Page:Statesman's Year-Book 1913.djvu/863

 FINANCE — DEFENCE — PRODUCTION 741

Finance.

Reveuue and expenditure for 4 years in gold pesos : —

Year. Revenue. ! Expenditure.

1910 j 10,831,500 ( 10,831,500

1911 12,6s5,119 I 12,685.119

1012 ' 12,043,145, 12,500,'000

1013 14,070,652 14,060,294

The internal debt consists of the consolidated internal, amounting on July 1st, 1912, to 5,476,888 silver pesos, and the floating, amounting to 2,756,545 pesos gold. This is exclusive of the paper money in circulation, amounting in 1912 to more or less the value of 10,000,000 pesos gold.

The external debt, mostly clue to British creditors, in 1896 amounted, with arrears, to 3,514,442^., the nominal value of the debt being 2,700, OOOZ. A settlement was arrived at in tliatyear whereby new bonds were issued for 2,687,800Z, Under arrangement of 1905 unpaid coupons were exchanged for non-interest-bearing certificates. Of 351,000/., the amount of these, 70 per cent, has been paid off, and payment of the remaining 30 per cent, is con- tingent on Colombia receiving compensation from the United States in respect of the secession of Panama. 'On March 30th, 1910, the total out- standing was 2,660,400Z., and front April, 1911, to January, 1912 it was reduced to 2,486,6007. In addition to the external debt of 1906, there are guarantee railway debts amounting to 1,469,400/.

Defence.

The strength of the national army is determined by Act of Congress. The peace footing was fixed at 7,000 in 1910. After the war the actual strength was reduced to 10,000 men, and in 1905 to 5,000, many of these being engaged in making or repairing highways. There are now 6,000 men. Every able-bodied Colombian is liable to military service.

The Colombian navy consists of the following vessels : — On the Atlantic, 3 cruisers ; on the Pacific, 2 cruisers, 2 gunboats, 1 troopship, 2 tugs ; on the river Magdalena, 1 gunboat. The ships are all old, and of little or no fighting value. It is very doubtful if they could ever get to sea.

Production.

Colombia is rich in minerals, and gold is found in all the departments. Gold was produced in 1907 to the vahie of 668,501/., and silver to the value of 142,136/. In 1911, gold was exported to the value of 3,751,833 gold peso.s (bullion, 2,454,834, and gold-dust, 1,296,999). In 1911 the total value of export of mineral products amounted to 4,507,762 dollars gold. The mines are in Antioquia, Oauca, Bolivar, Tolima, and Magdalena. Other minerals, more or less worked, are copper, platinum, lead, mercury, cinnabar (14 mines), manganese (7 mines), emeralds (32 mines). The emerald mines of Muzo and Ooscuez belong to the Government. No statistics of their output are published, but they are said to yield 1,000,000 pesos worth of stones per annum. Nearly all the emeralds mined to-day come from Colombia. The Pradera iron works north-east of Bogota have a capacity of 30 tons of pig iron daily, and manufacture wrought iron, rails, sugar mills, castings, &c. In the immediate neighbourhood of the works are coal, iron, limestone, sand, manganese, and fireclay deposits, which