202 MEXICO. 
against which, they have not the courage to offer the slightest resist- 
ance. With all the boast, therefore, of the authorities of Mexico, that no 
man is held in bondage within its limits, I still think that no candid person 
can inspect the condition of these laborers, without giving the palm to our 
negroes, — and exclaiming, indignantly, at the masked slavery which is 
carried on from year to year, without the slightest prospect of ameliorating 
the character or condition of the miserable natives. 
If a man become slave by descent, under the well-established laws 
of a nation by which the institution is recognized, he has always a 
master, whose duty it is to afford him food, raiment and protection, in 
recompense for his toil ; and although moralists may say that slavery is in 
its very nature deteriorating, yet it does not crush the very spirit from the 
negro, or tend always to his debasement. He is sober ; he cares for his 
family ; he feels the duties of the social relations, even in his " quarter ;" 
and is ambitious of the degree of respectability he may acquire among his 
fellow slaves. His condition must, therefore, both physically and intellec- 
tually, be superior to that of the Indian who becomes a slave, in spite 
of the law, by the servility of his character and the loathsome vices that 
absorb his earnings, without a care for the comfort of his family, the edu- 
cation of his children, or even the personal appearance he presents among 
his fellows. 
When we remember the degree of civilization that had been attained 
by these races, anterior to the Mexican conquest, it is impossible to believe 
that their present debasement is to be alone attributed to an enervating 
climate ; nor can Mexico ever claim a high standing among nations, until 
she blots this stain of hypocritical freedom from the fairest portions of her 
territory. With the improvement of the lot and character of her Indians, 
(who number near four millions of the seven that compose her whole popu- 
lation,) the steady advancement of the nation will proceed; but until that 
occurs, her fondest admirers can have but little hope, either for her pro- 
gress or even for her continuance as a nation. 
***** 
***** 
* « ♦ * * 
it * * * • 
Senor Vargas, with true Mexican hospitality, had an excellent supper 
prepared for us at nine o'clock ; but I was too much fatigued to partake 
of it, and retired to most comfortable quarters, having a bed entirely to 
myself, which I mention as a luxury 
