No. 366.
Mr. Foster
to Mr. Evarts.
Mexico, September 13, 1879. (Received October 4.)
Sir: The Mexican minister of government sent to the Federal Congress a report of his department, which report has recently appeared in a volume, a copy of which I send you as an accompaniment to this dispatch. It will be found to contain a great variety of statistical information on the various branches of administration and public institutions in charge of that department.
From the statistics of the States I have compiled the following table relating to area, population, Congressional and State representation, value of taxable property, State revenues, and school statistics, although in some instances incomplete:
| States. | Area square leagues. | Population. | Federal Congress, No. of duputies. | Legislature, No. of members. | Taxable property. | State revenues. | State schools. | No. of pupils. |
| Aguas Calientes | 427 | 140,430 | 4 | 9 | $4,053,530 | $61,085 | *15 | 1,060 |
| Campeche | 3,810 | 89,481 | 2 | 7 | 1,243,795 | 123,496 | 57 | 3,500 |
| Coahuila | 7,506 | 121,895 | 2 | 11 | 4,154,837 | 77,532 | 88 | 4,634 |
| Colima | 552 | 65,827 | 2 | 2,221,537 | ||||
| Chiapas | 2,367 | 203,494 | 5 | 11 | 2,276,276 | 83,692 | †90 | 1,682 |
| Chihuahua | 12,352 | 191,200 | 4 | 15 | 3,565,742 | 119,253 | ||
| Durango | 6,270 | 190,846 | 4 | 13 | 8,952,333 | 231,729 | †57 | 2,493 |
| Guanajuato | 1,683 | 729,988 | 18 | 11 | 30,002,994 | 851,000 | 172 | 9,668 |
| Guerrero | 3,621 | 301,207 | 8 | 8 | 656,207 | 123,544 | 359 | 11,217 |
| Hidalgo | 1,204 | 427,350 | 11 | 11 | 15,079,417 | 361,026 | †442 | 19,190 |
| Jalisco | 5,777 | 984,213 | 21 | 12 | 28,410,476 | 597,922 | ||
| Mexico | 1,156 | 696,068 | 16 | 17 | 28,098,918 | 404,813 | †987 | 52,200 |
| Michoacan | 3,497 | 661,534 | 15 | 13 | 20,849,385 | 682,100 | 126 | 5,545 |
| Morelos | 262 | 159,160 | 4 | 9 | 5,255,086 | 252,478 | 209 | 13,000 |
| Nuevo Leon | 3,486 | 189,722 | 4 | 11 | 12,706,830 | 96,083 | 170 | 9,133 |
| Oaxaca | 4,953 | 728,559 | 16 | 16 | 9,028,189 | 681,288 | 110 | 9,315 |
| Puebla | 1,773 | 783,466 | 20 | 19 | 29,021,544 | 773,312 | ||
| Queretaro | 473 | 203,370 | 4 | 13 | 9,070,479 | 167,102 | 76 | 5,165 |
| San Luis Potosi | 4,056 | 516,486 | 12 | 13,553,656 | 280,869 | |||
| Sinalca | 5,339 | 169,231 | 4 | 10 | 4,818,897 | 232,131 | ||
| Sonora | 11,655 | 110,837 | 3 | 10,000,000 | ||||
| Tobasco | 1,748 | 104,747 | 2 | 7 | 2,601,328 | 93,878 | 82 | 2,249 |
| Tamaulipas | 4,458 | 140,137 | 3 | 3,999,731 | ||||
| Tlascala | 239 | 133,498 | 3 | 10 | 5,816,148 | 81,117 | ||
| Vera Cruz | 3,869 | 538,628 | 11 | 11 | 23,117,001 | 560,471 | 623 | 22 523 |
| Yucatan | 4,361 | 302,315 | 8 | 14 | 2,963,641 | 201,000 | 194 | 9,224 |
| Zacatecas | 3,392 | 422,502 | 10 | 12 | 15,615,652 | 531,875 | †507 | 20,609 |
| Federal District | 68 | 351,804 | 10 | |||||
| Lower California Territory | 9,080 | 28,746 | 1 | 7,500,000 | 18 | 813 | ||
| Total | 109,434 | 9,686,777 | 227 | 313,633,629 |
In the matter in which it is most desirable to have accurate statistics, that of population, I regret to say there can be no great reliance placed in the above table, as no official census has been taken, and the figures [Page 835] given are merely an estimate made upon very insufficient data. Upon this subject, the minister in his report to Congress says:
The number of inhabitants of the republic being one of the bases of our electoral system, it is indispensable to know it, as well as its distribution; and up to this date, if the truth must be told, we are wanting in a statistical table which meets the conditions required to serve as a basis in the elections; a want so much the more to be deplored, because, as the chambers very well know, the cases are frequent in which it is necessary to consult private works to act with greater probabilities of correctness.
