Page:Statesman's Year-Book 1921.djvu/1043

 KMT7NIC1TIOM8 — MONEY. EIC. — REPRESENTATIVES 091

Communications.

In general, travelling and transport are accomplished by means of males and ox -carts. Slow improvements in road-making and repairing are beginning to be made. Tbe cart road from Tegucigalpa to the north coast is rapidly pushed forward, reaching Comayagna in 1919. There is a good mail service by automobiles. The two principal roads are the Carretera del Sur from San Lorenzo, on the Pacific Coast, to Tegucigalpa, 84 mile* : and the Carretera del Norte, from Tt-guicigalpa to Comayagna, 63 miles. A third road is being built from Lake Yojoa to Signatepeque, and thence to Comayagua ; and a fourth from Tegucigalpa to Juticalpa.

There is a railway of 60 miles (95 kilometres) from Puerto Cortex to -Potrerillos ; the line, which was taken over by the Government in 1912, has been almost completely overhauled and repaired, and is now in a condition to meet the heavy demands made upon it by the banana crop. The othei fonr railroads are owned anl operated by the various fruit companies on the north coast. The Trujillo Railway, which will eventually reach Juticalpa, has about 73 miles completed ; the Tela Railway has about 155 miles com- pleted ; the Cuyamel Fruit Co. Railway (Department of Cortes) has an extension of 49 miles ; and the Vaccaro Brothers' Railway, which is being built towards the town of Yor<>, has 126 miles. Total length of line (1920) 463 miles.

In 1920 the country had S77 miles of telephone lines and 4,663 miles of telegraph lines. Number of telephone offices. 664 ; number of telegraph offices.

Money, Weights, and Measures.

The silver peso or dollar, of 100 cents, weighing 25 grammes, 900 line, is the monetary unit. The fractional silver money consists of 50, 25, 20, 10, and 5 cent pieces. The real is also in popular use. It is equivalent to 12 j cents. There is a 1-cent and a 2-cent copper coin. On January 10, 1920, the government signed convention with banks for the introduction of United States coin into Honduras. The value of the silver |>eso is legally fired at oue-half the value of an American dollar

There are four banks in the Republic, the 'Banco de Honduras,' with a capital of 417,000 pesos, the Banco Atlantida (1913), with a capital of 500,000 dollars, Banco Comercio, a branch (at San Pedro Sula) of the American Foreign Banking Corporation (1919). The first two are banks of emission. The total bank notes of the two banks amount to 1,083,000 pesos. Nearly all these notes have been withdrawn from circulation, and replaced by American bills. The money in circulation is now about 2\ million dollars in U.S. currency and 140,000 pesos of Honduras Banks notes. There is practically no silver in circulation.

The metric system of weights and measures has been legal since April 1, 1897, but English pounds and yards and the old Spanish system are still in general use :

1 Vara =32 inches.

1 Arroba = 25 lb.

1 Quintal = 100 lb.

1 Tonelada. = 2,000 lb.

Diplomatic and Consular Representatives. 1. Of Honduras in Great Britain. Consul-General. — Arthur Breen Ryde, London.

There are Consuls at Manchester, Cardiff, Glasgow, Liverpool, Birming- ham and Southampton.