Page:Vol 6 History of Mexico by H H Bancroft.djvu/632

612 the morrow, they squander any surplus in drinking, usually in the neighboring town. On the approach of fest days, there is a general effort to accumulate a small sum with which to join worthily in the religious processions and other customary celebrations, to say nothing of the drunken orgie which follows.

Slavery, in the legal sense, never prevailed to any extent in Mexico, and it may be said to have ceased in 1810, with the outbreak of the war for independence, both parties offering freedom to gain the adhesion of their bondsmen. Nevertheless, a few remained, and it was not till 1829 that the republic formally declared slavery abolished. A more powerful bondage existed, however, in the debtor's law, whereby persons without property were required to render service in payment cf debt. It was applied only to Indians, whose careless, stupid, and feast-loving disposition readily induced them to accept the yoke for a small advance, especially on the occasion of marriage. The creditor, usually owner of a plantation, takes care that the small wages agreed upon shall be paid in food and other articles from his own supplies, and in such a manner that the bonds increase till the children are within the coils. The debt may be transferred, and with it the enslaved. Love for the home region and stubborn conservatism stand in the way of liberation, and so they toil away till death relieves them. Repeated protests were made against this abuse, but it did not suit the interest of those in power to yield, and it was only in November 1873 that a constitutional amendment abolished peonage. This has not had full effect,