those of the Capital itself; and there can be little doubt that, in proportion as wealth becomes more desirable, it will be more eagerly sought. It is therefore difficult, after allowing a reasonable time for these causes to operate, to suppose that they will not produce their natural effects; in which case I am certainly inclined to think that a very considerable increase in the amount of silver raised in Mexico, may be expected to take place; although it is impossible now to fix the period at which this change will occur, and still more so, to ascertain the extent to which it may ultimately be carried. It is sufficient for the commercial nations of Europe to know that, from the moment that the internal affairs of New Spain assume a more settled character, and that sufficient time has elapsed to allow the new institutions to take root, there is every prospect of an increase in the demand for every article of European manufacture, while that very increase in a country, the revenue of which depends so much upon the customs,[1] will augment the power of the Government to meet its engagements abroad.
It may, and I fear it will, be said, that the chain of evidence is here incomplete, and that I am assuming a fact favourable to Mexico in the first instance, in order to draw from it my own conclusions afterwards. This is by no means my wish; but, at the same time, I confess that, (in common, I believe,
- ↑ Vide Section V. of Book III.
