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190 of the republic." Mr. Garden, Consul for Great Britain, in a report to his Government in 1883, on the trade and commerce of Mexico, says, in reference to the difficulties encountered in investigating this subject: "Since 1874 no attempt has been made to do more than estimate the value of imports by that of customs receipts; which, seeing the constant alterations of and additions to the tariff, and the fluctuations in the quantities of goods introduced free of duty, can necessarily only afford a very imperfect basis for calculation." In respect to exports the information is much more satisfactory. An approximative estimate of the results for 1880 was as follows:

The precious metals—coin, bullion, and ores—always constitute the great bulk of what Mexico exports; and the proportion of agricultural products or other merchandise exported is surprisingly small. Thus, out of the total value of exports for 1884, estimated by Consul-General Sutton at $39,716,000, nearly three fourths, or $28,452,000, were credited to the precious metals, and only $11,264,000 to all other commodities; and of these