Gerard (F.), Tibet: The Country and its inhabitants. [Trans. from the French.] London, 1904. Graham (J. A.), On the Threshold of Three Cloud Lands. London, 1897. Hedin (Sven), Through Asia. 2 vols. London, 1898.-Central Asia and Tibet. 2 vols. London, 1903.-Adventures in Tibet. London, 1904. Huc (L'Abbé E. R.), Travels in Tartary, Thibet, and China, 1884-86. Translated from the French. 2 vols. London, 1898. Landon (P.), Lhasa: The Tibet Expedition, 1903-04. London, 1905. Landor (A. H. S.), In the Forbidden Land. [Tibet.] London, 1899.-China and the Allies. 2 vols. London, 1901. Lansdell (H.), Chinese Central Asia: a Ride to Little Tibet. 2 vols. London, 1893. Launay (A.), Histoire de la Mission du Thibet. 2 vols. Paris. Marston (Annie W.), The Great Closed Land (Tibet). 8. London, 1894. Millington (P.), To Lhasa at Last. London, 1905. Pyevtsoff (M. V.), Results of the Tibet Expedition of 1889-90. [In Russian.] St. Petersburg, 1896. London, 1901. Pratt (A. E.), To the Snows of Tibet through China. 8. London, 1892. Waddell (L. A.), The Buddism of Tibet. 8. London, 1895.-Llassa and its Grand Lama Unveiled. London, 1904, Wegener (Gg.), Tibet und die englishche Expedition. Berlin, 1904. Wellby (M. S.), Through Unknown Tibet. London, 1898. Chinese Turkestan. Church (P. W.), Chinese Turkestan with Caravan and Rifle. London, 1901. Stein (M. A.), The Sand-Buried Ruins of Khotan. London, 1903. Taylor (Miss A.), Travel and Adventure in Tibet. London, 1902. Mongolia. Campbell (C. W.), Journeys in Mongolia. In Geogr. Journal for November, 1903.Report on a Journey in Mongolia. China. No. 1. 1904. See also China. No. 3. 1904. Gilmour (J.), Among the Mongols. London, 1888.-More about the Mongols. London, 1893. Obruischew (V. A.), Report of Journeys, 1892-94, in Central Mongolia, &c. (in Russian). St. Petersburg, 1901. Podznéeff (A.), Mongolia and the Mongols; Results of a Journey in 1892-93. 7 vols. St. Petersburg, 1896. COLOMBIA. (LA REPÚBLICA DE COLOMBIA.) Constitution and Government. THE Republic of Colombia gained its independence of Spain in 1819, and was officially constituted December 27, 1819. This vast Republic split up into Venezuela, Ecuador, and the Republic of New Granada, February 29, 1832. The Constitution of April 1, 1858, changed the Republic into a confederation of eight States, under the name of Confederation Granadina. On September 20, 1861, the convention of Bogotá brought out the confederation under the new name of United States of New Granada, with nine States. On May 8, 1863, an improved Constitution was formed, and the States reverted to the old name Colombia-United States of Colombia. The revolution of 1885 brought about another change, and the National Council of Bogotá, composed of three delegates from each State, promulgated the Constitution of August 4, 1886. The sovereignty of the States was abolished, and they became simple departments, with governors appointed by the President of the Republic, though they have retained some of their old rights, such as the management of their own finances. The legislative power rests with a Congress of two Houses, called the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Senate, numbering 27 members, is composed of representatives of the nine departments, each deputing three senators; the House of Representatives, numbering 66 (subject to change) members, is elected for four years by universal suffrage, each department forming a constituency and returning one member for 50,000 inhabitants. The President is chosen by electoral colleges, holds office for six years, and exercises his executive functions through six ministers, or secretaries,' responsible to Congress. Congress elects, for a term of two years, a substitute, who, failing the president and vice-president during a presidential term, fills the vacancy. President of the Republic.-General Reyes, 1904-1910. The ministries are those of the Interior, Foreign Affairs, Finance, War, Public Instruction, and the Treasury. The insurrection which began in October, 1899, was ended on November 22, 1902, the fleet and war stores of the insurgents being restored to the Government. Area and Population. The area of the Republic is variously estimated at from 455,000 to 505,000 square miles. According to a census taken in 1870, the population, including that of Panama, at that date was 2,951,323. A recent estimate puts the population, exclusive of that of Panama, at 3,917,000, the area and population of the 8 departments being given as follows :— This includes about 150,000 uncivilised Indians, and the population of the extensive territories attached to each Department. On December 4, 1903, the Department of Panama asserted its independence and was formed