History of Mexico (Bancroft)/Volume 5/Chapter 12

by Hubert Howe Bancroft

 

CHAPTER XII.

 

POLITICAL COMMOTIONS.

 

1845-1847.

José Joaquin de Herrera as Constitutional President — Opposition to his Policy on the Texan Question — Preparations for War — Archbishop Posada's Course — Plan of San Luis Potosí — Herrera Deposed — Paredes as Provisional President — Dissatisfaction — Revolution at Guadalajara — Paredes Overthrown — Santa Anna Recalled — He is Elected President — Gomez Farías as Vice-president Assumes the Executive Office — Santa Anna Supersedes Him.

The provisional president and his cabinet favored the policy of settling the Texan and American ques tions by compromise;^[1] but they encountered violent opposition from the press, the people, and the army, all of whom clamored for war. Amid the confusion, it had been arranged that the presidential office should be filled by a president constitutionally chosen. Con gress, on the 14th of September, 1845, counted the votes cast by the departments, and declared José Joaquin de Herrera elected;^[2] and on the 16th he was formally installed. In his inaugural address Presi dent Herrera promised to abstain from partisanship and to look after the army and finances. Of the Texan question he spoke vaguely.^[3] José Joaquin de Herrera was born in Jalapa in 1792, and entered the Spanish army as a cadet of the Corona regiment in 1809.^[4] He was among the first to second Iturbide's plan de Iguala, entered Mexico with the trigarante army, and was then commissioned a brigadier. Herrera aided the downfall of the emperor, and in March 1824 became secretary of war under President Victoria, proving himself a good republican, and an honorable man, a character which he sustained to the end of his life. It was his uprightness that gave him a political standing, his talents being only mediocre.

 

Herrera thought that now was the best time to bring about the settlement of the Texan question, and save his country from a sanguinary, compromising, and ruinous war. But the press kept up its clamor, and the opposition qualified as perfidy and treason all attempts to maintain peace with the American usurpers, war being deemed the only recourse to save the national honor. The administration, under that pressure, had then, though regretfully, to adopt the war policy, which at once unified the opinion that had been formed in July; many who had formerly favored compromise being now for war. Hence the erroneous impression of the friends of the government that the division on the Texan question had ended.

The departmental assemblies tendered all their resources, and private citizens vied with one another in pecuniary contributions and offers of service. Local authorities organized the militia, and prominent officers asked to be employed against the Americans.

Soon after Herrera's election, and before his inauguration, the members of the cabinet, namely, Cuevas, Riva Palacio, García Conde, and La Rosa, resigned their offices, as if fearful of the situation in which they had placed themselves. The following were then called to succeed them: Manuel de la Peña y Peña, secretary of relations; Bernardo Couto, of justice; Pedro Fernandez del Castillo, of the treasury; and Pedro María Anaya, of war.^[5] These ministers had to face the old evils, and also to meet much opposition by reason of supposed lukewarmness on the war question.

Several officers of the first division, stationed in Querétaro and San Luis Potosí, refused to obey the orders sent them to advance upon the frontier, and mutinied.^[6] General Paredes asked leave to visit Mexico, where he could verbally arrange the plan for the campaign in Texas; but it was not granted, as he was suspected of an intent to revolt against the government, as Álvarez had done in Guerrero.^[7]

The army was discontented, owing to reforms the executive had desired to introduce, though he had abandoned his project in order to induce it to march with alacrity to the frontier. Paredes was finally summoned to Mexico, and ordered to surrender his command to Filisola, but his officers opposed the change of commanders^[8], and Paredes then detained the force that under Gaona was on the way to Saltillo.

A plan was now favored by the friends of the government to call on the clergy to contribute to the support of the national honor with a loan of fifteen million dollars. It was seconded by both houses of congress, and it seemed as if the hour of trial for the church had come. It was saved this time, however, by its friends. The metropolitan of Mexico was now Doctor Manuel Posada y Garduño, the first archbishop appointed after Mexico became a nation.^[9]

It was rumored and believed that Paredes intended to set up a convention and a triumvirate; and it was also known that Santa Anna, then in Cuba, contemplated a return to Mexico.^[10] Affairs came to a climax when the army of the reserve, numbering about 5,000 men,^[11] made a pronunciamiento on the 14th of December at San Luis Potosí, instead of marching to Texas as ordered by the government, the object of which movement was to depose the administration and to set up another better suited to their views.^[12] The assembly of San Luis Potosí seconded the plan; and on the 15th Paredes proclaimed that he had assumed the task of reorganizing the republic, and of upholding the national rights which had been outraged by the United States. This pronunciamiento, it has been said, was promoted with the view of establishing a monarchical government.^[13] Whether it was so or not, it met with the support or indifference of those who wanted Herrera's administration overthrown, and was soon seconded or tolerated throughout the republic.^[14]

Amidst the confusion caused by these events, congress sat on the 28th of December, 1845, after a revolutionary movement initiated at the capital by the Celaya regiment had been quelled.^[15] The government could no longer offer any resistance to the hostile elements concentrated at the capital. The revolution was proclaimed in the Ciudadela early in the morning of the 30th by General Valencia. President Herrera surrendered the government on the same day, and retired to his house.^[16]

