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* COLOMBIA. 158 COLOMBIA. duties. Chief exports are coffee, gold bars and dust, cattle, hides, tobacco, silver ore and bars, food articles, etc. Chief imports are salt, pe- troleum, dour, cottons, ^^■ine, iron and steel wares, drugs and chemicals. From 1894 to 1898 the value of the imports fluctuated from 10,711,- 207 to 19,722,098 gold pesos; the exports, from 15,088,406 to 19,157.788— the largest total vol- ume of trade being in 1897. Owing to the civil war, the only trade statistics accessible for 1899 and 1900 are those for the port of Barranquilla. Of the exports, it is estimated that about 27 per cent, in value goes to the United States; 25 per cent, to Great Britain; 17 per cent, to France; 16 per cent, to Germany. The trade of the United States with Colombia since 1860 has been as follows: the average for the decade of 1860- 70, $836,000: 1870-80.' $6,110,800: 1880-90, $4,- 036,000; and 1890-1900, $.3,684,000. The com- merce between Colombia and the other South American countries, excepting Venezuela, is in- significant. The inland trade, owing to the great variety in the products of the different portions of the" Republic, is active, and carried on chiefly by means of weekly markets. The transit trade tiirougli the ports" of Panama and Colon, east and west, is considerable, the largest item repre- senting goods bound for Xew York. GovEEKMEXT. Colombia has practically had a republican form of government since 1819. The i>resent Colombian "Constitution (the sev- enth since 1821) dates from 1886, and. in con- trast with the preceding instruments, which rec- ognized the sovereignty of the constituent States, it provides for a very strong centralization of power. Actmiinstraiion. — The President, according to the Constitution, is elected indirectly _ for_ a period of six years, and is assisted by six min- isters, who are theoretically responsible to the Senate. There is a State Council of six mem- bers. The legislative power is vested in Con- gress, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. In the former each of the nine departments is represented by three Sen- ators, elected for a period of six years; while in the latter (sixty-six members) the depart- ments are represented at the rate of one mem- ber (elected for four years) for every 50,000 inhabitants. Both Senators and members of the House of Repiesentatives are elected indirectly by voters restricted by an educational and prop- erty qualification. The departments, except Panama, which is ruled directly by the National Government, are administered by governors ap- pointed by the President and removable at his pleasure. The departments have councils elected by the people at the rate of one member for every 25,000 inliabitants, and are divided into provinces presided over by prefects ap- pointed by the Governor. For the administra- tion of justice, there are a Supreme Court of seven judges, appointed by the President with the consent of the Senate, district supreme courts, and provincial courts. IMilitary service is obligatory in time of war, while in time of peace the army is recruited by lot, but substi- tutes are admitted. The size of the army in time of peace is regulated by Congress, and w^as fixed at 1000 in 1898. Find nee. — The finances of the Republic have always been in a deplorable condition. The pub- lic debt has eonstantlv increased. The consoli- dated and floating internal obligations amounted in 1899 to 11,359,074 pesos. The external debt, held chiefly in Great Britain, amounted in 1896, with arrears, to £3,514,442 ($17,080,188). By an arrangement with the bondholders in 1897, the Government was able to cut the external debt down to £2,700,000 ($13,122,000), and new bonds were issued to that amount at l'/-. per cent, interest, the rate to be gradually increased to 3 per cent. Tliis programme was satisfactorily carried out until the civil troubles of 1899. By the middle of 1901 the arrears of interest amounted to about $500,000. The revenue is derived chiefly from the import and export duties, and from monopolies (salt, liquors, ci- gars, and meat ). The budget is estimated for two years, and fluctuates as a rule from 30,000,- 000 to 40,000,000 paper pesos. The revenue for 1901-02 was estimated at about 29,000,000 paper pesos, as against expenditures of over 40,000.000. The departments are independent in their internal financial affairs, and derive their revenues chief- ly from monopolies. The currency of the coun- try consists of depreciated paper pesos, of which there are about 40,000,000 in circulation. In 1894 a provision was made for their redemption by the free coinage of gold, but the scheme proved unsuccessful and gold is at a high premium. Population. No census of the population has been taken since 1870, when the inhabitants numbered 2,951,323. According to an ofiicial estimate in 1881, the number was 3,878,600. At the close of the century it was supposed to ex- ceed 4,000,000, or about eight inhabitants per square mile. The language and civilization are Spanish ; the assimilation of the .aborigines, with the exception of those in the more secluded parts of the country, has been complete. Capital, Bogota (q.v. ). The following is a list of the de- partments : 1 Area, English Square miles Population 1881 Antioqiiia 22.316 21,345 33,351 257,462 79,810 24,440 31.671 16.409 18.069 470,000 Bolivar 280 000 702,000 Cauca 621,000 569,000 Magdalena 90,000 285,000 555 600 Tolima ■. 306,000 Total 604,773 3.878,600 Education and Religion. Education is free, but not compulsory, and is to a large extent maintained by the State. Besides the university at Bogota, there are a national institute for working people, a school of arts and trades, and a national school of music. The secondary schools are mostly in the hands of the Roman Catholics, Altogether there were, in 1897, over 2000 public educational institutions, with an attendance of nearly 150,000, or about 4 per cent, of the population. Religious toleration and free speech are guaranteed by the Constitu- tion; but the Roman Catholic Church, to which most of the inhabitants belong, is recognized as the national Church. History. The northern coasts of Colombia were visited by Ojeda and Vespucci in 1499. Three years later Columbus explored a section