No. 3.
Mr. Osborn
to Mr. Evarts.
Buenos Ayres, September 19, 1877. (Received November 3.)
Sir: The report to the Argentine Congress of the minister of war and marine, General Alsina, fills a volume of yearly one thousand pages, and shows that the Argentine Republic supports an army of 12,300 men of all arms on its list, and a navy of thirty-one vessels of war. The returns of the captain of the port show at present that there are 1,562 vessels of commerce carrying the Argentine flag, with an aggregate of 43,000 tons.
The army list shows 12 generals, 42 colonels, and about 700 officers of other grades. The national guards number 2,000, and the Indian auxiliaries 924. On the list of the survivors of the war of independence are 4 generals, 8 colonels, 3 lieutenant-colonels, and 14 officers of other grades, with 26 soldiers. The officers on the retired-list staff are 19.
[Page 7]In the navy, of the 31 vessels of war, 2 are iron-clads, and each ironclad carries two 300–pounders, two 9 pounds, and two 4 pounds. Gunboats, there are six, and war steamers 16, and all are armed with heavy guns.
The report states that the expenditures for the army and navy for the past four years have steadily decreased, and that the estimates of 4,000,000 for the next year will be about 1,000,000 below the aggregate of the past few years.
The minister claims that the new frontier line established on the Buenos Ayres pampas in 1876 has proved a success. This line was established by digging a ditch 10 feet wide and 6 feet deep along the whole frontier, with redoubts planted at certain distances, manned by troops and artillery.
At first, this mode of establishing a frontier line against the Indians was considered as an experiment, and the government had doubts as to the result; but the minister states that since its occupation three attempts have been made by the Indians at inroads, and on each occasion they have been chastised.
The minister calls the attention of Congress to the new deep-water channel of “Inferno,” surveyed and sounded by Capt. Hunter Davison, which may be made available for steamers of heavy draught going up the Parana and Uruguay Rivers. This channel is between the island Martin Garcia and the territory of Uruguay.
This channel, it is understood, was known many years ago, but was lost, and the channel on the west of Martin Garcia and on the Argentine side, although difficult of passage for vessels except of light draught at the time of low water, of late years has been used. The survey and soundings of Captain Davison have been kept secret (so it is supposed), to prevent the use of the channel by the Brazilians in case of trouble with this government; but as all difficulties have been, or are about to be, settled, no doubt the channel will soon be made available to commerce.
I am, &c.,