NEWS OF THE WEEK.
THE event of the week in Foreign Affairs is the resignation of President Diaz and the consequent triumph of the insurrection and the prospect of peace. President Diaz has promised that his own and Sector Corral's resigna- tion shall take place before May 31st, and it is agreed that Seiior de in Barra, Minister of Foreign Affairs, shall become Acting President, and General Madero his chief adviser, or, as some telegrams put it, these two are to be co-Regents. They are to conduct the government of the country till the elec- tions are held, which must not be delayed beyond six months. The rebel leaders now declare peace throughout Mexico, ex- cept in Lower California, where the insurrection is independent of the main movement. It is very generally believed that peace is now assured and will be general. The Cabinet Council at which President Diaz's resignation was announced is said to have been most pathetic owing to the age of the President and his physical sufferings caused by an ulcerated jaw. We wish the new regime every success, but if it is to do any per- manent good its leaders must face and lay the spectre of slavery which haunts Mexico in the form of forced labour for debt. As we have shown elsewhere, there is plenty of paper law in Mexico to prevent slavery. The trouble is that it is not applied. What is wanted is for public opinion in Mexico to recognize the truth—namely, that the toleration of the enslavement of any portion of its population is the greatest crime which a community can commit.
