The only possible method of dealing with this knotty question seemed to be that of direct negotiation with the papal chair, and a special envoy was sent to Mexico by Pope Pius Ninth for this purpose. The nuncio, Monsignore Meglia, was received by Maximilian with every mark of honor and escorted in state to the capital where a round of festivities ensued, after which the Emperor and his guest devoted themselves to the matter in hand. Nine points were submitted by Maximilian and his ministers for debate, the chief of which may be briefly stated as follows: Free observance of all religions in Mexico, in so far as they did not violate the laws of the country; all expenses of Catholic worship to be borne by the State; no taxes nor gratuities of any kind to be paid to the clergy by the people; cession by the Church of all possessions declared to be national property; enjoyment by the Emperor of all rights possessed by his predecessors, the Kings of Spain, in Mexico; a mutual agreement to exist between the Pope and the Emperor to resist aggression on the part of any or all religious orders in Mexico; existing communities to remain on condition that no more novices be received until conditions were settled. The delicate nature of these matters may readily be perceived as well as the difficulty of their settlement. Negotiations, in fact, were soon broken off and an uncomfortable open rupture occurred between the Emperor’s ministers and Monsignore Meglia, who left the capital with his suite on the twenty-seventh of May, and returned to Rome without having accomplished his mission. Chapter VI Enemies Within and Without Maximilian’s failure to settle this question, so important to Mexico, not only was of the greatest detriment to the restoration of peace and order, but also lost him the sympathies of the clerical party, already averse to the new sovereignty. The unsettled condition of the country has been already alluded to. It is impossible for peaceful industries to flourish where the lives and property of citizens are in constant danger. The path of outlawry and anarchy is marked only by mouldering corpses and smoking ruins. Some idea of the state of things may be obtained from a report sent by the prefect of Zamora to his chief, Antonio Moral, on the ninth of March, 1865: