Gass Fl^oS Book ^^S 2.c)L o.^ Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2010 with funding from The Library of Congress http://www.archive.org/details/mexicanpapers1 stOI dunb TO THE MERCANTILE AND INDUSTRIAL CLASSES. ^ [FIRST SERIES— No. 1.] AUGUST 15tu, 1860. Price 15 Cxs. ^ I® Cs' THE ^.-^/^' THE MEXICAN QUESTION, THE GREAT AMERICAN QUESTION, personal |tenniiisc£iuc$^^ \ EDWARD E. DUNBAR. A SERIAL-ISSUED SEMI-MONTHLY P5.0SS & TOXJ^E^^ 1*21 IVassau street, GENERAL AGENTS. NEW- YORK : J. A. H. HASBROUCK ower,injluence^ or interests y9h all he extended over this Umd^ This great and glaring fact, tliis anti- American, anti-repub- lican feeling and policy, Mr. McLane encountered at the very outset of his mission. Could he, then, unite with those repre- sentatives of European powers in acknowledging a party whose very existence depended on European and despotic influence, and the severance of every tiling like social, political, and com- mercial interconrse with the United States ? Or, should Mr. McLane have declined to act under these circumstances, and stated to the people and government of the United States: "The government holding the city of Mexico hate us and our institutions ; they wish to form no relations with our people and government, but desire the establishment of a despotic power in their midst, under the protection of Europe ; and iu this they are openly and actively sustained by England, France, and Spain. The Liberals of Mexico are mostly of Indian blood. The popular cry is, that /they are a good-for-nothing, tliieving. plundering race ; at war with all the principles of Christianity and freedom, and deserving of no sort of sympathy or aid )on the part of the United States. We had better avoid all inter- ference, and let matters take their course." Mr. McLane acted no such unchiistian, inhuman part as this; but on the 6th of Aj)ril, 1859, formally recognized the constitutional government of Mexico, represented by Presi- dent Juarez. The ceremony took place in one of tlie long rooms of the Palacio Municipal. President Juarez was escorted by a body of the regular army, and surrounded by liis principal civil and military offi- cers. Mr. McLawe was attended by his secretary, and a suite of American gentlemen. The scene was in the highest degree solemn and impressive. The historical interest attached to the place where the great filibuster Cortez commenced his career of conquest ; the fair Anglo-Saxon, face to face with the swar- thy Toltec, both standing on the common platform of religion, education, and constitutional freedom, and recognizing each other in the bonds of peace and friendship, on behalf of their respective countries — combined to form one of those romantic and important events which occur so frequently in the history of the country. Viewed in all its bearings, this was a sublime act. In tracing the genealogy of the race of Juarez, we are carried back to the obscure and mysterious past of Mexico, from which the veil will never be lifted to mortal eyes; yet dim tradition, the spiritual index of the untutored, unlettered children of nature, points to the ancient Asiatics as the pro- genitors of the Mexican people from whom Juarez sprung. By an extraordinary series of events, this pure Indian, now a man of education and accomplishments, having risen fi'om mysteri- ous dejjths, is found at the head of the nation in its last great struggle for life, liberty, and happiness. This Indian President of distracted Mexico — he who represents the Past as well as the Present — in behalf of the wretched remnant of a people of unknown antiquity, which the despotism of ages has not crushed out of existence, cries out to the youngest, freshest, and most powerful fi'ee government on earth for sympathy and support. The representative of that free government responds in the name of Christianity and humanity, and acknowledges before all the world, the right of this down-trodden and de- spised people to possess and enjoy that priceless boon to man — civil and religious liberty. . No such spectacle has been wit- nessed for ages, and may not be again for ages to come. But, sad to relate, this act on the part of the American minister proved to be in advance of the time. The American people and Congress virtually placed the seal of condemnation on the sublime action of their representative in Mexico. But that act of recognition extended to the Liberal govern- ment of Mexico will have the prominent and favorable place in history which its importance and merits demand. Aside from its grandeur in a moral point of view, it was a bold, clear, and decided announcement of the right of the American people and government to protect their interests abroad, and extend their institutions and influence, especially on this continent, even against all despotic agencies, and the opposition of foreign powers combined. This recognition on the part of the American minister finally resulted in a treaty with the government recognized. But the relations thus formed by Mr. McLane with the liberal govern- ment of Mexico, have been denounced and repudiated by the people and government of the United States, There is proba- bly no instance on record where the simple diplomatic efforts of an American envoy to establish friendly and profitable rela- tions with a foreign power, have been attacked with such bitter malignity and rude violence as in the case of Mr. McLane. Our 9 minister to Mexico, wherever known, is regarded as a liigli- toned gentleman, of decided talent and thorough education. His integrity of character is unimpeachable, and his patriotism no one doubts ; and yet, had this functionary been a very dolt in diplomacy, as corrupt as the vilest of politicians, and a black- hearted traitor to his country, he could not have been more heartily abused than he has been in his efforts to sustain the American name and character abroad, and the cause of liberty in Mexico, and create permanent relations of amity and com- merce between the two countries. Whether such extraordi- nary conduct on the part of the American people and Con- gress, so contrary to their professions and the spirit of the age, arises from apathy, ignorance, partisan feeling in politics, or the lack of any thing like real sympathy with freedom in other countries, time only can determine. At the ])resent moment we are united with despotic agencies to smother the new-born hopes of freedom in Mexico, and cast the people back into darkness and despair. The United States now occupy the meanest position toward Mexico that it is possible for a power- ful and free republic to hold toward a weak and despairing neighbor nation— a position that will prove a sin and a shame to us in the future. My own interests, of a purely commercial nature, required my presence in Mexico, and, as previously stated, I left New- York for Vera Cruz in March, 1859, before Mr. McLane was appointed minister. It was, therefore, an unexpected pleasure to meet him at JSTew Orleans en route to the country of his new and important labors. I found Mr. McLane an ardent student in Mexican affairs, seizing with avidity all information relative to matters in that country. My own stock of knowl- edge and experience was at his service, and I exerted all my powers to induce him to recognize the Juarez government. I do not know that I had one particle of influence with the min- ister. I hope I had. The urgent necessity of the case was, however, so vividly apparent to any cordial hater of a bloody, pagan despotism, that outside influences were unnecessary. A combination of favorable circumstances placed me on a friendly and confidential footing with President Juarez and 2 • 10 liis cabinet, during my sojourn of three months in Vera Cruz. I liad an excellent opportunity to become acquainted with, the personelle^ the views, feelings, and purposes of those who represented the Liberal party and government of Mexico. I found them a band of patriots, who had pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor to the cause of freedom. I found them of exalted spirit, pure in private life, and well edu- cated. It must be said, however, that the leaders in the Lib- eral party are not so eminently practical as the immediate necessities of their cause require them to l)e. AVith a thorough knowledge of the theory of free institutions, and firmly con- vinced of the justice of their cause, and of its destined success, they will not condescend, so to speak, to adopt that energetic, practical course with men and things, both at home and abroad, which is necessary to circumvent and counteract their wily and unscrupulous enemy. The officials in the Liberal party have never taken the first step to^vard disseminating information relative to the condition and wants of Mexico — the politics of the country, cause of the present civil war, &c., &c. The whole civilized world is banded together against the Liberals of Mexico, and yet they have never explained their true po- sition, nor sent forth a plea in their own behalf. They also retain too many ancient abuses in the common affairs of life, even where they hold power. For instance, trade and com- merce in Vera Cruz are hampered by formalities and other hindrances that ought to be immediately abolished. But all these evils incidental to the old system, will disap- pear in due time. No one of ordinary sensibilities, can have personal intercourse with those leaders of the Liberal party who have suffered so much, and struggled so long against such fearful odds, without feeling that they are actuated by that true, deep, and eternal love for their country and fellow men, which will eventually be the means of redeeming the nation. Though tlkey may commit errors, and grr.ve ones, they are right at bottom, and deserving not only of a large charitj'', but a world-wide sympathy and support. No one can con- verse with the "little Indian," as President Juarez is some- times sneeringly called, without being impressed with his deep 11 and determiued patriotism, liis iinflincliing firmness, and incor- ruptible integrity. Constitutionally, he is not very energetic ; but tlie moderate course, or, as it may be called, tlie Fabian policy wliicli lie pursues, and wliicli appears to be dictated by Ms judgment as well, may in the end prove the wisest and most successful. It has that appearance now; 'and the liberal- minded in every quarter should at least desire that these patriots and their party, might have the opportunity vouchsafed to them of regenerating their degraded and unhappy country. Views and feelings of this nature occupied my mind when in Vera Cruz. I also became most thoroughly impressed with the importance of the Mexican question in its bearing upon the policy and action of the United States. It appeared to me that the time had come for the United States government to define its position with regard not only to the belligerent par- ties in Mexico, but toward those European powers who were so ofiiciously intermeddling with the affairs of that country. The relation in which the Mexican question stood to the great question of slavery, which has periodically convulsed the United States during the past forty years, was another point of the highest importance. I had my own peculiar views on this subject — views acquired in practical business life and not in the political arena. I never could tolerate the doctrine that man has the right to hold property in man. Education and association, as well as the natural love of freedom and hatred of oppression, or the claim to the right to oppress, made me an enemy to slavery everywhere and in every form. At the same time, I could not be unmindful of the fact that human slavery was one of the corner-stones in the foundation of this Union, placed there by the fathers of the confeder- acy, and upon which a structure has arisen which towers up before the whole earth, and out of which has grown a question — that of slavery in the United States — the so- lution of which involves a greater amount of property, more human life, and higher interests to the world at large, than ever before clustered around any human problem in any age. Viewed thus, the question of slavery in the United States has an awful aspect, and on the face of things, it / 12 appears that wisdom almost superhuman is needed to insure peace and safety to our common country, in its solution. But it may be that this result is to come from the foolishness of those who call themselves wise. It may be that in the narrow views, the paucity of intellect and the general degradation of politics, as developed by the politicians in our day, or states- men^ as they are called by their friends. Providence designs not to raise w^ any one man, or any class of men, of sufficient scope and po^ver to grasj) and wield the subject, and bring it to an issue at once — an issue Avhich could only be of a character too fearful to contemplate. A greed for office, an insane passion for power amounting to a species of insanity, has seized upon the leaders of our great ])olitical 2:>ai*ties, and for some years past they have been driving the country on to the dreaded issue at a fearful rate. My o^vn belief is, that up to the present moment, the limits of slavery have never been extended or diminished by agitation or legislation. I believe that expediency and profit, without regard to the Constitution of the United States or auy princi- ple of right or wrong, have marked out the boundaries of slave and free territory in these United States. The Missouri Compromise and the Wilmot Proviso, the Fugitive Slave Law and Kansas-Nebraska Bill, Lecompton and Anti-Lecompton^ are all, as I conceive, so many abstractions, having no real eifect on the practical operation of the institution, or the final and grand result- Slavery exists in these United States at the present moment, precisely where it Avould exist had all these legislative acts, these political will-o'-the-wisps, never been known- And within these limits slavery will exist until economy and safety demand its eradication. From my observation and experience in the fi'ontier slave states, in California, New- Mexico, Arizona, and Mexico, I am convinced that our domestic institution of slavery has found its limit ; or, in other words, these United States, or any portion thereof, cannot, by legislation, backed by any amount of phys- ical force, carry slavery in any direction beyond the line where it already exists. If the people could comprehend and believe this statement, it would be like oil upon the troubled waters. I have liad much discussion witli members of Congress and ^ senators on this point the past year, and find most of them, j leading Republicans especially, have little or no knowledge of [ the subject, and that their political course is based on fatally ^ erroneous theories. A leading Republican senator once said to me in conversation : " But for a good Whig administration at the time California was admitted into the Union, she would now be a slave state." Mr. Seward labors to convey the same idea in his last speech, when he says : " Under the auspicious in- fluence of a Whig success, California and New Mexico appeared before Congress as labor states." This is a good specimen of the knowledge and the logic this class of politicians bring to bear on that part of the great question. I l>egged to differ from the senator, and gave him my reasons for so doing. I told him that I was one of the earliest pioneers to California, and took an active part in bringing order out of chaos in that region. Any one who was on the spot, knows full well that slave labor could no more mingle with the element that emigrated to California, than oil can mix with water. No amount of coercion, either moral or physical, on the part of the United States, could ever have established slavery in California. No administration at Washington, no political party in the United States, had any thing to do with framing the constitution of California, or making her what she is in respect to slavery. Expediency and profit settled that question in California, as they have more recently settled it in the newly acquired territories of New Mexico and Arizona, and as they will settle it in Mexico. Negro slaveiy in Mexico, though established and sustained by adepts in the business— Spaniards — never flourished. In some districts, the owners voluntarily gave the slaves their liberty, and the system had nearly died out from natural causes, when, in 1829, it was formally abolished by the Mexican Con- gress. We now find a laboring population in Mexico of nearly six \ millions. The great portion of these are of Indian blood, and \ the laborers are generally known as peons. The labor of these | people under a free system, is found to be cheaper and more efficient than slave labor. Here is one of the insurmountable barriers to the entrance of neOTo slaves into Mexico from the o 14 United States ; and until tlie millions of laborers wlio now in- habit Mexico are removed, tliat barrier will exist. Another insurmountable obstacle to the introduction of negro slavery into Mexico, is the fact that the neg-ro affiliates with the com- mon Mexican, who has the Indian's natural and unconquer- able hatred of slavery, and there is no safety for negro slave property among or in the neighborhood of that people. Slaves have the sympathy of all ela-^-s'e-s of Mexicans, and they always afford the fugitive assistance and protection. The insecurity of slave property in Western Texas by reason of its contiguity to Mexico, has reduced slavery in that part of the state to a merely nominal affair. For these, and other reasons of minor importance, it is clearly evident that slavery cannot be re-established in any portion of the territory now comprehended within the limits of the re- public of Mexico ; and yet this great fact is not believed or ^mderstood at the North. Most of the Rejmblican leaders with whom I have conversed on the subject, I regret to say refiise to tolerate any such fact. It certainly does not favor the " irrepressible conflict" doctrine. The South comprehends this matter much better than the North. Southern senators are generall}' well posted. A con- versation which I held with a leadins: senator from the South, in March last, was so particularly interesting that I made notes of it at the time. We were speaking of the Mexican treaty, and I remarked: "The Republican senators seem disposed to take up the treaty with a pair of tongs, and view it at arm's length, sus- piciously." "Yes," replied the senator; "they are endeavoring to find a cat under the meal-tub — but the treaty speaks for itself ; they ought to know what a treaty means, what its stipulations portend." " But, senator, it is not strange that the Republicans should view the treaty with s\ispicion, since the most prominent fea- ture in Mr. BuciiANAisr's administration has been the acquisition of Mexican territory, which they all believe will lead to the ex- tension of slavery in that direction." 15 " Tliey need not be alarmed on tLat head," said tlie senator, " that may be Mr. BucHAisrAN's policy ; but it is not my policy, or the policy of other Southern statesmen. We understand the subject better, and Mexico is not the direction in which we ever expected to extend slavery. We will not give Mr. Bu- chanan power to acquire Mexican territory." " Do you not believe, senator, that it is practicable to intro- duce slavery into Mexico?" " No, sir ; we know that we cannot carry our negroes into that country, nor can we make slaves of its millions of abo- rigines. The peon labor is adapted to the country ; there is no prejudice against the negro in Mexico, consequently there is no profit or safety in slave property in that country." " It is certainly new to me — and I believe to the Northern public-^-that yourself and others in the South have this under- standing of the subject ; nevertheless, it is precisely the light in which I Lave been brouo;ht to view the matter after ten years' observation and experience." '' It may be new to the Northern public," said the senator. "If slavery could have been carried into Mexico, we would have had the country long ago. We did have it once, and gave it up." " You did not know what to do with the elephant, when you got him," I remarked. " Precisely ; we had our own man, Mr. Polk, for president ; we had a majority in Congress, with Mr. Calhoun on the lead. What did Calhoun say at that time ? ' Mexico is forbidden 'fruit'' We voted against the appropriation for acquiring Cali- fornia because we believed it would come in as free territory, and know better than to get any more Mexican territory, out of which to make free states." " I am more and more astonished at what you tell me. The North is certainly acting under the full conviction that in endeavoring to ol^tain Mexican territory, Mr. Buchanan is entirely influenced by the leading puldie men of the South. You give me to understand that the contrary is the fact." "Certainly I do," replied the senator. "Mr. Buchanan, \\ his efforts to obtain Sonora, Chihuahua, •etc., is acting wholh 10 under the California pressure. Tliat interest goes for extend- ing tlie limits, and creating the necessity for expending any amount of money in that quarter." " It is natural," I remarked, " that California should desire to extend our Pacific coast limits ; and this Mexican treaty, as I ^ conceive, will open Arizona, which is now worthless, and, in fact, give to California the trade of Sonora, and all that region of country." "I agree with you there jDcrfectly," remarked the senator. " I go for the treaty on purely national grounds. The direct eftect of the treaty is to extend Northern commerce and manu- factures; and the indirect effect is to l)enefit the South by causing an increased demand for our productions. It is very strange that those Northern men cannot see it in its true light." I was taken quite by surprise by these frank and intelligent remarks of this Southern senator. They came nearer to truth and statesmanship than any thing I had found in my inter- course with many of the distinguished political leaders in dif- ferent parts of the country, but more especially in Washington. Believing that, with the admission of Texas into the Union, slaveiy found its limit on this continent, and sealed its own doom within the Union by that act, I regard the "irrepressible conflict" declaration as untrue, uncalled for, and in the highest degree mischievous. It is true that a con- flict has existed between free and slave labor in all parts of the world since man was commanded to earn his daily bread by the sweat of his brow. But this conflict has ceased to exist in Europe, as well as in some other parts of creation, and wherever it does not exist, the conflict may be termed a re- pressed conflict Here, in the United States, the further ex- tension of slavery is so hopeless, and the predominance of free territory is so rapidly increasing over slave territory, that what- ever conflict exists between the two systems of labor, should be termed the repressihle coiflict. Surely, a man must be worse than an infidel, who will, in view of all the facts, deliberately come forward l^efore the people of the United States, at this day, and tell them that an " irre/pre-'i-sihle conflict" is going on in their midst, which tnust terminate in giving the entire do- 17 main to free labor or to slave labor ; that tbe grain-fields in sight of Bunker Hill will be cultivated by slaves, or the cot- ton-fields of the South by freemen. But this doctrine, so withering and searing to all sound belief in the progress of freedom; this gospel of uneasiness; this essence of the spirit of oppression, rapine, and murder — is called statesmanship^ and its authors and teachers are held up as shining lights — honest and safe guides for the great American republic ! If the "irrepressible conflict" declaration had been applied ^ to the struggle existing between the two great political parties of the country iov pmver and S2wils, the application would have / l)een correct. Here is the true basis of the conflict that is I raging. It is now in an irrepressible state, and the prospect is, that under different names and on various pretexts invented by our race of demagogues, it will thus continue until it has brought universal contempt upon our institutions, and severe disaster to the country. The sectional system of human slavery is dying out, but the principle in human nature upon which the' contest for spoils is based, is indestructible. In re- lation to this matter, California presents to her sister states a curious and instructive feature. Filled up by free labor at the outset, as thoroughly and practically anti-slavery within her own limits as Massachusetts, the state of California sends to Congress, by overwhelming majorities, representatives and senators who vote with the slave power for the extension of slavery over territory now free. California, one of the young- est, freshest, and most vigorous free states in the Union, pre- sents a strange spectacle to the world when she allows hei*self to be bound hand and foot, and used by the slave power in sustaining a system of labor which she will not tolerate within her own borders. Oregon and Washington Territory have been in the same position. The teriitory of New Mexico also maintains a peculiar attitude as regards this great ques- tion. That country is occupied by the original Mexican popu- lation. There are few whites, but among these are army and federal oflicers who manao-e affairs after their own fashion. Early in 1859 the legislature passed an act protecting slave 3 18 })roperty and forbidding the emancipation of slaves within tlie limits of the territory. There are no slaves in the territory at the present time, except a few captive Indians, and here and thei-e a negro owned by army officers ; and every intelligent in- dividual in that region knows that practical slavery never can be carried into New Mexico ; and yet that territory legislates in favor of slavery and votes under its influence in Congress. Ari- zona, if organized under a territorial government, would doubt- less follow her example. This extraordinary and seemingly anomalous state of aftairs in these distant states and territories, is explained by the two words, Federal Pateoivage, dispensed, it is true, by the slave power. But this is no evidence of an " irrepressible conflict " between the systems of free and slave labor ; on the contrary, it is irrefragable evidence that the con- test is for power and spoils. Federal j^atronage holds territory that a Higher Power has decreed shall not be given over to slavery. PUBLIC OPINION ON MEXICO. The interest with which we have watched the progress of the present revolution in Mexico, and the fate of those relations which the American minister, Mr. McLane, sought to establish with that country, has doubtless caused us to be particularly heedful of every expression of public opinion on these subjects. This Avatcliful interest has caused us to view with astonish- ment, not unmixed with chagrin, the manner in which every sound argument, and every statement of facts in favor of the liberal cause in Mexico, has been oj^posed throughout those countries called Christian and enlightened, especially the Uni- ted States. No sooner has any thing of this nature fallen upon the public eye, than perversions, folse statements, or flat denials, have sprung up in all quarters; and for the time being, truth has been overcome by error. In evidence of this, we shall puldish in the first series of the Mexican Papers, a collection of articles on our subject, selected from a mass of matter emanating from high and distinguished sources. The 19 quoted extracts raid aiiicles are chosen witli reference to tlie sources and the localities from which they emanate ; and we publish them as furnishing a fair exposition of public opinion, both in this country and Europe, relative to Mexico. It Ls not proposed to review or answer this eclectic collection in detail. They are given in the first numbers of the Mexicaist Papers, in order to bring the subject squarely before the public at the outset ; and only such reference will be made to their prominent points as is necessary for that purpose. An article entitled "The Eevolutions and Dictators of South A:merica," that appeared in the Revue des Deux Mondes^ Paris, May 15, 1860, is the first of our selection. Thirty pages of the French semi-monthly are occupied with matter appertaining to the Spanish- American countries, in which an attempt is made to set forth some of the eth- nological peculiarities of the people, their religious and po- litical cliaracteristics, and to enlighten the public as to the causes of the long-continued and prevailing anarchy of those unhappy regions. We publish that portion relating to Mexico : [Translated from the Revue dcs Deux Mondes for the Mexican Papeks.] *^ It is now half a century since the Spanish- American re- publics commenced their efforts to obtain independence, and for half a century the drama has continued. When will it terminate ? This is the j)roblem of the whole of South Amer- ica ; and to such a question the most instructive response is, a glance cast upon the recent agitations in all those countries scattered over the Spanish New World — Mexico, Central Amer- ica, those states which heretofore formed Columbia, and which l)order on the Pacific, even to Peru and Chili — the republics, in fine, occupying in their quarrels the great fluvial basin of the Mio de la Plata. " AVe will then, if you wish, take a view of the revolutions and dictators of South America. " IMEXICO has a good right to pre-eminence in tlie history of American anarchy. Since she became an indeiDendent state, she has passed through many singular vicissitudes. We find 20 lier an empire in 1822 under It urbide — an empire quite epliem- eral — continuing less than one year. Since tliat period, the question has been, shall Mexico be a federative or a imitarian republic ?* shall she be governed by the conservatives, or shall she pass under the sway of the radicals, who, by a bizcirre euphony, are called furos ? " The revolutions and the presidencies, the successive ^/cm* of regeneration which this question has brought forth, can scarcely be recounted. The difficulties which have for some time agitated Mexico, and which the civil war has thrown to the surface more prominent than ever, are not the immediate cause of the perpetual conflicts. These difficulties have their origin several years back in the revolution against the last dictator, General Santa Ana. " The prime mover in this revolution Avas General Alvarez, an old Indian, who has passed his life in the state of Guerrero, where he was raised under a sort of feudal sovereignty, and who dragged his bands of Indian pw«to6f even to the city of Mexico. The result of this movement was clearly the predominance of radical democracy. The evidence of the triumph of the revo- lution was the constitution of 1857, which re-estaldished the democratic idea. Finally, a man of the moment, M. Comon- fort, who at first, was nothing more than a lieutenant under General Alvarez, became president so soon as the old Indian Alvarez regained the state of Guerrero, with his bands of sav- ages. Success more ephemeral than ever ! Between the rad- icals who suspected him of moderate tendencies, and a conser- vative reaction which already appeared menacing, M. Comon- fort despaired. This was in 1858. A military promincia- mento^ started in the first instance by the president, was soon after turned against him, overthrowing this powerless dictator in a day, and giving the power to a new chief, General Felix Zuloaga, who assumed the government, sustained by the araiy, and invested with the mission to carry out the plan called the ^''plcm of Tacuhaya^'' destined, like all the others, to effect the * La question e-t de savoir si le Moxique sera une republique federntive on une r^publique nnitaire. t Spotted Indiunt*. 21 regeneration of Mexico. This was a success for tlie conserva- tive party, wliicli thus suddenly saw itself delivered from the domination of the puros. Unhappily, the democratic party, conquered in the city of Mexico, appeared in the provinces and raised the flag of the constitution of 1857. The vice-presi- dent of the republic, a little Indian named Benito Juarez, organized Sk. pseudo-legal government in the name of the constitu- tion ; after having wandered from city to city, he finally estab- lished liimself in Vera Cruz, which, city the revolutionary part}'^ was fortunate enough to secure. " We have thus two governments in Mexico. The one estab- lished in the city of Mexico has the army, the clergy and all the conservative interests. Though not a power of regular origin, it was, after all, master of the capital and the only power recognized by the foreign governments, the representa- tives of which immediately came forward and established diplomatic relations with it. The other government, an exj^res- sion of the legal revolutionist who was conquered in the city of Mexico, is personified in M. Benito Juarez, master of Vera Cruz, the principal poit of the republic. He laid his hands upon the custom-houses and possessed himself of a pecuniary resource which enabled him to live and wait. In default of an army, he found in the provinces, partisans who came forth to defend him — old governors, lawyers transformed into gen- erals, chiefs of bands always ready to pillage and ravage the country under any flag. The cause called " constitutional" was at the same time supported in the north by a personage no less curious in these last years, Santiago VidauiTi, of Indian blood, opinionated and energetic, his head full of confused ideas and still more of ambition. M. Vidaurri has passed thirty yeai's in opening the way to power ; and he has reached power, being master of the provinces adjoining the United States, which provinces he has threatened more than once to detach ftom Mexico^ and foim a new republic, to be called " Sierra Madre^ For the moment, he was the auxiliary of Juarez. *' The struggle was then inaugurated. The first necessity of the government, which held the city of Mexico, was evidently to break down the combination of resistances by which it was 22 surrounded, in order to pacify the republic, and to organize it after some mode a little more regular. " In the state of Jalisco, on the north, a division of the army, under the orders of two young and energetic officers, Osollo and Miramon, obtained some success, Osollo brought many Constitutional chiefs to capitulate, captured several cities, and was pursuing the campaign victoi'iously, when he suddenly fell in battle. This was a loss to the government of Mexico, for Osollo was an officer of capacity and resolution of whom they stood in great need. Th'u loss was, hov;ever, repaired by the presence in the army of tlie north, of a man still quite young, equally vigorous, and who at the same time had taken an im- portant part in the affairs of Mexico. This was the General Miguel Miramon, who, up to this time, had been the lieutenant of Osollo, and who now assumed the highest rank by the death of his superior. Miramon took the direction of the war with new energy. Gifted with a quick military intelligence, and full of confidence in himself, he evinced an indefatigable ac tivity, beating the factions in all encounters, and elevating to ascendency the conservative party, in such a manner as to turn, by degrees, all eyes upon the young general whom nothing could resist. " The victories of Miramon unfortunately produced no politi- cal result. While the army of the north was well conducted, and beat the Constitutionalists, the army of the east, com- manded by Echeagaray, and directed against Vera Cruz, lost time in its powerless operations. The government of Mexico showed itself destitute of all spirit of initiation ; it failed in expedients, and drew no profit from advantages obtained by the army of the north. General Zuloaga, the president, ele- vated to power in 1858, developed deplorable mediocrity as a statesman, and soon came to be regarded with universal dis- respect and distrust. This resulted in a kind of equilibriun:i between the government in Mexico, in the name of whicli Miguel Miramon followed his successes so uselessly, and tlie government which continued to live in Vera Cruz, and emlx)!*!- ened by the ineffectual operations directed against it. All tlu* advantages which appeared to favor the power of Zuloaga 23 tlie recognition l)y tlie corps diploymitique^ and the successes of an able general, sei-ved in no degree to decide tlie question between the parties. This jDCCuliar state of affairs brought fresh disasters upon Mexico. General Echeagaray, instead of turning his efforts against Vera Cruz, which he was charged to take, got up an insurrection against President Zuloaga, from whom he held his powers. Echeagaray made his movement at Ayotla, in publishing, according to custom, a new political ^/^//^ The 23d of December, 1858, General Robles Pezuela, com- mander of the garrison in Mexico, put forth in his turn apian, which was nothing more than that of Ayotla, a little modified. Zuloaga had just time to find refuge with the British legation, when Robles became master of the capital and of the govern- ment. The intent of X\\\ii proniiriciamento, the offspring of uni- versal disorder, was the fusion, or the reconciliation of the two contending parties. A committee was speedily nominated, consisting of General Mariana Salas, the lawyer Castaileda, and General Casanova. A meeting of one hundred and fifty notables took place a few days after, to elect a provisional president, until the permanent organization of the republic by a congress in which all parties should be represented. Two things remained to l)e known : the first, how M. Juarez would reply, in the name of the Constitutionalists, to this offer of conciliation addressed to him ; second, what woidd be the atti- tude of Miramon in view of the events about to take place. M. Juarez replied with disdain to the propositions transmitted to him. As for Miramon, he was far away, and at the hour even when this crisis flashed upon Mexico, he gained a decided victory over one of the Constitutional chiefs, Santos Degol- lado. One thing was, however, apparent. Upon the com- mander of the army of the north depended, in a great measure, the success of the movement in the city of Mexico. This crisis even augmented the importance of the young general, and his star was so completely in the ascendant, that when the junta assembled, on the 15th of January, 1859, to elect a provisional president, the majority united upon him. Miramon received fifty-two votes, .and Robles forty-six. Miramon, who had now quitted the army, found himself elected— without his knowing 24 it — supreme chief of the republic, in place of Zuloaga, revo- lutionarily deposed. It is quite characteristic that, at the time of this election, no one knew even the opinions of Miramon relative to recent events. ** It proved, however, that the commander in the north ener- getically condemned the military sedition that had overthrown Zuloasa. As a conservative, he refused to be associated in a movement which was nothing more than an impolitic advance made to the revolutionary party. As a military man, he was exasperated by the act which made no account of the blood shed by his soldiers. Miramon thus replied to the overture made to him by Robles in order to obtain his adhesion. It was also in the same disposition that he received at Guadalajara the notice of his election. Could he suffer himself to be pur- chased by the bribe offered to his ambition, and would he accept the benefit of a movement, the nature of which he con- demned ? None knew his designs. Perhaps he knew not him- self what he would do. Drawing near to Mexico without too much haste, Miramon arrived at that city on the 21st of Jan- uary, 1859, and all began to perceive that the young officer who had departed nearly unknown, retm'ned in a few months the master. This was a new personage in the political history of the Mexican republic — a personage truly remarkable — who, at the age of twenty-six years had come to be something like dictator without any manifestation of eagerness and without any intrigue. It is not generally known that this man who has appeared on the stage within a year, and who now acts one of the principal parts in Mexican affairs, is of French origin. His family is of Beam and belongs to the noblesse. They emigra- ted to Spain in the last century; the grandfather of Don Mio-uel Miramon went to Mexico as aid-de-camp to one of the viceroys; his father, M. Bernardo Miramon, married in the country and there remained, and he is now one of the oldest Mexican generals. The actual president, born of this mixture of French and Spanish blood, has been a student of the mili CL/ tary college of Ch^ultepec. He commenced his career in fighting against the North Americans, but in 1858 he was only known as a young officer noted for his bravery. The cam- 25 paigii, tlie direction of which, fell to him on the death of OsoUo, revealed the possession of the gift of command, extra- ordinary firmness, promptitude, decision and brilliant valor, united to a certain reserve in his acts and words. It is hy these qualities that Miramon is able to inspire his soldiers witii that entire confidence which they have in him, and whlcli culminated in the support of the political world of Mexic >. Thus, l^eing master of the position, his arrival was awaited with lively anxiety. Miramon arrived in Mexico the 21st Jan- uary, 1859, without escort, and avoiding all official demonstra- tion, he goes directly to his father. He arrived in no very amicable mood, aware of his power and concealing nothing of his severe sentiments. He received every one with hauteur. Old General Salas volunteered to tell him that if he wished to restore Zuloaga he would receive no support. Miramon rej)lied that he relied on his sword only. He at once ordered General Robles, an officer of the engineer corps, to prepare to accompany him on a campaign which he meditated against Vera Cruz. Old generals, and others, murmured greatly at the domi- neering manner of this youth of twenty-six years, this inuchcwho as they called him, for thc^y \v( re not accustomed to be treated thus. Nevertheless, they submitted to his authority. Without accepting the presidency which devolved upon him by the vote of the junta^ Miramon caused himself to be named commandei'- in-chief of the Mexican army. Two days after he replaced Zulo- aga in the presidency. The movement of Generals Robles and Echeagaray was entirely ignored. Zuloaga was then sob emnly re-established January 24th, 1859. " It was very clear, however, that his power was entirely over- shadowed by the haughty protector who thus placed him at his feet. No one was deceived. Zuloaga alone had, perhaps, the simplicity to believe it all serious. To all Mexico, his situ- ation was nothing more than an artifice, and in admitting even this restoration as an homage rendered to the seml)lance ot legality, all felt that the supreme magistracy ought to devolve upon the one who was in reality tlie power. General Zuloaga, under the pressure of public opinion, was constrained to recog- nize this, and scarcely a week had passed ere he abdicated the 4 26 presidential cliair by a decree in favor of Miramon. This time Miramon accepted the situation, and the 20th of February, 1859, he assumed supreme poAver and delivered an address in which he told somi^ hard truths to all, even to his own party, and whiih the conservatives heard with astonishment. Hence- fortli, we can, perhaps, forgive errors in the new president arising from inex|)erience, and more than all, from the dreadful condition of the country. " The first thought of Miramon was to destroy the govern- ment of M. Juartz in the citadel of ^'era CiiiZ. There lixy, in his eyes, the knot of the cpiestion. After having formed a ministry and obtained funds by an extraordinaiy impost, the president departed from Mexico on the 16th of Februar}- and directed his forces against Vera Cruz. If Miramon had had nothing more than the enemy before him to conquer, he would doubtless have succeeded. But he was in one of those con- fased situations where all things are constantly changing. His operations, slow at first, were soon neutralized by a series of circumstances entirely beyond his control, and had the effect to hold him in check by multiplying the difficulties al;)Out him. ■' Wlien Miramon was at the liead of the army of the north, he beat the Constitutionalists in every encounter, and brought about a semblance of pacification. In his al)sence, the Consti- tutionalists recovered their activity, and reunited in the interior to the number of seven or eight thousand, under the orders of Don Santos Hegollado, who held the title of minister of war. Degollado captured the city of Guanajuato, and marched upon Mexico. Tliis ai-my pillaged the country through which it passed, and arrived at Tacubaya March 21, 1859. Mexico was besieged, and rendered liable to assault daily. April 15th, tlie Constitutionalists attacked the gate of San Cosrn^^ and, though repulsed, their threatening forces re- mained at Tacu]:)aya. During this state of affaiis, one of Miramon^s most energetic officers, Leonardo Marquez, arrived with additional forces. These immediately followed up the Federals, and vigorously jDursued them afar. At last Mira- mon himself arrived to the succor of the capital, being oldiged to return for this purpose from his Vera Cruz expedition. 27 " An incident of another character now took place, calculated somewhat to modify the character of the contending parties, by giving a certain credit, a species of national autlienticity, to the government of M. Juarez and his adherents. Up to this period, the government in the city of Mexico had the advan- tage of being the only one recognized by the foreign pDwer.s. The representative of the United States even, Mr. Forsyth, had remained accredited to Zuloaga. In the first part of 1859, however, it appeared that the cabinet at Washington was disposed to make a complete change in its policy with the Mexican republic. Mr. Forsyth was replaced by a new en- \ voy, Mr. McLane, who immediately recognized M. Juarez. ) How can this evolution be explained ? Thus : soon after the advent of Zuloaga, Mr. Forsyth thought to take advantage of the embarrassing circumstances attending a new goveiiiment not firmly estal)lished, in order to obtain some new concession to the insatiable ambition of the American Union. He had , proposed a treaty, guaranteeing to the United States a cession i of territory, disguised under the form of a i^ectification of the northern frontier, the right of way in perpetuity across the isthmus of Tejuantepec — all in consideration of a pecuniary ^ consideration to Mexico. The cabinet of Zidoaga refused de- cidedly to enter into such a negotiation, held out as an offering of succor, an act of generosity On the part of the United States. From this moment Mr. Forsyth manifested very little sym- pathy for the government of Mexico. He became angry, and, in fact, favored the conspirators, demanding, with im]>erl()us rigor, reclamation on the part of those American citizens whose interests were disturbed by the civil war. In short, there was a rupture. The troubles of the North Americans were serious, as were those of other foreio:nei*s. It was, how- ever, a singular logic that held the government of Mexico re- sponsible for the acts committed by its enemies, and then turned to the government of Vera Cruz, the defenders of which were those who committed the acts ! This change of policy on tlie part of the United States evidently had a motive foreign to the reclamations of American citizens. It was desiraUe to olotain \ from M. Juarez that which Mr. Foi*syth could not obtain from J €.'ilx,C,.,'X'-^.'^~*'>...'^^ - \ 28 General Zuloaga. The new envoy, Mr. McLane, arrived at Vera Cruz early in April, 1859. He was, it is said, furnished with instructions which authorized him to take the responsi- bility of deciding which of the two governments he would recognize. Scarcely had he been in Aera Cruz twenty-four hours before he resolved ta recognize M. Juarez. " Acknowledged by the United States ;' free for the moment from all threatened attack by the necessity which obliged Miramon to return to Mexico ; aided at the same time by the bands called ^ constitutioiialists' who maintained the war in the interior, M. Juarez found a respite, and he concluded to profit by it by renewing legislatively the war against the / church opened by the last revolution. Civil marriage was . instituted by decree, and a manifesto appeared announcing all ^.J^ sorts of reform, crowned by that of despoiling the clergy. This last measure was instituted in order to lure all those specular tors who were to be enriched at any price, and in conformity with the new relations established between the North Ameri- cans and M. Juarez, that the ecclesiastical property should be a ready guarantee to offer to the United States in any negotia- tion that might be made. The cabinet of Mexico protested against the law confiscating the church property, as it had already protested against the acknowledgment of Juarez by I the United States. In advance, it repudiated all sale of church \ property, the same as it declared null any treaty which should ^ be made between the cabinet at Vera Cruz and the North Americans. " This was a war of decrees, of laws, and of protests, added to that of arms, which continued to desolate the country. Nat- urally, the government of Mexico was entirely opposed to that of Vera Cruz. To the manifesto of Juarez, Miramon offered another manifesto, in which he exposed with acerbity the afSictions of his country. Unhappily, the young Presi- dent had more intrepidity and capacity on the battle-field than experience in the management of public aft'airs. In the month of July, 1859, seduced by the fair projects of a young man, M. Carlos de la Peza, who represented that he possessed the secret of nefcotiatinc: the finances of Mexico, Miramon made him 29 minister of finance. Tlie sclieme of M. Peza was cast aside when tlie inefficiency of liis secrfet had been but too well demonstrated. These spasmodic movements appertained less to the governing qualities of Miramon than to the insurmount- able difficulties of the situation. But the military forces of Mexico maintained their advantage. General Leonardo Mar- quez, at the head of the army of the north, maintained the ascendency. Other chiefs, Woll and Vicario, obtained successes. Cobos beat the factionists at Teotitlan and captured Oajaca, the key of the states of Chiapas, Tabasco, and Tejuantepec. M. Santiago Vidaurri, who had sustained Juarez, pronounced against him in the month of September, or at least proclaimed himself neutral between the two parties. All this, however, brought no result, and on the 4th of November, 1859, Miramon suddenly departed for Queretaro nearly alone, and at the risk of being captured by the federals. " Arrived at Queretaro, Miramon was apprised that the con- stitutionalists, headed by Degollado, Doblado, Blanco, Arteaga, and numbering some seven or eight thousand men, had united to attack Gunajuato. He speedily called together such forces as were at hand, procured artillery from Mexico, and marched upon the constitutional army. Before coming in contact, Miramon and Degollado had an interview, in which the latter proposed to acknowledge the former president if he would accept under the constitution of 1857, reserving to a Congress the power of making reforms. Miramon decidedly declined. Degollado, on the strength of superior numbers, assumed a menacing tone. Miramon evinced no emotion, but replied, 'Very well, Don Santos, though I have but half your force, to-moiTow morning I shall have the honor of conquering you.' In eifect, the next day, at the Estaneia de las Vaca-s, Miramon dispei'sed the consti- tutional army, and this ncAV success restored the 'prestige^ which had been somewhat weakened by the political tergiversations which had taken place during his residence in the capital. Miramon's activity and audacity always, happily, restored the confidence which had elevated him to supreme power. "Battles in Mexico are rarely decisive, and this civil war, which has already continued two years, appears no nearer its 30 / denoueinefnt tlian ever, — tlie end always fleeing, yet always said to be api3roacliiiig. Since the montli of January, 1858, they have had eight battles of importance, twenty-four combats of second order, thirty-nine inferior engagements ; in all, seventy- one actions, of which only sixteen have been gained by the y/ constitutionalists. /Furthermore, the civil war is nothing more -^ than a pretext to commit all sorts of excesses and depredations. In reality, the party called federal, or '■ const ifntionali-s-fe^ as it is named in Mexico, is nothinu' more than a i^atherino; c)f undisci- plined bands ravaging the country. Each chief acts on his own account, and these chiefs are innumerable. The most dis- tinguished for their misdeeds are Carabajal, Alatrista, Pueblita, Vi]lall)a, and Alvarez. /" " In the month of May, 1859, the federals plundered the mint / of Guanajuato of $180,000. Of this, $90,000 1)elonged to \ English citizens. One of the ministers of Juarez, M. Zamora, stated that this was nothing more than a temporary use of the funds of foreigners to meet the pressing need of the federal army. At Tepic, Coronaclo, a constitutional general, extorted from M. Alsop, British consul, the sum of $11,000. At another point, Colonel Carretero captured a train of six hun- dred mules with their carjxoes, beloniiinij to the traders of Puebla. In the montli of November, the federals, in their flight from Oajaca, took one hundred pounds of silver from a church. These barbarous chiefs of Mexican radicalism found a new method of raising means in the capture of padres and ; monks, whom they released for money. At Zacatecas they captured eight padres and released them for $8,500. At San ^. Luis the liberty of one cost $10,000. — \_ " Xhe lives of foreigners are no more secure than their inter- ests or the lives and interests of native-born citizens. One day during the siege of Mexico, some Germans of a truth, choosing well their day, projected an excursion to tlie Great Desert. They rested at night at the ranch of Cuaji-Mtdpa, intending to continue their course in the morning. They were quietly i)lay- ing whist, when the doors were forced open and one of their numl)er. Doctor Fuchs, fell, struck by a ball. All were ro])bed. The muleteers at this ranch engaged in transporting goods to 31 Toluca were of the same sort — all of tliem crying, ' Viia la fiideracionJ It cannot be said that all the chiefs who fiirht for the government of Mexico are absolutely innocent of misdeeds of this kind. For instance, in the month of November, 1859, General Marquez robbed a convoy of silver at Guadalajara of $600,000 to pay his army. It shoiild be stated that Miramon, on being apprised of the fact, manifested the liveliest indigna. tion. He immediatel}^ ordered the restitution of the silver, and deprived Marquez of the command of the army of the north. " Such is the history of Mexico, of her revolutions, her civil war and anarchy. The respective situation of the two parties cannot be better defined than by one of the most recent epi- sodes in the history. That which was readily foreseen in con- sequence of the new relations formed between the United States and the government called 'constitutional' of Vera Cruz, is realized. Tlie North Americans never intended to recognize the government of Juarez without compensation, without hope of advantage ; and Juarez on his part was driven to seek aid from tlie United States. Upon this, a negotiation was commenced soon after the arrival of Mr. McLane, which terminated in a treaty conceived upon a basis which Mr. For- syth had ineffectually 2:)roposed to Mexico. This treaty is, in fact, a disguised cession of a portion of tlie Mexican territory, and a sort of high protectorate established for the benefit of the United States. Juarez expected, without doubt, to obtain power in tlie support which he had purchased of the North Americans. But he did not count upon the unpopularity with which the McLane treaty was received even by his owji parti- sans, and that which he resfarded as streno-th, an earnest or success, has become a cause of discredit and weakness. The United States, even, appear to hesitate in sustaining the entire action of their jolenipotentiary, and now we find M. Juarez compromised and menaced more than ever. In fact, no sooner had M. Juarez signed the treaty with the American Union, than Miramon went into the country, got together new forces with which to operate more seriously and more decisively against Vera Cruz. It is not long since the United States came to the aid of M. Juarez, and without ceremony captured two 32 steamsliips destined to second the operations of Miramon. This damaged his operations, without, however, discouraging him. The true parties are, therefore, always in view, and tjie question is correctly stated if this account can obtain the sem- blance of truth in the midst of so much anarchy." The foregoing article from the Hevue des Deux Mondes may be considered a fair exposition of j)ul)lic opinion in France relative to Mexico, and as such, we place it on the record. The writer of the article makes an egi'egious geographical error at the outset. He heads his article, " The Revolutions and the Dictators of South America^'' refers only to that divi- sion of the western continent in his opening remarks, and commences his flight of fancy in Mexico! There would be just as much propriety in placing California or Canada south of the Isthmus of Darien, as there is in drawing the line of that Isthmus north of Mexico. This eiTor is of no great importance in itself, yet it shows what very erroneous concep- tions are afloat in some of the higher order of European minds relative to the simplest matters of fact, even, regarding this continent. A few years since, there was brought out on the Parisian boards, a new French play, the scene of which was laid in America, and a cotton plantation formed the staple of the plot — said plantation being located near Boston, Massachu- setts. It is reasonable to infer that the entire article on Spanish America, published in the Eevtte des Deux Mondes, was- made up of material furnished by the French legations stationed in the respective Spanish American countries. That portion relating to Mexico, and which appears in the Mexican Papers, we are fully justified in stating, came from the French legation in the city of Mexico when in charge of M. Gabriac, as we have seen the substance of the same in the Miramon gov. ernment journals, and which, at the time, was attributed tc' the French minister. The knowledge of this fact is, of itself, sufficient to destroy all confidence in the truth or justice of the remarks contained in the French review", since the fact that M. Gabriac took the part of a most unscrupulous partisan in 33 sustaining tlie fortunes of Miramon and the Mexican church,' has now become notorious. The writer in the Revue des Deux Mondes states that the present difficulties in Mexico have their origin several years back in the revolution against the last dictator, Santa Anna, the prime mover in this revolution being General Alvaeez. What profundity, what extraordinary political acumen in Mex- ican aiiairs do we find here ! We venture to assert, that the present revolution in Mexico has its origin several hundred years back, when Spanish priests and soldiers enslaved the Mexican nation. Our French reviewer adverts significantly to the Indian blood of Alvarez, Juarez, and other lil^erals, and then with a flourish of words, brings forth Miramon, the revolutionary president, as a choice extract, a splendid shoot from pure French and Castilian stock. This personage is first made prominent as the successor of Osollo, commander of the army of the north, who is stated to have fallen suddenly in battle. OsoLLO did not fall in battle, but he died in his bed, some say of fever, and it is a subject of remark in Mexico that his liberal tendencies gave the priests and their adherents lively concern, which concern was relieved by his death. In the account of the life of Miramon after he appeared prominent on the stage, the attempt is made to invent an analogy in the career of the Mexican guerrilla chief, and that of the elder Napoleon as general and first consul. Miramon, in his own country, is called by his countrymen in anger, asesino j and in ridicule, Macaheo. These appellations convey multmn iiiparvo. Miramon is a Mexican of thoroughly mixed blood, his paren- tage not being known beyond his own country with any degree of distinctness. The statement relative to his military and civil acts is a thorough perversion of facts and pure invention from first to last, and the attempt to display Miramon Ijefore the world as a man 'of high courage, generous impulses, and tran- scendant abilities, either in military or civil affairs, must have tortured the brain of his eulogist beyond endurance. Another effort of the French reviewer ought not to pass unnoticed. It is wherein he endeavors to stigmatize the 5 34 liberal party of Mexico as made up of unprincipled hordes, ravaging and laying waste the country, under innumerable chiefs, of which the most distinguished for their misdeeds are Caeabajal, Alatriste, Yillalba, and Alvarez. The liberals are charged with plundering the mint at Guanajuato in May, 1859, of $180,000 belonging to English citizens. Cokonado, a constitutional general, is represented to have extorted $11,000 fi'om the British consul at Tepic, etc. It is acknowledged that the federal chiefs do not commit all the robberies, since General Maequez, commander of the church army in the north, did, in November, 1859, abstract from a convoy of silver at Guadalajara, en route for the Pacific, the modest sum of $600,000 to pay his army, which act on the part of his general, raised the virtuous indignation of Miea- MON, who ordered the restitution of the silver and deprived Maequez of his command. It cannot be denied that, heretofore, Mexican warfare has been characterized by infamous acts of rapine and plunder. The present revolution has been pre-eminently distinguished for wholesale massacres, and the extent to which gigantic schemes of robbery and devastation have been carried. But the French writer is entii^ely mistaken when he charges these acts upon the liberal or constitutional party. It is true that petty l^rigand chiefs, taking advantage of the anarchical state of the country, have arisen and committed depredations in various quarters, sometimes in the name of one party and sometimes in the name of another, but more fre- quently on their own responsibility, and neither party can be considered directly responsible for theu* acts. The truth lies in this : the system of 7nurde7\ rapine^ and plunder^ under ivhich Mexico has suffered since the present reiiohition com- menced^ is hut tlie system of the priests and their adJierentSj which loar has invariably developed to a harlarous degree. Call to mind the forced loans commenced in the city of Mexico three years ago by Zuloaga, "^or una sola vez^'' and followed uj:), times innumerable, by Mieamon, Maequez, Woll, Robles, Negeete, Cobos, Me.jia, and a host of merciless guer- rilla chiefs in the reactionary forces, who have laid every city 35 and town in the republic of any note, under forced contribu- tions ; and any otlier country, less rich than Mexico, would, under this system of plunder, have given up the ghost finan- cially long ago. Recount the almost innumerable l)utcheries perpetrated by Miramon and his partisans, not omitting that of Tacubaya in 1859, and the wanton destruction of life at the siege of Vera Cruz, Aj^ril, 1860. From advices just received, we learn that General Kobles is laying waste the country about Tlacolulan and killing the defenceless Indians; and as for CoBos, Marquez, and Mejia, they are coarse, bloody murderers and robbers of the worst degree, and any cause that tolerates such monsters must be iniquitous. To charge this barbarous system of warfare upon the liberals is, therefore, a reckless and heinous misrepresentation of the facts. If the liberal party has erred at all, it has erred on the side of mercy. Its responsible chiefs, such as Juarez, Degol- LADO, OcAMPO, Uraga, Alvarez, Zaragoza, Ortega, and others, have never imposed forced loans on the people, or been guilty of a single act of plunder as the means of sustaining their cause. The liberals did take $180,000 from the mint of Guanajuato. This money was put into bags of $1,000 each, and the bags delivered to 180 men belonging to the liberal army, with orders to scatter and rendezvous with the cash on a certain hill in the neighborhood. Every one of the 180 men was faithful to his trust. The commanding officer of the liberal forces who took the responsibility of seizing this silver, gave the owners thereof drafts on the constitutional govern- ment at Vera Cruz. Though distressed for means, that govern- ment promptly paid those drafts. Surely, a party that pursues such a course as this, is determined to sustain itself on strictly honorable principles. How this prompt and satisfactory state- ment of the Guanajuato mint affair contrasts with the innu- merable and unsettled acts of outrageous plunder by the opposing faction ! Among these is that of Robles at Puenta National, where those interested in the conduGta of specie were glad to submit to the robbery of $30,000 in order to save the balance. Also, the robbery of the condiicta at Guadalajara by Marquez, the facts respecting which robbery are misrepresented 36 by the Mevue de-s Deux Mondes. This conduda^ consisting of about $1,500,000, was en route for San Bias, for shipment to Europe. Makquez took possession of the entire conduda^ and at first it appeared as though the whole of it would be plun- dered. Then $600,000 was considered sufiicient, but finally, after abstracting $200,000, the balance was snfiered to proceed on its journey. Miramon, on hearing of this rol>bery, started post-haste from the capital for the headquarters of Makquez. MiEAMOisr had been suspicious and jealous of Maequez for several months, the latter having evinced a disposition io pro- nounce for himself Fearing that the possession of such an amount of money would give Maequez too much power, and being largely interested personally, it is said, in the specie bound for Europe, Mieamon lost no time in pouncing down upon his would-be rival in rol)bery. Maequez was inveigled to the city of Mexico, trapped, and cast into prison, where he now lies, a prisoner of state, with his ambitious schemes nipped in the bud. The church army squandered the $200,000. No restitution of the money was ordered, and not one dollar has been or ever will be restored. It is by such simple explanations as these, that the monstrous network of fabrication, woven by the plunderers of Mexico around their evil doings, may be destroyed. One more instance, and we leave this part of the subject for the present. General Coeo- KADO is said to have extorted $10,000 from the British consul at Tepic. We cannot explain this matter better than to quote from a letter dated Mazatlan, May 31, and which appears in the New Orleans Picayune^ July 4, 1860. "For a long time the English have been smuggling the eoin of Mexico out of the country, and the consuls of the different seaports have been acting as agents in this contraband t;:ule. San Bias Avas one of the chief depots of export while it Avas in the liauds of the church party, and the consul there had been engaged in several heavy 'runs.' When, however, the partisans of Miramon had to give way to the stronger force of the liberals, the latter attempted to put a stop to this smuggling by implicating the English consul and threatening to take summary measures against him, which, however, passed unheeded, that gentleman well knowing that he was backed by a strong fleet, which would at a moment's warning resent any insult oftered to the English flag or the person of its representative. 