# Mexico in 1827/Volume 1/Chapter 13

SECTION V.
After passing in review the great Public establishments by which the present Government is supported in Mexico, and examining the tenor of her New Laws, and the state of the Army, the Church, and the Revenue, it only remains for me to inquire into the commercial wants of the Community thus constituted, and to point out the influence which they are likely to exercise upon the manufacturing industry of the Old World.
It will not, I hope, be attributed to any affectation of modesty on my part, if I confess that I enter upon this task with great reluctance, and this, not merely because I feel myself incompetent to treat, properly, a subject, to which my earlier professional duties did not lead me to pay particular attention, ​but because it has been extremely difficult, during the last three years, to obtain data, in Mexico, sufficiently exact to warrant any definitive opinion.
It will, therefore, often be impossible for me to demonstrate satisfactorily the correctness of the conclusions which I may be inclined to form, even where general appearances are sufficiently strong to justify them to myself; and this must give an appearance of vagueness to the results of my enquiries, which I have endeavoured, in the preceding Sections, most studiously to avoid.
Having pointed out the difficulties with which this part of my undertaking is attended, I shall enter upon it without farther preamble, commencing, as I have always done, my account of the present state of the Mexican trade, with a retrospective view of what it was before 1810.
From the time of the Conquest until the commencement of the Revolution, the Trade of Mexico was confined to the two Ports of Ăcăpūlcŏ and Vĕrăcruz, through which a very limited supply of Chinese, and European manufactures was introduced for the consumption of the inhabitants. The Acapulco trade was conducted by one Royal Galleon, of from twelve, to fifteen hundred tons; and, until the year 1778, when a certain freedom of trade was conceded to the Colonies, the European imports were, in like manner, conveyed to the Eastern coast of New Spain in fleets of Register ships, chartered expressly by Government for the purpose, and placed ​under the orders of a Royal officer; which fleets only sailed from Seville or Cadiz once, in a term of four years.
The intercourse with Europe, which, as infinitely the most important, I shall make the first subject of my enquiries, was managed, during this period, almost entirely by a few great houses, (established in the City of Mexico,) which bought up the cargoes of the Register ships at the Fair, which was then held at Jalapa, on the arrival of the Fleet, and afterwards regulated, at their pleasure, the retail price of the different importations from Europe, which they disposed of to the merchants of the Interior.
In 1778, an important change occurred. The abolition of the Register ships, and the freedom of communication allowed with most of the principal ports of the Peninsula, put an end to the exclusive monopoly of Mexico, and induced a number of Spanish capitalists to establish themselves at Veracruz, which continued to be, under the new system, what it had been under the old, viz: the only port of entry on the Atlantic side of the Mexican dominions.
These new houses, which were either branches of other houses in Spain, or agents, or importers at their own risk, soon engrossed the whole trade.
The Capital, (with the exception of what was actually consumed there,) became a mere place of transit: the fair of Jălāpă was discontinued, and the wholesale dealers, (who multiplied rapidly in the ​Interior,) came down to the coast, and purchased, at Veracruz, the supplies which the retailers, and inland consumers, in the different districts, were thought to require.
This state of things, though bad enough, from the manner in which the importations were confined to one spot, and consequently the value of every article enhanced by the expence of additional land-carriage, was infinitely preferable to the system previously pursued, when, from the total want of competition, "the supplies of a great empire were (to use Humboldt's expression) introduced with as much caution as if it had been a blockaded town."
Monopoly, though not abolished, was, at least, compelled to extend its operations to a less circumscribed circle; and to the beneficial results of this change, a gradual rise in the industry, the produce, and the Revenue of Mexico, may be traced.
The effects of the impulse thus given to the country, Humboldt has recorded in Book VI., chapter XII., of his Essai Politique, by which it appears:—First, that, upon a comparison of two distinct terms of four years, (from 1774 to 1778, and from 1787 to 1790,) there was a difference of 8,928,293 dollars on the amount of the exportations alone, in favour of the new System; and Secondly, that, on ​a farther comparison of two terms of twelve years, before, and after, the Decree of Free Trade, the revenue rose from 131,135,286 dollars, to 233,302,557 dollars; and the exportation of dollars alone, from 155,160,564 to 224,052,025.
But notwithstanding the advantages which the Government itself derived from the concessions made in 1778, and the consequent probability that, by a farther relaxation in the old Colonial Policy, still greater advantages might be obtained, the wealth, which speedily accumulated at Veracruz, combined with an intimate knowledge of the wants, and intrigues of the Court, enabled the merchants established there successfully to oppose every project, by which their own monopoly was likely to be affected, and to defeat the plans, which were occasionally submitted to the Spanish Ministry, for opening a communication with the Interior through other ports, easier of access to the inhabitants of the Central and Northern Provinces than that of Veracruz.
The whole Trade with Europe was concentrated on this one spot; and it is, consequently, in the returns of its Consulado, (or Corporation of resident Merchants,) established by a Royal Cedula, in 1795, that we must seek the only authentic data that can now be obtained respecting the former commerce of New Spain.
​The period comprehended in these returns, is a term of twenty-five years, (from 1796 to 1820;) and although it is to be regretted that the various items, of which the importations consisted, are not specified in the Balanza General, or General Balance of Trade, (which is the name given to the Consulado Report,) still, as these may be ascertained from other sources, and more particularly from Humboldt, the General Balance is important, in as much as it gives the total annual amount of the registered Exports and Imports on a long term of years.
According to Humboldt's estimate, in 1803, the first of these (the Exports) consisted annually of
| | Value. |
| Gold and Silver | 17,000,000 |
| Cochineal | 2,400,000 |
| Sugar | 1,300,000 |
| Flour | 300,000 |
| Indigo (native) | 280,000 |
| Salt Meat | 100,000 |
| Hides | 80,000 |
| Sarsaparilla | 80,000 |
| Vanilla | 60,000 |
| Jalap | 60,000 |
| Soap | 50,000 |
| Campeche Wood | 40,000 |
| Tabascan Pepper | 30,000 |
or 21,780,000 dollars, which he fixes as the Average amount of the Exports, as given by the Custom-house Registers during several years of peace. ​The Average Imports of each year, according to the same author, were—
| | Value in Dollars. |
| Ropas, (linens, cottons, cloths, and silks) | 9,200,000 |
| Paper, 300,000 reams | 1,000,000 |
| Brandy | 1,000,000 |
| Cacao | 1,000,000 |
| Quicksilver | 650,000 |
| Iron | 600,000 |
| Steel | 200,000 |
| Wine | 700,000 |
| Wax | 300,000 |
| Total | 14,650,000 |
| Or, more generally. Average Exports | 22,000,000 |
| Imports | 15,000,000 |
| Amount of Trade | 37,000,000 |
(Mouvement du Commerce.)
This includes the silver exported on the account of the King, as well as the paper and quicksilver imported for the Royal Monopolies; which circumstance it is necessary to bear in mind, because the analysis of the Consulado Reports would, otherwise, give a result so different from that given by Humboldt, that the one would seem to contradict the other, and thus render any calculation founded upon the two illusory. But the Consulado never included ​in the Balanza General the Imports or Exports on the account of the Royal Treasury, which must, therefore, be added to each year, in order to give the total amount.
During the twenty-five years comprehended in the Veracruz annual report, the Trade of New Spain, exclusive of smuggling, was as follows:—
| Exports. | Exports. | Dollars. |
| Value in dollars to Spain, | 197,853,520 | |
| Ditto to Cuba, and Spanish America, | 49,388,246 | |
| Foreign Countries direct | 32,292,457 | |
| | Total | 279,534,223 |
| Imports. | | |
| From Spain | 186,125,113 | |
| Cuba, &c. | 51,008,190 | |
| Foreign Countries direct | 21,972,637 | |
| | | 259,105,940 |
| Total Exports and Imports of 25 years | Total Exports and Imports of 25 years | 538,640,163 |
| The Exports consisted of, | | |
| The precious metals, | 209,777,206 | |
| American Produce, | 69,757,017 | |
| | Total | 279,534,223 |
| | | Dollars. |
| Brought forward | Brought forward | 279,534,223 |
| The Imports were— | | |
| European productions from Spain and her Dependencies | 224,447,132 | |
| American Produce | 34,658,808 | |
| | Total | 259,105,940 |
| Exports and Imports | | 538,640,163 |
Above nine-tenths of this were monopolized by the Mother-country, as will appear by the following statement:—
| Value in dollars of Trade between Spain, and her Dependencies, with Mexico, from 1796 to 1820. | Value in dollars of Trade between Spain, and her Dependencies, with Mexico, from 1796 to 1820. | 484,375,069 |
| Value of Trade, during the same period, with other countries direct | Value of Trade, during the same period, with other countries direct | 54,265,094 |
| | Total | 538,640,163 |
Even this small amount of direct trade was due to accidental circumstances, which compelled the Court of Spain to deviate, occasionally, from all ordinary rules; as was the case in 1807, 1808, and 1809, when foreign ships received licences to trade with Veracruz, and exported, in the short space of three years,— ​
| | Dollars. |
| In Gold and Silver | 27,825,504 |
| In Cochineal | 2,043,480 |
| In Sugar | 554,652 |
| | 30,423,636 |
| The direct Imports in the same time were, | 19,202,912 |
| Exports and Imports, | 49,626,548 |
| The remainder of the direct trade was distributed amongst the years 1817, 1818, and 1820, when it amounted to | 4,638,546 |
| Total of direct trade | 54,265,094 |
The average annual value of the commerce of Veracruz, appears, by the foregoing statement, to have been:
Exports.
