The New Mexico 



*7 



ier asked him what was the object of 

 his search, and he replied that he and 

 his ancestors had spent such vast treas- 

 ures on the fortress at Vera Cruz he 

 thought he ought to be able to see some 

 of the towers of the castle rising out of 

 the sea ! The story illustrates the marked 

 difference in the Spanish rule in Mexico 

 and that which prevails today. The 

 object of Spain was to keep off intruders 

 and preserve the commerce of Mexico as 

 a monopoly for the mother country. The 

 policy of the present regime is to invite 

 to its shores all the commerce of the 

 world and afford free access to its ports. 



The country has heretofore labored 

 under a serious embarrassment in the 

 accomplishment of this purpose, in that 

 on the Atlantic or Gulf coast it had no 

 harbor worth)' of the name. Vera Cruz, 

 the principal port, was nothing but an 

 open roadstead. But during the ad- 

 ministration of Diaz a thorough system 

 of improvements has been entered upon 

 and is now approaching completion. 

 In shutting off the northern passage by 

 a sea-wall, connecting the island upon 

 which stands the famous Spanish castle 

 with the mainland, a comparatively safe 

 harbor is afforded to vessels, and the 

 landing and customs facilities are being 

 greatly increased. In these improve- 

 ments the federal government is spend- 

 ing several millions of dollars. Tam- 

 pico possessed an excellent harbor, but 

 it was rendered almost useless by a bar 

 which cut off access to all but vessels of 

 very light draught ; but under contract 

 with the government a system of jetties 

 similar to that at the mouth of the 

 Mississippi has been successfully con- 

 structed, and a channel of 23 feet has 

 been secured across the bar. As a re- 

 sult of this improvement and of the con- 

 struction of a railroad connecting the 

 port with the capital and with the im- 

 portant city of Monterey, Tampico is 

 aspiring to rival Vera Cruz in its foreign 

 commerce. 



The ports of the Pacific coast possess 

 natural advantages and adaptability to 



shipping not found on the Gulf coast, 

 but some of these also are undergoing 

 important improvements, and when the 

 railroads projected and now in course of 

 construction across the Sierra Madre 

 Range reach them, they will doubtless 

 participate more fully in the great in- 

 dustrial and commercial development of 

 the country. 



GROWTH OF FOREIGN COMMERCE 



In view of this development, it would 

 naturally be anticipated that foreign 

 commerce would feel the effects of the 

 general prosperity, and the statistics 

 fully sustain this expectation. In 1875, 

 the year previous to the accession 

 of President Diaz, the total imports 

 amounted to less than $19,000,000, and 

 during the fiscal year of 1899 the im- 

 ports had increased to $106,000,000 in 

 silver. The same gratifying condition 

 has attended the export commerce. In 

 1875 the exports were $27,000,000, and 

 during the last fiscal year they amounted 

 to $150,000,000, thus showing the enor- 

 mous increase of 500 and 600 per cent. 

 In the order of their importance the 

 leading articles imported were as fol- 

 lows: Machinery, cotton textiles, iron 

 and steel, wines and liquors, wool tex- 

 tiles, paper, and crude cotton. 



It is gratifying to note that the United 

 States leads all other countries in the 

 amount of this import trade, having 

 about one-half of the total, Great Brit- 

 ain coming next with 20 per cent, France 

 and Germany with 10 per cent each, 

 leaving 10 per cent divided among Spain, 

 Belgium, and other countries. The 

 leading classes of imports from the 

 United States are given in the order of 

 their importance: Coal, wood and lum- 

 ber, cotton, steel rails, mineral oil, vege- 

 table oils, carriages (railroad, etc.), 

 cotton cloths, electrical apparatus, wear- 

 ing apparel, hardware, sewing machines, 

 furniture, agricultural implements, boots 

 and shoes. 



Although there has been this greatly 