The revolutionary chief and his army entered the capital on the 2d of January, 1846, and on the same day called a meeting of general officers. In a brief address he made known his resolution to uphold the national liberties and personal rights, and then laid before the meeting a plan that in his opinion would put an end to the evils the nation was undergoing, and requested that it should be discussed with freedom. The plan, set forth in ten articles, was approved almost unanimously, the only dissentient votes being those of generals José Alcorta and José María Miñon.^[17]

The junta of representatives assembled on the 3d, elected Mariano Paredes y Arrillaga president ad ininterim, and on the next day placed him in office.^[18]

 

Mariano Paredes y Arrillaga was born in the city of Mexico on the 6th of January, 1797. He entered the Spanish army as a cadet on the 6th of January, 1812. Though he saw much active service in that eventful period, having taken part in twenty-two actions, he became captain only in March 1821, at which time he joined Iturbide, and entered the capital with the trigarante army. With the marqués de Vivanco he proclaimed liberty at Puebla in February 1823. In 1831 he was promoted to colonel, and the next year to brigadier-general.^[19] After a campaign south of Morelia he was made a general of division. He aided Santa Anna to establish the Bases de Tacubaya, destroying the constitution of the Siete Leyes, and setting up the strongest dictatorship that was ever inflicted on Mexico. The government did not, however, reward him as he had expected, he being merely retained as comandante general of Jalisco, where his despotism made him hateful. Paredes possessed no qualification but that of brute courage. It is said of him, however, that he refused to accept the presidential salary during the time he held the executive office, contenting himself with the pay of a general.

 

After promising in his inaugural address to devote his whole attention to the consolidation of order in the interior, and to the defence of the country's honor and rights in the impending trouble with the United States, President Paredes formed his cabinet with the following-named ministers: Luis Parres, of the treasury; Joaquin Castillo y Lanzas, of relations; Luciano Becerra, bishop of Chiapas, of justice and ecclesiastical affairs; and Juan N. Almonte, of war.^[20]

The new government endeavored to bring order out of the chaos existing in the treasury, and issued stringent measures to clear the country of highwaymen and gamblers. Other important decrees were also passed with the view of decreasing the number of public offices, and of bringing about an arrangement of business in the several departments. The press was allowed a certain freedom for the discussion of public affairs, with a warning not to abuse it.^[21] In the interval preceding the convocation of a constituent congress, the press and public warmly discussed the question of form of government. Some were of the opinion that the restoration of the constitution of 1824 was the only possible means of saving the country; others favored the central régime; and there was not wanting a number among the property owners and merchants who advocated the supposed advantages of a constitutional monarchy with a foreign prince.^[22] At last the expected convocation was decreed on the 26th of January, 1846, its authorship being attributed to Lúcas Alaman. This document conveyed the idea that the extraordinary congress would carry out the fifth proposition of the San Luis plan of December 14, 1845, and also take into consideration such measures as the executive should suggest to save the rights and dignity of the nation.^[23]

The law met with a strong opposition on the part of all republicans, who suspected in the government the project of carrying out Iturbide's plan of Iguala. With powerful arguments they maintained that the idea of a monarchy in Mexico was not only contrary to the wishes of the Mexican people, but also one that was not at all feasible, there being no such thing as a nobility in the country.

Meantime the government was convinced that a war with the United States was inevitable, and made strenuous efforts to create resources wherewith to support an army in the field. The opposition press did not fail to remind the rulers that the frontier was in imminent danger of invasion, demanding that the troops Paredes had diverted from its defence, and brought with him from San Luis Potosí, should be sent back at once, and not kept in idleness at the capital. These suggestions were soon carried out, after the government was apprised of the advance movements made by General Taylor. The utmost activity was then exercised to place a respectable army on the frontier.^[24] Troops, artillery, and money were also sent to Vera Cruz, where it was feared the enemy would land forces. Some provision was likewise made for the defence of the ports on the Pacific.

The position of the government was daily becoming more and more difficult, for it had not only to provide means to meet the invaders wheresoever they might appear, but also to withstand the deadly attacks of the opposition press, which now openly accused it of an intention to set up a monarchy in Mexico. Federalists, centralists, and the personal supporters of Santa Anna were now working in unison and threatening to upset the government. This decided aggression prompted the adoption of restrictive measures against the press,^[25] which were virtually an attack against the republicans and tended to widen the breach. The president then, with the view of allaying if possible the hostility of parties at a time when he needed general coöperation, issued on the 24th of April a manifesto, promising to sustain the republican form till the nation should resolve upon a change. This did not save him, however, from being set up by the opposition press as an enemy of the institutions of the country. He was also accused of neglecting to provide against Indian raids which had been frequent in Chihuahua, Durango, and Sonora. The situation was indeed critical; but amid so much trouble the government succeeded in placing the departmental revenues in such a good condition that even the opposition press found reason to eulogize the measures by which that improvement had been attained.

