the 1st and 15th, 3,363,968 dols. 20c.; same period of 1853, 7,660,851 dols. 62c.; same period of 1852, 3,562,293 dols. This coincides with the statement in the New York paper, that the gold received at that port in the present year to May 28, was 21,747,532 dols. against 25,658,059 dols. to the same period in 1853. The exports, however, in the present year were 11,364,779 dols. against 5,965,379 dols. in 1853.-Economist, June 10, 1854.

EXCHANGE.

San Francisco, July 1, 1854.

London, 60 days, 47d. for bankers' bills; at sight 47d.; Paris, 4f. 95c. and 4f. 85c.; Atlantic, 3 per cent. premium, sight.—Cor.

CENTRAL AMERICA.

Guatemala, or Guatimala, the largest of the states of Central America, extending, together with Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and the Mosquito territory, from latitude 8° to 18° N., and longitude 82° 30′ to 94° W.; exclusive of these, Guatemala proper extends between latitude 148 and 179 N., and longitude 899 and 949 W., having N. Yucatan, and Mexico, E. Honduras and San Salvador S.W., and Pacific.-Keith Johnston.

The cutting of the cochineal crop is in progress, and the yield is estimated at 12,000 to 15,000 serons.--Cor.

ACAJUTLA.

.COMPLETION OF A NEW MOLE.

April 6, 1854.

The completion of a new mole which has lately been effected at Acajutla, in the State of Salvador, will render that port one of the most frequented on the coast, and there is henceforth likely to be no danger in embarking or disembarking at any season. The failure of the new port of San José, and the inferior capabilities of that of Libertad, add much to the value of this work. A stream of fresh water for the supply of shipping is brought by a tube alongside.-Cor.

NEW PORT OF SAN JOSE DE GUATEMALA.

A communication has been received at Lloyd's to the effect that the custom-house and offices of the port of Istapa, which has lately been closed, have been removed to Zapote, five miles west in a straight line as the coast runs, where a new port has been established, called San José de Guatemala, which is described as more advantageous for trade and the shipping interest than Istapa. The surf is less extensive and the ground equally good, while the population is greater. The port has been supplied with all things needful for trade and shipping.

DESTRUCTION OF SAN SALVADOR.

Accounts from Guatemala to May 3, 1854, confirm the recent report of the total destruction of the city of San Salvador, from a series of earthquakes, which commenced on April 13, and lasted to April 16, when the whole city, which contained 28,000 inhabitants, was, without the exception of a single building, levelled to the ground. Multitudes had been killed, although a great number fled after the first shocks. Others had been blocked up for three or four days among the ruins, and many had died from exhaustion.

ISLAND OF TIGRE.

By C. L., September 14, 1848, the translation of a decree of the government of the State of Honduras, has been received at the foreign office through Her Majesty's Consul General at Guatemala, declaring the Island of Tigre, in the Bay of Conchagua, a free port, and exempt from every kind of maritime duty.

COSTA RICA.

Costa Rica, the most S. state of Central America, chiefly between latitude 9° and 11° 40′ N., and longitude 83° and 85° W., extending from the Caribbean Sea to the Pacific Ocean, between the state Nicaragua, on the N., and New Granada on the S.-Keith Johnston.

Treaty of Friendship, Commerce, and Navigation between Her Majesty and the Republic of Costa Rica. Signed at San José, on November 27, 1849, and Ratifications exchanged at London, February 20, 1850.

There shall be perpetual amity between Her Majesty, her heirs, and their subjects, and the government of the Republic of Costa Rica and its citizens. There is to be a reciprocal freedom of commerce between the two countries; vessels are to enter into the harbours, but not to carry on the coasting trade, in which trade national vessels only are permitted to engage. Any favour, privilege, or immunity in matters of commerce and navigation granted by one State to the other shall be gratuitously, or on the same footing as agreed upon between the two countries. Mutual forbearance is to be exercised in matters of religion, &c. Among the 16 articles contained in the treaty is one to the effect that the government of the Republic of Costa Rica, in order to cooperate with Her Majesty for the total abolition of the slave trade, engages to execute perfectly the laws of the Republic, which probibit in the most effectual manner all persons inhabiting within the territories of the Republic from taking any share in such trade.

