Page:Statesman's Year-Book 1921.djvu/1306

 1254 SALVADOR.

(Republica de El Salvador. )

Constitution and Government.— In 1839 the Central American Federation, which had comprised the States of Guatemala, Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica, was dissolved, and Salvador became an independent Republic. The Constitution, proclaimed in 1824 under the Federation, and modified in 1859, 1864, 1871, 1872, 1880, 1883, and 1886, vests the legislative power in a Congress of 42 Deputies, 3 for each department. The election is for one year, and by universal suffrage. The executive is in the hands of a President, whose tenure of office is limited to four years.

President of the Republic. — Jorge Melendez. Term of office, from March 1, 1919, to March 1, 1923. Born April 15, 1871.

Vice-President, — Dr. Alfonso Quinonez Molina.

The administrative affairs of the Republic are carried on, under the President, by a ministry of four members, having charge of the departments of : — Foreign relations, Justice, and Instruction ; War and Marine ; Interior, Government and Agriculture ; Finance, Charities, and Public Credit.

Area and Population. — The area of the Republic is 34,155 square kilometres, or 13,183 English square miles, divided into 14 departments. Estimated population (Jan. 1, 1920), 1,336,442. Aboriginal and mixed races constitute the bulk of the population, Ladinos or Mestizos bcin^ returned as numbering 772,200, and Indians 234,648. Tho capital is San Salvador, with 80,100 inhabitants. Other towns are Santa Ana, population 59,817.; San Miguel, 30,406 ; Nueva San Salvador, 23,291 ; San Viceute, 26,881 ; Sonsonate, 14,752.

On June 7, 1917, an earthquake and volcanic eruption did much damage to the capital, and partially destroyed the towns of Ncj'apa (6,012 in- habitants), Quetzaltepeque (15,804 inhabitants), and Armenia (13,291 in- habitants). A still greater earthquake overtook the city of San Salvador on April 28, 1919.

The number of births in 1919 was 50,597 ; the number of deaths 31,703 ; the number of marriages, 3,596. Of the births in 1919, 25,61)0 were males, and 24,907 were females, and 21,457 legitimate ami 29,140 illegitimate. Of the deaths, 16,172 were males and 15,531 females.

Religion, Instruction and Justice.— The dominant religion is

Roman Catholicism. There is an archbishop in Sftn Salvador and a bishop at Santa Ana and San Miguel respectively. Education is free and obligatory. There were in Salvador, in 1919, 971 primary schools, with 1,613 teachers and 51,305 enrolled pupils. There were also 27 higher schools (including 2 normal and 3 technical schools) with 2,345 pupils in 1916, and a National University with faculties of jurisprudence, medicine, pharmacy, dentistry, and en- gineering. Expenditure on public instruction in 1919, 134,850/.

Justice is administered by the Supremo Court of Justice, one court of third instance (in tho capital) and several courts of first and second instance, besides a number of minor courts. All judges of second and third instance are elected by the National Assembly for a term of 2 yean, while the judges of first instance are appointed by the Supreme Court for a similar period. In 1916, 1,962 crimes of all kinds were committed in the Republic.