| Precious Metals | 8,391,088 |
| Other Produce | 2,790,280 |
| | 11,181,368 |
Imports.
| European Manufactures and Produce | 8,977,885 |
| American Produce | 1,386,352 |
| | 10,364,237 |
| Total Imports and Exports | 21,545,606 |
To the annual average amount of Imports and Exports given above, must be added 9,840,667 dollars three reals; viz., 8,340,667 dollars, three reals, which I find to be the average value (on a term of thirteen years, from 1779 to 1791,) of the precious metals exported on the King's account; and 1,500,000 dollars, which on the lowest possible computation, must have been the value of the quicksilver, and paper, introduced for the mines, and the Royal Monopoly of Tobacco.
| | Dollars. | Reals. |
| The two together, give, on the whole twenty-five years | 226,016,684 | 3 |
| which, added to the Imports and Exports of the Balanza General | 538,640,163 | 0 |
| give | 764,656,847 | 3 |
This falls considerably short of Humboldt's estimate, (thirty-seven millions,) but is, I conceive, more correct, for in the twenty-two millions, at which he values the exports of Mexico, he includes Sugar,
| to the amount of | 1,300,000 |
| Cochineal, | 2,400,000 |
| and Flour, | 300,000 |
| | 4,000,000 |
whereas Sugar only averaged, from 1804 to 1810 inclusive, 281,025 dollars per annum; and Cochineal 1,100,327 dollars; of Flour exported, I can find no traces; so that, in these three articles alone, there was a diminution of 2,618,648 dollars, the estimate
| being | 4,000,000 |
| the real exportation | 1,381,352 |
| Difference | 2,618,648 |
calculated on a term of seven years.
This reduces Humboldt's estimate from ​thirty-seven millions, to 34,381,352 dollars; and, as I have perhaps underrated the value of the quicksilver and paper, which may have amounted to something more than one million and a half of dollars annually, the difference between the amount given by the Consulado Reports, and the calculations of the Essai Politique, although still considerable, is much reduced.
During this same period, the consumption of woollens, and cottons, of home manufacture, in Mexico, is supposed to have amounted, at least, to ten millions of dollars annually; or to two hundred and fifty millions on the whole term of twenty-five years; so that the home manufactures very nearly equalled in value the whole of the registered importations from Europe and America, (259,105,940 dollars,) notwithstanding the taste for the finer articles of European industry, (such as lace, rich silks, and fine cloths,) which Humboldt states to have become very prevalent about the beginning of this century.
It is true that the registered importation of European manufactures, does not give, by any means, the amount of the real consumption of the country; for an average importation of 8,977,883 dollars, would only give, on a population of six millions, a consumption of twelve reals, (or one dollar and a half,) for each individual, in the year; while, according to the calculations of the Veracruz Consulado, the consumption of the produce and manufactures of the ​country, by each person, in the same time, averaged thirty-two dollars and three reals.
It is probable, therefore, that a contraband trade to a very great extent was carried on; and consequently, that the consumption of the home manufactures was never so nearly equal to that of the European manufactures, as would appear by the registered amount of both.
Still, it would be an extraordinary fact, that, in a country so thinly peopled as Mexico, any sort of competition between the rude industry of the natives, and the produce of European machinery should have existed, did not the monopoly of Veracruz sufficiently explain the circumstances, under which this competition took place.
This port was conveniently situated for the supply of the Capital, and the more central parts of the Table land; but the distance rendered it nearly inaccessible to the Northern States, there being few residents in Dŭrāngŏ, Sŏnōră, New Mexico, or the Eastern Internal Provinces, rich enough to afford a supply of articles, the value of which, in addition to the high duties, and the two hundred per cent, profits of the importer, was enhanced by a land carriage of from three, to five, hundred leagues.
The great majority of the population was consequently compelled to seek, in its own industry, a substitute for those necessaries, which it was unable to procure from the manufacturing nations of the Old ​World; although there was not, I believe, an article of Mexican manufacture, that might not have been procured from Europe, of a superior quality, and at an infinitely lower price.
Here, too, monopoly exercised its pernicious influence: as soon as the native manufactures became of importance, they fell into the hands of Spanish capitalists, who concentrated them, as much as possible, in the immediate vicinity of the Capital, (at La Puebla and Qŭerētărŏ,) from which places the inhabitants of the Interior, (where all rival establishments were discouraged,) were forced to draw their supplies of all the articles of ordinary consumption.
The effects of this system upon both the foreign and domestic trade of the country, were developed, in 1811, by Mr. Rāmŏs Arīzpĕ, (then deputy to the Cortes for the State of Cŏăhūilă,) in a report upon the Eastern Internal Provinces, to which I have already had occasion to allude. (Book I., Section IV.) ​He there states, that the cotton and wool produced in these Provinces, were exported, and returned, at the end of the year, from Qŭerētărŏ and San Luis, rudely made up, indeed, but charged with all the additional costs of double carriage, and of three or four Ălcăvālăs, in proportion to the number of hands, through which they had passed.
With regard to European goods, he demonstrates the disadvantage to be still greater. They were bought in Cadiz of the second hand, (there being but few articles imported into Mexico of boná fide Spanish produce;) in Veracruz, of the third; in Mexico, Qŭerētărŏ, or Zăcătēcăs, (the principal inland depôts) of the fourth; at the great fair of Saltillo, (where the retail dealers of the Eastern Provinces purchased their yearly provision,) of the fifth, and in each of these Provinces, of the sixth hand.
Before they arrived there, they paid a duty on entering Cadiz, and another on leaving it made up for the American market; a duty on entering Veracruz; Ălcăvālă, on the sale there; Ălcăvālă, on the second transfer at Mexico, or Qŭerētărŏ, where the Saltillo trader made his purchases; Alcavala, at Saltillo, and Alcavala again in each of the Provincial towns, where the goods were ultimately retailed. The original manufacturer had his profit; the Cadiz merchant his; the merchants of Veracruz, and Mexico, or Queretaro, theirs; the Saltillo trader his; the retail dealers theirs again; while the whole of these ​accumulated duties, and profits, together with the charges of a land carriage from the coast, by the most circuitous route, fell upon the unfortunate inhabitants of a portion of the country, which, under a more judicious system, might have seen all its wants supplied, through the ports of San Bernardo, (in Texas;) Refugio, (at the mouth of the Rio Bravo;) and Altamira, (all of which are within sixty leagues of some of the principal towns,) at a moderate price, and without there being a single natural difficulty to be overcome.
But any change in this respect, required (as stated by the Regency, in 1810, on the repeal of the first concessions in favour of a free trade,) a previous revision of the whole code of prohibitive laws; and this was a subject of too much delicacy for the monopolists of Cadiz, and Veracruz, to allow of any interference with it, which their money, or influence could avert.
As long as these lasted, all the ports to the North of Veracruz remained closed, and the inhabitants of the Frontier provinces of Mexico were compelled to lay in their whole stock of necessaries for the year, at the great fair of Saltillo. Even there, they laboured under peculiar disadvantages. So little of the money coined in the Capital found its way back to the North, that the farmers were often obliged to make their payments in kind, which was done at such a loss, that the whole produce of an estate was ​sometimes insufficient to enable the proprietor to furnish his family with the proper supplies. In this case, credit was given upon a mortgage of a part of the property; and the debt was allowed to increase, from year to year, until the whole estate was swallowed up.
It will hardly be believed that this iniquitous scheme formed not the least lucrative part of the speculations of the Mexican and Saltillo trader, and that no inconsiderable portion of the landed property in the North, was thrown by it, latterly, into their hands.
The Western Internal Provinces, which abounded more in the precious metals, were enabled, by this means, to obtain a more regular supply of European goods; and thousands of mules were employed, before the year 1810, in the trade between Dŭrāngŏ and the Capital. They came, loaded with bars of silver, hides, tallow, corn, a little wine, chile, and sometimes wheat; and returned with mining stores, (quicksilver, steel, and iron,) brandy, and manufactures, both foreign and domestic.
During this period, at Pūēblă alone, 20,000 Mantas, (pieces of cotton of thirty-two yards each,) were often made in the year; and, at Qŭerētărŏ, from sixty-three, to sixty-five, thousand Arrobas of wool were worked up into Panos, Xergetillas, Bayetas, and Xergas, under which names the different woollen manufactures, in use amongst the common people, ​were designated; the annual average value of which was supposed to amount to 600,000 dollars.
Soap, leather, hats, and pottery, were likewise made in very large quantities; and, at one time, the earthenware of La Puebla and Guădălajāră, formed a considerable article of exportation on the Western coast, where it was shipped at Acapulco, for Gūyaquīl and Perū.
But the trade on the Pacific side was never of any importance in comparison with that of Veracruz. It consisted, almost exclusively, in Chinese and Indian silks and muslins, which formed the cargo of the Galleon, (or Nao de la China,) in return for which remittances in specie were made: the total amount of these varied from one and a half, to two millions of dollars; the whole of the imports and exports not having averaged more than three millions and a half of dollars, on a term of fifteen years, ending in 1810; at which time I conceive the trade of the galleons to have died a natural death.