The first step taken by Minister Iturbe on his assuming the treasury portfolio, on the 2d of May, was to suspend payments,^[26] with the view of applying all the receipts to the support of the army. The next step was to notify the metropolitan chapter that the Mexican clergy were required to contribute $2,400,000 of the forced loan decreed by congress, in monthly instalments of $200,000, of which this chapter's share was $98,000. The archbishop finally agreed to contribute a smaller, though still heavy, sum.^[27]

The Santanists had by this time come to an understanding, and resolved to make Guadalajara the centre of a revolutionary movement to set aside the existing government; and regardless of the difficulties the country was under, from the disasters sustained by her arms at the seat of war, which had caused the deepest pain to all patriotic citizens, a pronunciamiento took place in that city on the 20th of May, under the leadership of General José María Yañez and other military officers, protesting against the law of the 26th of January.^[28] All who opposed the republican system and the principles of the plan.were declared to be traitors. By the 6th article Santa Anna was proclaimed the leader of the great enterprise.^[29] The government, fearing that the movement would be seconded elsewhere, specially in the capital, redoubled its vigilance to avert it. Soon after, on the 6th of June, the extraordinary congress, summoned under the decree of January 26th, assembled, and on the same day began its labors. Paredes appeared before that body and made a solemn declaration in favor of the republican system. On the 12th of the same month congress met and chose Paredes president ad interim, and Nicolás Bravo vice-president.^[30] On the 20th the former was authorized to assume personal command of the land forces.^[31] The government was also empowered during six months to procure means to carry on the war and for other purposes, though without seizing or hypothecating the property of persons or corporations. Paredes sent large sums,^[32] and constantly increased the forces in the north. He adopted every possible precaution to prevent the spread of revolution.^[33] But his efforts were of little avail, and he then resolved to surrender the executive anthority to Vice-president Bravo, who reluctantly, and only as a matter of duty, accepted the difficult position on the 28th of July. The cabinet formed by Bravo consisted of the following ministers, namely: José Joaquin Pesado, of relations; José M. Jimenez, of justice; Antonio Garay, of the treasury; and Ignacio Mora y Villamil, of war. This cabinet thought it was not the proper time now to frame a new constitution, and attempted to induce the congress to declare that the bases orgánicas of 1845 were the political constitution of the republic; with the view that after their acceptance, and the adoption of some regulations, that body should go into recess. But no project could now be developed, the republic having become the plaything of the military element. Anarchy reigned supreme. On the 3d of August the garrisons of Vera Cruz and San Juan de Ulúa revolted, proclaiming the plan of Guadalajara; and early in the morning of the 4th General Salas, with upwards of 1,000 men that Paredes had fitted out to go with him to the front, did the same in the citadel of Mexico. Paredes succeeded in escaping that same night, and expected to join a force he had despatched some days before to the field of operations, but was captured with some other officers, by General Ávalos, and brought back as a prisoner to the citadel.^[34] At a conference, afterward held by the belligerents on the 6th, it was resolved that Bravo's power should cease, and the government troops accept the plan adopted at the citadel,^[35] pursuant to which Salas, as general-in-chief, in charge of the supreme executive authority by a decree of August 22d, suppressed the council of government and departmental assemblies, and authorized the restoration of the states, reserving to himself the power provisionally of appointing the governors. Another decree of the same date declared that the congress that was to meet pursuant to the convocation of the 4th should come duly empowered to enact laws on all branches of the public administration.^[36]

 

José Mariano de Salas was at this time a general of brigade. He was born in the city of Mexico in 1797, and entered the royal service as a cadet in 1813; he fought against the insurgents, obtaining his first promotions, till 1821, when he accepted Iturbide's plan, and for services rendered was made a captain. Afterward he coöperated with Santa Anna, in establishing the republic.^[37] In 1844 he was second chief of staff, and comandante general of Mexico, which offices he lost for his faithfulness to Santa Anna in December 1844. Herrera employed him, however, in the supreme court-martial, and Paredes restored him the comandancia general of Mexico.

 

The government remained for a time in charge of Salas^[38], all the states recognizing his authority. He published many important decrees for establishing economical reforms, and for other purposes, but few of which were carried out.^[39] It is said that Salas had at his command, from the beginning of his transition rule, large pecuniary resources.^[40]

No time had been lost in notifying Santa Anna, who was then in Habana much devoted to his favorite pastime of cock-fighting, of the changes that had occurred in Mexico, and of his presence in the republic being urgently needed. He accordingly sailed for Vera Cruz upon a British steamer, on the 12th of August,^[41] accompanied by his friends Almonte and Basadre, together with Rejon, Haro, and Bóves. On approaching the port of destination, the steamer was visited from one of the blockading ships, whose commander allowed her freely to proceed, as Commodore David Conner, commanding the United States home squadron, had orders from his government not to obstruct Santa Anna's landing.^[42] Much has been said about this apparently strange course on the part of the United States authorities in allowing free entry into Mexico, under the present circumstances, to the ablest and most influential political and military chieftain that republic then had; and comments very unfavorable to Santa Anna were accordingly made, the privilege thus granted him being attributed to a secret stipulation from which he was to derive large pecuniary and other advantages, on condition of his concluding peace with the United States.^[43] The fact is, there was no such stipulation, and President Polk explicitly stated it in his message to congress of January 12, 1848.^[44] It was issued simultaneously with the order to blockade the Mexican ports, solely upon the views of policy which he communicated to congress in his annual message,^[45] that is to say, that he believed him an element of discord. Santa Anna's recall to Mexico had been looked for long before it took place. The United States consul in Habana, Robert B. Campbell, probably by his government's instructions, called with an interpreter on Santa Anna and tried to obtain from him an explicit declaration that he would, if restored to power in Mexico, favor peace with the United States. Unwilling to return straightforward answers to the questions propounded to him, he asked permission to bring General Almonte into the conference, after which the conversation was mostly carried on through him. Santa Anna repeatedly said, and in this he was not ingenuous, that he personally was in favor of peace, but would act according to the wishes of his countrymen; if they were for war, he would wage it with all the resources at his command.^[46]

