Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 6.djvu/181

Rh COLOMBIA I? * i)^ ty Eeven or eight, including the puma and the jaguar ; there are two species of bears ; the alligator swarms in the Magdalena and some of the other rivers ; deer are common at various elevations ; the sloth, the armadillo, the guagua (Caelogenus subniger), the opossum, and the cavy prevail in the forests ; and the tapir or danta wanders in the higher regions. Among the birds may be -mentioned the condor and ten other birds of prey, several species of swallows, numerous varieties of parrots, paroquets, lories, and cockatoos, cranes and storks, the pleasant-singing tropial, and the strangely-coloured sol-y-lune, which takes its name from the figure of the sun and moon on its wings. The boa constrictor, the yaruma, the cascabel, and various other serpents are frequent enough in the warmer regions, but are not met with at a greater height than 5-400 feet above the sea. Insects are abundantly represented, the most important practically being the ants, which in some districts, as for instance the isthmus, are almost a plague. Turtle abounds on the coasts ; and pearl-oysters are the object of a very considerable fishery. Agriculture holds the first place among the industries of Colombia ; but the methods employed are still of a very rude description. Maize, ivheat, and other cereals are cultivated on the elevated plains ; rioo, cotton, tobacco, sugar, coffee, cocoa, yams, arracacha, and bananas in the coast region. Tobacco is especially successful in Ambalema, Carmen, Palmira, Jiron, and Morales, and it forms an important export. In the plains of the Orinoco and the undulating savannahs of Panama the breeding of cattle and horses is largely carried on by the Creole inhabitants, and several of the Indian tribes are also in possession of valuable herds. Beyond such common (almost domestic) trades as hand-weaving, dyeing, tanning, and basket-making, there is almost no manufacturing industry in the country, though the basis for future development has been laid by the establishment in Bogotd of glass-works, distilleries, a cigar-factory, and a sulphuric acid factory. One product of the domestic industry alone finds its place in the list of exports namely, straw hats, usually known as jipijapa or PanamA hats. The raw produce, however, is largely exported ; the principal articles being cinchona bark, indigo, coffee, cotton, tobacco, silver ore, hides, and the minor items ivory-nuts, ipecacuanha, and balsam of Tolu. The relation between the exports and imports and the variations of amount from year to year will be seen by the following table : Imports. Exports. 1869 7,255,092 dollars. 8, 137, 000 dollars. 1870 5,843,451 8,077,153 1871 5,862,711 8,247,817 1872 8,427,175 8,253,806 1873 12,500,000 10,500,000 The national government of Colombia is republican, the main basis of the const! tution being a scheme drawn up in 1863 after the model of the United States of North America. The executive power is exercised by the president and four ministers or secretaries. The presidential elections recur every two years ; the choice is determined by a majority of the states ; and the new president t-nters on office on the 1st of April. The secretaries have charge respectively of the four departments of Home and Foreign Affairs, Finance and Public Works, Treasury and Credit, and War and Marine. The legislative power of the federation is divided between a house of representatives elected by universal suffrage, and a senate of 27 members, or three from each state. The number of the representatives depends on the size of the state-population, one being allowed for every 50,000 inhabitants, and one for the remainder if it reaches 20,000. In 1875 there were in all 61 repre sentatives. There is a supreme court at Bogota, conducted by a president, four judges, and a procurator-general ; the judges are elected by the legislative houses of the nine states. There is no state church, and full religious liberty prevails. The predominant profession, however, is the Roman Catholic, and an archbishop is established at Bogota. The national income is very small ; but it has been steadily increasing for a number of years. In ] 869-70 it was 2,883,758 pesos (about 4s. value); in 1870-71, 3,573,570; in 1871-72, 3,178,446; in 1872-73, 4,000,000. The taxes are very light, by far the greater part of the revenue accruing from the custom-houses established at Buenaventura, Carlosama, Cartagena, Cucuta, Rio Hacha, Sabanilla, Santa Marta, Jumaco, and Turbo. In 1872-73 the various receipts were customs, 2,775,450 pesos; salt monopoly, 799,213 ; Panama railway, 250,000 ; postal service, 67,609; telegraphs, 10,627; mint, 18,000; national property, 72,595 ; ecclesiastical property, 6506. The customs would yield a still greater return were it not for smuggling, which prevails largely, especially at Cartagena. The tariff hitherto in use divides articles into