Panama is of the estimated value of 17,000,000l. per annum, about two-thirds representing the trade from the Pacific to the Atlantic, and one-third that in the opposite direction.

The following table gives the total value of the exports sent from Colombia to Great Britain, and of the imports of British home produce entered into Colombia, in each of the five years from 1879 to 1883:

Of the exports from Colombia to Great Britain the most important articles in 1883 were cinchona, of the value of 391,8577. ; raw cotton, of the value of 39,7661.; and coffee, of the value of 86,6547. At the head of the articles of British home produce imported into Colombia in 1883 were manufactured cotton goods, of the value of 704,1377. The other principal articles imported from Great Britain in 1883 were linen manufactures, of the value of 80,8977.; woollens, of the value of 81,1547.; and iron, wrought and unwrought, of the value of 59,3521.

In 1883, 1,513 vessels, of 709,175 tons, entered the ports of Colombia.

The republic has railways of a total length of 140 English miles, the principal line, 47 miles in length, traversing the Isthmus of Panama, from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean.

The post office of Colombia carried 650,000 letters in the year 1882-3.

There were 2,357 miles of telegraph in 1883. The number of despatches was 288,876.

Under the superintendence of M. de Lesseps, a company has been formed for the construction of a ship canal across the Isthmus of Panama, mainly following the line of the railway. The capital subscribed is 25,000,000l. The work is being actively carried out. The total length will be 48 miles, and the canal is expected to be open in 1888.

Diplomatic and Commercial Representatives.

1. OF COLOMBIA IN GREAT BRITAIN.

Envoy and Minister.-Don Carlos Holguin.
Secretary. Dr. A. V. Gutierrez.

2. OF GREAT BRITAIN IN COLOMBIA.

Minister and Consul-General.—

Money, Weights, and Measures.

The money, weights, and measures of Colombia, and the British equivalents, are

MONEY.

The Peso, or dollar, of 10 reals = 5 francs value, 48.

=

3s. 4d. actual price; nominal

Along with home-struck gold and silver coins, a considerable quantity of foreign coins is in circulation, especially French 10 and 20-franc gold pieces, and 5, 2, and 1-franc silver pieces; also Belgian, American, and Mexican pieces of 5 francs or 1 dollar, with a few British sovereigns.

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES.

The metric system of France was introduced into the republic in 1857, and the only weights and measures recognised by the Government are the French. In custom-house business the kilogramme, equal to 2,205 pounds avoirdupois, is the standard. In ordinary commerce, the arroba, of 25 pounds, the quintal, of 100 pounds, and the carga, of 250 pounds, are generally used. The Colombian libra is equal to 1.102 pounds avoirdupois. regards measures of length, the English yard is mostly employed, but in liquid measure the French litre is the legal standard.

As

Statistical and other Books of Reference concerning Colombia.

1. OFFICIAL PUBLICATIONS.

Report by Mr. Robert Bunch, British Minister Resident, on the trade, population, and general condition of the United States of Colombia, dated Bogota, April 8, 1875; in 'Reports of H.M.'s Secretaries of Embassy and Legation.' Part IV. 1875. London, 1875.

Report by Mr. O'Leary, Secretary of Legation, on the finances, trade, and navigation of the United States of Colombia, dated Bogotá, September 1877; in Reports from H.M.'s Secretaries of Embassy and Legation.' Part I. 1878. 8. London, 1878.

Report from Mr. Chamberlaine on the progress of the Panama Canal and the climate and population of the Isthmus, in 'Reports from H.M.'s Diplomatic and Consular Agents Abroad.' Part III.; and On the Panama Railway and the Finances of the Municipality, in Part IV. London, 1884.

Reports by Mr. Vice-Consul Treffry, on mining industry in the State of Tolima; and by Mr. Vice-Consul White on the gold mines of the State of Antioquia, dated March 10-30, 1876; in Reports from H.M.'s Consuls.' Part V. 1876. 8. London, 1876.

Report by Acting-Consul Bennett on the trade, commerce, and navigation of the State of Panama, in 'Reports from H.M.'s Consuls,' 1882.

Report by Vice-Consul Stevenson on the trade of Carthagena for 1882, by Vice-Consul White on Medellin for 1881, and by Acting-Consul G. Chamberlain on Panama in 1882, in 'Reports of H.M.'s Consuls,' Part VIII. 1883. London, 1883.

Report on the trade and commerce of Medellin, in Part II. of Reports of H.M.'s Consuls.' 1884.

Report by Mr. Scruggs, U.S. Minister at Bogota, on Colombia and its people, in Reports of the United States Consuls,' Nos. 30, 31, and 32, 1883. Washington, 1883.

Trade of Colombia with Great Britain; in 'Annual Statement of the Trade of the United Kingdom with Foreign Countries and British Possessions in the year 1883.' Imp. 4. London, 1884.

2. NON-OFFICIAL PUBLICATIONS.

André (Ed.), L'Amérique équinoctiale, in 'Tour du Monde.' Paris, 1877. Bates (H. W.), Central and South America, New edition. London, 1882. Cadena (P. J.), Anales diplomáticos de Colombia. Bogotá, 1878.

