COLOMBIA, UNITED STATES OF. 



109 



STATES. 



Antioquia 



Bolivar 



Boyaca 



Cauca 



Cundinamarca . . 



Magdalena 



Panama 



Santander , 



Toliraa 



Total. 



Areas, Square Miles 



22,790 

 27,027 

 33,349 

 257,451 

 79,845 

 26,950 

 31,921 

 16,293 

 18,476 



514,102 



Population. 



365,974 



482,874 

 435,078 



85,255 

 220,542 

 425,427 



2,880,633 



Eatherless than 1,000,000 of the total popu- 

 lation are whites; the rest being divided be- 

 tween mestizos of various degrees, according 

 to the predominance in them of the European, 

 the African, or the Indian type. The popula- 

 tion of the capital, Bogota, is variously esti- 

 mated from 40,000 to 60,000, probably nearer 

 the former than the latter. President of the 

 republic, Manuel Murillo Toro, from April 1, 

 1872, to March 31, 1874; Minister Secretary 

 of the Interior and of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Gil 

 Colunje; Minister of Finances, Dr. S. Camacho 

 Eoldan; Minister of the Treasury and National 

 Credit, General J. Trujillo ; Minister of War, 

 E. Nunez ; Procurator-General, Dr. E. Gomez ; 

 Archbishop of Bogota, J. A. Arbelaez. The 

 chief magistrate of the State of Panama is no 

 longer called Governor, but has the title of 

 President, the presidential chair being at pres- 

 ent occupied by General Neyra. Secretary 

 of State, J. Mendoza ; Governor of the city of 

 Panama, J. Soza ; Procurator-General, Dr. M. 

 Iturralde ; Commandant-General of the Army, 

 General G. Neyra. The strength of the army 

 of the republic, in time of peace, is 1,420 men; 

 in time of war, each State furnishes a contin- 

 gent of one per cent, of the population. 



The total value of the commerce for the year 

 ending September 30, 1870, was $14,337,772, 

 divided as follows : 



EXPORTS. 



To England $1,849,000 



To France 1,491,000 



To Germany 2,720,000 



To the West Indies 223,000 



To the United States 663,000 



To Venezuela ) 



ToPeru V 1,333,000 



To other countries \ 



Total $8,284.000 



IMPORTS. 



From England $2.891,889 



From France 1 472 422 



From Germany ' 168 502 



From the West Indies 211 328 



From the United States ' 497 234 



From Venezuela .... 213 690 



From Peru 26571 



From other countries "."."". '. '. '. '. '. '. ". 663',138 



$6,053,772 



The following table shows the receipts for 

 the financial year 1870: 



B 



Rma 



Mint 



Postal Service 



National Property 



Public Lands ... 



Sundry Receipts .' .' .' .' .' .' .' .' .' 185,613 



$1,307,854 



According to the President's message, April 

 4, 1872, the national debt was composed of the 

 following elements : 



FOREIGN DEBT. Nominal Capital. 



Old Debt 



New Debt 



Suspended Debt 



HOME DEBT. 



Tot. Nat. Debt.. 



$14,837,250 

 3,887,000 

 14,638,000 



$33,362,250 

 9,899,710 



$43,261,960 



At the Present Rate. 



$2,819,077 = 19 per cent. 

 1,360,450 = 35 per cent. 

 1,317,465= 9 per cent. 



$5,496,992 

 $2,667,521 



Thirty-seven and a half per cent, of the 

 customs receipts is applied to the interest and 

 principal of the foreign debt, and ten per cent, 

 to the home debt. Besides ten per cent, is ap- 

 plied to pay foreign indemnities. The law of 

 April 21, 1872, authorizes the Government to 

 negotiate with the foreign creditors for the 

 transformation of the total foreign debt into a 

 debt of $7,000,000 at five per cent. 



There are at present but two railways in 

 the republic ; that of Panama, about 48 miles 

 in length, and that from Sabanilla to Barran- 

 quilla, 18 miles long. The number of passen- 

 gers carried by the first, in 1867, was 35,076. 

 Some other lines are projected, or in process 

 of construction, as will be seen hereafter. 

 There are telegraphs along the two lines al- 

 ready mentioned, and a submarine cable from 

 the port of Aspinwall to that of Kingston, Ja- 

 maica. As the Colombian Government was 

 anxious to have a railway built from Bogota to 

 the Lower Magdalena, General Hurlbut, the 

 United States minister, proposed to that Gov- 

 ernment to guarantee the construction of the 

 same to an amount not to exceed $10,000,000 ; 

 that is to say, the constructing company should 

 be guaranteed by the United States interest at 

 six per cent, on all sums expended by them up 

 to $10,000,000, for fifteen years. In return, the 

 United States were to have the privilege of 

 opening, free of rents and charges, the long- 

 projected Interoceanic Canal. At the begin- 

 ning of the year the public press entered ex- 

 tensively into the subject of the necessity for 

 peace and liberty of discussion, in opposition 

 to the Church authority, who, as a body, are 

 opposed to the latter. 



It was expected that Bogota would soon be 

 lighted with gas. 



Dr. Maria Mallarino, formerly President of 

 the republic, died January 6th. 



Various representations were made to the 

 Legislative Chambers by merchants of note in 

 Ciicuta, claiming the intervention of the Gen- 

 eral Government for the opening of the road 

 of Sardinata, which would afford communica- 

 tion with foreign markets. 



The relations with Venezuela were charac- 

 terized as in the highest degree shameful and 

 humiliating. The vexations to which Colom- 

 bians were subjected for the mere use of the 

 waters which lead to the ocean were equiva- 

 lent to a prohibition ; while Colombia, on the 

 other hand, to the injury of its own interests, 

 had frankly opened its territory to Venezuela, 

 in order that it might supply the State of 