MONEYS.

The money of account is the Pesos, or hard dollar, valued at 4ɛ. 2d. sterling, but some dollars coined in New Granada are worth only about 3s. which are of base metal. At Venezuela and Equador the dollars are similar to those of New Granada.

Colombia, an extensive region in the north part of South America, now divided into the republics of Venezuela, New Granada, and Ecuador.-Keith Johnston.

RECIPROCITY TREATY.

Signed at Bogota, April 18, 1825.
See p. 47.

VENEZUELA.

OPEN PORTS.

By a law passed by the Congress of Venezuela, and published at Caraccas, April 22, 1839, the following ports shall be open for imports and exports, riz.:-Angostura, in the province of Guayana; Cumana, in that of the same name; Barcelona, in that of Barcelona; La Guayra, in that of Caraccas; Puerto Cabello, in that of Carababo: La Vela, in that of Coro; and Maracaibo, in the province of that name. By the second article, Pampatar and Juan Griego, in the province of Margarita; and Carapina, Guiria, and Maturin, in that of Cumana, are declared open for exportation, but for importation so far only as their own consumption. By the third article the following are declared open ports for foreign exportation:-Higuerote and Choroni, in the province of Caraccas; Rio Caribe (Caraiba), in that of Cumana; and in that of Coro, Cumarebo, Adicora, and Jayana; these two last under the direction of the same administrator.

RECIPROCITY TREATY.
Signed at London, Oct. 29, 1834.

See p. 47.

NEW GRANADA.

Principal Ports.-Carthagena, Santa Martha, Panama, and Chagres.--Keith Johnson.

COASTING TRADE.

By B. T. N. March 25, 1854, and despatch from Her Majesty's Consul at Carthagena, the Government of New Granada have thrown open the coasting trade of that country to foreign vessels.

NEW TONNAGE DUES ON FOREIGN VESSELS.

By B. T. N., March 25, 1854, and despatch from Her Majesty's Consul at Carthagena, the imposition of the following tonnage dues upon foreign vessels, viz.:

On every vessel not exceeding 100 tons, 4 reals for every Granadian ton. On every vessel over 100 tons, 4 reals on each of the first hundred tons, and 2 reals on each ton exceeding that amount.

This duty will only be levied on foreign vessels at the first port in New Granada, at which they may touch.

BARK.

16, George Street, Mansion House, London. We imported last year 17,000 serons of New Granada, and 1,500 serons of Bolivian. The New Granada all sold; but the Bolivian, being held for a monopoly price, is still in the market, proving that this kind has very little demand.

Delondre, in his new work on quinine barks, gives an analysis of a New Granada bark containing quite as much quinine as Bolivian Calisaya. If the Calisaya of Santa Fé, or Fusagasuga, and Pitaya barks of New Granada had been introduced into the market before the Bolivian, there would be no question about the quality of the alkaloids they yield.

I am, yours obediently,

Pharmaceutical Journal, July, 1854.

PROVINCE OF CHOCO.

W. H. COLE.

FREE PORTS, &c.

Translation of a Decree, May 27, 1853, of the Senate and Chamber of Representatives of New Granada in Session.

Article I. The following ports and territories of the Province of Chocó shall be free for all nations in the world, from January 1, 1854, for twenty years.

1. The ports of the Atlantic, and the territory watered by the River Atrato, from its mouth to its confluence with the River Guito, comprehended between the western chain of the Andes and that branch of it towards the eastward, which separates said Province from that of Antiochia.

2. The ports of the Pacific, and the territory watered by the River San Juan, from its embouchure as far as the city of Novita, contained between the above-mentioned chain of the Andes, and that branch of it which separates it towards the southward from the Province of Buonaventura.

