ber to be delivered in the hall of congress; but the 'gran pícaro,' when he got the floor, made a speech on the other side.[1] Fortunately, others took up the defence of Carillo's views and gained a victory, temporarily, over his opponents. Moreover, his argument, a strong presentment of the subject, under date of September 15th, was made public in print.[2] The author said but little about religion, or justice to Indians or friars. He admitted that the missions were not accomplishing much for civilization, but he considered the whole matter from the standpoint of Mexican interests. He extolled California as a most valuable possession, the occupation and retention of which were due solely to the missionaries. Faulty as the system might be, it had subdued Indians and gained northern territory for Spain and Mexico. During the troubles of the past twenty years, the missions had not only been self-supporting, but had contributed over half a million dollars to the support of the troops, besides offering the only encouragement to a growing and profitable commerce. In other words, California had been supported and saved for Mexico by the earnings of the Indians, under the mission system. But for the missions the territory to-day would be in possession of savages or of a foreign power. Only by maintaining the missions, and especially by founding new ones in the north, could the country be saved from foreign aggression in the near future. Moreover, this method involved no expense to the national treasury. A rich property existed which could be legitimately applied in this way to national defence. The duty and policy of Mexico were clearly to make that property as productive as possible, and to apply the revenues solely to the support and extension of the California missions.[3] Don
- ↑ Carrillo, Cartas del Diputado, 1831, MS., p. 214-15.
- ↑ Carrillo, Exposicion dirigida á la Cámara ... sobre Arreglo y Administracion del Fondo Piadoso. Mexico, 1831.
- ↑ If there was any weakness in Carrillo's argument, it was in his exaggeration of the unanimity of sentiment in Cal. in favor of the friars and his own