By the preceding statement, it will appear, that the whole annual average value, in dollars, of the Trade of Mexico with Europe, before the year 1821, was:—
| | Dollars. |
| Including the imports and exports of the Royal treasury, | 30,586,273 |
| Without them, | 21,545,606 |
That the average value of the Trade, on the ​Western side, (up to 1810), was three millions and a half of dollars, making, with the imports and exports of Veracruz, a total of 34,086,273 dollars.
That the whole of the Exports from Acapulco, and five-sixths of those from Veracruz, consisted of the precious metals.
That the Imports were partly Spanish produce, (as wines, brandies, oil, paper, and silks,) and partly European manufactures, imported through Spain, or the Havana, the direct importation being, in twenty-five years, less than one-tenth of the whole.
That the average exports of each year always exceeded the imports. And
That the value of the home manufactures of wool and cotton alone, (without including those of leather, hats, saddlery, earthenware, &c. &c., the consumption of which was very great,) nearly equalled the ​value of all the imports from any other part of the world.
The above is a rough sketch of the state of the trade of Mexico up to 1810. The first material change that occurred was occasioned by the civil war, which broke out in that year, and by which the Government was compelled, as early as 1812, to open the ports of Tămpīcŏ and Tūspăn to the East, and that of San Blas to the West, from the impossibility of introducing an adequate supply of European manufactures through Veracruz alone, the communication with that place being sometimes interrupted for months together by the Insurgents.
Foreign vessels, however, were still excluded from these ports, the total amount of the direct intercourse with Foreign countries, (as already stated,) not having exceeded four millions and a half of dollars, in the years 1817, 1818, and 1820, on the Eastern side.
With regard to the Western Coast, nothing certain is known; but, as far as the imperfect returns, which I have been able to obtain, go, it appears that, although the trade of San Blas acquired, at a very early period, considerable importance, from the large remittances of European goods sent there, by Spanish merchants, from our West India Islands, across the Isthmus of Pănămā, and introduced, through Guădălajāră, on to the Table-land, means ​were found to confine this trade, almost entirely, to Spanish vessels; nor was it until 1821 that a great and decisive change in this respect took place.
In the course of that year, the declaration of the Army in favour of Independence occurred, and one of the first effects of political emancipation was, to free the country from that system of absolute prohibition, under which it had so long suffered. Foreign vessels were invited to visit the harbours of Mexico, on a footing of perfect equality with those of Spain; and most of the Spanish capitalists, disgusted by the prospect of such an encroachment upon their former monopoly, and discouraged, too, by the aspect of affairs, withdrew, with their families, to the Peninsula or the Island of Cuba.
They were replaced by Foreigners, principally British, or Americans, with some Germans and French, who, being all commission-merchants, found it more advantageous to supply the retailers of the Interior directly, without the intervention of any intermediate agent. They, consequently, established themselves in the city of Mexico, having merely correspondents at the ports for the purpose of forwarding the goods consigned to them from Europe.
Thus, Veracruz and Alvarado, (which port was opened to Foreign trade in 1823,) became, in their turn, mere places of transit, with the exception of their own actual consumption, which, in the ​maritime provinces to the East, is by no means considerable, that of Jălāpă (the capital of the State of Veracruz,) not being supposed to exceed 600,000 dollars annually.
As the commercial interests of Great Britain in Mexico, are the principal object of this Section, I shall beg leave, before I proceed to trace the other effects produced by the Revolution, to express my opinion with regard to the line taken by the British merchants on their first arrival, in concentrating themselves, as they did, in the Capital.
I cannot but think, that, in attempting to supply, from any one point, (however central,) a country of such vast extent as Mexico, they have, in fact, repeated the error committed by the Spaniards, with merely a great reduction in the value of the goods brought into the market, in consequence of a great competition.
Thus, in the Capital, European manufactures have often been sold under prime cost, while the same articles, if landed upon other points of the coast, and properly spread through the country, without the addition of unnecessary land-carriage, (which is an expense always incurred when goods are transmitted through the Capital to the Interior,) might have been disposed of at a moderate rate of profit.
This was, perhaps, an unavoidable mistake at first, when the nature of the country was so little known; but now that the effects of the system ​pursued have been felt, it has often been a matter of surprise to me, that, with some few exceptions, there should not be an English house of respectability established any where but in the Capital, or, as agents, at the ports.
The consequence is, that a very large proportion of the British manufactures at present consumed in Mexico, passes entirely through the hands of North Americans; and, after being landed by American ships at Tămpīcŏ, Sŏtŏ lă Mărīnă, and Rĕfūgĭŏ, is disposed of, by American merchants, at San Luis, Pŏtŏsī, and Săltīllŏ, where they have formed establishments, and are in almost exclusive possession of the trade of the country.
The importance of this branch must not be estimated by its value in former times, for commerce, freed from artificial trammels, has, as usual, opened to itself a thousand new inlets; and one of the first-fruits of this salutary change has been to free the Northern Provinces from those evils, which Mr. Ramos Arizpe so forcibly described in 1811.
They are now rising daily in prosperity, and have every prospect, from their vicinity to New Orleans, and from the facility of their communication with ​the coast, of being as well provided with all necessary supplies as the Capital itself.
Similar advantages have been dealt out to the whole Mexican territory, by the Congress, with no sparing hand. The whole line of coast, from the extremity of the Peninsula of Yŭcătān, to the boundary of the United States, is already frequented by foreign vessels; and, in due succession, from South to North, the ports of Sĭsăl, Cămpēchĕ, Isla del Cārmĕn, Guăsăcŏalcŏ, Ălvărādŏ, Vĕrăcruz, Tūspăn, Pūēblŏ, Vīejŏ de Tămpīcŏ, Tămpīcŏ de las Tămăulīpăs, Sŏtŏ lă Mărīnă (or Săntāndĕr), Rĕfūgĭŏ, Săn Bĕrnārdŏ, and Galveston, have been thrown open to the Trade with Europe, and already serve as a medium of communication with the Table-land.
This, again, has led to the establishment of depôts, unconnected with the Capital, in the more Central and Northern Provinces, which receive their supplies direct from the nearest port.
Thus, San Luis Pŏtŏsī has become the depôt for Tămpīcŏ and Sŏtŏ lă Mărīnă, from which it is about as far distant as Mexico is from Veracruz, (one hundred leagues), whereas goods received through Veracruz and the Capital, would have to pay a land-carriage of two hundred and twenty leagues before reaching San Luis.
Cătōrcĕ is supplied in like manner, from Sŏtŏ lă Mărīnă: Săltīllŏ, Mŏntĕrĕy, and Mŏnclōvă, from Rĕfūgĭŏ; and Texas, from the Bay of Galveston, and the Port of San Bĕrnārdŏ, between which places ​and New Orleans a communication by steam-boats is already organised.
On the Western coast, Guădălajāră serves as a depôt to Săn Blās; Cūlĭăcān, Ălămŏs, Cŏsălā, and the other mining towns of Cĭnăloă, with Dŭrāngŏ, (on the Table-land,) to Măzătlān; and the Villa del Fuērtĕ, Arispe, (in Sonora,) Jēsŭs Mărīă, and Chĭhūāhuă, to Gūāymăs, a magnificent harbour in Lat. 28, about the centre of the Gulph of California.
Ăcăpūlcŏ is likewise beginning to be again frequented, as the nearest harbour on the Western coast to the Capital, from which it is only distant ninety leagues.
This sudden extension of the channels of communication has, of course, increased the difficulty of giving any general view of the present amount of the Trade of Mexico, or of analyzing the principal articles of which it consists.
It is, however, generally admitted, that the first effect of the Revolution of 1821, was to cause an immediate and extraordinary decrease in the Imports and Exports, the total amount of which, at
| Veracruz, fell, in | 1821, | to | 17,244,569 |
| | 1822, | | 14,030,478 |
| | 1823, | | 6,259,209 |
The change becomes still more sensible if applied to the Imports alone.
In 1821, they varied from their average value of 10,364,238 dollars, to 7,245,052 dollars, or about two-thirds. ​In 1822, they declined to 3,723,019 dollars, or about one-third of their former amount.
In 1823, they rose slightly, being in all 3,913,019 dollars, that is, exceeding by 190,000 dollars the Imports of the preceding year, but still falling short of the former average by nearly two-thirds.
During the two first of the years mentioned above, the Imports and Exports of Veracruz may be taken as a fair estimate of those of the country in general, no other ports being, at that time, frequented: but in 1823, this was no longer the case. Twenty-three American vessels are known to have entered the port of Tămpīcŏ in that year; and, at Veracruz, hostilities having commenced, in September, with the Castle of St. John, (which was then in the hands of the Spaniards,) the Custom-house was transferred to Alvarado, which became, for the time, the principal port of entry.
It would, therefore, be necessary to have an exact return of the Trade both of Tampico, and of Alvarado, during the four last months of 1823, in order to ascertain the real amount of the commerce of Mexico during that year; and this I have found it impossible to procure.
In 1826, an account was published of the Trade of Alvarado in 1824, by which it appears that the total amount of the Imports and Exports was,
| dollars | 15,158,941 |
| The imports were | 11,058,291 |
| Coasting Trade | 284,087 |
| American Produce | 878,737 |
| European Produce in American bottoms, principally through Cuba, and Yŭcătān, | 3,481,831 |
| European Imports direct | 6,413,636 |
| Total Imports | 11,058,291 |
| The Exports of 1824 were, in all, | 4,098,650 |
| dollars. | |
| The direct importation from Europe, at Veracruz,during the same period, was dollars | 1,023,739 |
| The Exports | 593,907 |
| Total Trade of Veracruz in 1824, | 1,617,646 |
2,423,019 dollars of the 4,098,650 dollars to which the Exports from Alvarado amounted, were in Silver, coined or wrought; as were 431,130 of the 593,907 dollars, exported through Veracruz.