37 "Several times had the steamer Alert shown herself around San Bias, mean- iri<'- thereby to force the liberals into silent acquiescence to the conduct of their consul. Nothing daunted, however, the liberals kept vigilant watch, and at a recent ' run,' the consul teas caught in the act, and imprisoned until he wotdd pay the duties on his tico last adventures — those duties amounted to the snug httle sum of $10,000, which he had to pay before he was released from ' durance vile.' The ^tewa.&r& Alert and Amethyst were then at Mazatlan, and when the news of the imprisonment of the English consul reached the captains of the above vessels, they blockaded this port, and threatened a homhardment if the citizens of 3Iazatlan did not, within a sped fled time, make up the $10,000, xohich the captain of the Alert asserted had been illegally pressed from the English consid at San Bias. All repre- sentations that San Bias and Mazatlan were under difterent provincial gov- ernments were useless, and the money had to be forthcoming. "Not satisfied with this unheard of extortion, the ^l^er^ and Amethyst steamed down to San Bias, blockaded that port, and after a stout resistance on the part of the liberals, landed a garrison under Capt. Grenvelt, of the Amethyst, and declared the province under English martial laio. The op- position party, taking advantage of this covert assistance of the English, were regaining some advantages, and the liberals, to get rid of one of their tormentors, at least, were obliged to yield to any demands that the English consul might make for damages. The exact amount I could not learn, but that it was not a trifling sum you may be assured. The siege Avas raised on Monday, May 28th, the Alert coming up here, and the Amethyst remaining at San Bias. "The English version of the story differs somewhat from the above, but not materially; they acknowledge the facts, assigning, however, slightly differ- ent causes." We can endorse tlie truth of tlie foregoing statement, and add tliat a dark tale of crime and oppression is connected with the history of smuggling in Mexico, particularly under English auspices on the Pacific coast. There is much in the temper and tone of the article in the . >^ Mevue des Deux Mondes, especially wherein it refers to the supposed pre-determination of the United States to absorb Mexico, that reminds one of a sensation pamphlet which appeared in Paris more than a year since, entitled " The Latin Racer It is much to be reo-retted that the editor of the Revue should be induced, by national predilections and the prejudice of race, to prostitute the columns of his respec- table and influential periodical to so ignoble a pin"pose as that of disseminatinor a document, the distino^uishing feature of 38 wLicli is, a total disregard and disdain of tLe principal facts relating to the great question upon whicli it treats. It is no agreeable task to enter upon the foregoing strong and unqualified denial of the French writer's statements. But it is only in this summary manner that we can deal with the bra- zen impudence, the bigotry, and the deep-seated lust for power and gold, that is causing to be sent forth broadcast throughout both hemispheres, wretched tirades against liberty and decency in Mexico. The following table gives the population, area in square miles, and density of population per square mile, of those countries on this continent upon which the Mevue des D>iux Mondes treats : — Countries. Population. Area square miles. Density of Popalr.- tion )»er squp.re mile. + Mexico - - 8,283.088*" 971,450 394,000 358,000 257,000 215,000 2,363,054 1,361,386 1,108,042 2,106,492 2,326,126 1,558,319 1,459,355 177,300 600,000 7,677,800 766,482 43,380 9,600 39,600 40,200 21,800 521,948 426,712 206,692 498,726 473,298 249,952 1,126,265 73,538 86,102 2,973,406 10.8 * Guatemala 22.4 S 41.,) * Honduras 9.5 * Nicaragua a 6.3 o . . . . 9.8 * Granadian coi * Venezuela * Ecuador * Peru * Bolivia * Chili * Argentine Rej * Uraguay * Paraguay * Brazil federal jublic ion Total 4.5 3.1 5.3 4.2 4.9 62 1.2 2.4 6.9 2.5 31,216,412 7,557,701 Average Average Total Average Countries. a Importt. per Exports. per Foreign Com- per t- Capita. Capita. $3,38 1,93 4,02 2,08 merce. Capita. 1850 1858 1858 18r,5 $26,000,000 1,223,770 1,246,720 987,289 $3,14 tl.25 ,3,16 ;2,fil $28,000,000 i;924.509 1,585,485 745,901 $54,000,000 3,148,279 2,832,205 1,683,190 $0,52 3.23 7,13 4,69 1855 972,851 13,78 958,572 3,73 1,931,423 7,51 Costa Rica '~< ... 1S53 1,267,387 5,89 1,351,779 6,28 2,619.166 12,1T Granadian Confeder-^ ntion Venezuela ^ 1856 3,255,843 1,37 7,064,584 2,98 10,320,427 4,3G t '^ 1856 5.697,129 4.11 6,S:W,104 4,87 12,233,233 8,98 r r 18.56 2,626,706 2,37 2,723,141 2,45 5,.349,S47 4,82 Peru =: ls5:i 9,087,894 4,31 1C,S80,377 8,01 25,968,271 12,82 Bolivia \ ~ is.>:} l,3.59,5s5 ,58 1.422,716 ,'H 2,782.:illl 1,19 Chili ( " 1S.5T 19,804,041 12.70 20.126.461 12,91 89,930,.')02 25,62 Arfientiiie Republic L ~ 1S55 11,394.000 7,81) l.'),2t>'».'-'>'6 10,45 26,054,986 18,26 llrajTuay Pal a mi ay ^ Brazil "^ 1 5 1856 4,586,317 610,865 25,86 10,303,853 58,11 14,890,170 S;i,98 ' "^ 18.56 1, 1 1,006,059 1,67 1,616,924 2,08 1857 68,808,865 inaerce of the S 8,96 ipanish i &3,613,005 imerican Colon 8,28 cs 132,421,870 17,24 Total Forei gn Con $338,382,794 * From Journal of American Gcographic.il and Statistical Society. t From Garcia y Cuba's Statistical Maps, Ministry of Fomento, Mexico. 39 The preceding table gives an exhibit of the imports, exports, total foreign commerce, and average per capita of the same countries. Annexed is a recapitulation of the foregoing, including Cuba and other West India Islands ; to which are added, the United States and Canada : — Countries. Mexico ' •-■ Cuba Otiiei- West India Islands . Central America Boutli America Total Spanish America. United States Canada Imports. $26,000,001) 39,560,299 41,81 3,2(i2 5,648,017 127,131,245 240,1.52.823 282,61.3,150 49,288,-M5 Average per Capita. $3,14 2T,29 16,74 2,57 6,13 6,82 9,26 19,16 Exports. $28,000,000 46,792,055 37,188,283 6.566,246 145,037,286 263,583,870 324.644,421 31,813,li20 Average per Capita. $.3,38 33,23 14,89 2,99 6,99 7,49 10,64 12,37 Total Foreign Commerce. $54,000,000 86,352,354 79,001 ,.545 12,214,263 272,168,531 503,736.693 607,257,571 81,101,265 Average per Capita. $6,152 59,57 31,fi3 .5,56 1.3,12 14,31 19,90 31,53 Countries. Population. Area square miles. Density of Popula- tion per square mile. 8,283,088 1,449,462 2,497.154 2,195,450 20,737,874 766,482 47,278 49,015 154,580 6,636,639 10.8 Cuba 30.7 Other West ludia Islands 50.9 14.2 SouUi America ........*... 3.1 Total Spanish America .... United States 35,163,023 30,500,000 2,571,437 7,653,994 2,990,000 357,822 4.5 10.2 7.2 From the preceding tables, we learn that the countries on this continent, known as Spanish America, have an area of Y,557,Y01 square miles, with a population of 31,216,412, whose total foreign commerce amounts to $358,382,794. Include the West India Islands, and we have a total area of 7,653,994 square miles, a population of 35,163,028, and a foreign com- merce of $503,736,693. These are the vast regions with their tens of millions of people and their hundreds of millions of trade, whose destinies, as we view the subject, the Revue is endeavoring to influence in a manner calculated to bring still greater misery and more wide-spread ruin than even now exists among those nations whose most dire evils are, in reality, legacies Irom that very Latin race which is now extolled as the only element of good in their midst. We hold that public opinion on Mexico is wrong, and that foreign governments are following out an unjust, mistaken policy toward that country. We deem it of the highest • 40 importance that tlie American people should lose no time in becoming fully acquainted with the merits of this great ques- tion. It should be raised at once from the obscurity into which our politicians have cast it, and assigned that prominent place in our national politics which its overshadowing impor. tance demands. It is true that the policy aj^plicable to Mexico may not be entirely applicable to the other Spanish American countries. Each one of these countries has its peculiarities, and each may require some variation in the mode of treatment. But if pul)lic opinion is wrong as regards Mexico, public opinion, in the main, is wrong as regards the whole of Spanish America ; and if the United States, claiming to be a free and enlightened republic, and as such, assuming to control the destinies of this continent, stands in a false unjust position toward Mexico, she stands in a false, unjust position toward the whole of Spanish America. Those broad and fruitful countries, though groaning and languishing under despotic, ill-regulated governments, contain, even now, a population of 35,163,028, and sustain a foreign com- merce of $503,Y36,693. What may not those countries become with tranquillity, and under the civilizing influences of com- merce and industry, introduced by a powerful, free, and enlight- ened repvMic f It requires no extravagant imagination to see those vast regions now so sparsely inhabited, filled up Avith hundreds of millions of people, and to count a commerce and trade of thousands of millions of dollars ! Such a field for enterprise as Spanish America now offers to the United States has never been seen since the world began. It is in Mexico that its occupation must commence, and first of all, the fate of Mexico must be settled. Even now, her destinies are trembling in the balance. We have reliable advices that Senor Paciieco, the new Spanish minister to Mexico, is beginning to show his hand under the stipulations of the Almonte treaty, made by Spain with the Miramon gov- ernment. The last Spaniard that ever lives, will die believing the Mexican people were created to be his slaves. It is not difficult to divine, therefore, what Senor Pacheco's course will be. It is also published, on authority from Louis Napoleon 41 direct, tliat lie is a1)oiit to interfere ia Mexican affairs. So long as there was any liope for the church party, and whilst treaty negotiations were pending between the United States and Mexico, the European Powers, in 'their eiforts to thwart the United States and sustain the church party, confined theni- selyes to the exertions of their accredited ministers in Mexico. But now that the American Congress has refused to have any thing to do with that country, and the final triumph of the liberals, even without the aid of the United States and against all opposition, appears absolutely certain, a direct and unequiv- ocal armed intervention by France and Spain, and perhaps England, is announced. AVliat does this foreign intervention mean, just as victory aj)pears to be within the grasp of the liberals ? It means that Spain, whether acting in conjunction with any other power or not, is as fully determined as ever to have a despotic tenure in Mexico of some sort, if she cannot hold the entire country in her hands; and it means that France is influenced by the money power in Mexico which has hitherto sustained the church party, and which is broken, utterly ruined, and lost, the day on ^vhich the liberals obtain possession of the city of Mexico. M. Gabeiac, formerly French minister in Mexico, is now in Paris. He is supposed to represent ndt less than $50,000,000 arising out of transactions with the Zuloaga and Mii'amon governments on the part of himself, Jeckek, Toere, and others. These bankers and capitalists, and their immediate connections in Mexico, have all failed, and their assets are mostly the church faction securities, which no legitimate gov- ernment of the country can have the least shadow of authority for paying. Intervention on the part of France and Spain (and perhaps England) at the present moment means, there- fore, nothing more or less than a check to the liberals which will force them to make a compromise with bigotry and des- potism that contemplates the fulfilment of stipulations, disas- trous to Mexico, contained in the Almonte treaty, and the payment of those enormous and iniquitous obligations created by the church party. This foreign intervention means mis- chief. If the liberals of Mexico listen to any scheme of com- 6 42 promise with tlieir enemies, they are lost; and if we permit either or all of the European powers to interfere in the affairs of Mexico on any pretext whatsoever, we are no better than besotted boasters, and have no right to rank among nations as a Power on Earth. All Communications for the MEXICAN PAPERS, must be addressed to EDWARD E. DUNBAK, No. 35 Winia77i Street, N. Y. TO THE MERCANTIl.E AND INDUSTRIAL CLASSES. [FIRST SERIES— No. 2.] SEPTEMBER 1st, 1860. Peice 15 Cts. THE MEXICAN PAPERS THE MEXICAN QUESTION, THE GREAT AMERICAN QUESTION. WITH ipersnnal Reminiscences, BT EDWARD E. DUNBAR. A SERIAL-ISSUED SEMI-MONTHLY. DROSS & TOXTSE^ST, ISl IVassaxi Street, GENERAL AGENTS. ^r^ NEW- YORK : J. A. H, HASBROUCK & CO., PRINTERS. 180 BROADWAY. 1860. —0^ CONTENTS OF No. 3. PAGE. PERSONAL, 43 The acquisition policy of our government, 43 Mistaken views of our people on this subject, . .... 44 What the South can do in the absence of treaty stipulations with Mexico, 50 The kind of treaty that is needed at the present time, - - - - 52 The effect it would have, ...-.--.-53 THE MITLA LETTERS, 53 Anajuac Mythology, Vera Cruz, April 5, 1859, ----- 54 The Recognition, Vera Cruz, April 6, 1859, - - - - - - 56 MEXICAN CORRESPONDENCE— ITS CHARACTER AND EFFECTS, - 58 PUBLIC OPINION ON MEXICO, 60 SPANISH AMERICAN REPUBLICS, from the London Saturday Review, - 60 EDITORIAL REMARKS on the article from the English Rcviezv, ... 64 MITLA letter, Mexico, July 1, 1860. 66 MEXICAN CORRESPONDENCE on the exchange of prisoners, . . - 78 43 PERSONAL. For some years past, the most prominent feature in our policy witli Mexico lias been to acquire her territory. If Mr. Buchanan had one clear and distinct idea in his own mind rel- ative to Mexico, when he despatched Mr. McLane thither, it was, doubtless, that of acquiring a portion of her domain. It is now generally conceded that the minister to Mexico had no definite instructions except on this point — a sort of general memorandum having been given to him to go and do the best he could; recognize the government that appeared the most likely to win, despotic or liberal, chui'ch or anti-church ; and to negotiate a treaty with whatever government he might recognize, that should embrace in its provisions a cession of certain Mexican territory to the United States, for a pecuniary consideration. My own convictions, based on personal experience, had fortified me against such an unprincipled policy as this — a policy that has proved fatal to all those interests which the two countries hold in common. It appears that when Mr. MoLane was despatched to Mexico, the administration at Washington had less compre- hension of that country than it had of almost any remote por- tion of Asia that could be named. It would seem that our highest ofiicials had neither the time nor the knowledge requi- site to draw out a schedule of instructions, embodying a de- cided, practical, statesmanlike policy for the new minister to follow in Mexico. It is reasonable to believe, therefore, that when the ncAvs of Mr. McLane's prompt and unqualified recognition of the constitutional government, and the liberal party of Mexico, reached Washington, none were more aston- ished than Mr. Buchanan and his cabinet. This momentous official act was no sooner accomplished un- der the circumstances heretofore stated, than the high negotia- ting parties commenced framing a treaty such as the common interests of both countries seemed to require. The negotia- 44 tions were conducted with that circumspection usual on such occasions, and nothing relative to these, while pending, was known outside the official circle. There was one point in the matter, however, as well understood in the streets of Vera Cruz as in the cabinet of President Buchanan, or that of President JuAiiEZ. This point was, that the acquisition policy of the x\merican president would make itself apparent first and fore- most ; and I believe it is a fact now well understood, that Mr. McLane, acting under instructions, was obliged to present a demand for the cession of a portion of Mexican ten-itory to the United States, for a pecuniaiy consideration, at the very outset of his efforts to frame a treaty with the constitutional government ! The feeling of the Mexican people, relative to the sale of any portion of their country, is not understood in the United States. It is a mistake to suppose that any section of the re- public favors such a transaction, or i^ indifferent on the subject, llie contrary is the fact. No people have a stronger love of country, or more extravagant notions, I may say, of what is due to its honor and dignity, than the Mexicans. No party in the country will listen to a proposition for the purchase of terri- toYj. It is only certain thoroughly venal and unpatriotic in- dividuals who, when they attain power and see the way clear to pocket the proceeds, will sell the national domain. Fast " manifest destiny" men, and crazy speculators, have done much to mislead our government and people on this point. The Mex- ican war was conceived in erroneous notions relative to the sentiments and the capacities of the Mexican people, especially those of the northern states. It is a well-known fiict that President Polk and his cabinet supposed the mere presence of General Taylor with his troops on the Rio Grande would be sufficient to prevent hostilities. It is now a matter of history, how this movement of General Taylor's provoked the very issue it was intended to overawe. Even after hostilities had com- menced, President Polk was led to believe that the northern tier of Mexican states were desirous of separating from the federation, and joining the American Union ; and it would only be necessary for a few regiments of Amei'ican soldiers to 46 appear amoug them and countenance the project, when the people en masse would throw up their hats, and huzza for an- nexation and the American confederacy. On this erroneous belief, Doniphan, with his regiment, was ordered to march throuorh New Mexico into Chihuahua. General Kearney was sent to California to co-operate with Commodores Stockton and Sloat, while General Taylor appeared in Tamaulipas and Coajuila. That magnificent extent of country did not, how- ever, like ripe fruit, fall to the United States, a bloodless and cheap acquisition, in conformity with the expectation and de- sire of the administration at Washington. The Mexicans, from one end of the country to the other, were united as one man against the invaders, and step by step the war went on, until, to save our national honor, we were obliged to conquer a peace by capturing the capital of the republic, and vanquish- ino^ the nation. Up to this time, nothing had occurred to bring out the opin- ion of southern statesmen on the practicability of propagating negro slavery in Mexican territory beyond the Rio Grande and the Rocky Mountains. There appears to have been a vague idea that it could not be done. Webster and Calhoun, doubtless, had clearer and more correct views on the subject than any statesmen then living. But whatever may have been the opinions of leading southern statesmen who influenced the administration of President Polk, the glory of a splendid ac- quisition of Mexican territory, certainly, on the inception ot the plan, obscured their vision as to its results on their favorite institution of slavery. But when those parties found them- selves in possession of the whole of Mexico, then, and not till then, did the question of the possibility of propagating negro slavery in that country enter the councils of southern statesmen as a matter that must be immediately acted upon. Southern instinct as usual when the interest of the peculiar insti- tution is concerned, was prompt and correct in its decision, on this occasion. The leading men of the south agreed that negro slavery could not be carried into Mexican territory, and the country was returned to the original owners, except New Mexico and Cilifornia, which were retained for a consideration, • 46 notwithstanding the misgivings of the entire south, and the open opposition of a few of her leading men. Thus we see the Mexican war originated in a series of blun- ders which resulted in an unexpected, unwished-for conquest; which conquest was finally abandoned, because the controDing party knew that it could not be made available for the exten- sion of human slavery, and the minority party honestly be- lieved, or affected to believe, directly to the contrary. Now, the " irrepressible conflict" apostles — who have gained immense- ly in political power since that period, and whose final success depends entirely on the unhealthy excitement created by their gospel of uneasiness — are keeping alive and using the theory that the institution of slavery can and will be carried into Mexico ! Our Mexican policy, based on a thorough ignorance of Mexico and the Mexicans, continues up to the present day. It has been fatal to our relations with that country, and it always will be fatal, in diplomacy, to approach any Mexican govern- ment holding power by the will of the people, with a propo- sition to purchase national territory. Besides the profound conviction of this fact, there are other weighty reasons which sustain my opposition to our Mexican policy of territorial acquisition. My experience in Arizona had convinced me that in the acquisition of that domain known as the " Gadsden Purcliase^'' we but added to the territory of New Mexico a wild region of country, (and without the port of Guaymas) very difiScult to get into, and much more difiicult to get out of — a dreary dis- trict which, in fact, has proved to us nothing more or less than a trap, in which bands of wild and murdering Indians catch emigrants and settlers, with their horses, cattle, and other prop- erty. This forlorn purchase of territory also gave the United States government the opportunity to increase its patronage, by extending its worse than useless Army and Indian Agency system, and adding several millions to the amount squandered yearly by the War Department, under pretence of protecting the frontiers. The acquisition of the states of Sonora, Chihua- hua, and part of Coajuila, would bring all that remains of the 47 wild Indian country soutli of us, within the limits of the United States, and this new acquisition would equal, in area, New Mexico and Arizona. The former territory has been in the possession of the United States twelve years, and the lat- ter, six years. These two territories have been under the pro- tection of the War Department, and practically, under the management of the United States military and Indian agents stationed therein. When we look back and contemplate the horrid butcheries that have taken place, the great loss of human life, the immense waste of property, and the enormous expenditure of national funds within those territories, we hang our heads with commiseration and shame. And when we reflect that those regions are, if any thing, in a worse condition this day than they were when the United States took posses- sion, we may well call in question the propriety of acquiring other territories of the same character, to be given up to a system of management which proves an absolute hindrance to every thing like civilization and progress. The expenditures of the War Department are now nearly $30,000,000 per annum — almost half the entire revenue of this government — and at the present rate of increase, the amount will reach $60,000,000 in 1865 ! And yet, in view of these startling facts, our legislating politicians are rushing blindly, madly on to increase this branch of federal patronage, and all this is done under the plea of retrenchment and economy. It will be remembered that President BuciiANAisr, in his an- nual message, 1858, recommended the forcible and military occupation of the Mexican States of Sonora and Chihuahua. The chairman of the House Committee of Foreign Affairs ad- dressed the Secretary of War on the subject. The following is his reply. We give it as one of the brightest scintillations of genius that has flashed from the War Department since it came into existence. " War Department, 7>6C. 27, 1858. Sir : — In reply to your communication of the 1 4th inst., I have the honor to state that in my judgment the armed possession of posts in Chihuahua and Sonora, according to the policy recommended by the President, would add nothing to the present necessity for an increase of the army. 48 "The line of defence from tlie frontier of Texas to the Pacific coast would be materially shortened, and might be so chosen as most essentially to diminish the cost of transportation for the supplies of a very large portion of our forces employed upon our southern border. Very respectfully, " Your obedient servant, " John B. Floyd, Sec. of War. " The Hon. John C. Faulkner, Chairman " Committee on Military Affixirs, " House of Representatives." The War Department at Washington is the last place a sensible business man of frontier experience would go for in- formation, upon which to base any project, either military or civil. Truth, replying from the frontier to the inquiiy of the House Committee on Military Affairs, would have stated something like the following : " The states of Chihuahua and Sonora nearly complete the area of country south of us, in which the wild Indians claim and exercise the right to ravage. The United States, through its military posts and Indian agencies, has not been able to check these savages in that portion of this extensive domain already acquired. 'Armed possession' of New Mexico has rested as a blight upon the land for twelve years ; and ' armed possession' of Arizona for six years, has rendered that tenitory a by-word among the hybrids south of us, and a stench in the nostrils of our own people. A line of military posts from San Antonio, Texas, to Guaymas, Sonora, so thickly placed that the tap of the drum could be heard from one to the other, would not control the savages. 'And, moreover, the people of Sonora and Chihuahua shudder at the idea of American garrisons being placed in their midst to create rows, riots, and assassina- tions without number, and arouse more bad blood and fierce passions than could be allayed in half a century. The addi- tional expense to the War Department, consequent upon an armed occupation of Sonora and Chihuahua, under our present system, and with the addition of disaffected Mexicans, would be not less than $10,000,000 per annum." It may appear that the foregoing is a digression from the main subject, but it is not so. Our southern frontier interests are inextricably interwoven with the Mexican question in more 49 ways than one. The same views I now express on this point, were set forth by me in a series of letters on Sonora and Arizona, that appeared in the New Yorh Time-s^ the latter part of 1858. The most important consideration in my own mind, how- ever, against the policy of territorial acquisition at the present time, has been, the excited condition of the public mind on the question of slavery, and the fact that new territory only adds fuel to the flame. It is true, I have expressed my unqualified belief that the United States, north or south, separate or together, cannot carry negro slavery into Mexico; yet I am well aware that the Mexican states on our southern bolder, either in or out of the American Union, can, in the present unhappy condition of our j^olitical affairs, be used by the South as an element, or the means of incalculable mischief to the North, and to the Union. The cry of " disunion" means something, or it means nothing. It is foolish for any one to give it out simply as a prophecy, that this Union will, or will not be destroyed. This Union may be as firm as the hills, indissoluble ; or we may see it in fragments within a twelve- month. It cannot be denied that at this time, there is a lurk- ing dread, an undefinable feeling of uncertainty gaining strength in men's minds, respecting the future of our country. No one believes that a separation of these United States can take place in a peaceful, regular manner. If parted at all, they must be rent asunder. How do matters stand now ? The ^ North hates the South most cordially, and the South recipro- cates this feeling most heartily. This hatred amounts to fanat- icism on both sides — that of the North being by far the most dangerous, as it is the most extensive and powerful, and has a religious tinge. This hatred between the parties is based on the most deadly and the worst passions of which our nature is capable, and thus the two sections of the country stand arrayed against each other — the powerful North on the aggressive — the South defiant, yet alarmed, awaiting the onslaught. This is all unnatural. It is the work of politicians who have inten- sified the struggle and made the issue. There is an apathy among the masses now, but the political leaders are astride 7 J so tlieir political liobbies, and, under full hue and cry, are dash- ing on with whip and spur. Suppose the republican riders in the Noi*th continue astride the " irrepressible conflict" — abso- lutely the most fanatical and unprincipled political hobby of the day — and drive on furiously and successfully to the election of a republican president. It is highly probal^le that Mr. Lin- coln now desires to say to all men what he no doubt honestly feels at this moment; " Just let me get into the presidency and see how conservative I will be." If Mr. Lincoln is raised to the presidency, can he command conservatism ? It is by the power of fanaticism of the worst species only, that he can be elevated. Through him, power based on fanaticism reaches its culmen, and once in power, has this element ever been known to turn back and be consumed in its own fires ? The " irre- pressible conflict" gospel means irrepressible hatred, and if this element once obtains control of the government of this country, it is, on sound principles of logic and analogy, reasonable to believe that it will not cease to rage, until it has desolated those regions toward which its fury has been so long directed. In this view of a republican success, it cannot be otherwise than that the South — her pride wounded beyond endurance, her independence gone, and her people panic-stricken — will lose all calmness and reason, and give free rein to wild and overt acts. In that section of our country, self-preservation will be the first motive for action, and the cry of " disunion " will mean patriotism. What are now the vaporings of a Bickly, K. G. C, may become a reality. The filibuster element once roused and directed, the South can invade Mexico, conquer and hold a part or the whole of that republic. What could the United States government do in such an emergency ? It has not the power to move one step or lift a finger to avert this stupendous work of national ruin. As matters now stand between the political parties in the United States, and in the absence of all treaty-stipulations with Mexico, by which the respective Executives of both nations are empowered to main- tain the territory of each inviolate, the south^ if so disposed, can render the election of a republican president a nullity, or completely hreah up a republican administration. 51 These were my views on this subject, when I found myself in Mexico, in 1859, and heard prominent parties in the cities of Mexico and Vera Cruz discussing the stipulations of a treaty between the United States and Mexico. The constitutional government and the liberal party of Mexico having been recognized by the United States govern- ment, the way was opened for the inauguration of a new policy be- tween the two countries. The constitutional government was in a condition and desirous to offer to the United States advantao-e^j that no government in Mexico had ever been able to offer be- fore. It appeared as though the time had arrived for the ne- gotiation of a treaty which should guarantee to the Mexican nation, as well as to foreign residents, Givil and religious liberty^ break down and remove those ancient obstacles and hindrances to trade and commerce, and secure the sovereignty of the Mexican nation and the integrity of her territory as they now stand, under a constitution and laws which conform, as near as possible, to our own. Some may say that this, virtually, amounts to a protectorate. Perhaps" it does. If so, it is a tnoral protectorate, more powerful and enduring than an arm- ed protectorate. Since the days of Aaron Burr, the idea of filibustering Mexico has taken the shape of a suggestive devil in the brain of every one who has dreamed of projects to destroy the Union. For this reason, as well as others of moment, it would seem of paramount importance that the present boundary line between the two republics should be so fixed that filibusterism, or all the powers of disunion, slavery, and fanaticism, could never break over, remove, or destroy it, I have already mentioned that the sentiment of the Mexican people is strongly opposed to slavery. In accordance with this sentiment, slavery was formally abolished by the Mexican congress in 1829, and in accordance with this senti- ment, the second article of the present constitution of Mexico runs thus : " Article 1 1 . All are born free in the republic. Slaves that set foot upon national territory recover by that single act their liberty, and have the right to the protection of the laws," • 52 What a pity it is that our own constitution could not have contained precisely such an article as this ! The constitution that contains the above article, is the con- stitution of the government in Mexico recognized by the United States, and any treaty between the two governments that guarantees each, the one to the other, the inviolability of the present boundary line between them, and the sovereignty of the weaker power, sets at rest forever the question of the extension of slavery on our southern border. A treaty be- tween the United States and Mexico which contained this most important stipulation, would, there is every reason to believe, have a decided effect in causing European powers to look with favor upon tlie extension of American influence and American institutions throughout Mexico, if any thing of this kind is possible. But it is quite, doubtful whether those nations who have large pecuniary claims on Mexico, especially England, would look with much complacency upon the sale of Mexican territory to the United States, or such a loose condition of affairs on the boundaries as would permit any partial or general dis- memberment of the Mexican confederacy, under the auspices of the slave power. A pui'e commercial treaty between the United States and Mexico, one that should be clear and unequivocal in its guar- antees as to the sovereignty and integrity of the Mexican re- public, and which opened the latter country to foreign emigra- tion and the enjoyment of a reasonable degree of freedom in trade and commerce, is, then, under all the circumstances, what the legitimate interests of all parties and all nations, cer- tainly those who advocate the free soil doctrine, appear to require at this time. A treaty of this character between the United States and Mexico would completely hem in the South, by opening up a slavery -hating country on her southern border , to a slavery- hating, enterprising, progressive emigration from free soil countries on both continents. Then the South would awake to the danger and the enormity of the evil she is cherishing. Then the South within herself would, first, from prudential motives, and then on the score of economy, begin to inquire, 53 " How shall we get rid of slavery ?" A practical and peaceful settlement of the great and dangerous question will only come when the southern states, state by state, or together, take the initiatory in eradicating the festering sore from the body pol. itic^^' Any attempt on the part of the North to coerce the ^ South in this matter, would surely result in the destruction of our confederacy. But by a wise recognition and skilful man- agement of moral agencies, on the same principle that science submits to the laws that regulate the material elements, in order to control those elements, the southern people may be brought to yield gracefully and peacefully to the inexorable and irresist- ible laws of progress, simply because the forces bearing upon them are above and beyond their control, or their right to call in question. A treaty with Mexico, of the character set forth in the fore- going, as I construe it, was laid before the Senate of the United States, during its last session. I believe this treaty was calculated to open a splendid field of enterprise for our northern commercial and industrial interests, now so pent up by adverse political influences; to end our dangerous sectional differences, and sweep from view forever our low order of politicians, who, like fungi^ have risen from the dark and sickly depths of negro politics. Is it strange, therefore, that these politicians killed the Mexican treaty ? THE MITLA LETTERS. The proprietors of the New Yorh Times have kindly per- mitted me to publish the letters I addressed to that journal during my sojourn in Mexico, in 1859. Such of these letter?, therefore, as relate to events then transpiring, my personal o],- servations, travels, etc., will appear in the Mexican Papers, as a part of my " Personal Reminiscences." " ana/i ANA^UAG MYTHOLOGY-TRADITION RESPECTING THE GOD QUATZAL- COATL. "Vera Cruz, April 5, 1859. " On the 20tli April, 1519, three hundred and forty years ago, less fifteen days, Cortez, with his fleet, arrived off the island or shoal named l)y Grijalva, San Juan de Uloa. The Spanish adventurer anchored in the roadstead, between the island and the main land, and the next day, landed his forces on the low, flat sand beach, where the city of Vera Cruz now stands. " Immediately, hordes of wondering, shnple-minded natives, came over the dingy sand hills, a short distance in the rear of the encampment, to see the mysterious strangers, brought by * water houses with white wings ' from unknown regions be- yond the sea. With what fearful interest these swarthy sons of nature must have regarded the sudden appearance of those beings from over the world of waters, who came more as gods than as men ! Swift-footed messengers speedily bore the news to Montezuma. This proud monarch of the Aztec Empire, seated on his throne in the mountains, and in the plenitude of his power, received the news with fear and trembling. The popular tradition respecting a prominent deity in Anahuac mythology, called Quatzalcoatl, forced itself upon his mind. The tradition was that this deity, the god of air, represented, unlike their other Indian deities, as benevolent, having a white skin and flowing beard, had, in ages past, been expelled by the more ferocious gods, and embarked on the Atlantic sea, in a wizard skiff, for the fabled land of Tlopallan, promising to return at some future day with his posterity, resume posses- sion of the Empire, and fulfil his mission of benevolence. " The hieroglyphic, or ' picture-writing' account of the stran- gers taken to Montezuma, represented them as having fair skins and flowing beards ; riding furious monsters with four legs, and holding the thunder and lightning of heaven in their hands. The Aztec monarch wavered, trembled, consulted his wise men, and then, in the pride of his heart, but weakness of his soul, sent to the Spanish commander rich presents, con- sisting of loads of cotton cloths, beautifully embroidered with silver and gold; feather work of the richest colors and 55 most delicate designs ; pearls and precious stones, gold dust, and gold and silver plates on which highly ingenious devices were cunningly engraved. With these presents came a polite messao-e from the giver, requesting his visitors to accept them as tokens of his friendship, and return to the country from whence they came. " Montezuma, by thus exposing his wealth and his weakness, invited his fate. Had he forwarded to Cortez a few hundred pounds of maize andfnjohs, some Chili Colorado and a sack of pulque, it is not probable that the tremendous energies, unfail- ino" resources, and heroic daring which soon subdued the Aztec empire, would then and there have been created in the soul of the Conquistador. After examining all Montezuma's presents, and hearing his messages, Cortez remarked, ' the Spaniards are troubled with a disease of the heart, for which gold is a specific remedy J intimating, at the same time, that they had come a lono- way to obtain the remedy, and could not return without it. This remark of Cortez, though facetiously made, contained one of the most solemn truths ever uttered. This ' disease of the heart' fired the Spaniards' courage, roused their energies, kindled their fanaticism, drew them to conquest, through con- quest to oppression, through oppression to weakness and vice ; and now that particular disease of the Spanish heart is finding its cure in dust and ashes. " The benevolent deity Quatzalcoatl had presided over the destinies of the Toltecs four centuries, when the greater portion of this people disappeared as mysteriously as they came, mak- ino- way for the fiercer Aztecs. The rude and warlike nature of this latter race was softened somewhat by coming in contact with the remaining Toltecs, who had lived under a mild re- lio-ion and an advanced state of civilization. The Aztecs in- creased rapidly in numbers and power, banished the benev- olent deity Quatzalcoatl, and, as time rolled on, delivered themselves up more and more to the influence of their war gods. Then the Spaniards appeared, conquered, and planted the Cross on the pagan altars of the natives. But the Spaniards did not prove to be the descendants of the benevolent deity that had been banished so many centuries. It is true, the 56 pagan altars were cast down, and what is called the Christian Cross was reared upon their ruins. In the name of this emblem of a higher order of religion, through a period of three cen- tui'ies, millions were sacrificed on the unholy altars of the Span- iards' lust, and the Mexican nation lost immensely by the change. At last, their descendants, the modern race, weary of their abject state, rose and cast off the hated foreign yoke. But the Mexican nation fought the shadow, not the substance. That old, corrupt, bigoted, and despotic church remained, and its rule became more ferocious and tyrannical than ever. " Three hundred and forty years have elapsed since the com- mencement of these great events in Mexican history, so fraught with strange and melancholy interest. " There is a fine field for the play of the imagination, in tak- ing up the Anajuac tradition of the god Quatzalcoatl and fol- lowing it to the end. At this moment, we find the shifting nature of human events has placed at the head of Mexican afiairs, one of the original race, who, twelve centuries ago, ac- knowledged that deity as supreme ; one of the few who have maintained their purity of race. Even as I write, this repre- sentative of the mysterious people that have been so fearfully scourged, is treating for recognition and support from the emissary of the white and bearded northern race, who ac- knowledge the supremacy of a benevolent deity, and who say their mission is peace. Are the bloody Mexican deities about to be expelled ? Is Quatzalcoatl coming to resume possession of his empire — to restore peace and prosperity ? "MiTLA." THE RECOGNITION. "Vera Ckuz, Wednesday April Q, 1859. " The deed is done. Mr. McLane, Minister Plenipotentiary and Envoy Extraordinary from the United States, has recog- nized Benito Juarez and his government as the government de jure and de facto of Mexico. 57 " The ceremony of recognition and presenting credentials was characterized by an impromptu demonstration unusual on such occasions. This ceremony took place at 1 o'clock to-day. A body of the regular army escorted President Juarez, with his principal civil officers, to the Municipal Palace, situated on the Plaza. The American Minister, attended by his secretary, H. Le Roy Reintree, Esq., and C. Le Doux Elgee, attache, with a suite composed of R. B. J. Twyman, U. S. Consul ; Capt. Jarvis, of the Savannah ; Capt.Farragut, of the Brooklyn; Col. Johnson, U. S. Army; Edward E. Dunbar, New York; Jasper Whiting, of Sonora ; and Messrs. La Sere and Perry, of New Orleans, pro- ceeded from the minister's quarters to one of the long and beautiful rooms of the palace, where the Mexican President and his officials were in waiting. The American minister made a brief address to the President, who also briefly and happily replied. "Amid the firing of cannon, ringing of bells, and joyous shouts of the populace, the ceremony was concluded. " That the people and government of the United States will accord to their minister wisdom, decision, and firmness in this most important act, and that he will be fully sustained by his countrymen and government, there can scarcely be a doubt. The important consequences to both republics that must follow this friendly union on the common ground of constitutional freedom, cannot, at the present time, be estimated. The most cordial relations are now established between the United States and the masses of Mexico. Liberal commercial treaties will be made, friendly and profitable intercourse between the two republics will be opened, and private and national filibus- tering must then cease. 8 "MiTLA." 58 MEXICAN COKEESPONDENCE— ITS CHARACTER AND EFFECT. Much of the indifference, and we may say aversion, felt in tMs community toward Mexican affairs generally, are, doubt- less, owing to the peculiar character of the correspondence from Mexico, that appears in the public journals. Nearly all the Mexican corresj)ondence with this country is concentrated in the journals of New York and New Orleans. All the prominent journals in New York, we believe, have endeavored to obtain regular and reliable correspondence in Mexico, but the Times and Herald are the only ones that have met with any degree of success. From j)ersonal knowledge, we can testify to the high appreciation in which the former journal holds this matter, and to its earnest and energetic efforts to obtain the most thorough and reliable information respecting events transpiring, and the real condition of affairs in the neighboring republic. The journals of New Orleans have better facilities for obtain- ing Mexican correspondence, from the propinquity of that city to the Mexican country. But at best, it is difficult, to obtain a good Mexican correspondence at this time, from the foot that good resident correspondents are very scarce, and no journal feels inclined to dispatch a special correspondent to Mexico and maintain him there, simply to write up the Mexican news. Our journals are, then, to a certain extent, dependent on chance and transient correspondents of the volunteer order, who, too frequently, are political, filibustering, speculating adventu- rers. kSuch as these are always but too happy to inundate prominent journals with their correspondence, because they believe that through this means, they will be able to influence public opinion one way or the other, according as their interests may dictate. Since the commencement of the present Mexican revolution, now nearly three years, there has been from that country a systematic correspondence, denouncing all parties in Mexico, and advocating the immediate seizure of the entire country by 69 the United States, and the establishment of order by means of a standing American army. This correspondence is doubtless honest, but most people in this country know the plan to be impracticable and absurd. Then we have the filibusters. They rove along the Mexican frontier, and between New Orleans and Vera 'Cruz. Their correspondence has been quite prominent. These gentlemen sometimes favor one party and sometimes another ; but, more frequently, they deride both j^arties, and evidently see no peace and prosperity in the future for poor distracted Mexico, until a few thousand Americans, with revolvers, rifles, and bowie- knives, are admitted into the country. A happy time, gener- ally, might then be expected. Parties interested in some enormous and outrageous specula- tion, occasionally appear in print, and it would not be very natural to look for much disinterested or consistent correspond- ence from this source. The partizans of General Comonfort are also at work, and not unfrequently it is carefully whispered to the press, that an " under cun-ent " is silently and surely working in favor of the return of the ex-President. These kind of agencies, and others of minor importance, have been at work in the general correspondence from Mexico during the past three years ; and such a mass of confused and conflict- ing statements has been thrown upon the public during this period, that the principles involved in the Mexican revolu tion, the main facts, and the real issue, have been almost entirely lost sight of. Carefully prepared, truthful, and intelligent communications from Mexico, by reliahle and regular correspond- ents, have stood no more chance in this community than the most common trash ever penned. But it is to be hoped that the fog which has enveloped the Mexican question is clearing away, and that, as the issue narrows down to a closing point, public journalists, at least, will take up the matter with more satisfaction and better effect. 60 PUBLIC OPINION ON MEXICO. In tlie first number of the Mexican Papeks we publislied an article from the Revue des Deux Mondes^ as an example of the erroneous public opinion that prevails in regard to Mexico. We now give another example of the same character, taken from the London Saturday Review of May 26th, 1860, and entitled SPANISH AMEEICAN EEPUBLICS. " The Spanish American republics have now for thirty years been the opprobrium of Liberty, and the friends of free in- stitutions have grieved. over them too long not to be glad of any explanation which does away with the necessity of dwell- ing on their wild pell-mell of revolutions, constitutions, civil wars, and dictatorships. Such an explanation is furnished by an interesting paper in the Revue des Deux Mondes. The point of it is that the distiirbances of Mexico and of South America proceed nearly exclusively from the Indian element in those countries. Englishmen have been dimly conscious that the so-called Spanish Americans are a mongrel race, but they have probably had very inadequate ideas of the extent to which the Spanish blood has been diluted, and it is cei-tainly a fact known to few, that almost every revolutionary leader is a pure Indian. We are curiously misled by the Spanish- sounding names of these Mexican and South American worth- ies. Many of us have the impression that Juarez, Vidauri, and Degollado are as actual Spanish gentlemen as Sartorius, Narvaez, and O'Donnell. Yet the truth is, that tlie three persons named, who are all Mexicans, generals, and constitu- tionalists, are neither more nor less than full-blooded Indians, and are therefore much nearer relations of the Ojibbeways who were exhibited in London a few seasons ago than of any hidalgo in Spain. It need not be said that this circumstance entirely destroys the importance of the Spanish American revo- lutions as precedents or illustrations. The King of Siam, ac- 61 cording to Sir Joliii Bowriiig, is a very intelligent sovereign, and tlie establishment of a Nepaulese republic at Katmandoo would be a very singular event, but nobody would dream of basing any political lesson on the intellect of the Siamese mon- arch, or on the democratic institutions of Nepaul. Consciously or unconsciously, we regard no changes of government as polit- ical phenomena having interest for ourselves, except such as occur among races which were reared in the religion and civilization of Western Europe. A revolution or civil war in Spanish America is, at most, curious. The only feeling stronger than curiosity which it should excite, is pity for the minority of Europeans, or semi-Europeans, which remains in most of these countries, and is oppressed or massacred at pleasure by masters who, though they speak Spanish and call themselves Christians, are, in reality, savages set loose. " The diiference between a European and an Indian leader, is well illustrated by the history of the rival Presidents of the Mexican Republic. Juarez, the so-called constitutional President, who was lately besieged in Vera Cruz, is, as has been stated, an Indian of unmixed blood. Miramon, who has been styled the President of the church party, is, on the con- trary, a Frenchman by the father's side, and a Spaniard by the mother's — in other words, a European, descended from two of the finest races in Europe. Of the merits of the contest in which these two leaders are engaged, we shall only say that it has been grossly misapprehended in the United States and in England. It turns on the confiscation of church property ; and this circumstance has caused some degree of mild favor to be extended here and in America to Juarez, who is the cham- pion of the anti-clerical faction. But it is the most foolish of mistakes to institute a comparison between the pillage of the Roman Catholic church in Mexico, and the curtailment of its excessive endowments in such a country as Sardinia. The Mexican clergy are certainly indolent and ignorant, according to European standards ; but with all their defects, they alone prevent the Mexican people from relapsing into the belief and practices of savage life. The Haytien negro, when the destruc- tion of the whites relieved him from the control of his priests, 62 went straiglit back to liis Obi, which he scarcely deigns to overlay with a thin varnish of Christianity ;> and the Mexican, whether Indian or mongrel, can scarcely even now be kept, by all the vigilance of his spiritual pastor, from throwing himself into sorcery and fetish worship. The cause of the Roman Catholic church in Mexico is, therefore, for once, the cause of civilization ; and, if the ti^uth were known, it would probably be found that Juarez, who is panegyrized by the American pa- pers as the liberal and enlightened antagonist of spiritual des- potism, is simply the foe of the priests because he prefers some private enchantment of his own to the celebration of the mass. It is not, however, in their views of clerical influence that Mi- ramon and Juarez are most advantageously contrasted. The writer in the Revue des Deux Mondes mentions several inci- dents in Mii^amon's career, which are curiously characteristic of the European as distinguished from the Indian. He was originally called to the presidency while engaged in a cam- paign at a distance from the capital. A jpronunciamento had been successfully accomplished in the city of Mexico, and the revolutionists thought to strengthen themselves by placing at their head a young and victorious general. Miramon, immedi- ately on his return to Mexico, disavowed the entire revolution and refused to accept the distinction proffered to him. This unheard of disinterestedness naturally caused him to be looked upon as a very different sort of conservative from any hitherto known in that country, and is the foundation of all his politi- cal influence. Other actions of his, mentioned in the Hevue, are his immediate restoration of large sums of money seized by his lieutenants, and his repeated refusals to shed more blood than could be helped. The virtues thus indicated would not be extraordinarily remarkable in Europe, and it is evident that in Mexico they might have proceeded quite as much from cal- culation as from character; but the thing to be noted is, that these actions of Miramon's are just those which no man of Indian breed is capable of practicing. No politician of the native race ever yet sacrificed the opportunity of elevating himself to station, or gave back money which he could spend, or spared an enemy whom it was safe to kill, j Juarez sold his r 63 country to the Americans without a pang ; but civilized men have done this before him, and the fatal symptom about him is not his treason, but his inability to forego an immediate for an ultimate advantage, or to disappoint for one day his savage instincts of cupidity and revenge. "In all Central and South America there are only two countries — Brazil and Chili — which are not governed by ab- solute dictators under the form of a republic. With hardly "^ one exception, these dictators are pure Indians, or mulattoes I in whom the Indian and negi-o are mixed, or men with some I Spanish blood in their veins, who, like the early Norman '^^ settlers in Ireland, have contracted a taste for savage life, and have abjured the habits of civilization. Of this last class there are some curious samples in South Anierica — such as Urquiza in the Ai'gentine Confederation, Castilla in Peru, and the Monagas family, who, though now displaced, all but succeeded in founding a dynasty in Venezuela. All these dictators have one peculiarity in common. Though they have all commenced their reign by expelling the legislature of their country at the point of the bayonet, they invariably belong to the con- stitutionalists, or liberal party. This party has its newspapers and its pamphlets, on looking into which the reader sees the maxims of extreme French socialistic democracy enforced in stately Castilian. Is there, then, a leaven of socialism in Span- VX" ish America? Not a bit of it. It is all sham and a pretence, like the Christianity, the civilization, and the European tongue. The true contest is between Unitarianism, and Federalism^ a dispute which in form involves the question whether the State shall be governed from its capital or shall be split into nearly independent provinces, but which in reality resolves itself into a struggle between the European and the Indian — the man of culture and the savage. All the enlightenment and education of Spanish America is confined to the older cities, the seats of Spanish dominion under the monarchy. If the Unitarians prevail, it is the comparatively civilized capital which governs the wild men of the provinces. If. the Federalists have their way, the savage of the open country rules the civilized man of the city. As a fact, the controversy has universally ended in tlie triumpli of tlie Federalists ; and as the Indians and mon- grels wlio are tlie strength of this faction, have no idea of free- dom, and no capacity for rule, their success has always resulted in the boldest or bloodiest among them seizing the reins of government and proclaiming himself dictator. We have said that if these events excite any emotion in us, it should be com- passion for the unhappy ■ inhabitants of such places as Lima, Quito, Caraccas, Buenos Ayres, Montevideo, or the City of Mexico. Their civilization is but a poor one at best, but they have had their age of heroism and a short era of freedom, and they have sensibility enough to feel the humiliation as well as the other consequences of being governed by men who always conduct themselves like savages, and sometimes like monsters." It is very fortunate for the London Saturday Review^ that the Spanish American countries are so indifferently compre- hended, and that public opinion on those regions is so gene- rally wrong; otherwise, its enviable reputation migl^t be seriously damaged. We rarely meet with an article on our subject so open to severe exception as the preceding. It is a review of that which we have given from the French Hevue. In the display of partizan zeal, in support of a heathen des- potism, in pointed error, and a disdainful disregard of facts, the Englishman transcends the Frenchman ; and yet, there are journals in the United States of respectable standing, that copy the English production, and endorse it as an interesting article ■upon the ethnological and political forces now at work in Spanish America ! Here we have a clear illustration of the manner in which the channels of information relative to Span- ish America in general, and to Mexico in particular, have been used by the instruments of evil for evil purposes. We cannot marvel that nearly all the history extant respecting those countries, has educated the public mind to receive as truth such fallacious and incorrect essays as we are quoting from influential journals, published in the great centres of civilization. We must felicitate the London writer on the possession of extraordinary acumen. He discovers, in the paper fi'om the Revue des Demc Mondes^ a thorough solution of the Spanish 65 A.nericau problen. His mind rises jubilant, and he would fain communicate his joy to tlie world, proclaiming that the friends of free institutions may no longer grieve over this " wild pell-mell of revolutions, constitutions, civil wars, and dictatorships" of S})anish American countries — because — " tliey proceed nearly exclusively from the Indian