FINANCE. The revenue is almost wholly ob tained from customs dues. Stamp duties, pat ents, harbor duties, postal charges, and the like are so moderate that they are no appreciable burden upon the people. The revenues and ex penditures are small when compared with those of most other countries. The figures for four years are as follows, the value being expressed in paper dollars, which are worth only about one-tenth of the gold Paraguay incurred a large foreign debt chief ly on account of prolonged civil Wars. As a re sult of the country's failure at times to meet its obligations, it has been necessary to make arrangements for sealing the debt and reducing the interest. The debt in 1S74 amounted to S7.327,000 (gold), but it was agreed in 1885 that in exchange for this debt new bonds to the amount of $4,250,000 should be issued. An ar rangement was also made for the future payment of interest, and land was assigned to creditors in payment of arrears of interest up to July, 1856. The holders of these unpaid interest cou pons received land warrants, and the Paraguay Land Company, later known as the .Anglo-Para guayan Land Company, was formed to deal with these warrants. Another arrangement was made
with the bondholders in 1895 for the reduction of interest, refunding of interest coupons in ar rears, the creation of a sinking fund, and the assignment of securities. The outstanding debt in 1902 was $4,888,750 (gold), and the guar antee debt which the Government owed to the Paraguayan Central Railroad amounted to $5, 130,305.
There are five banks: the Agricultural Bank, with a capital of 3,025,723 pesos (for value see below), the Territorial Bank, the Mercantile Bank, the Bank of Los Rios, and the Caja de Credit° Commercial. Paper money is chiefly in circulation, the amount on December 31, 1901, being 10,566,171 pesos.
The nominal value of the peso is $1, but as compared with the paper peso gold is at a pre mium of about 1000 per cent. The legal value of the gold peso is one American gold dollar. The silver peso varies in value according to the gold price of silver. The metrical system of weights and measures has nominally been obligatory since 1886, but practically the old Spanish weights and measures have remained in use.
The Paraguayan standing army has 1500 men.