490 



MEXICO. 



leaders, and, in the course of the summer, 

 several of them were driven from the country, 

 and others confined in the prisons of the 

 Republic. 



One prolific cause of dissatisfaction in Mexico 

 is, the mode of electing members of Congress. 

 The Constitution provides that "the election 

 of deputies shall be indirect and by ballot, ac- 

 cording to the regulations of the electoral 

 law," that is to say, the people, or such of 

 them as choose to exercise their right of suf- 

 frage in this indirect manner, cast their votes 

 for certain electors, and these choose such 

 deputies to represent the people in Congress 

 as they see fit. This affords great facilities 

 to the administration to influence the choice 

 of members, besides taking away a large share 

 of the interest which the people would feel in 

 the elections if they had a direct voice in de- 

 claring who should represent them in the 

 national Legislature. The first Congress, elect- 

 ed under the Constitution of 1857, was that 

 which assembled in December, 1867", after the 

 disorderly elections which followed the close 

 of the war. The session continued until the 

 1st of June, but during that time little was 

 done in the way of general legislation. In the 

 language of the Speaker in reply to the ad- 

 dress of Juarez at the close of the session : 

 " This national body has met, after having en- 

 dured the calamities of war with a foreign 

 enemy, and where the intervention of the so- 

 called empire left, everywhere, as odious yes- 

 tiges, blood, ruin, and disorganization. The 

 labors of Congress, in such a state of things, 

 have been necessarily directed to the recon- 

 struction, tranquillization, and reorganization 

 of society, which has been deeply disturbed, 

 and which has refused no sacrifice 'to preserve 

 its integrity." A large share of attention was, 

 in fact, given to the disturbances going on 

 throughout the country. One of the most 

 significant measures of Congress was the ex- 

 press retention in force of the law of Janu- 

 ary 25, 1862, with some modifications. The 

 original law gave the President complete 

 power over the lives and liberties of citizens 

 guilty of political oflfences, but it is now so 

 modified that the President cannot inflict the. 

 punishment of death. A measure was adopted 

 securing the freedom of the press, and causing 

 that institution to be, in the language of the 

 Speaker, " the guardian of all rights and the 

 custodian of all our liberties." Among the 

 precautionary enactments, was one establish- 

 ing military colonies on the frontiers. On the 

 important financial questions claiming the at- 

 tention of the Government and numerous 

 measures for the benefit of commerce which 

 are greatly needed, little or nothing was done. 

 Two State Governors were impeached and re- 

 moved from office during the session. 



On the 5th of June, Sefior Lerdo de Tejada 

 took the oath of office as Chief Justice of the 

 Supreme Court in place of Ortega, who had 

 been for some time in prison in consequence 



of his claims to the presidency ; the Chief Jus- 

 tice being ex officio Vice-President, and Jua- 

 rez's term of office having expired during the 

 war with Maximilian. Lerdo de Tejada al- 

 ready held the position of Secretary of State 

 and member of Congress, and could not re- 

 tain his position in the Cabinet, and accept 

 his new dignity without the sanction of a ma- 

 jority of the Bench of Justice. This sanction 

 was refused, but the President insisted upon 

 retaining Tejada in the Cabinet, and consider- 

 able party feeling was excited over the "Cab- 

 inet crisis," as it was called. Several ministers 

 threatened to resign, but the matter was al- 

 lowed to stand until the assembling of Con- 

 gress in September, and Ju'arez then prevailed 

 upon the judges to give their sanction to the 

 double honors of Sefior de Tejada. That gen- 

 tleman accordingly retains the position of Sec- 

 retary of State as well as Chief Justice, and 

 Sefior Romero, formerly minister to the United 

 States, holds the important place of Secretary 

 of the Treasury. The rest of the Cabinet is as 

 follows: Iglesias, Secretary of Home Depart- 

 ment ; Mariscal, Secretary of Justice ; Balcarcel, 

 Secretary of Internal Improvements ; and Me- 

 jia, Secretary of War and Navy. 



Among the last acts of Sefior Romero as 

 minister to the United States, was the conclu- 

 sion, with the American Secretary of State, of 

 three conventions intended to contribute tow- 

 ard friendly relations between the two countries. 

 The first of these, signed on the 4th of July, 

 provides for a commission to settle the claims 

 which the citizens of each Government may 

 have on the other for injuries to person or 

 property. Each country is to appoint a com- 

 missioner, and in case of disagreement the com- 

 missioners themselves are empowered to name 

 an umpire to decide between them. All claims 

 to be investigated and passed upon by these 

 commissioners must be presented within eight 

 months from the day of their first meeting. The 

 second convention was signed at Washington, 

 on the 10th of July, and has for its object the 

 regulation of the citizenship of persons emi- 

 grating from one country to the other. Those 

 citizens of the United States who have been, 

 or may be, naturalized in Mexico, and who 

 have resided there five years without inter- 

 ruption, are to be held as citizens of the Mexi- 

 can Republic, while Mexican immigrants in this 

 country under corresponding circumstances are 

 to be regarded as American citizens by their 

 former Government. The third convention es- 

 tablishes and regulates consular relations be- 

 tween the two countries. 



Through the summer months a state of com- 

 parative quiet prevailed throughout Mexico. 

 Sefior Romero, writing to Washington under 

 date of August 8th, says: "I am happy to in- 

 form you that the political situation here has 

 improved very much during my absence. It 

 is now more certain than it ever was before 

 that public peace is permanently restored to 

 this country and that there is but little danger 



