COLOMBIA. 



135 



Cauca, and tho required amount of capital 



In \ i> u of th3 peculiar topography of the 

 country, hurriedly sketched at the commence- 

 ment of tho present article, it will not bo wpn- 

 il.T.-il at that tho chief subject of deliberation 

 with tlio ('..I.. 11 Viau Government is that re- 

 lating to tlio n> 1-1 ruction of railways to con- 

 nect tho valley of the Cauca with the Pacific 

 Ocean, and upon up for the 1,600,000 inhab- 

 f tho States of Cundinainarca, Boyaca, 

 ;ider, and Antioquia, rapid and convenient 

 communication with tho steamers navigating 

 the Magdalena. The prompt and favorable 



(solution of this problem is the great econom- 

 question of tho country, and tho whole 

 nation has so well understood the necessity of 

 carrying on these works that four successive 

 Legislatures, from that of 1871 to the last in 

 1874, conferred on the Executive, by unanimi- 

 ty of votes, plenary powers to contract for tho 

 construction of the "Cauca & Pacific Rail- 

 way," and the " Cundinamarca, Boyaca, San- 

 tander & Magdalena River Railway," general- 

 ly known as the Northern Railway. . It may, 

 then, be officially stated that in the execution 

 of these two works the aspirations of the coun- 

 try are at present centred. The absence of 

 good roads to place the densely-populated por- 

 tions of tho country in cheap, safe, and rapid 

 communication with the commercial centres 

 of the world, -is the chief cause why the in- 

 dustry of the country has not yet received the 

 development proportionate to the number and 

 activity of its inhabitants, the fertility of its 

 soil, and the abundance of its mineral products. 



The principal towns of the inter-Andine 

 States are situated at an average distance vary- 

 ing from forty-five to sixty miles from the banks 

 of the Magdalena; goods are transported on 

 mules in loads of- ten arrobas, 250 Ibs., di- 

 vided into two bales of five arrobas each, and 

 at a cost of from $6 to $9 each load. The 

 bales that exceed this weight are transported 

 on men's backs, or rather women's, for most 

 of -the carriers are women, thus condemned 

 to take tho place of beasts of burden, traffic 

 which contributes to debase and degrade this 

 part of the population. The largest packages 

 transported in this way are pianos, mirrors, 

 paintings, crystal, and other articles of luxury 

 or art, requiring delicate handling. As for 

 boilers, cylinders, and all other machinery, 

 whose weight exceeds half a ton, they are 

 usually impossible of transportation, since the 

 mountain-roads do not admit the employment 

 of sledges. The carriage of an ordinary piano 

 over the forty-two miles from the river to the 

 plain of Bogota costs $160. The heaviest loads 

 lately brought to Bogotd were the following : 

 A steam-boiler, of 4-horse power, for the 

 sulphuric-acid factory, the carriage of which 

 cost $830 ; and one mechanical printing-press, 

 weighing 6,000 Ibs., or 200 arrobas, the car- 

 riage of which cost $1,000. 



Steam machinery for agricultural and mining 



purposes, fire-engines, coaches, and carriages. 

 iron boats, HUHpeuHion bridges, and in general 

 all pieces exceeding tho weight of half a ton, 

 are objects impossible of introduction into the 

 interior of the country. 



It is not, therefore, to be wondered at that 

 the material development, laboring under Mi-h 

 disadvantages, should have been so far, and 

 must of necessity continue to be tardy, until 

 suitable means of transport shall have been 

 established between the populous producing 

 regions of the republic and the navigable rivers. 



According to a recent estimate presented to 

 the Government, the Northern Railway would 

 cost the nation $24,175,000.* 



There was a keen discussion in Congress, 

 which prolonged its sessions to June 15th, be- 

 tween S. C. Roldan and tho Minister of Finance, 

 concerning the proposed railway to the north 

 of the republic, Roldan regarding it as ruinous 

 to the country, and Senor Parra maintaining 

 that the enterprise would be quite the contrary. 



The constructors of the Buenaventura Rail- 

 road had deposited in the Bank of Bogota 

 $25,000, as a guarantee that they would go on 

 and finish the road. One of the contractors was 

 expected in Bogota, with $1,800,000 in bonds, 

 to be legalized by the national Government. 



The Government undertook the construction 

 of telegraphs in 1864, and at present there are 

 about 700 miles of wires in actual service. 

 These lines connect the capital with the prin- 

 cipal towns of the north of the republic, and 

 also with the port of Buenaventura on the 

 Pacific, where it will unite the submarine 

 cable to be laid along the southwestern coast 

 of America, from Peru and Chili, and to join 

 at Panama the transatlantic cable connecting 

 Europe and America. During the year 1878 

 the number of telegrams dispatched was 50,000, 

 yielding $14,000. A line of telegraph between 

 Bogotd and Neiva was in course of rapid con- 

 struction. 



The coinage of gold and silver money amount- 

 ed to $533,671. The emission of silver coin has 

 diminished, because the mines of Santa Ana, 

 which were the most productive of this metal, 

 have ceased working. To make up for this 

 want, the Bank of Bogotd ordered from En- 

 rope $200,000 of silver coin, and the value 

 of $100,000 in bars of the same metal, to be 

 coined at the mint in Bogota. In the month 

 of June last, there were exported from Mede- 

 llin, in the State of Antioquia, $189,000 in the 

 precious metals. The mines suffered a good 

 deal from the heavy rains of the season, which, 

 by causing the rivers to overflow, seriously 

 affected the mines of Barbosa and others. A 

 land-slide completely covered up the Cristales 

 mines. Mining is nevertheless progressing fa- 

 vorably ; certain mining establishments are now 

 worth $1,000,000 which formerly were only 

 valued at $200,000. The Zancudo mine has, 

 since 1866, produced 28,050 Ibs. of silver-ore, 



* For particulars of direction, station*, etc., of the rail- 

 way, w the ANNUAL CTOLOFADUL for 1878. 