The total amount of the Exports and Imports in the year, of the two ports, was 16,774,587 dollars.
viz.:—
| Total amount of Imports at Alvarado and Veracruz | 12,082,030 |
| Total Exports | 4,692,557 |
| | 16,774,587 |
But, as I have already stated with regard to 1823, ​the Trade of Alvarado and Veracruz in 1824, was not by any means the Trade of Mexico; for, although the British vessels chartered for the Gulph, still cleared exclusively at these two ports, no less than five thousand tons of American shipping are known to have been employed, in 1824, in the trade between Tampico and the United States.
It becomes, therefore, doubly necessary to ascertain the amount of this Trade, (which consisted principally in the importation of European goods,) before any estimate can be formed of that of the country in general; but this is unfortunately impossible; no authentic information upon the subject, either public or private, having yet been obtained.
Allowing, however, four millions of dollars for the value of the Imports and Exports in the 5000 tons of shipping admitted to have been employed, and adding these four millions to the gross amount of the trade of Alvarado and Veracruz, (16,776,587 dollars) there will be found to be but little difference between the Trade of Mexico in 1824, and its annual average value before the declaration of Independence, viz.: 21,545,606 dollars, omitting, of course, the Imports and Exports on the account of the Royal Treasury, and taking only those comprehended in the Balanza General.
​In 1821, the whole of the Imports, with the exception of 37,995 dollars, were introduced in Spanish bottoms, from Spain, or her immediate dependencies, without any intervention, or participation in the trade by any foreign power.
In 1822, the Imports from Spain and her dependencies amounted only to 2,553,255 dollars; while the direct Imports from foreign countries rose to 1,169,764 dollars, or upwards of thirty times their amount in 1821.
In 1823, the Spanish Imports, at Alvarado and Veracruz, fell to about one-fourth of their amount during the preceding year, being only 480,007 dollars; while the direct Imports from foreign ports rose to 2,090,732; without making any allowance for the twenty-three vessels from the United States which discharged at Tampico.
In 1824, the Imports from Europe direct at Alvarado and Veracruz, were 7,437,375 dollars, and those of European productions from Cuba, 3,481,831 dollars; (these last belonging strictly to the Imports from foreign ports, passing merely through the Havanna from its being a free port,) while no direct importation whatever from Spain took place. At Tampico, the trade was entirely in the hands of the United States; while at Alvarado, out of 18,730 tons of shipping registered in the year, 8,320 tons were from Europe direct.
These facts sufficiently show how entirely the channels of communication varied between 1821 and ​1824. In the first of these years, not one foreign, in the last, not one Spanish vessel cleared at a Mexican port.
A change something similar occurred in the nature of the importations themselves.
Spanish silks, which, in 1821, were imported to the amount of 1,205,219 dollars, fell, in 1822, to 224,288 dollars. In 1823, they only reached 212,778 dollars, and in 1824, not a trace of them is to be found in the importation lists of Alvarado and Veracruz. Cottons rose in amount, as the silk importations decreased. In 1821, they only amounted to 888,726 dollars.
In 1823, they rose to 1,156,787 dollars, and, although the amount of the importations in 1824 has not been ascertained in any authentic shape, I should conceive, from the tonnage employed in the European trade, (of which cottons formed a most essential part,) that their value must have been, at least, two millions and a half of dollars.
Spanish wines and brandies, which, in 1821, were alone known in Mexico, have been entirely supplanted by French, which, in 1824, appear to have been imported, through Alvarado and Veracruz alone, to the amount of 927,366 dollars, out of a total importation of 1,062,970 dollars. ​The native manufactures, of which I have spoken in the beginning of this Section, have shared the fate of those of Spain: they have fallen gradually into disuse, as the Mexicans have discovered that much better things may be obtained at a much lower price, and will soon disappear altogether. Qŭerētărŏ, indeed, is still supported by a Government contract for clothing the army; but the cotton-spinners at La Pūēblă, and in other towns of the Interior, have been compelled to turn their industry into some other channel.
This, in a country where the population is so scanty, is not only not to be regretted, but may be regarded as highly advantageous: a few of the towns, indeed, may suffer by the change at first, but the general interests of the country will be promoted, as well as those of the foreign manufacturer, who may not only hope for a return in valuable raw produce for his manufactures, from the labour of these additional hands, but must see the demand for European productions increase, exactly in proportion to the decrease in the value of the home-made cotton and woollen manufactures, which averaged, before the Revolution, ten millions of dollars annually.
This sum is now added to the wants of the country, or, in other terms, to the amount of European manufactures annually consumed by New Spain.
Such are the principal changes which the Revolution has produced in the intercourse between Mexico and Europe. It would be superfluous to trace ​them through all the minor branches of the actual Trade of the country, nor have I the means of doing so in an authentic shape, the returns from the different ports having been very irregular during the last three years, which have barely allowed time for the adoption of the measures necessary in order to afford some prospect of regularity in future.
To the West, the want of returns has been still greater, some of the ports now most frequented, (as Măzătlān and Gūāymăs,) having had no Custom-house establishment at all before the end of 1825; while that of San Blas was noted for the extreme laxity of its administration.
It will, therefore, be necessary to confine my investigations to the following points, upon which I shall hazard some general observations:
First, the amount of the trade of Mexico in 1827, estimated roughly by the produce of the Customs, and the number of ships employed.
Secondly. The probability of an increase, or decrease, in this amount, in the course of the next five years. And
Thirdly. The system at present pursued with regard to Foreign Trade, and the ameliorations of which it is susceptible.
The first of these points admits of something like ​evidence being adduced in support of any opinion that I may be inclined to form; but the second leads, unavoidably, to much vague speculation, to which my readers will, of course, only attach importance in as far as they conceive the data, upon which it is founded, to be worthy of attention. The third, consists merely of a statement of facts, which it will not be necessary to enter into in great detail, as a new Tariff, which has long been in contemplation, will probably appear before my present work is concluded.
With regard to the first point under consideration, viz., "The amount of the Trade of Mexico in 1827," I have stated, that the first effect of the Revolution of 1821 was to occasion a sudden decrease in the commercial intercourse of Mexico with Europe; which was reduced, in three successive years, from Twenty-one millions and a half of dollars, (the annual average value up to 1821,) to Seventeen, Fourteen, and Six millions of dollars, to which it fell, at Veracruz, in 1823.
Allowing three millions more for the exports and imports of Alvarado and Tampico, we shall find the boná fide trade of Mexico, in 1823, not to have exceeded Nine millions of dollars.
This sudden, and apparently unnatural diminution in the consumption of the country, at the very moment when it was first allowed to taste the advantages of a Free Trade with Europe, is explained, in part, by the simultaneous removal of all those, by whom the ​commercial wants of Mexico had been previously supplied, and by the time which foreign adventurers required, in order to make the necessary arrangements for entering upon a field, which was entirely new to them.
The whole of the year 1822, and a great part of 1823, were consumed in these arrangements, which were rendered very complicated by the necessity of opening some new line of communication with the Interior; Veracruz having become nearly useless as a port, in consequence of its vicinity to the castle of Ulloa.
The Old Spaniards too, who naturally relinquished with reluctance their hold upon the country, were still engaged in winding up their affairs; and, while this state of transition lasted, there was little to animate foreign speculators: nor was it until the commencement of 1824, that they acquired sufficient confidence in the stability of the new institutions of the country, and a sufficient knowledge of the most obvious channels of communication, to enter upon a commercial intercourse with Mexico, with any sort of activity.
The effects of it in that year, have been already shown. The Trade of Alvarado and Veracruz, rose from Six to Sixteen millions and a half of dollars, (16,774,587,) while that with Tampico, which employed alone 5000 tons of American shipping, must have raised the total amount of the Imports and ​Exports of the year, to something very near the former average of 21,545,606 dollars.
The progress made since that time it is impossible exactly to define, for, although it would appear by the produce of the Custom-houses to be very considerable, (the receipts of the ten first months of the year 1826, having exceeded those of the whole of 1824, by three millions of dollars,) this may be said to demonstrate an improvement in the system of collecting the duties payable on foreign goods, rather than an increase in the amount of the goods themselves. When combined, however, with the number of vessels employed in the Mexican Trade, it affords a fair standard for regulating our opinions, and, as such, I shall state here the result of my enquiries.
| | Dollars. |
| In 1824, the Customs produced, during the whole year, | 4,351,218 |
| In eight months of 1825, | 4,842,354 |
| In ten months of 1826, | 7,043,237 |
In 1823, the number of vessels which cleared, within the province of Veracruz, was, as follows: ​
| | Veracruz. | Alvarado. | Tampico. | Total. |
| British | 12 | 3 | 0 | 15 |
| American | 34 | 15 | 23 | 72 |
| Spanish | 30 | 0 | 9 | 39 |
| Mexican | 18 | 0 | 0 | 18 |
| French | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Danish | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Swedish | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| | 97 | 19 | 32 | 148 |
The tonnage at Veracruz, where alone it was registered, amounted to 8524 tons.
