Page:Juarez and Cesar Cantú (1885).djvu/17

 independence or the dignity of the Republic; in vain the idea was combined with some other projects, joining it with the necessity of colonization, of making religious liberty effective, of maintaining, after the victory, an element of material force that would complete the pacification of the country. Juarez rejected all these ideas; he had disagreements even with many of his friends. In his correspondence he always opposed the project, and persevering in the struggle, events have shown that he was right. Thanks to him, the Republic overcame its opressorsoppressors [sic] without any other aid than that of her own resources and the intrepid efforts of her own sons. There exist a good many letters written by Juarez to prove our assertions.

«So far are we from wishing now to formulate any charge against the persons who thought of recruiting a foreign force, that we have just said that we ourselves were among them. We believed that this was the last resort for the prompt re-establishment of peace; but we did not overlook its inconveniences, and to day we rejoice when we see that the progressive revolution, in its triumph, finds itself free from such inconveniences.

« It was necessary to refer to what has passed in order to express our astonishment on seeing that in one of the late sessions of Congress, a member, Mr. Aguirre, accused the President of treason, bringing up as a reproach, the celebration of the Ocampo-Mac Lane treaty, in which, if it be true that great concessions were made to the United-States, it is also certain that not all the advantages they solicited were granted, as is proved by the fact that the said convention was rejected by the American Senate. The text of the treaty, be its tenor what it may, furnishes no foundation on which a charge against the President could rest, since it is well known that the right to introduce amendments and modifications exists suntiluntil [sic] the very moment of the ratification of treaties. As for the rest, the commercial immunities, the right of transit for American troops on certain occasions, do not involve an attack on the national independence, nor can they justify