Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1882-06-10
MEXICAN DUTIES.

The. Mexican Con gress has decided to re-
peal the export duty on silver coin and
bullion, in order, among other reasons, to
encourage the investment OF American cap
ital in Mexican mines. This is wise
measure, and it will promote the interests
of Mexico considerably. The Congress OF
that country, however, ought to subject its
whole tariff to rigorous revision, for it is
at present very much worse than our own,
and that is saying great deal In fact the
Mexican tariff has hitherto been largely
instrumental in hindering the development
of the country, and until it has been mod
fled it will be hopeless to look for any
rapid or extensive growth in commerce or
manufactures. The chief evil of the Next
can tariff consists in the fact that instead
of being q uniform system for the whole
Republic, it varies for every State. Each
State in fact has tariff of its own, and the
result is that the further goods are carried
the more they have to pay, SO that the
general result is to prohibit the importa-
ton of foreign manufactures save to the
frontier settlements. A more unstates.
manlike arrangement than this could not be
devised, but hitherto the administration
has been SO lax, and the federal power SO
Intellectual, that it has been found impossi-
BILE to persuade the Congress to undertake
-oeS e. k,,p 10 tho
hostility of the official class in the prov
inces. Nevertheless the country cannot be
opened up until these formidable obstruc.
tions are removed, and it is to be hoped
that the repeal of the duty on the export
Of silver is an earnest of better things to
come. There can be no doubt that if the
Mexican Government could bring itself to
remodel its tariff completely, or, still bet
ter, repeal it, the country would at once
begin to advance by leaps and bounds.
Thus far American capital and en-
terprise have been prevented from
obtaining a firm foothold in Mexico
by these absurd and Anticipated laws,
and it is also evident that jealousy
OF America has had not little to do with
the indisposition to remove them. That
this jealousy has not been wholly ground
less is shown by the notorious fact that
there has always been an American faction
of some kind trying to excite war with
Mexico, or to devise some scheme tending
towards annexation. The Mexicans, there
fore, are quite psrdonable for believing
that the Americans regard their country
with covetous eyes, and for apprehending
that if they helped the Yankees to estab-
lish themselves among them, they might
wake up some morning and find their juris-
diction gone. The uses Of Mexico to the
United States, however, can be best deyel-
oped without annexation. We have too
many ignorant and REPRESENTATIVE people
to deal with already, without wishing to
undertake the charge and education of ten
millions more. If Mexico will take away
the barriers which prevent her natural
resources from being opened up, and will
guarantee security for life and property
within her boundaries, in less than ten
years hundreds of millions Of American
capital will be invested there, and the
country will assume an aspect of prosperity
such as it has never known before. We
hope that the Mexican Congress has at
last reached the point of realizing its own
interests. and that the repeal Of the silver
duties is only beginning of fiscal reform
there