NON-OFFICIAL PUBLICATIONS. The following is a partial and rather incomplete list of (principally English) books about Mexico: ABBOTT, GORHAM D., Mexico and the United States. New York, 1869. BANCROFT, H. H., A Popular History of the Mexican People. 8. London. Resources and Development of Mexico. San Francisco, 1894. New York, 1882. BROCKLEHURST, T. U., Mexico To-day. London, 1883. Tr. 8. London. 18. Paris, 1886. CONKLING, A. R. Appleton's Guide to Mexico. New York, 1890. CRAWFORD, CORA HAYWARD, The Land of the Montezumas. New York, 1889. CUBAS, ANTONIO GARCIA, Mexico, its Trade, Industries, and Resources. Mexico, 1893. 1878. FLINT, H. M., Mexico under Maximilian. 12. Philadelphia, 1867. GLONER, PROSPER, Les Finances des Etats Unis Mexicains. Bruxelles, 1895. GOOCH, F. C., Face to Face with the Mexicans. London, 1890. GRIFFIN, S. B., Mexico of To-day. New York, 1886. HAMILTON, LEONIDAS, Border States of Mexico. Chicago, 1882. HAMILTON, L. L. C., Hamilton's Mexican Handbook. London, 1884. JANVIER, THOMAS A., The Mexican Guide. New York, 1886. Kozhevar, E., Report on the Republic of Mexico. London, 1886. La Bedolliere, Emile G. de, Histoire de la guerre du Mexique. 4. Paris, 1866. LESTER, C. EDWARDS, The Mexican Republic. New York, 1878. NOLL, ARTHUR HOWARD, A Short History of Mexico. Chicago, 1890. OBER, F. A., Travels in Mexico. Boston, U. S., 1884. PRESCOTT, W. H., History of the Conquest of Mexico. 8. London. Ratzel, Fried., Aus Mexico, Reiseskizzen aus den Jahren 1874-75. Breslau, New York. (No date.) RICE, JOHN N., Mexico, Our Neighbor. ROUTIER, G., Le Mexique de nos Jours. SCHROEDER, SEATON, The Fall of Maximilian's Empire as seen from a United States Gunboat. New York, 1887. SCOBEL, A., "Die Verkehrswege Mexicos und ihre wirtschaftliche Bedeutung." In Deutsche Geographische Blätter. Band X, Heft 1. Bremen, 1887. Through the Land of the Aztecs; or, Life and Travel in Mexico. By a Gringo." London, 1892. WELLS, DAVID A., A Study of Mexico. New York, 1887. II. STATISTICS. I do not know of any publication in which the latest statistical information about Mexico is compiled in a concise and complete form. One which perhaps is the fullest, published in Berlin by Messrs. Puttkammer & Muhlbrecht, entitled Les Finances des Etats-Unis Mexicains, written by Mr. Prosper Gloner, contains a great deal more statistical information than others, and is of later date. It has required a great deal of work, energy, and time on my part to collect the data contained in this paper, most of which is of an official character, and I am sure it is the most complete ever published, I having tried to make it very concise, so as to take the smallest space possible. REVENUES AND EXPENSES. The financial question was for many years the leading and the most difficult one in Mexico, because the urgent needs of the Treasury, especially on account of the disturbed condition of the country, made public expenses considerably exceed the revenue, and this condition did not allow of a thorough overhauling and settlement of the finances, nor did it contribute to establish the credit of the Government; but peace having prevailed since 1877, a great improvement has taken place in the financial condition of Mexico; the revenue has increased considerably, and it has finally reached an amount amply sufficient to pay all our expenses. In fact, at the end of the fiscal year, ended June 30, 1896, we had for the first time in the history of Mexico since its independence, a surplus which amounted to $6,000,000. The obnoxious tax which we inherited from the Spanish, called alcabalas, or interstate duties on domestic and foreign commerce, was a great drawback to internal trade, was finally abolished on July 1, 1896; and the country being now in a condition when radical reforms can be introduced without serious disturbances. Our expenses as an independent nation are necessarily large, and as a comparatively small portion of our population are really producers of wealth, upon them lies the whole burden of such expenses; that is, we are a nation of from twelve to fifteen millions of inhabitants, with a very large territory and a large coast on both oceans, requiring army, revenue, light-house, and police service, and other expensive institutions proportionate to such extent and population, when the portion which contribute to such expenses is only about one-fourth or one-third of the same. It is a very difficult task to give a complete and correct statement of the revenues and expenses of the Mexican Government prior to the year 1867. The disturbed condition of the country made it often quite impossible to keep any account at all: such was the case especially from 1858 to 1860, as during that period the City of Mexico and a large part of the country was occupied by the Church party under Miramon, and from 1863 to 1867 by the French Intervention. Besides that cause it was a very difficult matter for us to keep a correct account of public receipts and expenses, in some way for lack of a good system of book-keeping. To make a statement of the revenues and expenses of the Mexican Government since the independence of the country from Spain, I had to rely upon the reports made by Secretaries of the Treasury, which are, however, lacking for many years, and which contain rather an estimate than an account of the revenues and expenses, and I have made in that way the statement which I append under No. 1, which embraces the revenues and expenses from the year 1808, the last of the Spanish rule in Mexico, to the year 1867. The forming of accounts was under the charge of the Federal Treasury of Mexico, and the Treasury kept its accounts with a very defective system of book-keeping, which prevented them from being correct. To remedy that difficulty, after the restoration of the Republic in 1867, a bureau of accounts was established in the Treasury Department, but its accounts were seldom correct, because it did not have the necessary detailed data to make a complete account, and, as could be expected, the results in the accounts of both bureaus differ widely. In 1880 the Federal Treasury was reorganized with a large number of clerks with a view to keep a full and correct account of public moneys, and from that year until 1888 their accounts began to be better than before. In 1888 the system was still remodelled and improved, and since then that office has been able to keep correct and complete accounts of our public revenues and expenses. I also append a statement No. 2 of the revenues and expenses of the Mexican Treasury from July 1, 1867, to June 30, 1888. The first thirteen years in that statement are taken from the data furnished by the Bureau of Accounts of our Treasury Department. The account of the year 1879-1880 was taken from the account of the Federal |