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TRADE STATISTICS.

The foreign trade movement of the Republic during the last four years is shown below :

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In comparison with 1902, the value of Exports and Imports increased by $4,768,426 and

respectively.

$1,346,495

The Council have been unable to obtain details of the Exports and Imports in 1903.

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+Five per Cent. Loan of 1896, amount

outstanding, Bols. 48,807,440, say 1,932,967

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Viz., Half of Coupon due August, 1898, and all subsequent Coupons to August 15th, 1904, inclusive.

Issued principally in settlement of Railway guarantees.

Viz., 44 per cent. of Coupon due December, 1898, and all subsequent Coupons to June 30th, 1904, inclusive.

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1834. By the Convention of 1834 Venezuela became responsible for

28 per cent. of the original Colombian Debt, or £1,888,396, upon which the arrears of interest amounted to £906,430; total, £2,794,826. No interest was paid by Venezuela till 1841.

1841.-A Settlement was made on the following terms :

The above principal of the Debt to be converted at par into "Active" Bonds which were to bear interest at the rate of 2 per cent. for the first seven years, increasing per cent. annually, until the maximum rate of 6 per cent. should be attained.

"Deferred" Bonds to be issued in satisfaction of the arrears of interest to an amount equal to the original principal. These Bonds were to carry interest from 1st October, 1852, at I per cent. per annum, increasing per cent. annually up to a maximum of 5 per cent., when a Sinking Fund of per cent. was also to come into operation.

It would appear that £1,857,159 "Active" and £1,847,500 "Deferred" Bonds were issued under the terms of this arrangement. "Active" Bonds to the amount of £150,000 were subsequently issued in settlement of the "Macintosh Claim," bringing the total issue of these Bonds up to £2,007,159.

1847.-- Default took place in October.

1851.-An Arrangement was agreed to by the Bondholders, but it was not ratified by Congress, although the half-yearly Coupon, due 1st October, 1851, was paid.

1856.-Venezuela received, as her proportion of the Debt due from Peru to the Old Colombian Republic, a sum of $1,140,000 in Four and a-Half per Cent. Peruvian Bonds. This money was kept by the Government for its own purposes, and not handed over to the External Creditors.

1859.-An Arrangement was concluded on the following basis :

For the outstanding capital of the old "Active" Bonds and for the arrears of interest up to 31st December, 1858, on both "Active" and "Deferred" Bonds, New Bonds were to be issued bearing 2 per cent. interest from 1st January, 1859, to 1st January, 1860, and 3 per cent thereafter. Against the principal of the old "Deferred " Bonds, other New Bonds were to be issued bearing 1 per cent. interest from 1st January, 1859, to 1st January, 1860, and thenceforth 1 per cent.

Holders of Deferred Bonds had, at the time of Conversion, the option of exchanging £100 Bonds into £50 of the New Three per Cent. Bonds.

1860.-Default was made upon the July Coupons.

1862. The arrears since 1860, amounting to £214,000, were funded into a Six per Cent. Stock, and a new Six per Cent. Loan for £1,000,000. secured upon 55 per cent. of the Import Duties collected at La Guayra and Puerto Cabello, was issued at 63 per cent. by Messrs. Baring.

1864.-Six

Issued at 60 per Finance Company. In December, 1864, Bondholders of the

per Cent. Loan. Amount, £1,500,000. cent. by the General Credit and Secured upon the total Export Duties. a suspension of the payment to the above-mentioned 55 per cent. of the Import Duties was decreed, and the service of the Loans of 1859 and 1862 went into default.

1867.—In April, £2. 7s. 6d. was paid on account of the £3 Coupon of the 1864 Loan, which, from that date, also went into default.

1872.-By a Decree of 30th November it was provided that the Customs Receipts should be divided into 100 units, of which 60 were to be applied to the general Budget, and the remaining 40 as follows, viz., 27 per cent. (or 10.8) thereof to Internal Public Credit, 27 per cent. (or 10.8) to External Public Credit (to be retained by the Treasury pending a fresh Arrangement with the External Bondholders), 33 per cent. (or 13.2) to Internal Development, and 13 per cent. (or 5.2) to Foreign Claims.

1876.-A Convention was concluded under which an annual sum of £40,000 was to be remitted. Three shillings in the was

paid on Coupons of all three Loans from October, 1876.

1878.-In July the remittances were suspended, and a complete default took place.

1880-81.-The Loans of 1859, 1862, and 1864 were converted into a "New Consolidated Debt." This Arrangement provided for an issue of £4,000,000 New Bonds, of which £2,750,000 was to be applied to the Conversion of the above Loans and the necessary expenses. The balance of £1,250,000 was reserved for the Conversion of the then existing Internal Debt. The Six per cent. External Loans of 1862 and 1864, and the Coupon Stock of 1862 were converted, with arrears, at 60 per cent., and the Three per cent. and One and a Half per cent. Bonds of 1859 respectively at 30 and 15 per cent., also including all arrears. Interest on the New Bonds to be 3 per cent. per annum until the Unification of the External and Internal Debts was completed, after which it was to be raised to 4 per cent. on the whole Debt. Owing to difficulties which arose with the Internal Bondholders the Unification of the Debt was not carried into effect. The issue was, therefore, confined to £2,750,000 Bonds, and the rate of interest has not been increased to 4 per cent. Under a Decree of 10th December, 1880, the 27 per cent. of the 40 units of the Customs Receipts (i.e. 10.8 of the total Customs Revenue) assigned to the External Public Credit (see above Decree of 30th November, 1872) was directed to be integrally paid to the Bondholders' Agents. This assignment has been renewed by subsequent Decrees.

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