(1572), many fine old Spanish mansions. Eclipsed for a
time, it has regained its commercial place in the community.
There are numerous small factories, the Banco Boyaca,
Union Comercial, the Compania de Energia Electrica (which
lights the town), the Compania Nueva del Acueducto (pro-
viding a good water supply), open market, where periodical
fairs are held, hospital, theatre and other establishments. Its
main source of activity is due to agriculture. There are
thermal mineral springs in the neighbourhood, and also coal
mines.
TUQUERRES, capital of prov. of Tuquerres, dep. of Narino ;
1° N lat. ; over 10,000 ft. above sea-level, situated in a plain,
overlooked by the three great volcanoes : Tuquerres, Cumbal,
and Pasto ; pop. 15,650. Industrial and agricultural
centre.
TURBACO, prov. of Cartagena, dep. of Bolivar, 10° 18'
N. lat. ; 711 ft. above sea-level, situated on a hill in close
proximity to Cartagena, of which it is a pleasure and
health resort ; pop. 6,000. Possesses fine mineral water
baths.
U
UBALA, prov. of Guavio, dep. of Cundinamarca, 4° 45'
N. lat. ; 6,253 ft. above sea-level ; pop. 6,400. Copper and
iron mines.
UBAQU£, prov. del Oriente, dep. of Cundinamarca, 4° 30'
N. lat. ; 5,856 ft. above sea-level ; pop. 6,300. Popular
holiday and health resort for Bogatanos. Site of an ancient
Indian town, near a sacred lake.
UBATE, cap. of prov. of Ubate, dep. of Cundinamarca,
5° N. lat. ; 8,469 ft. above sea-level ; pop. 9,600. Built on
the site of an old Indian town, on the Sabana of Bogota.
Centre of a very active cattle-breeding and agricultural
district.
UNE, prov. del Oriente, dep. of Cundinamarca, 4° 24'
N. lat. ; 8,758 ft. above sea-level ; pop. 4,850. An
agricultural centre.
13— (3248)
182 COLOMBIA
UNION. See La Union.
URRAS, dep. of Antioquia, 6° N. lat. ; 6,326 ft. above
sea-level, on the R. Panderisco ; pop. 13,000. Centre of
cattle-raising and agricultural district. Some rich salt mines.
V
VALLEDUPAR, cap. prov. of Valledupar, dep. of Magda-
lena, 10° 21' N. lat. ; 436 ft. above sea-level, on the banks
of the river Guatapuri, in a fertile plain ; pop. 7,300.
Agricultural centre. Silver, copper, and lead mines.
VEGA. See ~La. Vega.
VELEZ, cap. of the prov. of Velez, dep. of Santander ;
5° 54' N. lat. ; 7,190 ft. above sea-level, built on the slopes of
a mountain ; pop. 8,600. Agricultural centre.
VERGERA, prov. of Guaduas, dep. of Cundinamarca ;
5° N. lat. ; 4,268 ft. above sea-level ; pop. 5,800. Agricultural
and mining district.
VILLAVICENCIO, capital of the Intendencia del Meta ;
4° 15 N. lat. ; 1,496 ft. above sea-level ; pop. 4,800. Situated
in a pretty valley, surrounded by forests, in which the wild
cocoa-tree grows. Trade mostly in rubber and forest products.
Coal seams abundant in this district.
VILLETA, prov. of Facatativa, dep. of Cundinamarca ;
4° 56' N. lat. ; 2,753 ft. above sea-level ; pop. 5,600. Situated
in a pleasant, but rather hot valley. Copper and iron mines ;
sugar-cane plantations. There are well-known thermal
baths here.
VIOTA, prov. of Tequendama, dep. of Cundinamarca,
4° 27' N. lat. ; 4,268 ft. above sea-level ; pop. 7,200.
Agricultural district.