My own opinion, formed from observation and study, and a comparison of the views of persons who have a general knowledge of the country, is that the estimate of population given in the table is rather above than below the correct number. For instance, the city of Mexico is estimated to contain 250,000 inhabitants, when I believe an accurate census would not place the number above 200,000. As there is no national census taken, the federal authorities must rely upon the estimates furnished by the respective States, and the latter are interested in fixing the supposed population as high as possible, to affect the representation in the National Congress and for other similar considerations.
The same defect is to be noted in respect to the value of property, but in this instance I think the figures given are much too small. The table, without including the Federal District, shows the total taxable value to be $313,633,629. A recent publication places the total value of taxable property in the republic, including the Federal District, at $344,979,490.
The American reader will be surprised to be informed that Mexico, with a population of 9,000,000 of people and an area of, say, 750,000 square miles, has a taxable property only equal to the taxable property of, for instance, the single State of Wisconsin, the half of that of Indiana or New Jersey, and the fifth of that of New York.
In examining the statistical tables furnished by the different States and published in the volume transmitted herewith, an interesting fact is developed which illustrates the condition of the country and the demands which it makes upon the State governments. Notwithstanding the federal government is intrusted with the preservation of peace, and maintains a standing army of more than 30,000 men, for whose maintenance two-fifths of the entire federal revenue is required, still the tables referred to show that the chief item of expenditure of the State governments also is for military purposes.
It is the practice of the States generally to maintain a regularly organized army, usually called State guards, independent of the detachments of the federal army which may be stationed in the respective States. This practice has grown out of the revolutionary character of the country. In addition to its evil effects in facilitating the overthrow of the central government, it proves to be the greatest drain upon the State revenues. This is shown by comparing the total revenues with the military expenses of some of the central and most populous States, nearest to the capital, where the influence of the federal power is most felt, or in which industries are most flourishing, and where security should naturally be the greatest, as follows:
| Total revenues. | Military expenses. | |
| Guanajuto | $851,000 | $224,314 |
| Hidalgo | 861,026 | 83,280 |
| Jalisco | 597,922 | 208,847 |
| Mexico | 404,813 | 130,000 |
| Oaxaca | 681,288 | 260,615 |
| Puebla | 773,312 | 258,174 |
| Queretaro | 167,102 | 50,000 |
| Zacatecas | 531,875 | 129,378 |
To this department is attached the administration of the post-office. The report shows the receipts for the fiscal year 1877–’78 to be $543,157, and the expenditures $527,493. The movement of mail matter stated is as follows:
| Letters of the public | 1,750,345 | ||
| Official | 927,873 | ||
| Foreign | 162,638 | ||
| Registered: | |||
| Public | 9,256 | ||
| Official | 28,925 | ||
| 38,181 | |||
| Total letters | 2,879,037 | ||
| Newspapers: | |||
| Domestic | 2,194,839 | ||
| Foreign | 96,018 | ||
| Total newspapers | 2,290,857 | ||
The government of the federal district and territory of Lower California, the public health, the prisons, and various benevolent institutions pertain to this department, and in reference to which interesting facts will be found in the report, which is one of the most complete and valuable which has been issued, and reflects much credit upon the minister in charge of the department.
I have, &c.,