Papers Relating to Foreign Affairs, Accompanying the Annual Message of the President to the First Session Thirty-ninth Congress, Part III
Mr. Romero to Mr. Seward
Mr. Secretary: I deem it proper to call the attention of the government of the United States to certain documents which have recently been brought to the public view, and which have reference to the events which are actually taking place in the Mexican republic, which documents, accompanied by an index, I transmit enclosed with the present note.
It is generally known that the Mexican clergy, who have taken so direct a participation in the civil wars of that republic, with the object of preserving the property, privileges, and influence which they enjoyed during the Spanish domination, upon finding themselves overcome, in 1860, by the public opinion of their country, and deprived of their wealth and influence, and having no longer the means in the country to incite another rebellion against the legitimately constituted government, conceived the project of intriguing in Europe in order to influence some of the powers of that continent, by availing themselves of the occasion of the breaking out of the civil war in the United States, brought about by a hierarchy similar to the ecclesiastical one of Mexico, to intervene in the internal affairs of my country, to overthrow the existing constitutional government, and to establish, by the force of arms, a European monarchy, with a Catholic prince upon the throne, who, agreeably to the official declarations of the French government, previous to the intervention and its subsequent acts, was to be the then archduke of Austria, Ferdinand Maximilian.
It was to be supposed that this monarchical government, which was to be established in Mexico, should follow a policy diametrically opposed to that of the republican government then existing. What was called the arbitrary acts, the excesses and errors of the latter, were painted in the darkest colors. Among those which occupied a very important place, were the laws of reform which had been decreed in Vera Cruz in July, 1859, establishing religious liberty, the supremacy of the civil authority, diminishing the privileges of the clergy, and declaring as the property of the nation the rich property which the former had until that period administered, and which was called the property of the church.
The clergy of Mexico who had intrigued to bring the intervention to their country, and who were lending to it their co-operation and their influence, were bound to believe, and with reason, and confidently expected, that so soon as the [Page 588] city of Mexico should fall into the power of the invaders, and there should he established in it the semblance of a government, they would begin by abrogating the laws of reform, which were the most conspicuous work of the national government, and which had so powerfully contributed to bring about the unjust war against which it was then defending itself.
Matters happened, however, otherwise, and after a series of events which it would be a long affair to relate, the usurper, who now calls himself the emperor of Mexico, and who has been placed and sustained there by the French bayonets, has just declared that he will carry into effect the laws of reform referred to, dictated by the government which he attempts to supplant; and he has thus in this manner given evidence, that in the opinion of the usurper himself, and, of the Emperor of the French, whose instrument he is, the policy adopted by the said national government was both wise and prudent, and that the principal motive which was alleged for palliating the unheard of outrage of desiring to overthrow a national government is precisely what the usurper admires most, seeing that he has sanctioned it, notwithstanding his losing by it the support of the clergy; and it is also what it is being endeavored to present to the public opinion as his greatest merit, and the strongest proof of his ability, prudence, and energy.
With regard to the clergy of Mexico, to whom the same thing has happened as to the instigators of the southern insurrection, who, in their endeavor to save slavery, have seen it perish more speedily in the hands of the pretended government which they themselves created with the object of making it prevail, the protest which they have addressed to the usurper, and of which I accompany a copy among the documents annexed, (No. 3,) puts it out of all doubt that hereafter they will wage against the so-called empire the same war which they have made to the government of the republic, and that the phantom of a government established by France will lose, with the clergy of Mexico, the sole element of national support upon which it had relied up to this period.
It is very satisfactory to me to avail myself of this opportunity to reiterate to you, Mr. Secretary, the assurances of my most distinguished consideration.
Hon. William H. Seward, &c., &c., &c.
[Untitled]
An index of the documents which this legation this day transmits to the Department of State of the United States, with a note of this date, in reference to the rupture which has occurred between the usurper and the clergy of Mexico:
No. 1. Rome, October 18, 1864.—Letter of Pius IX to Maximilian.
No. 2. Mexico, December 27, 1864.—Letter of Maximilian to his minister, Señor Escudero.