element in those y^ count riesT This is really comforting ; and how remarkable ! A few dashes of the pen in the French Mevue^ has settled the fate of a considerable portion of the earth's surface — an area of 7,653,994 square miles, ^ith a population of 35,163,028, and a trade of $503,736,693. The article in the English Review goes on to denounce what it terms the pure Indian leaders in Mexico. It eulogizes MiRAMOx as a descendant of two of the finest races in Europe (French and Spanish), and a general and statesman of high order. The English and American public are told, that in showing any thing like " mild favor" to the liberal cause in Mexico, we "grossly misapprehend" the question. We are assured with the most brazen assurance that no comparison can be instituted between the Roman Catholic church in Mex- ico anolitics^ by whicZi a treaty of such vital importance as that negotiated with Mexico, was rejected in the United States Senate. The views I entertain respecting the incompetency of the administration, in this matter, were acquired in the most legiti- mate manner. In the Spring of 1858, 1 came from Arizona to Washington, the authorized bearer of a memorial to Congress from the inhabitants residing in that wild Indian country, and near the Mexican frontier. I had never visited AVashington but once before, and that visit occurred in my younger days, when a glorious galaxy of intellects shone resplendent in our national councils. I was, during this visit, in the gallery of the House, when the venerable John Quingy Adams was stricken down by the hand of death, and borne from his seat. Passing along the rear portico of the Capitol shortly after he was removed from the hall, I had a view of the " old man eloquent," not yet dead, but lying near the window on a sofa, placid and calm, in all the solemn and impressive eloquence of 84 death. During this visit, I saw "Webster, Clay, Calhoun, Crittendex, Bentox and other statesmen of the times, most of whom have gone to regions from whence they can look down upon the littleness of worldly politics. The impres- sions made upon my mind on this occasion, were never effaced. I formed a most exalted opinion of the statesmen and govern- ment of my country, and it was in this exalted frame of mind, that after many years of active life in those distant regions covered by the tip end of the western wing of the American Eagle, that I came again up to our National Capitol, a little proud — yes, I confess to a little pride — in being the bearer of a memorial from suffering American citizens, residing in a new and uncivilized patch of American territory. I had not been long in Washington, however, before my pride received an awful shock. I found myself in fact, no where, or in other words, entirely out of place. The administration was too much occupied in heading off Mr. Douglas, to give frontier interest anv sort of attention. Cono^ress was wrano-lino: over Kansas, and myself and the Arizona memorial, so far as we attracted any attention, were absolutely held in derision. I was, in one sense, a phenomenon. That I should app( r in Washington, the representative of the honest and legikmate interests of a people, residing in a distant and unorganized portion of United States territory, with no political influence, and go to head quarters in the expectation of rousing attention and o1)taining any relief, was attributed to the hoj^eless ver- dancy of a frontiersman. When it was ascertained that I had no axe to grind personally, the wonder with which I was re- garded increased, and the lobby, especially, poked considerable fun at me. Hopelessly dull of comprehension and unsophisticated I must have been, not to have fully realized, during my sojourn of several weeks in Washington, on this occasion, how hope- lessly indifferent and ignorant were the powers I found in possession of the National Capital, on those momentous fron- tier. Pacific, and Mexican interests, with which, from personal experience, I had been familiar for many years. I do not wish to be understood as njaking sweeping or denunciatory remarks • 85 to tlie effect, that in my intercourse with public men in "Wash- ington, or elsewhere, relative to the subject on which the Mexi- can Papers treat, I have met with none who manifest any interest or knowledge in these matters. I have met with some among our leading public men who are alive to the subject, and who have to some extent exerted themselves to give those great interests to which reference has been made, that prominence in the politics of the country which their importance demands. Mr. Douglas is one of these : Senator Toombs is another. Both these gentlemen entertain enlarged and enlightened views relative to Mexico and our frontier interests generally ; and, whenever the opportunity offers, they evince the disposition to do their country justice in these matters. The Hon. Thomas CoRWiK, of Ohio, is another of our leading public men who is alive to the importance of the Mexican question, and I believe he deplores most sincerely the action of his party, in the Senate, in defeating the Mexican treaty. The Hon. S. S. Cox, of Ohio, has, for several years, devoted much attention to Mexican affairs, and the relation this country bears thereto. His elaborate and very able speech on this subject, delivered in the House of Representatives, March 19, 1860, is evidence of this. The Hon. JoHis" CocHRAisrE, of New York, has recently waked up to the importance of the sul^ject. Gov. Banks, of Massachu- setts, is also earnestly studying Mexico and the interest we hold in the Spanish- American countries generally. I believe that the resignation of the Governor, and his retirement to Illinois, are as much due to a feeling of disgust for the politics and politicians of his party, as to any other cause. On renewing my acquaintance with Washington after an inter- val of twelve years, I could not but note, however, the changes that had taken place in men and things in that locality during this period. Whatever of intellect, statesmanship, and patriot- ism there may have been in the National Capital in these latter days, those qualities do not appear to have existed in sufficient quantity and power to cope with the immense majority, who have been laying their plans for the presidential campaign, and quarrelling over abstractions on the slavery question — a question settled in favor of free labor years ago. The 80 prevailing parties have had no time, and not" the smallest amount of brains to spare, for any living interest in the country, of whatsoever name or nature, either foreign or domestic. What has all this brought us to ? A universal Indian war, mingled with murder, want, and discord throughout that entire stretch of country from Washington Territory to Ta- maulipas ; a near prospect of fearful domestic troubles in the older states, and absolute disgrace before the world in our foreign policy, even in relation to this continent. I foresaw this state of things when in Washington, in the spring of 1858, as clearly as I see their existence now; and I then became satisfied that our frontier regions were at the mercy of hordes of wild Indians and gangs of white out- casts on the one hand, and an inefficient, incompetent admin- istration on the other hand ; and between the two evils, the chances were ninety-nine out of a hundred that a honafide pioneer in those regions would, sooner or later, sacrifice his labor and his life. I concluded, therefore, not to return to the frontier at present, but continue my business connection with that region, and watch from this point the progress of events on the frontier, the Pacific coast and Mexico, all of which interests are, to a certain extent, identical. It is under these circum- stances, and from personal experience with the administration and those around it, that I became acquainted with its views, purposes, capacities — or rather incapacities — relative to these great interests ; and when I met Mr. McLane, eii route for Mexico, I knew perfectly well that he could not have received any very clear and definite instructions in Washington, relative to his action in that country, except to acquire territory. But I soon ascertained that Mr. McLane was an honest, capable man — a high order of man, in fact — whose abilities would be faithfully exerted for the common interests of his country, without regard to partizan or sectional feeling ; and I felt a strong assurance that great good would result from his mission. In the appointment of ]\Ir. McLane as Minister to Mexico, the administration deserves credit, and here, perhaps, the charge of incompetency in one respect ought to cease ; for, after appointing a competent minister, the administration has (from what motives I will not stop to inquire,) followed the counsels of its appointee, and exerted itself to the utmost to per- fect his highly advantageous negotiations. But, unfortunately, another point of incompetency, and a fatal one, here comes up. It is in the fact that the administration has sunk so low in public estimation, that if by chance a wise and honest measure of gen- eral and vital importance happens to be brought forward under its auspices, an opposition, equally, if not more, ignorant and in- competent, can, by an artful perversion of the justly prevailing conviction in the public mind that the administration does not count wisdom and honesty among its prominent qualifica- tions, denounce and defeat any such measure. The adminis- tration is thoroughly incompetent for good, therefore, because it lacks the most important of all power — moral power ', and here we have a complete exemplification of /What a stupendous ' evil it is for the vital interests of our great Country to get into the hands of a low order of thoroughly selfish politicians — two distinct political organizations or oligarchies in fact — wlio-se sole purpose is to acquire poioer and spoils at the expense of the masses. How curious and instructive the analyzing of these matters proves! The facts relating to the negotiation of the Mexican treaty have nearly all been published. The first treaty, framed in Vera Cruz, guaranteed entire freedom of religion throughout Mexico, and conceded certain rights of way, with the privilege of erecting and maintaining warehouses at the termini of the several transit routes ; the right of transporting troops, &c. ; free entry and transit of goods belonging to American citizens in Arizona, through the ports on the Gulf of California, and across Sonora. Annexed to these stipulations were guarantees of safety and protection on the part of the Mexican Government, and in case of the inability of that government to protect them, the United States should be at liberty to employ her own armed troops in that office. In consideration of concessions on the part of Mexico, the United States were to pay her $4,000,000, of which $2,000,000 J 88 were to be reserved as indemnity for American citizens hold- ins: claims ao^ainst Mexico. In addition to these stipulations, there was an informal agreement which comprehended an arrangement for the pro- tection of the frontiers, a postal treaty and a commercial treaty, which latter contemplated a moderate tariff on American pro-, ductious. This is the outline of the treaty that vibrated between Vera Cruz and Washington for months, on Mr. Buchanan's pertina- cious demand for a slice of Mexican territory, with which de- mand the Juarez cabinet would not comply. It is understood that at first, Mr. BuciiAisrAiSr demanded of the Mexican Gov- ernment Lower California, Sonora, Chihuahua, and a part of Coahuila ; but on the earnest representations of Mr. McLane that the Mexicans would not sell their states and territories, Mr. Buchanan reduced his demand, and modestly made the transfer of the territory of Lower California a sine qua non in the treaty negotiations. On being further informed, in the most decided manner, that the Mexicans would not sell a foot of their territory, Mr. McLane received instructions on the 16th of August, 1859, to relinquish all demands of that nature, and conclude the treaty without the purchase of land. But during this period of viV)ration between Vera Cruz and Washington, Senor Fuente had taken the place of Seiior OcAMPO in the cabinet of Juaeez, as Minister of Foreign Re- lations ; and when Mr. McLane went to conclude negotiations, untrammeled by a demand for territory, he found new coun- sels prevailing in the Mexican cabinet, and he returned home the latter part of August, without anything in the shape of a treaty. I left Vera Cruz the 12th of June, went up to the City of Mexico, completed my business at that point, and returned to the United States the middle of August. During my sojourn of two months in the City of Mexico, I had most excellent opportunities to examine into the condition of this important central district, the position of the Church party government, its purposes, etc., and of forming an opinion as to the propi-iety of Mr. McLane's course in acknowledging the constitutional 89 government at Vera Cruz, and endeavoring to negotiate a treaty Avith that government. If I had any doubts of the projmety of the course of our minister, when I left Vera Cruz, they were all settled in his favor by that last visit to the City of Mexico. I have thus expressed myself to him, personally, and his acts command my support through every public and private channel to which I have access. Mr. McLane was again despatched to Mexico by the admin- istration. He left New York in the United States Propeller Brooklyn^ the 10th of November, 1859, and arrived at Vera Cruz the 21st of the same month. Senor Ocampo then resumed his place in the Juarez Cabinet as Minister of Foreign Rela- tions, and negotiations were immediately renewed. The treaty previously framed, with the addition of the eighth or commer- cial article, and a more distinctly defined agreement relative to the protection of the frontiers by the Executives of both countries, was signed by the negotiating parties on the 14th day of December, 1859. This treaty arrived in Washington the latter part of the same month. It was finally negotiated by the parties in Vera Cruz, at a critical j)eriod, and for the best interests of both countries. Instead of receiving any aid from the administration at Washington, in his negotiations, our minister was retarded for months ])y a pertinacious de- mand for territory, and throughout the entire period of his mission, Mr. McLane has been obliged to enlighten and in- struct his own government, and maintain his position solely by his personal tact, efforts, and abilities. The foregoing is a statement of my principal reasons for be- lieving that the administration is incompetent to achieve suc- cess in our relations with Mexico, and of the circumstances under which the treaty was negotiated with that country. I insert the treaty in this part of the Mexicak Papers, as it comes in order, and those of my readers, who give it sufficient attention, can judge for themselves as to its merits. 90 THE McLANE-OCAMPO TKEATY. A TREATY OF PEACE AND COMMERCE BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND THE MEXICAN REPUBLIC, NEGOTIATED AT VERA CRUZ, DEC. 14, 1S60 ARTICLE I. > As an amplification of the eighth article of the treaty of the 30th of De- cember, 1853, the Mexican Republic cedes to the United States and its citizens and property, in perpetuity, the right of way, by the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, from one ocean to the other, by any kind of road now existing, or that may hereafter exist, both Republics and their citizens enjoying it. ARTICLE II. Both Republics agree to protect all routes now existing, or that shall here- after exist, over the said Isthmus, and to guarantee the neutrality of the same. ARTICLE III. Simultaneous with the first bonajide use of any route across the said Isth- mus for purposes of actual transit, the Republic of Mexico shall establish two ports of deposit — the one on the east, the other on the west of the Isth- mus. No duty shall be levied by the Government of Mexico upon foreign effects and merchandise which may pass bona fide by the said Isthmus, and which may not be intended for the consumption of the Mexican Republic. No incumbrance or tolls shall be imposed upon foreign persons and property w^hich may pass by this road beyond those that may be imposed upon the persons and property of Mexicans. The Republic of Mexico will continue to allow the free and untrammeled transit of the mails of the United States, provided they pass in closed mail bags, and they be not for distribution on the road. Upon such mails none of the charges imposed, nor of those which may hereafter be imposed, shall be applied in any case. ARTICLE IV. The Mexican Republic agrees that it will establish for each of the two ports of deposit — the one on the east, the other on the west of the Isthmus — regulations that will permit the effects and merchandise belonging to citizens or subjects of the United States or of any foreign country to be entered and stored in warehouses, which shall be erected for that purpose, free of all ton- nage or other duties whatever, except the necessary charges for cartage and storage, which said effects and merchandise may be subsequently withdrawn for transit across the said Isthmus, and for shipment from either of the said ports of deposit to any foreign port, free of all tonnage or other duties what- ever; and they may likewise be withdrawn from the said warehouse for sale and consumption, within the territory of the Mexican Republic, on the pay- ments of such duties or -imposts as the said Mexican Government may be pleased to enact. 91 ARTICLE V. The Republic of Mexico agrees that should it become necessary at any- time to employ militaiy forces for the security and protection of persons and property passing over any of the routes aforesaid, it will employ the requisite force for that purpose ; but upon failure to do this, from any cause whatever, the Government of the United States may, with the consent, or at the request of the Government of Mexico, or of the Minister thereof at Washington, or of the competent legally appointed local authorities, civil or military, employ such force for this and for no other purpose ; and when, in the opinion of the Government of Mexico, the necessity ceases, such foi-ce shall be immediately withdrawn. In the exceptional case, however, of unforeseen or imminent danger to the lives or property of citizens of the United States, the forces of said Republic are authorized to act for their protection without such consent having been previously obtained ; and such forces shall be withdrawn when the necessity for this employment ceases. ARTICLE VI. The Mexican Republic grants to the United States the simple transit of its troops, military stores and munitions of war by the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, and by the transit or route of communication referred to in this Convention from the city of Guaymas, on the Gulf of California, to the Rancho de Nogales, or some suitable point on the boundary line between the Republic of Mexico and the United States near the one hundred and eleventh degree west longi- tude from Greenwich, immediate notice thereof being given to the local authori- ties of the Republic of Mexico, And the two Republics agree, likewise, that it shall be an express stipulation with the companies or enterprises to whom hereafter the carriage or transportation is granted, by any railroads or other means of communication, on the aforesaid transits, that the price for convey- ing the troops, military stores, and munitions of war of the two Republics shall be, at most, one-half the ordinary fare paid by the passengers or mer- chandise which may pass over the said transits ; it being understood that if the grantees of privileges already granted, or which hereafter may be granted, upon railroads or other means of conveyance over said transits, refuse to re- ceive for one-half the price of conveyance the troops, arms, military stores, and munitions of the United States, the latter government will not impart to them the protection spoken of in articles second and fifth, nor any other pro- tection. ARTICLE VII. The Mexican Republic hereby cedes to the United States in perpetuity, and to their citizens and property, the right of way or transit across the territory of the Republic of Mexico, from the cities of Camargo and Matamoras, or any suitable point on the Rio Grande, in the State of Tamaulipas, via JSfonterey, to the port of Mazatlan, at the entrance of the Gulf of California, in the State of Sinaloa, and from the Rancho de Nogales, or any suitulde point on the boundary line between the Republic of Mexico and the United States, near 92 the one hundred and eleventh degree west longitude from Greenwich, via Magdalena and Hermocillo, to the City ofGuavmas, on the Gulf of California, in the State of Sonora, over any railroad or route of communication, natural or artificial, which may now or hereafter exist, or he constructed, to be used and enjoyed in the same manner and upon equal terms by both Republics, and their respective citizens, tlie ^Mexican Republic, reserving always for itself the right of sovereignty which it now has upon all the transits spoken of in the present Treaty. All the stipulations and regulations of every kind applicable to the right of way or transit across the Isthmus of Tchuantepec, that are or have been agreed upon between the two Republics, are hereby extended and applied to the foregoing transits or rights of way, excepting the right of pass- ing troops, military stores, and munitions of war, from the Rio Grande to the Gulf of California. ARTICLE VIII. The two Republics likewise agree that, from the list of merchandise here annexed, the Congress of the United States shall select those which, being the natural, industrial, or manufactured product of either of the two Republics, may be admitted for sale and consumption in either of the two countries, un- der conditions of a perfect reciprocity, whether they be considered free of duty, or at a rate of duty to be fixed by the Congress of the United States ; it being the intention of the Mexican Republic to admit the articles in question at the lowest rate of duty, and even free, if the Congress of the United States consents thereto. Their introduction from one to the other Republic shall be made at the points which the governments of both Republics may fix upon, at the limits or boundaries thereof ceded and granted for the transits, and in per- petuity, by this Convention, either across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec or from the Gulf of California, to the interior frontier between Mexico and the United States. If any similar privileges should be granted by Mexico to other na- tions at the termini of the aforesaid transits upon the Gulfs of INIexico and California, and upon the Pacific Ocean, it shall be in consideration of the same conditions and stipulations of reciprocity which are imposed upon the United States by the terms of this Convention. LIST OF MERCHANDISE ANNEXED TO ARTICLE VIII. Animals of all kinds. Drawings and models of large ma- Plows and loose iron bars. chinery, buildings, monuments, and Rice. boats. Poultry and fresh eggs. Boats of all sizes and classes, for Quicksilver. the navigation of the rivers on the Stone coal. frontier. Fresh, salted, and smoked meats. Brooms, and material for their Wood and iron houses. manufacture. Raw hides. Bridle bits. Horns. Fresh, dried, and sugared fruits. Chile or red pepper. Type, spaces, plates for printing 93 or engraving, rules, vignettes, and Slates for roofing purposes, printing ink. Common salt. Printed books of all classes bound Eiding-saddles. in paper (pamphlet bound). Palm-leaf hats. Hops. Plaster of Paris (gypsum). Timber, imwronght, and firewood. Vegetables. Butter and cheese. Undressed sheepskins. Geographical and nautical maps Grain of all kinds, and from which and topographical plans. bread is made. Marble, wrought and un wrought. Flour. Machines, and implements for ag- Wool, riculture, fai-ming, mining, for the de- Lard, velopment of the arts and sciences, Tallow. and their fixtures, either loose or for Leather, and manufactures of their repair. leather. Dyewood. Every species of textile or woven Fish, tar, turpentine, and ashes, fabric of cotton, excepting that called Plants, trees, and shrubbery. brown sheeting (jnantCUriguena.) ARTICLE IX. As an amplification of the fourteenth and fifteenth Articles of the Treaty of the fifth of April, one thousand eight hundred and thirty-one, in which that which relates to the exercise of their religion by the citizens of Mexico was stipulated, the citizens of the United States will be permitted to exercise freely in Mexico their religion, either in public or in private, within their houses, or in the churches and places which may be assigned to worship,.as a consequence of the perfect equality and reciprocity which the second Article of the same Treaty states was taken for its basis. The chapels or places for public Avor- ship may be purchased, and shall be held as the property of those who may purchase them, as any other common property is purchased or held, excepting therefrom, however, the religious communities and corporations to whom the present laws of JNIexico have prohibited entirely and forever and a day the obtaining and holding any thing whatever in propriety. In no case shall citi- zens of the United States residing in Mexico be subject to have forced loans levied upon them, ARTICLE X. In consideration of the foregoing stipulations, and in compensation for the revenue surrendered by Mexico on the goods and merchandise transported free of duty through the territory of that republic, the government of the United States agrees to pay to the government of Mexico the sum of $4,000,000, of which two millions shall be paid immediately upon the ex- change of the ratifications of this Treaty, and the remaining two millions shall be retained by the government of the United States for the payment of the claims of citizens of the United States against the government of the Republic of Mexico, for injuries already inflicted, and which may be proven to be just, 94 according to the law and usage of nations and the principles of equity ; and the same shall be paid pro rata, as far as the said sum of two millions will permit, in pursuance of a law to be enacted by the Congress of the United States for the adjudication thereof, and the remainder of this sum shall be re- turned to Mexico by the United States, in case there be any such remainder after the payment of the claims thus found to be just. ARTICLE XI. This Treaty shall be ratified by the President of the United States, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate of the United States, and by the President of Mexico, in virtue of his extraordinary and actual executive func- tions, and the respective ratifications shall be exchanged at the city of Wash- ington, within the exact period of six months from the date of its signature, or sooner if possible, or at the seat of the Constitutional Government, if any alterations or amendments be proposed by the President and Senate of the United States, and accepted by the President of the Republic of Mexico. CONVENTIONAL ARTICLES BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND THK REPUBLIC OF MEXICO TO ENFORCE TREATY STIPULATIONS, MAINTAIN OR- DER, ETC. Whereas, In consequence of the existing civil war in Mexico, and particu- larly in view of the disturbed condition of the inland frontier of Mexico and the United States, occasions may arise when the forces of the two Eepublics may find it necessary to act in concert" and co-operation to enforce treaty stipulations, and to maintain order and security in the territory of either Re- public : wherefore, the following Convention has been agreed upon : ARTICLE I. If any of the stipulations of existing treaties between ^Mexico and the United States are violated, or the safety and security of the citizens of either Republic are endangered within the territory of the other, and the legitimate and ac- knowledged government thereof may be unable, from any cause, to enforce such stipulations, or to provide for such safety and security, it shall be ob- ligatory on that government to seek the aid of the other in maintaining their due execution, as well as order and security in the territory of that Republic where such violation and discord occur ; and in every such special case the expenses shall be paid by the treasury of the nation within whose territory such intervention may become necessary ; and if disorder shall occur on the frontier of the two Republics, the authorities of the two Republics nearest to the place where the disorder exists shall act in concert and co-operation for the arrest and punishment of the criminals who have disturbed the public order and security of either Republic ; and for this purpose the parties guilty of these offences may be arrested within either R(Vpublic and delivered over to the authorities of that Republic within which the crime may have been committed ; the nature and character of such intervention, as well as the ex- 95 pense thereof, and the maimer of arresting and subjecting to punishment the said criminals, shall be determined and regulated by an agreement between the executive branches of the two governments, ARTICLE II. This Convention shall be ratified by the President of the United States, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate of the United States, and by the President of Mexico, in virtue of his extraordinary and actual executive functions, and the respective ratifications shall be exchanged at the city of Washington within the exact period of six months from the date of its signa- ture, or sooner if possible, or at the seat of the Constitutional Government, if any alterations or amendments be proposed by the President and Senate of the United States, and accepted by the President of the Republic of Mexico. c- -I ( Robert M. McLane, <^ feigned, •< T.r - i-w (y *= ' ( MelchoAi Ocampo. ^y Tlie developments provoked in tlie politics of the United States by tlie foregoing Treaty, constitute the most remarkable and instructive portion of the political history I have under- taken to write. Up to the time this Treaty appeared in Washington, what little public feeling was manifested on the subject through the press appeared to favor the liberals of Mexico and their cause. After the arrival of the Treaty, the subject was generally mentioned by the public journals, but, owing to the prevailing aj^athy and ignorance relative to Mexican affairs, the Treaty elicited no particular comment, ex- cept among the leading journals in the larger cities of the Union. The prominent Republican journals, such as noticed the Treaty discursively, were the first and most bitter denun- ciators of the Mexican liberals and the Treaty negotiated with the constitutional government of Mexico. This is the most curious anomaly in the whole matter, and one to which I par- ticularly desire to direct public attention ; for in its solution, there is much to be learned relative to the destructive tenden- cies of one section of our national politics. The following extracts afford a fair example of the sense, sentiment, and style of a certain class of public journals that opposed the Treaty, and denounced all connected with and in- terested therein. 96 Fro})i the Keio Torh Tribune, Feb. 27, 1S60. " Tlie ^Yllole country should undoi'stand the question in all its hearings before the govei-nment commits itself to the proposed radical change in our relations with that huge, rotten mass of slunk civilization. "Whether the con- sequences in store for us under the proposed new adjustment of our inter- national relations with that country shall be the annexation of its comparatively unpeopled provinces, falling to us in disintegrated masses, as fast as wo may be able to spread slavery over them, or whether they shall come in the shape of a ready absorption of its area that is already covered by a priest-ridden, mongrel, ignorant, dwarfed, and semi-savage population, is alilce unimportant to us, in a national point of view. Either arrangement would be alike mis- chievous, and pregnant with evil consequences. " If we are to. take Mexico at all, either the part that has population, or the portion that has not, let us come at the subject distinctly and understandingly. Let us know exactly what we are about. We ought not to pursue covert modes to attain the object. We do not want to do either, by the authority of a questionable treaty exacted from the necessities of one of the peripatetic, robbing factions that alternately rise and disappear annually in IMexico. A treaty, too, that can be made to mean either much or little, just to suit the convenience of the Executive branch of this Government. A treaty by which we can either take or let it alone, according to the demands of the Slavery- spreading and Disunion element of our Federal politics. A treaty which is a first-rate specimen of an ' entangling alliance,' and which is intended to plunge our relations with jMexico into a maze of diplomacy, where they can be manipulated just to serve the ends of this same political joint-stock company. Let us have every thing that concerns a matter of such vital importance ojien and above-board. It is an exceedingly difficult subject to treat, any way. Let us strip it of all ambiguities and uncertainties. We do not want to get into any Mexican quagmires, or Dismal Swamps. If we are after Sonora, let us say Sonora. If it be other provinces, let us name them. If it be all Mexico, let us say so. Let the people understand exactly what the Government aims at. We protest against doing things by stealth or under false pretences. As things now stand, the Free States must fight for their share of new territo- rial acquisitions. We demand that they shall know when any thing of this sort is going on, in order that they may, as Mr. Calhoun used to claim for slavery in Califoriiia, ' have a chance to get in.' If we are going to take Mexico, or any part of it, the people of the North want a chance to get in. * ****** * " How the members of the Senate stand in regard to it is not definitely known. The main body of the Rejiublican senators are against it, perhaps all." Tribune, March 3, 18G0. "If a new treaty, of straightforward stipulations, giving us unincundjcred commercial advantages, and clear grants of land, could be made, we might well hold a complacent attitude in view of its ratification, provided we first 97 had a Homestead bill. The slavery extension party should be met by going ahead rather than by holding back. Let us have the vacant territory south of us, and fill it with colonists, and thus overslaugh slavery therein. Mexico is falling to pieces, and we shall soon have an opportunity to obtain the frag- ments we need on our own terms. ******** " If we could run a tier of free states straight across the continent, on the southern line of Texas, we should let in an amazing flood of light on the sla- very question by the process. Such a cordon could not be jumped by slavery, and Lower Mexico might fester and putrify at leisure, with comparatively small danger of spreading her contamination upon us. As things now stand, and they would be even worse under this hybrid treaty, Ave have no security against a peon slavery being established and gradually ligatured on to our southern extremity, to be followed by a w^eltering process, making our south- ern limits more vague than the tail of jMilton's Satan." The foregoing extracts may be called vagaries, but there is nothing vague in the meaning of these vagaries. There may be something vague relative to the '•'■tail of Milton's Satan," but there certainly is nothing vague as to the infernal attri- hutes of Milton's Satan, and, according to my conception of these, the sentiment running through the quoted extracts from the Tribune^ was suggested by his Satanic majesty. And then we have the old story, or mistaken public opinion, on Mexico over again, though the style may be extreme : " huge, rotten mass of slunk civilization ;" " a priest-ridden, mongrel, ignorant, dwarfed, and semi-savage population." " A tier of free states, straight across the continent, on the line of Texas," evidently, according to the plan of the Trihune^ means Kansas^ " straight across the continent, on the southern line of Texas," and the Kansas border warfare^ throughout that line of country, over ao;ain. There are some noteworthy exceptions to the general course pursued by the Republican journals relative to Mexico and the Mexican treaty. Among these, I have noticed the JS^eiD Yorh Courier and Enquirer^ the Cincinnati Gazette^ and the Chicago Press and Trihune. The JS^c^^v Yorh Times^ Hercdd and Ex- l^ress have earnestly advocated the Mexican treaty. Also, the Boston, Courier and Boston Post; and I believe the New Orleans journals, general!}", have favored the course of Mr. McLane in Mexico. But the treaty was seized upon by the leaders of the Eepublican party in the north, and their coadju- tors the disiinionists of the south, and the destructive politics of these parties had accomplished their work on the Mexican treaty before it came up, even, in the Senate of the United States. The Mexican treaty first came up in executive session of the Senate, Feb. 28, 1860, and, though it was a secret session, I find the following report of its proceedings in the Tribune of Feb. 29th: " After disposing of the morning business, the Senate went into executive session upon the Mexican treaty, and consumed two hours in discussion. Mr. Mason opened, saying he had brought himself with some reluctance to oppose this project, because it seemed at first blush to flivor a departure from the settled policy of the government, which he would never consent to sanction. But in view of the state of anarchy which existed in Mexico, he was willing to make the experiment. In regard to the objection urged, that Juarez does not represent the regular government, he supposed he was as much entitled to that recognition as the other faction ; and though now exercising authority over a small district of country, he believed, though unable to give any posi- tive assurance to the Senate, that the ratification, with the aid which we would render, would establish the liberal cause in power. " Mr. WiGFALL, in an able and effective speech, denounced the whole scheme as utterly unworthy of countenance or toleration. There was no government in Mexico capable of making a treaty, or of carrying out its stipulations if made. We did not want Mexico or her mongrel population. Juarez and his Indian crew could not govern themselves, and if brought into contact with our people would contaminate them. " Mr. PuGH objected to some of the commercial provisions as fixvoring certain interests over others, but was willing to take the treaty if amended in those particulars. " Mr. Simmons closed the discussion in one of his strong, conclusive, practical arguments, exposing the sophistries of the alleged commercial advantages. New England had no interest, immediate or remote, in this treaty, but exactly the reverse. It is substantially reciprocal free trade with IMexico, which would require us, under the clause inserted in every commercial treaty for the last forty years, of admitting each nation to an equal footing with that of the most favored nation, to claim similar privileges, and would result in destroy- ing our revenue and compelling a resort to direct taxation. " This point, and others equally forcible, produced much impression. " Mr. Hammond obtained the floor, and would have proceeded but for the announcement of Mr. Spinks' death. " The subject is postponed till Thursday, Mr. Seward having the floor for to-morrow. The treaty is dead as Julius Coesar. The developments of to-day 99 will probably bring several Democratic opponents into life, who yielded to the persuasions of the President, and were prepared to conquer prejudices. Messrs. Hammond, Chesnut, Andrew Johnson and others, may be counted adversely." According to the foregoing report, we find tliat the " able and effective speecli" of Mr. Wigfall, (after the Tribune style, " mongrel population ;" Juakez and his Indian crew ;" " con- taminate," tfec.,) with one of Mr. Simmons' strong, conclusive, and practical arguments did, in reality, kill the Mexican treaty, " dead as Julius Caesar." Washington Correspondent of the New York Tribime, March 5, 1860. " The Mexican treaty is not delayed before the Senate on account of any documents or information to be furnished by the State Department, but be- cause the opposition of Mr. Wigfall, and the approval of his sentiments by Mr. Hammomd, rendered the defeat of the ratification inevitable, without some fortunate intervention. At least six Democrats, and perhaps more, declare they will not support the treaty, and Mr. Bright is among the number." The Mexican treaty again came up in executive session of the Senate, May 31st, and though this was a secret ses- sion, the following report of its proceedings, by far the most complete and full I have seen, is found in the Tribwie^ which appears to have been the special organ of the treaty-killing party. Washington Correspondent of the New Yorlc Tribune, June 1, 1860. THE MEXICAN TREATY. " When I announced two months ago that the Mexican treaty was dead and could not be resuscitated, it was impudently denied by newsmongers here, who then affected superior knowledge, and who since that time have been con- stantly promising a ratification without the least knowledge of the state of opinion in the Senate. The result to-day proves their ignorance. The treaty was called up at half-past one in a brief speech by Mr. Mason, urging the ne- cessity of immediate action, in order that the Executive might know what policy to pursue. He was followed in an ingenious and well-considered argu- ment by Mr, Simmons in favor of the treaty, upon what he regarded as com- mercial considerations. "Mr. Hamnond took a broad and statesmanlike view of the subject, contend- ing that the ultimate acquisition of Mexico, which the treaty was intended to initiate, would be the forbidden fruit which Mr. Calhoun had described when speaking of Cuba; and while it might tend to the dissolution of the Union, he L.cFC. 100 could not see how the South was to be benefited by the addition of that mon- grel population. Hence he was opposed to it. " Mr. Seward was not willing to commit the Government to an important treaty with a faction, which might be immediately deposed by another that would repudiate the action of its predecessor, and be compelled either to sur- render what had been acquired, or probably to resort to war for its enforce- ment. " After further remarks by Mr. Benjamin and others, Mr. Simmons called for a division of the following amendments : Insert the eighth and tenth articles from treaty in their proper places to suit the following : Article eighth, strike out the word ' agree' in line one, and insert the following : " Likewise agree that the articles of merchandise herein enumerated, such as are the natural, industrial, or manufactured products of the Republic of Mexico, be admitted for sale and consumption into the United States of America free from duty or customs charges, as such in any form ; that is to say, animals of all kinds, agave fiber, dressed or undressed, or made into rope, bags, or ham- mocks ; ashes, boats of all sizes and classes for the navigation of the rivers of the frontier, cocoa shells, cocoa leaves, and cocoa nuts ; coffee, cotton, cochineal, drawings and models of large machinery, buildings, -monuments and boats ; dye-woods of all kinds and extracts therefrom ; fresh fruits ; fresh, salted and smoked meats ; flour, fish ; grain of all kinds, and from which bread may be made ; geographical and nautical maps, and topographical plans ; horns and horn tips; indigo, jalap, lard; mahogany, and other woods useful in the manufacture of furniture; marble, wrought or unwrought; machines and im- plements for the development of the arts and sciences, and their fixtures, either loose or for their repair ; poultry and fresh eggs, plants, trees and shrubbery, plaster of Paris, (gypsum.) palm-leaf hats, pepper, either red or black, quicksilver, rice, raw hides, sarsaparilla, slates for roofing purposes, tar, tallow, timber, unwrought and firewood, tobacco, turpentine, type, spaces, plates for printing or engraving, rules, vignettes and printing ink, undressed sheepskins, vanilla, wool, the value when exported shall not exceed — cents per pound. " And the two Republics likewise agree, that the articles of merchandise herein enumerated, being such as are the natural, industrial, manufactured product of tlie United States of America, which shall be admitted for sale and consuniptJon into the Republic of ]\Iexico, free from duty or customs charges, as such ill any form, that is to say : Animals of all kinds, ashes, boats of all sizes and classes for the navigation of the rivers of the frontier, brooms and matcriid for their manulacture, butter and cheese, drawings and models of large machinery, buildings, monuments and boats, every species of textile or woven fabric of cotton, excepting that called brown sheeting, ' Mantatrigue- na,' fresh fruits, fresh, salted and smoked fish, grain of all kinds and from which bread is made ; geographical, nautical maps and topographical plans ; lard, leather, and all mannfiieturos of leather ; machinery of all kinds, and implements for agricultural, farming, mining, for the development of the arts 101 and sciences, and their fixtures, either loose or for their repair ; mai'ble, wrought or unwrought ; palm-leaf hats, plants, trees and shrubbery, plows and iron in pigs and bars loose, poultry and fresh eggs, printed books of all classes bound in paper, pamphlets bound, plaster of Paris, gypsum, quicksilver, rice, slates for roofing purposes, stone coal of all sizes, tar and turpentine, tallow, timber, unwrought and firewood, tobacco, type, spaces, plates for printing and engraving, rules, vignettes, and printing ink, wood and iron houses. " If any similar privilege shall be granted by Mexico at the termini of the aforesaid transits upon the Pacific Ocean, or at any other ports of entry of the Republic of Mexico, such grants or privileges shall be made upon the same or similar conditions of reciprocal benefits with those herein stipulated be- tween the United States and Mexico, and shall not be granted without the payment of a proportionate amount of money in advance, in each case, as an equivalent and compensation for the revenue surrendered by Mexico in relin- quishing the specific or other duties imposed upon others, upon the introduc- tion of the articles herein enumerated into that Republic. The amounts to be paid in money by such other nation, shall bear the same proportion to the amount of its trade with ]\Iexico in the articles of merchandize herein enume- rated, as the sum of 14,000,000 bears to the amount of the trade from the United States to the Republic of Mexico in the same articles of merchandize, and shall be computed and apportioned in each case upon the amount of the actual trade of such other nation to Mexico, in said articles of merchandise, for the five years next preceding the time of the ratification of the present treaty, and all such commercial privileges shall terminate simultaneously with those herein granted. " Article X. — Strike out after the word ' stipulations,' line two, and insert the following in lieu thereof: And as an equivalent and compensation for the revenue surrendered by Mexico, upon the merchandize from the United States to be entered for consumption in, or to be transported through the territory of Mexico, free of duty, the sum of $4,000,000, of which $2,000,000 shall be paid to Mexico immediately upon the exchange of the ratification of this treaty, and the remaining $2,000,000 shall be retained by the Government of the United States for the payment of the claims of citizens of the United States against the Government of Mexico for injuries already inflicted, and which may be proved to be just, according to the law and usage of nations, and the prin- ciples of equity. And after the claims shall be ascertained, and a list of the names of the clainaants is reported to Congress, with the amount due to each respectively, in pursuance of a law to be enacted by the Congress of the United States for the adjudication thereof, the said $2,000,000 shall be appropriated by Congress for the payment of said claim in full, if the sum retained is suf- ficient, and pro rata if insufficient, to pay the whole, and the remainder of the $2,000,000 shall be paid to Mexico by the United States in case there is any remainder after the payment of the claims thus proved to be just. " The stipulations contained in the Eighth Article of the present Treaty are to continue for ten years and thereafter, until one or the other of the said Re- publics shall have given one year's previous notice that they desire to termi- 102 nate the same. And these and all other stipulations shall take effect when the $2,000,000 agreed to be paid to ^Mexico shall be paid, and the necessary laws to carry the same into effect shall be passed by the Congress of the United States. " These amendments were rejected by 20 to 26, Republicans voting with them to oblige Mr. Simmons, and Democrats adversely. " Mr. Wigfall then moved an amendment providing for the reclamation of fugitives from service or labor, which received a majority, but could not be inserted for want of two thirds. "Finally, a division was called on the naked treaty, which was defeated, 18 to 27. Messrs. Simmons and Anthony alone of the Republicans voted in the affirmative. Messrs, Hammond, Hunter, Chesnut, Iverson, Johnson, and WigMl, of the Democrats, went against it. Douglas was not present, though he has been out for several days, and entertained a large party last night. Various Senators were paired off. " Just as the Senate was about adjourning, Mr. Simmons entered a motion to reconsider, which would have been voted down but for the confusion of the moment. Thus ends this farce." The only objections advanced against the treaty, that can be found throughout the whole of the Trihwie^s report, are those of Senators Hammond and Sewaed. Let the reader refer to the alleged objections made by those distinguished senators, and judge whether Tallyeand was not partly right when he made the remark that " language was invented to conceal mens' thoughts." Senator Wigfall evidently had a masked battery in re- serve, when he made the significant motion for an amend- ment providing for the reclamation of "fugitives from ser- vice," etc. The report of this last secret executive session of the Senate places Senator Sim:\ions in a position almost the oppo- site to that he is reported to have assumed when the Mexican treaty was first called up. Whatever may have been the position of Senator Si]\moNS at the outset, there is abundance of evidence to prove that ultimately he labored energetically and honest- ly to consummate a measure so fraught with vital interest to the country at large. It appears that Senator Simmons, with his colleague. Senator Anthony, stepped boldly out of the ranks of their party, and, of all the Republican senators, they alone voted for the ratification of the Mexican treaty. All 103 honor, tlien, to the Rhode Island senators for this exhibition of their wisdom and patriotism ! I am again indel^ted to the Tribime for its report of the last dying throe made by the Mexican treaty, in executive session of the Senate, on the 27th of June, 1860. Washington Correspondent of the New York Tribune, June 28th, 1860. " The Mexican treaty -was nominally reconsidered, and therefore goes over till next session. It required only a majority, and there was no disposition to contest the point when pressed so earnestly by Mr. Simmons. Messrs. Anthony and Wilson voted with him to galvanize the corpse. Juarez will probably be in exile before the treaty is again considered, if present signs may be trusted." The treaty was finally postponed, I am credibly informed, on motion of Senator WiLSoisr. How this senator, who had certainly manifested considerable favor towards the Mexican treaty, and an intelligent appreciation of the immmeRt import- ance of its ratification, should have been the one to finally and virtually kill it, " dead as Julius Caesar," is more than I can comprehend. I have now given an outline of the history of the Mexican treaty from the day of its inception to the day of its rejection ; and I do not hesitate to assert that the circumstances under which this treaty was negotiated, and its final defeat, will be referred to ten, twenty, fifty years hence, as one of the most remarkable chapters in our political history that can be found on record. Does any one believe that if the administration had, at an early day, marked out an intelligent, decided, and just policy with Mexico, a policy, the result of convictions based on hnoivl- eclge^ and enforced this policy with that moral 'power which intelligent and honest convictions always command, — does any one believe, I aslv, that this treaty, wrought out by an honest and capable servant, could not have been carried even against the destructive opposition of the Republican and fire-eating politicians who united to destroy it ? And does any one believe that the Republican party, in Washington, evinced, in their action on the Mexican treaty, 104 any lionest convictions based on himvledge^ relative to tlie Mexican question, or any sentiment liigher than that of a de- termination to achieve success in their own thoroughly selfish political purposes, no matter by what means, or at what expense to the country at large? Otherwise, how could they, on such frivolous pretexts, unite with the disunion faction in defeating the Mexican treaty, and thus leave the country exposed to dire evils, among which may be counted filibuster- ing for disunion purposes, and the intervention of European Powers on our own bordei's ? After such flagrant trifling with stupendous interests, as the Tribune^ in a self-glorifying spirit, exposes in this matter, I do not wonder that its report closes with the remark, " Thus ends this farce." The JSFew Yorh Journal of Commerce., remarking upon the Mexica:n^ Papees, says : " Mr. Dunbar deems it legitimate, in discussing questions of Mexican policy, to arraign, and to praise or condemn, pretty much everybody con- nected Avith our own government, giving to his " Mexican Papers" a wide scope and range, and tending, we fear, to involve him quite as deeply in American politics as in the affairs of Mexico." This criticism of the Journal is just, and to the point, — nothing could be more so. I am an American citizen, born and bred, and have the right to vote. I am, according to the theory, if not the practice of democratic institutions, one of the people — the masters, who send their servants to Washing- ton, to attend to their interests. I find those national servants in Washington do not attend proj^erly to my interests as a private American citizen, engaged in lawful and legitimate business. Tlierefore, I very naturally claim the right to " arraign, and to praise and condemn pretty much everybody connected with our government," according,* as in my opinion, they deserve, and investigate the causes that carry individuals so notoriously unfit for their position, into power. Not l)eing a disa])pointed or expectant politician, I feel a glorious inde- pendence in being able to apply the knife to both of the great political parties, whose politics, as I conceive, are of a destruc- 105 tive character to my own lawful and legitimate interests, and who have brought the whole country to the condition and po- sition so correctly stated by Mr. Sewaed in his recent Detroit speech, viz. : universal dissatisfaction at home, and our institu- tions a hissing and by-word for all creation abroad. I may be wrong in ray independent notions^ and in my views relative to the nature of our institutions. I certainly aim to give "a wide scope and range" to the Mexican Papers. This is the very nature of the subjects of which, my publication treats, and in discussing questions of Mexican policy, I confess to becoming " quite as deeply in- volved in American politics as in Mexican affairs." The dis- cussion of the Mexican question inevitably involves the discus- sion of American Dolitics, and of those vital interests in the United States over which the politics of negro politicians have been so long allowed to maintain their destructive ascendency. MITLA LETTER. fEOM VERA CRUZ TO JALAPA. City of Mexico, July 25, 1860. " Having waited some days in the hope of joining a party sufficiently strong to cope with the robbers on the road to this city, and no sucb opportunity offering, I concluded to run the gauntlet sold and take such chances as might fall to my lot. Therefore, on Sunday morning, June 12th, amid sunshine and showers — smiles and tears — I left the Hotel de las Dillgencies^ City of Vera Cruz, in a Troy coach with eight passengers bound for Jalapa, and just outside the walls, at the railroad depot, the vehicle was placed on a car made for the purpose, six mules attached tandem^ and in little less than three hours we passed over this piece of iron road to San Juan, a distance of seven leagues. This is the commencement of the railroad be- tween Vera Cruz and the City of Mexico, and here the enter- prise is likely to rest for a long time to come. • 106 "The journey from Vera Cruz to the City of Mexico, the people, climate, scenery, productions, and every peculiarity of the country, have been so often described by travelers, that the like attempt, on my part, would simply be a work of su- pererogation. I relate my personal experience on the trip, therefore, as the means of elucidating the j^eculiar state of the country at the present time, reserving the right to touch upon the world-renowned wonders of nature, and give some pretty hard facts a light and fanciful setting. "Leaving San Juan at 1 p. 31., we continued our route through the tierre caliente^ or hot country, up hill and down, on the Jalapa road, yet maintaining a gradual ascent. " Staging has been reduced to a science on the high roads in Mexico. The coaches are good, and the teams, either horses or mules, generally four abreast on the lead and two at the wheel, are of the best description. The coachman is usually an expert^ and if the roads are good they gallop ; if bad,- a constant lashing and cracking of the whip is maintained, and they get along as fast as they can. We soon began to expe- rience the ills of a bad road. A great part of the distance between Vera Cruz and Jalapa has l^een paved with large cobble stones, or, as they might be called with more propriety, loulders. By reason of these having been torn up in many places, and used to obstruct the passage of troops, by reason of rains, the cutting up by enormously-loaded wagons and from neglect, this road is now in the worst possible condition. By this road, however, or one much like it, via Orizaba, you must pass from Vera Cruz to the City of Mexico.