Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1845-1854, 1846-07-29
RAFENNAloHIo WEDN EgDAY, JULY %. 184e.


AFENNA,a0HI0, WE'D
high. All Of these, the balustrade, hand
raiL and images, are made Of a compound
| of gold, silver and copper-more valupBl9
than silver. was told that an offer was
made to take the balustrade, and replace Il
with another Of exactly the same size and
workmanship Of pure silver, and to gfvai
! half nillionof dollars besides. Tshef5 &
much more of the same balustrade in other
parts of the church; | should think in all
not less than three hundred feet. ~
As you walk through tho building on eli
ther side there are different apartments all
filled from the floor to the ceiling, with
paintings, statues, vases, huge candlestcks,
walters and q thousand other articles made
of gold or silver. This, too, is only the
every day display Of articles of the least
value; the more costly are stored away in
the chests and closets. What must it be
when all these are brought out, with her
immense quantity Of precious stones which
the church is known to possess? VA
-g4ss* n
u, ! do not doubt but there is enough of the
precious metals in the different churches in
Mexico to relieve sensibly the pressure up
on the currency of the world, which has re-
suited from the diminished production of
the mines, and increased quantity which
has been appropria ted to purposes of luxu-
ry, and to pay the costs ofmuch more taste
full decorations in architecture and statuary,
made Of mahogany and marble. .2:~
But the immense wealth which is thus
collected in the churches is not by any
means all, or even the larger portion of
the wealth of the Mexican churches and
clergy. They own very many of the finest
houses in Mexico and other cities, 1.-THE
rent of which must be enormous1 besides
valuable real estates all over the republic
Almost every person leaves bequest in
his will for masses for his soul, which con-
stitute an incumbrance upon the estates
and thus nearly all the estates of the small
proprietors are mortgaged to the church.
The property held by the church in mort
main is estimated ut fifty millions.
", Mexicoi is, ] believe, the only country
whore the church property remains fnsits
untouched entirety. Some small amount
has been recently realized from the sale of
the estates of the banished Jesuits; but with
that exception no President, however hard
pressed, land there is no day in the year
that they are not hard pressed,l has ever
dared to encroach upon that which is re-
garded consecrated property, with the ex-
ception of Gomex Farrias, who, in 1884,
proposed to the legislative chambers to con-
fiscate all the church property, and the
measure would no doubt have been adopted,
but for a revolution which overthrew the
administration. a,a-.. ....E-. <, as..5l
The streets-of Mexico are uncommonly
wide, much more so than is necessary con-
sidering that they are not obstructed, as in
our cities, by drays and wagons. The side
walks are uncommonly narrow. The
streets are all paved with stone; the side
walk with very rough flat ones. The hou-
ses on the principal streets are all two or
three stories high. The elevation of the
rooms from the floor to the ceiling eighteen
and twenty feet, gives to house of two
stories greater height than we are ac-
customed to see in houses of three. The
roofs are all terraced, and have parapet
walls of three or four feet high, answering
all the purpose of a breast work, a use too
commonly made of them in the frequent
revolutions to, which that unfortunate coun-
| try seems. to be forever destined. The
walls are built of rough stones of all shapes
and sizes and large quantities of lime NOR
tar. They are very thick, in ordinary
buildings from two to three feet thick, and
| in the large edifces of much greater mas
siveness. The foundation of most of the
largest buildings are made with piles
Even these foundations are very insecure,
and it is surprising that they are not more
50, with such an immense weight of stone
upon such an unsteady foundation. The
streets cross each other at right angels,
dividing the whole cities. into squares
Each one Of these squares is called a street,
and has separate name; a serious incon-
venience to a stranger in the city. In
stead of designating the streets in its whole
extent, by one name and numbering the
houses, each side; of every square, has a
| different name, and names which sound to
! Protestant ears, very much like a violation
Iof the third article, of the Decalogue; such
as the street Of Jesus, and the street Of the
Holy Ghost. A gentleman will tell you
| that he lives in the Holy Ghost, or that he
Hives in Jesus; certainly not always true, If
taken in the sensein which our preachers
luse these words. In most Of these streets
there is d church, which gives name to the
street in which they stand. In many in
stances these churches and converts [that
ofSan Augustine for examplel covers the
whole square, not with separate buildings,
one single edifce, with the usual patio or
court an open space in the centre.
There isnot, believe,,a house in the
city without this court Of greater or less
dimensions, IA proportion to the size Of the