It has a school where a good education is given to more than a hundred children, the sons of the workingmen; it has also a social club and a band, composed of the workmen.
It possesses also all the workhouses necessary for the good preparation and packing of its products.
Many _suertes_ of land belong to this important association in the place called "Rincon de las Gallinas," where more than 35,000 heads of cattle feed.
The capital of the society is £500,000, divided into 25,000 shares, out of which only 24,300 were issued, the putting out of the other being quite unnecessary.
The shares, the primitive price of which was £20 in London are now quoted more than double. (£42 or £44.) The dividend received by the shareholders varies between 10 and 12 per cent.
This establishment gives life and activity to the important commercial centre of "Villa Independencia" and is a great stimulus for the cattle industry in the country.
The Republic has important commercial relations with all the principal European and American markets.
Its commerce is represented by the variety of goods imported into the country and the agricultural products and cattle exported to other countries.
The imported goods are, according to the statistics, all sorts of drinks, food and provisions, cereals and spices, stuffs of all kinds, clothes, materials for industry, machines and many other goods that cannot be classed here.
The principal exports of the country are salted meat, _tasajo_, preserved meat, extracts of meat, tallow, horns, bones, hides, wools, preserved and dried tongues, ostrich feathers, live stock, corn, flour, wheat, canary seed, hay, oats, bran, barley, flax, vermicelli, potatoes, stone, lime, granite, pavements, agate stone, etc., etc.
The following table gives an idea of the exports and imports of the Republic from the year 1862 to the year 1891.
------+------------+------------+------------- | | | Years.| Imports. | Exports. | Total. ------+------------+------------+------------- 1862 |$ 8,151,802 |$ 8,804,442 | $16,956,244 1864 | 8,384,167 | 6,334,706 | 14,718,873 1866 | 14,608,091 | 10,665,040 | 25,273,131 1867 | 17,657,918 | 12,077,795 | 29,735,713 1868 | 16,102,475 | 12,139,720 | 28,242,195 1869 | 16,830,678 | 13,930,027 | 30,760,705 1870 | 15,003,342 | 12,779,051 | 27,782,393 1871 | 14,864,247 | 13,334,224 | 28,198,471 1872 | 18,859,724 | 15,489,532 | 34,349,256 1873 | 21,075,446 | 16,301,772 | 37,377,218 1874 | 17,181,672 | 15,244,783 | 32,426,455 1875 | 12,431,408 | 12,695,610 | 25,125,018 1876 | 12,800,000 | 13,727,000 | 26,527,000 1877 | 15,045,846 | 15,899,405 | 30,945,251 1878 | 15,927,974 | 17,492,159 | 33,420,133 1879 | 15,949,903 | 16,645,961 | 32,595,864 1880 | 19,478,868 | 19,752,201 | 39,231,069 1881 | 17,918,884 | 20,229,512 | 38,148,396 1882 | 18,174,800 | 22,062,934 | 40,237,734 1883 | 20,322,311 | 25,221,664 | 45,543,975 1884 | 24,550,074 | 24,759,485 | 49,309,559 1885 | 25,275,476 | 25,253,036 | 50,528,512 1886 | 20,194,655 | 23,811,986 | 44,006,641 1887 | 24,615,944 | 18,671,996 | 43,287,940 1888 | 29,477,448 | 28,008,254 | 57,485,702 1889 | 36,823,863 | 25,954,107 | 62,777,970 1890 | 32,364 627 | 29,085,519 | 61,450,146 1891 | 18,978,420 | 26,998,270 | 45,976,690 ------+------------+------------+------------