Page:Mexico, Aztec, Spanish and Republican, Vol 2.djvu/113

Rh The tabular statement on the next page manifests the relative production, and improving or decreasing productiveness, of the several silver districts of Mexico, during the comparatively pacific period of ten years antecedent to the war with the United States which commenced in 1846. Whilst that contest lasted the agricultural and mineral interests and industry of the country of course suffered, and, consequently, it would be unfair to calculate the metallic yield of Mexico upon the basis of that epoch or of the years immediately succeeding.

From the table it will be seen—omitting the fractions of dollars and of marks of silver—that the whole tax collected during these ten years from 1835 to 1844, amounted to $1,988,799, imposed on 15,911,194 marks of silver, the value of which was $131,267,354;—the mean yield of tax being $198,889, and of the silver, 1,591,119, in marks, which, estimated at the rate of eight dollars and a quarter, per mark, amounts to $13,126,735 annually.

Comparing the first and second periods of five years, we find a difference in the tax in favor of the latter, of $113,130, on 905,042 marks of silver; showing that in the latter period $7,466,596 more were extracted from the Mexican mines than during the former.

If we adopt the decimal basis of calculation the returns show, approximately, the following results for relative productiveness:

These statements do not include the precious metals produced in Mexico, which were either clandestinely disposed of or used in the manufacture of articles of luxury.