I make no claim in this volume to having written anything startlingly new, nor yet to have made any particularly valuable contribution to the history of the world; but what I have endeavoured to effect, and what I trust I have accomplished at least in part, is to put before my readers what I know to be facts concerning a very interesting country which has hitherto received but scant attention at the hands of financial writers. Bulwer Lytton has said that no author ever drew a character, consistent to human nature, but what he was forced to ascribe to it many inconsistencies. So it is with a book which purports to be a true description of a country; for in portraying its attractions one must of a necessity expose its drawbacks and deficiencies.

It must be remembered that the Republic of Salvador has yet to celebrate its centenary, being one of the youngest of the Latin-American States; but considering the different troubles and tribulations which this country—in common with all of the Latin-American Republics without exception—has gone through, the present condition of her civilization, of her arts and her commerce, is eminently encouraging. The great advance made by this State has been achieved in spite of the many obstacles which it has encountered. If the permanency of a Republic mainly depends upon the general intelligence and morality of the people constituting it, I look for a continued and even an increased prosperity for the Salvadoreans, since they are indubitably among the Central American nations the most developed and the most intellectual.

No longer subject to and borne down by an immoral and corrupt Government, and freed from the exactions of hungry office-seekers, this naturally richly-endowed little State should pursue an even and enviable road to prosperity, upon which foreigners will be heartily welcome to journey.

In 1895, when Mr. Joseph Chamberlain was Colonial Secretary, a circular letter was addressed to all British Consuls of the British Empire, asking for information regarding the effect of foreign competition upon British trade abroad. In the answers received, and subsequently published in the form of a bulky Blue Book, some critics professed to see much comfort; but to the minds of others, who looked more deeply into matters and judged more from what was likely to occur than what had actually happened, the future appeared gloomy in the extreme. To enact the role of Cassandra is never an agreeable nor a profitable occupation; but upon occasions it becomes necessary to sound the alarum, if only to awaken the slumberer from his too-long repose, and remind him that the world is marching onwards and ever onwards. At no time has this been more imperative than the present, when British trade and commerce, British influence and British prestige, in Central America, at one time predominant, are threatened, not alone with supersession, but with practical extinction. This is no phantom of the imagination, nor yet any unfair exaggeration of existing conditions. It is a plain and incontrovertible fact, which anyone travelling through the smaller Latin-American Republics may ascertain for himself.

The decline of British trade in these countries was clearly foreshadowed in the Blue Book above referred to; but the public, with some few exceptions, complacently closed their eyes, the Government as usual did nothing to avert the threatened evil, and the results are such as were inevitable under the circumstances. The Consular reports upon these States as they are issued (when they are issued at all) tell the tale of our diminishing trade, and of the slow but sure rise of our competitors to the position of dominance which once was ours. There is little occasion to criticize the figures or to call them into question; it may, perhaps, have served some useful purpose to have examined, as I have done in these pages, into the principal causes which have helped to bring about a condition of things which is gradually going from bad to worse.

I shall be abundantly satisfied, and consider myself sufficiently recompensed for the trouble to which I have put myself and the not inconsiderable expenses which I have incurred in preparing this volume, if I can awaken some interest among my countrymen—upon the British Government I do not for an instant expect to make any impression whatever—to the critical position in which our national trade stands to-day in Latin-America generally, but in the Republic of Salvador in particular. The time has apparently gone by when British trade abroad could depend at least upon the countenance, if not always the active support, of the Ministry of the day.

In the days of William Pitt the Elder it was the proud boast of our rulers that "not a gun should be fired throughout the world without Britain knowing why"; but to-day commercial treaties of the utmost import to British merchants are entered into, new imposts which seriously threaten their existing trade are levied, and favoured-nation terms to their most dangerous commercial rivals are granted, without the Home Government knowing or caring one pin's head about it. Where are "the eyes and the ears" of the State that such things can occur, and where is the patriotism which permits of them occurring? No British Government within the past half-century has as much as inquired about the status of British trade in Latin-America, nor has it troubled its head to find out whether it flourished or failed. For the despicable purpose of currying favour with our keenest rivals in that great field—the United States—such position as we still occupy in that portion of the world is being recklessly and ignorantly sacrificed. How this crime—for crime it assuredly is—is likely to be perpetrated I have shown conclusively in the preceding pages. Let those who are accused answer to the charges—if they can or if they dare!

July 31, 1911.