New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1856-05-26

amigo, OF the @Ilcayune, IS now
touring in New Grenada. We extract
from his correspondence, dated Bogota,
April 3, 1856:
CARTHAGENA A FREE PORT.
! wrote you, some days since, an account Of my
visit to the Emerald Mines of Muzo, and some other
noteworthy objects in this vicinity land as have
now been here two months, during which timeI have
endeavored to study the political condition and con
stituton of the country, few remarks upon its pres
emit state and future prospects may be Of some inter
est to your readers. t
! will first mention, in passing, a law which has
Just been passed by Congress- it has very marked
influence upon some extensive American interests in
New Granada, and may tend to large increase of in
tercourse with the United States. The city of Car
shagena, with its beautiful harbor, which was once
the most important city in Spanish America, having
been at the same time the headquarters Of its naval
forces IN those waters and the centre of its richest
commerce. has been declared free port and all goods
imported there are to be, from the LIST of September
next, free of duties. AS q company of New York
capitalists have already opened the old Spanish
dque, or canal between that city and the Magdalena
river which is the sole commercial artery for nearly
two millions of people, and have placed several fine
steamers on the river this measure has direct and
unavoidable tendency to throw the whole trade Of the
country into their hands, and, BESIDES giving them
the profitable carrying of it, they will receive toll
upon its transit through the line of canal which their
enterprise has opened. "a p AZ, 4 gsa
PRODUCTS OF THE COUNTRY. So :
The industrial interests of this country have re-
ceived a remarkable impulse within the last few
years. The extinction Of the tobacco monopoly,
which abolished by Gen. Mosquera, as President
OF the Republic in l847, opened the fields of the
southern part of the valley of the Magdalena to this
branch Of labor; and SO well adapted have these
lands proved to the tobacco culture that their pro-
duct now stands second in the estimation of the COM
mercia world, and the yield has increased and is in
creasing with great rapidty Lands in that section
Of country have risen from fifty to hundred fold in
yalue and labor has advanced from ten cents to
eighty cents day, for common field hands.
Another branch Of trade that has increased greatly
is the getting out of the bark of the cinchona tree
the old Peruvian bark There vast forests Of this
tree in the public lands of the Republic, and so profit
able has the trade BEEN that feeling something akin
to our own Western wild land speculation exists here
1t has caused great demand for laber and in con-
junction with the tobacco culture has had the effect
OF causing general advance in the value of labor
throughout the Republic to nearly thrice its former
level. ,T #j
The northern Provinces of the Republic lying east
OF Nagdalena river, extensively engaged in the
culture and manufacture of cotton the gathering of
coffee, which grows with great luxurance (nearly all
the line coffee now exported from Maracabo coming
from those districts) and sugar making, which is a
most profitable business Since the organization of
the navigation Of the Magdalena by the American
Company the Legislatures of Veez and Socorro have
passed laws authorizing their Governors to contract
for the opening Of roads to that river. By these
measures, the products Of those two very Industrious
provinces will soon be poured into the market Of Car
thagena.
Observation-Disclosures FREEDOM.
That am not too sanguine in the hopes enter
tain in relation to the stability and progress Of New
Grenada, will be evident, think, from simple re-
clal OF some of the lahors she has accomplished du-
ring her short career nation, which has often
been disturbed by political commissions. She has
freed the press from every tramme which the policy
OF the past has put upon it, she has separated the
church from the State and declared universal freedom
nf rIpt1-t
old barriers that protective system had erected in
the paths Of commerce she has instituted public
schools at the charge of the State she has abolished
the law OF primogeniture she has abrogated impris
onnent for debt and the death penalty for political
offences and she has invited immigration by grants
OF lands to actual settlers, ard conerng upon them
citizenship Immediately on application for it, If the
unquiet past has borne such rich fruit may not
hope for much good in the quiet future?
REPUBLIC OF COLOMBIA.
The general hope of the people now is that the for
mer Republic Of Colombia may be soon re-estabsfed,
and it would seem as though events tending in
that direction. A large majority of the people of
Venezuela are in favor of it, and the recent message
of President M0nagas of that Republic, strongly adj
vocates it.. Ecuador is ready and DESTROYS to enter
into negotiations to effect that object and the states
men here are seriously medtatng the manner of
bringing it about, now that the cloud that lately
hung over the relations between New Granada and
Venezuela has disappeared. If they succeed in es
tabllshlng the principle Of States rights here is
done, for they will thus lay hold, in South America,
OF the true secret of the rapid extension of the North
American confederation. The neighborng commune
ties will be ready and anxious to come into Colon
ban confederation that respects the sovereignty of its
constituent States, and only bands together free PEG.
pie for the purpose Of mutual defence aud unrestricted
intercourse. Should this event take place. we may
believe that the evils of the past have taught wisdom
to the nations of Spanish America, and that its
generation has begun. A South American contede-
ration, upon the principles Of our own prosperous
Union, would mark a era in the progress of re-
publlcanism and be hailed with joy throughout all
the civilized world.
POPERY AS 1T IS THERE.
From Simiiaca we proceeded on to the town of
Chiqninqura the site of the celebrated shrine of the
Virgin, where is miraculous picture of g Our Lady
of Remedies, that has been nearly three hundred
years the object of deep yeneraton by the Indian and
mixed population Of New Grenada The time of our
visit was Palm Sunday, when the church was about
twothrds filled with devotees, thousand Or twelve
hundred being present, mostly Indians. The church
IS very large and massive building, belonging to the
order OF st. Dominic, aud its income is said to be
about seventy thousand dollars year. This arises
almost entirely from the votive offerings as the lower
classes, through very large portion of the Republic,
make VOWS to the Virgin Of Chnquinqura under ali
circumstances of difficulty distress. The walls of
the church are covered with relations of miracles
performed each relation being accompanied by its pic
toral representation, for the benefit Of the large
reading class. The name of the person, place and
date as well as character of the miracle, are given
with scrupuous minuteness and from the fact that
nearly all those cited were of recent occurrence the
oldest miracle not being than eight ten years
back inferred that the older are from time to
time removed, to make room for the rapidly accumu.
lating instances of miraculous intervention on the
part of the Virgin.
The character of the miracles was of the most ord-
nary kind recoveres from sickness being by far the
most numerous; others were salvation from impending
dangers, as being chased by mad bull, fall from
q horse; and one man in open field, was miracu
lousy saved from flash Of lightning which got into
the crown Of his hat, but upon his calling upon the
Virgin she conducted it out through the side and RIM
he received no other damage than being knocked
down in the process In every instance the pictorial
representation gives the full particulars the sick son
stretched upon a bed the praying mother, and the
picture Of the Virgin in the air; or the PROSTATE
man, the flashing lightning the gorng bull, and the
vicious horse suddenly tanned A crowd of gazcls
was continually gazing upon them, and listening to
reading OF the facts.
We sought the miracle-working picture and found
it in large shrine, which formed the reverse of the
great altar. It is miserable and apparently freshly
painted daub, representing the Virgin, with saint
on either side, the figures being nearly large as
life. The legend is, that in fifteen hundred and
eighty something, a, certain person in one of the
northern provinces ordered picture of Our Virgin
Remedies to be painted which was done according
y in very inferior style. This picture was made the
altarpiece Of small church but the church got out
of repair and the picture became dapidatcd and al
most invisible. 1t was finally thrown aside until
poor woman seeking for representation of the Viz.
gin, found it, but sadly torn and soiled She however
erected small altar of bamboo in cattle pen, and