No. 3. Mexico, December 27, 1864.—Protest of the Archbishop of Mexico, and of the three principal bishops, in reference to the letter No, 2.
No. 4. Mexico, February 26, 1865.—Decree of Maximilian, declaring a state religion, and religious tolerance.
No. 5. Mexico, February 26, 1865.—Decree from same, confirming the laws of the government of the republic, called those of desamortization and reform.
No. 1.
Sire: When in the month of April last, before assuming the reins of the new empire of Mexico, your Majesty arrived in this capital in order to worship at the tombs of the holy apostles and to receive our apostolic benediction, we informed you of the deep sorrow [Page 589] which filled our soul by reason of the lamentable state into which the social disorders during these last years have reduced all that concerns religion in the Mexican nation.
Before that time, and more than once, we had made known our complaints in public and solemn acts, protesting against the iniquitous law called the law of reform, which attacked the most inviolable rights of the church and outraged the authority of its pastors; against the seizure of the ecclesiastical property and the dissipation of the sacred patrimony; against the unjust suppression of the religious orders; against the false maxims that attack the sanctity of the Catholic religion; and, in fine, against many other transgressions committed not only to the prejudice of sacred persons, but also of the pastoral priesthood and discipline of the church.
For these reasons your Majesty must have well understood how happy we were to see—thanks to the establishment of the new empire—the dawn of pacific and prosperous days for the church of Mexico; a joy which was increased when we saw called to the throne a prince of a Catholic family, and who had given so many proofs of religious zeal and piety. Equally intense was the joy of the worthy Mexican bishops who, on leaving the capital of Christendom, where they had presented so many examples of their fidelity and self-denial towards our person, had the happiness of being the first to pay their sincere homage to the sovereign elect of their country, and of hearing from his own lips the most complete assurances of his firm resolution to redress the wrongs done to the church and to reorganize the disturbed elements of civil and religious administration. The Mexican nation also learned with indescribable pleasure of your Majesty’s accession to the throne—called to it by the unanimous desire of a people who, up to that time, had been constrained to groan beneath the yoke of an anarchical government, and to lament over the ruins and disasters of the Catholic religion, their chief pride at all times and the foundation of their prosperity.
Under such auspices we have been waiting day by day the acts of the new empire, persuaded that the church, outraged with so much impiety by the revolution, would receive prompt and just redress, whether by the revocation of the laws which had reduced it to such a state of oppression and servitude, or by the promulgation of others adapted to the suppression of the disastrous effects of an impious administration.
Thwarted hitherto in our hopes by reason, perhaps, of the difficulties which attend the reorganization of a society long overturned, we cannot now refrain from addressing your Majesty and appealing to the uprightness of your intentions; the Catholic spirit of which you have given so many striking proofs on former occasions, and the promises made to us by your Majesty of protecting the church; and we confidently hope that this appeal, penetrating your noble heart, will produce the fruits we have a right to expect.
Your Majesty will undoubtedly perceive that if the church continues to be controlled in the exercise of her sacred rights, if the laws which forbid her to acquire and possess property are not repealed, if churches and convents are still destroyed, if the price of the church property is accepted at the hands of its unlawful purchasers, if the sacred buildings are appropriated to other uses, if the religious orders are not allowed to reassume their distinctive garments and to live in community, if the nuns are obliged to beg for their food and forced to occupy miserable and insufficient edifices, if the newspapers are permitted to insult the pastors with impunity, and to assail the doctrines of the Catholic church—if this state of things is to continue, then the same evils will certainly continue to follow, and perhaps the scandal to the faithful and the wrongs to religion will become greater than ever before.
Ah, sire, in the name of that faith and piety which are the ornaments of your august family; in the name of the church, whose supreme chief and pastor God has constituted us in spite of our unworthiness; in the name of Almighty God who has chosen you to rule over so Catholic a nation with the sole purpose of healing her ills and of restoring the honor of His holy religion, we earnestly conjure you to put your hands to the work, and laying aside every human consideration, and guided solely by an enlightened wisdom and your Christian feelings, dry up the tears of so interesting a portion of the Catholic family, and by such worthy conduct merit the blessings of Jesus Christ, the prince of pastors.
