None of Maury’s family was pleased with his going to Mexico, because of the uncertainty of Maximilian’s throne, and would have preferred him to return to England or even to go to Russia or Brazil. His friends were of the same opinion. “The people of Virginia”, wrote Captain Jansen, “have shown themselves to be as brave as any people ever have been; but courage is coupled, in patriotism, with perseverance in suffering until better times come for Virginia. All who love her for what she has done ought to love her enough to suffer with her and for her sake. If the best people who have made Virginia what she is desert her at this critical moment, it would be like children leaving their mother in distress. There is no virtue without sacrifice, and, if the Virginians possess the virtue of patriotism, they ought to bring her now the sacrifice of pride. Don’t emigrate! Stand by your country with stern courage; learn the patience to bear without shame and with all the dignity of self-command.... I don’t think you can now return to Virginia; but in three or four years great changes will take place in opinions, and you nor your family won’t find a country which would be able to give you anything like her sympathy, or to take Virginia out of your hearts and souls. You ought to go back to your dear state as soon as you can do so safely; and if you had followed my advice you would never have left England, but would have asked Madame Maury to join you there. After a long journey and great inconveniences, perhaps suffering in your health and mind, you’ll come back without gaining anything but a sad experience”. A month later the same friend wrote, “As long as Max. tries to make what is called a civilized government, his position is unstable and I should not like you to stay there, how sweet and pleasant it may be in the shade of an Emperor’s crown. But if he starts on an Eastern policy and succeeds, you may run the chance as his prime minister to become a prince of the empire, or to be hung or shot or something worse”.
General Lee also advised Maury against his Mexican scheme. “We have certainly not”, he declared, “found our form of government all that was anticipated by its original founders; but this may be partly our fault in expecting too much, and partly due to the absence of virtue in the people. As long as virtue was dominant in the Republic, so long was the happiness of the people secure. I cannot, however, despair of it yet; I look forward to better days, and trust that time and experience—the great teachers of men under the guidance of our ever-merciful God—may save us from destruction, and restore to us the bright hopes and prospects of the past. The thought of abandoning the country, and all that must be left in it, is abhorrent to my feelings, and I prefer to struggle for its restoration, and share its fate rather than to give up all as lost. I have a great admiration for Mexico: the salubrity of its climate, the fertility of its soil, and the magnificence of its scenery, possess for me great charms; but I still look with delight upon the mountains of my native state. To remove our people to a portion of Mexico which would be favorable to them would be a work of much difficulty. Did they possess the means, and could the system of apprenticeship you suggest be established, the United States government would, I think, certainly interfere; and, under the circumstances, there would be difficulty in persuading the free men to emigrate. Those citizens who can leave the country, and others who may be compelled to do so, will reap the fruits of your considerate labors; but I shall be very sorry if your presence will be lost to Virginia. She has now sore need of all her sons, and can ill afford to lose you. I am very much obliged to you for all you have done for us, and hope your labors in the future may be as efficacious as in the past, and that your separation from us may not be permanent. Wishing you every prosperity and happiness, I am, Most truly yours, R. E. Lee”.
Unfortunately, this advice from his friends did not reach Maury until after he had committed himself to the scheme. He was not the type of man who might have sat with hands folded in Havana, waiting for some one to offer him a position. Knowing that it would not be wise for him to return to Virginia at that time, and feeling the responsibility of having a family dependent upon him for support, he pursued the course which seemed to him wisest under the circumstances. If he had been in Virginia at the close of the war, and had been in immediate touch with the situation there and known the attitude of the people toward their future prospects, he would almost certainly have been in agreement with the views of General Lee, and other friends and relatives.
Maury, accordingly went forward with his plan, the main features of which are embodied in the following decree which Maximilian issued on September 5, 1865: “We, Maximilian, Emperor of Mexico, in consideration of the sparseness of the population in the Mexican territory, in proportion to its extent, desiring to give to immigrants all possible security for property and liberty and having heard the opinion of our Board of Colonization, do decree as follows:
Article 1. Mexico is open to immigrants of all nations.
Article 2. Immigration agents shall be appointed, whose duty it will be to protect the arrival of immigrants, install them on the lands assigned them, and assist them in every possible way in establishing themselves. These agents will receive the orders of the Imperial Commissioner of Immigration, especially appointed by us, and to whom all the communications relative to immigration shall be addressed.
Article 3. Each immigrant shall receive a duly executed title, incommutable, of landed estate, and a certificate that it is free of mortgage.
Article 4. Such property shall be free from taxes for the first year, and also from duties on transfers of property, but only on the first sale.
Article 5. The immigrants may be naturalized as soon as they shall have established themselves as settlers.
Article 6. Immigrants who may desire to bring laborers with them, or induce them to come in considerable numbers, of any race whatever, are authorized to do so; but those laborers will be subject to special protective regulations.