Y
YACOPI, prov. Guaduas, dep. of Cundinamarca ; 5° 13'
N. lat. ; 5,022 ft. above sea-level ; pop. 6,400.
YARUMAL, dep. of Antioquia ; 6° 49' N. lat. ; 7,372 ft.
above sea-level ; pop. 21,250. It is in direct communication
LIST OF IMPORTANT TOWNS 183
with the ports of Valdivia and Raudal on the Cauca. A
commercial, agricultural, cattle-raising and mining centre.
YOLOMBO, dep. of Antioquia ; 6° 35' N. lat. ; 4,823 ft.
above sea-level ; pop. 13,550. Agricultural and mining centre.
Z
ZAPATOCA, cap. of prov. of Zapatoca, dep. of Santander ;
6° 35' N. lat. ; 5,652 ft. above sea-level ; pop. 10,600. Situa-
ted on a plateau surrounded by hills. Chief industry, manu-
facture of " Panama " straw hats. Cultivation of tobacco
and other tropical plants. Lead mines.
ZARAGOZA, dep. of Antioquia; 7° 21' N. lat. ; 674 ft.
above sea-level ; an important port on the Nechi, an affluent
of the Magdalena ; pop. 2,452. Founded in 1581. A
commercial, and also gold (placer) and coal-mining centre.
ZIPAQUIRA, cap. of the prov. of Zipaquira, dep. of Cundi-
namarca ; 4° 46' N. lat. ; 8,700 ft. above sea-level ; pop.
9,917. Picturesque, well-built town, situated on a plateau,
at the foot of a huge rock-salt hill. Salt, lead, iron, sulphur,
and coal-mining. Busy market for these minerals and also
sugar, rice, cotton, tobacco, and textiles. Terminus of the
Ferroccaril del Norte.
APPENDIX A
LIST OF STEAMSHIP LINES AND RIVER SERVICES
Colombia is fairly well served by passenger and cargo
steamship services.
Atlantic Ports
From English Ports. — Southampton : The Royal Mail
Steam Packet Company : fortnightly service passenger and
cargo via New York and the West Indies to Puerto Colombia
and Cartagena. [This company, in conjunction with the
Scrutton Line, has a cargo service from various English and
Continental ports to the West Indies, calling at Colombian
ports when cargo offers.]
Liverpool : Leyland Line fortnightly passenger and
cargo service to Puerto Colombia and Catagena. Harrison
Line monthly passenger and cargo service to the same ports.
Elders and Fyffes, a weekly service to Santa Marta, out-
ward passengers only. [This line varies its English port of
sailing from time to time.]
From Continental Ports. — The Compagnie Generale Trans-
atlantique have two monthly sailings from French ports
for Colon and Puerto Colombia, calling at Cartagena when
required.
The Compania Transatlantica have a monthly sailing from
Barcelona to the West Indies and Colombian ports.
The Hamburg-American Line, sail from Hamburg twice a
month, calling at Puerto Colombia and Cartagena via New
York.
La Veloce, Navigacione Italiana a Vapore, has a monthly
sailing from Genoa to Puerto Colombia.
From the United States. — Besides the Royal Steam Packet
and the Hamburg-American (European service) Lines, which
call at New York on the outward and homeward voyages,
the latter company's Atlas Service has a weekly sailing
from New York to Puerto Colombia, calling at Cartagena
on the outward and Santa Marta on the homeward voyages.
185
186 COLOMBIA
The United Fruit Company has a weekly passenger and
cargo service from New York to Santa Marta, the ships calling
at Jamaica, Colon, Cartagena and Puerto Colombia. It
offers special facilities for the pleasure or tourist traffic
Pacific Ports
Buenaventura and Tumaco are visited fortnightly by a
coasting service of the Pacific Steam Navigation Company
(Royal Mail Steam Packet Company) from the port Panama.
The German Kosmos liners also call at these ports, but
somewhat irregularly.
