EXPORT TARIFF OF GUERRERO. REPORT BY VICE-CONSUL WINSLOW, OF GUERRERO. MARKET PRICES. The following are some of the leading articles of consumption, both 4. For every fat pork which is taken out of town or which is killed in town for purpose of speculating.. Tariff for the city of Guerrero, for articles exported, which go to make up the municipal fund. 1. For every kind of animal killed for purpose of speculation... $0.25 1 00 12 061 5. For every beef hide taken out of town 031 6. For every thousand head of sheep or goats taken out of the country 15. Every hundred dollars' worth of earthenware of the country will pay one per cent. to enter 8. For every horse, mule, or jackass taken out of the limits of the town.. 11. Every arroba (25 pounds) of wool raised within the jurisdiction of the 12. Each skin of sheep or goats, for its extraction to other ports, will pay.. 13. Each cart which enters town for speculative purposes will pay what is called "el piso". 14. Every hundred of sugar cane, to enter.. 25 011 011 12 12 1 00 16. Every hundred dollars' worth of foreign earthenware will pay one and a half per cent. to enter the town 1 50 III. Small silver or gold coin taken to ports and frontier custom-houses for circnlation therein shall pay, upon being exported, the five and the half per cent., respectively, fixed in the foregoing clause. IV. Gold and silver coin, bullion and silver plate, sent to ports or to frontier custom-houses for their exportation or circulation, shall be transported with the permit issued by the revenue officers, if the latter reside at the points from whence such metal is taken out, or by the stamp agents, and by the custom-house collector of the federal district when the said coin or bullion is sent from said district. V. Silver bullion upon being exported shall pay five per cent. on the value thereof as export duty; four dollars and forty-one cents per cent. upon the same value as coinage dues, and two dollars for each piece not exceeding one hundred and thirtyfive marcs as melting and assay dues. Gold bullion, upon being exported, shall pay one-half per cent. upon the value thereof as export duty; four dollars six hundred and eighteen thousandths per cent. of the same value as coinage dues, and two dollars per piece not exceeding one hundred and thirty-five marcs as melting and assay dues. Silver bullion taken out of mines in the territory of Lower California shall, upon being exported, pay only five per cent. on value thereof, the marc of silver being estimated to be worth eight dollars. VI. Silver foreign plate, or worked into any form, shall, upon being exported, pay five per cent. upon value of the same, besides the duties it has to pay as assay and mint dues. VII. Small silver and gold pieces shall not pay any export duty, but the conveyers of the same are nevertheless obliged to provide themselves with the corresponding permit in order to carry such coin to any port. VIII. Gold or silver coin, silver plate, or bullion, destined for exportation or circulation at any port or frontier custom-house, conveyed without the permit referred to in Clause II of this article, shall be liable to the penalty of confiscation, and in all other respects are subject to the provisions of the said article. IX. Timber for building purposes and precious woods shall pay one dollar and fifty cents per ton (measure) of such wood exported, when it is exported through a port open to foreign trade. When such exportation is made through some point not open to foreign trade, one dollar and fifty cents per ton, registered by the exporting vessel, shall be paid at the custom-house which grants the corresponding permit, from which there shall only be deducted the space occupied by national goods previously shipped on board the said vessel. Timber loaded on deck shall pay one dollar and fifty cents per ton besides the duties paid for the number of tons registered by the vessel, and in case of any clandestine exportation, the penalty of losing such timber will be increased. X. Archil (orchilla) shall pay an export duty of ten dollars per ton. XI. Foreign and national vessels arriving at ports of the republic which are only open to coasting trade for the sole purpose of shipping cattle or timber, are not obliged to solicit any permit therefor from the corresponding custom-house open to foreign trade, but in all cases they shall bring with them the respective manifest as provided for in Clause III, Art. 31, of this tariff. XII. Vessels to which the foregoing provision refers shall not be allowed to anchor at any bar or harbor but the one port open to coasting trade mentioned in their manifest excepting in cases of uncontrollable circumstances, or of vis major; when the provisions contained in Chapter X of this tariff will have to be observed. XIII. Maritime custom-houses shall allow the conveyance of domestic products from any point on the coast to ports open to foreign trade, on all kinds of vessels, under the vigilance which they may deem necessary in order to prevent frauds. XIV. For the exportation of national products and goods a petition in quadruple shall be presented in form of model No. 11, the said exportation being subject to the provisions contained in the general maritime and frontier custom-house regulations. ART. 79. The national vessels, and in want of those the foreign ones, after having finished their discharge in the port or ports to which they have been destined, can proceed to any place on the coast, even if there should be no custom-house, in order to load national merchandise, obtaining previously the permission of the collector of the corresponding maritime custom-house. EXPORT TARIFF OF GUERRERO. REPORT BY VICE-CONSUL WINSLOW, oF GUERRERO. MARKET PRICES. The following are some of the leading articles of consumption, both native and imported: Tariff for the city of Guerrero, for articles exported, which go to make up the municipal fund. 1. For every kind of animal killed for purpose of speculation.. $0.25 1.00 12 061 5. For every beef hide taken out of town 031 6. For every thousand head of sheep or goats taken out of the country 8. For every horse, mule, or jackass taken out of the limits of the town.. 11. Every arroba (25 pounds) of wool raised within the jurisdiction of the 12. Each skin of sheep or goats, for its extraction to other ports, will pay.. 13. Each cart which enters town for speculative purposes will pay what is called "el piso". 25 014 014 124 14. Every hundred of sugar cane, to enter.. 