492 



MEXICO. 



lows: To England, $17,300,000; United States, 

 $16,700,000; France, $4,200,000; Spain, $2,- 

 000,000; Germany, $1,100,000; South Ameri- 

 ca, $400,000 ; and other countries, $100,000. 



The value of exports from Mexico during 

 each year since 1873, for which data can be 

 procured, has been as follows for the years 

 ended June 30 : 



1873. ... , . . $35,594,005 I 1ST9 $29,891,471 



1874 27,6:,8,703 I 1830 82,663,554 



1875 27,818,788 I 1 832 29,083,293 



1878 29,235,600 | 1883 41,807,595 



The exports of articles other than the pre- 

 cious metals during the year ended June 30, 

 1883, consisted of the following : 



COMMODITIES. Valnei. 



Henequen (a kind of hemp) $3,311,062 64 



Lumber 1,917,323 67 



Coffee 1,717,19085 



Hides and skins 1,658,165 92 



Istle (another kind of hemp) 596,533 28 



Animals, living 634,87618 



Vanilla 443,850 75 



Tobacco 272,160 18 



Sugar 198,365 16 



Cutch 159,88272 



Roots 123,488 01 



Honey 115,817 56 



Beans 90,641 11 



Calicoes (Indian) 82,205 88 



Fruits 78.898 42 



Dye-wood 74.62868 



Copper 65,996 00 



Indian corn 63,684 11 



Horse-hair 62,007 77 



Barsaparilla 50,699 04 



Lead 47,554 83 



Mother-of-pearl 44,414 00 



Medical plants 84,592 41 



Sugar-crust 32,182 17 



Chick-pea (a kind of pulse) 28,855 44 



Leguminous pulse 19,596 60 



Pearls 18,500 00 



Spices 17,884 87 



Cereals 2,868 00 



Aniline 630 50 



Cacao 503 00 



Other articles 219,478 46 



TotaK $12,178,937 66 



The following statement shows the value of 

 the commerce between the United States and 

 Mexico : 



Year ended 

 June 30th. 



1880 



1831 



1882 



1883 



1884 



EXPORTS. 



Domestic. 



$6,065,974 

 9,198,077 

 13.324,505 

 14,370,932 

 11,089,603 



Foreign. 



$1,800,519 

 1,973.161 

 2,158,077 

 2,216,628 

 1,614,689 



$7,866,493 

 11,171,233 

 15,482,582 

 16,587,620 

 12,704,292 



Imports. 



$7,209,598 



8,317,802 

 8,461,899 

 8,177,128 

 9,016,486 



American Goods in Mexico. Consul Campbell 

 reported that one American sewing-machine 

 firm sold 1,800 machines in Monterey in 1883. 

 Two stores imported 2,254 American plows, 

 and American agricultural implements have 

 driven the English and German goods out of 

 the market. About 160,000 gallons of Ameri- 

 can kerosene were sent to Monterey in four- 

 teen months, and the price at retail there was 

 75 cents a gallon. 



Subsidized Steamship Company. The Compania 

 Mexicana Transatlantica was organized in Mex- 

 ico in 1884, with Dr. Jos6 Maria Bermejillo as 

 president, and Baring Brothers as the English 



agents. It is the intention of the organizers 

 of the company to have six steamers on the 

 line, but at present there are but three the 

 Oaxaca, the Mexico, and the Tamaulipas. The 

 capital was furnished in Mexico, and a large 

 subsidy is allowed to the line by the Mexican 

 Government. The pioneer ship Oaxaca was 

 launched in Glasgow. She has a gross capacity 

 of 4,320 tons and a net capacity of 2,670 tons. 

 Her length over all is 400 feet, her beam 44 

 feet, and her depth 32 feet. She is a three- 

 masted, brig-rigged vessel, with triple suspen- 

 sion engines of 5,000 horse-power, and is admi- 

 rably arranged for tropical trade. The cost of 

 the steamer was about $600,000. 



Army and Nayy. The military force of the 

 republic consists of an army numbering 18,- 

 894 men, with 1,741 officers, and a navy of 

 four gunboats. 



Events of 1884. The year will be memorable 

 in Mexican annals on account of the opening of 

 uninterrupted direct rail communication with 

 the United States. Continued stagnation in 

 business was caused partly by excessive im- 

 portation in the preceding years, and in part 

 by injudicious direct taxation that weighed 

 heavily on local commerce. Government and 

 general finances have also been in continual 

 straits, and Congress has finally rejected the 

 agreement with British bondholders, under 

 pressure of public opinion that condemned the 

 terms of the arrangement. At one time, in the 

 summer, Mexico seemed on the brink of revo- 

 lution, but the conspiracy was detected and 

 the would-be revolutionists were incarcerated. 

 Fortunately, the reaccession to power of 

 Porfirio Diaz, and the hope that he would re- 

 store a normal condition where there seemed 

 inextricable financial confusion, calmed the 

 public mind. The troubles were aggravated 

 by the severe drought and failure of the In- 

 dian-corn crop in a portion of northern Mex- 

 ico. Confidence in the new administration, 

 however, opened up a fair prospect toward the 

 close of the year. 



Condition of the Conntry. In his first message, 

 on the opening of Congress, April 1, President 

 Gonzalez, predecessor of Porfirio Diaz, said : 



The relations with foreign powers are cordial. The 

 negotiations for renc^ying relations with England con- 

 tinue. The reciprocity treaty with the United States 

 will exercise a powerful influence on the commerce of 

 both countries. The railroads are showing good re- 

 sults. The main line of the Mexican Central has been 

 completed, and will be opened to the public to-mor- 

 row. The total mileage of railroads in the republic is 

 3,528, and the telegraphic system has largely increased 

 since the last session of Congress. A line of steamers 

 to Asia has been subsidized. The fusion of the Na- 

 tional and Mercantile Banks is complete. Their ac- 

 tion concerning the settlement of the English debt 

 has not yet been determined. 



On the reopening of Congress, September 

 16, the President said that a commission would 

 soon sail for China and Japan to develop Mex* 

 ican commercial relations and interests, nrd 

 that the subventions to steamship lines had 

 been amplified, the most important contract, 



