Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 16.djvu/232

Rh 218 MEXICO wooded slopes of British Columbia and the treeless crests of the arid Lower Californian peninsula. Fauna. In its fauna no less than in its flora Mexico forms a land of transition between North and Central America. In common with the north it has several varieties of the bear, the wolf, coyote, skunk, bison, squirrel, beaver, marten, otter, rattlesnake, heloderm, 1 mocking-bird, and many wild fowl ; while its monkeys (five species), puma, jaguar, ocelot, sloth, tapir, alligators (two species), iguana, boa, scorpions, tarantulas, and numerous brilliantly coloured parrots, trogons, and humming-birds connect it with the southern regions. Peculiar to Mexico, and distinguishing it from most tropical and subtropical lands, are its song sters, of which, besides the mocking-bird (zeuzontt), as many as twenty species have been enumerated. The coasts are well supplied with fish and turtles, while the pearl fisheries of the Gulf of California continue to be a source of wealth to that otherwise unproductive territory, yielding in 1875 pearls to the value of 16,000, and 28,000 worth of shells. All the European domestic animals thrive well, and vast herds of cattle, horses, and sheep are found on the well-stocked ranches of the northern states. Here some of the more prosperous breeders own from twenty to thirty thousand head of oxen, and next to the precious metals hides and cattle are among the chief articles of export. Agricul- But in the south stock-breeding yields everywhere to ture. agriculture as the chief occupation of the people. Being largely volcanic, the soil is here extremely fertile wherever water can be had in sufficient quantities for irrigation purposes. Next to maize, which with beans and chilli forms the almost exclusive food of the Indians, the most important crop is probably sugar, of which over 60 million pounds are annually produced in the state of Morelos alone. Coffee is extensively cultivated on the lower slopes, and now exported in considerable quantities, especially to the United States. The tobacco and cotton crops are yearly increasing in importance, while from the maguey is extracted, besides pulque, a spirit called mezcal to the annual value of about 750,000. The aborigines are partly employed as free labourers on the plantations, and partly hold small plots liable to a light Government tax. The food crops thus raised were valued in 1873 at 14,500,000, the agricultural produce at 30,000,000, and the landed property at 85,000,000, but the last item was estimated by the minister of finance at fully three times that sum. The value of arable freehold land was stated in 1882 to be from 1 to 3 per acre, accord ing to its proximity to or remoteness from rivers. Indus- Of the industries strictly so called, those directly connected with tries. agricultural interests have alone acquired any considerable develop ment. Such are sugar refining, carried on on a vast scale, especi ally in Morelos ; brewing and distilling, chiefly from maguey; paper- making from various pulps and fibres ; grist-mills and saw-mills, especially in Puebla, Queretaro, Guadalajara, and Saltillo. A few iron foundries have been at work for some years, and stout hand- woven cotton and woollen fabrics are produced in many of the large towns. The rebozos (shawls) of Leon and Salvatierra have a wide repute, while Texcoco and Puebla are noted for their porcelain and glass-ware. Among the petty industries are clay and rag figures, artificial flowers, wooden toys, and gold filigree work, in the produc tion of which the natives often display remarkable taste and skill. But all these manufactured wares are solely intended to supply the local wants, so that the exports have hitherto been restricted almost exclusively to the produce of the land and of the mines. Of the former the chief items are coffee, Sisal hemp, tobacco, hides, lumber, cochineal, indigo, and other dyes, sarsaparilla, vanilla, orchil, india-rubber. But the precious metals still continue to constitute fully two-thirds of all the exports, which in 1882 had a total estimated value of about 6,000,000. In the same year an 1 A specimen of this curious creature, the only known venomous lizard (Hdoderma suspectum), reached the London Zoological Gardens in 1882; its habitat is the north of Mexico, and New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas. Trade. equal sum represented the imports, the leading items of which were cotton, linen, silk, and woollen goods, metals, hardware, machinery, and provisions. Although diplomatic and consular relations with Great Britain have been suspended since 1867, that country still continues to enjoy by far the largest share of the foreign trade, taking about 2,000,000 of the exports, and sending in return about two-thirds of all the imports, for 1882. Next in importance, in descending order, is the trade with the L