The Auckland Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News and The Echo. MONDAY, APRIL 20, 1912. THE CRISIS IN MEXICO.

Auckland Star, Volume XLIII, Issue 102, 29 April 1912, Page 4

The Auckland Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News and The Echo.

MONDAY, APRIL 20, 1912. THE CRISIS IN MEXICO.

j . for the coxae thai ttck* -t lit to mm, For the- ujtomg titai need* resittt *«, For the futwre m tie diaimmtx, Aid the good tkmt we m ia.

When Maiiero rode triumphant'v it::. the city n: Mexico at the head of tb< revolutionary army, and i; -was ofScialli announced that Diaz had resigned, mos people appear to have believed that th' "worst crisis in the history of th» countn was safely over. 1: was assumed that j iro-R- thp despotism under which Meiirc had irroaned 50 long m- broken, a ne-o nation frpp and united would Pinery irom this in'Tcecinf -iru^j:!' , . and tha" I ppaee and prosperity would rei-n ! throug-hout the land. Unhappily none t ' these expectations have tx»en realised: ; bat there are several sufficient rea-on-: Ito account for the chaos and strife tii'i. J dominant in this unfortunate country lln the nrft place. Madero. though a ; brave and hr.r.e.-t patriot, possesses j apparently but little administrative ; ability, and indeed little ear>acitv of any 1 kind. He has shown himself able to ft:: jup a revolution and to depose a tyrant but not to rule a nation, and he has tendered his task all the harder by promising far more than he could hope to perform in th.? Wav of concession! to the people. It v. us jr<>r:era!!y reported among hi? followers before D:iz resigned that Madero would seize and nationalise the gTeat estates of the r.ealthy landowners. This was quite impracticable, and in their disappointment th? people are taming against Madero. But perhaps the most complete explanation 0~. Madero's failure to enforce law and order throughout the country is to be ionmd in the reference t-o Zapata. t!i€ rebel chief, that occurs in our csble messages to-day. It is only a little over two yearsince Zapaia., then le=3 than 30 of acre, appeared in Mader.y- camp. aai offered to lend an :r.;jrre ton a.sa.n6t. Diaz in hi- own pri-.in-.-e. Within =:-. Tronth-s the Diaz r.ew^-papers -.'.ere priii".ins hU name in red :e".ter? wirh t:i? .■mir.ou= title oi "Th° ""-ourfre" affixed. To-dar his admirers penera.lv refer to him as ■The Attila of Mexico." and he has certainly done his best :o earn this dubious honour. As soon a? Midero had supplied h:m w.th arms and amrr.u nit. ii£ »;arted for his own distnr.. and within four rnonih.- he had frame 1 control of three Slate-, burning, plujidennj and kU.'inj in a 'A -ides. and estaMishirc: a rcTrn of :--rr:r that wer.t a ion_- .'ay toward indu Diaz ' 0 ai>i:.■ate. When p.ea.-e was declared. Madero sent "s*ord to Zapata that he must ladown his ar:z=. Zapala's answer was to raid a small to*::, kii! everyone arno opposed him. and defy the new Pre^;dent to do his yon:. K'.cn then Madt-r i ices no: seem to have seen the necessity for dealing v;gor»a»ly with th< rouns desperado. He inv.te-i Zapati to ..sit him at the capital. The rrg-ini hief came, promised everrib.;!!": that Uadero aekej. borrowed £3.000 from Madero to pay his troops, and retired )nee more to his own district. There. »".thia a fortnight, he raised a fre-n lorde of irregulars, and beiran his ne * career as a rebel Macer:>. iVithin three months he is at the bea4 )f an army of 20.100 men—if i: is f.i;r .0 apply the name of army to a body >'. bandits, whose sole object is plunder ir.d bloodshed. ViKe more Madero to rise :i the occasion, merer." s.«airnr instructions that the J-'eler.'.l rarrisons and detachments should '"i>Ut" Zap3ta whenever he appeared. J.aj. would hive put down thifi insur■ection at any cost wi:h an ..-on hinJ. md the Mexican people -rcuJd hard'v ail to draw th.c contrast, to Madero = iisadvantas , ' , . On the very Jar on ooioh Madero was ormaily induct-ed into the presidency. Zapata and his lieutenants orran:-ed aids in eleven different piacv, in three eparati- Slates. This insolent defiance vas meant as a challenge to 'Madero: bus (ben the President took it up be fo :nd hi' he had temper.v*J too leng. Since voTer.br: l.'st the Federal troops seem o have made no sor: of impression on 'apata. who hii several time- carried is raids up to the -very jr.iu-s >~; ti'i • capijj. from which the smoke of the burnag villages could l>e plainly seen. In he State of Morelcs. where he ;- trongest. he has set up an absolute eigr. of terror: "the Federal Governor o longer dares to maintain a pennannt residence; »everai of the cities have een depopulated through the iahabiints learning of Zapa.ta.'s approach and eein; to the hills, leavirc their ?ood= nd chattels behind them: while practisJly ail thf- foreigners have left." It ■ net expected that Zapau "will at"rep: to e-tahhs;i ar.y res"-:iar •■•■ ovemrß<-nt .- r,pp.v.;-.;on ■■-■ SfaiJero jr he :- only .1 professional :.r:;r2-c fter nil. aca it is j-rnerai:;.- b-'if.ed hat his -oie object i- to ama.-- \ huse ir'.uire out or h; 5 spo;.. and then See he country. Certainly, he ion net 0 nut of his tray to win popularity, for he country folic hate and ->ar bbx: tor -- cruelly and Ihe countless murder? hat have stained his record. He can ardly \k termed a -priPral. or ~ 'T, eoldier: f"»r "*• a j^p ~. r.*.- no 5 v ~rd:n----;e c'ricfr-. an. Lii ?o!!o»pr. h-,r* - 1 ?z~'.i~ .:■■ °r orgai:;ia..ior: of any kind. His s;: .e£s. -! we are told, "is due to the itessitr of his pexioiisiijj' aid to?

weakness of the present government of Mexico." But. whatever becomes of iiun. hi? name will live in the history of his country a≤ the greatest of aJI it? many omhiw?. "Mexico ha- had banI dits of many kinds and degree*, bat none ; before whose =cope of operaTion? ha? ; been to wide or whose magnified outlawry ha? been so continuous and .-o j audac:on.." ________________