COLOMBIA. 



103 



of a new revolution, and on October 12, 1840, 

 she formally resigned the regency and fled 

 to Rome, and afterward to France. She re- 

 turned in triumph in 1843, and remained 

 in Spain until 1854, when she again fled to 

 France. After that time .she only occasionally 

 visited Spain. She was secretly married in 

 December, 1833, to Fernando Mufioz, one of 

 her guards, who was made Duke of Rianzares, 

 and the marriage was acknowledged by a de- 

 cree dated October 13, 1844. 



COLOMBIA (ESTADOS UNIDOS DE COLOM- 

 BIA), an independent state, occupying the north- 

 western portion of South America and the 

 southeastern portion of Central America, and 

 extending from latitude 12 21' north to 1 20' 

 south, and from longitude 68 52 to 83 5' west. 

 Its boundaries are : on the north, the Carib- 

 bean Sea ; on the northeast and east, Vene- 

 zuela ; on the southeast, Brazil ; on the south, 

 Ecuador ; and on the west, the Pacific Ocean 

 and Costa Rica. The area of the territory of 

 Colombia has been estimated at rather more 

 than 500,000 square miles, 400,000 of which 

 lie to the north of the equator. The republic 

 is divided into nine Federal States and six Ter- 

 ritories, and its population is about 3,000,000, 

 including uncivilized Indians to the number of 

 some 50,000.* 



The principal centers of population are the 

 valleys of the Magdalena, Cauca, and Atrato 

 Rivers, the first of which flows through seven 

 States comprising the vast central region of the 

 country, 500 miles in length, and varying from 

 70 to 100 in width. It is the great highway 

 of commerce to the Atlantic, and is navigated 

 from Barranquilla to Honda, a distance of 500 

 miles, by steamers of from 50 to 200 tons, the 

 property of private companies. The mouth of 

 the Magdalena is obstructed by bars, and a rail- 

 road fifteen miles in length, constructed by a 

 German company at a cost of $600,000, con- 

 nects the bay of Sabanilla with the town of 

 Barranquilla, the lower limit of river naviga- 

 tion. The Cauca Valley is an elevated plain 

 rising to a height of 5,000 feet above the sea- 

 level. The Atrato Valley is generally similar 

 to that of the Magdalena in its topography. 



The staple productions of the country are 

 coffee, cacao, sugar, rice, tobacco, cotton, in- 

 digo, maize, mandioca, and cattle. The cli- 

 mate varies with the altitude of the land ; the 

 lowlands* yield all the tropical products; and 

 the plateaus and slopes of the Colombian An- 

 des, those of sub-tropical and cold climates. 



The President of the Republic is General 

 Julian Trujillo, inaugurated April 1, 1878, and 

 the Cabinet is composed of the following min- 

 isters or secretaries: of the Interior and For- 

 eign Affairs, Dr. F. Zaldua ; of Finance and 

 Public Works, Dr. R. Nunez ; of the Treasury 

 and Credit, Sefior Camacho Roldan ; of War 

 and Marine, Sefior M. Hurtado. The chief 



* For detailed statistics concerning the territorial division, 

 population, etc., see the volumes of the " Annual Cyclopae- 

 dia " for 1874 and 18TT. 



magistrates of the nine States are : Antioquia, 

 General T. Rinjifo; Bolivar, Sefior B. No- 

 guera; Boyaca, Sefior J. E. Otalora; Cauca, 

 Sefior M. Garces; Cundinamarca, Sefior D. 

 Delgado ; Magdalena, Sefior Luis A. Robles ; 

 Panama, Sefior B. Correoso ; Santander, Sefior 

 M. A. Estrada ; Tolima, Sefior Dr. J. Manique. 

 The Colombian Consul-General in New York 

 is Sefior Miguel Salgar. The American Min- 

 ister Resident at Bogota is the Hon. E. Deich- 

 inan. 



The Federal army comprises in time of peace 

 3,000 men; and in time of war each State is 

 held to furnish a contingent of one per cent, 

 of its population. 



Educational interests have suffered little 

 from internecine strife, as attested by the 

 steady increase in the number of schools : 

 1,625 primary schools were officially reported 

 for 1877, against 1,159 for 1875 ; though the 

 State school fund for the latter year amounted 

 to $508,779, while that of the former did not 

 exceed $380,017. 



The following tables exhibit the amounts 

 and several branches of the national revenue 

 and expenditure for the year ending August 

 81, 1878 : 



REVENUE. 



Customs $3,000,000 



Salt monopoly 1,280,000 



Panam and Sabanilla Railways 350,000 



Post-Office 60.000 



Telegraphs 40,000 



Mint 12,000 



National property 50,000 



Church property 6,800 



Sundries 40,000 



Total $4,838,800 



EXPENDITURE. 



Ministry of Interior $240,024 



u of Justice 27,832 



" ofFinance 1,150,430 



" of War and Marine 1,188,160 



National debt 1,872,994 



Public works 2,321,483 



Foreign affairs. 63,700 



Treasury 76,034 



Public instruction 331,120 



Pensions 116,220 



Post-Office... . 



Total $7,271,938 



On comparing the totals of the foregoing 

 tables, a deficit of $2,433,133 will be observed, 

 and is to be attributed to two causes: en- 

 hanced expenditures in the War Department 

 owing to the late revolution, and the partial 

 stagnation of foreign commerce while the dis- 

 turbance lasted. 



The national debt in 1878 was as follows : 



Foreign debt $10,392,500 



Home debt 5,606,804 



Total $15,999,304 



The foreign debt incurred during the war of 

 independence was consolidated in 4J- per cent, 

 bonds in 1873, and a convention entered into 

 with the foreign bondholders whereby month- 

 ly payments were to be made by the Govern- 

 ment of Colombia to the bondholders' agent 



