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or wrongly decided. This exacts a greater j 1820 a more liberal constitution, whereupon exercise of the reasoning faculties, but! the Church in Mexico thought it no longer saves the time and expense of our system, worth the while to oppose Mexican indepen which requires an exhaustive search for dence; but with independence the struggle "precedents," to ascertain what other men, between the Church and those opposed to under circumstances more or less similar, its political power began anew and lasted have said was the law. The body of the with varying fortunes till 1857, when the law being codified, its provisions are to be present liberal constitution was adopted, divorcing Church and State. In the war found in the Code, in analytical arrange ment, and not scattered at random through which sprang up at once the reform party unending volumes of reports. There are were forced in 1859 to confiscate all the leading text-books on divers branches of the property of the Church (which then em law, containing the elementary principles braced nearly half of all the property in the reasoned out to logical conclusions, as with Republic), including the very Church build our older text writers. Our more recent ings themselves, which have ever since text-books, both in England and this country, remained national property, services in them contain very little original thought or reason, being only conducted by governmental per but practically and necessarily are rather mission. The Church replied to this by sheafs of headnotes gathered from the fiercer war and calling in the foreigner. National Digest upon some particular head Foreign invasion ended in 1867, when Maximilian and the last Church-party Presi of the law. Both the civil law and the common law dent, Miramon, were shot at Queretaro. have their weak points and their strong ones. Since then, freedom of religion, as well of speech and of thought, have been fully It will be wisdom to compare them and even established. The Constitution guarantees, tually select what is best from each. besides freedom of speech and of the press, The Mexican Federal Constitution guaran tees freedom from slavery, which has been the right of petition and of public agitation prohibited since 1824 (a period prior to and organization, also the right to carry emancipation in the British West Indies), arms, and to travel without permit or pass freedom of the press, of speech, and the port. In Mexico, as in this country, a man's abolition of convents and monasteries. By it, marriage is made a civil contract and house is his castle. There can be no im Congress is forbidden to pass laws " estab prisonment except for crime. In all criminal lishing or prohibiting any religion." In trials the prisoner must be confronted with fact, as well as in theory, there is absolute his accusers and witnesses, and furnished and entire religious liberty all over Mexico. with the grounds of the charge against him. During the three centuries of Spanish rule, He is entitled to counsel, and if unable to 1521 to 182 1, no country was more abso pay for one he has the right to select his lutely under the control of the Catholic counsel, who must serve him without com Church than Mexico. As late as 18 16, pensation, instead of, as with us, being ex patriots taken in arms were burned as perimented on by the younger members of heretics by the Inquisition, because opposing the Bar assigned him by the Court. Extra Church rule, at the stake in the public ordinary punishments are prohibited. The square in the City of Mexico, now known post-office is inviolable. Private property as the Alameda. During the struggle for cannot be appropriated except for public independence, the Church was on the side use, and then must be paid for before being of Spain till the mother country adopted in taken. Monopolies are prohibited and