The land question is also a serious objection. A large portion of
the public lands have already been disposed of, and com[)aratively
little of the public and private lands have been surveyed, and cannot
easily be had in small lots. The large land-holders are unwilling to
divide their estates, and the Indians holding large tracts of land are
very reluctant to part with them at any price.
Coffee raising is undoubtedly one of the most profitable undertak-
ings in Mexico, but at the same time it has serious drawbacks. It
takes from tliree to four years before the trees begin to yield, and the
planter must be provided with sufficient means to defray not only his
personal expenses, but also those of the plantation, like houses,
machinery, cultivation, etc., without receiving any proceeds until the
third or fourth year. Besides, if he makes any mistake in the selec-
tion of his land, his profits will be considerably reduced. The gen-
eral impression prevailing in Mexico is that coffee is the product of the
hot lands, where the coffee trees need shade ; but a plantation in such
lands would cost a great deal more money to make and to keep, and
would yield smaller profits than one located in the temperate zone,
that is, just below the frost line.'
' The same views were expressed in Mexico to the State Department by the
United States Consuls, and even published in the Consular Ni/'orts for August, 1894,
vol. xlv. , No. 167, pp. 628, 629.
" Consular advices received at the Department of .State warn Americans about
emijjrating to Mexico, with a view to permanent settlement, with insufficient means or
without informing themselves in a relialile way as to the prospects for earning liveli-
128 ©eocjrapbical IRotes on /IDejico.
For the American common laborer who looks to his day's pay for
his living, Mexico is unquestionably not the proper place to go. He
cannot compete with the Mexican laborer, whose usual pay is from 38
to 50 cents a day in silver, and he boards himself. For the man who
has no means, unless he is especially qualified in some particular
branch, and knows something of the language, and will work harder
and longer hours, it is no place. There is room for the steady, sober,
industrious mechanic or miner or tradesman who will adapt himself
to new conditions and surroundings, leave all social, political, and
other ambitions behind him, and who will attend strictly to his own
business.
Those who are safest in going to Mexico are those who have a
little capital, say from $2000 in gold and ui)ward, which will give them
about twice that amount there; w'ho can look around and decide what
they propose to do, and where they want to settle. There is an excel-
lent field for the small general farmer of the New^ England or Middle
States type, who will raise a little of everything. Butter, ])otatoes,
hogs, poultry, corn, vegetables, and small grain find a ready sale at
good prices. I have seen the common article of corn, which is nearly
always a sure crop, sell at from $1 to $1.25 per bushel, Mexican money.
It is always best for the mechanic or miner to first secure a job
before going to Mexico, and work for wages several months, and in
the meantime study the situation, get acquainted with the language,
the customs, and the people before going it alone.
The manner of living there and the customs of the people are
totally different from those of the United States. Those going there
will have to work harder and longer hours than in the United States,
but tliey can save money. Ten years ago Americans went to Mexico
to make money and return to the United States ; to-day they go to
find homes. I know several Americans who would not live in the
United States again.
The climate of Mexico ])ermits a man to work every day in the
year. The cost of living and clothing is cheap, and a dollar in Mexi-
can money can be made to go as far there as a dollar in American
money in the United States, and a dollar there is easier to get.
In mining, Mexico offers inducements superior to any other coun-
hoods. While there are undoubtedly good opportunities in Mexico for enterprise,
frugality, and thrift, it is like other countries, a land of varying conditions, and it often
happens that disappointment is the result of emigration undertaken upon insufficient
or misleading information, or without resources, which are always necessary for success
in a new country. Many Americans have been induced by alluring statements as to
the cheapness of coffee raising, etc., to emigrate to Mexico within the past year, and
some have lost their all by so doing. For these reasons Consuls desire'to caution
Americans against the representations of speculators, who are always on the watch for
the unwary."
public H)ebt, 129
try ; and whether a man has a thousand dollars or a million he can go
there and make money if he exercises ordinary precaution and judg-
ment, and if he makes up his mind to stand the discomforts of the
country. It is a good country for the prospector, too, because there
are no seasons against him, and there are many new fields entirely un-
touched; but he needs money enough to get there with and enable him
to obtain the proper kind of outfit, and time to familiarize himself
with the requirements of the law and select some district in which he
wants to operate.