T nited States, France, Germany, Spain, and Columbia. Probably four-fifths of the exchanges now 7 pass through Vera Cruz, which, since the opening of the railway to the Anahuac plateau, has become the natural out-port of the capital and all the central states. It is connected by several lines of ocean steamers with Liverpool, Southampton, St Nazaire, and the Atlantic States of North America. On the Pacific seaboard, where the trade is largely in German hands, Acapulco and the other ports also enjoy regular steam communication with San Francisco and Panama. No accurate returns are available of the shipping ; but the yearly arrivals in all the Mexican ports are stated to average about five thousand, not more than one-fifth under the national flag. Till recently the means of internal locomotion were mainly Corn- limited to the wretched bridle-paths from the central plateau over niunica- the sierras and terrace-lands down to a few points on both coasts, tion. and to twenty-four regular lines of diligences under one manage ment. But since the completion of the line from Vera Cruz to the capital, with a branch to Puebla, the Mexican railway system has acquired a considerable development. The Inter-Oceanic line across the Tehuantepec isthmus is in progress ; the Great Central Trunk line running northwards through Chihuahua will ere long effect a junction with the North-American net-work; and at the end of 1882 there had been opened to traffic altogether 2219 miles. For that year the number of passengers carried was 8,250,000, and of mer chandise 273 million tons, with net earnings 940,000, or 800 per mile. Still more developed is the telegraph system, which is now extended to all the state capitals, and through the Mexico-Mata- moras line to the United States and the rest of the world. The 8150 miles open in 1882 forwarded 750,000 messages, or in the proportion of 8 per 100 inhabitants. For the same year the estimated revenue was 6,140,000, Finance, and expenditure 6,300,000. The foreign debt is stated to be 19,600,000, and the internal about 10,000,000, or altogether at the rate of 3 per head of the population. Most of the foreign debt is owned in England, but the British claims had long been practically repudiated by the Mexican Government. At the end of 1882, however, a semi-official suggestion was made that a settle ment might be effected by Mexico paying 1 per cent, on the capital for the first ten years, 2* for the second, and 3 there after, the whole sum, amounting to 16,000,000, to be liquidated in fifty years. - The revenue is chiefly derived from the customs, and about 1,750,000 of the expenditure is absorbed by the army, the peace footing of which is 22,500 men of all arms. Beyond a few coastguard steamers maintained mainly for revenue purposes, there is no navy. An indication of financial improvement is afforded by the establishment in 1882 of the Mexican National Bank by a French company with a capital of 4,000,000. This bank is privileged to issue paper money up to 12,000,000, in return allow ing the supreme executive to overdraw their account up to 2,000,000. A further symptom of revival is presented by the increasing business of the general post-office, which in 1880 forwarded 4,406,000 letters and packnges through 873 offices. Education also has made marked progress since the final Educa- separation of church and state in 1857. In that year the old tion. university of Mexico, a purely ecclesiastical institution after the model of Salamanca and the Sorbonno, was abolished, or ratherwas re placed by special schools of law, medicine, letters, agriculture, mines, sciences, fine arts, and commerce, and a military college. These, as well as numerous lower schools, including two hundred in the capital alone, are all maintained by the state, while national schools are supported by public grants in all the large towns, and higher institutions in the capitals of the several states. There are in all nearly five thousand public schools, besides establishments for the deaf and dumb, the blind, and juvenile delinquents, and numerous charitable foundations maintained by voluntary contri butions. Roman Catholicism, which under the Spanish rule was alone Religion, tolerated, continued after the separation to be the state religion till 1857. Since then, while all churches enjoy equal protection, none are officially recognized. The great majority of the Indios Jidclcs, mestizoes, and Creoles still adhere at least outwardly to the Roman Church, which is administered by a hierarchy of three arch bishops (Mexico, Morelia, and Guadalajara) and twelve bishops. But by the organic laws of 1856 and 1859 all ecclesiastical estates, at one time comprising over one-third of the soil, were nationalized, 2 This advance towards a settlement was put forward in the Two Republics of December 5, 1882, a Mexican journal which reflects the views of the Government on all matters of foreign policy.