River Service
Magdalena. — The " Empresa Aliadas " (an English Com-
pany) has a fleet of twenty-nine stern-wheeled steamers
(total tonnage, 6,000), which sail up to La Dorada and up the
Cauca, from Barranquilla. The " Empresa Hanseatica "
has a fleet of seven steamers (total tonnage, 1,269), sailing
from both Cartagena and Barranquilla. Both companies
run weekly mail services for Bogota and the intervening
ports ; and the former has an intermediate service. The
other companies are the Compania Antioqueha de Transportes,
two steamers (486 tons). The Compania de Santa Marta
Wharf, with regular service between Barranquilla and Santa
Marta (two steamers, 60 tons). The Compania de Transportes
de Soto (three steamers, 120 tons).
Cauca. — The Compania de Navegacion del Rio Cauca,
runs a good service between Cali and Cartago, 124 miles.
San Juan. — The Anglo-Colombian Development Company
runs a regular steam service from Buenaventura to San
Pablo, over 350 miles.
Patia. — At Tumaco there are five small steamers which
ply up the Patia and the Telembi to Barbacoas.
Zulia. — There is a good steam service of steamers from
Guerto Villamizar, united to Cucuta by rail, to the Venezuelan
port of Maracaibo.
Meta. — An irregular steamboat service is kept up between
Ciudadl Bolivar (Venezuela) and Orocue (fourteen days up
stream from Ciudad Bolivar, and seven days homeward).
#
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paper money.
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i
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CI = 25 francs.
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'
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largely used.
Gold
«-619d
â– 9728
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â– â–
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(1910)
Ouotations are often made in gold
dollars.at th. rat. of 1 . 5 |
(The gold peso is used far official
Peru
Gold
Sol ( = 100
4866J |
Sd
O = 10 soles, No paper money,
Uruguay
Gold
53d '"
Pe *°
1-034$
Ihc peso fluctuates, £1 = about
-i; S7d
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•965 8
[9-3 cents
â– ,. f .Uvares (The bolivar
approximately = I franc | N.B,
Accounts are frequently reckoned
^Islands
(British
urreney)
APPENDIX B
COLOMBIAN CURRENCY
Before 1857 the unit of currency was the Peso Macuquino,
a coin of fine silver, equivalent to 8 Reales or " decimos de
peso." In 1857 a system based on the French decimal
coinage was adopted, and provision was made for the issue
of gold, silver, nickel, and bronze coins. Very little, however,
was issued, the metallic coins in circulation being practically
all those of foreign countries ; the real currency was paper,
which became greatly depreciated. In 1905 the Central
Bank was established, and the redemption of the paper money
was entrusted to it ; this has more recently been undertaken
by the Government. The ratio between the paper and the
gold currency was fixed at 10,000 per cent., i.e., 10,000 dollars
paper = 100 dollars gold, or in other words 1 dollar paper =
1 centavos.
By the law of 12th June, 1907, the unit of a gold peso or
dollar was established, equal to one-fifth of a pound sterling,
of the same fineness ("916), and of proportionate weight.
The coins authorised are as follows —
Gold.
Silver.
Nickel.
5 dollars = 20s. - $4-87
2\ „ = 10s. = 2-43
1 dollar (100
centavos) = 4s. *97
dollar = 4s.
= 2s.
„ (peseta) = Is.
(real) = 6d.
dollars (paper) — 2|d.
„ = Id.
= $u.
value
of 2
48'6 cents
243
121
5
2
1
dollars
old)
dollars (gold)
Legal tender. — Nickel up to the
{i.e., 8s.).
Silver up to the value of 10
{i.e., 40s.).
The paper dollar notes are the general medium of currency,
but in the Atrato Valley and in Cucuta and its neighbourhood
silver coins predominate.
187
APPENDIX C
WEIGHTS AND MEASURES
The French metric system is legal in all the countries of
South America, and is obligatory in the Customs houses and
other government offices. The most important standards
are the metre (= 39*37 in.) and the kilogramme (= 2' 204 lbs.).
In commerce, however, especially in the interior, the older
systems often survive. These are confusing as the same term
may bear different values in different countries or districts.
