MEXICO. 
of the ore, but its abundance, and the facility of work¬ 
ing it, which render the mines of New Spain fo much fu- 
perior to thofe of Europe. The faft of the fmall number 
of perfons employed in the labour of the mines, is not lefs 
contrary to the commonly-received opinions on this lub- 
jeft. The mines of Guanaxuato, infinitely richer than 
thofe of Potofi ever were, afforded, from 1796 to 1803, 
near forty millions of dollars in gold and filver, or very 
near five millions of dollars annually ; that is, fomewhat 
lefs than one-fourth of the whole quantity of gold and 
filver from New Spain ; yet thefe mines, productive as 
they were, did not employ more than 5000 workmen of 
every defcription. The labour of the mines is perfectly 
free in Mexico ; and no fpecies of labour is fo well paid. 
A miner earns from 25 to 30 francs a-week ; that is, from 
5 to 5$ dollars; while the wages of the common labourer, 
as'we have already ftated, are not more than a dollar and 
a half. The tenateros, or perfons who carry the ore on 
their backs from the place where it is dug out of the mine, 
to the place where it is collected in heaps, receive 6 francs 
for a day’s work of fix hours. No Haves, criminals, or 
forced labourers, are ever employed in the Mexican mines. 
Mr. Humboldt, who is well acquainted with the mines 
of Germany, points out many defeCts and imperfections 
in thofe of New Spain. One of the molt obvious is the 
elumly, imperfeCt, and expenfive, mode of clearing them 
from water ; in confequence of which, fome of the richeft 
mines have been overflowed and abandoned ; but we un- 
derlland that fteam-engines from England are now about 
to be employed to clear them out. Another great defeCt, 
is the want of arrangement in the difpofition of the galle¬ 
ries, and the want of lateral communications, which add 
to the uncertainty, and increafe prodigioufly the expenfe, 
of working the mines. No plan of the galleries is formed, 
and no contrivances ufed for abridging labour, and faci¬ 
litating the tranfport of materials. When new works are 
undertaken, they are often begun without due confidera- 
tion, and always conducted on a fcale too large and too 
expenfive. 
More than three fourths of the filver obtained from 
America is extracted from the ore by means of quickfilver. 
The lofs of quickfilver in this operation is immenfe. The 
quantity confirmed in New Spain alone is about 16,000 
quintals a-year; and in the whole of America, about 
*5,000 quintals are annually expended, the colt of which. 
In the colonies, Mr. Humboldt eftimates at 6,200,000 
tivres. The greater part of this quickfilver has been fur- 
nilhed of late years by the mine of Almaden in Spain, and 
the refidue was obtained from Iftria in Carniola. In 1802, 
Almaden alone fupplied more than 20,000 quintals. Hu- 
cncavelica in Peru, which in the fixteenth century af¬ 
forded for fome years more than 10,000 quintals of quick¬ 
filver a-year, does not yield at prefent quite 4000. Such 
being the cafe, it comes to be a queftion of infinite im¬ 
portance to America, how its mines are to be provided 
with quickfilver, if the fupply from Spain and Germany 
fhould be cut off by a revolt of the colonies or by war. 
Humboldt feerns to be of opinion, that there are mines of 
cinnabar in America fufficient for the purpofe. He enu¬ 
merates feveral in New Spain and New Grenada, as well as 
in Peru; but, till they are worked or examined with 
greater care than they have been hitherto, it is impoflible 
to judge what quantity of mercury they are capable of 
yielding. It is the fupply of mercury that determines the 
produCtivenefs of the filver-mines ; for fuch is the abund¬ 
ance of the ore, both in Mexico and Peru, that the only 
limit to the quantity of filver obtained from thole king¬ 
doms, is the want of mercury for amalgamation. The 
Pale of quickfilver in the Spanilh colonies has been hi¬ 
therto a royal monopoly; and the diftribution of it among 
the miners a fource of influence, and poflibly of profit, to 
the fervants of the crown. Galvez, to whom America is 
indebted for the fyltem of free trade, reduced the price of 
quickfilver from 82 to 4.1 dollars the quintal, and thereby 
807 
contributed moft effentially to the fubfeq.uent profperity 
and increafe of the mines. 
