The Sun.
London, England, 1865-11-13 00:00:00

REVENUE.

Maritime Custom-houses
Provincial Custom-houses 3,500,000
Direct taxes
Stamped paper, post, and other small taxes 1,000,000

Total dolllrs
516,500,000
EXPENDITURE

•
.T_--
Interest of the Foreign Debt--- --
$5,000,000
Interest of the Internal Debt
Imperial House 4,000,000
Works at palaces and public edifices
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and its depen-
dencies
Civil and military pensions .. 1,500,000
Ministry of Finance and offices
Other ministries and their offices 1,000,000
Army and navy
Extraordinary expenses 2,000,000

Total dollars

$29,500,000

Total amount of expenditure
Total amount of revenue

Total deficit, dollars 513,000,000

With reference to this statement, it may be observed that
next year it is highly improbable that the maritime Custom-
houses should produce as largo an amount of revenue as
that year, namely, $,9,000,000, on account of the large ac-
cumulation of goods existing in the different seaports, as
well as in the different warehouses in the capital, so few
purchasers arriving from the interior, owing to a general
want of confidence and universal feeling of insecurity.
It is reasonable to suppose, also, that the Custom-house of
Matamoras, especially, will produce much less, on account
of the termination of the war in the United States, which
caused so much cotton and other merchandise to be im-
Ifrom thence into the empire.
The chief measure as yet adopted by the Emperor for
Idiminishing the financial embarrassments of the country
without foreign aid is embodied in a decree of the 26th of
February last, by which the secularisation and nationalisa-
tion of the property formerly belonging to the Church was
confirmed; the first article of which states that all sales
and operations connected with the secularisation and
nationalisation of ecclesiastical property as yet effected in
conformity with the laws of Juno 25, 1856, and 12th and
13th July, 1859, must be subjected to a revision by the
Council of State; and thus, although such a revision is
doubtless necessary in consequence of the fraud, injustice,
and violation of the very laws, in virtue of which the opera-
tions were effected, which were carried on, it will cause a
most prejudicial delay, and of considerable length, owing
to the vast numberof titles and documents which will have
to be submitted to the examination of the Council ; not-
withstanding this, however, from the great activity with
which the work is being proceeded with, the opinion of
the Government officials is that in a year and a half or two
years the Emperor will have acquired at least $6,000,000 or
$8,000,000 in property, independently of the pretended or
fraudulent sales which may bo annulled by tho revision of
the Council of State.
The number of operations connected with the sales in
question which were sanctioned by the Department of
51;470, of
wth hielsdteipan
rtthuereadojfact
I.inance, in the city of Mexico alone, amounted, up to the
t
ilatsotwPnr:soifdein,it,aiJpuaamreazn,
atoTaabcolui-t
baya, where such operat-
ions, although of minor importance,
will require equal time for their revision, they are stated to
be no less than 1,000 ; and these solely connected with
the amounts appropriated to the maintenance of public
worship and endowment of religious establishments, and
those which have been received by different individuals
under various pretexts, and which will now have to be
accounted for, to be about 2,100, giving a total of about
8,500 in the capital and its immediate neighbourhood
alone; whilst in the districts of Puebla, Vera Cruz, Ori-
zaba, San Luis de Potosi, Zacatecas, Oajaca, &c, they are
computed to be about 11,500, giving a total of about 20,000
to be submitted to the revision of the Council ; and how-
ever large the amount may appear at first sight, it only
gives an average of $lO,OOO per operation, tho amount
of property possessed by the Mexican clergy previous to
the promulgation of the law of 1856, having been, accord-
ing to the lowest computation, about $200,000,000, yield-
ing an annual income of about $20,000,000 ; nor must it
bo lost sight of that the future operations to be effected
connected.with what has now become the property of the
State must be equally presented for revision to the Council
of State, increasing its labours to an almost incalculable
extent.

The operations already effected in connexion with the
sale of ecclesiastical property amount to the sum of
$24,822,321, of which those effected by foreigners amount
to $9,020,131 ; and the immediate effect of the promul-
gation of the decree of the 26th February last, however
beneficial it may prove in its ultimate results, will
almost inevitably be a certain paralysation of all industry
connected with agriculture, building speculations, or any
spirit of enterprise which may
con-
sciousness exist, based upon a con-
s of undisputed ownership and of absolute pos-
session.