For the small capitalist, or for a small syndicate, there is no finer
field for the organizing of small legitimate companies for the purposes
of opening and working old abandoned mines, which are filled with
debris or water, and which it will pay to clean out and work, and
of which there are still many to be had. In times gone by they were
abandoned because of the refractory condition of the ores, or lack of
machinery, or want of transportation, all of which conditions have been
removed. There is also a fine opening for capital for the exploration
of the new gold-fields in the vicinity of Guadalupe y Calvo, in the
range between Sonora and Chihuahua, in the State of Guerrero, and
in many other localities.
There are in various parts of Mexico educated, experienced, and
thoroughly reliable Americans to be found, who have lived a long
while in the country, and know the language, the laws, and the people,
and would be willing to give reliable information to young Americans
wishing to go there.
PUBLIC DEBT.
The public debt of Mexico is represented by bonds drawing differ-
ent rates of interest, some payable in gold and others in silver. In
1825, very soon after our independence, we contracted two loans in
London, both for 10,000,000 pounds sterling, which we mainly used for
buying war-ships and war material. On account of the disturbed con-
dition of the country, the interest on that debt could not be paid punc-
tually, and the bonds naturally fell to a very low nominal price. In
1851, after the war with the United States, we refunded that debt in
new bonds, the interest of which was reduced from 5 to 3 per cent.,
which we expected to pay punctually, but the disturbed condition of
the country made it impossible for us to do it. Finally, in 1888, the
debt was readjusted and gold bonds bearing 6 per cent, interest issued,
and as we have paid since punctually the interest, they have reached par.
We had issued bonds from 1849 to 1856 to pay claims of English,
French, and Spanish subjects under certain conventions signed with
those countries, and such bonds were exchanged at different rates for
the 6 per cent, gold bonds of our foreign debt.
VOL. 1—9
13© (Beoorapbical Botes on ffbc^ico.
To build the Tehuantepec Railway we negotiated in London, in
1888, another gold loan for 3,000,000 pounds sterling at 5 per cent,
interest.
The subsidies granted to railway companies were payable in sil-
ver, with a percentage of our import duties, but as they amounted to
a considerable sum their payment reduced the revenue considerably,
and the Mexican Government contracted in London in 1890 a gold
loan at 6 per cent, interest, with which it paid the subsidies due up to
that date to most of the railway companies.
We had to issue besides in 1850 what we call domestic or interior
bonds, at 3 and 5 per cent, interest in silver, and we had other indebt-
edness of several kinds, caused by loans and other sources when the
revenue of the Government was not enough to pay its expenses. All
such debts have been consolidated into new bonds of 3 and 5 per
cent, interest, payable in silver. Such railway subsidies as were not
paid out of the proceeds of the loan of 1890 have been paid with bonds
drawing 5 per cent, interest, paying both capital and interest in silver.
It is very onerous for Mexico when it is on a silver basis to pay in
gold the interest of its foreign debt, because we have to buy gold at
current prices, and it costs us now more than double its current price.
When silver was about 50 cents on the dollar, as compared with gold,
6 per cent, interest of our foreign debt, cost us 12 per cent., and of
course the further silver is depreciated the greater will be the cost of
paying the interest of our gold debts.
President Diaz gives in his report of November 30, 1896, the follow-
ing data about the cost to the Mexican Treasury of buying exchange
to place in London the funds to pay us the gold interest on our foreign
debt :
Fiscal year 1888-1889 $ 729,178.17
" 1890-1891 2,314,477.77
" " 1891-1892 3,225,246.77
" " 1892-T893 5,101,223.57
In the second part of this paper I will give a detailed statement
showing the different kinds of bonds and obligations which constitute
the Mexican debt, and here will only give the figures of the total
amount, which are the following :
Sterling Mexican debt $1 14,675,895.49
Debt payable in silver 88,549,111.80
Total $203,225,007.29
It is not possible to fix the exact amount of the debt of Mexico,
either in silver or gold, because of the daily changes in the price of
Banluno*
131
silver ; but as silver is the currency of the country, when the Mexican
dollar is worth 24 pence in London, the amount of our debt in silver
would be equal to our sterling debt, that is : $114,675,895.40 added to
our debt will make a grand total in Mexican silver of $317,900,902.78.
BANKING.
Banking in Mexico is in its incipient state. The National Bank of
Mexico, established in the City of Mexico in 1882, with its branches
in the principal cities of the country, has a monopoly for the issuing of
notes in the capital which is only shared by such banks as were in ex-
istence before the National Bank of Mexico was chartered, like the
Bank of London, Mexico, and South America, established during the
French intervention in Mexico and recently remodelled under the
name of the Bank of London and Mexico. The Mortgage Bank of
Mexico enjoys that privilege also.
