MEXICO. 



40S 



terest in the subject was manifest throughout 

 its bounds. The Conference authorized the train- 

 ing and sending out of a suitable person into the 

 foreign mission field, through the medium of the 

 China Inland Mission, and directed the General 

 Committee to take immediate steps to consider 

 the claims and fitness of possible candidates. A 

 secretary was appointed in the interest of the 

 Endeavor Societies. 



MEXICO, a federal republic in North Amer- 

 ica. The legislative power is vested in the Con- 

 gress, consisting of a Senate and a House of Rep- 

 resentatives. There are 56 Senators, 2 for each 

 of the 27 states and the federal district, and 

 227 members of the House of Representatives, 1 

 to 40,000 inhabitants, elected for four and two 

 years respectively by the votes of all adult male 

 citizens of respectable character. The President 

 is elected for four years by a college of electors. 

 In case of his disability Congress has authority 

 to elect an acting President who shall discharge 

 his duties until his recovery, or until the close 

 of the presidential term if the disability is per- 

 manent. The President of the republic is Gen. 

 D. Porfirio Diaz, reelected for the fifth time on 

 July 9, 1900. The Cabinet was composed at the 

 beginning of 1902 as follows: Secretary of State 

 for Foreign Affairs, I. Mariscal; Secretary of the 

 Interior, Gen. M. Gonzalez Cosio; Secretary of 

 Justice and Public Instruction, J. Fernandez; 

 Secretary of Public Welfare, Colonization, and 

 Industry, L. Fernandez; Secretary of P'inance and 

 Public Credit, J. I. Limantour; Secretary of Com- 

 munications and Public Works, Gen. F. Z. Mena ; 

 Secretary of War and Marine, Gen. Bernardo 

 Reyes; Treasurer, E. Loaeza. 



Area and Population. The area of the states 

 and territories and their population at the census 

 of Oct. 28, 1900, compared with the population at 

 the census of Oct. 20, 1895, are stated in the fol- 

 lowing table: 



The population comprised 6.716,007 males and 

 6,829.455 females in 1900. The whites consti- 

 tuted 19 per cent, of the whole, persons of mixed 

 blood 43 per cent., and Indians 38 per cent. 



There were 1,908,707 Indians in 1895 who could 

 not speak Spanish, and 2,034,712 who habitually 

 spoke the native Indian languages. The number 

 of foreigners in 1895 was 50,888, of whom 13,962 

 were Guatemalans, 12,859 Spaniards, 11,331 cit- 

 izens of the United States, 3,599 French, 2,450 

 British, 2,155 Germans, 1,932 Italians, 1,197 other 

 Europeans, 993 Asiatics, and 408 South and Cen- 

 tral Americans. The number of marriages record- 

 ed in 1898 was 61,687; of births, 489,933; of 

 deaths, 452,328. Registration has been lax, and 

 in 1898 it was made a condition of the recognition 

 of children as legitimate. 



Finances. The total receipts of the federal 

 treasury for the year ending June 30, 1901, 

 amounted to $63,283,196 Mexican, and expend- 

 itures to $59,423,006. For 1902 the revenue was 

 estimated at $62,290,000, and expenditure at $62,- 

 275,102. The budget for the year ending June 30, 

 1903, makes the total receipts $64,823,600, of 

 which $29,228,200 are derived from import and 

 export duties, $25,739,000 from stamps, etc., 

 $3,524,000 from posts and telegraphs, $3,443,000 

 from direct taxes, and $2,889,400 from various 

 sources. The expenditures for 1903 were esti- 

 mated at $64,738,816, of which $1,145,985 are for 

 the legislative power, $308.273 for the executive 

 power, $426,908 for the judiciary, $688,935 for for- 

 eign affairs, $5,151,422 for the interior, $3.218,621 

 for justice and education, $996,266 for public wel- 

 fare, $9,214,191 for public works, $29,304,265 for 

 finance, and $14,283,950 for war and marine. The 

 foreign commercial exchanges have been so dis- 

 turbed by the depreciation and fluctuations of 

 silver that in 1902 the Government gave permis- 

 sion to the banks to keep accounts with their 

 customers in either gold or silver and convert sil- 

 ver credits into gold or gold credits into silver at 

 current rates. The banks have accumulated gold 

 reserves against their gold liabilities. The Gov- 

 ernment contemplates adopting the gold basis. 

 The revenue for 1903 is estimated at $67,959,000, 

 and expenditure at $67,597,000. The surplus of 

 1902 was $3,000,000 and the accumulated sur- 

 pluses amounted to $26,000,000 in silver and over 

 $3,000,000 in gold. 



The federal debt in 1901 amounted to $109,- 

 475,000 payable in gold, consisting of a 6-per-cent. 

 loan of $50,845,000 obtained in 1888, one of $29,- 

 763,000 contracted in 1890, one of $14,970,800 con- 

 tracted in 1893, and 5-per-cent. bonds of the 

 Tehuantepec Railroad dating from 1889; consoli- 

 dated 3-per-cent. bonds payable in silver amount- 

 ing to $51,000,000, redeemable internal bonds pay- 

 ing 5 per cent., and railroad bonds payable in 

 silver, making a total silver debt of $135,509,271, 

 besides a floating debt of $1,296,965. 



Each state elects a Governor, Legislature, and 

 judicial officers to enforce its separate laws and 

 has power to levy taxes, but not to impose du- 

 ties on the products of other states. The budgets 

 of the 27 states in 1899 amounted to the sum of 

 $19,952,534 for receipts and $19,695.936 for dis- 

 bursements. 



The standard of value is the Mexican dollar 

 containing 24.440 grams of fine silver. From 1821 

 up to June 30. 1900, the Mexican mints coined 

 $1,396,273.190 in silver. $59.285.530 in gold, and 

 $6,585,520 of copper and $2,744,000 of nickel 

 coins. 



The Army and the Navy. The strength of 

 the army in 1900 was stated to be 32,143 men, 

 including 2,068 officers. The infantry numbered 

 1,314 officers and 21,291 men; cavalry. 566 offi- 

 cers and 6.683 men; artillery and train, 188 offi- 

 cers and 2.101 men. In the'cavalry are included 

 261 rural guards and 118 gendarmes. The infan- 