Santa Anna landed at Vera Cruz on the 16th of August, amidst demonstrations of respect; the chief of the cabinet, Valentin Gomez Farías, started on the 19th for Puebla to receive him. A proclamation was published on the 24th that the federation and the most ample liberty were now restored. The celebration of Santa Anna's return and of the restoration of the federal system took place at the capital on the 14th of September with much magnificence. Both authorities and people were full of hope. Santa Anna had come back under favorable auspices; parties, setting aside old bickerings, grouped themselves under the national standard that Santa Anna was to raise and carry in a succession of victories throughout the campaign against the foreign invader. He seemed to understand his position,^[47] and in the retirement of Tacubaya affected unwillingness to meddle with government affairs, and devoted his attention to organizing the expedition he intended to lead to the north. He urged the government to forward troops to the frontier without delay, and a force of 3,000 men was accordingly started from the capital on the 28th of September, with Santa Anna at its head, for San Luis Potosí.^[48] Salas' enemies tried to overthrow him, and Santa Anna then published a manifesto stating that the relations between him and the government were most cordial. The administration was making the most strenuous efforts to procure resources, and finally issued a decree, affecting the property of the clergy, to raise two million dollars, which created a great commotion, and made still worse the horrible situation of the country.

The installation of congress, which had a majority of more or less radical liberals, took place on the 6th of December; and on the 23d Santa Anna was chosen president ad interim, and Gomez Farías vice-president.^[49] The latter took the oath of office at once, and assumed the executive authority in Santa Anna's absence.^[50] This statesman's accession to power implied the reëstablishment of the principles he had sustained throughout his life. But he encountered so much difficulty that he never could form a stable cabinet.^[51] The new government endeavored to procure means for carrying on the war, and meeting with great obstructions, threatened the wealthy classes with the seizure of their property if they would not voluntarily contribute to relieve the pressing needs of the nation. Congress authorized it to take fifteen million dollars from the clergy,^[52] which, as it may well be conceived, caused the greatest excitement and opposition.^[53] Several state governments protested against the measure, and ere long revolutionary movements broke out in various places. At the capital on the 15th of January occurred a serious one, proclaiming 'religion y fueros.' In Querétaro the effect of the publication of that law, which had been made the 17th of January, was still more dangerous. The government was kept in constant alarm by the hostile popular demonstrations, but persisted in the purpose of enforcing the law. Affairs continued in an unsettled state till the 26th of February, when demonstrations were made in Mexico to set aside Farías and the congress, and even Santa Anna, leaving the latter only with the command of the northern army. The scandal of a formal pronunciamiento took place in the morning of the 27th. Reënforcements were sent by the governors of the states of Mexico and Puebla to sustain the government.^[54]

The revolutionists reformed their plan, accepting Santa Anna as president, and saying nothing about the congress. The latter became displeased with Gomez Farías because he had arrested a number of its members, and then adopted the plan of calling Santa Anna to come and occupy the presidency.

Gomez Farías had to experience the pang of the Mexican army's defeat at Angostura or Buenavista, though Santa Anna, on his retreat, tried to make it appear a victory. Santa Anna had heard on the 10th of March, at San Luis Potosí, that the belligerents at Mexico recognized him as the president, and centred their hopes in him.^[55] He then came rapidly toward Mexico, where he arrived on the 21st of March, and the revolution ended. Having assumed the presidential office, Gomez Farías retired.^[56]

 

 

