There is still a wide field open in Mexico for teaching the
impressionable native of Anahuac the simple tenets of the religion of
Christ. Purity, honesty, charity, the love of his neighbor, duty to
himself, the knowledge of God,--these sure foundations of life are only
needed by him as his first foothold in upward progress. As for the
government, its present action, its promises for the future, are for the
good of the native races. All persons born in the Republic are free; and
freedom of education, freedom to exercise the liberal professions,
freedom of thought, and the freedom of the press are guaranteed. That
this government should prove itself able to carry out its intentions,
and thus encourage in the vast area under its control the presence of
order-loving immigrants from other countries, who, instead of creating
and promoting disorder, as is often the case, shall set the example of
industry and domestic living, is the result desired by all true friends
of Mexico. Although among the many Germans, English, and Americans who
have settled in the different cities and states of Mexico, there are
many who have done so in the intention of earning honest livelihoods,
without interfering with their neighbors, and even with the higher
motive of improving the condition of those around them, it is not yet
possible to say that the example of the foreigners settling in Mexico
has been an advantage to its natives. Many of the acts of violence
ascribed to Mexicans might be traced to men of other blood, who have
sought that territory because they were not tolerated elsewhere. The
general testimony of such observers as civil engineers, telegraph men,
and others who in the development of the resources of the country have
penetrated remote parts of it, is that the native Mexican is peaceful
and quiet in disposition, leading a domestic life with his faithful
wife, fond of his children, and diligently toiling to support his
family. Of course there are exceptions to this, especially when the
pulque habit has brutalized its victims; but it is asserted that the
drunken quarrels in obscure places, often reported in newspapers,
resulting in pistol-shot or dagger stroke, frequently arise less through
the fault of the native than of the adventurers from other lands.
Testimony to the good intentions of the government of Mexico is in the
improved condition of education there. The system of public instruction
is by no means perfect, but it is certainly growing better and better.
Free schools, sustained by city or state, are found in most towns and
villages, even the smallest. Moreover, private schools are numerous in
all the large towns and cities, and colleges and professional schools
are found. All of the Mexican states (for such matters are left to the
jurisdiction of each separately) compel free primary instruction, and
appropriate annual sums to support it.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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