Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 19.djvu/560

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page needs to be proofread.
POR—POR

538 PORTUGAL [STATISTICS. factories they can hardly be called in Portugal, with the number of workmen and the value of the products. Number of Factories. Opera tives. Daily Wages. Value of Products. Carpentering 83 5,109 256 165,006 Wax products 21 39 2 12,584 Ceramic ware 43 2 045 97 72,079 Building 51 6 748 459 63,584 Cork-works 22 1 012 92 224,672 Tanneries 93 823 44 323,489 79 364 31 101 94 Food products 57 2 367 116 517,392 171 5 215 325 439,669 62 3 182 12 125,467 Paper factories 31 1,364 69 93,293 Firewood-making 18 206 7 6,977 Soap-works 13 83 6 74,204 22 4 ol 252 1,249,236 Cotton, linen, &c., weaving .. 97 161 39,597 8,964 330 736 1,152,752 864,518 24 854 53 51,393 Typographical establishments Clothing 66 134 591 5,328 42 150 32,444 348,073 5 903 28 37,417 97 1 503 22 117,485 Total 1150 90,918 3129 6,073,658 Some of these establishments ought to be more successful, for the glass-works of Leiria, the lace-works of Vianna and Peniche, and the potteries of Aveiro had an immense reputation in the 18th century, which they have now lost, as the table clearly shows. Portugal possesses plenty of mineral wealth, though not so much as Spain, but from want of capital and enterprise such resources as exist are neglected. A very few of the chief mines may be noted the lead-mines of Coimbra, one of antimony near Oporto, and above all the very important copper-mines of San Domingos near Beja, worked by an English company, which contributed thirteeu-sixteenths of the total exports of minerals in the six months between January and June 1883. Of greater importance are the fisheries, the fishermen both of Beira and Algarves being famous for their courage ; and large quantities of sardines and preserved tunny fish are exported to Italy and France, and an even larger quantity of oysters to England. Finance. Finance. The revenue of Portugal has for many years ceased to balance its expenditure, and the deficit has had to be met by borrowing, but it is only fair to remark that vigorous attempts have been made to reduce the expenditure of recent years. The estimated revenue for 1883-84 and 1884-85 was classified under six heads. 1883-1884. 1884-1885. Direct taxes 1,387 790 1,395,753 763 777 721,778 3 643 811 3,587,136 Additional 6 per cent, (since 27th April 1882) Domains and sundries 240,889 655,573 234,889 801,449 Repayments .. . . 238 069 244,788 Total ordinary revenue .... 6,929,909 6,985,793 A few of the sub-heads which help to swell these various classes of revenue are worth detailing. 1883-1884. 1884-1885. Direct taxes Land tax 700,444 700,444 Industrial tax .... 243,222 250 000 Income tax 88,322 89,044 Inhabited house tax 83,778 86,556 Dividends tax 66 889 67 667 Bank tax 35,489 36 791 Titles and concessions tax Servants and carriage tax 40,667 23,333 41,222 23,111 Indirect taxes- Import duties 1,637 555 1,647 112 Tobacco duties 703,555 718,467 Bread-stuffs 302,667 287,222 Octroi at Lisbon 297,778 811 333 "Realdeagua" . .. 220,000 214 222 Additional customs 128,444 145,496 Salt tax 60,000 25,778 Exports 52,844 48 089 Special 2 per cent, on export of wine Domains and sundries 48,889 274,678 46,222 281 756 Post-office and telegraphs 151,671 177,778 Military exemption tax 64,444 60,000 Suppressed religious establishments Repayment Interest on stock held by the treasury . . 31,111 197.978 33,333 197.978 The last item deserves particular notice, as it proves the confused manner in which Portuguese financiers keep their accounts ; they prefer to pay into their treasury interest on bonds held by it, instead of extinguishing that amount of the national debt. Against this revenue must be set the expenditure (which always exceeds it), causing a deficit of 194,141 on the ordinary balance- sheet, and of 1,558,142 when the extraordinary expenditure is taken into account, in 1884-85. The chief items in the estimates for that year compared with the estimates for 1883-84 are 1883-18S4. 