1. The relations of the U. S. with Mexico on the Texan and other questions are fully treated elsewhere.
2. Vera Cruz, Puebla, Oajaca, Guanajuato, Jalisco, San Luis Potosí, Zacatecas, Aguascalientes, Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon, Durango, Chihuahua, Querétaro, and Yucatan voted for him. Dublan and Lozano, Leg. Mex., v. 35-6; Méx., Col. Ley. y Dec., 1844-6, 285; Bustamante, Mem. Hist. Mex., MS., iii. 20-2; Id., Nⱽᵒ Bernal Diaz, 48; Rivera, Hist. Jalapa, iii. 705. The other candidates had been Manuel Gomez Pedraza and Juan N. Almonte.
3. Herrera, Discurso ante el Conn., 1-24.
4. He was in the battles of Aculco, Guanajuato, and Puente de Calderon, during the revolutionary war, which won him a medal of honor. After an active service, he was, in Nov. 1814, promoted to captain. In 1816 he signally defeated the insurgents, under Mariscal Ávila at San Pedro, capturing all their artillery and other war material. He continued serving the crown till Oct. 1820, when as a lieut-col he applied for and obtained his retirement. He then settled in Perote, and opened an apothecary's shop.
5. 5 Couto was succeeded Oct. 20th by Demetrio Montes de Oca. Rivera, Hist. Jalapa, iii. 720.
6. Alleging that they had not received the necessary supplies for a campaign. Bustamante, Mem. Hist. Mex., MS., ii. 216, iii. 8-10.
7. He prevented the departure of an expedition for California, and liberated Gen. Rangel, who had been ordered as a prisoner to Acapulco.
8. Bustamante has it that it was by Paredes' own suggestion; and even surmises that Texan gold influenced the movement. Mem. Hist. Mex., MS., ii. 220.
9. Dr Posada was born in San Felipe el Grande, or del Obraje, in the province of Mexico, on the 27th of Sept. 1780. He had, previous to his episcopate, held high positions in the church, university, and government, and toward the end of 1824 was a senator in the national congress. In 1833, being the chancellor of Mexico, he was exiled from his country and went to reside in the U. S., returning in 1834. His consecration as archbishop was May 31, 1840. He made himself very useful with his talents and experience, as well as his personal and pecuniary services, several times aiding the national treasury with large sums from both the ecclesiastical revenues and his own private fortune. The archbishop was remarkable for his kindness and affability, as well as for his learning, conversational powers, and fondness for literature and the fine arts. March 31, 1846, he had a severe attack of congestion, from which he rallied; but on the 21st of April it came on again with greater force, and he succumbed on the last day of the month. His funeral was on a magnificent scale. Arroniz, Biog. Mex., 267, 270-1; Sosa, Episcop. Mex., 230-3; Bustamante, Gabinete Mex., i. 199, ii. 58-9, 95; Thompson's Recoll. Мех., 90-1.
10. It was likewise reported that Yucatan had resolved to organize herself as an independent republic under the constitution of 1824. Rivera, Hist. Jalapa, iii. 721. Nov. 29th, Paredes wrote the president that he was in daily receipt of revolutionary plans from all quarters. The people, he said, wanted a change of government by any means. As for himself, he saw that 'the government has neither plan nor principles, and is wholly controlled by the whim of factions.' Méx., Contestac. habidas, 6, in Pinart Coll.
11. Forming the first and second brigades, commanded respectively by Filisola and Gaona. They arrived at San Luis Potosí on the 28th of June. El Amigo del Pueblo, 1845, July 8th and Sept. 2d, 27 and 124; Bustamante, Mem. Hist. Mex., iv. 98-105.
12. Among the charges preferred against the government, was this: it had allowed to land on Mexican territory and to reside at the capital the plenipotentiary of the U. S., 'que, de acuerdo con el actual gabinete viene á comprar nuestra independencia y nuestra nacionalidad.' The resolutions adopted were ten. The main points were to discontinue the authority of the existing administration, and to convoke an extraordinary congress with ample powers to constitute the nation. In the mean time the executive authority to be held by Paredes. Méx., Col. Ley. Fund., 263-70; Bustamante, Mem. Hist. Mex., MS., iii. 192; Rivera, Hist. Jalapa, iii. 721-8.
13. Paredes in his address glowingly depicted the happiness enjoyed by Mexico during the Spanish viceregal sway, comparing that condition with the present misery, which, it must be confessed, he did not exaggerate.
14. Congress and the executive opposed the projects of the revolutionists in the decrees of Dec. 23d. The powers of the latter were also enlarged for the next six months; but all availed nothing. Dublan and Lozano, Leg. Mex., v. 96-103; Méx., Col. Ley. y Dec., 1844-6, 309-11, 317, 395; Bustamante, Mem. Hist. Mex., MS., iii. 206-7, 220-1, iv. 1. Several departmental assemblies at first refused to second the revolution, but afterward acquiesced. Others gave it their approval at once. La Prudencia, offl journ. of Guan., alcance al no. 68, Dec. 24 and 25, 1845; Méx., Boletin Ofic., no. 3, Dec. 27, 1845; Mem. Histor., Jan. 2-16, 1846, passim; La Cruz, v. 637; Rivera, Hist. Jalapa, iii. 724-9.
15. Paredes had then his headquarters in Huehuetoca.
16. Full particulars on events in Mexico from Sept. 16th to Dec. 30th are given in Bustamante, Mem. Hist. Mex., MS., iii. 1-223 passim; Id., Nuevo Bernal Diaz, i. 85-125; Dispos. Var., v. 48; Dublan and Lozano, Leg. Mex., v. 105-19.