- Over these stones we bounced, over steep pitches we plunged, down into deep gullies we swayed and reeled, at the rate of six miles per hour, until it seemed as if every bone would come out of the flesh. But on we went ; passed the Puente National at dusk, and had a fine view of this great work of art and its magnifi- cent surrounding of scenery. At ten in the evening we reached the small town of Plan del Rio^ ate a pretty good supper, rested three hours, and then resumed our journey. Early in the morning, long before the sun reached the horizon, we discovered the noble Peak of Orizaba on the left. From 107 our point of view, it presented a perfect pyramidal shape, cov- ered with snow, and its base resting on soft, scroll-like clouds, delicately tinged with golden hues, while the Peak itself re- ceived the full rays of the sun, and towering high above and among the clouds, resplendent and glittering in yellow light and the glory of the morning, displayed to the imagination of us poor mortals the portal of heaven. ' Wonderful country !' one ejaculates, mentally, if not audibly. "We now experienced a fresh and bracing atmosphere, which is not known in the country we left but yesterday, though tropical productions continue abundant. The hills and mountains are on a grander scale, the lands over-rich and covered with foliage of the rarest tints. At 12 m., we reached Jalapa, a beautiful town seated on the hills — distance from Vera Cruz, eighty miles. Being desirous of seeing something of the place, and moreover dreadfully bruised in the flesh, I determined to lie over two days for the next diligence. The journey of all the passengers, except myself and one other, ended here. Among them were two who exhibited a phe- nomenon worthy of notice. They were mother and daughter, both excessively fat ; small, dimpled hands, and arms like legs of mutton, such being frequently met with among the senoras of the Republic. During all this rough jaunt, these creatures neither burst, chafed, or rode uneasy, ]jut there they sat on the back seat like two dumplings in a dish, highly comfortable. When a violent motion of the coach caused the gentlemen to knock their heads together, or crack their sconces against the roof, the ladies would gently roll up their eyes, ejaculate, ^JesU'S P ''Santissima Maria P or something of that nature, in sympathy for the harder bone and muscle of their companions. On arriving at Jalapa, they were as chippei", bright, and lively as though they had come all the way quietly in a Boston rocker. The power of endurance in fat women is truly won- le, upon which all these extracts touch in a manner calculated to give the public entirely erroneous views, would transcend the limits of several numbers of the Mexican Papers. At the present moment, we must be content Avith simply pointing out some of the most prominent errors in these extracts. In the first place, we will inquire whether the Mexican nation is what the Trihune^ in characteristic language, denomi- nates it, — " a huge, slunk mass of civilization !" And we will further inquire whether the world is so thorougly subdued, and the surplus of i-eady-made laboring men and women is so great, that several millions of this class of inhabitants in the southern part of Mexico maybe suifered to "fester and putre- fy at leisure," after we have acquired the northern part of that country, "on our own terms," having assisted it to fall to pieces? It is estimated that the amount of gold and silver legally exported from Mexico since the conquest, up to the year 1858, is $4,640,204,889, or an average of $13,687,920 per annum from the landing of Cortez to 1858. It is a well known fact that a large amount of specie and bullion has, from the commencement, been smuggled out of Mexico, and $6,000,000,000 is doubtless nearer the amount actually sent out of the country, than that represented l:)y the official records. This is one item only of material development by the race now so denounced by our philosophers and philan- thropists. The Indians have performed the labor, and white people have got the bullions. It is true, the Indians have 126 labored under the pressure of body and soul-squeezing agen- cies, and if Christianity, freedom, humanity and knowledge are obstacles in the material development of a country, then our great republican leaders are right, in an economical point of view, in denouncing the liberals of Mexico and sustaining the bigotr)^ and despotism that have ruled the country so long. Another prominent error running through all the writings and speeches of leading republicans, opposed to the Mexican liberals and the Mexican treat}^, is, wherein they attribute to what they term Mr. Buchanan's Mexican Policy, any desire or purpose on the part of that functionary to co-opei-ate with the south in a plan for the extension of slavery. Mr. BuciiAisrAN is not amenable to any such charge, and it has not, in any of its bearings, the slightest foundation in fiict. We have taken the liberty to comment on the incompetency of Mr. BuciiAisrAN's administration to achieve success in our relations with Mexico, by reason of its ignorance of the subject, and its lack of moral power. The truth is, the Mexican question had, in reality, overridden Mr. Buchanan's administration before Mr. McLane was despatched to Mexico, and that administration lias had little or no force, ability or power in bringing forth the new policy with Mexico now before the country, and which must be attributed to Mr. McLane, who wrought it out under peculiar and extraordinary circumstances. When, therefore, the partizans of Mr. Buchanan bring forward the recognition of the constitutional government of Mexico and the Mexican treaty, as an evidence of his wisdom and far-reaching policy, — and when his enemies bring up the same measures as an evi- dence of his being in league with southern slavery extension- ists, — both parties are indulging equally in egregrious and absurd en-ors. What contemptible features in American politics the eluci- dation of these matters discloses ! It is proper to state here, that we never have had one word of conversation on the subject of slavery with our Minister to Mexico, or any other party concerned in the recognition of the constitutional governnlent, or in the negotiation of the treaty with that government. Whatever . remarks appear in the 12Y Mexicai^ Papers relative to the subject of slavery, are made on our own responsibility, as a matter distinct from any inter- course we may have had with parties in Washington, or in Mexico. If ever a great measure of general and vital importance to the whole country came before the United States Senate without the negro in it, we believe it was the McLAisrE- OcAMPO Treaty, but the negro was lugged in, and, of course, the ruin of the measure followed. The history of the treaty, which we have given, is sufficient evidence of the truth of what we assert relative to this point. Another prominent error, the most ijrominent of all^ in fact, promulgated ])y republican organs and orators is, wherein they represent with so much assurance and persistency, the possibility of extending slavery beyond its present limits, and the designs of the pro-slavery party in this respect, more especially with regard to the territory of New Mexico and the neighboring Kepublic of Mexico. There are a few of us who have had a practical experience in these countries, and we well know that all this rant and cant about the extension of slavery throughout those regions is 2^u')'e gammon. We would say to all those " irrepressible conflict" apostles who are sin- cerely promulgating so great an error, if there are any such, " you are a hundred years behind the age, you have no knowl- edge of your subject, and you are wasting an immense amount of time, words, pens, ink, and paper." We suppose the belief that slavery cannot go into the terri- tories, is the foundation, in Mr. Douglas' mind, of his doctrine of non-intervention ; and we notice the orators of the Bell and EvEEETT party assert that the character of our territories is now fixed for freedom, and that slavery cannot enter in. You are right on that point, gentlemen, and you ought not to be content with the mere belief and assertion relative to the fixed character of our territories, but follow up the subject closely. Take higher, bolder gi'ound. Show how immensely free ter- ritory has gained over slave territory in these United States, and on this continent, since the adoption of our federal consti- tution. Get your evidence and prove that slavery has found 128 its limits on this continent, and though there is a pro-slavery party, there are, in reality, no slavery extensionists^ because those who are called such hnow full well lioio impossible it is to extend the institution. Demand of the " irrepressible con- flict" apostles why it is that Texas does not propose to divide herself up into states, as she has a right to do under the com- pact by which she came into the Union. Demand of those apostles how it was that California leaped into the Union a free State ; and how it is that New Mexico, a territory that has been open to slavery twelve years has no slaves ; and why it is that the law protecting slavery, passed by the local legis- lature a year and a half since, has had the effect to make ap- parent the impossibility of planting slavery in that territory, instead of giving birth to a single hope for the institution. Demand how it is that the territory of Arizona, open to slavery six years, has no slaves, and knows not the meaning of slavery from any experience of her own. Follow the sub- ject into Mexico. Slioiv that the character of tlie adjoining Repidjlic is fixed for freedom. Follow the subject still farther, and make it known how the Mexican question has completely overridden the Republican party, and that this momentous question which must be settled by the next administration, stands no chance in the hands of those Republican leaders who have no foreign polic}^, and who would assume power in Washington with even less moral weight on this question than the present administration. The "irrepressible conflict" leaders dread these develop- ments more than all else. Mr. Sewaed feels that they are already beginning to have their influence, and he is exerting himself to destroy the effect and keep up the sectional flame until after the election in November next. We detect this in every speech he makes on his western tour. Mr. Seward has clothed himself with an idea — the assumption that he is the incarnation of something like a Divine Essence — the spirit of progressive freedom on this continent, and many good people bow down to him as such. You- who take the opposite ground, and whose business it is, give the people light on this subject. Tiie people need 129 LIGHT ! They are ready to receive it. Every ray shed does some good, even at this late moment. Follow up the dema- gogues and fanatics, and puncture the wickedest political hum- bug that ever cast its dark and threatening shadow over a great and prosperous nation. All Communications for the MEXICAN PAPERS, must be addressed to EDWARD E. DUNBAR, No. 35 William Street, N. Y. TO THE MERCANTILE AND INDUSTRIAL CLASSES. D r^ '=W^- rl^^ [FIRST SERIES— No 4.] JANUARY 15th, 1861. Price 15 Cxs. z) . . TTIE O. THE MEXICAN QUESTION, THE GREAT A]\IERICAN QUESTION, lers0niil |ltmiinscciu(5, EDWARD E. DUNBAR. A SERIAL-ISSUED SEMI-MONTHLY. I^OSS Sc TOTISE^^, ±f^± IVassau Street, GENERAL AGENTS. NEW- YORK : J. A. H. HASBROUCK & CO., PRINTERS, 180 BROADWAY. I860, ooN"T_E:tsrTs OF :isro. 4. PAGE. PERSONAL— City of Mexico, - - 131 Population of the City of Mexico, .--.... 134 The Church in the central districts of Mexico, - ... - 137 Elements of evil concentrated in the Mexican Capital, ... 144 PAGAN DISTllICT OF THE REPUBLIC OF MEXICO, .... 148 MITLA LETTER, 151 PUBLIC OPINION ON MEXICO, 156 IS MEXICAN NATIONALITY DESTINED TO BE EXTINGUISHED ? - IGl The Brazillian Empire considered with reference to Mexico, - - 162 English diplomacy in Mexico, - - - - - - - - ITO VICTORY! 173 131 PEESONAL. A THOEOUGH knowledge of t]ie city of Mexico, witt its peculiarities of geograpliical position, variety of race, religion, finance, trade, and social life, is indispensable to a clear com- prehension of tlie Mexican question. The ethnological, politi- cal, and religious forces now at work throughout the republic have their bases in the capital, and a fair and careful examina- tion should be given to these also, in order that the sul)ject may be fully understood in its length, breadth, and detail. It is with this view of the matter that I am induced to give the following discursive remarks respecting the Mexican capi- tal and its surroundings. The city of Mexico is situated in latitude 19° 25' 4:5" N., and longitude 103*^ 45' 53" W. from Greenwich. Its elevation above the sea is 7,500 feet. The mean temperatm'e of the city is 17° (R) 21° (cent.). The barometer varies between 23° and 23.2 Euo-lish inches. The mametic needle declines 8° 30' 12" to the east. The prevailing winds are north-east and north. The climate is delightful to the senses, but the highly rari- fied atmosphere does not prove favorable to the perfection of health, or the highest mental and physical development of man, according to the standard of the white race north of the isothermal line. A stranger's first impressions of the city of Mexico are always of the most favorable nature. In the first place, one cannot reach the city without passing through regions of ro- mantic interest, beauty, and grandeur, sufficient of themselves to excite the imao^ination to a most extravao-ant deo-ree. Skies in which are exquisitely blended the soft and brilliant, a pel- lucid, bland atmosphere, circling mountains rising at intervals in stupendous volume, piercing the heavens with their peren- nial snow-capped peaks, and ovei'lookiiLg a valley of surpassing beauty in its carj)eting of green, its lakes and meandering 132 streams, its villages and cliiirclies em])osomecl in gi'oves and surrounded by richly-cultivated fields — all these dilate the eye of wonder and prepare the traveller of sound and sober judg- ment, even, to believe in the marvellous as he approaches the site of ancient Tenochtitlan. He enters the comparatively mod- em city of Mexico, and his eye ranges with j)leasure through the long straight streets, lined with buildings of a light color and pleasing order of architecture ; and here and there in his perambidations, he stops to admire a private residence or pidjlic building, which, in its extent, solidity, taste, and im- posing grandeur, cannot fail to induce the belief that the peo- ple are far advanced in civilization and refinement. The display of wares and merchandise in the shops of the traders is brilliant and attractive. Beautifid French jiorcelain, costly jewelry, articles of cunning device in gold and silver, heavy rich silks and gaudy-colored cottons fill the w^indows and shelves. Parades and processions, military and religious, are almost daily seen in the streets. Every afternoon the wealth and fashion of the city congregate on the Paseo, a long avenue or carriage-road, lined with ash, poplar, and wil- loAV, and running through the southern suburbs of the city. Here, Mexican gentlemen in gay costume and mounted on fine horses, pompously caparisoned, prance to and fro, or stand by the roadside to catch a glimpse of the ladies as they roll past in their equipages, the most of which are extravagant and showy. The scene is gay, lu-illiant, almost splendid ; and here again the obser^^ng stranger is induced to believe that the peoj)le must be high in the scale of that social intercourse and refinement which make life profitable and agreeable. In his ordinary intercourse with the higher classes, the stranger en- counters a dignified, gracious style of address and courtly manners. Fortuitously or otherwise, he may be the recipient of stylish civilities on the part of individual residents of the city, foreign or native. In short, the channels of observation ordinarily open to travellers and transient sojourners in the city of Mexico, are calculated to create in the mind a totally false opinion of the i^olitical, social, and moral condition of the people. It is a city of glittering, imposing superficialities. 133 These outside appearances liave been most artfully contrived and maintained; and, up to the present time, they have thoroughly served the purpose for which they were contrived, namely, to cover up the revolting mass of rottenness and cor- rugation that poisons religion, politics, and society in this the favorite centre of Spanish civilization on the American conti- nent. The valley of Mexico, near the centre of which the city of Mexico is situated, is some fifty miles long and thirty miles wide. This valley is supposed to be the enormous crater of an extinct volcano, covered over with a crust of earth of recent formation. The locality of the city of Mexico, originally an alkali lake, j)i'esents the same physical features in its founda- tion as New Orleans, being a flat marsh, and water everywhere found three or four feet below the surface. For this reason, many of the buildings have settled considerably, and earth- quakes have done their share of mischie£ The last severe one which occurred June 19th, 1858, cracked some of the largest and most substantial structm^es, and swayed others out of line. Fatlier Motolinia, a monk, who was with Cortez at the time of the conquest of Mexico, enumerates what he considers to have been the " ten plagues of New Spain," one of which, was " the rebuilding of the city of Mexico," principally, it is to be supposed, by reason of the fearful amount of human suf- fering, and the sacrifice of hundreds of tliousands of human lives under the cruel and relentless power of the Spaniards, by which the reconstruction of the city was forced. It may also be inferred that even in the day of the conquerors, it became apparent that in some resj)ects, a more favorable site for the foundation of the new city could have been found not very far distant from the old one — a site equally beautiful, and where greater permanency would have been attained with much less labor and expense. The accounts relating to the jDopulation of the city of Mexico are interesting, and in the highest degree instructive. The building of the city by the Spaniards, on the old site of Ten- ochtitlan, dates eighty-eight years l^efore the settlement of Vir- ginia, and one hundi'ed years before the landing of the Pilgrims 134 in Massachusetts. Accounts respecting the population of Ten- oclititlan at tlie time of the conquest, like every thing else re- lating to that event and to the country, are very contradictory, and, in a great degree, unreliable. The Abbe Clavijeko proves that the estimates of the population of the capital of the Aztec empire at the date of its fall, vary from 60,000 to 1,500,000 ! HuMBOLT concedes about 400,000. Coetez gives the number of inhabitants in the new city of Mexico, in 1524, three years after the conquest, as 30,000. In 1790, Count Revilla Gigedo ordered a census of the city, which gave 112,926 as the num- ber of inhabitants at that date. In 1803, Humbolt classified the population of the capital as follows : — White Europeans, ........ 2,500 AVliite Creoles, 65,000 Indigenous (copper colored), ...... .33,000 Mustizos (mixture of whites and Indians), .... 26,500 Mulattoes, 10,000 Total, 137,000 The latest official accounts (1856) represent the population of the city as 185,000. I have seen no recent classification of the inhabitants of the city of Mexico after the manner of Humbolt. It is probable that something like the same rela- tive proportion of races that existed when Humbolt wrote (1803), holds good now, with the exception of the mulattoes, this race having entirely disappeared. Very few mulattoes are found on the table lands of Mexico, and a full-l:>looded negro is seldom met with. It is an important fact, and one which appears as yet to have attracted little or no attention, that the climate in those regions is destructive to the negro race. This is, doubtless, owing to the highly rarified and dry atmosphere, which does not admit of that free perspiration indispensable to the full development of those perceptible emanations of a strong animal nature, so essential to negro per- fection. There is an entirely ^ATong imj^ression abroad rela- tive to the amount of negro blood in the republic of Mexico. It is supposed to be considerable, whereas, in many of the states, its existence, even, is not laiown ; and only in certain 135 very limited districts, of wliieli Vera Cruz may be considered the principal, can negroes and mulattoes be found ; and even in tliose districts they are few in number. On arriving in the city of Mexico, June, 1859, I found a sur- plus population numbering altogether something over 200,000. Many people fi-om the surrounding country, who could afford the expense, had resorted thither for greater safety. An in- creased demand for the necessaries of life brousrht in a 2;reat number of producers with their products, from all quarters; and under a ruinous system of depletion to the people at large, the streets were thronged, and "from hand-to-mouth" traffic was brisk. Owing to the deranged state of affairs occasioned by the civil war, many of the streets were in a very bad con- dition ; some, in fact, almost impassable for the want of repairs, and others blocked up by filth, reeking in offensive odors. Im- provements of every kind were at a stand. That delightful place of public resort, the Alemeda, appeared to be entirely neglected, and the grounds generally wore a slovenly and un- inviting aspect. I understand that during the past year, the work of ruin has gone on more rapidly than ever, and that under the present order of things, dilapidated niins and filth will, ere long, predominate in the recently beautiful and invit- ing capital of the Mexican republic. It is a well-understood fact that when Spain exercised her dominion over Mexican territory, the city of Mexico was the centre of political, religious, financial, and social influence and power throughout all that portion of the Spanish possessions. The Spaniards were supreme throughout the length and breadth of the land. They held every office of the govern- ment ; they monopolized the best trade of the country, and nearly all the active capital. Every avenue to political or social prominence of position was, for three centuries, most effectually closed to native-born Mexicans — Creoles, even, not being allowed to hold office, or to take part or lot in the management of the affairs of the country, either political, religious, or social. To such a degree of degradation were the native citizens of the country reduced, that the highest-born, best-educated, and most-refined Mexican lady would wed with 136 a common SpanisLi 1kk)1- rather tliaii witli a native Mexican pjentleuian, in order to secure sometliing like a social position, and escape the odium and oppression that fell to the lot of the cruelly-proscribed Mexican race. Hence, with the fii'st revolu- tion, arose the popular cry of, ''''Death to the Gadiapin-s P^ Who can wonder that the Mexicans hate the Spaniai'ds with undying hatred \ Mexico became independent of Spain in 182 1, and the federal compact upon w-hich she presented herself before the world as a republic, was made in 1824. Here w^e come to the most important chapter in the modern history of Mexico — a chapter which, in my opinion, is but little understood. Singular as it may appear, the separation of Mexico from Spain, or what is termed the independence of Mexico, was brought about by the Mexican clergy 1 But this fact must not induce any one to believe that the Mexican clergy, in a single instance, ever favored a movement that tended in the slightest degree to real independence and freedom. The regu- lar clergy were the most active and bitter opponents of Hi- dalgo, and other revolutionary leaders, down to 1S20, when intelligence was received in Mexico of the revolt of the Span- ish army in the Isle of Leon, and the revolution in Spain. The repuljlican feeling which manifested itself at this time in Spain startled the Mexican clergy ; and when, at a later period^ the viceroy, Don Juan Apodaca, received an order from the Cortes of Spain to proclaim the constitution to which Feedi- NAND had been compelled to sweai', and to which was attached a decree confiscating tJie property of tlie Mexican Ohiweh^ihe clergy at once changed front, and the result was, the I^km of Igiiala, proclaimed by Iturbide at the to^\ai of Iguala, Feb- ruaiy 12, which severed at once and forever the connection between the colonies and the mother country. The basis of the Plan of Iguala was that the Mexican Church only should he tolerated in Mexico. A glimmering of the liberty and constitutional freedom en- joyed by the republic of the United States, had penetrated the Mexican country over which the cloud of despotism hung like the pall of night. The idea of liberty was abroad among 137 tlie j^eople, but tliey liad no power to carry it out. The Mex- ican nation was prostrate — beaten, battered, and sore under three centuries of iniquitous oppression, both civil and relig- ious. Ten years of devastating, cruel civil war had intensi- iied the troul)les of the people. Ignorance and poverty pre- vailed, and crime was rampant. In the city of Mexico, it seemed as though the army of l^eggars, thieves, and assassins, known as leperos, would devour the little sul)stance that re- mained. What a state of aifairs upon which to start the hazardous ex- periment of a democratic form of government, for which the people had had no training, such as was enjoyed by the peo])le of the United States before they declared and gained their in- dependence ! The Mexican Church alone had the vitality and power to separate Mexico from Spain. This was accomplished by the church for the sole purpose of saving its j^roperty; and that ethnic institution was not only successful in this its first object, but it became a greater power than ever in the land. It is true that the democracy of Mexico subsequently secured the name and some of the forms of a republican gov- ernment ; but it w^as the shadow without the substance. So long as Spain ruled Mexico, the Mexican Church commu- nicated with the Church in Spain, and not with the See of Rome. It was several years subsequent to the independence of Mexico before the Pojje ventured to officially recognize the Mexican Church, and dispatch his Nuncio to the incipient re- public. Under the new order of things, the concentration of ecclesiastical power in the city of Mexico became greater than ever. New and more vigorous manifestations of the greed and lust of the clergy appeared, and they wielded their des23otic power with increased force and effect. The superstitious feel- ings of the people were alone cultivated; the sale of indul- gences, great and small, of holy bits of paper, ribbon, gold, etc., etc., was increased. The enormous fees demanded and enforced for the marriage ceremony, caused thousands and tens of thou- sands of men and women to cohal)it tog-ether under no leoral form or ceremony. The cost of the bm-ial service was made so great as to require a poor man to labor for years in oider to 138 secui'e tliat priestly adieu to Lis body on eartli wliicli, accord- ing to tlieir creed, ^voukl insure liis l>iissful resurrection in heaven. The clergy have hehl a ])reponderating influence in all civil as well as religious matters. They caused to be es- tablished for their benefit what are known asfueros, or special privileges, by which they are constituted a religious hierai'chy and a moneyed oligarchy, managing their vast property and all their aftairs, both secular and ecclesiastical, without being amenable to any law of the land. The Mexican Church holds over one hundred millions of real estate, and mortgages in- numerable on real property, of which there is no public record, and on which no taxes are paid. The Mexican Church, as a church, fills no mission of \artue, no mission of morality, no mission of mercy, no mission of charity. Virtue cannot exist in its pestiferous atmosphere ; the code of morality does not come within its practice ; it knows no mercy, and no emotion of charity ever moves the stony heart of that priesthood which, with an avarice that has no limit, filches the last penny from the diseased and dying beggar, plunders the widows and orphans of their substance, as well as their virtue, and casts such a horoscope of horrors around the death-bed of the dying millionaire, that the poor, superstitious "WTetch is glad to purchase a chance for the safety of his soul by making the church heir to his treasures. This, in brief, is the Mexican Church as I comprehend it from personal observation, and to prove that I have observed aright, it is only necessary to point to the universal ruin and misery its rule has brought upon the country and the people. What nation on earth, I ask, could live and prosper under such a hor- rible incubus as this ? The Mexican Church always has been, and so long as it exists, always will be the great element of evil in Mexico, and there will be no peace, prosperity, or prog- ress in the country until this church is overthrown and totally destroyed, root and branch. Having briefl}^ defined the status of the church in Mexico, and the position it has occupied as the chief eljCment of evil in the country, it now becomes necessary to explain how other powers, influences, or agencies conspired with the church at 139 tlie outset to turn tlie project of d republican form of govern- ment into a sham, and deliver tlie country over to plunder un- der a new system more despotic -and destructive tlian the old. The federate states of Mexico started on their political course under the name of a republic, and with some of the forms of a democratic government, in 1824, with Victoria as president. The leading foreign powers, except Spain, recog- nized the new republic, and dispatched then* ambassadors thither ; and the advocates of freedom throughout the world indulged in a hope for Mexico. Victoria served out the pres- idential term of four years. It was the first and last term ever filled to the end by any one of the incumbents of the ofiice of president of the republic of Mexico. During the term of Victoria, and some three or four years subsequent, all those evils that have so afflicted the masses of the Mexican people, and given the republic such a bad name, took their distinct form and purpose. Fu'st and foremost among these was the Church. Then appeared the old Spanish leaven of iniquity, as developed by what remained of Gachupin capitalists and traders scattered throughout the country, with their bitter hatred of the Mexican race. Then arose a desperate and un- principled host of conspirators against Mexican liberty, of the Spanish school of intrigue, backed by a thoroughly demoral- ized band of army officers without pay or occupation ; and in 1826 the furious civil strife between the parties kno^vn as Escoceses and Yorkinos, names of Masonic lodges, broke out in the city of Mexico. The new-fledged republic succeeded in effecting a loan of $32,000,000 in England, and this, with the heavy investments of English capital in mining and trading enterprises, which took place in the early days of the republic, gave to British diploma- cy an influence in the affairs of the Mexican people, superior to that of any other foreign power. A strict regard for histor- ical truth compels me to state that British diplomacy in Mexi- co has, from first to last, next to the church, been one of the chief olistacles to the j)rogress of liberal princi23les in that country. In this matter the British government has acted on a false conception of political necessity an 1 commercial inter- 140 est, namely, opposition to the spread of the institutions and interests of the United States on this continent. In 1825 the American government dispatched the Hon. Joel R. Poinsett as minister to Mexico. This gentleman made a good beginning, but, suT)sequent to his term, American diplo- macy has made but a poor figure in the neighboring repuljlic, having generally followed in the wake of despotic agencies — never leading in favor of freedom and progress, until the pres- ent moment. Spain, at first, refused to recognize Mexican independence, and for years she used all her artifices to create discord in the new republic, with the hope of regaining her ancient colonies. But at last, in 1839, Spain recognized the federate government of Mexico, and Senor Caldekon de la Bakca was ap|X)inted minister to that government. The first envoy from Spain was received in the national caj^ital with considerable friendly en- thusiasm, which, hoAvever, proved but momentary, and rela- tions between the two countries have been continued under feelings of cordial hatred but poorly concealed on both sides. All that can be said of French diplomacy in Mexico is, that of late years, it has been cons2:)icuous only in its eflbrts to sus- tain despotic rule, both civil and religious. I have thus very briefly set forth the diplomacy of leading foreign po^vers in Mexico, as one of the principal agencies which has persistently and eftectually opposed the successful development of a liberal, democratic form of government in the so-called repuljlic. Under the combined exertions and influence of all these des- potic agencies, unfriendly to the regeneration of Mexico, arbi- trary laws, regulating the foreign commerce and internal trade of the country, by which these branches of business were con- stituted the most odious and oppressive of monopolies, were es- tablished and perfected. A high tariff on the bulk of foreign importations was imposed, and these same goods, in passing to the interior, have always been subject to what are known as (dcavala-s^ a series of interior duties, state, municipal, etc., which, in many instances, amount to more than two hundred per cent, of the original cost of the goods. Common brown 141 sheetings, the cotton goods most used by the })Oor Mexicans, and which can be purchased in our shops at retail for eight or ten cents pev yard, are sold in the interior of Mexico at twenty- five to thirty-seven cents per yard. This system of excessive charges on imported merchandise, in connection with the high rate of duty imposed on specie and bullion exported from the country, is another of the great evils under which Mexico has suffered. It has proved the most pro- lific source of corruption in the government of the country, from the highest dignitary of state down to the lowest municipal officer ; and so great is the premium it offei-s to smuggling, that nearly the whole trade of the countiy is more or less of a con- traband character. The system of smuggling in Mexico com- menced, in fact, with the inauguration of the repuljlic. In 1830, certain American merchants were the most prominent in this business, especially on the Pacific coast. In a few years the American smugglers were superseded by Europeans, who have since held the monopoly of the Mexican Pacific trade, based on the smuggling system. It sometimes happens that Mexi- can officials cannot be bril^ed, and a foreign merchant caught in false proceedings or do-wnright smuggling, is arrested and treated according to law. Forthwith, a messenger is dispatched post haste, to the foreign minister in the city of Mexico, gener- ally English, with a flaming account of high-handed outrages against the person and proj^erty of a foreign citizen by the barbarous Mexicans. The foreign minister in the city of Mexico always knows of some tender spot in the general gov- ernment upon which an effectual pressure can be brought to bear, and, willingly or unwillingly, an official order is dis- patched from head-quarters to the effect that ample remunera- tion for all damages and an hum1)le apology for all insults must be accorded to the outraged foreign citizen ; and sooner or later, the order is enforced. Bring the fact home to those parties that they are engaged in a contraband business and they do not deny it, but denounce the government that will establish a tariff so ex- cessive, and affect to contemn and despise a people who will tol- erate it. When, however, the people determine not to submit to this oppressive tariff any longer, and rise in support of a 142 lil^eral government, based ou a constitution which abolishes the high tariff and establishes the principles of free trade, where do you find tliose foreign contraband traders? You find them, and the ministers of their respective governments, resident at the national capital, in league with the most active and power- ful foes of that same constitutional government of the people which would do away w^ith all premium and excuse for smug- gling, and relieve the country of one of the greatest evils under whicli it sufl:ers. The reason for this course on the part of these foreign contraband traders is obvious. A material reduction of the Mexican tariif w^ould break up the monojDoly they enjoy. A few of these influential foreign traders, with their respective ministers, resident in the capital, regulate, in fact, the entire commerce and ti'ade of the country. They sustain a high tariif and other hindrances to general business, by which means they create a monopoly. They wrong the government out of its just revenues, derange its finances, and impoverish its treasuiy, while, as powerful monopolists, they exact from the people ex- travagant j)rices for their wares and merchandise. Even the European ambassadors, resident in Mexico, frequently take ad- vantage of this state of aifairs and of their position, to obtain a goodly share of the plunder. It is but a few years since that the French minister in the city of Mexico, imported carriages under the seal of the legation to such an extent, that one even- ing a mob, composed mostly of those wdiose interests were seriously injured l>y these importations, broke open the reposi- tory of the French minister, dragged therefrom his stock in trade, some sixty carriages, and burned them on the public Plaza ! The English and French ministers who recently left Mexico, it is said with large fortunes made in that country, are accused by their own countrymen located in the capital, of hav- ing been extensively engaged in this species of contraband transactions, by which large quantities of merchandise have been brought into the city, to the injuiy of its general and I'egnlar trade. Suppose Lord Lyons, English minister, resident in Washing- ton, should enter English broadcloths, duty free, in the port of New York, under the seal of his legation, to such an extent 143 as to injure the trade of the regular dealers in the article. Supj^ose M. Merciee, French minister, resident in Washing- ton, should enter French carriages or French millinery goods duty free, in the port of New York, under the seal of his Le- gation, to such an extent as to injure the regular business in those articles. Strange and unaccountable as it may appear, these things are done by the ministers of the high and mighty European Powers, resident in Mexico ; and the half is not told. But are not such facts as these alone sufficient to prove how utterly abased Mexico has been by that foreign horde of sordid and vicious harpies who, as Christians, arrogate to themselves the right to fasten their Christian fangs — none are sharper, none penetrate deeper — upon the poor, benighted Mexican people, and revel in the life-blood of the nation ? It is well known that Mexico owes a heavy foreign debt, principally to the English. The Mexican government stipu- lated in convention to set aside a large portion, some forty- eight per cent, of the duties received at the custom-houses, in payment of this foreign debt. The system of smuggling car- ried on by foreigners on the Pacific coast, and enforced by British men-of-war, deprives the government of nearly all revenue in that quarter, while in the Gulf ports, commerce is crippled, and the revenue of the government is, at certain periods, cut down to a low figure, by the irregular proceedings and hard exactions of foreign ministers, consuls, and traders. A thorough exposure of the universal system of plunder to which Mexico is subjected in her business relations by foreign officials and traders, and a few capitalists, foreign and native, who mostly reside in the capital, would prove that the govern- ment of that country is defrauded out of more than three quarters of its la^^i:\il revenue; and yet, when that government cannot respond for its foreign debts, these same foreign minis- ters denounce, threaten, and bully, and on recent occasions, they have even ordered their fleets to open fire upon Vera Cruz, the principal seaport on the Gulf, and exact payment from the constitutional government there located, at the can- non's mouth. Where is the nation on the face of the earth that is made to suffer such abominable treatment as this ? 144 I Lave tlins l>riefly set fortli the prominent evils under which Mexico has writhed and groaned in the agony of despair, since she attempted the experiment of a republican form of govern- ment. These e"vals may be recapitulated thus : First. The church, holding its occupancy in the souls of the people to the exclusion of every moral instinct, every virtuous sentiment, every well-grounded hope in tlie future, either in this world or the next. Second. The old Spanish leaven of iniquity, as developed by what remained of Gachupin capitalists and traders scattered throughout the country, and who are, with rare exceptions, cordial haters or despisers of the Mexican race, and determined foes to Mexican freedom. Third. A desperate and unprincipled l)ody of conspirators (generally Creoles or half breeds) against Mexican liberty, of the old Spanish school of intrigue, backed by a thoroughly demoralized band of army officers, without pay or occupation. Fourth. The foreign debt. Fifth. Foreign diplomacy, in which the English have held the most commanding position. Sixth. The high tariff established on foreign importations, the cdcavalas or duties imposed on goods going into the in- terior, and other hindrances calcidated to obstruct the free course of general business. Seventh. Smuggling, and the universal system of comip- tion it engenders for purposes of plunder, under the auspices, principally, of foreign officials and traders. The foregoing enumeration comprehends the most potent agencies of evil which have so fearfully scourged the Mexican people, and driven them into this last great struggle, which they maintain with all the painful energy and self sacrificing spirit of despairing and ex})iring nationality. In view of the narration of accumulated oppressions that is herein given, the most common mind ought to be able to thoroughly compre- hend the nature of the struggle now going on in Mexico. As these oppressions have l^ecome more and more exacting, oner- ous, and destructive, the suffering masses of the people have, 145 from time to time, made desperate efforts to relieve themselves. The whole history of the Mexican republic is but the narra- tion of short-lived, spasmodic efforts on the part of the poor and scattered masses to overthrow that powerful combination of church, finance, and trade, that grinds them in the dust. I will not enter into details respecting the past revolutions of Mexico, but be content with particularizing the one now in progress. This particular revolution, it may l^e said, dates back to the overthrow of the dictator Santa Anna, in 1855, when General Alvakez, of the head of the liberal forces, pro- claimed the Plan of Ayutla^ and carried on the government of the country until the adoption of the present constitution, under which Comonfoet was elected in 1857. The following is a synopsis of this constitution, upon which the liberal cause in Mexico is based, and by which the Juaeez government maintains its authority : SYNOPSIS OF THE LIBEEAL CONSTITUTION OF 1857. First. The establishment of a constitutional federal s'overn- ment in the place of a military dictatorship. Second. Freedom and protection to slaves that enter the national territorj^ Thii'd. Freedom of religion. Fourth. Freedom of the press. Fifth. The nationalization of the $200,000,000 of property held by the clergy, from which, and other sources, the church derives an annual income of not less than $20,000,000. Sixth. The subordination of the army to the civil power, and the abolition of military and ecclesiastical fueros^ or spe- cial tri])unals. Seventh. A reduction of the tariff, the stoppage of the sys- tem of exceptional permits, and the entire abolition of alcavcda or interior duties; also, the abolition of passports. Eighth. The negotiation of commercial treaties of the fullest scope and liberal character, particularly with the United States, and including reciprocity of trade on our frontiers. Ninth. The colonization of Mexico by the full opening of every part of the country to immigration, and the encourage- 14G iiient of foreign enterprise in every brancli of industry, par- ticularly in mining and in works of internal improvement. It must be admitted, by every fair and candid mind, that this constitution strikes at the root of those great evils which have proved so fatal to Mexican prosperity, advancement, and happiness. Then why not wish this suffering people success in their efforts to rise from their misery and degradation, and secure those blessings which, according to our own religious creed and civil declaration, are the inalienable rights of all made in the image of God 'i Why must the entire civilized world persist in re-echoing the cry of Ijigoted and heathenish priests, unprincipled foreign dijdomats, and soulless, monopoli^j- ing foreign capitalists antl traders, that the Mexican liberals, comprehending nine tenths of the entire population, are thiev- ing, murdering Indians, barbarously radical in their purposes, entirely ignorant of the principles of liljerty, and wdiolly unfit to enjoy its blessings? The result of all this is, that the lead- ing European Powers and the United States practically sustain the infamous despotism of the Church-Miramon government, as set forth in the Plan of Tacubaya, proclaimed by Zuloaga at the head of a regiment of soldiers, December, 1857, and of which the following is a synopsis : SYNOPSIS OF THE PLAN OF TACUBAYA PPvOCLAIMED BY ZULOAGA. First. The inviolability of all church property and church revenues, and the re-establishment of former exactions. Second. The re-establishment of the fueros^ or special rights of the church and of the army. Under these fuevos^ the mili- tary and clergy are responsible only to their own tribunals. Third. The restoration of the Roman Catholic religion as the sole and exclusive religion of Mexico. Fourtk. The censorship of the press. Fifth. The maintenance of a higli tariff, the restoration of the oppressive system of ahavala^ or interior duties, and the continuance of special monopolies. 147 Sixth. Tlie exclusive system ^dtli regard to foreign im- migration, confining it solely to immigrants from Catholic countries. Seventh. The overthrow of the constitution of 1857, and the establishment of an in-esponsible central dictatorship, sul3serv- ient solely to the church. Eigldli. If possible, the restoration of a monarchy in Mexico, or the establishment of a European protectorate. In the synopsis of the liberal constitution of 1857 and the synopsis of the Plan of Taciibaya proclaimed by Zuloaga, De- cember, 1857, as herein set forth, the two parties now strug- gling for the mastery in Mexico are brought face to face and held up to the view of the world. One is the party of liberty and progress, the other the party of despotism and retrogres- sion, and it is incredible that the Christian and enlicditened Powers of earth should sustain the latter, and render the country occupying the geographical centre of the business world, the sport of those despotic and bigoted agencies which these same Christian and enlightened Powers claim to have long since cast out from their own l^orders. This extraordinary state of things can only })e accounted for in the fact that foreign citizens residiug in Mexico and their governments believe that the Almighty does not, as yet, desire this country should be allowed to enjoy those christianizing and humanizing influ- ences under which they claim to have been born and raised. I have thus given some general facts relative to the central and largest city of the Mexican republic, and delineated, fully as these limited pages will admit, those disturbing and destroying influences which ramify from this geographical and political centre to the outlying states. It must be ac- knowledged that one of these destroying influences has, more particularly since the construction of the republic, materially diminished throughout those states not immediately connected - ,'ith the capital. In those states, the power of the priesthood, onet< supreme, has been gradually but steadily d^dng out, by which process, the power of the city of Mexico in the affaii's of the nation has, at last, l)eeome so reduced, that ^vide-spread revolution maintained l)y those outlpng states, is, it would 148 appear, about to triumpli over the capital and the neighboring districts which are under its immediate control, and which constitute altogether, what I denominate the Pagaist Distkict OF THE Hepullic OF Mexico. An account of the extent and the characteristics of this Pagan district may be interesting and instructive at the present time. The following is the re- sult of my personal observation : THE PAGAN DISTRICT OF THE EEPUBLIC OF MEXICO. The section of countiy comprised within what may be termed the Pagan district of the republic of Mexico, is immediately contiguous to the city of Mexico, and its geographical limits, which are not very extensive, may be as distinctly defined on the maps as those of any state or territory in the rej)ublic. An accm'ate conception of the locality and extent of this district may be formed by taking the map of Mexico and drawing a line from Perote south, to Tehuacan, on the northern side of the state of Oajaca; thence Avest through the state of Puebla to Amolaque, then circling through the state of Guerrero to Zacualpan, thence north along the eastern limit of the state of Michoaean to Queretaro, thence east through the state of Que- retaro to Zimapan, and then down the western boundary of the state of Vera Cruz to Perote. These boundaries comprehend an area equal to the state of South Carolina, and they enable one to comprehend in how small a space, as coiapared with the whole country, are concen- trated the evils of three hundred and forty years of a false re- ligion and a wicked government. This is the district, originally the most thickly settled by the Spaniards, and the people were, consequently, more degraded and oppressed than those of any other portion of the country. It is the most populous district of the republic, and here also lies the principal wealth of the church, and its power, though disputed in some localities even within the limits named, is, in the main, supreme. The evide:- ' the rule of the church is to be seen in the state of societ} ," .^ 6 appearance of the inhabitants, the number and style of the re- ligious edifices, and tlie ]>erformances of priests and peojile. If a mother has a daughter whom she loves, she keeps the sharp- 149 est look-out for her ghostly confessor and priestly guide ; and the Dnefta system of watching the women of old Spain was never carried out so strictly as it is in the central district of Mexico. As a general rule, it may be said that any woman whose virtue or position is worth preserving, is never beyond the reach of a rigid surveillance five minutes out of the twenty- four hours. At the church doors and in the highways, you are pained and disgusted by the sight of the lame, blind, deformed, and diseased, standing, sitting, and lying, some on litters, and demanding charity " for the love of God, your mother's milk, and the Most Holy Vii'gin Maria." Funciones solemnes, or other religious performances may be witnessed in the principal towns and cities almost daily. You enter a church and invarial^ly encounter a motley crowd, ex- haling unseemly odors, and dispensing small vermin on every side. There is a small sprinkling of well-dressed, well-appear- ing individuals found in these gatherings; but filth, disease, deformity, brutishness, and abject heathenism are the prevail- ing characteristics of these assemblages and processions. It is impossil^le for an individual of respectable education and ordi- nary delicacy of feeling and moral sense — whether man or woman — to join a crowd in one of their Pagodas or Jos temples, called churches, without feeling ineffable disgust. No one will deny that these structures, especially in the largest cities, evince an imposing and noble order of architecture ; and here all that is good, respecta]:>le, and decent, ends. Some of the cathedrals and principal churches have considerable solid gold and silver about their altars ; but the prevailing style of. the interior fit- ting up is of the tinsel, flash, and tawdry order, interspersed with miserable daubs of paintings and images, intending to rep- resent Jesus Christ, saints, virgins, and martyrs. The style of raiment borne by these figures varies from a wisp of cloth, such a ' ^s worn by the wild Indians, to that of full military, fancy dress, or Indian costume — a mixture to suit vulgar, vitiated nr 1 • • . . tastes, and mmister to superstitious feelings. This is the inte- rior aspect of the Mexican Church at the present day, and it must be said that of late years there has been a slight improve- ment. Fifty years ago, there was in one of the churches in the 150 city of Mexico an image of the most ghastly and horrid appear- ance, intended to represent the Saviour. Its eyes were worked by wires, and the large, blood-shot balls were made to roll in the most frightful manner whenever it was thought necessary to inspire terror. This hellish contrivance proved too much for the sensil)ilities of a portion of the worshippers, especially women enciente and of a nervous temperament. Several cases of insanity occurring under its influence, it was finally removed, and now lies, with other rubbish, in an old stone house in the village of Guadalotipa, near the capital. The strange heathen mummery, a species of Nagualism, that passes in Mexico under the name of Chi-istianity, may be ac- counted for in the fact that the adventurous, conquering Span- iards, superstitious, fanatical, and vicious themselves, encoun- tered in Mexico a superstitious, fanatical, but comparatively mrtuous people. The S])aniards found the mythological sys- tem of the natives all-powerful, paramount, in fact, to every thing else in their social organization ; nevertheless, fathers of the Catholic Church, with the sword in one hand and the cross in the other, made light work of forcing the masses to undergo the slight formal process considered necessary to release them from what they termed the darkness of paganism, and bring them under the benign, purifying, and revivifying influences of Chris- tianity. But now nearly three and a half centuries have passed, and it is found that the Christianity introduced into Mexico by the Spaniards has adapted itself to the paganism of the natives, and obliterated their original virtues by engrafting upon them the worst vices of the conquering race. In this Pao-an district we now find the heart of the Mexican nation wasting away at last in the rot of ages, and yet, in its wild and expiring pulsations, endeavoring to sustain the flow of vice and corruption throughout the land. Here, beginning with the priest, and ending with the political and financial intrigante^ we find a concentration of corruption and diabolism which will continue to fulfil its mission of evil until blotted from existence by something of a higher, superior nature. With here and there a noble exception, all above the poor la- bormg Indian, who is but little above the binite, are worse 151 than useless. There are but two classes here. One is com- posed of honest fools, without energy or individuality enough to make their mark for good or evil ; the other class is made up of vicious villains, ready for any species of villainy. All the ignorance, heathenism, vices, and worst propensities of the Spanish and Indian races combined, have settled in the form of a deleterious sediment on that fairest portion of God's crea- tion, the Pagan district of Mexico ; and there does not exist among the masses inhabiting this district, except in the women, neither in their religion, their politics, or their social system — in short, there is nothing in their physical or moral construc- tion upon which to rest a hope for improvement or reform. Here the line between the central or Pagan district of Mex- ico and the outlying states is distinctly drawn. In the lat- ter we find a people less imbued with superstition, less demoralized, and both Indian and mixed races, of a superior natui^e mentally and physically. These are the liberals of what is called the republic of Mexico. They form the liberal party of the country, and in this party the germ of progress, improvement, good government, and usefulness, has taken root. This is the party which, for more than three years, has been continually rising up at all points in the out- lying Mexican states, and, actuated by the most thoroughly patriotic motives, they have nobly and courageously met their oppressors at every point, and followed them to their strong- holds, determined that the revolution shall never cease until those evil combinations which exist in the Pagan district are completely broken up, and their power to oppress the country is entu'ely destroyed. MITLA LETTER. City of Mexico, July 1, 1859. I have created a sensation, and my arrival in this city was the cause. Rumor had stated in advance that an American was en route^ clothed with some official character to the Mira- 152 mon government; and being tlie only American who liad-ar. rived in this city from abroad since the Tacubaya naassapre, and since the recognition of the Juarez government ])y the Ameri- can minister, the excital)le portion of the community was all agog to obtain a knowledge of the sti-anger and his business. Some characterized him as an envoy or commissioner, some as the agent of filihusteros^ and it really seemed as though the more superstitious part of the community regai'ded him the forerunner of an earthquake. The newly-arrived American citizen had the extreme satisfixction of overhearing, on several occasions, the probability of his arrest discussed ; and once, while quietly eating his dinner in a restam-ant, he heard it stated that the said American citizen had actually been ar- rested and imprisoned. Though every exertion was made to ascertain whether my arrival was likely to endanger the indepencia de la repuUica^ and a strict watch was kept on all my movements for several days, no overt act was committed. I entered the tiger's den ) / (^Palacia JVatiwial), took out a paper of security, visited churches and other public l)uildings, mingled with high officiat- ing pagans, militaiy officers, soldiers, and people of every sort and grade, without let or hindrance. These particulars are given in evidence of the feverish state of the public mind in this city relative to every thing of American name or nature. All regular correspondence between this city and Vera Cruz having been broken up, and reliable information being scarce, I was ])lied with all sorts of questions, l)y natives and for- eierners, as to what the American minister and the Juarez govermnent were doing in Vera Cruz, and what might be the ultimate purposes of the United States. The larger portion of those who approached me were favorably inclined to the liberal cause, but I was struck by the universal desire ex- pressed that the American minister had visited the city of Mexico before taking any step in the matter. His recognition of the Juarez government was generally approved, but each one seemed to have a pkm of his own, and wished the recog- nition coupled with certain stipulations that would bring to 153 bear certain influences on particular interests. Every one liere has a plan of liis own. It is tlie greatest country for plans under the sun, owing, perhaps, to something peculiar in the atmosphere. One prominent individual inquired whether Mr. McLane was a man of fortune. I replied, " I believe he is — w^hy do you ask r "I was thinking," said the gentleman, "how he might have been influenced by oflfers that would have been made to him by interested parties here, had he visited this city before recoo-- nizing the Juarez government." " What kind of offers do you mean ?" I demanded. " Pecuniary offers ; offers of a hacienda, a sugar estate, laud speculation, city property, or something of that sort," was the repl)^ " Do you mean to say that this is the course the party here would have adopted with the American minister ?" " Of course I do," remarked the gentleman ; " this is the way all these things are done here." Too true. According to all the evidence before me, this is the way matters have been arranged with most of the foreign ministers since Mexico became a republic. It now appears as though the prompt, bold, and unbiased action of the American minister at Vera Cmz, would prove the most successful piece of American diplomacy that has occurred lor many years. It is universally acknowledged that, if the policy of the United States, now so decidedly marked out, had been adopted years ago, the present evil state of affairs would never have been known. But it is, doubtless, for the best, that things are as they are. The evils under which Mexico suffers are now fully developed ; the principles which actuate the different parties are becoming understood by all the world, and better than all, the shoe pinches now where it never pinched before. Capitalists and mercantile men of every grade, many of them thoroughly unscrupulous, not caring how many throats are cut, how much blood is made to flow, or how rank the cor- ruption, provided they get their cent, per cent., are now winc- ing under the pressure, and for the first time, their interests are driving them into the belief that law and order should be sus- tained, and tliat to live iiere ^vitli any comfort, safety, and profit, pronimciamentos and revolutions must end. Tlie dis- tinct and decided action of the United States minister, so un- expected, l)ecause so different fi'om the policy heretofore pur- sued, has wrought out this great change. Notwithstanding the English and French ministers are, to all appearances, upheld by their respective governments, the p?'esti'(/e and influence of these oflicials are destroyed. From the day the recognition of the constitutional government by the American minister became known in this city, every art and device that the leaders of the church faction, aided by Satan and the English and French ministers, could suggest, were adopted, to nullify its effect, but all to no 2:)urpose. The constitutional government and the American minister at Vera Cruz, pay no attention to the des- perate and spasmodic efforts of the faction here, but, according to report, are deliberately negotiating a treaty. The stipula- tions of a treaty, said to have been framed by the Juarez gov- ernment and the American minister, received in this city a few days since, caused considerable excitement. Though well satis- fied that there is no truth in the report, that the constitutional government has stipulated that 6000 armed Americans shall enter the country, it is, nevertheless, interesting to notice the effect of this report. The bare thought of armed Americans coming into the country strikes the army, clergy, and Spaniards with terror, while it is generally deprecated by the masses of the Mexican people. The latter prefer that American power and influence should extend through peaceful channels, and do not wish to see an American army within their borders, either as fiiends or foes. But many of the foreign residents, except the Spaniards, desire armed intervention by the United States, and that im- mediately. Some, under the pressure of a belief in the " mani- fest destiny" of the United States, rather than any particular desire of their own, advocate the annexation of the whole country to the great northern republic. Others think an anned police, composed of from five to ten thousand Ameri- cans, would regulate matters, while others suggest that the United States, England, and France should take the country 155 in liaud under a tripartite agreement. Those foreigners who have resided here for a long time do not express the slightest confidence in the ability of either party to maintain order and regenerate Mexico. They came to a country, the fundamental law of which is that the religion of the Mexican Ghnrcli only shall be tolerated. They have lived here for years, witnessing the chronic disorders of tlie country, and at the same time ac- cumulating great interests. Now that the result every intelli- gent mind might look for sooner or later has arrived, they are ready for any kind of intervention that will save them harm- less. This is all very natural, but there is one point in this matter that astonishes me more than all else. It is that these foreigners, who really aj)pear to be intelligent and well dis- posed, scarcely allude to the Mexican Church as the great cause of evil in Mexico. Though not participating in its paganism, corruption, vice, nonsense, and flummery, daily contact with all this appears to have made them callous to the fact that the chief and too successful effort of this vicious and retrogressive church has been to demoralize the people and crush their liberal aspirations. These foreigners appear to be blind to tlie existence of the real evil in the first place, and in the next place, they do not take into consideration the fact that, as yet, the liberal party has not had sufficient power to purge the country of this evil. The opinion of these foreigners, therefore, I consider of no great value. According to present appearances, the Mexican problem is working itself out thoroughly, truthfully, and safely. It is necessary for the United States to sustain the liberal party, make treaties with it which provide for fi'eedom of religion, a moderate tariff and free commercial intercourse, and hold the country to these, without regard to the retrogressive faction, the foreign ministers, or any one else ; and in due time, Mexico will be one of the most peaceable, prosperous, and happy countries in the world. MiTLA. 156 PUBLIC OPINION ON MEXICO. Ill the previous numbers of tlie Mexican Papees we have given, in exposition of existing public opinion on Mexico, in Europe and tlie United States, First A paper from the Meviie des Deux Mondes^ published -in Paris. Second. An article from the London Saturday Review. Third. Extracts from the Atlantic IfontMy^ published in Boston; extracts from i\\Q]^eiv Yorh Tribuiie ; an extract fi-oni the speech of the Hon. Frank Blair, and items of correspond- ence from the JSf^eto Yorh Trihmie and the Pldladelplda North American. It is curious to note the entire unanimity of statement and sentiment which characterizes these pu]>lished remarks on Mex- ico, gathered as they are from localities so widely apart, and so decidedly dissimilar. By this eclectic method, we are en- abled to ascertain with accuracy the estimation in which Mex- ico is held by the leading nations of the world. We now inquire, is. public opinion on Mexico, as it exists with these nations, correct ? It is safe to assume that public opinion is more frequently \vi*ong than right. In the present condition of the world, public opinion is more generally founded uj)on error than upon truth. Error is violence to nature, hence we have nothing Ijut a succession of contests, both moral and physical, induced by an erroneous and vitiated public opinion. Truth already pervades nature. Truth has nothing to gain in nature. Truth conserves, error destroys. Public opinion quite as frequently proves itself de- serving of contempt and execration as it does of confidence and support. When Coli^aibus sailed from Palos on his first voy- age to discover a direct and short passage to the East Indies, public opinion did not favor the enterprise, and one of the principal reasons for this disfavor was the l)elief that the dar- ing navigator would sail so far down hill that he never could sail back again. At the present time, it is pulilic opinion that negro slavery can be estaldished in Mexico. Public opinion is just as much in error on this jioint as it was relative to naviga- 157 tion iu tlie days of Columbus and tlie particular liazard he was likely to run in taking Ms course for tlie west over an unknown ocean. It occasionally occurs that a single individual, as in the case of Columbus, with no counsel except such as ho draws from his own deep and tiTithful inspirations, will encounter the public opinion of the whole world and come off victorious. Louis Napoleok seized power in defiance of public opinion ; he has consolidated his power in spite of public opinion ; and in the development of liberal, progressive ideas, he has disap- pointed and overcome the puldic opinion of all nations. We believe that the present ruinous political conflict going on in the United States is based on a vitiated public opinion. It is a contest over a hypothetical negro going into hypothetical regions, and constitutes the fancy stock of a swarm of specula- ting politicians. The existing public opinion on Mexico, to which we have made such extended reference, we conceive to be as erroneous as any of the silly, mischievous, and exploded dogmas of other days. It is worthy of note that this public opinion on Mexico thus set forth is l3ased on prejudice of race. This sentiment is remarkably distinct in all the articles and extracts we have published, and it is a curious feature of the times that the /?