ECONOMIC CONDITION OF MEXICO. 183 



Like the United States, Mexico has endeavoured to foster lier industries by a 

 system of tariffs affecting most objects imported from abroad. As a rule the duties 

 levied at the seaports or on the land frontiers amount to 38 per cent, of the 

 declared value. Hence the contraband trade, especially in American cotton 

 fabrics, continues to flourish all along the line, but principally in the " free zone," 

 where 850 custom-house officers, distributed over a distance of 1,680 miles, are 

 supposed to keep effective guard over all the exchanges. Some articles, regarded 

 as useful for the industrial or scientific development of the land, enter free of duty. 

 In 1889 only eighty ports were open to foreign trade, exclusive of the "land 

 ports " on the northern and southern frontiers. In 1889 the Mexican seaports 

 were regularly visited by twelve lines of steamers, six in direct relation witli 

 Europe, the West Indies, and the Eastern States of the northern republic, two 

 with California, and four engaged on the coast service. The sea-borne traffic by 

 steam represents nearly one-half of all the exchanges, although sailing-vessels, 

 mostly flying the national flag, at e four times more numerous than steamers in the 

 movement of the seaports. The coasting- trade is reserved exclusively to Mexican 

 shipping. 



Mexico has lagged a quarter of a century behind the civilised countries of 

 West Europe in railway building. The first line, connecting Vera Cruz with a 

 suburb, was not opened till 1850. Another line, constructed in 1857 between the 

 capital and the shrine of Guadalupa, was rather an object of curiosity for pleasure- 

 seekers or devotees than a means of communication subservient to commercial 

 interests. But after the collapse of the attempt made to restore the monarchy and 

 the definite recognition of Mexican independence, a beginning was made with the 

 various projects that had been long worked out for the development of a regular 

 railway system between the large centres of population. Thanks to the aid of 

 British, and to a less extent of United States cajDital, the work was undertaken and 

 pushed on so rapidly, soldiers being even employed as navvies, that in the course 

 of a few years Mexico already compared favourably with several European countries 

 in the lelative extent of her railway system. A great obstacle to the progress of 

 the new means of communication was the line between Yera Cruz and the capital, 

 which was the first taken in hand, and which happened to be the most difficult of all. 

 But before any expansion could be given to the system it was considered essential 

 to open the great trade route, placing the capital of the republic in direct relation 

 with the ports of the United States, Great Britain, France, the West Indies, and 

 South America, To accomplish this result enormous works had to be executed, 

 works unexampled even in Europe. Mountains had to be scaled to double the 

 height of the bighest Alpine tunnels, the three hot, temperate, and cold zones had 

 to be successively traversed in a vertical direction, in order to reach the region of 

 snows without extending the route beyond all reason along the interminable slopes 

 of the lateral valleys. This colossal work has been successfully executed, and the 

 Vera Cruz line to the capital now offers an amazing series of stupendous bridges, 

 viaducts, tunnels, sharp curves, steep gradients, and other engineering triumphs. 



The Metlac viaduct between Cordoba and Orizaba is a model of constructive 



