sand dollars per annum. And yet the proprietor of this mill (Don Rubio) and his family are reputed to be among the richest people in Mexico.
The adoption of the theory of "free trade," or "protection," as the basis of a national fiscal policy, does not appear to have as yet interested, to any great extent, either the Government or the people of Mexico; and it is doubtful whether public opinion has come to any decision as to which policy will best promote the progress of the country. Under the tariff act in force in 1882, there were one hundred and four specifications of articles which could be imported free of duty—including vessels of all kinds, machinery, and most railroad equipments and cars—and eleven hundred and twenty-nine specifications of articles subject to duties, nearly all of which (only thirty-two exceptions) are simple and specific. No other rule seems to have been recognized and followed in imposing duties on imports than that "the higher the duty (or tax) the greater will be the accruing revenue"; and the ad valorem equivalents of many of the apparently simple and moderate duties levied on imports into Mexico are consequently so excessive, that the average rate of the Mexican tariff is probably greater than that adopted at present by any other civilized country. All domestic manufacturing industries that could
