542 



MEXICO. 



ARTICLES. Value. 



Silver coin $22,602,493 88 



Solidsilver 1,51-2,616 94 



Gold coin 640,270 9T 



Solidgold 288,57821 



Ores and mineral earths 222,854 00 



Silver amalgam 39,251 78 



Lead 80,88100 



Copper.., 1V37 94 



Among the second class are : 



ARTICLES. Value. 



Skins $1,646,86943 



Henequen (Sisal hemp) 1,049,202 58 



Timber and precious woods 1,042,586 31 



Coffee 532,912 86 



Vanilla 414,03840 



Cochineal 276,69980 



Cattle 209,960 00 



Tobacco 132,98475 



Orchilla (Eoscella tintorea) 128,450 09 



Pearls 109,30000 



India-rubber 98,052 88 



Sarsaparilla 90,862 18 



Wool 88,685 72 



Indigo 80,229 87 



Jalap 77,51740 



Cocoanuts 46,000 00 



The following table shows the value of the 

 exports from Mexico to Great Britain during 

 the eight years from 1868 to 1875, inclusive: 



YEARS. Value. 



1868... $1,753,320 



1869 1,752,850 



1870 1,499,065 



187t' 1,986,670 



1872 ' 2,217,620 



1873 . 2,497,660 



1874 2,738,825 



1875 8,609,535 



The value of the imports from Great Britain 

 during the same eight years is shown by the 

 subjoined table : 



YEARS. Value. 



1863 $4,242,940 



1869 8,158,620 



1870 4,054,410 



1871 5,245,965 



1872 4,215,930 



1878 5,975,620 



1874 5,623,065 



1875 4,424,505 



The first of these two tabular statements 

 shows a steady increase in the value of the 

 imports, equivalent to doubling in the course 

 of the eight years ; while the second shows 

 the imports to have fluctuated from four and a 

 quarter millions to nearly six millions, and 

 then returned at the end of the period to almost 

 the precise value which marks the beginning. 



Mahogany, dye-woods, and cochineal, of the 

 value of $2,154,110, $264,100, and $194,745, 

 respectively, were the commodities most large- 

 ly exported to Great Britain in 1875. 



Now, by the table of exports it appears that 

 the single item of metals and mineral products 

 represents about four-fifths of the total value 

 officially reported ; and it is not too much to 

 assume that the same articles bear the same 

 proportion to the real total. Here, then, lies 

 the explanation of the limited extent of Mexi- 

 can foreign commerce as compared to the vast 

 capabilities of the country, and the explana- 

 tion, too, of the fact that the name of Mexico 

 in other parts of the vvorld is almost exclu- 

 sively associated with the idea of silver mines 

 and silver coin. Indeed, how could this be 



otherwise ? Of thirty-one millions' worth of 

 exports, mining products stand for twenty -five 

 millions; while all the other exports cochi- 

 neal, indigo and other dye-stuffs, coffee, vanil- 

 la-beans, hides, timber, cabinet-wood, and two 

 varieties of hemp (Sisal from Yucatan, ixtle 

 from Tamaulipas), etc. amount in the aggre- 

 gate to but six millions! So long as this con- 

 dition of things continues to exist, Mexico 

 cannot hope to establish a vigorous and inde- 

 pendent trade with foreign nations. Nor does 

 this fact escape the attention of native econo- 

 mists. In a noteworthy article published on 

 the subject of "The Silver Crisis," on March 

 24, 1876, at the city of Mexico, occurs an ob- 

 servation, alike remarkable for its accuracy 

 and the gravity of its purport: "The vital 

 energy of the country is seriously impaired ; 

 every one knows that the mines are the main 

 support of the commercial movement between 

 Mexico and foreign ports, since our agricult- 

 ural and industrial exports are inadequate to 

 counterbalance the value of the commodities 

 brought to our shores." The writer then 

 adds: " Hence the time is now easily foreseen 

 when it may become necessary to suspend op- 

 erations in all, save a few exceptionally pro- 

 ductive mines, the yield being insufficient to 

 defray the expense of working them. On the 

 introduction of the American trade - dollar, 

 which competes with our eagle, the concur- 

 rence of monetary contracts made in Europe, 

 and the discovery of prodigiously rich mines 

 in the far "West of the United States, deter- 

 mined a marked depreciation in silver. As the 

 immediate result of this crisis, the Mexican 

 dollar loses its value, bullion becomes depre- 

 ciated, exchange on Europe tends to advance 

 in a formidable degree, mercantile transactions 

 are hampered, the price of gold rises rapidly, 

 exports decrease, imports are enhanced in 

 price, many houses will be forced to stop, and 

 foreign commodities will become unusually 

 scarce. 



" If Mexico would avert the threatening 

 danger, her manufacturers should take warn- 

 ing in time, and hasten to adopt, at any cost, 

 such improvements and perfected appliances 

 as shall enable them to ameliorate the quality 

 of their products;, agriculture should be en- 

 couraged ; immigration, so often promised, but 

 in vain, should be promoted by Congress ; and 

 capitalists should turn their attention from sil- 

 ver to other mining interests less subject to 

 depreciation such as gold, platinum, quick- 

 silver, copper, iron, lead, and coal." 



The advice here offered was no less sincere 

 than it is sound ; for the proprietor and edi- 

 tor-in-chief of the very journal from which we 

 translate, M. A. Bablot, has since visited New 

 York, and established extensive relations for 

 the introduction into Mexico of every species 

 of American apparatus for the realization of 

 the plans proposed. For the efficient conduct 

 of such an enterprise he had a favorable op- 

 portunity of preparing, while acting as com- 



