Without plan, ornament, or official keepers, the cemeteries of rural Chile present an unattractive prospect, and a scene of dreary desolation. Usually they are nothing more than enclosed plots of ground, neglected and overrun with weeds and brambles, without markings to indicate the location of individual graves. There is little reverence for those who journey to those dreary spots for the last time. In the many sharp contrasts presented in the lives of the different classes in Chile, none are more striking than that shown in the disposition of the dead, and in the ceremonies attendant upon funerals. In the cities, where the rich and cultured bury their dead, the cemeteries are beautifully kept, and adorned with flowers and shrubbery, and magnificent tombs and monuments mark the last resting places of wealth and respectability. Elaborate, solemn and impressive services are held at the home of the deceased, or in church, the body is borne to the grave in a funeral car, while extra coaches and hearses are employed in carrying the floral offerings and decorations provided by the family and friends. The civil register law conferred great benefits upon the poor, in the matter of births and deaths. Previous to that there was no record of births, except in the church records, made by the priests when they found it agreeable and convenient. Then, as now, a large per cent. of the children born were illegitimate, and if the parents did not want the birth inscribed in the record, it was conveniently omitted. Then there was no law to compel those in charge of the cemeteries to issue burial permits, and usually the priests demanded a fee before permission was given to bury the Catholic dead in the consecrated grounds, while non-Catholics were denied the right of burial in the cemeteries on any terms. Fortunately the civil law makes the registration of births, deaths and burials free and compulsory. In every municipal district there is a civil registrar, whose business it is to keep these records, and to issue burial permits. Private burials are prohibited by law. SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES There is no compulsory educational law in Chile. Several attempts have been made to secure the passage of such a measure, but without success. The failure to secure such an enactment may be attributed to the indifference of the majority of the citizens of the Republic, who take little or no interest in the question of providing better facilities for educating the youth of the country.