Page:Statesman's Year-Book 1913.djvu/865

 SHIPPING AND' COMMUNICATIONS — MONEY, ETC. 743

Shipping and Communications.

In 1911 the merchant shipping of Colombia consisted of 1 steamer of 457 tons and 4 sailing vessels of 1,121 tons. At Cartagena in 1910 there entered 257 vessels of 585,706 tons, and at Puerto Colombia 327 vessels of 737,639 tons. The ports of Colombia are in regular communica- tion with those of European and American countries by means of 7 lines of mail steamers, 3 of which are British and the others German, French, Spanish, and Italian.

The total length of railways open in Colombia in 1911 was 621 miles belonging to 9 companies and 2 States. Of the total, 466 miles have a gauge of 3 ft. ; the rest a metre gauge. Number of passengers carried (1911), 1,350,548 ; tons of freight, 383,930, The roads of Colombia are simple mule tracks, but the Government is employing soldiers to improve the main roads. Much of the inland traffic is by river, and the Avork of clearing and canalising the lower and upper Magdalena is being carried on. That river is navigable for 900 miles ; steamers ascend to La Dorada, 592 miles from Barranquilla. Tributaries supply 215 miles more of navigable water, and on these rivers 42 steamers, with a total tonnage of 7,331, regularly ply.

Postal facilities between Barranquilla and foreign countries are stated to be excellent, but as to internal services there are no recent statistics. In 1911, in the internal service there were 3,200,000 letters and post-cards transmitted, and 2,436,190 packets of printed matter, saraplts, and business papers. Number of offices, 608. A British river-transport company has contracted with the Government to convey mails and passengers to and from the interior every three days. Other companies, British, German, and native ply on the rivers.

There were 11,248 miles of Government telegraph lines in 1912 ; 1,462,323 telegrams were despatched in 1911, and 11,294 cablegrams were sent.

Money, Weights, and Measures.

By decree of March 6, 1905, the Central Bank was constituted with a capital of 1,600,000?., and to it was entrusted the redemption of the paper currency and the restoration of metallic money, but this is now taken in hand by the Government. The sovereign is received by the Government and the Commerce in all transactions as the equivalent of 5 gold pesos. By a special law the exchange between the paper currency and the gold currency has been fixed at 10,000 per cent., so that the value of the paper peso is 1 cent gold.

Under the Law of June 12, 1907, the monetary unit is a gold dollar equal to one-fifth of a pound sterling and of proportionate weight, the fine- ness being the same. Gold coins are 1, 2^, and 5 dollars. Silver coins are (900 fine) the dollar, the half-dollar, the peseta, and the real, the silver coinage being legal tender for amounts not exceeding 10 dollars gold. Nickel coins for 1, 2, and 5 dollars paper are legal tender up to 2 dollars gold, each paper dollar being reckoned as worth 1 centavo gold (as stated above). Colombia has no gold coinage beyond the British £1 and 10.9. pieces.

The metric system was introduced into the Republic in 1857. In custom- house business the kilogramme, equal to 2,204 avoirdupois pounds, is the standard. In ordinary commerce the arroba, of 25 Colombian pounds, or 124 kilos ; the quintal, of 100 Colombian pounds, or 50 kilos ; and the carga, of 250 Colombian pounds, or 125 kilos, are generally used. The Colombian libra is equal to 1*102 pound avoirdupois. The Colombian vara, or 80 cm,, is still in some cases the measure of length used for retailing purposes, but in liquid measure the French litre is the legal standard.