classes, which pay so much per kilogramme; and thus the burden of the duty falls most on inferior goods. The salt works yielded, in 1869-70, 136,568 cwts., of which 81 per cent, was obtained from Cundinamarca, 18 per cent, from Boyaca, and 1 per cent, from the territory of San Martin. The postal service is Commun i- still in a very backward state, and the charges are very high ; but cation. this cannot be otherwise till the road system of the country has been developed. Rapid progress, however, is being made by several of the states in this preliminary undertaking. In April 1875 there were upwards of 1000 miles of telegraph, the principal lines stretch ing from Honda to Bogota, and from Ambalema to Manizales. In 1873 the total number of telegraphic messages amounted to 500,000. In the less populous districts the maintenance of the lines is very costly, as not only are the wires stolen by thieves, but they are frequently damaged by the monkeys, who use -them for gymnastic purposes. The only two railways actually in operation are the Panama line (46 miles), and the line between Sabanilla and Barranquilla (17 miles); but great efforts are being made, both by the central Gvernment and by the separate states, to construct lines throughout the country, and contracts have already been made for some of the most important. The national property consists mainly of waste lands, which are allotted to applicants on very liberal terms. A great deal of the church property confiscated by the republic has been sold ; some of it is rented out ; and many of the convents are used for public offices. The public debt amounted, in 1875, to 10,105.500 dollars, of which 10,000,000 are the old debtsi of the war of independence, which pay an interest of 4 per cent. The English debt of 1863 has been cleared off. There is no national navy, and the armed force in time of peace only amounts to 1 420 men ; in time of war the states have to furnish 1 per cent, of their population. The separate states have their own constitutions and governors, and they differ considerably in their political ten dencies. The educational condition of Colombia has hitherto been very Education, low ; but, by a law published in 1870, the management of public instruction was taken from the hands of the clergy and intrusted to the state, a complete reform of the school system was effected, teachers were introduced from Europe, and compulsory education was adopted. In this last point Colombia has taken the lead in the New World. In Antioquia 486 schools were in operation in 1873, with an attendance of about 21,500 ; in Bolivar, 44 ; in Boyaca, 208 (public schools), with 9000 pupils ; in Cauca, 229, with 9925; in Cundinamarca, 338, with 16,489; in Magdalena, 100, with 2968 ; in Santander, 300, with 11,974 ; in Tolima, 100 schools and 3640 scholars. In Panama the state of education is not so good, but public schools are being established there also. The expense is borne partly by the special states and partly by the national treasury, which devotes 317,120 dollars annually to this purpose, assigning 200,000 to subsidize the states, and 117,120 to the institutions for the higher education. These include the national university, the Vasquez academy, and schools of engineer ing, natural science, &c., established in the federal capital, state colleges, and normal schools. It can hardly be said that Colombia possesses a national litera- Literature, ture, the writing and printing hitherto effected serving mainly the immediate purpose of the day. Its inheritance of the Spanish language, however, leaves it in vital contact with one of the older literatures of Europe, and frees it from the painful, though, it might be, fruitful necessity of working its way through con fusion of dialects to a recognized national speech. Such intellect as the country has spared from war and political activity has mainly been directed to the natural sciences, which found their iirst footing on Colombian soil through the labours of the celebrated Don Joso Celestino Mutis. Of those who have attained a greater or less degree of fame in this department, it is sufficient to mention Zea, Cabal, Caldas, Pombo, Cespedes, Camacho, Lozano, and Codazzi ; Restrepo and Mosquera have contributed to the history of their country. In several of the more important cities journalism is pretty well represented, and the Government is about to establish a magazine for the purpose of diffusing a knowlege of Colombian affairs. The population of the territory of the present republic at the Native time of the Spanish Conquest consisted of a large number of inde- tribes, pendent tribes of very various degrees of civilization. Of these several have totally disappeared as separate unities ; others have been in large measure Hispanicized both in language and in habits; many still retain their separate dialects, organization, and customs, and some are even now as opposed to the European movement as they were