Page:Pictures of life in Mexico Vol 2.djvu/196

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172
PICTURES OF LIFE IN MEXICO.

nation; that the country adopts the form of a popular representative system for its government; that the republic shall be divided into departments for representation; that the Holy Roman Catholic and Apostolic faith is professed and protected to the exclusion of all others; that slavery is not to be permitted; that no one is to be called upon to pay illegal contributions; and that nobody shall be molested on account of his political opinions.

It is especially distinct on the subject of Mexican citizenship, its privileges and obligations. All persons born of Mexican parents; those who did not renounce their allegiance at the revolution; natives of bygone Mexican territories, who have since resided in the republic; and persons who have procured, or shall procure, letters of naturalization—are deemed citizens. The citizen's right of voting for representatives cannot be possessed by the married before they are eighteen years old, nor by the unmarried before the age of twenty-one; they must also have an annual income of not less than 200 dollars, derived from real capital, property, or honest industry; and it is proposed, also, that they shall be able to read and write. Habitual intemperance, religious