ART. XI. The term "Colombian dollars," employed in the law and in this contract, signifies silver pieces of 25 grains of 900 each, being equivalent

to 5 francs, or 100 cents each.

ART. XII. By the "formal commencement of the work of the canal," mentioned in section 2 of Article XXII. of the law, is understood that work upon the line should be continuously executed for three months, by at least one thousand operatives under their respective chiefs, with the necessary machinery, implements, etc., for the excavation of the

canal.

ART. XIII. It is understood, and is hereby specifically stipulated, that vessels in the exclusive service of the carral shall traverse the same free of all tax or duty.

ART. XIV. Five years before the expiration of the ninety-nine of privilege, the national Executive shall, with the concurrence of the company, name a commission to examine the canal and its appurtenances, and note what repairs, if any, shall be made before the canal and other property is turned over to the Government when the grantees' privilege shall expire.

ART. XV. The nation grants permission to the grantees to establish, at their own expense, any telegraphic lines they may deem necessary to the construction and operation of the canal.

M. ANCIZAR,

Signed in duplicate, in Bogotá, the twenty-eighth of May, one thousand eight hundred and seventy-six. [L. S. [L. S.] Approved May 28, 1876. [L. S.]

ANTONIO DE GOGORZA,
For himself and General Turr.

AQUILEO PARRA,

President of the Union.

A revolution broke out in July, 1876, against the Government, in the States of Tolima and Antioquía, but it was afterward transferred to Canca; the town of Cartago, in the latter, having been chosen as headquarters of the insurgent forces. As late as the middle of December they were still in possession of that town. The revolution, carried on by the clerical party, was begun at the instigation of the southern clergy, who protested from the pulpit against the policy adopted by the Government of placing the public schools under secular directors, and suppressing all ecclesiastical control therein. The Parra Administration met, at the time of its inauguration (April 1st), with formidable opposition within the ranks of its own party; so much so, that the United States minister at Bogotá wrote, on April 8, 1876, that "a grave mistake, during the first six months, may prove fatal to its existence, and to the peace of the country.'

COLORADO. The convention assembled under the provisions of an enabling act of Congress, approved March 3, 1875, after a session of eighty-six days completed, in March, 1876, a State constitution, which was ratified by the people July 1st. A proclamation was issued by President Grant, August 1st, which declared Colorado to be a State in the Union. In the Bill of Rights of the new constitution, the usual guarantees of national and civil rights have been retained, and, to the end that more power should be reserved to the people, it is further declared that the General Assembly shall make no irrevocable grants of special privileges or immunities; that private property

shall not be taken or damaged for public or private use without just compensation previ ously made to the owner thereof, or paid into court for his use; that no preference shall be given by law to religious denominations; that right and justice shall be administered without sale, denial, or delay; that aliens, who are bona-fide residents of the State, shall acquire, inherit, possess, and enjoy property to the full extent as if native-born citizens. The grandjury system has been so modified as to make a grand-jury consist of twelve men instead of twenty-three-any nine of whom concurring may find a bill, and the question whether it may not be abolished altogether is left to the Legislature. The petit-jury system has been so modified as to permit the organization of a jury of less than twelve men in civil cases, thereby materially reducing the expenses of the courts. The right of trial by jury in all criminal cases has been preserved, and for the purpose of protecting witnesses in criminal prosecutions, and that the accused may always meet the witnesses against him face to face, provision is made for the taking of depositions before some judge of the Supreme, District, or County Court, which can be used upon trial of the cause when the personal attendance of the witness cannot be obtained.

The Executive Department consists of a Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, Secretary of State, Auditor, Treasurer, Attorney-General, and Superintendent of Public Instruction, who are elected for two years. Their terms of office begin on the second Tuesday of January following their election. The official terms of the first State officers began in November, 1876. The Governor is empowered to remove all officers by him appointed, for misconduct or malfeasance in office; also to grant pardons, subject, however, to such regulations as may be provided by law, and in all cases when a pardon is granted he is required to send the reasons for granting it to the General Assembly. A twothirds vote of all the members of each House is required to pass a bill over the Governor's veto. The Lieutenant-Governor is President of the Senate. The Superintendent of Public Instruction is ex-officio State Librarian. Neither the State Treasurer nor Auditor is eligible for reëlection as his own immediate successor.

