MKXICO. 



MICHIGAN. 



461 



reduced ti> :'. per cent, from 1890. The total 

 fon-i-jn d.-l.t is I' 16,500,000, and the total funded 

 m..imi- to $111,000,000. In the sales of 

 public lands the Government hopes to liquidate 

 ,i lanjf I 'art of the debt by receiving one third 

 of the price in bond-. 



Tlir Army and Navy. The military forces in 

 numbered 17,807 infantry, 5,484 cavalry, 

 irtillery, r>.V) engineers, 1,950 rural guards, 

 ami ~l-l gendarmes, making a total of 27,344. 

 The number of ollicers on the army list exceeds 

 ::,(>( MI. The reserves bring the war strength of 

 tin- iv|. ul. lie up to 131,528 infantry, 25,790 cav- 

 alry, and 3,650 artillery. The military laws 

 make every able-bodied Mexican citizen between 

 the ages of twenty and fifty liable for service. 

 'I'll.' regular army is largely armed with Rem- 

 ington rifles. The guns for the artillery and the 

 LTiinpowder are made in the Government arsenal 

 at Mexico city. Most of the officers are educated 

 in the military academy at Chapultepec. 



The Mexican war fleet comprises 2 unar- 

 raored gunboats of 450 tons, 2 dispatch vessels, 1 

 transport, 1 small gunboat, and 1 training ship. 



Commerce and Production. The value of 

 the imports in 1890 was $47,000,000, and of the 

 exports $62,499,388. In 1891 the exports were 

 valued at $63,276,395, of which $27,020,023 rep- 

 resent merchandise and $36,256,372 precious 

 metals. The values of the principal individual 

 exports in 1890 were as follow: Henequen, 

 $7,392,244 ; silver ore, $7,259,958 ; coffee, $4,811,- 

 000; hides and skins, $1,913,129; woods, $1,739.- 

 138; tobacco, $948,332; vanilla, $917,409; ixtle 

 fiber, $827,980 ; copper, $735,183 ; gum, $719,- 

 746 ; lead, $607,329 ; live animals, $500,217. The 

 exports to the United States in 1890--'91 amounted 

 to $44,983.086, against $43,022,440 in 1889-'90 ; 

 to Great Britain, $10,822,728, against $13.722,- 

 122 ; to France, $3.653,551, against $3.159,258 ; to 

 Germany, $2,785,875, against $1,693,773; to 

 Spain, $515,194, against $534,057; to other 

 countries, $455,853, against $367,738. Of the 

 imports in 1889-'90, $22,669,000 came from the 

 United States, $6,338,000 from England, $4,957,- 

 000 from France, $2,843,000 from Germany, 

 $1,921,000 from Spain, and $1,297,000 from 

 other countries. 



A law was passed in 1863 to facilitate the sale 

 and development of the public lands. Between 

 1881 and 1888 there were 36,578,780 hectares 

 taken up, mainly by companies. There were 18 

 colonies, comprising 6,524 settlers in 1891. The 

 main food crops are Indian corn, barley, wheat, 

 and beans. There are 5,000 tons of tobacco of fine 

 quality raised annually in the State of Vera Cruz 

 alone. The value of the tobacco crop is $2,500.- 

 000 a year; of the cotton crop, $10,857,000; of 

 Wgar-oane, $8,735,000; of coffee, $3,200,000; of 

 henequen, $3,718,750. Rice, cacao, vanilla, and 

 wine are some of the other products. Great num- 

 bers of cattle are raised in the northern States and 

 exported to the United States. The country is 

 exceedingly rich in minerals, and rapid progress 

 is being made in the development of the mines. 

 in which $500,000,000 are invested. There are 

 about 1,000 companies and firms engaged in 

 mining, employing upward of 200,000 men. 

 The annual product of the mines is about $70,- 

 000,000. In 1892 a new mining law was enacted 

 which varies in important regards from the 



mining code previously in force. Titles of own- 

 ership now depend on payment of the new Fed- 

 eral tax, in place of on the mines being worked. 

 Formal documents of title are now obtained from 

 the Department of Public Works. Formerly 

 only a limited number of claims could be owned 

 by any single individual or company, while tin- 

 new law places no restriction on the" number of 

 claims that may be owned. Claims are now >\i\>. 

 ject to no alteration, whatever the lay of the 

 vein may be; while under the former code the 

 size of claims varied with the lay of the vein 

 and the nature of the mineral. The organiza- 

 tion of mining companies is now subject to no 

 special rules, but is governed wholly by the com- 

 mercial code: contracts for lending money to 

 miners to carry on their work will in future be 

 treated as agreements of partnership, or as mort- 

 gages, subject to the codes applicable to both. 

 The old law giving the several States the right 

 to tax mines up to 2 per cent, of the gross earn- 

 ings remains in force, and a Federal tax of $10 

 on each 100 metres of land is made a condition 

 of title. The smaller miners object to the taxes, 

 and complain further that those who had claims 

 under the old law have to pay the cost of taking 

 out a new title, as well as a tax that was not con- 

 templated when they made their claims. 



Communications. In 1891 there were 6,266 

 miles of railroad, 360 miles having been con- 

 structed during the last three quarters of the 

 previous year. About $245,000,000 is invested 

 in Mexican railroads by United States citizens, 

 and $70,000,000 by Englishmen. The number 

 of passengers carried in 1889 was 12,977,952, 

 from whom the receipts were $2,090,505; the 

 number of tons of freight was 875,894, paving 

 $4,822,690. The Mexican Central trunk line, 

 1,294 miles, has a branch from San Luis Potosj to 

 the Gulf of Mexico at Tampico, and one running 

 westward to Guadalajara which will be extended 

 to the Pacific coast. A railway is being pushed 

 southward from the city of Mexico toward Gua- 

 temala. A narrow-gauge road from Mexico city 

 to Vera Cruz will be extended to the Pacific. The 

 telegraphs in 1891 had a total length of 27,861 

 miles, of which 14,841 miles belonged to the 

 Federal Government, while the States owned 

 about one third of the rest, and the remainder 

 was divided between the railroad and telegraph 

 companies. The post office in 1891 carried about 

 125,000,000 letters and other pieces of mail mat- 

 ter. The receipts were $1,097.435. 



The merchant marine consists of 16 steamers, 

 of 6,952 tons, and 16 sailing vessels, of 8,802 

 tons, besides which there are a large number 

 of vessels of less than 100 tons engaged in the 

 coasting trade. In 1890 the number of vessels 

 entered and cleared at the various ports was 

 1,448. A great artificial harbor is being con- 

 structed at Tampico by means of a system of 

 jetties. 



MICHIGAN, a Western State, admitted to 

 the Union Jan. 26. 1837; area, 58,915 square 

 miles. The population in 1890 was 2,093,889. 

 Capital, Lansing. 



Government. The following were the State 

 officers during the vear: Governor, Edwin 11. 

 Winans. Democrat; Lieutenant-Governor, John 

 Strong; Secretary of State. R. R. Blacker; 

 Treasurer, Frederick Braastad ; Auditor, George 