into a separate Republic. The capital, Bogotá, lies 9,000 feet above the sea. The chief commercial towns are Barranquilla (population 40,000) on a caño of the Magdalena and connected with the coast by 20 miles of railway; Cartagena (20,000); Medellin (40,000), the capital and mining centre of the Department of Antioquia; Bucaramanga (20,000); Cúcuta (10,000), the last two being large coffee centres in Santander. The frontier line with Venezuela was settled by the award given by the Queen Regent of Spain, March 16, 1891. The boundary line with Brazil is still undefined. That with Peru and Ecuador is to be submitted to the decision of the King of Spain according to the convention of December 15, 1894. Religion and Instruction. The religion of the nation is Roman Catholicism, other forms of religion being permitted, so long as their exercise is 'not contrary to Christian morals nor to the law.' There is a Ministry of Public Instruction which has the supreme direction of education throughout the Republic. Nearly all the schools for secondary education, maintained or assisted by the nation, are entrusted to religious corporations of the Catholic Church. There used to be in the capital Faculties of letters and philosophy; of jurisprudence and political sciences; of medicine and natural sciences; and of mathematics and engineering. Of these only the Faculty of Medicine and natural sciences is now open. For the working class there is a school of arts and trades directed by the Salesian Fathers. There are three schools or colleges open, under religious orders, and the school of fine arts has just been reopened. The whole educational system, interrupted during the war, is being reorgadised. 1897 there were in the 9 departments of the Republic 2,026 colleges and primary schools with 143,076 pupils; their cost for the year was 2,400, 2474 There Chinese Dependencies. Manchuria, lying between the province of Chihli and the Amur river, and extending from the Kinghan mountains eastwards to Korea and the Ussuri river, has an area of about 364,000 square miles and a population probably of about 13,000,000, but variously estimated at from 5,750,000 to 22,000,000. It consists of 3 provinces, Shen-King (area, 56,000 sq. miles; pop. 5,500,000), Kirin (105,000 sq. miles; pop. 6,000,000), and Helungkiang (203,000 sq. miles: pop. 1,500,000). The chief towns are Mukden, the capital, with about 150,000 inhabitants; Niuchuang (50,000) standing about 30 miles up the Liao river, at the mouth of which is the port of Ying-tse (60,000) often called Niuchuang, In Kirin province are the towns of Kirin and Chang-chun, the latter with 80,000 inhabitants. The chief town in the He-lung province is Zitzikar (30,000) near the railway, about 180 miles northeast from the railway junction at Kharbin. In Manchuria, however, there are many other populous towns situated on the old trade routes. The Manchu population, especially in the south, has been largely absorbed by Chinese immigrants, so that the southern province, being now connected with China by railway as well as by maritime trade, has become closely identified with distinctively Chinese interests. The possession of the southern extremity of the Liao-tung peninsula, containing Port Arthur, Talien-wan and other ports with the adjacent waters and islands, leased to Russia in 1898, is now being contested by the Japanese, while Japanese armies are engaged in repelling the Russian forces which entered on the occupation of a large part of Manchuria in 1900. The Manchurian railways extend from Shan-hai-kwan on the frontier of Chihli northwards to Sin-min-tun, about 10 miles from Mukden, and round the Liao-tung gulf to Port Arthur which is directly connected with Mukden by the Russian line running northwards to Kharbin, 615 miles from Port Arthur. There is a branch line of 70 miles from Chang-chun to Kirin. At Kharbin the railway joins the line which runs for a length of 960 miles over Manchurian soil and connects the Siberian frontier with Vladivostock. Kharbin, on the Sungari river, is a new town which, under Russian influence and owing to its position on the railway system, is rapidly extending. Tibet, extending from the Pamir region eastwards between the Himalayan and Kwen-lun mountains to the frontiers of China has (including the Ku-kuNor) an area of 700,000 square miles with a population variously estimated at from 2,000,000 to 6,000,000. Lhasa, the capital, has from 15,000 to 20,000 inhabitants. The country being bleak and mountainous and strangers having been jealously excluded, wide regions are still unexplored. Chinese authority is represented by two Ambans who have charge, respectively, of foreign and military affairs. There are