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AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION.
AusTIN's PLAN FOR OnoANIZATION OF CoNGnEss
City of Mexico August 1822 Plan for the organization of Congress for the Empire of Mexico- As a citizen of this Empire I should be waH.ting in my duty did I not feel that anxiE>ty for the common welfare of my Country which ought to animate the bosom of e\'ery good man. I have thereforn viewed with great interest the political agitations of the nation, and particularly of this· Capital for the last two months; and believing that the evils which now embarrass the operations of Government arise solely from a defect in the organization of the Legislative de- partment; I have taken the Liberty to offer my ideas on the subject, hoping that my motives may excuse my presumption Agreeably to the Basis which has governed since the glorious dec- laration of independence in Iguala, the fundamental principles of the Government are established-It is to be a Constitutional J1f on- m·chy-This Basis has been recognised as the foundation on which the superstructure of the Constitution is to be erected. The leading features of the Government is therefore no longer a question, and any remarks on that subject would be irrelle\'ant and improper: the on[l]y question to be considered is the details of a system the founda- tion of which is already laid The strength and beauty of architectural structures depend on the symmetry, order and connection of their parts; so in the formation of political institutions their capacity to sustain the shocks of conflicting interests is of Primary import and must depend on the harmony and dependent relations of.the constituent parts-It would seem that these circumstances have not been sufficiently attended to in the organization of the GovernmentJ so far as it has .progressed; the consequences have resulted that the Congress on the one hand, tenacious of its authority have been contending about forms, and have wasted much time without a single salutory effect, being more intent to extend its own Power than to promote the public good The Executive on the other hand without a precise definition of its powers have been obliged to wait the inefficient operations of the Legislature-In this political [cataclysm ( 1)] the welfare of the State is disregarded and discontents and distrusts are generated which menace the most pernicious consequences- "\i\'nat is the cause of this state of things?-The answer is evi- dent-It is that which has overthrown so many Governments in the old world, and plunged whole nations into civil wars, anarchy and desolation-that which like an overwhelming volcano burst upon devoted France and rafter drenching her plains with the blood of her choicest citizens only prepared her for the chains of a despot.
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