The Sun.
London, England, 1864-04-01 00:00:00

course, is independently of the vast body of persons
employed upon the mineral when got.
Class 6 is created in great part by imp, ifect.re-
tur a.. It comprises persons whose occupation is ill-
defined or undefined. There are in it 3&6,544 men
returned generally as " labourers,' _ 11,621 as
mechanics. It concludes the account given of the
occupations of the people of England and Wales at
works of great labour, and executed with much care
and skill, though not infallible after all.
Scotland having now its own Registrar-General,
its census was taken by that functionary, with the
assistance of Mr. Stark. They present the follow•
ing result :

1851.

1861.

1. Professional class
2. Domestic „
3. Commercial „
4. Agricultural „
5. Industrial „ .. 543,662 .. 694,074
6. Indefinite „ 108,841 .. 118,463

2,888,742 .. 3,062,294
In 1861, therefore, of every 100,000 persons in Scot-
land 1,715 belonged to the professional class, 2,754
to the commercial, 12,361 to the agricultural, 22,665
to the industrial, 56,634 are classed only as domes-
tic, and 3,868 are undefined, ill-defined, or non-
productive; 567,056 are returned as scholars, so that
15.2 per cent. of the population, or one in every 6.5,
was receiving education at the date of the census.
In England the proportion was 15.7 per cent, and yet
the number of adults able to sign their names on the
marriage register is much below that of Scotland.
The percentage of domestic servants to population
was as high as 9.3 per cent. in Edinburgh, and in
Glasgow it was only 3.6 per cent. The bakers in-
crease in Scotland; the increase of this class be-
tween 1841 and 1851 was as much as 44.8 per cent.,
indicating the change of diet by the gradual adop-
tion of wheaten bread in the country districts.
Very great pains have been bestowed upon this
census of Scotland, and much interesting informa-
tion has been collected, but the compilers propose a

far more complete method in future, showing the
number of persons dependent for their support on
each occupation or trade, and not the mere workers
only. When the expense and trouble are taken of
going the round of the kingdom and knocking at
every door, it will be well to get a little more in-
formation than hitherto.

The Irish census distributes the people of Ireland

into ten classes—Landed proprietors, 8,412 ; agri-
culturists, 969,636; engaged in commerce, manu-
factures, and mechanical trades, 815,356; learned
professions, 11,695 ; other liberal professions, 1,066 ;
engaged in teaching, 19,346; civil service, 20,564;
military and naval services, 30,328 ; miscellaneous,
829,138 ; without specified occupation, 3,092,630
—total, 5,798,967. Or again thus—Ministering to
food, 1,033,031 ; to clothing, 490,450; to lodging,
furniture, and machinery, 463,547; to conveyance
and travelling, 68,793; to banking and agency,
4,555 ; to literature and education, 40,840 ; to

religion, 10,625 ; to charity and benevolence, 982 ;
to health, 6733 ; to justice and Government, 55,083;
to amusement, 2,840; to science and art, 757; resi-
due unclassified, 3,600,338. The Irish census
volumes have not given so much information of
the occupation of the people in detail as the Eng-
lish and Scotch have. It strikes the eye in glancing
over the volumes that those for England and Scot-
land abound in details respecting occupation, but
there is not a line about religious persuasion. The
Irish census, it no more is to come, will seem a little
bare as to occupation, but it is brimful of religion.