Art. II. Consequently no Custom-houses can be established in said ports and territories within the time specified, nor can any duties be levied, save those of toll passage and excise corresponding to the municipal revenues, and in conformity with existing laws.

Art. III. In order to recover the duties on importation of foreign merchandize which may be introduced for the consumption of the interior of the rest of the province, and other provinces of the Republic, there shall be established two Custom-houses, one in the city of Quibdo, and the other in the city of Novita, with the following officers, and their yearly salaries.

[Here follows an enumeration of the different officers and their respective salaries.]

Art. IV. The Executive Power is authorized, when it deems it indispensable for weighty motives of public convenience, to assign other ports for Customhouses than those expressed in this law, in which case the maritime ports expressed in Article I., and the territory comprised between the coasts and the spot on which such Custom-houses shall be fixed, alone can enjoy freedom.

BRAZIL.

Principal Ports.-A direct trade with foreign countries is only permitted in such ports of the empire of Brazil where there are custom-houses established; they are the following:-Para, Maranham, Parnahiba, Fortaleza (Ceara), Aracaty (Ceara), Rio Grande North, Parahiba. Pernambuco, Maceyo (Alagoas), Lanangeiras (Sergipe), Bahia. Espirito Santo, Rio de Janeiro, Santos, Paranagna, St. Catharine, Rio Grande, Sao Borga (R.G. south), Porto Allegre (R. G. S.)-Lyford.

VALLEY OF THE AMAZON.

The Valley of the Amazon is estimated to contain more than two millions of square miles of land, traversed in various directions by above ten thousand miles of river fit for navigation. By far its greater portion belongs to the Empire of Brazil; but nearly all its waters have their source in the five Republics of Venezuela, Nueva Granada, the Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia, which stretch in a vast semi-circle round the upper and western extremity, and advance in some places considerably into the plain. No country even of equal extent surpasses in richness this wonderful valley. The eastern slopes of the Andes still contain inexhaustible supplies of silver, quicksilver, coal, iron, and copper; and many auriferous streams are waiting to give up their treasures. These minerals form only a portion of the wealth of the upper valley-which produces at various stages of elevation barley, potatoes, wheat, rye, maize, clover, and tobacco; whilst on the lofty plains, stretching from the foot of the great wall which rises in the way of commerce to the Pacific, innumerable herds of sheep, llamas, alpacas, and other wool-producing animals feed and thrive. Further down, we find the beauties and the abundance of the torrid zone. The coffee-bush, the plantain, the sugar-cane, the cotton plant, and luscious fruits, many of which we know only as yet by name, are the products of this opulent region, which nature in due season makes sweet with the perfume of the vanilla. As we descend, the elements of wealth are different, but equally copious. The soil of Brazil is lavishly fertile. Rice, sarsaparilla, India-rubber, arrow-root, ginger, pepper, indigo, and fifty other now indispensable articles are produced in abundance. climate of this vast tract, from the Andes to the sea, contrasts most favourably with that of the deadly African wildernesses of vegetation; yet, excluding the savages, who are comparatively few, there is scarcely an inhabitant to every ten square miles in the whole Valley of the Amazon.--Exploration of the Valley of the Amazon. By Lieut. W. Lewis Herndon, U. S. Navy and Athenæum, May 13, 1854.

WAR WITH RUSSIA, &c.

The

Rio de Janeiro, June 14, 1854.

The Brazilian government has issued a decree providing

1. That no corsair under the flag of any of the nations at war be fitted out, provided, or admitted with their prizes in the ports of the empire.

2. That no Brazilian subject can take part in the fitting out of corsairs, nor can he behave in opposition to the duties prescribed by a strict neutrality. -Cor.

TARIFF.

TARIFF of the Articles imported into Brazil. To commence July 1, 1854. [By Authority. Translated specially for POPE'S YEARLY JOURNAL OF TRADE.]