The returns in my possession for 1824, give no similar classification of vessels, and do not extend to Tampico. They merely state that One hundred and seventy-six vessels entered the ports of Alvarado and Veracruz, in the course of that year, the tonnage of which amounted to 18,730 tons. Thirty-nine of these vessels (tons 2836) were Mexican, (engaged in the coasting trade,) the remainder were all American or European; but the Balanza published by the Government, does not state whether the term American includes the island of Cuba, and whether there were any vessels from Spain amongst the Sixty-one European vessels, which are stated to have entered the port.
It would, perhaps, be superfluous to give an analysis of the year 1825, during which a slow, but steady progress was made. I shall, therefore, proceed at once to 1826, in the course of which the ​following vessels appear to have entered the Mexican ports.
| From England | 55 | |
| The British West Indies | 25 | |
| Gibraltar | 15 | |
| | —— | 95 |
| France | | 49 |
| Holland | | 15 |
| Italy | | 6 |
| Denmark | | 1 |
| Hamburgh and Bremen | | 2 |
| Sweden | | 1 |
| Prussia | | 1 |
| Spain | | 1 |
| The United States | | 399 |
| Lima, Guyaquil, and other ports in the Pacific | | 46 |
| Columbia | | 6 |
| China | | 5 |
| Asia | | 2 |
| Whalers on the Coast of California for refreshment | | 10 |
| Total | | 639 |
| Prizes from Sea | | 8 |
| Entries of National Vessels | | 626 |
| Total | | 1273 |
It must be admitted that this extraordinary ​increase of activity in the intercourse between the New and the Old World, taken in conjunction with the rise in the Customs from Four to Eight millions of dollars, (allowing something less than One million for the two months not included in the receipts of 1826,) augurs well in favour of the growing importance of Mexican Trade. It may not indeed, as yet realize the golden visions of those, who, in 1825, regarded the New World as a source of instantaneous wealth; but it certainly holds out to a well-regulated spirit of commercial enterprise, a prospect of great ulterior advantages. I have not the means of determining exactly the present extent of those advantages; for it is impossible, from the arbitrary nature of the valuations, upon which the Import duties are paid, to take the amount of these duties as any criterion of the value of the Imports themselves: I should conceive, however, that a Trade in which Six hundred and twenty-nine merchant vessels from Europe, the United States, Asia, and the Southern coasts of the Pacific, have found employment, must be more valuable, in the ratio of nearly three to one, than a Trade in which two hundred and ten vessels only were engaged.
Yet such is the amount of the Shipping returns for 1824, if we add to the One hundred and seventy-six vessels registered at Alvarado and Veracruz, Thirty-four more for the five thousand tons of American shipping registered at Tampico during the same year. If therefore, the Trade of 1824 nearly ​equalled the annual average amount before the Revolution, (Twenty-one millions and a half of dollars) that of 1826 must have very considerably exceeded it.
It is in the Imports that the change principally consists; for the exportable Agricultural Produce of the country has varied but little since 1824. It is composed almost entirely of the Precious Metals, Cochineal, a little Indigo, Vanilla, Logwood, Jalap and Zarzaparilla, Tabascan Cacao, and Pepper, with Cotton, Hides, and Flour, which are beginning to become of some importance in the North.
Sufficient time has not yet elapsed for the average value of these different articles to be ascertained. Indeed, it must, for many years, be subject to continual variations; as, while the impulse recently given to the country continues, the produce will increase with the facility of exchanging it for European productions, and, consequently, no calculation upon the subject can be hazarded.
At present, however, the whole of the Silver raised does not more than cover the difference between the value of the Imports and that of the exportable Agricultural Produce, the Coinage of all the Mints in 1826 having only amounted to 8,451,000 dollars, while the registered exportation of Specie during the same period exceeded Seven millions and a half.
It may, perhaps, be interesting, in the absence of more authentic data, to trace the progress of some of the different Custom-houses established at the ports, which have been opened to Foreign Trade since ​1824, as their receipts, under all the disadvantages of a system new in all its parts, and confided, in its first application, to agents unfitted, in many instances, by long habits of corruption, for any very strenuous exertions, afford, certainly, the very best evidence of increasing commercial activity. I shall, therefore, give a Comparative Table of their amount:—
| | Produce in dollars. | Produce in dollars. |
| | 1824. | 1826, 10 months. |
| Campeche | 115,033 | 157,464 |
| Isla del Carmen | | 19,280 |
| Tabasco | 7,446 | 36,682 |
| Tămpīcŏ (Pueblo Viejo) | 367,680 | 480,195 |
| Tămpīcŏ de Tămăulīpăs | | 326,640 |
| Refugio and Soto la Marina | | |
| In | $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | 1823 | 14,538 | 378,734 |
| In | $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | 1824 | 113,119 | |
| Acapulco | $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | 1821 | 20,362 | 422,343 |
| Acapulco | $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | 1824 | 100,308 | |
| Măzătlān | | | 30,392 | 125,298 |
| Gūāymăs in 1821 | Gūāymăs in 1821 | | 26,736 | 44,676 |
I must again state that the sums given in the preceding Table are not meant to convey any idea of the value of the Imports introduced through the different ports, but merely to show what has been done towards the organization of a system, by which the amount of these Imports may, hereafter, be ascertained. ​Smuggling prevails at present, to a most disgraceful extent, both upon the Eastern, and the Western Coast. A very large proportion of the European manufactures transmitted through the United States, pays no duties at all; and there is little doubt that it is the hope of introducing their cargoes upon similar terms, (in conjunction with some local grievances, to which I shall have occasion to allude presently,) that has induced the masters of so many merchant ships, on the Pacific side, to desert the port of San Blas, and to clear at Măzătlān and Gūāymăs, where, until 1825, there was no Custom-house establishment at all.
All these circumstances render it impossible to hazard a calculation with regard to the actual consumption of Mexico; as neither the amount of the Imports, nor that of the Exports, nor any fair estimate of the illicit trade, can be obtained.
That it must exceed that of 1824 is evident; and it is equally clear that the quantity of European manufactures consumed must be infinitely greater (perhaps in the ratio of eight or ten to one,) than at any period before the Revolution, when a profit of a hundred and fifty per cent, was obtained upon ​every article; whereas, at present, the sale but too frequently does not cover the freight, duties, and prime cost. Beyond this point, however, I cannot go; nor do I believe that there is any one in Mexico sufficiently acquainted with all the ramifications of the Trade to supply the information required.
I shall, therefore, proceed, at once, to the second point of enquiry; viz. "The probability of an increase or decrease in the amount of the Mexican Trade, (whatever that may be) in the course of the next five years."
This question involves several important considerations; for, in order to determine whether the demand for the products of European industry in Mexico, has already reached its full, or natural extent, it is necessary to ascertain what the state of the country was in 1824, and in how far its resources may be said to have developed themselves in the course of the last two years.
In 1824, Mexico may be said to have commenced its recovery from the effects of a Civil war of fourteen years' duration, in the course of which the country had been not only exhausted, but gradually drained of a very large proportion of its capital. The Old Spaniards, in whose hands this capital had accumulated, began, at a very early period of the struggle for Independence, to provide for a contingency, the probability of which they foresaw, by transferring the great bulk of their convertible property to Europe. ​Some, indeed, remained, and retained a sufficient portion of their funds to give a certain activity to Trade, and to promote particular branches of industry; but even the most hardy withdrew as soon as the separation from the Mother-country became inevitable, and, in the years 1821 and 1822, the whole remaining surplus capital of Mexico, was, if I may use the expression, abstracted from the circulation.
Of the amount of this capital no exact estimate can be obtained, a great part of it having been conveyed out of the country by secret channels. The Mexicans affirm that it exceeded one hundred millions of dollars; (the calculations of the best informed of those whom I have consulted upon the subject, varying from eighty, to one hundred and forty millions,) a very large proportion of which was actually exported in gold or silver.
This sudden diminution of the circulating medium could only have occurred in a Colony, compelled, like Mexico, by peculiar circumstances, to depend, in a great measure, upon a capital not strictly its own. In the best regulated community it must have occasioned great embarrassment and distress, but in a country of lavish expenditure and improvident habits, it almost destroyed, for the time, the possibility of improvement.
All the sources of National wealth were dried up; ​and, as the period of the greatest diminution of the circulating medium coincided with that of the greatest depression in the mines, it is probable that, without external assistance, the kingdom could not have recovered from the state of depression, to which it was reduced by such a concurrence of unfavourable circumstances.
This assistance was given by this country, partly in the shape of Loans, and partly in that of remittances made by the different Mining Companies for the prosecution of the works in which they are severally engaged.
The amount of both was trifling in comparison with the capital withdrawn; but it was sufficient to call into new life some of the natural resources of the country, and to give to the system that impulse, the effects of Which I have traced in the preceding pages.
That these effects should, in the short space of three years, be so considerable, is no mean proof both of the capabilities of the country, and of the advantages which it derives from its freedom from former trammels; but they cannot be regarded as a fair criterion of what the commercial wants of Mexico will be, when improvement is no longer confined to the first, and most essential, elements of future prosperity, but extends, gradually, to the more important branches of its former agricultural industry.
The mines, as yet, have made no returns; and, ​although the capital employed in working them has produced the most beneficial effects upon those branches of Agriculture and Trade, with which they are more immediately connected, yet, it is to the produce of the mines, and not merely to the capital by which that produce is sought, that we must look for permanent improvement.
The sums now expended may increase the supply of necessaries in the Interior, and give to the landed proprietors, in the vicinity of the Mining Districts, the means of obtaining European manufactures, which they could not otherwise afford; but they have no tendency to produce a surplus of those articles in which the most valuable Exports of Mexico are likely hereafter to consist, most of which, (as Sugar, Indigo, and Coffee,) require the employment of a small capital in their cultivation, before they can rise into importance.
