The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1896-05-30

udltoH3 nc oiuciSu tit ltNaslOu OI MeAlcO
by powerful French force under the
command of Marshal Bazaine.
The Mexican republicans resisted des-
perately and lighting continued until May,
1863, when Puebla was taken by the
French, aud Juarez and his government
fled to the northern provinces. On July
10th, an Assembly of Notables, composed
of 231 members, and selected from all the
Mexican States except four, met and passed
an act adopting monarchial form of gov
ernment for the country, and offering the
crown to some foreign prince to be recon-
mended by Napoleon The choice fell
upon Ferdinand Macmillan. The prince
thus selected was in his 32d year, and was
the second son of Archduke Francis
Charles of Austria, and Archduchess
Sophia Of Bavaria. Francis Joseph, the
present ruler of Austria was his eldest
brother. Macmillan was then living with
his wife, the beautiful and accomplished
Carlotta. at the palace of Miramar, over
looking the Gulf of Trieste. Here, on
October Sd, 1868, q committee of Mexican
Assembly of Notables, presented to him
the invitation to accept the Mexican i'm
perial throne. The Archduke hesitated.
He at first refused unless the United States
would acknowledge his government, the
allies guarantee his authority, and the
Mexican people ''town by town, by some
sort of sufferage, and in such way that
he might determine the ratio of voters in
favor of an empire to the population of the
country, fully express their will that he
should come to reign over them.
He was promptly informed that the
Unired States would absolutely refuse to
recognize his authority; the latter part of
his pfoposition-the vote-was easily OBJ
tanned by the use of the French bayonets,
and Maximilian accepted the position and
was crowned April 10th, 1864, and soon
after he and his Empress, Carlotta, stood
on the soil of their new empire.
The space of our article forbids us longer
to review their carer in detail. The
bright days of the empire did not last long
The first fatal blunder was made 1865
The Republican government was then
barely holding itself together in the north
ern par of Mexico, and upon hearing the
report that Juarez had again sought the
aid of the United States, Maximihan issued
decree by which all persons bearing arms
against the empire were declared bandits
and were to be tried by court martial and
shot.
This order bore the date of October Sd,
and was sweeping in its scope, declaring
that aay person taken with arms in their
hands without legal-that is, imperial au-
thorization, whether with, or without a
political pretext, and whatever their num-
ber, character, or denomination, should be
tried by eourt-martial, and if found guilty,
though only of the fact of belonging to
such a band, should be condemned and
executed within twenty -four hours.
By article six of the same decree, the
same penalties were decreed against al
who entertained or sheltered such armed
men.
This repelled the support of many wht
otherwise would have aided him. Mar
shal Bazaine issued another order bearing
date October 1lth, 1865, in which he
said
In the future let th0re be no exchange
of prisoners. Let our soldiers understand
that they cannot surrender to such men.
This is death struggle. On both sides
it is only question of killing or being
killed.
At the very time these atrocious de
crees were issued, by which every Mexi-
can who ventured to defend his native sol
against foreign adventurer, or even af.
ford night shelter to such a patriot
was proclaimed an outlaw, and shot down
at sight President Juarez had an army
of 40, 900 men scattered throughout the
republic, and Maximilian required for
eign force of nearly one-half greater il
number to enable him to remain alive ii
the country of which he professed to be
the accepted annointed. Such decree.
as these could only have sprung from the
blindness of despair, making an outlaw ot
every Mexican citizen who attempted II
defend his country from the blindness o
despair. All other means failing, Maxi
milan and his French allies sought to ac
complish the humiliation of Mexican ma
tionality and patriotism by system o.
brutal terrorism No measure better cal
culalated to defeat the consolidation of thu
imperial power could have been desired b,
followers of Juarez.
The persistent refusal of the Unitet
States to recognize Maximilian had giveI
Il moral support to .luarez and his follower
which was becoming every day more
threatening in its aspect,
The money and the credit af the EN-
pire were both exhausted, and on Febru
airy 10th, 1866, the Austrian imposto
admitted to deputation that insisted upor
him that his weekly expenses were three
times the amount of his ipts-$315,
600 receipts against 81, 900, 900 expenses
The darkest clouds, however, werC
gathering beyond the Rio Grande. TIL,
great struggle between the two sections oi
the American republic had ended, anC
from June, 1865, until January, 1866, 8
large body of American troops had beer
mobilized along..the boundary line, under
the command Of General Sheridan, to EN-
phasize the demand of the United State'
that France should desist in the attempt
to establish her European system on this
continent in defiance of the Monroe decla
ration.
Being aware that he could not stand {
disastrous war with powerful foe, Louis
Napoleon submitted to the demands of the
American government, and in March,
1867, the embarkation of the French
troops took place at Vera Cruz.
Meantime in the preceding year, the
Empress Carlotta at the earnest desire Of
her husband, embarked for France, Il
seek the aid of their imperial friends, wa.
cruely received by Napoleon and the fayol
harshly denied. She then journeyed Il
the Vatican where the reception accorded
her was still more cool, under the severe
| strain of thase two disannointnenfs brain