up to 1908 was about £8,000,000 sterling ($40,000,000 gold). In September of that year it was decided by congress to borrow £5,000,000 for still further extensions which were found to be required. The channels to deep water require constant dredging because of the great quantity of silt deposited by the river, and on this and allied purposes an expenditure of £560,000 was voted in 1908. In 1907 there were 29,178 shipping entries in the port, with an aggregate of 13,335,737 tons, the merchandise movement being 4,360,000 tons imports and 2,900,000 tons of produce exports. The revenues for 1907 were $5,452,000 gold, and working expenses, $2,213,000 gold, the profit ($3,229,000) being equal to about 8% on the cost of construction.
History.—Three attempts were made to establish a colony where the city of Buenos Aires stands. The first was in 1535 by Don Pedro de Mendoza with a large and well-equipped expedition from Spain, which, through mismanagement and the hostility of the Indians, resulted in complete failure. An expedition sent up the river by Mendoza founded Asunción, and thither went the colonists from his “Santa Maria de Buenos Ayres” when that settlement was abandoned. The second was in 1542 by a part of the expedition from Spain under Cabeza de Vaca, but with as little success. The third was in 1580 by Don Juan de Garay, governor of Paraguay, who had already established a half-way post at Santa Fé in 1573, and from this attempt dates the foundation of the city. The need of a port near the sea, where supplies from Spain could be received and ships provisioned, was keenly felt by the Spanish colonists at Asunción, and Garay’s expedition down the Paraná in 1580 had that special object in view. Garay built a fort and laid out a town in the prescribed Spanish style above Mendoza’s abandoned settlement, giving it the name of “Ciudad de la Santissima Trinidad,” but retaining Mendoza’s descriptive name for the port in appreciation of the agreeable and invigorating atmosphere of that locality. Buenos Aires remained a dependency of Asunción until 1620, when the Spanish settlements of the La Plata region were divided into three provinces, Paraguay, Tucuman and Buenos Aires, and Garay’s “city” became the capital of the latter and also the seat of a new bishopric. The increasing population and trade of the La Plata settlements naturally contributed to the importance and prosperity of Buenos Aires, but Spain seems to have taken very little interest in the town at that time. Peru still dazzled the imagination with her stores of gold and silver, and the king and his councillors and merchants had no thought for the little trading station on the La Plata, for which one small shipment of supplies each year was at first thought sufficient. The proximity of the Portuguese settlements of Brazil and the unprotected state of the coast, however, made smuggling easy, and the colonists soon learned to supply their own needs in that way. The heavy seigniorage tax on gold and silver, and the costs of transportation by way of Panama, also sent a stream of contraband metal from Charcas to Buenos Aires, where it found eager buyers among the Portuguese traders from Brazil, who even founded the town of Colonia on the opposite bank of the estuary to facilitate their hazardous traffic. In time the magnitude of these operations attracted attention at Madrid and efforts were made to suppress them, but without complete success until more liberal provisions were made to promote trade between Spain and her colonies. In 1776 the Rio de la Plata provinces were erected into a vice-royalty, and Buenos Aires became its capital. Two years later the old commercial restrictions were abolished and a new code was promulgated, so liberal in character compared with the old that it was called the “free trade regulations.” Under the old system all intercourse with foreign countries had been prohibited, with the exception of Great Britain and Portugal—the former having a contract (1715 to 1739) to introduce African slaves, and permission to send one shipload of merchandise each year to certain colonial ports, and the latter’s Brazilian colonies having permission to import from Buenos Aires each year 2000 fanegas of wheat, 500 quintals of jerked beef and 500 of tallow. The African slaves introduced into Buenos Aires in this way were limited to 800 a year, and were the only slaves of that character ever received except some from Brazil after 1778, when greater commercial activity in the port created a sudden demand for labourers. Under the new regulations 9 ports in Spain and 24 in the colonies were declared puertos habilitados, or ports of entry, and trade between them was permitted, though under many restrictions. The effect of this change may be seen in the exportation of hides to the mother country, which had been only 150,000 a year before 1778, but rose to 700,000 and 800,000 a year after that date. (For the later history of the city see Argentina.) (A. J. L.)
BUFF (from Fr. buffle, a buffalo), a leather originally made from the skin of the buffalo, now also from the skins of other animals, of a dull pale yellow colour, used for making the buffcoat or jerkin, a leathern military coat. The old 3rd Foot regiment of the line in the British army (now the East Kent Regiment), and the old 78th Foot (now 2nd battalion Seaforth Highlanders), are called the “Buffs” and the “Ross-shire Buffs” respectively, from the yellow or buff-colour of their facings. The term is commonly used now of the colour alone.
BUFFALO, a city and port of entry, and the county-seat of Erie county, New York, U.S.A., the second city in population in the state, and the eighth in the United States, at the E. extremity of Lake Erie, and at the upper end of the Niagara river; distant by rail from New York City 423 m., from Boston 499 m., and from Chicago 540 m.
The site of the city, which has an area of 42 sq. m., is a broad, undulating tract, rising gradually from the lake to an elevation of from 50 to 80 ft., its altitude averaging somewhat less than 600 ft. above sea-level. The high land and temperate climate, and the excellent drainage and water-supply systems, make Buffalo one of the most healthy cities in the United States, its death-rate in 1900 being 14.8 per thousand, and in 1907 15.58. As originally platted by Joseph Ellicott, the plan of Buffalo somewhat resembled that of Washington, but the plan was much altered and even then not adhered to. Buffalo to-day has broad and spacious streets, most of which are lined by trees, and many small parks and squares. The municipal park system is one of unusual beauty, consisting of a chain of parks with a total area of about 1030 acres, encircling the city and connected by boulevards and driveways. The largest is Delaware Park, about 365 acres, including a lake of 4612 acres, in the north part of the city; the north part of the park was enclosed in the grounds of the Pan-American Exposition of 1901. Adjoining it is the Forest Lawn cemetery, in which are monuments to President Millard Fillmore, and to the famous Seneca chief Red Jacket (1751–1830), a friend of the whites, who was faithful when approached by Tecumseh and the Prophet, and warned the Americans of their danger; by many he has been considered the greatest orator of his race. Among the other parks are Cazenovia Park, Humboldt Park, South Park on the Lake Shore, and “The Front” on a bluff overlooking the source of the Niagara river; in the last is Fort Porter (named in honour of Peter B. Porter), where the United States government maintains a garrison.
Principal Buildings.—Buffalo is widely known for the beauty of its residential sections, the houses being for the most part detached, set well back from the street, and surrounded by attractive lawns. Among the principal buildings are the Federal building, erected at a cost of $2,000,000; the city and county hall, costing $1,500,000, with a clock tower 245 ft. high; the city convention hall, the chamber of commerce, the builders’ exchange, the Masonic temple, two state armouries, the Prudential, Fidelity Trust, White and Mutual Life buildings, the Teck, Star and Shea’s Park theatres, and the Ellicott Square building, one of the largest office structures in the world; and, in Delaware Park, the Albright art gallery, and the Buffalo Historical Society building, which was originally the New York state building erected for the Pan-American Exposition held in 1901. Among the social clubs the Buffalo, the University, the Park, the Saturn and the Country clubs, and among the hotels the Iroquois, Lafayette, Niagara and Genesee, may be especially mentioned. There are many handsome churches, including St Joseph’s (Roman Catholic) and St Paul’s (Protestant Episcopal) cathedrals,
