The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1876-12-24
Exit LerdO.

Several months Slnco1 toe SeneiaA PiSes
Of this country was weak enough TO be
caught by the fraudulent ecldt Of the un-
principled despot who by the grace Of Free
Masonry tyrannized over the Mexican PEG
pie. Although the friendship of Grant and
of the Radical Administration of this Co
vernment for Mr.. Lerdo de Tejsda ought to
have been su ffic Gent evidence of his infamous
character, even Democratic papers lent
themselves to the fulsome puffery OF the
Mexican Grant with as much zeal rs though
he had been a Washington.
The secret of the whole enthusiasm was
that Mr.. Lerdo was an intense hater and
earnest prosecutor of Catholicity. 1t was
true that the people whom he misrepresent-
ed were all Catholics, with 80 few e1cep-
tions az to be Insignificant numerically, and
equally true that on the principle of repre-
sentation it was an insolent usurpation for
him to put his policy as President in anita
gouism with the feelings and wishes OF the
patton, but, in optic of this little mis-
understanding on his, part OF the very
foundation of republican government, our
American press of every shade OF politics
endorsed him as a great statesman, great
patriot and great success.
Did the Democratic press stop to zee, as
it could have seen with one good, serious
look, that the Mexican usurper was but q
pitiful tool and ally of Grant, Never
thought of it. Well, how does it look now
that Lsrdo ia fugitive or captive with but
one place in all Mexico which acknowl-
edges his government, and that place-Ma-
tamoras-merely kept on its belligerent
footing by the active interference and as
i sistauce OF the United States government
For a man who lorded it so grandly up to
the last moment, Mr.. Lerdo had most
AFFECT fall. One day master of the whole
army, dictator to the courts, absolute in
the Congress and contemptuous of the peo-
ple-next day flying in terror from the
Capital, deserted by all but score of fell
low conspirators as culpable as himself aud
hunted down by handful OF scouts. The
very soldiery which he had tiattered and on
which he counted as an instrument of u.s.
urpatiop, deserted him IN his emergency
and turned upon him, while his Secretary
of War, the head and front of his armed
despotiam, was shot as common malefac-
tor on being captured in his company.
We, too, have a conspiracy of our own in
this country; we have our Lerdo we have
our subservient Congress, as to its upper
House we have our army under as IN
scrupulous a knave of Secretary as Esco
bedo ever was; we have our government
ring of plotters seeking by insolent and
audacious usurpaton to substitute theil
own will for that of the people.
But we have not yet seen our LerdO hunt
ed down in a disordered flight for Canada
nor our Escobedo ealt with by drum heaG
Court martial.
r Must we say, though, that We can no
. expect so muchf We are far from sayini
or thinking it. Such an outcome may vel
be looked for sooner or later, under sue
/ circumstances, in any country where tn
a people are welded to popular government
10 Up to the last moment the usurpation ma
ST hold and WELD all the machinery of powel
- but silent, unseen, underlying all, is the
,e popular disgust for the fraud and treaso;
which shall some day burst forth with
IN might that will leave to the traitors nothir
=, hut weakness aud paralysis. Even
a. Mexico this happens-Mexico 80 Constant
lie sneered at by Americans as parody {
40 repubiicanism. Shall our own Wanted T
w publicausm prove itself less masculine, lie
sincere and less persistentR
-, Too Polite