PARAMARIBO  , the

capital of Dutch Guiana or Surinam . (see GUIANA), in 5° 44 30" N., 550 12' 54" W., 20 M. from the sea on the right bank of the Surinam, here a tidal river nearly a mile broad and 18 ft. deep . Pop . (1905), 33,821 . Built on a plateau about 16 ft. above low-water level, Paramaribo is well-drained, clean and in general healthy . The straight canals running at right angles to the river, the broad, straight tree-planted streets, the spacious squares, and the solid plain public buildings would not be unworthy of a town in the Netherlands . The Indian village of Paramaribo became the site of a French settlement probably in 1640, and in 1650 it was made the capital of the colony by Lord Willoughby of Parham . In 1683 it was still only a " cluster of twenty-seven dwellings, more than half of them grog-shops," but by 17go it counted, more than a thousand houses . The town was partly burned down in 1821,, and again in 1832 .