With this purpose, and in compliance with your own wishes, we send you our representative. He will inform you by word of mouth of the sorrow which has been caused to us by the sad news which thus far has reached us, and he will better acquaint you with our intentions and aims in accrediting him near your majesty.
We have instructed him to ask at once from your Majesty, and in our name, the revocation of the unjust laws which for so long a time have opppressed the church, and to prepare, with the aid of the bishops, and when it may be necessary, with the concurrence of our apostolic authority, the complete and definitive reorganization of ecclesiastical affairs.
Your Majesty is well aware that, in order effectively to repair the evils occasioned by the revolution, and to bring back as soon as possible happy days for the church, the Catholic religion must, above all things, continue to be the glory and the mainstay of the [Page 590] Mexican nation, to the exclusion of every other dissenting worship; that the bishops must be perfectly free in the exercise of their pastoral ministry; that the religions orders should be re-established or reorganized conformably with the instructions and the powers which we have given; that the patrimony of the church and the rights which attach to it may be maintained and protected; that no person may obtain the faculty of teaching and publishing false and subversive tenets; that instruction, whether public or private, should be directed and watched over by the ecclesiastical authority; and that, in short, the chains may be broken which up to the present time have held the church in a state of dependence and subject to the arbitrary rule of the civil government. If the religious edifice should be re-established on such bases—and we will not doubt that such will be the case—your Majesty will satisfy one of the greatest requirements and one of the most lively aspirations of a people so religious as that of Mexico; your Majesty will calm our anxieties and those of the illustrious episcopacy of that country; you will open the way to the education of a learned and zealous clergy, as well as to the 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 lamentable vicissitudes have tried the church; and, lastly, you will labor effectually to consolidate your own throne, to the glory and prosperity of your imperial family.
For these reasons we recommend to your Majesty the apostolic nuncio who will have the honor to present to you this our confidential letter. May your Majesty be pleased to honor him with your confidence and good will, in order that he may more easily comply 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 may be enabled to undertake with courage and joyfully the difficult work of restoration in all that they are concerned, and thus concur towards the re-establishment of social order.
Meanwhile we shall not cease daily to direct our humble prayers to the Father of light and the God of all consolation to the end that, all obstacles being overcome, the councils 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 regenerator, 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 apostolic benediction.
No. 2.
My Dear Minister Escudero: In order to smooth the difficulties which have arisen on account of the reform law, we propose to adopt a means which, while satisfying the just requirements of the country, shall re-establish peace in the minds and tranquillity in the consciences 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 nuncio 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 continued, with difficulty, during seven months, admits of no more delay. It demands an immediate solution. We consequently charge you at once to propose suitable measures in order that justice may be administered without consideration of personal station; that legitimate interests created by these laws may rest secure; correcting the excesses and injustice 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 ministry be exercised throughout the empire without cost or charge to the people.
To this end you will, before anything else, propose to us the revision of the operations of the mortmain 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 principles of free and ample toleration, keeping in view that the religion of the state is the Roman Catholic and apostolic.
No. 3.
Sire: In fulfilment of the first and most sacred duty incumbent upon the prelates of the church, whenever the latter comes to be in conflict with the state, we are now placed under the painful but unavoidable necessity of raising our voice to the throne of your Majesty, and we are obliged to do so by the letter from your Majesty to the minister of justice, which has been published in the Official Gazette, and in which it appears that your Majesty has taken the resolution to decide by yourself the momentous questions which are pending between the church and the state with reference to the so-called laws of reform, and have instructed your minister to prepare the necessary measures in the premises without deeming it necessary to wait for the new instructions which the nuncio of his Holiness is about to ask on account of not having those demanded by the points proposed by the government of your Majesty.