Thus the old Brazilian system was based on the Portuguese
measures, which differed from the Spanish. In old Spain
itself the standards were not quite uniform, e.g., the yard
(vara) varied between 0847 and 0834 of a metre. In the
South American colonies this variation tended to increase ;
thus in Bolivia and Chile the vara = 0'836 m., in Argentina
and Paraquay 0*866 m., and in Brazil 11 110 m.
The more important of these older terms which survive
in Colombia, are given below with the English equivalents.
Colombia
The metric system was introduced into Colombia in 1857.
Vara (yard) = 80 cm. or 0*8 of a metre = 31*496 in.
Cuadra = 100 varas = 87*48 yards, British.
Libra = 1.102 lb. avoird.
Arroba = 25 Col. lbs. or 12 J kilos., = 27*55 lb. avoird.
Quintal = 100 Col. lbs. or 50 kilos., = 110*2o „
Carga = 250 Col. lbs. or 125 kilos., = 275*5 „
188
APPENDIX D
POSTS AND TELEGRAPHS
The postal, telegraph and telephone services of Colombia
are under the charge of the General Administration of Posts
and Telegraphs, but while the telegraphic and telephonic
branches are a State monopoly, the post office is not. That
is to say, although the existing postal organisation is at the
charge of the Government the Fiscal Code (Article 517)
declares that private persons may freely establish postal
systems throughout the country.
From the first years of the Republic the Government
organised a postal service, which had never been introduced
under the Colonial regime. The Department is regulated by
Law 869, 1888, supplemented by the Organic Decree regarding
the Postal and Telegraph Departments of 1892 and
Decree 881 of 1911. The Colombian Government joined
the Universal Postal Union in 1881, and subscribed to the
Postal Convention of Washington, 1897, and the Universal
Postal Convention of Rome, 1906. It has also become a
subscriber to the Convention on Exchange of Registered
and Postal Packets, but has not ratified the Conventions as
to (1) exchange of letters and packets with value declared,
(2) postal money orders, (3) postal recognition regarding the
rate for journals and periodicals from abroad.
Article 43 of the Constitution declares —
" Communications entrusted to the Department of Tele-
graphs and Posts are inviolable. Letters and private papers
cannot be intercepted nor entered on a register except by
authority, acting under the order of a competent official,
in cases, and under formalities, established by law, and with
the sole object of seeking judicial evidence. The circulations
of printed matter by means of the post may be controlled,
but not prohibited in time of peace."
Coin, jewellery, paper money and documents of public
import may not be sent in unregistered letters. If the postal
authorities have reason to suppose that a closed letter contains
189
190 COLOMBIA
prohibited articles, they may write thereon the words
" Atencion, poste restante," in which case the person to whom
it is addressed may be directed to open the packet in the
presence of officials, who, however, only satisfy themselves
as to the presence or not of such prohibited articles, and in
the event of these being found, they have the power to demand
double the duty chargeable.
The fees payable on " Valores Declarados " are 3 per cent,
on notes and gold, and 2 per cent., plus 4 centimes per 5
grammes on silver.
Senders of franked letters or parcels, desiring that these
should be delivered only into the hands of the addressee or a
formally authorised person, may ensure this by marking the
front of the envelope clearly with the words " Poste Restante."
It naturally follows that persons having their letters addressed
" Poste Restante " must provide satisfactory evidence of
identity.
There are over 500 post offices in the Republic.
Tariffs
Inland Mails
Ordinary Letters. — 2 centavos (gold) for every 15 grammes,
or fraction of 15 grammes. So a letter weighing less than
15 grammes pays 2 centavos ; one weighing 48 grammes
pays 8 centavos.
Post Cards. — 1 centavo single ; 2 centavos reply.
Printed Matter. — \ centavo per package up to 50 grammes,
and a | centavo more for any fraction of this weight. News-
papers not older than six months, free.
Business Papers. — 2 centavos up to 100 grammes, and
1 centavo more for every 100 grammes or fraction thereof.
