Page:A history of Chile.djvu/356

 324 A HISTORY OF CHILE signed, at Ancon, October 20th, 1883, Peru ceded to her antagonist the territory of Tarapacd to the Camer- ones, forever and unconditionally ; the territories of Tacna and Arica were to remain subject to Chilean authority for a period of ten years, at the close of which term the vote of the people of those provinces should decide whether they should return to Peru or remain Chilean. In either case the country to which they should afterward be definitely annexed, engaged to pay to the other an idemnity of ^10,000,000. Chile solemnly engaged to carry out certain agreements re- lating to the guano and nitrate of soda deposits, such as to pay over to creditors of Peru fifty per cent of the net proceeds derived from the deposits, until the fer- tilizer was exhausted or the debt paid. New depos- its discovered in the territory permanently annexed were to belong to the Chileans, and the island of Lo- bos was to continue under the administration of Chile until a contract for one thousand tons of guano previ- ously made by them had been completed, Chile mean- while agreeing to pay Peru five per cent of the pro- ceeds derived from the sales of the guano. The treaty was to be ratified at Lima within one hundred and eighty days of its date, Chile maintaining an arm}' of occupation in Peru until the ratification was completed, at an expense of $300,000 a month to the Peruvians. This monthly idemnity, however, was subsequently modified. The final treaty was signed April 4th, 1884. The expense of the war to Chile had been enormous, a heavy burden for so small a nation. It was estimated at ^60,000,000 by the middle of the year 1881, which was within $15,000,000 (nearly) of the whole national debt on January ist, 1880. But the national credit had