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INTERNATIONAL AMERICAN CONPERENCE.
129
nine years; and sorne have a further gran t of authority to work all rnine'l within a
cer taiu distance of their liues. These rail ways have all been copstructetl by British
capital.
The statistical annuary of Veuezuela for 18H9 makes the following statement:
There are complcted to the prcflent time (July 1, 1 '9) 31G kilorneters (196
miles),
of
which 37 kilorneters (23 miles) are from Caracas to La Gua.yru,;
8
kilometers (4.9 miles),
l\larquetia aml Macuto; 5 kiloruetcrs (3.1 miles), Caracas aml El Valle; 54 kilometers
(33.5 m iles), Puerto Cabello to Valencia; 90 kilometcrs (55.8 miles), TLlCacas aud
mines of Aroa; 35 kilomctcrs (:ll.7 miles), La Ceil.>::L anc1 Sauaua ele Mencloza; 19 kilo–
rueters (11.8 miles), Barcelona aud Bay of Gnauta; 33 kilometers (20.5 miles), Care–
nero toSan José; 20 kilometers ( 12.4 miles) are in the Central
Railro;~cl;
15 kilometers
(9.3 miles) in the great ra.ilroad or Venezuela. The Central is to be
~40
kilometers
(144.8 miles) long from Caracas to Valencia. The great railway will be 300 kilometers
(186 miles), and will connect Caracas with San Carlos in the state of Zamora.
RAILROADS IN VENEZUELA.
On the 16th ultimo thc railroad betweeu this port and Valencia was formally
oponed by Pre iclent Hermogenes Lopez.
The
Ptu:rto Cabello a11d Valencia Bailroacl,
as it is called, was commenced a little
more tbau
t>Yv
J
ears ago by Pcrry, Carutbers
&
Co., of London, contractor.;. On
the 1st of April it will pass into the hamls of the cornpany, of which Mr.
"\V.
l\lallon is
general manager. The gange is 3 feet
ü
iuches- 6 inches wicler tban the track be–
t ween La Guayra and Caracas.
The distance is 54 kilometers. Valencia, tbe sonthern terminus, is a city of sorne
40,000 people, and is situatecl in tbe heart of one of the richest agricultura! regions
in the country. In fact, it is admitteu that tbe States of Carabobo and Lam are the
first in agricultura! develop"l11ent in the entire republic. Another railway, from Ca–
racas to Valencia, about 300 kilometers in lfmgth, i in proce ·s of constrnction by an
Euglish company.
It
is reported that Krupp, of Kcupp gnn fame, has a concession
for still a uother raíl way between the two citie · mentioued allove.
Another railway is projected between this port and Anrare, which is not far from
~he
Apure River, one of tb.e principal trilmtaries of the Orinoco on tbe north. This
18
a1so auont
:~oo
kilometers in length.
!'here is still another line of railway- already commenced- in this consular tlis–
trJCt, extenLling from
La Lttz to Ba1·quisimeto,
a llistauce of 5 kilometers.
T bese lines will open up a great agricultuml aud mineral district, facilitating
greatly the movement of merchandise to this port, aud will don btless bnild up aud
develop the conntrv's resonrces more la.rgely, and materially irnprove and n.dvauce
the interests ofthe people throughout tbe entireconntry, and will be the 1Jest rueans
of placing the Government on a mnch more stable ba is t,han it has ev r had. (Re–
port by David
1\I.
Burk:e, United States consul, Puerto Cabello, .March 15, 1
tl.)
Consul Plmnacher, under date of Februar.v 5,
ltl
·g, reports that the Credit Moui1ier
of Paris has commencetl
prelimiua.rywork upon a roacl from La 1!-,ria to an Ctistobal.
Tb.echief eugineer, U. Dubosques, died from yellow fever almost upon arrival at La
Fna, which will probably delay operations. Another roatl from the city of Merida
to tl1e lake coast is abont to be begnu.
A
r~i1way
from Santa Barbara, at tbe sonthern e:x:tremity of the lake to Sau Cristo–
lnL]
wrll be comrnenced \Vithin a montb, the contractor being
a.
Pren ·h company.
No railroad iu Venezuela will excel this in irnportance, aml
it
has been talked abont
for many years, but there
i
every rea on to believe tlíat
it
will now be vigoronsly
pusherl.throngh to completion. (R port by E. H . Plumacher, Uuited States con'ul,
:Maracarho, Febrnary 20, 1 c9.)
Referring to previou.·
di~patches
from t,bis office re pecting the projected railway
from Lake Maracaibo to the ciry of
~lerüla,
I now haYe the honor to report, that the
work.has already commenced, the contractors being a company forme<l in Paris with
the tttle of "Compatrnie l<,rancaise de Chemins tle fer Veneznélien .''
The original con es"' ion was granted to the Duke of "1\Iorny, son-in-law of General
Guzmau.Blanco, who transferred bi pri vileges to the a
u
ove mentioned company.
!'he
~ng~neer
in chief, with a complete
stafi
aml a large amonnt of material, arrived
In
thrs crty last mont.h, and the- preliminary work ha. already begnn. \Yben the
ter ms of the contract became genrrally known, however, therP- iwme1liately a.rose a
strong oppo 'ition on the part of the people who, although fnll.v- appreciatiug tho in–
calculable arlntnrarre of dirtJct ra.ilwav com mtwication bet';\·eeu Lake Maracaibo
:hd t he rich coJfee
i~gions
of the Cordillern,, were -veTy unfavorably impressed with
e extraord ina.r ily exceptioua.l priVlleges granted
to
the contractors,
S. Ex. 125-9
*