The legislative power is vested in a Senate of twenty-six members, elected for four years, and a House of forty-nine Representatives, elected for two years. It is declared that the number of Senators and of Representatives shall not be increased before 1890. The sessions of the Legislature after the first are limited to forty days. The first General Assembly met on the first Wednesday in November, 1876. It is required to meet again on the first Wednes day in January, 1879, and biennially thereafter on the same day. It is provided that no act of the Legislature shall take effect until ninety days after its passage, unless, in case of emergency (which shall be expressed in the

preamble or body of the act), the General Assembly shall, by a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each House, otherwise direct. No bill, except the general appropriation for the expenses of the government only, introduced in either House after the first twenty-five days of the session, shall become a law.

Section 25 of Article V. declares that "the General Assembly shall not pass local or special laws in any of the following enumerated cases, that is to say: for granting divorces; laying out, opening, altering, or working roads or highways; vacating roads, town plots, streets, alleys, and public grounds; locating or changing county-seats; regulating county or township affairs; regulating the practice in courts of justice; regulating the jurisdiction and duties of justices of the peace, police magistrates, and constables; changing the rules of evidence in any trial or inquiry; providing for changes of venue in civil or criminal cases; declaring any person of age; for limitation of civil actions or giving effect to informal or invalid deeds; summoning or impaneling grand or petit juries; providing for the management of common schools; regulating the rate of interest on money; the opening or conducting of any election, or designating the place of voting; the sale or mortgage of real estate belonging to minors or others under disability; the protection of game or fish; chartering or licensing ferries or toll-bridges; remitting fines, penalties, or forfeitures; creating, increasing, or decreasing fees, percentage, or allowances of public officers; changing the law of descent; granting to any corporation, association, or individual, the right to lay down railroad-tracks; granting to any corporation, association, or individual, any special or exclusive privilege, immunity, or franchise whatever. In all other cases, where a general law can be made applicable, no special law shall be enacted."

Judicial power is vested in a Supreme Court, district and county courts, and justices of the peace. The Supreme Court has appellate jurisdiction and is empowered to issue writs of habeas corpus, mandamus, quo warranto, certiorari, injunction, and other original and remedial writs, with authority to hear and determine the same. The Supreme Court shall consist of three judges, elected by the people for nine years, and is required to hold at least two sessions each year at the seat of government. The district courts, of which there are at present four, shall have original jurisdiction of all causes, both at law and in equity, and such appellate jurisdiction as may be conferred by law. In them is vested original jurisdiction to determine all controversies upon relation of any person, on behalf of the people, concerning the rights, duties, and liabilities of railroad, telegraph, or toll-road companies or corporations. In each district a judge is elected by the people for six years. At least one term

of the district court shall be held annually in each county, except in such counties as may be attached, for judicial purposes, to another county wherein such courts are held. County judges are elected by the people every three years.

A general election is held annually on the first Tuesday of October. Every male person over the age of twenty-one years, possessing the following qualifications, shall be entitled to vote at all elections:

1. He shall be a citizen of the United States, or, not being a citizen of the United States, he shall have declared his intention, according to law, to become such citizen, not less than four months before he offers to vote.

2. He shall have resided in the State six months

immediately preceding the election at which he offers to vote, and in the county, city, town, ward, or precinct, such time as may be prescribed by law: Provided, That no person shall be denied the right to vote at any school-district election, nor to hold any school-district office, on account of sex.