17. The ten propositions were as follows: 1. The citizens that were exercising the legislative and executive functions have ceased to act. 2. A junta of representatives of the departments — two for each department — appointed by the general-in-chief of the army, will at once choose the person that is to wield the supreme executive authority, until the extraordinary congress which is to constitute the nation shall assemble, pursuant to art. 3 of the plan adopted at San Luis Potosí, Dec. 14, 1845. 3. The junta aforesaid to dissolve immediately after choosing the acting president. 4. The powers of such president to be those prescribed by law; he will not go beyond them, except to provide for the defence of the national territory; but always respecting the guaranties prescribed by the laws. 5. The acts of the acting president's ministers to be amenable to the first constitutional congress. 6. The president, eight days after assuming his office, shall convoke the extraordinary congress, to meet in four months at the capital. 7, 8, and 9 continue in office the council, officials, and judiciary. 10. The person to be persecuted for political opinions previously expressed. Méx., Col. Ley. Fund., 271-3; Zamacois, Hist. Méj., xii. 405-6.
18. The junta then adjourned sine die. Its president was Archbishop Posada, and the secretaries Juan N. Almonte and Bernardo Guimbarda. Among its other prominent members were Lúcas Alaman, Cárlos M. Bustamante, generals Nicolás Bravo, José M. Tornel, and Pedro Ampudia, and Bishop Pardío of Yucatan. Méx., Col. Ley. Fund., 271-6, 316, 372-3; Zamacois, Hist. Méj., xii. 409; Memor. Histór., Jan. 5, 1846.
19. His quarrelsome disposition had lost him the favor of the chief of the army, and he was sent to serve in the western states. Paredes began to take part in political affairs in 1835, and from that time was an upholder of centralism. Rivera, Gob. de Méx., ii. 192, 286-98.
20. Bustamante, Mem. Hist. Mex., MS., iv. 1-3, 18-22; Id., Nuevo Bernal Diaz, i. 107-10; El Tiempo, Jan. 25, 1846; Arrangoiz, Méj., ii. 270-1, 275-6. Changes soon occurred in the cabinet; Parres being succeeded by Manuel Eduardo Gorostiza, and the latter in May by the banker Francisco Iturbe. The president having lost faith in Almonte superseded him with José María Tornel, which greatly displeased the monarchists; and to get rid of Almonte appointed him minister to France; but he remained in Habana at the side of Santa Anna. Bishop Becerra was replaced by José María Jimenez.
21. The Diario del Gobierno of Jan. 8, 1846, said that the government was resolved to punish all abuses of the privilege granted citizens to publish their opinions.
22. The idea of a monarchical government found a freer expression in the fact that many, and perhaps the chief, persons appointed to draw up the convocation were believed to have monarchic proclivities. The newspaper El Tiempo now appeared, boldly upholding those preferences, among whose chief contributors were Alaman, Diez de Bonilla, Tagle, Elguero, and other able writers. About this time there were rumors of a Spanish invasion to place a Spanish prince on a Mexican throne. Arrangoiz, Méj., ii. 271; El Tiempo, Ap. 4 and 17, 1846; Zamacois, Hist. Méj., xii. 416-17; Bustamante, Nuevo Bernal Diaz, i. 127-62; Id., Mem. Hist. Mex., MS., iv. 21-8, 47-182, passin; Memor. Histór., Feb. 7 and 23, 1846.
23. Congress was to be composed of 160 deputies, representing the following nine classes, namely: real estate owners and agriculturists 38; merchants 23; miners 14; manufacturers 14; literary professions 14; magistracy 10; public functionaries 10; clergy and army, each 20. The deputies were to be chosen by the respective classes. The qualifications required of them may be seen in the decree. El Tiempo, Jan. 28, 1846: Memor. Hist., Jan. 28, 1840; Zamacois, Hist. Méj., xii. 421-5; Méx., Col. Ley. y Dec., 1844-6, 316-47.
24. A loan of $1,800,000 was raised to fit out the troops that were forwarded to Mier.
25. The official journal on the 12th of March said that the freedom to discuss the question of form of government must cease. Even that restriction being a little later deemed insufficient, another circular was issued to hold the authors, publishers, and printers of such articles amenable; and under its provisions several arrests were made in April. Méx., Col. Ley. y Dec., 1844-6, 356-8; Dublan and Lozano, Ley. Mex., v. 121-2.
26. Méx., Col. Ley. y Dec., 1844-6, 359-64. An exception was made in favor of the hospicio de pobres of Mexico.
27. The vicar had notified the minister that the total revenue of the archdiocese did not come up to $98,000.
28. It had been preceded by one in Mazatlan under Col Rafael Tellez on the 7th of May.
29. The preamble set forth that none of the constitutions set up, since tho suppression of that of 1824, had benefited the country; that some vile Mexicans had attempted the establishment of a throne occupied by a foreign prince; that the law of Jan. 20th to convoke an extraordinary congress was a mass of absurdities; and it was necessary to prevent the assembling of such a congress to avert foreign intervention with the consequent destruction of the Mexican army, and the dismissal of Mex. citizens from public offices; therefore, the national constitution should be founded on the will of t!:e majority of the people. The plan embraced ten articles, seven of which only were of national import, involving the objects mentioned in the text. Of Santa Anna, it is said that he had been the founder of the republic, and, his errors notwithstanding, 'her strongest support, in spite of European policy, and of the instigations of some wicked Mexicans.' It was also stated that Santa Anna had ever opposed usurpations on the part of the northern republic. Méx., Col. Ley. Fund., 276-80; Rivera, Hist. Jalapa, iii. 759-63; Bustamante, Mem. Hist. Mex., MS., iv. 247-8; El Restaurador, June 23, 1846; Young's Hist. Mex., 375-6.
30. See decrees of June 10th and 12th. Méx., Col. Ley. y Dec., 1844-6, 370-4; Dublan and Lozano, Leg. Mex., v. 132-3. The republican form of government having been adopted, the monarchical organ, El Tiempo, retired from the field, after having scattered among a considerable part of the community its pernicious ideas.
31. Méx., Col. Ley. y Dec., 1814-6, 375.
