Chapter 5
part one chapter five of garcia moreno by augustin berth this libravox recording is in the public domain recording by maria teresa el zariago eighteen forty six eighteen forty seven the joy of the people of ecuador when the happy result of the revolution of the sixth of march became known may be easily imagined but they were not yet out of their troubles the convention had first to decide between two candidates for the vacant presidentship one the poet almedo and the other a merchant named the latter was a cunning and vindictive man of an unscrupulous character and with mulatto blood the patriotic league unanimously chose olmedo a statesman of incorruptible character and the great national poet but racca who knew the nature of the deputies best was confident of success and by dint of bribes and promises of office he obtained the requisite majority of votes a cry of indignation arose throughout the country at this election but no one felt it more bitterly than garcia moreno he was warned not to incur the enmity of the new government but he could not resist the temptation to expose the corruption and rascality of the ministers and so started a humorous paper called el zuriago the whip of which the first number appeared in the month of april eighteen forty six
after having been devoured in the capital this little sheet was sent to every province in the country and all were enchanted with its original and powerful satires and delighted to find any one saying out loud what every one was whispering under their breath we will give a specimen of his style it was the eve of the great day when the problem was to be solved shall ecuador at last have a just and good government or will it remain a hot-bed of intrigues and corruption the convention resembled a theban sphinx with the voice of a man the head of a woman the claws of a lion the wings of a vulture and the tail of an ass still the alarm was great in the camp of the place-hunters exasperated at the idea of defeat they could not find curses enough for patriots whom neither menaces nor promises could bend at last they determined to go to a certain personage who could give them some sort of insight into their prospects and where they all met as if by appointment b arrived first his face was pale his lips white his eyes inflamed but before his host he was metamorphosed in a moment gravely seated in an arm-chair wrapped in an ample purple dressing-gown with spectacles on his nose this great personage had the look of marius the heart of cilia and boughs of mercy as tender as a rock footnote a play of words on the name of the president have you spoken to sea he asked addressing the new-comer
i have done all i could to win him over replied the poor devil but he resists on my efforts he says he would rather remain a poor curate all his life than stain his name with what he calls an infamy so much the worse for him he will live to repent of it oracorically replied the great man at that moment with a contrite and cringing manner entered the rev a the lay rector of the university affecting errors of sanctity a living image of the hermit cat blessed be god and his merciful mother x has sworn to vote for you provided certain places be secured to different members of his family he will work zealously so that your excellency may be elected to-morrow president of the republic deo gratias exclaimed on the threshold of the door a greasy ragged cleric this was the famous v i have laboured only to fail what is to be done with idiots who covet neither prefectures nor places in the ministry nor prebendal stalls ite me sa est i told them we can do very well without you gentlemen will you believe it they laughed in my face it seems to me we can reckon on twenty-seven votes gravely replied the sly old fox where shall we find the twenty-eighth
brother a his eyes cast down humbly answered my lord providence who watches over even the worms of the earth will know how to remove one or other of our enemies to a better life or will inspire them with the holy thought of accepting some little sinecure to help them to live more comfortably without offending god or their neighbour r interrupted the last speaker while stifling a laugh with the words nothing is easier than to gain a vote if one only knows how to set about it when a general wants to take a fortress he begins by finding out the weak point in the walls do the same in this electoral campaign discover the weak side of your adversary and you will win if he leans to the other party give him a stick to lean on of gold give him a pen to sign likewise tipped with gold and you will see his honour will go very cheaply a murmur of applause greeted this prophetic speech while the thick lips of the would-be president curled in a soft smile to encourage his creatures he placed before them the number of comfortable places which would be assigned to each should success crown their efforts so far from blushing at this ignoble traffic a good many asked to pick and choose what would suit them best as at a buffet you would select the dish you preferred and then full of joy they flew to the fight their eyes fixed on the enchanting future opened out before them and with the prospect of enjoying rich stipends and no work it is thus that our country has been insolently mocked while in their degrading and crapulous sloth
these miserable men encourage one another daily in fresh jobberies and crimes we can easily imagine the rage of the government at being thus shown up week by week to the ridicule and indignation of the public garcia moreno had determined to scourge those vampires who sucked the blood of his countrymen while pretending to look after their interests and whose only delight was to gamble on the stock exchange and to use their ministerial knowledge to fill their coffers and drain the unhappy merchants and peasant proprietors whose bankruptcy had become universal no he added ironically equator is not stationary as people imagine on the contrary it is marching towards entire demoralisation generations to come will have no villainy to commit such are the fruits of the tree of liberty not true liberty but that of which these wretches prostitute the name to satisfy their own cupidity the government at last took the offensive and threatened a public prosecution of the editor this only roused garcia moreno to more violent language you call this newspaper mean immoral revolutionary mean the criminal is mean who is condemned to the lash not he who wields the whip with which to punish the wrong-doer
immoral a writer is not more immoral because he reveals immorality than the judge is immoral because he chastises vice revolutionary the revolutionists are yourself it is you who encourage crime and disorder you who are traitors to your country deputies without conscience and without shame grovelling like reptiles to obtain places how long is it since the poor clerks and workingmen have received their wages they have waited in silence deceived by your promises while you are speculating with their bread and quietly pocketing all the revenues of the republic it is all very fine of you to abuse flores in brigadage and rapacity the disciples have long surpassed their master but the gravest complaint against us is that el xiraglio is anonymous you ask the name of the editors i will gladly give them up to your vengeance they are the twenty-eight men who executed that force of the presidential election when we had to admire the metamorphosis of the phoenix turned into a crow for what does this paper contain the revelation of the criminal acts of these twenty-eight men and the expression of the public contempt which is attached to their name who then are the editors those who committed the crime or those who have exposed it
you are without doubt the only responsible persons and it is you whom the police should prosecute as to ourselves you ought to thank us for having published your history without exacting any salary this vigorous denunciation brought the new president racca into universal contempt he was detested for his hard and haughty character and after this polemic every one fought shy of him the nobility would have nothing to say to the mulatto the partisans of flores hated the man who had supplanted their master the true patriots loathed one who had sacrificed their country to his greed for gold the discontent hourly increased when a sudden reapparition of flores gave garcia moreno an opportunity to undertake a fresh political campaign chapter five
