Branz Mayers' Mexico [pp. 117-141]

138 Brantz Mayer's IWexico. [July,
thunder, in a nation in which no other religion is tolerated or known,
possessing the power of discovery by confession, and of control by
penance, excommunication, anathemas, and ecclesiastical interdicts;
ruling the soul without appeal, and grasping the purse; it will at
once be seen what a powerful element of influence such an institution became, when wielded by a single head. If the masses would
prey upon the d~urch, it was the policy of the church to support
the army; if the people desired to destroy the army, it was the
interest of the army to support a church which could control by
conscience, or bribe by money, the miscalled representatives of the
people. With force and superstition thus welded together by interest, the representative system could expect but little favour from
these two important divisions of the white race."
And now, in conclusion, we ask the reader's attention,
to the following striking summary, by our author, of the
present political condition of this ill-fated country:
"We have heretofore shown, by the laws of nature, that ~Iezico
ought to enjoy a controlling influence in the affairs of the world.
And yet, almost il~ree centuries and a half have rolled by since
Cortez planted the Spanish banner on the palaces of Tenochtitlean,
and still the question may be asked, whether the region ~s more
progressive under republican and royal rule than under Aztec sway l
The world has advanced in commerce, manufactures, science, literature and arts; but Mexico has remained comparatively fixed, in the
midst of a stagnant semi-civilization. She has not exhibited a true
warlike character, either in her domestic broils or in her opposition
to a foreign invader, though her soil has been converted into a
camp for forty years. She has confessed her manifold errors, by,
her indemnities and her diplomacy, though she has contrived to
invite quarrels, discussions and affi~onts, by an egregious demeanour
towards rojourners in her territory. A religious country, by the
protective sanction of all her constitutions, she denies the right of
conscientious worship to all who come within her borders. With a
military police, and an immensc array of judicial officers, her cities
and highways are thronged with felons, while the disputes of her
citizens linger undetermined for years in her courts. ller domestic
markets are dear, and she has but little to spare for foreign commerce, though her soil is extraordinarily fertile, and her climate
yields the fruits and grains of the temperate and tropical zones.
Throned on mines, she is a borrower at exorbitant usury. Washed
by the two great oceans of the globe, her mariners are fishermen,
and her vessels skiffs. Boasting of faith, she is without credit. At
peace with mankind, and fortified by nature, she is forced to maintain an army, either to protect her from herself, or to bribe the