Descripción
81pp. Small quarto. Later calf, spine gilt with raised bands, gilt leather labels. Binding slightly rubbed, Text lightly tanned, small stab holes in gutter from original stitching, gutter periodically reinforced with paper. Very good. Chile's short-lived but significant constitution of 1823, nicknamed the "Moralistic Constitution." Chile's first officially independent constitution was adopted in 1818 and granted revolutionary leader Bernardo O'Higgins considerable power, which he consolidated further in a widely despised revision in 1822. O'Higgins was peacefully deposed by a new, more conservative group under the leadership of Ramón Freire in early 1823, and a special congress was convened to create a new constitution, presided over by Juan Egaña. Egaña was chiefly responsible for drafting and proposing the present document, which was approved the next day and promulgated the day after. The eighty-one page, 277-article document begins with an outwardly liberal appearance: after stating that "Chile is a nation independent of the Spanish monarchy and of any other power," it declares that its "constitutional protections and laws protect every individual who lives in Chile," and provides citizenship to any person who has lived and worked in the country for one year [all quotations our own translation]. It further states that "every Chilean is equal before the law," and takes a firm stand against slavery. Article eight reads in full that "In Chile there are no slaves: any who stands on its territory for one natural day will be free. Any who carry on the business [of slavery] may not live here more than one month, and may never be naturalized." On the other hand, article ten declares that "The state religion is the Apostolic Roman Catholic Church: to the exclusion of worship and practice of any other." Practicing Catholicism is made a requirement for suffrage, and the broadly granted citizenship is just as easy to lose, including for "habitual drunkenness or prohibited gaming." Additionally, the press is considered "free, protected, and rewarded so long as it contributes to morality and good habits," and is expressly forbidden from "meddling in the mysteries, dogmas and religious discipline, and morals generally approved by the Catholic Church." Despite its eager acceptance and immediate promulgation, Egaña's document proved unwieldy and unpopular; it was suspended the following July and abrogated in November. A more liberal constitution would finally replace it in 1828, although this sparked a civil war in which the conservative faction came out ahead once again. The new constitution of 1833 was spearheaded by Egaña's son, Mariano de Egaña, and remained in force until 1925. A rare document; Rare Book Hub records only this copy at auction since 1981. PALAU 59709. BRISEÑO I, 74. N° de ref. del artículo WRCAM57794
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