A ministerial report submitted to Congress in Jan., 1844, showed how a Mexican could regard himself: 'If the present epoch begins to be brilliant in Europe, Mexico finds herself still more advanced. She has learned from the wise men of all the world but has contemned their errors. . . . The virtues of the Mexican spring from a heart not withered by the pleasures of sense, a heart still expanding with generous enthusiasm. His soul rises to sublime regions; it knows how to feel; it knows how to understand; it knows the celestial origin of virtue; and it appreciates all that itself contains of spontaneity and magnanimity. . . . This delicious country breathes into our sentiments the suavity of its climate; this ardent sun kindles the beautiful flame that makes men love one another; and amid the sweetness of a natural world so magnificent and sublime the germ of heroic merits is formed within us."
II. THE POLITICAL EDUCATION OF MEXICO
1. To sketch the political development of Mexico is by no means easy. No scientific history of it exists, and all those who have written on the subject with first-hand knowledge have been party men. The best basis is the reports of the British ministers, for they were men of ability near the heart of affairs, comparatively without prejudice, and anxious to give a true account of what was taking place. With these reports as a prima facie standard, the author has felt able to use intelligently the statements of other foreign agents — diplomatic and consular — Mexican authors, the historical and political writers of several nationalities and a great number of periodicals.
For the colonial régime he consulted the following sources. Humboldt, Polit. Essay, i, passim. 52Poinsett, nos. 94 of 1827; 166 of 1829. Cuevas, Porvenir, 15. Ward, Mexico, i, 91-120. Rivero, México, 24. 261Mémoire. 11Serrurier to "the Duke," Apr. 20, 1818. 11Villevêque, Feb. 3, 1830. Mora, Obras, i, pp. cx — cxiii. Macgregor, Progress, passim. Tornel, Breve Reseña, 4. Consideraciones, 50-1. 11Mémoire submitted to the king by a Spaniard. Gage, Voyages, i, 223. Amer. Antiq. Soc., Proceedings, New Series, xxi, 277-83. Latané, Diplom. Rels., 12-20. Diario de México, 1810. Pensador, 1812, 45-6, 49, 51, 53. Gaceta del Gob. de Méx., 1810. Priestley, José de Gálvez, chaps. iand ii. Esperanza, Mar. 5, 1846. 296Poinsett to the Prest., Apr. 26, 1827.
2. The Revolution. Cuevas, Porvenir, 15, 17. Ward, Mexico, i, 84, 96, 100, 116-8, 120, 135, 195-6. México á través, ii, pp. x-xiii, 507-8, 525; iii, pp. iv-ix, 30-5, 76, 85-127, 162, 188, 210, 226, 271, 283, 311, 323, (331, 339, 343, 405, 428, 450, 460, 487, 491-2, 656, 661-85, 735-56; iv, pp. iv, vii, 30, 199, 200, 316. Arrangóiz, México, i, 33-5. Humboldt, Polit. Essay, i. 261Mémoire. Tornel, Reseña, 4-6, 162. Otero, Cuestión Social, 51-2. García, Plan. Itúrbide, Mémoires. Poinsett, Notes, 91; app., 39. Zavala, Revoluciones, i, 65, 68, 78-9, 86, 104, 111, 272, 406. 13Ward, nos. 37, 114 of 1826. 52Poinsett, no. 166 of 1829. Constituent Congress, Address, 1824. Alamén, México, i-iv. 11Martin, Feb. 1, 1827. Sierra, Evolution, i, 126, 149. 13Morier, no. 10 of 1825. Lerdo de Tejada, Apuntes, ii, 229-30, 234, 245. Consideraciones, 43, 51-2. Memoria de. . Guerra, 1823, p.9. Arróñiz, Orizaba. Liceaga, Adiciones, 378. Mora, Obras, i, p. vii. Mateos, Hist. Parl., ii, 222. Löwenstern, Le Mexique, 293. S. Anna, Manifiesto, 1823. Suárez y Navarro, Alegato. Id., Hist. de Méx. y del. . . 8. Anna. Carreño,