Sections 2 and 3 of Article VII. provide as follows:

session thereof, and may at any subsequent session, SEC. 2. The General Assembly shall, at the first enact laws to extend the right of suffrage to women of lawful age, and otherwise qualified according to the provisions of this article. No such enactment shall be of effect until submitted to the vote of the the same be approved by a majority of those voting qualified electors at a general election, nor unless

thereon.

SEC. 3. The General Assembly may prescribe, by law, an educational qualification for electors, but no such law shall take effect prior to the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and ninety, and no qualified elector shall be thereby disqualified.

The following Territorial institutions are made State institutions: The university, at Boulder; the Agricultural College, at Fort Collins; the School of Mines, at Golden; and the Institute for the Education of Mutes, at Colorado Springs.

The general supervision of public schools is vested in a Board of Education, consisting of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, who is president, the Secretary of State, and the Attorney-General. The General Assembly is required to provide for the establishment and maintenance of a thorough and uniform system of free public schools throughout the State, wherein all residents of the State between the ages of six and twenty-one years may be educated gratuitously. One or more public schools shall be maintained in each school-district within the State, at least three months in each year; any school-district failing to have such school shall not be entitled to receive any portion of the school-fund for that year.

The public-school fund of the State shall forever remain inviolate and intact; the interest thereon, only, shall be expended in the maintenance of the schools of the State, and shall be distributed among the several counties and school-districts of the State, in such manner as may be prescribed by law.

The public-school fund of the State shall consist of the proceeds of such lands as have heretofore been, or may hereafter be, granted to the State by the General Government for educational purposes; all estates that may escheat to the State; also all other grants, gifts, or devises, that may be made to this State for educational purposes.

The General Assembly may require that every child of sufficient mental and physical ability shall attend the public school, between the ages of six and eighteen years, for a time equivalent to three years, unless educated by other means.

The General Assembly is required to provide by law for an annual tax, sufficient, with other resources, to defray the expenses of the State government. Section 3 of Article X. provides that "all taxes shall be uniform upon the same class of subjects within the territorial limits of the authority levying the tax, and shall be levied and collected under general laws, which shall prescribe such regulations as shall secure a just valuation for taxation of all property, real and personal: provided, that mines and mining claims bearing gold, silver, and other precious metals (except the net proceeds and surface improvements thereof), shall be exempt from taxation for the period of ten years from the date of the adoption of this constitution, and thereafter may be taxed as provided by law. Ditches, canals, and flumes, owned and used by individuals or corporations for irrigating lands owned by such individuals or corporations, or the individual members thereof, shall not be taxed separately, so long as they shall be owned and used exclusively for such purpose."

The property of the State, counties, cities, towns, and other municipalities, and public libraries, are exempted from taxation, and, unless otherwise provided by law, lots and buildings thereon, used exclusively for religious worship, for schools, and strictly charitable purposes, and places of burial of the dead, are exempted. For the purpose of defraying the expenses of the State a tax is provided for, not in any case to exceed six mills on the dollar, with restrictions that when the valuation of property within the State shall amount to $100,000,000, the rate shall not exceed four mills, and when the valuation shall amount to $300,000,000, the rate shall never thereafter exceed two mills on each dollar of valuation. Corporations and corporate property, real and personal, are required to share the burdens of taxation, and the power to tax the same is never to be relinquished or suspended.

A State Board of Equalization is created, consisting of the Governor, Auditor, Treasurer, and Secretary of State, whose duties are to equalize and adjust the valuation of real and personal property among the several counties, and the Board of County Commissioners in the respective counties are constituted County Boards of Equalization, whose duties are to equalize and

adjust such valuations within their respective counties.

The Legislature is prohibited from lending the credit of the State in aid of any corpora tion, either by loan or becoming a subscriber to any stock, or a joint owner with any party, except in case of forfeitures and escheats.