Your Majesty is well aware that, during the thirty years which have elapsed since the month of December, 1833, when the laws regarding patronage, termination of civil coaction with reference to monastic vows, tithes, &c., were issued, to the same month of last year, when the two regents, Almonte and Salas, declared the said laws of reform to be still in force, the Mexican church has never ceased to oppose right to might against all the laws and measures which attack its doctrine, its jurisdiction, and its canonical immunities and privileges, protesting respectfully, hut energetically, before the respective governments, carefully restraining and guiding the canonical conduct of the ecclesiastical authorities, and teaching and admonishing the faithful with reference to the obligations incumbent upon them under such circumstances as Catholics Apostolic Romanic.
Your Majesty also knows that neither the interests of party, nor the character of institutions, nor the political complexion of governments, have ever exercised the slightest influence with regard to this course of the church, which, faithful only to its mission of preserving pure and intact the doctrines of the faith, the rules of morals, and the authority of canonical discipline, has never taken any step, except in the nature of self-defence, when these principles have been assailed, and, in so proceeding, it has had in view no other end but the most worthy and holy purpose of saving intact the principles upon which the relations between church and state are based, and of re-establishing concord between the two powers, in older that, by means of this concord, the general peace of the nation should be preserved.
Your Majesty likewise comprehends, through your knowledge of our national history, that the principal, if not the only, cause of the civil wars that have devastated our unhappy country is the endeavor of an odious minority to assail religion and the church by means of laws which do violence to conscience.
Your Majesty knows, finally, that the arms which the Mexican episcopacy have employed in its defence have been only the non licet of the gospel, and that their earnest desire has constantly been that by means of an agreement between the national government and the Holy Apostolic See the unhappy necessity upon which their passive resistance is based should be made to disappear.
It is impossible to exaggerate, sire, the pain and unhappiness of the Mexican church on account of this persistent warfare, which, in the name of liberty, of progress, and of civilization, has been made upon it by this at once old and new revolution, that after having desolated Europe has come to combat its enemy—that is to say, Catholicism—in this part of the New World.
When, after so many vicissitudes, affairs arrived at the crisis produced in December, 1860, by the triumph of the democratic faction in the capital of the republic; when we saw consummated among us the work which the enemies of the church had labored so long to effect, we should have lost all hope whatever, had not our confidence been strengthened by our trust in Divine Providence, and also by our intimate knowledge of the Catholic character, which has always distinguished the Mexican people.
This hope gained new strength when the intervention, triumphing at last in this capital, made the declaration that nothing would be attempted against the independence, freedom, and rights of the nation, and that it would confine itself solely to the overthrow of the government of Don Benito Juarez, in order that Mexico should freely constitute itself; and it was still more increased, giving the greatest consolation to the church and the people, when it became known that your Majesty was the prince who was called upon to rule the destinies of Mexico. The tidings that we all had of your devout Catholicism, the sentiments manifested by your Majesty, both in your speeches and your writings, the highly significant step of not leaving Europe and sailing for this, your new country, without resorting to receive and bring with yon the benediction of the common Father of the faithful; the readiness with which your Majesty sent a minister to Rome, and your earnest wish [Page 592] for the arrival of the apostolic nuncio, in order to enter upon the arrangements necessary for a happy termination of the terrible crisis into which this unfortunate country has been plunged on account of the questions raised by these so-called laws of reform; all this, sire, had filled us with unspeakable consolation; all this awakened in our hearts the most lively enthusiasm towards the august person of your Majesty, and diffused throughout all the country that extraordinary rejoicing which was universally and splendidly manifested from the moment your foot touched the shores of our country.
To no one did it then appear doubtful that these grave questions would be speedily and happily arranged, and we all expected that the day of true peace, the peace of conscience, terribly agitated by the laws and the measures of the government of Don Benito Juarez, would now arrive. That desired day appeared nearer and nearer to our sight when we learned that the apostolic nuncio had reached Vera Cruz; because, it being impossible that the pending questions could be settled without the concurrence of both powers—that is, without the concert of the temporal and the spiritual sovereigns—the arrival of the nuncio was regarded by all as a pledge of that concert, especially considering the Catholic character of your Majesty, and the benevolent disposition and conciliatory spirit of the holy pontiff.
