MEXICO. 



553 



tion has been united with the Methodist 

 Church of Canada, represented that the results 

 of the union, in which the principles of the 

 Bible Christian Connection were conserved, 

 had been beneficial. The undertaking by the 

 South Australian Conference to build a college, 

 to be called Way College, was confirmed. The 

 churches in Victoria were authorized to form 

 a conference. Provision was made for the oc- 

 casional assembly of a " Pan- Australian " Con- 

 ference. The constitution of the examining 

 and of the stationing committee was modified 

 by adding two laymen to each of them. 



The annual meeting of the Bible Christian 

 Missionary Society was held May 4. The re- 

 ceipts of the society for the year had been 

 6,040, and the disbursements 6,713. An 

 increase of 436 approved members was re- 

 turned. Two missionaries had been sent out 

 to labor in China under the auspices of the 

 China Inland Mission. The sum of 796 had 

 been appropriated for the new China mission, 

 and 446 had been contributed for that object. 



MEXICO, a confederated republic of North 

 America. Area, 748,144 square miles ; popula- 

 tion in 1883, 10,447,974, of whom 1,985,117 

 were white natives and European and Ameri- 

 can residents, constituting 19 per cent. ; 3,970,- 

 234 ; or 38 per cent., pure Indians, while the 

 remaining 43 per cent, were half-breeds. 



The cities with a population exceeding 7,000 

 inhabitants were : Ures, 8,000 ; Chihuahua, 

 12,000; Saltillo, 26,000; Monterey, 16,000; 

 Vera Cruz, 24,000 ; San Juan Bautista, 8,000 ; 

 Campeche, 16,000; Merida, 40,000; Guada- 

 lajara, 80,000; Colima, 26,251 ; Morelia, 24,- 

 000; Oajaca, 28,000; San Crist6bal, 10,500; 

 Durango, 20,000; Zacatecas, 30,000; Aguas- 

 calientes, 22,000; San Luis Potosi, 35,000; 

 Guanajuato, 52,000; Queretaro, 30,000; Pa- 

 chuca, 12,000; Toluca, 12,000 ; Puebla, 75,000; 

 and Mexico, the capital, 300,000. 



Government. The President is Don Porfirio 

 Diaz, elected for four years, beginning Dec. 1, 

 1884. His Cabinet is composed of the follow- 

 ing ministers: Foreign Relations, Setter Ig- 

 nacio Mariscal; War, Gen. Pedro Hinqjosa; 

 Public Works, Gen. Pacheco; Justice, Seftor 

 Joaquin Baranda ; Finance, Setter Manuel 

 Dublan ; Interior, Setter Manuel Romero Ru- 

 bio. The Minister to the United States is 

 Seflor M. Romero ; the United States Minister 

 to Mexico is C. Manning ; the American Con- 

 sul-General at Mexico is Porch ; the Consul at 

 Paso del Norte is J. H. Brigham ; and the Mex- 

 ican Consul-General at New York, Setter J. 

 N". Navarro. 



Army and Navy. The army of the republic 

 consists of 10,500 infantry, with 722 officers; 

 divided into 19 battalions ; 9 regiments of 

 cavalry, 4,176 strong, with 518 officers; 5 

 batteries of artillery, 1,017 strong, with 180 

 officers; 71 gendarmes, with 22 officers, doing 

 coast service; 9 corps, 1,692 strong, of munici- 

 pal gendarmes, with 150 officers; an invalid 

 corps, 280 strong, with 19 officers, and the 



soldiery of the military colonies, 1,158 strong, 

 with 130 officers; together, 18,894 men and 

 1,741 officers. The navy consists of 4 gunboats. 



Finance. The national indebtedness, home 

 and foreign, amounts to $125,000,000. At 

 the time the decree of June 22, 1885, was 

 issued, the budget for 1885-'86 estimated the 

 outlay at $38,903,348, and, adding thereto the 

 deficits of three years up to June 30, 1885 

 ($24,043,600), there had to be provided for 

 the sum of $62,946,948; whereas the income 

 was estimated not to exceed $27,000,000, 

 leaving a deficiency of $35,946,948. The pro- 

 visions of the decree of June 22 changed the 

 budget estimate for 1885-'86 to the following 

 statement of revenue and expenditure : Out- 

 lays, less $2,221,545; discount from salaries, 

 $20,278,455, and adding thereto $24,043,600 

 of deficit to June 30, 1885, there remained 

 $44,322,055 to be provided for. The income 

 being estimated at $27,000,000, and the 6- 

 per-cent. bond issue decreed, amounting to 

 $25,000,000, there were thus resources at the 

 disposal of the treasury, prospectively, reaching 

 $52,000,000, leaving a surplus of $7,677,945. 



Early in 1886 the 'Government issued a de- 

 cree establishing in the city of Mexico a bureau 

 for the registry, acknowledgment, liquidation, 

 and conversion of all national indebtedness 

 and claims against the exchequer. Simultane- 

 ously, a financial agency was opened in Lon- 

 don, under the temporary management of 

 Don Francisco Z. Mena, the Mexican minister 

 at Berlin ; Don Carlos Mexia, Mexican consul 

 in Liverpool, to be his secretary. 



The new 3-per-cent. consols for the conver- 

 sion of the Mexican debt are to be issued to 

 the amount of $150,000,000, to be bonds pay- 

 able to bearer in national coin, and to be taken 

 in payment in full for government lands or 

 any other Federal properties unpaid cou- 

 pons to be taken in payment to the amount of 

 5 per cent, in the settlement of all Federal 

 taxes for the fiscal year next following. As a 

 direct sequel of this decree, the financial agent 

 in London made, on June 23, an arrangement 

 with the council of foreign bond-holders, ap- 

 proved by the committee of Mexican bond- 

 holders, in accordance with which the per 

 cent, interest due foreign bond-holders for the 

 six months ended June 30, 1886, was paid on 

 the day following by Messrs. Glyn, Mills, Cur- 

 rie & Co., London ; the unpaid coupons of the 

 1851 loan were settled for by an issue payable 

 between Jan. 1, 1887, and Dec. 31, 1890. In 

 exchange for the 1864 loan and overdue cou- 

 pons, holders received 50 3 per cent, new 

 bonds for every 100, all new coupons to date 

 from Jan. 1, 1887. The new consols are to 

 bear interest as follows : 1886, 1 per cent. ; 

 1887, H per cent. ; 1888, 2 per cent. ; 1889, 

 2 per cent. ; and dating from January, 1890, 3 

 per cent., payable half-yearly. At a general 

 meeting of bond-holders, held in London on 

 June 30, the settlement was accepted. 



Investment of English Capital. There was in- 