Registration Fee. — 10 centavos, plus the ordinary postal fee.
Urban Service. — Letters posted and to be delivered within
an urban district, \ centavo per 15 grammes.
Letters marked " Urgente " for special delivery, 4 centavos.
Sample Post. — 1 centavo for every 100 grammes, or fraction
of 100 grammes.
Foreign Mails
Letters. — 5 centavos for every 15 grammes, or for every
amount exceeding the multiples of 15.
APPENDIX D 191
Post Cards. — 2 centavo, single 4 centavos, double.
Newspapers. — 2 centavos for every 50 grammes or fraction
thereof.
Samples. — 2 centavos for the first 100 grammes, and above
that weight, 1 centavo for every 50 grammes.
Telegraphs
Telegraphs are a State monopoly. Private persons may
not establish telegraphs without Government permission.
There are 524 telegraph offices and 11,248 miles of telegraph
lines within the Republic.
There is a branch cable between Panama and Buenaventura.
The charge for internal messages are 2 centavos gold per
word for the first ten words, and 3 centavos gold for every
subsequent word.
Telephones
In Bogota the telephone service is leased by the Govern-
ment to an English company, who besides service to houses
have a number of public call offices in the city. The charge is
5 centavos per call.
There are telephone services in Barranquilla, Cartagena,
Medellin and other towns.
APPENDIX E
DIPLOMATIC AND CONSULAR SERVICES
Colombian Representatives in the United States of America
Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plen. : Julio
Betancourt. First Sec. of Legation : Roberto Mac Douall.
Also Consular officials at Baltimore, Boston, Mobile, New
York, New Orleans, Norfolk, Porto Rico, Philadelphia, St.
Louis, San Francisco, Los Angeles.
United States Representatives in Colombia
Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plen. : James T. DuBois,
Bogota. Sec. of Legation : L. Harrison.
Also Consular officials at Barranquilla (Isaac A. Manning),
Bogota, Cartagena, Cali, Medellin, Santa Marta.
Colombian Representatives in the United Kingdom
Minister and Envoy : Pedro Maria Carrefio. Secretary of
Legation : Saturnino Restrepo, 25 Avenue Road, London,
N.W.
Consul-General and Fiscal Agent in London : Francisco
Restrepo Plata, Sicilian Avenue, W.C.
Also Consular officials at Liverpool, Southampton, Cardiff,
Glasgow, Dundee, Birmingham, Nottingham.
British Representatives in Colombia
Envoy Extr., Minister Plen. and Consul-General : Percy
C. Wyndham, Bogota. Vice-Consul : D. Young.
Also consular officers at Barranquilla, Cartagena, Honda,
Medellin, Santa Marta, Buenaventura and Tumaco.
192
APPENDIX F
DENOUNCEMENT AND ALLOTMENT OF PUBLIC
LANDS.
Law No. 56, April 29, 1905, Concerning the Adjudication
of Public Lands.
The National Constituent and Legislative Assembly of
Colombia decrees :
Article 1. Every person occupying Government lands,
who builds a residence thereon and cultivates said lands,
acquires the right of ownership to the cultivated portion
thereof and to additional land equal in extent to the cultivated
portion.
Art. 2. Any person who, as a colonist or agriculturist,
thinks he has any right of ownership to the cultivated land,
either because of having artificial pasturage, coffee plantations,
cacao plantations, wheat fields, cornfields, potatoes, etc.,
should apply to the respective survey and land office, filing
a report signed by three witnesses, giving the name by which
said lands or parts thereof are known, the province, muni-
cipality, township wherein the adjoining lands are situated,
and other particulars, giving a clear idea of the same. The
depositions shall be made in the presence of the municipal
judge in whose jurisdiction the lands are situated, and in the
presence of the municipal attorney, who shall be summoned
for that purpose, and in the absence of the latter said deposition
shall be made in the presence of the proper mayor.
