New-York tribune., 1885-07-05
CHAOTIC PERIOD OF MEXICO.
rur MAKING OF OUR SISTER REPUBLIC.

THE MAKING OF OUR SISTER REPUBLIC.
XIII. HISTORY OF MEXICO. Vol; ", ls24-leoi.
Isan Francisco: A. L. Bancroft Coz
Those who have followed Mr. Bancroft In MS
noble literary undertaking have learned to trust
both his learning and his Judgment NO au'noi VI
this or apy former period has undergone so rigid
d;.o,r,ne and few have shown so strong faculty
Gov orrapgisp facts coupled with so trustworthy
n discrimination and sense Of proportion. Yet,
.ven his tirnest adherents might well have enter
tained some doubt as to his treatment or that
stormy period of Mexican history between the con-
ouest of independence and the collapse OF foreign
imperial aggression The historian who deals Win
this period needs more than ordinary enthusiasm
and perseverance, for less promising or more con-
fused and seemingly hopeless condition never re-
pelled research or bafled philosophy.
1he overthrow Of the ephemera empire Oh
iturbde and the proclamation OF the hrst cohs'i'u-
ton seemed for the moment to augur well ior 'he
long oppressed and misgoverned lahu vi
Anahuac. But the growth OF three centuries
of Spanish rule and naive e''iu''o"
could not be thus rapidly checked or changed.
Mexico swarmed with elements of discord The
creoles were aristocratic timid and indoent Ihe
,nestzos the most energetic and active class, were
restless tickle, tuI bulent beyond conception. Inc
church was suspicious, dlctatorlal. aggressive "nu
,roDoraJ IN sacrifice the future of the country TO
ecclesiastical privileges and policy. The politicians
were ambitious. inconstant and unprncipied Inc
Indians were mistrustful, sulen and lnsupordnate'
Tho Spaniards were watching and hoping 1or re-
turn to power. All these conflicting elements IL
was thought to fuse by the magic OF written con-
stitution modelled upon that of the United states.
The federal principle which had moro than once
threatened the disruption of the great American
republic but which was finally dlvested OF mis-
chievons tendencies through the strong inherited
ATTITUDE for orderly government which the Anglo
Saxons possessed. became for the 1nexperlenced
Mexicans deadly peril immediately, ahu ior
nearly half a century the conflicting claims Oh inc
States continued TO thwart all efforts to pacfy the
country. whlo they as constantly afforded excuses
for the almost unbroken chain of revolutions ana
rebeIlions which prevented all serious advance
The ignorance of the masses at the same time
enhanced the power of the church. The cry OF
"religion v fneros" came to be a popular watch
word. With all the demands for theoretical liberty
was iolned insistance upon the monopoly of re-
lipon by Rome federation was a crime. Yet the
church did not hesitate to betray the people Whom
ever the Centralist programme seemed to promise
better than the Federalist, and santa Anna In MS
creams of empire could always count upon the ac-
ouiescence of the ecclesiastical clement. he
army too speedily became nero tool OF the
political chiefs and for many years 1t played the
part of the PrGtorian guard during the decline OF
Roxe, preying meantime upon the Impoverished
people and adding greatly to their burdens. The
goaius of the Latin races moreover Is not adapVeu
TO the political institutions which suit the Teutonic
peoples. There is ia the former races az instabil-
ity, an impatience of all governmental schemes
which require time for their development and
popular cooperation for their success. In effect
the strong individuality which underlies Anglo
Saxon freedom is lacking in the Latin character,
and consequently American political doctrines iall
to afford them the means of orderly government.
Before any people can live together peace
ably under a system whose leading prin-
ciple Is TO employ the minimum OF
repression, the individual members of the
body polite must have learned the lesson of
sef-government The Anglo-Saxons have learned
this lesson. The Latns have not. No doubt op-
portunity has had much to do with the creation OF
this difference Centuries of oppression will abort
the capacity for self-goverument. Yet the Anglo
saxons must even at first have possessed ksener
desire for true freedom. for they refused to submit
to effaccmcnt at the hands of their rulers and In
the twilight of their civilization perceived the inn
portauce of conquering those fundamental rights
upon which 50 noble q superstructure has since
been erected.
The Mexican attempt to establish ready-made
republic was doomed to failure from the outset
Everything was against it. Though sentimental
patriotism was'common, the genuine love OF country
hardly existed. Few. indeed the politicians
who hestated to plunge their fellow -countrymen
into all the horrors of civil war for the sake Of
Office and as to official integrity, it was conspicu-
Gus by its absence. Russian bureaucracy was never
more shamelessly corrupt than that of Mexico and
since no government expected a long tenure of
power each hastcned to as much plunder as
possible. From 1928 to 1861 Bcnito Juarez was
the only President who served out q full term.
During that chaotic period survey OF Mexican
administration reminds one of looking through
the optical toy called thaumatrope. Government
sncceeds government with bewildering rapidity.
Now the Centraists, now the Federalists arc in
power but there is never any cessation from plot
ting and revolution. The air is full of "plans,'
which follow one another with strange m)notony,
and almost before the popular accamations on be-
half Of ono have died away, another, equally bom-
bastic, equally 1ord, and equally futile, is being
shouted for by the fcklc multitude And all this
time the national finances are, of course, becomin.
more hopeessly entanglcd. Forced loans-govern-
mental brigandagc, that Is to say-are commonly
resorted to. The factional leaders quickly better
the example and seize treasure wherever they find
It, Commerce is parayzcd. Desperate tariff
schemes lead to systematic smuggling, and the
snugglers too, are politicians. The continual civil
strife fosters innate erocity of the Indians and
mestzos, and fearful atrocities are committed.
Everywhere disorder. stagnaton, msgovern-
ment, anarchy prevail AMI as time passes
the situation threatens to become chronic
In twenty years as many Presidents cid sway.
Victoria. Guerrero Bustamante. Pcdraza, FarIas,
Santa Anna Caro- Herrera, Parcdes, Anaya.
Pefia, Cersta. Cebalos. LON bardini, Carrera, Al
varez Comonfort. Zuloaga Juarez and Miramon,
not to speak of the occasional substitute Presi-
dents such as Bravo aud Canaiiza, were one after
another elevated and deposcd. Among these