MEXICO. 



527 



moral reform of your subjects ; and, besides, you will 

 give a striking example to the other governments in 

 the republics of America in which similar very lam- 

 entable vicissitudes have tried the Church; and, 

 lastly, you will labor effectually to consolidate your 

 own'throne, to the glory and prosperity of your im- 

 perial family. 



For those reasons we recommend to your Majesty 

 the Apostolic Xuncio who will have the honor to pre- 

 sent to you this, our confidential letter. May your 

 Majesty be pleased to honor him with your confidence 

 and go'od will, in order that he may more easily com- 

 ply with the mission that has been confided to him. 

 Your Majesty will also be pleased to grant the same 

 confidence to the worthy prelates of Mexico, in order 

 that, animated as they are by the Holy Spirit and 

 desirous of the salvation of souls, they mav be en- 

 abled to undertake with courage and joyfully the 

 difficult work of restoration in all that they are con- 

 cerned, and thus concur toward the reestablishment 

 of social order. 



Meanwhile we shall not cease daily to direct our 

 humble prayers to the Father of ligtit and the God 

 of all consolation, to the end that afl obstacles being 

 overcome, the counsels of the enemies of religious 

 and social order turned to nought, political passions 

 calmed, her full liberty restored to the spouse of 

 Jesus Christ, the Mexican nation may be enabled to 

 hail in the person of your Majesty, its father, its re- 

 generator, and its greatest and most imperishable 

 glory. 



Confidently hoping to see fully consummated 

 these, the most ardent desires of our heart, we send 

 to your Majesty and to your august spouse our apos- 

 tolic benediction. 



Given at Rome, in our Apostolic Palace of the Vat- 

 ican, the 18th of October, 1864. PIUS IX. 



Monsignor Meglia, the Xuncio referred to by 

 the Pope, arrived in Mexico in December, too 

 .ate to exercise the expected influence upon 

 Maximilian, who had by this time perfected his 

 policy respecting the nationalization of Church 

 property and religious toleration. For form's 

 sake, however, the latter proposed to open nego- 

 tiations with the Xuneio, with reference to the 

 adoption of a Concordat between the Holy See 

 and the Mexican Empire, and was informed that 

 the Xuneio had brought no instructions from 

 Eome. The four propositions which Maximilian 

 submitted to the Xuneio were as follows : 1. The 

 ratification, in the name of the Pope, of the sale 

 of all mortmain property. 2. The substitution 

 of the civil contract of marriage, for that which 

 had hitherto been sacramental. 3. Liberty of 

 worship. 4. Endowment of the clergy by the 

 State. The first three of these propositions had 

 already been made law by Juarez in July, 1859 ; 

 but the last one had been set aside by the re- 

 publican liberals, on the ground that in a coun- 

 try where liberty of worship prevailed, it was 

 not to the State, but f o separate congregations, 

 that the duty of providing for the ecclesiastical 

 ministry belonged. 



Immediately after his interview with the 

 Xuneio, the Emperor addressed the following 

 letter to his Minister of Justice, directing him, 

 notwithstanding the advice and solicitations of 

 the Pope, to proceed and frame the laws already 

 decided upon : 



MEXICO, Tuesday, Dec. 27, 1SW. 



Mr DKAR MINVSTERESCUDERO : In order to smooth 

 the difficulties which have arisen on account of the 

 reform law, we propose t> adopt a means which, 



while satisfying the just requirements of the coun- 

 try, should reestablish peace in the minds and tran- 

 quillity in the conscience of all the inhabitants of the 

 empire. For this purpose, when we were at Rome, 

 we opened negotiations with the Holy Father, as 

 universal chief of the Catholic Church. 



The Papal Xuneio is now in Mexico ; but to our 

 extreme surprise he has declared that he is without 

 instructions, and has to await them from Rome. 



The unnatural situation in which we have con- 

 tinued, with difficulty, during seven months, admits 

 of no more delay. It demands an immediate solu- 

 tion. We consequently charge you at once to pro- 

 pose suitable measures in order that justice may be 

 administered without consideration of personal sta- 

 tion ; that legitimate interests created by these laws 

 may rest secure ; correcting the excesses and injus- 

 tices committed in their name ; to provide for the 

 maintenance of public worship and protection of 

 other sacred matters placed under the safeguard of 

 religion ; and, finally, that the sacraments may be 

 administered and other functions of the sacred min- 

 istry be exercised throughout the empire without 

 cost or charge to the people. 



To this end, you will, before any thing else, pro- 

 pose to us the revision of the operations of the mort- 

 main and nationalization of ecclesiastical property, 

 shaping it on the basis that legitimate transactions 

 executed without fraud, and according to the laws 

 which decreed such amortization, shall be ratified. 

 Labor, in fine, according to the principle of free and 

 ample toleration, keeping in view that the religion 

 of the State is the Roman Catholic and Apostolic. 



MAXIMILIAN. 



Xaturally enough, this letter called forth a 

 protest from the Archbishop of Mexico, and 

 other prelates, similar in substance, but nioro 

 temperate in style, than that which they had 

 addressed a twelvemonth previous to Gen. 

 Bazaine. It is scarcely necessary to add that 

 it produced not the slightest effect upon the 

 Emperor. A decree was soon after promul- 

 gated substantially ratifying the sales of Church 

 property made in accordance with laws enacted 

 under former republican administrations ; and 

 in the following decree religious toleration was 

 declared throughout the empire : 

 MAXIMILIAN, Emperor of Mexico, having consulted 



our Council of Ministers, we have decreed and do 



decree the following : 



Article 1. The empire protects the Catholic Apos- 

 tolic and Roman religion as the religion of the State. 



Art. 2. All forms of worship not contrary to mo 

 rality, civilization, aad good manners, shall have free 

 and ample toleration in all the territory of the empire. 

 No worship can be established without the previous 

 consent of the Government. 



Art. 3. As circumstances shall demand, the ad- 

 ministration, by police regulations, will arrange all 

 that may concern the exercise of worship. 



Art. 4. Abuses which may be committed by the 

 authorities against the exercise of worship, and 

 against the liberty which the laws guarantee to 

 their ministers, shall be laid before the Council of 

 State. 



This decree shall be placed in the archives of the 

 empire and published in the official journal. 



Done at the Palace, at Mexico, Feb. 26, 1865. 



MAXIMILIAN. 



By order of his Imperial Majesty, 



PEDRO ESCCDEEO Y ECHAXOVE, Minister of Justice. 



On April 4th a resolution passed the United 

 States House of Representatives by a unani- 

 mous vote, declaring the opposition of that 

 body to a recognition of the Mexican 