What must have been, therefore, our sorrow and our affliction when, instead of all that we had so earnestly desired, and with such good reason had confidently expected, we have seen all our hopes dissipated at one blow by the declarations and instructions embodied in the letter of your Majesty to the minister of justice? In this notable document we see that there has been no arrangement with the apostolic nuncio, on account of his instructions not embracing such points as have been raised; that your Majesty has not been willing to await the arrival of further instructions, and that you have resolved by yourself alone to determine these grave questions, and have ordered that the necessary measures consequent upon this decision shall be prepared by the minister of justice.
Being ignorant of all that has transpreid in the secret conferences, as also with regard to the documents and instructions brought by the envoy of his holiness, we ought to respect the mystery in which the causes of what has passed, and the motives which have determined your Majesty to take a step of such grave importance, are involved. But as, in our humble opinion, whatever may have been these motives, we do not believe them capable of diminishing the sovereign power of the Catholic church, or of conferring upon the state a sufficient increase of power to enable it, by its decrees, to tranquillize the consciences of the faithful; and as this circumstance, far from bringing about the desired end, will still leave on foot all the existing evils, because it is only the spiritual sovereign that can decide grave questions of moral import and tranquillize conscience, we are, therefore, compelled to approach your Majesty, and earnestly pray you to be pleased to suspend the operation of the declarations and orders contained in the above-mentioned letter of your Majesty.
In taking this step we feel ourselves sustained not only by the arguments and motives set forth in the manifesto issued by the Mexican episcopacy on the 10th of August, 1859, with reference to the so-called laws of reform promulgated by Don Benito Juarez at Vera Cruz, and in the expositions we addressed to Generals Almonte and Salas, as regents of the empire, in December of last year, in consequence of the circular issued by them on the 15th of that month, (copies of which documents we enclose to your Majesty herewith,) but also by the character of higher gravity which this question has now assumed by the fact of the intervention of the holy father, who has sent his nuncio at your Majesty’s request,
The bases given by your Majesty to your minister involve, sire, the complete abrogation of all the privileges and powers of the church, the ratification of the laws of sequestration of ecclesiastical property, the confirmation of the interests created thereby, the authoritative intervention of the civil power in the maintenance of worship, the extinction of the canonical means of subsistence, upon which public worship and its ministers depend, and, finally, the sanction of free and ample tolerance for all religions, without other restriction than the declaration that the Roman Catholic apostolic is the religion of the state.
To none do we yield, or will we ever yield, sire, in our fidelity in the compliance with our strict duty towards the temporal sovereign; but when, in order to obey him, it is necessary to fail in obedience to the law of God, or that of the church, and consequently to commit the sin of prevarication, passive resistance ought then never to be considered as an act of disobedience, because obedience is based upon the law of God, and ceases to be a duty when it is inconsistent with that law.
The article of our creed with reference to the Catholic church is a dogma of faith, and this dogma establishes a supreme right in matters of doctrine, of morals, and of canonical government, a supreme authority that cannot be subordinated to any other on earth, and it proclaims, as an unimpeachable principle for all Catholics, and as a rule of conduct, that whatever may be the power, rank, and position of those who exercise supreme authority in the state, they have absolutely no power whatever over these matters; for it is only [Page 593] the visible head of the church—that is, the Pope—who can exercise this jurisdiction; it is only this power that binds and unbinds consciences; it is only this authority that is competent to proclaim dogmas of faith, to enlighten belief, to rule over morals, to decide doubtful questions, and to order all conflicts to cease by means of its sovereign declarations.
