Page:Young Folks History Of Mexico.pdf/564

 558 crisis does not occur, the friends of Mexico may well take courage and indulge in the hope of a permanent peace.

The true native character has now an opportunity to assert itself. The future will look on with interest to see whether it has the stable capacity for sustained self government which its friends ascribe to it. For the first time in history they have an unfettered and uninterrupted chance to demonstrate if they are really capable of taking a place among the nations of the earth.

Mexico, to-day, is a confederated republic of twenty-seven states, one territory, and one federal district, with a form of government modeled after that of the United States. The press is free, and religious liberty is complete in theory, and no one is molested for his political opinions. Commerce and labor flow on unmolested in regular channels, and the internal and external obligations of the country are being paid with regularity. Her position to-day, except for the uncertain state of her politics, is one to be envied. Every indication points towards an era of prosperity without a parallel in her history. The whole world looks upon her advancement with attention, and the people of the United States, especially, are sincere in the desire that she has at last entered upon a long and uninterrupted