three Chinese commandants of troops at Lhasa, Shigatse, and Dingri where the permanent military force of about 4,600, provided by China, are mostly quartered. There are a few other Chinese officials, but the civil and religious administration of the country is almost entirely left to Tibetans. The head of the government is the Dalai Lama who resides at the Po-ta-la (or palace) near Lhasa. He acts through a minister or regent (nomo-khan), appointed for life by the Chinese Government from among the chief Tibetan Lamas, and he is assisted by five ministers. The Government revenues, often paid in kind, are from taxes, fines, and other sources, and they are mostly expended on the lamas in and about Lhasa. The prevailing religion is Lamaism, a corrupt form of Buddhism, but along with it there exists the Bon, or Shamanistic, faith. The Buddhist lamas have superbly decorated temples and their monastries, containing thousands of lamas, are like populous villages or towns. Among the people polyandry is common. There are courts of justice, but doubtful cases are often decided by lot or by ordeal, and in criminal cases evidence is extracted by torture. The occupations of the people are necessarily determined by local conditions. In some places agriculture is carried on, barley and other cereals as well as pulse and vegetables being grown. In some favoured regions fruits, including peaches and even grapes, are produced. In other places the pursuits are pastoral, the domestic animals being sheep and yak (often crossed with Indian cattle), while in some regions there are buffaloes, pigs, and camels. Wool-spinning, weaving, and knitting are common, and there are many hands skilful in making images and other decorations for religious edifices. The chief minerals worked are gold, borax, and salt. There is a large trade with China and considerable traffic across the Indian frontier. For the removal of hindrances to the Indian trade a treaty was made with China (as suzerain of Tibet) in 1890, supplemented by a second treaty in 1893, but the hindrances still remained. Consequently, in 1904, the Indian Government sent a mission with an escort to arrange matters directly with the Tibetan Government. The mission met with a good deal of armed opposition, but at length, on September 7, a convention, the terms of which appear not to have been finally settled, was executed at Lhasa. The Dalai Lama had fled northwards, but his seal was affixed by the regent, and the other Tibetan formalities were duly observed, though the convention still awaits the sanction of the Chinese Government. The draft of the convention provides for the re-erection of boundary stones (alluding to former pastoral disputes) on the Sikkim frontier; for marts at Yatung, Gyangtze, and Gartok for Tibetan and British merchants; for the demolition of forts on the trade routes; for a Tibetan commissioner to confer with British officials for the alteration of the objectionable features of the treaty of 1893; for the settlement of an equitable customs tariff; for the repair of the passes and the appointment of Tibetan and British officials at the trade marts. The Tibetans had, moreover, to agree to the payment of an indemnity of 7,500,000 rupees (500,0007.) in 75 instalments, the first on January 1, 1906; and to the occupation of the Chumbi valley by the British till the treaty obligations are complied with. Further, no Tibetan territory may be sold, leased or mortgaged to any foreign Power, nor may Tibetan affairs, or Tibetan public works, be subject to foreign management or interference without the consent of the British. With respect to the ratification of the convention by China, it is understood that a Chinese commissioner has been appointed to negotiate in Tibet. The province of Sin-Kiang, consisting of Chinese Turkestan, Kulja, Zungaria, and outer Kan-su, comprehends all the Chinese dependencies lying between Mongolia on the north and Tibet on the south. Its area is estimated at about 580,000 square miles and population at about 2,000,000. The inhabitants are of various races, mostly mixed Kirghiz, Persian, Kalmuck and Chinese. The chief towns are Kashgar, Yarkand, Khotan, Kiriya and (towards the north) Aksu. The country is administered under Chinese officials, the subordinates being usually natives of the country. In some regions about the Kashgar and Yarkand rivers the soil is fertile, irrigation is practised, and cereals, fruits and vegetables are grown. Other productions of the country are wool, cotton, and silk. Jade is worked, and in some districts gold is found. The vast and indefinite tract of country called Mongolia, stretches from the Kinghan mountains on the east to the Tarbagatai mountains on |