THE FRENCH IN MEXICO,

(From a Correspondent of the Times)
111Exico, Feb. 21

Some few months back, in order to enable Vera
Cruz to compete with the ports then in posseesicn
of Juarez, the duties on all imports were lowered 50
per cent. This, as a temporary measure, was much
approved. Since then the subject of the tariff has
been frequently•,nnder the considerationof the French
authorities, and as it is notorious that some of these
gentlemen aro in favour of very extensive modifica-
tions, it may be as well to consider very shortly
how such modifications, particularly if carried out
to th© extent contemplated by some—namely, 75
per cant.—would affect the future revenues of the
country.
It must be borne in mind that up to the present
time the duties levied at the ports have formed the
principal if not the only source of real revenue, and
although, from the system of plunder and robbery
which has ever prevailed, these duties have seldom,
even in the best of times, produced more than
7,000,000 dols. annually (except in the year 1831-32,
when the Vera Cruz Custom-house alone is said to
have yielded within a fraction of 13,000,000 dais.),
yet few can doubt that with an honest collection
they would have realised more than double that
amount. Almost every Finance Minister from the
year 1830 down to the present time admits such to
have been the case, and the fact is susceptible of
proof in the following manner ;—The imports of the
country, as set down by Senor Lerdo y Tejada and
others, have amounted one year with another to
about 26,000,000 dole., and, from the inquiries I
have made, the duties upon these imports average,
at the lowest estimate, 70 per cent, of the real value
of the goods. This would give, under an honest col-
lection, 18,200,060 dole. Now, to deprive the coun-
try of so large a source of revenue, at the very mo-
ment when it stands most in need of it, is rather a
strong measure. Tranquillity restored and trade
flourishing, it will, of course, be important, as far
as possible, to adept the principles of free trade ;
but in a country like Mexico, where, out of a popu-
lation of 7,000,000, 4,500,000 are Indians and non-
consumers, this can only be brought about by slow
degrees. In most European countries increased con-
sumption has more than compensated for reduced
duties ; but that will not be the case here. Before we
can hope to obtain increased consumption, we must
engender wants in the great mass of the population,
which can only be done by improving their posi-
tion, exciting emulation, and raising their morale,
and this must necessarily require time. At 'the
present moment I believe that an Indian woman
would still be satisfied with one gown a year,
whether it cost her 2 dols. or 4 dole.
The general opinion seems to be that no violent
chenges ought to be made for the present; that it
would be better in the first instance to do away with
the international duties, which only create trouble
and confusion, and leave the tariff, at all events for
a time, as it stands ; that if a reduction is made it

ought to be gradual, so as to givo an impetus to
trade without materially affecting the revenues of
the State. Many believe that, with a judicious
system of taxation, the rover ues of Mexico may be
raised to 30,000,000 dols., but then this system has
to be devised, formed, and carried out, and to de-
prive a country in a state of bankruptcy, overbur-
dened with debt, and utterly without credit, of a
well-ascertained source of revenue, before another
has been substituted in its place, is certainly a dan-
gerous mode of proceeding. A great proportion of
the present duties have, moreover, been assigned to
the bondholders, convention holders, and other

creditors, and it would scarcely be acting equitably
towards these gentlemen to deprive them of this

security, unless some other means are provided for
the liquidation of their demands.
The following extract from a letter written by
Juarez'and addressed to Doblado confirms the truth
of a statement made in one of my previous commu-
nications, that an attempt had been made to force
Juarez to abdicate in favour of Ortega :
" I have already told ycu in my letter of the let, and I
have repeated it to Senora Carreaga and Medina, in the
presence of Senor Cabeza, that I never said a word to the
latter touching my pretended abdication. I have well con-
sidered the question, and I cannot discover any real on of
sufficient weight to convince me of the propriety of the
course you wish me to adopt. On the contrary, I consider
such a course fraught with danger, and I am satisfied that
it would only cover us with ridicule, increase the anarchy
and confusion, and overwhelm me with ignominy. I fear
this result the more as it is by no means certain that the
enemy will treat with Ortega, whom he considers as a de-
serter who hes broken his parole. Besides, facts prove to
us that the enemy does not wish to destroy individuals, but
merely the Government which the nation has adopted. It
is with this view that a monarchy under a foreign Prince
has been established, and that Napoleon, in his last speech
to the Legiel i tive Assembly, declared that he had no pre-
-1
concerted plan; that ho merely sought the tritimPh of hiS
arms, and wished to secure the interests of France by con-
fiding the destinies of Mexico to a Prince well qualified for
such an undertaking. I, therefore, think that my abdica-