On June 3, 1896, a general banking law was issued by the Mexican
Congress, which establishes the conditions under which banking insti-
tutions can be organized ; but, of course, that does not affect the rights
of the National Bank and other banks in the City of Mexico which
had been chartered before the date of that law.
Formerly, owing to the expense and dangers of transportation, it
was difficult to transport money from one place to another, and there-
fore exchange between cities in Mexico was very high, sometimes even
ten per cent, from one city to another in the country. The rate has
been reduced considerably since the railroads were built, but it is still
quite high. To draw money from the City of Mexico to the City of
Oaxaca, for instance, and vice versa, costs now one per cent, each way ;
when money is required to be sent to smaller places the expenses are
much higher, as it is necessary to send a man to the nearest town
where the money can be placed by the banks, and pay to him a large
commission — the expenses sometimes reaching ten per cent. To keep
up this rate of exchange the National Bank makes its bills payable at
a certain place so that they cannot be paid at any other.
Banking is very profitalile in Mexico. The following is a statement
of the earnings and dividends of the National Bank of Mexico, which
began with a cai)ital of $3,000,000, increased since to $6,000,000, hav-
ing now a reserve fund of $5,500,000, and is owned almost exclusively
by Mexicans, being the fiscal agent of the Government :
1 89 1
l8()2
i8<)i
lSq4
NET PROFITS.
$1,813,623
1,839,415
2,355,4(14
I, 'I'll, 801
2,200,626
DIVIDENDS.
23 per cent.
23 " "
29 " "
24 " "
27 •' "
132
Geograpbical IRotcs on /IDcjico.
The following is a statement, from official sources, of the earnings
and dividends of the Bank of London and Mexico. Up to 1891 it
had a capital of $1,500,000, which was then increased to $3,000,000 :
NET PROFITS.
1889
1S90
189I
1892
1893
1894
1895
$243,246
569,351
703,522
789,967
618,653
603,178
557,710
DIVIDENDS EARNED,
PER CENT.
16
36
46
26
20J
20
184
DIVIDENDS DECLARED,
PER CENT.
10
20
20
16
16
14
14
Recently the capital stock of this bank was further increased to
,^10,000,000, without any expense to the stockholders, as the reserve
fund, which amounted to about $2,000,000, was used to complete the
new capital, and was issued to the regular stockholders as a stock
dividend. The balance to complete the $5,000,000 of new stock was
offered to the public, the subscriptions amounting to $22,000,000, or
$17,000,000 more than was wanted.
From this statement it will be seen that the existing banks are
prosperous and in a flourishing condition, but the demand for in-
creased banking facilities is such that new banks are being formed,
and the operations of the old banks increased and extended in various
directions.
PATENTS AND TRADE-MARKS,
Patents. — On June 7, 1890, the present patent law of Mexico was
issued, and its provisions are very similar to the respective laws exist-
ing in this country.
Since the date of that law the following patents have been issued
by our Department of Fomento :
PATENTS.
INCREASE.
DIMINUTION
63
153
90
....
168
15
....
122
46
125
3
154
29
785
1890
I89I
1892
1893
1894
1895
Trade-Marks. — On November 28, 1889, our present law regulating
trade-marks was |)romulgated, and since then the following trade-
marks have been issued by the Department of Fomento :
Sbippina.
133
1890
1891
1892
1893
1894
1895
TRADE-MARKS.
97
112
161
loS
79
91
648
15
49
DIMINUTION.
53
29
SHIPPING.
The mercantile marine of Mexico in 1895 comprised 52 steamers
and 222 sailing vessels. The shipping included also many small ves-
sels engaged in the coasting trade.
In 1893-94, in the foreign trade, 1237 vessels of 1,314,625 tons
entered, and 1211 vessels of 1,296,834 tons cleared the ports of Mexico.
In the coasting trade 7721 of 1,623,371 tons entered and 7708 of
1,592,754 tons cleared. In 1894-95, in the foreign and coasting trade,
there entered 9575 vessels of 3,428,973 tons, and cleared 9557 of
3,359,684 tons.
In the statistical portion of this chapter I will give official informa-
tion about the number of vessels and their tonnage, which have entered
and cleared from Mexican ports in recent years, the nations from which
they came, and other valuable data.
MONEY, WEIGHTS, AND MEASURES.
The standard of value is silver. There is no paper currency except
ordinary bank notes.
The silver peso or dollar of 100 centavos is the unit of coin in
Mexico.
