134 



COLOMBIA. 



per annum until the end of the year 1877, and 

 4f per cent, from 1878 forward; but, should 

 the import duties in the year produce $3,000,000 

 net, the interest is to be increased to 5 per 

 cent. The amortization of this debt will begin 

 from the said year 1878, by means of an accu- 

 mulating fund of $125,000 per annum. 



The general Treasury of the republic hands 

 over every month to the agent of the creditors 

 the twelfth part of the sum necessary to cover 

 the annual interest. This interest is paid every 

 three months, and the payments are made with 

 rigorous punctuality. 



For the payment of interest and for the 

 amortization of the capital of the foreign debt 

 arising from the loan of 1863, the republic has 

 to deliver, every month, $10,000 ; and it is the 

 endeavor of the Government to make further 

 appropriations, with a view to hasten the ex- 

 tinguishment of the debt. 



The Bank of Santander, in one of its ordi- 

 nary sessions held in Bucaramanga in October, 

 found that it had gained, by discounts, pre- 

 miums, interest, and commission, the sum of 

 $6,602.76. 



On January 31st the banks of Bogota decided 

 to pay a dividend of $37.50 per share. 



An attempt is being made to establish' an 

 insurance company at Bogota, which, besides 

 guaranteeing the mercantile movements of Co- 

 lombia, will leave to the commerce of the 

 country an immense sum now sent abroad to 

 foreign companies. It is calculated that com- 

 merce pays in premiums to foreign insurance 

 companies about $100,000 annually, or in fifty 

 years a sum of $5,000,000 lost to the coun- 

 try- 



The foreign commerce for the year 1873 was 

 represented by $23,000,000, distributed as be- 

 low : 



EXPORTS 



Coffee $1,900,000 



Indigo . 400,000 



Cotton 260,000 



India-rubber 150,000 



Hides 500,000 



Gold and silver 2,500,000 



Bark 1,800000 



Panama hats 260,000 



Tobacco 2,000,000 



Sundries 730,000 



$10,500,000 



IMPORTS. 12,500,000 



Total trade $23,000,000 



It says a good deal for the increasing trade 

 of the east coasts of Colombia that a Hamburg 

 steamer brought to the .port of Sabanilla 1,600 

 packages on the llth of August, and left on 

 the 18th for Hamburg and intermediate ports 

 with 5,965 packages of exports and $243,628 

 in specie. 



The removal of the custom-house from Sa- 

 banilla to Barranquilla had not yet been de- 

 termined, it being apprehended that the ad- 

 vantage to "be obtained thereby would be coun- 

 terbalanced by greater facilities for smuggling. 



The production of coffee is on the increase 

 in many districts, but especially in the State 



of Cundinamarca, where four plantations con- 

 tain above 500,000 trees, which were expected 

 to yield 2,000 quintals, or 200,000 pounds. 



Jesuit-bark of good quality is, on the other 

 hand, becoming scarce in the forests of the 

 eastern Cordilleras. 



The statistics of Bolivar for 1874 showed 

 the quantity and value of the live-stock in that 

 State to be as follows : Asses, 13,027 ; horses, 

 7,388; goats, 7,439; mules, 2,402; sheep, 260; 

 cattle, 139,009: total value, $2,557,100. 



The Government of the State of Cundina- 

 marca offers premiums for the introduction of 

 an improved race of horses, sheep, and cattle, 

 into the State. 



The foreign trade in the year ending August 

 81, 1873, was carried on in 739 sailing-vessels 

 with an aggregate of 46,697 tons, and 271 

 steamers with 14,499 tons, exclusive of the 

 transit trade over the isthmus of Panama, 

 where there is no custom-house. 



Sefior Parra, the Minister of Finance and 

 Public "Works, in an interesting report to Con- 

 gress, accounts for the decay of trade at Santa 

 Marta and the river port of Mompos in the 

 following terms : " The railroad of Bolivar 

 now offering to commerce from abroad a bet- 

 ter and safer route than that by Los Cafios, 

 has had the effect of attracting away from the 

 port of Santa Marta, notwithstanding its ex- 

 cellence, vessels of large tonnage, and there- 

 fore the latter port has now scarcely any trade 

 with the interior, just as it formerly happened 

 to Cartagena, and as it will happen sooner or 

 later to Sabanilla, if, as is generally expected, 

 the entrance by the Bocas de Ceniza should 

 become navigable for large sea-going vessels. 

 Barranquilla will then no longer be the princi- 

 pal fluvial port of the Colombian Union, as has 

 already happened to Mompos ; but some point 

 higher on the banks of the Magdalena will be 

 the anchoring-place of ocean-vessels, and the 

 seat of a great city. The inhabitants of cities 

 like Santa Marta and Mompos, from which the 

 currents of trade have been turned aside by 

 changes in the direction of commercial routes, 

 must then turn their attention to agriculture, 

 cattle-raising, or the extraction of natural prod- 

 ucts, as those of Cartagena are now doing." 



The report also contains some curious re- 

 marks on customs, salt-works, the emerald 

 mines of Muzo, the mint and railways, to- 

 gether with important observations on immi- 

 gration, the conversion of Indian tribes, navi- 

 gation by the Bocas de Ceniza, and the neces- 

 sity of light-houses along the coasts. 



A new contract was made with Mr. Alexan- 

 der Weekbehr, modifying that of November, 

 1872, for the navigation of the Upper Magdale- 

 na by steam.' 



A London house deposited $10,000 as secu- 

 rity for the fulfillment of a contract with the 

 President of Bolivar to establish steam naviga- 

 tion along the dike of Cartagena. 



A steam-tug company was established at 

 Buga to improve the navigation of the river 



