him as numbering about 2,000 in this region alone. Ready to wield the rifle or the yard-stick, he is a very real menace to both British and American trade in the Republic, and in the present condition of popular irritation there is every likelihood that his propensities for mischief will be afforded every opportunity.
Strange as it may seem, the present appears to the writer as an unrivalled opportunity for the rehabilitation of British trade in Mexico.
The United States and Germany are the sole rivals of this country in Mexican commerce, and at present the American star is by no means in the ascendant. Our position as regards Teutonic competition is even more fortunate, for, at the time of writing, Germany is completely cut off from Mexico so far as the deliverance of orders is concerned, her emissaries are isolated, and in any case she would be unable to extend the necessary long credit to Mexican buyers. The present time is undoubtedly ours.
How, then, shall we approach this commercial opportunity, this unrivalled chance to regain what we have so inadvertently lost? The primary advances must certainly The Method
of Approach. be made on diplomatic lines. The United States has made the mistake of treating the present Mexican régime as a makeshift Government, addressing it as "the Mexican Government de facto" and otherwise arousing irritation in the bosom of its best American customer by its supreme tactlessness. This attitude we should be the last to imitate. Let us send to Mexico a special commercial mission headed by a suitable envoy with commercial as well as diplomatic experience. To offer merely reciprocal opportunities would, of course, be bootless, as, although Mexican imports to this country are considerable, a ready market for them can always be found elsewhere. What is proposed is the flotation of a considerable Mexican loan, should the British representatives see cause to tender such assistance. Such a procedure would undoubtedly pave the way not only