The silver peso weighs 27.073 grammes, .902 fine, and thus contains
24.419 grammes of fine silver.
The lo-pesos gold-piece weighs 27.0643 grammes, .875 fine, and
thus contains 23.6813 grammes of fine gold.
The weights and measures of the metric system were introduced in
1856 ; but the Indians and other ignorant people use the old Spanish
measures. The principal ones are these :
Weight. — I libra=o.46 kilogramme, 1. 014 lbs. avoirdupois.
I arroba=25 libras, 25.357 lbs. avoirdupois.
J^or Gold and Silver. — i marco = ^ libra, 4,608 granos.
I ochava=62 toniines.
I tomin=i2 granos.
20granos=i French gramme.
Length. — i vara — 0.837 metre = 2 ft. i-^Q English inches.
I legua comun (i common league) = 5,000 yards.
I legua marina (i marine league) = 6,666| yards.
134 (Beoorapbical motes on /IDejico.
NON-OFFICIAL PUBLICATIONS.
The following is a partial and rather incomplete list of (principally
English) books about Mexico :
Abbott, Gorham D., Mexico and the U?nted States. New York, 1869.
Bancroft, H. H., A Popular History of the Mexican People. 8. London.
Resources and Development of Alexico. San Francisco, 1894.
Brocklehurst, T. U., Mexico To-day. London, 1S83.
Burke, U. R., Life of Benito yuarez. 8. London, 1894.
Castro, Lorenzo, The Republic of Mexico in 1882. New York, 1S82.
Q\{.K&.'Hh\,V>., Ancient Cities of the New World. Tr. 8. London.
QYi%v KiAY.Vi, '^iCYiV.'L, Le Mexique ancien et jnoderne. 18. Paris, 1886.
CONKLING, Howard, Mexico a^id the Mexicans. New York, 1S83.
CONKLING, A. R. Appletons Gtiide to Mexico. New York, 1890.
Crawford, Cora Hayward, The Land of the Montezumas. New York, i88g.
CuBAS, Antonio Garcia, Mexico, its Trade, Industries, and Resources.
Mexico, 1893,
Flint, H. M., Mexico under Maximilian. 12. Philadelphia, 1867.
Gloner, Prosper, Les Finances des Etats Unis Mexicains. Bruxelles, 1895.
GoocH, F. C, Face to Face with the Mexicans. London, 1890.
Griffin, S. B., Mexico of To-day. New York, 18S6.
Hamilton, Leonidas, Border States of Mexico. Chicago, 18S2.
Hamilton, L. L. C, I/amiltotts Mexican Handbook. London, 1884.
Janvier, Thomas A., The Mexican Guide. New York, 18S6.
¥..07.n¥.YAK,'E., Report on the Republic of Mexico. London, 1S86.
La Bedolliere, Emile G. de, Histoire de la guerre du Mexique. 4. Paris, 1866.
Lester, C. Edwards, The Mexican Republic. New York, 1878.
Noll, Arthur Howard,^ Short History of Mexico. Chicago, 1890.
Ober, F. a., Travels in Mexico. Boston, U. S., 1884.
Prescott, W, H., History of the Conquest of Alexico. 8. London.
Ratzel, Fried., A us Mexico, Reiseskizzen aus den Jahren 1874-ys. Breslau,
1878.
Rice, John N., Mexico, Our Neighbor. New York. (No date.)
ROUTIER, G., Le Mexique de nos Jours. Paris, 1895.
Schroeder, Seaton, The Fall of Maximilian s Empire as seen from a United
States Gunboat. New York, 18S7.
ScoBEL, A., " Die Verkehrswege Mexicos und ihre wirtschaftliche Bedeutung."
In Deutsche Geographische Blatter. Band X, Heft i. Bremen, 1887.
Hirough the Land of the Aztecs ; or, Life and Travel in Mexico. By s.
" Gringo." London, 1892.
Wells, David A., A Study of Mexico. New York, 1887.
PART 11.
STATISTICS
135
II. STATISTICS.
I do not know of any publication in which the latest statistical in-
formation about Mexico is compiled in a concise and complete form.
One which perhaps is the fullest, published in Berlin by Messrs.
Puttkammer & Muhlbrecht, entitled I.cs Finances des Etats- Unis Mexi-
cains, written by Mr. Prosper Gloner, contains a great deal more
statistical information than others, and is of later date.
It has required a great deal of work, energy, and time on my part
to collect the data contained in this paper, most of which is of an
official character, and I am sure it is the most complete ever published,
I having tried to make it very concise, so as to take the smallest
space possible.