32. Having secured the loan of one million dollars from the church. Méx., Apuntes Hist. Guerra, 68-9, 76; Bustamante, Mem. Hist. Mex., MS., iv. 218, 225.
33. He quartered troops in the capital, detached suspected officers, and arrested a number.
34. After an imprisonment in a convent, Paredes was exiled from the country on the 2d of Oct. 1846, just 10 months after he became the executive by Herrera's overthrow. In the various actas adopted by the several towns as they accepted the revolution, he was called a traitor. It has been said against him that during his residence in France he intrigued to bring about European intervention in Mexican affairs. When the Americans had occupied Mexico he was residing in Tulancingo, having eluded the American blockade. Thence he was called by the government at Querétaro, but did not go, alleging ill health. He rendered no service during the war. Не afterward showed himself again in the revolutionary arena, opposed the treaties of peace with the U. S., but was defeated by Bustamante. He was included in the general amnesty of April 1849. Rivera, Gob. de Méx., ii. 296. Paredes died in September of that year, leaving his family in poverty. It is recorded to his credit that he was an honest man in money matters. His management of public funds was without peculation. Bustamante, Mem. Hist. Mex., MS., iv. 33; Arrangoiz, Méj., ii. 295.
35. The plan consisted of a preamble in seven articles, and resolutions in six more, embracing a project of regeneration under the federal system, to establish which a special congress was to assemble four months after the liberating forces should be in possession of the capital. Exiles for political causes were recalled, and the absent Santa Anna was made the general-in-chief of the forces to combat for the nation's rights and liberties, including the privilege of self-government. Méx., Col. Ley. Fund., 280-5; Ramirez, Tehuan. Mem. Hist., 32-4; Bustamante, Nuevo Bernal Diaz, ii. 67-76; Id., Mem. Hist. Mex., MS., v. 66-84, 95.
36. Both decrees in Méx., Col. Ley. Fund., 285-6; Id., Méx. Col. Ley. y Dec., 1844-6, 395-408, 413-16; Dublan and Lozano, Leg. Mex., ii. 143-56.
37. From that time he was in almost constant service, sometimes sustaining the existing government, and at others helping to upset it. He also campaigned in Texas toward the end of 1836.
38. His cabinet was most of the time composed of the chief clerks of departments. The portfolio of relations was held a while by Manuel C. Rejon, to Oct. 20th, and by José M. Lafragua to Dec. 23d. Méx., Mem. Hacienda, 1870, 1042-3.
39. Aug. 25th. Departmental assemblies to act as state legislatures. Méx., Col. Ley. y Dec., 1844-6, 416. Sept. 17th. Law to distribute the revenues between the general government and the states. Guan., Mem., 1832, 9. Sept. 28th. Government council established. Oct. 10th. Suppression of the excise tax; restored, however, in Nov. Farías, Opúsc., 9. Oct. 10th. Contingent of the states abolished, and compensated for. Disposic. Var., v. 50. Nov. 14th. Freedom of the press regulated. Dublan and Lozano, Leg. Mex., v. 171-2, 189-95. Nov. 19th. Tax imposed on ecclesiastical property. Id., 211-17, 235-6; Rivera, Hist. Jalapa, iii. 809-12; Mér., Mem. Hacienda, 1870, 272; Bustamante, Mem. Hist. Mex., MS., v. 136-7, 149.
40. He found in the treasury $700,000, out of the one million Paredes had got from the clergy for the Texas war. The money disappeared in about 15 days. Zamacois, Hist. Méj., xii. 504, 515.
41. His departure was in the night, and he expected to run the blockade at Vera Cruz by favor of the night, in which he failed. Santa Anna, Apel. al buen criterio, 17.
42. U. S. Navy Department, May 13, 1846, Commodore: If Santa Anna endeavors to enter the Mexican ports, you will allow him to pass freely. Resp'y yours, George Bancroft.' The commodore, announcing Santa Anna's arrival, added, 'I have allowed him to enter without molestation.'
43. Zamacois, Hist. Méj., xii. 505-6; Santa Anna, Apel. al buen criterio, being his reply to charges by Ramon Gamboa, 14-15. Jay, Rev. Mex. War, 196, suggests that President Polk probably expected that Santa Anna, having wrongs to resent, and being indebted to him for an opportunity to wreak vengeance, 'would foment an insurrection, kindle the flames of civil war, recover his former power, and exercise it in concluding a peace with the U. S. by the cession of California.' Polk deceived himself.
44. These are his words: 'Without any understanding on the subject, direct or indirect, with Santa Anna or any other person.' Am. Quart. Reg., i. 532-4.
45. Of Dec. 8, 1846. U. S. Govt Doc., Cong. 29, Ses. 2, H. Ex. 20.
46. His own statement of that interview differs but little from the above. Santa Anna, Apel. al buen criterio, 18-19.
47. He thought that the government was in the hands of men he could easily manage, and continued the semblance of disinterestedness and patriotism exhibited by him at Vera Cruz, in order that the people might forget his past errors and evil practices. Méx., Apuntes Hist. Guerra, 67.