-(g^/'(9-philantliropists of the United States should be foremost, by word and deed, in proving their hatred of the Mexican race. The causes of the erroneous views that prevail with regard to Mexico,' like the evils under which the country suffers, are co-existent with the discovery and conquest of the country by the Spaniards. In the first place, we regard nearly all the ancient history of Mexico extant, as false history f and it may be said that Prescott, in our day, has burnished up, and given glitter and point to erroneou-^ Mexican histoiy of the olden time. No one has followed up the exaggerations, incon- sistencies, and palpable errors of the early Spanish historians more faithfully than Piiescott. No one has done more to cloud the perceptions of the present generation, or to throw obstacles in the way of a just comprehension of the Mexican * We believe Las Casas' writings contain more truth than is to be found in all other known Sjiianish history of Spanish Amerioa. 158 people, their present condition, and tlie nature of the conflict now raging in that country, than our own favorite historian. This assertion may appear presumptuous, l)ut the evidence will eventually appear. Prescott's well-known honesty, industry, singleness of purpose, combined with his ability as a Avriter, have giv^en to his '■'' Conquest of Mexico'''' — which is nothing more than a beautiful, his-h-wrouijht romance — all the weisrht of truthful, matter of fact history. Prescoti^ concedes the ehristianization of Mexico, and his writings are eulogized by Spain. On these premises alone it is safe to conclude that our standard work on the Conquest is unreliable as a history. The author of that work never visited Mexico. Had he personally studied the country of which he treats, it is more than probable that lie would have brought forth a very different work. But our historian states that his principal source of information in Mexico was Senor Calderon de la Barca, the first minister sent out by Spain to the Mexican repuT)lic. Without intend, ing the least disrespect to that gentleman, we will state that, in our opinion, Mr. Prescott went to the wrong party for ma- terial suitable to his work. A Gad m pin in Mexico may be, in some instances, instrumental in furnishing records, etc., which, in themselves, are facts ; but that the author of a histor- ical work of such importance should avail himself of the ser. vices of an agent, incompetent by birth and education to act impartially in the matter, must be considered an error in judg- ment, to say the least. Prescott was of too gentle a nature, too delicate and feminine in his mental composition, to write the true history of Spanish conquest and rule on the American continent. That history, faithfully and truthfully written, would present the most infernal epoch in human affairs that ever took place in the annals of time. In that terril)le display of the worst passions of man and its awful results upon inno- cent and defenceless nations, there is nothing in ancient or modern times that can compare with it. It seems as though the insatiate demons of fire, rapine, and murder were let loose up<^n this fair portion of creation to torment, devastate, and annihilate without stint or measure. The evil of their ways remained after them, and the blighted remnants of Spanish- 159 American peoples now struggling in the painful tliroes of in- ternal sufferino;, are but endeavorino; to cast off the lins-erinir ills fastened upon them by their QJivlstlaii conquerors. We believe, however, that new light is beginning to l^reak upon this great subject. It is certainly exciting increased at- tention, and quite recently, we have, to our great surprise and gratification, detected high authorities telling the truth relative to Spanish America, we are almost inclined to believe, inad- vertently. An instance at hand is the London Quarterly Re- view for October, which contains a very interesting paper on the Brazilian Empire. This paper commences with the fol- lowing remarks : " The early history of South America* must forever stand out pre-eminent in the records of human wickedness. If the discovery of the New World is the great romance of history, its settlement and conquest form one of its deepest tragedies, for the subjugation of some of the finest regions of the globe, by the most advanced and powerful nation of Europe in the fifteenth century, unfor- tunately fell to the lot of men upon whom the multiplying villainies of nature swarmed in unwonted profusion ; and the countries which long formed the transatlantic empire of Spain have, from the day on which she first planted her foot in the New "World to the present time, never ceased to present the most painful contrast between the benevolent dispositions of Providence for the hap- piness of its creatures and the power of man to counteract them." This is certainly strong, clear, and pointed language, and it fully sustains our publication in one of its fundamental propo- sitions. "We have also another high authority at hand, no less than the North British Review for November, which, in an article containing much valuable information, and entitled " The Spanish- American Repidjlics^'' touches upon the great cavse of evil in those republics. Speaking of the Spanish- American countries, this Review says : " We find in them the elements of the same antagonistic parties as have long been contending in the older Catholic countries ,of Europe ; a priestly party, j-^alous of all liberty, and striving to bring the community more than ever under * European writers generally, in speaking of the South American continent, South America, South American Republics, etc., usually refer to the whole of Spanisli America, including Mexico and Central America. They appear to regard the northern boundary of Mexico as the dividing line between North and South America. 160 the influence of Rome ; and, on the other hand, a party struggUng for freedom, giving utterance to noble sentiments, that shine the brighter for the dark firma- ment on which they gleam, and encouraging hope for a better day than those republics have as yet seen." If tliese views could but j^revail, and be acted upon by en- lightened nations, tlien, indeed, a brigliter day would dawn upon these republics. It is encouraging to see the subject treated thus by the high-toned and powerful British publica. tions from which we have quoted. The article in the North British Review has considerable to say relative to the struggle between the liberal and church party in Chili, and frequent reference is made to the writings of J. T. Lastaeeia, an able Chilian lawyer and statesman, who has made himself famous in his own country by his powerful advocacy of civil and re- ligious liberty. There are four powerful causes that combine to create a false public opinion on Mexico and the Spanish- American countries o^enerallv. These are — First. Prejudice of race. Second. Erroneous history. Third. The belief that Christianity has ever prevailed in Spanish- America. Fourth. The church, or retrogressive party, throughout the Spanish- American countries, being too exclusively in possession of the means of manufacturing public opinion. It will be conceded that the most powerful of these causes which work adversely to a sound and correct public opinion on Spanish America, is prejudice of race. The other adverse causes which we have enumerated in this matter are artificial, weak, and transitory, compared Avith that deep-rooted preju- dice which, from its uncharitable, bigoted, and destructive na- ture, arrays color against coloi*, blood against blood, the strong against the weak, the rj,cli against the poor. Here, indeed, we have an " irrepressible conflict" which rages with such intensity all the world over, that the struggle of politicians in the United States, based on an assumed "irrepressible conflict" be- tween two systems of labor, sinks into insignificance. This element of evil in the public mind, arising from prejudice of 161 race, can only be removed by tlie more perfect working of what are known as Cliristian principles, professed by tlie lead- ing nations of the world, who, like tlie Jews of old, consider themselves the elect, and, under Providence, the means of working out a happy destiny for the whole human family. IS MEXICAN NATIONALITY DESTINED TO BE EXTINGUISHED ? Ujstless some sudden change takes place in the politics of the world, then, indeed, the ethnological, religious, political, and financial forces, which now combine and work together harmoniously for the destruction of the Mexican nation, will do their perfect work, and the evil star that has guided the destinies of Mexico is fore-ordained to prevail, even at no very distant day. When we review all those malign influences opposed to the prosperity, the happiness, the very existence of Mexico — when we look upon the united front they present, and comprehend their power, consolidated by time, prestige, and union, it would seem as though every effort in oj)position to this power of evil is but useless labor for an unavailable end ; and as though an inscrutable Providence required the sacrifice of the Sj)anish- American race, in fulfilment of its own divine pur- poses. But every truthfid mind must, in reality, revolt at such a conviction. The evil passions of man may bring about this dire result, and if so, then those who declare that the principles of common humanity are beginning to regulate the affairs of nations must be considered crack-l>rained en- thusiasts — talkers of sound and not sense — and that the moral tone of all the leading communities in the world is subservient to what appears to be an immediate material interest. When we review the present condition of the Spanish- American countries generally, with reference to the bearing of 162 this great question upon tlieir various nationalities, the Brazil- ian Empire stands out from tlie dark and forbidding picture in bold, colossal, and pleasing proportions. That empire, origin- ally a dependency of Portugal, was, under the rule of that coun- try, reduced to a condition, more abject even than any of the Spanish- American colonies. In no portion of the American continent was the slave-trade carried on so extensively as with Brazil. Early in the present century, and before the severance of the colony ii'om Portugal, it is estimated that fifty thousand blacks were annually shipped from the coast of Africa to Brazil. It is, however, proper to state that, for a long period, this trade, 1)y means of the factory at Lisbon, was in the hands of the English. It may also be said that in no part of the world was the system of slavery attended with greater barbarity than in Brazil. It was considered cheaper in the ^plantations to use up a slave in five or six years, and buy another, than to take care of him. The bigoted and intolerant Roman Catholic Church of the sixteenth century — the curse of Spanish America — was sus- tained with greater vigor, and more pomp and splendor than in Italy. The general system on which Portugal ruled her vast de- pendency created a stupendous commercial, trading, and man- ufacturing monopoly. The article on the ''''Brazilian Empire^'' in the London Quarterly Mevieto, Octol)er, 1860, to which we are indebted for some valuable facts, states : " All intercourse with foreigners was prohibited by the most rigid laws ; and if a relaxation of jealousy was occasionally permitted in favor of foreign nations in close alliance with the mother country, the j^assengers and crews of such ships as were allowed to enter the waters of Rio, or any of the Brazilian ports, were placed under the surveillance of a military guard. The colonists were not allcnved to inoduce any article tvhich the mother coun- try could suj^yply. Even Humbolt, in travelling in South America for purely scientific purposes, was not allowed to en- ter any portion of the Brazilian em|)ire." In short, all those prominent evils that have so afilicted Mexi- co, and, we may say, all other Spanish- American countries, had 163 still deeper root, if such a thing were possible, in the Portu- guese dependency of Brazil. But now, how changed! The abject dependence of Brazil continued down to an early period of the present century, when the world-moving opera- tions of NAPOLEo:i!f had the effect to vitalize that country, and create such remarkable changes, both there and in the mother country, that in 1822 the independence of Bi^azil was suddenly and almost peacefully accomplished. In 1824, the same year that witnessed the formation of the federal constitution of Mexico, the present constitution of Brazil (with the exception of some slight changes recently made) was established. This constitution provides for a hereditary, constitutional monarchy of the most liberal character. Judicial proceedings are pub- lic. It provides for the habeas-corpus act as well as the insti- tution of trial by jury. The legislative power is vested in the genei-al assembly. It consists of a senate and chamber of deputies. For the latter, every male citizen of full age, if he possess an income of one hundred milreis (fifty dollars), is en- titled to vote ; but monks and domestic servants are excluded from the franchise. Senators for life are nominated by j^rovin- cial electors in triple lists, from which three candidates are submitted to the emperor, who selects one ; the principles of popular election and crown nomination are thus combined in the constitution of the second estate. Although Brazil does not possess the materials of a territorial peerage, it has con- stituted a second chamber as an element of vital importance in a popular government. Nobility in Brazil is not hereditary ; it is conferred for public services and civil merit alone. There are four titles — those of marquis, count, viscount, and baron. The emperor possesses a legislative suspensive veto only. The dispensation of justice, although perhaps not perfect, or free from some suspicion of corruption, is conducted with becoming solemnity, and is, on the whole, said to be satisfac- tory. One of the legal institutions of the country merits par- ticular notice. Courts of conciliation are established through- out the empii-e ; and no cause can be brought into any of the regular courts of law without a certificate from the district officer, that the parties to the suit have previously appeared 164 before him and endeavored to accommodate their differences. We commend this law to our legal reformers, as it must in- evitably diminish immensely the amount of unnecessary litiga- tion. The country is divided into provinces, and there is a legisla- tive assembly for each province. The presidents of the prov- inces are appointed by the emperor. There is no proscription on account of color, and though legally the blacks are eligible to office, they do not aspire to prominence in public or private life, but rest quiet and contented in the conviction that they occupy a position fully equal to what nature intended it should be. The religion of the state is Roman Catholic; hut the principle upon ivhich the Roman Catholic Church is ha-secl is altogether af)jiired in Brazil. Religious toleration is one of the funda- mental p>rinciples of the constitution. All have full and entire lihertij to profess and exercise any religion whatever^ and to erect religious edifices. The provincial assemblies have full power to legislate for ecclesiastical objects. On several occa- sions, the general assembly of Brazil has enacted laws to re- strain the interference and curtail the authority of the Pope. At one remarkable crisis a complete separation from Rome was imminent, which would have been hailed, it is believed, with general satisfaction by the people. There cannot be a doubt but that the ties which bind this country to the Papacy are now of the slightest character, and might, with very little provocation, be snapped asunder any day. The religion of the Church of Rome has no root in the land ; the priesthood are said to be diminishing year by year, and to have been recently so reduced in number that the government was under the neces- sity of sending to Italy for a fresh supply to keep up the reg- ular ministrations of the church. The institution of slavery in Brazil, under the operation of the constitution and public opinion, is in process of gradual and certain extinction. In 1850 measures were adopted for the abolition of the slave-trade, and, in 1853, there was not a single disembarkation. As a proof that the Brazilians have thoroughly abandoned the traffic in human flesh, it may be 165 stated tliat a slaver taken, in January, 1856, into Baliia and condemned, liad touclied at five places along the coast previous to lier detection, but had not succeeded in selling a single slave. The condition of the slaves is highly creditable to the country. By the Brazilian law, a slave can, at any time, appear before a magistrate, have his price fixed, and purchase his freedom. There is a system of colonization in progress intended to sup- ply the gradually diminishing quantity of slave labor, and the statesmen of the empire are said to be devoting much time and attention to discover the best means of promoting immigra- tion. Germany, Portugal, the Azores, and Madeira are con- stantly supplying laborers, attracted by the prospect which Brazil holds out to them, and there seems to be no doubt that the free African population will eventually fully suffice for those occupations in a tropical country for which the white race is necessarily unfitted. And now we come to a point in this matter which we particularly recommend to the attention of the abolitionists of the United States, and their brethren, the apostles of the " irrepressible conflict" doctrine. For more than three hundred years, the entire agricultural and manufacturing interests of Brazil, from north to south, from east to west, have been based on slave labor. The insti- tution of slavery has entered more thoroughly into the indus- trial system of Brazil than it has into that of the United States. Natural causes favor the system of slave labor in Brazil more than they do in the United States, and though the number of slaves in the former country reaches 3,000,000, the institution of slavery is steadily and surely coming to an end in that empire. And yet, though freedom of speech is allowed, and the press is free, they never had an anti-slavery society in Brazil, nor an anti-slavery journal. They never had any abolition agitators like Wm. Lloyd GAERisoisr, Wendell Phillips, etc., nor anti-slavery preachers like the Rev's Cheever and Beecher, nor politicians of the Wm. H. Seward stamp, to create sectional parties, and inaugurate a bloody, fratricidal strife. The " u-repressible conflict" doctrine was never known in Brazil, and yet the institution of slavery in that country is peacefully yielding to the system of free labor, in obedience to , 166 natural law, and the powerful, undivided pressure of public opinion. And tlms it would have been in the United States, but for that development of practical infidelity which, from the want of faith, arrogates to itself the attributes of deity, and though claiming to act under the higher law, virtually sets the higher law at defiance by attempting to take it into its own hands. The Emperor of Brazil is a noble representative of the house of Braganza, and under the constitution which he faith- ftdly administers, the country is making prodigious strides in intellectual and material advancement. It is true that, as yet, the standard of Brazilian morality is not of the highest order, but the country is in a transition state. Education, intelli- gence, and civilization are steadily spreading over the land. The public credit is almost equal to that of the most respecta- ble European governments, and a country of which, the first year or two of its independence, the cui'rency consisted chiefly of copper and the notes of an insolvent bank, may now present itself as a borrower in the capitals of any of the moneyed states of Europe, with the assurance of a favorable reception. The population is steadily increasing. A large and most valuable trade has sprung up ; and there is scarcely a civilized countiy that does not gladly exchange its manufactures and commodities for the productions of Brazil. The commerce of the country rather more than doubles every ten years. Herewith is a table of the commercial exchanges for the past ten years : Total Commercial Imports. Exports. Exchanges. 1849-0 $29,582,500 $27,516,000 $57,341,000 1850-1 38,459,000 33,890,000 72,340,000 1851-2 46,430,000 33,320,000 79,750,000 1852-3 43,666,000 ' 36,822,000 80,488,000 1853-4 42,919,000 38,421,000 81,340,000 1854-5 42,585,000 45,349,000 87,934,000 1855-6 44,200,300 47,216,000 91,476,300 1850-7 62,613,000 57,273,000 119,886,000 1857-8 65,131,500 49,099,500 114,131,000 1858-9 63,634,000 53,371,000 117,025,000 The population of the Brazilian empire is 8,677,800, and it 16T contains within its borders 2,973,406 square miles. An esti- mate of tlie colossal ^proportions of this empii^e can only be formed by comparing it witli some of tlie great countries of tlie eartlu Euro]3ean Russia has an area of 2,142,-504 square miles, and the remainder of Europe occupies 1,687,626. The United States possess an area of 2,990,166 square miles, Brazil, therefore, has considerably more territory than European Russia, nearly double that of the remainder of Europe, and but little less than the entire American Union. Here, then, we have a vast and magnificent region, lavishly endowed by nature, sparsely inhabited at present, it is true, yet making wonderful progress in all that constitutes national greatness and power. If, in giving this succinct outline of the Brazilian empire, we have digressed from our principal theme, it is to institute a comparison between that country and Mexico ; and to hold up the former in all its magnificent proportions and rapid advance- ment, as an interesting and instructive study for our own peo- ple, and in opposition to the despicable idea, so prevalent, that something like a curse rests upon the Spanish- American race on this continent, and that the Anglo-Saxon race, under Provi- dence, is to be the instrument for the execution of this curse, by sweeping those despised nationalities from the face of the earth. This idea that God hates any portion of the human fam- ily on account of color, race, inferiority, or misfortune, is a Sa- tanic sentiment that has been incorporated into the political creed, and we might almost say, the religious faith of the Amer- ican nation, North as well as South. Under this idea, national crimes are committed sufficient to sink us as a nation, and it is well to inquire whether we are not now absolutely sinking by reason of its evil influence and weight. Forty years ago, the masses of the Bazilian people were in that abject condition l^ut little above the brute. Now, these same masses are making such rapid progress in all that tends to national greatness, that in the ordinary course of events, they will, at no very remote period, command the admiration and respect of the most enlightened peoples, and rank among the leading Powers of the world. 168 Brazil started on lier new political career the same year as Mexico. The population of the former ccmntry is but little more than that of the latter, and the characteristics of race in both countries are similar. In climate and physical features there is not sufficient difference between Brazil and Mexico, to create any marked dissimilarity of character in the tw^o nations. Brazil started with a constitutional monarchy : Mexico adopted the democratic form of government. We do not propose to argue the point as to which of these two forms of government is the best for the Spanish- American people. At the present moment, Ave wish to point out the great fact, the most impor- tant fact of all, namely, that the foundation of the government of Brazil was civil and religious liberty^ w^hile that of Mexico was civil and religioJts despotism of the most degrading and despotic character. Now compare the condition of the two countries. One affords an astonishing, stupendous example of progress : the other lies prostrate, wretched, and bleeding, with scarcely strength to profit by the victory over the enemies of her freedom, which has recently been so gloriously won. Can any one be l)lind to the real cause of the immense difter- ence that now exists between Mexico and Brazil ? We jour- neyed, some years ago, along the Rhone where it divides Swit- zerland fi'om Savoy. Riding on the banquette of the diligence, w^e noticed that on the Swiss side of the river, the people, houses, grounds, etc., looked flourishing, neat, and comfortable ; while on the Savoy side, every thing had a slovenly, rack-and- ruin appearance. In our wonder that so much difference could exist in a region divided by a stream which, in places, seemed but a few yards in width, we inquired the reason of the con- ductor. " Voila le padre,^^ said the conductor, with a French- man's shrug, and significantly pointing to an individual in cler- ical hat and raiment walking on the Savoy side of the river. This was the reply we got ; and it was quite sufficient. Swit- zerland was in the enjoyment of freedom in religion, while Savoy groaned under priestly despotism. Brazil is the only country in Spanish America wdiose fundamental law has sus- tained religious toleration, and she is the only bright example of advancement among those degenerated and unhappy nations. 169 " Voila le jyadre^'' we say, wlien we point out the first and great cause of difference between Brazil and Mexico. The history of Brazil is full of instruction, especially to the statesman. The American people, pai'ticularly in the North, are accustomed to vaunt their rapid advancement as something miraculous in the history of nations ; and to attribute such ad- vancement to the fact that the forefathers, taken in hand l)y a special Providence, and placed on these shores, were of a higher order in a religious and political point of view than any class of men that ever sought to better their fortunes by migrating from one land to another. We do not dispute this assumption, but we point to the fact that now, while our own glorious confederacy, founded by our own worshipped forefathers, is crumbling and falling — rocking, reeling, and yielding in all its towering, giant strength to ceaseless and in- numerable fanatical blows from fanatical pigmies, the imme- diate descendants of those same nation-creating forefathers — while this work of national destruction is going on at a fearful rate, we see looming up on the southern half of this continent a colossal empire, founded on a nationality we denounce and despise, but whose evident prosperity and rapid growth equal, if they do not surpass our own, when we consider the defective elements which composed Brazilian nationality when the ex- periment of a new government was commenced. How is it that this nationality has so suddenly and so immensely im- proved ? In reply to this question, we give the words of SouTHEY, who, in his history, says, " Long left to chance, it is by individual industry and enterprise, and by the operation of the common laws of nature and society^ that this empire has risen and flourished, extensive as it is, and mighty as it must one day become ; for its first colonists were ignoble men, carry- ing on an obscure warfare, the consequences of which have been greater and will ])e more durable than those produced by the conquests of Alexander and Ciiarlemagt^e." Deny it as we will, we cannot obliterate, no, we cannot mit- igate the fact that though our Declaration of Independence is a perfect declaration of human rights, our written fundamental law is, in one respect, against the " operation of the common 170 laws of nature and society," and under the pretence of remedy- ing tlie great national evil tliat has grown out of that error in our ^vi'itten fundamental law, we do a still greater wrong in this more enlightened age, by deliberately ignoring the " opei'ation of tlie common laivs of nature and society^'' and force an unnat- ural result, which brings dissolution, disorder, and internecine wars, terminatino; at last in national ruin. "Who can tell what race, what nation, what country will be the leading Power on this continent half a centuiy hence ? But to return more directly to the question of Mexican na- tionality. The liberals have just gained a complete victory over the forces of the church, and the constitutional govern- ment is now located in the capital of the republic. This vic- tory comes none too soon. It improves the condition of affairs vastly, but a new season of trial is now before those patriotic Mexicans, whose noble and self-sacrificing struggles have brought about the present happy result. It remains to be seen whether the liberals will be united among themselves, and whether foreign claimants will show any mercy. Let Mexico now be true to herself, and there is reason to hope, that all will l)e well. We have remarked upon the character of the foreign diplo- macy which has heretofore prevailed in Mexico. England has carefully nursed those evils which have abeady come so near destroying Mexican nationality. England has pursued this course in spite of irrefragable evidence that in so doing she was completely annihilating her Mexican interests. The exports to Vera Cruz of British produce and manufac- tures were, in 1856, £887,862 ; 1857, £567,311 ; 1858, £411,831. We have not the figures for 1859 and 1860, but we understand that the amount has dwindled down to an exceedingly low point. In addition to this, there has been little or no interest paid on the debts due to the English, for the past six years ; and, as if to cap the climax, and expose the folly of English policy in Mexico, al)oiit $1,000,000, interest money due to English claimants, which had accumulated in the city of Mex- ico, was, on the 19th day of November, 1860, by force of arms, burglariously abstracted from the vaults of the English 171 legation, by the very government that England had so persist- ently and so powerfully sustained. The active partisanship of Mr. Otway, late English minister to Mexico, in sustaining the church faction, is now a matter of history. It would ap- pear that Mr. Otway was recalled the latter part of 1859, on account of the honest indignation manifested at his course by the English residents of Mexico, engaged in legitimate business. As a curious instance of the thoroughly ])esotted condition of the public mind in England, relative to Mexican affairs, we give the following ; From the London Times. 'A TESTIMONIAL TO MINISTER OTWAY. " On the recent arrival in London of Mr. Otway, her Majesty's late minister plenipotentiary in Mexico, the Mexican-British bondholders presented him with a valuable and elegant testimonial expressive of their gratitude for the assist- ance they had received from him while fultilling his official duties in Mexico, The testimonial consists of a massive silver candelabrimi of ten lights, the stem bearing the lights arising from a triangular base, upon which are allegorical figures representing the services rendered by Mr. Otway under the impersona- tion of Britannia protecting commerce. The figure of Mexico occupies a prom- inent position, and by her side justice holds a sword and scales. A shield ornamented at the side with fruit indigenous to Mexico, bears in raised silver let- ters the inscription : ' Presented by the Mexican British Convention Bondhold- ers to LoFTUs Charles Otway, EsqE., C. B., Her Majesty's Minister Plenipo- tentiary in Mexico, as a token of respect and gratitude for his able support of their rights.' This beautiful candelabrum has been executed by Messrs. Hunt & RosKELL, No. 156 New-Bond street," This is a new way for British capitalists to testify their love for one of their official representatives abroad, who was so active and efficient in bringing ruin u23on their pecuniary in- terests. We have to add, in addition to t\\Q above, that the English government rewarded their late minister with diplo- matic promotion on the continent. ; .'h- The policy that England has pursued toward Mexico is in- explicable, except in the foct that a few interested individ- uals, official and private, control the action of the English government, and iniblic opini )n in England, on Mexican affairs, to the total destruction of the o-eneral and leo-itimate 172 Englisli interests in tliat country. We can liardly expect any v^ery sudden or material cliange in tiie policy of England to- ward Mexico. It is said that an English fleet will soon appear in tlie waters of the Gulf, in order to enforce redress of what England terms grievances. What attitude she will assume to- ward the victorious constitutional government of Mexico, re- mains to be seen. We note the following in the money article of the London Economist, Dec. 22d, 1860: " Mexican bonds have been in rather greater demand to-day, because it is re- garded as impossible that the British government can, witli any regard to its own dignity, suffer such an outrag»e to be perpetrated with impunity, as the forcibly breaking open, by order of the government (if the faction in possession of the city of Mexico can be called a government), of the chest containing $1,000,000 belonging to the bondholders, which was deposited for safety with the British minister, and on which he had fixed his seal." ''''Outrage .^" says the Economist. If England should give Mexico a clean receipt in full of all demands, it would scarcely compensate for the outrages she has committed against Mexico during the past three years. The robbery by Miramon of the $1,000,000 belonging to English bondholders, is not more dis- graceful than the action of the British government in robl)ing the treasury of the constitutional government on the Pacific coast, by means of British ships-of-war, whose principal mis- sion in that quarter appears to be to facilitate and enforce the contraband trade. The recent diplomatic action of France and Spain in Mexico has been scarcely less disastrous to the latter country than has that of England, We are inclined to believe that this ruinous policy of European Powers in Mexico, except Spain, has, in the main, been based on false information from sources deemed re- liable. We conceive this to be the case, more i)articularly with France ; for, considering the independent position in wliich she stands relative to the Mexican republic, it is difficult to imagine what interest the practical and enlightened statesman who ad- ministers the government of the French empire with so much wisdom and success, can have in supporting a policy in Mexico 173 totally opposed to tliat which he so powerfully sustains in Italy. It cannot be said, however, that the present attitude of the European Powers toward Mexico is favorable to the existence of Mexican nationality. But we consider this attitude of the European Powers less hazardous to Mexican nationality than the position our own country appears to be assuming toward the neighboring republic, in consequence of the disastrous po- litical events that have recently occurred within its own bor- ders. The indications are that the North and South intend to continue the struggle over the hypothetical negro in Mexico — to re-enact the bloody Kansas sham on a large scale on our southern borders. In view of what crazy fanatics and unprin- cipled politicians have already accomplished, who can say that they will not be successful in this their last grand scheme ? We shall follow uj) this subject in the next number of the Mexican Papers. VICTOEY ! We have the extreme satisfaction of announcing in the present number of the Mexican Papers, the complete and glorious triumph of the lil^erals in Mexico. Our advices dated city of Mexico, Dec. 28, 18G0, state that the decisive action between the liberal forces under General Gonzales Ortega, and the church army commanded hj Miramon, the former numbering 12,000 men with 80 pieces of artillery, the latter 8,000 men with 40 j)ieces of artillery, took place on the 22d of December, 1860, on the heights of /Scui Miguel Calpulalpan. The battle, which was very bloody, lasted three hours. Mir- amon was completely routed, and, with his generals, fled to the city of Mexico, escaping only with their lives by means of the fleetness of their horses. The liberals captured 4,000 prisoners, all the artillery, and the baggage of the enemy. Great confusion existed in the city of Mexico on the amval 174 of tlie defeated Mieamon and liis officers. A part of tlie church army remaining in the capital wished to defend it to the last, but as they numbered but 2,500 men, and the enemy, some 12,000 strong, being close at hand, they demanded that a capit- ulation should be entered into, if the liberals would grant them their lives. This proposition met with favor, and at the re- quest of MiRAMOic, the Spanish and French ministers, with General Berriozabel and General Ayestarai^^ left in the after- noon to meet General Ortega, and negotiate with him relative to the capitulation of the caj)ital. Mr. La Reintrie, the American charge cV affaires^ was also invited to accompany them, but Mr. La Reintrie, to his honor let it be said, refused to have any thing to do with the matter of making terms for a murderous band of villains who have been plundering the country and butchering the people for the past three years. The commissioners reached Tepeje del Rio^ where General Ortega was (quartered, about midnight. To their proposition for a capitulation, etc., Ortega replied that he should enter into no arrangement wdth the hostile party, and they must sui*- render unconditionally ov fight it out. When the commissioner brought back this determined and energetic reply, the con- sternation of MiRAMON and his adherents was excessive. Mad- dened by their defeat and ^vild with fear, this wretched band of outlaws, attended by about a thousand men, made hasty preparations for flight. On departing from the city they robbed wherever they could lay their hands on any thing of value. They took what remained of the English bondholders' money, some $150,000, each robber going in pell-mell to grab the largest share, and after seizing all they could conveniently, the party fled in great confu'^ion to parts unknoW' n. Thus fell MiRAMON, the \aunted hero and the best-beloved son of the Mexican church — he w]K>m the English and French have sustained and eulogized as " a descendant of two of the finest races in Europe — a general and statesman of noljle and brilliant qualities." How ungrateful in Mira^mon to rob his friends, the English, of their last dollar in Mexico ! The defeated party left the city on the evening of the 24th, 175 and the next day it was occupied by tlie liberal army, to the intense joy of the people, always excepting the ecclesiastics. Bells were rung all day, and in the evening there was a uni- versal illumination. General Ortega immediately issued decrees relating to pub- lic order and the security of property. The first decree was that any one caught in the act of steal- ing should ])e immediately executed, in consequence of which, the next day, two soldiers and three Itperos taken in the act, were hung in the public Plaza. This decided, severe treatment had the desired effect, and the city was at once orderly and secure. The clergy endeavored to instigate opposition to the new order of things, and kept the doors of the churches closed. But finding no one paid any particular attention to their do- ings, they finally sent a deputation to General Ortega to in- quire if he wished the churches opened. Ortega coolly replied that it was a matter of indiflerence to him — they could consult their own interest in that respect. The victorious general immediately requested President Juarez and his cabinet to remove from Vera Cruz to the capi tal and assume the reins of o-overnment. Thus the cause of Mexican freedom has triumphed, untram- melled by any compromise with bigotry and despotism. This glorious end has been attained without disorder, without ven- geance, and without crime. After three hundred and forty years of civil and religious oppression, a denounced and de- spised race is disenthralled. A nation has been horn to Liberty ! This onmipotent fact will teach a salutary lesson to those who, in this country particularly, have raised their infidel voice in opposition to the manifest designs of the Almighty ! All Communications for the MEXICAN PAPERS, must be addressed to EDWARD E. DUNBAR, No. 35 William Street, N. Y, No. 5, to be issued February 15th, 1861, will close the first series of the MEXICAN PAPERS. The five numbers will then be published together, in book form. ,C%N Pirst Series, No, 5.] AFRIIi, 1861. [Price 50 cents. THE MEXICAN PAPERS, CONTAINING THE HISTORY OF THE RISE AND DECLINE OF COMMERCIAL SLAYERY WITH REFERENCE TO THE FUTURE OF MEXICO. BT EDWARD E. DUNBAR. NEW YORK: RUDD &, CARLETON, 130 GRAND STREET MDCCCLXr. CONTENTS MEXICAN PAPERS, NO. V. PAQ- Editorial Note lY # Risk and Decline of Commercial Slavery in America 181 Origin of Slavery 181 Mosaic Law of Slavery 182 The New Era of Slavery — its Commercial Character 184 Discovery of the West Coast of Africa by the Portuguese, 1471 184 First Negro Slaves taken to Portugal 185 Prince Henry's desire to save Negro Souls 185 The Introduction and Progress of Commercial Slavery in America 186 Discovery of the New World by Columbus, 1492 180 Destruction of the Natives in the West India Islands 187 The Mainland ravaged by the Spaniards for Indian Slaves to supply the West Indies. 187 The Conversion of the Indians the Foundation of the Conquest — according to Ferdi- nand 183 Rapid and unique method by which the heathen Indians were converted by the Con- querors 188 Noble efforts of Las Caaas and his confreres to befriend the Indians 188 First Importation of Negro Slaves into Hispaniola 189 First Grant to import Slaves into Spanish Colonies given to De Bresa, 1517 190 The action of Las Casus in this matter 190 Increase in the Importation of Slaves 191 First Importation of Negro Slaves into Mexico. 192 Commencement of Slavery iu Brazil, 1530 192 Commencement of Slavery in Paraguy and Beunos Ayres 19;; Universal extension of Slavery, 1550 193 The English enter upon the Slave-trade, 1562 194 Queen Elizabeth knights the Pioneer in this Trade, and makes him Treasurer of her Navy 194 First Sale of Negro Slaves in Virginia ] 95 Puritans commence the Slave-trade, 1046 195 Slavery established in several of the West India islands by the English, French, and Dutch 195 Louis XIII. establishes Slavery in all the French Colonies by Royal Edict 195 Charles II. of England grants a Monopoly of the Slave-trade, 1662 196 The French " Senegal Company " 196 The Spanish Asiento Contract 196 11 P^GB The English obtain the Asienio Contract to supply the Spanish Colonies with Slaves, 1713 197 The Yellow Fever carried to Vera Cruz, Mexico, by an English ship loaded with Slaves 198 The English House of Commons sustain the Slave-trade by Resolutions and Appropri- ations 198 Extent of the English Slave-trade 198 The English Government refuses to listen to the Protest of the American Colonies against the Slave-trade 198 Official account of the Extent of the Slave-trade 199 Culminating Period of Commercial Slavery in America 199 Number of Slaves in America, 1790 201 Status of Slavery in America, 1790 202 Declaration of Independence 202 The Romance of the Declaration, and the Reality of the Constitution 203 Remarks on tlie Constitution 204 Treaties recognizing Slaves as Property 205 Purchase of Slave Territory by the Fathers 206 The Constitution behind the Age 207 Curious views of Henry VIII. on Slavery 209 Difficidties under which the Framers of the Constitution labored 209 Decline of Commercial Slavery in America Philosophical Remarks 211 Initiatory Measures of Abolition in Rhode Island 212 Abolition of Slavery in Massachusetts 213 Initiatory Measures of Abolition in Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland, 211 New York, New Jersey, and North Carolina 214 Abolition of Slavery in New Hampshire 214 Constitutional Slave trade, its Abolition by the United States, 1808 215 Who imported the Slaves 215 Ordinance prohibiting Slavery in Northwest Territory 216 Abolition of Slavery in New York 217 do do in New Jersey 218 Abolition of the Slave trade by Denmark 218 do do by England 219 do do by France 219 do do by Spain and Portugal 219 Release of 7,0f;0,n00 Indian Slaves on the Continent of America 220 Abolition of Slavery in Mexico 221 Voluntary Emancipation of Slaves in Mexico 223 Free Negro Labor in Mexico 224 Negro Slavery cannot be extended over Mexico 226 History of Indian Slavery in Mexico and tiie Spanish American countries generally. . . 227 Las Casas' estimate of the Destruction of the Natives of America by the Spaniards 232 The Romance and the reality of Mexico, as witnessed in President Juarez 233 Mexican Peonage 234 Abolition of Slavery in Yucatan 234 do do in Guatemala and the Central American States 234 do do in New Grenada 235 do do in Venezuela 236 do do in Peru 2S7 HI PAGE Abolition of Slavery in Chili 238 do do in La Plata 238 Slavery in Brazil — its Decline 239 Total Importation of Negro Slaves into Brazil 240 Abolition of Slavery in Guiana 243 Slavery in Canada 243 Declink of Slavkry in the Wkst Ixdia Islands 247 British West Indies— Abolition by England 247 Article from the London Times 248 English Motives of Abolition 252 Jacobin Motives of Abolition in France, 1794 263 Abolition of Slavery in the French West Indies and other French colonies by France 254 Number of Slaves liberated by France 255 Abolition in the Danish Islands by Denmark 255 Abolition in the Swedish island of St. Bartholomew by Sweden 255 Fall of Slavery in St. Domingo 256 Spanish Islands — Cuba 256 Porto Rico 257 Decline of Commercial Slavery in the United States of North America 258 Number of Slaves liberated by England 247 Statistical Account of the gain of Free over Slave Territory 259 Gain of Free over Slave Population 260 Facts from the Helper Book 261 Rise of Abolition — its hindrance to Emancipation 262 Decline of Slavery in Maryland 262 do do in Delaware 2G2 do do in Virginia 262 do do in Missouri 263 Slavery in only one corner of Texas 263 Reason of the creation of the Republican Party 263 Venom Distilleries 264 Infidel Notions of the " Irrepressible Conflict " Leaders 264 Livid Abolition triumphant 264 Where is our Country ? 265 Gl NKRAL Rkcapitulation 265 Grand Results 268 Number of Slaves imported into America from 1500 to 1850 270 Conclusion 271 The Kansas Struggle 273 Our Politics . 274 The Union dissolved on a False Assumption 276 The dark Future 278 No Hope until Abohtion is put down 279 Necessity for a White Republican Party 279 EsTKREO according to Act of Congress, in the year 1861, By EDWARD E. DUNBAR, In tlie Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for tlie Soutliern District of New York. 177 EDITOillAL NOTE. Our experience in the publication of the Mexican Papers has been eminently instructive. In Mexico, the numbers already issued have been translated into Spanish, and they appear to meet with much fiivor there. The following is an extract from a letter written by a pro- minent Mexican residing in Vera Cruz, to a gentleman in this city, relative to the publication : " Mr. DuNBAu's writiugs on the affairs of Mexico are certainly the ablest that have appeared, and they are highly valued here. The Mexican Papers reveal some startling points even to our own people, and this is an example how an intelligent foreigner can sometimes tell a people important truths which they do not learn among themselves. "The representation Mr. Dunbar makes of existing erroneous public opinion abroad on Mexico, his vivid picture of the evil rule of the priesthood, and his clear and fixed convictions that Mexico never will be appreciated abroad or have peace and prosperity at home until the power of that priesthood is com- pletely destroyed, are all living truths which come home to us here, and whicli must be followed up and acted upon by the whole nation, with no thought of compromise or grounding arms until this end is gained." In this country we discover that the facts and sentiments contained in the Mexican Papers are entirely opposed to favorite theories, pre-conceived opinions, and deep-rooted prejudices respecting the great questions of which they treat. We also discover that the publication does not pander to the wild political delusion of the masses — a delusion that has caused 30,000,000 of people to stand up before the world, and in the height of their material and political prosperity, deliberately commit national suicide. But we have evidence that the Mexican Papers are excit- ing much thought, and we take great encouragement in the fact that a goodly number of "men of mind," into whose hands the pubhcation has follen, are enthusiastic in its sup- port ; and it is anything but discouraging to meet with con- 178 siderable ill will of a bilious cast, and of that peculiar bigoted and despotic character which, if it had the power, would crush out everything opposed to its own narrow views and sentiments. This has been evinced principally by those who, while opposed to freedom in Mexico, pretend to live in that fear of slavery in this country which the "irrepressible con- flict" doctrine inculcates. We have been taken roundly to task by friends and acquaintances — some of whom, doubtless, have our good at heart — for espousing the cause of the Liberals of Mexico, whom they characterize as bands of murdering, plundering, half-civilized Indians ; and for running the Mexican question into American politics, by which we were led to come out in opposition to the republican view of the status of slavery, and to foreshadow trouble to the country in the event of the elec- tion of Mr. Lincoln as President. Now, we may be permitted to ask, How stands Mexico ? The factious church government in the capital has most ignominiously fallen; the liberal, constitutional government in glorious and orderly triumph occupies its place, and tran- quillity is beginning to prevail. How stands oui' country — that effulgent galaxy of sovereign States, which, but a few short months ago, shone so resplendent in the political firma- ment ? Lost I Lost ! ! Torn from their high estate and hurled into eternal darkness by the Demon of Discord. The light of constitutional liberty fades in the land of Washington and dawns in the mystic realms of the Aztec. Having obtained, b}^ personal observation and experience, what we believe to be a correct insight into the Mexican question, and its important bearing upon the politics of the United States, we could not remain quiet and see the deliber- ately fabricated statements and falsifications of truth, seized upon by our politicians, and used in such a way as to mangle and torture the whole subject to the ruin of the country. Seeing clearly, as we conceived, the right and the wrong in this matter, and impressed to a painful degree that the wrong was being pursued, we gave vent to our statements in strong 179 and unequivocal language, and now, though the progress of events da}^ bj day convinces us that our position is correct, we stand awe-struck at the magnitude of the revolutionary drama now passing before us, and we feel more incompetent than ever to grapple with those questions of surpassing import to mankind, which are involved in the recent stupen- dous political developments in the northern portion of this continent. But we are constrained to continue to contribute our mite of information, in the sincere hope that it may be productive, in some degree, of public good. The following is an extract from a letter we received from a distinguished and highly respected source, dated Wasliing- ton, Jan. 20th, 1861 : ' " In Number 4, you do not speak of our Federal Constitution as a ' compact with hell,' but you say, ' our fundaraental written law is, in one respect, against the operation of the common law of nations and of society, and under the pretence of remedying the great national evil that has grown out of that error in our written fundamental law, we do a still greater wrong in this more enlightened age by deliberately ignoring the operation of the common laws of nature and society, and force an unnatural result which brings dissolution, disorder, and internecine wars, terminating at last in national ruin.' " These remarks have opened up a new train of thought in my mind, but I do not arrive at the clear comprehension of the matter which you, doubtless, entertain. Will you explain ? The general tenor of your pamphlets is tho- roughly condemnatory of the abolitionist proper, and you show no favor to either of the great pohtical parties of the day. It is evident that you are strongly opposed, to slavery, and yet you repudiate the Republican platform. You consider the Constitution defective, and yet you appear to be a strong Union man under its provisions. If it is not asking too much, I would like to know what party you sympathized with at the last Presidential election, and what line of policy you advocate in the great crisis now upon the country. " The great amount of new and valuable information you have given on Mexican matters, has excited my interest to know what you have in reserve relative to some of the corollary political points not fully explained, if it is not too foreign to the main subject." It is utterly impossible to do justice to the topics under discussion in the limited pages of this series of papers. Upon some points we have spoken fully and decidedly, while others, which our correspondent terms " corollary 180 political points," have been brought forward without explana- tion. We can also comprehend that those who read the Mexican Papers are puzzled to know where to place us politically, as political matters go in these days. Our position is isolated, we confess, but if there is any one source of comfort open to us in the midst of prevailing anxiety, doubt and depression, it is in the fact that we stand aloof from what we term the great political delusion of the day, and that we have no claim to the sympathy and support of the prevailing political forces which have destroyed the prestige, power, and glory of our common country. It has been our intention to enlarge somewhat on the most important political topics co-relatively brought up in the preceding papers, before the close of the series. To explain, therefore, to those who feel interested, as well as to answer such inquiries as those contained in the letter from Washington, we propose to set forth what we term The Rise and Decline of Commercial Slavery in America. It has also been our intention to touch upon this subject, with reference to slavery in Mexico, before the close of the first series of the Mexican Papers. But owing to the exigencies that have recently risen, requiring all the infor- mation on the subject that can be brought forward, we are induced to devote more space to this object than was origi- nally intended. In view of the fact that the politics of the country now turn upon the question, Can slavery he carried into Mexico ? we consider the following remarks pertinent to this pub- lication. 181 THE RISE AND DECLINE OF COMMERCIAL SLA- VERY IN AMERICA. ORIGIN OF SLAVERY. In ancient days, the nations of the earth were accustomed to designate each other under tlie name and style of heathen. This practice has come down to us unimpaired in no very great degree. Christian nations classify the Chinese as pagans, while the Chinese apply the term, barbaric, to the surrounding world. The Christians call the Mohammedans barbarians, and the Mohammedans consider Christians no better than dogs. The Roman Catholics denounce the Pro- testants as heretics, who are something worse than heathen, and the Protestants charge the Roman Catholics with being heathen- worshippers of a bad Woman in Scarlet. The inha- bitants of the United States north, denounce the inhabitants of the United States south as barbarians, and the inhabitants of the United States south, charge back, that the inhabitants of the United States north are the mud-sills of society ; and not being able to agree about the matter, they break the Federal bonds, separate, and fight. Then, we have the Mormons, who act on the belief that they are the newest and choicest order of saints, culled from the heathenish world around. The prejudice and superstition of ancient days, and upon which all this peculiar difference of opinion among nations and peoples is founded, appear to hold good now. All the difference we can discover, is, some change in the modes and forms under which they are exhibited. We believe the idea of human slavery originated in that old sentiment — old as creation — ''might makes right " — and which is practically developed among men under those special and elaborate commands, promises, blessings and curses found in the sacred books of all the ancient nations. Under the Mosaic law, the Jews were made to understand that the lands of the heathen and the heathen round about. 182 should be given unto them as a possession — an inheritance forever. We find in Deuteronomy, chapter vi., verses 10 and 11 : "10. And it shall be, wheu the Lord thy God shall have brought thee into the land which he sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities which thou buildest not, " 11. And houses full of all good things which thou lillest not, and wells digged, which thou diggest not, vineyards and olive trees which thou plautest not; when thou shalt have eaten and be full." Again, chapter vii., verses 1 and 2: "1. When the Lord thy God shall bring thee unto the land whither thou goest to possess it, and hath cast out many nations before thee, the Hittites, and the Girgasliites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than thou : " 2. And when the Lord thy God shall deliver them bex^ore thee; thou shalt smite them and utterly destroy them ; thou shalt make no coveuajit with them, nor shew mercy unto them," And in Leviticus, chapter xxv., verses 44, 45 and 46 : " 44. Both thy bondmen and bondmaids, which thou shalt have, shall be of the heathen that are round about you : of them shall ye buy bondmen and bondmaids. " 45. Moreover of the children of the strangers that do sojourn among you, of them shall ye buy, and of their families that are with you, which they begat in your land; and they shall be your possession. "46. And ye shall take them as an inheritance for your children after you, to inherit them for a possession ; they shall be your bondmen forever, but over your brethren the children of Israel, ye shall not rule one over the other with rigor." We beheve the foregoing verses, selected promiscuously, represent clearly and accurately one of the fundamental principles of the religious and civil code of tlie Jews, and, so far as we have been able to ascertain, the right to conquer and enslave the lieathen, or, your enemies, as some have hiterpreted the passages of this nature, is proclaimed in the sacred writings of all the ancient nations ; and it is quite certain that from time immemorial, nations acting upon the 183 principle thus inculcated, have gone forth conquering and enslaving. Human slavery is sustained by some as an institution of Divine origin, and the Bible is brought forward in evidence. It is denounced by others as a sin and a crime, and the Bible is given as authority.- The Christian Church in the United States is widely and bitterly divided on this question. But we have not thus brought forward the subject for the purpose of remarking upon it from a rehgious stand-point. We simply desire to state wliat we conceive to be the origin of those great moving principles which have led man to enslave his fellow man, from the earliest ages to the present day, without presuming to remark upon the right or wrong of those principles as they were originally enunciated. This is a field of discussion we would go a good ways round to avoid, rather than enter upon. Our personal views of human slavery were distinctly stated in the first number of the Mexican Papers. In coming to the conclusion that it is not right for man to own property in man, our natural sympathies were guided by that simple rule which has as much religion in it as our comprehension can master : *' Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do you even so to them." If, under this rule, involuntary servitude, or that system of human slavery which gives man property in man is right, then there is no God, no justice, no reality in anything. In entertaining this opinion on the principle of human sla- very, we trust that we shall be allowed to speak of the Fede- ral Constitution of the United States in reasonable and just terms, without being required to denounce it as a "compact with hell,*' or to stigmatize negro slavery in the South as the " sum of all villainies," and our fellow-citizen slave-owners as "barbarians, thieves, cut-throats, the vilest of the vile," etc., etc. Here is where we part company with the philanthropic fanatics and abolitionists of every grade, and in pursuing a course directly Opposed to these delirious factions, we have never obtained any new light on the subject that has inclined 184 us to join the opposite extreme, and sustain the institution of slavery as of divine origin, wise, beneficent, and just. Here we part company with the Calhoun school. We particularly desire to call public attention to this point in the great poli- tical highway, where we diverge from the Garrison school and from the Calhoun school, for it is the point where, some thirty years ago, reason lost her sway, and the people of the United States started off on a course of education of a re- volutionary nature in its very inception, and which has, at last, borne its revolutionary fruit in the disruption of the con- federacy, and the ruin of the nation as a unity. Practically, the issue between the North and South which is now upon the country, has been forced onward to its present ruinous point, mainly under the auspices of abolitionism, and as yet, there is no evidence of the existence of an intermediate party, based on common- sense principles, which can make its voice. heard amid the general uproar, in opposition the revolutionary masses who stand glaring fiercely at each other, and ready to deluge the land with blood. THE NEW ERA OF SLAVERY. It may be said that the discovery of the western coast of Africa, in the fifteenth century, by the Portuguese, created a new era in human slavery, inasmuch as the slavery resulting from Portuguese discoveries was confined to the African negro, and had its basis on commerce ; whereas, the ancient system of slavery, as practised b}^ European and Asiatic nations, originated in national wars, which gave captives pro- miscuously among the nations, said captives being treated as property under the prevailing law. There are vague accounts of Norman discoveries in Africa as early as the first part of the fourteenth century, but until the middle of the fifteenth century, Africa, with the exception of a narrow strip of coun- try bordering on the Mediterranean, was, in fact, as much of a sealed book to Europe as the American continent. The year 1441 found Henry, Prince of Portugal, devoting his 185 means and energies to voyages of discovery along the western coast of Africa. One of the first voyages made at this time, a short distance down the coast, under the command of An- tonio G0N9ALVEZ, resulted in the capture of some Azeneghi Moors. In 1442 these Moors told Prince Henry that if he would send them back to their country, they would return negro slaves as a ransom. The prince therefore ordered G0N9ALVEZ to take back three Moors and exchange them for as many negroes as he could get— the prince, as Barros states, insisting as the foundation of the matter, that if G0N9ALVEZ should not be able to obtain so many negroes (as had been mentioned) in exchange for the three Moors, yet that he should take them ; foi\ whatever number lie should gel, he would gain souls, because theij {the negroes) might be converted to the faith, which could not be managed with the Moors. Gon- 9ALVEZ returned with ten negroes, which, it would appear, were the first that had been seen in Portugal, as they ex- cited general wonder. The result of these voyages of G0N9ALVEZ was to start other and more formidable maritime expeditions down the African coast. In 1444, one of these expeditions fitted out at Lagos, attacked the islands of Xar and Tider, and captured two hundred black slaves, whom they carried back to Portugal and distributed, after allowing Prince Henry his royal fifth. The Chronicle of Azurara gives an account of the distribu- tion of these slaves, and from that account we make the following extract : " While they were placiug in one part the children that saw their parents in another, the children sprang up perseveringly and fled to them ; the mothers inclosed their children in their arms, and threw themselves with them on the ground, receiving wounds with little pity for their own flesh, so that their offspring might not be torn from them ! And so, with labor and difficulty, they concluded the partition, for, besides the trouble they had with the captives, the plain was full of people, as well of the place as of the villages and neigh- borhood around, who at that day gave rest to their hands, the mainstay of their livelihood, only to see this novelty. And as they looked upon these things, some deploring, some reasoning upon them, they made such a riotous noise as greatly to disturb those who had the management of the distribution. The 186 lufciutc Avas there, upon a |X)werfaI horse, accompanied by his people, looking out his share, but as a man who, for his part, did not care for gain ; for, of the forty-six souls which fell to his fifth, he speedily made his choice, as all his prin- cipal riches imre in his contentment, considering with great delight tlie salvation of those souls uhidi before were lost.