Mr. Secretary: I have the honor to transmit to you, for the
information of the government of the United States, a copy of the
proclamation which the constitutional President of the Mexican
republic addressed to his fellow-countrymen on the 1st of January
last, manifesting anew his firm intention to continue without rest,
to struggle, against the foreign invader, in defence of the liberty
and independence of that republic.
I avail myself with much pleasure of this opportunity to renew to
you, Mr. Secretary, the assurances of my most distinguished
consideration.
Hon. William H. Seward, &c., &c., &c.
Proclamation.
The Constitutional President of
the United Mexican States to his compatriots:
Mexicans: After three years of an unequal and sanguinary contest
against the foreign legions which treason brought to our
country, we are still firm and resolved, as on the first day, to
continue the defence of our independence and liberty against
despotism. We have been unfortunate it is true; fate has been
adverse to us on many occasions, but the cause of Mexico, which
is the cause of right and of justice, has not succumbed, has not
perished, and will not perish, because there still exist valiant
Mexicans, in whose hearts the holy fire
[Page 586]
of patriotism still glows; and in whatever
part of the republic they may be carrying arms and the national
standard in their hands, there, as here, will the country live;
there, ashere, will the living and energetic protest of right
against might continue to exist. Let the incautious man, who has
accepted the sad mission of being the instrument to enslave a
free people, understand this well, and let him remember that
treason, the failure to abide by plighted faith in the
preliminaries of La Soledad, and the acts of recognition and of
adhesion dictated by the foreign bayonets which sustain him, are
the only titles through which he pretends to govern; that his
tottering throne does not repose upon the free will of the
nation, but upon the blood and corpses of thousands of Mexicans
whom he has sacrificed without cause, and only because they were
defending their liberties and their rights; that the traitors
who have longed for and called him, and those who under the
pressure of force tolerate his direful influence or render him
vassalage, must recollect that they are Mexicans, and that they
have children to whom they must not bequeath a legacy of infamy;
and that, during a cruel and obstinate war of eleven years
against a more powerful enemy and one more deeply rooted to the
country, we have learned the manner of reconquering our
independence, effecting it with the same means which our former
rulers had at their command.
Probably the usurper may not be disposed to think of the false
position he occupies, and instead of listening to the truths
which our words contain, he may repel them with a smile of scorn
and contempt. This matters not; conscience, which never forgets
nor pardons, will cause them to prevail, and will avenge us. In
the bustle and noise of the court, in the silence of the night,
in the public festivities, and in the privacy of the domestic
hearth—at all hours and in all places, it will pursue him, will
importune him with the recollection of his crime, which will not
permit him tranquilly to enjoy his prize, until the hour for
expiation arrives; and then for the tyrant, for the traitors who
sustain him, and for all those who to-day mock us and delight in
the misfortunes of our country, will come their awakening from
error with repentance; but these will then be fruitless, because
then the national justice shall he inflexible and severe.
That hour will come, doubt it not, Mexicans, as that of our
former conquerors came, in the year 1821. Let us wait, but let
us wait while acting with the heroic resolution of Hidalgo and
Zaragoza, with the activity of Morelos, and with the constancy
and self-denial of Guerrero, by preserving and increasing the
sacred fire which will produce the conflagration that will
devour the tyrants and traitors who profane our land.
Mexicans! those of you who are so unfortunate as to live under
the dominion of the usurpation, do not resign yourselves to bear
the yoke of ignominy which weighs upon you. Do not delude
yourselves by the perfidious insinuations of the partisans of
accomplished facts, because they are and have always been the
partisans of despotism. The existence of arbitrary power is a
permanent violation of right and of justice, which neither time
nor the force of arms can ever justify, and which it is
necessary to destroy for the honor of Mexico and of the human
race. This is our task; aid us, if you do not wish to bear the
name of abject slaves to a foreign tyrant.
And you who, in these times of common danger, are contending
against our oppressors, continue your task, working with the
same heroism which you have shown up to the present moment,
without being discouraged by misfortunes, terrified by dangers,
and dismayed by the lamentable defections of some of our
brothers. These, perhaps, may return to their ranks, to blot
out, in defending their country, the infamous stigma of traitors
which now degrades them; and should they not do it, if obdurate,
they should continue in their degradation. Have pity upon them,
because while in the midst of the enjoyments and distinctions
they may possess, they are unfortunate. The remembrance that
they are Mexicans and vassals at the same time of a foreign
despot, will be the dreadful pang which shall wither and consume
their miserable existence. Do not forget that the defence of our
country and of liberty is for us an imperative duty, because it
carries with it the defence of our own dignity, of the honor and
dignity of our wives and of our children, of the honor and
dignity of all men. Therefore have we generous colaborers within
and without the republic, who, with their pens, with their
influence, and with their means, are aiding us, and offer up
fervent prayers for the salvation of our country. Redouble,
then, your efforts, with the assurance that in due time our
constancy, our union, and our activity will compensate our
sacrifices by the final triumph of the holy cause we uphold.
Mexicans! he who now addresses you these words, faithful to his
duty and to his convictions, will continue to devote his
vigilance to the national defence; he will further it by all the
means which may be within his reach, and with your assistance
and co-operation he will keep aloft and without humiliation the
beautiful standard of independence, of liberty and progress,
which Mexico has conquered by the heroic valor of her warriors,
and through the precious blood of her sons.
Done at the
national
palace, in
Chihuahua, January 1,
1865.
BENITO JUAREZ.
