ministers of religious creeds according to the needs of each locality.
"Only a Mexican by birth shall be the minister of any religious creed in Mexico.
"No minister of religious creeds shall, either in public or private meetings, or in acts of worship or religious propaganda, criticize the fundamental laws of the country, the authorities in particular, or the government in general; they shall have no vote or be eligible to office, nor shall they be entitled to assemble for political purposes."
Compare the foregoing with the declaration in the letter of Mr. Arredondo to our Secretary of State in which he says:
"Therefore, the constitutionalist government will respect everybody's life, property, and religious belief, without other limitation than the preservation of public order and the observance of the institutions in accordance with the laws in force and the constitution of the Republic."
Of course, as the constitution of 1857 was in force in Mexico when this letter was written, and the Carranza party had pledged itself to the support of that constitution, our Secretary of State was justified in accepting this declaration at its face value. In the cities of Mexico to-day are numbers of chapels and churches, erected either by missionaries in their endeavour to serve and elevate the character of the people, or by foreigners for their