In this statement the witnesses should declare the fact
as known to them that the applicant has established his
residence and has cultivated lands, stating also the character
of the crops. The statement made by the witnesses, together
with the petition making the denouncement, shall oe addressed
to the municipal board of the proper district in whose juris-
diction the denounced lands are situated. On the receipt
of said petition the survey of the land by an expert surveyor
shall be ordered, and the latter, together with the denouncing
party, shall be responsible for the accuracy of the survey.
193
194 COLOMBIA
The surveyor shall fix the boundaries by natural limits or by
magnetic directions and exact distances, and shall confine
himself to the scientific prescriptions, and upon drawing the
plans he shall be guided by established rules. After the
survey has been made, and it has been proved that the colonists
are such that they have cultivated fields, the municipal
board shall decree the provisional adjudication and shall
send the proceedings to the Department of Public Works
for final adjudication, which shall be granted if there is no
legal reason to prevent the same. The formal delivery shall
be made in accordance with the provisions now in force
relating to public lands and in such way as not to injure
the rights of third parties.
Art. 3. The title of ownership of the adjudication of
public lands shall be issued by the Department of Public
Works, in a record book^duly paged, in which there shall be
entered the extent and situation of the adjudicated land and
the name, residence, and nationality of the person acquiring
it. Said title should be recorded in the registration office
of the circuit where the said lands are located.
Art. 4. The procedure for the adjudication, delivery, and
registration of public lands by the sale thereof shall be made
in the same manner as that employed in the case of colonists
and agriculturists, and the witnesses shall declare that the
lands are not for any public use, that they are public lands,
and are situated at a distance exceeding 1 myriameter from
existing railways or those in construction, which statement
shall, in addition, be verified at the Department of Public
Works.
Art. 5. In order to verify at any time the accuracy of the
adjudicated lands by concessions made to companies or by
sales to private persons, the longitude and latitude shall be
determined in the proper plans with reference to the meridian
which passes through the Astronomical Observatory at Bogotai
Art. 6. In drawing all plans of public lands, whether
by sale or adjudication, the surveyor shall only estimate in
areas whole numbers of hectares on the scale of one-thousandth
or on a smaller one.
Art. 7. Public lands which have not been cultivated since
the promulgation of Law No. 48 of 1882 shall again become
APPENDIX F 195
ipso facto the property of the nation, and after it is proved that
they are not cultivated they may be denounced. Likewise,
in future, one-half at least of the extent of all public lands
adjudicated to colonists, companies, or agriculturists shall be
cultivated, since without such requisite the right of the
person to whom they have been adjudicated shall expire
within the term fixed in the title of said adjudication.
Art. 8. Agriculturists or colonists may freely sell the planta-
tions, buildings, and seed plots established on public lands,
the buyer thus acquiring the right of ownership of the seller
over the cultivated lands.
Art. 9. The title of ownership of adjudicated public lands
is the certificate issued by the Minister of Public Works stating
the final adjudication, and which is also recorded in the registry
office to which the respective municipality in which the lands
are situated belongs.
Art. 10. The possession of public lands is the holding of
the same by an individual with the intention of becoming
owner thereof, either for himself or in representation of third
parties, by virtue of acts of ownership, such as forming seed
plots, constructing buildings, and the cultivation of the land
in general.
Art. 11. No adjudication of public lands shall exceed
1,000 hectares, the Nation reserving to itself alternate areas
equivalent to those adjudicated.
Art. 12. The survey and other expenses incidental to
all adjudications shall be for account of the respective
concessionaires and grantees.
Art. 13. All adjudications of public lands now in force
by any title whatever and whose lands have not been cultivated
shall pay a tax equal to that which obtains on rural lands,
and the municipal boards of the respective districts in which
the said public lands are situated are authorized to collect
said tax, irrespective of the provisions of Article 7 concerning
public lands adjudicated subsequent to the promulgation of
Law 48 of 1882.
Art. 14. Colonists or agriculturists desiring to obtain