The Sun.
London, England, 1859-11-28 00:00:00

AFFAIRS OF MEXICO.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN:

Sitz,—Some of the London papers have lately
published several articles upon Mexico, the object
of which is evidently to recommend the so-called
" Juarez Government" at Vera Cruz to British
sympathy, anti to induce the British Goverment to
its recognition, on the ground that it proclaims
principles of civil and religious liberty, while the
Government of Gen. Miramon at Mexico is but the
head of the clerical party ; that the former is in
possession of nearly the whole territory, while the
latter is enclosed in the capital, having no command
but over a few adjacent provinces.
It is, moreover, assumed in some of these articles
that with the assistance of the United States, moral
or otherwise, as soon as Juarez shall have obtained
the victory in the present struggle there will spring
up from the earth in Mexico a flourishing republic
as if by magic, the United States being highly inte-
rested in seeing a well-regulated Government esta-
blished in the country. Other writers take it for
granted that the success of Juarez will open the
doors to American sway in Mexico, so that this
country will be immediately governed by Ameri-
cans, will at once be settled down into order and
regularity, the Mexican foreign debt will he paid
off, and I do not know how many other wonderful
things will take place at the same moment.
All these gratuitous assumptions, sir, betray but
a superficial knowledge of Mexican affairs, and of
the history of the country from the time of its in-
dependence in 1821 to the present day.
I shall not presume to reduce to a few pages the
subjeet-matter of several volumes, but I shall en-
deavour to furnish such indications as may induce,
I hope, the British press to look closely into it with
a view to avoid misleading public opinion ill this

country.
It is an egregious error to suppose that the United
States are highly interested in seeing an indepen-
dent regular government established in Mexico.
They want nothing of the kind. What they have
at heart, and they make no secret of it, is to come
into possession of the country (not leaving the Isth-
mus of Tehuantepec for the last) just as they want
also to render themselves masters of Central America,
of the island of Cuba, and of all the shores in
the Mexican Gulf. But the United States have
no regular armies wherewith to conquer these coun-
tries, and subsequently to retain their conquest by
a military occupation ; and this essential circum-
stance should be kept in mind in order to under-
stand American policy in the New World, for, un-
able and unwilling to create those armies, they have
had recourse to other means to attain their object.
In Central America and in the island of Cuba they
have tried filibusterism, officially disowned but evi-
dently encouraged by the American authorities.
This scheme having failed hitherto, they have ap-
pealed with regard to Central America to the treaty
Cass-Yrisarri, and with regard to Cuba to the effect
that the glitter of gold would produce in the eyes
of the Spaniards ; they have offered to purchase
the island. With respect to Mexico, the purpose
of the United States has been to throw that
country into anarchy, it being evident that anar-
chy there would necessarily and surely offer them
many opportunities of gradually seizing the coveted
territory. The process, no doubt, is slow, but this
they cannot help, it being not in their power to take
possession of Mexico at one fell swoop, by force of
arms. Neverthefess, their system has pretty well
answered their purpose, in that from 1836 they
have absorbed nearly one-half of the Mexican ter-
ritory, including auriferous California.
Now what -was the best and most efficient way
to establish anarchy in Mexico ? It was not diffi-
cult to discover that if the Mexicans were brought
to adopt the Republican American institutions—a
constitution after the fashion of the United States
—the effect of such adoption could not be doubtful.
Institutions, indeed, so absolutely- at variance with
the character, the manners and customs, the tradi-
tions and the moral and physical conditions of the
Mexican people, could but produce the deepest
disorganisation of the country and the most
complete confusion. This plan had sprung up in
the minds of the Americans even long before the in-
dependence of Mexico had been proclaimed, viz., as
far back as 1812 (the famous Mr. 3.lonroe being
then Secietary of State), when the first symptoms
of revolt against the Spanish sway had begun to be
conspicuous in Mexico, as can be easily seen by re-
ference to the correspondence between Don Luis de
Onis, minister for Spain at Philadelphia at that
time, and the viceroy of Mexico, Venegas. In pur-
suance, therefore, of that plan, no sooner had
Mexico declared her independence in 1821, than
the United States, through the same diplomatic
agent, M. Poinset, who had been sent to the coun-
try in 1812 with the same object, hastened to
seduce and persuade the Mexicans, by flattering
their vanity, by making them believe that in
a few years they would become one of the greatest
nations of the world, and by all sorts of artful
mancnuvres, such as the establishment of certain
Freemasons' lodges, under the name of York (New
York) Freemasons, to adopt the American constitu-
tion, not merely in principle, but as a model to be
copied in all its parts. The efforts of the Americans
were completely successful, and the American con-
stitution became from 1824 the fundamental law of
Mexico, under the title of" Constitution of the United
States of Mexico." Such w-As the spirit of imitation.
What has been the consequence? That the hopes
and wishes of the United States have been realised
to their utmost satisfaction. From that year up to
the present time Mexico has offered nothing but a
long series of revolutions, of disturbances, of " pro-
nunciamentos" of all sorts and under a thousand
pretences. At very rare periods and for a short
times these troubles have appeared to subside, and
hopes were entertained of a beginning of peace and
progress, but anarchy soon awoke more hideous
than ever, corrupting and demoralising every man
and increasing more and more its proselytes, to
whom it offers many and very great personal ad-
vantages. Thus it is that the anarchical party, the
party created and nourished by the United States,
the party on which they reckon to aid and assist
their views of absorption of the Mexican territory,
the party which declares itself always faithful to
American institutions and gives itself out as the
Liberal party, but which is nothing but the tool of
Ambition, has increased to a formidable extent.
Nominally the Constitution ruled from 1824 to 1853,
and from 1855 to 1857, when its advocates, attribut-
ing its former failures to its not being demagogical
enough, framed another, which was found to be so
utterly impracticable by General Comonfort, the
very President elected according to its provisions,
that in December, 1857, he laid it aside, and unce-
remoniously shut the doors of the Constitutional
Congress. These circumstances gave birth to the go-
vernment established in Mexico, in Jan. 1858, under
General Zuloaga, and subsequently continued under
Generel Miramon, with the sanction of one of the
most respectable assemblies that has ever met in
Mexico. Comonfort left the country, and Juarez,
who as presiding judge of the High Court of Jus-
tice had, according to the new framed constitution,
to assume provisionally the presidency of the
republic in the abse:4ce of the President, left the
capital; and after wandering unsuccessfully about
the country, arrived at Vera Cruz, where he lost
no time in starting his " constitutional govern-
ment" against the government of Mexico. Never-
theless, the members of the Congress have not
joined Juarez at that port, nor has Juarez convoked
them there.