48. The force consisted of the 2d, 4th, and 5th hussars, and the light squadron of Puebla; Ist and 11th light infantry, and the 2d activo de Méjico; besides foot and light artillery. These were the remnants of the troops that had been stationed at the capital. It may be said that the organization of the Mexican army differed but very little from the European, namely, light and heavy infantry, light cavalry and dragoons, engineers, and field and siege artillery, with the corresponding staff, including the medical, pay, commissary, and other necessary departments. Besides the regular army, the republic had active and reserve militia, and a number of companies intended specially for guarding against Indian raids. At the time the differences with the U. S. assumed a warlike aspect, Mexico had in service the forces in the north under Paredes and Arista, and those under Inclan stationed in Jalapa and Vera Cruz. Several bodies were also in Texas. According to an official letter, dated Dec. 2, 1845, from Minister of war Anaya, the existing force consisted of 14,770 foot, 7,050 cavalry, including 35 presidial companies and 12 active companies of militia of the same class, and 1,731 artillerymen. He demanded a large increase to place the army on a war footing, and also called for the organization of the national guard to serve as an auxiliary force for defending coasts and preserving order in the interior. The total force required for active war according to that report would be 65,087 men. The cost was computed at $1,172,539 monthly, besides pensions, extra allowances, rations, and other unavoidable expenses. Peña y Peña, Comunicacion, 36-40. The Mexican officers and men thought themselves invincible; that opinion being not merely the result of national pride, but also of the supposition that they had much military experience and toughness acquired in their many years of revolutionary strife. The cavalry, mostly lancers, had a factitious reputation both at home and abroad. Many bodies were fairly disciplined, and expert in horsemanship and the management of the lance. Their carbines were mostly useless for accurate aim. The artillery had several foreign officers, and most of the juniors had been educated in the military college at Chapultepec. They were quite proficient in the theory of their profession, and had besides some practical experience. The guns were fine, but clumsily mounted. Of light artillery, such as modern troops used, there was but little. The infantry had some tolerably drilled regiments. The muskets were generally inferior, and by no means accurately made. The staff of the army was not what it should have been. In the engineers the country had some talented and skilful officers, who were quite perfect in the branch of field fortification. Of general officers there was a great disproportion. It was often said they had brigades of generals rather than generals of brigades. There were but few of them, if any, possessing the various qualifications of a general. Ripley's War Mex., 87-90. As for a naval force, Mexico had two steamers, one schooner of six guns, seven small vessels mounting one gun each, and two brigs with 10 carronades each. Most of the vessels were unserviceable. Rivera, Hist. Jalapa, iii. 720, 722, 744-5. The fortifications of Vera Cruz and San Juan de Ülúa, though repaired since the French bombardment, were yet weak. Matamoros and Tampico had no defences worth mentioning. The U. S. had on the gulf coasts a squadron with about 300 guns and 2,400 men, and on the Pacific several frigates and corvettes with 250 guns and about 2,250 men. The American army on the Rio Grande was of about 4,003 men, and had reënforcements at easy distance.
49. Méx., Col. Ley. y Dec., 1844-6, 595-7; Méx., Col. Ley. Fund., 286; Dublan and Lozano, Leg. Mex., v. 238-9; Bustamante, Hist. Invasion, MS., 1-6; Id., Nuevo Bernal Diaz, ii. 143-7. Those elections greatly alarmed both the clergy and military. Rivera, Hist, Jalapa, iii. 816-17.
50. At New Orleans Gomez Farías heard of Santa Anna's overthrow in 1841; he immediately returned to Mexico, when Herrera, though of quite opposite opinions, made him a senator. He promoted Santa Anna's recall as a means of restoring the federal system, served for a time in Salas' cabinet, and was uncompromisingly for war against the U. S.
51. During his occupancy of the executive chair the portfolios were generally in charge of the chief clerks of the several departments. Méx., Mem. Hacienda, 1870, 1043-4. Amid the tribulations of Mexico at this period the state of Yucatan, which had seceded from the rest of the republic, and again united her fate with it in Dec. 1846, separated a second time, and in May 1847 adopted a special flag to be used under the Mexican colors, to distinguish Yucatan vessels, and insure protection from capture by United States cruisers. Bustamante, Mem. Hist. Mex., MS., iv. 30–6, 83, v. 155, 252, vi. 27; Id., Nuevo Bernal Diaz, i. 125-7; Suarez, Informe, 10, 57-9; El Tiempo, Feb. 15, and June 3, 1846; Niles' Rey., lxx. 16, 273, 304, lxxi. 196, 307; Young's Hist. Mex., 340-1; Rivera, Hist. Jalapa, iii, 328, 830, 885; The Californian, S. F., Dec. 1, 1847.
52. Santa Anna in a letter of Jan. 2, 1847, to Manuel Rejon, favored the levying of a forced loan from the clergy of twenty millions. The letter is given in full in Zamacois, Hist. Méj., xii. 551-2.
53. Those financial decrees may be seen in Méx., Col. Ley. y Dec., Jan. 2 to Dec. 23, 1847, 5-24.
54. On the last day of February efforts were made to bring about an arrangement, but it failed. Peña, the commander of the revolted, said that the trouble resulted from the obstinacy of a man who would retain power against public opinion.
55. He then wrote to Farías and to Peña, requesting them to suspend hostilities till his arrival. However, i, is said that he was more than disposed to sustain Farías' authority. But a committee composed of Gen. Salas and others met him at Querétaro, and turned his mind in favor of the revolutionists.
56. The career of Farías did not end here. He was afterward a member of congress, and as such opposed at Querétaro the concluding of peace with the U. S. In 1550 he was a candidate for president of the republic, though not elected. He lived to frame the liberal constitution of 1857. The subsequent successes of the reactionists imbittered the last days of his life, however. His death occurred at Mixcoac, July 5, 1858; and his remains were accompanied to the grave by men of all political opinions, and many foreign residents, who thus paid homage to his honesty of purpose and unswerving support of the principles he had entertained from his youth. Rivera, Gob de Méx., ii. 320; Tributo á la Verdad, 23.