This capital the mines must supply; for they alone can remedy the deficiency in the circulating medium of Mexico, which has checked so many useful projects, and retarded, hitherto, the progress, which might otherwise have been made.
In a country where three per cent, per month, has been obtained for money in the capital, (and that, too, on the most undeniable security,) there is but little inducement to capitalists to invest their funds in agricultural speculations. It is not surprising, therefore, that, in the last three years, little should have been done towards turning to account ​those advantages, which might be derived from the diversity of the climate, and the variety of the productions, on the Eastern slope of the Cordillera.
Under any circumstances this must have been the work of time, for the maritime districts are not only thinly inhabited, but are remarkable for the listless and indolent character of the population, which seems to increase in proportion to the bounty of nature, and the consequent facility of obtaining a supply of the necessaries of life.
Thus Veracruz, which, (after leaving the sea-coast,) in variety of productions, and fertility of soil, can be surpassed by no district of equal extent in the world, has a population not exceeding 250,000 individuals of every description, of whom it is supposed that not more than two-fifths are employed in the cultivation of a space of 4,141 square leagues: the remainder are inhabitants of the towns, either engaged in trade, or living in idleness. Nearly the same results would be given by an enquiry into the amount and distribution of the population upon the Western Coast; and the difficulty of rousing to exertion a society thus constituted, undoubtedly presents a very serious obstacle to any rapid improvement.
But still improvements have been found practicable wherever proper inducements have been held out for any length of time. The sugar, which formed so important an item in the Exports of Mexico before the Revolution, and amounted, in the years ​1802 and 1803 to 1,500,000 dollars annually, was all raised in the Province of Veracruz, by free labour; the slaves imported during that period having borne no proportion to the increase in the produce.
The cultivation of Coffee and Tobacco about Cordova, at the present day, is conducted in a similar manner, nor has it been found difficult to procure a sufficient number of labourers to extend the quantity of land under cultivation, so as to keep pace with the increasing demand. Of the activity displayed throughout the valley of Cūāūtlă, (which, though not a Maritime province, is Tierra Caliente, and consequently resembles the inland parts of Veracruz in climate,) I have spoken largely in Section III., Book I.; nor do I find any reason to vary the opinions, which I have there expressed, respecting the possibility, and even the probability, of great, though gradual improvements.
But these cannot be expected to be of spontaneous growth: they require time, they require exertion, they require capital; and the two last of these again depend, in a great measure, upon the mines, which, by increasing the circulating medium, must give the means, and with the means the inclination to promote those branches of agriculture best calculated to make a fair return for the time and capital employed upon them.
Should that increase in the produce of the mines, to which I confidently look, take place as soon as I have been taught to expect, (vide Book IV.) the ​term, within which its effects will be felt, can hardly, I should think, exceed the five years, to which I have limited my present enquiry.
But, be it sooner, or be it later, the Trade of Mexico, with reference to the amount of its present population, will not reach what I should term its natural limits, until the amount of Silver raised again equals the average annual amount of that raised before the Revolution, viz.: Twenty-four millions of dollars: nor do I conceive that any rapid increase in the present demand for European manufactures can be looked for, unless it be preceded by as rapid an improvement in the mines.
It is probable, from the low prices of most European manufactures during the last year, and the difficulty of realising even the most moderate profit, that the imports of 1826 rather exceeded the amount of what the country is able, under present circumstances, to consume; in which case a decrease of activity in the intercourse with Europe, will appear upon the returns of 1827.
This circumstance is of little importance; as, until things find their proper level, such fluctuations must frequently occur. But there is no prospect ​of seeing the demand fall far short of that which now exists, since, in local, as in mental improvement, each step in advance facilitates the next, and Mexico has already surmounted the greatest difficulty, the commencement of a new career.
Without pretending, therefore, to fix the ultimate value of her Commerce to Europe, or to Great Britain in particular, I confess that I cannot but regard it as likely to acquire great, and lasting, importance.
It can be checked by nothing but the most injudicious legislative interference on the part of the Mexican Government; and this I see no reason, at present, to apprehend; for, however ill-judged many parts of the present System may be, there has been a gradual tendency towards improvement, during the last three years, which augurs well for the future, and warrants the expectation of a better order of things.
This brings me to the third and last subject of enquiry, viz.:—"The present system with regard to Foreign Trade, and the ameliorations of which it is susceptible."
The duties on Exports and Imports, in all the ports of Mexico, are founded upon a Tariff, established by the Junta Suprema Gubernativa, (or First Independent Government,) in January 1822, but modified in some points, by subsequent acts of Congress.
According to this Tariff, a customs duty of twenty-five per cent, was made payable on all kinds of goods from all countries; which duty was to be paid ​upon a value assigned to each separate article by the Tariff, calculated upon the prices that had existed during the monopoly of the Mother-country.
Besides the Customs, there was a sort of Excise paid in the towns where the various articles were consumed, under the denomination of Ălcăvālă, the average amount of which was twelve per cent., although on wines and brandies, it was thirty-five and forty per cent. There were, also, certain Municipal duties levied in the inland towns by the Ayuntamientos, or Corporations, which, however, seldom exceeded one and a half per cent.
Both the Alcavalas, (which belonged to the National Treasury), and the Municipal duties, were abolished by the law of the 4th of August, 1824, by which the revenues of the Federation were classed; and, in lieu of them, a duty of Fifteen per cent, on all goods forwarded from the ports into the Interior, was established, (Derecho de internacion) while another duty of Three per cent, was granted to the States on the articles consumed in their respective territories.
This change, although it raised in fact the duties payable on Foreign Imports, from 38½ to 43 per cent., was, nevertheless, an advantage to the ​merchant, as nothing could be so great an obstacle to the progress of Trade as the constant recurrence of the Alcavala, for which, though levied by certain fixed regulations, there was no established scale of value. This important point was left to the discretion of the Vista, (or inspector,) whose valuation, of course, varied in proportion to the price at which an understanding with him was purchased.
Under the present system, the Internation duty is paid upon the same valuation as the Customs, and to the same officers, by which the possibility of collusion, or of arbitrary valuations, is much diminished.
Goods when landed, are lodged in the Customhouse, where they remain until they are "dispatched," as it is termed. This consists in their being examined by the Vista, who determines the value according to the Tariff, which ought to be done within forty days after the goods have been landed. A term of three months is allowed for the payment of the duties.. ​Established houses, or individuals giving adequate security, are permitted to forward their goods into the interior, without paying the duties until the expiration of the term fixed by law; but individuals without security, or establishments, must pay before removal.
Whatever is not prohibited by the Tariff, may be landed in any of the ports of the Republic, and warehoused, until a reference to Government can be made.
Articles not mentioned in the Tariff, are valued by a Vista, or Inspector, with the concurrence of the Administrador, or Collector, and the value is regulated by that of the articles most analogous.
Quicksilver, Mathematical and Surgical instruments, useful Machinery, Books, Drawings and Casts, Music, Seeds, and Plants, Flax, (hackled and unhackled) and animals of all kinds, are exempted from the payment of any duty.
The exportation of unwrought Gold and Silver is prohibited, but all other produce may be exported. The following articles only are subject to ​the payment of a duty on quitting the Mexican territory.
| | Per Cent. |
| Gold (coined) | 2 |
| Gold wrought, | 1 |
| Silver (coined) | 3½ |
| Silver wrought | 3 |
| Cochineal (fine) the value being fixed at sixty dollars, per Arroba of twenty-five pounds weight | 6 |
| Cochineal Dust (at ten drs. per Arroba) | 6 |
| Cochineal inferior ditto | 6 |
| Vanilla (value fixed at forty dollars a thousand) | 10 |
Ships of all nations, with the exception of Spain, (whose flag is excluded on account of the war,) are admitted into the ports of Mexico, on the payment of the established duties; which consist of a Tonnage duty of twenty reals (two and a half dollars) per ton, with the Anchorage and Harbour dues levied on Mexican vessels in the countries to which foreign vessels severally belong.
The Export duties are payable at once.
The Derecho de Internacion is not paid upon goods consumed upon the coast, but only upon taking out the Guia, or Pass, for their introduction into the Interior.
After goods have been "dispatched," the duties, ​to which they are declared liable, must be paid, without any abatement or reduction whatever, unless in cases where an error in the calculation, or in the payment can be proved.
Such is the Tariff which has subsisted during the last six years, more from the difficulty of agreeing upon a better, than from any peculiar excellence in the present system, the defects of which are but too apparent, and have led to a great deal of disagreeable discussion.
It is not of the amount of the duties that foreign merchants complain, so much as of the absurd scale of valuations, upon which these duties are paid.
The value of the Imports permitted by the Tariff was fixed, (as I have already stated,) in the first instance, not upon sworn ad valorem invoices, as is the case in most other countries, but upon an estimate of the current prices during the monopoly of the Mother-country; so that in lieu of forty-three and a half per cent., one hundred, and one hundred and fifty per cent, is, in fact, paid, upon many articles, which are rated in the Tariff at five and six times their real value.