Such is, sir, the.sad history of the constitution in
tho fashion of the United States, showing that after
long and fair trials, having 'been the law of the
land the greater part of the time since the declara-
tion of independence, it has not only done no good
whatever, but has been on the contrary productive
of immense mischief, by enthroning anarchy in the
country, and making it lose a very large portion of its
territory, as already stated. The following simple
fact will prove how deep and lamentable has that
anarchy been all through this long period of 38
years. According to the Constitution, we should
not reckon more than nine presidents during that
time. Well, sir, we have had no less than 51, under
all sorts of titles and denominations—constitutional
president, provisional president, substitute presi-
dent, and president ad interim—and Jt.arez him-
self is nothing but a provisional—very provisional
—president, not being authorised to act in that ca-
pacity as first chief magistrate of the High Court
of Justice, but just during the time necessary for
the election of a new president in case of death or
incapacity of the president for the constitutional
term. This everlasting anarchy, moreover, brings
us in constant contestations and disputes. with fo-
reign powers, and has already brought two wars
upon our unhappy country. Such are the effects of
the
republican constitution after the American
fashion in Mexico ; and yet, sir, this is what the
London papers recommend to the sympathies of the
British public and government.
No wonder, then, that some men, act uatQd by the
love of their country, convinced of the danger to
Mexican na.tionllity, and from such a state of
things, seeing: clearly through all these American
intrigues, and rti termined to oppose them by all
the means in tilt power, should have formed long
ago, and as soon as the first symptoms- of anarchy
and the cause of ,`,hem became apparent, the centre
of a party, which haring_ueccssar4 to combat the
so-called." Liberal party," or, in other words, the
American party, is accused of being a retrograde
absolutist clerical :party, bent on nothing but the
re-establishment of the " Inquisition" and the
" worst of the wfirst times."
Nothing, howriver, is less true. That party con-
tains in its bos, ,m the most enlightened and the
most resnectab',e part of the community, men who
have not as ye ,t to learn the advantages and benefits
of civil and ?religious liberty, and who would be