The constitution has denied the General Assembly the power to create corporations, or to extend or enlarge their chartered rights by special legislation, or to make such rights and privileges irrevocable; but in case it shall be found that the exercise of such rights and priv ileges proves injurious to the people, then the General Assembly shall have power to alter, revoke, or annul such charters, when that can be done without injustice to the corporators. It has declared that railroad corporations shall be liable as common carriers, and that, to avail themselves of the benefits of future legislation, they must subject themselves to all the provisions and requirements of the constitution. It has forbidden the consolidation of parallel and competing lines, and of all unjust and unreasonable discriminations between individuals in their business with such corporations.

Provision is made for the establishment and maintenance of the office of Commissioner of Mines, who is to be appointed by the Governor for four years.

A State census is to be taken in 1885, and every ten years thereafter.

The new State government was inaugurated November 3d. The message of Governor Routt shows outstanding warrants and other liabilities to the amount of $50,000; resources from delinquent taxes and from taxes available January and July, 1877, $73,000, leaving $23,000 to meet the current expenses of the State till 1878. To provide for the present exigency, a tax-levy of three mills was recommended.

By the act of Congress, September 4, 1841, each new State on being admitted is granted 500,000 acres of land for the purposes of internal improvement. The enabling act also grants to the State fifty sections "for the purpose of erecting public buildings at the capital for legislative and judicial purposes;" fifty other sections "for the purpose of erecting a suitable building for a penitentiary or State-prison;" seventy-two sections "for the use and support of a State University;" and twelve saltsprings, with "six sections of land adjoining,” for the use of the State: making in all, with the 500,000 acres first mentioned, 655,160 acres. The Governor recommends that the Legislature appoint five gentlemen to locate these lands, and urges that they be withheld from sale for a few years, to avoid the error of most of the Northwestern States, of too hastily placing their lands in the market, thus losing the advantages arising from the natural growth and improvement of the country.

The first election for State officers was held October 3d, when the following (Republicans)

were chosen Governor, John L. Routt; Lieutenant-Governor, Lafayette Head; Secretary of State, William M. Clark; Auditor, David C. Crawford; Treasurer, George C. Corning; Attorney-General, Archibald J. Sampson. At the same time, James B. Belford (Republican) was elected member of Congress, and E. T. Welles, Henry C. Thatcher, and S. H. Elbert, Judges of the Supreme Court. Mr. Belford's majority was 1,037, in a total vote of 25,567. The State Senate consists of 19 Republicans and 7 Democrats; the House of 31 Republicans and 18 Democrats. In the whole Assembly there are 55 Republicans and 25 Democrats, giving the former a majority of twothirds on a joint ballot. The total vote of the State for State Senators was 28,493, of which 15,213 were Republicans and 13,280 Democrats; Republican majority 1,933.

With

The Governor further recommends that a general system of irrigation be adopted by the State, and suggests that the Legislature memorialize Congress for a grant of lands sufficient to enable the State to accomplish this object. Concerning mines and mining, he says: "The present product of gold and silver bullion and ores amounts to nearly $8,000,000 annually. the prospect of early railroad communication with the southwestern portion of the State, by which the people of the San Juan country will be enabled to add the product of the marvelously rich silver-mines of that region to the yield of the mines of the north, we may reasonably expect that the amount exported will be increased to at least $10,000,000 in the next year. An interest upon which the future wealth and prosperity of the people so much depend should receive every encouragement at your hands."

Two Republican Senators were elected by the Legislature, viz., Jerome B. Chaffe and Henry M. Teller. The latter drew the short term, and was subsequently elected for the full term immediately following his present term. (For an account of the physical characteristics and natural resources of Colorado, see ANNUAL CYCLOPÆDIA for 1873, p. 730.)

COMMERCE OF THE UNITED STATES. The fiscal year of the Federal Government ends on June 30th. The following are comparative statements for the years 1875-76 and 1874-75:

Dutiable
Free of duty...

Coin and bullion. Merchandise

Total.

1876. $261,132,778 $315,139,292

1875.

119,213,580 139,053,606

ITEMS.

Merchandise (mixed values).. Coin and bullion...

Gold value of merchandise....