It remains to lay a few words upon the manufactures 
and commerce ot New Spain.—Spain has been lefs rigorous 
than other.ftates of modern Europe in the prohibition of 
manufacturing induftry in her colonies. The great ex¬ 
tent and populoufnefs of her foreign polfefiions, the re- 
motenefs of her principal fettlements from the coalt, the 
difficulty of tranfportin'g bulky commodities in the inte¬ 
rior of America, the want of induftry and commercial 
enterprife in her fubjefts at home, the exclulive attention, 
of her government to the acquifition of the precious me¬ 
tals, and its indifference and ignorant contempt for other 
fources of opulence, have all contributed to produce this 
difference in her colonial policy. It may be thought,, 
that, as flie was the only power in Europe which derived 
a direft revenue from her colonies, that confideration. 
determined her to relax from the ufual ftridtnefs of colo¬ 
nial difcipline ; for it feerns but fair, that, where a colony 
is taxed for the benefit of the mother-country, its com¬ 
merce and internal induftry fhould at leaft be free. But' 
no fuch views of juftice or liberal policy actuated the 
court of Madrid in this inftance. In all that related to' 
the commerce and navigation of her foreign poffc/fions, 
Spain was equally jealous with other nations : and, though 
her laws recognifed the existence of many branches of 
manufacturing induftry in her colonies, her government 
was ever ready to facriiice thofe to the real or fuppofed 
interefts of the mother-country. About lixty years ago, 
an exteniive plan for the eftabliihment of European 
manufactures at Quito was propofed to the Spanilh mi- 
niftry, and undertaken with their confent and apparent 
approbation, but was defeated by fecret inftruCtions given 
to their agents in America ; and very lately a flouri'hing 
manufacture of Indian chintz, in Mexico, was prohibited 
by an order from Madrid, left it fhould interfere with the 
cotton-manufaCtures of the peninfula. 
The chief manufactures of New Spain are woollens, 
cottons, gold and filver lace, hats, leather, foap, and 
earthenware; but the total value of the goods which 
they produced, when Mr. Humboldt was in the country, 
did not exceed feven or eight millions of dollars annually. 
Some manufactures of filk have been introduced fince 
that time; and in general all the manufactures, the finer 
forts eipecially, have increafed confiderably in confe¬ 
quence of the war with England and interruption of 
foreign commerce. Tobacco and gunpowder are royal 
manufactures and monopolies ; arid the former brings in 
to the crown a clear revenue of four millions of dollars 
annually. The Mexican tradefmen are remarkably ikil- 
ful in works of plate and jewellery; and, like fome of 
the eaftern nations, they have a lingular turn for imita¬ 
tion. Very good carriages are made at Mexico, though 
the belt coaches come from England. 
There are carriage-roads from Mexico to moft of the 
principal towns of the kingdom. But the tranfport of 
commodities is chiefly effected, as in the mother-country, 
on the backs of mules. The new road from Perote to 
Vera Cruz is compared by Humboldt to the roads of 
Simplon and Mont Cenis; and appears from his defcrip¬ 
tion to be equally folid, ufeful, and magnificent. 
In time of war, the indigo of Guatemala, the cacao of 
Guayquil, and even the copper of Chili, pals through 
New Spain in their way to Europe; but, during peace, 
there is little commercial intercourfe between the coalts 
of Mexico and Guatemala and thofe of South America, 
on account of the ilownefs and uncertainty of the navi¬ 
gation to the fouthward. From Acapulco to Lima, tli® 
paflage is fometimes longer than from Lima to Cadiz, 
Mexico and Peru, though at no great diftance, are there¬ 
fore incapable of maintaining any confiderable commerca 
with each other. The chief trade of Acapulco continues 
ftill to be its commerce with Manilla. The Manilla-ftiip 
arrives once a-year at Acapulco, with a cargo of Indian 
goods. 
