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HONDURAS.

MARKET CONDITIONS.

CEIBA.

[From United States Consul WOOD, Ceiba, Honduras. ]

The principal commercial nations market their goods here, but by far the greater part of the imports come from the United States.

Business is conducted to a certain extent by mail, but salesmen representing houses in the United States visit this district, which, nevertheless, is not canvassed as thoroughly as it should be.

Terms of credit are sixty days for groceries, ninety days for dry goods, etc., and six month for liquors.

There are no credit agencies here.

PUERTO CORTES.

[From United States Consul ALGER, Puerto Cortes, Honduras.]

The foreign countries marketing goods in this district are the United States, England, France, Germany, and Spain.

All business is conducted either by mail or by salesmen, principally by the former method.

Goods are sold at spot cash prices, and time is allowed from four to six months, with interest at 6 per cent per annum. There are no credit agencies doing business here, inquiries usually being made of the consul or of business houses.

TEGUCIGALPA.

[From United States Consul MOE, Tegucigalpa, Honduras.]

England, France, and Germany are the chief countries marketing goods in this district. Belgium and Italy have relatively a small trade. most of it being in drills and cotton goods of a similar nature.

Business is chiefly conducted by mail; but very often orders are placed by the Honduras merchant when he visits European countries. He then selects what he wants, and if he has any special goods in mind-that is, if he desires patterns of a peculiar figure or goods of certain dimensions, he can readily obtain them upon request. The complaint has been made that merchants who visit the United States. or who send orders there, can not readily obtain what they wish should their specifications be out of the ordinary. The German houses often send salesmen here to review the field and advise their firms regarding

the necessities of the market. These great exporting houses are also aided by the numerous German establishments here, which, in a measure, keep them posted on the requirements of this market. The general terms of credit are from six to nine months.

No credit agency, apart from the Banco de Honduras, does business in this district. The bank will, on request, furnish reports of the financial standing of individuals and firms.

Trade of the United States with Honduras in 1902, 1903, and 1904.a

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a From data of the Bureau of Statistics, Department of Commerce and Labor.

MEXICO.

FOREIGN COMMERCE, JULY, 1904.

According to statistics issued by the Treasury Department of the Republic of Mexico, the foreign commerce of the country for the month of July, 1904, the first of the fiscal year 1904-5 was represented by $5,453,507.27 for imports and $12,443,061.84 for exports, gold valuation being given for imports and silver for the exports.

The imports in detail and their respective valuations were as follows:

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Of the total for July, 1904, Great Britain supplied $519,263.23, a decrease of $459,629.72 over the same month of 1903; Germany, $752,762.67, an increase of $50,154.53; and the United States, $3,019,712.88, a decrease of $746,133.94, as compared with July, 1903.

Bull. No. 3-04-15

Details of exports show the following items and valuations:

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Of the exports noted, Germany took $327,860.53, a decrease of $352,816.45 over the previous year; Great Britain, $995,573.96, and the United States, $9,416,832.52.

CUSTOM-HOUSE RECEIPTS, SEPTEMBER, 1904.

The following table, published in the "Mexican Herald" of November 1, 1904, shows the custom-house receipts of the Federal Government during the month of September, 1904. The collection for ordinary import duties are given separately for each custom-house, and those for extra duties, export duties, port dues, and arrears in aggregate:

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GROWTH OF THE MINERAL INDUSTRY.

Statistics compiled from the records of the Treasury Department of the Mexican Government show the steady increase of mining properties under exploitation each year subsequent to 1898, an increase in the six years of 10,469 properties and of 167,193 hectares of land being indicated by the official filing of titles. The yearly records from 1898 to 1903, inclusive, as registered at the Department December 31 of each year, were as follows:

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Following is the classification of the properties covered by the 18,965 titles existing December 31, 1903, and the area covered by each class, omitting fractions:

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The distribution of these properties among the different States is as follows:

Central States: Aguacalientes, 107; Durango, 2,682; Guanajuato, 799; Hidalgo, 718; Mexico, 413; Morelos, 54; Pueblo, 158; Queretaro, 131; San Luis Potosi, 362; Tlaxcala, 4; Zacatecas, 1,567.

Northern States: Coahuila, 539; Chihuahua, 3,149; Nuevo Leon, 595; Sonora, 2,561.

Gulf States: Tamaulipas, 93; Veracruz, 51.

Pacific States: Lower California Territory, 610; Colima, 37; Chiapas, 19; Guerrero, 624; Jalisco, 943; Michoacan, 459; Oaxaca, 1,214; Sinaloa, 828; Tepic Territory, 247.

This statement includes only actual titles to mining properties.

In regard to the production of gold and silver, during the first six months of the year 1903-4 the value in gold of the production of gold as compared with the corresponding period of the preceding fiscal year was as follows: 1903-4, $5,829,321.90; 1902-3, $5,044,549.96.

As will be seen by these figures, the increase in the production of gold during the first six months of 1903-4 over that of the first six months of 1902-3 was $787,771.94.

The production of silver during the first six months of 1903-4, as compared with the corresponding period of the preceding year, is shown by the following monthly statements:

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The increase is thus shown for the first six months of 1903-4, as compared with that of the corresponding period of the previous year, to have risen to $4,497,743.94, which latter period, as compared with the first six months of 1901-2, showed an increased production amounting to $4,350,000. The latest statistics in regard to silver production in the Republic of Mexico place it ahead of all other countries producing this precious metal.

COTTON MANUFACTURING.

According to the "Neue Hamburgische Börsen-Halle" the following statistics indicate the status of the cotton-manufacturing industry in the Mexican Republic at the beginning of the present calendar year: Factories in operation December 31, 1903, numbered 132, whose consumption of raw cotton amounted to 27,512,012 kilograms, the

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