1884-1885. Public debt (of which interest on debt took up 2,882,769 in 1883-84 and 2,882,784 in 1884-85) Ministry of finance 2,901,850 1,329,208 482,565 142,455 1,019,521 379,120 2,909,712 1,463,955 491,787 149,233 1,079,683 372,528 73,327 639,709 Min stry of the interior Min stry of justice Min stry of war Min stry of the marine and colonies Min stry of foreign affairs 70,065 618,405 Min stry of public works Total 0,943,489 7,179,934 Under the head of the "ministry of finance" there was an esti mated sum of 600,367 in 1883-84 and of 672,202 in 1884-85 for interest of debt, which in any other system of finance would have been put down to the head of " public debt. " The extraordinary expenditure was estimated to amount to 1,364,000 in 1884-85, the chief items of which were for the ministry of public works, chiefly spent on the fortifications of Lisbon, and for the minister of the colonies, for in only two colonies Cape Verd Islands and Macao do the colonial revenues meet their expenditure, the mother- country having to afford substantial help to her African colonies every year. The estimated balance-sheet for 1884-85 was Ordinary expenditure 7,179,934 Revenue 6,985,793 Deficit 194,141 It is very difficult to give any exact estimate of the extent of the public debt of Portugal owing to the financial confusions noted above, but on 30th June 1883 it was estimated at 96,175,692, namely Internal debt, new 3 per cents 52,369,201 External debt 43,372,530 Old debt, to be converted 433,871 Total 96,175,692 but of this amount the treasury holds about 8,000,000. Government. The government of Portugal is an hereditary and Gove constitutional monarchy, exercised under the charter of 1826, as ment modified in 1852 and 1878, under which the king is charged with the executive and shares the power of making laws with two chambers. His civil list amounts to 144,000 a year, and he is advised in all matters of administration and assisted in nominating peers by a council of state appointed for life, but depends for advice in legislative and executive matters on a cabinet of seven members selected from the chambers by a premier, summoned by the king. The House of Peers consists of 150 members nominated by the king for life, and contains many of the most eminent professors and authors, as Avell as men of wealth, and additions may be made to its number by the king on the advice of the premier, with the consent of the council of state. All the members of the House of Peers do not possess titles, nor do all titled persons belong to the House of Peers ; legislation and the titular and hereditary aristo cracy are kept quite apart. The House of Deputies consists of 173 members, elected directly by all male citizens of twenty-five years of age, either paying in direct taxes 4s. 6d. a year, or deriving an annual income of 22s. from real estate, while all graduates, priests, officers, and certified teachers have votes without further qualifica tion. The president of the chamber is selected by the king out of five elected candidates, and the deputies are paid. The Azores and Madeira elect members to the House at Lisbon. For adminis trative purposes Portugal is divided into seventeen districts, for judicial purposes into twenty -six districts or "comarcas, " with appeal courts at Lisbon and Oporto, and a supreme court at Lis bon, and for military purposes into four divisions. The Roman Catholic is the state religion, but others are tolerated, and the power of the priests has been greatly checked by the wholesale suppression of monasteries in 1834. The church in Portugal is governed by a patriarch at Lisbon, two archbishops at Braga and Evora, and fourteen bishops, of whom the most important is the bishop of Oporto. For purposes of local government the districts are under the rule of civil governors, who have much the same powers as prefects in France, while in the 292 "concelhos," or administrative councils, there are elected councillors, and in the 3960 "freguezias" or parishes the villagers elect a magistrate, who has the same powers as an English justice of the peace. Army and Navy. Under a decree dated 19th May 1884 the Arn Portuguese army has been reorganized. The effective war strength and

is to be maintained at 120,000 men. The term of service is for 12