Page:Vol 6 History of Mexico by H H Bancroft.djvu/499

Rh The federal spirit has not been fostered by race and caste distinctions, by the frequent sectional attitude during civil wars, and by the encroachment on state rights of a corrupt general government; but with the now prolonged peace, with unfolding resources promoting close communication by means of roads and railways, and with the growing number and control on the part of the mestizos, the national feeling is surely strengthening. The distant northern states, so long neglected under savage raids as to seriously consider secession, are becoming more valued as a frontier bulwark and promising region for colonization.

The municipal power, while amplified under a liberal government, has in another sense been brought under better control. The lack of pay for local offices, together with the indifference of the masses, threw them generally into the hands of wealthy or designing men, who used their positions as stepping-stones to greater influence, wielding their power with great effect against a weak government, and against peace and advancement, while sustaining a retrogressive unequality of classes. They sought to impose on the poorer people; using the Indian merely for their own purposes as a prey and tool, they deprived him of the benefits of a paternal cololonialcolonial [sic] régime, giving him in return only the empty title of citizen, for the privileges connected therewith were retained for themselves. The communal land system of the pueblos has operated against the formation of homes, with their lofty incentives, and fostered improvidence. The ownership of land in general, monopolized as it is by a small number, needs reform in order to promote the welfare of the people, and this can be effected sufficiently by a judicious imposition of taxes.