Your Majesty will permit us, protesting above all our most profound respect, to state that your sovereign resolution, with reference to the matters referred to in the letter addressed to the minister of justice, relates precisely to those very points of the struggle between the church and the state which would not be the subject of dispute did they not invade the spiritual power, as has been constantly demonstrated to the various governments by the Mexican episcopacy; that they are in open opposition to the social basis of the Catholic church, and directly opposed to positive provisions of the canons, and especially to those of the last general council; that they have been explicitly condemned by the apostolic see in pontifical allocutions; and that even the request and sending of an apostolic nuncio, for the definite settlement of these questions, proves that your Majesty has been of this same understanding, since it is clear that, had your Majesty not recognized the positive necessity for the concurrence of both powers in the settlement of these questions, your Majesty would not have made so great an effort to obtain the sending of the apostolic nuncio.
Besides, your Majesty, in referring to this step, characterizes it as “a means capable of satisfying the pressing necessities of the country, and of restoring peace to the minds and calming the consciences of all the inhabitants of the empire,” which declaration, as true as precise and conscientious, renders unnecessary, sire, any demonstration on our part.
But we cannot omit to observe that these conceptions hold good, only supposing that the steps referred to had not been taken, and that, however grave other circumstances may he supposed to be, they cannot be sufficient to enable the resolution contained in your Majesty’s letter to satisfy the exigencies of the country or to restore tranquillity to the consciences and establish peace.
Your Majesty is well aware that the temporal sovereign has no power over the conscience, except to retire its coaction over it, and that, therefore, while the Pope does not decide or the sovereign does not withdraw this coaction, conscience will continue to be agitated.
With regard to the just exigencies of the country, we do not know what other there can be if they are not those of conscience in its moral relations with interest. But, referring only to that other class of interest produced by the appropriation of ecclesiastical property in favor of the now unlawful holders of the property of the church, under the laws that have despoiled it, even referring to these, and bearing in mind that many of these holders seek in the solution of these questions, not the quieting of conscience merely, but the consolidation and restoration to value of their sudden wealth, your Majesty will allow us to state that even these persons will remain in the same condition as before, for the sovereign declaration of your Majesty will produce on their minds only the effect of adding the fear of new exactions and other burdens to the uncertainty which will continue to prevail so long as the concurrence of the holy pontiff shall not have been obtained.
We will not dwell, sire, upon what relates to the competent maintenance of public worship and the support of its ministers, because whatever the gratuitous enemies of the church may say, interest has never had the slightest influence upon the conduct of its pastors; nor will we state to your Majesty that civil coaction having ceased, only those contribute that are so disposed, and that the noble moral impulse that determines these gifts subsists independent of all human power. But we can assure your Majesty that all of us are ready to depend solely upon the piety of the faithful rather than upon any civil appropriation, because nothing is so dear to us, under these circumstances, as to sustain the dignity of the church and the independence of her priesthood.
With regard to religious tolerance, we can see nothing that renders it, not to say urgent, but even excusable. Mexico is exclusively a Catholic country, and the opposition of the people to religious tolerance has always been manifested in the most unequivocal manner. When the constituent congress of 1856 was discussing the fifteenth article of the project of constitution, which would have established religious tolerance, notwithstanding the assembly was made up of the most advanced partisans of what is called reform and progress, and in spite of their unanimous endeavor to secure the success of such an idea, they were obliged to give way under the irresistible pressure of public opinion, manifested as never before. The radical liberals were the masters of the situation—they had all power and controlled the public offices everywhere; yet, notwithstanding all this, and the slight influence of the opposite party, and particularly of the church, they were unable to stem the torrent. Addresses poured in from all parts of the country, municipalities, guilds, entire populations, men and women, all the community, pronounced against the article; and even the government of Comonfort, perceiving it was not wise to oppose the popular feeling so unanimously manifested, took its stand against religious tolerance, and the article was rejected by an immense majority.
[Page 594]These facts, sire, are eloquent indeed; and in seven years the character and will of a people are not changed.
