Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 13.djvu/448

* MEXICO. 410 MEXICO. country is the Xational Bank of Mexico, estab- lished in the City of Mexico in 1882 and having branches in all the principal cities. It lias a monopoly for the issuiii;; of bank notes, except- ing that the same privilege is exercised by the Bank of London and Mexico, founded during the French intervention in Mexico, and by the Inter- national and Hypothecary Bank of Mexico, or. as it is commonly called, the Mortgage Bank of Mexico. Both of these banks antedate the Na- tional Bank, though both have since been reor- ganized. A general banking law was adopted by the Mexican Congress in 18!)ti. establishing the con- ditions under which banking institutions may be organized: but this law does not affect the National Bank or the other banks in the capital that were chartered before the law was pas.sed. In 1805 there were twelve banks in Mexico, three in the capital, four in Chihuahua City, two in Merida, Yucatan, and one each in Durango. Zacatecas, and Monterey, besides the numerous branches of the National Bank. The capital of the National Bank is ,$20,000,000. of the Bank of London and Mexico .$ !r>.000.000, and of the Mortgage Bank .lio.OOO.OOO. The capital of the other banks ranges from .$7,000,000 to .^fiOO.- 000, and the deposits from about $22,000,000 in the National Bank and $0,000,000 in the Bank of London and Mexico to less than $100,000. The Central Bank, in the City of ^lexico. acts as a elearins house for the provincial banks. Th» existing banks are in a flourishing condition. The demand for increased banking facilities is very large: new i)anks are being established an<l the old banks are extending their facilities in various directions. The National Bank, which began with a capital of $3,000,000 and now has a reserve fund of .$.^.500,000. has in the past decade declared annual divi<lends ranging from 2.'5 to 20 per cent. The declared dividends of the Bank of London and Mexico for seven years ranged from 10 to 20 per cent. When the stock of this bank was increased from $.3,000,000 to $10,000,000. the $5,000,000 of new stock was subscribed more than four times over. The Na- tional Bank is the fiscal agent of the Government and is owned almost exclusively by Mexicans. Owing to the expense and dangers of transpor- tation, it was formerh' dilFicult and hazardous to carry money from one city to another, and ex- change between the various cities was sometimes as high as 10 per cent. The building of railroads has reduced the rate, but it is still high. It costs 1 per cent, to draw money from the City of Mexico to the oily of Oaxaca and vice versa. The exchange is much higher when money is sent to towns without banking facilities. TlXANCE. Mexico still needs capital to de- velop her resources and give employment to hibor. A gieat deal of foreign capital is invested in the country, but much more will be required before the natural resources are adequately developed. It was not surprising that the finances of the country were in a very unsatisfactory condition so long as there were no railroads, little develop- ment, and the country almnsl inci'ssantly suf- fered from disturbed political conditions. Mex- ico's credit fell very low in the money markets during this period of her history, and it was not till peace and order became firmly established, after 1877, that her credit began to revive and that the revenues finally reached an amount suf- ficient to pay the public expenses. It was osten- sibly for the purpose of protecting the interests of Eurojjean holders of ilexican bonds that a combined force of French. English, and .Sjianish soldiers was sent to invade the country in 18(51. The English and Spanish soon withdrew: but •Emperor Napoleon 111., proceeded to carry out his plan, now known to have been formed before the invasion, of founding a Mexican empire un- der French protection, and Maximilian ascended the throne in 1804 with assurances from France that it would help him to establish his rule upon a firmjjasis. The financial ditUculties of ilexico were therefore the pretext for the intervention out of which arose the ill-starred empire of Maxi- milian. Long after his downfall, however, the finances of the country were still in a chaotic state. At the dose of the fiscal year, June 30, 180G, Mexico was able for the first time since achieving inde- pendence to show a surplus of $6,000,000. The obnoxious tax called alcabalas, or interstate duties on domestic and foreign commerce, was a great drawback to internal trade, and was tinally abolished on .July 1. 180ti. The country was tlKMi in a condition when radical financial ami other reforms might be introduced without danger of serious disturbances. The per capita ex|)enses are necessarily large. as the population is small in proportion to the vast extent of coast line and the large area requir- ing army, revenue, lighthouse, and police ser- vices; and only a small ])art of the inhabitants are wealth-producers, the burden of taxation fall- ing chiefly upon a fourth or a third of the people. It is only since 1888 that the reorganization of the Federal Treasury has enabled that olhce to keep correct and complete accounts of the public expenses. The following is a statement of the national receipts and exix'nditures, in Mexican silver dollars, for several fiscal years: FISCAL YEARS 1 Revenues ' Expenditures 1888-81I lS»l-92 1 ]S:l3-94 $139,360,070 1 «4,ri.-.3.6;)o 09.116 510 64.i61.078 63.'284,196 $141,959,065 64.(V>4.0M <'.'.i,44i,acy 1K99-1;KX) iyou-01 .'>».:W.1.9.34 59,423.006 The apjtarent great excess of the revenues and expenditures in 1888-80 was partly due to the operations of the Liquidating Bureau which was closing the old accounts and opening the new ones tmder the new system. The revenues of the Mexican States from 18S4 to 1805. derived chiefly from taxes on real estate, averaged .$15,815,585 a year; expenditures, $13.- 810.850. In the same period the revenues of the Federal Government averaged .$41,442,877: ex- penditures, $50,225,750. The federal revenue is derived chiefly from three sources: import and export duties, internal revenue, and direct taxes in the Federal District. The duties levied on foreign traile are highly pro- tective and yield about 4 per cent, of the revenue. Export duties are levied upon some of the larg- est exports, such as henequen, cabinet and dye woods, and vanilla. The internal revenue col- lected through the use of stamps supplies about 45 per cent, of the receipts; and the direct taxes levied upon the real estate, scientific professions, and industrial estiiblishmeiits of the Federal Dis- trict, together with some minor sources of in- come, make up the remainder. Taxes on the pro-