MEXICO. period of distress and confusion described in the preceding pages, may be dated from the estabhshment of the Federal Constitution, and the publication of the Decree of the 4th of August, 1824, called the law for the Classification of Rents.* By this Decree : — 1. All Importation and Exportation duties of every kind, whether in the ports, or on the frontiers of the Republic ; 2. The monopolies of Tobacco and Gunpowder, 3. The Post-office, 4. The I;ottery, 5. The natural deposits of Salt, {Salinas.) 6. The revenues of the Territories of the Federation, 7. The produce of all National Property, (such as estates formerly belonging to the Inquisition, or to convents sup- pressed while Mexico was under the dominion of Spain,) 8. And all Buildings, Fortresses, Public Offices, and lands annexed to them, formerly considered as the property of the Crown, were declared to belong exclusively to the Federation, and to be consequently placed under the immediate control of the Supreme Government. All other branches of revenue were made over to the States, which were left at liberty to regulate their own expenditure, according to their several resources. A contribution, or Contingent of 3,136,875 dollars was established by the same Decree, to be levied in fixed propor- tions upon the States, in order to cover the deficit, which it was supposed might result, during the first years, at least, from the dilapidated state of many of the branches of the Revenue assigned to the Federation ; and regular statistical returns were ordered to be made to the General Congress, from every part of the country, in order to enable the Cham- bers to form a new scale of Contingent, better adapted to the
- Fide Decree of Congress, No. 70. — " Clasificacion de Rentas." —
Guia de Hacienda, p. 1. VOL. I. T