12 15. Every hundred dollars' worth of earthenware of the country will pay one per cent. to enter 1 00 16. Every hundred dollars' worth of foreign earthenware will pay one and a half per cent. to enter the town 1 50 12 17. Every hundred oranges that are sold S. Doc. 231, pt 5-23 18. All sorts of wood, worked, of this or other countries, to enter, will pay for each foot.. 19. Each thousand of garlic or onions will pay. 20. Each gallon of alcoholic liquor, to enter. 21. Each gallon of other wines or vinegar, to enter.. 22. Every package of dry merchandise, to enter..... 23. All sorts of grain, with the exception of corn, will pay to enter, on each arroba... 24. Every billiard table will pay monthly. $0.01 1 00 061 014 121 02 2. 00 25. All other establishments of whatever kind will pay, according to the pleasure of the town authorities, a monthly tax, according to the amount of their capital. All articles which are not contained in the present tariff remain subject to the pleasure of the authorities of the city of Guerrero to levy upon them a contribution which they think just and right. CHARLES WINSLOW, UNITED STATES CONSULATE, Guerrero, Mexico, January 12, 1883. Vice-Consul. OPERATION OF MEXICAN TARIFF LAWS. REPORT BY CONSUL TURNER, OF LA PAZ. The trade and commerce of this port is far from being in a prosperous condition, and instead of increasing appears to be daily dimin ishing. All branches of business are in a very depressed condition, and dull times and little money is a general complaint among all classes. It would seem that a better state of affairs should exist, as we have had a very favorable season; more rain has fallen than for many previous years; the mines are producing more silver than formerly, and the country has remained quiet since the revolution of November, 1879. I can see no reason for the general depression except in the tariff on imports, the manner in which business is conducted in the custom-house, the law of the 31st May, 1879, imposing extraordinary penalties upon violations of the revenue laws, and the recent enforcement of an old law of "Portazgo," or law imposing duties upon domestic goods, introduced into La Paz from other parts of Mexico, which weighs heavily upon every inhabitant. The duties on imports, with the addition of the fines, double and triple duties, &c., which are imposed, raise the cost of all articles so high that the people can scarcely earn enough to give them a bare subsistence, and they have not a dollar to spare for superfluities; and the merchants are really afraid to import goods, for it appears impossible to have them so documented as to escape fines and double and triple duties. Only last month a merchant here was forced to pay a fine of $350 for some slight error in the documents covering a small invoice. An invoice which might be deemed correct by a Mexican consul, and might pass one custom-house, will very likely be considered all wrong at another custom-house, and be subjected to heavy fines and penalties. I am confident that there is not an officer in the custom-house at La Paz who, being in San Francisco, can make out an invoice which would be considered correct in his own custom-house. The custom-house officers appear to think that their principal duties are to put the importers to all possible trouble and expense, and to find ways and means to impose fines, and they are generally sustained by the Treasury Department. I will give an instance: A package of assorted candy sent as samples, and valued at $4, was recently sent by a manufacturer in San Francisco to a merchant here. It was invoiced "Azucar candi,” which I think was correct, and I do not see how it could be properly called by any other name; but the custom-house decided that it was wrongly invoiced, and imposed duties, fines, &c., to the amount of $11.59 on the little package of samples valued at $1; and similar cases, frequently on a much larger scale, are of common occurrence. Besides all this, the importer always has the fear that under the law of May, 1879, some little error in his invoice may not only cause him to be fined, but also imprisoned, and he really incurs almost as much risk as the smuggler, without the chance of the same profit. In my opinion the only effect the law of May, 1879, has had has been to encourage smuggling and to discourage importation through legitimate channels. The law of "Portazgo" bears still more heavily on the people generally than does the duty on importations; but I will make that the subject of a future dispatch. There appears to be no remedy for these things, and under these circumstances it cannot reasonably be expected that the imports of La Paz will be increased to any considerable extent in the future. No American or other foreign vessel, except the monthly mail steamer, has entered this port since last August, and no vessel is expected; and it appears that the foreign trade of La Paz is at an end for the present. DAVID TURNER, UNITED STATES CONSULATE, La Paz, Mexico, December 10, 1880. Consul. MEXICAN TARIFF ON BREADSTUFFS. AMERICAN GOODS IN MEXICO. As to the articles manufactured in the United States that are finding a market in this country, it is encouraging to see that they are constantly acquiring an increasing popularity. We will hold the ground we have and extend the field of occupation if our artisans and manufacturers continue to excel in the superior quality of articles they produce. Our machinery, tools, cutlery, clocks, watches, sewing-machines, arms, wooden wares, hardware, brooms, and woven fabrics are justly more popular and more eagerly sought for than the same articles from Europe. Some of these articles are being imitated in Europe, and are finding their way here. The tendency of this nefarious trade is in two ways to depress and injure our good name and intentions: First, by destroying our well-earned reputation by making our manufacturers seem to acknowledge somebody else's illegitimate offspring by forging to worthless articles some well-established name or mark; and, secondly, by ruining the prices and confidence of the consumers, who may not have the means of comparison and distinguishing the genuine from the false. When Europeans resort to such dishonorable practices, they acknowledge thereby their own inferiority, and offer a potent admonition to our citizens not to seek to lower in anything the present standard of their excellence. We cannot compete with them in worthless manufactures, and we ought not to exercise our faculties in that direction. Many articles, such as flour, canned groceries of all kinds, potatoes, &c., could find a ready and extensive market here if the tariff were not prohibitory. Eight dollars a barrel on flour makes it impossible to import it into Mexico without loss. These high rates on the staple articles of family consumption render living very expensive in a land where it should be the cheapest. |