Why Cristóbal Colón sailed with wooden gun replicas

Why did Cristóbal Colón carry wooden guns instead of her intended main battery?

Spain rejected the original ten-inch guns and failed to install replacements before the war, leaving wooden replicas to fill the positions and preserve appearances.

Cristóbal Colón belonged to the Giuseppe Garibaldi family and was designed for two ten-inch Elswick guns. Spain rejected the intended weapons on quality grounds, a justification open to doubt because comparable ordnance was supplied to Italy, Japan, and Argentina. No replacement battery was installed, so wooden replicas filled the positions. They gave the cruiser the outward appearance of a fully armed warship while concealing a serious gap in her combat power.