The Papers of Mirabeau Buonaparte Lamar, Volume VI

370

TEXAS STATE LIBRARY

Republic had the effrontery to write him the letter to which we refer urging him to steal from the printing offices of·the "Star" the oricrinal copies of the a:rticles addressed to him for printing, offering hi~ in exchange for this crime, public office and money. It did not seem at all strange to us who know them ; and we are persuaded that on doing so, our high functionaries did not consider such deed reprehensible and to be rejected. Such is the effect which custom has produced in them! Neither are we surprised at their offers, because we are well informed of their generosity in such circumstances; since we know that they are accustomed to recompense such services with public offices, or with sums of money from the national treasury, considering this their patri- mony, as is always the case when they need a Judas to pledge their word of honor (which they have not) and then violate it ,vithout shame or remorse: [when they need J judges whose not over scrupulous consciences are always disposed to give judgment for the pleasure of their masters, to forge public documents and declarations of witnesses, as for example in the criminal case which the Mora brothers ordered to be carried on by their ex-associates in mining enterprises, Seiiores Vicente Lathond and Aristides Elzeberg, with the purpose of appro- priating them, in which case there figure no less than thirty state- ments dealing with the court proceedings, falsified by the President and his worthy brother the tobacco dealer. ' This is a fact among many which we will point out on other occa- sions and which gave reason for the immense reclamations which weigh heavily upon the Republic. How many useless offices in Costa-Rica, created by the present administration, only as a recompense for crime! Returning to the article of Se1101· Schlesinger, we do not doubt who is the author of tlie letter from the very fact that public offices and money were offered him if he took charge of the matter of stealing the articles sent: we believe without fear of equivocation, that we are able to point out in the sad figure of Rodin, incapable legislator, brother of the 12resiclent or the Republic, ex-president of the so called National Congress, permanent deputy, retailer of powder, of salt petre, of sealed paper, permits for the exportation of coffee, etc., etc., in a word of all that is lucrative; because, as it has already been said, there is nothing which he may giYe; which they cannot take for themselves, the in- vincible brothers 1\Iora. Apropos of monopolies, it has occurred to us to submit a question to His Excellency begging him to . excuse our curiosity. Woulcl it not be more reasonable (we will not say right) to divide the multitude of little tobacco shops which yield an income of more than ten thousand pesos annually, among thirty or more of the widows of those unfortunates who died unavailingly in the surprise of the 14th of April 1856, or on the anniversary of the most brutal assault of Rivas of 1857? We hope you will answer us, and while you are cleciding, we advise that the Se1iores Mora read and meditate upon the fragment of the message o-f Seiior Campos, in re- signing the presidency of the Republic of Salvador: he says as follows: "Convinced that that which by its nature is vicious can never be good in its results. Violation~ of the law are always acts of arbitrariness or despotism; and what is despotic or arbitrary is always unjustifiable. Formulas or rules are the divinities of society; and only ilespots make their power consist in not recognizing any; I had sworn

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