^^ Thus, favored by special blessings, dispensations and indul- gences from the pope, and under the powerful patronage of Henry, Prince of Portugal, the African slave trade com- menced. The bodies of the heathen were allotted to their Christian captors, their souls to God, and thus the account with heaven was balanced. By slow degrees, the Portuguese prosecuted their discove- ries along the African coast until 1493, when the southern- most point (the Cape of Good Hope) was doubled by Bartho- lomew Diaz. Commercial enterprise kept pace with these discoveries, and the Portuguese vessels returned home with an assortment of African products, of which slaves, gold dust, ivory, skins, etc. formed the principal part. The slaves were disposed of principally to grandees and men of wealth in Portugal and Spain. Those countries were fully stocked with a laboring population, and the introduction of negro slave labor, to any great extent, would have been productive of distress and revolution. The demand for negro slaves from Africa was, therefore, limited, as they only served to vary and swell the train of attendants that belonged to the wealth, fashion, and grandeur of those days. It was reserved for the New World to give a new and extended impulse to the African slave trade. THE INTRODUCTION AND PROGRESS OF COMMERCIAL SLAVERY IN AMERICA. The discovery of the New World by Columbus, in 1492, cast into the shade the maritime enterprise of the Portu- guese, which had been prosecuted with great perseverance and daring on the western coast of Africa, during the previous half century. A new continent rose up before the world's 187 narrow vision, and nearly all the nations of Europe prepared to avail themselves of this new and grand field of aggrandize- ment. Spain, at this time, was the most advanced country on the continent of Europe. The Spaniards took the lead in the New World, and the first benefits of the discovery and the greater extent of territory fell to them. The West India islands were first explored and conquered, and, acting on the old idea of taking possession of the heathen as an inheritance, the natives with which these islands swarmed were at once seized upon as slaves and divided out among the colonizing Christians in encomiendas and repartimientos. The island of St. Domingo was discovered by Columbus on his first voyage, 1492. The Licentiate Zuazo gives the number of natives at that time as 1,130,000. Others estimate it much higher. The enumeration by the Governor, Ovando, in 1508, repre- sents 70,000 Indians, and when Diego Columbus assumed the government of the island they were reduced to 40,000. In 1514, Albuquerque, a new repartidor, appointed by Spain, arrived to make a repartition of the Indians, and found but 13,000 remaining. Columbus, in his account of the discovery of the island of Hispaniola, thus spfeaks of the aborigines: "They are a loving, uncovetous people, so docile in all things, that I assure your highnesses I believe in all the world there is not a better people or a better country : they love their neighbors as themselves, and they have the sweetest and the gentlest way of talking in the world, and always witli a smile." As early as 1530, the principal West India islands, espe- cially St. Domingo and Cuba, were so nearly depopulated that Indian slaves were brought from the main land to supply in part the deficiency. The Pearl Coast, now known as Venezuela, was horribly ravaged by the Spaniards in order to obtain these slaves. This supply gave out in a few years. In 1537, only one hundred and thirty Indian slaves, native and imported, were found in the island of Cuba. In 1550, a letter from St. Domingo to the Emperor states : " There is scarcely a single nati"' e left on the island, and those Indians 188 who have been brought to the island as slaves, the greater part have fled into the depths of the country, as the com- panionship of the Spaniards is abhorrent to them." Ferdinand, in his official dispatches to the West India Admiral, dated Seville, June 6, 1611, says : " The conversion of the Indians is the priyicipcd foundation of the conquest^ that which principally ought to he attended to^ It may be said that the conversion of the Indians in the West India islands was thoroughly accomplished in about twenty-five years from the time they were discovered and occupied by the Spaniards, as, during this period, the knife, the bullet, bloodhounds and horrible oppression, the converting agencies of the Christians, had done their perfect work, and scarcely a vestige of the happy millions who, but a few years before had inha- bited these islands, remained. The same system of converting the heathen on the main land had already commenced, and the powerful efieets of the Christianity of the age were visible in the rapid extinction of the native races, which, in some localities, was complete. A widely extended country like Mexico, and other regions in South America escaped total depopulation. It cannot be said that the fearful amount of misery and death which now, after the lapse of more than three centuries, casts a lurid glare over the early course of the Spaniards in the New World, attracted no attention at the time, or met with no opposition. Certain humane and philanthropic indi- viduals belonging to several of the religious orders of the day, took a truly humane and noble stand in relation to the hideous acts of the conquerors to which they were ej'e-wit- iiesses. Among these good men, Las Casas stands pre- eminent for his purity of purpose, his self-sacrificing spirit, zeal, courage and ability. Some twelve Dominican monks residing in Hispaniola were, as a body, thoroughly opposed to the cruelties practised upon the Indians by tlie Spaniards ; and one of these monks, Father Antonio MoNigisiNO, became conspicuous for his bold and active measures tending to a / more humane policy. But the grand result proved that all 189 the efforts of these good men — extraordinary in their day — availed nothing. Their strength failed, their limbs withered, and their voices were hushed in death as one by one they disappeared, leaving the evil tide of human affairs to roll over the New World with overwhelming volume and power. With the early destruction of the aborigines in the West India islands and some of the countries on the American con- tinent, originally overrun by the Spaniards, an imperative de- mand for laborers arose^ and tlius the way for the importation of negro slaves from Africa was opened. In 1501, by royal permission, a few negro slaves were im- ported into Hispaniola. One of the conditions of this impor- tation was, that the negro slaves should be of those born among Christians in Spain, that they might aid in converting the heathen in the New World. But as these negroes did not prove enduring specimens of muscular Christianity, resort was had to the pure heathen article in Africa, and a small invoice of these was imported into St. Domingo, in 1503. The king, in a letter to Ovando, the Governor of St. Do- mingo, dated Segovia, Sept. 1505, says : "I will send more negro slaves as you request ; I think there may be a hun- dred." Some of these negro slaves ran away among the natives and caused much mischief. As the natives diminished the demand for negro slaves increased, and the importations became greater. The royal historiographer, Herrera, states that the king informed the Admiral Don Diego Columbus, in 1510, that he had ordered the officials at Seville to dispatch fifty negroes to work the mines in Hispaniola. The follow- ing sentence occurs in a letter of the king, dated June, 1511, to an officer in the colony named Sampler. "I do not un- derstand how so many negroes have died." The 24th of October, 1511, the king gave the following order to the offi- cials of Seville : "Pay to Pedro de Ledesma, our pilot, that which is due to him for the last voyage made at our com- mand, to transport negroes to Hispaniola." It appears that the exportation of negro slaves to the West India islands was at first mider the immediate supervision of 190 • the crown, and the business was somewhat limited up to 1517, when Charles V. granted to the governor, De Bresa, a Fleming, the monopoly of importing 4,000 negroes into the "West India islands within the period of eight years. Las Casas has been charged by his enemies with being the first cause of the importation of negro shives into the Spanish colonies. This is manifestly unjust. It is true, however, that in 1517, Las Casas, in his zeal to alleviate the suffer- ings of the Indians, and save them from total annihilation under the horrid atrocities of the Spaniards, to which he was an eye-witness, advised the importation of negro slaves. Las Casas speedily repented of his error, and in writing his own history subsequently, he says : " Tliis advice, that license should be given to bring negro slaves to these lands, the Clerigo Casas first gave, not considering the injustice with which tha Portuguese take them, and make them slaves ; which advice, after he had ap- prehended the nature of the thing, he would not have given for all he had in the world. For he always held that they had been made slaves unjustly and tyrannically ; for the same reason holds good of them as of the Indians." In 1523, another monopoly grant was given to De Bresa, before the first had expired, and the last permitted the im- portation of 4,000 negro slaves into the Indies in eight years. De Bresa sold these grants to a company of Genoese mer- chants, and negroes were sold at a very high price, Figueroa, writing to the Emperor from St. Domingo, July, 1520, says : " Negroes are very much in request ; none have come for about a year. It would have been better to have given De Bresa the customs' duties {i. e. the duties that had usually been paid on the importation of slaves), than to have placed a prohibition." Owing to the continued remonstrances of the colonists by reason of the scarcity of slaves, the monopoly granted to De Bresa was recalled in 1524, and instead of it, permission was granted for the importation of 1,500 negroes to Hispaniola ; 300 to Cuba ; 500 to Porto Rico ; 300 to Jamaica ; and 500 191 to Castilla del Oro, on the main land. De Bresa was com- pensated by having assigned to him the customs duties on the 1,500 -negroes imported into Hispaniola. In 1527, 1,000 negroes were allowed to be imported into Cuba. In 1528, the king granted to Enrique Ciguer and Geronimo Sailler, Germans, the monopoly of importing 4,000 negro slaves into the Indias, within a certain time. In 1531, the Bishop of St. Domingo writes to the empress that the perpetuity of that island, of Porto Rico and of Cuba con- sists in the negroes, and he requests that they should be im- ported without license. In 1536, the monopoly to import 4,000 negro slaves into the Indies within the term of four years, was granted for 26,000 ducats. In 1542, one of the king^s chaplains who had traversed the island of Hispaniola, informed the Council of the Indies that according to his belief there were 25,000 to 30,000 negroes on the island, and the number of the masters was 1,200. We find it stated in the Muiioz collection that in 1552, license was granted to import 23,000 negro slaves into the Indies within the term of seven years at eight ducats per head. The number of negroes annually imported into His- paniola alone, at this period, was 2,000. The granting of licenses to import negroes into the Indies and the customs duties arising from the importation, consti- tuted the source of an enormous revenue to the crown of Spain. A portion of the money accruing from this source was employed in building the fortress-palaces of Madrid and Toledo. Helps, in his truly valuable work, " The Spanish Conquest of America, ^^ says on this point : " Many of the noted buildings of the earth are of most questionable origin ; but these two palaces must be allowed to enjoy a remarkable preeminence as monuments of folly and oppression. Other buildings have been erected solely at the cost of the suffering subjects of great despots, or by prisoners captured in war ; but the blood-cemented walls of the Alcazar of Madrid might boast of being raised upon a compHcation of suffering hitherto unparalleled in the annals of ma.nkind."* The South American continent was discovered in the year 192 1500 by Vincent Yanez Pinzon, a companion of Columbus. and in a very few years, slave-hunting and slavery nearly desolated all that region of country lying on tha Caribbean Sea, then known as the Pearl Coast. The conquest of Mexico was achieved by Cortez in 1521. The conquest of Peru was commenced by Pizzako in 1524, and completed in 1527. The coast of Brazil had been discovered and its unexplored territory divided into captaincies by the King of Portugal in 1530. Lerdo de Tejada, in his full and reliable " Apimtos Histo- ^ ricos de Vera Cruz,'^ says : / "111 1535, sixteen years after the conquest, the greater portion of the inha- bitants living on the Vera Cruz shore was composed of the Indians who were there before the conquest, and negro slaves brought from Africa by the Spaniards, as into the other colonies, to perform the severe labor of the field. From the union of these two races, the Indian and the negro, came the mestizos, known as jarochos, wliich to this day form a part of the inhabitants of Vera Cruz and the neighborhood." It is evident, therefore, that under the license to import negro alaves into the Spanish colonies, this barbarous traffic was commenced in Mexico immediately after the conquest of the country b}^ Cortez. That vast region known as Brazil fell to the Portuguese. • The French, Dutch, Spanish and English made occasional inroads upon this territory, and at times held possession of parts and the whole of the same ; but the Portuguese always regained the country, and it remained a dependency of Por tugal until 1822. At the outset, the Portuguese equalled, if they did not excel the Spaniards in their cruel treatment of the natives, who were at once enslaved on plantations. Negroes were preferred, however, as they proved more capable and enduring. On the discovery of the mines in the interior, the latter part of the seventeenth century, the general destruction of the natives commenced. The Portuguese ransacked the country from end to end to capture Indians and keep up the supply of slaves in the mines. The depopulation of Brazil then went on at a fearful rate, and in a few years the natives 193 ceased to form an element of any great value in the labor of the country. Something more than 2,000,000 of the Brazil Indians must have been enslaved and destroyed by the Por- tuguese and other European nations, before the middle of the eighteenth century. Here then, we have a vast region ready to swallow up innumerable cargoes of heathen from Africa. Circumstances favored the importation of negro slaves into Brazil. The Portuguese were in possession ofthe western coast of Africa, and their arrangements for the com- mercial slave trade were complete. Bahia, one of the prin- cipal Brazilian ports, was a convenient and favorite resort for slave traders, by reason of its nearness to the African coast, aiid the importation of negro slaves into Brazil was co-existent with the discovery and occupation of the country by the Portuguese. Paraguay and Buenos Ayres were discovered by the Spaniards in 1516, and while the Portuguese were occupying Brazil, the Spaniards were gradually working their way into those countries to the south and west, now known as the Argentine Confederation. It may be said that by the year 1550, the general outline of those extended regions on this continent known as Spanish America, and the Portuguese possessions in Brazil were defined. The aborigines of the West India islands had been totally destroyed and their places filled by negro slaves imported from Africa. Immense numbers of the Mexican people were disappearing under the iron rule of the Spaniard. South America, divided between the Spaniards and Portuguese, with an occasional inroad by some other European nation, had been entirely depopulated in certain sections, and the work of human sacrifice was rapidl))- pro- gressing throughout the entire length and breadth of the land. In proportion as the natives disappeared, the demand for negro slaves increased, and we thus find that in the middle of the sixteenth century the great commercial slave trade on this continent and the West Indies, with the exception of that portion of North America not then settled, was fully estab- 194 lished. With the West India islands the trade was very brisk, as they depended entirely on this source for labor. With Mexico, the trade was active only with certain limited sec- tions. With Brazil it was just commencing on a grand scale, and with other portions of South America the traffic was gradually finding its way to every part. This immense trade in human flesh — immense in amount, and immense in the profit it yielded — was at first monopo- lized by the Spaniards and Portuguese. By sure and not very slow degrees, other European nations encroached upon this monopoly, primarily through companies of their respec- tive citizens, carrying on a contraband trade, and finally, whatever of monopoly remained was transferred from one nation to another by grants protected by treaty. The Dutch smuggled considerable numbers of negro slaves into the West India islands and Brazil before the close of tlie sixteenth century. One John Hawkins was the first EngHshman who entered upon the African slave trade. In the year 1562, Hawkins went to the coast of Africa with three vessels, the Solomon, of 120 tons, the Swallow of 100 tons, and the Jonas, of 40 tons. These vessels obtained 300 negroes on the coast of Africa, partly by capture, and partly by purchase, and took them to Hispaniola, where they were sold to good advantage, and Hawkins returned to England. Another successful ex- pedition was made and the English considered the African slave trade fairly open to them. Queen Elizabeth knighted HAiiVKiNS, and made him treasurer of the navy. The queen also chartered a company to carry on the trade. Thus Protes- tant Elizabeth vied with Catholic Europe in favoring the African slave trade, by which the descendants of Ham should be snatched from heathenism, as brands plucked from the burn- ing, and transported to lands where the light of Christianity would penetrate their benighted souls. In 1618, King James I. granted a slave trading charter to Sir Robert Rich. The first English colony was planted in Virginia 1607, and 195 the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth 1621. In August, 1619, a Dutch man-of-war visited Jamestown, Virginia, having on board negro slaves, of which they sold nineteen to the settlers. These were the first negro slaves imported into the English colonies. In 1670, according to Gov. Berkley's statistics, there were 2,000 negro slaves in the Virginia colony. Be- tween the years 1630 and 1640, when there was no Parlia- ment in England, the Dutch carried on a lucrative commerce with the English- American plantations, and it is quite pro- bable that the importation of negro slaves formed one branch of this profitable commerce. The Puritans commenced the African slave trade in 1640. Their first slave trader was fitted out and sailed for the coast of Africa, from Boston, in that year. The island of Nevis, held by the English, contained, in 1628, 8,000 negro slaves, employed in the culture of sugar. The island of St. Christopher in the Caribbean Sea had been settled by the English and French in 1624, and in 1635 it was well supplied with negro slaves. The island of Montserrat was settled by the English under 8ir Thomas Warren, Governor of St. Christopher, in 1632, and in 1658 it contained 10,000 negro slaves. The French from the island of St. Christopher settled the island of Martinique in 1635, and in 1658 it contained 10,000 negro slaves. Guadaloupe was settled and stocked with negroes by the French the same year. Slavery was established in all the French colonies in America by royal edicts during the reign of Louis XIII. The Dutch took possession of the small island of St. Eustatia in the Caribbean Sea 1632, and it was chiefly used by them for its commodious position, from which a contra- band trade could be carried on with the neighboring Euro- pean colonies. 15,000 negro slaves were on this island in 1658. In 1637, some of the Dutch West India companies' ships captured the Guinea coast castle of St. George del Mlna, the principal fort of the Portuguese on the African coast, and 196 were thus supplied first hand with negroes for carrying on their sugar pUxntations, which they then held in Brazil, and supplying the trade with slaves. In 1G57, the Dutch occupied the small and barren West India island of Curapoa for the sole purpose of doing a con- traband business in negro slaves and European merchandise, with the Spanish colonies. In 1C62, Charles II. granted a monopoly, authorizing a company to export 3,000 negro slaves per annum to his American colonies. This was a most valuable privilege, and it came out under the immediate a.uspices of the Queen Dowager and the Duke of York. This monopoly became odious, and in 1695 it was resolved by the Commons of England in Committee of the WhoL^ " that for the better supply of the plantations, all the sub- jects of Great Britain should have liberty to trade in Africa for negroes, with such limits as should be prescribed by Par- lia,ment." Some Frenchmen had for many years — since 1635 it is said — maintained an establishment on the Senegal River in Africa, under the name of the " Senegal Company," and in 1GS5, says Macpherson, in his " Annals of Commerce," the king of France, observing that the great extent of the limits of the Senegal Company (no less than about 1,500 leagues of the coast of Africa) excluded all his other subjects from trading in negro slaves, for the use of the West India colonies, now established a New Guinea company with exclusive right for twenty years to trade in negroes, gold dust, etc., between the river Sierra Leone and the Cape of Good Hope ; the balance of the coast being reserved to the Senegal Company. In 1696, the Portuguese, having emerged from the rule of Spain, contracted to furnish the Spanish colonies with 25,000 negro slaves in five years. This was the foundation of the famous asiento contract which figures so largely in English history. The contract was fulfilled by the Portuguese, the king taking part in it and advancing two-thirds of the funds necessary to carry it out. Just as this contract with the 197 Portuguese expired, 1701, the Frencli gave a king, Philip v., to Spain, who transferred the shive trade monopoly to his countrymen, this being considered the greatest favor he could legally grant to them. The asiento contract papers passed into the hands of the English by the treaty of Utrecht, 1713, and subsequently, in May of that year, Great Britain obtained from Spain an entirely new contract, by which the South Sea company engaged to deliver to the Spanish colonies, 4,800 negro slaves yearly for thirty years. This occasioned great rejoic- ing in England, so valuable was the contract considered. The English were not limited to the number stipulated per annum, except during the five last years of the contract. For twenty- five years they imported all they could sell. They agreed to pay £7 10s. for each of the first 4,000 negroes ; the other eight hundred were freed from this tribute in consideration of £45,000 advanced to the court of Madrid, to be reimbursed in the course of ten years. This tribute was reduced to half for all the slaves that were .not required by the contract. Philip V. indemnified himself for this sacrifice by reserving the fourth part of the profits made by the company. Infringements on this contract and restrictions by Spam, formed at one time, one of the principal causes of war with Spain. The peace of 1748 restored to England all their rights in the asiento contract, but the Company was induced to give up the short period that remained of the contract for an indemnity. PvOBERT Mayne, a London merchant, succeeded to the association under a Spanish name, but not meeting with great success, the resolution was taken in 1762 to receive negro slaves on the island of Porto Rico, a duty of £9 to be paid to government on each slave. In 1773 Spain renewed the charter with a company of Spanish, French and Genoese merchants, doing business in Cadiz. The tax was diminished and other advantages granted by which the slave trade acquired fresh activity and became more extended. It is mentioned in the writings of Padre Alegre that the black vomit, or yellow fever, from which Vera Cruz, in Mexico, 198 suffers so much, was first brought to that place by an Eugiish ship loaded with negroes,. in 1699. In 1C98, the English contraband slave traders had virtually broken up the Royal African Compan}' monopoly in Guinea a,nd other parts of the African coast, and this year the English Par- liament passed an act relieving the Royal African Company from the expense of sustaining the forts, castles, etc., necessary to protect the slave trade, by imposing a duty of ten per cent, on all merchandise imported into Africa, and ten per cent, on all merchandise exported from Africa, negroes excepted. This trade, which had been virtually open, was now made legally so. In 1708 the English House of Commons resolved, "That the slave trade was important, and ought to be open to all the queen's subjects trading from Creat Britain ;" and the act of 23d George II. declares : " The skive ti'ade to be very advantageous to Great Britain, and necessary for suppljiiig the ijlantations and colonies thereunto belonging, with a sufficient number of negroes at a reasonable rate." In 1730, the English parliament granted £10,000 per annum, till 174G, to sustain the forts,, factories, etc., on the coast of Africa, that the slave trade might be protected and curried on successfully. At this time the English supplied their North American colonies, from Massachusetts Bay to Florida, with negro slaves. They hehi the monopoly of supplying the Spanish colonies with the same article. They maintained slave fac- tories at Vera Cruz, Paiiama, Porto Bello, Carthagena, Buenos Ayj'es, and subsequently in Brazil, and in contract with Portugal to furnish that dependency with negro slaves. When some of the American colonies protested to the mother country against the importation of negro slaves within their limits, the English government, as late as 1775, just as the American Revolution commenced, thus replied to these protests : " We. cannot allow the Colonies to check or discourage in any degree a traffi,c so beneficial to the nation." 199 Bryan Edwards, the best Eoglish authority we can quote on the subject, says : " The British slave trade had attained its highest pitch of prosperity a short time before the commencement of the American War." In 1771, the English exported from Africa in 192 ships, 47,146 negro slaves. This is the official account. In 1787, the merchants of Liverpool transmitted to the Lords of the Privy Council, the following account of the number of slaves exported from Africa that year by tlie dif- ferent European nations. British, 38,000 French, 20,000 Dutch, 4,000 Danes, 2,000 Portuguese, •. . 10,000 14,000 It is a well-known fact that the contraband trade in negro slaves averaged more than the legalized trade. The whole number of factories and forts established on the coast of Africa at this time was 40, of which 14 belonged to the English, 3 to the French, 15 to the Dutch, 4 to the Por- tuguese, and 4 to the Danes. CULMINATING PERIOD OF COMMERCIAL SLAVERY IN AMERICA. Commencing with a few remarks upon the origin of slavery, we have given a line of facts in something like chronological order, exhibiting the degrees of advancement made by Chris- tian nations in commercial slavery on the Western Continent and Islands np to the year 1787. The line of facts given might be greatly enlarged and perfected, but we think suffi- cient has been stated to prove what we proposed to prove in the first place, namely, that the new era of commercial sla- very reached its culminating period throughout the American continent and the West Indian islands, the latter part of the eighteenth century. 200 At this period, we find the continent and islands occupied by the following nationalities : England lield possession of the northern portion of North America, with the geographical division of Canada; a portion of Guiana, and the West India islands of Jamaica, Barbadoes, Bermudas, Bahamas, Grenada, St. Vincent, Dominica, Anti- gua, Montserrat, Nevis, St. Christopher, and most of the Virgin Isles. The thirteen United States occupied the central portion of North America. The extensive American possessions of Spain were divided into four vice-royalties, namely, Mexico, Peru, La Plata and New Granada ; and five captain-generalships, namely, Yucatan, Guatemala, Chih, Venezuela, and the islands of Cuba and Porto Rico. The Portuguese occupied Brazil, The French held possession of a portion of Guiana on the main land, and the West India islands of St; Domingo, Mar- tinique, Guadaloupe, St. Lucia, Tobago, and Cayenne. The Danes owned the islands of St. Thomas and St. Croix, of the group of Virgin Isles. The number of negro slaves in North America and the West India islands, at the period at which we are writing, can be given with accuracy, but with Mexico, Central and South America, it is otherwise, as there are absolutely no very reliable statistics in existence relative to this point. We have made a careful examination, however, of all the information to be obtained on the subject, and we give the result, believ- ing it to be an approximation to the truth — rather under than over the actuality. It must be borne in mind that when Spain ruled the Spanish American countries on this continent, the aborigines of those countries were held as slaves j^ Though the Spaniards made terrible havoc with the natives, enough appear to have survived to meet the necessary requirements of labor in * See Mexico, page 227, 201 Mexico, Central and South America, so that negro slavery, except in several limited districts, never prevailed to any great extent in those continental possessions of the Spaniards. The following is our estimate of slaves on this continent and in the West India islands in 1790 : Total Negro Slaves. Indian SlaTea. United States, . . 697,89t British West Indies, . 505,241 French West Indies, . . 800,000 Guiana, . 50,000 Spanish possessions on the con- tinent. . . 410,000 7,000,000 Brazil (Portuguese) . 600,000 3,003,138 7,000,000 10,063,138 The supply of negro slaves in those days was kept up by direct importation, and not from the natural increase of the negroes on the soil. The importation of negro slaves at this period consisted principally of male adults, less than one- third being women, and very few small children. The great mass of the negro slave population was, therefore, an adult laboring population, and with the usual proportion of women and children, they would have made an exliibit of more than 6,000,000. The average value of a negro slave at this time may be stated at $300. The regular rate for good plantation hands was £70. The use of slave labor was careless and extravagant in the extreme, except in certain localities on the continent. The consumption of negro slaves, especially in the West Indies and Brazil, was enormous, and yet the result in products was comparatively small. The importation of negro slaves into America during the latter part of the eighteenth century, must have averaged something more than 100,000 per annum, and throughout the entire century, it could not have been less than 75,000 per annum. 202 At the commencement of the American Revolution, this continent, every foot of it from the frozen Nortli to Magellan, was slave territory. The West India islands were all devoted to slavery. By royal edicts, legislative enact- ments, and common law, the right of man to own pro^ert}^ in man was acknowledged and protected in the strongest manner possible. All the nations having possessions in the Western Hemisphere, were actively engaged in supplying those possessions with slaves. The negro slaves alone, nearly equalled the pure whites throughout the conti- nent and the islands, and taking into account the Indian slaves in Mexico and South America, the bond outnumbered the free, in all America (excepting the wild Indians), two to one ! The entire labor or service of the continent and the islands, if we make a slight exception in Canada and the New Eng- land colonies, was performed by slaves, and all the exports were the products of slave labor. The institution of slavery was, therefore, not only national, but continental. The moral, legal, territorial, industrial, and commercial status of the institution was complete. In this, the darkest day of modem slavery, the American Declaration of Independence flashed upon the world. This Declaration declared the following : " We HOLD THESE TRUTHS TO BE SELF-EVIDENT; THAT ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL ; AND THAT THEY ARE ENDOWED BY THEIR Creator with certain inalienable rights ; that AMONG these ARE LIFE, LIBERTY, AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPI- NESS." A line of poetry in a world of prose — a ray of light pene- trating universal darkness — the leaven of humanity, justice, and freedom in the mass of cruelty, iniquity, and despotism — an anchor of hope — a sign of the millennium, but a positive impossibility, as a whole, intellectually and socially, if not politically, so long as men are created as they are. This is the light in which we view the Declaration of Inde- pendence. It was a superb document on which to base a 203 revolution and achieve independence. But eleven years afterward, when it became necessary for the fathers to frame a constitution adapted to the reality of things as they tlien existed, material interests, imperious matter of fact expe- diency, required that all the poetry and romance, all the fine ideas about equality in man and his inalienable rights, con- tained in the Declaration upon which the independence of the country had been achieved, should be repudiated. Con- sequently, a Constitution that recognized the right of man to own property in man, and protected him in that right, so far as human law can protect him, was framed and adopted. Revolting a§ it is to acknowledge this feature in our Consti- tution at the present day, it must be done. A certain race of human beings have been bought and sold, and held to involuntary labor or service under this Constitution, from the day it was framed to the present. The monstrous incon- sistency between the Declaration- of Independence and a Con- stitution that recognized the right of man to hold property in man, as well as the anomaly of basing a free republican government on the freedom of one race and the slavery of another, staggered the fathers, and well-nigh proved an insurmountable obstacle to the realization of their patriotic hopes at the very outset. We have one evidence of this in the care with which the words slave and slavery were excluded from the Constitution. Article I. of the Constitution, section second, third clause, says : " Representative and direct taxes sliall be proportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole number of free persons, including those bound to service for a term of years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three-fifths of all other •persons." We believe this gives one representative in the United States Congress to every 50,000 slaves ; slavery is, therefore, a political element in our government. Also, in Article I., section ninth, first clause, we find : 204 " The migration or importation of snch persons as any of the States now ex- isting shall think proper to admit, sliall not be prohibited by Congress prior to the yenr 1808, but a tax or duty may be imposed on such importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each •person." The foreign and domestic slave trade is here made consti- tutional, irrevocably so until 1803, and as long after as Con- gress might allow. The Constitution does not say the migra- tion or importation of such persons as an}^ of the States shall think proper to admit, shall be prohibited by Congress prior to the year 1808, etc., but it says, " shall not he prohihited,''^ etc. Under this provision the foreign importation of negro slaves from Africa was abolished in 1808, by special act of Conccress, but domestic mio-ration of nesrro slaves, made con- stitutional in the same clause, is suffered to continue to this day. The negro slaves imported under the above clause, passed through the custom-house and paid a duty of ten dollars per head, the same as merchandise, and under the Constitution, this businesj. can be resumed any day Congress may permit. Article IV., section second, third clause says : " No person held to service or labor in one State, under the laws thereof, es- caping into another, shall, in consequence of any law or regulation therein, be discharged from snch service or labor, but shall be delivered up on claim of the party to whom such service or labor may be due." Thus the property in the slave was secured to tlie owner, and the right of the owner to his property was made perfect. This is in direct conflict with the law of the Jews on that sub- ject, as we find in the book of Deuteronomy, chapter xxiii., verses 15 and 16 : "15. Thou shalt not deliver unto his master the servant which has escaped from his master unto thee : " 16. He shall dwell with thee, even among you, in that place which he shall choose in one of thy gates, where it liketh him best; thou shalt not oppress him." It is said that this law referred to slaves who escaped to the Jews {rova foreign countries; but if we fall back upon the 205 superstitious notions of the Jews relative to slavery, we meet with contradictions, and are obliged to follow a zig-zag course of argument which fortify us in no very decided manner, dither for or against the institution. The clauses we have quoted from the Constitution are all that refer directly to the subject of slavery. There is not one word in that instrument which points to the ultimate aboli- tion of the institution, or places any limit to its extension. On the contrary, it perpetuates the institution and gives opportunity for its extension so long as it remains the Consti- tution of the country. On this point, and to ascertain how the fathers regarded the status of slavery and the negro, let us look at the practice of the fathers themselves. The following is the language used in those days in certain treaties, instruments second in importance only to the Con- stitution : " PROVISIONAL AKTICLES BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES OP AMERICA AND HIS BRITANNIC MAJESTY, " Agreed upon by and between Richard Oswald, Esquire the Commissioner of His Britannic Majesty, for treating of Peace with tlie Commissioners of the United States of America, in behalf of his said Majesty, on one part, and John Adams, Benjamin FrankUn, John Jay and Henry Laurens, four of the Commis- sioners of the said States, etc., etc., etc. " Article VII. * * * All prisoners on both sides shall be set at liberty, and His Britannic Majesty shall, with all convenient speed, and without causing any destruction, or carrying away any ' 'negroes or other property ' of the American inhabitants, withdraw all his armies, garrisons and fleets from the said U. S., and from every port, place and harlwr within the same. * * * " Done at Paris, Nov. 30, 1T82. " Richard Oswald, [l.s.] " John Adams, [l.s.] " B. Franklin, [l.s.] " John Jay, ^ [l.s.] " Henry Laurens, [l.s,]" " definite treaty of peace, between the untied states of america and his britannic majesty. " Article VII. * * * And His Britannic Majesty shall, with all convenient speed, and without causing any destruction, or carrymg away any ' negroes or 206 ether property " of the American inhabitants, witlidraw all his armies^ etc., etc., " Done at Paris, Sept, 3, 1783. "D, Hartley, [L.S.] " John Adams, [L.S.] " B. Franklin, [L.S.] "John Jay, [L.S.]" " TREATY OF PEACE A^^) AMITY, BETWEEN HIS BRITANNIC MA.IESTY AND THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, " [Katified and confirmed by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, Feb. 11, 1815.] " Article I. * * * Shall be restored without delay, and without causing any destruction, or carrying away any of the artillery or other public property originally captured in the said forts or places, and which shall remain therein upon the exchange of the ratifications of this treaty, or any ' ski.ves or other private property.' ********* '• Done, in triplicate, at Ghent, Dec. 24, 1814. •■' Gambier, [l.s.] " Henry Goulburn, [l.s.] " William Adams, [l.s.] " John Quincy Adams, [l.s.] " J. A. Bayard, [l.s.] " H. Clay, [l.s.] "JoNA. Russell, [l,s.] " Albert Gallatin. [l.s.]" In 1803, during the administration of Mr. Jefferson, that extensive region, then known as the Louisiana Territory, was purchased from France. Mr. Jefferson, we beheve, con- sidered this purchase a violation of the Constitution, but at the same time, he considered the political necessity for the transaction sufficient to override the Constitution. This is one of the instances that demonstrates how utterly worthless written national compacts are when expediency requires that they should be set aside. In this instance, it was either a purchase or a foreign war. By this purchase, an immense tract of slave territory was added to the Union. Louisiana came in as a slave State in 1812, under the administration of Mr. Madison, and two more slave States from this territory, Arkansas and Missouri, were admitted subsequently. The next purchase of territory was that of Florida, one of 207 the Spanish possessions. General Jackson invaded this ter- ritory by order of the Government, to chastise the Indians who were committing depredations on our southern border ; and in 1821, Spain having no other alternative, sold the territory to the United States, and it immediately came into the Union as slave territory under the administration of Mr. Monroe. The Constitution protecting slavery and imposing no limit to its extension or duration, treaties that required foreign nations to give up captive negroes 2,s property , and purchases of slave territory were the acts of the fathers. Every foot of slave territory added to this Union since the adoption of the Constitution, except Texas, was brought in by the fathers themselves. When, therefore, Republican politicians or stump demagogues in the North, who may be puzzled to define their position, declare : " We are for the Constitution, the Union and the laws ! We stand upon the Constitution as it is — as it was understood and interpreted by Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, and other of the fathers !'' it appears to us that they declare for as strong a pro-slavery Constitution as ever was framed on earth, for a Union based on slavery, and for laws that protect and perpetuate the institution ; and that they go back to days when the right of man to hold pro- perty in man was more universally conceded than it is now, and when the understanding and practice of the fathers v/as to permit the extension of slavery under the Constitution. Much as our desires and feelings incline us to view this mat- ter in a different light, our judgment forces us to this conclu- sion — the conclusion to which the South has been educated under the Constitution and the acts of the fathers, most of whom lived and died slave-owners. Under these circum- stances, it can scarcely be said that the slave States have claimed more than they have •<{. constitutional right to demand. " Distance lends enchantment to the view," mentally as well as optically. It is doubtless a good custom to cast a halo of glory around the great and good of earth who have passed away — to remember their better part and bury their 208 errors in oblivion. But it is not always safe to regard tlie great dead, who yet have a direct influence on our destiny, as infallible. It is almost inexplicable how the men of '7G, those who brought forth the Declaration of Independence, carried through the revolution successfully, and consolidated the federal Union, could have based and carried out a democratic republican form of government on the political freedom and equality of the whites, and the legal slavery of the blacks. This sudden descent from the transcendental in liberty and equality, down, down into the dark shades of human bondage, is scarcely credible in the present day. The South, in the- ory and practice, claims this to be the fact, but denies that there is any inconsistency in it. The South is undoubtedly right as regards the fact, but w^rong in claiming that there is no inconsistency. The North, in theory, denies the fact, and of course the inconsistency, but in practice, the great conso- lidated Republican party of the North has drifted into the abolition current and landed upon the abolition platform, which acknowledges the pro-slavery character of the Consti- tution, and denounces it as a " covenant with hell," and thus, under the shadow of a false theory that will give the color of constitutionality to its acts, a great sectional party is cre- ated and an aggressive policy against the South, contrary to the spirit and letter of the Constitution, is adopted. Here this whole matter lies in a nut- shell. If all parties would simply fiill back upon the truth — the reality of things, and acknowledge the fact of the pro-slavery character of the Constitution, and that the inconsistency of this fact with a Democratic-republican form of government had become moi-e and more manifest every year since its adoption ; and if all parties would acknowledge the com- plete status of slavery as it existed when the Constitution was framed, and that in obedience to an overruling Providence, the status of the institution, as it then existed, had since been growing weaker year by year, the ruinous element of discord in our national politics would disappear ! 209 The curious notions about slavery that existed in England during the time of Henry VIII., are worthy of being noted here. The following is the form of a manumission granted to two of his slaves by King Henry in 1514 : " Whereas ; originally God o-eatecl all mcu free ; but afterwards tlie laws and customs of nations subjected some under the yoke of servitude. We think it pious and meritorious with God, to make certain persons absolutely free from servitude who are under villinage to us. Wherefore, we do according-ly manumit and free from the yoke of servitude, Henry Knight, a tailor, and John Erie, a husdbandman, our natives {i.e. our slaves), as being born in our manor of Stoke Clymmyslande, in our county of Cornwall, together with all their is- sue born, or hereafter to be born, and all their goods, chattels, and lands already acquired, or hereafter to be acquirwl by them ; so as the said two per- sons, with their issue, shall heucefoiT'tli be deemed by us ai>d our heirs free, and of free condition." It will not do to judge the fathers of the republic as regards the slavery question, from the anti-slavery stand- point of the present day. If we would obtain some satisfac- tor}' explanation of their acts, and comprehend the motives that actuated them in their political course, we must carry ourselves back to the times in which they lived. We must remember that those were times in which men's souls were tried. The first attempt at self-government had praved a failure, under the old Confederation ; jealousies were already rife, and conflicting interests were to be harmonized. The new form of government proposed was, in many respects, entirel}^ experimental. The dark pall of slavery was drawn over this continent from ocean to ocean, and from pole to pole. The labor of the continent and its islands was slave labor. All Europe sustained the system, and had sustained it for centuries. Society and the industrial interests of the colonies were so entirely based on the system of involuntary servitude, that its necessity was, for the time being, abso- lutely paramount. That the system of slavery as it then ex- isted should have been allowed, for a certain period, the importance then given to it, is perfectly easy of compre- hension ; and it is evident that no federal Union, no general 210 government could have been formed at that period without acknowledging the system of labor then existing, as an industrial necessity for the time being. But in view of those principles of liberty and equality upon which independence was achieved, and the clear and decided sentiments expressed by the early patriots, on the evils of slavery, there is certainly some reason to marvel that the founders of the great Ame- rican empire did not cause to be inserted in the instrument designed to serve as the Palladium of our liberties for all time, a single clause indicative of their fixed determination, that under this instrument human bondage should, sooner or later, come to an end throughout the land which it was supposed had been gloriously consecrated to human freedom. This point of inconsistency is the most disagreeable to touch upon, and the most difficult to explain. But we do find some- thing like a satisfactory explanation in the undoubted, undeni- able fact that the founders of the republic saw signs of decay in the sj^stem of slave labor ; and having faith in an overruling Providence, they believed the economy of nature, in obe- dience to the law of progress, would, in due time, bring the unfortunate system to an end, and bury it with other false notions .and superstitions of the past. That the fathers were right in this particular, we are fully prepared to demonstrate, and in doing this, we must explain wherein they committed a serious error, namely, in forming too high an estimate of those who should follow in their footsteps. Washington, Franklin, Jefferson, Adams, Madison, Pinckney, Randolph, and others, who pledged their all in the creation of the fede- ral Union, from their very nobility of nature, were unable to conceive that their glorious labors could be brought to naught in less than three-quarters of a century by a band of crazy fanatics and a low order of politicians, whose sole claim to humane principles, patriotism, and statesmanship lies in the successful exercise of the most common and the meanest of all talent^ — that of stirring up sectional strife, and causing people to hate each other. 211 THE DECLINE OF COMMERCIAL SLAYERY IN AMERICA. The economy of nature is the law of progress, and just in proportion as the economy of nature opens the way, society advances. The moral tone of every community depends, therefore, upon the development of its material interests, and all reforms in society are forced onward by expediency in its efforts to furnish the masses with the necessaries of life. Reform bides its time. A Christ appearing in the days of Moses, would either have been totally neglected, caged as a lunatic, or stoned to death by the rabble, and never heard of beyond those who did the deed. A Luther appearing in the days of Peter the Hermit, would have roamed about unheeded, or been drawn and quartered, and his flesh and memory consigned to the dogs. When Christ appeared, the down-trodden masses of Judea and the kingdoms round about were ready to take some heed of his democratic, liberal teachings. When Luther appeared, those whom religious despotism had groimd into the dust were ready to rise up in aid of the sub- version of the doctrine of infallibility in the head of the Church, and sustain Christian liberty. These two reformers stand forth, towering above the disorder and gloom of their times, like bold headlands on a low tempestuous shore. Truth, according to our estimation of time, makes but slow progress. All the moral advancement made in society since the days of Moses, and we do not consider it very great, appears to be based on the teachings of Christ, and the reform of Martin Luther, and developed through the prac- tical application of the science of mechanics to labor by which the standard of labor is elevated to the benefit of the masses. Disinterested justice, humanity, and philanthropy, appear to have existed in individuals since the world began, but 212 never in communities. In communities these principles take root and flourish to the extent experience proves them appUcable to the development of material interests. The necessities of man require the subjugation of the earth, and man, in his necessities, is led or forced to acknow- ledge and adopt the principles of justice first, humanity next, and philanthropy last. The decline of commercial slavery in America, we regard as a perfect exemplification of the truth of the foregoing remarks. Individual opposition to slavery in America, which had always existed, was of no eflect until the latter part of the eighteenth century, when, after sustaining slaver}^ for upwards of 150 years, the New England communities took measures to abolish the institution. An uncongenial climate and soil, combined with new and profitable developments in free labor, had, at this period, brought the institution of slavery to the last stages of existence throughout several of the northern colonies. What remained was becoming a nuisance. Rhode Island, we believe, claims the honor of first initiat- ino; legislative measures of abolition. We are indebted to Arnold's Historij of Rhode Island for the following facts relative to the early legislation of that State on slavery : " In 1170, an act to prohibit the further importation of slaves into Rhode Island was moved in the Assembly. " In June, 1174, tlie subject of slavery, which for four years before had received attention, was again considered, in consequence of the action of the town of Providence. ' As those who are desirous of enjoying all tlie advantages of liberty themselves, sliould be willing to extend personal liberty to others, reads the preamble, and then proceeds to enact, ' that for the future, no negro or mulattoe slave shall be brought hito this colony,' or if any were brought in they should become free, except the servants of passing travellers, or of British colonists, residing here for a term of years, who, on their departure should take their slaves with them, or negroes brought from Africa by way of the West Indies, whose owners should give bonds to export them within one year. To prevent slaves )>eing brought here for the purpose of receiving their freedom, and so becoming a charge upon the pul^lic, a fine was prescribed whieli was also attached to the harboring any slave thus introduced. In this decided action, Rhode Island again took the lead of all her sister colonies." 213 The preamble to the foregoing act is somewhat peculiar, when we consider that the act itself liberates nobody, but simply stops the importation of- slaves except for export, defines the rights of transient parties to their slave propei-t}^, the regular slave trader among the rest, and imposes a tine upon all who bring slaves into the colony to receive their freedom, or harbor any slaves thus introduced, to prevent their "becoming a charge upon the public." In 1775, an emancipation act was presented to the Rhode Island Assembly, declaring free " all negroes as well as all other persons born in this colony." This act was referred to a future session, and thus it remained until February, 1784, when it passed the Assembly. By this act, " All children of slave mothers, after the first of March, were to be free, the cost of theu- rearing to be paid by the towns where they were born ; and to defray these charges, the Council might bind out to service the males, till the age of 21, and the females till 18. The next year, the clause requiring them to be reared at the expense .of the towns was repealed, and that charge was laid upon the owner of the mother." There is much in the foregoing extracts that is worthy of attentive consideration. With all the desire to be rid of the negro, Rhode Island was disposed to afford legal rights and courteous treatment to strangers holding slaves, and whom business or pleasure brought within the limit of their laws ; and in their act to prevent slaves being brought within the colony to receive their freedom, it is evident that the people would not then have facilitated the operations of the under- ground railroad, nor could the Assembly have been induced to pass a Personal Liberty Bill. Though Rhode Island was the first to take steps for the abolition of slavery, Massachusetts is entitled to the honor of first abolishing the institution. That State, in 1780, inserted in her bill of rights that " all men are born free and equal," and in 1783, the Supreme Court decided that this declara- tion was a bar thereafter to slaveholding in the State. Thus, 214 slavery, which practically had died a natural death in Massa- chusetts, was legally buried in 1783, and that State became the first patch of legalized free soil in America. In 1784, Connecticut passed an act which prohibited the introduction of slaves and declared that no negro or mulatto child born after the 1st day of March, 1784, should be held to servitude longer than till twenty-five years thereafter. In 1780, Pennsylvania passed an act prohibiting the intro- duction of slaves, and declaring children born thereafter of slave mothers, free. Yirginia prohibited the further introduction of slaves in 1778, and in 1782, all legal restrictions on emancipation were removed. Maryland pursued the same course in 1783. New York and New Jersey prohibited the importation of slaves, but took no measures for the extinction of slavery within their limits till some years later, North Carolina, in 1786, declared the introduction of slaves into that State Qf " evil consequences and highly impolitic.'" In 1792, New Hampshire abolished slavery after the manner of Massachusetts. The number of slaves in New England at the time mea- sures of abolition were taken, must have been less than 5,000, worth in the aggregate $1,000,000 more or less. At this period, the most genuine feeling of dislike to the institution of slavery appears to have existed in those southern States where the number of slaves was the greatest, but whose material interests required its toleration and protection for the time being. The exports from Charleston, S. C, then exceeded those of any other port in the country, being some- thing like $3,000,000 in amount. But in the North, slavery on the soil was suffered to die a natural, peaceful death, and it was consigned to an economical tomb under the auspices of professions of justice and humanity, somewhat carelessly mingled with legal obsequies. Not so the slave trade. With the powerful political motive 215 in the North to prevent the increase of shaves in the South, each 50,000 of which gave a representative to the federal Congress, every northern State that voted on the question of making it unconstitutional to abolish the slave trade before 1808, except Pennsylvania and New Jersey, States having little or no interest in that branch of commerce, voted aye- The slave trade clause was carried by the votes of New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia, against Virginia, Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The opposition of Virginia was very decided, inasmuch as the slave trade was not for her interest, the migration of her surplus slave population to other States having already commenced. Mr. Madison was very strenuous that the slave trade should be limited to the year 1800, but he was overruled by precisely the same parties that are now known as Abolitionists in the North and Secessionists in the South. How exceedingly interesting it is to follow the crooks and turns of human interests and human prejudices. Rhode Island, whose interest in the slave trade exceeded that of any other State, was not represented in the Convention that framed the Constitution, but she ratified it May 29th, 1790. Seven-eighths of all the slaves imported into the colonies, and subsequently into the States, from first to last, legally up to 1808, and illegally for twenty years after, were imported for account of and by British subjects and northern United States citizens, the importations being about equally divided between the two nationalities. Leaving the British out of the question for the present, we argue that more might be said for the justice and humanity, and less for the thrift of the New England communities, espe- cially those given to commerce, had they not, after purging their soil of the unprofitable sin of slave labor, clung with such unyielding tenacity to another and the most profitable branch of the business — the slave trade. But in ravishing Africa of the heathen descendants of Ham, and transporting them to Christian countries, where, as the 216 servants of the sons of Japhet, they could enjoy the light of the Gospel, the ancient and deep-rooted idea that God's work was being done may have been the principal incentive that actuated northern citizens in following up that peculiar branch of commerce in human flesh so perseveringly. Let this be as it may, the charitable mantle of oblivion might with pro- priety be cast over the past, but for the very sudden change of certain sections in the North from slave trading as God's work, to Abolitionism as God's work. Impartial history can never speak of that sudden change as legitimate or honest. It now appears as though its results to the country at large would prove disastrous in the extreme. In our remarks relative to the abolition of slavery in the northern States, we have not made mention of any particular State or section for the purpose of instituting invidious comparisons. No, nothing of the kind is intended. Such remarks as we have made on the subject, we consider appli- cable to all portions of the North that may be regarded as abolitionized, and we have said nothing except in the spirit of candor and justice, having no earthly motive to gratify except that which prompts us to do what little lies in our power to expose that spurious and cheap humanity which has its source in gall — which withers and destroys everything in life it touches, and upon which a great sectional party has acquired the administrative power in these dis-United States. In 1787, the last Continental Congress, sitting in New York simultaneously with the Convention in Philadelphia which framed the present Federal Constitution, passed what is known as ^^ An ordmance foi' the government of the territory of the United States northwest of the Ohio.