Where these excessive duties do not operate as an absolute prohibition, they hold out so great a premium to the illicit trader, that a great part of the commerce of the country, is unavoidably thrown into his hands, to the detriment of the established merchant; and this system is already carried to such an extent in Mexico, that Cottons, which could ​not have been retailed under five reals a yard, had the duties upon them been paid, were publicly sold in the Capital, (in 1825,) at three reals, and that in such quantities, that established houses were obliged to dispose of commission cargoes, at a loss of thirty and forty per cent., in order to realise something for their correspondents in England.
This evil was corrected a little by the gradual organization of the Custom-house establishments upon the coast, which diminished, in some places, the facility, with which the Smuggling trade had previously been carried on: but there is reason to believe, that at the present moment, more than one-Third of the whole of the European manufactures consumed in Mexico, is introduced without the payment of any duty.
In 1826, the Congress appeared to be sensible of the injury which the Revenue sustained from such a state of things, and seemed inclined to apply the only effectual remedy, by reducing the duties. A committee of the Chamber of Deputies, after a long investigation of invoice prices, compiled from them a scale of valuations, in which most of the errors of the old Tariff were corrected; and proposed, (besides) an additional reduction of Fourteen per cent, in the duties payable upon these valuations, so that the ​total reduction would have amounted to nearly fifty per cent.
This project was adopted by the Lower House, but rejected by the Senate, and the sessions of 1826 terminated without any understanding between the two Chambers having been effected.
In the present Congress, nothing has yet been done, but as the Tariff appears to be one of the principal objects of the extraordinary sessions, (November 1827,) there is reason to suppose, that, early in the ensuing year, some new arrangement will take place.
In addition to the modification of the Duties, which, for their own sakes, the Mexicans must, sooner or later, adopt, there are other essential points, in which a change is hardly less requisite.
Very great inconvenience has been occasioned by that part of the existing regulations, by which the Coasting trade is reserved to National vessels; for, by a strange misinterpretation of this article. Foreign merchant ships arriving on the coast of Mexico with a cargo of goods consigned to different ports, and different correspondents, are forced to discharge the whole, at the first port which they enter, and to procure, at an enormous expense, Mexican small craft to convey the goods intended for other ports to the place of their destination, or to send them overland, which, in most cases, from the total want of roads, and the greatness of the distance, is impracticable. ​The mischief done by such a regulation as this, in a country where, both to the East and West, the population is scanty, and the extent of the line of coast enormous, is incalculable: A cargo, for instance, part of which, if landed at Tampico, or Refugio, might be disposed of to advantage, becomes of no value if landed in toto, at Veracruz, and sent inland to the already glutted market of the Capital; and yet the same vessel may have other goods on board, totally unfit for the Northern market. But, after once breaking bulk, she is not allowed to reembark any part of her original cargo, and is, therefore, compelled to re-ship one portion of it on board a Mexican coasting vessel, which process is attended not only with great loss of time, but considerable additional risk.
On the Western coast, another regulation prevails, of a still more oppressive nature: merchant vessels proceeding from Europe round Cape Horn, generally carry out an assorted cargo, calculated to answer the demand of all the different ports at which they may touch. Many of the articles prohibited in Mexico are not contraband in Chile, Peru, Colombia, and Guătĕmālă, all of which have ports upon the Pacific.
A vessel may, therefore, naturally have on board goods for all these different markets; and if there be no attempt at concealment, these goods cannot fairly be assumed to be brought into a Mexican port with any fraudulent intention. But such is not the spirit of the present code of Mexico; for, should a ​vessel thus circumstanced, from a wish to dispose, first, of the Mexican part of her cargo, enter a Mexican harbour, the whole of the property on board, not included in the Tariff of the Republic, is confiscated, although the invoice may prove this property to be destined for another market.
The case actually occurred in 1826 with the Peruvian brig "Huasco," bound from Callao, to Gūāyăquīl, and Rĕălējo, (in Guatemala). After discharging the part of her cargo destined for Guyaquil, she proceeded to San Blas with a freight of Cacao for the Mexican market, intending to touch, on her return, at Rĕălējo, with the rest of her cargo; which, on her arrival at San Blas, was duly manifested, and deposited in the National warehouses. The Cacao was disposed of; but, on making the usual application for leave to re-embark the goods destined for Guătĕmālă, the Supercargo was informed that these goods were contraband, and confiscated to the State. An appeal was made to the tribunals in vain; and, after a law-suit of four months, during which time the vessel was incurring a very heavy expense, the rainy season having set in, the Supercargo was compelled to return to Peru with the total loss of a part of his cargo, and the abandonment of his intended voyage to Rĕălējo.
Another very general cause of complaint is the Warehousing system, more particularly as practised upon the Western coast. At Veracruz, and Tampico, there are proper magazines for the ​reception of the goods when landed; but at St. Blas, the only warehouse is situated in the town, at a considerable distance from the landing-place, and upon the top of a very steep hill; whereby much delay, inconvenience, and loss, is unavoidably occasioned. The damage to fine goods; the breakage of glass and crockery; and the leakage in spirits and wine, in discharging, carrying inland, warehousing, unstowing, carrying back again to the beach, and re-shipping, in the event of reexportation, independent of the expence incurred in mule hire and labour, amounts, upon each cargo, to a very large sum. Nor is this all: the magazines themselves are infested by a species of white ant, called el comajen, which attacks every thing, and destroys, in an incredibly short time, whatever it does attack. All these disadvantages, combined with a difference in the mode of levying the Derecho de Internacion, which is exacted upon all goods at San Blas, (whether sent into the Interior, or not,) at the expiration of a term of ninety days, and an additional duty of two and a half per cent, (under the name of Ăvĕrīă) paid upon the exportation of Specie, have nearly destroyed the trade of San Blas, which, at one time, had acquired considerable importance. Merchant vessels, latterly, have proceeded, almost uniformly, to Măzătlān and Gūāymăs, where, from there being no Government establishments, the warehousing of goods, and even the payment of duties at all, have not been very ​strictly enforced. It is to be hoped that the Executive will take warning by the fate of San Blas; for, otherwise, the establishment of a Custom-house at the new ports will only serve as a signal to the importers of foreign goods to seek other channels of communication with the Interior; and the Revenue will be defrauded, at the same time that all the security of fair commercial enterprise will be destroyed. The evil can only be corrected by the reform of abuses, which compel even the most respectable houses to have recourse to smuggling, as the only means of saving their property from destruction.
One of the most serious defects of the present regulations still remains to be mentioned,—the power given to the Vista, or Inspector, of admitting articles not expressly included in the Tariff, at a valuation, regulated by that of the article most analogous.
The extent to which this provision might operate, was not, at first, foreseen; but, in the course of the last three years, so many articles of European manufacture, formerly unknown in Mexico, have found their way to its shores, that very great room has been left for the exercise of the discretionary powers, with which the Vistas were intrusted.
Amongst the articles not included in the old Arancel, were British Plain Cotton goods, for ​which no specific valuation was fixed, and which were, consequently, estimated by the valuation of India Cottons, (to which they were supposed most to approximate,) with a reduction in the valuations in proportion to the inferiority of the goods.
Thus, India Cottons were estimated at four and five reals per vara, and British, (of the same widths) at two and three reals; on which valuations the duties were calculated, and paid.
This arrangement remained in force for upwards of two years, with the implied (though not specific) approbation of the Government; and was regarded, by the merchants, as equally valid with the other articles of the Tariff, upon the faith of which the Trade with Mexico was conducted: Cottons became one of the principal articles of importation, and the sale was so favourable in 1825, that very extensive orders were given for 1826, no less than five vessels with cargoes principally of Cotton goods, having entered the ports of Veracruz, and Tampico, in October and November of that year.
But, at the very moment when these vessels were about to clear, a question was raised in the Senate, ​respecting the legality of the reduced valuations adopted in 1824; and the Minister of Finance was desired to state, by what authority British Cottons had been allowed to be imported on terms more favourable than India cottons, for which alone a valuation was fixed by the Arancel?
The Minister, in lieu of explaining the circumstances of the case, and pointing out the impossibility of levying the same duties upon articles, the intrinsic value of which differed so materially, threw the whole responsibility of what had been done upon the Custom-house officers on the coast, who, in self-defence, were compelled to inform the merchants, that no Cottons would be thenceforward admitted, but upon the payment of the full duties, in lieu of those payable upon the reduced valuations.
The injustice of such an innovation, (which amounted in fact to a prohibition) at the very moment when great importations were about to be made, in full confidence that no change could take place in the established Tariff, without due warning being given, was strongly represented to the Mexican Government; and the Executive was so far convinced of the impolicy of the measure, that an appeal to Congress was made against it, and the goods recently imported were allowed to remain in Deposit, until the point at issue should be decided.
The discussion was protracted, and the result long doubtful, for the question involved private, as ​well as public, interests. Nothing was determined by the Congress of 1826, nor was it until the end of February, 1827, that a return to the old duties of two and three reals per vara, was decreed by Chamber of Deputies. The concurrence of the Senate was subsequently obtained, (16th of March,) but, from the vague terms in which it was worded, another doubt arose as to whether the Import duties were to be paid on the goods being "dispatched," at the Custom-house on the coast, (most of them having been in Deposit three and four months,) or whether the ninety days, allowed by law for the payment of the duties, were to be reckoned from the date of the decision of the Congress respecting the valuations.
Upon this point, a verbal promise had been given by Mr. Esteva, who agreed, at a very early period of the discussion, that, from the moment that the appeal against the increased valuations was entered, and admitted by the Government, the time which might intervene between the date of this appeal, and the decision of the Chambers respecting it, should not be included in the legal term of Deposit.