It would have been very easy for us, in lightly touching upon the points to which this address relates, to make with reference to each one of those points, and in general with reference to the so-called laws of reform, more ample observations; but we have been desirous to confine ourselves carefully to the simplest indications, both in order not to exceed what our duty strictly requires, and not to distract your Majesty’s attention; and finally, after so much that both ourselves and our predecessors have said, and have proved and demonstrated with all classes of arguments in our representations and protests to the different governments which have attacked the church, and very particularly in the documents which we enclose herewith, in order not to unnecessarily prolong this address, we do not feel that it is necessary for us to say anything more. We shall never, however, cease reiterating our supplications to your Majesty that you will cause an end to be put to the grave embarrassment that has arisen from the issuance, without awaiting the arrival of the new pontifical instructions, of a resolution that, not having the concurrence of the two powers, leaves still on foot, and even will largely augment, the evils already suffered, will aggravate each day more and more the situation and render it more critical; and we cannot say to what point will multiply the difficulties with which your Majesty is struggling for the re-establishment of peace and the consolidation of the empire.
No. 4.
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 Apostolic and Roman religion as the religion of the state.
Art. 2. All forms of worship not contrary to morality, civilization, and 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 administration, 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, February 26, 1865.
MAXIMILIAN.
By order of his Imperial Majesty.
No. 5.
We, Maximilian, emperor of Mexico, having consulted our council of ministers, have decreed and do decree the following:
Article 1. The council of state shall revise all the operations of the amortization and nationalization of ecclesiastical property, executed in consequence of the laws of the 25th of June, 1859, and others agreeing therewith.
[Page 595]Art. 2. The council on making the revision shall remedy excesses and injustice committed by fraud, by violation of thes aid laws, or by the abuses of the functionaries charged with their execution.
Art. 3 The council will make the revision truly, openly, and in good faith, and with no more impediments than those which it may consider necessary in each case, for the manifestation and illustration of truth.
Art 4. The resolutions of the council are irrevocable, and will be executed as they are, without exception of any kind.
Art. 5. Lawful operations executed without fraud, and in accordance with the laws already cited, will be confirmed. Those which do not come under this head will be annulled.
Art. 6. Irregular operations which may have been executed against the tenor of the said laws, with the approbation of the federal government, may be ratified, reducing them previously to the terms prescribed in the same laws, so long as there be no injury to a third party.
Art. 7. Transactions which may he declared null and void may be revised on condition that they be brought forward in accordance with the terms of the law of the 13th July, 1859; that there is paid into the treasury in money a fine of twenty-five per cent. on the total value of the estate or capital adjudged; and that no loss is caused to a third party by rights acquired previous to the revision of the claim.
Art. 8. Concessions made by the federal government, so that the part in money of the adjudication or redemptions should be covered with credits arising from the personal services of servants of the state, will not vitiate the operation so long as the concession is understood to be solely and immediately in favor of those who gave those services
Art. 9. Lawful rights acquired by the law of the 25th of June, 1856, shall not be considered lost or extinguished, except by express renunciation or on proof of their having been executed simultaneously with the operation from which it is derived. The renouncements of women who may have no other right in property, or of the custodians or guardians of children, in the name of their pupils, will be of no effect.
Art. 10. To qualify the rights which are derived from the said laws and the effects which they must produce, the date of their publication will, in every instance, be considered according to the principles of legislation.
Art. 11. The transfer which the clergy made of property or estates in those places which were subjected to the administration of Generals Zuloaga and Miramon may be ratified, if there be no loss to a third party, by reason of any rights previously acquired. For the same reason the transaction executed by virtue of the laws of the 12th and 13th of July, 1859, shall also be ratified in subjection to them previous to their publication in their respective places.
Art. 12. In the case of operations on which the decrees have been executed, and judicial acts duly published, the revision thereof shall be limited to the reimbursement of the exchequer with regard to the enactments of this law, which may have been infringed or defrauded in the said transaction. The reimbursement of the exchequer must be made by the actual possessor of the estate or funds.
Art. 13. Whenever a transaction shall be declared null and of no effect, the sums advanced by the person executing it must be returned in coin, and the value which it may have, in the same manner, form, and terms in which it was originally made. The legal interest on these sums shall also he paid in cash, corresponding to the time which may have transpired and the actual value of the improvements which may have been made on the estates. These reimbursements will not take place in cases where it is known that the transaction had been fraudulently executed.