REVENUES AND EXPENSES.
The financial question was for many years the leading and the
most difficult one in Mexico, because the urgent needs of the Treasury,
especially on account of the disturbed condition of the country, made
public expenses considerably exceed the revenue, and this condition
did not allow of a thorough overhauling and settlement of the finances,
nor did it contribute to establish the credit of the Government ; but
peace having prevailed since 1877, a great improvement has taken place
in the financial condition of Mexico ; the revenue has increased con-
siderably, and it has finally reached an amount amply sufficient to pay
all our expenses. In fact, at the end of the fiscal year, ended June
30, 1896, we had for the first time in the history of Mexico since its
independence, a surplus which amounted to ;|6, 000,000. The obnoxious
tax which we inherited from tlie Spanish, called alcabalas^ or interstate
duties on domestic and forei^Mi comTnerce, was a great drawback to
internal trade, was finally abolished on July i, 1896 ; and the country
being now in a condition when radical reforms can be introduced
without serious disturbances.
Our expenses as an independent nation are necessarily large, and
as a comparatively small jxjrtion of our population are really producers-
137
138 statistical IWotes on /IDejico.
of wealth, upon them lies the whole burden of such expenses ; that is,
we are a nation of from twelve to fifteen millions of inhabitants, with
a very large territory and a large coast on both oceans, requiring army,
revenue, light-house, and police service, and other expensive institu-
tions proportionate to such extent and population, when the portion
which contribute to such expenses is only about one-fourth or one-third
of the same.
It is a very difificult task to give a complete and correct statement
of the revenues and expenses of the Mexican Government prior to the
year 1867. The disturbed condition of the country made it often
quite impossible to keep any account at all : such was the case especially
from 1858 to i860, as during that period the City of Mexico and a
large part of the country was occupied by the Church party under
Miramon, and from 1863 to 1867 by the French Intervention. Be-
sides that cause it was a very difficult matter for us to keep a correct
account of public receipts and expenses, in some way for lack of a good
system of book-keeping. To make a statement of the revenues and
expenses of the Mexican Government since the independence of the
country from Spain, I had to rely upon the reports made by Secretaries
of the Treasury, which are, however, lacking for many years, and which
contain rather an estimate than an account of the revenues and ex-
penses, and I have made in that way the statement which I append
under No. i, which embraces the revenues and expenses from the year
1808, the last of the Spanish rule in Mexico, to the year 1867.
The forming of accounts was under the charge of the Federal
Treasury of Mexico, and the Treasury kept its accounts with a very
defective system of book-keeping, which prevented them from being
correct. To remedy that difficulty, after the restoration of the Repub-
lic in 1867, a bureau of accounts was established in the Treasury De-
partment, but its accounts were seldom correct, because it did not
have the necessary detailed data to make a complete account, and, as
could be expected, the results in the accounts of both bureaus differ
widely.
In 1880 the Federal Treasury was reorganized with a large number
of clerks with a view to keep a full and correct account of public
moneys, and from that year until 1888 their accounts began to be
better than before. In 1888 the system was still remodelled and im-
proved, and since then that office has been able to keep correct and
complete accounts of our public revenues and expenses.
I also append a statement No. 2 of the revenues and expenses
of the Mexican Treasury from July i, 1867, to June 30, 1888. The
first thirteen years in that statement are taken from the data furnished
by the Bureau of Accounts of our Treasury Department. The account
of the year 1 879-1 880 was taken from the account of the Federal
IRevenue auD Bjpeuses.
139
Treasury, and the data for the year 1880-1881 from the accounts pub-
lished by the Liquidating Bureau established by the Mexican Govern-
ment to close the old accounts and open the new ones under the new
system. The accounts of the year 1888-1889, which appear in state-
ment No. 3, are all taken from the Federal Treasury of Mexico, and
are complete and correct.
I also append a statement of the appropriations approved by the
Federal Congress during the fiscal years from 1868 to 1895. The
actual expenses never exceeded the appropriations and the revenue
was generally below them.
NO. I. — REVENUE AND EXPENSES OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OF
MEXICO IN 1808 AND FROM 1822 TO JUNE 30, 1867.
1808, Colonial period
1822, Independence period. . .
1823
1824
1825 to Sept. 1st
Sept. I, 1825, to June 30, 1826
1826-27
1827-28
1828-29
1829-30
1830-31
1831-32
1832-33
1833-34
1834-35
1835-36
1836-37
1837-38