7O.
Government.—The constitution proclaimed in 1824, and modified in 1859, 1864, 1871, 1872, 1880, 1883 and 1886, vests the legislative power in a chamber of 70 deputies, including 42 landowners (3 for each department), all chosen by the direct vote of the people. The president and vice-president are likewise chosen by direct popular vote, and they hold office for 4 years. The president is not eligible for the presidency or vice-presidency during the following presidential term. He is assisted by 4 ministers. Local government is carried on in each of the I4 departments by governors appointed by the central executive. The municipalities are administered by officers (alcaldes, regidores, &c.) elected by the inhabitants.
Religion and Education.—The Roman Catholic religion prevails throughout the republic, but there is complete religious freedom, so far as is compatible with public order. Civil marriage is legal, monastic institutions are prohibited, and education is in the hands of laymen. Primary education is gratuitous and obligatory. For secondary instruction there are about 20 higher schools, including 3 technical institutes, and 2 schools for teachers, one for men and the other for women-these five institutions being supported by the government. At San Salvador there is a national college for the higher education of women. Superior and professional instruction is provided at the national university in the capital.
Justice is administered by a supreme court, and in district, circuit and local courts. The active army consists of about 3000 men, and the militia, of about 18,000. In time of war all males between the ages of eighteen and sixty are liable for service. The navy consists of one customs cruiser.
History.—Salvador received its name from Pedro de Alvarado, who conquered it for Spain in 1525–26. Its independence of the Spanish Crown dates from 1822; (see Central America: History). Revolutions have been frequent. In July 1906 war broke out between Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala, but was terminated within the month by the arbitration of the United States president (see as above). In 1907 Salvador supported Honduras (q.v.) against Nicaragua; its prosperity was not, however, seriously impaired by the defeat of its ally.
See E. G. Squier, The States of Central America (London, 1868); D. Guzman, Apuntamientos sobre la topografia física de la república del Salvador (San Salvador, 1883); D. Gonzalez, Datos sobre la republic de El Salvador (San Salvador, 1901); No. 58 of the Bulletins of the Bureau of American Republics (Washington, 1892); annual reports of the Council of the Corporation of Foreign Bondholders (London) and of the British Foreign Office.
SALVAGE (from Lat. salvus, safe). There is no general rule or principle of law which entitles one who saves the life or property of another to be rewarded by him. But in certain special classes of cases the law does require the appointed courts to reward those who by their exertions have rescued lives or property from probable damage or destruction. The reward so given is called salvage and the same word is often used to denote the service rewarded. Apart from the application of the term by analogy to the saving of property from tire on land, the recovery of property from destruction by the aid of voluntary payments (as in the case of payments to prevent the forfeiture of an insurance policy), or a solicitor's charges for property recovered by his means, the subject of salvage divides into (1) civil salvage, (2) military salvage.
1. Civil Salvage in English law is defined as such a service as may become the ground of a reward in the (admiralty) court on the civil side of its jurisdiction, and consists in the preservation of life or property from some of the dangers of the sea. The jurisdiction to give it is an admiralty jurisdiction. But the right to reward was recognized in the courts of common law before the admiralty court became, as it now is, a part of the High Court of Justice, e.g. by enforcing a possessor lien of the salvor over the salved property. The origin of the rule has been traced
