the United Mexican States, elected indirectly for a term of four years,[1] and, by an amendment to the constitution of 1857 under date of December 20, 1890, eligible for reelection indefinitely. Candidates for the Presidency had to be native born Mexicans, at least 35 years of age, residents of the country at the time of the election, and not members of ecclesiastical orders. A cabinet assisted the President in the administration of the government. The judicial power was vested in the Supreme Court of Justice and district and circuit courts elected by the people indirectly for terms of six years. The jurisdiction of the federal courts was very similar to that of the federal courts in the United States.
The rights of the citizen against the government were carefully guarded in a bill of rights. All men born in the republic were declared free. Slaves became free on touching Mexican soil. Freedom of thought and of the press were guaranteed. The right of petition was recognized as was the right to bear arms and the right freely to travel in the republic. Private property could not be taken for public use without due compensation, quartering of soldiers in time of peace was prohibited as was search without warrant. Titles of nobility, imprisonment for civil debts, and imprisonment without trial for a period longer than three days were abolished. There could be no cruel and unusual punishments nor
- ↑ The term was made six years in 1904 after "unanimous approval of the legislatures of the States." The final declaration by the Mexican Congress is published in Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, 1904, p. 491. The elaborate inauguration ceremonies are described at p. 493.
