Page:Vol 5 History of Mexico by H H Bancroft.djvu/247

Rh interior circulation of imports, decreed at the close of 1839. Yet this afforded little relief, for more than half of the custom-house receipts, the main reliance of the central authority, had for years been assigned to repay advances, cover interest on debt, and so forth. The only recourse was therefore to increase the already heavy burden of the people by adding a tax of three per mille on real estate, and a personal monthly contribution of from one rial to two pesos.

A grumble was to be expected, and it came, but directed mainly against the former increase of fifteen per cent on imports. The representation came from merchants at the capital and from Jalisco, and the government finding it impossible to entertain the request, Comandante General Paredes y Arrillaga of the latter department took the part of the petitioners, and declared to the governor, Escobedo, that troops as well as people manifested an irritation that could be allayed only by reducing taxes. The governor thought it best to yield, but congress conceded only an abatement of three per cent on the consumption impost, and so the outcry grew. It found ever fresh ground for complaint, such as the exclusion in 1837 of foreign cotton fabrics, and subsequently a partial exemption in favor of Matamoros, in order to procure money for the northern army, which injured manufacturers while the trade remained unappeased. Further, there were the interminable discussions on the