-'' The following is the last article contained in this ordinance : "There shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude in the said territory, otherwise than in punishment of crimes, where the parties shall be duly con- victed." Slavery was certainly national when it required special 217 legislation to secure freedom in any part of the common ter- ritory. The Ordinance passed unanimously. The territory referred to was that which had been ceded to the federation by Vir- ginia. There does not appear to have been any particular excitement relative to the Ordinance. It passed unanimously, and it would appear as if by universal consent, that something like a balance of political power should be maintained between free and slave territory, that fatal provision in the Constitu- tion giving a representative to Congress for every 50,000 slaves, doubtless being the secret, if not the openly declared cause ; and though nothing like what now constitutes a sectional party existed in those days, the line then drawn has been made a sectional line by the Abolition-republican party of the present day. Agreeably to the provision in the Constitution of the United States, permitting the abolition of the slave trade in 1808, Congress passed a law making the importation of negro slaves illegal from that period. The first act for the gradual abolition of slavery in the State of New York, was passed March 22, 1799. On the 9th of April, 1813, the legislature of that State passed '' A?i act concerning slaves and servants,^'' horn, which we extract the following : " I. Be it enacted by the people of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, That every negro, mulatto or mestee within this State, who is now a slave for life, shall continue such unless such slave shall be manumitted according to law ; and that the baptizing of any slave shall not be deemed to be a manumission of such slave : "V. And be it further enacted. That no person held as a slave shall be imported, introduced or brought into this State, on any pretence whatever, by any person coming permanently to reside within this State for the space of nine months, shall be considered as having a permanent residence therein within the meaning of this act, but it shall not be construed to extend to such persons as may reside within this State for a shorter period: and if any person so held as slave, shall be imported, introduced or brought into this State, contrary to the true intent and meaning of this act, he shall be and is hereby declared free: and any slave who shall have been imported, introduced or brought into this State 218 contrary to tlie foregoing directions, since the first day of Maj, 1810, shall be and is hereby declared free. " YII. And be it further enacted. That every child born of a slave within this State after the fourth of July, in the year of our Lord 1199, shall be free, but shall remain the servant of the owner of his mother and the executors or administrators of such owner, in the same manner as if such child had been bound to service by the overseers of thejwor, and shall continue in such service, if a male, until the age of twenty-eight years, and if a female, until the age of twenty-five years." Under these provisions, slavery in the State of New York became entirely extinct about the year 1840. February 24th, 1820, New Jersey passed an act for the gradual abolition of slavery, and other purposes respecting slaves.— K. S., 380. " Every child born a slave within this State since the fourth day of July, 1804, or which shall hereafter be born as aforesaid, shall be free, but shall re- main the servant of the owner of his mother, and the executors, administrators, or assigns of such owners, in the same manner as if such child had been bound to service by the trustees or overseers of the poor, and shall continue in such ser- vice, if a male, until the age of twenty-five years, and if female, until the age of twenty-one years." The census of 18G0 gave eight slaves as then living in New Jersey. A bill prohibiting slavery in all that territory purchased of Louisiana, l3'ing north of thirty-six degrees, thirty minutes, north latitude, and known as the Missouri Compromise, passed the Congress of the United States in 1821. During the progress of these events in America, matters were taking a decided turn in certain parts of Europe, against the slave trade. Christian VK., king of Denmark, or rather Frederick YI , who then ruled that kingdom as regent, took measures to abolish the slave trade in his dominions as early as 1792, and in 1803, the trade was declared abolished. The Danes owned the West India islands, St. Thomas and St. Croix ; but owing to difficulties in suppressing the contraband traffic, the trade was not entirely suppressed until many years afterward. 219 In England, the abolition of the slave trade had become a subject of systematic agitation. It will be remembered that the Spanish asiento contract was obtained by Cadiz traders in 1773. England had also lost her American colonies, which somewhat curtailed her slave trading operations ; and during the war with the colonies, her general traffic in human flesh with all parts of America had materially declined. Taking advantage of this state of affairs, the humanitarians, Gran- ville Sharpe and Mr. Clarkeson caused the subject to be brought before Parliament in 1786, and May 12tli, 1789, Mr. WiLBERFORCE movcd a series of resolutions in Parliament, condemnatory of the traffic, and these resolutions passed. jS^o practical result from this move was obtained, however, till after degrees of investigation and discussion had been reached and passed, and it was ascertained that the general interests of Great Britain and her American possessions, as well as those of justice and humanity, would be promoted by the non-importation of negro slaves. It required twenty years to bring English material interests up to the humanita- rian resolutions passed by Parliament in 1789. In March, 1807, a bill abolishing the slave trade on and after Janu- ary 1st, 1808, passed both houses of Parliament by a large majority. 'France took measures to abolish the slave trade in 1814. In the treaty made with England at that time, Louis XVIII. declared in an additional article that he reciprocated the sentiments of England relative to a branch of commerce so repulsive to the principles of natural justice and contrary to the spirit of the age. It was fixed that the French should cease the traffic in five years from that date. In 1815, this stipulation was renewed, and in 1819, France, so far as she could by legislation, put a stop to the slave trade. In 1814, Spain stipulated with England to abolish the slave trade in 1822. Portugal, in 1815, also agreed with England that her slave trade should be abolished north of the equator, from that period, and everywhere in 1823. 220 It now becomes necessary to turn to another course of events in another part of the world. While those measures tending to the extinction of slaver}^ which we have narrated, were being adopted, Napoleon was enacting his grand military drama in continental Europe. One of the direct consequences of the political changes caused in Europe, by Napoleon, was universal revolution through- out the Spanish American possessions, which, in the course of ten years, resulted in the complete overthrow and disap- pearance of the Spanish power on the American continent. All of these Spanish American Revolutions commenced in 1810, and all had come to a successful close before 1825. One stupendous result of these revolutions was the elevation of over 7,000,000 aborigines from the level of brutes to that of human beings. In the following account of slavery, its original status, peculiarities, and decline in the Spanish American possessions, the various countries will be taken up in the order, of their political divisions. MEXICO. The Mexican revolution commenced Sept. 16th, 1810, and terminated Feb. 24th, 1821. A federal Constitution was adopted Oct. 4th, 1824. In the plan of Iguala, under winch independence was pro- claimed and secured, Art. 3d declares that the people of Mexico were " united, without any distinction between Ame- ricans and Europeans ;" and in Art. 11th, that, " The dis- tinction of castes is abolished, which was made by the Spanish law, excluding them from the rights of citizenship. All the inhabitants of the country are citizens and equal, and the door of advancement is open to virtue and merit." By Art. 36, of the Constitution of 1824, it is declared that, " The nation is bound to protect, by wise and just laws, civil liberty, personal security, prosperity, equality of legal rights, and all the other righ ts of the individuals who compose it." 221 In 1829, under the Presidency of General Guerrero, the entire abolition of slavery was consummated by the following decree : "The President of the United Mexican States to the Inhabitants of the same : " Be it known — That, being desirous to signalize the anniversary of inde- pendence, in the year 1829, by an act of national justice and beneficence, which may redound to the advantage and support of so inestiraaljle a good, which may further insure the public tranquillity ; which may tend to the agrandize- ment of the republic, and may reinstate an unfortunate portion of its inhabi- tants in the sacred rights which nature gave to them, and the nation should protect by wise and just laws, conformably with the dispositions of the tliirtieth article of the constituent act, employing the extraordinary faculties which have been conceded to me, I have resolved to decree : Art. 1. — " Slavery is, and shall remain abolished in the republic. Art. 2. — " In consequence, those who have hitherto been regarded a slaves, are free. Art. 3. — " Whensoever the condition of the treasury shall permit, the owners of the slaves shall be indemnified according to the terms which the law may dispose. " Guerrero. '•Mexico, Sept. 15th, 1829." Under the " Plan of Toluca,'' or Central Constitution of 1836, and the Presidency of Bustamente, a further decree was issued, as follows : Art. 1. '" Slavery is abohshed, without any exception, throughout the whole republic. Art. 2. " The owners of the slaves manumitted by the present law, or by the decree of Sept. 15, 1829, shall be indemnified for their interests in them, to be estimated according to the proofs which may be presented of their personal quahties ; to which effect, one appraiser shall be appointed by the Commissary General, or the person performing his duties, and another by the owner • and in case of disagreement, a third, who shall be appointed by the respective con- stitutional alcalde ; and from the decision thus made there shall be no appeal. The indemnification mentioned in this article shall not be extended to the colo- nists of Texas, who may have taken part in the revolution in that depart- ment. Art. 3. " The owners to whom the original documents drawn up with re- gard to the proofs mentioned in the preceding article, shall be dehvered gratis, shall themselves present them to the Supreme Government, which will authorize the general treasury to issue to them the corresponding orders for the amount of their respective interests. 222 Art. 4. "The payment of the said orders shall be made ia the manner which may seem most equitable to the government, with the view of reconcil- ing the rights of individuals with the actual state of the public finances." April 5th, 1837. The Constitution of 1843, Bases organicas de la Republica Mejicana, of that year, declares, Title 2d, that : " No one is a slave in the territory of the nation, and that any slave who may be introduced, shall be considered free, and remain under the protection of the laws." The Constitution of 1847, which, in fact, is the old Fede- ral Constitution of 1824, does not reenact this clause ; but in the Acta de Reformas annexed to it, it is declared : Art. 1st. " That every Mexican, either by birth or naturalization, who has attained the age of twenty years, who possesses the means of an honest liveli- hood, and who has not been condemned by legal process to any infamous pun- ishment, is a citizen of the United Mexican States," and in Art. 5th, " In order to secure the rights of man^ which the Constitution recognize, a law shall fix the guaranties of liberty, security, property and equality, which all the inhabi- tants of the republic enjoy, and shall establish the means to make them effec- tive." In the present Constitution of Mexico, that of 1857, we find the following : Art. 2. " In the republic all are born free. Slaves that set foot upon the national territory recover, by that single act, their liberty, and have a right to the protection of the laws." Art. 4. Every one is free to embrace the profession, industry or labor which pleases him, it being useful and honest, and to enjoy its products. Neither the one nor the other shall be interfered with, except through judicial sentence, when attacking tlie rights of a third i)arty, or by an order of government, dic- tated in the terms prescribed by tlie law, when offending the rights of so- ciety. Art. 5. No one shall be obliged to render personal service without just com- pensation, and without his full consent. The law shall not authorize any con- tract which has for its object the loss, or the irrevocable sacrifice of personal liberty, whether it be for the purpose of labor, of education, or religious vow. Neither shall there be authorized agreements by which an individual consents to his own banishment or disfranchisement." 223 The foregoing legislative acts in Mexico, have direct reference to negro and mulatto slaves, hidian slavery and its abolition will be noticed hereafter. In 1530, considerable numbers of negro slaves were found in the State of Vera Cruz. As the country was explored and occupied by the Spaniards, this class of laborers came into demand, principally, to work the sugar plantations. Hence, in certain portions of the States of Vera Cruz, Puebla, Oajaca, .Tabasco, Chiapas, Guerrero and Colima, the valleys of Cuer- navaca, Cuautla etc., negro slaves in considerable numbers were employed for upward of two and a half centuries. It cannot be said, however, that negro slavery in Mexico was ever carried out extensively, or proved much of a suc- cess. From the first of the eighteenth century to the latter part of the same, the institution was at the height of all the prosperity it ever enjoyed in that country ; and the number of negro slaves at any one time during this period, could not have exceeded 100,000. The natives of Mexico, in numbers and hardihood, proved too much, even for the iron rigor of Spanish rule, and although millions were destroyed, enough remained — probably as many as could be managed — to serve the general purposes of labor throughout New Spain. In the early part of the nineteenth century, we find the institution of negro slavery in Mexico tending to rapid decay. In the first place, the expense and risk of introducing negroes into those sections not immediately contiguous to Vera Cruz, had considerably increased; the Indians evinced more than or- dinary restiveness, which had a bad eff"ect on the negro ; and the negro slaves raised in the country, with their descendants by the Indians, called Zambos, were becoming vicious and unmanageable. Consequently, the demand for negroes fell off, and in certain sections measures were adopted to eman- cipate the negro slaves and work them under a system of free labor. This experiment was fully and successfully tried on some of the largest sugar plantations. In the vallej^s of Cuerna- 224 vaca and Cuautla Amilpas, the principal proprietors liberated a certain number of their slaves annually, and encouraged them to remain on the estates as free laborers. So success- ful did this system prove, that, on many of the largest estates in Cuernavaca, there was not a single negro slave in the year 1808. The policy of this measure became still more apparent in 1810, for as soon as the revolution broke out, those planters who had not adopted the system of gradual emancipation were abandoned at once by their slaves, and forced, in some instances, to give up working their estates ; while those who had provided themselves, in time, with a mixed caste of free laborers, retained, even during the worst of times, a suf- ficient number of hands to enable them to cultivate their lands, although upon a reduced scale. The labor of the estates in Mexico worked under the free system, proceeded without compulsion, anything like coercive measures being scarcely known. But such a mixture of negroes, Indians and Zambos was productive of a very low order of civilization. ■ We find in "Ward's Mexico," written in 1827, a compari- son made between the result of free labor on sugar estates in Mexico, and slave labor on sugar estates in Cuba, as follows : " One luindred and fift}' slaves are employed, in the island of Cuba, upon a plantation capable of producing one thousand cases, or 16,000 arrobas* of sugar (vide Hunil)oldt's Essai Politique sur Pile de Cuba), while, in the valley of Cu- autla, one hundred and fifty free laborers are found sufficient for a hacienda, which yields from 32 to 40,000 arrobas. Thus (supposing the expense in other respects to be the same), in the one case, the produce of each individual would be 2,6G6 lbs., and in the other 5,332 lbs., or even 6,G66 lbs., taking the maximum of 40,000 arrol)as. The correctness of this calculation depends of course upon the comparative fertility of the soil of the island of Cuba, and in the valley of Cuautla Amilpas, respecting which I am not competent to give an opinion. There is no reason, however, to suppose tliat thei-e is any superiority in the soil of Cuautla, sufficiently great to account for so marked a difference in the amount of tlie sugar, raised by an equal number of laborers ; for the ele- vation of (lie valley above the level of the ocean, renders it impossible to apply Humboldt's estimate of the extraordinary fertility of Vera Cruz to the planta- tions of Cuautla or Cuernavaca." * An arroba is 25 pounds. 225 In view of the foregoing, let it not be said that the experi- ment of free negro labor in the tropics, on a large scale, was never successfully tried. It is a curious fact, and worthy of note, that the process of gradually abolishing negro slavery commenced simulta- neously in New England and the Spanish colonies of Mexico, for precisely the same cause, namely, the institution had become unprofitable. In New England, slavery was abolished by law, while in Mexico, the measures taken to this end were voluntary on the part of the Spanish planters. Here we find the cold and sterile North and the hot and fruitful tropics, the cool, calcukxting and thrifty New Eng- lander, and the extravagant, showy, hard-hearted Spaniard — giving in their evidence against negro slavery and abolish- ing it as an unprofitable institution. Before the Mexican revolution had terminated, in 1821, nearl}^ every vestige of negro' slavery in Mexico had dis- appeared. Many of the slaves fled, others were liberated, and when Guerrero issued his decree of immediate and universal emancipation in 1829, there were not 10,000 ne- groes and mulattoes held as slaves throughout the entire republic, to take advantage of the liberty thus decreed. In the northern tier of Mexican States, in Durango, San Luis Potosi, Jalisco, Michoacan, and Queretaro, the negro was rarely seen except as the servant of a Spaniard. Con- siderable numbers of mulattoes are found in the State of Guerrero. Some remain in the States of Oajaca, Tabasco and Chiapas. The term Lobo is generally applied to these mulattoes, from the peculiar tint of their complexion, which resembles that of the Mexican wolf called Loho. In Yera Cruz and vicinity,- a few negroes, and quite a number of mulattoes, known as Jarochos, are concentrated. In 1803, Humboldt, in his classification of the inhabitants of the city of Mexico, gave 10,000 mulattoes. This race has disap- peared, and the pure negro is not to be found on any of the table lands of the country. The dry and rarefied atmosphere of those regions is destructive to his race. 226 We do not believe there is enough negro blood in all Mexico to make 20,000 pure negroes, notwithstanding a pro- minent legislator very gravely remarked to us recently, that he calculated one-third of the Mexican population was of the pure negro race, which would give about 2,500,000 negroes to the republic. The question of reestablishing or extending negro slavery over Mexico, which is now a prominent subject of agitation in the public mind, can be disposed of in very few words. The Cordilleras occupy the great central portion of Mexico,, leaving a strip of low land on either coast, narrow and irregu- lar in outline, known as the tierra caliente ; and these low lands are cut up at frequent intervals by mountain ridges and spurs — the whole being of volcanic formation. Now the apostles of the " irrepressible conflict" doctrine must make it appear in the first place, that the slavery' propagandists can cause the Mexican Cordilleras, the backbone of the country, with all the detached spurs and ridges, to sink into the earth, and leave in their place, low, hot, moist and rich plains. Next, the irrepressibles must prove that the slavery exten- sionists can speedily annihilate some seven or eight millions of Mexicans, who, in their turn, will fight for freedom to the last drop of their blood. And lastly, it must be made to ap- pear that the slave trade can be opened, and the price of good field hands reduced to $200. All this being accom- plished, slavery extension into Mexico might stand some chance. Take comfort, then, (3 ye simple-minded natives in the North, who have been taught to shiver and shake in holy horror of slavery extension. Eschew the gospel of uneasi- ness and be comforted. Do not attempt to take the Higher Law into your own hands, to work ' out the end the Higher Law had already accomplished some time before you came into existence. The only difficulty is, you do not acknow- ledge the Higher Law, whose commands you pretend to obey. Cast aside, therefore, your superstitious notions ; eschew Abolition, Jacobin teachings, and study our frontiers — Mexico, nature, God. If you cannot bring yourselves 227 right on the subject, train up your children in the way they should go, and let us have some hope that the next gene- ration will repair the national mischief perpetrated by the present. The Subject of Indian Slavery in Mexico, and the Spanish American countries generally, while under the rule of Spain, requires some notice here. No sooner did the natives of the West India islands become ' acquainted with the Spaniards who thronged to their shores immediately on the discovery, than they began to evince a very strong and very natural aversion to the strangers. Las Casas declared that the Indians shunned the Spaniards as naturally as " sparrows the sparrowhawk." This led to coer- cive measures on the part of the Spaniards, looking at first to intercourse simply, but which soon resulted in the forcible subjugation of the natives, the natural and speedy consequence of which was their abasement to a horribly destructive system of slavery. The peculiarly ingenious manner in which the Spaniards blended deviltry with piety, and which cannot now be called one of the "lost arts," caused them to look upon the Indians as cattle with souls. They hunted the poor natives, subjugated them, and worked up their bodies that their souls might enter paradise ; the idea of which, when told that he would meet Christians there, drove a famous cacique to such despair that he went and hung himself. In 1495, Columbus sent back to Spain from Hispaniola, four ships loaded with Indian slaves. In 1496, Bartholomew Columbus sent to Spain 300 Indian slaves from Hispaniola. In 1498, Columbus sent to Spain, in five vessels, GOO Indian slaves. All these Indians were captured in the island of His- paniola by Spanish war parties. Columbus, in his letters to Los Reyes, estimates that, " in the name of the sacred Trinity," there may be sent as many slaves as sale could be found for in Spain, and that the value of the slaves, for whom there would be a demand to the num- 228 ber of 4,000, as he calculated from certain information, and of the logwood, would amount to forty cuentos, equivalent to about $G0,000. It was also proposed at this time to exchange Indian slaves for goods wanted from the mother country. In the year 1497, letters patent were issued from Los Reyes, authorizing repartimientos, or partitions of lands in the Indies to the colonizing Spaniards. Following upon this system of dividing up the lands, regulations that the lands so 'divided should be cultivated by the Indians under the direc- tion of their caciques, w^ere established. An improvement upon this system was soon devised, namely, stocking the lands with Indian slaves who should belong to the estate and perform the labor thereof. Later, a new form of repartimi- ento is found. Antonio de Leon the jurist, defines it as fol- lows : " Repartimietito in New Spain, is that which is made every week of the Indians who are given for mines and works by the judges for that purpose {los Inezes Eeparlidores), for which the pueblos contribute throughout the twenty weeks of the year, what they call a dobla (a Spanish coin), at the rate of ten Indians for every hundred ; and the remainder of the year what they call a sencUla (another Spanish coin), at the rate of two Indians for every hundred. The above rate was for works and cultivation of land. When it was for mines, to work for which particular pueblos were set aside, it was a contribution for the whole year, at the rate of four Indians for every hundred !" At an early day, a simple division of Indians was made among the colonists, giving to one 50, to another 100, to another 500, to another 1,000, etc., in encomienda, as it was called, after the following form, or deed as first given by OvANDO, governor of Ilispaniola, in 1503 : " To you, such a one, is given an encomienda of so many Indians with such a cacique, and you are to teach them the things of our holy faith." A correspondence between Ovando, governor of Hispaniola, and their majesties, touching the Indians at this time, is worthy of note, as involving a variety of interests, and the kind of freedom decreed to the Indians. OvANDO wrote that the Indians fled from the Spaniards and could not be induced to hold intercourse with them ; all of 229 which proved a decided hindrance to their conversion and seriously retarded the prosperity of the colony. To which their majesties replied, directing Ovando to compelthe Indians to have dealings with the Spaniards, arid luork on such terms as he might think Jit. It was further ordered that the In- dians should go and hear mass and be instructed in the faith ; and that they should do all these things " as free persons, for so they are.''^ The word encomienda originally implied a " Commandery in a military order," but in its application to the division of Indians, it signified a preceptory charge. Later, we find the Spanish jurists thus defining the institution : " Encomienda is a right conceded by royal bounty (d merced y volivntad del Rcy) to well-deserving persons in the Indies, to receive and enjoy for themselves the tributes of the Indians who should be assigned to them, with a charge of providing for the good of those Indians in spiritual and temporal mattci"s, and of inhabiting and defending the provinces where these encomiendas should be granted to them." In such language as this were the aborigines found in America by the Spaniards, condemned to unmitigated body and soul-crushing slavery, the profits arising from the system being divided between the crown, the church, and the lordly encomfendero. At an early date, the capitation tax was established, by which each Indian was required to pay a sum varying from three to fifteen dollars per annum. Then came the terrible Mita law, by which a certain number of Indians were requir.ed to labor by turns in the mines and produce a stated amount. The sufferings caused the Indians by this law are almost bej^ond belief. Some of the mining districts in various parts of Spanish America were nearly depopulated by it, and in consequence, this law was mitigated from time to time, and finally declared abolished during the latter part of the reign of Charles III. The policy of Spain was to create a market in her American colonies for her own ^Droducts and manufactures — to supply them with provisions as well as fabricated goods — and receive 230 ill return, llie largest possible amount that could be extracted from the mines. The commerce and trade growing out of all this was secured to the Sjianiards as a monopol}^ ; and to support the colonial government and keep up the flow of treasure into the royal coffers, the z?/(i7/5//'?/ of the colonies was taxed. The contrivance of Spain was to aggrandize herself at the expense of the common rights of humanity ; and among the milHons of aborigines who toiled under Spanish domina- tion, the fell purpose of this contrivance was wrought out, causing an amount of human woe that the mind of man can- not compass. It is tlie general custom among writers to condemn the Spanish colonists for their cruel treatment of the Indians, and hold ihe government of Spain excusable. By giving certain extracts from Las Leijes de las Indias, the Acts of the Council of the Indias, and royal decrees, in which the Indians are declared hombres libres, and otherwise spoken of as persons who must be protected and favored, the general impression is created that the government of Spain is in no very great degree, responsible for the cruel treatment of the Indians b}^ the conquerors and colonists of Spanish America. We take a contrary view of this matter, and believe the responsibility of nearly all the dire evils brought upon the Indians by the Spanish adventurers, is directly chargeable upon the home government. After the conquerors of Spanish America had killed off a great many millions of the aborigines, and thus reduced their numbers to a manageable figure, it became apparent to the crown that a stop must be put to the further wholesale destruction of the Indians, in order that laborers might be had to develop what was regarded as the great resource of the New World, namely, the mines. Negroes could not be made available for this purpose, and therefore it became necessary to preserve enough of the native population to meet that requirement. This population being brought into the work, it became necessary to guard against ^meut'S and rebellions, that the 231 hazard of holding the colonial possessions and the expense of maintaining their government, might not be unduly aug- mented. It became necessary, therefore, to reduce the intelligence and position of the Indians to as near the level of the brute as possible, and at the same time have a care not to so oppress, as to drive to that desperation which will cause humanity, even of the lowest order, to turn upon the oppressor. To meet these necessities in a pious way, the laws of Spain regulating the Indians of the colonies, appear to have been framed. For every clause tending to protect and favor the Indian, there were two holding him to the most abject servitude. It may be said that the slavery of the Spanish- American Indians on the continent, was of a harsher character than that of the negroes, inasmuch as the negro, who had cost 300 or 400 dollars cash, was valued higher and treated with more consideration than the native Indian, whose first cost was the catching and breaking in, and who was held to the soil by ties of association and kindred. The intellectual capacities of the Indians of Mexico were naturally of a finer and far higher order than those of the negro, and for this reason, it was necessary to practise greater cruelty and enforce more systematic degradation upon the Indian, in order to keep him under, than upon the negro. There was only one exception to this rule. The absolute sale of Indians for transfer from country to country and point to point, almost entirely ceased after the West India islands were supplied with negroes. This did not form a part of the system on the continent, as the removal of the Indians from where they were born and reared, would break the strongest tie by which they were held in bondage. In this respect, it must be said that the status of the Indian slave in the Spanish possessions on the continent, was different from that of the negro slave. It fell to the lot of the Spanish- American Indian to live and die a wretched slave to rapa- 232 cious, foreign task-masters, in the land of iiis birth, the home of his race. The following is an extract from the writings of Las Casas : " As for the continent it is certain, and wliat I myself know to be true, that the Spaniards have ruined ten kingdoms there, bigger than all Spain, by the commission of all sorts of barbarity and unheard of cruelties. They have driven away or killed all the inhabitants, so that all these kingdoms are desolate to this day (1560), and reduced to a most deplorable condition, though this was the best peopled country in the world. We dare assert, without fear of exaggerat- ing, that in the space of those 40 years in which the Spaniards exercised their intolerable tyranny in this JSTew World, they unjustly put to death above 12,000,000 of peo2)le, counting men, women and children; and it may be affirmed, without injury to truth, upon a just calculation, that during this space of time above 50,000,000 have died in these countries." The general truth of Las Casas' statements cannot be doubted ; but it is to be hoped that his stupendous numerals are exaggerations. We have given 7,000,000 as the number of Indian slaves liberated by the Spanish American revolutions. This is pro- bably a low estimate. In 1823, Humboldt estimated the Indian population of Spanish America, the civilized or settled Indians, as they are called, to be 7,530,000. The num- ber must have been considerably greater in 1810, when the revolution first broke out. General Miller estimates the number of human beings destroyed by the sword in Spanish America between 1810 and 1825, at 1,000,000! Miller, though a partisan, was considered candid and well informed. The Indians were destroyed by thousands on the slightest pretext. It has been stated on good authority that Morillo shed more blood in one year, in the single State of Vene- zuela, than was shed in the thirteen North American colonies during the seven years of their Revolutionary struggle. It is no exaggeration, therefore, to say that the Spanish American revolutions broke the fetters of 7,000,000 of human beings, and raised them from the brute level to that of humanity. Of this number, something more than half must be allotted to Mexico. 233 One of the human beings thus Uberated and elevated, is Benito Juarez, President of the repubUc of Mexico, a pure Indian, and said to be of the Toltec race, driven from Ana- huac by the Aztecs — he who has ckmg to tlie hist hope of his race and nation witli a tenacity that death, alone could relax, and by his unyielding determination, pure patriotism, and in- corruptible integrity, guided the nation through a desperate and bloody revolution — the only real revolution they have had in Mexico since the independence — and saved his country. Away down in Oajaca, where the winds sweep through the tall cypress in mournful sighs, and the stupendous and gloomy surroundings of nature invite to profound and melancholy repose, is Mitla. The signification of tliis word in the Indian language of the country, is, the place of sadness ; and here are found the extraordinary remains of what are known as the sepulchral palaces of the ancient kings of Mexico. From this region comes President Juarez. Rising as it were from the tombs of his ancestors, he liberates his country from the evils imposed upon it by a nation not as old as those visible remains of the sepulchres of his own race. In Juarez we see a mysterious connection between the un- known, dead Past, and the living Present. In Juarez we see the romance and' the reality of Mexico. At the conclusion of the Mexican war of independence in 182], the Spanish regime by which the Indians were held in bondage under the encomiendas and repartimientos, the laws of tribute, distinction of castes, etc., disappeared. The Plan of Igiiala, proclaimed 1821, says in Article 11 : " The distinction of castes is abolished, which was, by the Spanish law, excluding them from the rights of citizenship." This referred to the Indians. The decree of Guerrero in 1829 referred to negro slaves, and whatever may have been the faults of the Mexican nation since it cast off the Spanish yoke, the numerous extracts that have been given from their various constitutions and decrees, evince a deep and undying hatred to the system of involuntary servitude, and an unequivocal denial of the doc- trine that man has a right to hold property in man. 234 Peonage, which some characterize as a species of masked slavery, is a system by which the labor of the country is regu- lated, having been estabUshed hj the Mexican government since the war of independence. This peonage is not masked slavery, nor is there anything of slavery attached to the sys- tem. The Mexican peon can be one of the most indepen- dent laboring men in existence, if he chooses ; or he can enjoy the luxury of being in debt. YUCATAN. This former Captain-Generalship having joined with Mexico in the war of independence, became incorporated with that republic under the federal Constitution of 1824, and con- sequently, has been governed by the same legislation as Mexico. Negro slavery scarcely ever had existence in Yucatan. GUATEMALA. On the 21st September, 1821, the Captain-Generalship of Guatemala became an independent State, and united itself with the republic of Mexico ; but on the 1st July, 1823, it became a separate government, and eventually the confede- ration of the five Central American States of GuatemaUi, San Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica, with the territory of the Mosquito, was formed. A constitution for the new republic was adopted by the National Assembly on the 22d of November, 1824. Squire's Nicaragua says : "The Constitution of 1824 contained gnarantics of individual rights, the representative principle, habeas corpus, and the liberty of the press. " Among the acts of the Assembly which formed the Constitution was a Decree issued on the iTth April, 1824, abolishing slavery absohitely and at once, and providing against its reestaljlishment at any time or in any part of the republic. " Tlic slave trade was declared to Ije piracy, and the heaviest penalties were declared against all persons who should engage in it directly or indirectly. " To the Republic of Central America, therefore, belongs tlie glory of having 235 been the first country in the world to abolish negro slavery. And to the policy marked out by its first constituent assembly, it has ever and faithfully adhered. It was the adoption of this measure which led to its first dispute with Great Britain, that loud-mouthed advocate of philanthropy, when philan- thropy is profitable, and never otherwise. "Will it be credited, that as late as 1840, a claim enforced by vessels of war, was made against Central America by the British Government, for slaves who had fled from Belize, and secured their freedom under the Constitution of Central America ? Yet such is the fact — the black, damning fact." In all the republic of Central America, negro slavery never attained to any great extent. Yery few negroes and but little evidence of negro blood can now be found in Guatemala, or the Central American states. In 1838, the confederacy was dissolved, Guatemala, as well as other states, becoming independent republics. NEW GRANADA. In 1810, the Spanish authority in the Yice-Roj^'alty of New Granada and Captain-Generalship of Venezuela, was thrown off, and an incessamt war' against that power main- tained until 1824, when the Spaniards were finally van- quished. In 1819, the Congress of Angostura met, and the Repub- lic of Colombia was proclaimed, in which Venezuela was united with New Granada, and on the 30th August, 1821, a federal Constitution was adopted. This union, however, lasted only ten years. In November, 1829, Venezuela seceded from the republic, and in May, 1830, the province now known as Ecuador, also withdrew. The central part of Colombia then constituted itself the republic of New Granada, by a decree adopted on the 21st November, 1831, and in 1832 a new Constitution was pro- claimed, which, in 1842-3 was revised, and was afterward known as the reformed Constitution of 1843. A Report by the Minister of the Interior of the republic of Colombia, presented to the National Congress on the 22d 236 April, 1823 (when Venozeula and Ecuador were includHl in the republic), says, under the head of " Slavery " : " The law of 21st July, 1821, gave liberty to the chiktren of female slaves, abolished the trade in negroes, and the boards of manumission have since been in activity throughout the republic." In December of the same year (1823), the period fixed for the liberation of slaves by purchase, it was carried into effect, and the Legislature of Colombia received the blessings of thousands restored to the condition of men. By a law of the Congress of the republic of Colombia, passed on the 18th of February, 1825, the slave trade was declared piracy, and made punishable with death. The first General Congress of Colombia passed the following law with reference to the Indian population, 11th October, 1821 : "Art. 1. The Indigenos of Colombia, called Indians in the Spanish code, shall not in the future pay the impost known by the degrading name of 'tribute,' nor shall they be obliged to render any service or labor to any class of persons without the payment of jast com})»nsation, which shall be stipulated beforehand. " They shall be in all respects equal to other citizens, and shall be protected by the same laws ." All these laws and provisions of the former republic of Colombia and of New Grranada, with regard to slavery and the rights of the Indians, were reaffirmed by and incorporated into the revised code of laws of New Granada, which went into effect on the 1st of October, 1843. VENEZUELA, This Captain-Generalship having united with the Vice- Royalty of New Granada in the revolution of 1810, became a part of the republic of Colombia, and was regulated by the Constitution of 1821, and subsequent laws, by which the abo- lition of slavery was consummated the same as in other States of the Republic. 237 PERU. The Peruvian revolution commenced in 1810 and the in- dependence of the country was proclaimed on the 28th of July, 1821. Among the first legislative acts of the new government was a decree which declared that the children of slaves born in Peru after the 28th July, 1821, should be free. This was followed by another, abolishing the tribute, and enacting that the aborigines be thenceforth denominated Peruvians like the Creoles. In Art. 152 of the first Constitution of Peru it is declared that no one is born a slave in the republic, neither does any one enter from other countries who is not made free when he treads on Peruvian soil. Should any Peruvian be found guilty of importing slaves into the republic for the purpose of traffic, the Constitution declares that he. shall be deprived of his rights of citizenship. The internal traffic, however, continued up to 1855, though it was confined to buying and selling such slaves as existed in the country before the war of independence began, or to such of their offspring as were born before the )'ear 1820, when Peru was no longer the acknowledged patrimony of the Spaniards. By decree of the Constitutional Government of Peru, in 1855, slavery was finally and entirely abolished, and the capitation tax to which the Indians had been subjected since the time of the Spaniards was made to cease. The government of Peru obligated itself to pay for the negro slaves, some 25,000 in number, liberated by the decree of 1855. As in Mexico, negro slavery in Peru was confined to a few agricultural districts of limited extent. The principal districts were lea, Caneta, Santa, Huacho, and the neighborhood of the capital. The Indians only were employed to work the mines. These are located in the higher regions, where the negro does not thrive. We have stated that necrro slaves were 238 never taken by the Spaniards to work the mines on the con- tinent. CHILI. The revolution was commenced, and a Provisional Go- vernment established in Chili in 1810. Independence was declared on the 12th February, 1818. The present Constitution was adopted on the 25th May, 1833. By this Constitution, slavery is abolished forever, the slave trade forbidden under severe penalties, and every person who treads the soil of the republic is declared free. No stranger engaged in the slave trade is permitted to reside in Chili. LA PLATA In 181(3, the Constitutional Assembly of the Provinces of the Rio de la Plata declared those countries independent of Spain, and in 1821, the Spanish troops were finally expelled. In 1824, the independence of the Provinces of the La Plata was recognized by the English government. The slave trade was abolished under severe penalties, by a decree of the first Constitutional Assembly of the Provinces in 1813. During the war of independence, slavery in the Provinces • became nearly extinct, mainly by liberations. Entire regi- ments were formed of the blacks thus liberated, and under the name of libertos, they were enrolled in the service of the republic. At one time their numbers reached as high as 5,000. The slaves had also the privilege of buying their freedom at any time, by paying the original purchase money. By these means, slavery was gradually and quietly extinguished in the Provinces of the Rio de la Plata. 239 BRAZIL. ( Originally Portuguese.) We have not included some 300,000 Brazilian Indians, in our enumeration of Indian slaves liberated by the revolutions of 1810 on the continent. At first, the Portuguese enslaved the Indians in Brazil, and their system of slavery was as burdensome and destructive as that of the Spaniards ; but there appears to have been a determined and partially suc- cessful action, on the part of the Portuguese government, to protect the aborigines of Brazil. By a decree of the Portuguese government, in 1755, the natives of Brazil were declared free and entitled to the name and all the rights of citizens ; and though this had very little effect in elevating that degraded class, and though, in certain localities, considerable numbers of the natives continued in abject servitude, it cannot be said that the few hundred thousand Indians scattered throughout the vast empire of Brazil were slaves (like the Spanish-American Indians) when Brazil became independent of Portugal in 1822, and com- menced her new political career, under a constitutional hereditary monarchy, with Dom Pedro I. as emperor. Until quite recently, no light shade can be given to the history of slavery in Brazil. That country has been one immense grave-yard for Africans. The short run from the coast of Africa to Brazilian ports, the great extent of coun- try adapted to negro labor, and the destructive system under which slaves were worked, induced, from the commencement of its occupation by the Portuguese, an extravagant importa- tion of negro slaves ; and it is only within ten years that this traffic in Brazil has yielded to the spirit of the age. The number of negro slaves imported into Brazil from Africa between 1530 and 1850, a period of 320 years, we estimate as follows : 240 Average per annum. From 1530 to 1600 6,000 300,000 From 1600 to 1700 . 15,000 1,500,000 From 1700 to 1800 . 20,000 2,000,000 From 1800 to 1820 . 30,000 600,000 From 1830 to 1840 . 85,000 850,000 From 1840 to 1850 . 50,000 500,000 Total in 320 years 5,750,000 The abolition of the slave trade by the civilized nations, had the effect to concentrate, in a great measure, the expiring struggles of this infernal traffic on the shores of Brazil. The capacities of the country- to consume negroes, and its favorable location for the trade, caused it to be a popular rendezvous of the contrabandistas. The trade raged with great fury from 1830 to 1850, when the public mind became suddenly aroused from its torpid state on the subject, and the trade came suddenly to an end. In 1850, in accordance with the En- glish treaty, the government of Brazil instituted measures to prevent the landing of slaves on its shores ; and so vigorously and successfully were those measures carried out, that in three years the slave trade was completely suppressed. For many years the importation of negro slaves into Brazil had averaged 50,000 per annum. In 1840, the number reached 100,000. In 1853, there was not a single disembarkation. In 1856, a slaver, cruising along the coast with a cargo of negroes, did not succeed in selling a single slave, though she touched at five different points. The great and sudden change that has recently taken place in Brazil, relative not only to the slave trade but to the slave labor in the country, is very remarkable, and preeminently significant of the rapid decline and speedy downfall of com- mercial slavery on the American continent. Says Mr. Fletcher, in his interesting work, " Brazil and the Brazilians,'''' " Slavery is doomed in Brazil." It is easy to perceive that the institution has but a sickly existence in the public mind in Brazil, and that the better 241 quality and greater economy of free labor are rapidly gaining on slave labor in that vast empire. We give an extract from the Mexican Papers, No. 4, page 164, which properly comes in here : " By the Braziliau law, a slave can, at auy time, appear before a magistrate, have his price fixed, and purchase his freedom. There is a system of coloniza- tion in progress, intended to supply the gradually diminishing quantity of slave labor, and the statesmen of the empire are said to be devoting much time and attention to discover the best means of promoting immigration. Germany, Portugal, the Azores and Madeira are constantly supplying laborers, attracted by the prospect which Brazil holds out to them, and there seems to be no doubt that the free African population will eventually fully suffice for these occupa- tions in a tropical country for which the white race is necessarily unfitted. " For more than three hundred years, the entire agricultural and manufac- turing' interests of Brazil, from north to south, from east to west, have been based on slave' labor. The institution of slavery has entered more thoroughly into the industrial system of Brazil than it has into that of the United States. Natural causes favor the system of slave labor in Brazil more than they do in the United States, and though the number of slaves in the former country reaches 3,000,000, the institution of slavery is steadily and surely coming to au end in that empire." The rapid decline of commercial slavery in Brazil, without abolition societies, abolition journals, or any of that peculiar abolition venom which infects the northern part of this country, is a subject worthy of profound reflection, Neither abolitionists nor slavery propagandists can find any comfort in Brazil. Nature and the laws of society are working out the problem of slavery in that country, in a manner not at all favorable to the peculiar ideas or interests of the extreme wing of either of the two great political parties in this country. Left to herself, uncursed by an army of howling abolition fanatics, and knowing nothing of licentious liberty in politics, Brazil, that vast empire, which, perhaps, fills the blackest space in the great black page of American history, is rapidly • emerging from the dark past, and apparently entering upon a grand and prosperous future. The government of Brazil finds it extremely difficult to 242 obtain an accurate census of the population of the country, particularly of the aboriginal portion. This class in the in- terior are very suspicious that taking their number has some- thing to do with taxation or enlistment for soldiers ; and while they will assist in obtaining an account of the deaths that take place, they will fight before allowing a register of births to be kept, or anything, in fact, to indicate the names, num- bers, and condition of the living. The following is the government estimate of the popula- tion in Brazil, in 1856. White population 2,000,000 Free mixed do. ) 1.121,00p Mulattoes, etc. ) Civilized aboriginal do 800,000 Mixed slave do 600,000 African slave do 2,600,000 7,121,000 The population of Brazil has materially changed its rela- tive proportions since 1856. Mr. Fletcher mentions as a striking fact " that emigrants did not begin to arrive from Europe by thousands until 1852. In 1850-51, the slave trade was annihilated, and in the succeeding year commenced the present comparatively vigorous colonization. Each year the number of colonists is increasing." The free white population must have largely increased, while the slave population, diminished by the annihilation of the slave trade, emancipation, etc., in equal, if not greater pro- portion. The aggregate population of Brazil must be more than 9,000,000, and of this, the slave population can scarcely reach 3,000,000 ; and unless some unforeseen and unfortu- nate change takes place, this disproportion between the free and slave population of the country will continue and speedily extinguish the latter. 243 GUIANA. British G-uiana. — Slavery abolished in 1834. See British West Indies, page 247. Population, whites, 96,467; negroes, 14,251; Creoles, 7,682. French Guiana. — Slavery abolished in French Guiana, 1848. See French West Indies, page 253. Population, 17,625. Dutch Guiana. — Slavery abolished by the Dutch in 1851, but as a compensation to the owners, the negroes were to work as apprentices till the year 1863. Population : whites, 12,000 ; negroes, 40,000. SLAVERY in CANADA. On commencing this publication, we addressed a com- munication to a friend in Canada, requesting him to give such information as he might be able to obtain respecting the original status and extent of the institution of slavery in Canada, and its abolition, for publication in our pages. These inquiries, it appears, have brought out a very interesting his- torical sketch of slavery as it existed in Canada, and its abo- lition, in the Toronto Pati'iot, which we publish as a valuable historical record pertinent to our subject. We also publish a private communication on the same subject. R. Hadfield, Esq., of Buffalo, and other gentlemen in Canada, to whom we are indebted for this information, will please accept our thanks. The communications were received too late to have place in their regular geographical order. From the Toronto Patriot. " There are thousands of persons in Canada who would be insulted if told that there are points, connected with the history of this country, on which they are not well informed ; and who are scarcely conscious that slavery ever existed in Canada. If they know the general fact, they probably conclude rather that the slavery was permissible in Canada than that it ever existed here. They would be astounded if told that slavery existed in Canada for more than a century ; and yet such is the fact. The Montreal Historical Society, in two of its livraisons, has collected the principal documents which bear on Vesdavage en Canada. 244 "It was in tlie year of the English revolution, 1688, that the first steps were taken towards the introduction of slavery into Canada, Messieurs de Denon- viLLE, Governor, and de Champigny, Intendant of Canada, addressed the French Secretary of State on the desirability of introducing slavery into Canada. The scarcity and dearness of laborers and domestic servants were represented as so great as to ruin any one who undertook any enterprise. The best means of remedying this state of things was represented to be the introduction of negro slaves. Next year, 1689, the minister replied that His Majesty thought it would be well for the inhabitants of Canada to introduce negroes to cultivate the soil ; at the same time a fear was expressed that if negroes were brought from a climate so different they would perish, and the project would thus be found to be useless. Under the Coutunu de Paris, negroes had been treated as chattels in the French West India islands; and it was decided, in 1*105, that they were to be regarded in the same light in Canada. The non-slaveholding portion of the population, even at this early day, used to instill abolition ideas into the minds of the slaves; and frequently enticed them to leave their masters. On the 13th April, 1709, an ordinance, directed against this practice, was passed. This ordi- nance declared it to be the good pleasure of His Majesty that ' all Panis and Negroes who had been purchased, and who might in future be purchased, should be the property of those by whom they were purchased, as being their slaves.' Panis* — savages, we are told, thus named, whose nation is far from Canada — and negroes were forbidden to leave their masters, and whoever ' debauched ' them with ideas of liberty were made liable to a fine of fifty livres. Individual holders of slaves occasionally granted them their liberty; and on the 1st Sept., 1736, an ordinance was passed laying down a form to be followed in such cases. In 1748, an arret of the Council of the King was passed at Quebec, declaring the exclusive property of His Majesty all slaves who escape from British to French territory. In 1680, a treaty had been concluded at London, between England and France, in which, among other things, it was stipulated that the subjects of each country, in America, should not entice away the slaves belonging to the subjects of the other. This was three or four years before slaves were introduced into Canada ; but they existed in the French West Indies and the British colonics on the main land. In the ca])itulation of Mon- treal, 1760, it was provided ' that the negroes and Panis of both sexes should remain in their quality of slaves, in possession of the French and Canadians to whom they belonged;' and their owners were to be 'free to keep them in their service in the colony or to sell them.' They might also continue to bring them up in the Roman Catholic religion. " Wherever slavery exists there will be desertions ; and even in these early times, persons were willing to facilitate such escapes. In 1732, a French cap- tain, Le Sieur Joanne, brought to Canada a slave whom he had engaged as a sailor ; and while the vessel was there the slave escaped. He was found after a while in the parish of St. Augustin, where he was demanded ; but we are * Panis is the generic name for all Indians or half-breed Indian slaves — not for any dis- tinct tribe or nation. 245 told in an ordinance of Intendaat Hocquart, Februarys, 1*134, 'that some evil disposed persons facilitated the escape of the said slave.' The captain applied to the government, who issued an order for the arrest of the fugitive, wherever he might be ; all militia officers were ordered to assist in the arrest, and an arbi- trary fine was denounced against whoever should facilitate his escape or conceal him. The spirit of revenge sometimes fired the breasts of Canadian slaves. A negress, the slave of Madame Fraxcheville, who had been purchased in one of the neighboring English colonies, set fire to her mistress' house, on the 11th of April, 1734 ; by which a part of the town of Montreal was burnt, and for which the slave was hanged. " At least one Canadian newspaper, which still exists, used to contain adver- tisements of slaves for sale ; very similar to advertisements which may now be any day read in the journals of the Southern States. The Quebec Gazette, of March 18, 1T84, contained, among its advertisements, this notice: 'For sale. A negress, now in town. For price, address Madame Perrault.' And in the number of March 25, of the same year : ' For sale. A negro about twenty-five years of age, who has had the smallpox ;' and who was, therefore, in future, safe from that disease. ' For full particulars inquire of the printer.' Negroes taken in battle, after the conquest of Canada, were not treated as prisoners of war, but were taken to Montreal and sold. There is a deposition to this eS'ect, dated July 16, 1788. " As the French law had given a monopoly of the slave trade in the French colonies to French vessels, an act of the British Parliament was passed in 1790, by which it was provided that ' subjects of the United States ' might remove to Canada, and import their negroes with them in British vessels. " One of the first uses that Upper Canada made of the legislative powers conferred on it in 1791, was to put an end to the importation of slaves ; to provide that all the children of slaves thereafter born in the province should be entitled to their freedom at the age of twenty-five years, and that no person should be bound to service for a longer term than nine years. The slaves then in the province were not liberated, but continued in their servile condition to the end of their lives. This was in 1793, two years after the passing of the Constitution Act. At one stroke the slave-trade was arrested, so far as Upper Canada was concerned, and slavery gradually abolished, without com- pensation to the masters, who must have been very few in number. Long after it was the boast of England that a slave became free as soon as he set foot on English soil, slavery continued in some of the colonies ; and even a slave who obtained his freedom by being taken to England, suffered a reinte- gration of his servile condition if taken to one of the slave colonies of the empire. This reproach did not attach to Upper Canada. It was not till 1807 that the Imperial Parliament abolished the slave-trade, so far as it had power to do so ; for the prohibition could of course only extend to British subjects. " Upper Canada prohibited the importation of slaves long before any nation had abandoned the slave-trade. In 1793, a bill was introduced into the Legis- lature of Lower Canada, ' tending to the abolition of slavery ;' but the result was that it was 'laid on the table.' In 1798, a negress called Charlotte, 246 belonging to Miss Jaxe Cook, deserted ; and being brought before a magis- trate, was committed to prison ; but she was set at hberty, on a writ of habeas corpus, by the Chief Justice of the Court of King's Bench. Another negress, being imprisoned for the same cause, was set at liberty by the Chief Justice. Tlie pecuHarity, in tliis case, seemed to be that she had been purchased in Albany by a person living in Montreal, named Emas Smith, instead of being brought in as part of settlers' eflfects. Montreal rose against these decisions ; and petitioned the Legislature to pass a fugitive slave law, or in default of that, to follow out its inclination, and abolish slavery in the Province. As late as the year 1800, 'divers inhabitants of the district of Montreal' peti- tioned the Legislature * to pass an act, declaring that slavery exists under cer- tain conditions, in this Province, and investing perfectly in the masters the property of their negroes ; and moreover, that the House pass such laws and regulations for the government of slaves as in its wisdom it shall see fit.' On motion of M. Papineau, the elder, this petition was referred to a committee of five, who reported that, in their opinion, there ' existed reasonable grounds for passing a law to regulate the condition of slaves, to limit the term of slavery, and to prevent the introduction of slaves into the Province.' Mr. Cuthbert, a member of the committee, accordingly introduced such a bill. In 1800 and in 1801, this bill was before the House ; but we hear nothing of it after it got into committee of the whole. In 1803, the same member introduced a bill ' to remove all doubt concerning slavery in this Province, and for other purposes ;' but it was sent to a special committee, and we hear no more of it. Several suits were brought in the courts of Lower Canada, arising out of questions of property in slaves. Slavery was legal in Lower Canada till abolished by the Imperial Act, in 1834." "Toronto, loth March, 1861. " My dear Sir : " In reply to your questions relating to slavery in Canada, I beg to say that up to Jul}', 1793, slavery existed in Upper Canada in the same way as in other British colonies, but not to any very great extent. In that year an act was passed by the Provincial Legislature, prohibiting the further introduction of slaves, and providing that every child born of slave parents after the passing of the act should be main- tained by the owner of the parents till the child attained the age of 25 years, and that it was then entitled to freedom. And the birth of all children born of slave parents after that date, was required to be registered by the owner under a penalty in case of neglect. Persons are now living in Toronto who held slaves when the above act was passed. Several wills have passed through my hand, in examining 247 titles, by which slaves are manumitted. The law on the subject in Canada at present is the same as the law of England. " Yours sincerely." This completes the history of the decline of commercial slavery in the Spanish, Portuguese, English, French, and Dutch possessions on the American continent. DECLINE OF COMMERCIAL SLAVERY IN THE WEST INDIA ISLANDS. BRITISH WEST INDIES. In 1833, it was enacted in the British Parliament that slavery should cease in all the British colonies on and after August 1st, 1834. The following is a table of the slave colonies, with the number of slaves registered as belonging to each : Bermuda . Bahamas . Jamaica Honduras . Yirgiu Isles Antigua Montserrat Nevis St. Christopher Dominica . Barbadoes Grenada St. Vincent Tobago St. Lucia . Trinidad British Guiana, on the mainland Cape of Good Hope (Africa) Mauritius . Number of slares. 