Articles of incorporation also have been issued to the new German Roland Line, which will immediately institute service between Hamburg and all points on the west coasts of South and Central America and Mexico. The company is capitalized at $1,904,000, and will have a fleet of six steamers, each of 3,000 tons. They will compete with the Kosmos Line, now doing the same sort of trade and touching at several Mexican ports.

The Pacific Mail Steamship Company advertises that hereafter two boats each month to and from San Francisco will stop at Salina Cruz, the Pacific terminus of the Tehuantepec Railroad.

INTERNATIONAL RAILWAY REPORT, 1905.

The annual report of the Mexican International Railroad for the fiscal year ending December 31 reflects a falling off in commercial tonnage attributable to ore shipments. Gross receipts in Mexican money decreased $372,035 and net revenue $80,257. The surplus in United States currency over fixed charges was $604,861, a loss of $207,851 for the year.

The report states in part: "The falling off in shipments of ore over the line more than accounts for the diminished tonnage. Other commodities in general show more or less satisfactory increases. In the latter months of the year and in the first two months of 1906 a marked improvement is observed. The development of the coal region adjacent to the line received substantial impetus, and several new companies were formed for the purpose of exploiting new mines. In addition thereto considerable development work has been undertaken by the older companies, and it is confidently to be expected that the line will be materially benefited by the creation of these additional sources of revenue. The vigorous prosecution of the work in the erection of the Velardena smelter and its contemplated early completion should also aid in increasing the earnings of the property. Various other new industries have been located, and altogether the outlook for increased business of the company in the future is encouraging.

REPORT OF THE NATIONAL RAILROAD, 1905.

For the fiscal year ending December 31 the National Railroad of Mexico makes a good showing, gross earnings (Mexican currency) increasing $1,186,475 and net $606,491. After providing for all fixed charges the surplus in American gold was $412,259, a gain for the year of $340,639. The comparative income account follows:

Reducing the net earnings to a gold basis on an average price for the Mexican dollar of 49.63 cents, as compared with 46.239 cents in the previous year, the gold equivalent would be as follows:

The steady growth in the freight receipts from commercial sources. which had obtained in previous years was more than maintained in 1905, the territory contiguous to the lines received its full share of the general prosperous condition of the Republic, additional areas of lands having been placed under cultivation, additional mines opened for the production of ores, and many new industries located at various places. Special attention is called to the new smelter plants being constructed at Saltillo, Matehuala, and Las Trojes, all of which are expected to be in operation by June 30, 1906, and to the prosperity of El Oro and Tlalpujahua mining districts, with large increased milling capacity at several of the mines located thereat. The increase in the price of silver, copper, lead, zinc, antimony, and other metals, together with the additional treating plants, has given a decided impetus to the further development of the mines located at points on the system.

OPERATIONS OF THE MAIL SERVICE, JANUARY, 1906.

The operations of the Mexican mail service for January, the seventh month of the current fiscal year, 1905, are thus reported by the chief of the postal bureau in the Department of Public Communications and Works, and compared with January, 1905, showing an increase in receipts of $30,721.49 in the month, and of $171,043.73 in the seven months, equal to 8.87 per cent.

Bull. No. 4-06- -16

This is equal to 10.05 per cent increase in January, 1906, as compared with January, 1905.

The revenues derived from the mail service during the first seven months of the current fiscal year 1905-6 are per month as follows:

Increase in seven months 1905-6, as against seven months of 1904-5.... 171,043. 73

These are among the figures that show Mexico's steady progress.

THE PORT OF MAZATLAN IN 1905.

Some idea of the importance of the port of Mazatlan may be gained from the following statistics of exports and imports for 1904-5 via that port, the former aggregating $4,248,569 and the latter $1,498,290, in both cases the United States receiving and furnishing respectively the bulk of exports and imports:

The bonded warehouses of Mexico and Veracruz reported gross earnings in the year 1905 of $218,574.61, which, after several customary payments, left $120,000 for the shareholders.

During the year 1905 the entries and packages received were 491,652, weight 33,794,100 kilograms, value $10,331,779. During 1905 the packages delivered were 309,296, weight 21,005,000 kilograms, value $6,074,166.

The company's capital is $2,000,000, and it advances money on merchandise stored in the warehouses. The amount advanced in 1905 was $3,270,866 on merchandise valued at $5,649,465. The amount repaid by importers on this was $1,723,629 on merchandise invoiced at $3,135,700.

RELATIONS OF MINING AND SMELTING BETWEEN MEXICO AND THE UNITED STATES.

In a paper read before the Mining Congress, November, 1905, by Mr. JAMES W. MALCOLMSON, and reproduced in the "Mines and Minerals" journal for March, 1906, it is stated that twenty years ago practically all the gold and silver ores of Mexico were treated on the spot where they were mined by various local methods of treatment; amalgamation and leaching processes being very commonly employed. Since 1885, a great change has taken place; most of the ore now mined is transported over the railroads to central smelting plants and the precious metals contained reduced to bullion with the aid of lead or copper.

An enormous and prosperous smelting industry has thus developed to the mutual advantage of the mine operators and the railroads.

To-day the miner operating near the railroad finds himself able to turn his ore into cash immediately by shipping it to any of these smelters. He usually receives an amount which yields him as great or greater profits than he could obtain from local processes, and this, too, without any investment beyond the actual cost of mining the ore. The miner of refractory ores also finds himself almost as well off as the favored producer of free-milling ores owning his own reduction plant, and it is only in those districts far removed from the railroads that the former cumbrous methods of local treatment are employed.

In order to form some idea of the importance of this change, it has been estimated that before 1885 90 per cent of all the silver and gold ore mined in Mexico was treated locally where it was produced, but to-day over 75 per cent of all the ore mined is shipped over the railroads to the various smelters of the country, where it is reduced to bullion with either lead or copper.

Until 1890 lead ores were very generally employed for this purpose, and Mexican gold and silver ores were shipped to Denver, Pueblo, Omaha, Kansas City, and San Francisco, where lead smelters were in operation. Extensive smelting works in the city of El Paso were also erected at this period to handle ores from Mexico, which were actually crowding the ore markets of the United States.