Hail (Col. F.), Columbia; its Present State in respect of Climate, Soil, &c. 8. Philadelphia, 1871.

Hassaurek (F.), Four Years among Spanish Americans, 12. New York, 1867.

Marr (N.), Reise nach Centralamerika. 2 vols. 8. Hamburg, 1863. Mosquera (General), Compendio de geografia general, politica, fisica y special dos Statos Unidos de Colombia. 8. London, 1866.

Pereira (R. S.), Les États-Unis de Colombie. Paris, 1883.

Powles (J.), New Granada: its internal resources.

Reclus (Armand), Panama et Darien. Paris, 1881.

8. London, 1863.

Samper (M.), Ensayo sobre las revoluciones politicas y la condicion de las repúblicas Colombianas. 8. Paris, 1861.

White (R. B.), Notes on the Central Provinces of Colombia. Proceedings Royal Geographical Society for 1883. London, 1883.

COSTA RICA.

(REPÚBLICA DE COSTA RICA.)

Constitution and Government.

THE republic of Costa Rica, an independent state since the year 1821, and forming part from 1824 to 1839 of the Confederation of Central America, is governed under a constitution first promulgated in 1859, but modified very frequently since that date. Practically there was no constitution between 1870 and 1882. By its terms the legislative power is vested in a Congress consisting of a Senate and Chamber of Representatives-two senators to each province, and one representative to every 10,000 inhabitantschosen in electoral assemblies, the members of which are returned by the suffrage of all who are able to live 'respectably.' The members of the Congreso Constitucional are elected for the term of four years, one-half retiring every two years. The executive authority is in the hands of a President, elected in the same manner as the Congress for the term of four years.

President of the Republic.-General P. Fernandez, elected August 10, 1882.

The administration is carried on, under the President, by five ministers-viz., of the Interior and Justice; of Foreign Affairs; of Education and Worship; of Finance and Commerce; and of War and Marine.

Revenue, Population, and Trade.

In 1880 the revenue was estimated at 560,455l., and expenditure at 602,1197.; in 1881, revenue at 632,8107., and expenditure the same. According to the report of the British Consul the estimate of expenditure for nine months ending April 30, 1883, was 654,3027. In the budget estimates for the year ending April 1884, the revenue was, according to official communication, estimated at 321,485.; and the expenditure at about 500,8267., and for 1885 revenue at 573,4341. and expenditure 592,2221. The revenue is drawn mainly from two sources, namely, customs and the spirit monopoly; the first estimated to produce 574,000 dollars, or 114,8007., and the second 640,000 dollars, or 128,000l., in the financial year ending April 30, 1884.

The chief items of expenditure were-war, 252,488 dollars, and public works, 341,440 dollars.

Costa Rica has an internal debt officially stated at 233,5641. (1883), and which is also, according to official statement, being repaid, and will be extinguished in five years; 43,2201. is

PP

stated to have been paid during 1883. The foreign debt of the republic consists of a six per cent. loan, of the nominal amount of 1,000,000l., contracted in England in 1871 (amount outstanding 1884, 941,2007.), and a seven per cent. loan, of the nominal amount of 2,400,000l.-issued at 82-contracted in 1872 (amount outstanding 1884, 1,460,1007.). The Government of the republic ceased payment, both of interest and sinking fund, upon the first loan in 1872; and as regards the second loan, the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Loans reported in 1875 that 'except the sums retained in England out of the proceeds, the bondholders never received anything whatever in respect of the principal or interest of the debt.' The total foreign debt amounted to 2,401,300l. in 1883, with the addition of 1,479,2157. unpaid interest. An offer on the part of the Government to resume payment and raise a further railway loan was being considered at the end of 1884.

The area of the republic is calculated to embrace 26,040 English square miles, including some disputed territories on the northern frontier. A census was taken in November 1883, and it is expected that the results will show the population to number about 180,000. In 1883 there were 1,303 marriages, 8,778 births, and 3,647 deaths, giving a surplus of 5,131. Nearly one-third of the inhabitants are aborigines, or 'Indians.' The population of European descent, many of them pure Spanish blood, dwell mostly in a small district on the Rio Grande, around the capital, the city of San José. A report for 1883 states that there are 341 national schools and 584 private schools, with a total of 13.924 pupils.

The value of the exports in 1883 was 486,3271. The most important export is coffee, the quantity exported in the year 1883 amounting to 20,005,927 lbs., valued at 400,118. More than twothirds of the coffee and about one-half of the total exports went to England. The total imports for 1883 were valued at 416,3617. Coffee has been unremunerative in recent years, and efforts are being made to develop other cultures, as bananas, tobacco, sugarcane, &c.

In 1883 there entered the ports of Costa Rica 174 vessels, of 256,911 tons, and cleared 175, of 259,113 tons. The vessels mostly belonged to the United States. Of the vessels which entered, 92, of 146,549 tons, belonged to the United States, and 62, of 99,841 tons, to Great Britain.

The commercial intercourse of Costa Rica is chiefly with the United Kingdom, but it is not reported on in the Annual Statement' published by the Board of Trade, which throws the statistics of the republic, together with other states, under the general heading of Central America.' For the value of the imports and exports thus given see Guatemala, page 585.