4,905 9,705 311,692 1,920 5,192 29,537 6,355 8,722 20,660 14,384 82,807 23,536 22,997 11,621 13,348 22,359 84,915 38,427 68,615 781,697 In the bill of emancipation, it was provided that the slaves should labor as apprentices till 1840, when they were to be 248 set at liberty. But a cry was raised against the duration of the apprenticeship, and the term was reduced to 1838, when the blacks became universally free. The government appropriated £20,000,000, which gave an average of about $127 for each slave, as a remunera- tion to the owners. This action on the part of the British government in abo- lishiDg negro slavery in her colonies, by which 781,697 negro slaves were liberated, is one of tlie most prominent events that mark the decline of commercial slavery in Ame- rica. For nearly fifty years, fanatics and humanitarians had agitated the subject on the score of humanity, and for the same period, political economists had done the same thing on the score of economy. English statesmen succeeded in figuring it out at last to their satisfaction, that it would be better for English interests, and worse for the interests of other countries, more particu- larly the United States, if the English colonies changed their system of slave labor to that of free labor. And so the deed was done under the auspices of humanity and philanthropj''; but the measures of the English government were imperfect and hasty ; hence, the immediate result was serious ill to the blacks themselves, and very great damage to the material interests of the colonies and of England. The industrial and social status of masses of negro slaves cannot be suddenly changed without injury to all concerned. They must pass through the transition state. A decided change for the better, it is said, has recently commenced in the British West India islands, especially Jamaica. Pending the writing of the foregoing, the following came to our notice : SLAVERY COOLIE LABOR. From the London Timos, March 1. Tfie 'public sentiment upon the suhjed of slavery and the slave trade seems at last to have entered upon its rational, and, as we may hope, its permanent slate. A hundred and fifty years ago, we were fighting for the privilege of conveying negroes over sea. Having obtained all we desired on that score, we then apatheticnlly 249 jpocketed the profits, and 'positively refused to think of how those profits were obtained. A generation later, and we grew uncomfortable in our gains, and our ears tingled and our consciences grew uneasy as the wails and groans of the stified negroes came home to us with perpetual and importunate repetition. We were some years awakening, and Wilberforce and Clarkson, and all the fellow-laborers of these men, had much to do thoroughly to arouse us out of that uneasy state of som- nolence. But at last we did awake, and we awoke in a frenzy. The state of this country, when the full gxdlt of slavery came upon it, was nothing less than a frenzy of remorse. Before that passion everything went down. Many men yet living can remember when George Canning failed to obtain, as a concession, the abolition of the power to flog female slaves, and young men can remember when it was thought little less than blasphemy to suggest that even a black man might very reasonably be expected to do some labor. Between these two extremes the public sentiment has violently vibrated. In the paroxysm of the first remorse, the guilty Englishman sate slavery in everything black. The pjhantom of that complaining negro tvas ever before him, and he would shut his eyes and scream if you did but talk to him of a negro at work. He sacrificed everything to his sore, quivering conscience. He was ever upon the watch to find out something more to sacrifice. He sacrificed his great West Indian interest not only reck- lessly, but with an ostentatious eagerness. He cast his own twenty millions down to rid himself of the remaining evidences of his crime as penitently as Judas offered the thirty pieces of silver to the Jewish authorities. He poured forth not only his own money and the money of those over whom he held influence, but he lavished the life of his own kith and kin to appease that accusing conscience. On the coast of Africa, in the perfidious sunshine of ' the white man's grave,' amid the beautiful and deadly luxuriance of a tropical vege- tation, he placed his own countrymen to pine and die that he might comfort himself with the satisfaction that he had atoned for the great sin he had com- mitted against the black man. For a full generation there Avas nothing he would not pay, and nothing he would not vicariously endure. " Every great excitement has its recoil. The generation of crime has been fol- lowed by the generation of remorse ; the generation of remorse is folloxoed by the generation of reflection. We who noic occupy the earth are less affected by the crimes of grandfathers or the remorse of our fathers. We begin to feel less affright at this spectre of the writhing negro. We have purged ourselves completely of the guilt of his abduction and his other wrongs, and ive can fed ourselves entitled to look upon any other man who has succeeded to the common obligation of eating bread by the sweat of his brow. The flood tide, which had flowed upward, roaring and foaming like the ' bore ' of some bell-shaped firth, retained its power of flowing after the great impulse had ceased; but years ago there were some who ven- tured to say that, after all, the earth must be tilled, and that the great law of nature which doomed man to labor must apply to the black man as well as to the white. Their voices, however, had little chance of being heard, for there was enough of vehemence in our old convictions to urge us not only to persuade but to coerce all the rest of the world to feel as we felt and to be penitent as 250 we were penitent. We lavished our money, we concentrated our efforts, we exerted all our inlluence, we compromised our political relations, we coerced the weak, and we went to the verge of making war upon the strong, in order to bring the rest of the world to join with us in our crusade agaiust the traffic in mankind. Never was there in the history of our race so magnificent and so disinterested an enthusiasm. When the great book of history shall become so vast that far-off generations shall be unable to seize any other than the tallest events in the great vista from which they emerge, this work of England nmst stand out and challenge admiration, as something to which the story of past ages has uo parallel. We English alone have been hearty in the cause. We have shamed some by our example, we have bought others by our largesses, and we have deterred others by our power; but of all the peoples of the earth, we alone have labored, with gold and with arms, for no other object than for that point of conscience which is to us our ' idea ' — to put down slavery and the slave trade. Yet we have not succeeded. While we have been starving our own colonists, and suffering our West Indian possessions to return to jungle in very fanaticism, suspecting that slavery must lurk under every contract for labor, other countries have eluded their engagements, or have openly resented our interference, Portugal has required all our attention to keep her at all up to the mark ; Spain has impudently repudiated all her promises ; France has changed the name, but not the substance; and America has continued the odious traffic at sea under the pretext of a jealousy of her national honor, and has, to her misfortune, nursed slavery at home and acknowledged it as a domestic institution. After all our sacrifices and all our efforts, the most zealous opponents of slavery were fain to come down to the House of Commons on Tuesday night, and to propose a resolution, ' That the means hitherto employed by this country for the suppression of the African slave trade have failed to accomplish that object.' " Now that we can calmly review all that has been done, we find that we have been led away ))y our generous impulses and have wasted our strength uselessly. Like the charge at Balaklava, ' C'est magnifique, mais ce n'est pas la guerre,' it was wonderful, but it was altogether unpracticable. Great as we are, we are not fowerfid enough to coerce the world. Strong as we are, we must submit to the laws which universally influence human conduct. After all our vain efforts we are reduced at last to admit that. we must he content to attract mankind by their interests, and not pretend to govern them by fear. France claps her hand upon her sword if we presume to ask whether she has slaves or free laborers in the hold of the Charles-et-Georges, Spain laughs at us if we pretend to pre- vent her from importing as many slaves as she may want in Cuba. America threatens war if we attempt to liberate the live cargo of a vessel covered with the stars and stripes. We have discovered at last that commercial competition will do what fieets and armies are utterly incompetent to perform. Not very long ago, when we, from time to time, urged the claims of our West Indian colonies to some substituted free labor for the slave labor they had lost, we were met by the indignation of our anti-slavery societies. Perhaps there are some remnants 251 of that superstition, which is a great religion degenerated, wherein the same dogmas are still repeated ; but on Tuesday night the modern anti-slavery men came down to ask the House of Commons to believe that ' the true remedy is to be found, not in countenancing immigration into countries were slavery exists, but in augmenting the working population in countries in which slavery has been abolished ;' and ' that the failure has mainly arisen from our having endeavored almost exclusively to prevent the supply of slaves instead of to check the demand for them.' At last we are condescending to reason upon slavery and the slave trade as we reason upon other human affairs. At last we are coming down from our high notions of destroying anything we do not like by the sword and the cannon-shot — although there are some fanatics, as the debate shoiced, who still lean upon these means — and are intent upon kmnbling ourselves to the commonplace notion that the best loay of destroying an objectionable system of labor is to undersell it. Africa, populous as it is, is not so populous as China, nor is it so populous as the coast of India. Africa, necessitous as the people may be, is not so necessitous as the Far East. There we have a hungry civilization which may be molded to our purposes by good treatment more cheaply than the savagery of Africa can be oppressed by coercion. Both in India and in China we have the materials for a competition wliich may render the slave trade an extinct, because an unprofitable, trafilc. The old anti-slavery party will probably for some time still oppose all white emigration, unless it should compel their free black proteges to work by the competition that emigration must create in the labor market; but we are happily getting beyond this stage of folly, and are learning to look upon this suljject with the eyes of common setise. We have a treaty with China which enables us to carry to the West not only Chinamen but their families. We have behav&l so well to them that we have gained their confi- dence. While other nations may kidnap them ly tens, we can obtain volunteers by thousands ; and if our laws are observed, and, our shipowners and planters are honest, we are not far from the period when we may see the prosperity of ou,r West India colo7iies restored, and the slave trade ertinguished ^oWiout a cruiser or a fort on the coast of Africa, and without the sacrifice of even another million from the British treasicry." There are some remarkable points in the preceding article from the London Times. Its confession and self-abasement for the national sin of slavery, is perfectly just and proper. There are several other confessions and acknowledgments par- ticularly pertinent to our facts and line of argument. For example : " Great as we are, we are not powerful enough to coerce the world. Strong as we are, we must submit to the laws which universally influence human conduct." The true interpretation of this, we believe, is : Almighty as we con- sider ourselves, we have made a slight mistake in our aboli- 252 tion policy, and now we had better be regulated by the laws of God. We accord with the entire article, except in that high- wrought picture of national frenzy arising from remorse for the sins of a past generation, and the attempt to clothe the present with a very gaudy robe of self-righteousness. We consider all that a very pretty piece of romance, thrown in by the romantic writer to relieve the dark picture. But impartial, matter-of-fact history must exhibit the policy of England in abolishing slavery and the slave trade, as a mixture of one-third fanaticism, and two- thirds pure selfishness. When the English abolished slavery, does any one believe they ever dreamed that the act would starve the colonists and cause their " West India possession to return to jungle?" to use the expression of the "London Times." No ; the English thought their own fair possessions would bloom and prosper with free negroes, while those of others, remaining under slavery, would return to jangle. In all this matter, the fanatics worked upon the disposition of English statesmen to leave no means untried to prevent the extension of American interest and influence. From 1783, to within ten years, this feeling of jealousy on the part of England has ever been prominent in English councils. The idea that in abolishing the slave trade and liberating the negro slaves in her West India colonies, American interests would receive a heavy blow, was the deepest and strongest motive England had for so doing. It was but the reilex of the idea entertained by the French Jacobin convention of 1794, of the effect the liberation of the negro slaves in the French West India colonies, would have on England. We are surprised that in this enlightened age, any sound writer should so naively assert that any generation of Englishmen was ever aroused to a frenzy of remorse for the crimes of the previous generation. The toughness of national consciences is too well understood in these days, to admit of any such millennial idea. While we fully appre- ciate the several noble qualities found in the English character, 253 we are among those who doubt whether the phantom of a negro ever troubled the digestion or the slumbers of English- men, individually or collectively. FRENCH WEST INDIES. " Langons la liberie dans les colonies ; c'est aujourd'hui que I'anglais est mort V thundered forth Danton in the French convention of 1794. The Jacobin agitation of the idea of thrusting liberty into the blacks of the French colonies, in 1794 — equivalent to the abolitionism of our day — caused the blacks in the French island of St. Domingo to thrust the knife into the whites, their masters. At that period there were more negro slaves in the French than in the English colonies, and such were the peculiar relations then existing between France and England, and their relative positions, that the Jacobin idea of giving immediate freedom to negro slaves in the French colonies, was based mainly on the opinion that the €cla,t of the act, the stronger hold it would give France upon her colonies, and the uprising it would cause among the negro slaves in the British colonies, was destined to prove the final blow under which the power of England would succumb to that of France. This policy of the Jacobins was murderous rather than humane, and in the terrible St. Domingo massacre, they were speedily paid back in coin upon which they did not count. The French convention of 1794 proclaimed the liberty of the blacks in the French colonies, but as soon as Napoleon came into power, he annulled this proclamation and caused the blacks to be retained as slaves. We have already narrated how France abolished the slave trade in 1819. In 1840 the subject of emancipation in the French colonies was again vigorously agitated. At this time, France had lost her most valuable West India possession, St. Domingo, with other smaller islands ; and the negro slaves in her colonies were reduced from nearly 1,000,000 to 250,000. In 1840, the French government (Louis Philippe) appointed a commis- 254 sion to inquire into the expediency of abolishing slavery in the colonies, and in 1843, this commission, at the head of which was the Due de Broglie, brought forth a report of im- mense volume. It covered 3,450 pages, and contained a vast array of information on the expediency of emancipation. Here the matter rested until March 4th, 1848, when the Provisional Government of the French Republic decreed, that a commission should be instituted by the Provisionary Ministry of Marine, to prepare, in the shortest time possible, an act of immediate emancipation in all the colonies of the republic. On the 27th April, 1848, the Provisional Government pro- mulgated the decree of emancipation. It commenced with the following preamble : " Considering that slavery is a crime against humanity ; that in destroying the free will of man, the natural principle of right and justice is suppressed ; that it is a flagrant violation of the republican dogma of liberty, equality, and fraternity." The decree then says : " Art. 1. Slavery shall be abolished in all the colonies of French possessions, two months after the promulgation of this decree in each of them. " The apprenticeship system in Senegal is abolished. " The buying and selling of slaves is positively and absolutely interdicted. " Art. 5. The National Assembly shall regulate the quota of indemnity due to each of the colonies. " Art. 6. Colonies purified of slavery shall be represented in the National Assembly." The National Assembly promulgated the law of indemnity January, 1849. According to this law, the sum of 6,000,000 francs was decreed to be paid to the colonies pro rata, in money, thirty days after its promulgation. Also, the sum of 6,000,000 francs in stock, bearing five per cent, interest, to be divided among the colonies pro rata. The amount of 12,000,000, half cash, and half five per cent, stock, was allotted to the colonies in the following proportions, according to the number of slaves liberated in each, under the decree : 255 Francs. Negroes liberated.* 3,015,711.60 60,255 3,894,329.70 77,886 745,143.76 14,902 4,110,400.50 82,208 211,007.32 4,220 23,347.12 466 12,000,000.00 239,937 Martinique .... Guadaloupe and dependencies . Guiana (on the main) La Reunion (Isle of Bourbon) Senegal and dependencies (Africa) Nossebe and St. Marie (Africa) Thus 239,937 negro slaves were liberated, and slavery was abolished in all the French colonies. DANISH ISLANDS. Christian VIII., King of Denmark, in the year 1847, enacted certain laws for the complete emancipation of all the slaves in the Danish islands of St. Thomas, Santa Cruz, and St. Johns. From the 28th of July of that year, it was ordered that all children born of those held in bondage should be free ; and also that at the end of twelve years, slavery should entirely cease. The next year, 1848, the slaves in Santa Cruz broke out in insurrection, under the pressure of which the Governor- General issued a proclamation, in which slavery was imme- diately abolished, and the negroes declared free. SWEDISH ISLAND. Emancipation was proclaimed on the small island of St. Bartholomew, October 9th, 1847. * We have not been able to obtain the exact number of slaves liberated by the French decree of emancipation. This table is based on the fact that 500 francs or one hundred dollars was the amount allowed for each slave liberated. The figures must be very nearly accurate. 256 HAYTI, OR ST. DOMINGO. The French part of St. Domingo prodaimed its indepen- dence in 1800, and in 1803 the French were expelled, and it is now a republic of free negroes. The Spanish part of the island is also a republic, with president, legislature, assembly and council. Slavery is extinct. SPANISH ISLANDS CUBA. The island of Cuba is the only place on earth where the commercial slave-trade exists. Tolerated by the authorities of the island, winked at by the government of Spain, the trade flourishes, half clandestinely, though not to so great an extent as in former years. The number of Africans landed in Cuba yearly cannot be stated with accuracy, but it is said to be between six and ten thousand. The Spanish government has recently made known its intention to station a fleet on the African coast, and use its best endeavors to suppress the trade. Whether Spain is sincere in these expressed intentions, remains to be seen. The importation of coolies from China, to labor as appren- tices, has been resorted to recently in Cuba, and it is said with satisfactory results. The apprenticeship system is de- nounced in certain quarters, as no better than slavery. We do not consider the discussion of this point pertinent to our subject. The sudden failure of industry in the British West India colonies, by reason of abolition, created at once an enlarged demand for slave labor in Cuba, principally to cultivate the sugar-cane. The effect in Louisiana was the same ; hence, the strong hold slavery now has in one or more localities, can be traced directly, in part, to the hasty and injudicious man- ner in which England abolished slavery in her colonies. 257 The population of Cuba was, in Whites. Free Blacks. Slaveu. TotaL 1775.... 170,370 1817.... 551,998 1854.... 501,988 176,(547 330,425 .... 1,009,060 Except in the importation of coolies, the increase of free blacks and the expressed intention of the Spanish government to suppress the slave-trade, there are no indications of a weakening of the system of skive labor in the island of Cuba. But we may have evidence of a change in this respect at an early day. PORTO RICO. The island of Porto Rico is owned by Spain, and governed by a Captain-General. It is 100 miles long by 35 to 40 wide. The staple product of the island is sugar. Tobacco is raised in small quantities ; also cotton of the best quahty. The exports are $8,000,000 per annum. The facts relating to slavery on this island are interesting. The slave-trade was abolished by Spain in 1822, and the contraband trade with this island has ceased. No slaves have been landed on the island for some years. In 1859 an attempt was made to land a cargo of negroes, but, through the watchfulness and activity of the authorities, the parties were detected and arrested; and they are now suffering the penalty. According to the law, a slave in Porto Rico can go before 'a judge, appointed for the purpose, obtain his appraisement, and purchase his freedom at the rate thus fixed. Four years ago, Pezuela, the Captain-General, started the project of freeing one slave per annum from a certain fund of the church. This was done with the idea that it would form the basis of a plan of general emancipation. This shows the animus. The comfort and safety of the slaves are guarded by law. They can complain of maltreatment, on the part of their 258 masters, to a special judge, and, on conviction, the master is fined or imprisoned. The entire population of the island is estimated at 500,000. Of this number ten per cent., or 50,000 are slaves, and 125,000 are free blacks. The free blacks are, as a class, orderly, and to a certain extent, industrious. Some of the sugar haciendas are worked entirely with free blacks ; others by slaves and free blacks together, and the balance by slaves entirel}'. The number of slaves is gradually diminishing. The planters generally have come to the conclusion that slave labor is dearer than free labor, and, under this belief, the laws and public opinion are favoring the emancipation of the blacks. DECLINE OF COMMERCIAL SLAVERY IN THE UNITED STATES OF NORTH AMERICA. In speaking of the decline of commercial slavery in what have been known as the United States, we use the compara- tive term. In the more rapid increase of free territory, the greater increase of free population and the products of free labor, we recognize the inevitable law of progress before which the institution of slavery is surely and rapidly declin- ing, and will soon disappear. When the Federal Constitution was framed and adopted in 1787, the following relative proportion of free and slave ter- ritory existed in the original States : Square Miles. Free: Massachusetts, including the territory of Maine, . 42,800 Slave: Twelve States, 326,691 The gain of slave territory upon this basis has been as follows : 259 States. Kentucky, Tennessee, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Texas, . Indian Territory, Total gain slave territory, Admitted into tlie Union. Square Miles . 1^92 3T,()80 1796 44,000 1811 41,346 181T 47,151 1821 05,037 1820 50,722 1836 52,198 . 1836 69,268 1845 274,000 671,402 71,127 742,529 The gain of free territory, upon the same basis, has been as follows : states. Admitted into the Union. Square Miles New Hampshire, . 8,030 Connecticut, . 4,750 Rhode Island, 1,200 Vermont, . 1790 8,000 New Jersey, . 6,851 New York, . 46,000 Pennsylvania, 47,000 Ohio, . . . . . 1802 39,964 Indiana, . 1816 ' 33,809 Illinois, . 1818 55,409 Michigan, . 1836 56,243 Iowa, . . . . . 1846 50,914 Wisconsin, . 1848 53,924 California, . 1850 160,000 Minnesota, . . 1858 86,000 Oregon, . 1858 185,000 Kansas, . 1861 125,283 Territories. Nebraska, 335,882 Dakotah, 60,000 Utah, . . . . 269,170 Washington, 123,022 New Mexico, 256,309 Arizona, . , • 80,000 2,092,560 260 RECAPITULATION. Square Miles. Original free territory, 42,800 Gain, 2,092,560 Total free territory, 1860, . . 2,135,360 Original slave territory, 326,691 Gain, 671,402 998,093 Deduct loss from original slave territory, six States, 123,081 Total slave territory, 1860, . . . 875,012 Free territory 2,135,360 Slave territory, 875,012 Total gain free territory, . . . 1,260,348 Thus we find the gain of free over slave territory, since the formation of the Federal compact, is 1,260,348 square miles. During this period, the free States have increased from one to nineteen, while the slave States have lost six and gained nine, making a net gain of only three, which, added to the original twelve, makes fifteen slave States against nineteen free States; leaving nearly a million of square miles of free territory out of which to make free States. The census of 1860 gives 27,649,535 free population, and 3,999,353 slaves, which is one slave to seven free, a gain of free population over slave population, since 1790, of more than sixty per cent. The increase of slave population during the last decade has been but little over twenty per cent., the lowest rate of increase since the formation of the govern- ment. The following is a statement showing the absolute free and slave populations in the slave States at the last three enume- rations : 261 states. Free Population. Slave Population. 1840. I860. I860. 1840. . 1850. I860. Delaware. Maryland Virginia N. Carolina... . S. Carolina Georgia Florida Alabama Mississippi Louisiana Texas 75,480 380,282 790,710 507,601 267,360 410,448 28,760 337,224 180,440 183,959 89,242 492,666 949,133 580,491 283,523 524,503 48,135 428,779 296,648 272,953 154,431 163,797 594,622 771,424 763,258 110,548 646,583 1,097,373 679,965 308,186 615,336 81,885 520,444 407,551 354,245 415.999 331,710 1,085,590 920,077 859,528 2,605 89,737 449,087 245,817 327,038 280,944 25,717 253,352 195,211 168,452 19,935 58,240 182,258 183,059 2,290 90,386 472,528 288,548 384,984 381,682 39,310 342,844 309,878 244,809 58,167 47,100 87,422 210,981 239,459 1,805 85,382 495,826 328,377 407,185 467,461 63,809 435,473 479,607 312,186 184,956 109,065 115,619 225,490 287,112 Arkansas Missouri Kentucky Tennessee Total 77,639 32, ,462 597,520 646,151 4,809,097 6,412,605 8,435,020 2,481,622 3,200,364 3,999,353 In 1790, the products of the country were almost entirely the result of slave labor, and the exports were principally from the Southern States, and these did not reach $5,000,000 per annum. In 1850, the annual value of manufactures in the free States was $842,586,058, and the annual value of manufac- tures in the slave States was $165,413,027. In 1855, the commercial exchanges of the United States (imports and exports) were $536,435,719, of which $404,368,603 belonged to the free States, and $132,067,216 to the slave States. We find these facts in a book known as " Helpers Impending Crisis,^^ got up and used to frighten the people of the North into the belief that it was necessary for the Abolition party to obtain the control of the Federal Government, and make war upon the South, in order to arrest the progress of the institution of slavery. We believe no one will deny the im- portant part this book has played in sustaining the " irre- pressible conflict," and stimulating sectional strife. Now we take this book (granting that its statistics are 262 correct) as the strongest possible evidence that slavery has been declining since the Federal Union was formed — that the institution is doomed to disappear in the regular order of nature at no very distant day. We use this book to prove precisely what the Republican demagogues, in their mangling of the subject, have attempted to disprove. According to the statistics of Helper's book, the free States have been gaining on the slave States from the outset, in territory, population, manufactures, products, arts, sciences — every- thing that constitutes national greatness ; and all this, according to its own account, under the statesmen and statesmanship of that same South which it so violently and so atrociously abuses. From 1828 to 1833, a disposition was manifested in Dela- ware, Marj-land, Virginia and Kentucky, to adopt measures for the abolition of slavery within their limits. But most unfortunately, a species of rabid fanaticism, known in these days as abolition, made its appearance in our midst, and by its unreasonable demands, its bitter invective, sweeping de- nunciation, and unnatural, unconstitutional tendencies, raised such a general and determined opposition on the part of the Soutli, that all hope of any immediate movement tending to emancipation in any of the slave States was speedily extin- guished. In this abolition movement we see the beginning of that treason which has dissevered the Confederacy. It can be said, however, that slavery in the State of Dela- ware has steadily declined, and is now nearly extinct. In 1790, this State had 8,887 slaves. In 1850, but 2290 ; and the census of 1860 gives only l',805. Slavery in Maryland is also gradually becoming extinct. In 1790, the slave population numbered 103,036. The census of 1860 gives 85,382 slaves, to 646,583 whites. Western Virginia — the mountainous region is gradually riddinfir itself of the nefirro, and manifesting decided free soil proclivities. When the State of Virginia — the proud Old Dominion — the mother of Presidents, wakes up to the fixct that something more honorable and profitable awaits her 263 tlian a decaying existence as the mother of negroes — the Africa of the slave States— she will shake off the incubus, and stand forth in all the glory to which she is entitled from ancient and noble associations. In Missouri, slavery is also on the decline. The proportion of slaves to the whites is less in this State than that of any other State except Delaware. The city of St. Louis, the empire city of the West, is already a free city. In Texas, slaver}^ has but a feeble existence, except in what is called Eastern Texas, constituting scarcely one- quarter of the State. Texas looks large, very large, on the map, but of the 274,000 square miles it contains, at least 100,000, or more than one-third, is a desert, where neither white nor blacks can live. The entire country west of the 100th meridian, is a dreary waste (except immediately on the Kio Grande), that never will be settled. South of the River Colorado, and east of the 100th meridian, constituting what is known as Western Texas, would be free to-day if separated from Eastern Texas. The fear that this extensive region would be eventually converted into slave states, which convulsed the N'orth when Texas was admitted into the Union, will never be realized. In view of these great and important facts, it became apparent, that the Almighty was working out the abolition of slaver}^ in his own good time and manner, and somewhat too rapidly for the special designs of certain abolition fona- tics and selfish politicians, whose life-long struggle for spoils and power was likely to end in grief, if political success should not be speedily attained. It became necessary, there- fore, to forestall the Almighty. To this end, a political con- vention was held in the city of Pittsburg, August, 1856, to organize a party whose object should be to act on the defen- sive against the South, to resist the aggressions, the extension of slavery, to prevent the slaveholding interest from obtain- ing permanent control of the Federal Government ! 264 This convention gave birth to the republican party — a party which a Clay, a Webster, or other statesmen of past days, and whom it was necessary to kill off before such a party could be created — would have scorned. There is no denying the fact, that the republican party of 1856, comprehends the free soil party of 1848, and the liberty party of 1844, all having their common foundation far back in original abolitionism, under the auspices of which, what may be termed veno7n distilleries were established, in the shape of abolition societies, abolition journals, abolition tracts, abolition lectures, abolition sermons, etc., and which for more than thirt}^ years, distilled their poison into the public mind in one unceasing drip. On the 25th of October, 1858, the acknowledged creator and leader of the republican party, Wm. H. Seward, stood up before the people of the North, and declared the principles and purposes of the party, as follows : " It is an irrepressible conflict between opposing and enduring forces, and it means that the United States must and will, sooner or later, become either entirely a slaveholding nation, or entirely a free-labor nation. Either the cot- ton and rice fields of South Carolina, and the sug-ar plantations of Louisiana will ultimately be tilled by free labor, and Charleston and New Orleans become marts for legitimate merchandise alone, or else the rye fields and wheat fields of Massachusetts and New York must again be surrendered by their farmers to slave culture, and to the production of slaves, and Boston and New York become once more the markets for trade in the bodies and souls of men." Based upon such infidel notions as these — such an utter want of faith in the overruling power of divine Providence and the progress of humanity — abolition, under the name of republi- canism, drew a large body of the most respectable and well- meaning people of the North, into the belief that the freedom of their own soil, and the salvation of the Federal Govern- ment, depended on the success of the republican party in 1860. Upon this unnatural, false issue, abolition — livid abolition — achieved success, and is now enthroned in Wash- in aton. 265 It was these views, and the fear of abolition success, that caused us to remark, in Mexican Papers, No. 3, SejDt. 15, 1860, page 128, as follows: "The 'irrepressible conflict' leaders dread these developments (the decline of slavery) more than all else. Mr. Seward feels that they are already begin- ning to have their influence, and he is exerting himself to destroy the effect and keep up the sectional flame until after the election in November next. We detect this in every speech he makes on his western tour. Mr. Seward has clothed himself with an idea — the assumption that he is something like a Divine Essence — the spirit of progressive freedom on this continent, and many good people bow down to him as such. " You who take the opposite ground, and whose business it is, give the people light on this subject. The people need light I They are ready to receive it. Every ray shed does some good, even at this late moment. Follow the demagogues and fanatics, and puncture the wickedest political humbug that ever cast its dark and threatening shadow over a great and prosperous nation." That dark and threatening shadow has become a reality. The reputed author of the idea of the " irrepressible conflict " is President of the United States, and the elaborator of that idea is his premier, but — where is oiw country ? General Recapitulaton. In the foregoing history of Commercial Slavery in Amer- ica, the principal endeavor has been to set forth three points, namely : First. The rise of Commercial Slavery in America. Second. The culminating Period of Commercial Slavery in America. Third. The decline of Commercial Slavery in America. In elucidating the first mentioned point, the following facts are narrated : First. The commencement of the era of Commercial Slavery, by the discovery of the west coast of Africa by the Portuguese in 1441. Second. This discovery of the New World by Columbus in 1492. 266 Third. The destruction of the natives of the West India isUmds, estimated at 4,000,000, b}^ the Spaniards, by which a demand for negro slaves was created. Fourth. The lirst importation of negro slaves into Hispani- ola by the Spanish in 1501. Fifth. The discovery and occupation of the American Con- tinent by the commercial nations of Europe — the Spaniards, Portuguese, English, French, Dutch, Swedes, Danes, etc. Sixth. The enslaving of the aborigines on the continent by the Spaniards and Portuguese. Seventh. The rapid extension of the slave-trade and slav- ery throughout the settled portion of the American continent. Eighth. The commercial nations of Europe enter upon the slave-trade and supply their American colonies, giving it a moral support based on the ancient superstitious notion that in capturing the heathen and enslaving them, they were sav- ing souls. Ninth. The European nations protect the slave-trade and slavery by legislation and treaties, and follow it up most vig- orously as the foundation of their African and American commerce for upward of two and a half centuries. In elucidating tlie second point, that of the culminating period of commercial slavery in America, which period may be said to run from 1775 to the first of the nineteenth cen- tury, the following facts are stated : First. The entire American continent, with the West India islands, was slave territory. Second. The entire labor or service in all that part of the world was performed by negro and Indian slaves. Third. All the exports were the products of slave labor. Fourth. By royal edicts, legislative enactments and com- mon law, the right of man to own property in man was pro- tected throughout America in the strongest manner possible. Fifth. All the European nations having possessions in America, were actively engaged in the slave-trade, and in supplying their colonies with slaves. Sixth. The moral, legal, territorial, industrial and com- mercial status of slavery was complete throughout America. 267 Seventh. The number of negro slaves was, in 1790 3,063,138 Ditto, Indian slaves, 7,000,000 Total, slaves, 10,063,138 Estimated number of free civilized inhabitants on the American continent and West India Islands in 1790 . . *. 6,000,000 Excess of slaves over free inhabitants .... 4,563,138 The third point — the decline of Commercial Slavery in America — is represented in the following facts : First. Initiatory measures of abolition by Rhode Island in 1770 ; by Virginia in 1778 ; by Pennsylvania in 1780 ; by Maryland in 1783 ; by Connecticut in 1784 ; by North Caro- lina in 1786 ; by Canada in 1793 ; in all of which slavery became gradually extinct, except in Virginia, Maryland and North Carolina, Slavery abolished in Massachusetts in 1783 and in New Hampshire in 1792. Shivery prohibited in the Northwest Territory by Ordinance of 1787. Second. Slave-trade abolished by Denmark in 1803 ; by the United States in 1808 ; by England in 1808 ; by Holhmd in 1814 ; by France in 1819 ; by Spain in 1822 ; by Portugal in 1823 ; by Brazil, 1850. Third. The liberation of the aborigines inhabiting Span- ish America and held in slavery, numbering 7,000,000 and upward, during the Spanish American revolutions, extend- ing from 1810 to 1825. Fourth; The abolition of negro slavery by New Grenada and Venezuela in 1823 ; by Guatemala, comprising the Cen- tral American States, in 1824 : by La Plata gradually, com- mencing in 1813 ; by Mexico and Yucatan in 1829 ; by Chili in 1833. By Peru gradually, commencing in 1821, and be- coming extinct in 1855. Fifth. The abolition of slavery in the English colonies by England in 1834, by which 781,697 slaves were liberated ; the abolition of slavery in the French colonies by France in 1848, by 268 which 239,937 slaves were liberated ; the abolition of slavery in the Danish Colonies by Denmark in 1 848 ; the abolition of slavery in the Swedish Colonies by Sweden in 1847 ; the abolition of slavery in Dutch Guiana by Holland in 1851. Sixth. The measures taken b}^ the government of Brazil, in accordance with public opinion, to substitute free for slave labor, by which slavery is gradiuilly becoming extinct in that great empire. Seventh. The decline of slavery in the American States of Delaware, Maryland, Missouri and in Western Virginia ; the settlement of Western Texas by free laborers, and the gene- ral decay of the institution throughout the South, as eluci- dated by the U. S. census statistics. Eighth. The total disappearance of the moral status of slavery throughout the civilized world. Grand Results. The following are the grand results which thus far indi- cate the decline of commercial slavery in America : Area of the American Continent and West Indian square MUes. Islands, all slave territory up to 1783 14,130,208 Present area of slave territory in America. square Miles. Brazil 2,973,406 Cuba and Porto Rico 46,258 Southern States, U. S 875,012 3,894,676 14,130,208 3,894,676 Gain of free UDon slave territory in America since 1783 . . . 11,235,532 Slave population in 1790, Negro 3,063,138 Indian 7,000,000 Free civilized population in America 1790 .... 6,000,000 6,000,000 10,063,138 6,000,000 Excess of slave above free civilized population in America, 1790 4,063,138 269 Free civilized population in America, 1860, . , 65,000,000 Slave population in America, 1860 : Southern States, U. S. 3,999,353 Brazil 2,800,000 Cuba 330,425 Porto Rico .... 50,000 7,119,778 65.000,000 • 7,179,778 Excess of free civilized population over slave population in America, 1860 57,820,222 We cannot, at this moment, give with any degree of accu- racy the amount of exports from all America during the lat- ter part of the eighteenth century, when slavery was univer- sally prevalent. It is sufiScient to know that they were all the product of slave labor, a large amount being in the precious metals taken from the mines in Spanish America by the Indian slaves. The amount of exports from America, in 1860, may be stated with accu- racy, in round numbers, at . $700,000,000 Of this amount, slave products are : Brazil, .... . $50,000,000 Cuba, .... 44,000,000 Porto Rico, 6,000,000 Southern States, IJ. S., . 150,000,000 $250,000,000 $700,000,000 export. 250,000,000 Excess of free over slave labor in articles of $450,000,000 This is a gain of nearly two-thirds in free over slave labor, within sixty years. THE SLAVE-TRADE. The extent of the slave-trade, from 1500 to 1850, a period of 350 years, we estimate as follows : 270 From From From From From From From From 1500 to 1525 to 1550 to 1600 to 1650 to noo to 1750 to 1800 to 1525, 1550, 1600, 1650, noo, 1750, 1800, 1850, Number of negroes imported into America per annum. Total 500 12,500 6,000 125,000 . 15,000 750,000 20,000 1,000,000 35,000 1,750,000 60,000 3,000,000 . 80,000 4,000,000 65,000 3,250,000 Total importation of negro slaves into America during a period of 850 years 13,887,500 We put forth this estimate with the remark, that any statement of the number of negro slaves imported into Ame- rica since its discovery by Columbus, must be based mainly on conjecture, guided by such facts as can be gathered in histoi'y. In the first place, no thorough or complete official records of this traffic were kept by the nations engaged in it. Their interests in the business required a suppression of definite information relative to its prosecution. Those com- panies who held the legal monopoly of the trade, invariably transcended the prescribed limits, and it is well known that outside parties — the contrabandistas — imported far more slaves than the legal monopolists. Special privileges — such as taking a certain number of negro servants and laborers to the New World — were also granted to Spanish discoverers, conquerors and colonists. In numerous ways, therefore, the number of negro slaves taken to America reached an amount, every year, of which the various parties engaged in the trade, and the authorities, were entirely unconscious ; and in giving in round numbers, say 14,000,000, as the sum total of negro slaves imported into America, we are probably below the mark rather than above it. But now, the only remaining trade in slaves is with Cuba, and the importation cannot exceed 10,000 per annum, and in a very few years the trade will probably be entirely ex- tinct ; and then, according to our calculation, the progressive working of the inexorable laws that regulate capital and 271 labor, will peacefully exterminate slavery among the com- mercial nations within fifty years. CONCLUSION. The foregoing history of the Rise and Decline of Commer- cial Slavery in America has been written within a period of time too limited, and in the midst of business occupations much at variance with a Vv^ork of this nature. Consequently, we have not been able to give the subject that extensive re- search and careful study which its magnitude and importance demand. Such facts as are given, however, we believe can be fully relied on as correct. The line of argument running through these facts is another matter. Readers will coin- cide or dissent as their judgment or their prejudices dictate. What is written herein is addressed to the common sense of peoples, without regard to the prejudices of party, sect, or nation. Any discussion of the Missouri Compromise, the Wilmot Proviso, the Kansas-Nebraska Act, Lecompton or Anti- Lecompton, etc., etc., has been purposely omitted, as they are considered outside issues — so many bread pills, in fact, administered to the patient who imagined himself sick, and having no effect whatsoever on the extension or restriction of slavery in this country. In writing the history of Commercial Slavery in America, the first endeavor has been to exhibit the rise and decline of the institution in all the nakedness of truth — how it arose, in the first place, on the necessity created by cruelt}^ and in- justice, and was sustained by the superstitious notion that the heathen descendants of Ham were destined to serve the Christian descendants of Japhet — and how it declined, and is declining, in obedience to the common law of nations and of society. The great motive in writing this history has been to ex- pose the folly of the postulate set up by the South that sla- very can go here and go there, and the acceptance of that 272 postulate by the North. This is the false issue upon which the Union was dissolved. The Abolitionists created it in the first place, and the unprincipled politicians called into exis- tence by that class of fanatics have kept it alive for their own selfish purposes, and it is still their great political hobby. The postulate we set up is, that slavery has got its limit on this continent ; that so long as the slave-trade is kept down, no amount of favorable legislation, and a, bounty added thereto, can carry slavery into any of the United States territory where slavery does not already exist, or into the countries beyond it. When we have the great fact in view, that with all the excitement, all the legislation upon the institution, pro and con., practical slaver}^ has not gained one foot in acquired territor}^ since the purchase of the territory of Louisiana, by Mr. Jerferson, in 1803, except a corner of Texas, but, on the contrary, has lost a large part of what was originally slave territory, it passes our comprehension how an intelli- gent people, as the Americans are said to be, can be wrought up to the delirious point of self-destruction over a phantom issue, by wicked fanatics and unprincipled politicians. But such, in our view, is the fact; and unless the American people pause and reflect, unless the public mind educates itself anew, and takes an entirely different course of thought and action than that which it has been led to adopt for the last thirty years, the present generation is lost past all redemption. The prospect now is, that this ruinous struggle over a hypo- thesis will be carried into Mexico, and the foregoing history of slavery in America has been written with special refer- ence to the question of extending the institution over the neighboring republic, a question now uppermost in the public mind, and one which has a direct bearing on the question, " /5 Mexican nationality destined to be extinguished?''' a sub- ject opened in Mexican Papers, No. 4, and which we desire may be considered as continued in this publication. The public mind in the North is kept in a feverish state of excitement, by announcements, through the press, that the South is devising ways and means to establish slavery in New 273 Mexico, Arizona, Southern California, Lower California, Sonora, Chihuahua, Tamaulipas, all of Mexico, Central America, etc., etc. The entire press of this country is ab- sorbed in the discussion of the subject of slavery extension by the Southern Confederacy. By reason of the marvellous ignorance of the North relative to the South, the countries adjoining, and the question of slavery generally, the public mind here is made to run in this channel, without let or hindrance. With the wretched Kansas struggle fresh in the mind, it appears impossible that a people not utterly demoralized, morally and politically, should suffer themselves to be led into the support of the continuance of that struggle on a more extended field. Kansas belongs for the most part to that barren slope of the Rocky Mountains east, which extends far down into Mexico, and in climate, soil, etc., comes within what may be termed the range of eccentrics. A fruitful season in the limited arable sections is more the exception than the general rule. Here, when the hand of Providence had written in charac- ters, too plain to be misunderstood, '' slavery shall not come,^^ the South, stimulated to audacity by abolition, attempted, in the intensity of political fanaticism and selfishness, to establish the peculiar institution. The North, with equal political fanaticism and selfishness, strongly impregnated with religious fanaticism, took up the gauntlet thrown down by the South, and thus the two political parties, ignoring the laws of nature — of God — enter upon a contest, which history must portray as one of the most disgraceful that can be found in the annals of civilized nations. A horde of border ruffians from the South, of that lawless class usually found on every frontier, and owning few or no slaves, are the Kansas pioneers of the slavery propagandists. They are met by the same class of border ruffians from the North, the emissaries of aboHtion, with the addition of a vei-y worthy class of eastern emigrants, fitted out and induced 274 to emigrate to Kansas under the auspices of Emigrant Aid Societies, by holders of corner lots, and Kansas land speculators generally, in the East. These are the parties, and these the elements that made up the Kansas strife, the motive of which on the part of the originators on either side, had nothing to do with any principle of justice, humanity or philanthropy. All the favorable legislation in the world, with a bounty of fifty dollars per head on every slave taken to Kansas, would not have established practical slavery in that territory. And yet, Kansas is the Abolition Mecca. " I am on a pilgrimage to Kansas where the battle of freedom was fought and won ; I must see Kansas before I die !" said the great demagogue of the day, on his stumping tour in the West, just before the election. What hope is there for a country that gives itself up to such stupid, canting demagogism as this ? We have none. Freedom or slavery had no more to do with the contest in Kansas, than republicanism or monarchy had to do with the contest between Heenan and Sayers. There was a great deal more to commend in the Farnborough than in the Kansas fight, and the abolitionists would appear to better advantage consecrating the sod of the Farnborough ring to plug-uglyism with their crocodile tears, than canting about the battle of freedom having been fought and won in Kansas. But it appears almost certain that this ruinous Kansas struggle over a miserable abstraction w411 be carried into other lands, to the hazard of creating complications which must end in terrible wars, and a reconstruction of the entire map of America. We believe that those who have perused the previous numbers of the Mexican Papers, and who feel interest enough in the subject to examine the present number, will be able to fully comprehend its politics and its policy. We know of no existing political party in the country to which the publication can be said to belong ; and we know of no 275 political journal from Maine to California, that can, con- sistently with its partisanship, give favorable publicity to our facts and arguments. They ignore our postulate that slavery is on the decline, past all human power of resuscitation, and either laud the institution as one of divine origin, just and beneficent, or they sustain the abolition party now in power, which would, if it could get the means, carry fire and sword to every hearth-stone in the South, in the accomplishment of its fanatical purposes. Our political position, we acknowledge, is siii generis, and we have no expectation that the sentiments of this publica- tion will meet with much favor at the present moment. Years hence, when this ruinous struggle has done its perfect work, there may be those who will duly appreciate the fana- tical folly of the past. At the last Presidential election, we sympathized with the smallest party in the struggle, that ridiculed by the abo- litionists as the "old woman's party" — the Bell-Everett party. We sympathized with everything opposed to the Republican candidate, believing his election would prove exactly what it has proved — the death-knell of the Utiion/ We desired most ardently that another four 3'ears might pass without an abolition success, believing such a flood of light would be thrown upon the subject by new developments in our own and in the surrounding countries, as to ward off the ruinous issue forever. We regarded the McLane-Ocampo (Mexican) treaty as the basis of the most important of these developments. So thought the fire-eating and abolition politicians, and they trampled it beneath their feet in the Senate of the United States. Senators Hammond and Wigfall were conspicuous in this matter. Senator William H. Seward, now Secretary of State, opposed this treaty with great bitterness, both openly and secretly. Senator Hannibal Hamlin, now Vice- President of the United States, declared : " iWy right arm shall be cut off inch by inch, before I will vote for that Mexican Treaty:' 276 Had that Mexican treaty been ratified and put in imme- diate operation, some of the most dangerous complications which now threaten us, nev'er could have arisen. But Providence decreed that the present issue should come, and every true-hearted American must accept the result in deep and bitter sorrow. We contend that there is no greater indication that society has advanced, than the ground now maintained by the civilized world, in relation to the question of human slavery. The moral support it derived from an ancient superstition has disappeared, and this, with the economical working of natural causes, is letting the institution down by the run. That Silent Revolution, based on the steam engine, the electric telegraph, in short, the application of science to mechanics, is doing more than all other causes combined to overthrow those degrading superstitions that have enthralled the world so long. Taking this view of the matter, we contend that the American Union has been broken up on the assumption, by the two great political parties, that nature can be made to turn back upon herself — that God can be forced to retrace his footsteps by human legislation ; and on this assumption the country is going to ruin with fearful velocity. The Republican party came into power on this assumption, consequently, it cannot stand up to any principle of its plat- form, and has no moral force. The Republican adminis- tration does not appear to have sufficient common sense to judiciously wield any moral power, even could they com- mand it. We have no faith that those who have so reck- lessly run the ship of State upon the breakers, will ever bring her to safe moorings, and the total failure of the pre- sent administration in Washington, is a foregone conclusion. If their bungling statesmanship does not induce anarchy that will drive them from their seats before their legal term of office has expired, they may consider themselves exceed- ingly fortunate. The Southern Confederacy came into existence on the 277 same assumption as that of the Republican party, and as a confederacy based on shivery, we have no confidence in its ultimate success. But for the time being, it has advantages over the North ; first, it derives a moral power from the revolutionary right given it by abolition. It also derives an additional advantage from greater unity and energy of action, and superior statesmanship. The great commercial nations of Europe, in consideration of their material interests, will be forced, not only to recognize the independence of the Southern Confederacy, but they must support that confederacy by force of arms against northern abolition. Though this may not prevent war and anarch}^ it will serve the purpose of the South, for the moment, in establishing a political exist- ence ; and in due time, if peace prevails, a sensible regard for their material interests, will doubtless induce them to pro- vide for the decent and peaceful death and burial of slavery. We do not believe such statesmen as Davis, Toombs, Stephens, Iverson, and others in the South, have any faith iu the permanency of a government or society based on slavery, notwithstanding their bold assumptions to the con- trary at this moment. Their intention is, doubtless, to get beyond the reach of abolition dictation, and then provide for emancipation in a safe and wise manner. Notwithstanding the recent speech of the Hon, A. H. Ste- phens, lauding his new government above all others, because it is based on slavery, we do Mr. Stephens the credit to be- lieve that he hates the institution most cordially. If there is a genuine hatred of slavery anywhere, it is in the South. There they curse the institution from the bottom of their hearts ; but one of the effects of Northern abolition has been to turn this hatred of slavery into the determination to sus- tain it at all hazards, right or wrong. Northern abolition has closed the Southern mind, and shut out all calm and judicious contemplation of the subject, and we believe the South will sink negroes, cotton, lands, and country, before submitting to the dictation of such characters as Garrison, Phillips, the Tappans, Fred. Douglass, Giddings, Greeley, 278 Lincoln, Seward, and a host of lesser liglits in the black army of abolition. Our knowledge of the spirit that animates these parties, and our appreciation of the luxury of independence, causes us to sympathize, heart and soul, with the South on this point. . There are, doubtless, some in South Carolina who believe heaven is based on slavery ; nevertheless, we venture to assert it as our belief, that in the ordinary course of events. South Carolina will be the first State of the present Southern Con- federacy to initiate measures of emancipation. But whatever may be the relative condition and po'sition of the two confederacies; as they now stand, it is useless to deny that the condition of affairs in both sections is in the highest degree perilous. It appears to us that the American people do not comprehend the magnitude of the revolution that is progressing with such tremendous strides. This revo- lution struck us at a moment when the country was saturated, so to speak, with money and produce — in the very highth of our material prosperity. But the process of draining has alread}^ commenced, and in small and unseen rills, the national weahh is beginning to trickle away. Another year may bi-iiig pinching want where plenty now abounds. Our prestige, as a power on earth, is gone, and henceforth Americans will go abroad among the nations, hanging their heads with shame, and exposed to insult and scorn. There is a moral anarchy now prevailing among us that is the sure forei-unner of the clash of arms. Complications of vast import are coming up out of the dark future, and mon- ster phantoms are hovering about, pointing to the fleets of every commercial nation in Europe in our southern waters and the Gulf of Mexico, and their armies on Mexican terri- tory, where we shall all be involved in the fierce struggle of nationalities, unless the fratricidal strife now raging in the United States is at once brought to an end. But at the present moment this seems scarcely possible. Abolitionism lias divided us not only politically, but it has cleft the great American heart in twain. Whether it can 279 ever be reunited, God only knows. Not until abolitionism is put down, shall we have the slightest hope that anything of the kind can be accomplished. Not until the disorganizers of society, known as abolitionists, agrarians, free-lovers, socialists, etc., etc., with all their isms, hatched out by the pestilential heat of licentious liberty in this republic, are squelched, shall we have any faith that fraternity, peace, and prosperity can be restored to our unhappy country. We rest in the hope that a great white Republican party — a party purified of the negro and his pestiferous surround- ings, and devoted to the great and common interests of our great and common countr}^, will rise up and capture it from the political harpies who are now revelling in its life-blood. In our general remarks upon the Republican party, we are not unmindful of the fact that a large portion utterly repudiate abolition, and voted the Republican ticket in all sincerit}^ and good faith to the country, entirely unconscious of the mischief their leaders were perpetrating. There are also prominent individuals in this party whom we know and respect, and whose friendship we cherish ; but who, from some unfortu- nate combination of circumstances, have been induced to pursue a course in politics which we feel confident they will regret in the future. To all such, we would not say one word to irritate or offend, and we trust they will so understand it. But there are leaders in this party — those who have crawled to power by dark and devious ways, subverting patriotism, and striking down by stealth every noble object that stood between them and their wicked designs, and whose greatness and power are derived only from their country's ruin — for whom we have no soft or palliative words. They have robbed us of our honest pride, as an American citizen, and for this alone, we deem it an imperative duty to do all that lies in our power to send their names down to posterity in unutterable infamy. This number of the Mexican Papers completes the First Series. The entire set of five numbers can be obtained at Rudd & Carleton's, Ko. 130 Grand street. Price $1.00 for the set. Library of Congress Branch Bindery, 1902