Page:Vol 6 History of Mexico by H H Bancroft.djvu/387

Rh vote of confidence, an opposition of forty deputies doing Juarez much damage. The portfolio of the treasury was finally intrusted to Matías Romero, and that of government to Ignacio L. Vallarta; the latter held his position but a short time, as he was a confirmed constitutionalist. After his retirement, José M. Iglesias succeeded him in June, in which month Ignacio Mariscal was called to the department of justice, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Martinez de Castro. Juarez failed to restore harmony in the liberal party, and congress, being mainly made up of the victorious republicans, was the object of constant attack from the conservatives, who accused it of puerility, frivolity, tardiness, and the like.

Political troubles were not the only calamities heaped upon Mexico. Convulsions of nature now visited some portions of the republic. The worst cases were those of Matamoros, Bagdad, and Brazos in Tamaulipas, and Tuxtepec in Oajaca, which were almost destroyed in October and November 1867, by earthquakes, hurricanes, and freshets. The last-named state had again to suffer, in May 1870, from a great destruction of life and property, caused by earthquakes.

The disturbances of the several states arose from the dissatisfaction of the minorities, who alleged that their defeat had been the result of violence and corruption, the general government being charged with tampering with the polls to secure the election of its friends. The injudicious electoral law of August 14, 1867, prompted many to suspect Juarez of