Chap. IV. CUSTOM-HOUSE REGULATIONS. 471 
a show of morality and improved state economy. He 
reduced the duties, and, at the same time, threatened the 
officers of the customs with capital punishment should they 
connive in defrauding the public revenue by excusing any 
part of the custom-house dues. The result was singular: 
the tolls were considerably lowered, and yet the merchants 
declared that, under these circumstances, they were unable 
to import their goods. For example, under this reduced 
tariff, we should have had to pay seventy to eighty 
thousand dollars nett, whereas, under the old tariff, we 
should have passed our merchandize for fifteen or twenty 
thousand. 
The Dictator of Mexico, occupied with extensive 
schemes, whose insatiable avarice is explained by his inten- 
tion of amassing the means of founding a Mexican empire, 
left one door open by which the country could be supplied 
with cheap goods: he held out the inducement of a reduc- 
tion of the imposts to all those merchants who should come 
voluntarily to the capital, and state their business per- 
sonally to the President. By this measure he effected at 
the same time several objects : he diverted the bribes — 
which these merchants had been accustomed to pay — into 
his own pocket, and restricted the Mexican import trade to 
large undertakings, which made it worth their while to 
obtain a hearing from him, even at a considerable cost. 
At the same time he promoted the maritime commerce, 
which is chiefly European, at the expense of the inland 
trade, which is principally carried on with the United 
States. Thus, whilst the imposts were almost prohibitory 
for the land-transport, the interior of Mexico was inun- 
dated with cheap European goods from the seaports. 
Under these circumstances, no course remained to my 
friends but to leave the goods with which our waggons were 
