VENEZUELA. 



823 



through the port of Montevideo. In 1901 there 

 was a small decrease in imports, the total value 

 being $23,691,932, compared with an average of 

 $24,850,000 for the preceding six years. Exports 

 declined to $27,731,126 owing to a failure in the 

 wheat-crop and a fall in the price of jerked beef 

 in Brazil. 



Navigation. The number of vessels engaged 

 in foreign trade entered at Montevideo during 

 1900 was 1,206, of 2,318,954 tons; cleared, 1,033, of 

 2,052,723 tons. In the coasting and river trade 

 the number entered was 2,020, of 507,110 tons; 

 cleared, 2,063, of 508,986 tons. Work on the im- 

 provement of Montevideo harbor began in July, 

 1901. 



Railroads, Posts, and Telegraphs. The 

 railroads have a total length of 1,080 miles. The 

 cost of construction was 11,150,857, of which 

 5,750,418 has a guarantee of 3J-per-cent. interest 

 from the Government, covering 882 miles. 



The telegraph-lines in 1899 had a length of 4,525 

 miles, including 1,030 miles of railroad telegraphs. 



The post-office forwarded 10,814,176 letters, 310,- 

 324 postal cards, 32,190,525 printed enclosures, and 

 1,436,889 parcels in 1900. 



Political Affairs. President Cuestas, who, un- 

 like his predecessors, has not added to the public 

 debt, began in 1901 to curb the ambition of mili- 



tary politicians aspiring to play a part in the next 

 administration by enforcing discipline in the army. 

 The commercial and industrial development of the 

 country is hampered by the enormous foreign debt 

 incurred for wasteful and extravagant purposes, 

 the interest of which is a heavy drain on' the coun- 

 try's resources, represented by an average annual 

 adverse balance of trade of $7,300,000. The heavy 

 import and export duties cripple external com- 

 merce. The harbor works at Montevideo are be- 

 ing pushed forward. In July 2 Senators were or- 

 dered to be banished and several military officers 

 to be arrested on a charge of plotting the assassi- 

 nation of the President. The Senate protested 

 against the unconstitutional violation of parlia- 

 mentary immunity. The President justified the 

 decree as necessary for public safety, and prom- 

 ised to communicate the details of the conspiracy 

 to the Chambers as soon as the inquiry was com- 

 pleted. The Chambers demanded an immediate 

 full explanation of his illegal action. The Gov- 

 ernment then withdrew the decree of banishment 

 and set the officers free without presenting any 

 proofs of the alleged conspiracy. Sefior McEachen 

 resigned from the Cabinet to become president of 

 the Bank of the Republic and on Oct. 16 Diego 

 Pons left the Ministry. 

 UTAH. (See under UNITED STATES.) 



VENEZUELA, a republic in South America. 

 The legislative power is vested in the Congress, 

 consisting of a Senate of 40 members, 2 from 

 each state, elected for four years by the state 

 Legislatures, and a House of Representatives of 

 52 members, elected for four years by the popular 

 vote, 1 Representative to 35,000 of population. 

 The President is elected for two years by the 

 Federal Council of 19 members, who are elected 

 for the presidential term by the Congress. Gen. 

 Cipriano Castro, appointed provisional Pres- 

 ident in October, 1899, was in due form elected 

 President of the Republic in October, 1901. The 

 Cabinet appointed on April 10, 1901, was com- 

 posed as follows: Minister of the Interior, Gen. 

 J. A. Velutini; Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. 

 Eduardo Blanco; Minister of War and Marine, 

 Gen. Ramon Guerra; Minister of the Treasury, 

 Ramon Tello Mendoza; Minister of Public In- 

 struction, Dr. Felix Quintero; Minister of Public 

 Works, Juan Otaiiez; Minister of Fomento, Gen. 

 F. Arocha Gallegos. An act for the reestablish- 

 mejit of the 20 states, which were reduced to 8 

 in 1864, was passed in 1899, and provision was 

 made for their autonomous administration until 

 the new federal Constitution is completed. 



Area and Population. The award of the 

 Court of Arbitration given on Oct. 3, 1899, re- 

 duces the area claimed for Venezuela by about 

 60,000 square miles, which are now included in 

 British Guiana. The Schomburgk line was adopt- 

 ed as the boundary except at coast, where the 

 line starts from Punta Playa, instead of at the 

 mouth of the Amakuru, thus giving to Venez- 

 uela the lower Barima river; and at the Cuyuni 

 river, where the boundary ascends the Wenamu, 

 instead of following the Cuyuni up to its source, 

 thus giving to Venezuela the Cuyuni gold-fields. 

 The total area of the republic is estimated at 

 593,943 square miles. The population at 2,444,816. 



Finances. The revenue is collected and dis- 

 bursed, under a contract made in April, 1897, for 

 five years, by the Bank of Venezuela, which re- 

 ceives a commission of 2 per cent, on money col- 



lected and on disbursements and makes advances 

 to the Government up to 6,000,000 bolivars at 8 

 per cent, interest. 



The consolidated external debt on July 31, 1901, 

 amounted to 2,638,200, besides 257,224 of un- 

 paid interest. It consists of Venezuela's share in 

 the old debt of Colombia, the share amounting 

 originally to 2,794,796, converted in 1881 to 

 2,750,000 of new consolidated bonds. Besides 

 this debt 48,962,000 bolivars of bonds for the set- 

 tlement of arrears of railroad guarantees were is- 

 sued at 5 per cent, in 1896, equivalent to 1,939,- 

 090, on which 336,634 of interest were due, mak- 

 ing the total foreign debt 5,171,148. The inter- 

 nal debt amounted to 110,000,000 bolivars, besides 

 10,175,000 bolivars for water-works at Caracas. 



The Army and Navy. The permanent army 

 was reorganized in 1900 in 30 battalions of about 

 300 men, which were stationed in 20 towns and 

 in other federal posts and on the ships. Every 

 Venezuelan between the ages of eighteen and 

 forty-five years is enrolled in the militia, and in 

 times of civil war as many as 60,000 men have 

 been called into the field. The naval force con- 

 sists of 3 steamers and several small gunboats. 



Commerce and Production. Sugar, coffee, 

 cacao, and grain are cultivated in the coast re- 

 gions, live stock grazes on the rich pastures far- 

 ther inland, and from the forests of the remote 

 interior are brought down rubber, copaiba, va- 

 nilla, tonga beans, and other tropical products. 

 The live stock is estimated at 191,079 horses, 

 89,186 mules, 312,810 asses, 2,004,257 cattle, 176,- 

 668 sheep, 1,667,272 goats, and 1,618,214 hogs. 

 The exports of coffee in 1900 were 10,300,565 

 kilograms from La Guayra, 14,995.724 kilograms 

 from Puerto Cabello, 13,107 kilograms from Ciu- 

 dad Bolivar, and 20,829,464 kilograms from Mara- 

 caibo; of cacao, 5,766,160 kilograms from La 

 Guayra, 525,187 kilograms from Puerto Cabello, 

 38,481 kilograms from Ciudad Bolivar, and 184,- 

 456 kilograms from Maracaibo; of hides. 1,075,028 

 kilograms from La Guayra, 636.363 kilograms 

 from Puerto Cabello, 1,4*95,937 kilograms from 



