Mr. Romero to Mr. Seward
Mr. Secretary: I have the honor to remit to you, for the information of the government of the United States, a copy,* in English, of the so-called law [Page 480] which on the 5th of September last was issued at Chapultepec by the ex-archduke of Austria, Fernando Maximilian, so-called emperor of Mexico, in which, under pretext, apparently, of inviting foreign emigration to Mexico, he has adopted a plan which has for its purpose to call to that republic the disaffected citizens of the United States who are not disposed to acknowledge the authority of this government, nor to accept the consequences of the war, by admitting them with their prejudices and their peculiar system of labor, already well tried in the southern part of the United States.
According to the information I have received, founded on facts, and which I have communicated to your department, the Emperor of the French and his agent in Mexico, considering that in the country there were not elements sufficient to sustain them, have taken means to call to it all persons they supposed animated by any hostility against the United States.
The arrangements made with ex-Senator Gwin, of California, had that object, but as that individual was recognized as a declared enemy of the United States on the close of the civil war here, it was thought not advisable to irritate this country by carrying out the plans which had been agreed upon with him.
In place of them, there has been another combination, which, under a different form, it is hoped, may produce the like results. For this new plan they have gone to the extreme of practically re-establishing, in fact, in Mexico, the odious institution of slavery. The so-called law of the ex-archduke of Austria goes accompanied by a regulation signed by the same Maximilian, of which I also enclose a copy in English, whose first article, to cover appearances, declares that, “according to the laws of the empire, all men of color are free from the mere fact of stepping on Mexican territory;” but those following establish a slavery so much the more odious, because it is not restricted to color or determination of caste.
The working-men—name they give to the slaves—will make, according to such regulations, a contract with their master, called patron, by which he will bind himself to feed, clothe, and lodge them, and support them in sickness, and pay them a sum of money in conformity with the conditions agreed upon. between them. The fourth part of the sum will be lost to the working-man almost, because he cannot dispose of it nor of the interest while his contract lasts, according to terms of articles 13 and 14. “The working-man will engage at the same time with his patron to do the work to which he may be assigned for the term of five years at least, and ten years at most.” “The patron will engage to maintain the children of his working-men.” This slavery is hereditary, because, according to article three of the regulations, “in case of the death of the father, (working-man,) the patron shall consider himself tutor of the children, and they shall continue in his service until majority on the same conditions as was the father.” The heirs of the patron will hold, in their turn, these working-men in conformity with article 5. To complete the odious practices of the holders of slaves, the regulation referred to contains (article 6) an article against fugitive slaves, by which, “in case of desertion, the workman, when caught, shall be assigned, without wages at all, to the public works until his patron comes to reclaim him.” To consummate this work of iniquity, article 15 provides that in case of death “ab intestate,” or without heirs, the peculium of the working-man shall pass into the control of the public treasury.
It is really an extraordinary thing, and almost incomprehensible, that when slavery has received a death-blow in the only country that could revive it, and when it has been shown by facts that its existence is an evil, social, moral and political, there can be in the world a usurper who, without having established his authority in the country he tries to dominate over, should attempt to re-establish that odious system for the purpose of strengthening himself, and merely changing the name for the purpose of deluding the world.
As this system of labor might be taken for what in Mexico is called peonage, [Page 481] and as that may be considered here as an institution equivalent to slavery, I think it expedient to show to you that on some estates in the tierras calientes, to the south of Mexico, there has in fact been, through the abuses of the proprietors and the influence they enjoyed, something that might be compared in its practical effects with what the ex-archduke of Austria has now established in his aforesaid decree; but such abuses, besides being restricted to a very narrow district, were never sanctioned by the Mexican laws, and the national government of that republic has taken especial care to correct them and root them out. It was reserved for the ex-archduke of Austria to sanction such an abusive practice by a law which, if it goes into force, will be executed throughout the whole extent of the Mexican territory.
Before concluding this note, I think it proper to remit to you copy of the speech which was delivered in Mexico oh the said 16th September by the said archduke of Austria, Fernando Maximilian, in which he expresses what he calls his irrevocable determination not to leave Mexico upon any consideration, whatever may be the circumstances. This is one proof more that the Emperor of the French is very far from desisting from his outrageous attempt to deceive the people of Mexico into acceptance of the yoke of a European monarchy.
It is satisfactory to me to avail of this opportunity to renew to you, Mr. Secretary, the assurances of my most distinguished consideration.
Hon. William H. Seward, &c., &c., &c.
- For enclosure see despatch from Mr. Otterbourg, No. 18, of the 29th September, 1865.↩