Page:Vol 6 History of Mexico by H H Bancroft.djvu/418

398 elevation, not to his party, but to constitutional law, and that consequently he was fettered by no compromise.

On the 15th of December the sixth constitutional congress closed its third term. Perfect accord at that time existed between the president and the chamber. Lerdo in his discourse spoke of the advantages to commerce which would be derived from the establishment of the legations in Germany, Spain, and Guatemala; and called attention to the great importance of creating commissions to inquire into the depredations committed on the northern frontier. The extension of telegraph lines and the promotion of railroad projects would, he said, receive the careful attention of the executive; and he concluded his speech by congratulating the deputies upon the patriotic zeal with which they had discharged their important duties. The reply of the president of the chamber was equally satisfactory.

The opening of 1873 was signalized by the inauguration of the Vera Cruz railroad. On the morning of new-year's day peals of artillery and bands of music announced the departure of the president, attended by his ministers and a numerous suite of officials, for Vera Cruz, by the line now for the first time opened to the public. His journey to the port and return to the capital were marked by an uninterrupted succession of festivities. The cities and towns through which he passed were gay with bright colors, and the inhabitants vied with each other in obsequious adulations to the new president. Balls and banquets, public receptions and speeches, bonfires and the popular joy, indicated the high favor in which Lerdo stood. After remaining some days in Vera Cruz he returned to the capital, where he arrived on the 15th. But nevertheless, when the excitement calmed, the public