Art. 14. For the restitution of credits which do not exist in the public offices the council will issue a certificate, which will have the same legal effect as the replaced credit.
Art. 15. The restitution of estates or funds which may have been the object of invalid operations should be made with the proceeds or results which they may have realized.
Art. 16. There shall be established an office, to be called “The Administration of Nationalized Property.” It shall have control over the administration of that kind of property which may not legitimately come under the head of private property; it shall copy the evidence which may be considered necessary for the revisions; it shall put into practice the administrative and economical operations contingent on each act of revision, or whatever may be deemed necessary for the council. And for the departments, wherever it may appear necessary, the council will propose to us the nomination of agents to discharge the functions with which they will be charged. A counsellor or auditor, appointed by us, on the proposal of the council, shall be inspector thereof.
Art. 17. All the funds or capital of nationalized property that may not have been transferred or redeemed, those which are recovered by revision, and those which proceed from the transfer of estates which were afterwards made, shall he in charge of the office of [Page 596] nationalized property, which will see that they are properly administered, and collect their rents while carrying out their functions.
Art. 18. No right which directly or originally proceeds from mortmain transactions or nationalization shall be exercised, or be made of any value, judicial or extra-judicial, while it is not shown in due and proper form that the operation whence it proceeded has been properly and correctly revised.
Art. 19. Although the revision may not be complete, if it be shown in due form that the process to obtain it has been presented, the rights to which the previous article refers may he exercised; but those who obtain it for them must give security to the satisfaction of the chief judge, (Juez de primer a instancia,) or keep the matter in judicial course until the revision is complete.
Art. 20. Nor shall any right or privilege, judicial or extra-judicial, be exercised in relation to nationalized estates which may not have been included in operations of mortmain or nationalization, or which may have been returned to ecclesiastical corporations. The possessors or detainers of those estates must show cause within two months in the form prescribed by the enactments of this law.
Art. 21. Any person contravening the three last-mentioned articles, or their accomplices, shall incur a fine of from $1,000 to $15,000, or six months to five years’ imprisonment. The penalty shall he applied openly and without reference to the nullity of the act or acts which may have been exercised.
Art. 22. The redemption of funds or capital must be shown within two months. If the manifestation be not made, the redemption will be considered null, and the deed of recognition will recover all its vigor and force.
Art. 23. Negotiations now pending in the tribunals in which there is a question of the validity or preference of rights acquired by the laws of mortmain or naturalization will pass the council and thus he disposed of.
Art. 24. Nationalized property which may not have been transferred in consequence of the laws already mentioned, and those which may be reclaimed by virtue of the revision, shall be transferred in the form and terms which the law provides for the sale of the estates of the exchequer, with due regard to the provisions prescribed by this law.
Art. 25. The cost of the transfers shall be placed at six per cent. per annum, with the hypothecation of the estate itself for a term of eighteen years, to he collected annually and in equal parts. The diminution of the time of recognition and the payment in cash of the whole or part of the price shall not have any alteration.
Art. 26. Country property, in order to be transferred, shall be divided into parts, and the project of division which is formed in each case shall be presented to us for our approbation.
Art. 27. In every case of the transfer of country lands the preference shall be given to persons having no other landed property; and in no case shall more than two properties be transferred to a single person.
Art. 28. The transfer of agricultural lands shall only be made in favor of persons who have no other landed property.
Art. 29. All clerks, secretaries, notaries public, judges and others, shall, within two months from the publication of this law, remit to the minister of justice a circumstantial notice of all writings granted in their protocols from the 1st of June, 1856, with reference to nationalized property, with a statement of all notes in reference thereto. Those who do not exactly execute and punctually comply with this direction shall incur the penalty of deprivation of office and a fine of $500 to $3,000.
Art. 30. At the termination of the time specified in the last article our minister of justice shall name examiners of the protocols, to make examination as to the fulfilment of the aforementioned provision.
This decree shall be deposited in the archives of the empire, and be published in the official gazette.
Given in the palace of Mexico, February 26, 1865.
MAXIMILIAN.
By command of his imperial Majesty.