But Mr. Esteva having quitted the ministry, his successor (the present minister) did not, at first, conceive himself to be bound by this promise, and refused to interpret the silence of the Senate with regard to a point, upon which, as far as British interests were concerned, the whole question turned;—as, to most of the houses concerned, the immediate ​payment of the duties, which amounted to no less a sum than Seven hundred thousand dollars, (£140,000,) would have been hardly less disadvantageous than the re-exportation of the goods.
The Collectors upon the coast, left again to act upon their own responsibility, insisted, of course, upon the payment of the duties as soon as the goods were withdrawn from the Government Magazines, and, in some instances, actually proceeded to enforce it. The consequence was, that new representations to the Government became necessary, and business was, once more, at a stand, until the point was referred by the Ministers to the President himself, who, immediately, decided it in favour of the merchants, and directed orders to be given to the Collectors upon the coast, so clear, and definitive, that no doubt or difficulty afterwards occurred, and things resumed at once their usual course.
All this unpleasant, and tedious discussion, originated, (as has been shown) in the exercise of a discretionary power in a case where every article of the mutual compact ought to have been most explicitly defined. Fortunately, the disadvantages inseparable from such a state of things were corrected, in the instance under consideration, by a strong sense of justice in the Executive; and it must be admitted, that, however good the abstract right of the merchants might be, to claim the indulgence which they at last obtained, it does no little credit to the Mexican government that it should, at a ​moment of some pecuniary embarrassment, have given up, for three months, so large a sum as seven hundred thousand dollars, which were almost within its grasp.
The fairness with which I have stated, in this Section, the disadvantages under which the commerce with Mexico is, at present, carried on, may be regarded as some proof that I have not, intentionally, overrated its importance. Many of the present abuses will, I trust, be gradually removed, for, in the reports of the Commissioners who have been employed by the Government to inspect the Custom-house establishments upon the coast, I observe that most of the grievances mentioned in this Section, are noted as requiring immediate redress. This is more particularly the case in a printed report lately published by Mr. Valdez, who was sent, as a Special Inspector to San Blas, and whose opinion concurs entirely with that of His Majesty's Consul, Mr. Barron, with regard to the causes which have reduced the trade of that port, in two years, from 500,000 to 94,000 dollars. It is from such investigations as these, originating at home, and conducted by natives, that conviction and improvement may be expected; but time is necessary to bring them to maturity, and on this account I ​should regard it almost as a desirable event if the present Tariff were allowed to remain a little longer unchanged. The commercial interests of the country will be better understood in 1828 than they are in 1827; although, since 1821, great progress has, undoubtedly, been made: and as, when a reform is effected, it is to be wished that it should be permanent, the more time that is allowed for reflecting upon it the better.
The revenue of Mexico, however, (of which the Customs form so important a branch,) will never attain its full extent, until the system has received all the ameliorations of which it is susceptible.
If changes are judiciously made, and the duties so reduced as to bring the imports more within the reach of the great body of consumers, (who are now either excluded from the market, or forced to purchase their supplies from the illicit trader,) I am inclined to believe that the whole expenses of the Republic may be provided for by the produce of the Customs alone. Under all the disadvantages of the present system, they have yielded, in ten months, 7,043,238 dollars, and I have estimated their produce for the ensuing year at eight millions.
Without pretending to fix the ratio of increase afterwards, or to determine the period within which it may be expected to take place, (for both of these depend upon the proceedings of the legislature,) the facts contained in the preceding pages will, I think, demonstrate its possibility. The rest, ​time, and the gradual influence of experience upon the Mexicans themselves, must determine. I must repeat, however, that during the last three years the way has been prepared for the introduction of a better order of things. Communications have been opened between the most distant points; the post-office has been re-organized, (although much room for improvement in that department still remains,) and a system of general passports established, by which foreigners are secured against the petty persecutions to which they were formerly exposed, on the part of the local authorities. The prejudices originally entertained against them are likewise subsiding, and it is my belief that, with these prejudices, no small portion of the jealousy felt with regard to their supposed fraudulent intentions in trade, will likewise disappear.
Happy indeed will Mexico be when the Congress discovers that the interests of the Government, if rightly understood, are not only not incompatible with those of the established merchant, but are so far identified with them, that commerce and the revenue must stand or fall together. Then, and then only, will Mexico attain that station which she seems destined to hold hereafter amongst the great communities of the world; for then, and then only, can the wonderful capabilities of her soil, and the not less wonderful abundance of her mineral treasures, be turned to full account.
* ↑ The first four years, (which were the last of the Fleets and Register ships,) gave an exportation of only 2,470,022 dollars; while the exportation of the Second term, (when the Decree of Free Trade began to take effect,) was 11,394,084 dollars; thus averaging 2,840,000 dollars on each year, in lieu of 617,000 dollars, which was the average from 1774 to 1778.
* ↑ I have borrowed the whole of this analysis of the Balanza de Comercio, (page 416,) from a very able report on the Veracruz trade, drawn up by Mr. Mackenzie, who was His Majesty's Consul there in 1823 and 1824, and whose investigations, with regard to that period, I have taken advantage of throughout this Section.
* ↑ I never venture to differ from Baron Humboldt without both diffidence and regret; but in the present instance, I am merely stating in 1827, what has actually occurred, in lieu of forming an estimate beforehand; which, however warranted by appearances at the time, might be, and has been, contradicted by the course of events.
* ↑ Imitations of some of the best of the Mexican manufactures have been tried at Glasgow, and it has been found that a Scrape, or party-coloured woollen wrapper, which, at Săltīllŏ, or Qŭerētărŏ, sells for eighteen, twenty, and even twenty-four dollars, might be made here, sent across the Atlantic, and sold on the Table land, with freight, carriage, and profit included, for eight, or, at most, ten dollars.
* ↑ The Eastern Internal Provinces, under the old territorial division of the country, comprehended Cŏăhūilă and Texas, New Lĕōn, New Săntāndĕr, and Tămăulīpăs.
* ↑ Dollars. Commercial exports of specie (average) 8,361,088 Ditto of Royal Treasury 8,340,667 3 ————— — Total annual amount 16,731,755 3 American produce (average) 2,790,280 ————— — Total annual exports 19,522,035 3 Total imports, including those of Royal Treasury 11,864,237
* ↑ The house of Ritchie, and Co. at Guădălajāră, and that of Mr. Short, at Cūlĭăcān, have, I believe, had every reason to be satisfied with the results of their departure from the general rule; and I have little doubt that a similar experiment in each of the great towns of the Interior, would be eminently successful.
* ↑ In making this calculation, I have taken as French, (or at least, not Spanish,) all the wine imported direct from Europe, with the brandy entered as Aguardiente Frances. The imports through Cuba I consider as Spanish produce.
* ↑ The uninhabitable state of this Port during five or six months of the year, (the rainy months,) may account in some measure for this laxity. At this season it is abandoned, the principal merchants betaking themselves to Tĕpīc.
* ↑ According to the official monthly statements, published by the Receiver General of the Custom-house, (Aduana) in the Veracruz paper, the Custom-house dues for June, July and August, (three of the worst months of the year for trade, on account of the climate, rain, &c.) amounted to 1,200,000 dollars.
* ↑ Principally by small American schooners with the northern ports of Tampico, Soto de la Marina, &c. &c. Smuggling in Veracruz, in consequence of an improved system in their Custom-house, &c. is rendered very difficult; indeed, it is now confined almost to the richer and less bulky sort of goods—silks, silk stockings, &c. &c.
* ↑ I shall have occasion to investigate this subject more accurately in Book IV.
* ↑ The want of returns will necessarily limit the imports of manufactures from Europe; for, as observed before, the loans, and the advances made by the Mining Companies, have hitherto to a certain degree encouraged the imports of English manufactures, by furnishing remittances, which would not otherwise have been found for the English exporter.
* ↑ Customs 25 Customs 25 Alcavalas 12 Internation duty 15 Municipal dues 1½ Derecho de consumo 3 —— —— 38½ 43
* ↑ It will be seen by this statement, that for the duties on goods intended for the city of Mexico, it is necessary for the merchant resident in the city, to send dollars to Veracruz. To obviate the needless transmission of dollars, which will in part, if not wholly, have to be returned to the General Treasury in Mexico, the merchants in the city pay one half in specie and give security for the payment of the other half in the city of Mexico, they allowing the Government three or four per cent, on the amount, as an equivalent to the risk of sending the dollars to the coast. The Government, on the other hand, giving a little extension to the time for paying the moiety of the duties into the General Treasury.
* ↑ An application is now before Congress for allowing the exportation of-Silver in bars, upon the payment of the Export duty according to the value of the bar, assayed and certified by the Mint.
* ↑ It is difficult to fix the exact proportion. One third part seems a great deal, and yet, in the Northern ports, it is thought to exceed this.
* ↑ The cotton goods here alluded to, are those known in Manchester by the name of "Long Cloths," being an imitation of those imported from India formerly, and indeed at present to a limited extent. But in this important article of commerce, England is likely to be outdone by the recent manufacturing establishments of the United States. Their coarse, grey, or unbleached long cloths already supersede the British in the markets of the Brazils and Mexico. A considerable trade in this article is now carried on with the Indian Archipelago; such has been the extraordinary revolution of the cotton trade of the East Indies.
* ↑ The dividends for the July quarter, remitted by the Primrose, were then making up, and the government was very anxious, on this account, to augment, as much as possible, the funds at its disposal upon the coast.