Page:Vol 5 History of Mexico by H H Bancroft.djvu/618

598 governments. Aware that the chambers stood resolved on economy, Arista determined to retrench in the most rigid manner in order to diminish the enormous difference exhibited in the budget between income and expenditure, estimated at $8,275,000 and $26,000,000, respectively. True, the latter figures were somewhat exaggerated to impress the congress and people with the necessity for assisting a government, which after a revision of the estimate proposed to reduce it as low as $10,683,000. To this end salaries of active employés were cut to an alarming extent, and those of passive servants still more. But the pruning was uneven; and while looking for the most petty saving in certain directions with even harsh strictness, large sums were heedlessly squandered in others. Finding that the president would not entertain what Payno regarded as better methods, and that the legislative power refused to assist in covering the smaller and more pressing deficit still left, he resigned, and so did several of the following finance ministers, in rapid succession, as in cases before mentioned, until it became difficult to find any