The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1895-12-22

the heroic struggle Of Washington, scare
~ an echo of which had reached the
| Spanish colonies He saw the weakness
of Spain and the calling disgrace of suf-
fering the despotism OF a third-rate power.
Simon Bolivar was q years old He had
vast plantations of sugar, coffee and
cocoa and thousands of slaves. He was
cultivated, handsome, eloquent, stately in
! demeanor, ambitious but licentious. cruel
and crafty. His wife dying. he gave
himself up TO all these passions with in
domitabe energy and pride. lie seemed
TO have contempt for wealth He freed
his slaves, declaring that no man deserv-
ed freedom who held others in bondage.
At the age % his estates were conhscated
and price was on his head, and he was
| in exile.
In the interval Venezuela enjoyed eight
months of freedom under his rule. At the
| height of the festivities the awful earth
| quake of 1911 demolished the city, killing
| 1900 people. Amid the topping walls and
shrieks of the dying the prior of the
! Dominicans preached IN the open squares,
calling it just Judgment and turning
the people 10 repentance. Yet in 1913 Boil
var freed Caracas again, was made die
tator. and again defeated. The third time
he fitted out an expedition and came down
the Orinoco, between jungles Of dark,
moss grown forests, glittering with green
I parrots and scarlet macaws. Red mon
keys, venomous snakes and man-eating
alligators infested the dreadful solitude,
,, but he was lured on by the lovely line Of
the San Sebastian Mountains. above the
high plateau Of his native city, the plain
of the palms and the wide blue sea, well
tcring in sun and subterranean heat.
When he made his stand he was cut 20
pieces, and fed TO the Eldorado MINIS
with half dozen followers. In six months
he had gathered an army again OF I'M
kept. Harmed, undisciplinedt sons o.
the tropics and marched them in the
dead Of winter across the precipitous pass
cs of the Andes Swamps and reptiles,
falling powders, noisome forests, SNOW.
ice. chasms, precpices, glaciers, hunger,
nakedness. dauntod them not. A tenth
of that wild haggard band leaving their
bloody tracks in the virgin snow Of the
Andes. stood before New Grenada and
won the day.
lie founded Ecuador. Peru. Bolivar. the
United States of Colombia, and Nene-
zuea. Chile declared herself free and
Argentina The deer of all thesedeeds
the Washington of South America, declar-
ed he would yet free Cuba He died in
exile. when only A years of age, the VIC
tim of n political party.
reigns supreme as the greatest hero Of
all the countries freed by his sword, and
his system OF government remains in
force 1t was in 1880 that the five repub-
lies finally took shape. Venezuela has a
constitution modelled after that of the
United States. hut with moro local In
dependence. The country is governed by
a federal council Of nineteen members,
who elect a president for two years from
their own number. He has, however, no
veto power. There are two legislative
branches, tho senate with twenty-four
members and the representatives with
ffty-two members
The Roman Catholic Is the state reli-
gion. but all sects are tolerated; educa-
ton is compulsory and there are two uni
versitics and over thirty colleges, eleven
of these being for girls. The revenues Of
the country amount TO 100000 year.
and the public debt is only S25,o00,O0O at
per cent.
The country has an area of nearly
500 600 square miles and population Of
2 800 900 Vast tracts OF forest land and
mines are undeveioped, nearly two-thirds
of the entire country Fully one-nfth OF
the people are engaged in agriculture. and
the varieties of climate permit the Wild
est range of crops from coffee, sugar,
pasture crops. The minerals are the rich
est in the world. only last year S6,O0O,GO
in gold, silver. copper and quicksilver were
taken out, and 800 miles of railroad are
projected into the heart of the Yuruari
region that is almost untouched.
These mines are the objective point of
Great Britain. For fifty years now Eng
land has crept on by stolen marches from
the Esequibo 10 the Morocco, to Aber-
deems boundary, to the Schomburgk line,
conceding this, denying that, repudiatng
the other, declaring territory in dis
pute," and then invading IL, establishing
statu quo and disregarding 1t; creep
ing on. planting survey stakes, gaining
over a hundred miles OF coast line, seiz-
Ing the mouth of the Orinoco. down whose
400 miles OF lovely length the parrots and
scarlet macaws stili scream and the red
monkey chatters, just as three-quarters
OF century ago they chartered and
screamed and glittered when Bolivar went
his perious way down the river In the
heart Of a country he felt IL his mission
TO free from European domination.
There are now 7-2x0 man IN the standing